4:1 I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:
4:17 So I say this, and insist 1 in the Lord, that you no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility 2 of their thinking. 3
4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, 4 urge you to live 5 worthily of the calling with which you have been called, 6
4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, 7 urge you to live 8 worthily of the calling with which you have been called, 9 4:2 with all humility and gentleness, 10 with patience, bearing with 11 one another in love,
3:1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus 14 for the sake of you Gentiles –
1 tn On the translation of μαρτύρομαι (marturomai) as “insist” see BDAG 619 s.v. 2.
2 tn On the translation of ματαιότης (mataioth") as “futility” see BDAG 621 s.v.
3 tn Or “thoughts,” “mind.”
4 tn Grk “prisoner in the Lord.”
5 tn Grk “walk.” The verb “walk” in the NT letters refers to the conduct of one’s life, not to physical walking.
6 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.
7 tn Grk “prisoner in the Lord.”
8 tn Grk “walk.” The verb “walk” in the NT letters refers to the conduct of one’s life, not to physical walking.
9 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.
10 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).
11 tn Or “putting up with”; or “forbearing.”
12 sn The phrase through the gospel is placed last in the sentence in Greek for emphasis. It has been moved forward for clarity.
13 tn Grk “and fellow members.”
14 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
15 sn Eph 5:19-21. In Eph 5:18 the author gives the command to be filled by means of the Holy Spirit. In 5:19-21 there follows five participles: (1) speaking; (2) singing; (3) making music; (4) giving thanks; (5) submitting. These participles have been variously interpreted, but perhaps the two most likely interpretations are (1) the participles indicate the means by which one is filled by the Spirit; (2) the participles indicate the result of being filled by the Spirit. The fact that the participles are present tense and follow the command (i.e., “be filled”) would tend to support both of these options. But it seems out of Paul’s character to reduce the filling of the Spirit to a formula of some kind. To the extent that this is true, it is unlikely then that the author is here stating the means for being filled by the Spirit. Because it is in keeping with Pauline theology and has good grammatical support, it is better to take the participles as indicating certain results of being filled by the Spirit. See ExSyn 639.
16 tn The term ἀνθίστημι (anqisthmi) carries the idea of resisting or opposing something or someone (BDAG 80 s.v.). In Eph 6:13, when used in combination with στῆναι (sthnai; cf. also στῆτε [sthte] in v. 14) and in a context of battle imagery, it seems to have the idea of resisting, standing firm, and being able to stand your ground.