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Ephesians 1:14The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures
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14 ὅ ἐστιν ἀρραβὼν τῆς κληρονομίας ἡμῶν, εἰς ἀπολύτρωσιν τῆς περιποιήσεως, εἰς ἔπαινον τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ.
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Ephesians 1:14The Bible in Living English
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14 which is the first installment of our inheritance, for redemption for preservation, to the praise of his glory.
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Ephesians 1:14American Standard Version
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14 which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God’s own possession, unto the praise of his glory.
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Ephesians 1:14The Emphasized Bible
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14 Which is an earnest of our inheritance Unto the redemption of the acquisition;—Unto his glorious praise.
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Ephesians 1:14King James Version
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14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
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Ephesians Study Notes—Chapter 1New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition)
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which: Referring to God’s “holy spirit,” or active force, mentioned in the preceding verse. Although some manuscripts use a masculine Greek pronoun here, there is strong support for the reading that uses the neuter pronoun, translated “which.” The use of a neuter pronoun agrees with how God’s spirit is referred to in other Bible verses. Some scholars suggest that later scribes used a Greek pronoun indicating masculine gender to portray the holy spirit as a person.—See study notes on Mt 28:19; Joh 14:17.
a token in advance: Or “a down payment; a guarantee (pledge) of what is to come.” Paul here uses a legal term (ar·ra·bonʹ) that often refers to an advance payment of money smaller than the full payment. All three occurrences of this Greek word in the Christian Greek Scriptures are used figuratively to refer to God’s anointing of Christians with “the promised holy spirit,” God’s active force. (Eph 1:13, 14; 2Co 1:22; 5:5) This special operation of holy spirit becomes like a figurative down payment, a guarantee (or, a pledge) of what is to come. Because of this token of their heavenly inheritance, spirit-anointed Christians are convinced of their hope. They experience the complete fulfillment of their hope when they receive an incorruptible heavenly body.—2Co 5:1-5.
our inheritance: That is, the heavenly inheritance of Christians who have been anointed with God’s holy spirit. The spirit serves as “a token in advance of” their inheritance. (1Pe 1:4, 5) For anointed Christians, this inheritance involves more than life in heaven. They are “the things in the heavens” that are to be gathered together under Jesus to be “heirs . . . of God” and “joint heirs with Christ.” (Eph 1:10; Ro 8:16, 17) The basic meaning of the Greek verb for “inherit” is for an heir to receive something as a right. This is often because of a family relationship, such as when a son receives an inheritance from his father. (Ga 4:30) But here, as in most occurrences in the Christian Greek Scriptures, this term is used in the broader sense of something received as a gift from God.—Mt 19:29; 1Co 6:9.
God’s own possession: Lit., “the possession.” This possession is the congregation of spirit-anointed Christians. (Ac 20:28) At 1Pe 2:9, these Christians are referred to as “a people for special possession.”
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