ON LOVE; PART MCCCLXXIX
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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 a comment that deserves greater discussion. We said that: most ALL miss the reality of the Master’s words and the spiritual necessity to see their Truth despite the way that many of His precepts DO upset the views of men as regards their lives, their desires and their objectives here in this world. Our point here IS that from the beginning the Truths that the Master shows us regarding our own comportment have been seen as grievous as they DO disrupt the views of men regarding their lives, their desires and their objectives here in this world where the governing authority IS that vanity to which ALL men ARE subjected. The Apostle Paul shows us this saying 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). These words ARE a frequent part of our discussions because in them IS the seed idea for the ways of men in this world and whether we call this vanity or the ‘fall of man’ the results ARE largely the same: we live as men in this world rather than Souls in form. This IS so because we ARE ‘separated’ from our own Souls from birth; we must then endure our own period of infancy and childhood as we ARE nurtured and indoctrinated into the ways of the world including the religious views of the culture into which we ARE born. Vincent defines this vanity for us as: a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends 4. In this IS the most basic Truth of our lives here in this Earth as we grow into adults with ALL of the baggage into which we ARE nurtured and indoctrinated. Relating this to Paul’s words however we should try to see that this IS the expected result, God DOES NOT hope as we understand that word. Vincent shows us the relationship of the apostle’s words saying that the phrase rendered as “in hope, Because” should be seen differently; he tells us that: The best texts transfer these words from the preceding verse, and construe with was made subject, rendering ὅτι that instead of because. “The creation was subjected in the hope that,” etc. In hope is literally on hope, as a foundation. The hope is that of the subjected, not of the subjector. Nature “possesses in the feeling of her unmerited suffering, a sort of presentiment of her future deliverance” (Godet)4. We should note that Vincent applies the idea of hope or expectation to the subjected and NOT the subjector which would be the Lord. While this may seem contrary to our perspective, it IS NOT as it IS the Souls of men that ARE so subjected; to understand this however we must understand as well that the deeper reality of the creation account in the Book of Genesis. There we read that “God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:27); this IS NOT the creation of the man in this world, adam, but rather the creation of the Souls of men in time and space. It IS in this way that we ARE spiritual beings that ARE “in the image of God” and this according to the defining ideas regarding the Lord which the Master frames for us saying “God is a Spirit” (John 4:24) which reflects the literal translation of Jesus’ words.
We should try to see this from the perspective of the Soul which IS the True man who IS living for a time in a body of flesh and will be separated from that flesh at the death of the body. We should try to understand here that it IS the Soul, individually and corporately, that IS subjected to this vanity and that it becomes the objective of everyman to find his way back to the Truth. We should try to see this Truth as those Truths that the Master teaches us through His instructions regarding our comportment. While we may see His instructions as grievous and while we may resist them as men in this world by changing His Truths into our doctrines, this IS ALL based in the human fear of losing ourselves, our personalities if you will, and being separated from our desired Life in this world. The Apostle John tells us that “this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous” (1 John 5:3) but these words ARE NOT Truly accepted as IS evidenced by the individual and corporate behaviors of men in this world. And we should NOT see the behaviors of men in terms of doctrinal sin ONLY but we should see this in ALL that IS contrary to the things of God which Paul shows us saying “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” (Romans 8:6-7). Can we see the point here? The reality of Paul’s words here should show us that ALL carnal tendencies, attitudes, feelings, etc. ARE contrary to the things of God and we should try to see this idea through the Master’s precept that tells us to “Take no thought for your life“. We should try to understand that neither Paul’s nor Jesus’ words ARE properly understood by the doctrinal thinker who believes that through his doctrines his thoughts, attitudes and feelings ARE NO longer carnal; and this despite the way that he continues to live as a man in this world thinking most always about his Life in it. Most ALL men live in vanity; most ALL ARE in a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends 4. Unfortunately few realize their state of being despite being shown the Truth by the Master and His apostles; most ALL have persuaded themselves of their ‘salvation‘ and they see this as their goal. a goal of ‘going to heaven’ when they die as men in this Earth. While this Christian philosophy IS made up of isolated and out of context sayings that ARE NOT intended to be strung together, the most basic Truths concerning True salvation ARE clearly stated but ignored. It IS when we can see the gospels as the Master’s instructions to men regarding their own righteousness and that His apostles words ARE clarifying and amplifying this message of Truth that we can perhaps begin to shed our doctrinal ideas. This IS of course a most difficult task as for most of the 2000 years since the advent of the Christ in this world men have chosen what they KNOW best which IS their carnal attitudes, thoughts and feelings. That the ‘believer‘ will NOT admit to having such carnal inclinations IS of no moment; most any review of any Life will see most everyman continually striving toward a better position in this world of men and this IS as True of the religious man as it IS of the secular.
Men continually make those choices that ARE contrary to the Master’s words saying “Take no thought for your life” as most work ardently to provide for their own worldly needs and desires as well as those of others who ARE held close. Men continually choose “treasures upon earth” which ARE concrete and real over “treasures in heaven” which ARE essentially undefined save for one’s revelations of Truth, revelations which those choosing their Life in this world seldom receive. And most ALL purposely choose mammon over the Lord and the evidence of this IS found in the way that their thoughts, attitudes and feelings ARE focusd upon themselves and their way of Life in this world. Jesus offers us a parable, one that IS difficult to understand and which IS largely misunderstood, that covers the reality of men in this world. The parable IS called the Parable of the Unjust Steward but the reality IS that the story shows us a man of the world, a man whose focus IS upon the world and a man that will DO what IS necessary to maintain his position. In the end there IS NO unjustness save toward his master who relied upon the man as his steward. The steward DID as men will DO because their focus IS upon themselves and should we each put ourselves into this story, we can perhaps see the deeper meaning of the endpoint of the story. The parable goes thus:
“There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. So he called every one of his lord’s debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Luke 16:1-13).
We have here a man who IS tempted and who gives into his temptations as he “wasted his goods“, the goods of his lord. We DO NOT KNOW what this wasting entails but we should see the whole of this according to James words saying: “every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1: 14-15). To be sure this wasting IS related to the desires of the steward which, while undefined, DO lead him to pursue what it IS that he wants. We assume here that the steward IS using his lord’s goods for his own benefit which IS in essence stealing; for this the steward IS, and deservedly so, fired from his job. None of this IS the point of the parable however; Jesus continues to show us that the first significant point IS in his reaction to being fired. There IS NO contrition and NO remorse but ONLY thoughts of how he may stay in the game, a carnal game to be sure. In his ‘negotiations’ with the lord’s debtors, presumably before they realized he IS NO longer steward, the former steward reduces the amounts that they owe and we ARE left to wonder what becomes of the balance, the other “fifty measures of oil” and the twenty “measures of wheat” and whatsoever IS beyond these two examples. While some doctrinal interpretations of this parable relate the lord to God and the steward to the man who was to promote the causes of the Lord but instead promoted his own agenda, there IS really NO basis for this in the parable itself. John Gill’s exposition of this parable DOES just this but because of its length we ONLY offer here a link to it so that the reader can see this doctrinal position which IS likely typical of most doctrinal views (https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/luke-16/) 8. Keeping with our own view we have a steward who IS taking further advantage of his stewardship and most likely negotiating to his own benefit; first so that he may have some income and secondly so that he may retain some friends that “they may receive me into their houses“. The second point here IS the odd way that the lord “commended the unjust steward” and here we can but assume that the lord has seen in the steward a certain cunning which he, also as a carnal man, admired and which perhaps led the lord to hiring the steward in the first place. These two points ARE the foundation for the Master’s own words that follow where one message can be seen as His admonition that carnal men be singularly carnal men as this IS the way to success in this world. We can see this in the conclusion of the parable where the Master offers us that choice between God and mammon with the explanatory that “Ye cannot serve God and mammon“. Leading up to this conclusion the Master says that “the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light” and here we should see the former as those carnally oriented and the latter as those spiritually oriented. Can we see His point in saying that those nurtured and indoctrinated into the ways of this world ARE wiser, from that perspective, than those who may be spiritually inclined, those who have overcome being so nurtured and indoctrinated? Jesus goes on to give carnal instructions to carnal men and this again IS to show that their success carnally relies upon their singular focus upon themselves and the things of this world. Of special note here IS the Master’s words that tell us that it IS our focus upon whatsoever we choose, carnal or spiritual, that assures our success in either and we should try to see that His emphasis IS upon that focus. We should see this emphasis in His words saying “If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?“. The Apostle James shows us the result of NOT having a singular focus saying “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:5-8).
Our point here IS that while this parable seems to define the relationship between the lord and his steward as well as the emphasis given to the role of focus upon a singular ideal, there IS ever the opportunity to choose. In our interpretation the steward chooses to remain a carnal actor in a carnal world. Should he have had some degree of remorse and contrition, he may have, at the time of his being fired, decided to Repent and follow the Way of God over the way of mammon. Perhaps the KEY here IS in the Master’s words saying that “If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?“; this should take us back to the beginning, to that point where this man IS “the unjust steward” who IS NOT faithful to his lord and thereby IS NOT entitled to the “true riches“. We can reduce ALL of this parable to the simple choice between God and mammon, a choice that can be made at any time that one decides to NO longer be “conformed to this world” but chooses to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). This choice IS our Repentance and it IS this decision to change which IS prompted by the Soul that allows for our Transformation from being “children of this world” into being “children of light“. Another reality that can be gleaned from this parable and our interpretation of it IS that we ARE as men either carnal or we ARE spiritual; we should try to see that there IS NO middle ground. This the Master tells us saying that “Ye cannot serve God and mammon” which James amplifies saying that “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways“. Can we see the point here? Can we see that the man who believes he IS spiritually oriented while living according to the ways of the world IS “he that wavereth” and that he “is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed“? And can we see that it IS the spiritual man, the man who strives to keep His words and to express agape that DOES receive from the Lord the things of God. These ARE the Truth, His Presence and His Kingdom according to our trifecta and we should understand that “he that wavereth” should NOT “think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord“? There IS one way to “receive any thing of the Lord” and the Master lays this out in clear language through 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).
We must remember that these spiritual ideas ARE NOT as black and white as we may present but such a view IS essential for our spiritual growth. The single factor that removes us from the black and white idea that “Ye cannot serve God and mammon” IS founded in our striving toward the one or the other. Similarly while “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways“, he can yet make spiritual progress by striving toward that single mindedness which the Master shows us saying “if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light” (Matthew 6:22). It IS in striving that we can break out of the black and white model of Life; it IS in striving that we can build for ourselves a measure of Truth, of His Presence and His Kingdom. We should understand here that our measure of these things of God IS directly proportionate to our striving which IS according to the Master’s words saying “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:24). For us it IS striving that IS the KEY to dispelling the illusion and the glamour that afflict us ALL as that vanity to which ALL ARE subjected and we should note the defining ideas behind this idea. The word strive in Luke’s Gospel IS rendered from the Greek word agōnizomai which Strong’s defines for us as: to struggle, literally (to compete for a prize), figuratively (to contend with an adversary), or genitive case (to endeavor to accomplish something):—fight, labor fervently, strive 9a. From this we should be able to see that this sense of striving IS a struggle which represents our individual struggle between the carnal and the spiritual. We should remember here that our carnality need not be seen in terms of sin or evil; many carnally oriented persons DO live according to the more virtuous ideas of Truth and Love without seeing any of this as religious or spiritually oriented. Perhaps these too ARE striving “to enter in at the strait gate” but ARE DOING so without a True spiritual motivation or perhaps with the motivation of a more Universal sense of religion. Regardless of one’s motivations, it IS the act of striving that overcomes the vanity of Life. That some may NOT need to make a decision based in Repentance but ARE more naturally motivated toward the Good, the Beautiful and the True than others IS further evidence that ALL spiritual progress IS NOT limited to the practicing Christian and that ALL men have equal opportunity for spiritual growth. We must remember here that the singularly potent Way of spiritual progress IS agape and, to be sure, there ARE many millions in this world that express some measure of this Love without understanding it; that there ARE many millions for whom prejudices, hatreds and divisions DO NOT control their thinking in their yet carnally conformed minds. While we CAN NOT say the causes of this for sure, we can try to see that it IS based in the state of control that an individual Soul may have over his own Life from the beginning. We can try to see that because it IS the Soul that has influence over his own birth, the place, the time and the very nature of his physical body before accounting for the many unseen things that can happen, he can place himself in the most advantageous position for his own spiritual growth. Both of these ideas can be seen as the product of past Life experience and spiritual progress and ARE perhaps the ONLY way we have of justifying the differences among men regarding where, when and with what equipment they ARE born with. We should remember here however that each Soul, that everyman, IS still born into this vanity and IS subjected to his own nurturing and indoctrination which, while related to the Soul’s choice of place and time of birth, presents an unpredictable situation. Here we should try to remember that the apostles and those close to the Master 2000 years ago ARE NOT randomly chosen persons; that they ARE rather a part of the Great and Awesome Plan of God put in motion so that the RIGHT people ARE available and positioned to aid the Master in His mission to present Truth and Love to a waiting world. There ARE NO accidents save for those that involve the doings of others who ARE outside of the Plan and perhaps we can have a window into these ideas through the much misunderstood ideas that Paul presents on predestination. The Master shows us a glimpse of our point here as He heals a man “born blind“; Jesus IS asked and answers an important question which we read as: “as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him” (John 9:1-3).
We should see two points in the Master’s response and yet another in His disciple’s questions. In the question we should try to see that there IS an understanding by the disciples in those days regarding the concept of rebirth or reincarnation; KNOWING that the man IS “born blind” yet asking if he had himself sinned shows us that there IS such an understanding. Jesus DOES NOT refute this idea in any way but simply says that this IS NOT the case here; He DOES NOT pursue the idea further as He DOES regarding the relationship of John the Baptist to the Prophet Elijah where He says of the Baptist “if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come” (Matthew 11:14). The second point from the Master’s answer shows us that there IS a Plan and that there ARE others who ARE an integral part of that Plan. Jesus’ answer, “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him” can be and IS interpreted in several ways None however rely upon the idea that as Enlightened Souls we can come into this world with a divine purpose which, in this case and in the cases of ALL His apostles, IS to assist the Plan. This IS a extremely complicated (to the finite human mind) as IS the whole reality of Reincarnation and Rebirth. In ALL we little ability to comprehend such matters of Spiritual Reality and therefore interpret such ideas into ONLY what it IS that we can imagine. We should note that as Souls we DO KNOW all things and that for the fully Repented, Transformed and Redeemed man, such ideas can be understood because our minds ARE NO longer carnal; as a function of our Redemption the heretofore carnal mind will become imbued with the Spiritual Light of the unction. Paul tells us about “the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” and we should try to understand here that it IS in the adoption that we ARE Redeemed; here we should try to see that it IS the Union formed in our adoption that Redeems the form. Paul helps us to understand this saying of the Master that “he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace” (Ephesians 2:15). In these words ARE a description of the adoption, a description of what it IS that Paul himself IS waiting for; this he shows us saying it IS “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 8:23). Using Paul’s words to the Ephesians we can perhaps see that the apostle IS waiting to be Christlike himself, perhaps a state that he DID NOT think he had obtained. And we should be the same way according to Paul’s words saying that we too ARE “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 12:3). We should try to understand that the whole idea of adoption from the Greek word huiothesia IS written to people at Rome who, according to Vincent, KNOW the deeper ideas related to this word. It IS because of our casual understanding of the this idea that the reality of spiritually oriented adoption IS NOT better understood doctrinally. Repeating Vincent’s words which reveal the proper depth of huiothesia we read:
Mr. Merivale, illustrating Paul’s acquaintance with Roman law, says: “The process of legal adoption by which the chosen heir became entitled not only to the reversion of the property but to the civil status, to the burdens as well as the rights of the adopter – became, as it were, his other self, one with him … this too is a Roman principle, peculiar at this time to the Romans, unknown, I believe, to the Greeks, unknown, to all appearance, to the Jews, as it certainly is not found in the legislation of Moses, nor mentioned anywhere as a usage among the children of the covenant. We have but a faint conception of the force with which such an illustration would speak to one familiar with the Roman practice; how it would serve to impress upon him the assurance that the adopted son of God becomes, in a peculiar and intimate sense, one with the heavenly Father” (“Conversion of the Roman Empire”).
Applying this idea to the doctrinal thinker who IS yet caught in the vanity of Life in this world IS NO different than applying the idea that because one follows in his doctrines, even to some small degree, that he IS “born again“. Being “born again” IS to enter into the Kingdom of God here and NOW; being “born again” IS for such a man “to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace” and thus eliminating the enmity that heretofore existed because of his conformed mind. Searching for the depth of meaning of these ideas of “the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” and being Truly “born again” will show us that these can be realities in the Life of the True seeker and that these ARE synonymous ideas. Ideas which embrace the singular Truth of agape and the Unity then of everyman with both his Lord and his fellowman. To be Truly “born again” IS to be “born of the Spirit” (John 3:3, 6) and the Apostle Paul shows us the reality of this saying such things as “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). These words from Paul should demand that the one claiming to be “born again” must then “walk in the Spirit“….the Life into which he is reborn. We should understand here that the reality of being “born again” IS the reality of having His Truth, His Presence and His Kingdom which ARE the rewards according to our trifecta, the rewards of keeping His words. It IS in this state that we ARE able to “through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body“; that IS to end that inherent enmity through the Unity of making “in himself of twain one new man, so making peace“. This IS the Way. To apply such ideas as we have here to oneself IS but folly and cuts across the apostle’s words saying that a man should “not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think” and, if we can see Paul’s words on the adoption in this context we can perhaps understand some degree of spiritual humbleness. We KNOW from the New Testament that Paul was Christlike in his demeanor and in his spiritual abilities yet he includes himself in the idea that we ARE “waiting for the adoption“. Can we see the point here? Can we see how that religious leaders over the centuries have indeed thought of themselves “more highly than he ought to think“? It IS this sense of thinking that one IS right and righteous in the absence of a True expression of agape and Truth that creates and extends the doctrines of men under the assumed authority of such thinkers. It IS this lesson that we should take from our selection from Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians which we repeat saying:
“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
- 8 Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com
- 9 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon on blueletterbible.org
- 9a The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible on blueletterbible.org
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
