ON LOVE; PART MCCCXCV
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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 the Master’s words that follow His Sermon on the Mount in both Luke’s and Matthew’s Gospel. The Christian world DOES NOT understand the ramifications of Jesus’ words which show us the idea of The Wise and the Foolish Builders and most consider this a parable. But the ideas here DO NOT qualify as a parable as they ARE statements of factual comparison between the man who DOES keep His words, the man that “heareth my sayings, and doeth them” and the man that “that heareth, and doeth not“. While a parable IS: a statement or comment that conveys a meaning indirectly by the use of comparison, analogy, or the like*, these words from Jesus ARE direct and to the point regarding the man who DOES keep His words versus the man that DOES NOT; there IS NO True parabolic quality in His words but rather a straightforward statement of spiritual fact. Spiritually the Master’s words ARE a comparison of the Wise man with the foolish man and perhaps it IS because the idea IS spiritual that the words ARE considered a parable. The two versions of the Master’s words ARE:
- From Matthew: “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).
- From Luke: “Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great” (Luke 6:47-49).
While there IS NO question in either version as to the Master’s point, the idea IS either NOT understood or it IS simply NOT accepted by the doctrinal thinker who continues to build upon the sand which IS further explained by Luke’s saying that the foolish man “without a foundation built an house upon the earth“. Luke emphasizes the idea of a foundation and herein IS the ONLY True parabolic idea; the idea that the foundation IS His sayings which should be understood as much more than our idea of sayings. His sayings ARE His commandments and His instructions for Repentance and Transformation and the word IS rendered from the Greek word logos which IS translated as the Word in the Prologue to John’s Gospel. Most other bible translations render logos as words but the fuller intent of the idea IS shown us in the Message Bible where we read: “These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock“. While the Message Bible idea here IS more on message than the idea of sayings or even words, the impact IS lost in the idea that one should “work these words into your life“; the stronger point IS shown us by Jesus who says “whosoever heareth these sayings words of mine, and doeth them“. Without the reference to the building of a house the message IS also rather clearly stated in terms of one’s being the Wise man or being the foolish man and based upon the idea that the Wise man DOES keep His words, ALL who DO NOT, most ALL persons in and out of the church, ARE among the foolish. It IS this idea that we should see in the Apostle James words saying “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). In this view it should be easy to equate the idea of being the “foolish man” with James’ idea of deception which has been and IS rampant in the church from the beginning. What IS the deception and what IS it that IS foolish? It IS the belief that one IS living in accord with the Truth of scripture when the reality IS that one IS living in the doctrinal ideas of men. We often discuss Jesus’ warnings to us regarding “false prophets” (Matthew 7:15) but since the doctrinal teacher DOES NOT see himself in this role, the church DOES NOT heed the Master’s warning; they instead replace Jesus’ warning with the words of such teachers who claim that the True “false prophets” ARE those that DO NOT teach church doctrines or those that apply such ideas to Satan and the devil. The caution here IS of course against deception, against being deceived by the words of men who ARE interpreting the words of scripture without the most necessary tool of discernment.
Paul touches upon this in words that ARE heard by the doctrinal thinker and then applied to what they see as the non-believer rather than accepting the apostle’s charge as it IS offered. Paul tells us “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:12-14). To understand this we need ONLY to the link idea of foolishness here to the Master’s words above; it IS the “foolish man” that “heareth these sayings words of mine, and doeth them not” that IS “the natural man“, the man that “receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God“. Can we see the point here? Can we see that it IS the “the natural man” that lacks spiritual discernment and that this “natural man” that fits into James’ words above where the idea of “deceiving your own selves” IS defined for us. While there IS NO mystery here in these words taken separately or combined as we DO here, the doctrinal thinker DOES NOT ever think to apply the ideas of foolishness or deception to himself or to those things that he has chosen to believe based upon the presumed authority of those that teach him. This IS the rather unbreakable bond between men and their doctrines; few ever see that those that purport to teach them the things of God ARE themselves “the natural man” who believes himself to be more based ONLY in his doctrinal leanings. And, while some ARE well meaning men teaching what they KNOW doctrinally without realizing their own deception, others ARE self serving in ways that vary with one’s understanding of Jesus’ defining idea of such teachers as “ravening wolves” (Matthew 7:15). We should note here that ALL wolves ARE ravening, it IS their nature. The greater point in the Master’s words IS that ALL teachers that ARE NOT teaching the Truth of His words ARE among these “ravening wolves” and this would include the well meaning, the self serving and ALL that may be some combination of these traits. Jesus and His apostles offer us many cautions against believing the words of men that purport to be “of God” along with the idea that ofttimes their purporting IS but the pretense of self serving men. It IS in this regard that we should see Jesus’ words saying “Take heed lest any man deceive you: For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many” (Mark 13:5-6).
The True nature of these words from Jesus IS NOT understood by most who believe that some person will come saying “I am Christ” as an impersonator and one to which the appellation of antichrist has been applied by much of the church. There IS a dual reality here; first there IS the idea that “many shall come in my name” and to understand this one must also understand what “in my name” Truly represents. Vincent tells us that literally the idea should be seen as on my name and upon as he comments on both Matthew’s and Mark’s gospel versions respectively. On the former Vincent tells us that the idea IS: Lit., on my name, i.e., on the strength of; resting their claims on the name Messiah4 and here we would expand his idea to include the meaning of christos as anointed and understand this as those that ARE purporting to be anointed. In this view the idea that there ARE many IS quite True both yesterday and today. On the latter the idea IS yet clearer; Vincent tells us that Mark’s reference IS those who shall “come upon my name” which he shows us should be understood as those: basing their claims on the use of my name4. We should try to see that Jesus’ caution IS much more universal than doctrinally understood and that in these words IS the same caution as that which warns us of pseudoprophetes which IS rendered as “false prophets” and should ever be understood as those that teach men carnal ideas as spiritual, ones that ARE contrary to the Master’s words. The overall point of these cautions and warnings IS that such pseudoprophetes can and DO “deceive many” and if we should tie this idea to James’ words we should be able to understand the deeper point that in the end the reality IS that men ARE “deceiving your own selves” based on the “commandments of men” which ARE taught by that many that “come in my name“. We should note as well that Jesus sees this not ONLY in regard to the common man who hears the words of the pseudoprophetes but also to those that may closely follow the True teachings of the Master; Jesus says to His apostles and disciples that “there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:24). We should try to understand that the human problem here IS that men look elsewhere to define “false Christs, and false prophets” rather than looking at ALL that IS the doctrines of men which ARE often contrary to the words of the Christ. It IS this dynamic that IS at the heart of Jesus’ words that repeat those of the prophet, words which ARE yet True today; the Master says “Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:6-7). It IS unfortunate that for 2000 years the Christian world sees these words as ONLY applying to the Jews and this because most ALL CAN NOT discern the timelessness of Jesus’ words.
The simple Truth of Jesus’ words that end His Sermon on the Mount Is missed by most. Few see their own status in the foolish builder; few see that in NOT keeping His words that this IS the Master’s view of their lives. There should be NO mystery as to just what words or what sayings ARE meant as Jesus addresses those “that heareth, and doeth not“. Most ALL Christians will place themselves into the ranks of the Wise builders despite the stark Truth that they ARE afar off in their DOING according to the Master’s Sermon; and this failure IS in a broad range from the ideas of agape, to the admonition that men be “perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect“. From His words on giving, prayer, and fasting to His words on treasure, mammon and immersing oneself in the things of the self rather than the things of God. From His admonition that we should “Enter ye in at the strait gate“, or as Luke offers us that we strive to DO so, to His cautions on believing the ideas of men, and on to His most straightforward words that show US the Way, that show us that the “strait gate” (Luke 13:24) IS founded in DOING “the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:44, 48, 6:2, 6, 17, 7:13, 15, 21). It IS the person that DOES those things that the Master lists for us that ARE the Wise man, the Wise builders, in His view which IS ever spiritual and we should note here that most ALL of the words of His Sermon ARE given to us with the single tone of agape; of that Love that allows us to see some measure of the Truth and to bring that measure to bear on our mortal and carnal lives. This brings us back to our selection from the Apostle John’s First Epistle where we read:
“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby* know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also” (1 John 4).
The whole theme of this selection IS agape as IS most ALL of this epistle and while there ARE other themes that build into this idea of Love, the message of agape should be abundantly clear. John begins with much the same cautions that we find in the Master’s words as he warns us against believing the words of men that ARE purported to the be the ‘word’ “of God“. As we have discussed John calls such men antichrist because their words ARE contrary to that sense of agape that Jesus teaches us and contrary to the overall message that the Way to Truth IS through His words and NOT through the “commandments of men“. Of course the doctrinal thinker will never see himself as antichrist because he believes that his doctrines ARE Truth, a view that IS based in the teachings of men that define for them a new covenant that IS mostly devoid of the Master’s Truths; a new covenant that IS based in men’s interpretations of out of context, misapplied and misunderstood excerpts from the writings of the apostles and here especially Paul. While some DO rely upon some of Jesus’ words as well, these ARE most always those doctrinally self serving ideas, again taken out of context, like “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). John DOES feed into the doctrinal idea of men with his words saying that “Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God” but the doctrinal ideas that use this idea as fodder for their views miss the point of Spirit and confuse this with men. John IS NOT telling us of men here but of Spirit and to understand this we must understand the whole of his epistle. These words ARE an answer to the apostles written statement that says “Hereby know ye the Spirit of God” and the reality here IS that “every spirit” CAN NOT be arbitrarily assigned to men merely because they call themselves Christian. This IS the same idea that we should take away from Paul’s words comparing the “natural man” with the spiritual; Paul tells us that “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God” and in the idea of receiveth we should see the reality of realization which IS the result of our change of focus off of the ‘natural‘ and onto the Truly spiritual. A KEY here IS in the Greek word homologeo which IS rendered as connfesseth and when this idea IS tied to the Spirit the result IS much more that the affirmations and confessions that much of the church has adopted as men’s method of ‘salvation‘. To break this down further we should try to see how that it IS the Spirit that connfesseth and for this to be the realization of a man there must be that flow of spiritual Truth that comes to a man according to the Master’s 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).
Jesus clearly tells us that to have the Truth, to have realization of the Truth, one must be among those that DO keep His words which IS the hallmark of the True disciple and the goal of every aspirant to discipleship. We should note here that the trifecta also shows us how to have the Presence of God; it IS by this Presence that we can Truly say that we DO KNOW “the Spirit of God“. The common understanding of confessing leaves much to be missed as the idea here IS Truly a spiritual one as John shows us. Vincent offers us some deeper ideas regarding confessing from his commentary on Jesus words saying: “Whosoever* therefore shall confess me before men*, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32). On the idea of “confess me” Vincent tells us that this IS: A peculiar but very significant expression. Lit., “Confess in me.” The idea is that of confessing Christ out of a state of oneness with him. “Abide in me, and being in me, confess me.” It implies identification of the confessor with the confessed, and thus takes confession out of the category of mere formal or verbal acknowledgment. “Not every one that saith unto me, ‘ Lord! Lord!’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.” The true confessor of Christ is one whose faith rests in him. Observe that this gives great force to the corresponding clause, in which Christ places himself in a similar relation with those whom he confesses. “I will confess in him.” It shall be as if I spoke abiding in him. “I in them and thou in me, that they may be perfected into one, and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me” (Joh 17:23). We should here try to relate these words to the third part of our trifecta where one should see the reality of having the Lord abiding in him. The spiritual component here IS that the confession of which John speaks IS based in a state of oneness with him, with the Lord. The reality of this requires that a man Repents and IS Transforming from his heretofore carnal state to a place where the KNOWING of the unction flows through to the consciousness of the man in this world. It IS this man that can Truly “confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh“; It IS this man that KNOWS this from the perspective of his Soul, his “unction from the Holy One” by which “ye know all things” (1 John 2:20). Contrary to this IS John’s next line from our selection; that the man here “confesseth not” IS because that dynamic link between the Spirit and the mortal man has NOT been forged leaving his words, of confession or otherwise, as the words of men and to these the apostle applies the name of antichrist. We should try to see here that the Spirit DOES NOT have an effect upon the human spirit that speaks ONLY “words which man’s wisdom teacheth” rather that the fullness of KNOWING “all things” which flows from the Soul, from the unction, the anointing of men.
We should try to see that ALL of these ideas regarding our ability to KNOW are scriptural and while much of this IS found in Jesus’ words that ARE our trifecta, the same ideas ARE repeated in different ways throughout the New Testament. Vincent offers us a view of the mystery that IS our Oneness with God as he cites Jesus’ words in John 17 above; the subject here IS in regard to His disciples and the Way that it IS the disciple of whom He says “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us“. This points us to the Unity of Life, spiritual Life to be sure, where the Spirt and the Soul ARE our individual ‘reflections’ of God and the Christ, ALL existing within the Transcendent and the Immanent nature of God. We have previously discussed the reality that the physical body with its attendant personality IS NOT a principle in the Triad that IS Life; it IS the activity of the Spirit and the Soul that ARE the third part of the Trinity that IS God and man. We post our chart here again for a more visual presentation of this True mystery “the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints“….the mystery of “Christ in you” (Colossians 1:26, 27) which from a human perspective IS the ONLY part of the Trinity that man can touch until he IS Truly Redeemed.
| Aspect of God | Potency | Aspect of Man | In Relation to the Great Invocation | In relation to the Christ |
| GOD, The Father | Will or Power | Spirit or Life | Center where the Will of God IS KNOWN | Life |
| Son, The Christ | Love and Wisdom | Soul or Christ Within | Heart of God | Truth |
| Holy Spirit | Light or Activity | Life Within | Mind of God | Way |
We should remember that the mysteries of Life ARE NOT actually hidden from view as much IS written of rather plainly in the Master’s words and the words of His apostles. The problem with perceiving the Truth IS the problem of men; in the church the Truth IS obnubilated by the doctrines that ARE believed over the Truth and taught; in the secular world the Truth IS obscured by men’s focus upon their carnal and the mundane ideas of Life. Individually as men the Truth IS missed for these same reasons and it IS combinations of these ideas DO prevent the doctrinal thinker from seeing past his carnal mind….the mind of the “natural man“. We have discussed the ideas of antichrist and the Way to be “of God” in this and previous essays. We have also discussed John’s words saying “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” where the idea of “he that is in you” shows us “Christ in you” and “he that is in the world” shows us the antichrist. This antichrist IS everyman that IS believing the doctrines of men which stand in stark contrast to the Truth of the Master’s words. Again, using the Truth of John’s intent in using the word pseudoprophetes we should be able to understand that this difference between being “of God” and being antichrist IS ever a matter of the choices of men. Those that hear and heed the call of one’s own Soul, regardless of how that call IS perceived, ARE those moving toward being “of God” through their Repentance and their Transformation. This IS choosing God over mammon. It IS the opposite choice, that of mammon over God, that keeps men bound in their vanity and ALL that promote their carnal choices, either doctrinally or secularly, should be understood as part of that vast array of men that IS antichrist. It IS these that John shows us in our selection as he says “They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them” and while this ‘they‘ may be speaking of different things at times, this ‘they‘ IS ALL that have failed to see the greater Truth as well as those who have blotted out that Truth through their contrary beliefs. It IS unfortunate that the church has come to believe and to teach that this ‘they‘ IS NOT themselves but others who DO NOT believe as they DO.
There IS also a common thread to be found between these ideas of antichrist from John and the Apostle Paul’s references to “another gospel“. The former IS showing us a division between the seeker of Truth who IS the aspirant to discipleship and ALL others whether in and out of the ‘church’ while Paul IS showing us this same sense of division within the ‘church’. We must remember here that the idea of the ‘church’ IS much different today and that in the days of the apostles when there were but rudimentary and loosely organized groups to which Paul gives the name of church. The difference between these ideas of antichrist and those that embrace “another gospel: Which is not another” ARE however but a difference of perspective. The idea of antichrist casts the idea of those that follow the Christ and His teachings against those that DO NOT which includes the idea of those that embrace “another gospel” while Paul’s admonition IS to those that purport to follow the Christ and His teachings but who have been led astray by John’s idea of antichrist. These have chosen the doctrinal ideas of men over the straightforward teaching of the Master which Paul IS showing us as the ‘original’ gospel. Relating this to John’s idea of KNOWING “the Spirit of God” should show us the similarity of both John’s and Paul’s targets about whom they speak and here we must remember that John IS speaking specifically about the Spirit KNOWING Christ and revealing the Truth to the carnal mind. Both ARE showing us that we should NOT be led astray by the teachings of men which ARE contrary to the Truth and while we must assume that Paul IS teaching this same Truth, the doctrinal church presumes that Paul IS teaching those ideas which the church has applied to Paul’s words, that Paul IS teaching their various doctrines. We should try to understand that there IS but One Truth and this IS the words of the Master and that both the antichrist and those that embrace “another gospel” ARE NOT followers of that Truth but follower of the doctrines of men, both religious and secular. Paul admonishes us to NOT follow any deviations form the Truth going so far as of say that those that teach “another gospel“: “let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:6, 7, 8); this message however has NOT been understood by the church that for 2000 years has continually created many versions of “another gospel“. John approaches this same dynamic saying that “he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us” while adding earlier an explanation of this saying that “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4).
The point here IS rather simple in both John’s words and Paul’s. John shows us the dynamic of being “of God“, that those that ARE have “overcome them“, overcome the antichrists, and to DO so one must ever aim at the singular Truth that IS agape which IS clearly defined by the Master. We should remember that John IS telling us of the Spirit, of the Spirit that confesses or professes Christ to the carnal mind; it IS in this that the man in the world can come to “knoweth God“. He tells us also that the evidence that a man “knoweth God” IS found in the way that such a man keeps His words and while he gives us this as a negative to show the liar, we should understand that the difference between KNOWING God and merely professing to “know him” IS simply that we keeps His words. In KNOWING God we have a measure of Truth that perforce must be expressed and this expression IS agape as John will show us as he continues in our selection. As Paul tells us that we should NOT be deceived by them that offer “another gospel“, he tells us also that such who teach alternate ideas DO “pervert the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:7) and it IS this idea of perversion that IS the Master’s caution in His saying “But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:9). We close today with some of Paul’s other words regarding the state of the church then and for the last 2000 years; a state where men willingly believe and teach doctrinal ideas that ARE contrary to the Truth of the Master but to understand this we must be able to see that the apostle’s words before his epistles ARE steeped in the Truths that the Master brought to the world. Taking the names mentioned to be the names of any teachers Paul IS showing us that our allegiance must be to the Christ and NOT to individuals, NOT to men in this world or their doctrinal ideas. Paul says “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 1:12-13).
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition
- * 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
