The word ‘when’ in our Bible and in our language is easily misrepresented in interpreting it. Start, for example with:
Ephesians 5:8 [ESV] “…at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.”
When was this? When did we go from darkness into the light? ‘When’ is a believer ‘saved’? When they first step out in the aisle to go forward? When they have finally said a heartfelt ‘amen’ to the sinner’s prayer? When they decided to attend the service in which they went forward? Before the foundation of the world….”? At what point in time is the moment “when”? Does conviction play a part and if, yes, can that take time? All we know is that once it has past, we went from darkness to light. Many Christians know they love Jesus but cannot pinpoint the moment of their salvation—’when’ they first believed.
When links 2 Events
“When” links 2 events together either in time or logically. To know the time of ‘when’ one must know the time of the event linked with it. Moses’s hands raised meant victory! Moses’s hands at rest meant defeat.
Exodus 17:11 “And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.”
In Genesis 18:33 Abraham didn’t leave until the Lord did! We would take his example in our worship services.
Genesis 18:33 “as soon as [when] the Lord had left communing with Abraham, Abraham returned unto his place.”
There are 2 separate uses of this word in our New Testament. the event linked with “when” is said to be antecedent if it came before or first. We often translate ‘since.‘ It is said to be coincident if it is happening at the same time. We often translate ‘while.’
Coincident translated while
John 9:4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when [while] no man can work.
Luke 13:35 you shall not see Me until the time comes when [at that time] you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ ”
Antecedent translated since or after
Matthew 7:28 And so it was, when [after] Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching.
Romans 13:11 can only be understood to mean “since.”
Romans 13:11 for now is our salvation nearer than when [KJV adds ‘first’ supporting ‘since’] we believed.
It seems apparent that Paul is saying in Romans 13:11 that every passing day brings us closer to this blessed hoped for event—our Lord’s return. His reason for saying this was to awaken us. Godet wrote:
“Sleep is the state of forgetfulness of God and of estrangement from Him, and the carnal security of the man of the world in this state. Awakening is the act by which man reaches the lively conviction of his responsibility, gives himself to the impulse of prayer, drawing him to God, and enters into communication with him to obtain through Christ, the pardon of his sins and divine help”
Paul is alerting us that our salvation [our Lord’s return] is sooner than when we came to faith. He didn’t need to add our word ‘first’ since ‘when’ means the moment we came to faith. Each day brings us closer to the blessed event. But it is an alert rather than a comfort because many have rolled over in their carnality to get another 40 winks and we agree with Paul this could be an irreparable mistake as it was for 5 foolish virgins.
Here are both in 1 verse:
1 Corinthians 13:11 When [while] I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when [since/after] I became a man, I put away childish things.
Which is it?
Acts 19:2 is difficult to interpret having split the evangelical camp in two:
Acts 19:2 He said unto them, Have [Did] you receive the Holy Spirit ‘when’ you believed? Here “when” can be grammatically antecedent [since ‘after’ you believed] or coincident [while, at the time of] believing.
J. Gresham Machen argues for the antecedent use and is popular in Pentecostal and Catholic circles. If Acts 19:2 is best translated “since” or “after” we have viewed ‘believing’ and ‘receiving the Holy Spirit’ as 2 separate events.
Dana & Mantey Greek grammar argues for the coincident use and is popular in Baptist and Presbyterian circles. If Acts 19:2 is best translated “while” or “at the time” we have viewed ‘believing’ and ‘receiving the Holy Spirit’ as one and the same event.
I want to believe that both are true and that the link between believing and receiving is logical and not temporal. Believing and receiving are obviously not 2 separate moments of time. Both are descriptive of the salvation experience. But the work of the Spirit has only begun then. I interpret Paul to be asking: Does your faith embrace the work of God’s Spirit within you. There is so much about our salvation to learn and He is our teacher!!!
The moral of the story? Don’t argue when as if you can pinpoint a time when God has begun and finished whatever He is doing or promising! Bask in the awesomeness of the fact alone that He is at work in you …
To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. Ephesians 1:6
