ON LOVE; PART MCCCLI
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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 with James’ words on “the wisdom that is from above” which ARE offered to give insight into the very nature of True revelation, the very nature of those things that one Truly hears from the Lord. While so many Christians, from pastors and teachers to laymen, claim that God told them this or that, few test these ideas against James’ words on Wisdom or against those sayings from Paul, John and James that show us the difference, the essential difference, between things carnal and things spiritual. We should try to see that there IS NO middle way here; such things, thoughts, emotions or psychic phenomenon ARE either from one’s own ego, one’s own personality grounded in this world, or they ARE from one’s eternal Soul which IS that point of contact between God and man. It IS the Repented man, the man who has changed the focus of his Life off of the things of the self, the carnal mind, emotions and the ego’s response to such, and onto the things of God which ARE grounded in agape and Truth. The Apostle Paul explains this in his ‘prayer’ for ALL who choose to tread the Path asking “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love” (Ephesians 3:17). This IS that same objective that we find in our selection from Paul’s Epistle to the Romans in such ideas as that “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” and “if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness“. Such ideas that put Christ into one’s heart are many in the New Testament but they ARE diluted through the doctrines of men which claim such reward without the righteousness, without the criteria put forth by the Master who tells us that “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“. This point of keeping His words IS the singular KEY to ALL spiritual Truth and it IS the product of our Repentance and our Transforming the carnal mind into one that sees and thinks according to His words; this seeing and thinking IS the basis for ALL True revelation. In more practical terms, the reality of True revelation IS tested by the nature of what one believes IS revelation; ALL thoughts, attitudes and emotional responses that ARE centered in the self in this world ARE NOT True revelation and it IS to explain this that we repeat James’ words saying:
“Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual,f devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusiong and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy” (James 3:13:17).
These words ARE a personal view of the ideas from the apostles that show us the dichotomy, the necessary separation, between the carnal and the spiritual….between the things of this world and the things of God. They show us the enmity that exists between the focus of men upon the self and the self in this world and their focus upon the things of God and if we can see that this enmity IS God against the vanity into which ALL ARE born we can then better understand the very nature of sin and evil. We can also then better understand the New Testament ideas of the devil and of satan which have been given personalities through the doctrines of men but which ARE but the forces of vanity that keep us in our own “bondage of corruption“, and this both individually and corporately. Humanity IS adrift in this sea that IS “the corruption that is in the world through lust“; humanity IS bound to this corruption which idea IS merely the opposite of being “being rooted and grounded in love“. It IS the vanity that makes men see themselves as the center of their lives and it IS this same vanity, compounded by our nurturing and indoctrination, that provides the basis for our individual level of illusion and glamour. The message of the Lord IS agape while the message of satan, IS ever adversarial to agape; herein we should be able to see the enmity and the necessary dichotomy that scripture shows us but which men DO NOT see through their vanity, through their illusion and their glamour. While the apostles clearly show us the degree of separation that IS to be achieved by those who Truly seek God, their words ARE NOT understood in their context nor ARE doctrinal thinkers inclined to see themselves on the carnal side of that separation. Paul, in our selection from Romans, tells us that “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” and, should we measure the apostle’s words in their context, we would see the failings of most ALL men. Save for the disciple, the True disciple and NOT the doctrinal idea of discipleship, most ALL men ARE among “they that are after the flesh” and who “do mind the things of the flesh” in the natural course of their lives. Their thoughts ARE concerned with their daily living, their desires, their needs and the needs of their families; they ARE concerned with their own view of religion, their own sense of patriotism, their own social status and their own futures as men in this world. To this many add their own sense of ‘salvation‘, as nebulous as that may be, as well as their indoctrinated sense of God. ALL of this IS what Paul shows us as “the things of the flesh” and if we were to analyze the apostle’s list of what ARE “the works of the flesh” against to deeper meanings of the Greek words, we would find ourselves deeply rooted in these meanings. This IS regardless of our own opinion, despite our own glamour regarding of our motivations and comportment. It IS in the carnally oriented rendered words that men try to find their sense of spiritual comfort while the deeper meanings convict us ALL. Again, we have studied these words in much detail over the course of our blog posts and if we search for the Greek words in our posts, those deeper meanings can be found as well as the deeper meanings of the words of Paul’s list of “the fruit of the Spirit” which begins with agape. Vincent tells us that: Love, in this passage, is that fruit of the Spirit which dominates all the others 4 and this IS based upon the apostle’s previous words that ARE specifically regarding agape and which includes the much missed Truth, the reality that, “all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Galatians 5:19, 22, 14).
While Paul seemingly dismisses the law in much of his writings, such ideas as this regarding the Power of agape should allow us to focus upon the apostle’s True intent. The church has rather arbitrarily dismissed the ideas of the law in favor of grace and this dilution of the Truth has served to take away most ALL personal responsibility for one’s own actions, thoughts and attitudes; one’s comportment as a personality in this world. While Paul tells us that grace comes from the Lord, the Master tells us that such grace IS earned, that it IS a reward for our True expression of agape. This IS missed by the rendering of the Master’s words to fit the preconceived doctrinal ideas of grace versus works based in such isolated sayings as “by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). What IS missing in the doctrinal ideas IS the reality of the Lord in relation to man, that the Christ Within, the unction and the Soul, IS the source of whatsoever spiritually comes into the Life of a man. Such grace IS our revelations of Truth that come according to the Master’s words which tells us that such Truth comes to those who will “continue in my word“. This grace then IS the result of Repentance and the product of our Transforming which ARE everyman’s part in this equation. And, while this may be considered doctrinally as the works that Paul speaks against, it IS NOT when the whole saying IS rightly understood. Paul’s idea of works IS NOT the efforts of a men in Repentance but rather the rote efforts of men outside of Repentance and here we must try to understand that pistis, faith, IS NOT that nebulous doctrinal precept but IS that same KNOWING that comes through True Repentance. Thus, to perform the mitzvah through the rote ideas of sacrifice, sabbath days, circumcision and other rites and rituals, observance of holy days and times and, of course, dietary laws IS generally without True Repentance and it IS these things and other carnal exercises that Paul refers to here as works. In doctrinal jargon, DOING these things of giving to the poor or being civically active, etc; will NOT get one ‘saved‘ and without Repentance this IS largely True. Repentance and our subsequent Transformation ARE the Path to True salvation. We can see Paul’s words then as saying that the reward, the grace, that we gain through KNOWING some measure of the Truth and applying it, IS NOT from those carnal acts of self-righteousness but IS the free flowing revelations of Truth. Revelations gained according to Jesus’ words saying “if ye love them which love you, what thank grace have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank grace have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank grace have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again” (Luke 6:32-34). To understand this concept we must see the idea of thank, from the Greek charis which IS always grace, as that grace and we can then see the relationship of grace and reward through Matthew’s offering of these same words from the Master. Matthew frames Jesus’ words as “if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?” (Matthew 5:46). What we should take away from this IS that this idea of grace IS our reward for expressing agape as it IS intended to be expressed and, if we can look at the Greek word misthos which IS rendered as reward, we can then see deeper through the defining idea that this reward IS: pay for service (literally or figuratively), good or bad 9a as Strong’s tells us. Thayer’s tells us that misthos IS dues paid for work; wages, hire and then that this IS: reward: used — of the fruit naturally resulting from toils and endeavors — of divine recompense 9. While the doctrines of men have isolated Paul’s words to suit their purpose which IS to show that men bear NO responsibility in their own ‘salvation‘ save for the nebulous ideas of faith and believing. The greater reality IS that Paul’s references to works and to grace as a “free gift” ARE NOT found in the nebulousness of doctrinal pistis but in the KNOWING that comes according to Jesus’ words from our trifecta which we repeat saying:
- “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).
Much of the church seeks to render the Master’s words here as moot through their sense of a new dispensation that IS based upon the teachings of Paul. Without denying the Truth of Jesus’ words, many Christians see them as NO longer applicable save as suits their doctrinal ideas. Thus keeping His words which in our trifecta IS the singular KEY to the Truth, the Kingdom and His Presence, IS seen more as works than as the “fruits meet for repentance” (Matthew 3:8, Luke 3:8) with the latter idea NOT at ALL understood. The doctrinal idea of Repentance has become so diluted that it IS rather meaningless in regard to one’s quest for ‘salvation‘ yet it remains as the first pillar of the True Christian experience. The church’s reliance upon their chosen passages from the writings of Paul has created a theology that reinterprets the apostle’s other words to enhance their views rather than their original intent which IS to amplify and clarify the words of the Master Himself. It IS the “works of the flesh” as the carnal DOINGS of men and the “works of the law” as the rote practice of the Jewish mitzvah that Paul rails against (Galatians 3:2) and there ARE many places where the apostle shows us a very different kind of works to which his words ARE NOT contrary. We can begin with Luke’s portrayal of Paul’s teachings from the Book of Acts where we read such things as “Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance” (Acts 26:19-20). Here Paul IS teaching men to DO works, NOT the “works of the flesh“, NOT the rote practice of the “works of the law“, but works that ARE True to one’s own Repentance, one’s own change from these other ‘works‘ to the work of Transformation. Do we think that there IS any difference between these “works meet for repentance” and the Baptist’s charge that men should “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance” (Matthew 3:8)? There IS little difference between works and fruit from a spiritual perspective nor IS there difference on the carnal level; carnally works ARE the carnal actions, thoughts and attitudes of men while their fruits ARE the results thereof. Spiritually works and fruit ARE conjoined; a man’s works and his fruit ARE each the result of Repentance and both ARE the product of his Transformation. In Paul’s writings we have also several ideas regarding spiritually oriented works; the apostle tells us that “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them“. Here we should see God ordained works which IS an idea that IS contrary to his previous words saying “by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:10, 8-9). While this latter saying IS become a foundation for doctrinal Christianity, the former IS rather ignored. In Paul’s letter to Titus the subject of works plays a large part as in the apostle offers such ideas as “In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works“, “they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works” and “let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful” (Titus 2:7, 3:8, 14). ALL this however fades into another saying from this same letter where Paul says “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5). Here IS the failure to see that “works of righteousness” ARE but those things that a man DOES in this world while “the washing of regeneration” IS the work of Repentance and the “renewing of the Holy Ghost” IS founded in our work of Transformation.
For nearly 2000 years the church has been fixated on the words of the apostles, especially Paul, and have taken their interpretations of his words over the words of the Master and the other apostles. They cite Paul’s words, or rather their interpreted understanding of them, as their gospel despite the seemingly contradictory words of the Master and the other apostles. Regarding Jesus’ words, the position of much of the church claims that it IS Paul’s words that define the new dispensation of grace based in Jesus atoning sacrifice; that He died for the sins of ALL men and for many this extends to the past the present and the future. Paul’s words ARE True saying that “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3) but this has been taken out of the reality in which the idea IS formed. It IS the sins of men, their focus on the self and the things of the world, that created that atmosphere in which the Master was a threat to the carnal views and the power of men; their power to live as men in this world. This IS the same power that men since have focused upon; and scripture, before and after the Master words, focuses upon the cessation of men’s focus on the carnal realities which ARE “enmity against God“. The Truth of scripture IS ‘shunned’ in favor of the easier and more convenient paths invented by men. We should note here that aside from the interpreted words of the apostles, the idea that Jesus’ death IS atonement for the sins of men comes from Old Testament prophecies, which ARE obscure save for their relation to the reality that IS later applied to them, and such ideas as the Baptist’s words saying “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). There IS a large difference between the way that Christ “takes away the sin of the world!” and the doctrinal ideas of atonement, ideas ARE linked to interpretations of another word, propitiation, and the way that the writer of Hebrews tries to use the Jew’s laws of sacrifice to certify the Master as the final sacrifice. The writer of Hebrews IS diligently trying to convince the Jews that the Master IS their Messiah, that He IS the continuation of the words of Moses and the prophets and when we can see his words in this context, his writings can be ever more revealing. It IS the sins of men that put Jesus to death, it IS the self-serving views of the people, especially their leaders, that allow carnal circumstances to rule over their own spiritual impulses which, as we KNOW from the gospels, were almost entirely ignored. This DOES NOT mean that these impulses, this prompting of the Soul, was NOT dimly heard, it means ONLY that this prompting DID NOT rise above the din of daily living and one’s sense of self. This IS of course the same dilemma that plagues most ALL of the human family today: the din of daily living overwhelms most ALL of the impulses from one’s own Soul save for those ideas that have become a part of the cultural norms of the day. It IS the advancement of the cultural norms, pushed forward by cosmic forces and the Christ Principle as a Universal force, that moves societies ahead. Whether we see this through astrology, evolution or any power of change, this advancement proceeds, ofttimes against the wishes of the carnal minds of men. The atonement value of the death of the Master IS tied to several gospel sayings by the Master but the idea of atonement IS furnished by men. Jesus says “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). In the idea here of ransom there IS the doctrinal idea of atonement; this same Greek word lutron IS rendered by other into words that ARE taken to mean the same thing, a price paid for the redemption of others. These other translations DO render this as redemption and others still in terms of liberation and both of these ideas offer us a better understanding than DOES the idea of atonement which IS indelibly linked to the Jew’s rites of sacrifice. Should we see Paul’s words from our selection here, perhaps we can add a bit of insight apart from the doctrinal views of Jesus death. Paul tells us that it IS his own Redemption which he awaits and if we can see this as the fullness of the expression of Truth and agape through the Redeemed mortal body, we can then better understand that the value of the death of the Master was a part of His teaching to us and a revelation of the mysteries that someday ALL will see.
In the common ideas of the church perhaps the one single idea that ties most ALL denominations and sects together IS that the idea of the atonement offered by the death of the Master. It IS seen as perhaps the most important aspect of Christianity and the ‘hope’ that it brings to the follower and the believer. This ‘hope’ IS however based only upon the ideas of men who have ever sought to create an environment, a psychic environment, in which they can see beyond the grave and into a prolonged Life as they understand Life to be….the Life of the body with its attendant personality. The views of this ‘eternal’ Life vary among denominations and sects which see their nebulous future in terms of their doctrinal understanding. In reality, NO one KNOWS what happens when people die; this IS the great unknown and the guidance shown us in the death and the resurrection of the Master IS neither seen nor understood apart from the doctrinal assertions of His dying to take away the sins of men….that they ARE NO longer held against a man as some frame this. If we could see how that as Moses gave the Jews the ancillary laws to guide them into some forms of obedience that they could readily understand, perhaps we could also see how the early church gave the Christian world the fear of hell, citing purely allegorical sayings, for much the same purpose. Few understand that the doctrinal ideas of heaven and hell ARE based in these allegories and NOT in straightforward sayings as we have in our trifecta and in Jesus’ many other sayings of Truth. Again, while these clearly stated ideas ARE NOT seen literally, many of the allegorical ideas ARE understood as they ARE presented and perhaps the strangest one IS the equating of hell with an eternal existance in Revelation’s “lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15). So much of the doctrinal problem IS in the way that they have attached remnants of the Jew’s religion to the teachings of the Master and this against Jesus’ words that caution against DOING so. This has led to an understanding of sin and evil that IS NOT based in Truth but ONLY in the moral leanings of men. The deeper reality of sin and evil ARE founded in ALL that IS contrary to the words of the Master, clear words to be sure. Paul, in our selection, IS careful to show us the reality of sin in the simple idea of being “carnally minded” which IS to focus one’s Life upon the self and the things of the self. The doctrinal thinker however has declared that he IS NOT “carnally minded” and this while his days ARE filled with carnal actions, thoughts and attitudes in place of the reality that IS “the wisdom that is from above“. While the doctrines of men have rendered many of the ingredients of this Wisdom in purely carnal terms, the deeper meanings of the Greek words ARE quite spiritual, that IS that they ARE concerned with the expression of Love and its components through the renewed mind of a man. In this IS the reality that such Wisdom “is from above“; in this IS the reality that when a man’s thoughts, attitudes and actions include this entire list of the components of Love and Wisdom, then he IS NO longer “carnally minded“. Can we see the point here? Can we understand that to be free from carnality IS to be free from the vanity of Life and that this escape IS founded in one’s Repentance and Transformation and IS both one’s work and one’s works.
There IS NO shortcut here, there ARE NO confessions and affirmations and there ARE NOT rites and rituals that can deliver a man from his “bondage of corruption“; there IS ONLY the work of diligently seeking the Truth and understanding that this Truth resides within us as that unction by which “ye know all things“. This unction, this Soul, IS ever the reality of Jesus’ words saying “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17;21). It IS in the Wisdom that flows into one’s Life by measure as one takes on the work of his Transformation that IS the reality of the teachings of the Master. Here we should see that His final act, His death and resurrection, ARE intended to reveal to us the Power of the Transformed man, the Power to control one’s own reality in this world. This reality, spiritually understood, IS that we ARE this Life, the Spirit manifest as Soul, using a body with its mind and emotions, as an expression of the Truth and, that in a fully Transformed state, we enter into the reality of “the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body“. In this we have the Power as DID the Master who tells us of His death that “No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again” (John 10:18); this IS the Power of “the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body“. This IS NOT unlike the experience of the Apostle Paul of whom we read that “there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe” (Acts 14:19-20). To be sure men can tell that another IS dead or alive and in this idea of “supposing he had been dead” we should see the writers attempt to explain how that being stoned and dead Paul appears alive and well enough to travel on. This IS the Way of the Redeemed man whose body IS NO longer the master of his Life but IS ONLY a tool to be used as the Soul desires. We see more of this in the apostle’s own outline of his experiences in his Redeemed flesh as he tell us “Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness” (2 Corinthians 11:23-27). Paul realized the Master’s promise saying “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do” (John 14:12). We should understand here that we too can have such realization as we KNOW that this IS NOT that nebulous doctrinal idea of believing but IS rather as Vincent shows us saying that to believe in and to believe on the Master IS “to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life 4. We close today with our selection from Romans which IS the apostle’s analysis of the very idea of keeping His words; Paul tells us:
“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 . 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
- 3 Encyclopedia Britannica; https://www.britannica.com/topic/logos
- 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
- 12 Expositions of Holy Scripture–Project Gutenberg’s and Baker Book House’ Expositions of Holy Scripture, by Alexander Maclaren–(1826-1910)
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
