53 See pp. 63-64 above.
52Gk. ὃς ἐστɩν ἡ ϰεφαλὴ πάσης ἀϱϰῆς ϰαì ἐξουσίας. For the view that “every principality and power” should be understood here as the body of which Christ is head see E. Lohmeyer, ad loc.; H. Lietzmann, The Beginnings of the Christian Church, E.T. (London, 1949), p. 215.
53See pp. 63-64 above.
54See W. Carr, Angels and Principalities (Cambridge, 1981), p. 81.
55Gk. τοῦ σώματος τῆς σαϱϰóς. After τοῦ σώματος ℵ2 D1 Ψ with the majority of cursives and the Syriac versions insert τѽν ἁμαϱτɩѽν (cf. KJV: “the body of the sins of the flesh”).
56Our witnesses vary between βαπτɩσμῷ (P46 ℵ2 B D* F G etc.) and βαπτίσματɩ (ℵ* A C D2 Ψ with the majority of cursives). For Christian baptism (as for John’s baptism) βάπτɩσμα is the form regularly used in the NT. In Mark 7:4 and Heb. 9:10 (certainly) and in Heb. 6:2 (probably) βαπτɩσμóς is used of Jewish ceremonial washing. For this reason it is more likely that an original βαπτɩσμῷ here would have been changed to βαπτίσματɩ than vice versa.
57Gk. ἐν αὐτῷ. It is possible that this might mean “in whom” (with antecedent “Christ”), but this is less likely since αὐτῷ is clearly to be understood with συνηγέϱθητε (“you were raised with him”) as it has already been expressed with συνταφέντες, and to attach “in whom” to “you were raised” would overweight the construction.