Textus Receptus:
λογον ζωης επεχοντες εις καυχημα εμοι εις ημεραν χριστου οτι ουκ εις κενον εδραμον ουδε εις κενον εκοπιασα
King James:
Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.
Comments:
Holding forth the word of life: In Greek the word for "holding forth" is the word "having" with the word for "upon" prefixed to it. The idea communicated by the phrase is similar to the point of verses 12 and 13. They already have the word of life. Now they need to have it out.
that I may rejoice: Literally, this phrase is "toward boasting-glorying-rejoicing." He uses the same word for "rejoice" in chapter 1:26 and chapter 3:3. The same word is translated as "glory" in Galatians 6:14.
in vain: Literally, this phrase is "toward vanity." Paul uses the same word for "vanity" here that he combined with "glory" in verse 3 to describe the shallowness of self-promotion and which he used as a verb in verse 7 to describe the willing self-humiliation of Christ.
Expanded Paraphrase: As all of you who are believers in Philippi take the word of life which is in you and hold it out for the world to see, I will be moved toward glory as Christ's return approaches, rather than toward vanity--since otherwise I would have run my race and worn myself weary with labor for no benefit.
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Philippians 2:15
Textus Receptus:
ινα γενησθε αμεμπτοι και ακεραιοι τεκνα θεου αμωμητα εν μεσω γενεας σκολιας και διεστραμμενης εν οις φαινεσθε ως φωστηρες εν κοσμω
King James:
That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
Comments:
blameless: Of course, being blameless does not imply not being blamed, only not giving cause for being blamed. Peter recognizes this distinction and makes a significant point of it in 1 Peter 2:20. Paul uses the same word for "blameless" in chapter 3:6.
harmless: This word is translated as "simple" in the King James in Romans 16:19 because what Paul means by being harmless is being without ulterior motive--not mixed in purpose but pure.
sons of God: This use of this phrase makes the meaning of passages like Matthew 5:45 clearer. His point is not that they do something in order to become children of God, but in order that they act like God would act and therefore fill the role of the inheritors of the kingdom.
nation...ye shine: Paul assumes that the world around believers will be corrupt, and that the role of Christians in that world will always be to shine as lights in darkness. In other words, sin will continue in the world. Persecution will continue in the world. Christians will not usher in the kingdom. Christians will stand in opposition to the world. That fact is not a limitation on the impact of Christians on the lives of the lost but a context in which Christian faithfulness will be best defined and most needed. Jesus teaches about the same context in John 15:18-19.
crooked and perverse: "Crooked" emphasizes the wrong bent of their own nature. "Perverse" points to something that has happened to them--that they have been turned aside from the good to evil. The same two elements are present in James' description of temptation in James 1:14.
Expanded Paraphrase:
The result of thinking like Christ--of learning to put others first and of acting without the dissatisfaction that brings strife--will be that you take away every real justification for being condemned, that you have integrity in everything you do with no ulterior motives to create suspicion. You really will be like Jesus, representing your Father in this world. And the world needs it. You will be shining like lights in a world filled with darkness, with people who are not pointed in the right direction and have been thoroughly turned against everything good and right.
ινα γενησθε αμεμπτοι και ακεραιοι τεκνα θεου αμωμητα εν μεσω γενεας σκολιας και διεστραμμενης εν οις φαινεσθε ως φωστηρες εν κοσμω
King James:
That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
Comments:
blameless: Of course, being blameless does not imply not being blamed, only not giving cause for being blamed. Peter recognizes this distinction and makes a significant point of it in 1 Peter 2:20. Paul uses the same word for "blameless" in chapter 3:6.
harmless: This word is translated as "simple" in the King James in Romans 16:19 because what Paul means by being harmless is being without ulterior motive--not mixed in purpose but pure.
sons of God: This use of this phrase makes the meaning of passages like Matthew 5:45 clearer. His point is not that they do something in order to become children of God, but in order that they act like God would act and therefore fill the role of the inheritors of the kingdom.
nation...ye shine: Paul assumes that the world around believers will be corrupt, and that the role of Christians in that world will always be to shine as lights in darkness. In other words, sin will continue in the world. Persecution will continue in the world. Christians will not usher in the kingdom. Christians will stand in opposition to the world. That fact is not a limitation on the impact of Christians on the lives of the lost but a context in which Christian faithfulness will be best defined and most needed. Jesus teaches about the same context in John 15:18-19.
crooked and perverse: "Crooked" emphasizes the wrong bent of their own nature. "Perverse" points to something that has happened to them--that they have been turned aside from the good to evil. The same two elements are present in James' description of temptation in James 1:14.
Expanded Paraphrase:
The result of thinking like Christ--of learning to put others first and of acting without the dissatisfaction that brings strife--will be that you take away every real justification for being condemned, that you have integrity in everything you do with no ulterior motives to create suspicion. You really will be like Jesus, representing your Father in this world. And the world needs it. You will be shining like lights in a world filled with darkness, with people who are not pointed in the right direction and have been thoroughly turned against everything good and right.
Friday, June 03, 2005
Philippians 2:14
Textus Receptus:
παντα ποιειτε χωρις γογγυσμων και διαλογισμων
King James:
Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
Comments:
without murmurings: The same word is used to describe the disharmony and grumbling of one group of believers (gentiles) against another group of believers (Jews) in the early church at Jerusalem in Acts 6:1. It is just such a self-seeking (even when self is defined broadly, for instance, as kin or kind) attitude Paul rebukes here.
and disputings: These "disputings" are the "evil thoughts" at the beginning of the list of sins Jesus says come from the heart in Matthew 15:19, consistent with the theme that genuine transformation begins on the inside. In Exodus 16:7, the Septuagint uses both of these Greek words (murmurings and disputings) to describe first what the people do to express their dissatisfaction with God (murmuring) and then their disagreement with Moses and Aaron (disputings, also translated as murmuring in the King James).
Expanded Paraphrase:
Do everything outside the realm of complaining about your dissatisfaction and outside the realm of arguing both with each other and with those who lead you.
παντα ποιειτε χωρις γογγυσμων και διαλογισμων
King James:
Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
Comments:
without murmurings: The same word is used to describe the disharmony and grumbling of one group of believers (gentiles) against another group of believers (Jews) in the early church at Jerusalem in Acts 6:1. It is just such a self-seeking (even when self is defined broadly, for instance, as kin or kind) attitude Paul rebukes here.
and disputings: These "disputings" are the "evil thoughts" at the beginning of the list of sins Jesus says come from the heart in Matthew 15:19, consistent with the theme that genuine transformation begins on the inside. In Exodus 16:7, the Septuagint uses both of these Greek words (murmurings and disputings) to describe first what the people do to express their dissatisfaction with God (murmuring) and then their disagreement with Moses and Aaron (disputings, also translated as murmuring in the King James).
Expanded Paraphrase:
Do everything outside the realm of complaining about your dissatisfaction and outside the realm of arguing both with each other and with those who lead you.
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Philippians 2:13
Textus Receptus:
ο θεος γαρ εστιν ο ενεργων εν υμιν και το θελειν και το ενεργειν υπερ της ευδοκιας
King James:
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Comments:
God which worketh in you...to do: "Which worketh" and "to do" are the same Greek word, of which the English word "energy" is a transliteration. The source of Christian living is Christian life. Genuine transformation is from the inside out. It does not begin outside. And it does not stop inside. Jesus addresses the impossibility of becoming good as a result of doing right things in Matthew 15:16-20. That cleansing begins on the inside is Jesus' point in Matthew 23:26-27.
both to will and to do: The will to obey God has its origin in God. So does the will to reject God's will and become a waste, as in Romans 8:20.
Expanded Paraphrase:
Your salvation will be apparent because your salvation is real. God is already doing the work in you. And His work makes it possible not only for you to make the right choices, but to live those choices out according to His kindness toward us.
ο θεος γαρ εστιν ο ενεργων εν υμιν και το θελειν και το ενεργειν υπερ της ευδοκιας
King James:
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Comments:
God which worketh in you...to do: "Which worketh" and "to do" are the same Greek word, of which the English word "energy" is a transliteration. The source of Christian living is Christian life. Genuine transformation is from the inside out. It does not begin outside. And it does not stop inside. Jesus addresses the impossibility of becoming good as a result of doing right things in Matthew 15:16-20. That cleansing begins on the inside is Jesus' point in Matthew 23:26-27.
both to will and to do: The will to obey God has its origin in God. So does the will to reject God's will and become a waste, as in Romans 8:20.
Expanded Paraphrase:
Your salvation will be apparent because your salvation is real. God is already doing the work in you. And His work makes it possible not only for you to make the right choices, but to live those choices out according to His kindness toward us.
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Philippians 2:12
Textus Receptus:
ωστε αγαπητοι μου καθως παντοτε υπηκουσατε μη ως εν τη παρουσια μου μονον αλλα νυν πολλω μαλλον εν τη απουσια μου μετα φοβου και τρομου την εαυτων σωτηριαν κατεργαζεσθε
King James:
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Comments:
Wherefore: This "wherefore" points back to Paul's desire for the Philippians to be "like-minded" in verse 2.
presence...absence: This is the second time in this book (1:27) Paul has used his presence or absence to motivate the same response Christ's presence or absence should motivate. Language about the church as the body of Christ and passages like 1 John 4:17-21 make such a parallel appropriate.
work out your own salvation: This phrase is not the common colloquialism, "figure it out for yourself." Instead, as the next verse makes clear, Paul is telling those who already have salvation to apply that salvation thoroughly, to live it out. It is the same point he makes to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:12--to lay hold on that which is already his.
fear and trembling: While Christians are freed from fear through salvation (as in Romans 8:15) they are obligated to fear God (and only God) in passages like 2 Corinthians 7:1. Romans 13:7 makes it clear that the appropriateness of fear is in its object, not inherent in its nature. The trembling Paul mentions indicates the humility of those who know they cannot in themselves fulfill their obligation.
Expanded Paraphrase:
As one who loves you and knows you have always acted in obedience, I charge you, since your goal is to have the same mind as Christ and therefore to be in harmony with each other, to fashion your lives according to the salvation which is already yours, to do it whether I am there to see it or not, and to do it out of your fear of and respect for God knowing that you could not in yourselves ever satisfy His demands.
ωστε αγαπητοι μου καθως παντοτε υπηκουσατε μη ως εν τη παρουσια μου μονον αλλα νυν πολλω μαλλον εν τη απουσια μου μετα φοβου και τρομου την εαυτων σωτηριαν κατεργαζεσθε
King James:
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Comments:
Wherefore: This "wherefore" points back to Paul's desire for the Philippians to be "like-minded" in verse 2.
presence...absence: This is the second time in this book (1:27) Paul has used his presence or absence to motivate the same response Christ's presence or absence should motivate. Language about the church as the body of Christ and passages like 1 John 4:17-21 make such a parallel appropriate.
work out your own salvation: This phrase is not the common colloquialism, "figure it out for yourself." Instead, as the next verse makes clear, Paul is telling those who already have salvation to apply that salvation thoroughly, to live it out. It is the same point he makes to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:12--to lay hold on that which is already his.
fear and trembling: While Christians are freed from fear through salvation (as in Romans 8:15) they are obligated to fear God (and only God) in passages like 2 Corinthians 7:1. Romans 13:7 makes it clear that the appropriateness of fear is in its object, not inherent in its nature. The trembling Paul mentions indicates the humility of those who know they cannot in themselves fulfill their obligation.
Expanded Paraphrase:
As one who loves you and knows you have always acted in obedience, I charge you, since your goal is to have the same mind as Christ and therefore to be in harmony with each other, to fashion your lives according to the salvation which is already yours, to do it whether I am there to see it or not, and to do it out of your fear of and respect for God knowing that you could not in yourselves ever satisfy His demands.
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