The Not/But Construction

The Bible uses what’s commonly called the “not … but construction” many times to mean “not this ONLY, but this.” A “not/but” passage emphasizes one thing over another, but does not exclude the other entirely. I John 3:18, John 12:44, and 6:27 (“Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life”) are good illustrations of such. John 6:27 isn’t teaching we shouldn’t labor for physical food at all (II Thess 3:10), but is emphasizing that labor for spiritual food is more important than labor for physical food.

I Cor 1:17 is another good example. I Cor 1:17 is not excluding Paul baptizing entirely (that would contradict verses 14,16 that says he did). It is emphasizing Paul’s preaching work over his baptizing work (which others could do just as well as he could). Paul’s point here is not to deemphasize baptism in relation to salvation but to deemphasize who does the baptizing in contradistinction to the Corinthians’ false thinking that they are followers of the man who baptized them (1:12-14). The point is not that getting baptized doesn’t matter, but that who baptizes you doesn’t matter.

Having said all that, we are not free to just claim any verse is such a not/but construction in order to justify our preconceived view. Not every verse that has “not” and “but” carries the ideas of “not this ONLY, but this.” For example, is Matt 5:33 saying it was okay for Old Testament saints to forswear themselves sometimes just as long as their emphasis was to perform their oaths? Is Matt 6:13 teaching we want God to lead us into temptation every now and then, just with an emphasis on deliverance? Of course not.

Some see our not/but construction in I Cor 14:34 in order to justify women speaking in the church. But try sticking the word “only” in verse 34 – “it is not permitted unto them to speak only; but they are commanded to be under obedience.” That doesn’t make any sense (what would it mean?), and it contradicts what came just before it – “Let your women keep silence in the churches.” No, like Matt 5:33 and 6:13, I Cor 14:34 is giving an absolutely not, and then giving the exclusive alternative. We know for sure from verse 35 Paul is not just condemning women preaching, that is, speaking in a way that takes them out of their subjective role (I Tim 2:11-12). Asking a question for learning purposes does not take a woman out of her subjective role, but it is nonetheless forbidden in the church assembly here. So I Cor 14:34-35 condemns a woman even requesting a song number or helping with the announcements from her seat.

hear Bible Crossfire Sunday nights at 8:04 central on SiriusXM radio Family Talk 131 or at BibleCrossfire.com