Where does the Pope get his authority?

[The Learner]

Who is the image of the invisible God - The counterpart of God Almighty, and if the image of the invisible God, consequently nothing that appeared in him could be that image; for if it could be visible in the Son, it could also be visible in the Father; but if the Father be invisible, consequently his image in the Son must be invisible also. This is that form of God of which he divested himself; the ineffable glory in which he not only did not appear, as to its splendor and accompaniments, but concealed also its essential nature; that inaccessible light which no man, no created being, can possibly see. This was that Divine nature, the fullness of the Godhead bodily, which dwelt in him.


The first-born of every creature - I suppose this phrase to mean the same as that, Phi 2:9 : God hath given him a name which is above every name; he is as man at the head of all the creation of God; nor can he with any propriety be considered as a creature, having himself created all things, and existed before any thing was made. If it be said that God created him first, and that he, by a delegated power from God, created all things, this is most flatly contradicted by the apostle’s reasoning in the 16th and 17th verses. As the Jews term Jehovah becoro shel olam, the first-born of all the world, or of all the creation, to signify his having created or produced all things; (see Wolfius in loc.) so Christ is here termed, and the words which follow in the 16th and 17th verses are the proof of this. The phraseology is Jewish; and as they apply it to the supreme Being merely to denote his eternal pre-existence, and to point him out as the cause of all things; it is most evident that St. Paul uses it in the same way, and illustrates his meaning in the following words, which would be absolutely absurd if we could suppose that by the former he intended to convey any idea of the inferiority of Jesus Christ (Clarke).



from Jamieson, Fausset, Brown...


Col 1:15 - They who have experienced in themselves "redemption" (Col 1:14), know Christ in the glorious character here described, as above the highest angels to whom the false teachers (Col 2:18) taught worship was to be paid. Paul describes Him: (1) in relation to God and creation (Col 1:15-17); (2) in relation to the Church (Col 1:18-20). As the former regards Him as the Creator (Col 1:15-16) and the Sustainer (Col 1:17) of the natural world; so the latter, as the source and stay of the new moral creation.


image--exact likeness and perfect Representative. Adam was made "in the image of God" (Gen 1:27). But Christ, the second Adam, perfectly reflected visibly "the invisible God" (1Ti 1:17), whose glories the first Adam only in part represented. "Image" (eicon) involves "likeness" (homoiosis); but "likeness" does not involve "image." "Image" always supposes a prototype, which it not merely resembles, but from which it is drawn: the exact counterpart, as the reflection of the sun in the water: the child the living image of the parent. "Likeness" implies mere resemblance, not the exact counterpart and derivation as "image" expresses; hence it is nowhere applied to the Son, while "image" is here, compare 1Co 11:7 [TRENCH]. (Joh 1:18; Joh 14:9; 2Co 4:4; 1Ti 3:16; Heb 1:3). Even before His incarnation He was the image of the invisible God, as the Word (Joh_1:1-3) by whom God created the worlds, and by whom God appeared to the patriarchs. Thus His essential character as always "the image of God," (1) before the incarnation, (2) in the days of His flesh, and (3) now in His glorified state, is, I think, contemplated here by the verb "is."


first-born of every creature-- (Heb 1:6), "the first-begotten": "begotten of His Father before all worlds" [Nicene Creed]. Priority and superlative dignity is implied (Psa 89:27). English Version might seem to favor Arianism, as if Christ were a creature. Translate, "Begotten (literally, 'born') before every creature," as the context shows, which gives the reason why He is so designated. "For," &c. (Col 1:16-17) [TRENCH]. This expression is understood by ORIGEN (so far is the Greek from favoring Socinian or Arian views) as declaring the Godhead of Christ, and is used by Him as a phrase to mark that Godhead, in contrast with His manhood [Book 2, sec. Against Celsus] (JFB)

 

[The Learner]

The Apostle Paul has just cautioned the Colossian believers not to be taken captive by the philosophies and traditions of men which are not grounded in Christ (v. 18). There are various views about the so-called "Colossian Heresy" against which Paul was writing. It is possible that there was a specific heresy (so Calvin, Dibelius, Moule, etc.) or Paul may have been writing more generally (so Hooker). What is clear is that Paul is unequivocally asserting Christ's supremacy over whatever teachings might take the Colossians captive - teachings not grounded in Christ.
In verse 9, Paul gives the first of two reasons why Christ is superior to any human philosophy or tradition (verse 10a contains the second): "For" (Greek hoti with a causal sense: "because") in Christ all the fullness of Deity dwells bodily. Christ is superior to the teachings of men and the elemental "powers" of the universe because in His incarnation, every aspect of the nature of the true God - all His attributes and power - found in Christ's body a congenial and permanent home.

This verse - perhaps more than any other verse in Paul's writing - teaches that Christ was God in the flesh. The word translated "Deity" signifies the "essence of being God" - what makes God, God (see Grammatical Analysis, below). And it was not a mere quality or limited sub-set of attributes - for Paul tells us that "all the fullness" of Deity dwelled in Christ. And this fullness did not merely sojourn for a time in Christ's consciousness, but rather "dwelled" there (Greek katoikeo: "to take up permanent residence"). It is a timeless present tense verb (Harris, Colossians, p. 98) - "continues to live." And this dwelling was "bodily," in Christ's physical body. This points to the incarnation, surely, but also to the resurrected Christ as well, who is now our mediator, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5). As Robertson puts it: "The fullness of the Godhead ... dwells ‘in the once mortal, now glorified body of Christ'" (RWP).

 

[The Learner]

oti en autw katoikei pan to plhrwma thV qeothtoV swmatikwV


hOTI EN AUTÔ KATOIKEI PAN TO PLÊRÔMA TÊS THEOTÊTOS SÔMATIKÔS

For in him dwells all the fullness of the Deity bodily





KATOIKEÔ (2730)

Live, dwell, reside, settle (down) (BAGD, Thayer)

More technically used, the verb refers to the permanent "residents" of a town or village, as distinguished from those "dwelling as strangers" or "sojourners" (Moulton & Milligan)

Verb Indicative Present Active (Friberg) The present indicative indicates an action occurring while the speaker is speaking.

PAS (3956)

The whole, all (the) (BAGD, Thayer)

PLÊRÔMA (4138)

Sum total, fulness, even (super)abundance (BAGD)

Fulness, abundance (Thayer)

The plêrôma statements in Colossians present the full unity of the person and work of God and Christ, yet in such as way that neither the distinctness of person nor monotheism is imperiled. The differences between Ephesians and Colossians show that plêrôma is not here a technical term, and the fact that plêrês or plêroô may be used instead supports this conclusion. In part the plêrôma sayings relate to Christ's headship of the church. From him as the bearer of the divine fullness (col. 1:18ff) vital powers flow into the church, so that he may be said to fill it (TDNT).

THEOTES (2320)

Deity, divinity, used as an abstract noun for qeoV (BAGD)

Deity, i.e., the state of being God, Godhead: Col 2:9...Syn. qeothV, qeiothV: qeot. deity differs from qeiot. divinity as essence differs from quality or attribute (Thayer)

Divinity ... The one God, to whom all deity belongs, has given this fullness of deity to the incarnate Christ. (TDNT)

Deity, divine nature, divine being...'all the fullness of divine nature' Col 2:9...The expression 'divine nature' may be rendered in a number of languages as 'just what God is like' or 'how God is' or 'what God is' (Louw & Nida). Louw & Nida do not semantically distinguish theotes, theiotes, and theios, treating them each as synonymous with "diving nature" as they define it here.

SÔMATIKÔS (4985)

Bodily, corporeally ... Col 2:9 (prob. to be understood fr. 2:17 [cf. swma 4] as=in reality, not symbolically) (BAGD)

Bodily, corporeally ... yet denoting his exalted and spiritual body, visible only to the inhabitants of heaven, Col 2:9, where see Meyer [Bp. Lightft.] (Thayer)

Bodily-wise, corporeally, in concrete actuality (Moulton & Milligan)

The sômatikôs in this statement denotes the corporeality in which God encounters us in our world, i.e., the real humanity of Jesus, not a humanity that is a mere cloak for deity (TDNT).

Pertaining to a physical body ... 'In him all the fullness of deity dwells bodily' or 'in physical form' Col 2:9. It is also possible to interpret sômatikôs in Col 2:9 as meaning 'in reality,' that is to say 'not symbolically' (Louw & Nida)

 

[The Learner]

Matthew 28:19
Go [therefore] and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them to the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit;

2 Corinthians 13:14

EasyEnglish Bible

​

14 I pray that the Lord Jesus Christ will continue to be very kind to you all. I pray that God's love will be with you. And I pray that the Holy Spirit will help you to serve each other as friends.

1. Romans 1:3-4
   This good news is about God's Son, who is Jesus Christ, our Lord. Jesus was born as a human baby from King David's family. But after Jesus died on the cross, God's Holy Spirit raised him to make him alive again. In that way God showed clearly that Jesuswas his powerful Son.
   In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
2. Romans 15:16
   I am a servant of Christ Jesus among the Gentiles. I tell people God's good news. I work like a priest so that God will accept the Gentiles. I offer them to God. The Holy Spirithas made them clean and so God accepts them.
   In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
3. 2 Corinthians 13:14
   I pray that the Lord Jesus Christ will continue to be very kind to you all. I pray that God's love will be with you. And I pray that the Holy Spiritwill help you to serve each other as friends.
   In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
4. Ephesians 1:17
   God is very great! He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that his Holy Spirit will make you wise. I pray that his Holy Spiritwill help you to understand what God is like. Then you will know God better and better.
   In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
5. 1 Thessalonians 1:6
   In your lives also, you copied our example and the example of the Lord Jesus. When you believed our message, people caused you to have a lot of trouble. But God's Holy Spirithelped you to be very happy.
   In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
6. Titus 3:6
   Jesus Christ died as a sacrifice to save us. So now God has poured his Holy Spiritinto us, to fill us.
   In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
7. Hebrews 6:4
   

   We must not turn away from Jesus​

   That is important, because we must not turn away from Christ, after we have first believed in him. Some people have come into God's light. They have understood God's message. They have started to enjoy the true life that God has given them. They have received the Holy Spirit, like other believers.
   In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

 

[The Learner]

Paul and the Trinity: Persons, Relations, and the Pauline Letters - The Gospel Coalition

Wesley Hill’s book on Paul and the Trinity grows out of his PhD work at Durham University under Francis Watson. It is encouraging that a topic like this would be acceptable for doctoral research; the chances of seeing such in NT scholarship twenty or thirty years ago were almost nil. The book is...

www.thegospelcoalition.org

 

[The Learner]

Most of the church was breaking up while Paul was still alive. Probably by the Catholics or what later became the Catholics.

Paul and the Trinity: The Experience of Christ and the Spirit for Paul's Understanding of God​

Gordon D. Fee

Abstract​

Gordon Fee proposes that Paul, always a rigorous monotheist, became a latent (economic) trinitarian as the result of his experience of the risen and exalted Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit as the eschatological renewal of the promised Presence of God. In turn, the chapter examines: (1) Paul's primary trinitarian/soteriological passages, which are invariably expressed in triadic form when reflecting on the experience of salvation, and always presuppose ‘equal with but distinct from’; (2) the Christ narrative in Phil 2: 6–11, where Paul understood Christ as pre‐existent, equal with God, and invested with The Name (‘The Lord’ by way of the LXX's use of kyrios to translate YHWH); this made Paul a binitarian at the least. What made him a trinitarian was his experience — and understanding — of the Spirit: as both personal and distinct from the Father and Son; as the way the risen Christ was present in the life of the believer and believing community (the Holy Spirit of God is also the Spirit of Christ Jesus); and thus as the eschatological renewal of God's Presence. The chapter concludes with some implications for the present.

 

[Peterlag]

Paul and the Trinity: The Experience of Christ and the Spirit for Paul's Understanding of God​

Gordon D. Fee

Abstract​

Gordon Fee proposes that Paul, always a rigorous monotheist, became a latent (economic) trinitarian as the result of his experience of the risen and exalted Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit as the eschatological renewal of the promised Presence of God. In turn, the chapter examines: (1) Paul's primary trinitarian/soteriological passages, which are invariably expressed in triadic form when reflecting on the experience of salvation, and always presuppose ‘equal with but distinct from’; (2) the Christ narrative in Phil 2: 6–11, where Paul understood Christ as pre‐existent, equal with God, and invested with The Name (‘The Lord’ by way of the LXX's use of kyrios to translate YHWH); this made Paul a binitarian at the least. What made him a trinitarian was his experience — and understanding — of the Spirit: as both personal and distinct from the Father and Son; as the way the risen Christ was present in the life of the believer and believing community (the Holy Spirit of God is also the Spirit of Christ Jesus); and thus as the eschatological renewal of God's Presence. The chapter concludes with some implications for the present.

I believe the following is a very evil statement..

(the Holy Spirit of God is also the Spirit of Christ Jesus);

 

[The Learner]

I believe the following is a very evil statement..

(the Holy Spirit of God is also the Spirit of Christ Jesus);

Do you beleive you are indwelt by Jesus? Spirit of Christ?

 

[Peterlag]

Peter, your history is nonsense. The cannon of the NT was not defined until around 399 AD. The rest you posted is fiction. I only have seven earned PHDs and dozens of honorary ones too. The Early Church Fathers were taught by the Apostles themselves.

Lest we understand the Son's role in creation as being passive, the inspired author quotes the Father as saying:


Thus, the Son is given the same active role in creation attributed to YHWH in Psalm 102. The Son is both agent and active participant in creation. He is, therefore, vastly superior to the angels, who are "ministering spirits" and "servants" (verse 14). First century readers would have had no difficulty in understanding who "laid the foundations of the earth" - only YHWH was the hands-on creator of all things. If Christ is given this honor, He must have been YHWH - yet somehow distinct from the Father who here addresses Him.

2. The Father calls the Son "Lord." While "Lord" (Greek kurios) can merely be a title ascribed to men or angels, it is also the word used in most LXX manuscripts to render the Divine Name, YHWH. This is likely the sense it carries in the LXX translation of Psalm 102. When used in the Bible as an honorific, "lord" always signifies that the one addressed is superior in rank or social station to the speaker. There are no exceptions. Thus, if the Father calls the Son "lord" in this sense, it would mean that He acknowledges the Son as superior to Himself in rank. While this usage is possible, it would seem to contradict the numerous times the Father is spoken as being superior to the Son. It is better, then, to understand "Lord" to mean YHWH, as it was in its original setting.

The person here addressed, as the Lord or Jehovah, and as the Maker of the heavens and the earth, is the same with the Son spoken to, and of, before; for the words are a continuation of the speech to him, though they are taken from another psalm, from Psa_102:25. The phrase, "thou, Lord" is taken from Psa_102:12 and is the same with, "O my God", Psa_102:24 and whereas it is there said, "of old", and here, in the beginning, the sense is the same; and agreeably to the Septuagint, and the apostle, Jarchi interprets it by "at", or "from the beginning"; and so the Targum paraphrases it, "from the beginning", that the creatures were created, &c. that in the beginning of the creation, which is the apostle's meaning; and shows the eternity of Christ, the Lord, the Creator of the earth, who must exist before the foundation of the world; and confutes the notion of the eternity of the world: and the rounding of it shows that the earth is the lower part of the creation; and denotes the stability of it; and points out the wisdom of the Creator in laying such a foundation; and proves the deity of Christ, by whom that, and all things in it, were made. (Gill).

Lord: Mighty, principal ruler. He who assumes and exercises the power, while really possesses it as unlimited. Refers to Christ, and denotes his position of master in relation to his people, as he who has ownership and authority over them. Has the right and authority to institute, and command. E. W. Bullinger

Philippians 2:11
And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The title "Lord" (Greek, Kurious) as Kittel's observes, means "one who has full authority." In the Old Testament, God alone had "full authority" and filled both functions of Creator (Elohim) and Lord (Jehovah). Jehovah is used in connection with men with whom He has entered into some kind of covenant, starting with Adam in Genesis 2:7, and including Israel. Several redemptive characteristics and divine functions are associated with the sacred name Jehovah (Yahweh), including giving righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6), healing (Exodus 15:26), sanctification (Exodus 31:13), providing (Genesis 22:14), protection from enemies (Exodus 17:15), giving peace (Judges 6:24), and being continually present (Ezekiel 48:35). These functions can be assumed and/or delegated by persons having the authority. God has delegated many, if not all of these divine functions to Jesus Christ to share in as "Lord."

 

[BreadOfLife]

Look at your own writing. And yes there was a perfect man

Only a perfect, sinless man could be the unblemished sacrifice that is required for the propitiation of sin.

Thorough an imperfect man, sin entered the world and infected us ALL.
Conversely, only through a perfect man could sin be defeated. And because of sin, there are NO perfect men

Not only are you dishonest - you have a bad memory.

I already educated you about the fact that the Son is BOTH God AND Man.
The fact that He is the perfect man does NOT mean that He is NOT God.

Try again . . .

 

[Peterlag]

Not only are you dishonest - you have a bad memory.

I already educated you about the fact that the Son is BOTH God AND Man.
The fact that He is the perfect man does NOT mean that He is NOT God.

Try again . . .

The problem with that is the Bible does not say Jesus was 100 percent God and a 100 percent man.

 

[Augustin56]

The problem with that is the Bible does not say Jesus was 100 percent God and a 100 percent man.

It also doesn't say He's not. The Bible only says what the Bible says. And, again, the Bible says that not everything Jesus did and taught is IN the Bible.

 

[The Learner]

It also doesn't say He's not. The Bible only says what the Bible says. And, again, the Bible says that not everything Jesus did and taught is IN the Bible.

A little NT Grammar all:

Predicate Nominatives in the New Testament and the “Problem” of John 1:1 and Other Passages

A predicate nominative in the New Testament is, by definition, a noun in the nominative case
that is linked by a stative or copulative verb to the subject of that verb and thus forms a
referential description of that subject. The nature of the referential description that a predicate
nominative gives to the subject varies. There are three kinds of referential descriptions of the
subject: either as another identity of the subject (John is the brother of James), or as a category
to which the subject belongs (John is an apostle), or as a quality inherent in the subject (God is
love). These referential categories correspond roughly to what we would describe as definite
predicate nominatives, indefinite predicate nominatives, and qualitative predicate nominatives.

With predicate nominatives that have the article (arthrous or articular predicate nominatives),
the referential description is almost always definite, or a one-to-one correspondence of identity,
whether literal or figurative.

Literal:
Mt 12:23, μήτι οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱὸς Δαυίδ (“This isn’t the son of David, is it?”)
Mt 13:34, ὁ σπείρων τὸ καλὸν σπέρμα ἐστὶν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (“The one sowing the
good seed is the Son of Man”)
Mt 16:16, σὺ εἶ ὁ χριστὸς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος (“You are the Christ, the Son of the
living God”)
Mt 27:11, σὺ εἶ ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων (“You are the king of the Jews”)
2 Co 3:17, ὁ δὲ κύριος τὸ πνεῦμά ἐστιν (“The Lord is the Spirit”)

Figurative:
Mt 5:13, Ὑμεῖς ἐστε τὸ ἅλας τῆς γῆς (“You are the salt of the earth”)
Mt 6:22, Ὁ λύχνος τοῦ σώματός ἐστιν ὁ ὀφθαλμός (“The lamp of the body is the eye”)
Mt 13:38c, τὰ δὲ ζιζάνιά εἰσιν οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ πονηροῦ (“The weeds are the sons of the evil
one”)
Mk 14:22, τοῦτό ἐστιν τὸ σῶμά μου (“This is my body”)
Ac 4:11, οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ λίθος (“This is the stone”)
Mt 7:12, οὗτος γάρ ἐστιν ὁ νόμος καὶ οἱ προφῆται (“for this is the law and the prophets,”
that is, this golden rule sums up the law and the prophets)

But being articular doesn’t guarantee that it always refers to identity, strictly speaking, as the
following examples indicate:

Ac 4:12a, οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἄλλῳ οὐδενὶ ἡ σωτηρία (“There is salvation in no other”), a qualitative sense, rather than “there is the (or, this) salvation in no other.”
1 John 3:4, Πᾶς ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν καὶ τὴν ἀνομίαν ποιεῖ, καὶ ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐστὶν ἡ ἀνομία (“Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness”), not “the sin” or “the lawlessness,” but qualitative

These feel more like qualitative references, than identity references, which is why, in our
English translations, we don’t include the article.

 

[The Learner]

When it comes to anarthrous predicate nominatives, things get a bit more complicated. The
reason for this is that despite the lack of an article a Greek speaker could still intend that noun
to be definite. And if not, the noun could be indefinite or qualitative. Is there no sure way to
tell? It is the thesis of this article that there is not. But there have been those who have cleverly
suggested that word order holds the key to determining which option, definite, indefinite, or
qualitative, is in the author’s or speaker’s mind. The suggestion has been that if the anarthrous
predicate nominative comes before the verb this signals a definite (Colwell) or qualitative
(Harner) sense in the author’s or speaker’s mind.

The Myth of Definite Nouns

Some of the evidence for this suggestion has relied on the concept of definite nouns. Colwell
has suggested that nouns already considered definite, when they appear before the verb in a
predicate nominative construction, are to be taken as definite. But the concept of an inherently
definite noun is a difficult one to sustain.

Can there be a more definite noun than a person’s name? And perhaps this could explain why,
in the New Testament, the name Elijah (Mt 11:14; 16:14; 17:3,4,10,11,12; 27:47,49; Mk 6:15;
8:28; 9:4,5,11,12,13; 15:35,36; Lk 4:25,26; 9:8,19,30,33; Jn 1:21a,25; Ro 11:2; Ja 5:17) never
has the article. But when you look at other proper names in the New Testament you are soon
disabused of this idea. Without seeming rhyme or reason names like Jesus, Andrew, and
Simon Peter, will have or not have an article. If you think you find one pattern with certain
words, for example articular Jesus with λέγει ([the] Jesus says…) and anarthrous Jesus with
ἀπεκρίθη (Jesus answered), your pattern gets exploded (Mt 28:9; Lk 22:48,52; 23:28; Jn 13:31;
18:4; 19:26; 20:15, etc., and Mt 3:5; 11:4,25; 15:28; 16:17; 17:17; 20:22; 21:21, etc.).

And is it not possible to think of even a proper name as indefinite (“I am a Matthew like you are”)? And even a noun we would normally consider definite, God, for example, or a title like Lord, is used indefinitely and qualitatively in the New Testament:

· 2 Thessalonians 2:4, πάντα λεγόμενον θεὸν, “every so-called god”
· John 10:34, ἐγὼ εἶπα· θεοί ἐστε, “I said, ‘You are gods’,” though the fact that gods is plural almost necessitates an indefinite sense here, whereas the singular would not. But if Yahweh could say to plural individuals, “You are gods,” He could certainly say to one of them, “You are a god.”
· Mark 2:28, κύριός ἐστιν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου καὶ τοῦ σαββάτου (“The Son of Man is lord indeed of the Sabbath”), though this could be conceived as “the Lord of all,” as could the next example, it could also indeed be qualitative.
· Acts 10:36, οὗτός ἐστιν πάντων κύριος (“This one is lord of all”)
· 1 Corinthians 8:5, ὥσπερ εἰσὶν θεοὶ πολλοὶ καὶ κύριοι πολλοί (“Even as there are many gods and many lords”)

 

[The Learner]

So it is impossible to say that a “definite” noun must always be definite. Consequently, it is best
not to think of this as a category for our investigation of word order signaling whether an
anarthrous predicate nominative is definite, indefinite or qualitative.

As to word order as a clue, an examination of all the predicate nominatives in the New
Testament should help us determine whether this is a signal or not. I have endeavored to
examine every predicate nominative in the text of the New Testament (728 of them). I am sure I
have missed some. Some that I label as a predicate nominative might not be so labeled by
others. John’s writings (Gospel, letters, and Revelation), though they make up 20% of the New
Testament, have 45% of the predicate nominatives (333).

The stative verbs I have found that render predicate nominatives are εἰμι (most), γίνομαι (Mk
1:17; Lk 20:33; Jn 1:12,14; 2:9; 4:14; 5:14; 9:27; 12:36; 15:8; Ro 4:18; 7:13; 1 Co 4:9; 2 Co 5:21; Ga 4:16; 1 Th 1:6; 2:14; He 5:9; 10:33; 11:7; Ja 2:4,11; Re 12:10; 16:3,4; 18:2), δοκέω (Lk 22:24; Ga 2:9; 6:3), λέγω (Mt 1:16; 2;23a; 4:18; 9:9; 10:12; 13:55; 16:13; 26:3,14,36; 27:16,17,33; Mk 8:27; Lk 22:1,47; Jn 4:5,25; 11:16,54; 19:13,17; 20:24; 21:2; Ac 3:2; 6:9; 9:36; 1 Co 8:5; Ep 2:11; Col 4:11; 2 Th 2:4; He 9:2,3; 11:24; Re 2:2,9,20,24; 3:9), καλέω (Mt 2:23b; 5:9,19; 23:8a,10,13; 27:8; Mk 11:17; Lk 1:32,35,60,76; 2:4; 7:11; 9:10; 15:21; 22:25; Jn 1:42; Ac 1:19,23; 4:36; 14:12; 28:1; Ro 9:26; 1 Co 15:9; He 3:13; 11:16; Ja 2:23; 1 Jn 3:1a; Re 1:9; 11:8; 12:9; 16:16; 19:13), and χρηματίζω (Ac 11:26; Ro 7:3).

Kinds and Numbers of Predicate Nominatives in the New Testament

There are several different kinds of predicate nominatives in the New Testament.

The most common predicate nominative construction is with a pronominal subject, that is with a
pronoun as the subject. By my count there are 211 of these, categorized as those with arthrous
predicate nominatives following or preceding the verb, and those with anarthrous predicate nominatives following or preceding the verb. Those with an arthrous predicate nominative
following the verb: Mt 1:23; 3:3,17; 5:13; 7:12; 12:23,48; 13:19,22,23,55a; 16:16; 17:5; 19:17; 21:11a,38; 22:32a,38; 23:8b,9; 24:45; 26:26,28,63; 27:11; Mk 3:11,33; 6:3a; 8:29; 9:7; 12:7; 13:11; 14:22,24,61; 15:2; Lk 3:22; 4:41; 9:35; 20:14; 21:19; 22:53,70; Jn 1:8,19,20,21c,25,34; 3:10,19,28; 4:29,42; 5:12,35; 6:14,29,35,40,41,42,48,50,51,58,69; 7:26,40,41; 9:19,20; 10:7,9,11,14,24; 11:25,27; 14:6; 15:1a,5a,b,12; 17:3; 18:33; 21:24; Ac 4:11; 8:10; 9:20,22; 17:3a; 21:28,38; 1 Co 4:17; 9:1b; 11:24; Ep 1:18,23; 2:14; Php 3:3; Col 1:18a,24; 1 Pe 1:5; 2 Pe 1:17; 1 Jn 1:5a; 2:22a,c,25; 3:11; 4:3; 5:3,4,5a, 6a,14; 2 Jn 7; Re 1:8,17a,b; 2:23; 4:5; 5:8; 11:4; 19:9; 20:14; 21:6,12; 22:16; with the arthrous predicate nominative preceding the verb: Jn 1:21c; 1 Co 9:1b; 11:25; 2 Pe 1:17; Re 19:9; 20:14; with the anarthrous predicate nominative following the verb: Mt 11:14; 14:2; 23:8a; Mk 3:17; 15:22,42; Lk 1:35,76; 2:11a,b; 12:1; 15:21; Jn 1:41,42a; 4:14,46; 6:42,70; 18:13b; Ac 4:36b; 5:17; 10:36; 17:3b; Ro 4:11,16; 8:29; 16:5; 1 Co 12:27; 2 Co 4:4; 5:21; Ga 3:6; 4:24a,26; Ep 1:14; 3:14; 6:2,17; Col 1:15a,b,18b,27; 3:5,14; 1 Th 4:3; 2 Th 2:4a,b; 3:17; 1 Ti 3:15; 4:10; He 2:6; 9:2; 1 Pe 5:12; 1 Jn 5:20b; Re 11:8; 21:7b; and with the anarthrous predicate nominative preceding the verb: Mt 5:9; 12:50; 23:8c; 27:54; Mk 3:35; 15:39; Lk 1:32,36; 2:4; 4:22; 19:9; 23:2; Jn 1:21a,49; 4:9,19; 8:44a; 9:24,27,28,31; 10:1,33; 15:14; 18:35,37a; Ac 9:15; 1 Co 3:17; 2 Co 6:16; 1 Th 1:6; 2:14; 1 Jn 2:2; Re 2:9; 3:9a.

 

[The Learner]

Examples from each category are:

· Matthew 3:17, οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός (“This one is the Son of Me, the beloved one”)
· John 1:21c, ὁ προφήτης εἶ σύ (“Are you the prophet?”)
· Ephesians 1:14, ὅ ἐστιν ἀρραβὼν τῆς κληρονομίας ἡμῶν (“He is the downpayment of our inheritance”)
· John 1:49, σὺ βασιλεὺς εἶ τοῦ Ἰσραήλ (“You are the king of Israel”)

The next most popular construction, 189 by count, is that with the subject contained in the verb,
with an arthrous predicate nominative following the verb (Mt 24:6; Ac 4:12a; 1 Pe 2:15; Jn 1:9; 5:9; 8:12; 19:31; Re 12:10; 22:14), an arthrous predicate nominative preceding the verb (Ac 2:15; Jn 20:15; 21:7,12), with an anarthrous predicate nominative following the verb (Mt 2:23b; 4:3,6; 5:34; 22:23,32b; 23:10a; 26:14; 27:43; Mk 9:35; 12:27; Lk 1:35,60; 6:35; 7:39a,b; 11:8; 15:21; 20:33; 22:1,47; Jn 1:9; 5:9; 8:12,55; 9:14; 11:2,38; 12:20; 13:30; 15:8; 18:13a,39; 19:12,14,31; 20:19,24; 21:2; Ac 2:15; 4:12b; 9:36; 14:12; 25:16; Ro 4:18; 8:16; 9:26; 10:12; 13:1; 1 Co 8:5b; 9:1a,16; 12:15,16; 13:1; 15:9,44; Ga 5:23; Ep 2:11; 2 Th 2:4b; 2 Ti 3:1; Hb 4:13; 5:9; 8:6; 9:3; 11:7,24; Ja 2:4; 1 Jn 5:16; Re 2:2a,20; 12:10(3x); 16:14; 17:14; 18:2; 20:6; 21:7a,b; 22:14), and with an anarthrous predicate nominative preceding the verb (Mt 5:19,34; 14:26,33; 22:42,45; 27:6,40; Mk 6:15a,49; 11:32; 12:31,37; Lk 1:32; 4:3,9; 7:8,39b; 14:22; 20:27,38,44; 22:25,59; Jn 5:10,13,14,27; 8:33,37,39b, 44b, 48,54; 9:4,5,8,17,25; 10:13,22,34,36; 11:49,51; 12:6,36; 13:13,35; 18:18,26,37b; 19:21,40; 20:1,14,15; 21:4,7,12; 25:14; Ac 25:14; Ro 1:16; 2:28,29; 7:3; 13:4; 1 Co 1:18; 4:9; 6:7; 11:14,15; 12:6; 15:12; Ga 4:16,31; 5:3; Php 1:7; 2:13; Hb 5:13; 9:15; 10:33; Ja 2:23; 4:14,17; 1 Jn 2:18a,b; 3:2; 4:20; Re 10:6; Re 13:18; 18:7; 19:10; 21:3a; 22:9).

Examples from each category are:

· 1 Peter 2:15, ἐστὶν τὸ θέλημα τοῦ θεοῦ (“It is the will of God”)
· Ac 12:15, ὁ ἄγγελός ἐστιν αὐτοῦ (“It is the angel of him”)
· John 5:9, Ἦν δὲ σάββατον (“It is [was] a/the Sabbath”)
· James 4:14, ἀτμὶς γάρ ἐστε (“For you are a mist”)

The next most popular construction (149 by count) is with a stated subject (not a pronoun) with
an arthrous predicate nominative following the verb (Mt 6:22; 13:34,37,38a,b,c,39a; Lk 8:11b; 11:34; Jn 1:4,40; 6:64a; 20:31; Ep 4:10; 1 Jn 2:7,22b; 3:4; 4:15; 5:1,5b,6b,c,20a; Re 17:18; 18:23; 20:2b; 21:8), with an arthrous predicate nominative preceding the verb (Jn 15:1b; 1 Co 11:3a; 2 Co 3:17; Re 19:8), with an anarthrous predicate nominative following the verb (Mt 2:23a; 10:2; 13:55; 23:36; 27:8,16,17,33; Lk 9:10; 19:46; Jn 1:8,9; 4:5,18; 6:55; 11:16; 18:10,40; 19:13,38; Ac 1:19,23; 3:2; 4:36a; 10:34; 11:26; Ro 5:14; 8:24; 11:6; 12:12,14; 16:15; Ga 5:22(9x); Ep 5:5,23a; Col 4:11; 1 Ti 1:5; 6:6; Hb 11:1; 1 Jn 2:27b; 1 Jn 5:20b; Re 1:9; 5:6,11; 16:16; 17:15(2x); 20:2a; 21:3b), and with an anarthrous predicate nominative preceding the verb (Mt 9:9; 12:8; 13:39b,c; 23:10b,13; Mk 11:17; 12:35; Lk 1:63; 6:5; Jn 1:1,14; 2:9; 3:4,6a,b,29; 6:63b; 8:34,39a,42; 10:8,12; 11:54; 12:50; 17:17; Ac 7:33; 17:7; 22:26; 28:1,4; Ro 1:9; 1 Co 3:19; 4:4; 6:19; 7:22a,b; 10:16; 11:7a,b; Ga 2:9; 4:1,25; 1 Ti 6:10; Hb 11:16; Ja 3:4,5; 4:4; 1 Jn 1:5b; 2:4,27a; 3:15; 4:8,16; 5:7,17; Re 1:20; 17:12,15(2x), 21:22).

 

[The Learner]

Examples from each category are:

· John 15:1b, καὶ ὁ πατήρ μου ὁ γεωργός ἐστιν (“and my Father is the vinedresser”)
· Luke 8:11b, ὁ σπόρος ἐστὶν ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ (“The seed is the word of God”)
· Ephesians 5:23a, ἀνήρ ἐστιν κεφαλὴ τῆς γυναικὸς (“the husband is the head of the
wife”)
· John 8:42, εἰ ὁ θεὸς πατὴρ ὑμῶν ἦν (“If God was the father of you all”)

There are 68 examples of pronominal predicate nominatives, pronouns or number words that
serve as predicate nominatives (Mt 10:20; 21:10; 23:16,18; 26:48,68; Mk 5:14; 8:27; 9:10,39; 12:28; Lk 7:49; 8:11a,25,30; 9:9; 10:29; 12:42; 20:12,17; 22:64; Jn 1:22; 5:13,14,32; 6:20,64a; 7:36,50; 8:25; 9:36; 10:30; 12:2,34; 13:25,26; 14:21; 16:17,18; 18:38; 21:20; Ac 21:22; 23:19; Ro 14:4; 1 Co 3:5(2x), 7,11; 7:19(2x); 9:3,18; 10:19(2x); 14:15; 2 Co 1:12; 12:11,13; Ga 4:24b; 6:3; Ep 4:9; Ja 2:19; 1 Jn 3:23; 5:7,9,11a; 2 Jn 6:a; Re 7:13). Many of these are in a question (“Who is it”) where, if we turn the question into an assertion, we can see which word is the predicate nominative (“it is who”).

Some interesting examples are:

· Galatians 6:3, εἰ γὰρ δοκεῖ τις εἶναί τι μηδὲν ὤν (“For if someone considers [himself] to be something, when he is nothing”). Here, τι acts as predicate nominative following the infinitive εἶναί, and μηδὲν as predicate nominative to the subject contained in the participle ὤν.
· John 10:30, ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν (“I and the Father are one thing”). Is a number a pronoun? No, but the similarity between its function here makes me put it in the pronominal category.
· John 21:25, Ἔστιν δὲ καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ ἃ ἐποίησεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς (“Now there are also many other things that Jesus did”)
· 1 John 5:9, αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ μαρτυρία τοῦ θεοῦ (“This is the testimony of God,” or, “The testimony of God is this”). Is the pronoun the subject of this sentence or the predicate nominative? I’m taking it as a predicate nominative and there are several like this that could go either way.

Participial phrases make up the next most numerous category of predicate nominatives, being
41 in number (Mt 3:3; 13:22,23; Mk 4:16,18a,b,20; 7:15; 15:7; Lk 16:15; Jn 1:15,33; 4:10,26,37(2x); 5:15,39,45; 6:33,63a,64a,b; 7:25; 8:18,50(2x); Ac 2:16; 9:21; 10:42; Ro 3:11a,b,c; 1 Co 8:5a; Ga 1:7; 1 Jn 5:5a,6a; Re 1:18; 2:23; 7:14; 14:4).

 

[The Learner]

Examples are:

· Matthew 3:3, οὗτος γάρ ἐστιν ὁ ῥηθεὶς διὰ Ἠσαΐου (“For this is the one who spoke through Isaiah”)
· Revelation 14:4, οὗτοί εἰσιν οἳ μετὰ γυναικῶν οὐκ ἐμολύνθησαν (“These are those who did not defile themselves with women”)
There are 17 instances of unstated but understood predicate nominatives: Mt 11:10; 26:22,25; Mk 13:6; Lk 7:27; Jn 1:30; 8:24,28; 9:9; 13:19; 18:5,6,8; 18:25; 2 Co 2:3; 1 Jn 3:1b; Re 20:12.

Some examples are:

· Matthew 11:10, οὗτός ἐστιν περὶ οὗ γέγραπται (“this is [the one] concerning whom I wrote”)
· 1 John 3:1b, καὶ ἐσμέν (“and we are [the children of God]”)

Ten cases of missing, but understood, stative verbs that take predicate nominatives are Lk 23:38; Ro 7:7; 10:9; 1 Co 11:3b,c; 15:20; 2 Co 2:2; Ep 5:23b; Php 1:8; Re 21:21.

For example:

· Revelation 21:21, καὶ οἱ δώδεκα πυλῶνες δώδεκα μαργαρῖται (“and the twelve gates [are] twelve pearls”)

A case may be made for 32 “predicate nominatives” that are not in the nominative case: Mt 9:9;
10:25; 23:9a; 26:3(gen); 27:17,33; Lk 7:11; 9:10; 20:41; Jn 1:12; 4:5; 11:54; 19:13,17b; 20:19; Ac 6:9(gen); 8:37; 11:26; 14:12; 19:35; Ro 16:1; Ep 2:11b(gen); Php 1:7; 2 Th 2:4a; 1 Ti 6:5; Ja 2:11; Re 1:9(dat); 2:9,20,24; 3:9a; 16:3,4.

Examples:

· Luke 20:41, πῶς λέγουσιν τὸν χριστὸν εἶναι Δαυὶδ υἱόν; (“How do they say the Christ to be David’s son?”). What they say is in the accusative case so that the subject of εἶναι, τὸν χριστὸν, is in the accusative as is the predicate nominative, υἱόν. Do we call it a predicate accusative?
· Acts 8:37(txt), Πιστεύω τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ εἶναι τὸν Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν (“I believe Jesus Christ to be the Son of God”). This passage is not in all Greek manuscripts of Acts, but the Greek is genuine. Here again we have a predicate nominative type relationship expressed in the accusative case, “Jesus is the Son of God.” Ditto for Acts 19:35, Romans 16:1, Philippians 1:7, and Revelation 3:9a.
· John 20:19, Οὔσης οὖν ὀψίας τῇ ἡμέρᾳ (“When it was evening of that day”). This is a genitive absolute, the subject “it” being understood in the participle and evening, though in the genitive case, acting as a predicate nominative.

 

[The Learner]

A case could be made three times for adjectives acting as substantives and therefore as
predicate nominatives:

· Mark 6:35, ἔρημός ἐστιν ὁ τόπος (“This place is a desert [literally, deserted]”)
· John 9:30, τὸ θαυμαστόν ἐστιν (“It is the marvelous”)
· Jn 18:15, ὁ δὲ μαθητὴς ἐκεῖνος ἦν γνωστὸς τῷ ἀρχιερεῖ (“Now that disciple was known to the high priest”)

There is one place where a prepositional phrase acts as a predicate nominative:

James 5:3, ὁ ἰὸς αὐτῶν εἰς μαρτύριον ὑμῖν ἔσται (“Their corrosion will be for a witness to you”)

A hina-clause can act as a predicate nominative:

John 4:34, ἐμὸν βρῶμά ἐστιν ἵνα ποιήσω τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πέμψαντός με (“My food is that I might do the will of the One who sent me”)

Then there are some cases (6) where the adjective μείζων could be construed as a substantive
and thus a predicate nominative (Mt 18:1; Mk 4:32; Lk 22:24; JN 8:53; 10:29; 14:28):

· Matthew 18:1, τίς ἄρα μείζων ἐστὶν ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ (“Who, then, is a greater one in the kingdom”)
· John 8:53, μὴ σὺ μείζων εἶ τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν Ἀβραάμ (“You are not a greater one than our father Abraham”)

Anarthrous Predicate Nominatives that Are Clearly Definite, Qualitative, or Indefinite

Now, since it is really only the anarthrous predicate nominatives that are in question as to
interpretation (definite, indefinite, or qualitative), it makes sense to look at only those that can
only be one or the other, either definite, indefinite, or qualitative, and what order they come in, in
relationship to the stative verb. Some of those are not worth considering because they are
names, which we have seen are commonly arthrous or anarthrous with no rhyme or reason. They won’t tell us anything about whether the writers were using a pattern of word order or not to intend anarthrous predicate nominatives as either definite, indefinite or qualitative. When we
exclude these names, our list looks like this:

Anarthrous Predicate Nominatives following the verb where a definite interpretation seems the
only possibility:

Matthew 27:43, εἶπεν γὰρ ὅτι θεοῦ εἰμι υἱός (“Because he said that I am the Son of God”) – Jesus would not be in trouble for claiming to be “a” son of God.
Mark 15:42a, ἐπεὶ ἦν παρασκευὴ (“because it was the Preparation Day”) – It could not have been “a” day of preparation since there was only one and this term had taken on a proper name status.
Mark 15:42b, ὅ ἐστιν προσάββατον (“which is the day before Sabbath”) – It was not “a” day before Sabbath but, in equivalence with παρασκευὴ, must be “the” day before Sabbath, likely also a proper name status.
John 1:41, εὑρήκαμεν τὸν Μεσσίαν, ὅ ἐστιν μεθερμηνευόμενον χριστός (“We have found the Messiah, which being translated is [the] Christ”) – If there is equivalence between the Hebrew and the Greek, τὸν Μεσσίαν must translate as ὁ χριστός, and though John did not feel obligated to add the article before χριστός, it is equivalent.
John 18:13a, ἦν γὰρ πενθερὸς τοῦ Καϊάφα (“for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas”) – Unless Caiaphas had more than one wife, and therefore more than one father-in-law, definite is the only possibility.
John 18:13b, ὃς ἦν ἀρχιερεὺς τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ ἐκείνου (“he was the high priest that year”) – Unless there was more than one high priest, definite is the only possibility.
John 19:14, ἦν δὲ παρασκευὴ τοῦ πάσχα (“Now it was the Preparation Day for Passover”) – It could not have been “a” day of preparation since there was only one and this term had taken on a proper name status.
Acts 2:15, ἔστιν γὰρ ὥρα τρίτη τῆς ἡμέρας (“for it is [was] the third hour of the day”) – Being the third hour makes this a unique reference, so it could not be “a” third hour of the day, there being only one.
Acts 5:17, ἡ οὖσα αἵρεσις τῶν Σαδδουκαίων (“who being the sect of the Sadducees”) – The high priest did not belong to “a” sect of the Sadducees among other sects of the Sadducees, but “the” sect of the Sadducees as opposed to the Pharisees.
Acts 17:3, οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ χριστὸς [ὁ] Ἰησοῦς (“This is the Christ, Jesus”) – As the textual addition in some manuscripts shows, there was an expectation that this Ἰησοῦς should have an article, and that is the only logical possibility, since it is a proper name.
Romans 4:16, ὅς ἐστιν πατὴρ πάντων ἡμῶν (“who is the father of us all”) – Abraham is not “a” father of us all, as if we have many fathers, and to say this is qualitative seems too fine a distinction.
Romans 8:29, εἰς τὸ εἶναι αὐτὸν πρωτότοκον ἐν πολλοῖς ἀδελφοῖς (“So that he might be the firstborn among many brothers”) – There is only one firstborn.
Romans 16:5, ὅς ἐστιν ἀπαρχὴ τῆς Ἀσίας (“who is the firstfruits of Asia”) – There can only be one firstfruits, cannot be “a” firstfruits and others in addition.
1 Corinthians 16:15, τὴν οἰκίαν Στεφανᾶ, ὅτι ἐστὶν ἀπαρχὴ τῆς Ἀχαΐας (“the household of
Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia”) – There can only be one firstfruits, cannot be “a” firstfruits and others in addition.
2 Corinthians 4:4, ὅς ἐστιν εἰκὼν τοῦ θεοῦ (“who is the image of God”) – There is only one image of God, so Christ cannot be “an” image of God, as if there is another.
2 Corinthians 5:21, ἵνα ἡμεῖς γενώμεθα δικαιοσύνη θεοῦ (“in order that we might become the righteousness of God”) – There is only one righteousness of God, not “a” righteousness among others.
2 Corinthians 6:16, ἡμεῖς γὰρ ναὸς θεοῦ ἐσμεν ζῶντος (“for we are the temple of the living God”) – We are not “a” temple of the living God, for there is only one, and qualitative (“we are temple of the living God”) seems strained.
Galatians 4:26, ἥτις ἐστὶν μήτηρ ἡμῶν (“who is the mother of us”) – We can only have one mother.
Ephesians 1:14, ὅ ἐστιν ἀρραβὼν τῆς κληρονομίας ἡμῶν (“who is the down payment of our inheritance”) – Unless there are other down payments besides the Holy Spirit, this must be definite.
Ephesians 5:23a, ἀνήρ ἐστιν κεφαλὴ τῆς γυναικὸς (“the husband is the head of the wife”) – The wife cannot have more than one head over her in the home, and there is equivalence between his headship over her and Christ’s headship over the church.
Ephesians 5:23b, ὡς καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς κεφαλὴ τῆς ἐκκλησίας (“as Christ is the head of the church”) – There is only one head of the church.
Ephesians 6:2, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἐντολὴ πρώτη (“which is the first commandment”) – There is only one commandment that can be πρώτη with a promise.
Ephesians 6:17, ὅ ἐστιν ῥῆμα θεοῦ (“which is the word of God”) – The sword of the Spirit cannot only be “a” word of God.
Colossians 1:15, ὅς ἐστιν εἰκὼν τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ἀοράτου, πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως (“who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation”) – There is only one image of God and only one firstborn.
Colossians 1:18b, ὅς ἐστιν ἀρχή, πρωτότοκος ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν (“who is the beginning, the
firstborn from the dead”) – There is only one beginning an only one firstborn.
Colossians 1:27, ὅ ἐστιν Χριστὸς ἐν ὑμῖν (“which is Christ in you”) – If Χριστὸς is being used as a proper name, then we should exclude this one. But if it is translating ‘anointed one,’ then Paul is saying, “which is [the] Messiah in you.” He could not mean “a” messiah in us.
Colossians 3:14, ὅ ἐστιν σύνδεσμος τῆς τελειότητος (“which is the bond of perfection”) – There is only one perfect bond – love.
1 Thessalonians 4:3, Τοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν θέλημα τοῦ θεοῦ, ὁ ἁγιασμὸς ὑμῶν [txt] (“For this is the will of God, your sanctification”) – There is only one will or desire of God when it comes to marital fidelity, that is, our sanctification.
1 Timothy 3:15, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἐκκλησία θεοῦ (“which is the church of God”) – There is only one church.
Hebrews 8:6, κρείττονός ἐστιν διαθήκης μεσίτης (“of a better covenant he is the mediator”) – There is only one mediator of this covenant.
1 Peter 5:12, ταύτην εἶναι ἀληθῆ χάριν τοῦ θεοῦ (predicate accusative) (“this to be the true grace of God”) – There is only one true grace of God, which Peter references in verse 10.
Revelation 20:2, ὁ ὄφις ὁ ἀρχαῖος, ὅς ἐστιν Διάβολος καὶ ὁ Σατανᾶς (“the ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan”) – The definite article on ὄφις identifies this as one unique Διάβολος, as does the article on Σατανᾶς.
Revelation 21:3b, καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ θεὸς μετ᾽ αὐτῶν ἔσται [αὐτῶν θεός] (txt) (“and God Himself with them will be [and] [the] God of them”) – If the textual addition is allowed, perhaps this verse should be translated, “And God-with-them Himself (or, “He, God with them, will be”) will be the God of them.” And, of course, there is only one God, so He cannot be “a” God of them.
=33 instances.

 

[The Learner]

We would not expect to see this many definite anarthrous predicate nominatives following the
stative verb if Colwell’s Rule applied, unless he would argue that many of these predicate
nominatives are not definite nouns to begin with.

Anarthrous Predicate Nominatives following the verb where a qualitative interpretation seems
the most likely possibility:

Luke 12:1, ἥτις ἐστὶν ὑπόκρισις (“which is hypocrisy”) – The leaven of the Pharisees is not the hypocrisy (there are others), nor a hypocrisy among others (possible but not likely), but rather the quality of hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is the leaven of the Pharisees.
Romans 7:13, Τὸ οὖν ἀγαθὸν ἐμοὶ ἐγένετο θάνατος (“What was good to me became death”) – What was good, the law, did not become a death or the death to Paul, but the quality of death.
Romans 8:24, ἐλπὶς δὲ βλεπομένη οὐκ ἔστιν ἐλπίς (“Now hope that is seen is not hope”) – Paul is probably not saying that seen hope is not a hope, or the hope, but hope itself.
Romans 10:12, οὐ γάρ ἐστιν διαστολὴ (“for there is no distinction”) – Definite or indefinite could work but make less sense.
Romans 11:6, ἐπεὶ ἡ χάρις οὐκέτι γίνεται χάρις (“otherwise grace is no longer grace”) – See Romans 8:24.
Galatians 5:22, ὁ δὲ καρπὸς τοῦ πνεύματός ἐστιν ἀγάπη… (“Now the fruit of the Spirit is love…”) – A list of qualities alone makes sense here.
Colossians 3:5, ἥτις ἐστὶν εἰδωλολατρία (“which is idolatry”) – It cannot be definite (Covetousness is not “the” idolatry.” There are others.), indefinite could work (covetousness is an idolatry), but the least clumsy is qualitative.
1 Timothy 1:5, τὸ δὲ τέλος τῆς παραγγελίας ἐστὶν ἀγάπη (“Now the goal of this instruction is love”) – The goal of Paul’s charge is not “the” love, nor “a” love indiscriminate, but love as a quality.
1 Timothy 6:6, Ἔστιν δὲ πορισμὸς μέγας ἡ εὐσέβεια (“but godliness is great gain”) – Godliness could be “a” great gain, but qualitative seems most likely.
Hebrews 5:9, ἐγένετο πᾶσιν τοῖς ὑπακούουσιν αὐτῷ αἴτιος σωτηρίας αἰωνίου (“he became, for all who heed him, eternal salvation”) – Definite is possible (“the eternal salvation”) but qualitative seems most likely.
Revelation 5:11, ἦν ὁ ἀριθμὸς αὐτῶν μυριάδες μυριάδων καὶ χιλιάδες χιλιάδων (“the number of them was myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands”) – The plurals make either definite or indefinite implausible.
=11 instances.

We would also expect these qualitative anarthrous nouns to precede the verb if Harner’s Rule
was correct.

Anarthrous Predicate Nominatives following the verb where an indefinite interpretation seems
the most likely possibility:

Matthew 14:26, φάντασμά ἐστιν (“It is a ghost”) – It is doubtful the disciples would have been commenting on the qualitative aspect of this apparition (“It is ghostly”), and they certainly were not referencing some specific ghost (“It is the ghost”).
Matthew 22:23, μὴ εἶναι ἀνάστασιν (“not to be a resurrection”) – indefinite, though could be definite in the Sadducees’ minds if they were thinking about “the” resurrection that the Pharisees believed in, or qualitative if they were thinking of the concept of resurrection period.
Luke 7:39a, οὗτος εἰ ἦν προφήτης (“if this one was a prophet”) – most likely indefinite (unless Simon is thinking Jesus has been identified as “the” prophet of Dt 18)
Luke 11:8, διὰ τὸ εἶναι φίλον αὐτοῦ (“since he is a friend of his”)
Luke 19:46, ἔσται ὁ οἶκός μου οἶκος προσευχῆς (“My house will be a house of prayer”)
John 4:14, ὃ δώσω αὐτῷ γενήσεται ἐν αὐτῷ πηγὴ ὕδατος (“What I give him will become
in him a spring of water”)
John 4:46, ἦν τις βασιλικὸς (“there was a certain official”) – The use of τις guarantees the
indefinite sense
John 8:55, ἔσομαι ὅμοιος ὑμῖν ψεύστης (“I will be a liar like you”)
John 11:38, ἦν δὲ σπήλαιον (“it was a cave”)
John 18:40, ἦν δὲ ὁ Βαραββᾶς λῃστής (“Now Barabbas was a thief”)
John 19:12, οὐκ εἶ φίλος τοῦ Καίσαρος (“you are not a friend of Caesar”)
Acts 4:12b, οὐδὲ γὰρ ὄνομά ἐστιν ἕτερον (“for there is not another name”) – ἕτερον helps insure the indefiniteness of this term
Acts 10:34, οὐκ ἔστιν προσωπολήμπτης ὁ θεός (“God is not a partiality-shower”)
1 Corinthians 8:5a, γὰρ εἴπερ εἰσὶν λεγόμενοι θεοὶ (“For even if there are so-called gods”) – Paul is thinking about pagan gods and this is therefore indefinite.
1 Corinthians 8:5b, ὥσπερ εἰσὶν θεοὶ πολλοὶ καὶ κύριοι πολλοί – Paul is thinking about pagan gods and pagan lords and this is therefore indefinite.
1 Corinthians 9:1a, οὐκ εἰμὶ ἀπόστολος (“Am I not an apostle”) – Would Paul be calling himself “the” apostle or apostle-ish?
1 Corinthians 9:16, οὐκ ἔστιν μοι καύχημα (“it is not to me a reason for boasting”)
1 Corinthians 12:14, τὸ σῶμα οὐκ ἔστιν ἓν μέλος (“the body is not one member”)
1 Corinthians 13:1, γέγονα χαλκὸς ἠχῶν (“I have become a noisy gong”)
1 Corinthians 15:44, Εἰ ἔστιν σῶμα ψυχικόν (“If it is a natural body”)
Romans 16:1, οὖσαν [καὶ] διάκονον τῆς ἐκκλησίας (“who is a servant of the churches”) – Phoebe is not the only servant/deaconess of the churches, and qualitative seems too fine a distinction.
Galatians 4:24, αὗται γάρ εἰσιν δύο διαθῆκαι (“for these are two covenants”)
Galatians 5:23, οὐκ ἔστιν νόμος “there is not a law”) – But see CSB, CJB, NLV which reflect a definite aspect to law.
Philippians 1:28, ἥτις ἐστὶν αὐτοῖς ἔνδειξις ἀπωλείας (“which is to them a sign of destruction”)
Hebrews 4:13, οὐκ ἔστιν κτίσις (“there is not a creature”)
James 2:4, ἐγένεσθε κριταὶ (“you have become judges”) – indefinite only possibility by virtue of being plural
James 2:11, γέγονας παραβάτης νόμου (predicate accusative) (“having become a transgressor of the law”)
Revelation 21:7b, καὶ αὐτὸς ἔσται μοι υἱός (“and they will be sons to me”)
=28 instances.

Indefinite anarthrous nouns following the verb makes sense for both Colwell’s and Harner’s
Rules, whereas they would not be expected preceding the verb, unless, as Colwell argues, they
are not be considered definite nouns to begin with, which, however, doesn’t make sense with 1
Corinthians 8:5.