Is it “IF” or “Since”?

by Mike Ratlif

1 Εἰ οὖν συνηγέρθητε τῷ Χριστῷ, τὰ ἄνω ζητεῖτε, οὗ ὁ Χριστός ἐστιν ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ θεοῦ καθήμενος· 2 τὰ ἄνω φρονεῖτε, μὴ τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. 3 ἀπεθάνετε γὰρ καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ὑμῶν κέκρυπται σὺν τῷ Χριστῷ ἐν τῷ θεῷ· 4 ὅταν ὁ Χριστὸς φανερωθῇ, ἡ ζωὴ ὑμῶν, τότε καὶ ὑμεῖς σὺν αὐτῷ φανερωθήσεσθε ἐν δόξῃ.Colossians 3:1-4 (NA28)

1 Therefore, if you were raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things tha are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. Colossians 3:1-4 (translated from the NA28 Greek Text)

I had a Pastor several years ago who had  several of us in one of his Bible study classes (This was before I started studying Koine Greek myself) He taught that the word translated “If” in the passage above should best be translated as “If and it is so!” I always thought that was funny. in v1 above the word I translated as “if” is Εἰ(Ei). It means, if, though, since, that, whether.” So, in this instance in v1 I would have done well with using “Since” instead of “If.”What difference does it make?  This epistle was written to Christians and, therefore, we know that all in Christ have been raised with Christ. There is no doubt. The word “If” is conditional, but in this sense it it not speaking of the fact that some Christians are really Born Again, while others are not. No, Paul was using the conditional reference to reflect on the fact of their new birth in Christ and what that means in the context of how they should live. 

Here is another example from 1 Thessalonians 4:14

14 εἰ γὰρ πιστεύομεν ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ἀπέθανεν καὶ ἀνέστη, οὕτως καὶ ὁ θεὸς τοὺς κοιμηθέντας διὰ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ἄξει σὺν αὐτῷ.1 Thessalonians 4:14 (NA28)

14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose so also God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 4:14 (translated from the NA8 Greek text)

In this verse “If” is the Greek particle εἰ (

ei

). which means , “if, though, since, that, whether”

does our believing cause the resurrection of the saints at the return of Christ? No! As Jesus died and rose, so also will those who die believing in Him will rise gain so they can be taken to heaven with the Lord. So you see, the “if/since condition is not referring to our belief, but to the promises of God to all who believe.

Therefore, what is the point? Context, context, context! you can’t just look at your Strong’s concordance or Greek dictionary and get the word definition and go with that. You have to look at the verb tenses in the statements, but most importantly, you have have to keep everything in context to what the writer of the passage is writing about and to who, etc.

Stay in the Word!

Soli Deo Gloria!