ON LOVE; PART MCCCXXXIV
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FIRST IS THE GREAT COMMANDMENTS: “The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31).
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WHAT THEN IS LOVE? In a general sense love is benevolence, good will; that disposition of heart which inclines men to think favorably of their fellow men, and to do them good. In a theological sense, it includes supreme love to God, and universal good will to men. While this IS from an older definition of Charity, which IS rendered in the King James Bible from the same Greek word agape which IS generally rendered as Love, we should amend our own definition here to include the idea that in the reality of Love a man will accord to ALL men ALL things that he would accord to himself and to say that Love IS our thoughts and attitude of the equality of ALL men regardless of their outward nature or appearance…that ALL ARE equally children of Our One God.
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PLUS THE EVER IMPORTANT AND HIGH IDEAL TAUGHT TO US BY THE CHRIST: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12).
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We ended the last essay showing the indelible link between the Master’s words and the clarifying and amplifying words of the Apostle Paul in our selection from his Epistle to the Romans. While most ALL of his epistles can be seen in their amplifying and clarifying role, this IS NOT the way that Paul’s words ARE understood or used by the doctrinal thinker who has taken out of context bits and pieces from the apostle’s writings to build their doctrinal approach to the Lord. Most ALL fail to see that in the singular idea that men should “through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body” we can find the fullness of the Master’s instructions, His commandments and His words, regarding righteousness as the mantel of the man who keeps His words. As we discussed in the last essay, to “mortify the deeds of the body” IS the fullness of Repentance which IS one’s change of focus off of “the deeds of the body” and onto the things of God which ARE ever based in the Great Commandments. The first of these, “thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength” (Mark 12:30) ‘demands’ the single eye that sees God over mammon, and “treasures in heaven” over the self in the world and his “treasures upon earth” (Matthew 6:22, 24, 20, 19). In these words that reach back to the time of Moses we have the fullness of focus upon the Lord that IS unmistakably written….these words CAN NOT be understood differently than they were intended. Yet the doctrinal ideas of men DO mistakenly fail to see the essence of the ideas in favor of a doctrinal approach that DOES NOT require such ‘sacrifice’ and here we should understand that the idea of ‘sacrifice‘ IS ONLY a perception based in the vanity in which most ALL men live. It IS this vanity that Paul shows us in our selection from Romans and which Vincent defines for us as: a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends 4. It IS in vanity that men have chosen the easier way of doctrines which free them to act and live as men in this world; and we should remember and understand that this vanity afflicts ALL, the religious and the irreligious, and is especially harsh on the doctrinal thinker who has convinced himself that he IS ‘saved‘ by anything short of this Great Commandment. In his constant indoctrination into his beliefs he IS ‘forced’ to set aside the Truth of the Master’s words in favor of the “commandments of men” which ARE but a doctrinal approach to God. Jesus addresses this saying “in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:9) and it IS sore unfortunate that the doctrinal thinker IS taught and believes that these words ARE intended ONLY for the Jews of 2000 years ago.
The second of the Great Commandments, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Mark 12:31) IS an equivalent idea to the first from the perspective that if one can DO this, express this Truth of agape, that he IS at the same time focused solely upon the things of the Lord. The central mistake in understanding this commandment, aside from men’s failure to understand the reality of agape, IS in presuming the common definition of one’s neighbor. This IS despite the Master’s clearly worded analysis of who one’s neighbor IS according to His Parable of the Good Samaritan. Vincent shows us the Master’s point here saying that: The Christian sense is expounded by Jesus in the parable of the Good Samaritan, as including the whole brotherhood of man, and as founded in love for man, as man, everywhere 4. It IS this far reaching Truth of the neighbor from the Greek word plesion that IS NOT ONLY Jesus’ intent but the spiritual intent of these words from the beginning. The defining idea in the lexicon IS a watered down version of Vincent’s which tells us that plesion IS: according to Christ, any other man irrespective of nation or religion with whom we live or whom we chance to meet 2a. The watering down here IS reflected in the idea of meeting and living which, while it DOES conform with the parable’s ideas, IS NOT the True meaning; rather, it IS conveniently presumed based in the story that the Master tells. However, the common doctrinal idea of the neighbor has deteriorated even from this and has taken on a religious bent so that a neighbor IS often limited to those of the same religion and even the same denomination or sect; this view IS apparently left over from the view of the Jews regarding who one’s neighbor IS. The ideas of neighbor offered by the lexicon and the deeper idea offered by Vincent ARE confirmed for us in the words of the Apostle James but here too the doctrinal view IS lacking; James tells us this regarding agape and the neighbor: “Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:7-10). In these words we have the deepest view of the neighbor and the reality of Love for that person who can be any person, known or unknown, close or far, rich or poor, of the same religion or NOT, etc.. This idea of having NO “respect to persons” (James 2:9) IS limitless and attempts to define this differently DO “blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called“. James shows us that to NOT be in accord with this demand of agape, that one DOES sin and that this sin IS NO different that any other sin imaginable. Should we look at this in relation to the Great Commandments, we can perhaps see that men’s failure at any of these IS the same level of sin which IS ongoing in the lives of most ALL men. And this expression of agape the same as the Master shows us in saying:
“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?“
We should try to see here that in the idea of the Processes of the Lord, that “he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” we have the reality that “there is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:11) as Paul tells us. The view here by Jesus IS that the Godhead IS equally indifferent to ALL of His creation while the words from Paul assure us that this indifference can be related to ALL of humanity, to ALL persons. Understanding this IS to understand that the state of the rich and the poor have naught to DO with God and if this IS True, that there must be other reasons for the wide disparity in abundance as well as the wide disparity regarding ALL of Life’s arena’s of thought, attitude and activity. Much of this disparity can be attributed to happenstance and the Master tries to show us happenstance as it should be seen in relation to one’s living in accord with the law and the commandments. Again, while He IS speaking to the Jews about Jewish ideas, his words ARE Universal and DO apply to ALL men. Luke shows us that a question IS posed saying “There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices” followed by “And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:1-5)“. The Master IS telling us that whether these Galileans were religious or irreligious they shared the same fate. Similarly He tells us that the “tower in Siloam fell” on whosoever it would; again regardless of their individual religious attitude. This IS happenstance, the same that happens in extreme weather events, earthquakes and tsunamis; this IS the same happenstance that governs one’s drive home and whether he may arrive safely. And while a survivor of any catastrophe or accident may credit God with saving his live, the Lord had naught to DO with it against the deaths of others involved. There IS however one caveat to this view that “there is no respect of persons with God” and that IS the relationship between one’s own Soul and his carnal mind. To be sure this relationship exists for ALL men but few can hear the prompting of the Soul over the din of his daily Life. The Soul, the Christ Within or the Holy Spirit, whatsoever we want to call this Inner Man, DOES possess the fullness of KNOWING as the Apostle John tells us saying that “ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things“. In these words is a picture of the Soul of everyman and this regardless of his religious affiliations or commitment; in this IS a picture of the True man, the Christ Within….the Soul. The apostle continues further on with this theme saying “the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him” (1 John 2:20, 27). The KEY here however IS that one hears this KNOWING, this awareness as the unction, over the din of his daily Life which has its own caveats save for some intermittent or sudden awareness that can show a man a present or a future danger to avoid. To have this ability to KNOW as a man in this world requires that one IS focused upon the things of God and NOT upon those Life events that create the din which obnubilates such focus. It IS this focus that removes the mortal man from much of the happenstance of Life and sets him upon a Path of realization of the Truth and this according to the Master’s words from our trifecta which shows us the Way to realization of the Truth as the “anointing teacheth you of all things“. His words also show us the Way to full realization of this Presence of God as well as our ability to realize the Kingdom of God here and now. Repeating our trifecta we read:
- “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32).
- “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
- “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him . He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me” (John 14:21-24).
There IS a reality in Jesus’ words that IS NOT focused upon the common idea of religion or worship. The reality of Jesus’ words IS found in the fact that what He says, His words and His commandments, ARE the True guide to Life. Here, if we could understand the impact of the Apostle Matthews rendition of the Master’s Sermon on the Mount apart from the various doctrinal interpretations, we could find that His words DO allow us to essentially “mortify the deeds of the body” as we read in our selection from Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. It IS through keeping His words as He tells us in the trifecta that we awaken the man to the Presence of his Spirit, which awakening the Soul can then convey to the mortal mind. This IS the essence of Paul’s words saying that the Spirit will “quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you“. We should understand that the Spirit of every man IS part and parcel of the One Spirit that IS God; there IS NO separation save for that perceived by the carnal mind which lives in that vanity, that illusion and glamour, the blocks out, obnubilates if you will, the Light of the Soul. While doctrines teach that it IS the “born again” Christian, “born again” according to some doctrinal rites or rituals or by some affirmation and confession, that can have this Light, this assertion IS firmly based in the illusion and the glamour by which the doctrinal thinker IS bound. This binding IS the effect on men of the vanity to which ALL ARE subjected and from which they must escape if they ARE to find a measure of Truth….His Truth. Paul tells us that the whole creation IS “made subject to vanity” and if we can read his words as they ARE presented we will see that this vanity IS based in the Will of God which IS the natural way of Life here in this world. At the same time there IS the expectation, the elpis that IS rendered as hope, that the man caught in this vanity will “be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God“. Here again we should understand that the word rendered as delivered IS the same word that IS rendered as “make you free” in the first part of our trifecta and that this idea of deliverance ONLY serves the doctrinal sense that it IS ONLY God that can deliver. Jesus tells us that it IS the Truth that shall “shall make you free” and it IS in this vein that we should understand Paul’s intent. Peter helps to clarify this idea saying “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4). Here we should understand that the “exceeding great and precious promises” ARE our freedom from the vanity which IS “the corruption that is in the world through lust“. While Paul tells us that it IS the expectation of God and therefore the expectation of the Spirit of everyman to be freed, Peter shows us that this expectation IS realized by the actions of the man who will effort his own escape. We should try to see here that this effort IS motivated by one’s focus, by taking one’s focus off of the “the corruption that is in the world through lust” which IS the great motivator of Life here in this world. Can we see the point here? Can we see how that ALL begins with one’s drowning out the din of daily Life according to Jesus’ words which enable one to hear the prompting of his own Soul to the Good, the Beautiful and the True….to the things of God. The wherewithal to DO this IS shown us in the words of the Master and His apostles which ARE our guide to that True Life which IS free from the lusts and the desires that ARE the product of the vanity into which we ARE born and into which we ARE then nurtured and indoctrinated until they become our foundation of Life.
The precept of the second of the Great Commandments IS an essential tool for those who Truly seek the Lord. The message IS clear but it IS distorted by men, religious and irreligious, who hold their self interests above the True call of the Lord as regards the religious and above the potential social and cultural norms for the secular world. Such focus upon one’s self interests ARE the foundation for the lusts and desires that motivate men toward their perceived betterment in this world. This perception IS founded in the vanity of Life and, again, this afflicts most ALL men. Peter tells us that the freedom from this IS founded in one’s ability to escape and we must understand that this IS a wholly personal endeavor….our escape IS NOT found in the doctrines of men which show us that to simply ‘believe’ in Jesus and His sacrifice IS sufficient for one’s ‘salvation‘. Nor IS our escape found in the rites and the rituals that abound in the doctrinal churches; our escape IS ONLY found in our ability to Truly Repent as the Master instructs us and which He defines for us in His instructions for Life. It IS unfortunate that the church that bears His name has for so long chosen to ignore Jesus instructions for Life in favor of their doctrinal assertions which they gleaned from out of context, misapplied and misunderstood ideas from His apostles’ writings, writings that ARE intended to amplify and clarify the Master’s ofttimes parabolic sayings. We must understand however that NOT ALL of what the Master tells us IS parabolic; much of it IS offered in clear language and it IS those most clear ideas that ARE the ones that ARE most readily ignored and replaced by doctrinal assertions, some of which ARE contrary to His words of Truth. Jesus words on the single eye that sees God over mammon, and “treasures in heaven” over the self in the world and his “treasures upon earth” ARE exceedingly clear yet the church has misapplied His words to suit their own doctrinal leanings which DO, by their nature, obscure the Truth. Doctrines obscure by redefining these words to reflect upon possessions and wealth and then ignoring their own redefinition as they relate such to an attitude that they then deny that they hold. Moreover, the doctrinal approach fails to understand the reality of the Master’s summation of His words on treasure, the single eye and mammon which tell us that we should “take no thought“; this they have converted to worry and anxiety and this while most ALL DO continue to both worry and be anxious. Our doctrinal example, John Gill, tells us that the idea of “treasures upon earth” DOES NOT specifically speak to riches and possessions but rather refers to one’s inclination to: hoard up plenty of worldly things for themselves, for time to come, making no use of them at present for the good of others 8. What this DOES say then IS that most ALL men ARE guilty as there ARE few that Truly make use of their abundance for the good of others save perhaps for those that one holds close. Regarding “treasures in heaven” Mr. Gill tells us that men should: lay up your earthly treasures in heaven; that is, put them into the hands of God in heaven; and this is done, by liberally communicating to the poor 8. While Jesus IS showing us that we should focus upon the things of God, “treasures in heaven” rather than focus upon our self interests in this world “treasures upon earth“, the doctrinal view espoused by Mr. Gill tells us that we should focus upon the things of the world in order to lay up such for “treasures in heaven“. This view tells us that it IS good to have such abundance so long as some portion of it IS ‘communicated to the poor‘ which idea IS contrary to the Master’s following points on the single eye, mammon and that we should “take no thought“.
Paul discussed this idea of wealth and focus in his letter to Timothy where we read that “godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content“. The apostle goes on to show us that a focus upon the things of this world, a focus that most ALL men have, IS detrimental to spiritual Truth; he says “they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness” (1 Timothy 6:6-11). Can we see how that these words to Timothy correspond with Jesus’ words on treasure, the single eye and mammon which tell us that we should “take no thought“? We should note here that the Greek word rendered as “the love of money“, while playing into the doctrinal ideas that it IS Love for money that IS the sin, IS defined for us as avarice 9a which IS a much more encompassing idea. Other translations render this as covetousness which IS related to the desires and lusts against which religion should stand and which ARE founded in one’s focus upon the things of this world. The Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible renders the idea as “the desire of money” which IS even more to the intended point, a point that IS ignored in doctrinal ideas regarding mammon in which they define such riches as: riches (where it is personified and opposed to God) 2a. Doctrines also fail to see the Master’s words on riches of whatever kind and for whatever person that ARE central to the gospel story of the rich man who asks Jesus how “that I may have eternal life“. The Master replies that he should divest himself of ALL his wealth and follow Him. The end point here IS the Master’s saying that “a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven” which idea IS followed by His saying that “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:16, 23, 24). The doctrinal view here however IS contrary to the idea that a man should NOT have such riches or, perhaps better, focus upon having or getting such riches. The doctrinal view focuses more upon the idea of “the eye of a needle” than the reality of having such riches as they downplay the clarity of Jesus’ words; many simply defer to Mark’s version where the idea IS shown “them that trust in riches” (Mark 10:24). It IS the compounded ideas that come from such ideas as to “trust in riches“, “the love of money” and the doctrinal defining idea of mammon as riches (where it is personified and opposed to God) 2a that have deceived men from the beginning. Most ALL men’s motivations ARE carnal play into their desires, lusts, and the sense of covetousness which pervades humanity through the vanity that encumbers us ALL. Can we see the point here? We should also find some clarity in the idea of following Jesus which we should ever assume IS to follow in His teachings and in His example which IS the True reality of “believing in” and “believing on” the Master as Vincent shows us saying that: Hence to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is not merely to believe the facts of His historic life or of His saving energy as facts, but to accept Him as Savior, Teacher, Sympathizer, Judge; to rest the soul upon Him for present and future salvation, and to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life. Of course the most important part of this IS the last part that we most always highlight in bold; this IS the reality of keeping His words. We should remember here James’ words saying “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22) and understand that ALL ways of ‘salvation’ devised by men ARE this deception, this self deception.
Jesus tells this rich young man, after he tells the Master that has kept the commandments “from my youth“, that “One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me“. In this it should be abundantly clear that this man’s riches ARE a hindrance to his True salvation and we can see what it Truly means to follow the Master through Peter’s words saying “Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee” (Mark 10:21, 28). Matthew shows us this interaction a bit differently telling us that Jesus words begin with the same idea of perfection that we find in His saying that men should “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). Jesus tells the man that “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me” (Matthew 19:21). In these similar sayings we have two criteria for the reality of being His follower; to forsake ALL and to “take up the cross“. Matthew shows us Peter’s words as “Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?“, highlighting the idea of forsaking. While ONLY Mark includes the idea that one must “take up the cross” in this dialogue with the rich man, this IS a most basic theme whenever Jesus speaks of following Him and it IS also a KEY ingredient in the Master’s instruction on being His True disciple which Matthew shows us as being “worthy of me“. Both Matthew and Luke show us these things which we should presume, by way of their common ideas, ARE the same dialogue as it IS perceived by these apostles. We read both versions saying:
- “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26-27,33).
- “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37-38).
We should be able to most clearly see the relationship of these two sayings; the one referencing the reality of discipleship and the other the idea of being “worthy of me” which John Gill frames for us saying: he is not, “fit for me”: it is not fit and proper, that such a person should name the name of Christ, or be called by his name, and should be reckoned one of his disciples; he is not fit to be a member of the church of Christ on earth, nor for the kingdom of heaven 8. Mr. Gills analysis IS, while doctrinally oriented, quite accurate in its ideas. Looking out at the world however shows us a different Christian attitude that IS based in vanity, in the illusion and the glamour of Life. The reality IS that the bond between parents and children far exceeds the bond between a man and Christ and if we can see in these words from Matthew’s Gospel the singular idea of the first of the Great Commandments, we can perhaps better understand the intent of the Master’s words. Much of the church’s problem in teaching the intent of these ideas IS based in their failure to separate Jesus from the Christ combined with their failure to understand the very nature of the idea that Paul calls “the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations….which is Christ in you“. When we can see Paul’s mystery through the words of the Apostle John and the words of our selection from Paul’s Epistle to the Romans below, we can then perhaps see the reality of the unction, the anointing, and the Way that this Inner Man, the Christ Within, must be expressed in this world over the carnal thoughts attitudes and actions that ARE based in the vanity to which ALL are made subject. It IS when one can express the Life of the Soul, the unction, the anointing and the Christ Within, that one begins to see agape as the Universal Power that binds ALL things together. Through this we can then understand that agape with NO “respect to persons” causes us to see our familial relationships in much the same way as our relationships to everyman which IS the essence of the second of the Great Commandments. ALL of this IS founded in the single eye that focuses upon the things of God and through which one can accomplish ALL of the positive ideas shown us by Paul in our selection which we repeat here saying:
“they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in
hope, Becauseexpectation that the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:5-23).
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
- 2a New Testament Greek lexicon on biblestudytools.com
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition
- 8 Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com
- 9 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon on blueletterbible.org
- 9a The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible on blueletterbible.org
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
