| First comes firstOne of the first things journalism | | | | are." Similarly, the Corinthians' organic growth as |
| students learn is "the inverted pyramid": they learn | | | | Christians is because "God's field you are." Their |
| to cram all of the most important points of their | | | | organizational growth is because they are "God's |
| article into the opening paragraph. In normal English | | | | building."God at the centerHere is a lesson for all |
| usage, the most important person or thing should | | | | of us. Let's get our eyes off of ourselves--our |
| go at the head of almost any list.Biblical Greek | | | | status, our achievements, our position relative to |
| employs similar usage: the most important item | | | | someone else--and return to focusing on Him, the |
| usually comes first in a list. And because, unlike | | | | one who has "rescued us out of the dominion of |
| English, Greek does not need word order to | | | | darkness and has brought us into the kingdom of |
| determine how a word is used in a sentence--it | | | | the Son He loves, in Whom we have redemption, |
| has word endings for that--it can leverage word | | | | the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1:13-14).Left |
| order to indicate emphasis. The beginning and then | | | | to ourselves, we would be a barren field, a |
| the end of a sentence, a clause, or a list is the | | | | collapsed building. But God makes His chosen ones |
| place where the emphasis falls in Greek. | | | | into a verdant paradisial garden, a gloriously |
| Unfortunately, we lose much of this emphasis in | | | | splendid temple. Let's give the credit to Whom it |
| English translations, because the translators feel | | | | belongs.Want to go deeper? |
| forced to rearrange the words back into normal | | | | If you want to explore other places where "of |
| English order.Good example of emphatic | | | | God" (tou theou) occurs in an emphatic, first |
| usageConsider 1 Corinthians 3:9, which the NIV | | | | position, look up these verses. You will see how in |
| renders, "For we are God's fellow workers; you | | | | these instances also, the emphatic word order of |
| are God's field, God's building." A more literal | | | | the original does not survive the translation |
| rendering would be: "God's fellow workers we are; | | | | process. Acts 12:22 |
| God's field you are, God's building." Paul is making a | | | | Romans 13:4 (twice) |
| triple emphasis that we almost completely lose in | | | | 1 Corinthians 1:24 (twice) |
| English: God is the important One, not what we | | | | 1 Corinthians 2:7 |
| are or what you are. [TOP]The context bears out | | | | 1 Corinthians 6:9 |
| this emphasis. The Corinthian Christians are | | | | 2 Corinthians 6:4 |
| wrangling about whose group is the best, the one | | | | 2 Corinthians 11:2 |
| that claims Paul, or that one that names Apollos, | | | | 2 Corinthians 11:7 |
| or Cephas (Peter), or Christ (see 1:10-12). | | | | Ephesians 2:8 |
| Apparently, the Corinthians are in danger of | | | | Hebrews 6:5 |
| splitting into competing factions or sects, each | | | | James 1:1 |
| thinking of themselves as superior to the others. | | | | 1 Peter 2:16 |
| Perhaps their fellowship is deteriorating so much | | | | 1 Peter 4:14 |
| that they are discounting their rival factions and | | | | 1 Peter 4:17 (2nd time) |
| even writing them off as no longer members of | | | | 2 Peter 3:5 |
| God's kingdom. Whether that has happened yet, | | | | 2 Peter 3:12 |
| they certainly seem to be moving in that | | | | Jude 4Here are two more instances, using "Jesus |
| direction.Paul's antidote to this sectarian poison is | | | | our Lord" (1 Corinthians 9:1) and "of the Lord" (1 |
| pointing all of them to God. He notes that he and | | | | Corinthians 10:26), quoting Psalm 24:1. (The |
| Apollos are not in competition or leading rival | | | | Hebrew has the same emphatic word order. |
| factions. Instead, he says, "God's servants we | | | | |