1:9a
He has made known to us: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as made known means “revealed” or “showed.” Paul is saying here that God revealed to believers the “mystery of his will.”
Here are some other ways to translate this word:
revealed (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
shown (Contemporary English Version)
mystery of His will: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as mystery means “something which was previously hidden from man that God has now revealed to him.” The next verse (1:10) tells us what this mystery is.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
God’s hidden plan
-or-
the plan that God had hidden in his heart
-or-
God’s purpose that no one knew about in the past
-or-
God’s plan that was previously not known ⌊to mankind/anybody⌋
-or-
God’s plan that he has now made known ⌊to believers⌋
1:9b
according to His good pleasure: This phrase is similar to the phrase, “according to the good pleasure of His will” in 1:5b. As in 1:5b, it may be easier to understand if you change the noun pleasure into a verb. For example:
it pleased God to reveal his plan to us
-or-
God delighted in revealing his plan to us
See how you translated the similar phrase in 1:5b.
which He purposed in Christ: There is an interpretation issue here. The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as in Christ is literally “in him.” Scholars are divided as to whom the “him” refers. These views are:
(1) It refers to Christ. This means God decided to reveal his plan through or by means of Christ. For example:
and he planned to do it through Christ (New Century Version)
(Berean Standard Bible, New Century Version, Revised English Bible, New International Version, Revised Standard Version, English Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, Good News Translation, God’s Word, NET Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, New Jerusalem Bible)
(2) It refers to God himself. This means God decided to reveal his plan through or by means of himself or his own work. For example:
which he has purposed in himself (King James Version)
The New American Standard Bible leaves it ambiguous, using “in him.” The New Living Translation (2004) says:
God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ. (New Living Translation (2004))
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). The majority of versions support this interpretation.
The phrase which He purposed in Christ means “God decided to reveal his plan through (or by means of) Christ.” That is, God decided to reveal his plan by means of what Christ would do.
Here are some other ways to translate which He purposed in Christ :
which he decided to accomplish through Christ
-or-
That he planned to do by means of Christ
-or-
That he planned to do through what Jesus would do
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