The very great accuracy of the translation of the Holy Scriptures from the original into the English language is a matter of deep thankfulness. In this we see the good hand of our God. Especially is this so, when we realise that the translators in the time of King James I, with a very thorough knowledge of Greek, were not all of them presumably equally deeply taught in the doctrines of the Holy Scriptures. Many a minister today does not know much about the truths of the Scriptures, as we all know. Be that as it may, there are a few instances where mistakes have clearly been made. This is seen in the use of two words,
IMMORTALITY
(Greek, athanasia, deathlessness),
and
INCORRUPTIBILITY
(Greek, aphtharsia, incorruption).
The Greek word, athanasia, immortality, only occurs three times in the Scriptures. First, as to God Himself. He only has immortality, in the sense that it is inherent in Him, not bestowed, not acquired, but His, as in His own nature and being (1 Tim. 6:16). The other two cases (1 Cor. 15:53-54) have to say to the saints alive upon this earth when the Lord comes, as having mortal bodies, that are capable of death, and liable to death, yet if the Lord comes such will bypass death altogether, and mortality will put on immortality. Blessed triumph! Happy prospect! We wait for it with eager anticipation to be with the Lord, like Him, and for ever.
Unfortunately the translators have not clearly differentiated between immortality and incorruptibility. The former word applies to those who are mortal, yet never die, as our Lord said to Martha. He who proclaimed Himself as “the resurrection and the life” said of those, who will be alive on the earth when He comes to claim His own, “Whosoever lives and believes in Me shall never die” (John 11:26).
The latter word, incorruptibility, is applied to saints, who will have gone through the article of death, but who at the Lord’s coming will be delivered from that condition, and find themselves in incorruption. Christ has brought life and incorruptibility (not immortality as wrongly translated in our English Bibles) to light through the Gospel (2 Tim. 1:10). In the other Scripture, we are now about to quote, and which led to the writing of this article, the same mistake is made in the translation of aphtharsia. We read of a class of men, “who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory, honour and immortality, eternal life” (Rom. 2:7).
This should read incorruptibility and not immortality. The Revised Version and Darby’s translation both render it correctly as incorruptibility.
Hebrews 11, that grand chapter of faith, and of those, who ran the race of faith, gives us a good list of some of these seekers. They sought for glory when in a world of shame and sin. They sought for honour where in this life everything turns to dust and ashes. They sought for incorruptibility as they faced death with its subsequent corruption.
The body of the saint is sown in corruption, but raised in incorruption. Sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory. The word, sown, is a triumphant word. It reminds us of the farmer, who sows to get a suitable harvest. It remains for the summoning shout of our Lord to show His mighty triumph, when that which is sown in corruption, dishonour and weakness rises to a condition of incorruption, glory and power (1 Cor. 15:42-43). The word, sown, is indeed a triumphant word when we commit our loved ones to the cold grave.
To deal with Romans 2:7 after the manner of arithmetic it means glory + honour + incorruptibility = eternal life. It would never have done for the word, immortality, to have remained in Romans 2:7, for a dying saint within a few hours of death might have said, It is all very well to hold out the hope of immortality to the living saint, but does the door of hope close on those who pass through the article of death, and leave them in hopeless despair? Ah! no, a thousand times no. It is the departed saints, who will feel the power of the summoning shout of our Lord first, then in a moment the dead saint raised, and the living saint changed will all be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thess. 4:16-17).
It is very happy to see that every word of Scripture is weighed and considered; and we do well to study minutely the word of God, not bringing our ideas to the word of God, but learning the truth from God’s own infallible word. Just as articles of man’s manufacture cannot stand the test of minute examination without disclosing faults, and what comes short of perfection, as, for instance, the finest needle under a powerful microscope looking like a jagged piece of steel, Scripture on the other hand can stand the closest scrutiny. Thus there shines forth the inspiration of Holy Scripture in irrefragable splendour. How good it is that all the attacks of Modernists and infidels on the word of God only recoil to their own confusion, as the waves dash themselves against the impregnable rock, and fall back broken into the seething sea.
How encouraging is that word of the Apostle Paul, “We can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth” (2 Cor. 13:8).