2 Corinthians 3:5-6

3:5 Not that we are adequate ¹  in ourselves to consider anything as if it were coming from ourselves, but our adequacy ²  is from God, 3:6 who made us adequate ³  to be servants of a new covenant ⁴  not based on the letter but on the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

2 Corinthians 12:7-9

12:7 even because of the extraordinary character of the revelations. Therefore, ⁵  so that I would not become arrogant, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to trouble ⁶  me – so that I would not become arrogant. ⁷  12:8 I asked the Lord three times about this, that it would depart from me. 12:9 But ⁸  he said to me, “My grace is enough ⁹  for you, for my ¹⁰  power is made perfect ¹¹  in weakness.” So then, I will boast most gladly ¹²  about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in ¹³  me.

2 Corinthians 13:4

13:4 For indeed he was crucified by reason of weakness, but he lives because of God’s power. For we also are weak in him, but we will live together with him, because of God’s power toward you.

2 Corinthians 13:1

Paul’s Third Visit to Corinth

13:1 This is the third time I am coming to visit ¹⁴  you. By the testimony ¹⁵  of two or three witnesses every matter will be established. ¹⁶ 

Colossians 2:3-5

2:3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 2:4 I say this so that no one will deceive you through arguments ¹⁷  that sound reasonable. ¹⁸  2:5 For though ¹⁹  I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, rejoicing to see ²⁰  your morale ²¹  and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

Ephesians 1:19-20

1:19 and what is the incomparable ²²  greatness of his power toward ²³  us who believe, as displayed in ²⁴  the exercise of his immense strength. ²⁵  1:20 This power ²⁶  he exercised ²⁷  in Christ when he raised him ²⁸  from the dead and seated him ²⁹  at his right hand in the heavenly realms ³⁰ 

Ephesians 2:5

2:5 even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you are saved! ³¹  –

Ephesians 2:8-9

2:8 For by grace you are saved ³²  through faith, ³³  and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; 2:9 it is not from ³⁴  works, so that no one can boast. ³⁵ 

Colossians 2:12

2:12 Having been buried with him in baptism, you also have been raised with him through your ³⁶  faith in the power ³⁷  of God who raised him from the dead.

Colossians 2:1

2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, ³⁸  and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face. ³⁹ 

Colossians 1:5

1:5 Your faith and love have arisen ⁴⁰  from the hope laid up ⁴¹  for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel ⁴² 

[3:5]  ¹ tn Or “competent.”

[3:5]  ² tn Or “competence.”

[3:6]  ³ tn Or “competent.”

[3:6]  ⁴ sn This new covenant is promised in Jer 31:31-34; 32:40.

[12:7]  ⁵ tc Most mss (Ì⁴⁶ D Ψ 1881 Ï) lack διό (dio, “Therefore”), but the widespread distribution and quality of mss which include it (א A B F G 0243 33 81 1175 1739 pc) argues for its authenticity. Internally, its case is equally strong in that its inclusion is grammatically rough (διό is hardly necessary to convey purpose, especially since Paul uses ἵνα [{ina, “so that”] next).

[12:7]  ⁶ tn Or “to harass.”

[12:7]  ⁷ tn The phrase “so that I might not become arrogant” is repeated here because it occurs in the Greek text two times in the verse. Although redundant, it is repeated because of the emphatic nature of its affirmation.

[12:9]  ⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” because of the contrast implicit in the context.

[12:9]  ⁹ tn Or “is sufficient.”

[12:9]  ¹⁰ tc The majority of later mss (א² A^c D¹ Ψ 0243 0278 33 1739 1881 Ï) as well as some versional witnesses include the pronoun “my” here, but the omission of the pronoun has excellent external support (Ì^46vid א* A* B D* F G latt). Scribes probably added the pronoun for clarity, making the obvious referent explicit. This would also make “power” more parallel with “my grace.” Though the original text probably did not include “my,” scribes who added the word were following the sense of Paul’s statement.

[12:9]  ¹¹ tn Or “my power comes to full strength.”

[12:9]  ¹² tn “Most gladly,” a comparative form used with superlative meaning and translated as such.

[12:9]  ¹³ tn Or “may rest on.”

[13:1]  ¹⁴ tn The word “visit” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[13:1]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “By the mouth.”

[13:1]  ¹⁶ sn A quotation from Deut 19:15 (also quoted in Matt 18:16; 1 Tim 5:19).

[2:4]  ¹⁷ tn BDAG 812 s.v. πιθανολογία states, “persuasive speech, art of persuasion (so Pla., Theaet. 162e) in an unfavorable sense in its only occurrence in our lit. ἐν πιθανολογίᾳ by specious arguments Col 2:4 (cp. PLips 40 III, 7 διὰ πιθανολογίας).”

[2:4]  ¹⁸ sn Paul’s point is that even though the arguments seem to make sense (sound reasonable), they are in the end false. Paul is not here arguing against the study of philosophy or serious thinking per se, but is arguing against the uncritical adoption of a philosophy that is at odds with a proper view of Christ and the ethics of the Christian life.

[2:5]  ¹⁹ tn The conditional particle εἰ (ei) together with καί (kai) here indicates a first class condition in Greek and carries a concessive force, especially when seen in contrast to the following phrase which begins with ἀλλά (alla).

[2:5]  ²⁰ tn Grk “rejoicing and seeing.”

[2:5]  ²¹ tn The Greek word τάξις can mean “order,” “discipline,” or even “unbroken ranks” (REB).

[1:19]  ²² tn Or “immeasurable, surpassing”

[1:19]  ²³ tn Or “for, to”

[1:19]  ²⁴ tn Grk “according to.”

[1:19]  ²⁵ tn Grk “according to the exercise of the might of his strength.”

[1:20]  ²⁶ tn Grk “which” (v. 20 is a subordinate clause to v. 19).

[1:20]  ²⁷ tn The verb “exercised” (the aorist of ἐνεργέω, energew) has its nominal cognate in “exercise” in v. 19 (ἐνέργεια, energeia).

[1:20]  ²⁸ tn Or “This power he exercised in Christ by raising him”; Grk “raising him.” The adverbial participle ἐγείρας (egeiras) could be understood as temporal (“when he raised [him]”), which would be contemporaneous to the action of the finite verb “he exercised” earlier in the verse, or as means (“by raising [him]”). The participle has been translated here with the temporal nuance to allow for means to also be a possible interpretation. If the translation focused instead upon means, the temporal nuance would be lost as the time frame for the action of the participle would become indistinct.

[1:20]  ²⁹ tc The majority of mss, especially the Western and Byzantine mss (D F G Ψ Ï b r Ambst), have the indicative ἐκάθισεν (ekaqisen, “he seated”) for καθίσας (kaqisa", “when he seated, by seating”). The indicative is thus coordinate with ἐνήργησεν (enhrghsen, “he exercised”) and provides an additional statement to “he exercised his power.” The participle (found in Ì^92vid א A B 0278 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 2464 al), on the other hand, is coordinate with ἐγείρας (egeiras) and as such provides evidence of God’s power: He exercised his power by raising Christ from the dead and by seating him at his right hand. As intriguing as the indicative reading is, it is most likely an intentional alteration of the original wording, accomplished by an early “Western” scribe, which made its way in the Byzantine text.

[1:20]  ³⁰ sn Eph 1:19-20. The point made in these verses is that the power required to live a life pleasing to God is the same power that raised Christ from the dead. For a similar thought, cf. John 15:1-11.

[2:5]  ³¹ tn Or “by grace you have been saved.” The perfect tense in Greek connotes both completed action (“you have been saved”) and continuing results (“you are saved”).

[2:8]  ³² tn See note on the same expression in v. 5.

[2:8]  ³³ tc The feminine article is found before πίστεως (pistews, “faith”) in the Byzantine text as well as in A Ψ 1881 pc. Perhaps for some scribes the article was intended to imply creedal fidelity as a necessary condition of salvation (“you are saved through the faith”), although elsewhere in the corpus Paulinum the phrase διὰ τῆς πίστεως (dia th" pistew") is used for the act of believing rather than the content of faith (cf. Rom 3:30, 31; Gal 3:14; Eph 3:17; Col 2:12). On the other side, strong representatives of the Alexandrian and Western texts (א B D* F G P 0278 6 33 1739 al bo) lack the article. Hence, both text-critically and exegetically, the meaning of the text here is most likely “saved through faith” as opposed to “saved through the faith.” Regarding the textual problem, the lack of the article is the preferred reading.

[2:9]  ³⁴ tn Or “not as a result of.”

[2:9]  ³⁵ tn Grk “lest anyone should boast.”

[2:12]  ³⁶ tn The article with the genitive modifier τῆς πίστεως (th" pistew") is functioning as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[2:12]  ³⁷ tn The genitive τῆς ἐνεργείας (th" energeia") has been translated as an objective genitive, “faith in the power.”

[2:1]  ³⁸ tn Or “I want you to know how hard I am working for you…”

[2:1]  ³⁹ tn Grk “as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.”

[1:5]  ⁴⁰ 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]  ⁴¹ tn BDAG 113 s.v. ἀπόκειμαι 2 renders ἀποκειμένην (apokeimenhn) with the expression “reserved” in this verse.

[1:5]  ⁴² 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.