Chapter # 12 Paragraph # 1 Study # 5
September 15, 2019
Humble, Texas
(010)
1769 Translation:
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [
is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
1901 ASV Translation:
2 And be not fashioned according to this
world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is
the good and
acceptable and perfect will of God.
- I. The Extended Summons.
- A. There is, of necessity, an initial "presentation" before there can be significant development.
- B. Then, there is, also of necessity, some degree (thirty, sixty, hundred fold; Mark 4:8) of "follow-through" in harmony with the "presentation".
- 1. "And..."; the necessary "follow-through".
- 2. "Stop being shaped by the patterns of the world (age)".
- a. There is a claim in the Logos Library System that this should not be translated "traditionally" as an indication of "worldliness" because there is "no contextual indication of worldliness".
- 1) The underlying root of this "traditional" translation is the use of an imperative with the present tense of the verb. The present tense indicates an on-going verbal idea that is being addressed (in this case, "being shaped" coupled to the negative: "stop what is already going on") and the aorist tense indicates simply the fact of the verbal idea (as "do not begin to be shaped into the fashion of the age").
- 2) But the rejection of this "traditional translation" completely ignores the charge in chapter eleven that there is an incipient growth of "boastfulness" against Israel which is, in effect, a turn to "Law" for the purposes of comparing myself to others so that I might feel superior to them. If this is not "worldliness", what is? There is plenty of evidence of the Roman believers succumbing to the "pressures" of "conformity". In fact, a strong argument could be made that this "pressure" is ever-pervasive in all generations of the Church and that many, if not most, "believers" find themselves stumbling into the "fashion of the age" in many ways.
- b. The word in question (suschematizo) is only found twice in the entire New Testament (Romans 12:2 and 1 Peter 1:14). It derives from a word that is also only found in two places in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 7:31 and Philippians 2:8). That word signifies "having a consistent similarity with" something. In the Corinthian text, Paul's point is that "the way the world (kosmos) has been put together, or organized by certain governing principles, is not permanent" and in the Philippian text is that "Jesus was 'put together' just like every other man on the planet in terms of basic makeup" (this, obviously, excludes the changes in that makeup generated by the Fall). Thus, with the prefix added, the term is an intensive of the idea that there is a "way this age (aion) has been put together" that must be resisted.
- c. Then there is the word translated "world" (aion) but means "a segment in time wherein a certain dominant issue is in view": this "age".
- 1) Paul's use of "age" in Romans indicates "forever" in four of the five texts in which it is found. It literally indicates time divided into "ages" for specific purposes and would be better translated "unto the age" or, in some cases in the New Testament "unto the age of the ages". In other words, Paul's concept is of an "age" in which certain factors are "fashioned under a guiding intention" in order to produce a certain end, or goal. Thus, we have such phrases as "the age of the Law" (wherein "Justice" was "highlighted" with the intention of giving men an understanding of God as "Just") and "the age of Grace" (wherein "Grace" is "highlighted" with the intention of giving men an understanding of "Grace").
- 2) This "age" is one that has been assigned a "form" or "way of having been put together" that is characterized by some dominant characteristic or set of characteristics.
- 3) As an "age" with a certain "form", it is an enemy of the "believer" in his/her development into a "dedicated servant of God and others".
- 4) So, what is this "form" that the believer is to resist?
- a) A significant hint exists in the alternative behavior that is enjoined upon us: "be transformed by the renewal of the mind". If this is the alternative, one of the major aspects of the "form of this age" has to be the lack of "mental comprehension".
- b) So, the call to "mental renewal" means what? The word-use is sparse in the intensive form(s) which consist of the addition of a prefix to the root, but the root is widely used in texts which address something "new" in the sense of, for example, a "new covenant" (Hebrews 8:8) that takes the place of an "old" one because of significant content changes, or of a "new tomb" (Matthew 27:60) that has not yet been used as a tomb. From this we are able to deduce that "renewal" signals a significant change in content/use that is newly on the scene. Thus, "renewal of the mind" has to do with fundamental alterations to the thoughts and understandings that a person possesses in his/her "mind". With this in "mind", we need to realize that it is not so much "new data" that Paul has in mind (though, clearly, that is a part of the picture), but "new linkages between data bits" so that "old" categories of thought are swept out of the picture by "new" categories.
- c) In the "old" mental structures, the "data" are linked together by false links. The clearest example of this is Paul's "restructuring" of the "links" that turned "Law" into "a regulatory entity designed to govern behavior" instead of "a revelatory entity designed to expose behavior in terms of its 'goodness' or 'wickedness'" (note Paul's "I would not have known lust, except the law had said 'Thou shalt not covet'"). When "Law" is "linked" to issues of "behavior unto acceptance", its impact is deadly and altogether contrary to God's intention to use "Law" to "link" up with man's need as fallen man to seek some other "link" to "God's method of acceptance for man" (as in Romans 1:17 where Paul "links" the Gospel to "a righteousness from God" that is available on the basis of "faith" rather than "performance". By way of illustration, we use thermometers to "reveal" the temperature of a room and thermostats to "regulate" that temperature. The Jews used "Law" as a thermostat when God intended it to be a thermometer.
- d) Now, in terms of "the fashion of the age", we have a clear declaration of what that is from John in 1 John 2:16.
- i. The "categories" of the age are three: the lust of the flesh; the lust of the eyes; and the pride of life.
- ii. The clear declaration of John is that the organization of these categories by the "world" is to make them the roots of all "significant life": health, possessions, and the pride of accomplishments. But linking those three factors of man's perspective regarding himself and "life" to the issue of the "root of life" is a false "linkage". "Life" is the unique domain of "The Living God" and all experience of "Life" is rooted in relational union with Him. No matter how "healthy" a man is, or how many "possessions" he has, or how great are his "accomplishments", without a working relationship with God he is dead.