Ephesians 3:14
 
Ephesians 3:14
(KJV) For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
(1611 KJV) For this cause I bow my knees vnto the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ,
(1587 Geneva Bible) For this cause I bowe my knees vnto the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ,
(1526 Tyndale) For this cause I bowe my knees vnto the father of oure lorde Iesus Christ
 
Counterfeit Versions
(1901 ASV) For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father,
(CEB) This is why I kneel before the Father.
(CEV) I kneel in prayer to the Father.
(CSB) For this reason I kneel before the Father
(ERV) So I bow in prayer before the Father.
(ESV) For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
(GNB) For this reason I fall on my knees before the Father,
(HCSB) For this reason I bow my knees before the Father
(THE MESSAGE) My response is to get down on my knees before the Father,
(NASV) For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
(NCV) So I bow in prayer before the Father
(NIRV) I bow in prayer to the Father because of my work among you.
(NIV) For this reason I kneel before the Father,
(NLV) For this reason, I bow my knees and pray to the Father.
(NLT) When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,
(RSV) For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
(NAB-Roman Catholic) This is why I kneel before the Father
(NWT-Jehovah‘s Witnesses) On account of this I bend my knees to the Father,
 
Textus Receptus - Traditional Text
toutou carin kamptw ta gonata mou proV ton patera tou kuriou hmwn ihsou cristou
 
Hort-Westcott - Critical Text
toutou carin kamptw ta gonata mou proV ton patera
 
Corrupted Manuscripts
This verse is corrupted in the following manuscripts:
Aleph 01 - Sinaiticus - Nineteenth Century Counterfeit (original)
A 02 - Alexandrinus - Fifth century
B 03 - Vaticanus - Fourth century
C 04 - Ephraemi Rescriptus - Fifth century
P 025 - Ninth century
33 (Minuscule) - Ninth Century
P 46 - circa 200 AD
 
Manuscripts which agree with the Textus Receptus for this verse
Byzantine Text (450-1450 A.D.)
Aleph 01 - Sinaiticus - Nineteenth Century Counterfeit (corrected)
D 06 - Paris: Claromontanus - Sixth century
K 018 - Ninth century
L 020 - Ninth century
 
Published Critical Greek Texts with Corruptions
Omit “of opur Lord Jesus Christ” after ‘Father”
Lachmann, Karl - 1842
Tischendorf, Constantine - 1869
Tregelles, Samuel - 1857
Alford, Henry - 1849 revised in 1871
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 Teaching
The omission of the last part of that verse removes the relationship between God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God. When that verse is shortened after the word “Father” it could be made to mean any father. In the Roman Catholic system the term “Pope” means “papa.” Throughout the ages adherents to the Roman Catholic system have bowed before the Pope. The shortened version of Ephesians 3:14 would give credence to that action. The word “father” could also be made to say the father of any religion or system. It could also imply the universal fatherhood of God. This verse specifically states that God is the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It also removes the specificity of who the Lord Jesus Christ belongs to. Notice it says “of our Lord Jesus Christ” which means that He is not the Universal Savior of everyone but is the Savior of the Elect of God only. The Gnostics would have chopped up this verse because they did not believe that the Lord Jesus Christ came from Heaven as God’s begotten Son. So naturally they would want to remove anything which taught this truth. In the four Gospels, the Lord Jesus uses the term “my father” 47 times plus 3 times in the book of Revelation.
 
(John 10:17 KJV) Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
 
(John 20:17 KJV) Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
 
Ephesians 3:14 also speaks of whom the Apostle Paul prays to. By bowing the knee he is speaking of praying to God the Father and also deference before God the Father. A person could supplant that meaning and claim that we are to pray to the father of the saints or the father of some religion as many do in the East, such as Buddha or Confucius. There is also much ancestor worship which goes on today and the patriarch of the family may be worshipped. This is why the ending of that verse is so important because it makes specific what otherwise would be nebulous.
 
This verse is mutilated in P46 (circa 200 A.D.), Aleph (Sinaiticus), B (Vaticanus), C fifth century, P ninth century. So we can see that this corruption dates back to the second century when the Texts were mutilated to fit the Gnostic heresy of the Alexandrian school in Egypt.
Something to think about here. When we see all these omissions, how does it affect us? Do we take it in stride or do we cringe at the realization that Christians are being lied to. To those who feel the omissions and deletions are acceptable, let me ask you a question. If you had to go to the hospital for an operation, such as a gall bladder operation. Would you feel confident if the Surgeon and Anesthesiologist both used textbooks in school which had as many omissions and deletions as your Bible has? Well, if you won’t trust your temporary physical body to a surgeon who studied from inferior textbooks, why would you trust your eternal soul to an inferior version with many omissions and deletions?

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