1 Korintus 1:4

Thanksgiving

1:4 I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God that was given to you in Christ Jesus.

Efesus 1:16

1:16 I do not cease to give thanks for you when I remember you ¹  in my prayers.

Efesus 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ²  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints [in Ephesus], ³  the faithful ⁴  in Christ Jesus.

1 Tesalonika 2:13

2:13 And so ⁵  we too constantly thank God that when you received God’s message that you heard from us, ⁶  you accepted it not as a human message, ⁷  but as it truly is, God’s message, which is at work among you who believe.

1 Tesalonika 2:2

2:2 But although we suffered earlier and were mistreated in Philippi, ⁸  as you know, we had the courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God ⁹  in spite of much opposition.

1 Tesalonika 1:3

1:3 because we recall ¹⁰  in the presence of our God and Father ¹¹  your work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope ¹²  in our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Tesalonika 1:2

Thanksgiving for Response to the Gospel

1:2 We thank God always for all of you as we mention you constantly ¹³  in our prayers,

1 Timotius 1:3

Timothy’s Task in Ephesus

1:3 As I urged you when I was leaving for Macedonia, stay on in Ephesus ¹⁴  to instruct ¹⁵  certain people not to spread false teachings, ¹⁶ 

[1:16]  ¹ tn Grk “making mention [of you].”

[1:1]  ² tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ³ tc The earliest and most important mss omit “in Ephesus” (Ì⁴⁶ א* B* 6 1739 [Mcion^T,E]), yet the opening line of this epistle makes little sense without the phrase (“to the saints who are and are faithful…”? or perhaps “to the saints who are also faithful,” though with this sense the οὖσιν [ousin] is redundant and the καί [kai] is treated somewhat unnaturally). What is interesting is Marcion’s canon list which speaks of the letter to the Laodiceans among Paul’s authentic epistles. This, coupled with some internal evidence that the writer did not know his audience personally (cf. 1:15; 3:2; absence of personal names throughout), suggests that Ephesians was an encyclical letter, intended for more than one audience. Does this mean that the shorter reading is to be preferred? Yes and no. A plausible scenario is as follows, assuming Pauline authorship (though this is strongly contested today; for arguments on behalf of Pauline authorship, see M. Barth, Ephesians [AB 34], 1:36-50; P. T. O’Brien, Ephesians, 4-47; and H. W. Hoehner, Ephesians, 2-61): Paul sent the letter from Rome, intending it first to go to Ephesus. At the same time, Colossians was dispatched. Going counterclockwise through Asia Minor, this letter would first come to Ephesus, the port of entry, then to Laodicea, then Colossae. Tychicus’ instructions may well have been for each church to “fill in the blank” on the address line. The church at Ephesus would have certainly made the most copies, being Paul’s home base for nearly three years. Hence, most of the surviving copies have “in Ephesus” in v. 1 (so א² A B² D F G Ψ 0278 33 1881 Ï latt sy co). But one might expect a hint of evidence that Laodicea also made a few copies: Both Marcion’s list and Col 4:16 may well imply this. What is to account for the early Alexandrian evidence, then? These mss were perhaps made from a very early copy, one reflecting the blank line before each church filled it in. Although it is of course only speculation (as is necessary in a historical investigation lacking some of the pieces to the puzzle), this scenario accounts for all of the data: (1) “in Ephesus” in most mss; (2) Laodicea in Marcion’s list and Col 4:16; (3) the lack of an addressee in the earliest witnesses; (4) why the earliest witnesses’ reading must be rejected as too hard; and (5) why the author seems not to know the readership. In sum, is “in Ephesus” original? Yes and no. Some address belongs there; ἐν ᾿Εφέσῳ (en Efesw) is the predominant address, but several other churches also received this circular letter as their own. For this reason the phrase has been placed in single brackets in the translation. NA²⁷ also lists the words in brackets, indicating doubt as to their authenticity.

[1:1]  map For location see JP1 D2; JP2 D2; JP3 D2; JP4 D2.

[1:1]  ⁴ tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style [and even if this letter is not by Paul it follows the general style of Paul’s letters, with some modifications]) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated. See M. Barth, Ephesians (AB 34), 1:68 and ExSyn 282.

[2:13]  ⁵ tn Grk “for this reason,” which seems to look back to Paul’s behavior just described. But it may look forward to v. 13b and mean: “and here is another reason that we constantly thank God: that…”

[2:13]  ⁶ tn Grk “God’s word of hearing from us.”

[2:13]  ⁷ tn Paul’s focus is their attitude toward the message he preached: They received it not as a human message but a message from God.

[2:2]  ⁸ map For location see JP1 C1; JP2 C1; JP3 C1; JP4 C1.

[2:2]  ⁹ tn The genitive in the phrase τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ θεοῦ (to euangelion tou qeou, “the gospel of God”) could be translated as either a subjective genitive (“the gospel which God brings”) or an objective genitive (“the gospel about God”). Either is grammatically possible. This is possibly an instance of a plenary genitive (see ExSyn 119-21; M. Zerwick, Biblical Greek, §§36-39). If so, an interplay between the two concepts is intended: The gospel which God brings is in fact the gospel about himself. This same phrase occurs in vv. 8 and 9 as well.

[1:3]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “making mention…recalling.” The participle ποιούμενοι (poioumenoi) in v. 2 has been translated as temporal, and μνημονεύοντες (mnhmoneuonte") in v. 3 has been translated as causal.

[1:3]  ¹¹ tn Or the phrase may connect at the end of the verse: “hope…in the presence of our God and Father.”

[1:3]  ¹² tn These phrases denote Christian virtues in action: the work produced by faith, labor motivated by love, and endurance that stems from hope in Christ.

[1:2]  ¹³ tn Or “mention you in our prayers, because we recall constantly…”

[1:3]  ¹⁴ map For location see JP1 D2; JP2 D2; JP3 D2; JP4 D2.

[1:3]  ¹⁵ tn This word implies authoritative instruction: “direct, command, give orders” (cf. 1 Tim 4:11; 5:7; 6:13, 17). See BDAG 760 s.v. παραγγέλλω.

[1:3]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “to teach other doctrines,” different from apostolic teaching (cf. 1 Tim 6:3).