In or Among

So for some of you this could be the most heretical article I’ve ever written.
But please read it and think about whether it could be true. Because if it is, it changes some very fundamental ways we do things as modern Christians.
If you don’t think it’s true, please send me an email and tell me why. I would be more than happy if someone convinces me this is wrong.

So, firstly, one of the things I noticed very early on when I was doing my translation of the New Testament, was that like other languages that I’ve learned in the past, like Chinese, Japanese, French, German, … you singular, and you plural are different words. And Greek and Hebrew both do that too.
In modern English, if I’m talking to one of you, or 10 of you, I still say, “This is for you”.
I don’t know any other language which does that.

But sometimes the meaning of a sentence can change depending on which it is.
So in my translation I came up with the idea of using you- for singular and you= for plural.
I got the idea from a Darby bible someone gave me as a young Christian. I recommend having one of those by the way.
Darby wrote his translation in the 1800’s and also tried to do as literal as possible translation. But he also saw the need to distinguish between singular and plural, and he did it by using the old English, thou, thee, thy for singular, and ye, you, your for plural.

As an example, let’s look at John 3:7
Most modern translations have Yeshua saying to Nicodemus,
Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

When we read that in English we think Yeshua is telling Nicodemus that he personally must be born again.
Darby translated it as: Do not wonder that I said to thee, It is needful that ye should be born anew.
And if I add the singular/plural marks that I use in the Little Watchman Translation…
LWT: You- shouldn’t marvel that I said to you-, ‘You= have to be born from above.’

The last you is plural. Yeshua is saying that everyone has to be born again. But the first you is singular, Nicodemus in particular shouldn’t marvel at it, (even though some other people might), because Nicodemus is one of Israel’s teachers, so he should understand this already. But he still doesn’t understand.

So, let’s look at some more…

1 Corinthians 3:16
ESV: Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
LWT: Don’t you= know that you’re= the temple of God, and the spirit of God makes his home among you=?
Normally when we read a translation like the ESV we would think in our heads, “I am God’s temple, and the Holy Spirit lives in me.”
But is says, “You plural are the temple of God”.
As in, the group of you, the church is the temple (singular) of God. Not you personally. All of us together are the one temple.
We are not all temples (plural) of God, we are together one temple.
And of course that fits in well with Romans 12 where we are all corporately together the body of Yeshua.
So the Holy Spirit lives in the whole church, in the church body, not in your personal body.

Can you see that is a huge difference from what is usually taught?
Do you think it could be true?

Ephesians 2:22
ESV: In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
LWT: in whom also, you’re= being built together into a dwelling place of God in the spirit.
Again, you plural are being built into a dwelling place (singular) for the spirit.
This time, even the ESV reads that way doesn’t it. There’s not much ambiguity in this verse because it just doesn’t make sense as a sentence unless the you is plural. Even without the indicator marks. And the dwelling place is “a”. It’s not “you are being built into dwelling places”.

Romans 8:9
ESV: You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.
LWT: You= however aren’t in flesh, but in spirit — if in fact the spirit of God makes its home among you=.
The you is plural. You plural are in the spirit if the spirit dwells in you plural.
I think “among” is a better translation than “in” when we’re talking about a group of people.
(By the way, I used “its” not “his” for the Holy Spirit here only because that’s what is in the Greek, and my rule was, as literal as possible).
So to tweak this verse a little to maybe make it clearer what I’m trying to say.
We however aren’t in flesh, but in spirit — if in fact the spirit of God makes its home among us.

But the way we usually read modern transitions like the ESV without the markers… we think it reads more like this
I, however, am not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in me.

And from there we get the idea that the holy spirit lives in me. In my body.
But honestly, since doing all the reading for my own translation I no longer think that is true.
I think the spirit lives in the church’s body, not in the believer’s body. And as we saw, makes one temple in the whole church body, not a temple in each believer’s body.

One or two more.
Acts 1:8
ESV: But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you
LWT: But you’ll= receive power when the holy spirit has come upon you=
I think if Yeshua had wanted to make it clear that each one of us receives the Holy Spirit individually to live in us he could have said
But you’ll= receive power when the holy spirit has come upon each of you=
Or something like that?

Ephesians 4:30
ESV: And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption
LWT: And don’t sadden the holy spirit of God in whom you= were sealed for the day of redemption.
And again without the markers we read “you” and think “me”, not “we”. But if we re-read them from our point of view, to help us avoid the you trap of modern English.
And don’t sadden the holy spirit of God in whom we were sealed for the day of redemption.

I’m sure you get my point now. What I’m trying to say.
The issue is whether you think I’m correct.

Maybe just keep it in mind as you read various verses over the next year or so. And ask Yahweh to show us the truth.

And I would also draw a distinction between doing something by the power of the sprit, or using a gift of the spirit, and the spirit actually living in you.
For sure I know I can individually do things through the power of the spirit. And I have done that many times.
But does he live in me?

Does the holy spirit live in you personally. And if he does, how is that working for you? Does it feel to you like he does?
Or does he live in us corporately, and how would that feel if it was true? Is that more how it feels in real life?


	In or Among
READING John 3:7 1 Corinthians 3 Ephesians 2 Romans 8 1 Corinthians 6	So for some of you this could be the most heretical article I’ve ever written. But please read it and think about whether it could be true. Because if it is, it changes some very fundamental ways we do things as modern Christians. If you don’t think it’s true, please send me an email and tell me why. I would be more than happy if someone convinces me this is wrong. So, firstly, one of the things I noticed very early on when I was doing my translation of the New Testament, was that like other languages that I’ve learned in the past, like Chinese, Japanese, French, German, … you singular, and you plural are different words. And Greek and Hebrew both do that too. In modern English, if I’m talking to one of you, or 10 of you, I still say, “This is for you”. I don’t know any other language which does that. But sometimes the meaning of a sentence can change depending on which it is. So in my translation I came up with the idea of using you- for singular and you= for plural. I got the idea from a Darby bible someone gave me as a young Christian. I recommend having one of those by the way. Darby wrote his translation in the 1800’s and also tried to do as literal as possible translation. But he also saw the need to distinguish between singular and plural, and he did it by using the old English, thou, thee, thy for singular, and ye, you, your for plural. As an example, let’s look at John 3:7 Most modern translations have Yeshua saying to Nicodemus, Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ When we read that in English we think Yeshua is telling Nicodemus that he personally must be born again. Darby translated it as: Do not wonder that I said to thee, It is needful that ye should be born anew. And if I add the singular/plural marks that I use in the Little Watchman Translation… LWT: You- shouldn’t marvel that I said to you-, ‘You= have to be born from above.’ The last you is plural. Yeshua is saying that everyone has to be born again. But the first you is singular, Nicodemus in particular shouldn’t marvel at it, (even though some other people might), because Nicodemus is one of Israel’s teachers, so he should understand this already. But he still doesn’t understand. So, let’s look at some more… 1 Corinthians 3:16 ESV: Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? LWT: Don’t you= know that you’re= the temple of God, and the spirit of God makes his home among you=? Normally when we read a translation like the ESV we would think in our heads, “I am God’s temple, and the Holy Spirit lives in me.” But is says, “You plural are the temple of God”. As in, the group of you, the church is the temple (singular) of God. Not you personally. All of us together are the one temple. We are not all temples (plural) of God, we are together one temple. And of course that fits in well with Romans 12 where we are all corporately together the body of Yeshua. So the Holy Spirit lives in the whole church, in the church body, not in your personal body. Can you see that is a huge difference from what is usually taught? Do you think it could be true? Ephesians 2:22 ESV: In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. LWT: in whom also, you’re= being built together into a dwelling place of God in the spirit. Again, you plural are being built into a dwelling place (singular) for the spirit. This time, even the ESV reads that way doesn’t it. There’s not much ambiguity in this verse because it just doesn’t make sense as a sentence unless the you is plural. Even without the indicator marks. And the dwelling place is “a”. It’s not “you are being built into dwelling places”. Romans 8:9 ESV: You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. LWT: You= however aren’t in flesh, but in spirit — if in fact the spirit of God makes its home among you=. The you is plural. You plural are in the spirit if the spirit dwells in you plural. I think “among” is a better translation than “in” when we’re talking about a group of people. (By the way, I used “its” not “his” for the Holy Spirit here only because that’s what is in the Greek, and my rule was, as literal as possible). So to tweak this verse a little to maybe make it clearer what I’m trying to say. We however aren’t in flesh, but in spirit — if in fact the spirit of God makes its home among us. But the way we usually read modern transitions like the ESV without the markers… we think it reads more like this I, however, am not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in me. And from there we get the idea that the holy spirit lives in me. In my body. But honestly, since doing all the reading for my own translation I no longer think that is true. I think the spirit lives in the church’s body, not in the believer’s body. And as we saw, makes one temple in the whole church body, not a temple in each believer’s body. One or two more. Acts 1:8 ESV: But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you LWT: But you’ll= receive power when the holy spirit has come upon you= I think if Yeshua had wanted to make it clear that each one of us receives the Holy Spirit individually to live in us he could have said But you’ll= receive power when the holy spirit has come upon each of you= Or something like that? Ephesians 4:30 ESV: And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption LWT: And don’t sadden the holy spirit of God in whom you= were sealed for the day of redemption. And again without the markers we read “you” and think “me”, not “we”. But if we re-read them from our point of view, to help us avoid the you trap of modern English. And don’t sadden the holy spirit of God in whom we were sealed for the day of redemption. I’m sure you get my point now. What I’m trying to say. The issue is whether you think I’m correct. Maybe just keep it in mind as you read various verses over the next year or so. And ask Yahweh to show us the truth. And I would also draw a distinction between doing something by the power of the sprit, or using a gift of the spirit, and the spirit actually living in you. For sure I know I can individually do things through the power of the spirit. And I have done that many times. But does he live in me? Does the holy spirit live in you personally. And if he does, how is that working for you? Does it feel to you like he does? Or does he live in us corporately, and how would that feel if it was true? Is that more how it feels in real life?