4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, 11 urge you to live 12 worthily of the calling with which you have been called, 13
1 tn Grk “so that we might walk in them” (or “by them”).
sn So that we may do them. Before the devil began to control our walk in sin and among sinful people, God had already planned good works for us to do.
2 tn Or “have come near in the blood of Christ.”
sn See the note on “his blood” in 1:7.
3 tn Grk “which.” Verse 5 is technically a relative clause, subordinate to the thought of v. 4.
4 tn Grk “the sons of men” (a Semitic idiom referring to human beings, hence, “people”).
5 tn Grk “other.”
6 tn Or “in.”
7 tn There is a possible causative nuance in the Greek verb, but this is difficult to convey in the translation.
8 tn Grk “what is the plan of the divine secret.” Earlier the author had used οἰκονομία (oikonomia; here “plan”) to refer to his own “stewardship” (v. 2). But now he is speaking about the content of this secret, not his own activity in relation to it.
9 tn Or “for eternity,” or perhaps “from the Aeons.” Cf. 2:2, 7.
10 tn Or “by God.” It is possible that ἐν (en) plus the dative here indicates agency, that is, that God has performed the action of hiding the secret. However, this usage of the preposition ἐν is quite rare in the NT, and even though here it does follow a perfect passive verb as in the Classical idiom, it is more likely that a different nuance is intended.
11 tn Grk “prisoner in the Lord.”
12 tn Grk “walk.” The verb “walk” in the NT letters refers to the conduct of one’s life, not to physical walking.
13 sn With which you have been called. The calling refers to the Holy Spirit’s prompting that caused them to believe. The author is thus urging his readers to live a life that conforms to their saved status before God.
14 tn Or “in God’s likeness.” Grk “according to God.” The preposition κατά used here denotes a measure of similarity or equality (BDAG 513 s.v. B.5.b.α).
15 tn Or “in righteousness and holiness which is based on truth” or “originated from truth.”