1 Corinthians 3:5-9

3:5 What is Apollos, really? Or what is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, and each of us in the ministry the Lord gave us. ¹  3:6 I planted, ²  Apollos watered, but God caused it to grow. 3:7 So neither the one who plants counts for anything, ³  nor the one who waters, but God who causes the growth. 3:8 The one who plants and the one who waters work as one, ⁴  but each will receive his reward according to his work. 3:9 We are coworkers belonging to God. ⁵  You are God’s field, God’s building.

1 Corinthians 12:28-29

12:28 And God has placed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, gifts of healing, helps, gifts of leadership, different kinds of tongues. 12:29 Not all are apostles, are they? Not all are prophets, are they? Not all are teachers, are they? Not all perform miracles, do they?

1 Corinthians 16:10

16:10 Now if Timothy comes, see that he has nothing to fear among you, for he is doing the Lord’s work, as I am too.

1 Corinthians 16:2

16:2 On the first day of the week, each of you should set aside some income ⁶  and save ⁷  it to the extent that God has blessed you, ⁸  so that a collection will not have to be made ⁹  when I come.

Colossians 1:18-20

1:18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn ¹⁰  from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. ¹¹ 

1:19 For God ¹²  was pleased to have all his ¹³  fullness dwell ¹⁴  in the Son ¹⁵ 

1:20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross – through him, ¹⁶  whether things on earth or things in heaven.

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹⁷  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 1:4

1:4 since ¹⁸  we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints.

Ephesians 4:11-12

4:11 It was he ¹⁹  who gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, ²⁰  4:12 to equip ²¹  the saints for the work of ministry, that is, ²²  to build up the body of Christ,

[3:5]  ¹ tn Grk “and to each as the Lord gave.”

[3:6]  ² sn The expression I planted is generally taken to mean that Paul founded the church at Corinth. Later Apollos had a significant ministry there (watered). See also v. 10.

[3:7]  ³ tn Grk “is anything.”

[3:8]  ⁴ tn Grk “are one.” The purpose of this phrase is to portray unified action on the part of ministers underneath God’s sovereign control. Although they are in fact individuals, they are used by God with a single purpose to accomplish his will in facilitating growth. This emphasis is brought out in the translation “work as one.”

[3:9]  ⁵ tn Although 1 Cor 3:9 is frequently understood to mean, “we are coworkers with God,” such a view assumes that the genitive θεοῦ (qeou) is associative because of its relationship to συνεργοί (sunergoi). However, not only is a genitive of association not required by the syntax (cf. ExSyn 130), but the context is decidedly against it: Paul and Apollos are insignificant compared to the God whom they serve (vv. 5-8).

[16:2]  ⁶ tn Grk “set aside, storing whatever he has been blessed with.”

[16:2]  ⁷ tn Grk “set aside, storing.” The participle θησαυρίζων (qhsaurizwn) indicates the purpose or result of setting aside the extra income.

[16:2]  ⁸ tn “To the extent that God has blessed you” translates an awkward expression, “whatever has been prospered [to you].” This verb has been translated as an active with “God” as subject, taking it as a divine passive.

[16:2]  ⁹ tn Grk “so that collections will not be taking place.”

[1:18]  ⁷ tn See the note on the term “firstborn” in 1:15. Here the reference to Jesus as the “firstborn from among the dead” seems to be arguing for a chronological priority, i.e., Jesus was the first to rise from the dead.

[1:18]  ⁸ tn Grk “in order that he may become in all things, himself, first.”

[1:19]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the Son; see v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:20]  ⁹ tc The presence or absence of the second occurrence of the phrase δι᾿ αὐτοῦ (di’ autou, “through him”) is a difficult textual problem to solve. External evidence is fairly evenly divided. Many ancient and excellent witnesses lack the phrase (B D* F G I 0278 81 1175 1739 1881 2464 al latt sa), but equally important witnesses have it (Ì⁴⁶ א A C D¹ Ψ 048^vid 33 Ï). Both readings have strong Alexandrian support, which makes the problem difficult to decide on external evidence alone. Internal evidence points to the inclusion of the phrase as original. The word immediately preceding the phrase is the masculine pronoun αὐτοῦ (autou); thus the possibility of omission through homoioteleuton in various witnesses is likely. Scribes might have deleted the phrase because of perceived redundancy or awkwardness in the sense: The shorter reading is smoother and more elegant, so scribes would be prone to correct the text in that direction. As far as style is concerned, repetition of key words and phrases for emphasis is not foreign to the corpus Paulinum (see, e.g., Rom 8:23, Eph 1:13, 2 Cor 12:7). In short, it is easier to account for the shorter reading arising from the longer reading than vice versa, so the longer reading is more likely original.

[1:1]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:4]  ¹¹ 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).

[4:11]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn The εἰς (eis) clause is taken as epexegetical to the previous εἰς clause, namely, εἰς ἔργον διακονίας (ei" ergon diakonia").