Therefore I ask that you may not lose heart at my troubles for you, which are your glory.
Parallel Translations
-
Therefore I ask that you may not lose heart at my troubles for you, which are your glory.
-
Wherfore I desire that ye faynt not because of my trybulacions for youre sakes: which is youre prayse.
-
Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for your sakes, which is your glory.
Cross-references (12)
Passages linked to Ephesians 3:13 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Thessalonians 3:13 But you, brothers, don’t be weary in doing what is right.
- Colossians 1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the assembly,
- Isaiah 40:30-31 Even the youths faint and get weary, and the young men utterly fall; but those who wait for Yahweh will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run, and not be weary. They will walk, and not faint.
- 2 Corinthians 1:6 But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer.
- Ephesians 3:1 For this cause I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles,
- Philippians 1:12-14 Now I desire to have you know, brothers, that the things which happened to me have turned out rather to the progress of the Good News, so that it became evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my bonds are in Christ, and that most of the brothers in the Lord, being confident through my bonds, are more abundantly bold to speak the word of God without fear.
- Deuteronomy 20:3 and shall tell them, “Hear, Israel, you draw near today to battle against your enemies. Don’t let your heart faint! Don’t be afraid, nor tremble, neither be scared of them;
- Galatians 6:9 Let’s not be weary in doing good, for we will reap in due season, if we don’t give up.
- Zephaniah 3:16 In that day, it will be said to Jerusalem, “Don’t be afraid, Zion. Don’t let your hands be weak.”
- Acts 14:22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that through many afflictions we must enter into God’s Kingdom.
- Hebrews 12:3-5 For consider him who has endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, that you don’t grow weary, fainting in your souls. You have not yet resisted to blood, striving against sin. You have forgotten the exhortation which reasons with you as with children, “My son, don’t take lightly the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by him;
- 1 Thessalonians 3:2-4 and sent Timothy, our brother and God’s servant in the Good News of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith, that no one would be moved by these afflictions. For you know that we are appointed to this task. For most certainly, when we were with you, we told you beforehand that we are to suffer affliction, even as it happened, and you know.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (17 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 13. Wherefore I desire. His reason for alluding formerly…
13. Wherefore I desire. His reason for alluding formerly to his imprisonment is now manifest. It was to prevent them from being discouraged when they heard of his persecution. O heroic breast, which drew from a prison, and from death itself, comfort to those who were not in danger! He says that, he endured tribulations for the Ephesians, because they tended to promote the edification of all the godly. How powerfully is the faith of the people confirmed, when a pastor does not hesitate to seal his doctrine by the surrender of his life! And accordingly he adds, which is your glory. Such lustre was thrown around his instructions, that all the churches among whom he had labored, had good reason to glory, when they beheld their faith ratified by the best of all pledges.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 13 Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at…
13 Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.
Ver. 13. Wherefore I desire] αιτουμαι, mendico. Or, I beg of God, as one would do an alms, Act 3:2, humbly, heartily. And here the apostle returns to his former discourse, after a long digression, Eph 3:2; to Eph 3:13.
Read full note →
At my tribulations for you] For your sakes am I maliced and molested by the Jews; by whose means also I am now a prisoner.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Wherefore I desire; I pray you. This is an…
Wherefore I desire; I pray you. This is an exhortation to the Ephesians, not a prayer to God, for that follows, Eph 3:14.
That ye faint not at my tribulations for you; the truth I have preached to you being the cause of my sufferings, and your salvation (to which they tend as a means to confirm your faith) being the end of them.
Read full note →
Which is your glory; either he means, that their not fainting, or not falling away from Christ, by reason of his sufferings, was their glory; or rather, that his sufferings were their glory, in that he did by them seal the truth of the doctrine he had preached, being still ready to suffer for what he delivered to them.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my…
Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you,.... The apostle was a man attended with many tribulations, and great afflictions, which he did not suffer as an evildoer, either from God or men; wherefore he was not ashamed of them, but gloried in them; yea, he took pleasure in them, having much of the presence of God in them; they did not come to him unawares, he always expected them, and was helped to look to the glory which should follow them, the view of which greatly supported him under them; and these tribulations were endured for the sake of the elect, for Christ's body's sake; the church, and among others, for the Ephesians, for the sake of preaching the Gospel among them, and for the confirmation of their faith in it; and yet they were a stumbling to them, they were ready to faint at them; but he desires they would not, since they were on account of the Gospel, which he had such a distinct knowledge of, and so clear a call to; and since they were for their sakes, and since he and they had such nearness of access to God by the faith of Christ, with so much boldness and confidence; and seeing also they turned to their account: which is your glory; meaning either that it was matter of glorying to them, and what they might boast of, that the apostle's afflictions were not for any crime that was found in him, but for preaching the Gospel to them, and that it was an honour to suffer in such a cause; or that their perseverance and constancy in the doctrines of the Gospel, notwithstanding the scandal of the cross, would be an honour to them.
Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you,.... The apostle was a man attended with many tribulations, and great afflictions, which he did not suffer as an evildoer, either from God or men; wherefore he was not ashamed of them, but gloried in them; yea, he took pleasure in them, having much of the presence of God in them; they did not come to him unawares, he always expected them, and was helped to look to the glory which should follow them, the view of which greatly supported him under them; and these tribulations were endured for the sake of the elect, for Christ's body's sake; the church, and among others, for the Ephesians, for the sake of preaching the Gospel among them, and for the confirmation of their faith in it; and yet they were a stumbling to them, they were ready to faint at them; but he desires they would not, since they were on account of the Gospel, which he had such a distinct knowledge of, and so clear a call to; and since they were for their sakes, and since he and they had such nearness of access to God by the faith of Christ, with so much boldness and confidence; and seeing also they turned to their account: which is your glory; meaning either that it was matter of glorying to them, and what they might boast of, that the apostle's afflictions were not for any crime that was found in him, but for preaching the Gospel to them, and that it was an honour to suffer in such a cause; or that their perseverance and constancy in the doctrines of the Gospel, notwithstanding the scandal of the cross, would be an honour to them.
Read full note →
Ephesians 3:14
eph 3:14
eph 3:14
eph 3:14For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father,.... That is, pray unto him for the perseverance of the saints; for nothing is more desirable to the ministers of Christ than that; which is the pure gift of God, and is what he has promised, and therefore should be prayed to for it; for what God has designed and promised to his people, he will be sought to; and the apostle's view might be also to stir up these saints to pray for themselves: the gesture he used in prayer was bowing the knees; a man is not tied to any particular gesture or posture in prayer, the main thing is the heart; mere postures and gestures are insignificant things with God; though where the mind is affected, the body will be moved; and this gesture may be expressive of reverence, humility, and submission in prayer: the object he prayed unto is the Father; that is, as follows,
of our Lord Jesus; though these words are wanting in the Alexandrian copy, and Ethiopic version, yet are rightly retained in others; for God is the Father of Christ, not by creation, nor adoption, but by generation, being the only begotten of the Father; and as such he is rightly prayed to, since not only Christ prayed to him as such; but he is the Father of his people in and through Christ; and there is no other way of coming to him but by Christ; and all spiritual blessings come though Christ, and from God, as the Father of Christ.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain The not fainting is your glory.
The not fainting is your glory.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 13. I desire that ye faint not] In…
Verse 13. I desire that ye faint not] In those primitive times, when there was much persecution, people were in continual danger of falling away from the faith who were not well grounded in it. This the apostle deprecates, and advances a strong reason why they should be firm: "I suffer my present imprisonment on account of demonstrating your privileges, of which the Jews are envious: I bear my afflictions patiently, knowing that what I have advanced is of God, and thus I give ample proof of the sincerity of my own conviction. The sufferings, therefore, of your apostles are honourable to you and to your cause; and far from being any cause why you should faint, or draw back like cowards, in the day of distress, they should be an additional argument to induce you to persevere."
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Eph 3:13-16. Wherefore — Since by my ministry you…
Eph 3:13-16. Wherefore — Since by my ministry you have been called to the fellowship of the gospel; I desire that ye faint not — Be not discouraged or disheartened; at my tribulations for preaching the gospel to you, which is your glory — A cause of glorying and rejoicing to you, inasmuch as hereby it appears how much God regards you, in that he not only sends his apostles to preach the gospel to you, but to do this notwithstanding the great variety of extreme sufferings to which they are hereby exposed. For this cause — That ye may not faint, either on account of my sufferings or your own, and that the great work in which I am engaged may more successfully be carried on, and the purposes of these my sufferings maybe answered in your consolation and the divine glory; I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ — I present my sincere and ardent supplications before him. Or rather, the apostle here returns to the subject which he began in Eph 3:1, (where see the note,) the intervening verses coming in by way of parenthesis. Of whom — The Father; the whole family of angels in heaven — Saints in paradise, and believers on earth, is named — Are acknowledged by him as his children, a more honourable title than children of Abraham; and acknowledge their dependance upon, and relation to him. Or, in the family here spoken of, all rational beings in heaven and earth may be considered as included, because they derive their being from him, and are supported by him. That he would grant you according to the riches of his glory — The immense fulness of his glorious wisdom, power, mercy, and love; to be strengthened with might — Or mightily strengthened, that is, endowed with courage, fortitude, and power, to withstand all your spiritual enemies, to do with cheerfulness, and suffer with patience, his whole will; by his Spirit — the great source of all power and might, grace and goodness; in the inner man — The soul.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Wherefore I desire that ye faint not - The…
Wherefore I desire that ye faint not - The connection here is this. Paul was then a prisoner at Rome. He had been made such in consequence of his efforts to diffuse the Christian religion among the Gentiles; see the notes at Eph 3:1. His zeal in this cause, and the opinions which he held on this subject, had roused the wrath of the Jews, and led to all the calamities which he was now suffering. Of that the Ephesians. he supposes, were aware. It was natural that they should be distressed at his sufferings, for all his privations were endured on their account. But here he tells them not to be troubled and disheartened. He was indeed suffering; but he was reconciled to it, and they should be also, since it was promoting their welfare. The word rendered “faint” - ἐκκακέω egkakeō - means literally, to turn out “a coward,” or to lose one’s courage; then to be fainthearted, etc.; notes, 2Co 4:1. It is rendered “faint” in Luk 18:1; 2Co 4:1, 2Co 4:16; Eph 3:13, and “weary” in Gal 6:9; 2Th 3:13. It does not elsewhere occur. It is rendered here by Locke “dismayed.” Koppe supposes it means that they should not suppose that the Christian religion was vain and false because he was suffering so much from his countrymen on account of it. But it rather means that they might be in danger of being discouraged by the fact that “he” was enduring so much. They might become disheartened in their attachment to a system of religion which exposed its friends to such calamities. Paul tells them that this ought not to follow. They were to be profited by all his sufferings, and they should, therefore, hold fast to a religion which was attended with so many benefits to them - though he should suffer.
Which is your glory - Which tends to your honor and welfare. You have occasion to rejoice that you have a friend who is willing thus to suffer for you; you have occasion to rejoice in all the benefits which will result to you from, his trials in your behalf.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Wherefore, I beseech you, be not discouraged nor disheartened…
Wherefore, I beseech you, be not discouraged nor disheartened at my tribulations and persecutions on the account of the gospel, nor at your own, which ought to be a subject both for you and me to glory in. (Witham)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain "I entreat you not to be dispirited."
"I entreat you not to be dispirited."
for you--in your behalf.
Read full note →
which is--rather, "which are your glory," namely, inasmuch as showing that God loved you so much, as both to give His Son for you, and to permit His apostles to suffer "tribulations" for you [CHRYSOSTOM] in preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles. See on Eph 3:1, "prisoner for you Gentiles." My tribulations are your spiritual "glory," as your faith is furthered thereby (Co1 4:10).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 13. Wherefore—In blessed review of the comprehensive results of…
13. Wherefore—In blessed review of the comprehensive results of this Gentile call and apostleship.
I desire—I beseech you for myself.
Read full note →
Faint not—Be not downcast or disheartened. There might be those who feared that the imprisonment of the apostle was a refutation of his doctrine. They might be disgusted at a cause that so poorly sustained its champion. Hence Paul alludes bravingly to his bonds; he is “an ambassador in Christ,” “the prisoner” of Christ. And hence, to inspirit them to a similar brave view, to thrill them with the same spirit, he uses these electric words.
For you—As Gentiles, and as sinners, then, he preached and suffered in their stead.
Your glory—That I and you should suffer chains and death for Christ and his elect.
Paul, having expanded the view of his apostolic office, (note, Eph_3:1,) is now ready for the apostolic prayer.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 13. Wherefore] In view of the facts just recited;…
13. Wherefore] In view of the facts just recited; the welcome of Gentile believers into the true Israel, the Body of Christ, “according to the purpose of the ages,” for the instruction of holy angels, and for the saints’ own joy in intimacy with the Father. In the propagation of such a Gospel the messenger might well be willing to suffer for the sake of the converts; and they in their turn might well not be discouraged when they saw him suffer for them. These sufferings, far from indicating defeat or failure, were “their glory,” proofs that their Lord thought their incorporation into Himself worth the severest conflicts and sorrows of an Apostle. Yet the intense community of love between converts and Apostle might still tempt them to depression; and hence this request, so generous and tender.
I desire] I. e. probably, “I desire you; I ask as a boon from you.” It is possible to explain the words of a prayer to God; but the Gr. construction does not favour this, and the much stronger phrase for prayer in the next verse is also against it. See further just below.
Read full note →
faint] The same word as that e.g. Luk_18:1; 2Co_4:16. The idea is relaxation and cessation of effort under weariness or pain.
It is possible to explain this clause (as R. V. margin) “that I faint not”; for the pronoun is not expressed. (In that case we should also, of course, explain “I desire,” just above, of prayer to God.) But against this view lie the thoughts that the words, “which is your glory,” would thus lose point, and, even more, that such a prayer would be a discord in a passage so full of exultation and love, while the received explanation forms on the contrary a rich and true concord in it.
your glory] See last note but two.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (13) Wherefore I desire . . .—The verse is…
(13) Wherefore I desire . . .—The verse is parenthetical—a reflection suggested by the greatness of the trust and the littleness of the minister dwelt upon in Eph_3:8-12, and inserted as a warning to the Ephesians not to be disheartened at the present “tribulation” of his imprisonment, as if it were a failure of his mission. (See this idea more fully worked out in Php_1:12-29.) “To faint” (as in 2Co_4:1; 2Co_4:16; Gal_6:9; 2Th_3:13) is “to play the coward,” as “thinking it (see 1Pe_4:12-13) a strange thing” that trouble should fall on him or them. It might well seem strange, when for four years at least, at Cæsarea and Rome, the marvellous activity of St. Paul’s Apostolic career was apparently cut short.
At my tribulations for you, which is your glory.—There is a peculiar beauty in the thought suggested by the words “which is your glory.” The suffering, triumphantly borne and actually turned to the furtherance of the gospel, is certainly a “glory,” in the proof which it gives of the power of the truth and the grace of Christ. But the more obvious idea would have been to comfort the Ephesians by the declaration that St. Paul’s tribulations were to himself a cause, not of pain, but of joy and glory—as is, in fact, done in Col_1:24, and in the celebrated passage, 2Co_11:23-31. Here, however, instead of so doing, St. Paul pursues the same line of thought as in 1Co_4:10—there half ironically, here seriously—that, while the suffering falls on himself, the glory passes to the Church, for which he suffers, and in which he is content to sink himself. Hence he bids the Ephesians find encouragement and glory for themselves, instead of a cause for “fainting,” in the afflictions endured on their behalf and overcome in Christ. As he identifies himself with them, so he would have them take what might be his glory to be their own.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Wherefore I beg that ye faint not at my…
Wherefore I beg that ye faint not at my tribulations for you. A very delicate and touching request, that they would not be too much distressed by what he was suffering for them. (comp. Epaphroditus, Php_2:26) Paul knew that the sympathy was so strong that what was suffered by him was endured sympathetically by them. Two expressions denote that the sufferings were great: "My tribulations for you a word expressing intense and protracted suffering; "that ye faint not," or that ye do not lose heart, as if the power of evil had got the upper hand. Which is your glory. That is, the character or capacity of the apostle of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, in which I suffer tribulation, is one of such exalted dignity as to reflect glory on you. Take that view of my sufferings; I suffer because I hold so glorious an office, and the glory of that office is reflected on you.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my…
Eph_3:13
Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.
Read full note →
Exhortation to steadfastness
1. We are prone, when ministers of the gospel are troubled, to forsake them and their gospel (Zec_13:7; Mat_26:56).
(1) By nature there is in us an immoderate declining of that which is grievous to sense. We turn our back upon the storm, and will not go so far as to put our finger in the fire at any band.
(2) From childhood there grows up in us an immoderate love of a pleasant condition. Like swallows, we would always have it to be summer.
(3) We are very inconstant, and inclined to change; ready to crown Christ today, and to crucify Him tomorrow.
2. We must be ready to suffer in the afflictions of the gospel with the ministers thereof.
(1) The Cross and profession of Christ are almost undivided companions, by Gods appointment.
(2) We must not take offence at this, because our blessedness stands in it.
(3) This not falling away in times of persecution is a testimony to us of sound hearts.
(4) This is a gainful, thing (Heb_11:26; Mar_10:30). (Paul Bayne.)
Tribulation, the Churchs glory
Leonard Keyser, a friend and disciple of Luther, having been condemned by the bishop, had his head shaved, and being dressed in a smock frock, was placed on horseback. As the executioners were cursing and swearing because they could not disentangle the ropes with which his limbs were to be tied, he said to them mildly, Dear friends, your bonds are not necessary; my Lord Christ has already bound me. When he drew near the stake, Keyser looked at the crowd and exclaimed, Behold the harvest! O Master, send forth Thy labourers! And then ascending the scaffold, he cried, O Jesus, save me! These were his last words. What am I, a wordy preacher, said Luther, when he received the news of his death, in comparison with this great doer of the Word? (J. H. M. DAubigne, D. D.)
Joy through tribulation
It is related that in Germany there stood two vast towers, far apart, on the extremes of a castle; and that the old baron to whom this castle belonged stretched huge wires across from one to the other, thus constructing an AEolian harp. Ordinary winds produced no effect upon the mighty instrument; but when fierce storms and wild tempests came rushing down the sides of the mountains and through the valleys, and hurled themselves against those wires, then they began to roll out the most majestic strains of music that can be conceived. It is thus with many of the deepest and grandest emotions of the human soul. The soft and balmy zephyrs that fan the brows of ease and cheer the hours of prosperity and repose give no token of the inward strength and blessing which the tempests wrath discloses. But when storms and hurricanes assault the soul, the bursting wail of anguish rises with the swells of jubilant grandeur, and sweeps upward to the throne of God as a song of triumph, victory, and praise. (Biblical Treasury.)
Tribulations of the believer
The very word tribulation is full of significance in regard to the Christians trials. Tribulatio is the Latin for the winnowing or thrashing out of the corn from the husk. The early Christians, seeing that God intended sorrow as a holy discipline, gave to the word a high and spiritual import, which was, to its original meaning, as the soul of man is to his body. When sorrow came to them they called it tribulatio, the separation of the chaff that was in them from the wheat. And the Christian will so look at afflictions. They come to him as they did before he was brought to Christ. Now, however, he has a strength to bear them which he had not before. They sometimes come like a flood; sometimes in the small worries of his daily life. As when the sculptor, working on the marble block, with heavy strokes brings off large pieces of the stone, and again with nice and delicate touches develops the folds of the robe and the beauty of the form, so does God at one time bring upon us great afflictions, at another smaller griefs, but always in him who receives them rightly is He bringing out the character of Christ. He first makes the heart plastic in the fires of tribulation, and then, as with a royal signet, imprints upon it the image of His Son. (J. G. Pilkington.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 13. Wherefore. Seeing that I have revealed this glorious…
13. Wherefore. Seeing that I have revealed this glorious mystery to you. I desire that ye faint not. Do not become discouraged. At my tribulations for you. At his sufferings, a prisoner on account of the Gentiles. Which are your glory. The plural (see Revision) shows that “which” refers to tribulations. These tribulations all came in his work as the apostle of the Gentiles. Hence, they all suffered in a work which made them heirs of eternal glory.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 3:13 my trials here: Paul is writing from jail,…
3:13 my trials here: Paul is writing from jail, as a prisoner (see 3:1). He knows that suffering is to be expected and that it works for good in a believer’s life (see Rom 5:3-5; Col 1:24; 1 Thes 3:3; 2 Tim 3:12; Jas 1:2-4).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.