1 Tesalonika 2:11

2:11 As you know, we treated each one of you as a father treats his own children,

Roma 12:1-2

Consecration of the Believer’s Life

12:1 Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, ¹  by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice – alive, holy, and pleasing to God ²  – which is your reasonable service. 12:2 Do not be conformed ³  to this present world, ⁴  but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve ⁵  what is the will of God – what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

Kolose 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁶  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Kolose 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁷  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Efesus 4:1

Live in Unity

4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, ⁸  urge you to live ⁹  worthily of the calling with which you have been called, ¹⁰ 

Filemon 1:9-10

1:9 I would rather appeal ¹¹  to you on the basis of love – I, Paul, an old man ¹²  and even now a prisoner for the sake of Christ Jesus ¹³  – 1:10 I am appealing ¹⁴  to you concerning my child, whose spiritual father I have become ¹⁵  during my imprisonment, ¹⁶  that is, Onesimus,

Ibrani 13:22

13:22 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, ¹⁷  bear with my message of exhortation, for in fact I have written to you briefly.

[12:1]  ¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[12:1]  ² tn The participle and two adjectives “alive, holy, and pleasing to God” are taken as predicates in relation to “sacrifice,” making the exhortation more emphatic. See ExSyn 618-19.

[12:1]  sn Taken as predicate adjectives, the terms alive, holy, and pleasing are showing how unusual is the sacrifice that believers can now offer, for OT sacrifices were dead. As has often been quipped about this text, “The problem with living sacrifices is that they keep crawling off the altar.”

[12:2]  ³ tn Although συσχηματίζεσθε (suschmatizesqe) could be either a passive or middle, the passive is more likely since it would otherwise have to be a direct middle (“conform yourselves”) and, as such, would be quite rare for NT Greek. It is very telling that being “conformed” to the present world is viewed as a passive notion, for it may suggest that it happens, in part, subconsciously. At the same time, the passive could well be a “permissive passive,” suggesting that there may be some consciousness of the conformity taking place. Most likely, it is a combination of both.

[12:2]  ⁴ tn Grk “to this age.”

[12:2]  ⁵ sn The verb translated test and approve (δοκιμάζω, dokimazw) carries the sense of “test with a positive outcome,” “test so as to approve.”

[1:1]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[4:1]  ⁸ tn Grk “prisoner in the Lord.”

[4:1]  ⁹ tn Grk “walk.” The verb “walk” in the NT letters refers to the conduct of one’s life, not to physical walking.

[4:1]  ¹⁰ sn With which you have been called. The calling refers to the Holy Spirit’s prompting that caused them to believe. The author is thus urging his readers to live a life that conforms to their saved status before God.

[1:9]  ¹¹ tn Or “encourage.”

[1:9]  ¹² tn Or perhaps “an ambassador” (so RSV, TEV), reading πρεσβευτής for πρεσβύτης (a conjecture proposed by Bentley, cf. BDAG 863 s.v. πρεσβύτης). NRSV reads “old man” and places “ambassador” in a note.

[1:9]  ¹³ tn Grk “a prisoner of Christ Jesus.”

[1:10]  ¹⁴ tn Or “I am encouraging…”

[1:10]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “my child whom I have begotten.” The adjective “spiritual” has been supplied before “father” in the translation to clarify for the modern reader that Paul did not literally father a child during his imprisonment. Paul’s point is that he was instrumental in Onesimus’ conversion while in prison.

[1:10]  ¹⁶ sn During my imprisonment. Apparently Onesimus became a believer under Paul’s shepherding while he [Paul] was a prisoner in Rome.

[13:22]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 2:11.