Exact KJB lettering: nit-picking and a stumblingblock?
Posted: 26 May 2014, 22:30Does God really care whether or not the King James Bible spells "inquire" or "enquire"? Or is this a non-issue?
Does the perfect God have a "near enough is good enough" view of the presentation of the King James Bible? I mean, does God really have an exact form of His Word in English? Does God have one edition of the King James Bible?
Think about the God who has created complexity, order and absolute laws. He knows about sparrows... "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered." (Matthew 10:29, 30).
It is true that there is one pure presentation of the King James Bible for today. I say this with all meekness, because I know some people may think it strange that non-American Pentecostals should be saying such a thing. The issue is to do with truth: does Scripture, logic and common sense dictate that there should be a standard and proper King James Bible edition?
It is not enough to say that any KJB will do, or that all are right. Some are manifestly corrupt (e.g. changing words changes doctrines). While proper King James Bibles are right, there are still issues to do with the exact sense that may be clouded by issues such as spelling or the use of capital letters.
The prophet Joel wrote that God would pour out His spirit. The apostle Peter said that God would pour out *of* His Spirit. Note that there is a difference between the case on the letter "s" in the word "spirit". This comes to an issue today, where some King James Bibles have capital "S" on that word in 1 John 5:8, while the 1769 Edition and the Pure Cambridge Edition have "spirit". There are doctrinal reasons why "spirit" is correct here too: it is because a person who is born again has the witness of their own spirit (which is born again of the Spirit). Such a distinction is lost or obscured as the modernising trend of changing "spirit" to "Spirit" occurs.
God is not a God of confusion, but the God of a sound mind. And that means that He is also the God who cares for His Word to ensure that it is correct to the very jot and tittle. If people resist the doctrine of an exact edition of the King James Bible as being God's best, and turn a blind eye to the providential evidence, I think they are missing out on something good. I want people to be happy, joyful, at peace and at rest that they can with confidence know that we have a pure King James Bible.
It is a blessed thing to see that God has blessed us and given to us His exact Word, exactly correct and knowable, even to the exact spelling and presentation of words.
Does the perfect God have a "near enough is good enough" view of the presentation of the King James Bible? I mean, does God really have an exact form of His Word in English? Does God have one edition of the King James Bible?
Think about the God who has created complexity, order and absolute laws. He knows about sparrows... "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered." (Matthew 10:29, 30).
It is true that there is one pure presentation of the King James Bible for today. I say this with all meekness, because I know some people may think it strange that non-American Pentecostals should be saying such a thing. The issue is to do with truth: does Scripture, logic and common sense dictate that there should be a standard and proper King James Bible edition?
It is not enough to say that any KJB will do, or that all are right. Some are manifestly corrupt (e.g. changing words changes doctrines). While proper King James Bibles are right, there are still issues to do with the exact sense that may be clouded by issues such as spelling or the use of capital letters.
The prophet Joel wrote that God would pour out His spirit. The apostle Peter said that God would pour out *of* His Spirit. Note that there is a difference between the case on the letter "s" in the word "spirit". This comes to an issue today, where some King James Bibles have capital "S" on that word in 1 John 5:8, while the 1769 Edition and the Pure Cambridge Edition have "spirit". There are doctrinal reasons why "spirit" is correct here too: it is because a person who is born again has the witness of their own spirit (which is born again of the Spirit). Such a distinction is lost or obscured as the modernising trend of changing "spirit" to "Spirit" occurs.
God is not a God of confusion, but the God of a sound mind. And that means that He is also the God who cares for His Word to ensure that it is correct to the very jot and tittle. If people resist the doctrine of an exact edition of the King James Bible as being God's best, and turn a blind eye to the providential evidence, I think they are missing out on something good. I want people to be happy, joyful, at peace and at rest that they can with confidence know that we have a pure King James Bible.
It is a blessed thing to see that God has blessed us and given to us His exact Word, exactly correct and knowable, even to the exact spelling and presentation of words.