Yes, there
is some reason to think so...That's why the ISV rendered the verse the way
it did! The prepositional phrase in the Greek modifies "son of God", not
the participle "declared". The footnote for this verse in the NET Bible
explains why this is so, since the NET Bible renders this verse in a
manner similar to that of the ISV:
Most translations render the Greek participle
ὁρισθέντος
(horisthentos,
from
ὁρίζω,
horizō)
“declared”
or “designated” in order to avoid the possible interpretation that Jesus
was appointed the Son of God by the resurrection. However, the Greek
term
ὁρίζω
is used eight times in the NT, and it
always has the meaning “to determine, appoint.” Paul is not saying that
Jesus was appointed the “Son of God by the resurrection” but
“Son-of-God-in-power by the resurrection,” as indicated by the
hyphenation. He was born in weakness in human flesh (with
respect to the flesh, v.
3) and he was raised with power. This is
similar to
Matt 28:18 where
Jesus told his disciples after the resurrection, “All authority in
heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
To sum up,
the phrase "in power" to describe Jesus is used to contrast the reference
to being "according to the flesh" in verse 3. It does not modify the verb.
Do note how the ISV communicates the contrast contained in verses 3 and 4:
He was a descendant
of David with respect to his humanity
4and
was declared by the resurrection from the dead to be the powerful Son of
God according to the spirit
of holiness—Jesus the Messiah, our Lord.
_______________________
1:4 Or Spirit
To repeat,
the prepositional phrase in power modifies the noun son of God,
not the aorist passive participle meaning "the one determined" or "the one
declared". The exact word order of the verse in Greek determines this:
τοῦ
ὁρισθέντος υἱοῦ θεοῦ ἐν δυνάμει κατὰ πνεῦμα ἁγιωσύνης ἐξ ἀναστάσεως
νεκρῶν, Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν,
Frankly, why a few translations other than ISV and NET Bible haven't
worded their rendering to clarify that "in power" modifies "son of God"
and not the verb "declared" is a mystery to us.
