‘Eis’ of Jesus
“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Acts 2:38) “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26:28) Word T he of God is one of the biggest blessings ever given to man! It is through the Word that God has determined to communicate with man. In the past God spoke directly to the patriarchs (people living from the creation until the time of the Law being delivered; from Adam to Moses), then God spoke to man through the Law and the prophets (from the time of Moses receiving the Law in Mt. Sinai until the coming of Christ), but now God speaks to us through the written Word. “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;” (Hebrews 1:1–3). God has given His Word to us through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Tim. 3:16-17), and it is our duty to be students of the Word, and keep the commandments delivered therein (2 Tim. 2:15; Ecc. 12:13).
The Word is God’s power unto salvation (Rom. 1:16; 1 Cor. 1:18), as it can identify sin in the lives of everyone (Rom. 3:23), it reminds us of the penalties of sin (Rom.
6:23) and provides an avenue of escape through the blood Jesus shed on the cross for the remission of sins (Matt.
26:28).
Being that the Word is important, there needs to be an emphasis of the words that are used throughout the Scriptures. The original manuscripts were recorded in Hebrew and Greek languages (with a couple of uses of Aramaic), and translators have worked endlessly to provide an accurate (or as close to as possible) translation of the original message delivered from the mind of God, through the Holy Spirit, to man. There are many words that are used in Scriptures that have multiple meanings which causes some difficulty at times when studying the Scriptures. For instances, the word “heart” is used several times in the Bible but there are several meanings for this one word. The word “heart” is used to describe the “seat of thought” (Genesis 6:5), it has been used to describe the “conscience” (Psalm 51:10), and it has been used to describe “affection or desire” (Matt. 6:21). Since there are multiple meanings for words, there is a need to examine the Scriptures, understanding the context, and determine the meaning of the words that are used.
The Greek word “eis” is a word that is often mistranslated by some and in doing such the meaning of the text is changed. There are multiple English words that are used by translators when translating this word, and it has been translated “for” (Acts 2:38; Matt. 26:28), “to” (Acts 3:1), “into” (Acts 3:2), and “until” (Acts 4:3), among others. The problem that arises when translating this Greek word into English is the definition.
Some have used this word as being defined as “because” and the reason this is a problem is because of the use of “eis” in Acts 2:38. There are some that teach from Acts 2:38, that one is to be baptized “because” (eis) they are saved. Is this the true definition and is this view correct? Greek lexicons and dictionaries define the word “eis” as follows: preposition governing the accusative, and denoting entrance into, or direction and limit: into, to, toward, for, among (Thayer’s definition); into, or for (Strong’s concordance), to, as far as, to the extent of, against, or until (Mounce’s Greek Expository dictionary). The common definition that has been given by many in sermons or Bible classes is “in order to”.
What does all this mean and why is it such a big deal? If we were to take the definition of the word “eis” to be translated as “because” then, when the apostles commanded to “repent and be baptized for (eis) the remission of sins” the meaning would be changed dramatically. If this were the definition the apostles would have been teaching one is baptized because their sins are forgiven/remitted. If this were the definition of this word, what was Jesus saying in Matthew 26:28 when He stated His blood was shed “for the remission of sin”?
Does this mean Jesus was crucified because sins were already forgiven or did Jesus shed His blood in order to forgive sins? Simply stated, the word “eis” being used in Acts 2:38, Matthew 26:28, and other verses can never be translated “because” and should always be thought of as meaning “in order to”.
Jeremy Thornton is Minister of Highway 77 Church of Christ in Marion, Arkansas.
Jeremy Thornton
