Monday, November 08, 2004

Philippians 1:2

Textus Receptus:
χαρις υμιν και ειρηνη απο θεου πατρος ημων και κυριου ιησου χριστου

King James:
Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Comments:
Grace to you and peace: Paul and Timothy's expressed desire for the Philippians to have grace and peace is both objectively absolute and culturally significant. The desire's objective content relates the need for all of God's goodness which is entirely undeserved (grace) and the result of reconciliation with God (peace). The cultural significance is that Christians likely greeted each other with the word "grace" commonly while Jews likely greeted each other with "peace." Of course, Paul and Timothy reflect in their persons the fact that in Christ the only significance to being Jewish or Gentile is knowing Christ.

from God our Father and Lord Jesus Christ: There are a couple of emphases in the way these words are arranged. One puts God and Lord parallel, then clarifies that God is our Father and that the Lord is Jesus Christ. The other emphasis is on the way the five words are presented--literally, of God of Father and of Lord of Jesus of Christ. The second point is not a deductive argument for, for instance, the deity of Christ, but it is not a bad inductive one.

Paraphrase:
We desire for you to have the gift of God's goodness none of us deserve. We want you to be right with God and have the joy and confidence that go with that reconciliation. It is your Father and ours, God Himself, your Lord and ours, Jesus Christ, who can make it so.

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