Ephesians 3:9

 

Ephesians 3:9

(KJV) And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

(1611 KJV) And to make all men see, what is the fellowship of the mysterie, which from the beginning of the world, hath bene hid in God, who created all things by Iesus Christ:

(1587 Geneva Bible) And to make cleare vnto all men what the felowship of the mysterie is, which from the beginning of the world hath bene hid in God, who hath created all things by Iesus Christ,

(1526 Tyndale) and to make all men se what the felyshippe of the mistery is which from the begynnynge of the worlde hath bene hid in God which made all thynges thorow Iesus Christ

 

Counterfeit Versions

(CSB) and to shed light for all about the administration of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things.
(NIV) and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.

(NASV) and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things;

(THE MESSAGE) My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along.

(ESV) and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things,

(1901 ASV) and to make all men see what is the dispensation of the mystery which for ages hath been hid in God who created all things;

(HCSB) and to shed light for all about the administration of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things.

(RSV) and to make all men see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things;

(NAB-Roman Catholic) and to bring to light [for all] what is the plan of the mystery hidden from ages past in God who created all things,

(Douay-Rheims-Roman Catholic) And to enlighten all men, that they may see what is the dispensation of the mystery which hath been hidden from eternity in God, who created all things:

(NWT-Jehovah’s Witnesses) and should make men see how the sacred secret is administered which has from the indefinite past been hidden in God, who created all things.

　

Textus Receptus - Traditional Text

kai jwtisai pantaV tiV h koinwnia tou musthriou tou apokekrummenou apo twn aiwnwn en tw qew tw ta panta ktisanti dia ihsou cristou

　

Hort Westcott - Critical Text

kai jwtisai tiV h oikonomia tou musthriou tou apokekrummenou apo twn aiwnwn en tw qew tw ta panta 

 

Corrupted Manuscripts

This verse has been corrupted in the following manuscripts:

P46 - about 200 AD

Aleph 01 - Sinaiticus - Nineteenth Century Counterfeit

A 02 - Alexandrinus - Fifth century

B 03- Vaticanus - Fourth Century

C 04 - Paris: Ephraemi Rescriptus - Fifth century

D 06 - Paris: Claromontanus - Sixth century (original)

P 025 - Ninth century

33 (Minuscule) - Ninth Century

 

Manuscripts which agree with the Textus Receptus for this verse

Byzantine Text (450-1450 A.D.)

D 06 - Paris: Claromontanus - Sixth century (corrected)

K 018 - Ninth century

L 020 - Ninth century

 

Published Critical Greek Texts with Corruptions

Omit “by Jesus Christ”

Greisbach, Johann - 1805

Lachmann, Karl - 1842

Tischendorf, Constantine - 1869

Tregelles, Samuel - 1857

Alford, Henry - 1849 revised in 1871

Wordsworth, Christopher - 1856 revised in 1870

Westcott and Hort - 1881

Weiss, Bernhard - 1894

Nestle - 1927 as revised in seventeenth edition in 1941

Nestle-Aland - 1979 - Twenty Sixth Edition

Nestle-Aland - 1993 - Twenty Seventh Edition

United Bible Societies - 1983 - Fourth Edition

Von Soden, Freiherr - 1902

 

Affected Teachings

Like many verses which are corrupted in the modern versions, this one also is an attack on the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. This verse speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ as partaking of the creation of all things. A footnote on John 9:38 in the 1901 ASV tries to convey that the Lord Jesus is a created being. However, the true Bible teaches that the Lord Jesus is the Creator. Ephesians 3:9 speaks of the “fellowship of the mystery.” Ephesians 3:4 tells us who that mystery is: (Eph 3:4 KJV) Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Ephesians 5:32 gives further understanding of the mystery: (Eph 5:32 KJV) This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

 

When they remove the words “by Christ Jesus,” they are removing the essence of this verse. The Lord Jesus Christ is as much the Creator as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. (Col 1:16 KJV) For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: God has withheld the mystery until the time of the Lord Jesus Christ since Christ was the mystery. God created all things by Jesus Christ and to remove this portion from the verse is to attack the attribute of Creator from the Lord Jesus Christ, thus denying His deity since only God can create ex nihilo. The Gnostics would have attacked this verse since they disbelieved that Jesus was deity and the Son of God. 1900 years later, modern theologians and publishers are still attacking the person of the Lord Jesus Christ with the same ferocity as their second century counterparts did.

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