Daily Bread – January 30, 2023 (The Second Day – Genesis 1:6-8) John 1:16 – And of His fullness we have all received, and grace after grace. Grace After Grace The meaning of ‘charis anti charistos’ refers to waves of grace, or grace after grace. The thought is not an exchange of Old Testament grace for a New Testament grace, but rather, the constant outpouring of God’s blessings with the arrival of one blessing after another with no interval in between! Paul speaks of God causing all grace to abound unto us so we are continually supplied with all we have need of (2 Corinthians 9: 8). The translation of this phrase as, “grace upon grace” finds support by those of antiquity. Pearce produces the following quotation. Ecclus xxvi:15- “A modest woman is a grace upon a grace, i.e. a double grace or blessing.” Euripides uses the very same phrase with John, where he makes Theoclymenus say to Helena; “May grace upon grace come to you!” On the other hand, it is argued that the Greek ‘anti’ which is translated as ‘upon’ is incorrect. Although the Greek ‘anti’ has the meaning of accumulation in the writings of Philo (De Posteritate Caini 145), normally it implies opposition, or substitution whereas the Greek ‘epi’ expresses accumulation. A third possibility would express an equivalent or corresponding meaning. A corresponding meaning is supported by scholars such as J. Bernard, A.T. Robinson, and Lacan. Therefore, this phrase could be rendered one of three ways: “grace upon grace’, “grace for grace” or “grace on top of grace.” The Greek word for grace, ‘charis’ does not occur in the Septuagint, however. A much older Greek work ‘karis’ does, and the Hebrew equivalent is ‘chen’. Blessings Pastor Mark Spitsbergen
Daily Bread 1/30/2023
