I am now going to introduce you to a very powerful tool called Propositional Analysis. Yes it’s a little complicated so if some of you want to skip it, go ahead. Others will be interested to see what it is all about. We are dealing with a difficult, complicated passage and so we have to get down and get dirty. Be prepared to get covered with grammar fallout in the following gems – yuk.
But firstly, here is my Ian’s Eclectic Translation without Propositional Analysis so you can simply read the passage. My IEV is a composite translation that I have crafted from a number of translations to show the relational elements of the pieces; clauses, phrases, parts of the sentence. I have followed the Greek text but tried to choose the elements from existing translations. I have used the ESV as my base, but where there are no suitable elements in existing translations which show the relative connection of the phrase or clause and expressed the thought clearly, I have created my own. It could be called the IEV, Ian’s Eclectic Version. All so that you can understand how it is layered. I am allowed to do that because I am a translator. So are you! You too are translators. Did you realise that? You have the task of translating God’s message by your life and words so others can understand and follow Him.
Here we go. I will explain the relational link in grammatical terms in subsequent Gems. Sorry there is no other way of doing it succinctly without the grammatical explanations. I have divided this into sections separated by [//] but in reality it all flows as one unit.
Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who blesses us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ just as he chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and without blame before Him (in his presence) //
in love (because of his love) having fore-ordained us (he had already decided) to be adopted through Jesus Christ to Himself according to the pleasure of His will to the praise of the glory of His Grace which He graced to us in the Beloved //
in Whom we have redemption through His blood the forgiveness of sins according to (because of) the riches of His grace which He made abound to us in wisdom and understanding having made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure (kindness) which He exhibited (purposed, set forth) in Him in the administration (dispensation, plan) at the right time (in the fullness of time) to bring everything under the headship (authority) of Christ the in-the-heaven things and the in-the-earth things in Him //
in whom we also have received an inheritance determined beforehand according to the purpose of the One working all things in accord with the purpose (agreement) of His will so that we should be to the praise of His glory those who had previously trusted in Christ //
in whom you also having heard the word of truth the good news of your salvation in whom having also believed having been sealed in the Spirit of Promise the Holy One who is a pledge given in advance of our inheritance to the redemption of the purchased possession to the praise of His glory.
(Eph 1:3-14)
And now here is how we break that passage down using Propositional Analysis:-
Praise the God
and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ
who blesses us
with every spiritual blessing
in the heavenlies
in Christ
just as he chose us
in Him
before the creation of the world
to be holy and without blame
before Him (in his presence) //
in love (because of his love)
having fore-ordained us (he had already decided)
to be adopted
through Jesus Christ
to Himself
according to the pleasure of His will
to the praise of the glory
of His Grace
which He graced to us
in the Beloved //
in Whom
we have redemption
through His blood
the forgiveness of sins
according to (because of)
the riches of His grace
which He made abound to us
in wisdom and
understanding
having made known to us
the mystery of His will
according to His good pleasure (kindness)
which He exhibited (purposed, set forth)
in Him
in the administration (dispensation, plan)
at the right time (in the fullness of time)
to bring everything
under the headship
of Christ
the in-the-heaven things and
the in-the-earth things
in Him //
in whom
we also have received an inheritance
determined beforehand
according to the purpose
of the One working all things
in accord with the purpose (agreement)
of His will
so that we should be
to the praise of His glory
those who had previously
trusted in Christ //
in whom you also having heard
the word of truth
the good news
of your salvation
in whom having also believed
having been sealed
in the Spirit of Promise
the Holy One
who is a pledge
given in advance
of our inheritance
to the redemption
of the purchased possession
to the praise of His glory.
An Explanation of Propositional Analysis
Note all elements of this complicated sentence are dependent on the first statement. They are all relative clauses which cannot stand on their own. They are all linked to what went before. This sentence is made up of complicated layers of related propositions or statements. Notice that there are fanned layers of subordinate propositions. Each succeeding thought or idea is aligned with the idea before it. If this was a normal set of sentences, each new idea (absolute and not relative) would start hard against the left margin. All of these propositions are relative and all depend on what is aligned above it. All following phrases or clauses or words are aligned with the unfolding idea in Paul’s mind. None stand alone. Thus it is clear it is all one Greek sentence. Complicated yes, layered certainly, but nonetheless one Greek sentence.
Notice the positioning of the phrase “our Lord Jesus Christ” in the third line with the subsequent repetitions of “in Him” or “In Whom“. They are all meant to be aligned. They appear to be repeated relative links back to the antecedent Lord Jesus Christ. The term “In Christ” or “in Him” is very important to Paul. Everything, including us ought to be “in Christ“.
Notice in the layout above how the Spirit of Promise, the Holy One who is pledged are all aligned. These are all noun phrases in appositiona which described the One and the same Holy Spirit. So they are aligned in parallel.
Notice how “everything under the headship of Christ the in-the-heaven things and the in-the-earth things” has been laid out in the propositional analysis display above. Each element of Paul’s original has been layered in accordance with the connection of the ideas in Greek
- Everything (includes)
- the in-the-heaven-things (and)
- the in-the-earth-things
so they are aligned together in parallel.
At a glance you can see how the elements of Paul’s text fits together. That is the purpose of Propositional Analysis. The idea is to show visually how the long complicated text fits together. We have also worked out a way the full significance can be displayed on your screen, whether computer, tablet or mobile phones. Go to Gem 605 and you will see how I have added the grammatical notes in red to the already complicated text above. Just swipe left your screen and both the text and the grammatical notes will appear aligned on the right of your page. However I wouldn’t recommend looking at this particular Gem on your mobile phone. It is too complicated.
I have chosen the ESV translation because it has picked up on the way In Him or in whom has been given prominence throughout this passage. Hence I have coloured the in Him segments used as section dividers in the ESV. So in order to handle this complicated sentence but to divide into segments I have chosen to divide it into 5 segments modelled on the five sentences the ESV uses to translate this single Greek sentence.
I have refrained from making grammatical statements in this Gem with the exception of one in bolda above, preferring to keep it as simple as possible in appearance so you can see the layering. In the next Gem (605) I have added the grammatical notes. I have simplified the grammatical notes in the next Gem but it has required the use of some technical language. If I tried to explain it all fully in simple language it would take pages. I have opted for brevity without full explanation, which may make it a little harder to understand. In following Gems we will start to pull it apart layer by layer. Time for you to ponder the big picture in the meantime.
Nothing is small when God is a part of it.
Rick Warren
Stop Trying To Apply The Word To Your Life And Begin Applying Your Life To The Word.
Robb Thompson
The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold of me.
Martin Luther