If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life. But now you must get rid of all such things-- anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!
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In these eleven verses there are five Greek words written that translate in some way to say “Christ.” There are three Greek words that can translate in some way to state “God.” At no place in these eleven verses is the name Jesus written, in any form. It is completely wrong to assume that “Christs” means Jesus (as if that were his last name); and, it is completely wrong to elevate Jesus to a higher level of being than Yahweh, which is the meaning of the capitalized Greek words that translate as “God.” The capitalized words that state “Christ” and “God” are divinely elevated to equate to Yahweh, where it is Yahweh’s “Anointment” of a soul by His Spirit that makes one be able to be identified as a “Christ.” Jesus was certainly “Anointed” by Yahweh and he certainly was a “Christ,” but Yahweh cannot be limited by human mental conceptions that think Jesus is the only “Christ.” David was “Anointed” by Yahweh’s Spirit (while also “anointed” by the oil of Samuel); so, David was a “Christ.” This “Anointment” makes a soul become married to Yahweh, as a wife to “God.”
The BibleHub Interlinear (my main reference source) lists a heading for these selected verses (up to verse eighteen) as “Put on a New Self.” I have said many times in the past (when translating a possessive pronoun like “you” as “yourself,” for example) that a “self” must be understood to be a “soul.” Without a “soul” there is nothing but a corpse, until it returns to the dust and clay from which that body came. To read a title that says, “Put on a New Self,” the immediate concept projected is to change oneself and become a new person. This is simply because one cannot fathom how another “soul” can be “put on,” adding a “new soul” to the “soul” that already exists. The meaning of this heading should be grasped as saying, “Be Divinely Possessed by God,” where that divine possession is the deeper truth that should be learned about the word “Christ.”
Verse one begins with a capitalized “Ei,” which (in the lower-case) means “forasmuch as, if, that.” The common implication of this word’s usage is as “if.” The capitalization makes this into a Big If, which is divinely elevated to a state involving Yahweh. The “If” must then be seen as conditions must be met and choices must be made, as “you have been raised to this Christ” is a statement that says not everyone can truthfully make that claim.
The Greek word “synēgerthēte” is written, which is the second-person plural (“yourselves,” meaning “your souls”) Aorist Indicative form of the infinitive verb “sunegeiró,” meaning “to raise together.” While the word “raise” in English can be read as meaning “to bring up,” as parents would “raise” their children, so the intent is a long period of teaching and preparing for a higher state of being, the divine meaning that should be read into Paul’s word choice (divinely inspired) to be an “uplifting” spiritually, where the Big “If” is the condition of having been “raised” by Yahweh to a new state of being, prepared to serve Him as a priest. This “raised” state of being is then relative to being moved “to this to Christ.”
From that conditional statement made, Paul then wrote: “these above seek,” where the Greek word “anō” translates as “above,” but implies “things above, heaven, the heavenly region,” “in a higher place.” This connects “raised” to the spiritual realm, as “heaven” is not in outer space, but the depth that elevates a soul within.
When Paul then wrote, “where this Christ it exists within to right hand of this of God seated,” this does not imply some cloud where Yahweh and Jesus sit on a throne. “IF” one’s soul has “been raised to this to Christ,” and “these” souls so “raised” are “seeking spiritual” guidance, then once in that place that is the presence of the “Christ, one finds “it exists within” one’s soul, one with one’s being. That makes one’s soul be “the right hand” of God on earth [one of many], as a possession [Genitive case “of this of God] of Yahweh, who is “seated within” one’s heart and soul, He the Holy Husband and the soul His wife.
Verse two then is Paul saying that one’s “mind” or “thinking” is then set towards “understanding these spiritual” matters (those of “above” or “heavenly”). When one’s mindset is towards higher “understanding,” then the matters of “the earth” or the material realm becomes fruitless. When a brain is set upon acquiring wealth, power and influence over others (to control them for one’s benefit), then this is a form of “thinking” that is low and base.
Verse three then says the old “self” or the lusts of the flesh controlling one’s “self-soul” must “die” for the “Christ” of “God” to be “seated within” one’s soul. This is a figurative “death,” where one’s soul must turn away or separate from the influence of a body of flesh, where one’s mind is et on spiritual matters, not physical lusts. While it is easy to see Jesus sacrificing himself to a Roman crucifix as his death, that merely symbolizes how those who will follow him will sacrifice their souls as he did his flesh, so Jesus’ soul can be resurrected within the soul of a servant of Yahweh. As such, Paul wrote death of the self-ego then importantly (use of “kai”) allows “this life of your souls” – the eternal “life” that flesh cannot match – is the divine possession by Yahweh (“of your souls”). This possession is “hidden together with this Christ within this of God.” That which is “hidden” and “within” (from “kekryptai” and “en”) is the unseen soul. The use of “together with” (from “syn”) means the union of a soul with Yahweh’s Spirit, which is the Baptism by His “Anointment” or becoming “Christ.”
The “revelation” Paul wrote of in verse four is then a soul’s personal experience of this “Christ” or “Anointment.” This ability to “visualize” or have “made clear” this presence (rather than read about it in books and have some external concept that is little more than beliefs) means true faith comes from this presence. When Paul then wrote, “this life of your soul , at that time kai your souls together with to his soul you will be clear within honor .” This is then the soul of Jesus having been resurrected “together with your souls” – each wife of Yahweh, individually – so that presence will be “clearly” known to be one with one’s soul, as one’s new Lord. This is Paul speaking of Jesus being reborn in new flesh, without mentioning his name.
Verse five then explains the “death” that one must experience, where the self or soul separates from its body of flesh, which is the connection to worldly desires. Those desires lead a soul to justify sins, due to an inability to ignore the desires of the flesh. When one’s soul dies of self, to be replaced by the Christ presence (Baptism of all sins, making one’s soul-flesh become a virgin womb form which His Son’s soul can resurrect), then when “your souls are together with his soul,” he (Jesus) will take control and override a saved soul from knowing the influences of the flesh. This override will then cease all the sins listed in this verse: sexual immorality; impurity; passion; desire; evil; kai covetousness – which is idolatry.
Verse six then explains that without this “Death by execution,” brought about by a soul’s divine marriage to Yahweh, with His possessions then being where His Son will be reborn, the allowance of such sins will bring about the “wrath of this of God” when one’s soul dies of body and faces Judgment. The Genitive case states the soul is the possession of Yahweh, having come from Him at birth; so, upon separation from the flesh the soul return “of this of God,” where wrath is not a pleasant judgment handed down to one of His souls.
In verse six speaking of the “sons of disobedience” being those who are sinners, verse seven then says every soul will know this waywardness. When Paul wrote, “within to which kai your souls walked once when your souls were existing within to those,” this says a marriage of a different kind – a demonic possession of souls – made sure one “walked within those” sins, leading one’s soul to face “the wrath of this of God.” This then implies that becoming a Christ of Yahweh not only washes all past sins away, but it also casts out all possessing demons that have united with one’s soul-flesh, leading it to hear the allures of a sinful world.
With this removal of demon spirits another benefit of a soul marrying Yahweh, verse eight then lists more sinful acts that are removed from influence over a soul in its flesh. These are: anger; rage; malice; slander; and, foul language out of the mouths of your souls. This last element is less about the verbal words shouted by sinners and more about the “foul language” that comes from those evil demons taking possession of one’s soul. It is them who controls the “mouths” of “your souls,” which is the evil whispers of lust and hate that influences a soul to follow that lead.
Verse nine then restates the death of the self-ego, while fitting the theme set in the heading that says “Put on the New Self.” Here, Paul wrote, “Not to lie to one another , having stripped from one’s soul the old human together with the practices of him.” This is the casting out of the “ancient” influence that loves to torment “mankind,” becoming a divorce of a soul “together with the practices of him.” This states a marriage to Satan will be annulled by the Christ of Yahweh. The first word being a capitalized “Not” then says the prior self will “lie to one another,” while the new soul cleansed by the “Anointment” of Yahweh will “Not tell lies,” meaning only the truth will then be spoken.
In verse ten, Paul again alludes to Jesus without mentioning his name specifically. This verse begins by importantly (use of “kai”) saying, “having been clothed this new,” which is the outpouring of the Spirit that Baptizes a soul and makes it “new” again, without any debts of sin. Paul then wrote, “this being made new into knowledge according to image of this having been created his soul .” This says a soul in its body of flesh will become the “likeness” or “image” of Jesus, who will be the bearer of “knowledge” that comes from the Father, who “created” His Son for the purpose of saving souls and shedding light into a world of darkness.
Verse eleven then says there will be no divisions among all souls who marry Yahweh and receive His “Anointment.” While the natural world is full of different kinds and different types, each led by different gods and idols, symbols and rituals, all souls who die of self-ego and receive the Spirit of the “Christ” will be the same. All with be Baptized clean, so each will be reborn in the name of Yahweh’s Son. All will become Jesus reborn into new flesh, who will then be led into ministry for other souls to be saved. All will be brothers spiritually (regardless of human gender) and all will walk in the name of Jesus, all Christs.