Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Exegesis

I started writing my first exegesis yesterday. It's on Philippians 2:1-11:

1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
The Humbled and Exalted Christ 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.


Webster's defines an exegesis by saying it is an explanation or critical interpretation of a text. Basically, what I'm doing is finding the author's original meaning when he wrote this text. I love this stuff, but it is so much stinking work. And since this is my first one I'm really wondering if I'm doing it right. The outline was surprisingly the hardest thing I had to do so far. I'm having to read a lot, and it amazes me how gifted some people are when it comes to understanding a biblical text. Ok. So this may be the most boring post in the history of my blogging career. I apologize.

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