This verse in Greek (see Hdb|fig:Table_EPH1-3.jpg) has the main verb “you were sealed,” which is preceded and modified by two aorist participles, “having heard” and “having believed”; the three may be related in the following manner: “you heard … you believed … and then/so you were sealed.”
The verse in Greek begins “in whom also you, having heard the word of truth” (Hdb|fig:Table_EPH1-3.jpg). The writer now addresses his readers directly, distinguishing them from the us in the previous verse, with whom he associates himself. They, the readers, either as Gentile Christians or as second generation Christians, have been given the same destiny as the believers of Jewish origin: they also became God’s people (see Beare). This happened (1) when they heard “the word of truth” and (2) when they believed in Christ. “The word of truth” is a way of speaking of the gospel; Good News Translation the true message may not be adequate, and it may be better to take this genitive phrase to mean “the message/word about the truth,” the word “truth” then being defined by the following genitive phrase (so Abbott). See Colossians 1.5.
In rendering the statement you also became God’s people, it is important to avoid an expression which would suggest “you made yourself God’s people.” In order to avoid this it may be necessary to restructure the statement to read “God also made you his people.” It may also be difficult or impossible to speak of “the message about the truth,” since “truth” cannot be used as an abstract without some indication of the content of the truth. Therefore, it may be necessary to translate “the message about the truth” as “the message about the truth concerning God” or “the message which contains true words about God” or “… about what God has done.”
The genitive phrase “the good news of your salvation” may mean (1) the good news that you are saved or (2) the Good News that accomplished your salvation; the second one seems more likely in the context. This may be rendered in some languages as “the Good News which caused you to be saved.” In some languages, however, only a personal agent can accomplish salvation, and accordingly the gospel must be treated as the instrument, for example, “The Good News which God used to cause you to be saved” or “… used in order to save you.”
As the discussion above shows, the true message (or “the message about the truth”) is a way of speaking about the Good News. Translators should take care not to construct the passage so that it seems that they are two different things. In some cases they might have to use a phrase such as “the message of truth, which is the Good News that brought you salvation.”
God put his stamp of ownership on you translates the Greek verb “to seal,” which is used literally in Matthew 27.66 (the tomb) and Revelation 20.3 (the abyss); it appears figuratively (1) to close in order to keep from being known, Revelation 10.4; 22.10; (2) to place a mark on something or someone as sign of ownership, Revelation 7.3-4; 2 Corinthians 1.22; and here and in 4.30. The related noun “seal, certification, confirmation” is used in Romans 4.11: Abraham’s circumcision was a visible confirmation of his right standing with God, achieved through faith. Beare refers to the custom of a devout worshiper marking on his body the symbol of the god he worshiped, as a sign of his entire consecration. So circumcision was such a sign among the Jews, and in later (post-New Testament) Christian usage baptism was called “the seal”.
Here the “seal” is “the Holy Spirit of promise,” that is, the Holy Spirit that God had promised to give his people (see the quotation from Joel 2.28-32 in Peter’s speech on the day of Pentecost, Acts 2.14-21). The Holy Spirit is God’s stamp of ownership, the certification that they belong to him. See Translator’s New Testament “to show that you were his, you received the promised gift of the Holy Spirit.” Another way of saying this would be “In order to show that you belonged to him, God marked you by giving you the Holy Spirit he had promised.”
In a number of languages it is impossible to speak about stamp of ownership. The closest equivalent may be “God declared that you belonged to him” or “God chose that you would belong to him.” This statement is then further explained by the following phrase, “by giving you the Holy Spirit,” which may be expressed in some languages as “for he gave you the Holy Spirit” or “he caused you to have the Holy Spirit” or “… to receive the Holy Spirit” or “… to have the Holy Spirit come into you.”
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert C. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1982. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .