Romans 13:12-14

13:12 The night has advanced toward dawn; the day is near. So then we must lay aside the works of darkness, and put on the weapons of light. 13:13 Let us live decently as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in discord and jealousy. 13:14 Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to arouse its desires. ¹ 

Romans 13:2

13:2 So the person who resists such authority ²  resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will incur judgment

Colossians 1:2-4

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ³  brothers and sisters ⁴  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ⁵  from God our Father! ⁶ 

Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer for the Church

1:3 We always ⁷  give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 1:4 since ⁸  we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints.

Galatians 3:27

3:27 For all of you who ⁹  were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Ephesians 4:24

4:24 and to put on the new man who has been created in God’s image ¹⁰  – in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth. ¹¹ 

Ephesians 4:1

Live in Unity

4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, ¹²  urge you to live ¹³  worthily of the calling with which you have been called, ¹⁴ 

Ephesians 3:2

3:2 if indeed ¹⁵  you have heard of the stewardship ¹⁶  of God’s grace that was given to me for you,

¹ tn Grk “make no provision for the flesh unto desires.”

² tn Grk “the authority,” referring to the authority just described.

³ 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.

⁴ 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).

⁵ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

⁶ 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.

⁷ tn The adverb πάντοτε (pantote) is understood to modify the indicative εὐχαριστοῦμεν (eucaristoumen) because it precedes περὶ ὑμῶν (peri Jumwn) which probably modifies the indicative and not the participle προσευχόμενοι (proseucomenoi). But see 1:9 where the same expression occurs and περὶ ὑμῶν modifies the participle “praying” (προσευχόμενοι).

⁸ 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).

⁹ tn Grk “For as many of you as.”

¹⁰ tn Or “in God’s likeness.” Grk “according to God.” The preposition κατά used here denotes a measure of similarity or equality (BDAG 513 s.v. B.5.b.α).

¹¹ tn Or “in righteousness and holiness which is based on truth” or “originated from truth.”

¹² tn Grk “prisoner in the Lord.”

¹³ tn Grk “walk.” The verb “walk” in the NT letters refers to the conduct of one’s life, not to physical walking.

¹⁴ 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.

¹⁵ 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.

¹⁶ tn Or “administration,” “dispensation,” “commission.”