2 Peter 1:4

1:4 Through these things ¹  he has bestowed on us his precious and most magnificent promises, so that by means of what was promised ²  you may become partakers of the divine nature, ³  after escaping ⁴  the worldly corruption that is produced by evil desire. ⁵ 

Acts 15:8-9

15:8 And God, who knows the heart, ⁶  has testified ⁷  to them by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, ⁸  15:9 and he made no distinction ⁹  between them and us, cleansing ¹⁰  their hearts by faith.

Romans 1:12

1:12 that is, that we may be mutually comforted by one another’s faith, ¹¹  both yours and mine.

Romans 1:2

1:2 This gospel ¹²  he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures,

Colossians 4:13

4:13 For I can testify that he has worked hard ¹³  for you and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis.

Ephesians 4:5

4:5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

Philippians 1:29

1:29 For it has been granted to you ¹⁴  not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for him,

Philippians 1:2

1:2 Grace and peace to you ¹⁵  from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

Philippians 1:5

1:5 because of your participation ¹⁶  in the gospel from the first day until now. ¹⁷ 

Titus 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹⁸  a slave ¹⁹  of God and apostle of Jesus Christ, to further the faith ²⁰  of God’s chosen ones and the knowledge of the truth that is in keeping with godliness,

Titus 1:4

1:4 To Titus, my genuine son in a common faith. Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior!

Titus 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ²¹  a slave ²²  of God and apostle of Jesus Christ, to further the faith ²³  of God’s chosen ones and the knowledge of the truth that is in keeping with godliness,

Titus 1:7

1:7 For the overseer ²⁴  must be blameless as one entrusted with God’s work, ²⁵  not arrogant, not prone to anger, not a drunkard, not violent, not greedy for gain.

Titus 2:7

2:7 showing yourself to be an example of good works in every way. In your teaching show integrity, dignity,

[1:4]  ¹ tn Verse 4 is in Greek a continuation of v. 3, “through which things.”

[1:4]  ² tn Grk “through them.” The implication is that through inheriting and acting on these promises the believers will increasingly become partakers of the divine nature.

[1:4]  ³ sn Although the author has borrowed the expression partakers of the divine nature from paganism, his meaning is clearly Christian. He does not mean apotheosis (man becoming a god) in the pagan sense, but rather that believers have an organic connection with God. Because of such a connection, God can truly be called our Father. Conceptually, this bears the same meaning as Paul’s “in Christ” formula. The author’s statement, though startling at first, is hardly different from Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians that they “may be filled up to all the fullness of God” (3:19).

[1:4]  ⁴ tn The aorist participle ἀποφυγόντες (apofugonte") is often taken as attendant circumstance to the preceding verb γένησθε (genhsqe). As such, the sense is “that you might become partakers…and might escape…” However, it does not follow the contours of the vast majority of attendant circumstance participles (in which the participle precedes the main verb, among other things). Further, attendant circumstance participles are frequently confused with result participles (which do follow the verb). Many who take this as attendant circumstance are probably viewing it semantically as result (“that you might become partakers…and [thereby] escape…”). But this is next to impossible since the participle is aorist: Result participles are categorically present tense.

[1:4]  ⁵ tn Grk “the corruption in the world (in/because of) lust.”

[15:8]  ⁶ sn The expression who knows the heart means “who knows what people think.”

[15:8]  ⁷ tn Or “has borne witness.”

[15:8]  ⁸ sn By giving them…just as he did to us. The allusion is to the events of Acts 10-11, esp. 10:44-48 and Peter’s remarks in 11:15-18.

[15:9]  ⁹ tn BDAG 231 s.v. διακρίνω 1.b lists this passage under the meaning “to conclude that there is a difference, make a distinction, differentiate.”

[15:9]  ¹⁰ tn Or “purifying.”

[1:12]  ¹¹ tn Grk “that is, to be comforted together with you through the faith in one another.”

[1:2]  ¹² tn Grk “the gospel of God, which he promised.” Because of the length and complexity of this sentence in Greek, it was divided into shorter English sentences in keeping with contemporary English style. To indicate the referent of the relative pronoun (“which”), the word “gospel” was repeated at the beginning of v. 2.

[4:13]  ¹³ tn Grk “pain.” This word appears only three times in the NT outside of this verse (Rev 16:10, 11; 21:4) where the translation “pain” makes sense. For the present verse it has been translated “worked hard.” See BDAG 852 s.v. πόνος 1.

[1:29]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “For that which is on behalf of Christ has been granted to you – namely, not only to believe in him but also to suffer for him.” The infinitive phrases are epexegetical to the subject, τὸ ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ (to Juper Cristou), which has the force of “the on-behalf-of-Christ thing,” or “the thing on behalf of Christ.” To translate this in English requires a different idiom.

[1:2]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:5]  ¹⁶ sn Your participation (Grk “fellowship”) could refer to Paul rejoicing because of the Philippian converts’ “fellowship” in the gospel along with him, but it is more likely that this refers to their active “participation” with him in the gospel by means of the financial support they sent to Paul on more than one occasion, discussed later in this letter (4:10-19, esp. 4:15-16).

[1:5]  ¹⁷ tn Several alternatives for translating vv. 3-5 are possible: (1) “I thank my God every time I remember you, yes, always in my every prayer for all of you. I pray with joy because of your participation…” (see NAB; also M. Silva, Philippians [BECNT], 43-44; G. D. Fee, Philippians [NICNT], 76-80); (2) “I thank my God because of your every remembrance of me. Always in my every prayer for all of you I pray with joy. [I am grateful] for your participation…” (see Moffatt; also P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 58-61). Option (1) is quite similar to the translation above, but sees v. 4a as more or less parenthetical. Option (2) is significantly different in that Paul thanks God because the Philippians remember him rather than when he remembers them.

[1:1]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ¹⁹ tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ²⁰ tn Grk “for the faith,” possibly, “in accordance with the faith.”

[1:1]  ²¹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ²² tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ²³ tn Grk “for the faith,” possibly, “in accordance with the faith.”

[1:7]  ²⁴ sn The overseer is another term for the same official position of leadership as the “elder.” This is seen in the interchange of the two terms in this passage and in Acts 20:17, 28, as well as in the parallels between these verses and 1 Tim 3:1-7.

[1:7]  ²⁵ tn Grk “as God’s steward.”