Philippians 3:18-21

3:18 For many live, about whom I have often told you, and now, with tears, I tell you that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ. 3:19 Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, they exult in their shame, and they think about earthly things. ¹  3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven – and we also await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 3:21 who will transform these humble bodies of ours ²  into the likeness of his glorious body by means of that power by which he is able to subject all things to himself.

Ephesians 4:1

Live in Unity

4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, ³  urge you to live ⁴  worthily of the calling with which you have been called, ⁵ 

Colossians 1:10

1:10 so that you may live ⁶  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ⁷  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God,

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁸  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 2:11-12

2:11 In him you also were circumcised – not, however, ⁹  with a circumcision performed by human hands, but by the removal ¹⁰  of the fleshly body, ¹¹  that is, ¹²  through the circumcision done by Christ. 2:12 Having been buried with him in baptism, you also have been raised with him through your ¹³  faith in the power ¹⁴  of God who raised him from the dead.

Colossians 4:1

4:1 Masters, treat your slaves with justice and fairness, because you know that you also have a master in heaven.

Titus 2:10

2:10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith, ¹⁵  in order to bring credit to ¹⁶  the teaching of God our Savior in everything.

Titus 2:2

2:2 Older men are to be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, ¹⁷  sound in faith, in love, and in endurance. ¹⁸ 

Titus 1:4-9

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

Titus’ Task on Crete

1:5 The reason I left you in Crete was to set in order the remaining matters and to appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. 1:6 An elder must be blameless, ¹⁹  the husband of one wife, ²⁰  with faithful children ²¹  who cannot be charged with dissipation or rebellion. 1:7 For the overseer ²²  must be blameless as one entrusted with God’s work, ²³  not arrogant, not prone to anger, not a drunkard, not violent, not greedy for gain. 1:8 Instead he must be hospitable, devoted to what is good, sensible, upright, devout, and self-controlled. 1:9 He must hold firmly to the faithful message as it has been taught, ²⁴  so that he will be able to give exhortation in such healthy teaching ²⁵  and correct those who speak against it.

Titus 1:2

1:2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the ages began. ²⁶ 

Titus 3:11

3:11 You know ²⁷  that such a person is twisted by sin ²⁸  and is conscious of it himself. ²⁹ 

Titus 3:14

3:14 Here is another way that our people ³⁰  can learn ³¹  to engage in good works to meet pressing needs and so not be unfruitful.

[3:19]  ¹ tn Grk “whose end is destruction, whose god is the belly and glory is their shame, these who think of earthly things.”

[3:21]  ² tn Grk “transform the body of our humility.”

[4:1]  ³ tn Grk “prisoner in the Lord.”

[4:1]  ⁴ tn Grk “walk.” The verb “walk” in the NT letters refers to the conduct of one’s life, not to physical walking.

[4:1]  ⁵ sn With which you have been called. The calling refers to the Holy Spirit’s prompting that caused them to believe. The author is thus urging his readers to live a life that conforms to their saved status before God.

[1:10]  ⁶ tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”

[1:10]  ⁷ tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”

[1:1]  ⁸ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[2:11]  ⁹ tn The terms “however” and “but” in this sentence were supplied in order to emphasize the contrast.

[2:11]  ¹⁰ tn The articular noun τῇ ἀπεκδύσει (th apekdusei) is a noun which ends in -σις (-sis) and therefore denotes action, i.e., “removal.” Since the head noun is a verbal noun, the following genitive τοῦ σώματος (tou swmatos) is understood as an objective genitive, receiving the action of the head noun.

[2:11]  ¹¹ tn Grk “in the removal of the body of flesh.” The genitive τῆς σαρκός (th" sarko") has been translated as an attributive genitive, “fleshly body.”

[2:11]  ¹² tn The second prepositional phrase beginning with ἐν τῇ περιτομῇ (en th peritomh) is parallel to the prepositional phrase ἐν τῇ ἀπεκδύσει (en th apekdusei) and gives a further explanation of it. The words “that is” were supplied to bring out this force in the translation.

[2:12]  ¹³ tn The article with the genitive modifier τῆς πίστεως (th" pistew") is functioning as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[2:12]  ¹⁴ tn The genitive τῆς ἐνεργείας (th" energeia") has been translated as an objective genitive, “faith in the power.”

[2:10]  ¹⁵ tn Or “showing that genuine faith is productive.” At issue between these two translations is the force of ἀγαθήν (agaqhn): Is it attributive (as the text has it) or predicate (as in this note)? A number of considerations point in the direction of a predicate ἀγαθήν (e.g., separation from the noun πίστιν (pistin) by the verb, the possibility that the construction is an object-complement, etc.), though is not usually seen as an option in either translations or commentaries. Cf. ExSyn 188-89, 312-13, for a discussion. Contextually, it makes an intriguing statement, for it suggests a synthetic or synonymous parallel: “‘Slaves should be wholly subject to their masters…demonstrating that all [genuine] faith is productive, with the result [ecbatic ἵνα] that they will completely adorn the doctrine of God.’ The point of the text, then, if this understanding is correct, is an exhortation to slaves to demonstrate that their faith is sincere and results in holy behavior. If taken this way, the text seems to support the idea that saving faith does not fail, but even results in good works” (ExSyn 312-13). The translation of ἀγαθήν as an attributive adjective, however, also makes good sense.

[2:10]  ¹⁶ tn Or “adorn,” “show the beauty of.”

[2:2]  ¹⁷ tn Or “sensible.”

[2:2]  ¹⁸ sn Temperate…in endurance. See the same cluster of virtues in 1 Thess 1:3 and 1 Cor 13:13.

[1:6]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “if anyone is blameless…” as a continuation of v. 5b, beginning to describe the elder’s character.

[1:6]  ²⁰ tn Or “married only once,” “devoted solely to his wife.” See the note on “wife” in 1 Tim 3:2; also 1 Tim 3:12; 5:9.

[1:6]  ²¹ tn Or “believing children.” The phrase could be translated “believing children,” but the parallel with 1 Tim 3:4 (“keeping his children in control”) argues for the sense given in the translation.

[1:7]  ²² 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]  ²³ tn Grk “as God’s steward.”

[1:9]  ²⁴ tn Grk “the faithful message in accordance with the teaching” (referring to apostolic teaching).

[1:9]  ²⁵ tn Grk “the healthy teaching” (referring to what was just mentioned).

[1:2]  ²⁶ tn Grk “before eternal ages.”

[3:11]  ²⁷ tn Grk “knowing” (as a continuation of the previous clause).

[3:11]  ²⁸ tn Grk “is perverted and is sinning.”

[3:11]  ²⁹ tn Grk “is sinning, being self-condemned.”

[3:14]  ³⁰ tn Grk “that those who are ours” (referring to the Christians).

[3:14]  ³¹ tn Grk “and also let our people learn.”