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Greek Lessons
- Thorns That Choke: Converging Aorists and Participial Force in Luke 8:7
- The Grammar of Compassion: Voice, Place, and Affliction in Matthew 8:6
- What the Flesh Minds, What the Spirit Sets: Parallelism and Prepositional Identity in Romans 8:5
- The Ark at Ararat: Resting on the 27th Day
- Compassion on the Road: Feeding the Fainthearted (Mark 8:3)
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Category
Tag Archives: Romans 8:5
What the Flesh Minds, What the Spirit Sets: Parallelism and Prepositional Identity in Romans 8:5
Οἱ γὰρ κατὰ σάρκα ὄντες τὰ τῆς σαρκὸς φρονοῦσιν, οἱ δὲ κατὰ πνεῦμα τὰ τοῦ πνεύματος. (Romans 8:5)
Two Ways of Being, Two Ways of Thinking
Romans 8:5 is a model of Pauline parallelism and theological contrast, presented with clear prepositional logic. It divides all people into two categories — those who are “according to the flesh” and those who are “according to the Spirit” — and then correlates each group with its way of thinking.
This verse’s grammar hinges on:
Attributive participial phrases that define identity
Prepositional phrases that express orientation
Parallel neuter noun phrases indicating domains of thought
A simple but powerful verb: φρονοῦσιν (“they think / set their minds on”)
We’ll explore the verse’s elegant syntax using a clear table structure.… Learn Koine Greek