How do you like my tat? While you might not be able to read it, on the top it says Galatians 2:20 which is my all-time favorite Bible verse or what some have called my "life verse."
About 12 or 13 years ago, as a Christmas present to myself, I went down to the Gunslinger Tattoo parlor in Washington, Pa. and asked Tracy, a skin-head heavily tatted artist, to design me a tat featuring Galatians 2:20. I had it put high on my arm since it was for my benefit only and not to be seen leaking below my golf shirt. I could envisage a funeral director in years to come shouting to his assistant, "Get me a Bible." I don't think my wife was too happy with my choice of a self-purchased Christmas present. Yet, it did make for an interesting conversation piece when a huge man standing next to me in the pool on a cruise ship asked, "What is Gal--a-tians two-hundred and twenty mean?" I looked at him eyeball-to-eyeball and quoted the passage. He slowly moved away from me. I guess my tat is no longer for my benefit only since I am now sharing it with the world, at least to the exceedingly minute percentage of the world who might read my blog. As my one daughter keeps telling me, "Dad, you're losing your filter." Be that as it may. I'm 80, live with it!
I guess one might say this is more of a rant than a blog since I am not happy with those scholars who present to us modern English translations of the Bible, especially when they pervert, distort, mistranslate and virtually deem meaningless my favorite Bible verse which is now indelibly tattooed on my arm. Am I suggesting that the gang of biblical scholars, Hebrew and Greek experts and noted theologians who worked tirelessly translating the Old and New Testament into English got this verse wrong? Uh, well, yeah!
O.K. Enough said. Let's get serious. The NIV ("The New International Version" or what some have deemed "The Nearly Inspired Version.") translates Galatians 2:20. (In each example have underlined the relevant words.)
In this verse the Apostle Paul is presenting a twofold understanding of the word "I." If you don't get that, you don't get the verse. Werner Elert, in his Structure of Lutheranism, defined these two "I's" as the "transcendental I" and the "empirical I." He explained how this twofold subjectivity related to the doctrine of justification. (See my earlier blog Werner Elert's Twofold Subjectivity.)
Rather than considering what the translators have to say, what does the Apostle Paul say in his Greek text. Let me reiterate. There are no variant readings. All of the key manuscripts of the New Testament say the same thing. The key words in the Greek text are "zo de ouketi ego"
zo (ζῶ) is the present tense first person singular and means "I live" or "I am alive."
de (δὲ) is a conjunction which is usually translated "but."
ouketi (οὐκέτι) is an adverb and means "no longer."
ego (ἐγώ) This is the key word. It is a primary strong personal pronoun meaning "I" which is only expressed when emphatic. In his German translation Luther could not employ this nuance and simply used "ich" in both cases. The Complete Jewish Bible speaks of "my proud ego." Of course, the word has been brought into the English language to indicate the “I” or self of any person or a sense of conceit or self-importance. The Apostle Paul is saying "Living as a Christian is not about me but about Christ. Yes, I live, but it's not I, but Christ." He goes on to say that "this life I live in the body, I live by the faithfulness of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me."
Why is this important? After graduating from the Seminary and donning my brand new clergy shirt, I was ordained and installed into the ministry. As far as I was concerned this was all about me. As long as I was affirmed and commended, patted on the back and told what a good preacher I was, everything was fine. But I soon encountered a situation where I was severely criticized and could not deal with it. I mean I could not deal with it big-time and almost went "bonkers." I was not happy. I joined a clergy support group where we shared our individual woes in the ministry and attempted to shore-up each others insecurities. (I later referred to it as the 4P Club - the poor, pastors, pity, party.)
One Saturday afternoon a tall, skinny man stood at my door offering for sale a secular motivational program. I let him in and had a hard time getting rid of him. After completing his spiel, he said, "Pastor the real reason I came to see you is to tell you that Galatians 2:20 changed my life. I used to think that being a Christian was about my good works and good life. I really struggled until I discovered that being a Christian is not about me, but about Christ. For some reason I think you need to hear that." This man would not leave me alone. He called on a number of occasions inviting me to have lunch with him. Each time I got the same Galatians 2:20 admonition, "Pastor, it's not about you. It's about Christ."
Finally, after prayerfully considering that text and the other teachings of the Apostle Paul, I began to see what this man was talking about. Yes, I live. I preach, teach and write. I ministered to and interacted with people. There have been good times and bad times. There was praise and adulation. There was criticism and rejection. I have been blessed with a variety of gifts and cursed with a personality that is often considered brash and uncaring. Even though inflated ego and wounded pride are quick to manifest themselves, I constantly remind myself that it's not about me. It's about Christ. So I keep Galatians 2:20 on my mind, have it tattooed on my arm and can honestly say that in fifty-six years of being in the ministry, I wouldn't change anything.
The Apostle Paul had a great deal going for him. He was a learn-ed Pharisee trained at the feet of the great rabbi Gamaliel. He was a linguistic scholar, proficient in Hebrew and Greek and possibly Latin and Aramaic. He had much to brag about. As he expressed in Philippians 3:4-9, he had done everything right - a Hebrew of Hebrews. Concerning the righteousness of the law, he was blameless. Yet, in comparing his former identity with what he received in Christ Jesus, he regarded it all as refuse, garbage or manure. This is not to say that Paul's profound knowledge and scholarship were not useful. He was chosen to contribute twelve epistles to the New Testament. Yet throughout, there was one undeniable truth. His ministry was not about Paul, but about Christ.
I guess the greater the individual scholarship; the more letters than appear after the name; the more books that have been written and commendations received; the more difficult it is to see all that as refuse in the light of a new identity in the righteousness of Christ Jesus. After all, these are the vestiges of success and sources of pride. Perhaps that is why the translation of Galatians 2:20 has been perverted. To say "I no longer live but Christ lives in me" may be a pious thought but is really meaningless and contrary to the reality that the person, with his success and failure, acceptance and rejection, pride and guilt, does still live and has to deal with it.
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me."The ESV or English Standard Version says:
"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me."Virtually every modern English translation of Galatians 2:20 states that "I no longer live." But the 1611 King James Version and the American King James Version (1999) translates the text:
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me."The Complete Jewish Bible puts it this way:
"When the Messiah was executed on the stake as a criminal, I was too; so that my proud ego no longer lives."Martin Luther's 1545 German Bible is a great translation (if you can read it).
"Ich bin mit Christo gekreuzigt. Ich lebe aber; doch nun nicht ich sondern Christus lebt in mir."For those who can work with it, this is the Greek text. This is from the 1904 Nestle text. It is the same as Westcott and Hort, and there are no variant reading.
"Χριστῷ συνεσταύρωμαι· ζῶ δὲ οὐκέτι ἐγώ, ζῇ δὲ ἐν ἐμοὶ Χριστόs."O,K., so what's the big deal? The question is "do I live or don't I?" Most modern English translations say "I no longer live." The King James says, "nevertheless I live, yet not I." Luther says, "I live but now not I." What is the answer? Of course "I live." I am sitting right here typing on my computer. I might be super-spiritual and say "I no longer type but Christ who lives in me is now typing." Really?
In this verse the Apostle Paul is presenting a twofold understanding of the word "I." If you don't get that, you don't get the verse. Werner Elert, in his Structure of Lutheranism, defined these two "I's" as the "transcendental I" and the "empirical I." He explained how this twofold subjectivity related to the doctrine of justification. (See my earlier blog Werner Elert's Twofold Subjectivity.)
Rather than considering what the translators have to say, what does the Apostle Paul say in his Greek text. Let me reiterate. There are no variant readings. All of the key manuscripts of the New Testament say the same thing. The key words in the Greek text are "zo de ouketi ego"
zo (ζῶ) is the present tense first person singular and means "I live" or "I am alive."
de (δὲ) is a conjunction which is usually translated "but."
ouketi (οὐκέτι) is an adverb and means "no longer."
ego (ἐγώ) This is the key word. It is a primary strong personal pronoun meaning "I" which is only expressed when emphatic. In his German translation Luther could not employ this nuance and simply used "ich" in both cases. The Complete Jewish Bible speaks of "my proud ego." Of course, the word has been brought into the English language to indicate the “I” or self of any person or a sense of conceit or self-importance. The Apostle Paul is saying "Living as a Christian is not about me but about Christ. Yes, I live, but it's not I, but Christ." He goes on to say that "this life I live in the body, I live by the faithfulness of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me."
Why is this important? After graduating from the Seminary and donning my brand new clergy shirt, I was ordained and installed into the ministry. As far as I was concerned this was all about me. As long as I was affirmed and commended, patted on the back and told what a good preacher I was, everything was fine. But I soon encountered a situation where I was severely criticized and could not deal with it. I mean I could not deal with it big-time and almost went "bonkers." I was not happy. I joined a clergy support group where we shared our individual woes in the ministry and attempted to shore-up each others insecurities. (I later referred to it as the 4P Club - the poor, pastors, pity, party.)
One Saturday afternoon a tall, skinny man stood at my door offering for sale a secular motivational program. I let him in and had a hard time getting rid of him. After completing his spiel, he said, "Pastor the real reason I came to see you is to tell you that Galatians 2:20 changed my life. I used to think that being a Christian was about my good works and good life. I really struggled until I discovered that being a Christian is not about me, but about Christ. For some reason I think you need to hear that." This man would not leave me alone. He called on a number of occasions inviting me to have lunch with him. Each time I got the same Galatians 2:20 admonition, "Pastor, it's not about you. It's about Christ."
Finally, after prayerfully considering that text and the other teachings of the Apostle Paul, I began to see what this man was talking about. Yes, I live. I preach, teach and write. I ministered to and interacted with people. There have been good times and bad times. There was praise and adulation. There was criticism and rejection. I have been blessed with a variety of gifts and cursed with a personality that is often considered brash and uncaring. Even though inflated ego and wounded pride are quick to manifest themselves, I constantly remind myself that it's not about me. It's about Christ. So I keep Galatians 2:20 on my mind, have it tattooed on my arm and can honestly say that in fifty-six years of being in the ministry, I wouldn't change anything.
The Apostle Paul had a great deal going for him. He was a learn-ed Pharisee trained at the feet of the great rabbi Gamaliel. He was a linguistic scholar, proficient in Hebrew and Greek and possibly Latin and Aramaic. He had much to brag about. As he expressed in Philippians 3:4-9, he had done everything right - a Hebrew of Hebrews. Concerning the righteousness of the law, he was blameless. Yet, in comparing his former identity with what he received in Christ Jesus, he regarded it all as refuse, garbage or manure. This is not to say that Paul's profound knowledge and scholarship were not useful. He was chosen to contribute twelve epistles to the New Testament. Yet throughout, there was one undeniable truth. His ministry was not about Paul, but about Christ.
I guess the greater the individual scholarship; the more letters than appear after the name; the more books that have been written and commendations received; the more difficult it is to see all that as refuse in the light of a new identity in the righteousness of Christ Jesus. After all, these are the vestiges of success and sources of pride. Perhaps that is why the translation of Galatians 2:20 has been perverted. To say "I no longer live but Christ lives in me" may be a pious thought but is really meaningless and contrary to the reality that the person, with his success and failure, acceptance and rejection, pride and guilt, does still live and has to deal with it.
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