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Edition 24 |
"Jesus Christ" or "Christ Jesus"? |
5/1/22 |
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Introduction The name and title of Jesus can be combined to form His ID as either "Jesus Christ" or "Christ Jesus". "Jesus" is the name Mary was instructed to give to her firstborn child (Matthew 1:21). "Christ" is the Greek equivalent of "Messiah", meaning "God with us". God incarnate is the Son of God. Jesus began to be recognized as Christ perhaps beginning at His baptism when God the Father introduced Him as such with His words "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). It's not surprising that Paul, among others, combined the two proper nouns into "Christ Jesus" or "Jesus Christ". Many would maintain that the two terms are entirely interchangeable; others would insist that the word order is important because it defines emphasis on either deity or humanity depending on the context in which it is used. This edition deals with variant uses of the two IDs relative to the two major texts (TR - Textus Receptus and GNT - Greek New Testament). The discussion is limited to the Pauline Epistles (Romans - Philemon). English quotations are from the King James Version (from the TR) and the New International Version (from the GNT). |
Statistics The words "Jesus Christ" or "Christ Jesus" occur 190 times in the Pauline Epistles. Variants between the TR and GNT texts can be divided into various categories. Here are the categories and their percentages:
• TR and GNT word orders match exactly
• TR and GNT word orders are exactly opposite
• TR says "Jesus Christ"
• The GNT occurrence is missing
• TR says "Jesus Christ" or "Christ Jesus"
• GNT says "Christ Jesus"
• GNT says "Jesus Christ" |
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Examples of Familiar Verses in Which the Word Orders Match |
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Romans 8:1 KJV - "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." NIV - "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus," Romans 8:39 KJV - "Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." NIV - "neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." II Corinthians 8:9 KJV - "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich." NIV - "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich." |
Philippians 3:14 KJV - "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." NIV - "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” I Timothy 2:5 KJV - "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;” NIV - "For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,” Titus 2:13 KJV - "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” NIV - "while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,”
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Examples of Verses in Which the Words are in Opposite Order |
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Romans 1:1 KJV - "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, " NIV - "Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God" Romans 15:16 KJV - "That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost." NIV - "to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit." I Corinthians 1:1 KJV - "Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother," NIV - "Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes," II Corinthians 1:1 KJV - "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:" NIV - "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God in Corinth, together with all his holy people throughout Achaia:" II Corinthians 4:5 KJV - "For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake." NIV - "or what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake." Ephesians 1:1a KJV - "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are . . ." NIV - "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in . . . " Ephesians 2:20 KJV - "- And [you Ephesians] are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;" NIV - "[You Ephesians are] built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone." |
Philippians 1:1a KJV - "Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in . . . " NIV - "Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all God’s holy people in . . . " Colossians 1:1 KJV - "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother," NIV - "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother," 1 Timothy 4:6 KJV - "If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained." NIV - "If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed." II Timothy 1:1a KJV - "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to ..." NIV - "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with ..." II Timothy 1:10 KJV - "But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:" NIV - "but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." Philemon 1:9 KJV - "Yet for love's sake I rather beseech thee, being such an one as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ." NIV - "yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus—"
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GNT Text Contains Only "Jesus" |
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Romans 16:20 KJV - "- And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen." NIV - "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you." I Corinthians 5:4 KJV - "- - In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ," NIV - "So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present," I Corinthians 9:1 KJV - "- Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord?" NIV - "Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord?" I Corinthians 16:23 KJV - "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you." NIV - "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you." II Corinthians 11:31 KJV - "The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not." NIV - "The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying." |
I Thessalonians. 2:19 KJV - "For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?" NIV - "For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you?" I Thessalonians 3:11 KJV - "Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you." NIV - "Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you." I Thessalonians 3:13 KJV - "To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints." NIV - "May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones." II Thessalonians 1:8 KJV - "In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:" NIV - "He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus."
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GNT Text Not Included |
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Romans 16:24 KJV - "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen." NIV - "[verse not included]" I Corinthians 16:22 KJV - "- If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha." NIV - "If anyone does not love the Lord —, let that person be cursed! Come, Lord!" Galatians 6:15 KJV - "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature." NIV - "— Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation." 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:" 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. —" |
Ephesians 3:14 KJV - "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," NIV - "For this reason I kneel before the Father, —" I Thessalonians 1:1b KJV - ". . . Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ." NIV - ". . . Grace and peace to you. —" II Timothy 4:22 KJV - "The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with you. Amen." NIV - "The Lord — be with your spirit. Grace be with you all."
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GNT Text Contains Only "Christ" |
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Romans 15:8 KJV - "Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:" NIV - "For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed" Romans 16:18 KJV - "For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple." NIV - "For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people." II Corinthians 5:18 KJV - "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;" NIV - "All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:" |
Colossians 1:28 KJV - "Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:" NIV - "He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ." Philemon 1:6 KJV - "That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus." NIV - "I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ."
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TR Text Contains Only "Christ" |
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Romans 8:34 KJV - "Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." NIV - "Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died —more than that, who was raised to life —is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us." I Corinthians 4:17 KJV - "For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church." NIV - "For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church." Galatians 5:24 KJV - "And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts." NIV - "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." |
Ephesians 3:6 KJV - "That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:" NIV - "This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus." Colossians 4:12 KJV - "Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God." NIV - "Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured."
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TR Text Contains Only "Jesus" |
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I Corinthians 6:11 KJV - "And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." NIV - "And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." |
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Interesting Translation Anomalies |
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KJV Disagrees With Both Texts! In the Greek texts, Galatians 2:16 contains two occurrences of Jesus' ID. The first is Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν (Jesus Christ). and the second is "Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν" (Christ Jesus). This applies to the GNT text, the TR text, and its Byzantine source manuscripts. The KJV, however, uses "Jesus Christ" in both occurrences, so, with regards to the second occurrence, it disagrees with all texts. The NIV translates both occurrences literally. The NASB transposes the first occurrence, so it uses "Christ Jesus" in both places. A similar anomaly is found in Ephesians 3:1. KJV - "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." NIV - "know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified." NASB - "nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified."
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Text Sources Switched! In Romans 2:16, The GNT contains the words Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ (Christ Jesus) while the TR counterpart reads ιησου χριστου (Jesus Christ). Normally, the NIV follows the GNT text, but instead it follows the TR and reads "This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.". In Philippians 2:21, the GNT contains the words Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ (Jesus Christ) while the TR counterpart contains χριστου ιησου (Christ Jesus). Normally the KJV follows the TR, but instead it follows the GNT and reads "For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's".
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Greek Text sources cited above include: |
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