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Pronouns in the English Bible · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to Reformed Thinking, the show where we take your
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sources and well give you a shortcut to being well informed.
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We dig into the material you send us, pull out the key
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insights, and hopefully help you see core truths in a fresh way.
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Today we're diving into something that honestly might
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look like just grammar at first glance, but carries, well, a
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remarkable theological weight. We're talking about the role of
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pronouns in the Bible. Get a really great set of
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materials, and they describe pronouns as, get this, I finally
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calibrated theological grammar. So our deep dive today is going
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to show you how these tiny words actually help us grasp God's
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unity, the distinct persons of the Trinity, and even how God
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reveals himself. It's really about recognizing
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how God chose to name himself and how that affects everything
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you know, from our worship right down to how we understand living
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out our faith together in community.
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Yeah. And what's so compelling here, I
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think, is how these subtle little linguistic markers, they
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kind of guide us through the whole story of redemption.
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They point from speaker to hear from us creatures to the
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Creator, from the promise to the fulfillment.
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This is way more than just being grammatically picky.
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It actually safeguards how we rightly understand Scripture.
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It strengthens our worship of the Triune God, and it helps
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equip us to talk about modern language discussions with, well,
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both conviction and compassion. Every little bit matters, right
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down to the He, we, and you. Worth thinking about.
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OK, so let's unpack this. We probably need to start with
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the basics. Look at the grammatical elements
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of pronouns first in English, then Hebrew, then Greek.
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I know it might sound a bit like grammar class for a minute, but
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it really is the foundation for understanding how Revelation
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works, how God communicates. Absolutely.
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You got to understand these building blocks, you know.
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It helps us handle God's Word carefully, keep its edges sharp,
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so to speak. OK, so English first.
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That's how most of us read the Bible.
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Our language has 6 main types of pronouns, and the sources we
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looked at say each one acts like a conduit for revelation
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channels. Truth.
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Let's let's break them down. Sounds good.
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Let's start with personal pronouns.
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You know, I, you, he, she, it, we, they.
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They seem super simple, right? Almost invisible sometimes, but
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think about John the Baptist in John 3.30 he says he must
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increase, but I must decrease. Now that distinction between he
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meaning Christ and I, John himself, that's not trivial at.
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All right, it's more than just different jobs.
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Exactly. It shows a complete contrast in
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identity and purpose. Christ's mission is growing.
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John's is fading. Those specific pronouns?
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He and I, they mark that difference perfectly.
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They show who's doing what and why it matters.
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That's a great example. OK, the possessive pronouns, my,
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you're, his, her, it's our there.
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These aren't just about owning stuff, are they?
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Not at all, not in a casual way. Think about Psalm 23.1.
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The Lord is my shepherd. That little word my it's not
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just saying God is a shepherd. It makes it intimate, deeply
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personal. It points to that covenant bond,
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that relationship. It shows you know, a kind of
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ownership but not master slave, more like a protective invested
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relationship. That pronoun captures the
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intimacy. Yeah, that makes sense.
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OK, what about reflexive and intensive ones?
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Himself, Myself, yourself. Right.
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These often add emphasis showing direct involvement.
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Like in Luke 24.36. It says Jesus himself stood
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among them. Adding himself isn't just saying
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Jesus was there. It stresses it was really him.
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Exactly. It highlights his direct
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personal presence, his actual resurrected body.
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Not a ghost, not a vision. It reinforces his agency, his
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identity. Just saying Jesus stood among
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them wouldn't have quite the same punch.
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These little words can be powerful amplifiers.
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OK. Then relative pronouns who which
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that these connect ideas right and reveal identity.
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Yeah, they join clauses and tell you something crucial.
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Look at Romans 4.17. God who gives life to the dead.
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That who isn't just a connector word.
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It links the action giving life to the dead directly to God.
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It defines who God is by what He does.
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They act like theological bridges, linking the subject to
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their defining actions. Got it.
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And demonstratives, this, that, these, those.
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These ones locate things, connect ideas, often in a really
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tangible way. Think about the Last Supper,
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First Corinthians 11.24. Jesus says, take this, that
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word. This points right at the bread.
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It creates a physical link to a massive theological truth his
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body about to be given. It grounds the spiritual reality
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and specific concrete action. It's not just any bread.
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It's this bread he's holding. And lastly, interrogatives, who,
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which, who's whom? These obviously ask questions.
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Right, But they often prompt more than just information.
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They prompt inquiry, often leading to confession or a
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declaration of belief. The sources highlight Matthew
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16.15. Jesus asking, who do you say
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that I am? Not just small talk.
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Definitely not. It's a direct challenge.
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It demands personal conviction. It forces the disciples to state
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clearly who they believe he is. These aren't just questions,
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they're invitations to reveal what's really in your heart.
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OK, that's a helpful tour through English pronouns.
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Now let's shift gears to Hebrew, the Old Testament language.
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You said. It's quite different.
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Oh yeah, quite different in some key ways.
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One striking thing is how much predominal detail like your or
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his isn't a separate word like in English.
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It's often embedded right into the word endings suffixes.
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So for example, the Hebrew bet ka means your house.
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The ka suffix is the your. It's attached directly to bet
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the word for house. Wow OK, that's really economical
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compared to English needing a whole extra word for your.
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Exactly. It's a fundamental difference.
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Another big one is gender. Hebrew grammar only has
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masculine and feminine. There's no neuter gender like we
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have in English or Greek. So what does that mean for
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translators? Well, it means they have to be
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careful when translating into English and they need to use it
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for, say, an object or maybe an abstract idea.
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They need to be mindful that the original Hebrew didn't have that
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option. It forces a kind of
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personification sometimes, or at least avoids impersonality.
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So adding an it could potentially change the feel of
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the original. It could, yeah.
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Especially if you're not careful.
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You want to avoid making something sound impersonal.
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If the Hebrew didn't, it matters, particularly when you
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get to discussions about, say, the Spirit of God, where the
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gender becomes a big theological point leader in Greek.
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OK, that's a really important distinction.
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What about Hebrew pronouns that do stand alone, not just
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suffixes? Right, they have independent
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pronouns too, like zani for I or Ato for you, but they're mostly
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used for emphasis for accent. The verb ending usually tells
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you who's doing the action anyway, so when you do see an
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independent pronoun, like any, it often draws special
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attention. You see it a lot in covenant
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promises, like God telling Moses in Exodus 3.12, I will be with
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you. That stand alone.
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I really highlights God's personal presence, His
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commitment. It makes the promise incredibly
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direct and personal. And our sources mentioned Hebrew
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demonstratives to like this and that.
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Yes, they have those as well. Near forms like the this and far
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forms like Hahu that. They guide the readers focus.
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You see this a lot in the prophets like Isaiah.
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He might talk about this, people referring to the current
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generation he's addressing, and then point ahead to that day, a
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future time of judgement or salvation.
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These little words help map out the prophetic timeline, shifting
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your gaze from the here and now to the future.
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Interesting. What about relative pronouns in
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Hebrew? Are who or that to connect
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clauses. That's another interesting spot.
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Hebrew often doesn't have an obvious separate word word,
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where English would demand a who or which.
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The connection between clauses is often implied by the sentence
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structure, the syntax, or just the context.
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So translators have to make a judgement call.
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They do. They have to decide how to
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express that implied connection in English, and that choice can
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subtly affect the rhythm of the flow and even the theological
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emphasis of the passage. A good translation tries to
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reflect that Hebrew style without making connections seem
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more explicit than they are in the original.
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OK, Hebrew down. Now let's turn to coin Greek,
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the New Testament language. How do its pronouns work and the
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unique features there? Greek has some similarities to
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Hebrew, actually. Like Hebrew, it often leaves out
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explicit personal pronouns. He, she, they.
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Why? Because the verb endings
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themselves tell you the person and number.
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So the verb form for he sees already includes the heinous.
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Exactly. So when you do see an explicit
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pronoun pop up like I or you, it's usually there for emphasis,
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just like in Hebrew. Take John 10.14.
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Jesus says I am the Good Shepherd, that I am a goemi is
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there for maximum impact, stressing his unique identity.
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Without that need for emphasis, the I would just be understood
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from the verb. So if my English Bible says he
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said that, he might just be supplied by the translator
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because the Greek verb implied. It very often, yes, that's
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right. Greek also has two main
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demonstratives, kind of like are this and that, but with some
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interesting nuances. You've got Hutus usually
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pointing to something close by tangible right here in the
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context. Like the bread Jesus held.
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Could be, yeah, or something just mentioned.
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Then there's a keynos that which often points to something
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further away, maybe in time, like a future event, or maybe
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something of heavenly origin not immediately present like in John
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6 when Jesus talks about himself as the bread that came down from
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heaven, he uses Aquinos. It can mark a distinction
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between the earthly and the heavenly, or the present and the
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future. This precision in Greek,
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especially with Aquinos, it brings up that fascinating point
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about the Holy Spirit doesn't. It yes, this is where it gets
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really, really interesting and it's a key point in our sources.
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The Greek word for spirit, pneuma, is grammatically neuter.
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It's an it. But, and this is huge, John in
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his Gospel repeatedly uses the masculine demonstrative pronoun
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ikinos, that one or he, when referring to the Paraclete, the
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Holy Spirit. Think John 16 verses 13 and 14.
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So a masculine pronoun for a neuter noun?
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That sounds like breaking the rules.
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It is. It's what the source is called.
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Grammatical dissonance, a deliberate mismatch, and they
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describe it as a theological symbol crash.
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It's meant to grab your attention.
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I do it to make an app absolutely crucial theological
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point. The Holy Spirit is not an
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impersonal force, not an IT not just divine power or influence.
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By using he Aquinos John under inspiration asserts the Spirit's
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personhood. He's a divine here, someone who
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teaches, guides, convicts, glorifies Christ.
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So it's like grammatical armor. That's exactly how the sources
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put it, Armor against heresy. It guards against reducing the
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Spirit to something vague or impersonal.
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It pushes back against ancient errors like Macedonianism that
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denied the Spirit was fully God, a distinct person alongside the
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Father and Son. It's a powerful theological
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statement embedded right in the grammar.
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Wow. OK, so with all these
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differences, English, Hebrew, Greek, the nuances, it's obvious
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translators have some big choices to make.
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And pressures. What are some of the main
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pressures they face? Well, one big one is supplied
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words. We touched on this a bit.
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Hebrew and Greek often don't need an explicit subject pronoun
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because the verb tells you. But English grammar usually
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demands one. Like he said, historically, some
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translations tried to show you which words were supplied.
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The King James Version used italics.
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The NASB uses brackets. Right, like a little signal to
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the reader this word isn't explicitly in the original text.
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Exactly. It was about transparency, but
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many modern translations aiming for smoother reading often leave
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those markers out, which is easier to read for sure.
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But you lose something. You potentially lose
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transparency. The careful reader might not
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realize a particular word, maybe even a pronoun that seems
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theologically significant, was actually added by the translator
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for English clarity. It could lead you to build an
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idea on a word that isn't strictly in the Hebrew or Greek.
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OK. That's one pressure point.
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What about the you problem? Singular versus plural?
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Ah, yes, this is maybe the most critical one for modern English
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readers. We used to have thou for
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singular you and ye for plural you.
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That distinction perfectly mirrored Hebrew and Greek.
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But we lost. It now it's just you for
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everything. Right.
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And the consequence is huge. It creates what the sources call
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a subconscious bias toward individualism.
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We read a you in the Bible and we automatically assume it means
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me. Personally, even if the original
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was plural. Exactly.
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We end up unintentionally privatizing commands, promises,
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warnings that God originally delivered to a whole group, A
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community, his people collectively.
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It makes faith feel much more like a solo journey than a
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corporate. One so that famous verse
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Jeremiah 29.101 plans for you, if the original you was plural,
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aimed at the Exiles of Judah as a group.
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But we read it as a singular you for me.
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Yeah, it completely changes the scope.
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It turns a corporate promise about national restoration after
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exile into a personal guarantee of, say, a good career path.
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Right, the graduation card verse.
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That's the classic example. Its primary application was to
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the community of Judah and Babylon.
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Applying it individually isn't wrong in principle, maybe, but
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it misses the primary corporate meaning entirely.
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And then there's gender, another pressure point, especially with
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inclusive language debates. Yes, it's complex.
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On one hand, using inclusive language can be helpful when a
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masculine plural like brothers clearly includes women.
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In the church context, that seems appropriate.
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But the sources are very firm on this.
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The Bible consistently uses masculine singular pronouns for
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God. He, Him, his.
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This isn't just cultural wallpaper, it's presented as
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God's own self revelation. So changing those isn't just a
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style choice. According to the sources, no.
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They argue that attempts to neutralize God's pronouns using
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God's self or alternating or feminize them aren't just
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stylistic tweaks. They see it as fundamentally
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tampering with revealed identity.
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It risks flattening the Father son relationship that's so
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central to the Gospel. These pronouns are considered
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theological, not merely grammatical, and therefore non
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negotiable within this framework.
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OK, this singular plural you distinction feels really, really
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important, especially for us today in such an individualistic
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culture. This is where it gets practical.
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Oh, it's never trivial. That distinction marks a clear
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boundary. Is God addressing an individual
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directly, or is he speaking to the covenant community, the
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church, the nation? Getting that wrong leads to
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misinterpretation, misapplication.
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And as we said, older English had thou and ye just like Hebrew
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and Greek did, but our modern single you makes it so easy to
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miss that. It does.
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That unconscious bias toward individualism is real.
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We just naturally read you as singular.
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We privatize commands, promises, and warnings that God delivered
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to a group. Think about Jeremiah 29.1 O1
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again. Reading it as plural reminds us
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it was about God's faithfulness to his people during a specific,
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difficult time. It's about corporate hope, not
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just my personal success story. Can you give us another New
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Testament example where this really matters?
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Luke 22.3132 is a fantastic one. Jesus is talking to Simon Peter,
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but also the disciples. He says Simon, Simon, behold,
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Satan demanded to have you plural, that he might sift you
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plural like wheat. So Satan wanted to test all of
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them. Exactly the whole group was in
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danger. But then Jesus continues.
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But I have prayed for you, singular Peter, that your
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singular Peter faith may not fail.
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And when you, singular Peter, have turned again, strengthen
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your brothers. So the prayer and the command to
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strengthen others were specifically for Peter.
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Precisely. The first use are plural shared
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danger. The next ones are singular
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specific prayer for Peter, specific mission for Peter after
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his failure and restoration. If you just read you all the way
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through, you flatten it. You missed the shift from the
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collective peril to Peter's individual role within that
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group. That really clarifies Peter's
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leadership role, even in his weakness.
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It does. Another great one is John 3.7.
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Jesus is talking to Nicodemus. He starts without addressing him
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with singular use, but then he makes a big statement.
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You, plural, must be born again. Plural.
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I always thought that was just a Nicodemus.
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The verb form there is plural. It shifts from a personal
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challenge to Nicodemus. You Nicodemus need this, to a
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Universal Declaration. You all humanity need this.
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It makes born again a requirement for everyone
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entering the Kingdom, not just a private instruction for one
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Pharisee. That little shift from singular
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to plural broadens the scope massively.
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OK, wow and the 10 commandments, Exodus 20.
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Plural you all the way through. You plural shall have no other
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gods. You, plural, shall not make for
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yourself a carved image. So not just individual rules for
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me. They are individual rules, but
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they're given to the community. It frames holiness as the
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corporate vocation of a redeemed nation.
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It's about who they are together as God's people.
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Thinking of them only as my private checklist misses that
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whole dimension of communal identity and responsibility
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before God. Given that we've lost Thou and
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Ye, how can translators and teachers help us get this back?
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Help us hear the difference. Well, translators can use
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footnotes or marginal notes like putting UPL or USG.
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Some translations try using you all or similar phrases, but that
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can sound a bit awkward or informal sometimes.
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For teachers, pastors, Bible study leaders, it's about making
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it a conscious habit. Pointed out.
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Say hey. Notice the verb here is plural.
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Jesus isn't just talking to Peter, he's talking to all the
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disciples. Or this command is singular.
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God is speaking directly to you personally right now.
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So just verbally highlighting it can retrain our ears to hear
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what the original hears would have naturally understood.
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Exactly. It bridges that linguistic gap.
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Reading aloud from translations that do mark the number, like
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the NASB with its brackets sometimes indicating supplied
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words or nuances, can help too. But the key is for teachers to
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know the original Hebrew or Greek, check it, and then
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consistently out those shifts from singular to plural so the
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congregation learns to listen for it.
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It makes the application much more accurate.
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So what's the payoff? What does recovering this
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sensitivity do for our faith, for our churches?
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It acts like a guardrail. It helps protect us from two big
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errors. On one side you have that hyper
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individualism where faith is all about me and Jesus.
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Every promise is mine alone. Every command is just for my
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private life, disconnected from the church body.
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On the other side, you have a kind of fuzzy collectivism where
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personal responsibility gets lost in the group.
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Oh, the Church believes this, or we confess that corporately,
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without it ever demanding individual change or personal
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faithfulness. So it keeps the balance.
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It keeps the balance. Scripture navigates between
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those. The plural you reminds us we're
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on this journey together. Sanctification is a community
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project. The singular you pierces through
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the noise and says you personally need to respond.
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You are accountable. It's like the sources say, it's
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like a stereoscopic lens. It brings both the individual
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and the community into sharp focus at the same time.
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Modern English U often gives us just one flat image.
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The original gives you depth. OK, this is fascinating.
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Now let's shift focus again, moving from grammar and
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community to, well, the very nature of God.
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The source is called the Biblical pronoun Choices for
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God. Finally, calibrated theological
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grammar. That sounds really deliberate.
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It is deliberate. These aren't random choices.
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They reveal God's unity, but also the distinct persons,
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Father, Son, Holy Spirit. And they always maintain that
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crucial Creator creature distinction.
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These pronouns give us the language to talk rightly about
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who God is. And the sources stress it.
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From Genesis right through to Revelation, God consistently
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refers to Himself using masculine singular pronouns.
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He is Him, I. Yes, that pattern is
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overwhelming, and it's presented not just as, you know, how
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people talked back then, but as God's self disclosure, how he
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chooses to reveal himself. When Moses sings in Exodus 15,
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he is my God and I will praise him.
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Or the psalmist says in Psalm 95, for he is our God.
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That consistent masculine reference underscores God's
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personal agency. He's not some impersonal force,
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not a pantheistic it. That's just part of everything.
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No, why? HWH is presented as a specific
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personal subject, a who, not a what's.
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Someone who speaks, acts, judges, saves.
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It anchors our faith in a personal God.
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And Jesus obviously continued this, teaching us to pray our
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Father referring to God with distinctly relational, masculine
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terms. Absolutely, and it culminates in
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places like John 17.3 defining eternal life as knowing the
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Father as the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent
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that Father, Son dynamic is key. The sources argue strongly that
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trying to change this today using neutral language like
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God's self or alternating pronouns, or using feminine
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pronouns for God isn't just a stylistic update.
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They see it as tampering with revealed identity.
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Why? What's the risk?
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The risk, they argue, is flattening that interpersonal
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reality within the Trinity, turning the dynamic relationship
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between Father, Son and Spirit into something more like an
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androgynous abstraction. It can also mute that specific,
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fatherly aspect of God's character, his tender care, his
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authority that Scripture highlights.
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It's about respecting the vocabulary God himself used to
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reveal himself. OK, so pronouns help to see God
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as personal. Do they also help us understand
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the Trinity itself, the three in one?
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Definitely. The sources talk about
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scriptures pronoun theology pulsing with intra trinitarian
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dialogue. That means the way pronouns are
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used actually shows us the interaction within the Godhead.
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It clarifies the distinct persons, Father, Son, spirit,
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while guarding against errors like modalism.
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That's the old idea that God isn't really three persons, just
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one person showing up in different modes or masks.
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Sometimes Father, sometimes Son, sometimes Spirit.
21:40
But the pronouns show distinct persons interacting.
21:42
Exactly. Think about Genesis 1.26 let us
21:46
make man in our image, or Isaiah 6.8 who will go for us.
21:51
These are called plurals of deliberation.
21:53
You have God speaking using singular verbs often, but then
21:56
using plural pronouns. It hints at a plurality within
21:59
the One God. Now maybe the Old Testament
22:02
Saints didn't fully grasp the Trinity from those verses alone,
22:05
but progressive revelation, especially the New Testament,
22:08
fills it out. The NT clearly shows Father, Son
22:11
and Spirit interacting, confirming that Trinitarian
22:14
reading. And the Gospel show direct
22:15
conversations. Right, Jesus prays to the Father
22:19
using you and your constantly. In John 17 the Father speaks
22:23
about the Son, saying this is my beloved Son at the baptism and
22:26
transfiguration. These aren't just figures of
22:28
speech. The pronouns mark out distinct
22:30
persons and relations. Relationship.
22:32
They established grammatically what the Church later defined
22:34
doctrinally in the Nicene Creed, one God and three distinct
22:38
persons. The language itself reflects the
22:39
reality. Which brings us back again to
22:41
the Holy Spirit. You mentioned John using the
22:44
masculine and keynotes for the Spirit, even though Numa is
22:47
neutering Greek. Yes, and it's worth stressing
22:50
again how significant this is, that deliberate mismatch, that
22:54
theological symbol crash. Jesus chooses the masculine
22:58
pronoun He for the coming paracle in John 16.
23:01
Why? To hammer home the point, the
23:03
Spirit is not an IT, not a force, not an energy.
23:07
He is a divine someone, a person who teaches, guides, convicts,
23:11
bears witness, glorifies Christ. The grammar itself insists on
23:16
his personhood. So it's a grammatical safeguard
23:18
against misunderstanding the spirit.
23:19
Precisely. It's armor against heresy,
23:22
guarding against reducing the spirit to something less than a
23:24
fully divine person Co equal with the Father and Son.
23:27
It counters errors like Macedonianism that did exactly
23:30
that. Without that specific pronoun
23:32
choice, it would be much easier to drift into an impersonal view
23:35
of the Spirit. OK, and how do pronouns shed
23:37
light specifically on Christ on the Incarnation?
23:40
They add another layer there to think about the Psalms.
23:43
You have prophecies about the Messiah often spoken in the
23:45
third person, like Psalm 22.8. He trusted in the Lord, let him
23:49
deliver him. It's talking about someone, but
23:52
then on the cross, Jesus takes those very words and speaks them
23:55
in the first person. My God, my God, why have you
23:57
forsaken me? Matthew 27.46.
24:01
That shift from third person prophecy to first person agony
24:04
is profound it. Shows him stepping into the
24:06
prophecy. Exactly.
24:08
The Eternal Son steps into his own prophetic script.
24:11
He's not just fulfilling it externally, he's living it
24:13
internally. Reported speech becomes lived
24:16
reality, lived agony. The pronoun shift marks the
24:19
heart of the incarnation. And his I am statements in.
24:22
Crucial when Jesus says things like before Abraham was I am
24:27
John 8.58, he's doing something radical.
24:29
He's taking the first person pronoun I and linking it
24:32
directly to the divine name revealed to Moses in Exodus
24:35
3.14. I am who I am.
24:38
He joins the divine I am with the absolute present tense.
24:42
It's a clear claim to eternal self existence, to unchanging
24:46
divinity. The pronoun I becomes the hinge,
24:48
the point where God himself turns towards humanity and the
24:51
person of Christ with with saving purpose.
24:53
It's an astounding claim packed into that little pronoun.
24:55
OK, so we've gone through the grammar, the languages, the
24:58
theology of God, the Trinity, Christ.
25:00
Now let's bring it home. How does all this detailed
25:02
understanding connect with the conversations happening today
25:04
around pronouns in our culture? This feels like a really
25:07
sensitive area. It is.
25:09
It's definitely what the sources call a cultural pressure cooker.
25:13
You've got issues of linguistic courtesy, which is important,
25:16
all mixed up with deeper claims about personal identity,
25:19
anthropology, what it means to be human, and even metaphysics.
25:22
The nature of reality. And the sources are clear.
25:25
Language isn't neutral territory.
25:27
The words we use don't just describe things, they shape how
25:30
we think about them, how we understand reality itself.
25:33
And the sources seem to argue that when culture treats
25:35
pronouns as quote detachable accessories that could be
25:38
redesigned at will, it's promoting a view of humanity
25:41
that clashes with Genesis 1.27, the male and female distinction
25:45
rooted in creation. That's the core argument, yes.
25:48
The idea is that if human identity, particularly gender
25:52
identity, is seen as entirely self determined and fluid,
25:55
detachable from biological reality, it runs counter to the
25:59
biblical picture where our identity as male or female is
26:02
part of God's creation design. And this extends to God too.
26:06
The argument is that replacing he and him for God with neutral
26:09
or feminine forms isn't just updating language.
26:12
It's seen as functionally editing the speech of the living
26:15
God. It risks blurring that essential
26:18
father son relationship that's foundational to the gospel.
26:21
Flattening the Trinity, as you said before.
26:23
Right. If Father and Son become just
26:25
metaphors we can swap out, then the specific relationship they
26:28
describe within the Godhead gets obscured.
26:31
And if that relationship is obscured, maybe the atonement,
26:33
which depends on the Son's unique obedience to the Father,
26:36
also becomes fuzzy. Maybe it's just metaphorical.
26:40
So for fidelity to scripture, the sources say we need to
26:42
retain God's self chosen pronouns.
26:45
Yes, that's the position. Retain God's pronouns as
26:48
revealed, and similarly be careful about flattening plurals
26:52
like brothers into generic terms like people if it obscures the
26:56
specific familial nature of the church.
26:58
The point isn't to be exclusive, but to preserve the theological
27:01
richness embedded in the original language, resisting
27:04
trends that might subtly import a different theology.
27:07
OK. But how do we balance that
27:09
fidelity with genuine compassion for people, maybe neighbors or
27:13
colleagues, who are struggling with identity and use pronouns
27:16
that don't align with their biological sex?
27:18
That's the $1,000,000 question, isn't it?
27:21
The sources emphasize this needs to be handled as a pastoral
27:24
moment, not a battleground. It's about people, image bearers
27:28
of God. Scripture shows a pattern of
27:30
gracious engagement, even amid disagreement.
27:33
Many pastors, the sources note, advise using a person's given
27:36
name frequently, or sometimes using their chosen name as an
27:39
act of neighbor love and common courtesy, which doesn't
27:42
necessarily mean endorsing the underlying claims about gender
27:45
identity. The immediate goal is often just
27:48
to listen, show care, build a bridge for potential gospel
27:51
conversation, not win an argument.
27:53
But what if someone feels their conscience won't let them use
27:55
pronouns they believe are untrue?
27:57
If conscience genuinely forbids using pronouns that seem
28:00
discordant with created reality, the advice is to decline gently,
28:04
without sarcasm, without hostility.
28:06
Maybe explain simply, I want to respect you, but my faith
28:10
commitment means I can't speak in a way that conflicts with
28:12
what I believe God has created. Gentleness, patience, clarity,
28:16
those are key. The idea is that refusing to
28:19
affirm what you believe is false can be a form of love.
28:22
Love rejoices with the truth first.
28:23
Cornyn 13.6. But that love has to be evident
28:26
in the way you communicate. Tone and manner are everything
28:29
here. How does this whole discussion
28:31
impact clarity within the church, in our worship, our
28:33
teaching? It means corporate worship,
28:35
preaching, teaching. They need to actively help
28:38
Christians understand these nuances.
28:41
Train people to hear the difference between singular and
28:43
plural you to recognize when brothers includes everyone, to
28:48
understand why God's self revelation uses the pronouns it
28:50
does. This kind of teaching helps
28:53
inoculate the church against just passively absorbing the
28:56
surrounding cultures views on language and identity which
28:58
might conflict with biblical teaching.
29:00
So. Actively pointing these things
29:02
out in sermons or Bible studies. Exactly, a preacher might say.
29:05
Notice Paul says you, plural, are God's temple in First
29:08
Corinthians 3. That's us, the church.
29:11
Together. It reinforces corporate identity
29:14
in counseling. Distinguishing corporate
29:16
promises from individual commands helps maintain that
29:18
balance between support and personal responsibility.
29:21
It keeps the focus clear. It sounds like navigating this
29:24
requires avoiding extremes. It really does.
29:27
The source is warned against 2 ditches. 1 is a sentimental
29:30
inclusivism that just wants the church to change its language
29:33
and theology to match whatever the culture says without
29:36
critical biblical reflection. The other ditch is a reactionary
29:40
flatness that uses linguistic fidelity as a weapon, an excuse
29:45
for ridicule or condemnation, lacking grace.
29:47
And Christ is the model. Christ embodies truth and grace.
29:51
He confronted error directly. Think of his interactions with
29:54
the Pharisees or the Samaritan woman's theology.
29:57
But he treated people with dignity and compassion.
30:00
He spoke hard truths, but always, ultimately, for
30:02
restoration. So his followers should aim for
30:05
that same combination. That's the goal.
30:08
Refuse linguist realistic surrender.
30:09
Don't compromise biblical language or truth, but extend
30:12
conversational hospitality. Engage people respectfully.
30:16
Listen well. Show love.
30:18
It means teaching why these things matter theologically,
30:20
being ready for disagreement, and maybe even accepting
30:23
criticism when conscience requires standing firm against
30:26
cultural or institutional pressure, like the apostles did
30:28
in Acts 5. This has been incredibly
30:30
detailed. It brings us nicely to some
30:32
practical guidelines for anyone handling God's word.
30:35
Translators, teachers, writers, everyday readers.
30:38
The sources layout five key principles for being faithful
30:41
stewards of these biblical pronouns.
30:44
Right, and these are just minor suggestions.
30:46
They're presented as crucial, like load bearing beams for
30:49
keeping doctrines sound and discipleship healthy.
30:52
First, principle preserve number distinctions.
30:55
Wherever Hebrew or Greek clearly marks a singular or plural you,
30:58
we need to reflect that when Exodus 20 gives the 10
31:01
commandments to Israel, plural you, or John 3.7 bronze, the
31:05
born again command from Nicodemus, singular to everyone,
31:08
plural, losing that number shift changes the whole scope of the
31:12
command or promise. So translators need to signal
31:14
the plural somehow. Footnotes.
31:16
Phrasing. Yes, exactly.
31:18
Footnotes, maybe typography, maybe careful phrasing like you
31:21
all. And teachers need to make it a
31:23
habit. See that verb?
31:25
It's plural. Jesus is talking to the whole
31:27
group here. Or this is singular, this is for
31:29
you personally. It actively counters that
31:32
individualistic drift. Second principle.
31:35
Retain the gendered pronouns for God.
31:37
God reveals Himself as Father, speaks as he is addressed by the
31:41
Son as you, and the Spirit is referred to as He.
31:44
Despite the neuter pneuma. These aren't cultural artifacts
31:46
to be updated. They're part of the deposit of
31:48
faith, God's self revelation. And changing them, as we
31:51
discussed, has real theological knock on effects.
31:54
That's the argument. Changing them pulls the pins
31:57
from Trinitarian confession. If Father and Son are just
32:00
metaphors, the unique relationship that underpins the
32:03
atonement becomes metaphorical, too.
32:05
So translators serve the church best by leaving divine pronouns
32:08
as they are found in the text. And teachers need to explain why
32:11
that God's masculine language reveals aspects of his character
32:14
and relationship, not that it endorses human patriarchy.
32:18
Third, Mark supplied pronouns or other words added for English
32:22
grammar. Remember, Hebrew and Greek often
32:24
imply the subject in the verb. English usually needs an
32:27
explicit pronoun like he said. So the italics in the KJV or
32:30
brackets in the NASD were helpful for this.
32:32
Exactly. They signal to the reader this
32:35
word isn't a separate word in the original.
32:37
It promotes careful reading. It ensures we don't build a
32:40
major theological point solely on a pronoun that the translator
32:44
added for smoother English. It keeps us grounded in the
32:47
original text. 4th footnote debated renderings, especially
32:51
when different pronoun choices could affect doctrine or how we
32:54
apply the text. The example given was First
32:57
Corinthians 14.2 about tongues. Does the pronoun refer to the
33:01
speaker he or maybe God, angels, They?
33:03
A footnote saying or they let's the reader know there's a
33:06
interpretive choice being made. Right, it shows honesty about
33:09
the translation process. It does.
33:10
It shows that faithfulness doesn't mean pretending.
33:12
There are no difficult or debated points in the text.
33:15
It invites readers into the process, models careful study,
33:18
and disarms the idea that we're afraid of nuance.
33:21
And finally, 5th prioritize accuracy over accommodation.
33:25
While updating archaic language is fine, translation should
33:28
never smuggle in a worldview that collides with the texts
33:31
own. Clarity is good, but not at the
33:33
cost of fidelity. So if a cultural trend like
33:35
using singular they for individuals clashes with a
33:38
specific theological point in the text.
33:40
Then fidelity comes first. If using singular they would
33:44
obscure say the singular messianic he in Genesis 3.15 or
33:49
confuse the personhood of the Holy Spirit.
33:51
Then the translators duty is to stick with what preserves the
33:54
original theological meaning, even at the risk of seeming
33:57
unfashionable. Teachers likewise should resist
34:00
watering down Revelation to 5th current trends.
34:03
The goal is to convey God's unchanging word accurately.
34:07
Isaiah 40.8 right? The word of our God will stand
34:09
forever. Wow, what a deep dive, truly.
34:12
It's so clear now how these tiny words, these pronouns carry such
34:16
enormous weight. It really makes you appreciate
34:18
the incredible detail and care within God's.
34:20
Word. It really does.
34:21
Pronouns might be short, but they reach far.
34:23
They outline covenant community, the Trinity itself.
34:26
Handling them carelessly isn't just bad grammar, it risks
34:29
distorting our understanding of God and reality.
34:32
To mess with the pronouns is to risk obscuring the face of the
34:35
one who reveals himself through them.
34:37
So as we wrap up, what does this mean for you, our listener
34:40
walking away from this conversation?
34:42
I think it calls all of us in the church to strive for
34:45
precision when we handle scripture.
34:47
Not to be annoying pedants, but to be lovers.
34:50
Lovers of God refusing to change his revealed words, lovers of
34:54
our neighbors speaking truth but always with grace, and lovers of
34:57
the next generation who will inherit the Scriptures we
35:00
translate and teach. By paying attention to number,
35:03
retaining God's own pronouns, marking supplied words, noting
35:06
uncertainties, and choosing accuracy over trends, we help
35:09
ensure that the Father's voice, the Son's revelation, and the
35:13
Spirit's testimony remain clear and undistorted.
35:16
We guard these words carefully so that God's people can know
35:19
with confidence who God is and to whom He makes that amazing
35:22
promise. I will never leave you.
35:24
I really thought provoking deep dive into the very language of
35:27
Revelation. Thanks so much for joining us on
35:29
Reformed Thinking. We hope this has given you a lot
35:31
to think about and apply as you read and study God's Word.