ON LOVE; PART MCCCLX
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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 some thoughts on agape and it from there that we will continue. Over the next several essays we will explore the Master’s words on agape along with His admonitions regarding ALL forms of Right Human Relations which often contain hidden ideas of Love. We will also explore the words of His apostles that deal with agape directly in an effort to again show the supreme importance that IS placed upon this very nature of God and therefore the very nature of our own spiritual being, our own True self. We have spent much time on the Apostle Paul’s words from his Epistle to the Romans where the idea of agape IS somewhat veiled from view but which IS at the heart of ALL human endeavors to change our focus away from the self and the things of the self and onto the things of God. We have painted this change of focus as the reality of Repentance, that change which Vincent describes for us saying: Repentance, then, has been rightly defined as “Such a virtuous alteration of the mind and purpose as begets a like virtuous change in the life and practice“4. This IS the Truth of Repentance and what IS meant by the Master as He tells us to “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2) and, as the Apostle Mark frames this, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15). The idea here IS change and NOT sorrow and to this end Vincent goes on to tell us that: Sorrow is not, as is popularly conceived, the primary nor the prominent notion of the word 4. While there ARE some New Testament instances where the idea of sorrow can enter in, the reality of the word IS NOT this and this idea of a virtuous alteration of the mind and purpose can be rightly inserted in place of sorrow. In Luke’s Gospel there IS a place where Repentance and forgiveness meet; the Lord says “Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him” (Luke 17:3-4). We should note here that the the Master’s message IS that one should not stand in the way of another’s Repentance; we should understand that Repentance IS the first and most difficult of the actions of men who seek the Truth. It IS Repentance that puts a man upon the Path that leads us to “Strive to enter in at the strait gate” (Luke 13:24). And we should understand that this action in the heart of the man who IS following the prompting of his own Soul IS a change of Life, a sea change if you will, which singularly brings a man to the point where he must question ALL that he has been to that point. It IS this most difficult decision to change which ofttimes DOES NOT take hold immediately but rather through fits and starts that can be confusing to those who watch but which IS ever more perplexing for the man who seeks Repentance. This virtuous alteration of the mind and purpose IS the process of Transformation and Repentance; in the former there IS the sincere activity of change while in the latter there IS this plus the Life’ decision to DO so. We should note that they DO work together as DO most ALL spiritual endeavors. Here we should try to see that a major part of this change IS in our realization of our very nature; a realization that one IS NOT this flesh but IS the Soul that will use this flesh in service; and, that the major ingredient in our service IS our ever strengthening expression of agape. With this in mind we will embark again on a study of agape as this IS taught by the Master and clarified and amplified by His apostles. We begin with Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount according to the Apostle Luke:
“I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (Luke 6:27-36).
We should understand here that these words speak specifically about agape as DO most ALL of the Master’s words; His instruction IS ever folded into the idea of Love as agape. To begin we should repeat the most basic reality of agape: that it IS NOT that commonly understood idea of Love that IS held by men both in and out of the church. Love as agape IS NOT that mental and emotional, predominantly the latter, attraction and attachment to others and here we should understand that his expands beyond other people. The common idea of Love refers to pets, to ideas, to attitudes, to status and even to inanimate objects; this IS NOT agape but the carnal idea of Love. Beyond this, Love has come to be identified with sexual ideas and IS a word bandied about without any True meaning other than as an emotion in a particular time and place. At the top of every essay we DO post the same ideas that we have had from early on in this blog as we identify the idea of Love according to the proper definition of charity from older dictionaries. We DO this because both the rendered word charity and the rendered word Love ARE from the same agape or the verb form agapao. In the Webster’s 1828 edition of their dictionary charity IS defined in terms of Love but we should note that the reference IS NOT to the common understanding of Love but rather to the deeper ideas of agape. Webster’s primary definition of charity says that it IS: In a general sense, love, 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 1. For us the KEY idea here IS GoodWill which encompasses most ALL aspects of agape as this IS intended in Jesus’ teaching. This IS a part of our drive toward the expression of agape, an expression which incorporates the idea that GoodWill IS Love in action. We should note here the strong affinity between this idea of GoodWill and the use of the idea of mercy in the New Testament; mercy IS yet another word that IS wholly misunderstood in its common usage. Should we see mercy as the expression of Love by men in this world rather than the dictionary definitions which show mercy as compassionate treatment by authorities or an act of kindness, compassion, or favor*. Neither IS mercy the ideas presented in the lexicon where eleeo IS shown as: to help one afflicted or seeking aid and to help the afflicted, to bring help to the wretched 2a. And, this idea of eleeo, which IS rendered as the various ideas above, IS NOT adequately covered by Strong’s which tells us that the idea IS to: have compassion (pity on)9a; nor IS is adequately covered by Thayer’s defining ideas that eeleo IS: to succor the afflicted, to bring help to the wretched 9. Eeleo IS derived from the Greek eleos which IS also rendered as mercy and here we find yet more inadequate ideas from the lexicon; we read that eleos IS kindness or good will towards the miserable and the afflicted, joined with a desire to help them 2a. Vincent also misses the idea as he tells us of eleos that: The word emphasizes the misery with which grace (see on Luke 1:30) deals; hence, peculiarly the sense of human wretchedness coupled with the impulse to relieve it, which issues in gracious ministry 4. While ALL these ideas may be a part of the reality of mercy, we CAN NOT restrict the mercy that comes from the Lord to fit into these restrictive meanings….meanings assigned by men.
We should see mercy in terms of agape; we should understand that mercy IS the expression of agape in this world; an expression that flows from God and men. Looking again to Webster’s 1828 dictionary we see mercy defined in very similar terms to charity. We read that mercy IS: That benevolence, mildness or tenderness of heart which disposes a person to overlook injuries, or to treat an offender better than he deserves; the disposition that tempers justice, and induces an injured person to forgive trespasses and injuries, and to forbear punishment, or inflict less than law or justice will warrant. In this sense, there is perhaps no word in our language precisely synonymous with mercy. That which comes nearest to it is grace. It implies benevolence, tenderness, mildness, pity or compassion, and clemency, but exercised only towards offenders. Mercy is a distinguishing attribute of the Supreme Being 1. While Webster’s ideas ARE also restrictive, they DO point us to an attitude of agape and this IS the point that we need to make: mercy and agape ARE intertwined ideas, the former IS the expression of the latter; there can be NO expression of agape save for one that IS offered as mercy. Taking this idea into Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount we find many points where it IS this expression that the Master instructs us to have. In such admonitions as “Agree with thine adversary quickly“; “That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also“; and we CAN NOT forget that we should “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” (Matthew 5:25, 39, 44). This IS but a sampling of the words of the Master in regard to our interactions with others and what we should see here IS how that these ideas intersect with Webster’s defining ideas on both mercy and charity. And we should NOT forget that Luke uses the idea of mercy where Matthew uses the idea of perfection as they admonish us to be as the Father. Luke tells us Jesus’ words as “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful” while Matthew shows us this same thought saying “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).
We should try to see that these words from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount ARE ALL concerning the relationships of men with their fellowman. Both Luke’s version, which IS spread over several chapters, and Matthew’s version ARE replete with the Master’s instructions on Right Human Relations and both embody a sense of meekness which IS characteristic of Jesus outward expression. While some parts of the church see Jesus in a very opposite way based on His dealings with the Jews’ religious leaders, their ideas ARE misplaced. In His Power was ever the ability to wreak havoc and force change but He DID NOT DO so, save for in His words, as He sought to show the Jews’ leaders and their followers the error of the way that they approached the Lord. Perhaps it IS this factor of His ‘condemnation’ of the Jews’ practices that has allowed for the Christian idea that Jesus’ words were intended for the Jew as the early church chose their interpretations of Paul’s words to define their new covenant. We should understand that the Master’s words and His example ARE NOT isolated to the Jews in those days and we should remember as well that it IS Jews who He IS addressing as He tells them such things as “Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof” (Matthew 21:43). In these words and others like them we should see that the Master’s words ARE intended to effect others and we should understand that the idea of nation here IS better understood according to the clearer definitions of the Greek word ethnos which references groups of people including the entirety of the human family. Jesus Himself tells us of His meekness saying “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Matthew 11:29). It IS Jesus’ nature, His words and His example that ARE the subject of His closing remarks as He finishes the Sermon. He offers us a stark reality that IS missed by most ALL of Christianity as He shows us the dividing line between the “wise man” and the “foolish man” using rather clear language which IS seen by much of the church as a parable. We should try to see that there IS NO mysterious parabolic quality in His words saying:
“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it” (Matthew 7:24-27).
While we DO NOT KNOW if Matthew’s approach to the Sermon being stated ALL at once along with this closing IS the way that it happened or if Luke’s version which splits His words across several chapters IS the better understanding, we DO KNOW that these closing words follow upon the idea of keeping His words. Luke presents the Master’s charge as the rhetorical question that asks “why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46) while completing the idea to seemingly match Matthew’s later. Matthew offers us the reality of the ‘salvation‘ fate of men as one idea; both immediately precede the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders. However, in their zeal for ‘salvation‘, the church has also missed the point of the Master’s words which show us who it IS that would be accepted into the Kingdom. Matthew tells us Jesus’ words as “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. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21-23). Luke offers this same idea as a parable where the Master says: “When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out” (Luke 13:25-28). Again, we DO NOT KNOW which of these presentations of the Master’s words IS closer to the reality of the times and, for ALL practical purposes, it surely DOES NOT matter. What matters IS His charge that we keep His words. In Luke’s parabolic presentation as well as Matthew’s inclusion into the Sermon we should see ONLY the message which IS clearly that while men may believe that they have their ‘salvation‘ according to their doctrines, in the spiritual reality of those that DO NOT keep His words they ARE those “workers of iniquity“.
The point here IS that Jesus’ charge IS that men should keep His words and while this falls into the idea of works according to some doctrinal views, this IS the necessary work of the man who Truly seeks the Lord. Keeping His words IS the reality of those “fruits meet for repentance” (Matthew 3:8) of which the Baptist teaches just as keeping His words IS the reality of Paul’s words as he explains his conversion to King Agrippa acknowledging that his teaching IS that men “should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance” (Acts 26:20). While we should see the tenor of Paul’s epistles in this Light, as a teaching that men should both Repent and DO such works which show their Repentance, the church IS become lost in Paul’s other words which have been interpreted into ideas that there IS NO need for DOING….that there IS ONLY the need to believe. While this magical formula of faith and believing without works IS the message of much of the church, a message that one IS ‘saved‘ by rites and rituals or by confessions and affirmations, this IS contrary to the Truth. We should try to see how that ALL ARE doing works, some ARE DOING “works meet for repentance” while others ARE but “workers of iniquity“. The whole of our point here can be summarized in the Apostle James’ words saying “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). What IS the deception IS answered by the Master who tells us that while men may believe that they ARE ‘saved‘ because they have “prophesied in thy name….and in thy name have cast out devils….and in thy name done many wonderful works“, they ARE yet “workers of iniquity” if they DO so without True Repentance….without keeping His words. While Luke’s version of this seems quite different, there IS a basic similarity; both speak of persons who believe that they KNOW the Lord. Matthew uses the specifics of DOING such and such in His name while Luke shows us this as a presumption of KNOWING, as the way that the hearers “have eaten and drunk in thy presence” and the way that they listened as “thou hast taught in our streets“. In Luke’s terms these hearers DID NOT heed the call which Jesus’ rhetorical question asks nor can they avoid James’ words which show clearly their deception. We should understand here that while Jesus IS speaking to people then and now, His words ARE predictive. In those days they did eat and drink in His Presence and they DID hear His teachings but neither effected the idea of keeping His words in the lives of those that ARE the subject of His point. Much IS the same today, most doctrinal thinkers DO partake in “the body and blood of the Lord” and, in the same vein, this DOES NOT effect the reality of keeping His words in their lives. Much of the failure of men to keep His words IS firmly based in the Church’s attitude towards this work; most fail to see the idea that Paul presents regarding “works meet for repentance“. Nor DO they understand Paul’s words regarding men DO continually eat and drink in His Presence saying “whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 11:27). Can we see the point here? Can we see the additional point of men’s hearing His words through James accusation of deception as he admonishes us, in amplification and clarification of the Master’s words, to “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves“.
As we have said, while Matthew’s words ARE more specific, addressing the way of many Christians today who claim to prophesy, to heal, and to DO ‘good‘ works while using the Name of the Lord, the effect of both apostles’ words IS much the same. Both offer us the idea that without DOING “works meet for repentance“, there IS NO True Repentance and we should understand here that this idea of Repentance IS the singular KEY to our change from being among those “workers of iniquity” to being among those that Truly have the Presence of the Lord according to Jesus words from our trifecta which we repeat here 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).
While there IS specific criteria for the Presence of the Lord, of the Father and of the Son, in one’s Life, the doctrinal church still makes claim to having this Presence based in their doctrinal precepts. For some this IS founded in rites and rituals, for others this IS based in the affirmations and confessions according to Paul’s words which have been isolated from their context. For still other denominations and sects the idea of having the Presence of God IS based in some combination of these ideas and as we view the doctrinal criteria we should ever be aware of the Master’s. The church justifies their approach in many ways and we should try to see here that none of these doctrinal ideas ARE valid. Whether it be the churches assertion that Paul brings us a new covenant which renders moot the Master’s words or whether they assert that Jesus’ words ARE to the Jews alone, the whole of the doctrinal ideas IS but the reality of Jesus’ words saying “in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:9). For much of the church these words ARE also seen as being spoken ONLY to the Jew. The Master’s criteria for having His Presence IS intimately tied to the reality of Repentance, of that change of heart, of attitude and of mind that sets a man upon the Path to Truth. We should note here that this IS the reality of keeping His words as Jesus clearly shows us in the trifecta and we should understand that many of the church’s positions from the early church until today ARE based in the view that such Repentance IS NOT possible for men. It IS against this presumed impossibility that doctrinal precepts have been able to supplant the Truth that to have this Presence we must DO as the Master tells us saying “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“. How then DOES the church presume to have His Presence in the absence of keeping His words? By believing and teaching that this Presence IS imputed to the Christian in the same way that many presume that they ARE “born again” (John 3:3), another idea that has its own specific criteria. We should understand that merely claiming something DOES NOT make it True and that it IS ONLY when the doctrinal Christian can see Paul’s words in context and understand that they DO serve to amplify and clarify the Master’s Truths that perhaps they will return to the precepts which the Master set forth for men to follow.
Again, first and foremost in the Master’s words IS the idea of Repentance and while this IS a word that has been watered down by its common usage and doctrinal ideas, there IS a reality that should NOT be missed. This reality IS outlined for us by Vincent who tells us that: Repentance, then, has been rightly defined as “Such a virtuous alteration of the mind and purpose as begets a like virtuous change in the life and practice” 4. Vincent adds for us an understanding of the word that IS NOT seen by the doctrinal church as he tells us that: Sorrow is not, as is popularly conceived, the primary nor the prominent notion of the word 4 and it IS this popular conception of the idea that prevents men from seeing the deeper Truth of Jesus’ words saying “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). This idea of Repentance IS intended to elicit that change, that virtuous alteration of the mind and purpose as begets a like virtuous change in the life and practice. It IS this change that moves the focus of a man off of the self and onto the greater reality of God and in this we should try to see that the primary idea here IS a focus upon the very nature of the Lord which IS agape. In True Repentance and the ensuing Transformation a man comes to see the reality of the Unity that exists as Life as he begins to tear down his long held separative beliefs and attitudes. Here we should understand that doctrinally such separative beliefs and attitudes ARE tied to the Christian idea that ONLY he IS ‘saved‘ and this based in his nebulous doctrinal positions. The doctrinal thinker IS led astray through church teachings regarding Jesus’ words saying “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6) words which ARE illicitly used to create a wedge of separation between the Christian and ALL others. Here we use the idea of illicit in regard to the Truth of the Master’s words which DO NOT ever separate and divide men and this despite the Christian ideas of some that Jesus’ words of admonition toward the Jews ARE separative. Jesus accusations against the Jews ARE but a part of His attempt to show them the Truth upon which they should act in place of the doctrines which heretofore governed their lives.
Should we look upon the Master as the embodiment of the nature and the Power of God which ARE agape, we could then see an alternative to the doctrinal idea that “the Way, the Truth and the Life” ARE in His person. Paul tells us that “in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” and should we see this fullness in terms of agape according to the Apostle John’s words that clearly tell us that “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16), perhaps we can see that it IS agape that IS the reality of “the Way, the Truth and the Life“. In this it IS rather easy to understand the rest of this saying that “no man cometh unto the Father, but by me“. In these ideas we should also see the reality of the Great Commandments and why they ARE called such by Jesus; these commandments embody the fullness of our Repentance and our Transformation through the singular ideas of focus and of agape, both of which ARE incorporated into His words. In the first we commit to the idea that “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“; here we have a single focus upon the Lord and the things of God through the idea that it IS with ALL of our spiritual and mortal attributes that we express this agape. This we can extend into ALL of our human interactions through Jesus’ words saying “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” as He teaches on such interactions. While many of these things which Jesus itemizes as “when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?” have been adopted into specific ‘ministries’ by the church at large, the more central point of agape IS missed. Can we see that to Love the Lord with ALL IS to Love our fellowman according to the idea of the Unity of God and man where “as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me“? While the second of the Great Commandments seems more specific to our fellowman, we should try to see how that this same idea IS incorporated into the first through this idea of DOING for others as we would DO for the Lord. The second Great Commandment IS clearly stated as that “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” but despite the clarity here the church has questioned the intent of His words from the beginning. While the idea of the neighbor IS clearly explained in the Parable of the Good Samaritan the intent of it IS still questioned by many and there ARE some that have pigeonholed this idea into Loving those of one’s own religious leaning, an idea which IS gleaned ONLY from their interpretations of some select words from the apostles. We close today with a new selection from the words of Paul which will become the central point for the next several posts. Paul tells us:
“covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not
charityagape, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have notcharityagape, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have notcharityagape, it profiteth me nothing.CharityAgape suffereth long, and is kind;charityagape envieth not;charityagape vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.CharityAgape never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away” (1Corinthians 12:31, 13:1-8).
We have taken the liberty to change the rendered word charity to the Greek word agape from which the English words charity and Love ARE rendered.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
- 1 Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1828 and 1913 from https://1828.mshaffer.com/
- 2a New Testament Greek lexicon on biblestudytools.com
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition
- 9 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon on blueletterbible.org
- 9a The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible on blueletterbible.org
- * Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
