Discovery BoxJohn 3:34
Context3:34 For the one whom God has sent 1 speaks the words of God, for he does not give the Spirit sparingly. 2
John 15:1-5
Context15:1 “I am the true vine 3 and my Father is the gardener. 4 15:2 He takes away 5 every branch that does not bear 6 fruit in me. He 7 prunes 8 every branch that bears 9 fruit so that it will bear more fruit. 15:3 You are clean already 10 because of the word that I have spoken to you. 15:4 Remain 11 in me, and I will remain in you. 12 Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, 13 unless it remains 14 in 15 the vine, so neither can you unless you remain 16 in me.
15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains 17 in me – and I in him – bears 18 much fruit, 19 because apart from me you can accomplish 20 nothing.
Matthew 3:11
Context3:11 “I baptize you with water, for repentance, but the one coming after me is more powerful than I am – I am not worthy 21 to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 22
Matthew 3:14
Context3:14 But John 23 tried to prevent 24 him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me?”
Luke 21:15
Context21:15 For I will give you the words 25 along with the wisdom 26 that none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.
Acts 3:12-16
Context3:12 When Peter saw this, he declared to the people, “Men of Israel, 27 why are you amazed at this? Why 28 do you stare at us as if we had made this man 29 walk by our own power or piety? 3:13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 30 the God of our forefathers, 31 has glorified 32 his servant 33 Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected 34 in the presence of Pilate after he had decided 35 to release him. 3:14 But you rejected 36 the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a man who was a murderer be released to you. 3:15 You killed 37 the Originator 38 of life, whom God raised 39 from the dead. To this fact we are witnesses! 40 3:16 And on the basis of faith in Jesus’ 41 name, 42 his very name has made this man – whom you see and know – strong. The 43 faith that is through Jesus 44 has given him this complete health in the presence 45 of you all.
Romans 8:9
Context8:9 You, however, are not in 46 the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this person does not belong to him.
Romans 8:1
Context8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 47
Colossians 1:4-5
Context1:4 since 48 we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints. 1:5 Your faith and love have arisen 49 from the hope laid up 50 for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel 51
Ephesians 4:7-12
Context4:7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. 4:8 Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he captured 52 captives; he gave gifts to men.” 53 4:9 Now what is the meaning of “he ascended,” except that he also descended 54 to the lower regions, 55 namely, the earth? 56 4:10 He, the very one 57 who descended, is also the one who ascended above all the heavens, in order to fill all things. 4:11 It was he 58 who gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 59 4:12 to equip 60 the saints for the work of ministry, that is, 61 to build up the body of Christ,
Colossians 1:19
Context1:19 For God 62 was pleased to have all his 63 fullness dwell 64 in the Son 65
Colossians 2:3
Context2:3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Colossians 2:9-10
Context2:9 For in him all the fullness of deity lives 66 in bodily form, 2:10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head over every ruler and authority.
Colossians 2:1
Context2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, 67 and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face. 68
Colossians 1:11
Context1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of 69 all patience and steadfastness, joyfully
[3:34] 2 tn Grk “for not by measure does he give the Spirit” (an idiom). Leviticus Rabbah 15:2 states: “The Holy Spirit rested on the prophets by measure.” Jesus is contrasted to this. The Spirit rests upon him without measure.
[15:1] 3 sn I am the true vine. There are numerous OT passages which refer to Israel as a vine: Ps 80:8-16, Isa 5:1-7, Jer 2:21, Ezek 15:1-8, 17:5-10, 19:10-14, and Hos 10:1. The vine became symbolic of Israel, and even appeared on some coins issued by the Maccabees. The OT passages which use this symbol appear to regard Israel as faithless to Yahweh (typically rendered as “Lord” in the OT) and/or the object of severe punishment. Ezek 15:1-8 in particular talks about the worthlessness of wood from a vine (in relation to disobedient Judah). A branch cut from a vine is worthless except to be burned as fuel. This fits more with the statements about the disciples (John 15:6) than with Jesus’ description of himself as the vine. Ezek 17:5-10 contains vine imagery which refers to a king of the house of David, Zedekiah, who was set up as king in Judah by Nebuchadnezzar. Zedekiah allied himself to Egypt and broke his covenant with Nebuchadnezzar (and therefore also with God), which would ultimately result in his downfall (17:20-21). Ezek 17:22-24 then describes the planting of a cedar sprig which grows into a lofty tree, a figurative description of Messiah. But it is significant that Messiah himself is not described in Ezek 17 as a vine, but as a cedar tree. The vine imagery here applies to Zedekiah’s disobedience. Jesus’ description of himself as the true vine in John 15:1 ff. is to be seen against this background, but it differs significantly from the imagery surveyed above. It represents new imagery which differs significantly from OT concepts; it appears to be original with Jesus. The imagery of the vine underscores the importance of fruitfulness in the Christian life and the truth that this results not from human achievement, but from one’s position in Christ. Jesus is not just giving some comforting advice, but portraying to the disciples the difficult path of faithful service. To some degree the figure is similar to the head-body metaphor used by Paul, with Christ as head and believers as members of the body. Both metaphors bring out the vital and necessary connection which exists between Christ and believers.
[15:2] 6 tn Or “does not yield.”
[15:2] 7 tn Grk “And he”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been omitted in the translation in keeping with the tendency in contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.
[15:2] 8 tn Or “trims”; Grk “cleanses” (a wordplay with “clean” in v. 3). Καθαίρει (kaqairei) is not the word one would have expected here, but it provides the transition from the vine imagery to the disciples – there is a wordplay (not reproducible in English) between αἴρει (airei) and καθαίρει in this verse. While the purpose of the Father in cleansing his people is clear, the precise means by which he does so is not immediately obvious. This will become clearer, however, in the following verse.
[15:3] 10 sn The phrase you are clean already occurs elsewhere in the Gospel of John only at the washing of the disciples’ feet in 13:10, where Jesus had used it of the disciples being cleansed from sin. This further confirms the proposed understanding of John 15:2 and 15:6 since Judas was specifically excluded from this statement (but not all of you).
[15:4] 12 tn Grk “and I in you.” The verb has been repeated for clarity and to conform to contemporary English style, which typically allows fewer ellipses (omitted or understood words) than Greek.
[15:4] 13 sn The branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it remains connected to the vine, from which its life and sustenance flows. As far as the disciples were concerned, they would produce no fruit from themselves if they did not remain in their relationship to Jesus, because the eternal life which a disciple must possess in order to bear fruit originates with Jesus; he is the source of all life and productivity for the disciple.
[15:4] 15 tn While it would be more natural to say “on the vine” (so NAB), the English preposition “in” has been retained here to emphasize the parallelism with the following clause “unless you remain in me.” To speak of remaining “in” a person is not natural English either, but is nevertheless a biblical concept (cf. “in Christ” in Eph 1:3, 4, 6, 7, 11).
[15:5] 19 tn Grk “in him, this one bears much fruit.” The pronoun “this one” has been omitted from the translation because it is redundant according to contemporary English style.
[3:11] 21 tn Grk “of whom I am not worthy.”
[3:11] 22 sn With the Holy Spirit and fire. There are differing interpretations for this phrase regarding the number of baptisms and their nature. (1) Some see one baptism here, and this can be divided further into two options. (a) The baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire could refer to the cleansing, purifying work of the Spirit in the individual believer through salvation and sanctification, or (b) it could refer to two different results of Christ’s ministry: Some accept Christ and are baptized with the Holy Spirit, but some reject him and receive judgment. (2) Other interpreters see two baptisms here: The baptism of the Holy Spirit refers to the salvation Jesus brings at his first advent, in which believers receive the Holy Spirit, and the baptism of fire refers to the judgment Jesus will bring upon the world at his second coming. One must take into account both the image of fire and whether individual or corporate baptism is in view. A decision is not easy on either issue. The image of fire is used to refer to both eternal judgment (e.g., Matt 25:41) and the power of the Lord’s presence to purge and cleanse his people (e.g., Isa 4:4-5). The pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost, a fulfillment of this prophecy no matter which interpretation is taken, had both individual and corporate dimensions. It is possible that since Holy Spirit and fire are governed by a single preposition in Greek, the one-baptism view may be more likely, but this is not certain. Simply put, there is no consensus view in scholarship at this time on the best interpretation of this passage.
[3:14] 23 tc ‡ The earliest
[3:14] 24 tn The imperfect verb has been translated conatively.
[21:15] 25 tn Grk “a mouth.” It is a metonymy and refers to the reply the Lord will give to them.
[21:15] 26 tn Grk “and wisdom.”
[3:12] 27 tn Or perhaps “People of Israel,” since this was taking place in Solomon’s Portico and women may have been present. The Greek ἄνδρες ᾿Ισραηλῖται (andre" Israhlitai) used in the plural would normally mean “men, gentlemen” (BDAG 79 s.v. ἀνήρ 1.a).
[3:12] 29 tn Grk “him”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[3:13] 30 tc ‡ The repetition of ὁ θεός (Jo qeos, “God”) before the names of Isaac and Jacob is found in Ì74 א C (A D without article) 36 104 1175 pc lat. The omission of the second and third ὁ θεός is supported by B E Ψ 33 1739 Ï pc. The other time that Exod 3:6 is quoted in Acts (7:32) the best witnesses also lack the repeated ὁ θεός, but the three other times this OT passage is quoted in the NT the full form, with the thrice-mentioned θεός, is used (Matt 22:32; Mark 12:26; Luke 20:37). Scribes would be prone to conform the wording here to the LXX; the longer reading is thus most likely not authentic. NA27 has the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.
[3:13] 31 tn Or “ancestors”; Grk “fathers.”
[3:13] 32 sn Has glorified. Jesus is alive, raised and active, as the healing illustrates so dramatically how God honors him.
[3:13] 33 sn His servant. The term servant has messianic connotations given the context of the promise, the note of suffering, and the titles and functions noted in vv. 14-15.
[3:13] 34 tn Or “denied,” “disowned.”
[3:13] 35 tn This genitive absolute construction could be understood as temporal (“when he had decided”) or concessive (“although he had decided”).
[3:14] 36 tn Or “denied,” “disowned.”
[3:15] 37 tn Or “You put to death.”
[3:15] 38 tn Or “Founder,” “founding Leader.”
[3:15] 39 sn Whom God raised. God is the main actor here, as he testifies to Jesus and vindicates him.
[3:15] 40 tn Grk “whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.” The two consecutive relative clauses make for awkward English style, so the second was begun as a new sentence with the words “to this fact” supplied in place of the Greek relative pronoun to make a complete sentence in English.
[3:16] 41 tn Grk “in his name”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[3:16] 42 sn Here is another example of appeal to the person by mentioning the name. See the note on the word name in 3:6.
[3:16] 43 tn Grk “see and know, and the faith.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation and καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated.
[3:16] 44 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[3:16] 45 tn Or “in full view.”
[8:9] 46 tn Or “are not controlled by the flesh but by the Spirit.”
[8:1] 47 tc The earliest and best witnesses of the Alexandrian and Western texts, as well as a few others (א* B D* F G 6 1506 1739 1881 pc co), have no additional words for v. 1. Later scribes (A D1 Ψ 81 365 629 pc vg) added the words μὴ κατὰ σάρκα περιπατοῦσιν (mh kata sarka peripatousin, “who do not walk according to the flesh”), while even later ones (א2 D2 33vid Ï) added ἀλλὰ κατὰ πνεῦμα (alla kata pneuma, “but [who do walk] according to the Spirit”). Both the external evidence and the internal evidence are compelling for the shortest reading. The scribes were evidently motivated to add such qualifications (interpolated from v. 4) to insulate Paul’s gospel from charges that it was characterized too much by grace. The KJV follows the longest reading found in Ï.
[1:4] 48 tn The adverbial participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") is understood to be temporal and translated with “since.” A causal idea may also be in the apostle’s mind, but the context emphasizes temporal ideas, e.g., “from the day” (v. 6).
[1:5] 49 tn Col 1:3-8 form one long sentence in the Greek text and have been divided at the end of v. 4 and v. 6 and within v. 6 for clarity, in keeping with the tendency in contemporary English toward shorter sentences. Thus the phrase “Your faith and love have arisen from the hope” is literally “because of the hope.” The perfect tense “have arisen” was chosen in the English to reflect the fact that the recipients of the letter had acquired this hope at conversion in the past, but that it still remains and motivates them to trust in Christ and to love one another.
[1:5] 50 tn BDAG 113 s.v. ἀπόκειμαι 2 renders ἀποκειμένην (apokeimenhn) with the expression “reserved” in this verse.
[1:5] 51 tn The term “the gospel” (τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, tou euangeliou) is in apposition to “the word of truth” (τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀληθείας, tw logw th" alhqeia") as indicated in the translation.
[4:8] 52 tn Grk “he led captive captivity.”
[4:8] 53 sn A quotation which is perhaps ultimately derived from Ps 68:18. However, the wording here differs from that of Ps 68 in both the Hebrew text and the LXX in a few places, the most significant of which is reading “gave gifts to” in place of “received gifts from” as in HT and LXX. It has sometimes been suggested that the author of Ephesians modified the text he was citing in order to better support what he wanted to say here. Such modifications are sometimes found in rabbinic exegesis from this and later periods, but it is also possible that the author was simply citing a variant of Ps 68 known to him but which has not survived outside its quotation here (W. H. Harris, The Descent of Christ [AGJU 32], 104). Another possibility is that the words here, which strongly resemble Ps 68:19 HT and LXX (68:18 ET), are actually part of an early Christian hymn quoted by the author.
[4:9] 54 tc The majority of
[4:9] 55 tc The Western texttype (D* F G it) lacks the plural noun μέρη (merh, “regions”); the shorter reading cannot be dismissed out of hand since it is also supported by Ì46 (which often has strong affinities, however, with the Western text). The inclusion of the word has strong external support from important, early
[4:9] 56 tn Grk “to the lower parts of the earth.” This phrase has been variously interpreted: (1) The traditional view understands it as a reference to the underworld (hell), where Jesus is thought to have descended in the three days between his death and resurrection. In this case, “of the earth” would be a partitive genitive. (2) A second option is to translate the phrase “of the earth” as a genitive of apposition: “to the lower parts, namely, the earth” (as in the present translation). Many recent scholars hold this view and argue that it is a reference to the incarnation. (3) A third option, which also sees the phrase “of the earth” as a genitive of apposition, is that the descent in the passage occurs after the ascent rather than before it, and refers to the descent of the Spirit at Pentecost (cf. Acts 4:11-16). Support for this latter view is found in the intertestamental and rabbinic use of Ps 68:18 (quoted in v. 8), which is consistently and solely interpreted as a reference to Moses’ ascent of Mt. Sinai to “capture” the words of the law. The probability, therefore, is that the comments here in v. 9 reflect a polemic against the interpretation of Ps 68:18 in certain circles as a reference to Moses. See W. H. Harris, The Descent of Christ (AGJU 32), 46-54; 171-204.
[4:10] 57 tn The Greek text lays specific emphasis on “He” through the use of the intensive pronoun, αὐτός (autos). This is reflected in the English translation through the use of “the very one.”
[4:11] 58 tn The emphasis on Christ is continued through the use of the intensive pronoun, αὐτός (autos), and is rendered in English as “it was he” as this seems to lay emphasis on the “he.”
[4:11] 59 sn Some interpreters have understood the phrase pastors and teachers to refer to one and the same group. This would mean that all pastors are teachers and that all teachers are pastors. This position is often taken because it is recognized that both nouns (i.e., pastors and teachers) are governed by one article in Greek. But because the nouns are plural, it is extremely unlikely that they refer to the same group, but only that the author is linking them closely together. It is better to regard the pastors as a subset of teachers. In other words, all pastors are teachers, but not all teachers are pastors. See ExSyn 284.
[4:12] 60 tn On the translation of πρὸς τὸν καταρτισμὸν τῶν ἁγίων (pro" ton katartismon twn Jagiwn) as “to equip the saints” see BDAG 526 s.v. καταρτισμός. In this case the genitive is taken as objective and the direct object of the verbal idea implied in καταρτισμός (katartismo").
[4:12] 61 tn The εἰς (eis) clause is taken as epexegetical to the previous εἰς clause, namely, εἰς ἔργον διακονίας (ei" ergon diakonia").
[1:19] 62 tn The noun “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but since God is the one who reconciles the world to himself (cf. 2 Cor 5:19), he is clearly the subject of εὐδόκησεν (eudokhsen).
[1:19] 63 tn The Greek article τό (to), insofar as it relates to God, may be translated as a possessive pronoun, i.e., “his.” BDAG 404 s.v. εὐδοκέω 1 translates the phrase as “all the fullness willed to dwell in him” thus leaving the referent as impersonal. Insofar as Paul is alluding to the so-called emanations from God this is acceptable. But the fact that “the fullness” dwells in a person (i.e., “in him”) seems to argue for the translation “his fullness” where “his” refers to God.
[1:19] 64 tn The aorist verb κατοικῆσαι (katoikhsai) could be taken as an ingressive, in which case it refers to the incarnation and may be translated as “begin to dwell, to take up residence.” It is perhaps better, though, to take it as a constative aorist and simply a reference to the fact that the fullness of God dwells in Jesus Christ. This is a permanent dwelling, though, not a temporary one, as the present tense in 2:9 makes clear.
[1:19] 65 tn Grk “him”; the referent (the Son; see v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[2:9] 66 sn In him all the fullness of deity lives. The present tense in this verse (“lives”) is significant. Again, as was stated in the note on 1:19, this is not a temporary dwelling, but a permanent one. Paul’s point is polemical against the idea that the fullness of God dwells anywhere else, as the Gnostics believed, except in Christ alone. At the incarnation, the second person of the Trinity assumed humanity, and is forever the God-man.
[2:1] 67 tn Or “I want you to know how hard I am working for you…”
[2:1] 68 tn Grk “as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.”
[1:11] 69 tn The expression “for the display of” is an attempt to convey in English the force of the Greek preposition εἰς (eis) in this context.
