ON LOVE; PART MCDXI
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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 our thoughts on the Greek word thymos which IS rendered in our King James Bible as hatred. Through our bible dictionaries we found the better idea to be passion and this with a spiritual twist as Thayer’s shows us saying: that it IS: from θύω to rush along or on, be in a heat, breathe violently; they then offer us a classical Greek idea from Plato which IS interpreted as: it signifies both the spirit panting as it were in the body, and the rage with which the man pants and swells9. Strong’s defines the idea simply as passion (as if breathing hard)9a and advises that we compare this word with G5590 which IS psuche, a word that we have not visited for quite some time; a word which Strong’s tells us IS: breath, i.e. (by implication) spirit9a. This word psuche IS rendered in terms of the Soul and as Life itself, as the ‘breath‘ of Life if you will. It IS the Soul that we KNOW as the Life of men in this world; it IS the Soul that gives psuche to the physical form and animates the personality. It IS the Soul that is subjected to that vanity that IS Life in form and it IS the Soul that IS ever prompting the personality that it animated to heed that prompting thereby causing that personality to Repent and to Transform from a carnal creature into a spiritual one. This reality of the Soul IS offered to us by Paul in seemingly obscure language which requires some measure of Transformation to Truly comprehend; Paul tells us: “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 made free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:20-21). Paul shows us that this vanity IS based in the Plan of God; that we ARE so subjected by the reality of Life and that our objective, individually and en masse, IS to be freed from our bondage which IS the reality of heeding the prompting of one’s own Soul which IS ever to keep His words. It IS in this view of Life that we should understand Paul’s use of thymos as that same passion that prompts the man in this world to the Good, the Beautiful, and the True….prompts the man to seek the things of God. His inclusion of this idea as a part of “the works of the flesh” IS to show us that this passion should NOT result in what Plato shows us as he defined thymos. It IS against this sense of rage in any degree that Paul IS cautioning us as we should NOT allow the Truth that flows from the Soul to cause the personality to ‘fight’ against opposing ideas that ARE in this world; a lesson the church has NOT learned in 2000 years. Perhaps this IS the deeper meaning to Paul’s words saying that the True disciple should be “having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled” (2 Corinthians 10:6): that we should NOT impose our spiritual Will upon any until we ARE in conformance with Jesus’ admonition that we should “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).
Thus far we have examined the first several Greek words from Paul’s list of what ARE “the works of the flesh” and perhaps some of our commentary on these words seems a stretch. This IS mostly True because men have for 2000 years interpreted the apostle’s words in a purely carnal way with many of them going directly to ideas of sex and sexual deviation. We should remember here who Paul IS writing to however as we continue through his list of word ideas that show a man that he IS NOT acting according to the “fruit of the Spirit” but IS taking that fruit, as one who had been “into the grace of Christ“, and channeling it through his personality into carnal endeavors that ARE seemingly more beneficial to the self. The apostle IS writing to those who “removed from” that calling “unto another gospel” that lacks an emphasis on one’s expression of the fruit. While we DO NOT KNOW just what it IS that these Galatians were DOING, we DO KNOW that Paul IS upset by their behavior and based on the ideas that follow in his instructions on “the works of the flesh” and the “fruit of the Spirit“, both of which ARE prefaced by the apostle’s words on agape, we should understand that the whole of his dialogue IS spiritual and NOT carnal. We should try to understand that this form of correction IS intended to allow men to see that letting the spiritual ideas flow unimpeded through the personality IS the Way to best “live in the Spirit” as aspirants to discipleship and that it IS this “another gospel; which is not another” which IS the way of those that DO NOT “also walk in the Spirit” but rather walk in tune with the doctrines that they have learned. Repeating Paul’s words that ARE our selection:
“for, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now 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. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit“.
Galatians 5:13-25
The next word in our list of “the works of the flesh” IS rendered as strife in the King James Bible. This IS a wrong rendering of eritheia; according to Vincent who tells us that the idea here IS more correctly, factions as this IS rendered by others. In his commentary on James use of the word he tells us that strife IS: A wrong rendering, founded on the mistaken derivation from ἔρις, strife. It is derived from ἔριθος, a hired servant, and means, primarily, labor for hire4. Mr. Vincent goes on to say that eritheia: comes to be applied to those who serve in official positions for their own selfish interest, and who, to that end, promote party spirit and faction4. The idea here then IS NOT strife as we generally understand the idea but rather faction and it IS this that we should try to see as the factious divisions that plague Christianity today; divisions which ARE the result of the various forms of “another gospel” that have been created by men over the centuries. From this perspective it IS easy to see Paul’s aversion to this as he tries to gather the Galatians back into a single fold that IS founded in “that which we have preached unto you” which IS the True message of the Master. While much of the church may believe that Paul taught what they interpret from his words, he DOES acknowledge that his teaching IS grounded in the Master’s Truths which he continually cites in his epistles. There IS a lot of apparent confusion in the rendering of Paul’s words but we should note here that this confusion IS ONLY because men dispute the apostle’s essential message and deem his words to be about the carnal DOINGS of men. By example, the American Standard Bible tenders eris as strife and eritheia as faction while many, including the King James, render eritheia a strife. In the idea of faction and its extension into the idea of factious division we should be able to sense the spiritual idea being conveyed as Paul shows the Galatians that any divisions into denominations and sects IS error and IS a fundamental part of “the works of the flesh“. We should try to see here as well how that the prior words play into this idea of division. Can we see division caused by the passion with which the True believer approaches those of “another gospel” or the passion that one version of “another gospel” (Galatians 1:6 ,7) may have in opposition to another version? Can we see how that debate and contention, rendered as variance and strife, have a similar effect or how the True ideas behind emulation causes such contentions as men vie to place their version above others?
Others render eritheia as faction and in this we should be able to see how that denominations and sects ARE actually factions of Christianity, divisions if you will, and while the idea IS generally seen as active in politics, the reality IS that it IS ever more active in religion. However, this idea IS NOT recognized despite several bible translations rendering the idea as faction and this, combined with the wrong rendering of the idea in terms of strife, has caused most to NOT see their own participation in this activity of the church over the centuries. Others seem to leave this idea out of their list or combine words in Paul’s list but this IS difficult to discern because there IS NO interlinear version available for most translations. This confusion IS likely because several of the Greek words DO NOT have so clear a definition when viewed in carnal terms perhaps leaving the translators with little understanding of the spiritual import of Paul’s choice of words. Again, we see the idea of eritheia as factious divisions which for us IS a more revealing idea than simply faction and we should try to see that this word IS directly relatable to Paul’s decrying the influx of “another gospel” in Galatia, an influx that has since spread around the world. We should NOT lose sight of the way that Paul’s words to the Galatians ARE ALL tied together; from his decrying of “another gospel” to his notation that such DOES “pervert the gospel of Christ“. We should try to see as well how that the apostle’s words turn from his objections to the way that the Galatians “are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel” to his teaching them on the Way to recover from such perversions; to be again allegiant to Paul’s teaching that is wholly reliant upon Jesus’ Truth which the apostle gained “by the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:12). Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians tries to show them that they ARE being deceived as he cites things that ARE directly related to his list of words that ARE “the works of the flesh“. And while he DOES include ideas related to the reversion of some to Judaism, we should NOT presume that this IS the ONLY “another gospel” involved. What we should try to see here IS that while there were those that tried to include aspects of Judaism into Christianity, they were NOT speaking to Jews but to Christians, most of whom likely had little knowledge of Judaism. What they DID KNOW IS what Paul and those with him taught regarding the Truth of Christ and how that their gospel IS based in pistis which, while rendered as faith, should be understood as KNOWING the Lord rather than relying on the rites, the rituals and the tenets of whatever “another gospel” IS presented. The greater point here IS that Paul IS trying to correct the Galatian’s attitudes toward the Gospel of Truth, “the gospel of Christ” as he shows that the reality of the gospel IS agape and that despite the rites, the rituals and the tenets offered in “another gospel” that Truth IS that “all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself“. Paul IS showing them that in Love, in agape, there IS NOT need to follow the rites, the rituals and the tenets offered by those who “would pervert the gospel of Christ“. We should understand here that Paul taught the Galatians the Truth of God’s Word based in the teachings of the Master, and that this Truth IS agape; that Truth IS the reality that the True follower should keep His words, words that ARE clearly summarized for us in 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 should try to understand that it IS sayings such as our trifecta that formed the content of Paul’s teaching to the Galatians and ALL that he taught. Paul IS passing on to his disciples the Way to become disciples of the Christ as he teaches them according to “the revelation of Jesus Christ” which he had received. We should note that such revelations come in keeping His words as we see in our trifecta above; it IS in keeping His words that we can KNOW the Truth, that we can enter into the Kingdom and that we can have the Presence of the Lord in our lives. While his words may be a bit ambiguous, Paul tells us of his time in Arabia, three years IS the most accepted idea; it IS in this time that the he becomes an apostle; it IS in this time that his Repentance on the road to Damascus becomes his Transformation. And while Paul tells us that he himself IS yet “waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:23) as he writes to the Romans, it IS apparent that he has come somewhat through his own Redemption; and this based in his Christ like Power over things carnal that we read about in the Book of Acts. It IS through “the revelation of Jesus Christ” that Paul teaches and it against such teachings of Truth and Love that “another gospel” emerges. Here we should try to see that it IS because of the vanity, because of the carnality of men, that “another gospel” has flourished and has taken the place of the Truth. Our point IS that Paul IS NOT teaching what doctrines believe today or what they may have believed in the past regarding salvation; Paul IS teaching “the gospel of Christ” which IS eternally defined for us in the words of the Master. That men DID NOT and CAN NOT today accept the presumed harshness of his words IS what gives us the many denominations and sects and their various versions of “another gospel” and it IS from this variance that Paul seeks to reclaim the Galatians. This Paul DOES as he reinstructs them in the Truth of agape as the Way to satisfy ALL of the commandments of the Lord and explains to them what can afflict them as “the works of the flesh“, those carnal tendencies that interrupt the flow of Truth through a focus upon oneself. We must however seek the spiritual value of his words and NOT settle for the carnal ideas that ARE rendered from them by men.
Paul’s next word in his list of “the works of the flesh” IS rendered as seditions in the King James Bible. The Greek word here IS dichostasia which Strong’s tells us IS: from a derivative of G1364 [dis] and G4714 [stasis]; disunion, i.e. (figuratively) dissension9a. Thayer’s offers ONLY that the idea IS dissension and division9 and in these ideas it IS difficult to see sedition as that idea IS defined today. Webster’s 1828 dictionary however gives us a deeper meaning saying that sedition IS: A factious commotion of the people, a tumultuous assembly of men rising in opposition to law or the administration of justice, and in disturbance of the public peace. Sedition is a rising or commotion of less extent than an insurrection, and both are less than rebellion1. This word IS closely allied with the ideas of the eritheia which should be rendered as faction and understood as factious division and perhaps Paul’s point IS to further the idea of the harm that “another gospel” causes. Some bible translations seem to render these words and the next together into ideas of “group rivalry” which IS the action of groups opposed to one another and this idea then can be a simple explanation of the state of the church yet today. We should try to see that the rivalries today ARE NOT against the Truth of Jesus’ words as His words have become rather moot in the churches; the rivalries today are among versions of “another gospel” of which there ARE many. We should try to see in dichostasia Strong’s defining idea of disunion and understand that this IS contrary to a primary aspect of agape which IS Unity.
The final word in this verse IS rendered as heresies from the Greek word hairesis. The idea IS rendered by some in words that ARE also used to render the previous two words by others; the point here IS the relatedness of these last three ideas. In First Corinthinans, following a theme on divisions among the church, Paul says “For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you” (1 Corinthians 11:18-19). Here the word divisions IS rendered from schisma which IS a part of the compound word above, dichostasia; while the King James Bible renders hairesis as heresies here, others render as factions which idea we have applied to eritheia. There ARE footnotes for both in the King James; for shisma one reads divisions: or, schisms and for hairesis they say heresies: or, sects. We should be able to see the clarity of the confusion regarding these words that ALL show us the same idea of factious divisions within the church. We should note however that Paul sees this as beneficial because “they which are approved may be made manifest among you“. The problem here however IS that Paul foresaw that the “gospel of Christ” would prevail when it was the divisions that did prevail as history clearly shows us. Again, as men chose the seemingly easier way to accommodate the One Truth, the presumed harshness of Jesus’ instructions gave way to the smooth words of others that offered comfort based in their doctrinal pronouncements. Vincent tells us that this word hairesis shows Parties, into which divisions crystallize4 while offering us a glimpse of this in Peter’s words saying: “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not” (2 Peter 2:1-3). Here we should see that Peter’s words were also too optimistic as he predicts that such teachers will “bring upon themselves swift destruction“; again, history shows us a different reality.
The overriding problem here IS that the factious reality of Christianity has never been identified as the precursor of its own ‘false’ teachings; the churches have ever seen themselves as the teachers of “gospel of Christ” while their theology IS ever bound to their interpretations of the words of Paul whom they place as the author of their ‘new’ covenant. This ‘new’ covenant IS but their various doctrinal ideas and we should note here that any sincere study of Christianity today will show that it IS overwhelmed by factions and divisions, overrun by those things that Paul shows us ARE “the works of the flesh“. With NO clear idea regarding the Greek word hairesis in bible dictionaries, rendering by various translators or commentaries, we should be able to sense that the idea that Paul IS trying to get across to the Galatians has been lost. However, when we combine this word with the previous words thymos, eritheia, and dichostasia a clearer picture of the apostle’s intent can be seen. First we have passion from thymos and here we should try to see that this passion can be against the ‘harshness’ of the Truth of God’s word or as passion regarding one’s own position regarding the teachings received as “another gospel“; we should remember that this idea of “another gospel” IS how that the whole of Paul’s dialogue begins. Next we have eritheia which Vincent tells us IS the word that should be rendered as faction and which IS by rendered as such by some; combining this with thymos we should be able to see that it IS by this idea of passion that men’s doctrinally factious ideas ARE formed, likely through the reasons cited above. In the next word dichostasia we have the essence of the action of eritheia and the passion, the thymos, that causes men to so separate into ‘schools of thought’ which IS division; we should note here that this idea of “schools of opinion” IS the rendering of the Darby Translation for the next word which IS hairesis. We have then the separating into factions based in the passion of men who seek to carve out a position for themselves and their followers and the division which such factions cause between such “schools of opinion“‘. Finally we have the Greek word hairesis which Vincent shows us as the parties, into which divisions crystallize4; here we can perhaps see a combination of that crystallization and the very nature of the teaching of any particular faction. This latter idea IS related to the common understanding of the English word heresy which IS: opinion or doctrine at variance with the orthodox or accepted doctrine, especially of a church or religious system and then the maintaining of such an opinion or doctrine* albeit improperly.
While there may be broad agreement between some denominations and sects, Protestant, Catholic, etc., that keep subsets bound to an overall theology, there IS yet dissension among the subsets and against those with whom they disagree. In the definition of heresy that we have above, each major religious sect sees others as heretical and individual subsets see other subsets in this same Light. In addition there IS a broad anti-Christian view of certain denominations and sects that ARE often called by the mainstream religions as cults and derided for their religious approach. The Mormon Church known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Kingdom Hall, and the Christian Science Religion known as the Church of Christ, Scientist ARE examples of those sects that ARE often disparaged by the so called mainstream religions. Our point here IS this IS exactly what Paul IS cautioning against as he calls both the separation into sects and factions and the treatment of one toward the other as “works of the flesh“, a accusation that ALL Christian denominations and sects deny for themselves but easily apply to others. Our greater point however IS that ALL of the Greek words in this second verse listing “the works of the flesh” ARE misunderstood and mistranslated as they ARE applied to the carnal ideas. The very idea that the churches ARE participating in the deeper realities that divide the church has remained unseen and unrealized for nearly 2000 years. A brief look at the doctrinal view of Paul’s words can be seen in John Gills exposition of the verse where we read that:
- Idolatry: Which some understand of covetousness, which is so called; but rather it means the worshipping of other gods, or of graven images
- hatred: internal hatred of any man’s person, even of our very enemies, is forbidden; in the original text it is “enmities”: as the carnal mind is nothing else but enmity against God and Christ, against law and Gospel, and all good men, and everything that is good
- variance: or “contentions”; fighting and quarrelling, by words scandalous and reproachful, what we commonly call scolding
- emulations: or “zeals”; not good, but bad: a boiling and rising up of the spirits and passions, at the honour and happiness of another
- wrath: or “wraths” violent emotions of the mind, moving to revenge, and seeking the hurt and mischief of others:
- strife: or “strifes”; perpetual contradictions and cavilings, either expressed by words, or working in the mind; for this strife may be in a man’s heart, according to ( James 3:14 James 3:16 )
- seditions: or “divisions”: schisms and factions, dissensions in things domestic, civil, and religious
- heresies: bad principles and tenets, relating to doctrine, which are subversive of the fundamentals of the Gospel and the Christian religion; and are the produce of a man’s own invention, and the matter of his choice, without any foundation in the word of God; and these are works of the flesh, for they spring from a corrupt and carnal mind, and are propagated with carnal views, as popular applause, worldly advantage, and indulging the lusts of the flesh8.
Of course NOT ALL doctrinal authorities see Paul’s words in this way but these ideas ARE representative of the mainstream view and perhaps even the view of some outside of the mainstream. Overall we should try to look at this whole idea of denominations and sects according to Paul’s words to the Corinthians where we read “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 divisions 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). While the scene that Paul paints here may be less accusative than his words to the Galatians on “another gospel“, the result IS the same: denominations and sects. While the Corinthians ARE dividing, their division seems to be into subsets but we should remember that Paul also writes to the Corinthians regarding “another gospel“. What we should perhaps see here IS a continued erosion that begins with the apostle’s words above and proceeds to a state where there ARE those that ARE bringing the Corinthians “another gospel“. Paul tells the Corinthians “I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him” (2 Corinthians 11:3-4). Paul IS writing against his fear that the Corinthians can also succumb to the teachings of others that ARE “another gospel” as he acknowledges that when such a teacher comes that they, the Corinthians, “might well bear with him“.
In our less carnal view of Paul’s words we should see that the first part of his list of “the works of the flesh” deals with a man’s relationship with the Lord. From the perspective of the Soul the allegiance of the man should be toward the Lord and NOT the self and a Life that runs contrary to this IS then adulterous. In this adultery IS fornication as men choose other things above the Lord, things which become the objects of their idolatry. The next word IS rendered as uncleanness and here we should try to see the idea of impurity as the Life of the man in this world deviates from the Truths that ARE expressed by the Soul but unheard by the personality because of the din of daily living. While even the bible dictionaries leave out references to sex, the doctrinal approach of men sees the idea of akatharsia almost exclusively in terms of sex and sexual deviation. Akatharsia, rendered as uncleanness, then IS the direct action of both adultery and fornication by the man whose focus IS upon the self and the things of the self. The last word in this part IS rendered as lasciviousness; we discussed some of the differences between aselgeia and the first three words two posts back saying that this word IS of unknown derivation and listing many of the sexual connotations applied to it by doctrines. Following Vincent’s logic we arrived at the idea that this word IS best rendered as wantonness which can contain sexual lust but IS more suited to lust as a general concept of desire. We cited Webster’s 1828 Dictionary that defines this wantonness as licentiousness and negligence of restraint1 and it IS in this latter idea that we can apply wantonness as the unrestrained action of the man in the world who fails to heed the prompting of his own Soul.
The next part of Paul’s list begins with idolatry which IS the placing of carnal thoughts, attitudes, actions and things above the things of God; this word has a dynamic link to the words from the previous part and it IS with this word that the apostle’s words that reference our relationship to the Lord ends. The next section which ends with hairesis references the actions of ‘spiritually’ oriented men as men in this world rather than their grand failures in their relationship with the Lord. This second section can be understood as those carnal actions that ARE based in carnal interpretations of a man’s spiritual impulses and the ways that he should NOT interact with others who have different interpretations and beliefs. In the combination of these words we should see that those that ARE afflicted by “another gospel“, and most ALL ARE, should not use spiritual Power in carnal pursuits which IS the essence of his message of pharmakeia. Neither should they express echthra which should be understood in terms of enmity but rather should ever express agape as GoodWill towards ALL, even those that ARE in opposition. Nor should the spiritually motivated man take part in or cause debate with those that disagree with their Truth and this should be understood as a far ranging affliction. The Greek word here, eris, IS largely misunderstood in doctrinal interpretations and perhaps IS best seen through Jesus’ words saying “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you” (Matthew 7:6). Here again the dictionary definition of the idea should also help us to understand eris and Paul’s aversion to it from a rather practical perspective; it reads: Do not waste good things on people who will not appreciate them*. Paul’s next word IS zelos which IS rendered in the King James as emulations. While this IS a right rendering, especially when compared to others, the idea of emulation IS NOT properly understood in today’s language; it IS a much deeper idea that drives men to equal or better others. The 1828 Webster’s Dictionary defining idea for emulation gives us the broader view and in the last post we gave as example of the spiritual import the dialogue between the Master and his apostles James and John who seek higher office than the rest. We should add here that other aspects of Paul’s list ARE visible in the attitudes of the other ten apostles of whom we read “when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John” (Mark 10:41).
This short review of the first words from Paul’s list of “the works of the flesh” brings us to our starting point in this essay. We will briefly review what IS here in this post in the next as we continue with Paul’s words from the third part of his list; words which from an casual look at the rendered words shows us specifically carnal behaviors. This of course IS much like a casual look at the first two parts. We should try to remember that most ALL bible translators viewed Paul’s list in carnal terms without exploring the spiritual import that the words represent.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
- 1 Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1828 and 1913 from https://1828.mshaffer.com/
- 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
- * 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
