Paragraph 4:7–16
In 4:4–6 Paul talked about the things that unite Christians. These are things that we have in common. But in 4:7 he talked about special abilities that some Christians have and that others do not have. We all have the same Spirit, we all worship the same Lord, and so on. But to each of us, Christ has given different special abilities.
4:7a
Now: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Now marks a contrast and a transition. In 4:4–6 Paul talked about what Christians have in common. In this paragraph he talked about special abilities that Christ gives to individual believers. Indicate this contrast in a way that is natural in your language.
Here are some other ways to translate this word:
However (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
And yet
-or-
⌊Although we are united in these ways⌋ yet
to each one of us grace: Here the word grace means “the ability which Christ gives to do a special task.” Some of these tasks are described in 4:11. It does not mean “mercy.”
Here are some other ways to translate the word grace:
special gift (Good News Translation)
-or-
favor (God’s Word)
-or-
generous gift/enabling
-or-
gracious empowering
In some languages it is translated as:
power to do a work
See grace, Meaning 3 in the Glossary for more information.
has been given: The phrase has been given is passive. Christ is the one who has given to us these gifts/abilities.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
he has given each one of us a special gift (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Christ gave each of us a gracious gift/ability
4:7b
according to the measure of the gift of Christ: The words according to the measure means “to measure out,” “to distribute,” or “to divide.” Christ decides which gift each Christian should receive. He does not give the same abilities to every Christian.
Here are some other ways to translate the words according to the measure :
as…divided (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
as…measured out (God’s Word)
-or-
as…distributed
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