ABEL DAMINA IS A FIREHOSE OF HERESY (PART II)

“What is the Granville Sharp Rule?”

By Akin Ojumu

In Part One of this commentary series, we set out to repudiate one of Abel Damina’s numerous false teachings. This time around it’s his interpretation of John 1:17.

“For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”  (John 1:17).

According to Damina, “Grace and truth are not two things. The word ‘and’ here is the ‘kai.’ The TKS rule of Bible interpretation which is copulative which is not a conjunction but a further explanation. So, grace, which is the truth, exists as Jesus Christ. That’s actually the way it is in the original Greek.”

Probably confusing the Granville Sharp rule with the TKS rule of Bible interpretation, Abel Damina erroneously concluded that the grace and truth mentioned in John 1:17 are one and the same thing. 

When we stopped last time, we were discussing the Granville Sharp rule. We said it’s a grammatical principle applied to the translation of New Testament Greek whereby the deity of Christ is explicitly affirmed. The rule is especially employed when translating Titus 2:13 and 2 Peter 1:1. And it has to do with the use of definite articles (e.g., “the”) and copulative conjunctions (e.g., “and”) in the New Testament.

Granville Sharp rule states that when you have two nouns, which are not proper names (i.e., James, John, or Jacob), and the two nouns are describing a person, and they are connected by the word “AND,” and the first noun has the definitive article (“THE”) while the second does not, both nouns are referring to the same person.”

Take for instance Titus 2:13: 

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.”

When you apply the Granville Sharp rule to the above passage, the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ refer to the same person. Using the rule, we can accurately interpret Titus 2:13 to mean that Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is God. 

THE (definite article) + GREAT GOD (singular noun) + AND (copulative conjunction) + SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST (singular noun) = THE SAME PERSON.

Unfortunately, there have been many preachers who mangle and twist Bible passages because they are completely ignorant of the Granville Sharp rule. Then there are those, like Abel Damina, who while they may be aware of the rule, misuse it by ignoring its caveats and exceptions. 

In order for the Granville Sharp rule to apply to a New Testament text, it’s imperative that the following four conditions be met: 

(1) both nouns must be personal nouns

(2) both nouns must be common nouns, that is, not proper names

(3) both nouns must be in the singular

(4) both nouns must be in the same case

The Granville Sharp rule applies ONLY when the two nouns are singular, and it applies to persons, not things or objects.

Using the Granville Sharp rule to interpret John 1:17, you quickly realize that Abel Damina’s interpretation is erroneous.

“For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”  (John 1:17).

Grace and truth in John 1:17 are neither personal nor common nouns. So, with respect to this particular Bible passage, the Granville Sharp rule does not apply. It’s erroneous for Damina to conclude that the grace and truth in the passage mean the same thing. Grace is NOT truth. They are two different things.

In the video clip, Abel Damina interprets John 1:17 as saying: “Grace, which is the truth, exists as Jesus Christ.” 

However, what John 1:17 actually says is: “Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

“Grace, which is the truth, exists as Jesus Christ” has a totally different meaning than “Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

While it’s true that grace and truth are both found in Jesus Christ, grace does not mean the same thing as truth. They are both attributes of the Lord Jesus Christ, but they are different attributes, nonetheless. 

Grace is God’s benevolence, love, and mercy. It’s God’s favor toward the unworthy or God’s benevolence conferred on the undeserving.” In His grace, God is willing to forgive us and bless us abundantly, in spite of the fact that we don’t deserve to be treated so well or dealt with so generously.

Truth, on the other hand, has to do with the content of our belief or the substance of our faith. Truth is the thing we believe in. The Truth of God is the Gospel of God, which is the Good News of salvation. The Truth of God is also used as a synonym for the Word of God.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8).

Grace is the quickening power given by God to us that enables us, in our state of spiritual deadness, to believe the Truth. It is grace that causes us to have faith to believe in the Truth.

In essence, John 1:17 is saying it’s through our Lord Jesus Christ that we obtain grace and truth. The text is not saying that “grace, which is the truth, exists as Jesus Christ.”

Abel Damina then goes on to say: “And that’s actually the way it is in the original Greek.” 

Well, he is flatly wrong. That’s not the way John 1:17 is in the original Greek.

What John 1:17 means in the original Greek, which is Koine Greek, is that Grace and Truth are both found only in Jesus Christ and not in the Law of Moses. That is to say, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is both the source of Grace (i.e., the power to believe) and Truth (the substance of our belief).

Abel Damina is a false teacher. The man is an intelligent sounding wolf in sheep’s clothing leading many astray by his false teachings. If you care at all about your soul, you’ll mark and avoid Abel Damina. He is a plague destroying the faith of those who believe in his erroneous teachings.

In Part 3 of this commentary, we’ll examine Damina’s teaching on who is the author of the Old Testament. Don’t go anywhere.