Praying – “Final” Thoughts – Part 2

Yesterday I gave the context for two things I wanted to further explore in Matthew 6:13 (here @ BibleGateway), the textual issue and the translation of τοῦ πονηροῦ (Literally: the evil).

First the textual issues.  When the textual evidence is considered, the best manuscripts we have do not have the clause, “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”  The theory is that a scribe was uncomfortable with ending Christ’s prayer with deliver us from evil and added the clause from either 1 Chronicles 29:11ff (here @ BibleGateway), 2 Chronicles 20:6ff (here @ BibleGateway), or from the Didache, which seems to be the first catechism like document that has been discovered and dated around the end of the first century.  J. I. Packer says of this ending phrase:

The “praise ending” ascribes to God the kingdom (that is, it hails him as God on the throne), the power (that is, it adores him as the God able to do all that we ask), and the glory (that is, it declares “we praise thee, O God” here and now). Though early, the manuscripts make it clear that it is not from Christ’s own lips—but there is no denying that it fits! (emphasis added)
J. I. Packer, Growing in Christ (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1994), 160.

While I agree with much of what Packer says about the Lord’s prayer, I do not agree with his position on this.  As stated in the first post in this series, when Christ says, “Pray, then, in this way…”, the verb “pray” is in the imperative mood.  It is a command.  That imperative is the source of my challenge with Packer’s affirmation of the scribal edition.  He is affirming that the command of Christ on how to pray needed a completion by man.  I find that impossible to affirm.  While I understand that people do not wish to end the prayer asking for deliverance from evil, the rest of the New Testament and Jesus’ life affirms that we are in a continual, ongoing pitched battle with an enemy that as Peter reminds us in 1 Peter 5:8 – 9 (here @ BibleGateway), and Paul in Ephesians 6:10 – 20 (here @ BibleGateway), only wishes to destroy us and is firing flaming arrows at us constantly.  

So, it makes sense that the model prayer ends with us asking the Lord to help us stand against the enemy of our souls and our Lord.

The second issue for consideration is the various translations of τοῦ πονηροῦ (Literally: the evil) in our Bibles.  For this one there is no real consensus. The majority of the versions translate it “the evil one,” but in a note acknowledge that it could be simply “evil”.  The challenge is the use of the article τοῦ.  I lean heavily on Dan Wallace’s, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics, speaking of this construction he states:

Although the KJV renders this “deliver us from evil,” the presence of the article indicates not evil in general, but the evil one himself. In the context of Matthew’s Gospel, such deliverance from the devil seems to be linked to Jesus’ temptation in 4:1–10: Because the Spirit led him into temptation by the evil one, believers now participate in his victory.
Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), 233.

As I said, I have great respect for Wallace.  This the first reference works to which I turn when I have a question about Greek grammar and syntax.  While I understand the issue, the connection to the temptation of Christ seems a bit of a stretch.  There are other words in Greek that could be used here if the intent of the Lord or the Holy Spirit to indicate Satan specifically.  Satan is not omnipresent.  If he is in, say, Washington, DC, attacking some leader, he isn’t in Tulsa attacking me.  His minions may be, but not him.  Jesus’ commands are immensely practical.  The world is fallen.  It is the domain of his enemy.  That was clear in His temptation by the devil – in fact, in Matthew 4 (here @ BibleGateway), the word used is διαβόλου (devil) – it seems practical and logical to me that the Lord is telling us to pray that we are delivered from the general atmosphere of evil that he and his minions are constantly fomenting.  

The reality is I am not going to die on either of these hills.  Great men take different positions on these issues.  The main point of all of this is that we need to wrestle with what the text says.  To really dig in, to pray through what we are seeing.  Secondary sources are just that, secondary.  They are not inspired.  We cannot accept uncritically what they say without validating with our own study their positions.  The notes in our study Bibles are written by fallible men as are commentaries.  Look long enough and you will find someone who supports pretty much whatever you want the text to say.  That does not make it right.  Our responsibility is to abide in His Word, not in books about His Word.

I’m starting to ramble.  So, I better stop.  If you have questions, comments, gripes, exaggerations, that you want to share feel free.