John 3:16

3:16 For this is the way ¹  God loved the world: He gave his one and only ²  Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish ³  but have eternal life. ⁴ 

Ephesians 2:4

2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us,

Ephesians 2:7

2:7 to demonstrate in the coming ages ⁵  the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward ⁶  us in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:2

2:2 in which ⁷  you formerly lived ⁸  according to this world’s present path, ⁹  according to the ruler of the kingdom ¹⁰  of the air, the ruler of ¹¹  the spirit ¹²  that is now energizing ¹³  the sons of disobedience, ¹⁴ 

Ephesians 2:16

2:16 and to reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by which the hostility has been killed. ¹⁵ 

Titus 3:4-7

3:4 ¹⁶  But “when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, 3:5 he saved us not by works of righteousness that we have done but on the basis of his mercy, through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, 3:6 whom he poured out on us in full measure ¹⁷  through Jesus Christ our Savior. 3:7 And so, ¹⁸  since we have been justified by his grace, we become heirs with the confident expectation of eternal life.” ¹⁹ 

Titus 3:1

Conduct Toward Those Outside the Church

3:1 Remind them to be subject to rulers and ²⁰  authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work.

Titus 1:9-10

1:9 He must hold firmly to the faithful message as it has been taught, ²¹  so that he will be able to give exhortation in such healthy teaching ²²  and correct those who speak against it.

1:10 For there are many ²³  rebellious people, idle talkers, and deceivers, especially those with Jewish connections, ²⁴ 

[3:16]  ¹ tn Or “this is how much”; or “in this way.” The Greek adverb οὕτως (Joutws) can refer (1) to the degree to which God loved the world, that is, to such an extent or so much that he gave his own Son (see R. E. Brown, John [AB], 1:133-34; D. A. Carson, John, 204) or (2) simply to the manner in which God loved the world, i.e., by sending his own son (see R. H. Gundry and R. W. Howell, “The Sense and Syntax of John 3:14-17 with Special Reference to the Use of Οὕτως…ὥστε in John 3:16,” NovT 41 [1999]: 24-39). Though the term more frequently refers to the manner in which something is done (see BDAG 741-42 s.v. οὕτω/οὕτως), the following clause involving ὥστε (Jwste) plus the indicative (which stresses actual, but [usually] unexpected result) emphasizes the greatness of the gift God has given. With this in mind, then, it is likely (3) that John is emphasizing both the degree to which God loved the world as well as the manner in which He chose to express that love. This is in keeping with John’s style of using double entendre or double meaning. Thus, the focus of the Greek construction here is on the nature of God's love, addressing its mode, intensity, and extent.

[3:16]  ² tn Although this word is often translated “only begotten,” such a translation is misleading, since in English it appears to express a metaphysical relationship. The word in Greek was used of an only child (a son [Luke 7:12, 9:38] or a daughter [Luke 8:42]). It was also used of something unique (only one of its kind) such as the mythological Phoenix (1 Clement 25:2). From here it passes easily to a description of Isaac (Heb 11:17 and Josephus, Ant. 1.13.1 [1.222]) who was not Abraham’s only son, but was one-of-a-kind because he was the child of the promise. Thus the word means “one-of-a-kind” and is reserved for Jesus in the Johannine literature of the NT. While all Christians are children of God (τέκνα θεοῦ, tekna qeou), Jesus is God’s Son in a unique, one-of-a-kind sense. The word is used in this way in all its uses in the Gospel of John (1:14, 1:18, 3:16, and 3:18).

[3:16]  ³ tn In John the word ἀπόλλυμι (apollumi) can mean either (1) to be lost (2) to perish or be destroyed, depending on the context.

[3:16]  ⁴ sn The alternatives presented are only two (again, it is typical of Johannine thought for this to be presented in terms of polar opposites): perish or have eternal life.

[2:7]  ⁵ tn Or possibly “to the Aeons who are about to come.”

[2:7]  ⁶ tn Or “upon.”

[2:2]  ⁷ sn The relative pronoun which is feminine as is sins, indicating that sins is the antecedent.

[2:2]  ⁸ tn Grk “walked.”

[2:2]  ⁹ tn Or possibly “Aeon.”

[2:2]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “domain, [place of] authority.”

[2:2]  ¹¹ tn Grk “of” (but see the note on the word “spirit” later in this verse).

[2:2]  ¹² sn The ruler of the kingdom of the air is also the ruler of the spirit that is now energizing the sons of disobedience. Although several translations regard the ruler to be the same as the spirit, this is unlikely since the cases in Greek are different (ruler is accusative and spirit is genitive). To get around this, some have suggested that the genitive for spirit is a genitive of apposition. However, the semantics of the genitive of apposition are against such an interpretation (cf. ExSyn 100).

[2:2]  ¹³ tn Grk “working in.”

[2:2]  ¹⁴ sn Sons of disobedience is a Semitic idiom that means “people characterized by disobedience.” However, it also contains a subtle allusion to vv. 4-10: Some of those sons of disobedience have become sons of God.

[2:16]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “by killing the hostility in himself.”

[3:4]  ¹⁶ tn Verses 4-7 are set as poetry in NA²⁶/NA²⁷. These verses probably constitute the referent of the expression “this saying” in v. 8.

[3:6]  ¹⁷ tn Or “on us richly.”

[3:7]  ¹⁸ tn This is the conclusion of a single, skillfully composed sentence in Greek encompassing Titus 3:4-7. Showing the goal of God’s merciful salvation, v. 7 begins literally, “in order that, being justified…we might become heirs…”

[3:7]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

[3:1]  ²⁰ tc Most later witnesses (D² 0278 Ï lat sy) have καί (kai, “and”) after ἀρχαῖς (arcai", “rulers”), though the earliest and best witnesses (א A C D* F G Ψ 33 104 1739 1881) lack the conjunction. Although the καί is most likely not authentic, it has been added in translation due to the requirements of English style. For more discussion, see TCGNT 586.

[1:9]  ²¹ tn Grk “the faithful message in accordance with the teaching” (referring to apostolic teaching).

[1:9]  ²² tn Grk “the healthy teaching” (referring to what was just mentioned).

[1:10]  ²³ tc ‡ The earliest and best mss lack καί (kai) after πολλοί (polloi; so א A C P 088 81 104 365 614 629 630 al sy co), though the conjunction is found in several significant witnesses, chiefly of the Western and Byzantine texts (D F G I Ψ 33 1739 1881 Ï lat). Although it is possible that some scribes omitted the word, thinking it was superfluous, it is also possible that others added the conjunction for clarification. Judging by the pedigree of the witnesses and the inconclusiveness of the internal evidence, the shorter reading is considered to be most likely original. NA²⁷ puts the conjunction in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

[1:10]  ²⁴ tn Grk “those of the circumcision.” Some translations take this to refer to Jewish converts to Christianity (cf. NAB “Jewish Christians”; TEV “converts from Judaism”; CEV “Jewish followers”) while others are less clear (cf. NLT “those who insist on circumcision for salvation”).