Eph. 1:3-5 in Pink's Sovereignty of God.

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student

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On Page 31, in the Old Paths Gospel Press edition, Pink quotes Ephesians 1:3-5
"....According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him. In love having predestinated us unto the adoption of children..."

The AV punctuates it differently, stating "....that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children...."

My question: from the underlying languages, is there a "right" punctuation. Pink's focus is on the sovereignty of God in election, and emphasizes that the predestination of his children was only in His sovereign good pleasure. I agree with the conclusion, but wonder if it's fair to move punctuation to draw emphasis to the conclusion.
 
Here's the note in the NET Bible, which is one of the few modern translations to go with the KJV here:

The prepositional phrase ἐν ἀγάπῃ ("in love") may modify one of three words or phrases: (1) "chose," (2) "holy and unblemished," both in v. 4, or (3) "by predestining" in v. 5. If it modifies "chose," it refers to God's motivation in that election, but this option is unlikely because of the placement of the prepositional phrase far away from the verb. The other two options are more likely. If it modifies "holy and unblemished," it specifies that our holiness cannot be divorced from love. This view is in keeping with the author's use of ἀγάπη to refer often to human love in Ephesians, but the placement of the prepositional phrase not immediately following the words it modifies would be slightly awkward. If it modifies "by predestining" (v. 5), again the motivation of God's choice is love. This would fit the focus of the passage on God's gracious actions toward believers, but it could be considered slightly redundant in that God's predestination itself proves his love.
 
If Paul wanted "in love" to go with what is in v. 5, he would have put it in v. 5.
 
Here's the note in the NET Bible, which is one of the few modern translations to go with the KJV here:

The prepositional phrase ἐν ἀγάπῃ ("in love") may modify one of three words or phrases: (1) "chose," (2) "holy and unblemished," both in v. 4, or (3) "by predestining" in v. 5. If it modifies "chose," it refers to God's motivation in that election, but this option is unlikely because of the placement of the prepositional phrase far away from the verb. The other two options are more likely. If it modifies "holy and unblemished," it specifies that our holiness cannot be divorced from love. This view is in keeping with the author's use of ἀγάπη to refer often to human love in Ephesians, but the placement of the prepositional phrase not immediately following the words it modifies would be slightly awkward. If it modifies "by predestining" (v. 5), again the motivation of God's choice is love. This would fit the focus of the passage on God's gracious actions toward believers, but it could be considered slightly redundant in that God's predestination itself proves his love.
Thank you--this is helpful.
 
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