2:8a–b
In 2:8, Paul continued to compare himself to Peter. Believers at that time recognized that God was working through Peter. Peter did miracles, and his preaching resulted in people believing in Jesus. Paul also did miracles, and people also came to believe in Jesus through Paul’s ministry. Through his ministry, people also received the Holy Spirit. So Paul’s ministry was equal to Peter’s ministry. This evidence supports Paul’s statement in 2:7 that God had entrusted him with the gospel.
Because Paul compared himself to Peter, it may be more natural in some languages to put Paul first (as in 2:7b–c). In other words, it may be more natural to change the order of 2:8a and 2:8b. For example:
b God is working through my ministry to the Gentiles a just as he is working through Peter’s ministry to the Jews.
2:8a
For: Verse 2:8 supports and further explains Paul’s statement in 2:7b–c. There he stated that God had given him the work of spreading the gospel. God had given him this work just as he had given this work to Peter. Here, Paul explained and supported this statement by saying that God worked through his ministry just as he worked through Peter’s ministry.
The Greek introduces this explanation with a conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as For. Some English versions do not translate this conjunction. In some languages, it will not be necessary to translate this conjunction either.
the One who was at work in Peter’s apostleship: There are two ways to interpret the clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the One who was at work in Peter’s apostleship :
(1) It means that God worked in/through Peter in his ministry as an apostle. This means that God made his ministry as an apostle effective/successful. For example:
God helped Peter work with the Jews (NLV)
-or-
God who had done such great work in Peter’s ministry for the Jews (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
(2) It means that God worked in Peter’s life and made him an apostle. God called/made Peter to be an apostle. For example:
The one who made Peter an apostle to Jewish people (God’s Word)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). The majority of English versions follow this interpretation. And this interpretation is a stronger argument. Paul’s point is that his ministry was equal with Peter’s. His ministry had the same results as Peter’s ministry.
Some other ways to translate this clause are:
God worked through Peter to ?make? his work as an apostle ?successful? .
-or-
God caused Peter to do ?well? his work as an apostle.
-or-
God blessed Peter’s work as an apostle.
the One who: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the One who refers to God. For example:
God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle (New International Version)
apostleship: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as apostleship refers to the ministry/work that an apostle does.
Some other ways to translate this word are:
the ministry…as an apostle (New International Version)
-or-
the work of an apostle
to the circumcised: The word circumcised refers to “Jews.” You should translate this word as you did in 2:7c.
2:8b
was also at work in my apostleship to the Gentiles: This entire clause means that God also worked through Paul and made his ministry as an apostle successful. As a result, Paul, like Peter, did miracles. And many people also became Christians because of his ministry.
Some other ways to translate this clause are:
He also worked through me to ?make? my work as an apostle ?successful? .
-or-
God also caused me to do ?well? my work as an apostle.
-or-
He also blessed me and my work as an apostle.
Gentiles: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Gentiles refers to people who are not Jews. This word first occurs in 1:16b. See also Gentiles, Meaning 1 in the Glossary for more information.
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