Prayer and Worship Elements found in the NT

What is your Situation in Life or Sitz im Leben ?

Our worship and liturgy, rightly, comes from where we are in our day to day life. It’s an outpouring of our heart, mind and soul to God. Be it a prayer of praise, gratitude and thanksgiving. Or a prayer of deliverance, healing and help. What we use as our “method or liturgy” for daily prayer should natural flow out of our life. We do have all of the scripture to pull examples of praise, blessing, doxologies, and benedictions from, which is good. These have gone before us and are examples for us to follow and make our own and weave them into our community and life

“Paul’s letters are richly endowed with liturgical elements. Since these letters were read in public worship, the frequent inclusion of liturgical elements is to be expected. Yet it is remarkable to find that Paul’s use of liturgical elements is never confined to stereotyped usage or content. .. In sum, liturgical elements are used by Paul in a lively and creative manner. Their presence in public worship becomes meaningful only when they include relevant messages directed to the needs of the worshipers.” 11 Julie L. Wu, “Liturgical Elements,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, ed. Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 560.

Invocation verses and notes:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ Rom 1:7; 1 Cor 1:3; Gal 1:3; Phil 1:2; Philem 3; Eph 1:2

The form and location of these benedictions are similar to those used in Jewish worship, but in content Pauline benedictions are distinctly Christian in that additional features such as “grace” and “from our Lord Jesus Christ” are added to the Jewish formula11 Julie L. Wu, “Liturgical Elements,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, ed. Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 558.

Paul varies the benediction to match the the recipients needs and situation, so for Paul these benediction are not perfunctory

What is an invocation as found in the scriptures? The act of invoking God's name is described using specific Greek and Hebrew terms, such as ἐπικαλέω (epikaleō) and קָרָא בְּשֵׁם יְהֹוָה (qara b'shem Yahweh), which means "to call upon by pronouncing the name of Jehovah"

”an expression finding its explanation in the fact that prayers addressed to God ordinarily began with an invocation of the divine name11 Joseph Henry Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Being Grimm’s Wilke's Clavis Novi Testamenti (New York: Harper & Brothers., 1889), 239.

1 O Lord, how many are my foes!

Many are rising against me;

2 many are saying of my soul,

“There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah

3 But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,

my glory, and the lifter of my head.

4 I cried aloud to the Lord,

and he answered me from his holy hill1

1 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ps 3:1–4.

2 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;

heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.

3 My soul also is greatly troubled.

But you, O Lord—how long?

4 Turn, O Lord, deliver my life;

save me for the sake of your steadfast love.

5 For in death there is no remembrance of you;

in Sheol who will give you praise? 1

1 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ps 6:2–5.

21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ 11 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ac 2:21.

16 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’ 11 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ac 22:16.

8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 11 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ro 10:8–13.

2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 1

1 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Co 1:2–3.

20 Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. 21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.

22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness1

1 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 2 Ti 2:20–25.

  Let grace come and let this world pass away

Hosanna to the God of David

If any man is holy, let him come

If any be not, let him repent

Maranatha Didache 10.6

Amen1

Hosanna means save, please. It is a cry for help and deliverance.

Maranatha means “Our Lord, Come

1 Julie L. Wu, “Liturgical Elements,” in Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Developments, ed. Ralph P. Martin and Peter H. Davids (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997), 663.

Poems of Praise Notes:

Following a set schedule of going through the psalms, reading one psalm a day is good.

11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God,

to receive glory and honor and power,

for you created all things,

and by your will they existed and were created.” 1

1 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Re 4:11.

7 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. 8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying,

“Worthy are you to take the scroll

and to open its seals,

for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God

from every tribe and language and people and nation,

10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,

and they shall reign on the earth.”

11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice,

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,

to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might

and honor and glory and blessing!”

13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb

be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped. 1

1 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Re 5:7–14.

9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

15 “Therefore they are before the throne of God,

and serve him day and night in his temple;

and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.

16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;

the sun shall not strike them,

nor any scorching heat.

17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,

and he will guide them to springs of living water,

and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” 1

1 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Re 7:9–17.

Confession of Faith Notes and Creeds found in the scriptures:

The Bible is the Word of God to man; the Creed is man’s answer to God. The Bible reveals the truth in the popular form of life and fact; the Creed states the truth in the logical form of doctrine. The Bible is to be believed and obeyed; the Creed is to be professed and taught. Hence we find few traces of creeds in the Bible.11 Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom, with a History and Critical Notes: The Greek and Latin Creeds, with Translations, vol. 2 (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1890), 3.

In the Old Testament the fundamental doctrine of Monotheism is placed as a command at the head of the Decalogue, Exod. 20:2, 3, and put in the form of a dogma, Deut. 6:411 Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom, with a History and Critical Notes: The Greek and Latin Creeds, with Translations, vol. 2 (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1890), 3.

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.11 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Dt 6:4.

Jehovah our Elohim, Jehovah is one

John 1:50 (49).

Ἀπεκρίθη Ναθαναὴλ καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ·

Nathanael answered and saith unto him,

Ῥαββὶ, σὺ εἶ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, σὺ εἶ ὁ βασιλεὺς τοῦ Ἰσραήλ.

Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God, Thou art the King of Israel.

Note.—‘King of Israel’ is a designation of the Messiah, and an anticipation of the Confession of Peter. Nathanael reasons from the divine character of Christ as revealed in his supernatural knowledge of the heart, to his Messiahship, and returns the commendation, ‘Behold an Israelite indeed without guile,’ by the acknowledgment, ‘Thou art the King of Israel,’ and hence my King. The term ‘Son of God’ was also a designation of the Messiah in his divine nature, derived from Psa. 2:5, 12 (comp. Isa. 9:6), and is so used by Peter, Matt. 16:16; by the disciples in the ship, Matt. 14:33; by Martha, John 9:27; and by the high-priest, Matt. 26:63. The Apostles, before the pentecostal illumination, had no clear insight into the full meaning of the expression; but their faith, based upon the Old Testament and the personal knowledge of our Lord, contained the living germ of the full knowledge.1

1 Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom, with a History and Critical Notes: The Greek and Latin Creeds, with Translations, vol. 2 (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1890), 4.

The Confession of Peter

Matt. 16:16.

And Simon Peter, answering, said,

Thou art the Christ [the Messiah], the Son of the living God.

Note.—This is the fundamental Christian Confession, and the rock on which the Church is built. See Schaff’s Annotations to Lange on Matthew, pp. 293–295.

John 6:68.

Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast words of life eternal, and we have believed and known that

Thou art the Holy One of God.

Note.—This is the true reading, instead of the received text: ‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God’ (σὺ εἶ ὁ Χριστὸς, ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος), which is conformed to Matt. 16:16. It is equivalent to Thou art the Messiah, and coincides with the testimony of the demoniacs (Mark 1:26), who with ghost-like intuition perceived the supernatural character of Jesus. This Confession of Peter belongs to an earlier period than the one recorded by Matthew. See Lange, Com. on John, pp. 234 sq. (Am. ed.).

The Confession of Thomas

John 20:28.

Thomas answered and said unto him,

My Lord and my God!

Note.—This is the strongest apostolic Confession of Faith in the Lordship and Divinity of Christ, an echo of the beginning of the fourth Gospel (1:1, ‘the Word was God’), and an anticipation of its close (20:31, ‘that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye may have life in his name’). For the words are undoubtedly addressed to Christ, as is evident from the preceding ‘to him’ and from the appellation, ‘My Lord;’ and not an exclamation of astonishment addressed to God.2 For in the latter case Thomas would utter a profanity unrebuked by the Lord. The words indicate a triumph of faith over doubt. Thomas was not an unbeliever—he was not a doubter from indifference to the truth (as Pontius Pilate), still less from hostility to the truth, but from love of truth. He was an honest and earnest inquirer; his heart was anxious and ready to believe, but his understanding demanded evidence, which he embraced with joy as soon as it was presented. He represents the principle, intellectus precedit fidem, which is not entirely inconsistent with the other, fides precedit intellectum. He was a rationalist in the best sense of the term, animated and controlled by a love of truth. Blessed are those that seek the truth, for they shall find it. This kind of skepticism, or spirit of inquiry rather, is a stimulating and propelling force in the Church, and is necessary to the progress of theological science and historical and philosophical research. To such skepticism the words of the poet may be applied:

‘There lives more faith in honest doubt,

Believe me, than in half the creeds:

He fought his doubts, and gathered strength,

To find a stronger faith his own.’

And yet there is a higher faith, which believes without seeing (ver. 29; 1 Pet. 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:7), which holds fast to the invisible as seeing him (Heb. 11:27), which goes to Christ as the child to his mother’s breast, as heart to heart, as love to love, with undoubting, implicit, unbounded trust and confidence.

The Baptismal Formula

Matt. 28:19.

Disciple [make disciples of] all the nations, baptizing them

into the name of the Father,

and of the Son,

and of the Holy Ghost;

teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.’

Note.—For an explanation of the Baptismal Formula, which is the basis of the old Trinitarian creeds, and for the various renderings of εἰς (into, to, in, with reference to), see Schaff and Lange, Com. on Matt. pp. 556–558.

The Confession of the Eunuch

Acts 8:37.

I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

Note.—This confession of the Ethiopian Eunuch before his baptism by Philip the Deacon, together with the preceding words of Philip, ‘If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest’ [be baptized], according to the received text (with sundry variations), is not contained in the best Uncial MSS., and is given up by critical editors (Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, Tregelles, Alford, Westcott and Hort), as an interpolation made to suit the baptismal service of the Church; but it is found even in Irenæus and Cyprian, and tends to prove the apostolical origin of a baptismal confession of faith in Christ as the Son of God.

One God and One Lord

1 Cor. 8:6.

There is one God the Father,

of whom are all things,

and we unto [for] him;

and one Lord Jesus Christ,

by whom are all things,

and we by him.

The Mystery of Godliness

1 Tim. 3:16.

Confessedly great is the mystery of godliness:

‘Who [God] was manifested in the flesh,

justified in the Spirit,

seen of angels,

preached among the Gentiles,

believed on in the world,

received up in glory.’

Note.—The relative OC (ὅς, who) is best sustained by evidence (אac—though Aleph has been meddled with, and B is wanting), instead of the noun ΘϹ (θεός, God, in the text. rec.), or of the neuter gender, ὅ (which). See Tischendorf, ed. viii. maj. ii. p. 849, and the long notes of Alford and Wordsworth. The reading ὅς improves the rhythm without changing the sense; for it certainly refers to Christ the God-Man, whether we connect it with μυστήριον (by transition from the mystery to the person of Him who is the sum and substance of the revelation of God), or regard it (in accordance with the parallelism and continuity of the following clauses) as a quotation from a primitive hymn or confession. Wordsworth refers ‘who’ to the preceding ‘living God,’ but God as such can not be said to have been ‘received in glory.’1

1 Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom, with a History and Critical Notes: The Greek and Latin Creeds, with Translations, vol. 2 (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1890), 4–7.

1 Co 15:1-8

Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters,

the gospel I preached to you,

which you received,

on which you have taken your stand

and by which you are being saved,

if you hold to the message I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

For I passed on to you as most important what I also received:

that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

that he was buried,

that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.

Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers and sisters at one time; most of them are still alive, but some have fallen asleep.

Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.

Last of all, as to one born at the wrong time,, he also appeared to me.

 Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), 1 Co 15:1–8.

Early Creeds

From The Epistle of the Apostles 5 (16), c. 180

The words in brackets are not found in all MSS.

(I believe) in (the Father) the ruler of the universe,

and in Jesus Christ (our Redeemer)

and in the Holy Spirit (the Paraclete)

and in the holy Church,

and in the forgiveness of sins.

James Stevenson, A New Eusebius: Documents Illustrating the History of the Church to AD 337 (London: SPCK, 1987), 122.

  From the Dêr Balyzeh Papyrus

…confesses the faith, saying

I believe in God the Father almighty,

and in his only-begotten Son

our Lord Jesus Christ,

and in the Holy Spirit, and in the resurrection of the flesh, and the holy Catholic Church.

(Kelly, Early Christian Creeds, p. 88.)

Who is supposed to make the declaration is uncertain. It should be noted that the date of the liturgy contained in this papyrus is very variously estimated from the latter part of the second century onwards. The creed may be much older than the liturgy: ‘it was almost certainly a baptismal creed in origin.’ (Kelly, loc. cit.)1

1 James Stevenson, A New Eusebius: Documents Illustrating the History of the Church to AD 337 (London: SPCK, 1987), 122.

20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. 21 I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.

26 I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. 27 But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.1

1 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Jn 2:20–27.

4 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. 4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. 1 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Jn 4:1–7.

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

1

1 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Jn 4:7–5:1.

  “Yet a little while,

and the coming one will come and will not delay;

38 but my righteous one shall live by faith,

and if he shrinks back,

my soul has no pleasure in him.”

39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. 1

1 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Heb 10:37–39.

Thanksgiving and Blessing

Taken from the meaning of the scripture message for the day, and from any needs or concerns you have.

Benediction

Benedictions are a type of “Wish-prayers” for the hearers/readers. Wish prayers for grace and/or peace.

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you” 1 Cor 16:23; Gal 6:18; Phil 4:23; Philem 25; 2 Thess 3:18

17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. 11 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Ti 1:17.

18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.11 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 2 Ti 4:18.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 11 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Pe 1:3–9.

24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. 11 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Jud 24–25.

Benedictions in the Bible are ceremonial blessings typically administered during worship gatherings[1]. They appear in both the Old and New Testaments, with roots in Jewish worship practices[2]. In the Old Testament, descendants of Aaron offered blessings over the Israelites in God's name[1]. In the New Testament, benedictions are found in various letters, often as opening or closing elements[2][3]. These benedictions generally express wishes for grace and peace, sometimes elaborated with additional features like mercy or love[2]. Paul's letters, for example, typically include both opening and closing benedictions, which affirm God's grace and peace for the readers[3]. The content and structure of benedictions can vary, with some writers modifying them according to personal choice or the needs of the recipients[2]. Notably, not all New Testament letters include benedictions, indicating that while common, they were not considered essential elements[2].

[1] John D. Barry et al., eds., “Benediction,” in The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

[2] Julie L. Wu, “Liturgical Elements,” in Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Developments, ed. Ralph P. Martin and Peter H. Davids (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997), 660.

[3] Peter T. O’Brien, “Benediction, Blessing, Doxology, Thanksgiving,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, ed. Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 68.