Illumination depends on the working of the Spirit not the education and language skills of men!
Should pastors study the original languages? Absolutely.
Should every believer? Not necessarily.
Is a good English translation enough so that you can understand the Word of God? Yes it is.
The point being that those who are charged with teaching the Word need to be able to handle it rightly. And that takes intimate knowledge of the Book! Most pastors do not know the Bible well in English, let alone Greek or Hebrew. (see Matt's quiz for pastors on the Puritan's Mind website to see what I mean).
But we must never think that one has to have a deep understanding of the original languages in order to understand and apply the Word. If that were true, then we would all be preaching out of the Greek or Hebrew to congregations that all were fluent in both.
It is a matter of a pastor being an expert in his field - the Word of God. And his expertise should be more than able to lead teh congregation to an understanding of the the text whether or not they know Greek or Hebrew.
I will end where I started though. We must never elevate the wisdom or education or skill of men above the power and working of the Holy Spirit. He will lead us into all truth.
Phillip
Should pastors study the original languages? Absolutely.
Should every believer? Not necessarily.
Is a good English translation enough so that you can understand the Word of God? Yes it is.
The point being that those who are charged with teaching the Word need to be able to handle it rightly. And that takes intimate knowledge of the Book! Most pastors do not know the Bible well in English, let alone Greek or Hebrew. (see Matt's quiz for pastors on the Puritan's Mind website to see what I mean).
But we must never think that one has to have a deep understanding of the original languages in order to understand and apply the Word. If that were true, then we would all be preaching out of the Greek or Hebrew to congregations that all were fluent in both.
It is a matter of a pastor being an expert in his field - the Word of God. And his expertise should be more than able to lead teh congregation to an understanding of the the text whether or not they know Greek or Hebrew.
I will end where I started though. We must never elevate the wisdom or education or skill of men above the power and working of the Holy Spirit. He will lead us into all truth.
Phillip