UNDERSTANDING THE AGENCY AND THE PREMISE OF ACTIONS IN THE BIBLE
UNDERSTANDING THE AGENCY AND THE PREMISE OF ACTIONS IN THE BIBLE
Rev 12:11 KJV And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
“by” in Greek (dia to haima accusative, not genitive case, as English Version would require, compare Heb 9:12), “on account of (on the ground of) the blood of the Lamb”; “because of”; on account of and by virtue of its having been shed. Had that blood not been shed, Satan’s accusations would have been unanswerable; as it is, that blood meets every charge. The Greek “dia,” as it often means, out of regard to the blood of the Lamb; this was the impelling cause which induced them to undertake the contest for the sake of it;
Because of the blood of the Lamb. As in Rev 1:5; Rev 5:6; Rev 5:9; Rev 7:14. The blood of Christ is here presented by “δια” as the ground for the victory and not the means, as “by” in Rev 1:5; Rev 5:9. Both ideas are true, but δια with the accusative gives only the reason. The blood of Christ does cleanse us from sin (John 1:29; 1John 1:7). Christ conquered Satan and so makes our victory possible (Luke 11:21; Heb 2:18.)
by the word of their testimony— Greek, the same use of “dia”, “because of their testimony to Jesus” as in John’s own case in 1:9. These martyrs have been true to their part.”on account of the word of their testimony.” On the ground of their faithful testimony, even unto death, they are constituted victors. Their testimony evinced their victory over him by virtue of the blood of the Lamb. Hereby they confess themselves to be worshippers of the slain Lamb and overcome the beast, Satan’s representative.
The preposition dia with the accusative signifies on account of. Hence, Revised version, correctly, because of the virtue of the shedding of that blood. Similarly, in the succeeding clause, “because of the word of their testimony.”
This victory of the ‘brethren’ has been gained because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony. By the former can only be understood the blood of Jesus shed and presented before God on behalf of His people, by the latter that testimony of Jesus, that witness concerning Him, which they had been enabled to deliver.
Another passage:
Isa 10:27 KJV And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.
We often hear people say. “Anointing destroys the yoke” It sounds real and true but the correct reading or saying ought to be, “the yokes are destroyed because of the anointing”.
“By” would make it look like a means of destroying the yoke but actually the yoke is destroyed because of the anointing. This is how another version expresses it:
Isa 10:27 ERV And it shall come to pass on that day, that his burden shall depart from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.
Isa 10:27 ISV At that time, his burden will depart from your shoulder and his yoke from your neck. Indeed, the yoke will be broken, because you’ve become obese.”
The yoke on the animal would not be sustained as the animal’s neck grew bigger and bigger and so the strain would be broken. This is how NET expresses it:
Isa 10:27 NET At that time the LORD will remove their burden from your shoulders, and their yoke from your neck; the yoke will be taken off because your neck will be too large.
My point is that there should be a difference between the means or instrument of achieving something and the reason or the premise why something is done. The Greek word “dia” is defined like this:
Through, by the means of, the ground or reason by which something is or is not done, by reason of, on account of, because of for this reason, on this account. A primary preposition denoting the channel of an act, because of (that), for (cause).
Mat 13:6 KJV And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
The word “because” is “dia” in Greek and this gives the reason why the seed or plant dried up.
Where “dia” stands as a means or agency or instrument of action is pointed out in many places in the Bible. Let us look at:
Rom 8:11 KJV But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
The word “by” is also “dia” in Greek but this time around it represents the means or instruments of accomplishing a task or purpose. In the referenced passage, the body is quickened by the Holy Spirit that dwells in the believer.
Act 11:28 KJV And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.
The Spirit enabled Agabus. He is the agent by which Agabus was able to prophesy.
Eph 3:16 KJV That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
“by”— Greek, “through”; “by means of His Spirit.” The Holy Spirit will do the work in the inner man of the believer.
1Cor 2:10 KJV But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
The Spirit is an agency through which knowledge is imparted. The things of God need to be revealed to man and the Holy Spirit is the revealer. Since He is deity, He knows “all things,” even “the deep things of God.” because the Holy Spirit knows all, He has been able to reveal all the things man needs.
From the above passages, there are places where the Holy Spirit is an agent by which something is done (1Cor 2:11) and in some places He is the reason why something is done (Rom 8:11). The same person. “Dia” used for both “cause” and “premise”
The reason why something happened is very important. It is on that premise that victory is won. The motive behind a thing is equal if not greater than the thing itself. Prayers become more effective the moment we understand the ground upon which we are standing, why something must be done or must be done. This is how the martyrs gained victory, and this is how we too win battles.
What we are supposed to use as a tool should not be taken as a reason for doing something. That is my point except in some rare cases where such is accepted. The context of the text will be helpful to know the differences.