40
votes
Why might Paul emphasize FOUR spatial dimensions when describing the love of Christ (Eph. 3:18)?
Paul didn't take analytic geometry. People in his day would look at spatial dimensions based on how they would measure them, not on a coordinate system. They could measure length all at once, and ...
- 22.7k
14
votes
Accepted
Why so many differing Greek words rendered “one”?
Unlike English, Greek is a heavily (or highly) inflected language.1 In English, one could say/write, “One Lord, one faith, one baptism,” and the adjective “one” does not change spelling according to ...
- 12.4k
12
votes
Accepted
In Ephesians 1:7, whose blood, the Son’s or the Father’s?
V6 ends with the words "grace which he freely bestowed upon us in the Beloved" (RSV). That is, in his beloved Son, the previously mentioned Jesus Christ ("through Jesus Christ", v5)...
- 7,324
12
votes
Accepted
Why does Paul interchange the armour in Ephesians 6 and 1 Thessalonians 5?
The two passages have slightly different contexts.
Paul is writing to the Thessalonians in Chapter 5:1ff on the need to remain watchful because one does not know when the Lord will return (... the day ...
- 12.6k
11
votes
Why so many differing Greek words rendered “one”?
All the words for "one" are different declensions of the same word (εἷς, μία, ἕν in the lexicon). It is declined to match the noun it modifies.
ἓν - is nominative neuter singular
μιᾷ - is dative ...
- 22.7k
11
votes
Accepted
Is Ephesians 6:5-9 inapplicable with modern Christians who don’t have a “slave”?
One could consider the master/slave relationship here to be an extreme example of the more general employer/employee relationship, or any relationship where one person has the power to tell the other ...
- 7,901
9
votes
Accepted
What does "unsearchable" mean in "the unsearchable riches of Christ". Ephesians 3:8?
The word should be taken as a synonym for "infinite". The picture is that someone could go through them for ever without reaching the far end and exhausting the supply of things to be ...
- 7,324
8
votes
Why might Paul emphasize FOUR spatial dimensions when describing the love of Christ (Eph. 3:18)?
This is quintessential Hebrew idiom based on multiple hyperbole. Paul is trying to convey the matchless riches of God's love and grace and struggles to find words to express it. He uses three ...
- 118k
8
votes
In Ephesians 1:7, whose blood, the Son’s or the Father’s?
Please read this as an addendum to the excellent answer of Stephen Disraeli (which I have already upvoted.)
Eph 1:5-7 reads (with antecedents inserted)
He [the Father] predestined us for adoption as ...
- 118k
7
votes
How can someone be "filled with the Spirit" if the Spirit is a person? Ephesians 5:18
Here's the same issue with the temple:
27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! 28 Yet have ...
- 22.7k
7
votes
Accepted
What does "word of God" mean in Ephesians 6:17?
Key Element of the analogy
To properly understand the analogy of the word of God as
the sword of the Spirit it is helpful to understand what, within the analogy, the sword of the Spirit is meant to be ...
- 4,477
6
votes
Accepted
Ephesians 4:30 - What does Paul mean by "grieve" the Holy Spirit?
Ambrosiaster, a 4th century commentator whose identity is somewhat mysterious, was commenting on the Latin version and not the Greek version of the text, but I think his explanation is still relevant:
...
- 12.6k
6
votes
Accepted
Does the Bible render the Holy Spirit as a person in Ephesians?
The participle translated by the NIV here as 'who' is the Greek word ὅ, which is extraordinarily common and possesses a wide variety of meanings in English. The word is most commonly rendered as '...
- 5,757
6
votes
Ephesians 6:1 - Are Adults Commanded to Obey Their Parents?
There are many things one can do with this passage. You are right in saying "τέκνα is not a term that is age limited." Neither is the English word "children." And yet the image ...
- 1,919
6
votes
Is Ephesians 6:5-9 inapplicable with modern Christians who don’t have a “slave”?
Some precepts apply only to an empirical historical reality, but they can have universal dimension also. For instance, in the Decalogue "do not covet for a donkey of your neighbor", is ...
- 11.4k
5
votes
What does the phrase "children of wrath" mean in Ephesians 2:3?
Carson in his book Jesus the Son of God1, describes a translation issue that is probably at play here. We are usually not aware of it as modern translations mostly gloss over the issue. I'll ...
- 1,336
5
votes
In Ephesians 3:5, could «τοῖς ἁγίοις ἀποστόλοις αὐτοῦ καὶ προφήταις» be categorized as an instrumental dative?
There are two reasons why it is highly unlikely that the datives here are instrumental:
1) The verb αποκαλύπτω takes a direct and indirect object as you say, making a suitable nearby dative likely to ...
- 151
5
votes
Accepted
How should Ephesians 3:15 be understood?
"Every" and not "the whole" is the correct translation here. The phrase in Greek, as you quoted, uses the word πᾶς and not ὅλος (as in ...the whole body shall be full of light - Matthew 6:22). So ...
- 12.6k
5
votes
Accepted
Do Christians receive the Holy Spirit upon conversion or not (Ephesians 1:13 vs. Acts 8:14-17; 19:1-7)?
Apollos
24 Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent ...
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5
votes
Accepted
Does the Holy Spirit have emotions?
And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost: [1 Thessalonians 1:6 KJV]
The joy with which the followers received the word ...
- 33k
5
votes
Accepted
How can someone be "filled with the Spirit" if the Spirit is a person? Ephesians 5:18
Exactly the same question could be asked of other instances where we meet the same idea.
Luke 1:17 - And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the ...
- 118k
5
votes
Accepted
What is meant by "schemes of the devil" in Ephesians 6:11?
The operative word here is μεθοδεία (methodeia) from which come our English word "method". It is a rare NT word only occurring in Eph 4:14, 6:11.
Eph 4:14 - Then we will no longer be ...
- 118k
5
votes
What does "word of God" mean in Ephesians 6:17?
In the message regarding the armor of God, the sword is the only offensive weapon that is presented. Everything else is designed to defend & protect areas of vulnerability, such as:
Helmet (...
- 18.5k
5
votes
By what logic is "in love" grouped with "speaking the truth" by commas? (Ephesians 4:15)
Because Greek is an inflected language, it is true that there are many circumstances wherein the word order does not matter in Greek but does matter in English. The Greek inflection enables us to ...
- 18.5k
5
votes
Accepted
How do "hos" and "kathos" compare in Ephesians 5:1-2?
Kαθώς (kathōs) is a contraction of the words κατά (kata) and ὡς (hōs). Kατά means according to, as in
Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith [κατὰ τὴν πίστιν] be it done to you”...
- 12.6k
4
votes
To whom does the term "one God" refer in Paul?
One God
The Shema as found in Deuteronomy is the primary text for "one God:"
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.[b] (Deuteronomy 6:4) [ESV]
b. Or The LORD our God is one LORD; ...
- 18.1k
4
votes
Where was Jesus after he stopped breathing on the Cross until he came out of the tomb?
The question is based on the assumption that the passage is correctly punctuated. Let us examine this.
Luke 23:43 - “I tell you the truth today you will be with me in paradise.” The original Greek ...
- 118k
4
votes
Where was Jesus after he stopped breathing on the Cross until he came out of the tomb?
Where was Jesus when he died?
He was in Sheol/hades the common grave of mankind, however, God did not allow Sheol to hold down his faithful Son and thus let his flesh undergo a gradual decay in the ...
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