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Surprise: Happy Birthday, Church! (Endnotes)

1. Scripture quotations marked (RHM) are taken from the Emphasized Bible by Joseph Bryant Rotherham. Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids, MI, reprinted 1994. Rotherham properly translates the Greek word musterion as “sacred secret” in all its occurrences. Close

2. The gift of holy spirit that we have today is so different from the gift of holy spirit God gave to people in the Old Testament that John 7:39 says, “…for as yet there was no Spirit [spirit]….” For a much fuller explanation of John 7:39, see our book, The Gift of Holy Spirit: The Power to be Like Christ, pp. 45 and 46. Close

3. The Greek word “oikonomia” in this verse is a noun, and refers to the Administration of Grace, a time period that runs from Pentecost to the Rapture. The verse is not saying that Paul wanted the Ephesians to know that God had called him to steward God’s grace, because we have all been called to administer the grace of God (1 Pet. 4:10). Close

4. Scripture quotations marked (NASB) are taken from the New American Standard Bible®, © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Close

5. Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version™ © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. Close

6. The King James Version translates more Hebrew words as “grace,” and so “grace” appears 170 times, but quite a few of them refer to people giving grace to other people. Close

7. H. E. Dana and Julius Mantey, A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament (The MacMillan Company, Toronto, Canada, 1957), p. 193. Close

8. A study of the Greek word arrabon will show that it is in fact a deposit that guarantees the delivery of the thing promised. Interestingly, in modern Greek, an arrabona is an engagement ring, “guaranteeing” if you will, the future marriage (Vine’s Lexicon). Close