Thursday, December 02, 2004

Philippians 1:14

Textus Receptus:
και τους πλειονας των αδελφων εν κυριω πεποιθοτας τοις δεσμοις μου περισσοτερως τολμαν αφοβως τον λογον λαλειν

King James:
And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

Comments:
in the Lord: They may not be in Paul's "bonds," but they are still bound to the same master, the Lord, who has the same purpose in them that He has in Paul, the furtherance of the gospel.

more bold to speak the word without fear: It seems more reasonable that Paul's persecution would impose fear on other believers. But his faithfulness puts his temporary circumstance in perspective and provokes other believers to the same kind of faithfulness--with utter disregard for changing situations around them. Paul's witness here is identical to the testimony of the faithful in Hebrews 11, which becomes clear through that author's words in Hebrews 12:1-4. No believer's faithfulness (or fear) is ever only about him. Every believer's faithfulness affects other believers as well.

Paraphrase:
As a result of what God has been doing with His good news through my chains, the majority of my brothers, who are also bound in the Lord but not my chains, have become exceedingly more confident to speak the Word without fear.

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