Chapter # 12 Paragraph # 1 Study # 7
September 29, 2019
Humble, Texas

⁽⁰¹⁴⁾

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".
      • a. "Stop being configured by the patterns of this age" [Note ⁽⁰⁰⁹⁾].
      • b. "But be being transfigured..." (Present Tense, Passive Voice)[Note ⁽⁰¹¹⁾].
    • 2. "Unto the...": the objective of both "presentation" and "follow-through".
      • a. The grammatical phrase identifies what Paul seeks to produce.
      • b. What Paul seeks to produce is called, by the translators, a "proving".
        • 1) The word Paul used here is in the form of an infinitive verb followed by an accusative noun. Regarding this grammatical construction, Robertson says (p. 489) that the "psychology of ... accusative with ... infinitive" is that the infinitive identifies the verbal action and the accusative describes the "extent unto". In other words, the "to prove" is what Paul wishes to occur and he wishes it to occur as far as those whom the accusative identifies ("you" -- his readers who have made the presentation and are involved in the two aspects of "follow-through").
          • a) This means, then, that the "you" is not the "actor" (as in 'the subject of the verb'), but the "acted upon" (as in 'the direct object of the verb').
          • b) And that means that we have to correctly identify the actual "actor" and see the "you" in the accusative as the recipient of the Actor's action.
            • 1) The "actual Actor" in this verse is "The God of The Will" Who extends the "desires" (which are required for "the will" to actually be accomplished) as far as the Romans, who are the "you" in the accusative.
            • 2) Thus, if the Romans begin to participate in the "follow-through", both the negative side ("configured") of it as well as the positive side ("transfigured") of it, God will cause the "desires/approval" to occur "even as far as" them.
        • 2) This word Paul used here is strongly related (especially in Romans) to "the permissions one gives to himself because of his 'preferences' or 'likes'".
          • a) In 1:28 Paul faults a large segment of humanity for deciding to pursue their own "wishes" in regard to whether to "accept" the indisputable evidence for God and His "wishes". The Authorized Version says Paul wrote, "...they did not like to retain God in knowledge...".
          • b) In 2:18 and following Paul dings the Jews for what the Authorized Version calls "approving the things that are more excellent" because they claim to "like" them and then give "approval" and then turn around and contradict that "approval" by hypocritical behavior. In other words, the "problem" is that the lips of the hypocrites express "a liking for the things the Law exalts", but their actual actions reveal they do not really "like" them.
          • c) And (skipping over our current text) 14:22 is Paul's final use of the word and there he addresses the "blessedness" of the person who does not bring condemnation upon himself for granting himself permission to do what he "likes".
          • d) Thus, it is the "likes" that are "approved" that end up being the sponsor of the experience of (or lack of experience of) "Life". If we "believe" God unto both "presentation" and "follow-through", He responds by planting our "likes" in us (Hebrews 13:21; Philippians 2:13; Psalm 37:4) so that we are able to actually view the details of "the will of The God" as to "what" it is (in the specifics of the present setting of this day) and to its three-fold character: good, pleasing, and perfecting.
        • 3) Summary: Paul's "objective" for those who answer the summons and make the presentation with its two requirements (...be not...but be...), is that God would extend the capacities (to "like and approve" the will of The God) "as far as" these responders.
          • a) His words are "...what [is] the will of the God...".
          • b) He then characterizes this "will" in respect to the responders' attitudes regarding it.
            • i. It is "good". This has to include all of its parts and details so that Romans 8:28 will ultimately be validated by "hind sight". There is no point to the notion that it is only the pleasant aspects to which he refers because there is no one who would not "wish/approve" the pleasant and God would not have to extend the capacity to "wish/approve" "as far as the Romans" if everything were pleasant.
            • ii. It is "well-pleasing". The Authorized Version says "acceptable", but it goes beyond mere "acceptability" as 12:1 clearly declares. God does not merely "accept" the "living sacrifice" made by His people; He is "pleased" by it. This word is the root of the idea of Hebrews 11:6 which denies God can be pleased without "faith" and of Hebrews 13:21 where "His will" is accomplished because He "works in [us]" that which is well-pleasing in His sight. The outcome is that this "will" is not only well-pleasing in His sight, it is also such in our sight.
            • iii. It is "objective-accomplishing". The Authorized Version's "perfect" is a translation of a word that has the idea of "having arrived at the objective for which a person/thing was produced in the first place".

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This is article #013.
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