Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Ephesians 3 9
Ephesians 3 9
Ephesians 3 9
Robinson
(Word Pictures) says that it is a later Greek verb, to turn the light on. Thus it
was used as to bring to light, to give light, to light up, to inform, teach, give
understanding to. The Sacred Secret was hidden in God until God told Paul and
he in turn instructed others about it, so to bring to light and teach about would
be a good understanding of the fuller meaning of the verb in this context.
There is a textual variant in this verse. There are several important manuscripts
that do not have the direct object all after the verb photiz, but it seems the
manuscript evidence favors it being in the original text, which is why most
English versions include it. Photiz occurs 11 times in the New Testament, and of
those occurrences,Ephesians 3:9 is the only place where it does not have either a
direct object, is used passively, or has an implied direct object by way of a
prepositional phrase such as in Revelation 22:5. So, even though there is textual
variation in Ephesians 3:9, it does appear that the direct object should be there
(or be implied by the figure ellipsis) and so the verse should be translated
something like, enlighten all people or bring to light for everyone.
The Greek word tis (what) can be either an interrogative pronoun or an
indefinite pronoun, and these are distinguished by the accent mark used as well
as the context. In the Greek New Testament, tis has an acute accent in this verse
which makes it an interrogative pronoun, which is consistent with the context as
well, and would be translated in this case as who?, which (one)?, or what?. As the
Greek reads, it is almost as if the verb photiz has 2 direct objects, one being the
men who are enlightened and the other the substance of the message being the
administration of mystery. However, grammatically the words administration
and sacred secret in the phrase what is the administration of the sacred secret
are in the nominative case so the phrase cannot function as a direct object.
As far as translating it with something like what versus an alternative, Tyndales
translation translates it with a what phrase, the Wycliffe translation translates
it with an which phrase which is functionally equivalent to a what phrase, the
KJV obviously translates it this way and the New American Standard up through
their 1995 revision translates it this way. Thus, what has about a 700 year
history and is a very literal rendering of the Greek text. Perhaps an alternative
translation would be, to enlighten all men about the administration of the
mystery. This more simple English is consistent with English idiom in general,
and does not vary significantly from the text.
The Administration of Grace, which includes what we have in Christ, and what
Gentiles have as fellow-heirs, fellow-members of the body, and fellow
partakers of the promise, was not known until God revealed it to Paul by
revelation. It was his job to bring to light the Administration of the Sacred
Secret.
administration. The Greek word we translate as administration
is oikonomia(#3622 ), the administration of a household, etc.
Sacred Secret. In this verse, the administration of the Sacred Secret refers to
the Administration of Grace, which began on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2), and
will end with the Rapture of the Church (1 Thess. 4:15-17). [For more information
on the Administration of Grace, see commentary on Ephesians 3:2].
God rightly calls the Administration of Grace the Administration of the Sacred
Secret, because the fullness of what Christians have today in Christ was indeed a
secret, hidden in God and unknown in the Old Testament. Besides calling it what
it is, a sacred secret, God says over and over that it was hidden and people did
not know about it until God revealed it after Pentecost (Rom. 16:25, 26; 1 Cor.
2:7-10; Eph. 3:4,5, Col. 1:26).
known by God to men through his Spirit (Howard Marshall, New Bible
Dictionary, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 1997, p. 795. Marshal
uses a Y to translate the Greek letter upsilon, usually translated by a u).
William Smith writes: But while the mustrion thus implies something
hidden, and inaccessible to the unaided reason, and usually also of weighty
import, it by no means necessarily denotes anything strictly mysterious
and incomprehensible. The fact or truth, though requiring to be revealed,
may, when revealed, be of a very elementary character (Smiths
Dictionary of the Bible, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI, reprinted
1981, vol. 3, p. 2047).
The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Biblesays, Mystery in the NT
does not deal with the unknowable, but with what is imparted by
revelation (Merrill Tenney, The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the
Bible(Regency Reference Library, Grand Rapids, MI, 1976, vol. 4, p. 330).
The Holman Bible Dictionary says, The mystery of the New Testament
has been described as an open secret; matters previously kept secret in
Gods eternal purposes have now been or are being revealed (Eph. 3:3-5; 1
Cor. 2:7-8) (Trent Butler, editor, Holman Bible Dictionary, Holman Bible
Publishers, Nashville, TN, 1991, p. 998).
Robert Thayer writes: In the New Testament, God's plan of providing
salvation for men through Christ, which was once hidden but now is
revealed (Thayers Greek-English Lexicon).
Numerous other sources could be cited, but the point is that the Greek
word mustrion does not mean mystery and should not be translated that way.
Although God kept His sacred secrets as secrets for years, He has now made
many of them known, as the following verses show.
Matthew 13:11 (KJV): it is given unto you to know the mysteries
[mustrion] of the kingdom of heaven.
1 Corinthians 2:7, 8, 10(KJV): But we speak the wisdom of God in a
mystery [mustrion], even the hidden wisdom,Which none of the princes
of this world knewBut God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit.
Romans 16: 25, 26 (NIV84): the mystery [mustrion] hidden for long ages
past, but now revealed and made known.
word mustrion occurs in the text that it refers to the Adminstration of the
Sacred Secret, although it often does in the New Testament.
A study of mustrion shows that it is used to refer to the Administration of the
Sacred Secret, as it is here in Ephesians 3:9, but God has other sacred secrets
as well, and in fact, the Devil has secrets in the religious sphere as well (2 Thess.
2:7).
(top)