2:5–6

These verses were probably a special saying that believers recited together when they met to worship God. It is not clear where the saying ends.

2:5a

For: Paul used the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as For to introduce verses 2:5–6. Paul could have used this Greek word gar in one of two ways in this verse:

(1) To loosely connect two thoughts, “since there is one God, all shall be saved” (related to this are Rom 3:30 and Eph 4:6). However this connection seems secondary and the phrase is perhaps best explained by the assumption that the author concludes the thought with a solemn formula.”)

(2) To introduce a reason for the previous verses. This is the more normal use of gar in Greek.

However, 2:5 says that there is one God (2:5a) and one mediator (2:5b). It does not give the reason why God wants to save everybody. Therefore, it is best to translate the word For here in a way that shows that 2:5 is loosely connected with what Paul had said in 2:4.

there is one God: One of the most important beliefs of the Bible is that there is only one God. Even before New Testament times Jewish people repeated the words of Deuteronomy 6:4 every day to remind themselves of this truth. These words say, “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” (This confession is called the Shema. M. R. Wilson in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (volume 4, page 469) says, “The practice of reciting the Shema daily is firmly established in the Mishnah (ca. A.D. 200), which underscores the Shema’s importance in Jewish religious experience by its opening words: ‘From what time in the evening may the Shema’ be recited?’ (Berakoth i.1). But there is also evidence of the Shema’s use during and even before the NT era…”)

2:5b

one mediator between God and men: At the time when Paul wrote this letter, some Jewish people thought that Moses was the mediator between God and humanity. Other people thought that angels were mediators. Paul was making it clear here that there is only one person who can mediate between God and people.

mediator: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as mediator refers to a person who helps two people or groups of people resolve a dispute.

In 2:6a Paul explained the way in which Christ was the mediator between God and people. After Jesus died on the cross, he began to mediate between God and sinful people, so that God could accept them.

men: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as men here does not only refer to males. It includes all human beings: men, women, and children.

2:5c

the man Christ Jesus: Jesus was both God and human. That means that he is a good mediator because he can represent both God and people. When Paul said here that Christ, the mediator, was a man, he was emphasizing that Christ was not only God, but also fully human.

The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as man does not emphasize that Christ was male instead of female. Instead, it emphasizes that he is a person, a human being.

Notice that Paul said the name of the mediator, Christ Jesus, only after he had talked about him. By waiting until after he had talked about him to say his name, Paul emphasized the identity of the mediator. In your language it may be necessary to show this emphasis in another way.

Christ Jesus: Notice that in this verse Paul referred to Jesus as Christ Jesus instead of “Jesus Christ.” The names “Christ Jesus” and “Jesus Christ” refer to the same person. (Some people, however, think that when Paul used the word Christ before the word Jesus, as in Christ Jesus, he was emphasizing that Jesus was the Messiah.)

In most English versions “Jesus Christ” and “Christ Jesus” are translated in the same order as they occur in the Greek manuscripts. It is recommended that you do the same thing.

However, it is possible that, in some languages, people may be confused to see the names in two different orders. They may even think that Paul was referring to two different people. If this is true in your language, it may be necessary to translate Christ Jesus as “Jesus Christ.” This is the more usual word order in the New Testament.

Christ: The word Christ is used in two ways in the New Testament. In the Gospels, Christ is a title for Jesus. It means “the anointed one.” But later, by the time that Paul and others wrote letters to individuals and churches, the word Christ was used as another name for Jesus. It was no longer used as a title. So here and in other New Testament letters you should spell Christ according to the rules of your language.

© 2003 by SIL International®

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.