Roma 12:3

Conduct in Humility

12:3 For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but to think with sober discernment, as God has distributed to each of you ¹  a measure of faith. ² 

Roma 15:15-16

15:15 But I have written more boldly to you on some points so as to remind you, because of the grace given to me by God 15:16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. I serve ³  the gospel of God ⁴  like a priest, so that the Gentiles may become an acceptable offering, ⁵  sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

Yohanes 1:16

1:16 For we have all received from his fullness one gracious gift after another. ⁶ 

Yohanes 1:1

The Prologue to the Gospel

1:1 In the beginning ⁷  was the Word, and the Word was with God, ⁸  and the Word was fully God. ⁹ 

Kolose 1:10

1:10 so that you may live ¹⁰  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ¹¹  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

Kolose 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ¹²  brothers and sisters ¹³  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ¹⁴  from God our Father! ¹⁵ 

Kolose 3:5-6

3:5 So put to death whatever in your nature belongs to the earth: ¹⁶  sexual immorality, impurity, shameful passion, ¹⁷  evil desire, and greed which is idolatry. 3:6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience. ¹⁸ 

Galatia 1:15-16

1:15 But when the one ¹⁹  who set me apart from birth ²⁰  and called me by his grace was pleased 1:16 to reveal his Son in ²¹  me so that I could preach him ²²  among the Gentiles, I did not go to ask advice from ²³  any human being, ²⁴ 

Efesus 3:2-9

3:2 if indeed ²⁵  you have heard of the stewardship ²⁶  of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3:3 that ²⁷  by revelation the divine secret ²⁸  was made known to me, as I wrote before briefly. ²⁹  3:4 When reading this, ³⁰  you will be able to ³¹  understand my insight into this secret ³²  of Christ. 3:5 Now this secret ³³  was not disclosed to people ³⁴  in former ³⁵  generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by ³⁶  the Spirit, 3:6 namely, that through the gospel ³⁷  the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members ³⁸  of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus. 3:7 I became a servant of this gospel ³⁹  according to the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by ⁴⁰  the exercise of his power. ⁴¹  3:8 To me – less than the least of all the saints ⁴²  – this grace was given, ⁴³  to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ 3:9 and to enlighten ⁴⁴  everyone about God’s secret plan ⁴⁵  – a secret that has been hidden for ages ⁴⁶  in God ⁴⁷  who has created all things.

Efesus 3:1

Paul's Relationship to the Divine Mystery

3:1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus ⁴⁸  for the sake of you Gentiles –

Titus 1:11-12

1:11 who must be silenced because they mislead whole families by teaching for dishonest gain what ought not to be taught. 1:12 A certain one of them, in fact, one of their own prophets, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” ⁴⁹ 

[12:3]  ¹ tn The words “of you” have been supplied for clarity.

[12:3]  ² tn Or “to each as God has distributed a measure of faith.”

[15:16]  ³ tn Grk “serving.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in the Greek text, but in keeping with contemporary English style, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[15:16]  ⁴ tn The genitive in the phrase τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ θεοῦ (to euangelion tou qeou, “the gospel of God”) could be translated as either a subjective genitive (“the gospel which God brings”) or an objective genitive (“the gospel about God”). Either is grammatically possible. This is possibly an instance of a plenary genitive (see ExSyn 119-21; M. Zerwick, Biblical Greek, §§36-39). If so, an interplay between the two concepts is intended: The gospel which God brings is in fact the gospel about himself.

[15:16]  ⁵ tn Grk “so that the offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable.” This could be understood to refer to an offering belonging to the Gentiles (a possessive genitive) or made by the Gentiles (subjective genitive), but more likely the phrase should be understood as an appositive genitive, with the Gentiles themselves consisting of the offering (so J. D. G. Dunn, Romans [WBC 38], 2:860). The latter view is reflected in the translation “so that the Gentiles may become an acceptable offering.”

[1:16]  ⁶ tn Grk “for from his fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.” The meaning of the phrase χάριν ἀντὶ χάριτος (carin anti carito") could be: (1) love (grace) under the New Covenant in place of love (grace) under the Sinai Covenant, thus replacement; (2) grace “on top of” grace, thus accumulation; (3) grace corresponding to grace, thus correspondence. The most commonly held view is (2) in one sense or another, and this is probably the best explanation. This sense is supported by a fairly well-known use in Philo, Posterity 43 (145). Morna D. Hooker suggested that Exod 33:13 provides the background for this expression: “Now therefore, I pray you, if I have found χάρις (LXX) in your sight, let me know your ways, that I may know you, so that I may find χάρις (LXX) in your sight.” Hooker proposed that it is this idea of favor given to one who has already received favor which lies behind 1:16, and this seems very probable as a good explanation of the meaning of the phrase (“The Johannine Prologue and the Messianic Secret,” NTS 21 [1974/75]: 53).

[1:16]  sn Earlier commentators (including Origen and Luther) took the words For we have all received from his fullness one gracious gift after another to be John the Baptist’s. Most modern commentators take them as the words of the author.

[1:1]  ⁷ sn In the beginning. The search for the basic “stuff” out of which things are made was the earliest one in Greek philosophy. It was attended by the related question of “What is the process by which the secondary things came out of the primary one (or ones)?,” or in Aristotelian terminology, “What is the ‘beginning’ (same Greek word as beginning, John 1:1) and what is the origin of the things that are made?” In the New Testament the word usually has a temporal sense, but even BDAG 138 s.v. ἀρχή 3 lists a major category of meaning as “the first cause.” For John, the words “In the beginning” are most likely a conscious allusion to the opening words of Genesis – “In the beginning.” Other concepts which occur prominently in Gen 1 are also found in John’s prologue: “life” (1:4) “light” (1:4) and “darkness” (1:5). Gen 1 describes the first (physical) creation; John 1 describes the new (spiritual) creation. But this is not to play off a false dichotomy between “physical” and “spiritual”; the first creation was both physical and spiritual. The new creation is really a re-creation, of the spiritual (first) but also the physical. (In spite of the common understanding of John’s “spiritual” emphasis, the “physical” re-creation should not be overlooked; this occurs in John 2 with the changing of water into wine, in John 11 with the resurrection of Lazarus, and the emphasis of John 20-21 on the aftermath of Jesus’ own resurrection.)

[1:1]  ⁸ tn The preposition πρός (pros) implies not just proximity, but intimate personal relationship. M. Dods stated, “Πρός …means more than μετά or παρά, and is regularly employed in expressing the presence of one person with another” (“The Gospel of St. John,” The Expositor’s Greek Testament, 1:684). See also Mark 6:3, Matt 13:56, Mark 9:19, Gal 1:18, 2 John 12.

[1:1]  ⁹ tn Or “and what God was the Word was.” Colwell’s Rule is often invoked to support the translation of θεός (qeos) as definite (“God”) rather than indefinite (“a god”) here. However, Colwell’s Rule merely permits, but does not demand, that a predicate nominative ahead of an equative verb be translated as definite rather than indefinite. Furthermore, Colwell’s Rule did not deal with a third possibility, that the anarthrous predicate noun may have more of a qualitative nuance when placed ahead of the verb. A definite meaning for the term is reflected in the traditional rendering “the word was God.” From a technical standpoint, though, it is preferable to see a qualitative aspect to anarthrous θεός in John 1:1c (ExSyn 266-69). Translations like the NEB, REB, and Moffatt are helpful in capturing the sense in John 1:1c, that the Word was fully deity in essence (just as much God as God the Father). However, in contemporary English “the Word was divine” (Moffatt) does not quite catch the meaning since “divine” as a descriptive term is not used in contemporary English exclusively of God. The translation “what God was the Word was” is perhaps the most nuanced rendering, conveying that everything God was in essence, the Word was too. This points to unity of essence between the Father and the Son without equating the persons. However, in surveying a number of native speakers of English, some of whom had formal theological training and some of whom did not, the editors concluded that the fine distinctions indicated by “what God was the Word was” would not be understood by many contemporary readers. Thus the translation “the Word was fully God” was chosen because it is more likely to convey the meaning to the average English reader that the Logos (which “became flesh and took up residence among us” in John 1:14 and is thereafter identified in the Fourth Gospel as Jesus) is one in essence with God the Father. The previous phrase, “the Word was with God,” shows that the Logos is distinct in person from God the Father.

[1:1]  sn And the Word was fully God. John’s theology consistently drives toward the conclusion that Jesus, the incarnate Word, is just as much God as God the Father. This can be seen, for example, in texts like John 10:30 (“The Father and I are one”), 17:11 (“so that they may be one just as we are one”), and 8:58 (“before Abraham came into existence, I am”). The construction in John 1:1c does not equate the Word with the person of God (this is ruled out by 1:1b, “the Word was with God”); rather it affirms that the Word and God are one in essence.

[1:10]  ¹⁰ tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”

[1:10]  ¹¹ tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”

[1:2]  ¹² tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.

[1:2]  ¹³ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:2]  ¹⁴ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ¹⁵ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these mss would surely have deleted the phrase in the rest of the corpus Paulinum), it is surely authentic.

[3:5]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “the members which are on the earth.” See BDAG 628 s.v. μέλος 1, “put to death whatever in you is worldly.”

[3:5]  ¹⁷ tn Or “lust.”

[3:6]  ¹⁸ tc The words ἐπὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς τῆς ἀπειθείας (epi tou" Juiou" th" apeiqeia", “on the sons of disobedience”) are lacking in Ì⁴⁶ B b sa, but are found in א A C D F G H I Ψ 075 0278 33 1739 1881 Ï lat sy bo. The words are omitted by several English translations (NASB, NIV, ESV, TNIV). This textual problem is quite difficult to resolve. On the one hand, the parallel account in Eph 5:6 has these words, thus providing scribes a motive for adding them here. On the other hand, the reading without the words may be too hard: The ἐν οἷς (en |oi") of v. 7 seems to have no antecedent without υἱούς already in the text, although it could possibly be construed as neuter referring to the vice list in v. 5. Further, although the witness of B is especially important, there are other places in which B and Ì⁴⁶ share errant readings of omission. Nevertheless, the strength of the internal evidence against the longer reading is at least sufficient to cause doubt here. The decision to retain the words in the text is less than certain.

[3:6]  sn The expression sons of disobedience is a Semitic idiom that means “people characterized by disobedience.” In this context it refers to “all those who are disobedient.” Cf. Eph 5:6.

[1:15]  ¹⁹ tc ‡ Several important witnesses have ὁ θεός (Jo qeos) after εὐδόκησεν (eudokhsen; so א A D Ψ 0278 33 1739 1881 Ï co) while the shorter reading is supported by Ì⁴⁶ B F G 629 1505 pc lat. There is hardly any reason why scribes would omit the words (although the Beatty papyrus and the Western text do at times omit words and phrases), but several reasons why scribes would add the words (especially the need to clarify). The confluence of witnesses for the shorter reading (including a few fathers and versions) adds strong support for its authenticity. It is also in keeping with Paul’s style to refrain from mentioning God by name as a rhetorical device (cf. ExSyn 437 [although this section deals with passive constructions, the principle is the same]). NA²⁷ includes the words in brackets, indicating some doubts as to their authenticity.

[1:15]  ²⁰ tn Grk “from my mother’s womb.”

[1:16]  ²¹ tn Or “to me”; the Greek preposition ἐν (en) can mean either, depending on the context.

[1:16]  ²² tn This pronoun refers to “his Son,” mentioned earlier in the verse.

[1:16]  ²³ tn Or “I did not consult with.” For the translation “I did not go to ask advice from” see L&N 33.175.

[1:16]  ²⁴ tn Grk “from flesh and blood.”

[3:2]  ²⁵ sn If indeed. The author is not doubting whether his audience has heard, but is rather using provocative language (if indeed) to engage his audience in thinking about the magnificence of God’s grace. However, in English translation, the apodosis (“then”-clause) does not come until v. 13, leaving the protasis (“if”-clause) dangling. Eph 3:2-7 constitute one sentence in Greek.

[3:2]  ²⁶ tn Or “administration,” “dispensation,” “commission.”

[3:3]  ²⁷ tn Or “namely, that is.”

[3:3]  ²⁸ tn Or “mystery.”

[3:3]  ²⁹ tn Or “as I wrote above briefly.”

[3:3]  sn As I wrote briefly may refer to the author’s brief discussion of the divine secret in 1:9.

[3:4]  ³⁰ tn Grk “which, when reading.”

[3:4]  ³¹ tn Grk “you are able to.”

[3:4]  ³² tn Or “mystery.”

[3:5]  ³³ tn Grk “which.” Verse 5 is technically a relative clause, subordinate to the thought of v. 4.

[3:5]  ³⁴ tn Grk “the sons of men” (a Semitic idiom referring to human beings, hence, “people”).

[3:5]  ³⁵ tn Grk “other.”

[3:5]  ³⁶ tn Or “in.”

[3:6]  ³⁷ sn The phrase through the gospel is placed last in the sentence in Greek for emphasis. It has been moved forward for clarity.

[3:6]  ³⁸ tn Grk “and fellow members.”

[3:7]  ³⁹ tn Grk “of which I was made a minister,” “of which I became a servant.”

[3:7]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “according to.”

[3:7]  ⁴¹ sn On the exercise of his power see 1:19-20.

[3:8]  ⁴² sn In Pauline writings saints means any true believer. Thus for Paul to view himself as less than the least of all the saints is to view himself as the most unworthy object of Christ’s redemption.

[3:8]  ⁴³ sn The parallel phrases to proclaim and to enlighten which follow indicate why God’s grace was manifested to Paul. Grace was not something just to be received, but to be shared with others (cf. Acts 13:47).

[3:9]  ⁴⁴ tn There is a possible causative nuance in the Greek verb, but this is difficult to convey in the translation.

[3:9]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “what is the plan of the divine secret.” Earlier the author had used οἰκονομία (oikonomia; here “plan”) to refer to his own “stewardship” (v. 2). But now he is speaking about the content of this secret, not his own activity in relation to it.

[3:9]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “for eternity,” or perhaps “from the Aeons.” Cf. 2:2, 7.

[3:9]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “by God.” It is possible that ἐν (en) plus the dative here indicates agency, that is, that God has performed the action of hiding the secret. However, this usage of the preposition ἐν is quite rare in the NT, and even though here it does follow a perfect passive verb as in the Classical idiom, it is more likely that a different nuance is intended.

[3:1]  ⁴⁸ tc Several early and important witnesses, chiefly of the Western text (א* D* F G [365]), lack ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou, “Jesus”) here, while most Alexandrian and Byzantine mss (Ì⁴⁶ א¹ A B [C] D¹ Ψ 33 1739 [1881] Ï lat sy bo) have the word. However, because of the Western text’s proclivities to add or delete to the text, seemingly at whim, serious doubts should be attached to the shorter reading. It is strengthened, however, by א’s support. Nevertheless, since both א and D were corrected with the addition of ᾿Ιησοῦ, their testimony might be questioned. Further, in uncial script the nomina sacra here could have led to missing a word by way of homoioteleuton (cMuiMu). At the same time, in light of the rarity of scribal omission of nomina sacra (see TCGNT 582, n. 1), a decision for inclusion of the word here must be tentative. NA²⁷ rightly places ᾿Ιησοῦ in brackets.

[1:12]  ⁴⁹ sn A saying attributed to the poet Epimenides of Crete (6th century b.c.).