2 Corinthians 5:16

5:16 So then from now on we acknowledge ¹  no one from an outward human point of view. ²  Even though we have known Christ from such a human point of view, ³  now we do not know him in that way any longer.

2 Corinthians 5:2

5:2 For in this earthly house ⁴  we groan, because we desire to put on ⁵  our heavenly dwelling,

2 Corinthians 5:17

5:17 So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away ⁶  – look, what is new ⁷  has come! ⁸ 

Romans 6:6

6:6 We know that ⁹  our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, ¹⁰  so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

Ephesians 4:17

Live in Holiness

4:17 So I say this, and insist ¹¹  in the Lord, that you no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility ¹²  of their thinking. ¹³ 

Ephesians 4:1

Live in Unity

4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, ¹⁴  urge you to live ¹⁵  worthily of the calling with which you have been called, ¹⁶ 

Ephesians 1:14-15

1:14 who is the down payment ¹⁷  of our inheritance, until the redemption of God’s own possession, ¹⁸  to the praise of his glory.

Prayer for Wisdom and Revelation

1:15 For this reason, ¹⁹  because I ²⁰  have heard ²¹  of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love ²²  for all the saints,

Ephesians 4:2-4

4:2 with all humility and gentleness, ²³  with patience, bearing with ²⁴  one another in love, 4:3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4:4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you too were called to the one hope of your calling,

¹ tn Grk “we know.”

² tn Grk “no one according to the flesh.”

³ tn Grk “we have known Christ according to the flesh.”

⁴ tn Or “dwelling place.”

⁵ tn Or “to be clothed with.”

⁶ tn Grk “old things have passed away.”

⁷ tc Most mss have the words τὰ πάντα (ta panta, “all things”; cf. KJV “behold, all things are become new”), some after καίνα (kaina, “new”; D² K L P Ψ 104 326 945 2464 pm) and others before it (6 33 81 614 630 1241 1505 1881 pm). The reading without τὰ πάντα, however, has excellent support from both the Western and Alexandrian texttypes (Ì⁴⁶ א B C D* F G 048 0243 365 629 1175 1739 pc co), and the different word order of the phrase which includes it (“all things new” or “new all things”) in the ms tradition indicates its secondary character. This secondary addition may have taken place because of assimilation to τὰ δὲ πάντα (ta de panta, “and all [these] things”) that begins the following verse.

⁸ tn Grk “new things have come [about].”

⁹ tn Grk “knowing this, that.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

¹⁰ tn Grk “may be rendered ineffective, inoperative,” or possibly “may be destroyed.” The term καταργέω (katargew) has various nuances. In Rom 7:2 the wife whose husband has died is freed from the law (i.e., the law of marriage no longer has any power over her, in spite of what she may feel). A similar point seems to be made here (note v. 7).

¹¹ tn On the translation of μαρτύρομαι (marturomai) as “insist” see BDAG 619 s.v. 2.

¹² tn On the translation of ματαιότης (mataioth") as “futility” see BDAG 621 s.v.

¹³ tn Or “thoughts,” “mind.”

¹⁴ tn Grk “prisoner in the Lord.”

¹⁵ tn Grk “walk.” The verb “walk” in the NT letters refers to the conduct of one’s life, not to physical walking.

¹⁶ sn With which you have been called. The calling refers to the Holy Spirit’s prompting that caused them to believe. The author is thus urging his readers to live a life that conforms to their saved status before God.

¹⁷ tn Or “first installment,” “pledge,” “deposit.”

¹⁸ tn Grk “the possession.”

¹⁹ sn The conjunctive phrase For this reason points back to the preceding section, vv. 3-14, which is also summed up in this verse in the expression because I have heard of your faith. In other words, the author’s prayer can be made for his audience because he knows that they are true believers.

²⁰ tn Grk “even I.”

²¹ tn Grk “having also heard.”

²² tc Ì⁴⁶ א* A B P 33 1739 1881 2464 Hier lack “your love” (τὴν ἀγάπην, thn agaphn), while various other groups of mss have different arrangements of the phrase “your love toward all the saints” (τὴν ἀγάπην τὴν εἰς πάντας τοὺς ἁγίους, thn agaphn thn ei" panta" tou" Jagiou"). Most witnesses, especially the later ones (א² D¹ Ψ Ï latt sa), read τὴν ἀγάπην τὴν εἰς πάντας τοὺς ἁγίους. Externally, the shorter reading is superior. Internally, the omission of τὴν ἀγάπην is a significantly harder reading, for the saints become an object of faith on par with the Lord Jesus. If this reading is authentic, however, the force of πίστις (pisti") is probably closer to “faithfulness,” a meaning that could perhaps be suitable toward both the Lord and the saints. Nevertheless, if the shorter reading is authentic, later scribes would no doubt have been tempted to alter it. With the parallel in Col 1:4 at hand, τὴν ἀγάπην would have been the most obvious phrase to add. (TCGNT 533 suggests that ἣν ἔχετε would have been added instead of the second τήν if the shorter reading were original, in conformity with Col 1:4, but this is not necessarily so: Scribes often altered the text as minimally as possible, and since the second τήν was already present, replacing it with ἣν ἔχετε, when the meaning was not significantly different from the second τήν, seems unlikely.) Further, ἀγάπην comes after “saints” (thus, τὴν εἰς πάντας τοὺς ἁγίους ἀγάπην) in some witnesses (81 104 326 365 1175), and the second τήν is lacking (thus, τὴν ἀγάπην εἰς πάντας τοὺς ἁγίους) in others (D* F G). Such a floating text normally indicates inauthenticity. On the other hand, τὴν ἀγάπην could easily have dropped out of the text by way of haplography, the Alexandrian scribes’ eyes skipping from τήν to τήν. The weak first declension feminine article-noun-article construction is common enough in the NT, occurring over 40 times, yet in four of these texts there is some ms evidence for an omission similar to Eph 1:15 (Rom 11:17; 2 Tim 3:10; Rev 11:2; 21:9). But in none of these places is the Alexandrian testimony united in the omission as it is here. Further, a wholesale Alexandrian omission of τὴν ἀγάπην presupposes a much stronger genealogical relation among the Alexandrian mss than many scholars would embrace. What seems to tip the scales in favor of the longer reading, however, is the intrinsic evidence: The question of whether πίστις could be used to mean faithfulness in the general sense toward both the Lord and the saints is quite problematic. All in all, a decision is difficult, but the longer reading is, with hesitation, preferred.

²³ tn Or “meekness.” The word is often used in Hellenistic Greek of the merciful execution of justice on behalf of those who have no voice by those who are in a position of authority (Matt 11:29; 21:5).

²⁴ tn Or “putting up with”; or “forbearing.”