(Old Testament quotations/allusions are underlined. [Brackets] indicate a textual variant.fnWhen two (or more) different copies of an original manuscript disagree on any given word or phrase — addition, omission, word order, etc. — the disagreement is called a "textual variant". ~99% of existing textual variants are either minor (like spelling), obviously not original (often appearing only in a few late manuscripts), or don't affect meaning (like "Jesus Christ" vs. "Christ Jesus"). The ~1% that remain do not affect any central doctrine of Christianity. The BOS Bible only marks significant textual variants that affect the meaning; smaller variants that do not affect meaning won't be marked for readability. "Love" with a caret ("^love") is agapé.fn"agapé" The Greek words ἀγάπη (agapé, noun), and ἀγαπάω (agapaó; verb) are typically translated "love". However, unlike our English word "love" – which primarily speaks of affection and feelings — agapé centers on choice and behavior. It’s the "love" based on will, choice, behavior, and action; not feelings. (Feelings-based love is the Greek word φιλέω (phileó), which properly means "brotherly love/affection".) Thus, you could hate someone passionately and still treat him with "agapé". Agapé "love" is best understood as the pursuit of what is most beneficial to someone or something, regardless of the cost to yourself or the type of response received from the person or thing. It can also indicate a preference for someone or something over other things. An asterisk (*) indicates a verb in the Greek perfect tense.fnThe Greek perfect tense signifies a completed action in the past with a result and/or an ongoing state that extends into the present. For example, Hebrews 12:2 says in part: "He *sat down at the right hand of the throne of God"; the verb for "sat" is in the perfect tense, indicating that He sat down once (completed action in the past), and also that He remains seated until the present moment (ongoing state).)
Righteousness from works vs faith
(Parallel teachings: Galatians 3:6-14; James 2:14-26)
- 1 Therefore, what will we say that Abraham has discovered? (Who is our forefather according to the flesh.)
- 2 For if Abraham was made righteous by works, he has a reason to boast (but not before God).
- 3 For what does the scripture say: “And Abraham believed God and that was credited to him as righteousness.”fnquotation/allusion to Genesis 15:6
- 4 Now, to the man working, his wage isn’t credited as grace but as what’s owed.
- 5 But to the man not working but believing on the One making the ungodly righteous, his faith is credited as righteousness,
- 6 Just as David also speaks of how blessed is the man for whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
- 7 “Blessed are the men whose lawless deeds were forgiven, and whose sins were covered;
- 8 “blessed is the man whose sin the Lord definitely won’t take into account.”fnquotation/allusion to Psalm 32:1-2
- 9 Therefore, is this blessing only on the circumcision, or also on the uncircumcision? (For we say faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.)fnquotation/allusion to Genesis 15:6
- 10 Then how was it credited? While being in circumcision or in uncircumcision? It wasn’t while in circumcision, but while in uncircumcision.
- 11 And he received the sign of circumcisionfnquotation/allusion to Genesis 17:9-14, especially verse 11 as a seal of the righteousness of faith while in uncircumcision, for him to be the father of all the men believing while in uncircumcision, for righteousness to be credited to them [too].
- 12 And the father of circumcision isn’t only father to the men of circumcision, but also to the men walking in the footsteps of the faith of our father Abraham while in uncircumcision.
Through faith, not law
(Parallel teachings: Galatians 3:1-14)
- 13 For the promise for him to be an heir of the worldfnquotation/allusion to Genesis 12:3, Genesis 18:18, and Genesis 22:18 wasn’t given to Abraham or his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
- 14 For if the men of the law are heirs, faith has been made void and the promise has been nullified.
- 15 For the law brings about wrath, but where there’s no law, there’s no deliberate sinfn“deliberate sin” is one word in Greek. It denotes an intentional stepping over a known boundary, not an accidental violation of that boundary. In this context, it’s deliberately violating God’s commands in the Law; see also Numbers 15:30-31 either.
- 16 Therefore, it’s from faith so that it’s by grace, for the promise to be certain to all the seed; not only to the seed of the law, but also to the seed of Abraham’s faith, who is the father of us all.
- 17 Just as it’s *written: “I have established you as a father of many nations.”fnquotation/allusion to Genesis 17:5 He believed before God, the One giving life to the dead and calling the things not existing like things that are existing.
- 18 With hope against hope, Abraham believed the promise for him to become the father of many nations, in accordance with what has been spoken: “So will your seed be.”fnquotation/allusion to Genesis 15:5
- 19 And not having been weak in faith, he consideredfnMany later manuscripts add negation, making it read “he did [not] consider his own body”. his own body as [already] good as *dead (being about one hundred years old) and the deadness of Sarah’s womb.fnquotation/allusion to Genesis 17:17
- 20 But he didn’t doubt the promise of God in unbelief, but was strengthened by faith, having given glory to God,
- 21 and having been fully convinced that what God has promised, He is also able to do.
- 22 And therefore: “It was credited to him as righteousness.”fnquotation/allusion to Genesis 15:6
- 23 Yet it wasn’t written that “it was credited to him” because of him alone,
- 24 but also because of us (to whom it’s about to be credited), to the men believing on the One who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,
- 25 who was handed over because of our misstepsfnquotation/allusion to Isaiah 53:5. “missteps” the Greek word used here doesn’t quite mean “sin”. It’s the word “παράπτωμα” (paraptóma) and carries the connotation of a “slip-up” or a “false step” with the implication – but not certainty – that it was unintentional., and was raised for the sake of us being made righteous.fnquotation/allusion to Isaiah 53:11-12
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