Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ the Redeemer Church of Manhattan, KS, 30 Sept. 2018
Omitting greyed-out text should bring sermon delivery down to about 40 minutes.
· In this sermon, we are picking up in the middle of a logical progression of thoughts in Hebrews 2, so let’s start two verses prior: “14 Since, therefore, the children have shared flesh and blood, He also similarly partook of the same things in order that through death He might put out of commission the one who has the power of death (that is, the Devil), and that He might release however many of such who throughout all of their living were liable to slavery due to fear of death.”
· Last week, we focused on the humiliation of the Son of God in taking on flesh and blood, and how becoming the same kind of humanity as us (thus calling us His blood-family-members) was necessary for Him to be our savior.
· We ended the last sermon with Jesus’ twin goals: 1) to put the Devil who has the power of death out of commission and 2) to release us from the fear of death and therefore from slavery.
· As I meditated further on those goals after delivering that sermon, it struck me that both goals have to do with the abolition of sin because death is the “wages of sin.” No death means no sin. No sin means no death. The two necessarily go together. If there were no sin in this world, there could be no such thing as death. But because of man’s rebellion against God, death is everywhere. It won’t be until the last sin is abolished that death goes away. And I would submit to you that this is why 1 Cor. 15:26 says that, “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” (KJV).
· Although sin was not mentioned explicitly in the middle of Hebrews 2, the savior’s goals of removing the power-broker of death and removing the fear of death are ultimately to remove sin itself, and this is what v.16 says that Jesus “took on” to “help/aid” our dying human race.
· To state it conversely, Jesus did not set up a plan of salvation for the fallen angels, and so He did not become an angel to save them. Instead, He set out to help humans, so He became a human.
o The Apostle Peter, in his two epistles pointed out the contrast:
§ “you are kept… for salvation,” (1 Peter 1:5)
§ But “God did not spare the angels who sinned, but… delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment” (2 Pet. 2:4, NKJ)
o When Satan rebelled against God, only “his angels” fell, resulting in eternal judgment for them. (Matthew 25:41 Then he will speak also to those off to His left, "You who have been cursed, continue to conduct yourselves away from me into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels…” NAW, cf. Rev. 12:4-9),
o but Satan’s rebellion did not impute this second death to every angel, unlike the case of humans who “all died” in Adam, our federal head. (Rom. 12:5-14)
o I think that’s why 1 Peter 1:12 says that the Gospel is something that angels “desire to catch a glimpse of[1].” It wasn’t for them, so it is intriguing to them to see Jesus save us.
· The Greek verb ἐπιλαμβάνεται shows up twice in v.16 (although the NIV removed the second occurrence from its translation).
o It literally means “He took up for himself.” It is consistently used throughout the Greek Bible to describe an action that brings an object into your possession to do what you want with it[2].It’s the same verb used to describe:
§ Jacob grabbing Esau’s heel (Gen. 25:26) and Jesus grabbing Peter who had fallen into the water after an initial go of walking on it (Matt. 14:31),
§ to describe Moses picking up the snake by its tail to make it turn back into his staff (Ex. 4:4),
§ Sampson hoisting off the city gates of Gaza (Judges 16:3),
§ a warrior taking up arms to use in battle (Psalm 35:2),
§ and enemies seizing possession of a city in a war (Joel 2:9).
o But the Bible passage which seems to fit the closest to this use of the verb in Hebrews 2:16 is Jeremiah 31:32 “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah - not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt…” (NKJV).
§ The fact that this passage from Jeremiah 31 is quoted at length later on in Hebrews 8:9 confirms to me that this is probably what the writer of Hebrews was thinking when he used this verb in v.16. “I took them by the hand to lead them out of [slavery in] Egypt.”
§ It is also interesting to me to see this verb used to describe God’s saving work in the New Testament[3].
o This verb is Present Tense, so I think that the modern versions were on the right track to correct the KJV’s past tense “took” to present tense verbs like “helps/gives aid.”
§ “The salvation of His people is the constant employment of the Savior,” wrote John Brown in his commentary on Hebrews.
§ Heb. 7:25 “…He ever lives to make intercession for them.”
o The verb is also middle (reflexive) voice, which the KJV rendered literally “he took on Himself” which is accurate,
§ but then the KJV added the extra words “the nature of” - which are not there in Greek - to say, “instead of taking on the nature of angels, He took on the nature of a man.” While this certainly flows from the previous verses and is the interpretation of most early commentators[4], I don’t think that’s the most accurate translation, partly because (as J. Brown pointed out) it would create a weird tautology: “v.14- He partook of human nature… FOR/Because v.16 He took on human nature...”
§ The modern English versions moved in a different direction by ignoring the middle voice spelling of this verb (which could possibly be valid according to Greek grammar[5]), and making “angels” and “seed” the direct objects of the verb, “He doesn’t help/aid angels; He does help humans.” I think that’s an improvement.
§ Better yet, I think that a compromise between the two interpretations yields the most accurate meaning – keeping the meaning of “holding” and also keeping the middle voice of “doing it for Himself,” while also making “angels” and “seed” the direct object without any added words in English: “He does not pick up angels, but rather it’s the seed of Abraham that He picks up for Himself”
§ The middle voice here lets us know that Jesus brings this help of salvation to us by picking us up out of our slavery to sin, not merely because we are in need of it (which we are!) but also for His own benefit. He gets something out of the deal: He gets greater glory and He gets a people for Himself.
· The kind of person Jesus picks up and saves is described as a [singular] “seed/descendant/offspring of Abraham.” Why use that phrase instead of a simpler word for “human being”?
o It’s a very Hebrew-sounding phrase, so it’s appropriate for a Jewish audience, but I think there’s more to it than that.
o Just as the use of the verb epilambanomai alludes to the Mosaic covenant referenced in Jer. 31, and just as the middle voice of that verb indicates that this is not merely an isolated good deed on God’s part, but is a relationship-developing “taking for Himself - for His use,” so this reference to Abraham (with whom God made a covenant) also signals that God helps/picks up/saves in the context of covenantal relationships with holy purposes.
o Furthermore, this phrase limits the promise of salvation to those with whom that covenantal relationship is established. It would have been simpler to say, “He doesn’t help angels, but he does help humans,” but His salvation was not designed to be universal to all humans; it was designed only for “the seed of Abraham.”
o So, what is “the seed of Abraham”?
§ In Genesis 15, we see that the “seed of Abraham” includes his son Isaac as well as the whole nation of Israel.
§ But in John 8:33-45, Jesus indicated that being a physical descendent of Abraham did not automatically save: The Pharisees said to Jesus, "We are Abraham's descendants[seed], and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say,`You will be made free'?" Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin... [There’s the word for slavery/bondage that Hebrews 2 says Jesus came to free us from! Jesus continues:] "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham… You are of your father the devil… you do not believe Me.” (NKJV, cf. Rom. 9:6-7) Jews who would not do the “works of Abraham” (which Jesus defined as “believing” in Himself) were classified by Jesus as children of the Devil and slaves to sin.
§ The apostle Paul explained further in Galatians 3:16-29 “Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘AND TO YOUR SEED,’ who is Christ [and it’s singular in Hebrews here too]. And… the law, which was 430 years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God… What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made… But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe… For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus… And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (NKJV) Who are “Abraham’s seed” that Jesus aids/picks up for Himself? You who are brought to Christ, the singular Seed, physically descended from Abraham (as Matthew chapter 1 establishes), and who obtained all of God’s promises.
§ Romans 4:3-17 For what does the Scripture say? "ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS ACCOUNTED TO HIM FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS." Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness… to those who not only are of the circumcision [Jews], but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had... Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (as it is written, "I HAVE MADE YOU A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS")…” (NKJV)
§ For this very reason, Jesus could call Zacchaeus the Samaritan a “son of Abraham” – not because he was physically descended from Abraham, but spiritually descended, sharing the same faith. (Luke 19:9) And so all of us various othernations can also be that seed of Abraham who is picked up and helped by Jesus!
· This truth is “surely/verily/indeed/a fact.”
· In v.17, we get a third reason why Jesus suffered humiliation (v.10), and partook of flesh and blood (v.14), and was made like us. The first two reasons (in vs. 14-15) were to disable the devil and rescue us from death; the third - and closely-related - reason is:
· Verse 10 spoke of this as “fitting/appropriate” (Επρεπεν); now v.17 uses a stronger word (ὤφειλεν) “It was necessary/He was obliged/He had to be made like His brothers” in order to accomplish His goal of saving us.
· There are three plural objects scattered throughout verse 17, and their common Greek case and number seems to indicate that they are all related:
1. “panta/in every way/every respect/lit. all things” (describing the extent to which Jesus had to be made like His brethren)
2. “ta/the things” (describing what is in front of/pertaining to/in the service of God)
3. And “tas hamartias/the sins”
o If “made like his brethren in all things,” “the things before God,” and “the sins of the people” are all the same thing, the picture this paints to me is of bringing the sins of the people before God, in Christ-the-man, who had been made a sinner just like them.
o Then what is the next phrase in v.18? “He suffered.” He suffered for our sins as our atoning sacrifice in the presence of God to make God propitious toward us, resolving our offenses by paying for them, and thereby reconciling us and God together.
· God is just and righteous, so He can’t sweep our lawbreaking and treason against Him under the rug and forget about it; He has to punish it. If Jesus wasn’t made like us in all things, including the guilt of our lawbreaking against God (even though He hadn’t actually sinned), there would be no way for Him to take our punishment, and so we would all have to go to hell. There’s no way around it; to accomplish our salvation Jesus had to become like us.
· Now, He wasn’t exactly like us (That would be Mormonism or Liberalism). There is a difference in Greek between homo- “exactly the same” and homoi- “similar,” and the word here is homoi – not exactly the same, but alike enough to be able to substitute Himself for us, to be a merciful and faithful high priest for us with God. “Mercy defines the motivation of his high-priestly office and faithfulness its execution.” ~P.E. Hughes
· The 1828 Webster’s Dictionary defines merciful as, “disposed to pity offenders and to forgive their offenses; unwilling to punish for injuries... [Then it quotes Exodus 34:6] the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth.” Consider Jesus, not wanting to punish the seed of Abraham for their rebellion against God and offering Himself instead as a human sacrifice to make a way for them not to be punished for their treason.
· The other adjective describing Jesus as high priest is “faithful” (pistos). Webster defined “faithful” as “Firm in adherence to the truth and to the duties…” – in other words, what He says He will do, and what He sets out to do, He gets done, therefore He is worthy of our trust. This word is often applied to Jesus in terms of His trustworthiness regarding salvation, for instance:
o 1 John 1:9 “If we are confessing our sins, He is faithful and righteous to send away from us the sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness…” (NAW)
o 1 John 4:10 In this is love, not that we ourselves loved God, but rather that HE loved us and commissioned His Son [to be] appeasement [propitiation] concerning our sins.” (NAW)
o Jesus can be counted on to accomplish our salvation as our high priest. Are you trusting Him to do that?
· Jesus humbled Himself as a human to pick us up for Himself (v.16), to propitiate God’s wrath against our sins (v.17), and now, in v.18…
· The word describing Christ’s state of humiliation by becoming a human is described in this verse as πειρασθείς “tempted/tested.” This Greek word, however, has a wider range of meaning than our English word “tempted” does.
o It includes what we mean by “tempted,”
§ for instance, Jesus being tempted by the Devil in the wilderness.
§ Indeed, Jesus spoke of His whole life before His crucifixion as having been “πειρασμοῖς/trials” in Luke 22:28.
§ Hebrews 4:15 “…He was in all things tempted as we are, yet without sin.”
o But peirastheis can also mean “tested for genuineness” – proved to be the real McCoy, as it were.
§ Jesus was no phantom posing as a man; He really took on flesh and blood and experienced what it is to be human.
§ The proof is in His suffering: not only do the Gospel witnesses tell us that Jesus suffered hunger in the wilderness, and thirst on the cross, He also suffered personal conflict and insults, and He suffered death and hell on the cross. He truly was “made like us in all things” and genuinely suffered all the consequences of our sin.
· And now, Christ’s temptation and suffering qualify Him to be able to help and be our priestly mediator between God and man. “It behooved Him to be made in ALL things like His brethren…And why in ALL things? Because in whatever trials He was conformed to them, in these He would be peculiarly fitted and disposed to comfort and help them.” ~J. Brown
· This works in two ways:
o He knows now from experience what the consequences of sin feel like, so when we present our problems to Him, He can sympathize completely with us. He understands exactly what we need because He has been there.
o In a second sense, Jesus’ suffering on the cross also makes Him able to do something about our sin. Now that He has paid the price for our sins, He won’t tell us, “Gee, I’m sorry your life is so bad; I wish something could be done about that!” NO! He can now say, “Hey, I’ve done something about that! I’ve paid the price for your sin; I have conquered temptation; I have blazed the path for you. Let me show you the way forward; I’ve already cleared the obstacles off the path for you!” Hallelujah, what a Savior!
· As a result of His temptation and suffering, Jesus is able to come to our rescue/succour/aid/help. This word βοηθῆσαι is a different word in Greek from the one translated “help/aid” back in v.16. This word denotes “rushing to the aid” of someone, whereas epilambanetai in v.16 denoted “to pick up,” but both are descriptions of the same salvation Jesus suffered to set up for us, since we have not been successful at withstanding every temptation like He did.
o 1 Corinthians 7:5 says that Satan actively tempts us with sexual immorality[6]
o Galatians 6:1 indicates that when somebody else sins, that can often be the occasion of you being tempted to sin in the same way.
o 1 Thessalonians 3:5 and Revelation 2:10 call Satan “the tempter” and indicate that he uses suffering in our lives to get us to stop trusting Jesus.
o James 1:14-15 “…each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires...” (NKJ)
o When we are being tempted, generally it boils down to: “Will you trust Jesus, or will you try to solve your problem without Him?”
§ That was the “test” for Abraham. Are you willing to sacrifice your only son and trust me to make your descendants more numerous than the stars, or are you going to try to become a patriarch without my help? (Hebrews 11:17)
§ That was also the “test” for the Apostle Phillip in John 6:5-6. Jesus, it says, knowing full well that He was about to do a miracle by multiplying the 5 loaves and 2 fish, first turned to Phillip and asked him, “How are we going to get enough food to feed these 5,000 visitors?” In effect, He was saying, “Are you going to trust me to solve this, or are you going to try to solve it without me?”
§ 2 Corinthians 13:5 “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?...” (NKJ)
o 1 Corinthians 10:13 “…God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tested above what you are able, but rather He will make together with the test also the way out for the ability to undergo [it].” Jesus is able to come to your rescue!
· Now, in view of these three facts:
1. that Jesus took on humanness to save humans who trust in Him like Abraham,
2. that Jesus was made human in every way to remove the offense of our sins as a priest,
3. and that Jesus, as a genuine human, suffered the painful consequences of our sin and overcame all the temptations so He could rescue us in temptation
o What should our response be? The first imperative/command in our passage appears in the next verse:
· The command is κατα-νοή-σατε, literally “y’all must start to think down,” from which I got “nail down in your minds”
· What is it that we are to “consider/nail down in our thinking”? I see two sets of truths, one set on each side of the imperative here:
o First in v.1 is the set of truths that we are “holy brothers” & “partakers of a heavenly calling”
o Afterwards is the set of truths that Jesus Christ is our “High Priest” and “Apostle”
o These things need to be cemented into the bedrock of what we believe and act upon.
· I am a “holy brother” “because,” Hebrews 2:11 says, “both the One who makes holy and the ones who are being made holy are all of one kind, on account of which He is not ashamed to call them brothers[7]”. In Christ, God has chosen to identify with me and make me special to Him.
· And, as such, I (and my fellow Christians) are also “partakers/companions in a heavenly calling”
o This “calling/invitation” is “Heavenly,” distinguishing it from a trade or social-status-calling, for which the same word is also used (1 Cor 7:20).
o What is this “heavenly calling” that we become partakers of when we confess Jesus as our Apostle and High Priest? It is God inviting and welcoming us into His presence in heaven for the rest of eternity.[8] Heaven is not a free-for-all; it is by invitation only.
§ 2 Timothy 1:9 “[God] who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began” (NKJ, cf. 2 Thess 1:11)
§ Jesus’ taking on flesh and blood and suffering and becoming the propitiation for our sin makes those whom He calls (1 Cor. 1:24) welcome guests with Him in heaven where He has ascended to be our High Priest! And if you hear that call, you’d better be super- appreciative toward this host!
§ 2 Peter 1:10-11 “Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure… for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (NKJV)
§ “The call… is heavenly in the end to which it leads as well as in the origin from which is springs. It is ‘the upward call” (Phil. 3:14) summoning the Christian to a heavenly homeland (Heb. 11:16) and to the heavenly Jerusalem (Heb. 12:22).” ~P.E. Hughes
o Get it firm in your mind: I am a holy brother, I am a partaker in a calling from heaven above, and…
· Jesus the Messiah is my Ἀπόστολον and High Priest.
o Although the title of “Apostle” is not applied to Jesus anywhere else in the Bible, the Greek word itself means “someone sent on a mission,” and Jesus many times used that root-word to describe His earthly mission, for instance: John 3:17 “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved… 5:36 …the very works that I do bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me… 6:29 …This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent… 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent… 20:21 “…Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” (NKJV)
o To confess that Jesus is your Apostle is to agree with His claim the He existed as the glorious Son of God, humbled Himself, came down to earth, partook of our flesh and blood, was made like us in all things, to accomplish the mission of our salvation, free us from slavery to the fear of death, and rush to the aid of tempted sinners. I believe – and I will share with others – that this is true of Jesus!
o Then to confess that He is your High Priest is to agree with God’s word that, even though Jesus still shares your flesh and blood, He no longer lives in a state of humiliation; He has ascended into heaven and lives in the glorious presence of God, enabling sin-corrupted humans to come into contact with the Holy God, “bringing many sons to glory” (v.10), “making [you] holy” (v.11), “picking up and keeping for Himself” those who share the faith of Abraham (v.16), being “merciful” to apply His own suffering in order to “propitiate” and absolve our sins (v.17). That is what He does as your High Priest.
o The two terms “Apostle” and “High Priest” encapsulate all that God’s word says about the humiliation and exaltation of our savior Jesus Christ, which we confess to be true.
· God’s command to us is to think – and to think about these particular things: to “consider/take cognizance/think over and over about/nail down in our minds” these truths.
o That’s what we’ve been doing for the last hour or so in public worship,
o but to obey this command means you will continue to think about them all week as truths you treasure because they are your salvation forever!
o Conversely, it also means resisting the distracting pull of amusements (which are by definition designed to make people “not think” – not muse/a-muse), and instead think and stock your life with things that encourage you to remember and meditate upon Jesus – Christ-centered music, Christ-centered friends and conversation, Christ-centered reading and décor, Christ-centered activities and pasttimes.
·
See
extended quote from John Brown’s commentary p.157-8:
“To ‘consider’ our Lord as ‘the Apostle and High Priest of our
profession,’ is just to make the
truth revealed to us in His word respecting Him, as the Great Prophet and the
only High Priest whom we acknowledge, the subject of deep habitual thought,
that we may understand it and believe it, and be led into a corresponding
course of affection and
conduct in reference to Him. This is a duty of radical importance to
Christians. It is because we think so little, and to so little purpose,
on Christ, that we know so little about Him, that we love Him so
little, trust in Him so little, so often neglect our duty, are so
much influenced by ‘things seen and
temporal,’ and so little by ‘things unseen and eternal.’ … because they know Him
so imperfectly… they love Him… imperfectly. The truth about Him as
the Great Prophet and the Great High Priest well deserves consideration--it is ‘the manifold wisdom of God.’ It requires it; it cannot be
understood by a careless, occasional glance. Angels feel that even their
faculties are overmatched with this subject. They are but ‘desiring to look into’ it, as they do not yet fully understand
it. It is only by ‘considering’ the truth about Jesus Christ as ‘the Apostle and High Priest of our
profession’ that we can personally
enjoy the benefits of His teaching as a Prophet, and of His expiation and
intercession as a High Priest…
In the New Economy, Jesus Christ is ‘all in all’ – Prophet, Priest, King,
Savior, Lord. Let us then seek all from Him; let us receive all that He is
appointed to bestow – knowledge, pardon, sanctification, eternal life; and let
us cheerfully ascribe to Him all the glory.”
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Majority |
NAW |
KJV |
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2:16 οὐ γὰρ δήπου[A] ἀγγέλων ἐπιλαμβάνεταιPMI, ἀλλὰ σπέρματος ᾿Αβραὰμ ἐπιλαμβάνεται. |
16 for it’s a fact He does not pick up angels, but rather it’s the seed of Abraham that He picks up for Himself, |
16 For verily
he |
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17 ὅθεν ὤφειλε κατὰ πάντα τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς ὁμοιωθῆναι, ἵνα ἐλεήμων γένηται καὶ πιστὸς ἀρχιερεὺς τὰ πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, εἰς τὸ ἱλάσκεσθαι τὰς ἁμαρτίας τοῦ λαοῦ. |
17 Wherefore in all things it behoved
him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and
faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to |
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18 ἐν ᾧ γὰρ πέπονθεν αὐτὸς πειρασθείς, δύναται τοῖς πειραζομένοις βοηθῆσαι. |
18 for He Himself has suffered, having been tested; by such means He is able to come to the rescue with those who are being tempted. |
18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted. |
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3:1 ῞Οθεν, ἀδελφοὶ ἅγιοι, κλήσεως ἐπουρανίου μέτοχοι, κατανοήσατε τὸν ἀπόστολον καὶ ἀρχιερέα τῆς ὁμολογίας ἡμῶν Χριστὸν[B] ᾿Ιησοῦν, |
3:1 In view of which, holy brothers, companions of a calling from heaven above, nail down in your minds that the One so commissioned - and the High Priest whom we acknowledge - is the Messiah Jesus. |
1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; |
[1] It was revealed to them that it was not to themselves but to y'all that they were serving these things which now are announced to y'all through those who evangelized you by the Holy Spirit commissioned out of heaven, into which things angels are desiring to peer. (1 Pet. 1:12, NAW)
[2] Nowhere else in the Bible is this Greek word translated “help” or “aid.”
[3] Cf. the times then Jesus “took hold” of people before healing and saving them. (Matt. 14:31, Mk. 8:23, Lk. 9:47, 14:4)
[4] According to Phillip E. Hughes, who noted that Luther and Chrysostom nevertheless seemed to promote a translation like the one I’m proposing. Hughes applied the classic interpretation in the new direction of admonishing Essene-influenced Christians who were looking for a messiah to be of angelic character that such expectations were missing the boat.
[5] Many Greek verbs use the middle voice spelling as a generic “deponent” form that does not specify whether the verb is active, reflexive, or passive voice, but usually that is for verbs which have no form in use that would conform to the standard spelling for active voice. This particular verb (lambanw) has separate spellings for active and middle voice, so it is questionable whether it should be interpreted as active when it is spelled in the middle voice as it is here.
[6] Do not continue to deprive each other except whenever it is by common consent for an appointed time in order that you might have leisure for prayer, then you continue again in unity in order that Satan might not be tempting you through your being uncontrolled. (1 Cor. 7:5 NAW)
[7] Cf. Colossians 1:2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse… (NKJ)
[8] Cf. Ephesians 1:3 “…God… has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” 1:17-18 “I pray… that you know what the hope of His call is, what the wealth of the glory of His inheritance in the saints is…” 2:4-6 “…because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…4:4…y'all were called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism…” (NAW/NKJV)
Cf. Hebrews 3:14 “For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end… 6:4-5 …tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come…” (NKJ)
2 Tim. 4:18 “And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom…” (NKJ)
Romans 11:29 “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” (NKJ)
[A] This word occurs nowhere else in the Greek Bible. It is a particle of affirmation.
[B] The word “Christ” is in the majority of Greek manuscripts, including the ones used in the Textus Receptus from which the KJV was translated, and it is in the editions used by the Greek Orthodox church, but it is not in the Greek New Testament published by the United Bible Societies (4th Ed.) or the Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece (26th Ed), and, although both of the latter have critical apparati, neither offer any reason for omitting the word. On the one hand, the omission makes no substantial change in meaning, but on the other hand, it is troubling that these scholarly works don’t even make an apology for changing the traditional Greek text.