Posted by Jim on June 25, 19102 at 14:01:22:
In Reply to: Eph. 1:12-13 Pronoun Change posted by David Diamond on November 21, 19101 at 18:34:47:
Aside from Paul’s use of the rhetorical “we,” as in Romans 3:5 and 3:9, I see no evidence that Paul ever uses the pronoun “we/us/our” beyond reference either to specific individuals, such as his coworkers in the Gospel and himself, or to the saints (the entire Church). In my opinion, the conclusion that Paul sometimes uses this pronoun in reference to a subcategory of the saints (Jewish believers) is an arbitrary conclusion that has no grammatical basis.
The King James Version’s (KJV) rendering of Ephesians 1:11-14 is sometimes offered as grammatical evidence that Paul sometimes uses the pronoun “we/us/our” in reference to Jewish believers:
Ephesians 1:11 IN WHOM ALSO WE HAVE OBTAINED AN INHERITANCE, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 12 That WE should be to the praise of his glory, who FIRST TRUSTED in Christ. 13 IN WHOM YE ALSO TRUSTED, after that YE heard the word of truth, the gospel of YOUR salvation: in whom also after that YE believed, YE were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of OUR INHERITANCE until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. (KJV)
This rendering presents the following sequence: “we … first trusted … ye also trusted.” This sequence leads some people to the conclusion that Paul is contrasting two separate categories of believers: (1) “we” the Jewish believers in verse 1:12 who “first trusted” and (2) “ye” the Gentile believers in verse 1:13 who later “also trusted.” According to this conclusion, the referent of “ye” in verse 1:13 is EXCLUDED from the referent of “we” in verse 1:12.
This rendering, however, deviates from the Greek significantly enough to alter the meaning of this page. The American Standard Version’s (ASV) rendering is closer to the Greek (not the 1971 edition of the New American Standard Version [NASV] but the 1901 edition of the American Standard Version [ASV], which is included among the various versions available for display at bible.crosswalk.com):
Ephesians 1:11 IN WHOM ALSO WE WERE MADE A HERITAGE, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his will; 12 to the end that WE should BE UNTO THE PRAISE OF HIS GLORY, WE who HAD BEFORE HOPED IN CHRIST: 13 IN WHOM YE ALSO, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, -- IN WHOM, having also believed, ye WERE SEALED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT of promise, 14 which is AN EARNEST OF OUR INHERITANCE, UNTO THE REDEMPTION of [God's] own possession, UNTO THE PRAISE OF HIS GLORY. (ASV)
There is no we-first-trust-ye-also-trusted sequence in this more accurate rendering of Ephesians 1:11-14. The perfect participle in verse 1:12 that is rendered “first trusted” in the KJV is more accurately rendered “had before hoped” in the ASV, and the verb “trusted” that is added to verse 1:13 in the KJV is omitted in the ASV. Thus, the ASV’s rendering of Ephesians 1:11-14 paints a different picture than the KJV’s rendering does, one in which the referent of “ye” in verse 1:13 is NOT EXCLUDED from the referent of “we” in verse 1:12.
In my opinion, the thing “before” which “we” the saints (the entire Church) “hope in Christ” in verse 1:12 is the very thing that is stated in the same verse, which is “be[ing] unto the praise of his [God’s] glory,” which Paul says in verse 1:14 occurs at “the redemption.” This interpretation of Ephesians 1:12 is consistent with Romans 5:2, 8:16-25 and 9:23-24 as well as with Ephesians 1:18 and 4:4 and with Colossians 1:26-27. At the redemption (the resurrection of the saints at the coming of the Lord), the Glory of God will be revealed in His saints. Until then, “we” the saints (the entire Church), who have “the earnest” of the Spirit, “hope in Christ” as “we” await “the redemption.”
There is no more grammatical basis for excluding the referent of “ye” in the phrase “in whom ye also” (“en w kai umeis”) in Ephesians 1:13 from the referent of “we” in verse 1:12 than there is for excluding the referent of “ye” in the phrase “in whom ye also” (“en w kai umeis”) in verse 2:22 from the referent of the phrase “each several building” in verse 2:21:
Ephesians 1:11 IN WHOM ALSO WE were made a heritage, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his will; 12 to the end that WE should be unto the praise of his glory, WE who had before hoped in Christ: 13 IN WHOM YE ALSO, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of YOUR salvation, -- in whom, having also believed, YE were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 which is an earnest of OUR inheritance, unto the redemption of [God's] own possession, unto the praise of his glory. (ASV)
Ephesians 2:17 and he came and preached peace to YOU that were far off, and peace to THEM that were nigh: 18 for through him WE BOTH have our access IN ONE SPIRIT unto the Father. 19 So then YE are no more strangers and sojourners, but YE are FELLOW-CITIZENS WITH THE SAINTS, and OF THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD, 20 being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone; 21 IN WHOM EACH SEVERAL BUILDING [ALL of THE SAINTS, or WE, the entire Church], fitly framed together, groweth into a holy temple in the Lord; 22 IN WHOM YE ALSO are builded together for a habitation of God IN THE SPIRIT. (ASV)
It is clear that both the pronoun “we/our” and the phrase “each several building” refer to all of the saints (the entire Church). Paul’s use of the phrase “in whom ye also” in Ephesians 1:13 and 2:22 is NOT to indicate an exclusion of “the saints that are at Ephesus” (1:1) from the referent of the pronoun “we/our” in verses 1:11-12 and 1:14 or from the phrase “each several building” in verse 2:21 but TO EMPHASIZE THEIR INCLUSION.
Thus, there is no grammatical basis for the conclusion of some people that Paul sometimes uses the pronoun “we/us/our” in reference to a subcategory of the saints, specifically, to Jewish believers. All of the grammatical evidence shows that when Paul is not using this pronoun in reference to specific individuals, such as his coworkers in the Gospel and himself, he is ALWAYS using it in reference to THE SAINTS (the entire Church), the only exception to this being Paul’s use of the rhetorical “we,” as in Romans 3:5, where he says, “what shall WE say?” or as in Romans 3:9, where he says, “WE before laid to the charge both of Jews and Greeks, that they are all under sin.”
It is true that there is a controversy over the ASV. However, this controversy does not regard the translation itself but the Greek text on which the translation is based (the 1881 Westcott-Hort Alexandrian Greek Text instead of the 1550 Stephen’s Received Greek Text), which is irrelevant to this discussion, as both Greek texts are the same in regard to Ephesians 1:11-14 and 2:17-22, the only difference being that the Received Text, on which the KJV is based, includes the definite article “ths,” which would normally be rendered “the” in English, in front of the phrase rendered “his glory” in English in verse 1:12, which doesn’t appear in the KJV’s rendering of verse 1:12 anyway. So the disagreement between the KJV and the ASV in regard to Ephesians 1:12-13 does not concern the Greek text (the Received Text and the Alexandrian Text are virtually identical in these two verses) but the translation of the Greek. The rendering of Ephesians 1:12-13 in the ASV more accurately reflects the Greek (the actual words of Paul) than the rendering of these two verses in the KJV does.
Conclusion: The KJV’s rendering of Ephesians 1:12-13 is a poor rendering that tends to confuse the reader, misleading him or her to conclude that Paul sometimes refers to “we” the Jewish believers, which in fact Paul never appears to do. With Paul, when he’s not referring to specific individuals, such as his coworkers in the Gospel and himself, and when he’s not using the rhetorical “we,” it’s ALWAYS “we/us/our” the “saints” (the entire Church) and “ye/you/your” the portion of the Church to whom he is writing his epistle, which he INCLUDES in the referent of “we/us/our” (the entire Church).