> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://amemamem.com.br/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Who Is This Christ Paul Is Talking About? - URL: https://amemamem.com.br/en/who-is-this-christ-paul-is-talking-about/ - Published: 2026-08-14T18:52:14.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-09T01:05:21.000Z - Description: Who is this Christ Paul is talking about? - Author: Airton Humber - Tags: #en, #de-quem-e-esse-cristo-de-quem-paulo-esta-falando It all began with a very simple question. We were reading Paul's letter to the Colossians, without hurry, when the question came up: Who is this Christ Paul is talking about? The question seems easy. But maybe it isn't. We are so used to reading the Bible divided into chapters, verses, titles and subtitles that we often fail to notice something very simple: Paul did not write verses. Paul wrote letters. And when we remove the divisions and simply read the letter, some words begin to take on a different dimension. --- ## The beloved Son In Colossians, Paul speaks of God, the Father. Then he speaks of his beloved Son. And he says that this Son is the image of the invisible God. That in him all things were created. That all things were created through him and for him. That he is before all things. That in him all things hold together. That he is the head of the body. That it pleased God that in him all the fullness should dwell. And that through him God would reconcile all things to himself. Then Paul begins to speak of a mystery. A mystery that was hidden for ages and generations. But that has now been revealed. And finally he says: Christ in you, the hope of glory. Perhaps it is better not to pass quickly over that sentence. Christ in you. --- ## Not an isolated sentence When we began to walk through other letters of Paul, something surprising happened. In Galatians: Christ lives in me. And: Until Christ is formed in you. In Romans: Christ is in you. In another letter to the Corinthians: Jesus Christ is in you. And Paul speaks repeatedly of the Spirit of God dwelling in us. Then we realize that **“Christ in you”** is not an occasional expression in Colossians. It belongs to a thought that runs through the letters. --- ## In Christ, and Christ in us Something else began to appear. Paul does not only say: Christ in you. He says repeatedly: You in Christ. In Christ. With Christ. Christ in you. You in him. Until Colossians brings an extraordinary statement: For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and because you are in him, you have received the fullness. There are two details that easily go unnoticed. Paul did not write: “In Christ all the fullness *dwelt*.” He wrote: Dwells. And he did not write: “You *will receive* the fullness.” But: You have received the fullness. All the fullness: in him. And you: in him. --- ## Metamorphosis In Romans, Paul asks us to present our bodies to God and says: Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. The word Paul uses belongs to the same family as the word we know as **metamorphosis**. That changes quite a lot the way we look at the passage. Metamorphosis is not simply a caterpillar learning to behave like a butterfly. It is transformation. The caterpillar does not watch the butterfly and strive to imitate it. Nor does it make its own wings. There is a transformation. And in another letter Paul uses that same word again when he says that: we are being transformed into the same image, from glory to glory. And he relates this transformation to: the Lord, the Spirit. Then Galatians adds: Christ formed in you. Philippians: It is God who works in you both to will and to do. Thessalonians: May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. And immediately: The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. Little by little, a difference began to appear. Perhaps the life described by Paul is not fundamentally an effort to imitate Christ on the outside. Perhaps it is something much deeper: Christ being formed in us. --- ## And the fruit? This also changes the reading of another well-known expression of Paul: fruit of the Spirit. Fruit is not manufactured by the branch. The branch stays connected to the source of life, and the fruit appears. Perhaps that is why Paul does not say: “Produce the Spirit.” He says something much simpler: Do not quench the Spirit. And this little sentence becomes even more beautiful when we read what comes immediately before it, without the separation of verses: Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances. This is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Not: “light”. Not: “produce”. But: do not quench. --- ## Delight yourself in the Lord At this point, an ancient phrase from the Psalm takes on a special beauty: Delight yourself in the Lord. And Paul writes: Rejoice always in the Lord. And, in another letter: The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Perhaps it is important to distinguish this joy from simple happiness. Happiness usually goes along with favorable circumstances. But Paul knew suffering, prison, rejection, weakness and tears, and still he spoke of joy. Not simply joy in circumstances. Joy in the Lord. The circumstance may change. The source of joy remains. That is why also: Give thanks in all circumstances. Not necessarily *for* the circumstances. But: in all of them. --- ## Who brings about the transformation? After walking through the letters, this was perhaps one of the things that most caught our attention. Paul writes: God began the good work in you. God will complete that work. God works in you to will and to do. The Spirit dwells in you. The fruit is of the Spirit. Christ is formed in you. We are transformed. May God sanctify you completely. And: He will do it. There is human participation. Paul speaks of presenting the body, remaining, trusting, examining, holding on to what is good and walking by the Spirit. But the source of the transformation remains: God. Perhaps that is why such a simple summary is possible: Delight in the Lord. Trust in him. Remain. Do not quench the Spirit. He will act. --- ## And after all, who is Christ? After walking through the letters, the initial question became even bigger. Paul speaks of: Jesus Christ. Christ Jesus. Jesus, the Son of God. Jesus Christ, the Lord. But he also says: Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. Speaking of the history of Israel: The rock was Christ. And also: Christ lives in me. Christ in you. Christ formed in you. You are the body of Christ. And, speaking of a body with many members: So also is Christ. Until he arrives at the extraordinary statement: Christ is all and is in all. Perhaps, then, to answer simply: “Christ is Jesus” is not wrong. But perhaps it is too small an answer for everything Paul is saying. Because the same Paul who proclaims Jesus Christ crucified also proclaims: Christ in you. And he calls this: a mystery. A mystery that was hidden for ages and generations. But: now revealed. --- ## Perhaps it is not necessary to explain the mystery Perhaps it is better to remain for a while before it. Without trying to fit it immediately into a doctrine. Without trying to solve it quickly. Without turning the letters once again into a collection of verses. Just listening to Paul: Christ in you, the hope of glory. And perhaps leaving a question with us: Who is this Christ Paul is talking about? --- Texts that accompanied this reflection Colossians 1–3 Galatians 1–5 Romans 5–12 1 Corinthians 1–15 2 Corinthians 3–5 and 13 Philippians 1–4 1 Thessalonians 1–5 2 Thessalonians 1–3 Psalm 37 In this reflection, the references were left for the end on purpose. The idea is to allow the sentences to be heard first within the movement of the letters, before they are located again in chapters and verses. **A note on the reading** This text was born from the continuous reading of Paul's letters, trying to preserve the words he uses, Christ, Jesus, Son, Lord and Spirit, without replacing them beforehand with one another. The references were gathered at the end so that the reading can preserve, as much as possible, the original movement of the letters.