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being under angels as guardians, and stewards, and humbling you in carnal things. For clinging to this, the guardians of the letter are vainly proud of their wisdom, not holding to the Head, who is Christ, from whom the whole body of the Church through its joints and ligaments grows with the growth that God has given it to grow. He calls joints and ligaments those who preach the word to the Church. For through them the Church is joined to Christ, and is built up as a goodly building. If you have died with Christ from the elemental spirits of the world, why as though living in the world do you submit to regulations? Do not handle, nor taste, nor touch; which things are all for corruption in their use. 95.897 If you have been put to death, he says, to this life, and to everything visible and carnal. For he signifies the present life through the elemental spirits. If, therefore, he says, you have died to this age, why do you turn back to it, concerning yourselves with foods, and such things? for these things, he says, have been given to the belly, and go to corruption. According to the commandments and teachings of men; which things have indeed an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed worship, and humility, and severity to the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh. Commandments of men, he means the mythical teachings of the Jews, or he also calls them carnal commandments, having nothing spiritual. For this is what "not according to God" indicates. And by severity to the body, he means circumcision.

CHAPTER 3. If you were raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of

God, set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Since, therefore, he says, you have risen to another, heavenly life, you become above all earthly ordinances. For it is not possible to have one's life in one place, but to have the laws of another place; but let the things of the body be inactive, as we are dead, but let our spirits be active insofar as you live, and let the body await the life that will be given to it also, when Christ, the giver of our life, appears, having it in his own body, and about to impart it also to ours; when they also must be brought forth to life, the glorious life, the blessed life, to which, being Christ's own, we also are being conformed. Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry, on account of which things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience; in which you also once walked, when you lived in them; but now you must also put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another. The exhortation of Paul introduces deadness to the corrupted worldly life, and instead of this it brings in the heavenly and spiritual life; and he commands to put to death the members that are on the earth, so that he may leave life for our spirit according to the citizenship in the Holy Spirit, and he shows the mortification of life to be necessary, 95.900 explaining its pollution, so that we may not suppose that life in the body is evil, as the Greeks think, but the perversion of life, which is in pleasures, in which are fornications, and all forms of wickedness; he names impurity, and licentiousness, and passion, and evil desire, and adds covetousness, because covetousness is a consequence of pleasures, since pleasures seek a supply of money. And he calls covetousness idolatry, because abandoning service to God, they serve money instead of God. Therefore, persuading them not to continue in such things, he says that the wrath of God comes on account of them upon the disobedient. It is not right, therefore, he says, for the faithful, who also the

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ὑπ' ἀγγέλοις οὖσαν ἐπιτρόποις, καὶ οἰκονόμοις, καὶ ἐν τοῖς σαρκικοῖς ταπεινῶν ὑμᾶς. Ταύτης γὰρ ἀντεχόμενοι οἱ τοῦ γράμματος φύλακες μάτην ἐπὶ σοφίᾳ μεγαλοφρονοῦσιν, οὐκ ἔχοντες τὴν κεφαλὴν, ὅς ἐστι ὁ Χριστὸς, ἐξ οὗ ἅπαν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τὸ σῶμα διὰ τῶν ἁφῶν καὶ συνδέσμων αὔξει τὴν αὔξησιν, ἣν αὐτῇ δέδωκεν ὁ Θεὸς αὐξάνεσθαι. Συναφὰς δὲ καὶ συνδέσμους τοὺς τὸν λόγον τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ κηρύττοντας λέγει. ∆ι' αὐτῶν γὰρ συνάπτεται ἡ Ἐκκλησία Χριστῷ, καὶ τὴν καλὴν οἰκοδομὴν οἰκοδομεῖται. Εἰ ἀπεθάνετε σὺν Χριστῷ ἀπὸ τῶν στοιχείων τοῦ κόσμου, τί ὡς ζῶντες ἐν κόσμῳ δογματίζεσθε; μὴ ἅψῃ, μηδὲ γεύσῃ, μηδὲ θίγῃς· ἅ ἐστι πάντα εἰς φθορὰν τῇ ἀποχρήσει. 95.897 Εἰ ἐνεκρώθητε ταύτῃ, φησὶ, τῇ ζωῇ, καὶ παντὶ ὁρωμένῳ καὶ σαρκικῷ. Τὸν γὰρ παρόντα βίον διὰ τῶν στοιχείων σημαίνει. Εἰ ἀπεθάνετε οὖν, φησὶ, τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ, τί πάλιν περὶ αὐτὸν στρέφεσθε, περὶ βρώματα, καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα στρεφόμενοι; ταῦτα γὰρ, φησὶ, γαστρὶ δέδοται, καὶ εἰς φθορὰν χωρεῖ. Κατὰ τὰ ἐντάλματα καὶ διδασκαλίας τῶν ἀνθρώπων· ἅτινά ἐστι λόγον μὲν ἔχοντα σοφίας, ἐν ἐθελοθρησκείᾳ, καὶ ταπεινοφροσύνῃ, καὶ ἀφειδίᾳ σώματος, οὐκ ἐν τιμῇ τινι, πρὸς πλησμονὴν τῆς σαρκός. Ἐντολὰς ἀνθρώπων, τὰς μυθικὰς διδασκαλίας τῶν Ἰουδαίων λέγει, ἢ καὶ ἐντολὰς σαρκικὰς αὐτὰς λέγει, μηδὲν ἐχούσας πνευματικόν. Τοῦτο γὰρ δηλοῖ τὸ, οὐ κατὰ Θεόν. Ἀφειδίαν δὲ σώματος, τὴν περιτομὴν λέγει.

ΚΕΦΑΛ. Γʹ. Εἰ συνηγέρθητε τῷ Χριστῷ, τὰ ἄνω ζητεῖτε, οὗ ὁ Χριστός ἐστιν ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ

Θεοῦ καθήμενος, τὰ ἄνω φρονεῖτε, μὴ τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. Ἀπεθάνετε γὰρ, καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ὑμῶν κέκρυπται σὺν τῷ Χριστῷ ἐν τῷ Θεῷ. Ὅταν ὁ Χριστὸς φανερωθῇ ἡ ζωὴ ὑμῶν, τότε καὶ ὑμεῖς σὺν αὐτῷ φανερωθήσεσθε ἐν δόξῃ. Ἐπεὶ οὖν, φησὶν, εἰς ἑτέραν ζωὴν ἀνέστητε τὴν οὐράνιον, τῶν κατὰ γῆν ἁπάντων δικαιωμάτων ἄνω γίνεσθε. Οὐ γὰρ δυνατὸν, ἀλλαχοῦ μὲν ἔχειν τὴν ζωὴν, τῆς δὲ ἑτέρωθι κειμένης ἔχειν τὰ νομοθετήματα· ἀλλὰ ἀργείτω μὲν τὰ περὶ σῶμα, ὡς τεθνηκότων ἡμῶν, ἐνεργείσθω δὲ τὰ πνεύματα καθὸ ζῆτε, καὶ ἀναμενέτω τὸ σῶμα τὴν καὶ αὐτῷ δοθησομένην ζωὴν, ἐπειδὰν ὁ τῆς ζωῆς ἡμῖν χορηγὸς ἐπιφανῇ Χριστὸς, ἔχων μὲν αὐτὴν ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ σώματι, μεταδώσων δὲ αὐτῆς καὶ τοῖς ἡμετέροις· ἐπειδὰν καὶ αὐτὰ εἰς ζωὴν προαχθῆναι δέῃ, ζωὴν τὴν ἔνδοξον, ζωὴν τὴν μακαρίαν, πρὸς ἣν ἰδίαν οὖσαν Χριστοῦ, καὶ ἡμεῖς συσχηματιζόμεθα. Νεκρώσατε οὖν τὰ μέλη ὑμῶν τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, πορνείαν, ἀκαθαρσίαν, πάθος, ἐπιθυμίαν κακὴν, καὶ τὴν πλεονεξίαν, ἥτις ἐστὶν εἰδωλολατρεία, δι' ἃ ἔρχεται ἡ ὀργὴ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς τῆς ἀπειθείας· ἐν οἷς καὶ ὑμεῖς περιεπατήσατέ ποτε, ὅτε ἐζῆτε ἐν αὐτοῖς· νυνὶ δὲ ἀπόθεσθε καὶ ὑμεῖς τὰ πάντα, ὀργὴν, θυμὸν, κακίαν, βλασφημίαν, αἰσχρολογίαν ἐκ τοῦ στόματος ὑμῶν. Μὴ ψεύδεσθε εἰς ἀλλήλους. Ἡ τοῦ Παύλου παραίνεσις, νεκρότητα μὲν εἰσηγεῖται πρὸς τὴν κοσμικὴν ζωὴν τὴν παρεφθαρμένην, ζωὴν δὲ ἀντὶ ταύτης εἰσάγει τὴν οὐράνιον καὶ πνευματικήν· καὶ νεκρῶσαι μὲν τὰ μέλη προστάττει τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ὡς ἂν τῷ πνεύματι ἡμῶν ζωὴν καταλιπὼν κατὰ τὴν ἐν ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι πολιτείαν, ἀναγκαίαν δὲ τὴν νέκρωσιν τῆς ζωῆς ἀπο 95.900 δείκνυσι, τὸ μεμολυσμένον αὐτῆς ἐξηγούμενος, ἵνα μὴ τὴν ἐν σώματι ζωὴν πονηρὰν ὑπολάβωμεν, ὥσπερ Ἕλληνες ἡγοῦνται, ἀλλὰ τὴν τῆς ζωῆς παρατροπὴν, τὴν ἐν ἡδοναῖς, ἐν αἷς αἱ πορνεῖαι, καὶ ὅσαι ἰδέαι κακουργίας· ἀκαθαρσίαν, καὶ ἀσέλγειαν, καὶ πάθος, καὶ ἐπιθυμίαν κακὴν ὀνομάζει, καὶ τὴν πλεονεξίαν ἐπισυνάπτων, ὅτι δὴ ἀκολούθημα τῶν ἡδονῶν αἱ πλεονεξίαι, χρημάτων χορηγίαν ἐπιζητουσῶν ἡδονῶν. Εἰδωλολατρείαν δὲ καλεῖ τὴν πλεονεξίαν, ὅτι τῷ Θεῷ δουλεύειν καταλιπόντες, ἀντὶ Θεοῦ τοῖς χρήμασι δουλεύουσι. Πείθων οὖν μὴ διατρίβειν τοῖς τοιούτοις, τὴν ὀργὴν ἐπέρχεσθαί φησι δι' αὐτὰ ἐκ Θεοῦ τοῖς ἀπειθοῦσιν. Οὐ δέον οὖν, φησὶ, καὶ τοὺς πιστοὺς τοὺς καὶ τὴν