Core Glossary
Core Glossary — Ephesians (English/Greek → Japanese)
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing theological term identified in analysis/07_semantic_analysis.md, drawn from all six chapters of Ephesians. Terms marked [Baseline] are already recorded in the Romans translation_memory.json / bible_term_registry.json and are reused here with their exact established Japanese rendering, unchanged. Terms marked [New] are proposed additions for the Ephesians curriculum’s translation memory and doctrine risk registry, pending Phase 1 Step 2+ formal registry extension. Risk tiers follow the baseline’s four-tier convention (Critical / High / Medium / Low).
A. Baseline Terms Reused Exactly (no changes permitted)
| Term (English) | Greek | Japanese | Risk | Ephesians occurrences | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| God | θεός | 神 (Kami) | Critical | throughout | Qualify with 唯一のまことの神 at first occurrence and doctrinal statements, per baseline |
| Jesus | Ἰησοῦς | イエス (Iesu) | Critical | throughout | Established form |
| Christ / Messiah | Χριστός | キリスト (Kirisuto) | Critical | throughout | Illiteracy risk (foreign cultural-brand association), per baseline |
| Lord | κύριος | 主 (shu) | Critical | 1:2-3; 4:1,5; 6:1-9 (contrast literal-master sense, see new terms) | Distinguish theological “Lord” from ch. 6’s literal household-master κύριος |
| Holy Spirit | πνεῦμα ἅγιον | 聖霊 (Seirei) | Critical | throughout, esp. 1:13; 4:30; 5:18; 6:17-18 | Never 霊 alone |
| Father | πατήρ | 父 (chichi) | High | 1:2-3,17; 2:18; 3:14; 4:6; 5:20; 6:2-4,23 | Build relational warmth per baseline note |
| Grace | χάρις | 恵み (megumi) | Critical | 1:2,6-7; 2:5,7-8; 3:2,7-8; 4:7,29; 6:24 | Core term for “Salvation by Grace” doctrine; non-transactional clarification mandatory |
| Faith | πίστις | 信仰 (shinkou) | High | 1:15; 2:8; 3:12,17; 4:5,13; 6:16,23 | Channel of salvation, never its basis |
| Salvation | σωτηρία / σῴζω | 救い (sukui) | Critical | 1:13; 2:5,8; 6:17 | Never 解脱; caution with 極楽往生 bridge |
| Righteousness | δικαιοσύνη | 義 (gi) | Critical | 4:24; 5:9; 6:14 | Flag Bushido-virtue distinction per baseline |
| Church | ἐκκλησία | 教会 (kyoukai) | Medium (elevated to High in this curriculum, see doctrine registry) | 1:22; 3:10,21; 5:23-32 | Ephesians intensifies “body of Christ” sense beyond Romans usage |
| Gentiles | ἔθνη | 異邦人 (ihoujin) | Medium | 2:11; 3:1,6,8; 4:17 | Not 外人 |
| Glory | δόξα | 栄光 (eikou) | Medium | 1:6,12,14,17,18; 3:13,16,21 | Not 名誉 |
| Sin | ἁμαρτία | 罪 (tsumi) | High | 2:1 | Guilt before God, not shame/meiwaku |
| Called / Calling | κλητός / κλῆσις | 召された / 召し (mesareta / meshi) | High | 1:18; 4:1,4 | Personal summons, not 運命 |
| Election | ἐκλογή (cognate ἐκλέγομαι) | 選び (erabi) | High | 1:4,11 | Sovereign gracious choice, not merit-based 選抜 |
| Holy | ἅγιος | 聖い (kiyoi) | High | 1:1,4; 5:27 | Moral, not ritual, purity |
| Saints | ἅγιοι | 聖徒 (seito) | High | 1:1,15,18; 3:8,18; 4:12; 5:3; 6:18 | Corporate, not elite/ascetic class |
| Sanctification | ἁγιασμός (cognate) | 聖化 (seika) | High | 5:26 (implied, “sanctify her”) | Not ascetic training/enlightenment |
| Adoption | υἱοθεσία | 子とされること (ko to sareru koto) | Medium | 1:5 | Bridge with 養子縁組 per baseline |
| Peace | εἰρήνη | 平安 / 平和 (heian / heiwa) | Medium | 1:2; 2:14-17; 4:3; 6:15,23 | Individual AND corporate Jew-Gentile senses both occur; anchor both |
| Spiritual Gifts | χαρίσματα (cognate; note δῶρον/δόμα distinction below) | 賜物 (tamamono) | Medium | 4:7-11 | Reserve for ministry gifts; do NOT use for the 2:8 salvation-gift (see new term δῶρον) |
| Thanksgiving | εὐχαριστία (cognate εὐχαριστῶ) | 感謝 (kansha) | Low | 1:16; 5:4,20 | Standard |
| Fellowship | κοινωνία (implied in “one body” language) | 交わり (majiwari) | Low | 4:3-4 (implied) | Shared participation, not generic 仲間意識 |
| Power of God | δύναμις θεοῦ | 神の力 (Kami no chikara) | Medium | 1:19; 3:7,16,20; 6:10 | Not 気/パワー |
| Providence | (cf. “works together” concept) | 摂理 (setsuri) | High | 1:11 (“works all things according to the counsel of his will”) | Not 運命/宿命 |
| Kingdom of God/Christ | βασιλεία τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ θεοῦ | 神の国 / キリストと神の国 | High | 5:5 | Anchor against 神国日本 historical resonance, per baseline |
| Mission | (cf. ἀποστολή concept) | 宣教 (senkyou) | Medium | 3:7-8; 6:19-20 (Paul’s proclamation) | Frame with Kirishitan-history sensitivity |
| Obedience | (ὑπακούω, cognate of baseline’s obedience_of_faith) | 従順 / 従う | High | 6:1,5 | Guard against senpai-kohai/hierarchy-compliance collapse |
| Law | νόμος | 律法 (ritsuhou) | Medium | 2:15 (“the law of commandments”) | Mosaic Law, not 法律 |
| Prophet | προφήτης | 預言者 (yogensha) | Medium | 2:20; 3:5; 4:11 | Verify 預 kanji, not 予 |
| Prophecy (cognate) | (implied, “prophets” as revelatory office) | 預言 (yogen) | Medium | 3:5 | Same kanji caution |
| David / Israel | — | ダビデ / イスラエル | Low/Medium | not directly named in Ephesians but background-relevant to 2:11-22 Jew/Gentile material | Retain established forms if referenced in teaching material |
| Exhort | παρακαλέω | 勧める (susumeru) | Low | 4:1 (“I… urge you”) | Standard |
B. New Terms Proposed for Ephesians Translation Memory Extension
| Term (English) | Greek / transliteration | Proposed Japanese | Risk | Doctrine | Chapter(s) | Rejected alternatives | Key rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Predestination | προορίζω (proorizō) | あらかじめ定める (verb) / 予定 (noun, teaching contexts only) | Critical | Election and Predestination in Christ | 1:5,11 | 予定 alone (too mundane/scheduling-flavored for doctrinal statements) | Bare 予定 risks reducing eternal sovereign decree to a calendar appointment |
| Redemption | ἀπολύτρωσις (apolytrōsis) | 贖い (aganai) | High | Salvation by Grace through Faith | 1:7,14; 4:30 | (none rejected; established formal term) | Must retain ransom/price-paid structure; illiteracy risk, not collision risk |
| Mystery | μυστήριον (mystērion) | 奥義 (ougi) | High | The Mystery of Christ Revealed | 1:9; 3:3-9; 5:32; 6:19 | 秘密 (himitsu, “secret,” too casual/permanent-sounding) | 奥義’s martial-arts/esoteric “secret technique” connotation inverts Paul’s point (now-revealed, not still-hidden) |
| Seal (of the Spirit) | σφραγίζω / σφραγίς (sphragizō / sphragis) | 証印を押される (shouin o osareru) | Medium | Salvation by Grace through Faith | 1:13; 4:30 | (none; positive bridge) | Inkan/seal culture is a genuine positive cultural bridge |
| Inheritance | κληρονομία (klēronomia) | 相続 (souzoku) | Medium | Election / Adoption | 1:11,14,18; 5:5 | (none; positive bridge with caveats) | Pairs with baseline’s 養子縁組 adoption bridge; guard against purely secular estate-planning associations |
| Wisdom | σοφία (sophia) | 知恵 (chie) | Medium | The Mystery of Christ Revealed | 1:8,17; 3:10 | (none) | Distinguish revealed gospel-wisdom from generic proverbial life-wisdom |
| Fullness | πλήρωμα (plērōma) | 満ち満ちておられる方の満ちておられるもの (paraphrase required) | High | The Church as the Body of Christ | 1:23; 3:19; 4:13 | Single-word 充満 alone (too thin for the doctrinal weight) | Dense, doubly-abstract theological language; needs paraphrase support, not collision but illiteracy risk |
| Revelation | ἀποκάλυψις (apokalypsis) | 啓示 (keiji) | Medium | Inspiration/Mystery of Christ Revealed | 1:17 | (none) | Formal, unfamiliar but doctrinally clean term |
| Dead (in sin) | νεκρός (nekros) | 死んでいた (shinde ita) | Medium | Salvation by Grace through Faith | 2:1,5 | (none) | Illiteracy risk: metaphorical spiritual death is unfamiliar without teaching |
| Trespasses | παράπτωμα (paraptōma) | 罪 (collapsed into baseline term; avoid inventing separate compound) | Medium | Salvation by Grace through Faith | 2:1,5 | 罪過 (creates unnecessary second unfamiliar compound) | Preserve Paul’s rhetorical doubling via translator’s note, not new vocabulary |
| Wrath | ὀργή (orgē) | 怒り (ikari) | High | Salvation by Grace through Faith / Universal Human Accountability | 2:3 | (none; established but high-risk) | Risk of capricious-temper reading or impersonal karma-consequence reading instead of judicial righteousness |
| Flesh | σάρξ (sarx) | 肉 (niku) | High | Salvation by Grace through Faith | 2:3,11; 5:29; 6:5,12 | (none; established Bible-translation convention) | Ordinary meaning “meat” risks literalizing a moral-disposition term |
| Mercy | ἔλεος (eleos) | 憐れみ (awaremi) | Medium | Salvation by Grace through Faith | 2:4 | (none) | Must stay visibly distinct from 恵み (grace) in near-proximity text |
| Made alive together | συζωοποιέω (syzōopoieō) | (ともに)生かしてくださいました | High | Salvation by Grace through Faith | 2:5 | 復活させる alone without “with Christ” union language | Must preserve resurrection-quality, union-with-Christ sense, not mere “revival” |
| Heavenly places | ἐπουράνιος (epouranios) | 天上 / 天にいるところ | Medium | The Church as the Body of Christ / Spiritual Warfare | 1:3,20; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12 | 極楽 (Pure Land paradise term; forbidden per baseline salvation entry’s caution) | Present spiritual sphere of Christ’s reign/conflict, not an afterlife-paradise destination |
| Gift (of salvation) | δῶρον (dōron) | 贈り物 (okurimono) | Critical | Salvation by Grace through Faith | 2:8 | 賜物 (reserved for ministry χαρίσματα, 4:7-11; using both interchangeably would conflate two distinct Ephesians concepts) | New doctrinal disambiguation not in Romans baseline; mandatory theologian review before TM lock-in |
| Works | ἔργον (ergon) | 行い (okonai) | Critical | Salvation by Grace through Faith | 2:9-10 | (none; established but highest-stakes term in curriculum) | Collides with on-giri/kudoku merit-accumulation cultural logic; requires the heaviest doctrinal scaffolding in the curriculum |
| Workmanship | ποίημα (poiēma) | 作品 (sakuhin) | Medium | Salvation by Grace through Faith | 2:10 | (none; positive craftsmanship bridge) | Must be anchored to ethical purpose clause, not left as a merely aesthetic metaphor |
| Created | κτίζω (ktizō) | 造られた (tsukurareta) | Medium | Salvation by Grace through Faith / Walking in Newness of Life | 2:10; 4:24 | (none) | Illiteracy risk: connect to Genesis creation language explicitly |
| Good works | ἔργα ἀγαθά (erga agatha) | 良い行い (yoi okonai) | High | Salvation by Grace through Faith | 2:10 | (none) | Same root word as v.9’s rejected ἔργων in Japanese; requires explicit “fruit not basis” teaching |
| Walk (conduct of life) | περιπατέω (peripateō) | 歩む (ayumu) | Low-Medium | Walking in Newness of Life | 2:2,10; 4:1,17; 5:2,8,15 | (none; positive bridge) | Must render consistently across all six occurrences to preserve structural repetition |
| Circumcision / Uncircumcision | περιτομή / ἀκροβυστία (peritomē / akrobystia) | 割礼 / 無割礼 (katsurei / mukatsurei) | Medium | Unity of Jews and Gentiles | 2:11 | (none) | Pure illiteracy risk; requires OT/Jewish-background teaching |
| Dividing wall | μεσότοιχον τοῦ φραγμοῦ (mesotoichon tou phragmou) | 隔ての壁 (hedate no kabe) | High | Unity of Jews and Gentiles | 2:14 | (none) | Intersects uchi-soto insider/outsider risk; demolition must be taught as total and lived-out |
| Reconciliation | καταλλάσσω / ἀποκαταλλάσσω (katallassō / apokatallassō) | 和解 (wakai) | High | Unity of Jews and Gentiles | 2:14-16 | (none; wa-adjacent bridge with caveat) | Must anchor to finished cross-work, not ongoing socially-achieved harmony |
| One new humanity / new self | καινὸς ἄνθρωπος (kainos anthrōpos) | 一つの新しい人 (corporate, 2:15) / 新しい人 (individual, 4:24) | High | Unity of Jews and Gentiles / Walking in Newness of Life | 2:15; 4:24 | (none) | Distinguish corporate ecclesiology (2:15) from individual renewal (4:24); guard against secular self-help “new me” framing and 生まれ変わり rebirth idiom |
| Cornerstone | ἀκρογωνιαῖος (akrogōniaios) | 要石 (kaname-ishi) | Medium | The Church as the Body of Christ | 2:20 | (none) | Clear architectural metaphor, low collision |
| Temple | ναός (naos) | 神殿 (shinden) | High | The Church as the Body of Christ | 2:21 | 寺 / 神社 (forbidden, per baseline church entry) | Corporate believers as God’s dwelling, not a physical shrine/temple building |
| Household of God | οἰκεῖοι τοῦ θεοῦ (oikeioi tou theou) | 神の家族 (Kami no kazoku) | Medium | The Church as the Body of Christ / Adoption | 2:19 | (none) | Reinforces baseline’s family-warmth teaching need |
| Stewardship | οἰκονομία (oikonomia) | 務め (tsutome) | Medium | The Mystery of Christ Revealed | 3:2,9 | 経済 (keizai, forbidden — modern economic drift) | Specific God-given administrative charge, not a generic job or the modern economic term |
| Boldness / Access | παρρησία / προσαγωγή (parrēsia / prosagōgē) | 確信 / 近づくこと (kakushin / chikazuku koto) | Medium-High | The Mystery of Christ Revealed | 2:18; 3:12 | (none) | Contrast with ritual-mediated shrine/temple access, per baseline prayer/intercession note |
| Unsearchable riches | ἀνεξιχνίαστος πλοῦτος (anexichniastos ploutos) | 測り知れない富 (hakari-shirenai tomi) | Low | The Mystery of Christ Revealed | 3:8 | (none) | Descriptive; low risk |
| Unity | ἑνότης (henotēs) | 一致 (itchi) | High | Unity of Jews and Gentiles / Church as Body of Christ | 4:3,13 | (none; established secular term, high risk precisely because established) | Risk of wa-harmony/consensus collapse rather than Spirit-given unity transcending uchi-soto categories |
| Baptism | βάπτισμα (baptisma) | バプテスマ (transliteration) | Medium | The Church as the Body of Christ | 4:5 | 洗礼 (senrei, acceptable alternative in wider usage but transliteration preferred for consistency with baseline’s transliteration conventions for proper theological terms) | Distinguish from repeatable Shinto/Buddhist water-purification rites |
| Evangelist | εὐαγγελιστής (euangelistēs) | 伝道者 (dendousha) | Low-Medium | Gifts for Building Up the Church | 4:11 | (none) | Transparent compound, low risk |
| Pastor/Shepherd | ποιμήν (poimēn) | 牧師 (bokushi) | Low | Gifts for Building Up the Church | 4:11 | (none; standard) | Underlying shepherd-imagery should be surfaced occasionally in teaching |
| Teacher | διδάσκαλος (didaskalos) | 教師 (kyoushi) | Low | Gifts for Building Up the Church | 4:11 | (none) | Standard |
| Mature manhood | τέλειος ἀνήρ (teleios anēr) | 成熟した人 (seijuku shita hito) | Medium | Gifts for Building Up the Church | 4:13 | 完全な人 (risks attainment/enlightenment-perfection overtone) | Prefer organic-growth term over completion/perfection term |
| Old self | παλαιὸς ἄνθρωπος (palaios anthrōpos) | 古い人 (furui hito) | Medium | Walking in Newness of Life | 4:22 | (none) | Paired term with new self below |
| Renewed in mind | ἀνανεόω τῷ πνεύματι τοῦ νοός (ananeoō tō pneumati tou noos) | 心の霊において新たにされる | Medium-High | Walking in Newness of Life | 4:23 | (none) | Distinguish from secular self-help mindset-change and Zen meditative mind-clearing |
| Light / Darkness | φῶς / σκότος (phōs / skotos) | 光 / 闇 (hikari / yami) | Medium | Walking in Newness of Life | 5:8-14 | (none; established but risk-bearing) | Guard against Buddhist enlightenment (悟り/無明) attainment-framing; light is conferred status, not attained insight |
| Filled with the Spirit | πληρόω πνεύματι (plēroō pneumati) | 御霊に満たされ (mitama ni mitasare) | High | Walking in Newness of Life | 5:18 | (none; reuses baseline 聖霊/御霊) | Distinguish from folk-religious spirit-possession (かみがかり) and pop-culture possession tropes |
| Submission | ὑποτάσσω (hypotassō) | 従う / 服従する (shitagau / fukujuu suru) | Critical | Household Codes and Christ-Centered Relationships | 5:21-24 | (none; established but highest-stakes household term) | Must never be taught apart from 5:21 mutual submission and 5:25 self-sacrificial love; ie-system authoritarian-hierarchy risk |
| Head/Headship | κεφαλή (kephalē) | 頭 (kashira/atama) | High | Household Codes and Christ-Centered Relationships | 5:23 | (none) | Must be paired with 5:25’s self-giving-love redefinition; guard against corporate top-down authority framing |
| One flesh | μία σάρξ (mia sarx) | 一体となる (ittai to naru) | Medium | Household Codes and Christ-Centered Relationships | 5:31 | (none) | Guard against merely-physical narrowing; retain covenantal-union sense |
| Honor (parents) | τιμάω (timaō) | 敬う (uyamau) | Medium | Household Codes and Christ-Centered Relationships | 6:2 | (none; positive Confucian-filial-piety bridge with caveat) | Must retain “in the Lord” gospel-motivation qualifier, not generic filial duty |
| Slaves / Masters | δοῦλος / κύριος (doulos / kyrios, literal sense) | 奴隷 / 主人 (dorei / shujin) | Medium | Household Codes and Christ-Centered Relationships | 6:5-9 | (none) | Historical-distance risk (no Japanese chattel-slavery referent); 主人 here is literal employer/owner, distinct from forbidden divine-Lord usage |
| Armor of God / Struggle | πανοπλία τοῦ θεοῦ / πάλη (panoplia tou theou / palē) | 神の武具 (kami no bugu) / 格闘 (kakutou) | High | Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God | 6:10-13 | (none) | Samurai-armor bridge risks over-literalizing into romanticized/militarist combat imagery instead of unseen spiritual conflict |
| Rulers, authorities, cosmic powers | ἀρχαί, ἐξουσίαι, κοσμοκράτορες, πνευματικά τῆς πονηρίας | 支配者たち、権威、この暗闇を支配する者たち、悪の霊ども | High | Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God | 2:2; 6:12 | (none) | Real personal evil spiritual beings, not folklore yōkai/yūrei nor demythologized “systemic evil” |
| Armor pieces (shield/sword/belt/breastplate/helmet/shoes) | θυρεός, μάχαιρα, ζώνη, θώραξ, περικεφαλαία, ὑποδέομαι | 盾, 剣, 帯, 胸当て, 兜, 履物 | Medium (equipment nouns) / inherits Critical-High from attached baseline doctrinal nouns | Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God | 6:14-17 | (none) | Doctrinal risk carried by the attached baseline nouns (faith, righteousness, salvation, Spirit, gospel, peace, truth), not the armor vocabulary itself |
| Ambassador | πρεσβεύω (presbeuō) | 大使 (taishi) | Low | Christ-Centered Ministry (extension) | 6:20 | (none) | Clean modern diplomatic-office bridge |
C. Cross-Reference Note
Where a term appears in Section A (“Baseline Terms Reused Exactly”), Phase 2 translators must load the Romans translation_memory.json rendering with zero deviation. Where a term appears only in Section B (“New Terms”), the proposed rendering here is a Phase 1 Step 1 recommendation pending formal adoption into an Ephesians-specific translation memory extension file in a later Phase 1 step; Critical and High risk new terms (marked accordingly above) require theologian sign-off before being locked into that extension.
This glossary should be read together with analysis/07_semantic_analysis.md, which provides the full verse-by-verse and chapter-by-chapter reasoning behind each entry.
Critical Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: 神
Transliteration: Kami
Doctrine: God the Father / Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 八百万の神の一柱としての神, 神様
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Qualify with 唯一のまことの神 at first occurrence and in doctrinally weighty statements, especially Ephesians 1:3-14’s extended blessing and 4:6’s ‘one God and Father of all.‘
Jesus
Approved rendering: イエス
Transliteration: Iesu
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ゼズス
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Use イエス exclusively; never the Kirishitan-era ゼズス form.
Messiah
Approved rendering: キリスト
Transliteration: Kirisuto
Doctrine: The Mystery of Christ Revealed
Rejected alternatives: 救世主
Inherited from Romans package (baseline risk High); ELEVATED to Critical for this curriculum given Ephesians’ dense ‘in Christ’ repetition (over 30 occurrences) and the letter’s exaltation/mystery doctrines resting entirely on Christ’s identity. Illiteracy risk (foreign cultural-brand association with commercialized Christmas/wedding aesthetics) must be actively closed, not merely the correct word supplied.
Lord
Approved rendering: 主
Transliteration: shu
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 主君, ご主人様
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. In Ephesians 6:5-9 the same Greek word κύριος denotes a literal human master/owner and must be rendered 主人 (shujin) in that employer sense, kept visibly distinct from 主 used of Christ, so Christ’s unique Lordship never collapses into a household-master office.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: 聖霊
Transliteration: Seirei
Doctrine: Spirit-Filled Living
Rejected alternatives: 霊, 幽霊
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. NEVER 霊 alone. Ephesians 5:18’s ‘be filled with the Spirit’ intensifies the baseline’s animistic-collision risk: distinguish from folk-religious spirit-possession trance states (かみがかり) and pop-culture possession tropes.
Grace
Approved rendering: 恵み
Transliteration: megumi
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace through Faith
Rejected alternatives: 恩返しが要る恵み, 功徳
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Ephesians 2:5-8 is this curriculum’s doctrinal core; the on-giri (恩・義理) reciprocal-obligation risk is most acute here since grace rescues those explicitly named ‘children of wrath’ (2:3) who have contributed nothing and owe nothing back. NEVER 功徳.
Righteousness
Approved rendering: 義
Transliteration: gi
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace through Faith
Rejected alternatives: 道徳, 正義感
Original: δικαιοσύνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Always flagged against the Bushido-virtue sense of 義 (rectitude/moral courage), especially at Ephesians 4:24 and 6:14 where it could be misread as a warrior virtue to cultivate rather than a status created by God.
Salvation
Approved rendering: 救い
Transliteration: sukui
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace through Faith
Rejected alternatives: 解脱, 極楽往生
Original: σωτηρία / σῴζω
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. NEVER 解脱. Ephesians 2:8’s perfect-tense construction (‘you have been saved’) requires 恵みによって救われているのです or equivalent — completed-yet-abiding assurance, not an ongoing uncertain process.
Predestination
Approved rendering: あらかじめ定める
Transliteration: arakajime sadameru
Doctrine: Election and Predestination in Christ
Rejected alternatives: 予定 (alone, calendar-appointment register too mundane for doctrinal statements)
Original: προορίζω
Category: Salvation
New term for this curriculum. 予定 (yotei) is ordinary Japanese for a scheduled plan/appointment; the eternal sovereign decree of 1:5,11 risks being heard through a calendar-appointment register. Use the verb form あらかじめ定める in all doctrinal statements; reserve bare 予定 for informal teaching glosses only, always paired with 選び (election) as a companion doctrine.
Gift Of Salvation
Approved rendering: 贈り物
Transliteration: okurimono
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace through Faith
Rejected alternatives: 賜物 (reserved exclusively for the 4:7-11 ministry-gifts sense)
Original: δῶρον
Category: Salvation
New doctrinal disambiguation not present in the Romans baseline. Salvation itself, characterized as an unearned gift apart from works (2:8). Using 賜物 for this would conflate ‘the gift of salvation’ with ‘spiritual gifts for ministry,’ a distinct Ephesians 4 concept. Mandatory theologian-approved hard split; never used interchangeably with spiritual_gifts.
Works
Approved rendering: 行い
Transliteration: okonai
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace through Faith
Original: ἔργον
Category: Salvation
New term for this curriculum; one of the single highest-stakes terms in the whole book. Human effort explicitly excluded as any ground of salvation (2:9). Collides directly with Japan’s on-giri reciprocal-obligation logic and Buddhist merit-accumulation (功徳); ‘not by works’ risks sounding suspicious rather than good news without heavy doctrinal scaffolding.
Submission
Approved rendering: 従う / 服従する
Transliteration: shitagau / fukujuu suru
Doctrine: Household Codes and Christ-Centered Relationships
Original: ὑποτάσσω
Category: Household
New term for this curriculum; the most culturally sensitive term-cluster in the book. Mutual submission among believers (5:21) and wives’ submission to husbands, framed by Christ’s self-sacrificial headship (5:22-24). Japan’s historic 家制度 (ie system) creates significant risk of an authoritarian, one-directional reading. MUST NEVER be taught apart from 5:21 and 5:25 in the same unit.
High Risk Terms
Father
Approved rendering: 父
Transliteration: chichi
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Rejected alternatives: 家長
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Ephesians 3:14-15’s πατήρ/πατριά wordplay (Father/family) is a rare opportunity to actively build relational-warmth associations against Japan’s culturally weak/distant father-figure default (the ‘absent salaryman father’ trope).
Faith
Approved rendering: 信仰
Transliteration: shinkou
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace through Faith
Rejected alternatives: 信心, 宗教心
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Ephesians 2:8’s grammar (‘by grace… through faith’) must render 信仰 as a channel, never a meritorious work; avoid 信仰の実行によって, which blurs faith into performance.
Called
Approved rendering: 召された
Transliteration: mesareta
Doctrine: Election and Predestination in Christ
Rejected alternatives: 運命づけられた, 天職
Original: κλητός
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Personal, relational summons (1:18; 4:1), not impersonal fate (運命) or generic vocational fulfillment (天職).
Calling
Approved rendering: 召し
Transliteration: meshi
Doctrine: Election and Predestination in Christ
Rejected alternatives: 運命, 天職
Original: κλῆσις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Named among the seven unifying realities of the church (4:1,4). NEVER 運命 alone.
Holy
Approved rendering: 聖い
Transliteration: kiyoi
Doctrine: The Church as the Body of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 清らか, 穢れがない
Original: ἅγιος
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package. The believer’s chosen status (1:1,4) and the church’s presented goal (5:27). Distinguish from Shinto ritual purity.
Saints
Approved rendering: 聖徒
Transliteration: seito
Doctrine: The Church as the Body of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 聖者, 菩薩
Original: ἅγιοι
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Applies corporately to all believers (1:1,15,18; 3:8,18; 4:12; 6:18), NEVER 菩薩/聖者.
Sanctification
Approved rendering: 聖化
Transliteration: seika
Doctrine: The Church as the Body of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 修行, 悟り
Original: ἁγιασμός (cognate)
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package. Christ’s sanctifying, cleansing work for the church, his bride (5:26). Distinguish from 修行/悟り.
Resurrection
Approved rendering: 復活
Transliteration: fukkatsu
Doctrine: Exaltation and Headship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 輪廻転生, カムバック
Inherited from Romans package. Relevant to Christ’s resurrection and exaltation (1:20). NEVER 輪廻転生; actively restore doctrinal weight against pop-culture ‘comeback’ usage, especially since Ephesians 2:5-6 parallels believers’ ‘made alive/raised’ status to this same event.
Church
Approved rendering: 教会
Transliteration: kyoukai
Doctrine: The Church as the Body of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 寺, 神社
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package (baseline risk Medium); ELEVATED to High for this curriculum because Ephesians’ organic body-of-Christ, fullness (πλήρωμα), and bridal (5:23-32) imagery goes well beyond Romans’ institutional usage. NEVER 寺/神社; must be actively anchored to ‘body of Christ’ (キリストの体) language, not a building.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: 神の国
Transliteration: Kami no Kuni
Doctrine: Household Codes and Christ-Centered Relationships
Rejected alternatives: 神国日本
Original: βασιλεία τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ θεοῦ
Category: Kingdom
Inherited from Romans package. Single occurrence at Ephesians 5:5 (exclusion of the sexually immoral, impure, covetous). Must be anchored to that ethical-exclusion sense, given historical association with pre-1945 State Shinto ultranationalism (神国日本).
Sin
Approved rendering: 罪
Transliteration: tsumi
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Rejected alternatives: 恥, 迷惑をかけること
Inherited from Romans package. Ephesians 2:1’s ‘dead in trespasses and sins’ requires guilt-before-God framing, not shame (恥) or meiwaku-avoidance.
Obedience Of Faith
Approved rendering: 信仰の従順
Transliteration: shinkou no juujun
Doctrine: Household Codes and Christ-Centered Relationships
Rejected alternatives: 空気を読んだ従順, 上下関係への服従
Inherited from Romans package. Background doctrine underlying Ephesians 6:1,5’s obedience commands, which must be qualified ‘in the Lord’ rather than generic hierarchical compliance.
Election
Approved rendering: 選び
Transliteration: erabi
Doctrine: Election and Predestination in Christ
Rejected alternatives: 合格, 選抜
Original: ἐκλογή (cognate ἐκλέγομαι)
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. God’s sovereign choice ‘before the foundation of the world’ (1:4,11). Must not be framed through Japan’s competitive exam/hiring 選抜 culture; always pair with ‘世界の基が置かれる前に’ phrasing.
Providence
Approved rendering: 摂理
Transliteration: setsuri
Doctrine: Election and Predestination in Christ
Rejected alternatives: 運命, 宿命
Original: (cf. ‘works all things according to the counsel of his will’)
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Underlies predestination and inheritance language (1:11, ‘works all things according to the counsel of his will’). NEVER 運命/宿命.
Redemption
Approved rendering: 贖い
Transliteration: aganai
Doctrine: Redemption through Christ’s Blood
Original: ἀπολύτρωσις
Category: Salvation
New term for this curriculum. Established formal Japanese theological term with no direct Buddhist-merit collision, but formal, low-frequency vocabulary — a biblical-illiteracy risk. Must retain the ransom/price-paid structure (‘through his blood,’ 1:7,14; 4:30), not collapse into vague generic rescue.
Wrath
Approved rendering: 怒り
Transliteration: ikari
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Original: ὀργή
Category: Sin
New term for this curriculum. God’s settled, just judicial response to sin (2:3, ‘children of wrath by nature’). Risks reading as capricious divine temper, or as impersonal karma-consequence, rather than personal accountability to a holy God.
Flesh
Approved rendering: 肉
Transliteration: niku
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Original: σάρξ
Category: Sin
New term for this curriculum, though the rendering is an established Bible-translation convention. 肉 is ordinary Japanese for butcher’s meat; every occurrence (2:3,11; 5:29; 6:5,12) requires active clarification that this names a moral-spiritual disposition, not the literal body.
Dividing Wall
Approved rendering: 隔ての壁
Transliteration: hedate no kabe
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity
Original: τὸ μεσότοιχον τοῦ φραγμοῦ
Category: Church
New term for this curriculum. The Jew/Gentile barrier torn down by Christ’s cross (2:14). Intersects Japan’s uchi-soto (内・外) insider/outsider instinct; teaching must make explicit that its demolition is total and to be lived out, not merely admired historically.
Reconciliation
Approved rendering: 和解
Transliteration: wakai
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity
Original: καταλλάσσω / ἀποκαταλλάσσω
Category: Church
New term for this curriculum. Christ’s cross reconciling believing Jews and Gentiles to each other and both to God (2:14-16). Shares its first kanji 和 with Japan’s wa harmony value — a bridge and a dilution risk; must be anchored to the finished, once-for-all cross-work, not ongoing socially-negotiated harmony.
One New Humanity
Approved rendering: 一つの新しい人
Transliteration: hitotsu no atarashii hito
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity
Original: καινὸς ἄνθρωπος / εἷς ἄνθρωπος
Category: Church
New term for this curriculum. The church as a genuinely new, unified corporate humanity, neither Jew nor Gentile (2:15). Must be marked explicitly corporate; distinguish from the individual-renewal use of similar phrasing at 4:24 (新しい人 alone), which risks collapsing into secular self-help ‘new me’ framing.
Temple
Approved rendering: 神殿
Transliteration: shinden
Doctrine: The Church as the Body of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 寺, 神社
Original: ναός
Category: Church
New term for this curriculum, extending the baseline church entry’s forbidden alternatives. The church growing into ‘a holy temple in the Lord’ (2:21) — corporate believers, no physical building in view — must be explicitly contrasted with Japan’s ubiquitous shrine (神社) and temple (寺) buildings.
Unity
Approved rendering: 一致
Transliteration: itchi
Doctrine: Unity of the Spirit
Original: ἑνότης
Category: Church
New term for this curriculum. The Spirit-given unity to be ‘kept’ (4:3) and grown toward (4:13). Standard secular Japanese for agreement/consensus, risking assimilation into Japan’s wa harmony-and-conformity culture rather than a Spirit-given reality overriding uchi-soto categories.
Fullness
Approved rendering: 満ち満ちておられる方の満ちておられるもの
Transliteration: michi-michite oraru kata no michite oraru mono
Doctrine: The Church as the Body of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 充満 (too thin for the doctrinal weight)
Original: πλήρωμα
Category: Mystery
New term for this curriculum. The church as Christ’s own fullness (1:23; 3:19; 4:13) — a genuine lexical gap in Japanese, not merely a risky word. Requires mandatory paraphrase support in surrounding teaching material at every occurrence; never left to stand alone as ordinary vocabulary.
Mystery
Approved rendering: 奥義
Transliteration: ougi
Doctrine: The Mystery of Christ Revealed
Rejected alternatives: 秘密 (too casual/permanent-sounding)
Original: μυστήριον
Category: Mystery
New term for this curriculum. God’s plan, hidden across the ages, now disclosed (1:9; 3:3-9; 5:32; 6:19). 奥義 carries a strong martial-arts/esoteric-Buddhism (密教) ‘secret technique for initiates’ connotation that directly INVERTS Paul’s point. Every occurrence must carry explicit ‘formerly hidden, now revealed to all’ scaffolding.
Made Alive Together
Approved rendering: ともに生かしてくださいました
Transliteration: tomo ni ikashite kudasaimashita
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace through Faith
Rejected alternatives: 復活させる (alone, without union-with-Christ language)
Original: συζωοποιέω
Category: Salvation
New term for this curriculum. God’s decisive, resurrection-quality act reversing spiritual death, accomplished in union with Christ’s own resurrection (2:5). Must not be read as a mere revival/recovery metaphor, mirroring the baseline’s caution about 復活’s pop-culture ‘comeback’ deflation.
Good Works
Approved rendering: 良い行い
Transliteration: yoi okonai
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace through Faith
Original: ἔργα ἀγαθά
Category: Salvation
New term for this curriculum. The fruit and purpose of salvation, prepared beforehand by God (2:10). Because Japanese naturally renders both v.9’s excluded 行い and v.10’s affirmed 良い行い with the same root, explicit ‘fruit not basis’ contextual anchoring is required in every teaching unit covering both verses.
Obedience
Approved rendering: 従順 / 従う
Transliteration: juujun / shitagau
Doctrine: Household Codes and Christ-Centered Relationships
Original: ὑπακούω
Category: Faith
New term for this curriculum, extending the baseline Obedience of Faith doctrine. Children’s obedience to parents ‘in the Lord’ (6:1) and servants’ obedience to earthly masters as service to Christ (6:5). Japan’s hierarchical-obedience culture (senpai-kohai, corporate seniority, Bushido loyalty) risks reducing this to generic social-conformity compliance.
Access Boldness
Approved rendering: 確信 / 近づくこと
Transliteration: kakushin / chikazuku koto
Doctrine: Access to God through Christ
Original: παρρησία / προσαγωγή
Category: Faith
New term for this curriculum. Believers’ direct, confident access to God the Father through Christ, without ritual intermediary (2:18; 3:12). Contrast explicitly with Japan’s ritual/priestly-mediated shrine and temple practice patterns.
Headship
Approved rendering: 頭
Transliteration: kashira / atama
Doctrine: Household Codes and Christ-Centered Relationships
Original: κεφαλή
Category: Household
New term for this curriculum. Christ’s headship over the church (5:23), the model for husbandly headship, immediately redefined by Paul as self-sacrificial love (5:25). Japanese corporate-hierarchy vocabulary (社長, 頭 as ‘boss’) risks importing top-down command authority; must always pair with 5:25.
Armor Of God
Approved rendering: 神の武具 / 格闘
Transliteration: kami no bugu / kakutou
Doctrine: Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God
Original: πανοπλία τοῦ θεοῦ / πάλη
Category: Spiritual Warfare
New term for this curriculum. The complete divine equipping for the believer’s close-quarters spiritual struggle (6:10-17). Samurai armor (甲冑) is a vivid bridge but risks romanticized historical-combat literalization or unwanted 20th-century militarist resonance. Mandatory theologian review for the whole unit.
Rulers Authorities
Approved rendering: 支配者たち・権威・この暗闇を支配する者たち・悪の霊ども
Transliteration: shihaisha-tachi / ken’i / kono kurayami o shihai suru mono-tachi / aku no rei-domo
Doctrine: Reality of Evil Spiritual Powers
Original: ἀρχαί, ἐξουσίαι, κοσμοκράτορες τοῦ σκότους, τὰ πνευματικὰ τῆς πονηρίας
Category: Spiritual Warfare
New term for this curriculum. The stacked hierarchy of real, personal, malevolent spiritual beings under Satan’s dominion (2:2; 6:12). Japan’s mainstream animistic spirit-world (幽霊, 妖怪) risks trivializing these into folklore, or secular readers demythologizing them into ‘systemic evil.’ Must be taught as real personal beings already under Christ’s authority (1:20-21). Theologian review at every occurrence.
Medium Risk Terms
Abba
Approved rendering: アバ
Transliteration: Aba
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Inherited from Romans package. Retain transliteration for filial intimacy; relevant to the Father theme surrounding Ephesians 1:5 and 3:14-15.
Gospel
Approved rendering: 福音
Transliteration: fukuin
Doctrine: Stewardship of the Gospel Mystery
Rejected alternatives: いい知らせ, グッドニュース
Inherited from Romans package. Relevant at Ephesians 1:13, 3:6, 6:15,19. Biblical-illiteracy risk (blankness), not a competing wrong meaning.
Adoption
Approved rendering: 子とされること
Transliteration: ko to sareru koto
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Rejected alternatives: 養子縁組
Original: υἱοθεσία
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Ephesians 1:5 pairs naturally with 1:11,14,18’s inheritance language and Japan’s established 養子縁組 adoption bridge.
Peace
Approved rendering: 平安 / 平和
Transliteration: heian / heiwa
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity
Rejected alternatives: 安心, 癒し
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Ephesians adds a corporate, Jew-Gentile-unity sense (2:14-17) beyond the baseline’s individual sense (1:2; 6:23); also named as armor (6:15). Both senses must be anchored to Christ’s finished cross-work.
Spiritual Gifts
Approved rendering: 賜物
Transliteration: tamamono
Doctrine: Gifts for Building Up the Church
Rejected alternatives: 超能力, 霊力
Original: χαρίσματα (cognate; note δῶρον/δόμα distinction)
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. MUST be reserved exclusively for the 4:7-11 ministry-gifts sense in this curriculum; never used for the 2:8 gift of salvation (δῶρον), which is rendered 贈り物 — see gift_of_salvation entry. This split is a mandatory, non-negotiable disambiguation rule.
Gentiles
Approved rendering: 異邦人
Transliteration: ihoujin
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity
Rejected alternatives: 外人
Original: ἔθνη
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Formerly excluded, now full co-heirs with believing Jews (2:11-13; 3:1,6,8). Avoid 外人; uchi-soto collision risk treated fully under dividing_wall entry.
Glory
Approved rendering: 栄光
Transliteration: eikou
Doctrine: Glory of God in Christ
Rejected alternatives: 名誉
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Goal of every blessing in the opening doxology (1:6,12,14,17,18; 3:13,16,21). Avoid 名誉 (secular honor/reputation).
Law
Approved rendering: 律法
Transliteration: ritsuhou
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity
Rejected alternatives: 空気を読むこと, 法律
Original: νόμος
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. ‘The law of commandments’ abolished as the Jew-Gentile dividing barrier in Christ’s flesh (2:15). NEVER 法律.
Power Of God
Approved rendering: 神の力
Transliteration: Kami no Chikara
Doctrine: Exaltation and Headship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 気, パワー
Original: δύναμις θεοῦ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Relevant to 1:19-20; 3:7,16,20; 6:10 (spiritual warfare). Avoid 気/パワー.
Prophet
Approved rendering: 預言者
Transliteration: yogensha
Doctrine: Gifts for Building Up the Church
Rejected alternatives: 予言者, 占い師
Original: προφήτης
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. One of the church’s foundational ministries (2:20; 3:5) and one of Christ’s equipping gifts (4:11). Always verify 預, not 予.
Prophecy
Approved rendering: 預言
Transliteration: yogen
Doctrine: The Mystery of Christ Revealed
Rejected alternatives: 予言, 占い
Original: (implied, ‘prophets’ as revelatory office)
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Revelatory ministry underlying the apostles’/prophets’ foundation-laying role (3:5). Same 預/予 kanji caution.
Intercession
Approved rendering: とりなし
Transliteration: torinashi
Doctrine: Prayer and Intercession
Inherited from Romans package. Relevant to Ephesians 1:16-19; 3:14-19; 6:18. Distinguish from Shinto/Buddhist ritual petition.
Mission
Approved rendering: 宣教
Transliteration: senkyou
Doctrine: Stewardship of the Gospel Mystery
Rejected alternatives: 布教
Original: (cf. ἀποστολή concept)
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Paul’s proclamation of the gospel mystery to the Gentiles (3:7-8) and his request for boldness (6:19-20). Frame with Kirishitan-persecution/sakoku historical sensitivity.
Mercy
Approved rendering: 憐れみ
Transliteration: awaremi
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace through Faith
Original: ἔλεος
Category: Salvation
New term for this curriculum. God’s compassionate disposition toward those under his own just wrath (2:4). Must stay visibly distinct from 恵み (grace) in the immediate 2:4-5 proximity: mercy withholds deserved punishment; grace additionally bestows undeserved favor.
Dead In Sin
Approved rendering: 死んでいた
Transliteration: shinde ita
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace through Faith
Original: νεκρός
Category: Sin
New term for this curriculum. Total spiritual incapacity before regeneration (2:1,5) — death needing resurrection, not sickness needing improvement. Illiteracy risk, not false-concept collision; must be taught, not assumed.
Trespasses
Approved rendering: 罪
Transliteration: tsumi
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace through Faith
Rejected alternatives: 罪過 (creates an unnecessary second unfamiliar compound)
Original: παράπτωμα
Category: Sin
New term for this curriculum. Collapsed into the baseline 罪 rather than a separate compound; Paul’s rhetorical doubling with ἁμαρτία (2:1,5) is preserved via translator’s note, not new vocabulary.
Circumcision Uncircumcision
Approved rendering: 割礼 / 無割礼
Transliteration: katsurei / mukatsurei
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity
Original: περιτομή / ἀκροβυστία
Category: Covenant
New term for this curriculum. The historical Jew/Gentile boundary marker abolished by Christ (2:11). Little cultural-collision risk in Japan; pure illiteracy risk requiring OT/Jewish-background teaching.
Cornerstone
Approved rendering: 要石
Transliteration: kaname-ishi
Doctrine: The Church as the Body of Christ
Original: ἀκρογωνιαῖος
Category: Church
New term for this curriculum. Christ as the church’s foundation-defining stone (2:20). Clear architectural metaphor, low collision risk.
Household Of God
Approved rendering: 神の家族
Transliteration: Kami no kazoku
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Original: οἰκεῖοι τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Church
New term for this curriculum. Gentile believers, formerly ‘strangers and aliens,’ now full household-family members of God (2:19). Positive extension of the Adoption doctrine’s family-warmth teaching need.
Baptism
Approved rendering: バプテスマ
Transliteration: Baputesuma
Doctrine: The Church as the Body of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 洗礼 (acceptable in wider usage but transliteration preferred for consistency)
Original: βάπτισμα
Category: Church
New term for this curriculum. Named among the seven unifying realities of the church (4:5). Transliteration preferred over 洗礼 to avoid drawing on 洗 (wash/purify) association with repeatable Shinto/Buddhist ritual purification (禊, 水垢離); this is singular and once-for-all.
Mature Manhood
Approved rendering: 成熟した人
Transliteration: seijuku shita hito
Doctrine: Gifts for Building Up the Church
Rejected alternatives: 完全な人 (risks attainment/enlightenment-perfection overtone)
Original: τέλειος ἀνήρ
Category: Church
New term for this curriculum. The goal of the church’s growth (4:13). Prefer 成熟 (organic growth) over 完全 (kanzen), which risks resonance with attainment-based spiritual perfection concepts.
Wisdom
Approved rendering: 知恵
Transliteration: chie
Doctrine: Wisdom and Revelation in the Knowledge of God
Original: σοφία
Category: Mystery
New term for this curriculum. God’s revealed wisdom (1:8,17; 3:10). Risks collapsing into generic secular proverbial life-wisdom rather than God’s specific redemptive plan.
Revelation
Approved rendering: 啓示
Transliteration: keiji
Doctrine: Wisdom and Revelation in the Knowledge of God
Original: ἀποκάλυψις
Category: Mystery
New term for this curriculum. The ‘spirit of wisdom and revelation’ (1:17). Formal, unfamiliar vocabulary — a biblical-illiteracy risk rather than a false-concept collision.
Seal Of Spirit
Approved rendering: 証印を押される
Transliteration: shouin o osareru
Doctrine: Sealing of the Holy Spirit
Original: σφραγίζω / σφραγίς
Category: Salvation
New term for this curriculum. The Spirit given at conversion as God’s mark of ownership and inheritance guarantee (1:13-14; 4:30). Japan’s personal-seal culture (印鑑/実印) is a genuine positive bridge; keep 聖霊 explicit as the sealing agent.
Inheritance
Approved rendering: 相続
Transliteration: souzoku
Doctrine: Inheritance in Christ
Original: κληρονομία
Category: Salvation
New term for this curriculum. The future, certain possession guaranteed to believers (1:11,14,18; 5:5). 相続 is salient modern vocabulary (inheritance tax, business succession); guard against readers importing secular estate-division expectations onto a guaranteed, undivided, common inheritance.
Heavenly Places
Approved rendering: 天上
Transliteration: tenjou
Doctrine: The Church as the Body of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 極楽 (Pure Land paradise term; forbidden per baseline salvation entry’s caution)
Original: ἐπουράνιος
Category: Mystery
New term for this curriculum. The spiritual sphere of both blessing and conflict where Christ now reigns (1:3,20; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12). Distinguish from a generic afterlife-paradise destination.
Workmanship
Approved rendering: 作品
Transliteration: sakuhin
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace through Faith
Original: ποίημα
Category: Salvation
New term for this curriculum. Believers as God’s own crafted creation (2:10). Positive craftsmanship bridge (職人技 resonance); must be anchored to the following ethical-purpose clause, not left as a merely aesthetic metaphor.
Created
Approved rendering: 造られた
Transliteration: tsukurareta
Doctrine: Walking in Newness of Life
Original: κτίζω
Category: Salvation
New term for this curriculum. God’s re-creative work in salvation (2:10), echoed in the individual ‘new self’ (4:24). Primarily an illiteracy risk; connect explicitly to Genesis creation language.
Walk Conduct
Approved rendering: 歩む
Transliteration: ayumu
Doctrine: Walking in Newness of Life
Original: περιπατέω
Category: Sanctification
New term for this curriculum. Habitual conduct/manner of life, Paul’s dominant ethical metaphor (2:2,10; 4:1,17; 5:2,8,15). Genuine positive cultural bridge; must be rendered identically at every occurrence to preserve Paul’s structural repetition.
Stewardship
Approved rendering: 務め
Transliteration: tsutome
Doctrine: Stewardship of the Gospel Mystery
Rejected alternatives: 経済 (keizai, forbidden — modern economic drift from the household-management root)
Original: οἰκονομία
Category: Church
New term for this curriculum. Paul’s divinely-given assignment to administer/disclose the mystery of Christ to the Gentiles (3:2,9). Generic on its own; requires clarification as a specific God-given administrative charge, not a job.
One Flesh
Approved rendering: 一体となる
Transliteration: ittai to naru
Doctrine: Marriage as a Picture of Christ and the Church
Original: μία σάρξ
Category: Household
New term for this curriculum. Marriage’s covenantal union (5:31, citing Genesis 2:24). Minor risk of narrowing to a merely physical/sexual reading without the fuller covenantal-union sense.
Honor Parents
Approved rendering: 敬う
Transliteration: uyamau
Doctrine: Household Codes and Christ-Centered Relationships
Original: τιμάω
Category: Household
New term for this curriculum. Children’s honoring of parents (6:2), qualified ‘in the Lord’ (6:1). Confucian-influenced filial piety (孝) is a positive bridge; risk is the OPPOSITE of collision — readers may miss the ‘in the Lord’ gospel-specific qualifier and supply generic filial duty instead.
Slaves Masters
Approved rendering: 奴隷 / 主人
Transliteration: dorei / shujin
Doctrine: Household Codes and Christ-Centered Relationships
Original: δοῦλος / κύριος (literal sense)
Category: Household
New term for this curriculum. An ethic for the existing Greco-Roman social institution of slavery (6:5-9), reframed by shared accountability to Christ. Japan has no chattel-slavery cultural referent — a historical-distance illiteracy risk. 主人 here denotes literal employer/owner and must be kept distinct from the baseline-forbidden divine-Lord usage of 主人.
Armor Pieces
Approved rendering: 盾 / 剣 / 帯 / 胸当て / 兜 / 履物
Transliteration: tate / ken / obi / munate / kabuto / haki-mono
Doctrine: Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God
Original: θυρεός, μάχαιρα, ζώνη, θώραξ, περικεφαλαία, ὑποδέομαι
Category: Spiritual Warfare
New term for this curriculum. Individual armor pieces (6:14-17), each carrying pleasant Japanese cultural resonance (兜 as samurai helmet, 帯 as kimono-sash) rather than doctrinal collision. All doctrinal risk is carried by the attached baseline nouns (faith, righteousness, salvation, Spirit, gospel, peace, truth), which must retain their own exact baseline renderings.
Low Risk Terms
Apostle
Approved rendering: 使徒
Transliteration: shito
Doctrine: Gifts for Building Up the Church
Rejected alternatives: 教祖
Original: ἀπόστολος
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Paul’s own office (1:1) and one of the church’s foundational ministries (2:20; 4:11). Avoid 教祖 (post-Aum Shinrikyo negative associations).
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: 感謝
Transliteration: kansha
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Original: εὐχαριστία (cognate εὐχαριστῶ)
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Standard term (1:16; 5:4,20).
Fellowship
Approved rendering: 交わり
Transliteration: majiwari
Doctrine: Unity of the Spirit
Rejected alternatives: 仲間意識
Original: κοινωνία (implied in ‘one body’ language)
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Shared participation implied in 4:3-4’s ‘one body’ language. Not generic 仲間意識.
Exhort
Approved rendering: 勧める
Transliteration: susumeru
Doctrine: Walking in Newness of Life
Original: παρακαλέω
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Paul’s urging at 4:1. Standard term.
Evangelist
Approved rendering: 伝道者
Transliteration: dendousha
Doctrine: Gifts for Building Up the Church
Original: εὐαγγελιστής
Category: Church
New term for this curriculum. One of Christ’s equipping gifts (4:11). Transparent compound on established 伝道 vocabulary; low collision risk.
Pastor
Approved rendering: 牧師
Transliteration: bokushi
Doctrine: Gifts for Building Up the Church
Original: ποιμήν
Category: Church
New term for this curriculum. Literally ‘shepherd’ (ποιμήν, 4:11); well-established churchgoing vocabulary, though the underlying shepherd-care imagery should occasionally be surfaced since the title has lost the vivid metaphor of the Greek.
Teacher
Approved rendering: 教師
Transliteration: kyoushi
Doctrine: Gifts for Building Up the Church
Original: διδάσκαλος
Category: Church
New term for this curriculum. One of Christ’s equipping gifts (4:11). Standard vocabulary, no significant risk.
Unsearchable Riches
Approved rendering: 測り知れない富
Transliteration: hakari-shirenai tomi
Doctrine: The Mystery of Christ Revealed
Original: ἀνεξιχνίαστος πλοῦτος
Category: Church
New term for this curriculum. The immeasurable riches of Christ Paul is commissioned to preach (3:8). Descriptive; low collision risk; keep consistent with 富 used elsewhere for πλοῦτος (1:7,18; 2:7).
Ambassador
Approved rendering: 大使
Transliteration: taishi
Doctrine: Stewardship of the Gospel Mystery
Original: πρεσβεύω
Category: Church
New term for this curriculum. Paul’s description of his imprisoned apostolic ministry (6:20). Clean modern diplomatic-office bridge; the ‘in chains’ juxtaposition translates without special caution.
Referenced passages