What is the Granville Sharp Rule?

The Granville Sharp Rule is a principle in biblical interpretation that deals with the use of the Greek definite article (“the”) in the New Testament. It is named after Granville Sharp, an 18th century British scholar and abolitionist, who first observed and formulated this grammatical rule.

The rule states that when two nouns of the same case are connected by the word “and”, and the first noun has the definite article while the second does not, then the two nouns refer to the same person or thing. For example, in Titus 2:13, the phrase is “the glory of the great God and Savior Jesus Christ”. Here, “God” has the definite article (“the”) while “Savior” does not. Therefore, according to the Granville Sharp Rule, they both refer to the same person – Jesus Christ.

The importance of this rule is that it helps identify and prove the deity of Christ in certain disputed passages. If the rule applies, it shows that Jesus is being called both “God” and “Savior” and therefore declares His divinity. Some of the other passages where this grammatical construction occurs and implies the deity of Christ using the Granville Sharp Rule include:

• 2 Peter 1:1 – “the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ”
• 2 Thessalonians 1:12 – “the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ”
• Titus 2:13 – “the glory of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ”

However, there are some important qualifications and limitations to properly applying the Granville Sharp Rule:

• The rule only applies to two nouns (not verbs or adjectives) in the same case (nominative or vocative)
• The two nouns must be referring to persons, not things
• The two nouns must be connected by “and” – not “or” or other conjunctions
• Proper names can sometimes make the application unclear or ambiguous
• Context of the overall passage must be considered
• The rule establishes identity, not equality – the nouns may refer to two titles of one person

There has been some debate among scholars regarding the Granville Sharp Rule. In more recent study, some have questioned whether Granville Sharp himself intended this grammatical observation to be formulated as a “rule”. Also, the fact that this construction was common in extrabiblical Greek literature has raised doubts about its definiteness in establishing identity of persons.

However, most Bible translators and interpreters still consider the Granville Sharp Rule to be a valid and helpful principle. When properly understood and applied, it provides strong evidence that Jesus is identified as both “God” and “Savior” in places like Titus 2:13. This supports the biblical teaching of Christ’s deity as “true God and true man”. But the rule should not be simplistically applied without considering the context and original language grammar.

In summary, the Granville Sharp Rule is an important Greek grammatical construction showing that two nouns connected by “and”, where one has the definite article and the other does not, refer to the same person. When applied properly to the right passages, it provides strong evidence that Jesus shares identity with God and is thus declared to be fully divine in the New Testament. This rule has helped interpreters and Bible translators for over 200 years now to see and establish the deity of Christ from disputed texts.

The Granville Sharp rule is named after Granville Sharp (1735-1813), an English scholar and abolitionist, who first made the observation about this grammatical construction in Greek and its significance in biblical passages like Titus 2:13. He wrote a book in 1798 called Remarks on the Uses of the Definitive Article in the Greek Text of the New Testament, where he laid out this rule in detail with many examples. Since then, this principle has been widely known as the Granville Sharp Rule.

Some key aspects about Granville Sharp and his formulation of this grammatical rule are:

• He was one of the first to systematically study the use of the Greek definite article (“the”) in NT passages
• He was not formally trained in Greek grammar, but had taught himself koine Greek later in life
• He popularized this grammatical principle primarily to argue for Christ’s deity from disputed texts
• His rule was immediately criticized by Unitarians like J. Priestley who opposed Sharp’s orthodox view
• Later Greek scholars like Middleton and Winstanley questioned some aspects of Sharp’s rule
• But most scholars since have accepted the essential validity and usefulness of this grammatical observation

So in many ways, Granville Sharp was a pioneer in studying Greek definite articles and first highlighted this construction. He should get credit for bringing attention to these grammatical patterns in the Greek NT, which bolster the biblical case for Jesus’ divinity. The rule bearing Sharp’s name remains a helpful principle today for Bible students, translators, and teachers when properly understood and applied.

The main passages where the Granville Sharp rule establishes the deity of Christ are Titus 2:13, 2 Peter 1:1, and 2 Thessalonians 1:12. Let’s take a closer look at each of these verses:

Titus 2:13

“Waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.”

In this verse, “God” has the definite article (“the”) while “Savior” does not. So according to the Granville Sharp rule, they both refer to the same person – Jesus Christ. This identifies Jesus as both “our great God” and our “Savior”, declaring His divinity.

2 Peter 1:1

“To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Again, we have “God” with the definite article and “Savior” without, denoting they refer to the same person – Jesus. So Jesus is called both “our God” and “Savior”, affirming His deity.

2 Thessalonians 1:12

“So that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

In this case, “God” has the definite article and “Lord” does not. But because “Lord” refers to Jesus specifically in this context, the Granville Sharp rule indicates “God” and “Lord Jesus” refer to the same person whose name is to be glorified – Jesus Christ.

So in these important passages, the Granville Sharp rule allows us to establish that Jesus shares identity with God, providing strong grammatical evidence for the deity and divinity of Christ as taught consistently throughout Scripture.

The Granville Sharp rule has some limitations and qualifications that need to be kept in mind when applying it:

• The rule only applies to two nouns (not verbs or adjectives) in the same case (nominative or vocative). So it would not apply to a construction like “the love of God and a Savior”, where only one noun has the article.
• The two nouns must be referring to persons, not things. So a construction like “the joy of the Lord and song” would be irrelevant, since “song” does not refer to a person.
• The nouns must be connected by “and” – not other conjunctions like “or”, “but”, etc. The connecting word is crucial.
• Proper names can make application of the rule unclear at times. For example, “the grace of the Lord Jesus and God” contains a proper name separaring the nouns.
• The overall context needs to be considered. Just because the construction is present does not automatically mean the nouns refer to the same person.
• The rule establishes identity, not equality or interchangeability. The nouns may refer to two titles of one person, not that they mean the exact same thing.

So the Granville Sharp rule is most clearly and definitively applied when referring to two titles of a person like “God” and “Savior”. Biblical translators and interpreters should take care to properly understand these limitations and qualifications before appealing to the Granville Sharp rule in any given passage.

Despite some reservations from modern linguists, most Bible scholars and commentators still find the Granville Sharp rule to be a valid and useful principle for studying Christ’s deity. When properly applied, it provides strong evidence that Jesus shares identity with God. Some reasons for this continued acceptance are:

• The grammatical pattern occurs frequently enough to establish a genuine tendency or rule in Greek.
• Many examples have no contextual issues and plainly refer to two titles of one person.
• It agrees with the overall teaching of Scripture on Christ’s divinity.
• Early church fathers recognized Christ’s deity in these “Sharp” passages.
• Sharp’s critics still acknowledge these constructions signify unity of some kind between the nouns.
• Modern translations interpret these verses as Sharp argued based on this rule (ESV, NASB, etc.).
• No scholar has definitively disproven the legitimate application of this grammatical principle.

So while the Granville Sharp rule should be applied carefully and properly, it remains a valid grammatical principle. When used correctly, it provides strong biblical evidence that Jesus is both fully God and fully man – the God-man and divine Savior of Scripture.

When approaching Bible passages that seem to call Jesus “God” according to the Granville Sharp rule, we should keep a few principles in mind:

• Look at the overall context first, not just the grammatical construction.
• Make sure the nouns truly refer to persons, not things.
• Don’t automatically assume the nouns are exactly equal in meaning.
• Check other translations and commentaries on that passage.
• See if the early church argued Christ’s deity from that text.
• Compare other clear Scriptures teaching the divinity of Jesus.
• Avoid dogmatism, but don’t ignore a valid grammatical point either.
• Remember that Scripture as a whole teaches Christ is fully God and fully man.

The Granville Sharp rule gives us linguistic evidence, not absolute proof. But when correctly understood and applied, it can establish that Jesus shares identity with God in passages that may otherwise be ambiguous. This can aid our understanding and provide opportunities to teach on Jesus Christ as the divine Savior and His eternal nature as God in the flesh.

But we should avoid using the Granville Sharp rule in isolation from the rest of Scripture or informed scholarly analysis. With care and proper perspective, it remains a beneficial tool that clarifies the biblical basis for the deity, divinity and eternality of Jesus Christ.

The Granville Sharp rule has faced some objections and criticisms since it was first formulated and promoted:

• Applicability: Some argue it is overapplied and used too definitively in passages where the context is unclear or the construction unnatural in Greek.
• Definiteness: Modern linguists contend the rule is too absolute of a “law”, when these constructions naturally had flexibility in ancient Greek.
• Sharp’s Qualifications: There is debate about whether Sharp himself intended this principle to establish identity so absolutely.
• Frequency: This grammatical pattern occurs rarely enough in the NT that some doubt its significance.
• Presuppositions: Since Sharp was focused on proving Christ’s deity, his analysis may have been skewed by theological bias.
• Christological Variants: Some later Greek texts of disputed passages do not follow this construction, implying it was not definitive.

In light of these criticisms, Bible scholars have responded with some key points:

• Most uses of the rule are straightforward and accepted by all translators and interpreters.
• Sharp’s main point was unity of personhood, even if modern linguistics differs on semantics.
• Sharp popularized this principle but did not invent it – other scholars before him noticed the pattern as well.
• The early church strongly argued Christ’s deity from Granville Sharp passages, implying their validity.
• Application of the rule still requires careful consideration of context and original language.

So in summary, the Granville Sharp rule remains a valid grammatical principle that continues to inform Bible translation and interpretation today. While there are certainly qualifications and nuance required, the core observation about unity between definite nouns connected by “and” provides valuable linguistic support for certain biblical teachings.

When handled carefully and properly, the Granville Sharp rule remains a helpful tool for studying and explaining the identity of Jesus Christ as God in specific New Testament passages.