Translation of "en"

Strong's Concordance
Original Word ἐν
Part of Speech Preposition
Transliteration en
Phonetic Spelling (en)
Definition in, on, at, by, with

The laws of physicals does not allow anyone to be "in" someone else, unless that person is a spiritual or a divine being. Therefore, trinitarians translators would translate the Greek word "en" to the English word "in" in favour of supporting Jesus divinity, because Jesus cannot be inside a large group of people simultaneously unless he is some sort of divine spirit.

What many English bible readers do not realize is that the Greek word "en" could also mean "with", for example:

After his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with (ἐν) child of the Holy Spirit. -- Matthew 1:18 (NKJV)

“Behold, the virgin shall be with (ἐν) child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” -- Matthew 1:23 (NKJV)

The same Greek word "en" could also mean "among":

“But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among (ἐν) the rulers of Judah” -- Matthew 2:6 (NKJV)

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among (ἐν) the people. -- Matthew 4:23 (NKJV)

The same Greek word "en" could also mean "by":

But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by (ἐν) heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by (ἐν) the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by (ἐν) Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. -- Matthew 5:34-35 (NKJV)

This is because Matthew's audience is not "in" the heaven yet.

There are many more examples where the Greek word "en" could mean something other than "in".

Often when Jesus says he is "in" us, he actually means he is "with" us in a close relationship which could also mean that he is not working against us, but that he is "on our side". Depending on the context, it could also often mean that he will be "among" us as a brother which goes directly against the trinitarians view.

Another possible explanation why the word "in" of often considered the appropriate translation is:

When used in the sense of “in God,” or “in Christ,” the word “in” refers to a close communion, a tight fellowship. It was part of the covenant language of the day, when people spoke of being either “in” or “cut off from” the covenant.

-- Morgridge, pp. 116 and 117
-- Racovian Catechism, pp. 142 and 143
-- Spirit & Truth Fellowship International

Knowing this, completely changes the meaning of many well known bible scriptures like:

For we are his workmanship, created [in or by or with] Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. -- Ephesians 2:10 (KJV)

What is the correct translation?

  • If "by": it means Christ Jesus created us. No Unitarian will accept this version.
  • If "with": it means Christ Jesus was created with us by God. No Trinitarian will accept this version.
  • If "in": as mentioned above, it could mean that we have been created "in close communion" with Jesus. This is the most neutral version accepted by most bible translations.

It could also potentially change the message of entire chapters for example according to John 14-17:

  • If we translate ἐν with "in", some teachers implies "inside", it means we are "inside" God and Jesus, but they are also "inside" us. This paradox is often used to proof that Jesus is omnipresent like God, however that assumption contradicts Jesus own words where he said that he was going "away" and he will "return". There are all sorts of views and reasoning around these contradictions, but they all make John's writings very complex to understand.
  • If we translate ἐν with "with", it simply means God, Jesus and his disciples "with each other in a close relationship".

Did John try to:

  • explain how Jesus is omnipresent?
  • Or, communicate how much both the Father and the Son loves us and they long to be together "with" Jesus' disciples?