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Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in [Christ – “him”] before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in [Christ – “him”], as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people, to the praise of his glory.
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This is the Epistle reading for the seventh Sunday after Pentecost [Proper 10], Year B, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. It will follow either a Track 1 or Track 2 tandem of Old Testament and Psalm readings, relative to David bringing the ark in his city and Amos being sent by Yahweh to the false prophet of Jeroboam predicting ruin. The songs of praise support those themes, with everything accompanying the Gospel reading from Mark, where the story of John the Baptist’s beheading is told.
I have written deeply about this reading selection before. I posted my observations in 2018, with that commentary available on this website. It can be found at this link; and, I welcome all to read what I wrote then, as the same words have that meaning today. Today, I want to narrow my focus just a little.
The Second Samuel reading about David dancing before the ark has to be seen as a wedding celebration. The ark must be seen as the Holy Spirit, which is set in place by the directions of Yahweh. The site in the City of David, which had before been the fortress of the Jebusites, who were the watchers of the path to the tree of life [Eden on earth], that represents the symbolism of two joining together and must be realized as David demonstrating how each Israelite [and therefore all subsequent Christians] must likewise become a soul [a Jebusite] in a body of flesh [Jebus, the gate to Eden] that becomes the welcoming bride of Yahweh’s Holy Spirit within [the ark set in the Tabernacle on Mount Zion]. That story is told as metaphor, although David enacted it for all to see; and, those actions were recorded for all to read. It is a story that says, “From then on, every soul is responsible for being individually married to Yahweh, if one wants one’s soul to pass through the gate of death to the place of eternal life, Eden."
Conversely, the optional reading from Amos tells the story of those who would break away from that recognition of commitment to Yahweh, following a king whose name means “The People Contend,” who is led by a false prophet that is only in that position for the money and benefits. A prophet was sent by Yahweh to tell them their future led to abject failure and ruin. The same reading holds merit in today’s world of rainbow religion calling itself Christianity. Amos is still read because Yahweh wants a prophet expressing the sword of judgment always being held over the necks of those who tell Yahweh’s prophets, “Leave this place and go be a prophet somewhere else, because we love worshiping the sterility of homosexuality and our god Penis and our goddess Vagina."
In this selection from Paul’s greetings sent to the true Christians of Ephesus, the word “Christ” had been translated five times, although the NRSV translation liberally translates “him” twice more as “Christ,” which is wrong [as I will explain shortly]. In those five uses, Paul wrote “Christō” three times and “Christou” twice. Each time he wrote “Christou” is followed by his naming “Iēsou.” Each time he wrote “Christō” the word translating as “Christ” stood alone. By writing “Christō” without “Iēsou” says the two are separate, not one. Therefore, the word “Christ” cannot be seen as a ‘last name’ of “Jesus,” so it is wrong to call “him” [the man] by the name “Christ,” because “him” says “Jesus” … and "Jesus" was a body of flesh, just like Paul and just like all the Ephesians.
The word “Christ” comes from the root Greek word “Christos,” which means “Anointed One; the Messiah, the Christ.” (Strong’s Usage) The capitalization reflects a divinely elevated meaning, such that the lower-case spelling (as “christos”) would yield the basic definition: “smear or rub with oil, typically as part of a religious ceremony.” (Oxford Languages, Google search) When Yahweh told Samuel to anoint one of Jesse’s sons, Samuel poured oil from a horn on David’s head. Therefore, David was a “christō,” in the lower-case, even though Samuel was a divinely led priest; but when we also read, “the Spirit of Yahweh came upon David,” David became a capitalized “Christō,” when Greek is applied, replacing the Hebrew “Mashiach” or “Messiah.”
When one realizes it is Yahweh who becomes the meaning in the capitalization of “Christos,” one can see the Greek ending that creates “Christou” makes it possessive, in the Genitive case. It is then a statement that “Jesus” was “of the Christ,” which becomes a statement that “Jesus” was one “of” all who Yahweh anoints. This simple understanding of what is written [which English struggles to state simply] says Yahweh is so powerful a God that He can Anoint a limitless number of “Christs” or “Messiahs,” with the capitalization meaning all so anointed have become souls merged with Yahweh’s Spirit; and, I call that union a divine marriage between a soul and Yahweh’s Spirit.
When one realizes that the angel Gabriel told Mary what the name of her son would be, the instant she became divinely pregnant, says that name bears vital meaning that must always be understood whenever that name is read in Scripture. “Jesus” means “Yah[weh] Saves.” Gabriel took a message from Yahweh to Mary [and thus to all who read her story] that '“Yahweh Will Save” souls as My Son to be born from your womb. In that event, Mary’s soul was married to Yahweh’s Spirit, so “Jesus” was literally within her being [soul-flesh entity] as soon as Gabriel appeared before her. Mary was Anointed by Yahweh; thus she was a “Christ,” who would give birth to a son that also was a “Christ,” but not because of his mother.
In these twelve verses, other than the capitalized words “Jesus” and “Christ,” there are seven other capitalized words, each used only one time. The seven are: “Eulogētos” [“Blessed”], “Theos” [“God”], “Patēr” [“Father”], “Kyriou” [“Lord”], “Ēgapēmenō” [“Beloved”], “Pneumati” [“Spirit”], and “Hagiō” [“Holy”]. All of those must be seen as relative to a theme of divine marriage between a soul in the flesh and Yahweh’s Spirit. The lesson of this reading selection, as an accompaniment to the other possible reading selections, means each of these divinely elevated words must be seen in that light of union – Holy Matrimony in the truest sense.
In the first word of this reading, Paul wrote “Eulogētos” as a statement of “Blessing” that is beyond anything one human being can bestow upon another, as far as being “well spoken of.” The root word “eulogétos” is found in the English word “eulogy,” which is something “well spoken of” the dead. The same should be read here, because the marriage of a bride to a bridegroom means the death of the old and the birth of a new state of being. The old that passed away is the singular sense of being – one soul – which has died and been reborn in a union – one soul with one Spirit. That making this union “Blessed” is the Spirit - that of Yahweh - and that makes the togetherness become most Holy.
When that is seen, it becomes natural that Paul would then affirm that divine “Blessing” can only come from “Theos,” or “God.” Because that word is Greek and the Greeks were a polytheistic people, as were the Romans, the capitalization and the singular number identifies “One God,” above all others "gods." Because there were so many gods to build temples to and assign priests to attend to those gods, the generality of “God” is akin to the capitalization of “Lord,” such that the generality lends to the confusion of ambiguity. Because the Greeks did not use the name of the Hebrew “Yahweh,” and because Paul was ministering to a Greek-speaking mixture of Jews and Gentiles, the writing of “Theos” as a capitalized word was the way Yahweh was identified. Because Christianity is deemed a monotheistic religion, there is only “One God,” which means His Son cannot be in any way a competitor, such as would be Zeus being in competition with Ares or Hermes.
As for the capitalization of the word “Patēr,” this divinely elevates the relationship one has with “God,” when one has been “Blessed” by marriage of one's soul to Him. This highlights the mundane role a “father” has in a wedding. The father of the bride gives her away to her new husband and his family in marriage. While two families are joined in relationship, the daughter is given away, as the possession of her husband. The purpose of a divine marriage is not to have legal sex, as souls cannot generate any new souls, only flesh requires propagation. This means divine marriage is so one's flesh can be filled with a soul in union with Yahweh. This is selective, as Yahweh cannot be seen as every human being’s “Father,” any more than anyone has the right to run outside and hug every older male on planet earth, while screaming, “father!” Those who are truly not one’s “father” will pull back and immediately say, “I do not know you!” Therefore, the capitalization of “Father” means a special relationship with Yahweh (“God”), through marriage that adjoins the resurrected soul of Jesus to the marrying soul - two souls possessing one body of flesh. This give one the right to call Yahweh the “Father,” due to marriage AND reproduction (a.k.a. resurrection).
When one’s soul has married Yahweh and received His Spirit, so two have been “Blessed” by having been united as One, as an extension of “God” in the flesh [His hand on earth], then that marriage is consummated spiritually – the sole purpose of marriage. The soul-flesh then becomes the womb in which the Spirit raises the soul of “Jesus,” so one’s soul is not only merged with the Spirit of Yahweh but one’s soul becomes possessed by the resurrected soul of Jesus. This birth of “Jesus” within makes a soul-flesh entity that went by some name given by one’s earthly father then become “in the name of Jesus,” which makes one also “in the name of the Father.” Again, the meaning of the name “Jesus” is “Yah[weh] Saves,” where the “name of the Father” is also “the name of the Son.” This is why Paul changed his name from Saul; and, it is why Jacob was told his name was changed to “Israel” – a name meaning “He Retains God.”
From this presentation of “Father,” Paul then made a divinely elevated statement that Yahweh was “the Father of our Lord,” where “Kyriou,” like “Christou,” is a Genitive form that states possession - “of.” This says Yahweh is “the Father” of “the Lord of us.” That says, without Yahweh’s presence [His Spirit married with one’s soul], there would be no consummation of that marriage, therefore no offspring. With that, the offspring of “the Father” is “the Lord of us.” This Greek word makes a clear statement that “Lord” is not the same as “God” and is not the same as “Father,” which is why the Hebrew texts that state “Yahweh” should not be translated as “Lord,” because Yahweh is not one’s “Lord” directly. Marriage means one’s soul has united with Yahweh, which means the reception of His Spirit; and, the Spirit speaks to a soul as the voice of God. Yahweh is the name of one’s Spiritual Husband and although He becomes one’s Master and Lord indirectly – through an Advocate and holy offspring that will be the actual "Lord" – the soul, as the wife of Yahweh, must be on a ‘first name’ basis. That means referring to "Yahweh" specifically, not referencing Him as anything else.
It must be realized that a soul is, in and of itself, the “lord” of one’s flesh. From first breath at birth, when Yahweh gives the breath of life [“ruach”] into a body of flesh, the body of flesh grows and becomes enamored with external stimuli. This leads the soul to find esoteric influences that are processed by the human brain and seen as married to one’s life direction. These influences become absorbed “lords.” Still, as the flesh matures and feels strong urges to explore the outer world, other people, places, or things can lead the flesh to influence the soul, through the brain, to worship those external entities. These then become “lords” to whom a soul becomes enslaved, unless the flesh can be led to rebel against those influences. In this way, worldly addictions [sins] become the most prevalent “lords” we humans know, even if we deny they exists and refuse to believe they control our souls.
This is where the separation of a soul from Yahweh does not make Yahweh ever be the “Lord” of one soul and its flesh. That is why Yahweh becomes the “Father” through marriage. The child born of that most Holy Matrimony is His Son Jesus, whose individual soul is resurrected in each and every one of Yahweh's wives [the souls of males and females on earth], so that soul possesses the body of flesh and leads the body-soul it inhabits as its capitalized “Lord.” Without that divine leader, where Jesus becomes the king of one’s kingdom of flesh and bones, one’s soul alone is incapable of resisting the external influences of the world. Without Jesus as one’s “Lord,” reborn within one’s flesh, as a twin with one’s soul, one will not end life on earth sin-free. It is when one has become “Jesus” reborn that one has been Spiritually “Anointed” as “God’s Son,” with Yahweh the “Father.”
From all that stated in verse three alone, where seven capitalized words are found written [with both “Christou” and “Christō” used], verse six then includes the capitalized word “Ēgapēmenō,” meaning “Beloved.” In the NRSV translation that says, “to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved,” this must be read similarly as one sees David dancing and singing mightily before the parade of the ark. This is Paul saying the union of a soul with Yahweh’s Spirit is due to love: that of God and that to God in return. It is why a priest or pastor says before a wedding, “Dearly beloveds we are gathered here today ….” Still, the divine elevation from capitalization says the love of God has been placed on earth, in the form of one of His wives, led by the soul of His Son resurrected.
This then leads to verse thirteen, where the two remaining capitalized words are found, but they are written in a presentation that differs from the NRSV translation as “Holy Spirit.” What is actually written in the Greek is this: “esphragisthēte tō Pneumati tēs epangelias tō Hagiō.” That literally states, “you were sealed thereupon Spirit of this promise then Holy.” This clearly states “Spirit” to come first, such that the result is then a state of being unlike before. This needs to be seen as the pronouncement that the marriage has been completed – “You may kiss the bride.”
In the two words that lead to each “Spirit” and “Holy,” the first makes a statement about being “sealed.” This should be seen like the exchange of rings between bridegroom and bride. The ring symbolizes eternity, as its circular shape always has it following the same path forever. Rather than wedding bands of gold, it is the “Spirit” of Yahweh that seals two as one, forevermore. The capitalization of “Spirit” says it is what we refer to as the “Holy Spirit,” but because it is the Spirit of Yahweh it is known to be perfection, which is incapable of human beings alone. To say Yahweh is “Holy” is unnecessary, as it is the presence of Yahweh that makes the unholy “Holy.” It is the presence of Yahweh’s “Spirit” that brings about the “promise” that “then” leads one to be “Holy.”
The “promise” can also be stated as a “command,” which means all the questions that a priest or pastor asked each bridegroom and bride then become the marriage vows, from which “promises” are made to always and forever keep – till death do us part. While asking questions of fidelity, during both times of good and times of bad, means a promise of commitment, in response to each of the questions posed. Human beings often fail to live up to those promises made. That is because human beings are flawed, thus unholy. The promises that make one “Holy” are then the Commandments brought down from the mountain by Moses. The marriage vows a soul makes with Yahweh are those “Ten Commandments” (plus), primarily [as Jesus said] “to love Yahweh with all one’s heart, all one’s mind, and all one’s soul.” This is what it truly means for Yahweh to write His laws on each wife’s heart. It is this seal forever. It is the protection of Yahweh’s “Spirit” that makes it possible for the “promises” to be kept, as one will “then be Holy.”
Now, if must be realized that Paul was writing this to true Christians who understood all about their souls being married to Yahweh and being reborn in the name of Jesus Christ. What is easy to overlook is how Paul wrote all his epistles as an extension of his eternal commitment that made him “Holy, Sacred, Set apart by God” – a “Saint.” Being made “Holy” means one serves Yahweh till death do you part from your flesh. There is nothing “Holy” about sitting in the same pew, week after week, doing nothing to even think about anyone else [outside one’s family], much less send them a kind word. Thinking a sip of wine at the rail makes one feel the “spirit” sure does not seem to have the after effect of making those sippers “holy.”
Again, I took this selection in a more direct breakdown in 2018. I encourage everyone to read that commentary. I felt it was best to show how what Paul wrote fits a marriage theme very well. Therefore, I chose to only talk here about the capitalized words he wrote in this selection. Feel free to compare what I wrote here to what I wrote before.
As an Epistle selection to be read on the seventh Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s own personal ministry to Yahweh should be well underway, it is important to see how ministry cannot be done properly without one’s soul having married Yahweh and one becoming His Son resurrected within. Without that divine guidance, one does not have the truth to present to others, as the reason they too should marry their souls to Yahweh and also go into ministry. This is the problem facing all Christian churches today; and, this is the result of David having taken Jerusalem and moved the ark into marriage there, because never again could one rest on the laurels of someone other than oneself for redemption. No longer could the Israelites lean on a judge to save them. No longer can a Christian lean on Jesus, as an external, divine, unseen savior. One must be Jesus reborn in your flesh, or suffer the indignity of rejecting marriage to Yahweh.