3:6
In this verse, Paul finally explained what God’s mystery/plan is. God’s plan is to call both Gentiles and Jews to be his people and to make them equal partners in the church.
Paul described the relationship between Gentile and Jewish believers by three nouns, all of which have the same prefix “joint,” meaning “together”:
(a) joint-heirs : The Gentiles now receive the same blessings from God that the Jews receive. (3:6c)
(b) joint-body : Gentiles and Jews are now united in one body, the church. (3:6d)
(c) joint-sharers : The promise of salvation God made to the Jews he also made to the Gentiles. (3:6e)
In some languages it may be possible to use similar wording for all three of these. This may help your readers to see the similarity between these terms. For example:
heirs together…members together…sharers together (New International Version)
-or-
fellow heirs…fellow members…fellow partakers (NET Bible)
-or-
have the same inheritance…belong to the same body…share the same promise (God’s Word)
3:6a
This mystery is that: In order to show that Paul has arrived at his main point, the Berean Standard Bible begins 3:6 with the clause This mystery is that…This is a good model to follow. Other English versions do similar things. For example:
And this is the secret plan… (New Living Translation (1996))
-or-
And the meaning of that hidden/secret talk is this
mystery: The word mystery means “something that has not been explained.” This refers to God’s plan that was unknown to man in the past. It also occurred in 3:3a and 3:4b.
3:6b
through the gospel: The phrase through the gospel is connected to the three clauses:
(a) Gentiles and Jews have become joint-heirs,
(b) members of the same body and
(c) joint-sharers through the gospel.
Some ways to translate through the gospel are:
by means of your believing the gospel
-or-
because you believed the gospel
-or-
the good news has given (Contemporary English Version)
See gospel in the Glossary for more information.
General Comment on 3:6b
The Berean Standard Bible has the phrase “through the gospel” at the beginning of 3:6b. However, in the Greek text, the phrase “through the gospel” occurs at the end of 3:6. For example:
This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. (English Standard Version)
Insert this phrase in 3:6 where it would be natural to do so in your language.
3:6c
the Gentiles: Here the word Gentiles refers to people who are not Jews. See how you translated “Gentiles” in 2:11a and 3:1c. Also, see Gentiles, Meaning 1 in the Glossary for more information.
are fellow heirs: An “heir” is a person who has the right to inherit things from his parents or other relatives. The phrase fellow heirs is just one word in Greek: “joint-heirs.” Some English versions add the implied words “with Israel.” Other versions such as Good News Translation say:
with the Jews (Good News Translation)
When Paul says that the Gentiles are joint-heirs, he means that Gentiles believers will have an equal share with Jewish believers in all the good things God has for his children.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
have the same inheritance as Jewish people do (God’s Word)
-or-
have a part with the Jews in God’s blessings (Good News Translation)
3:6d
fellow members of the body: A literal English translation of the Greek is “joint-body.” This is a figure of speech. Gentile and Jewish believers are like part of the same body. This implies that they are members of the same group. They are united as one new people.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
Both are part of the same body (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
They belong to the same body (God’s Word, New Century Version)
-or-
They both are now united as one people
3:6e
fellow partakers of the promise: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as fellow partakers of the promise is literally “joint-sharers of the promise.” This means almost the same thing as “fellow heirs” which was used earlier in 3:6c. Both Gentiles and Jews equally share all that God promises and gives to his children. The word promise is singular, and it sums up all that God has promised his people. For example:
promise of blessings (New Living Translation (2004))
in Christ Jesus: The phrase in Christ Jesus means “through Christ Jesus” For example:
the promise that God made through Christ Jesus (Good News Translation)
Through our union with Christ, God’s plan has been fulfilled. These words are connected to the preceding words “the promise”: God made the promise through Christ Jesus.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
and share the same promise that God made in Christ Jesus (God’s Word)
-or-
both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
and share the same promise that God made to us (incl.) because we are united with Christ Jesus
General Comment on 3:6a–e
Here is another way to translate 3:6a–e:
6a That hidden talk is like this: 6e That which God promised to give us (incl.) 6b through the good news of Christ Jesus, 6c,e he didn’t just promise us (excl.) Israel people alone, no, he also promised it to you Gentiles, 6d thereby making us (incl.) all into one body.
Paragraph 3:7–13
In the previous verses 3:3–6, Paul talked about God’s mystery/plan. However, beginning in 3:7, he changed topics. Here he talked about his work preaching the gospel to the Gentiles.
Even though Paul was not one of the twelve apostles, God gave him the work of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles. God intended that through the church, made up of Jews and Gentiles, all the angels and evil spirits would see his wisdom. So Paul urged the Christians not to be discouraged by the fact that he was suffering in prison. He reminded them that it was for their honor that he was suffering in prison.
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