Friday, July 15, 2011

Just a Nugget

One of the frustrating things when preparing a sermon is discovering some interesting nugget in Scripture that we just do not have the time to unpack or disclose during the sermon. We wish we could because we personally find it fascinating. Unfortunately we live in a world governed by the god called the clock, and to it we must bow, so we leave out these interesting little nuggets.

A couple weeks ago I preached just such a sermon. There was so much I would have loved to share with the congregation, but time constraints as well as keeping a flow to the sermon just forced me to leave it out. My text was Ephesians 6:5-9, and since I could not share this nugget in the sermon, I figured I would share it here for the occasional wandering eye to read.

One of the points I made in the sermon was how this passage took the greater pericope of 5:21 through 6:9. Before 6:5 Paul is talking about submission but arguably stays at the surface level. In 6:5 he takes it to a new, deeper level by saying “Slaves, obey your masters… with a sincere heart.” This is important because of the nugget I am about to disclose.

In all our major English translations, the word “heart” appears twice in 6:5-9. In the Greek however, something different is happening. In verse 5 the Greek term is kardi,a (kardia). Translating this term as “heart” is the normal translation, and common sense tells us Paul is talking figuratively and not about the actual blood pumping muscle. The nugget is that in verse 6 Paul switches words on us and uses the word yuch, (psuche). Typically we would translate this word as “soul” but not here. Why?

Here is my two cents. “Heart” is a good translation. Paul, when using both words here is talking about the innermost being of a person; the very essence of what makes that person a unique human being created in God’s image. The reason for utilizing both I believe is because Paul wants the hearers to realize he is talking about an all-encompassing idea. He wants the slaves to serve whole-heartedly, holding nothing back, and this must be a joyful, pleasurable desire from deep within. The service being rendered is not done “because I must” but “because I truly desire to do it.”

Given he is using this to help expand his idea of submission, we begin to realize just how incredible a call Paul is making. This goes way beyond anything we can do naturally. It is only by supernatural, Gospel empowerment that we are able to go this extra distance. God changes our hearts, and that heart change exudes itself even in how we submit to authority and one another… and even to Christ himself.