Acts 15:24

15:24 Since we have heard that some have gone out from among us with no orders from us and have confused ¹  you, upsetting ²  your minds ³  by what they said, ⁴ 

Acts 15:1

The Jerusalem Council

15:1 Now some men came down from Judea ⁵  and began to teach the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised ⁶  according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

Colossians 1:18-19

1:18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn ⁷  from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. ⁸ 

1:19 For God ⁹  was pleased to have all his ¹⁰  fullness dwell ¹¹  in the Son ¹² 

Galatians 2:1

Confirmation from the Jerusalem Apostles

2:1 Then after fourteen years I went up to Jerusalem ¹³  again with Barnabas, taking Titus along too.

Galatians 2:3

2:3 Yet ¹⁴  not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, although he was a Greek.

Galatians 5:6

5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision carries any weight – the only thing that matters is faith working through love. ¹⁵ 

Galatians 6:13-16

6:13 For those who are circumcised do not obey the law themselves, but they want you to be circumcised so that they can boast about your flesh. ¹⁶  6:14 But may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which ¹⁷  the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 6:15 For ¹⁸  neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for ¹⁹  anything; the only thing that matters is a new creation! ²⁰  6:16 And all who will behave ²¹  in accordance with this rule, peace and mercy be on them, and on the Israel of God. ²² 

[15:24]  ¹ tn Here BDAG 990-91 s.v. ταράσσω 2 states, “Of mental confusion caused by false teachings ταρ. τινά Ac 15:24 (w. λόγοις foll.).”

[15:24]  ² tn BDAG 71 s.v. ἀνασκευάζω describes this verb with a figurative meaning: “to cause inward distress, upset, unsettle.”

[15:24]  ³ tn Grk “souls.”

[15:24]  ⁴ tn Grk “by words”; L&N 25.231 translates the phrase “they troubled and upset you by what they said.”

[15:1]  ⁵ sn That is, they came down from Judea to Antioch in Syria.

[15:1]  ⁶ tc Codex Bezae (D) and a few other witnesses have “and walk” here (i.e., instead of τῷ ἔθει τῷ Μωϋσέως [tw eqei tw Mwu>sew"] they read καὶ τῷ ἔθει τῷ Μωϋσέως περιπατῆτε [kai tw eqei tw Mwu>sew" peripathte]). This is a decidedly stronger focus on obedience to the Law. As well, D expands vv. 1-5 in various places with the overall effect of being “more sympathetic to the local tradition of the church at Jerusalem” while the Alexandrian witnesses are more sympathetic to Paul (TCGNT 377). Codex D is well known for having a significantly longer text in Acts, but modern scholarship is generally of the opinion that the text of D expands on the original wording of Acts, with a theological viewpoint that especially puts Peter in a more authoritarian light. The expansion in these five verses is in keeping with that motif even though Peter is not explicitly in view.

[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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Grk “him”; the referent (the Son; see v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:1]  ¹³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:3]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “But,” translated here as “Yet” for stylistic reasons (note the use of “but” in v. 2).

[5:6]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “but faith working through love.”

[6:13]  ¹⁶ tn Or “boast about you in external matters,” “in the outward rite” (cf. v. 12).

[6:14]  ¹⁷ tn Or perhaps, “through whom,” referring to the Lord Jesus Christ rather than the cross.

[6:15]  ¹⁸ tc The phrase “in Christ Jesus” is found after “For” in some mss (א A C D F G 0278 1881 Ï lat bo), but lacking in Ì⁴⁶ B Ψ 33 1175 1505 1739* and several fathers. The longer reading probably represents a harmonization to Gal 5:6.

[6:15]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “is.”

[6:15]  ²⁰ tn Grk “but a new creation”; the words “the only thing that matters” have been supplied to reflect the implied contrast with the previous clause (see also Gal 5:6).

[6:16]  ²¹ tn The same Greek verb, στοιχέω (stoicew), occurs in Gal 5:25.

[6:16]  ²² tn The word “and” (καί) can be interpreted in two ways: (1) It could be rendered as “also” which would indicate that two distinct groups are in view, namely “all who will behave in accordance with this rule” and “the Israel of God.” Or (2) it could be rendered “even,” which would indicate that “all who behave in accordance with this rule” are “the Israel of God.” In other words, in this latter view, “even” = “that is.”