Matthew 7:17-20

7:17 In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad ¹  tree bears bad fruit. 7:18 A good tree is not able to bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree to bear good fruit. 7:19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 7:20 So then, you will recognize them by their fruit.

Matthew 12:33

Trees and Their Fruit

12:33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad ²  and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is known by its fruit.

John 3:19-21

3:19 Now this is the basis for judging: ³  that the light has come into the world and people ⁴  loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil. 3:20 For everyone who does evil deeds hates the light and does not come to the light, so that their deeds will not be exposed. 3:21 But the one who practices the truth comes to the light, so that it may be plainly evident that his deeds have been done in God. ⁵ 

Ephesians 4:17-19

Live in Holiness

4:17 So I say this, and insist ⁶  in the Lord, that you no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility ⁷  of their thinking. ⁸  4:18 They are darkened in their understanding, ⁹  being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts. 4:19 Because they are callous, they have given themselves over to indecency for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. ¹⁰ 

Ephesians 4:2

4:2 with all humility and gentleness, ¹¹  with patience, bearing with ¹²  one another in love,

Ephesians 2:8-11

2:8 For by grace you are saved ¹³  through faith, ¹⁴  and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; 2:9 it is not from ¹⁵  works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁶  2:10 For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them. ¹⁷ 

New Life Corporately

2:11 Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh – who are called “uncircumcision” by the so-called “circumcision” that is performed on the body ¹⁸  by human hands –

Ephesians 2:2

2:2 in which ¹⁹  you formerly lived ²⁰  according to this world’s present path, ²¹  according to the ruler of the kingdom ²²  of the air, the ruler of ²³  the spirit ²⁴  that is now energizing ²⁵  the sons of disobedience, ²⁶ 

Ephesians 3:8

3:8 To me – less than the least of all the saints ²⁷  – this grace was given, ²⁸  to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ

Titus 1:15-16

1:15 All is pure to those who are pure. But to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their minds and consciences are corrupted. 1:16 They profess to know God but with their deeds they deny him, since they are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.

Hebrews 3:12-13

3:12 See to it, ²⁹  brothers and sisters, ³⁰  that none of you has ³¹  an evil, unbelieving heart that forsakes ³²  the living God. ³³  3:13 But exhort one another each day, as long as it is called “Today,” that none of you may become hardened by sin’s deception.

Hebrews 3:2

3:2 who is faithful to the one who appointed him, as Moses was also in God’s ³⁴  house. ³⁵ 

Hebrews 1:8-10

1:8 but of ³⁶  the Son he says, ³⁷ 

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, ³⁸ 

and a righteous scepter ³⁹  is the scepter of your kingdom.

1:9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness.

So God, your God, has anointed you over your companions ⁴⁰  with the oil of rejoicing.” ⁴¹ 

1:10 And,

“You founded the earth in the beginning, Lord, ⁴² 

and the heavens are the works of your hands.

[7:17]  ¹ tn Grk “rotten.” The word σαπρός, modifying “tree” in both v. 17 and 18, can also mean “diseased” (L&N 65.28).

[12:33]  ² tn Grk “rotten.” The word σαπρός, modifying both “tree” and “fruit,” can also mean “diseased” (L&N 65.28).

[3:19]  ³ tn Or “this is the reason for God judging,” or “this is how judgment works.”

[3:19]  ⁴ tn Grk “and men,” but in a generic sense, referring to people of both genders (as “everyone” in v. 20 makes clear).

[3:21]  ⁵ sn John 3:16-21 provides an introduction to the (so-called) “realized” eschatology of the Fourth Gospel: Judgment has come; eternal life may be possessed now, in the present life, as well as in the future. The terminology “realized eschatology” was originally coined by E. Haenchen and used by J. Jeremias in discussion with C. H. Dodd, but is now characteristically used to describe Dodd’s own formulation. See L. Goppelt, Theology of the New Testament, 1:54, note 10, and R. E. Brown (John [AB], 1:cxvii-cxviii) for further discussion. Especially important to note is the element of choice portrayed in John’s Gospel. If there is a twofold reaction to Jesus in John’s Gospel, it should be emphasized that that reaction is very much dependent on a person’s choice, a choice that is influenced by his way of life, whether his deeds are wicked or are done in God (John 3:20-21). For John there is virtually no trace of determinism at the surface. Only when one looks beneath the surface does one find statements like “no one can come to me, unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44).

[4:17]  ⁶ tn On the translation of μαρτύρομαι (marturomai) as “insist” see BDAG 619 s.v. 2.

[4:17]  ⁷ tn On the translation of ματαιότης (mataioth") as “futility” see BDAG 621 s.v.

[4:17]  ⁸ tn Or “thoughts,” “mind.”

[4:18]  ⁹ tn In the Greek text this clause is actually subordinate to περιπατεῖ (peripatei) in v. 17. It was broken up in the English translation so as to avoid an unnecessarily long and cumbersome statement.

[4:19]  ¹⁰ sn Greediness refers to an increasing desire for more and more. The point is that sinful passions and desires are never satisfied.

[4:2]  ¹¹ tn Or “meekness.” The word is often used in Hellenistic Greek of the merciful execution of justice on behalf of those who have no voice by those who are in a position of authority (Matt 11:29; 21:5).

[4:2]  ¹² tn Or “putting up with”; or “forbearing.”

[2:8]  ¹³ tn See note on the same expression in v. 5.

[2:8]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Or “not as a result of.”

[2:9]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “lest anyone should boast.”

[2:10]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “so that we might walk in them” (or “by them”).

[2:11]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “in the flesh.”

[2:2]  ¹⁹ sn The relative pronoun which is feminine as is sins, indicating that sins is the antecedent.

[2:2]  ²⁰ tn Grk “walked.”

[2:2]  ²¹ tn Or possibly “Aeon.”

[2:2]  ²² tn Grk “domain, [place of] authority.”

[2:2]  ²³ tn Grk “of” (but see the note on the word “spirit” later in this verse).

[2:2]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ tn Grk “working in.”

[2:2]  ²⁶ 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.

[3:8]  ²⁷ sn In Pauline writings saints means any true believer. Thus for Paul to view himself as less than the least of all the saints is to view himself as the most unworthy object of Christ’s redemption.

[3:8]  ²⁸ sn The parallel phrases to proclaim and to enlighten which follow indicate why God’s grace was manifested to Paul. Grace was not something just to be received, but to be shared with others (cf. Acts 13:47).

[3:12]  ²⁹ tn Or “take care.”

[3:12]  ³⁰ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 2:11.

[3:12]  ³¹ tn Grk “that there not be in any of you.”

[3:12]  ³² tn Or “deserts,” “rebels against.”

[3:12]  ³³ tn Grk “in forsaking the living God.”

[3:2]  ³⁴ tn Grk “his”; in the translation the referent (God) has been specified for clarity.

[3:2]  ³⁵ tc ‡ The reading adopted by the translation follows a few early mss and some versions (Ì^13,46vid B vg^ms co Ambr). The majority of mss (א A C D Ψ 0243 0278 33 1739 1881 Ï lat sy) insert “all” (“in all his house”), apparently in anticipation of Heb 3:5 which quotes directly from Num 12:7. On balance, the omission better explains the rise of ὅλῳ ({olw, “all”) than vice versa. NA²⁷ puts ὅλῳ in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[1:8]  ³⁶ tn Or “to.”

[1:8]  ³⁷ tn The verb “he says” (λέγει, legei) is implied from the λέγει of v. 7.

[1:8]  ³⁸ tn Or possibly, “Your throne is God forever and ever.” This translation is quite doubtful, however, since (1) in the context the Son is being contrasted to the angels and is presented as far better than they. The imagery of God being the Son’s throne would seem to be of God being his authority. If so, in what sense could this not be said of the angels? In what sense is the Son thus contrasted with the angels? (2) The μέν…δέ (men…de) construction that connects v. 7 with v. 8 clearly lays out this contrast: “On the one hand, he says of the angels…on the other hand, he says of the Son.” Thus, although it is grammatically possible that θεός (qeos) in v. 8 should be taken as a predicate nominative, the context and the correlative conjunctions are decidedly against it. Hebrews 1:8 is thus a strong affirmation of the deity of Christ.

[1:8]  ³⁹ tn Grk “the righteous scepter,” but used generically.

[1:9]  ⁴⁰ sn God…has anointed you over your companions. God’s anointing gives the son a superior position and authority over his fellows.

[1:9]  ⁴¹ sn A quotation from Ps 45:6-7.

[1:10]  ⁴² sn You founded the earth…your years will never run out. In its original setting Ps 102:25-27 refers to the work of God in creation, but here in Hebrews 1:10-12 the writer employs it in reference to Christ, the Lord, making a strong argument for the essential deity of the Son.