Efesus 1:6

1:6 to the praise of the glory of his grace ¹  that he has freely bestowed on us in his dearly loved Son. ² 

Efesus 3:12

3:12 in whom we have boldness and confident access ³  to God ⁴  because of ⁵  Christ’s ⁶  faithfulness. ⁷ 

Efesus 4:12

4:12 to equip ⁸  the saints for the work of ministry, that is, ⁹  to build up the body of Christ,

Efesus 4:21

4:21 if indeed you heard about him and were taught in him, just as the truth is in Jesus.

Efesus 5:25

5:25 Husbands, love your ¹⁰  wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her

Efesus 5:31-32

5:31 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and will be joined to his wife, and the two will become ¹¹  one flesh. ¹²  5:32 This mystery is great – but I am actually ¹³  speaking with reference to Christ and the church.

[1:6]  ¹ tn Or “to the praise of his glorious grace.” Many translations translate δόξης τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ (doxh" th" carito" autou, literally “of the glory of his grace”) with τῆς χάριτος as an attributed genitive (cf., e.g., NIV, NRSV, ESV). The translation above has retained a literal rendering in order to make clear the relationship of this phrase to the other two similar phrases in v. 12 and 14, which affect the way one divides the material in the passage.

[1:6]  ² tn Grk “the beloved.” The term ἠγαπημένῳ (hgaphmenw) means “beloved,” but often bears connotations of “only beloved” in an exclusive sense. “His dearly loved Son” picks up this connotation.

[1:6]  sn God’s grace can be poured out on believers only because of what Christ has done for them. Hence, he bestows his grace on us because we are in his dearly loved Son.

[3:12]  ³ tn Grk “access in confidence.”

[3:12]  ⁴ tn The phrase “to God” is not in the text, but is clearly implied by the preceding, “access.”

[3:12]  ⁵ tn Grk “through,” “by way of.”

[3:12]  ⁶ tn Grk “his.”

[3:12]  ⁷ tn Or “faith in him.” A decision is difficult here. Though traditionally translated “faith in Jesus Christ,” an increasing number of NT scholars are arguing that πίστις Χριστοῦ (pisti" Cristou) and similar phrases in Paul (here and in Rom 3:22, 26; Gal 2:16, 20; 3:22; Phil 3:9) involve a subjective genitive and mean “Christ’s faith” or “Christ’s faithfulness” (cf., e.g., G. Howard, “The ‘Faith of Christ’,” ExpTim 85 [1974]: 212-15; R. B. Hays, The Faith of Jesus Christ [SBLDS]; Morna D. Hooker, “Πίστις Χριστοῦ,” NTS 35 [1989]: 321-42). Noteworthy among the arguments for the subjective genitive view is that when πίστις takes a personal genitive it is almost never an objective genitive (cf. Matt 9:2, 22, 29; Mark 2:5; 5:34; 10:52; Luke 5:20; 7:50; 8:25, 48; 17:19; 18:42; 22:32; Rom 1:8; 12; 3:3; 4:5, 12, 16; 1 Cor 2:5; 15:14, 17; 2 Cor 10:15; Phil 2:17; Col 1:4; 2:5; 1 Thess 1:8; 3:2, 5, 10; 2 Thess 1:3; Titus 1:1; Phlm 6; 1 Pet 1:9, 21; 2 Pet 1:5). On the other hand, the objective genitive view has its adherents: A. Hultgren, “The Pistis Christou Formulations in Paul,” NovT 22 (1980): 248-63; J. D. G. Dunn, “Once More, ΠΙΣΤΙΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥ,” SBL Seminar Papers, 1991, 730-44. Most commentaries on Romans and Galatians usually side with the objective view.

[3:12]  sn Because of Christ’s faithfulness. Though Paul elsewhere teaches justification by faith, this presupposes that the object of our faith is reliable and worthy of such faith.

[4:12]  ⁸ tn On the translation of πρὸς τὸν καταρτισμὸν τῶν ἁγίων (pro" ton katartismon twn Jagiwn) as “to equip the saints” see BDAG 526 s.v. καταρτισμός. In this case the genitive is taken as objective and the direct object of the verbal idea implied in καταρτισμός (katartismo").

[4:12]  ⁹ tn The εἰς (eis) clause is taken as epexegetical to the previous εἰς clause, namely, εἰς ἔργον διακονίας (ei" ergon diakonia").

[5:25]  ¹⁰ tn The Greek article has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[5:31]  ¹¹ tn Grk “the two shall be as one flesh.”

[5:31]  ¹² sn A quotation from Gen 2:24.

[5:32]  ¹³ tn The term “actually” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied in the English translation to bring out the heightened sense of the statement.