ON LOVE; PART MCCCLXXX
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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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A KEY takeaway from our last essay IS found in the humbleness of the Apostle Paul who acted in accord with his own words saying that a man ought “not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think“. We used this idea out of its context and we should try to see here that in context the apostle’s words ring ever Truer. Paul says that “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith” (Romans 12:1-3). While he goes on to show us that the various positions that can be held may be unique and different, that ALL ARE important and should be seen as being a man’s abilities “according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith“. That the idea of gifts as used here IS NOT to show us the adornment of special gifts to individual men based in the nebulous doctrinal ideas of faith but rather that such ARE ‘taken’ by men based in their pistis, in their ability to KNOW. We should remember here that ALL this IS written in regard to spiritual things; beginning with the precursor of this ability to KNOW which IS that we “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service“. In this we should see Paul’s earlier words saying that such a man DOES “mortify the deeds of the body” as he strives to DO as the Master DID; as he strives to “to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace” (Ephesians 2:15). It IS in so presenting our bodies, in our ability to “mortify the deeds of the body“, that we can then “be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind“. We should understand that there IS a natural order to things spiritual and that this Transformation IS the second step on the Path to the fullness of Truth; we should try to see how that these other steps ARE founded in our Repentance. It IS in our Repentance that we decide to “present your bodies a living sacrifice” and it IS in the constancy of our presentation that we ARE Transformed. In these two words that ARE NOT specifically linked in scripture we have the cause and the effect of ALL Truly spiritual endeavors and it IS when we can understand that such endeavor IS the True topic of Paul’s Epistles that we can Truly see his eternal message. While there ARE a few instances where the apostle seems to boast regarding his own spirituality, in most of his writing he places himself into the same spiritual struggle that we ALL face. Paul takes on the role of teacher and shares with us ALL of his realizations of Truth, often framing his words to suit the audience to which he IS writing. The apostle’s point and ours IS that we should NOT act as authorities save in the role of teaching what we may have realization of and framing such in ways that acknowledge that NOT ALL men ARE ready to step upon the Path. While we may at times fail at this, it IS yet the objective Way of ALL who would teach the Truth which IS so frequently contrary to the thoughts and ideas of ALL that ARE yet “conformed to this world“. It IS in the contrary nature of the teachings of Paul, contrary to the ways of the Jews and contrary to the conformed ways of men in general, that has resulted in the doctrinal views of the apostle’s teaching; views that paint ALL in doctrinal terms where one will NOT have to Truly “present your bodies a living sacrifice” nor “mortify the deeds of the body“. It IS perhaps to those who have NOT DONE so that the Apostle James writes “My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation” (James 3:1)
We should try to understand here that these “deeds of the body” ARE what Paul itemizes for us as “the works of the flesh“. We should try to see that these deeds ARE NOT limited to men’s sexual thoughts, attitudes and actions but rather encompass ALL thoughts, attitudes and actions. We should be careful here to remember that the rendered words of Paul’s list of “the works of the flesh” DO NOT accurately portray the apostle’s intent which should show us that ALL that IS contrary to the Master’s words ARE such works. Paul tells us that “the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-21). Before we embark on another analysis of the apostles intent here we should note that this IS the same apostle upon which the church relies for their doctrinal understanding of ‘salvation‘. It IS Paul’s word’s on men’s affirmation and confession of the Christ that have become the doctrinal approach that men ARE saved by their faith, nebulous faith to be sure, and their doctrinal assertion that salvation ONLY requires that one accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, again nebulous ideas to be sure. Such ideas as that “they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” have given place to doctrinal ideas of ‘salvation‘. Ideas which for some denominations and sects IS irrevocable to the man who gives heed to the doctrinal interpretation of Paul’s words of affirmation and confession. These words ARE seen as far more advantageous to men and come without that price of presenting “your bodies a living sacrifice” and mortifying “the deeds of the body“. It IS in men’s staunch desire to remain as men while finding ways to satisfy the idea of their ‘salvation‘ that Paul’s words saying “if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10) have become the mantra of large parts of the church. We should note here that other parts of the church that DO NOT rely upon these words from Paul’s Epistle to the Romans ARE NOT themselves in accord with the Truth of the Master’s words as most rely upon rites, rituals and sacraments while equally ignoring the Master’s Truths.
We should remember that such aversions to the Truth ARE solely based in a lack of vision, in a lack of understanding the spiritual realities that underlie our mortal lives but which remain unseen except by the few. These aversions ARE the result of men seeing themselves as men in this world despite the many scriptural ideas that deny that this IS so. We should try to see that these aversions to the Truth ARE rooted in our vanity, rooted in the illusion and the glamour by which we live in this world. This IS a sense of vanity that promotes “treasures upon earth” over the more nebulous “treasures in heaven“. It IS this vanity that promotes mammon over God and it IS this vanity that causes us to ignore the Master’s admonition that we “Take no thought for your life” (Matthew 6:19, 20, 24, 25). It IS vanity that IS “enmity against God” and it IS vanity that IS at the center of ALL men’s spiritual struggles down the ages. Finally it IS to this vanity that we ARE conformed by being “conformed to this world” as this vanity IS the ways of the world for humankind….it IS this vanity that IS our perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends 4. And it IS these false ends that ARE the subject of Paul’s listing of “the works of the flesh“, a listing that shows us the carnal objectives of men that ARE contrary to the Truth and Love that IS our God. Vanity IS the proclivity of men and there IS little that IS DONE to counter this. While the churches ARE, by design, intended to be that great teaching tool that breaks men away from being nurtured and indoctrinated into the ways of vanity, they have taken up their own design, their doctrines if you will, and have failed to show men the True Way. We should understand that this IS True of ALL religions that teach doctrines over the seemingly hard Truths of their scriptures; Truths that show the Way and promote the Repentance and the Transformation of men. In Christianity this can be easily traced to the Master’s words, words that the vanity of men, their carnal minds, see as contrary to their own ability to live and to thrive. Most ALL fail to see that their living and thriving in this world ARE goals that ARE the antithesis of the Truths that the Master teaches us. For the church, their whole error can be found in the final words from the Master as recorded by the Apostle Matthew whose grasp of the teachings of Jesus ARE unparalleled in the New Testament. Jesus tells us in words that ARE poorly rendered by most that His disciples should “Go ye therefore, and teach make disciples of all nations men, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world age” (Matthew 28:19-20). The changes that we make ARE for clarity and to show how that most other translations render Jesus’ words. There IS a large difference however in teaching and in making disciples of and we should remember that in regard to discipleship the Master offers us a very clear Path. And while the idea of nations should be inclusive of ALL men, the common understanding DOES NOT see this clearly; the idea of going ‘to the nations’ has become a missionary slogan which, while intended to be according to Jesus’ words, DOES NOT fulfil the Master’s objective. Finally there IS the idea of the end; while Christian eschatology predicts such an end to ALL things as the “end of the world“, the better understanding IS according to the time line of an age. When we can look at the night sky and see the complexity of His Universe with its billions and billions of stars, we can perhaps see that the happenings on this little rock in space CAN NOT determine the rise or fall of the whole. Of course we must also be able to see past the almost ludicrous Christian movement regarding a young Earth in the same way that we have been able to see that our planet IS NOT flat.
Our greater point here however IS the greater error of a church that has supplanted the idea of “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” with the teaching of their various doctrines which conflict with His words and often conflict with each other. This teaching of their doctrines serves create new ‘believers‘ that ARE separated into groups based upon who it was that brought them the teaching and here we should be reminded of Paul’s words saying:
“Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisionsb among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:10-13).
The crux of Paul’s words IS found in the question “Is Christ divided?” and here we should KNOW that the answer IS NO from every spiritual perspective. Yet the church’s many denominations and sects teach a divided Christ; they teach a Catholic Christ, a Methodist Christ, a Seventh Day Adventist Christ, a Mormon Christ, and so many others, while each division insists that they, and often ONLY they, have the Truth. This IS the division of Christ and, to be sure, NONE of these denominations or sects DO teach the words of the Master as He intended them to be understood; NONE ARE “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you“. It IS in these divisions of Truth that the reality of sin lies; it IS these divisions of Truth that fail to show the masses the Power of agape and the True meaning of this word which IS clearly elucidated for us by the Master and His apostles. Again, the most basic reason IS that our expression of agape seems contrary to the ways of men in this world; our expression of the Truth that one “shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” requires that we see ALL others as we see ourselves and those that we hold dear. This commandment IS singularly fought against by the psyches of men and their ardent sense of self that IS founded in their vanity and exacerbated by the nurturing and indoctrination that ALL must endure. This of course must change and will change; Paul tells us clearly about this vanity saying that our release from it IS founded in the Will of God. The apostle tells us in these oft repeated words that “the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because expectation that the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:20-21). While many interpret this according to their doctrinal views of the ‘fall of man’, the reality IS rather clearly seen in the idea that being so subjected IS the way of Life in this world; that through our birth, our nurturing and our indoctrination we ARE become lost and this IS the essence of our vanity. Again Vincent frames this for us saying that this vanity IS: a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends 4. These defining ideas for the Greek word mataiotes ARE, from a spiritual perspective, undeniable; these defining ideas show us the very nature of men whose continuing focus IS ever on the self. We should understand that these words define ALL men who have NOT found some measure of Truth; these words define the basic quality of ALL who have NOT Truly found Repentance; ALL who ARE NOT in the process of Transformation. We should understand as well the the Christian believer IS NOT freed from this by his doctrinal views which serve to inhibit men’s desire to focus upon the Truth because they believe that they have already found it. There IS little that can be done to correct the view of the staunch Christian believer regarding their doctrinal approach to the Lord. And we should note here that until this correction IS embraced by the church at large, there IS little hope that the masses will be Truly led to Christ and “be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God“.
While the connotation of Paul’s words shows us a rather Universal deliverance and one that IS expected as the result of this creation, we must try to see that it IS this deliverance, this being made free as the Greek word eleutheroo IS more properly rendered, IS also an individual matter and one that IS the True subject of much of Paul’s writings. In such ideas as “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” (Romans 8:13) which comes from the same chapter where we find ourselves made free we should get a glimpse of the apostle’s view of the process for this deliverance. Paul simply states that should we NOT “live after the flesh” we can enter into the reality of the True Life which IS being freed from the vanity that IS of the flesh. We should understand here that this view from the apostle IS a clarifying and amplifying one that reflects upon Jesus’ words that ARE the first part of 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).
While Jesus tells us that the Truth will make us free, He also tells us how to attain that Truth and here, from the Master’s own words, we should KNOW that the Way IS that we keep His words and, moreover, become His “disciples indeed“. It IS in keeping His words that we can “mortify the deeds of the body” and it IS in so killing out the desires of the self in this world that we can be Transformed out of our conformance to the world and Truly KNOW “what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God“. This IS the crux of Paul’s teaching but because he uses many words to build his overall instructions to Truth, it IS become easy for men to find words of ‘comfort’ that DO NOT require such True Transformation. Such have been the religious ways of men down the centuries and we should understand that such doctrinal comfort IS to be found in most every religion that has erected a doctrinal approach which DOES NOT require that one DO anything but believe. But this sense of believing, this sense of that nebulous doctrinal faith, ARE the chimera of the church and its followers both individually and corporately. Such doctrinal approaches deny the seemingly hard Truths of scripture and have set a meandering course that IS perhaps the lesson of the Jews’ wandering forty years in the wilderness. The point here IS that as men we choose to live as men in this world and NOT as men who ARE “delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” and, in so DOING, the church as redefined its own brand of bondage as that “glorious liberty“. As doctrinal thinkers many believe that they ARE free of the corruption by some mystical idea of atonement. The hard Truth however IS that most ALL ARE yet in that same “bondage of corruption” while convincing themselves that they ARE free. Most ALL DO NOT heed the Master’s Truth on the Way to that freedom, a Truth that IS clearly stated. In ALL men’s doctrines ARE but a collection of ideas that ARE essentially vain and idle fancies* and when we can see that this IS a defining idea of a chimera, we can perhaps then see the monster* that such doctrines Truly ARE. While our words may seem antagonistic toward the beliefs of many millions, they ARE NOT intended to be so. Our intent IS to show the way that for centuries the most basic Truths of scripture have been ignored and that the Way to True salvation lies in our right understanding of the Master’s words and those amplifying and clarifying words of His apostles. Both offer us a most direct Path to Truth and that Path IS agape, rightly understood, as the fruit of our True adoption through which we ARE “delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God“. Simply put agape IS the One Truth by which ALL things exist; it IS the Union of everyman with his own Soul and the Union of every Soul with God.
We must ever remember the Apostle John’s words saying “God is love agape” (1 John 4:8, 16); while these words ARE held dear by most ALL Christians they ARE little understood save for their use in yet another Christian mantra: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). These words show us the deepest Truth but it has become but a trite saying from the bible. The reality here IS God IS One with His creation and everyman IS equally His son. Jesus IS His “only begotten Son” from a very special perspective and one that DOES NOT diminish everyman’s ability to have the same realizations as the Master. Jesus IS from birth an expression of divinity; Paul shows us this saying that “in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9). Jesus IS born the Son of God, the ONLY one begotten in such a manner as to come among us with “all the fulness of the Godhead bodily“. But everyman has opportunity to become a son of God and we ARE frequently told this throughout the New Testament. In John’s Gospel we read that “as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12) but here as in the previous words from the same gospel there IS a doctrinal insufficiency. Both statements rely upon a false understanding of the idea behind the Greek word pisteuo and here in both pisteuo eis. This IS NOT that nebulous idea of believing bandied about by the churches; it IS a concrete reality by which men ARE made committed to the Godhead which we should understand simply as keeping His words. Vincent shows us this in regard to pisteuo eis using ideas that we have stretched to include most every occurrence of believing in the New Testament when such belief IS in regard to the Lord. Vincent tell us: To believe in, or on, is more than mere acceptance of a statement. It is so to accept a statement or a person as to rest upon them, to trust them practically; to draw upon and avail one’s self of all that is offered to him in them. 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 4. It IS in this way that we can become sons of God and to those who can keep His words as this bolded statement tells us there IS also Jesus’ promise saying “Verily, verily, I say unto you, 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). Can we see the picture that these ideas should paint for us?
This brings us back again to our selection from Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians. This selection IS a picture of agape, what it IS and what it IS NOT. We begin again with the idea that ALL of Paul’s writings about “spiritual gifts” ARE recast in this selection as the apostle tell us that it IS agape that IS “a more excellent way” than IS men’s desire to have those gifts which he so briefly covers. Paul shows us clearly that without our expression of agape any “spiritual gifts” that we may presume that we have ARE worthless and in this idea we should see that they ARE NOT spiritual at ALL but merely carnal representations of the True gifts. And we should understand here that the very idea that these ARE gifts IS a misnomer. Rendered from the Greek word charisma, the idea IS closely related to charis through the verb charizomai; there IS a direct link to charis which should always be rendered as grace, as ALL that comes from the Godhead. There IS another Greek word, doma, that IS more properly rendered as gifts but the word used in Paul’s context here to define “spiritual gifts” is charisma and should we understand this as grace(s), the whole of Paul’s showing us their worthlessness in the absence of agape can take on a very different meaning. In previous essays we showed how that grace IS earned NOT simply given and we show this through Jesus’ words on agape. Both Luke and Matthew show us the same idea using different words; Luke shows us charis while Matthew shows us misthos. Charis, while rendered as thank, IS ever grace and misthos IS clearly a reward or wages 9, 9a. The Master’s central point in achieving grace IS tied to agape and, we should note, it IS tied to our expression of agape to those that may NOT express the same to us. Matthew frames this saying that “if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?” (Matthew 5:46); here we have the idea of a reward from the Greek word misthos and this idea can also be rendered in terms of wages or pay for service 9a as Strong’s defines this. Luke shows a slightly different and expanded view saying that “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” (Luke 6:32-34). While the King James renders charis here as thank, the True understanding of this word IS grace and in the comparison of these verses we should see that the idea of reward or wages and the idea of grace ARE synonymous.
When we can understand that the doctrinal ideas of “free gifts” IS NOT a Truly scriptural idea but rather one that IS based solely in “the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7), we can then perhaps more rapidly progress spiritually. From the beginning, from Adam’s own experience and from Moses writings, there has ever been a quid pro quo and while at times this is unstated, at others it IS made abundantly clear. The Lord through Moses says “if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God” (Deuteronomy 28:1-2). From these words Moses goes on to itemize the blessings, the grace or the reward, for the nation should they “hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God“. He then goes on to list the curses for failing to DO so and if we CAN NOT see the quid pro quo here, we ARE ONLY deluding ourselves. And this has been the state of the most ALL doctrinal thinkers: delusion. The Master offers us a similar choice in our trifecta and relates this to the Way to the Truth and a Life in His Kingdom and, again, the clarity of the quid pro quo should be deafening. The clarity IS lost however and has been for 2000 years as men have continually substituted the doctrinal ideas of men for the Truth of the Master’s words. And we should see here that in a clear reading of the writings of His apostles there IS the same clarity as they amplify and clarify Jesus’ ofttimes parabolic words. We should understand here that Jesus IS more often abundantly clear and that His parabolic tone seems limited to the revelation of those ideas that must come from the hearts of men as realizations of Truth according to His words. Most importantly we should try to see that we ARE NOT limited to the rote following of the law and His commandments, a task at which men have continually failed because of their zeal to remain as men in this world of men. While NOT a shortcut, the concept of agape, True Love as the Master teaches us and the apostle’s amplify, IS the Way to accomplish ALL things spiritual and it requires ONLY that we can see the Unity of His creation, a Unity that prevails in the totality of Life in this world and beyond. It IS to this end that the apostles show us the Way of Love according to Jesus’ words and it IS sore unfortunate that we DO NOT see their Truths but rather pick and choose those ideas that can be used to support the view of men rather than the Truth of God. Paul perhaps gives us the clearest Path to agape as he defines for us what agape IS and what it IS NOT and we should note here that it IS men that have distorted his message. This distortion we can see in the rendering of agape as charity and as Love and interpreting his message according to the common view of both ideas. In the end however the underlying message from our selection IS clear: without our expression of agape as the Master teaches this we ARE nothing and our thoughts and words ARE but “as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal“. We close again with our selection:
“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. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity” (1 Corinthians 12:31, 13:1-13).
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
- 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
