Tag Archives: Christ is Greek for Anointed

Ephesians, Language, Teaching

Ephesians 1:3-14 – Dearly Beloved we are gathered here today …

Leave a comment

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.

——————–

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 by searching this site; 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.

1 Corinthians, Language, Teaching

1 Corinthians 15:12-20 – Raising the dead in Christ

Leave a comment

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ–whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.

——————–

This is the Epistle selection for the sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. Before this will be read aloud, a reading from Jeremiah, where he quoted Yahweh as saying, “Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from Yahweh. They shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.” That will be followed by a singing of Psalm 1, where David wrote, “It is not so with the wicked; they are like chaff which the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked shall not stand upright when judgment comes, nor the sinner in the council of the righteous.” All readings will accompany the Gospel selection from Luke, where it is written: “And all in the crowd were trying to touch [Jesus], for power came out from him and healed all of them. Then [Jesus] looked up at his disciples and said” what is called The Beatitudes.

These selected verses from Paul’s first letter to the true Christians he left behind in Corinth is given the ‘title’ “The Resurrection of the Dead.” This is based on Paul having written the words “nekrōn” and “egēgertai,” meaning “dead” and “has been raised” [six times and eight times respectively]. The word “ēgeiren” [meaning “it has been raised”] is written twice more. What seems to have been totally missed from these selected verses is the name “Jesus,” which only appears twice in this whole chapter [once in verse 31 and once in verse 57], none of which comes in these nine verses selected for reading. Therefore, any assumptions made that connect “Jesus” to the one “dead,” who “has been raised,” is incorrectly putting words in Paul’s mouth [pen on paper].

What Paul did write in these verses [nine times] is “Christ,” written as “Christos” [six times], “Christon” [once], and “Christō” [twice], all of which are statements about the divine “Anointment” by Yahweh. The capitalized word “Christ” is NOT the last name of Jesus, as if Paul was saying, “Mr. Christ.” This is a major stumbling block that modern Christians [not Jesusians] need to learn to get over. It is vital to understand the meaning of the word “Christ,” to begin to understand what Paul wrote in this reading selection.

In the Epistle selection for the fifth Sunday after the Epiphany, the selection was from this same chapter of First Corinthians; and, in that Paul is shown [in English translations] to say, “Christ died.” In my commentary about that reading, I pointed out how impossible it is for an “Anointment” by Yahweh to “die.” The word translated as “died” actually means to separate away from at death, such that the physical body of Jesus was enabled by Yahweh to die, because Yahweh separated His “Anointment” from His Son. This says Paul was explaining how the “Christ” is Yahweh’s blessing placed on all souls who submit their self-egos and self-wills to serve Him. Jesus is THE Christ that was created by Yahweh for the purpose of saving souls [the name “Jesus” means “Yah[weh] Will Save” or “Yah[weh] Saves”]; so, just as a servant kneels before a king and is touched by the sword of power, “rising a knight,” so too does a disciple kneel before Yahweh, being touched by the “Christ” of Yahweh, “rising as Jesus reborn.” The death in this picture is what Paul was writing about here; and, that is the death of self-ego, so one can be “raised” as Jesus – Christ again in the flesh.

Carefully observe these two seemingly identical pictures and see if you can tell how one shows dead bodies [“nekrōn“], while the other shows dead bodies that have been “raised in Christ.” [Hint: Don’t let the funeral setting give you the wrong impression.]

A key element of divine Scripture that so often is obliterated by English translations is capitalization. A capitalized word written is more often than not diminished to the obscurity of meaningless dribble, when some words purposefully written in the lower-case are capitalized by the lower-g gods of translation. One such erasure of a divinely elevated word is seen here, when verse twelve is show to begin by stating, “Now if.” That is not what is written, as the first word written by Paul in this verse is “Ei,” meaning “If,” which is an important ‘big If’ to contemplate.

To see this word in the light of purposeful divine elevation, Paul is using it to set the conditions of Sainthood. “If” one’s soul has been saved by Yahweh, such that the soul in question “has been raised” to a divine state of being [a Saint, versus a sinner], then one must meet the requirements of that divine condition – “If.” With that understood, Paul then wrote [literally translated], “If now Christ is proclaimed that [is because] out from of a dead body it has been raised , by what means says within any that [is because] a resurrection of a dead body not it exists ?”

The “If” of great importance is then relative to belief that Jesus was the Son of Yahweh [the soul of Adam recreated in the womb of Mary], who as that soul reborn was “Anointed” by Yahweh when created, thereby always a “Christ.” It is the “Christ” state of being that granted Jesus [the man in the flesh] eternal life, meaning he was born a ‘hero’ or a ‘demigod,’ so he could not die. It was an impossibility. However, the question that must meet the conditional hypothesis is this: If the “Anointment” of Yahweh were to come out of his body of flesh, allowing Jesus the man to die, then the Spirit of “Anointment” had to be “raised” from that body of flesh, making death be possible.”

The second half of this conditional then is Paul referring to himself, the Corinthian Christians and all Apostles [before and after, forever], as they were born without any divine Spirit from Yahweh possessing their souls, so all of their bodies of flesh were death waiting to happen. Thus, the “If – then” scenario is this: If is impossible for a dead body to be able to resurrect as a “Christ,” if the “Christ” of Jesus had not been raised from his body of flesh. The Christ of Jesus’ flesh had to separate away from him [at death], so his soul could then be resurrected in the dead flesh animated by lost souls, transferring eternal life to that which was dead. That is the If that associates with resurrection of the dead.

With that condition set, Paul then stated another “if” scenario, which is not divinely elevated. It is a mundane “if,” because this condition is based on the first conditional “If” not being true. Here, Paul literally said: “if now a resurrection of a dead body not exists , not Christ has been raised .”

This says the opposite of a Saint having received the “Anointment” of Yahweh, granting his or her soul eternal life [resurrection], such that “if not” so exists a “Christ,” then that dead flesh has not been raised as a “Christ.” This clearly says that the presence of “the Christ” – Yahweh’s “Anointment” of Holiness – is the only way to escape the guaranteed death that comes to a soul animating a body of flesh. There can be no eternal life promise to a soul-body that has not received this “Anointment” from Yahweh.

Paul then added another mundane condition, stating: “if now Christ not has been raised , empty therefore [kai] this preaching of us , empty kai this faith of you .” This says that “if their dead bodies made alive by souls alone have not been “Anointed” by Yahweh, they everything about them is empty of meaning. This importantly says their preaching the truth is empty words; and, importantly, that emptiness means they have no faith to pass onto others.” In that, the word “kai” is placed within brackets by Paul, which is a symbolic way of stating the conditional that says, “if one’s soul is empty of the Christ, then preaching about it cannot be added.” The brackets surrounding “kai” becomes symbolic of multiplication by zero, were zero is what is possible to be preached.

This says that without all of them having become “Christs,” there is absolutely zero way Christianity is true. That mundane conditional is only based on the assumption that there has been no “Christ raised” from Jesus’s dead body of flesh, so Jesus could be reborn in others – dead bodies of flesh – making them all become “Christs.” It is being “Anointed” by Yahweh that means eternal life “has been raised” in them.

Following that last scenario, where there is no “Christ” at all, Paul then wrote of a false ministry. His words written literally translate into English, saying “we have learned now kai false witnesses of this of God , since we have born witness according to of this of God , because he raised up this Christ , whom not he has raised if therefore a dead body not [it] raised .”

In the last segment of words, Paul reconfirmed the first segments of words, by restating the negative “if” scenario as that which must be given as true, for the rest to also be true. If not having become a “Christ” of Yahweh [“raised” to know the promise of eternal life beyond death], then everything Paul and the Corinthian Christians said was “false witness.” Being a “witness” means having personal experience. Thus, if having been “raised as a Christ” is not personal experience witnessed, then everything they say is a lie against God. This is because everything they say is based on having the premise be that they are all led by God to speak His truth. If that is false, then they condemn their souls by speaking lies about a “Christ having been raised in dead bodies.”

In the sixteenth verse, Paul then wrote another ‘big IF,’ where the capitalization of “Ei” again divinely elevates the word to place focus on the condition of truth being met, relative to “Christ having been raised in a dead body” of flesh. Here, he wrote [literally]: “If indeed [those] dead bodies not [those] raised , not Christ has been raised .” In this, the truth says a dead body [a soul trapped within a body, giving it the appearance of life] cannot be “raised” to a state of eternal life [where death is impossible for a soul – i.e.: no more reincarnations into dead matter]. That transformation is impossible without the addition of the “Christ” in a soul, as Yahweh’s “Anointment” [which He does for all His wives].

In the seventeenth verse, Paul again returned to a mundane scenario – a condition of “if” – where he expounded on that condition of truth. Here, Paul literally wrote: “if now Christ not has been raised , useless this belief of you (exists) ; still you exist within these sins of you .” This says the truth is the “Christ has been raised in dead bodies,” but “if” this state is “not” to be the truth for one individual [a simple soul in a dead body], then there is no true faith, only “useless belief.” All “beliefs” based on religious principles [or anything else] can do and will do nothing to eliminate one’s existence within and the existence of “sins,” which surround “you” at all times. If not surrounded by the true “Christ,” then one is surrounded by the truth of “sins.”

In verse seventeen, Paul set the Greek word “estin” between parentheses. The word translates as “I am, exist.” The parentheses take the existence of life and makes it unseen – the symbolism of parentheses identifying an aside. Thus, from saying “of you” [“autou“], a possessive state “of being,” the true “existence” of life that is unseen is one’s soul. A “Christ raised” is like a soul – invisible – but whereas a body shows signs of life, indicating a soul’s presence, the Christ becomes an inward part “of you,” as that invisible possessing Spirit that gains control over a soul.

From that set of truths, Paul then wrote in verse eighteen: “therefore kai those having died within Christ have been destroyed .” In this, the presence of “kai” [as always] announces the important conclusion that can be drawn from the truth of Christ having “been raised in dead bodies.” The important truth that follows having been raided by Yahweh’s “Anointment” says all death [a “nekron”] “has been destroyed” by that power that “raises” a soul from the sins of the flesh. All sins have “perished,” as far as having any further influence over a soul that Yahweh has “Anointed.” It says that a soul has to relinquish control over its body of flesh to receive the Christ presence; and, that means a self-ego must “die,” in order to be reborn as the Son.

Thus, in verse nineteen, Paul was led to write, “if within this life here , within Christ having expectations [we] exist , merely , more to be desperate of all humanity we exist .” In the first segment of words, the word “life” [“zōē”] becomes a statement of one’s soul having been raised through the resurrection of Jesus’ soul, making one be reborn a “Christ.” The condition is now a statement that “if Christ, then expectations come” to one so “raised.” The “expectations” [from “ēlpikotes”] is ministry, as Jesus reborn, as a “Christ” of Yahweh.

The separation of one word between comma marks – “merely,” from “monon” – states one soul’s self-worth is no longer any motivating factor to consider, as “alone” or as “only” self is not why a dead body will have been “raised.” The “expectations,” with none other to be considered, is to seek out “more to be desperate of all humanity,” who are those others still souls in dead bodies of flesh. Saints are “raised” as Jesus reborn to make others also be “raised” as “Christs.”

The twentieth verse is separated from the prior verses, because it is seen as the transitional verse that leads to the next section of the letter. The BibleHub calls this next section “The Order of Resurrection,” following these verses prior being named “The Resurrection of the Dead.” The NRSV uses that same initial heading, but does not name the verses after verse nineteen as anything new. Still, because BibleHub denotes a transition point of focus, the separation provided by the NRSV says they too recognize verse twenty as when Paul takes a new slant. The verse then says, “Now on top of this Christ has been raised out from dead bodies , first-fruits of those having death .”

Here, this verse is begun by a capitalized “Nyni,” which means “Now” must be read as a divinely elevated statement of the truth having been determined that “dead bodies have been raised from being dead bodies, due to the truth of Yahweh’s Anointment.” This makes the word “Now” be a statement about the truth that Paul and the true Christians of Corinth knew personally at that time. That knowledge was they all were possessed by Yahweh, becoming His Christs, with each existing as a resurrection of the Jesus soul within them. The “Now” is still “Now,” as Christianity read it today. The divine elevation means “Now” is all times present when a soul existing in the world with the Christ raised within, such that “Now” is when the purpose ministry takes hold, representing the fruit of the vine of Christ has matured.

The last word in verse twenty is “kekoimēmenōn,” which was used similarly in verse eighteen, written as “koimēthentes.” These words are rooted in “koimaó,” which speaks metaphorically of “death,” as “sleep, fall asleep.” When Jesus was told of Lazarus being ill and near death, Jesus said he was “only sleeping,” when Jesus knew his flesh had died; but Jesus knew the soul awaited to be “raised” and returned to a body revived from death. Thus, Paul is saying the purpose of ministry is for those who “had fallen asleep within Christ” to awaken and go in ministry to others who have their souls “having death” to be “raised.” In this regard for ministry, Paul used the term “aparchē,” which translates as “first-fruits.”

The use of “first-fruits” is a reference to the unripe grains, fruits and vegetables gathers in omer measures [like a bushel], which were placed in the Temple of Jerusalem and held there for fifty days, at which time a high priest would then deem them fit to eat [on Shavuot, the Fiftieth Day or Pentecost]. It was on Pentecost Sunday that the disciples suddenly became Apostles and began spreading the message of truth, so souls in bodies of dead flesh could ‘awaken’ and be “raised” Spiritually. Thus, all of the first true Christians were likewise “first-fruits” that needed to preach the truth of the “Christ” to lost Jews [and Gentiles]. Thus, Paul would go on to use of the word “tagmata,” or “order” that was “of Christ,” meaning Christianity.

The problem people have with reading these verses and understanding what the heck Paul was writing about comes from people reading or hearing “Christ” and thinking that is the last name of Jesus. Thinking that makes everyone imagine Paul was demanding one believe that Jesus did die and resurrect; and, those who believe that become like Paul [et al]. That misses the point of each soul in a dead body of flesh needing to become Jesus reborn, because of marriage of a soul to Yahweh and becoming “raised in Christ” to be His Son Anointed again.

When Christianity today looks at itself seriously, then it has to conclude as Paul wrote mundanely, “There can be no resurrection of the dead, because Christ has not been raised.” That is the truth, because nobody is preaching as Christ raised [no Saints, no Apostles] the lesson that to be saved and gain eternal life with Yahweh. That lesson says one must be a Christ resurrected. Instead of teaching that truth, people laze about in pews, committing every sin under the sun, waiting for Jesus to come down on a cloud, with a fiery sword and destroy sin, while taking do-nothings to heaven. That was the state of failed religion that had Yahweh send His Son to save. That led to true Christianity; but then religious organizations cut the heads off true Saints; and, acts of that nature began the decline we so much enjoy today.

As a reading selected to be read aloud on the sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, the point made by Paul has to be seen by all who were indeed souls married to Yahweh, presented with His Son Jesus [on Christmas] and approved for intern ministry [the Epiphany], which now sees that ministry in need of being to preach to others how to do the same thing. Few people are doing that; so, fewer are thinking that is possible. It is time to get Christianity back on track and rolling towards the goal of true ministry.