ON LOVE; PART MCDXXXIV
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FIRST IS THE GREAT COMMANDMENTS: “The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31).
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WHAT THEN IS LOVE? In a general sense love is benevolence, good will; that disposition of heart which inclines men to think favorably of their fellow men, and to do them good. In a theological sense, it includes supreme love to God, and universal good will to men. While this IS from an older definition of Charity, which IS rendered in the King James Bible from the same Greek word agape which IS generally rendered as Love, we should amend our own definition here to include the idea that in the reality of Love a man will accord to ALL men ALL things that he would accord to himself and to say that Love IS our thoughts and attitude of the equality of ALL men regardless of their outward nature or appearance…that ALL ARE equally children of Our One God.
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PLUS THE EVER IMPORTANT AND HIGH IDEAL TAUGHT TO US BY THE CHRIST: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12).
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We ended the last essay with some thoughts on the heart and the way that this word IS used by the Master and His apostles. Our primary verse in this discussion IS Jesus’ words saying “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matthew 12:34) and the fuller idea offered by Luke saying “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh” (Luke 6:45). We should note that the idea here IS NOT limited to what we may say but rather includes ALL that we think and DO and perhaps it would be good to see the idea that it IS out “of the abundance of the heart” that the personality IS constructed. In this we should try to see that these ideas, heart and personality, ARE equivalent; it IS out “of the abundance of the heart” that the personality acts. We should remember here two things regarding good and evil; first that these ideas ARE NOT as they ARE portrayed in common usage nor by church doctrines. Good IS defined as: morally excellent; virtuous; righteous; pious before the more common ideas of satisfactory in quality, quantity, or degree and of high quality; excellent*. While the latter ideas should be discarded in this spiritual use of the idea of good, the main idea of morally excellent; virtuous; righteous; pious can be applied to but few persons. For us the gist of the idea of good as it IS used in scripture should reflect one’s focus upon the things of God, a focus that would include one’s striving to keep His words; such a man would certainly be morally excellent; virtuous; righteous; pious. We should remember here as wells the Master’s treatment of the idea of good and how that this relates to the Lord; Jesus tells us through His comments to one who addressed Him as “Good Master“, that “there is none good but one, that is, God” and in this we should see the high value placed upon this word. In these words we should be able to get a glimpse of the deepest meaning of the word good and this to the degree that even Jesus DOES NOT take this appellation upon Himself. Scripturally then he idea of good from the Greek word agathos has meaning that IS far beyond what the lexicon reveals and we should note that the biblical definitions ARE less revealing than the lead definition from today’s dictionary. The lexicon tells us that agathos IS: of good constitution or nature; useful, salutary; good, pleasant, agreeable, joyful, happy; excellent, distinguished; upright, honourable2a while Strong’s and Thayer’s ONLY contribute to these ideas; nothing here can describe God as the One that IS good.
The Master DOES use this word with a lesser meaning in His words regarding the heart above but this lesser meaning must NOT be understood ONLY against the lexicon’s defining ideas. Relating to Jesus’ words regard good and God, we should try to understand that His intent IS to show us the dichotomy between the spiritual and the carnal by His analysis of good and evil….that good IS spiritual while evil IS essentially carnal. Taking His words spiritually IS perhaps our best guide to understanding the New Testament but this has NOT been the way of the church from the beginning as men, religious men to be sure, ARE convinced that their comportment IS spiritual and NOT carnal. Most ALL DO NOT see that the dividing line IS keeping His words or striving to DO so under the Soul’s influence in our Repentance and our Transformation. The message that we should try to see in Jesus’ words IS that “A good man” has “good treasure“, “treasures in heaven” if you will, while “an evil man” has “evil treasure“, “treasures upon earth” (Matthew 6: 20, 19) that take up his Life focus. In this we should be able to see the deeper intent of the use of both words and define the good as ALL that IS spiritually oriented and the evil as ALL that IS in the carnal focus of men. We should remember here that the main subject IS the heart so that it IS the personality of a man, his expression if you will, that defines a man and NOT any doctrinal ideas that run counter to this understanding. As we continue to discuss the use of kardia in the New Testament, we again present the lexicon’s defining ideas; we read:
- denotes the centre of all physical and spiritual life
- the vigour and sense of physical life
- the centre and seat of spiritual life
- the soul or mind, as it is the fountain and seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, endeavours
- of the understanding, the faculty and seat of the intelligence
- of the will and character
- of the soul so far as it is affected and stirred in a bad way or good, or of the soul as the seat of the sensibilities, affections, emotions, desires, appetites, passions
- of the middle or central or inmost part of anything, even though inanimate2a
We should note here that the lexicon’s first defining idea IS in regard to the physical organ that IS the heart; this they define as: that organ in the animal body which is the centre of the circulation of the blood, and hence was regarded as the seat of physical life2a. As we ended the last essay and began this one we disputed the combined claim of the lexicon’s next defining idea which tells us that the heart IS the centre of all physical and spiritual life. The heart IS ONLY the center of physical Life from the perspective of the circulation of blood and in this respect it IS a necessary component in ALL animal Life in this world. However, the physical heart IS NOT the center of the personality; this center IS a complex effect of mind, emotions and the way that these control the physical form through the endocrine system. Without going into the physical characteristics of this system, we should try to see the interrelationships between the subtle ideas of mind and emotion and the physical activity that they cause through the physical form. In this we should try to see that it IS in the “the renewing of your mind” through Transformation that we can control the whole of the physical nature. Additionally we should try to see the interconnectivity between the mind and the emotions and how that one aspect can control the other; for some it IS the emotions that control while for others it IS the mind and here we should begin to see that the most general idea regarding this combination IS the idea of the personality. Save for the effects that the personality as a whole has on the man in this world, little IS yet Truly understood regarding the combined nature of mind and emotion and this despite the ramblings of science and their fluctuating theories. We should try to see that the mind and emotions ARE but two aspects of the same physical yet subtle part of the psyche of everyman and that this psyche IS NOT the Soul. While we DO NOT yet comprehend the whole of these ideas, we should try to see how that as the mind IS transformed it overwhelms the emotional aspect and reflects what we can call the True center of consciousness which IS the Soul. Our point here IS that it IS the personality that IS referred to as the heart by the Master and here we should note that the word personality was NOT in existence nor use at the time of the Master’s speaking nor the writings of His apostles.
Of the heart the Master tells us that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” before He clarifies the idea saying “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things” (Matthew 12:35). In these words we should try to see that the heart IS changeable and relating this to the personality we can likely understand the whole of the idea that when fed from the carnal and mundane world of thought and emotion the man IS carnal which IS shown us here as evil. Similarly, when the heart, the personality, IS fed from the Soul, when the personality IS fed spiritual ideas and Truths through Repentance and Transformation, the mind IS renewed and begins to play its fuller role while subduing one’s emotional responses. This IS NO longer then the concrete mind but, at the same time, one DOES NOT lose his concrete and finite abilities; he merely orients the finite toward the infinite realms. While these things may be hard to comprehend, this IS because of our focus which IS yet carnal and finite and oriented toward the self and the things of the self in this world. We should try to see through these ideas that the heart IS NOT a spiritual faculty hence it IS NOT the center of spiritual Life; the heart DOES however become spiritually oriented under the influence of the Soul. And this IS the reality of our evolution which IS a constant event; and, to be sure, evolution IS a word that IS largely misunderstood on ALL sides of any debate. The Christian world stands strongly in opposition to most any idea of evolution and the more recent drive toward embracing various young Earth theories has further exacerbated that opposition. In today’s world there ARE some ‘scientists’ that also embrace and propagate young Earth theories as they find flaws in the existing theories of evolution. Many use such flaws to their own theories advantage but the whole of the movement IS misinformed by their own indoctrination into the very few statements made in the bible. We should try to see that the idea of evolution IS much more complex than the ideas that Darwin promoted as he ONLY viewed the Life in this world, the Life of the animal forms. When we add to this singular analysis the Christian’s strong desire to see the words of Genesis as factual ideas rather that snippets of information that would be palatable to the superstitions and barbarous man at the time of its writing, we can then perhaps see the error. Most ALL of the theoretical ideas presented by Darwin’s observations ARE likely impossible to prove but so IS their denial; perhaps in the distant future today’s science can help to show the Truth based in scientific observations over time. When discussing this problem between the churches and science we often lean toward Alexander Maclaren’s dissertation on the opening chapters of Genesis. Mr. Maclaren was a highly respected Baptist minister whose more than 1500 sermons covering most ALL of the bible ARE published and available online; he has much to say to break down some of the barriers to understanding that ARE the doctrines of men. Here however we ARE ONLY interested in his views on Genesis; on the creation process Mr. Maclaren tells us:
“We are not to look to Genesis for a scientific cosmogony, and are not to be disturbed by physicists’ criticisms on it as such. Its purpose is quite another, and far more important; namely, to imprint deep and ineffaceable the conviction that the one God created all things. Nor must it be forgotten that this vision of creation was given to people ignorant of natural science, and prone to fall back into surrounding idolatry 12.”
While Mr. Maclaren DOES NOT dispute the ideas that come from the short biblical tale of creation, he DOES put it into a more realistic perspective but, unfortunately, NOT one that IS accepted by the doctrinal churches. This lack of acceptance IS based in the desire of Christians and Jews, along with perhaps some parts of Islam that rely upon the opening segments of Genesis, to have an indisputable scripture upon which to rely. Most seem to believe that the entire bible IS written by God through ‘divine’ inspiration ‘given’ to the writers and while this may be a True belief, it DOES NOT happen according to the dictates of doctrines. Additionally most seem to believe that the words of the bible ARE infallible but, at the same time apply this idea to the translated words which ARE seen in much the same way despite the variations of meaning and intent found in the many different bible translations. Our point here IS that Mr. Maclaren offers us a perspective where the words of Genesis ARE crated to show the singular Truth that “one God created all things“; an idea that should be understood against the reality that IS shown us through bible history, the reality that the people of those times were ever “prone to fall back into surrounding idolatry“. We should understand as well that the Jews’ approach to religion IS based in the words of the Old Testament and while some DID glimpse the greater Truths, most ALL went along with the accepted doctrinal interpretations. We should try to see here as well that other religions that seem to practice polytheism ARE NOT necessarily worshiping multiple gods but rather different aspects of the same ONE God that Christians, Jews and Muslims hold True. This however IS NOT sufficient for the comfort of some, especially Christians and Jews, many hold that the God of Islam, Allah, IS different than the One unnamed God which they DO worship. Such differences of perspective, NOT the fact which IS that there can be but One God, have added to the acrimony between religions as well as the Christian view that ONLY they have access to the One True God. It IS sore unfortunate that ALL these centuries later that ARE still “people ignorant of natural science” that continually dispute the apparent Truths regarding the age of the Earth and the reality that evolution IS part and parcel of the Earth’s history.
Again, it IS the desire of men to have infallible and indisputable scriptures that has caused this seemingly growing dichotomy between the real and science based approach to Truth and the scriptural interpretations of men who have such desire. As we said, there ARE several popular ministerial organizations that continually try to persuade us that Genesis IS Truth and that the few words offered to us regarding creation ARE the one and only Truth; this includes the so-called ‘fall of man’ which we ourselves attribute to Paul’s words on vanity. The objectives of such ministerial organizations ARE purely carnal but they ARE so cloaked as Truth by the perpetuators’ ‘church authority’ that many ARE still being brought into that group of “people ignorant of natural science“. In this perhaps we can see yet another reason that the churches ARE struggling, another reason why people ARE leaving their denominations and sects and the failure of new people to join. It IS those that remain “people ignorant of natural science” that CAN NOT accept the idea of evolution which, from our perspective, IS misunderstood on ALL sides. The church relies upon the words of Genesis to decry the idea that humankind may have evolved from other primate species, an idea that most will NOT accept. Science also errs as most see the evolving human as a complete being at various stages of social development. What we see however IS starkly different; we see the human form complete with personality, with mind and emotion, as the evolved and evolving vehicle for the Life of a Soul in this world. We see that it IS essentially the Souls of men that waited patiently for evolution to bring forth a human form that could support the work of the Soul and IS since responsible for the evolution of mind and emotion. Regardless whether one’s focus IS upon the Truth, it IS still the Soul that provides the Life force which animates the body, a Life force that works through the evolving state of the central nervous system allowing the man in form to have realization of spiritual ideas and ideals that ARE NOT generally NOT understood as such. Our receptiveness to such spiritual ideas and ideals IS the product of the cycle of rebirth that IS called reincarnation where, as a Soul, we continually achieve greater ability to transfer spiritual ideas and ideals to the carnal mind. This of course IS NOT a scientific analysis but rather a way to show the interconnectivity of ALL aspects of men; we should try to see that it IS Spirit that IS the essence of a man and that this Spirit IS manifest in this world as Soul. These, Spirit and Soul, ARE the first two aspects of manifest Life and while many may see the body as the third aspect, the reality IS that the body IS but a vehicle; it IS our expression of the Truth and Love that ARE the Spiritual foundations for Life in this world that IS the third aspect of the personal Trinity that IS everyman. When one can express in fullness the Love and Truth that ARE God and the spiritual man, then the Holy Spirit, the third Aspect, IS expressing himself in this world.
We should try to understand that while these ideas ARE alien to any that ARE nurtured in religious doctrines, there IS a biblical reality to them. The Master tells His disciples, and we should remember here that He IS speaking to His disciples, men that DO keep His words and have a proportionate measure of the Truth according to the first part of our trifecta, that “the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26). In these words there IS much Truth that IS obscured by the language of the times and the rendering of His words into English. If we can see that the Father Aspect IS the Spirit aspect of man and that in Jesus Name IS reference to the second aspect, the Christ Within, it IS then easier to understand the idea of the Holy Ghost. From John’s First Epistle we should be able to see that he understands these things and that his style of writing here reflect upon the idea that such Truths ARE revealed to the disciple and by measure to the aspirant to discipleship; the average man will NOT understand the depth of such Truths which ARE the mysteries of Life of which the Master tells His disciples that “Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand” (Luke 8:10). We should note here that the common understanding of the deep spiritual ideas offered by Jesus and His apostles IS in itself the parable and that such offerings by them ARE in accord with Jesus saying that we should “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) Let us here break down some of these ideas before we try to understand this last saying; first, in the Master’s saying that “the Father will send” the Holy Spirit, the idea of being sent IS a bit more complex that IS commonly understood. The Greek word pempo which IS rendered as send IS also rendered as dispatch and as put and it IS this final idea that should take our attention. The lexicon defines pempo as: to send; to bid a thing to be carried to one; to send (thrust or insert) a thing into another2a and, again, it IS the final idea that we should try to see as the primary in this context. We should relate the Master’s words and the defining idea for pempo to John’s words on the unction which we discussed in the last essay; here if we can work around the common understanding of the words of Jesus and John, an understanding that IS the creation of men, we can perhaps come to glimpse the Truth behind what IS written. Can we see how that the idea IS that the Holy Spirit will be put as a thing into another and here, into the heart of a man. Second we should understand that a parable DOES NOT need to be a story or a narrative; a parable can be a simple statement that obscures the Truth as IS Jesus’ words on “the Comforter” above.
Finally there IS the matter of giving “that which is holy unto the dogs” and casting “your pearls before swine“; both of these ARE shown us by example in Jesus communications with the Jews where His words cause the Jews’ religious leaders to mock Him, seek for ways to kill Him and then find such a way through the use of the Romans and their laws. While some commentators will lean toward the lessons of the Master regarding such things, others relate the ideas ONLY to the idea of holy things according to the Jews’ mitzvah. In his Exposition of the Bible John Gill tells us that: the phrase is used in a metaphorical sense; and is generally understood of not delivering or communicating the holy word of God, and the truths of the Gospel, comparable to pearls, or the ordinances of it, to persons notoriously vile and sinful as he tells us also that such men are compared to “dogs”8. Mr. Gill summarizes his remarks saying that: since the subject Christ is upon is reproof, it seems rather to be the design of these expressions, that men should be cautious, and prudent, in rebuking and admonishing such persons for their sins, in whom there is no appearance or hope of success; yea, where there is danger of sustaining loss8. From our perspective Mr. Gills ideas ARE kind of half-truths as they allude to the greater purpose but view it doctrinally as he presumes that the doctrines that he holds ARE the Truth; in this case Mr. Gills advice would be contrary to the whole idea of evangelizing that dominates parts of the church. Others as Vincent have taken on ONLY the idea of holy things going to dogs saying that: The reference is to the meat offered in sacrifice4 while he seems to take literally the idea of casting “your pearls before swine“. In this regard Mr. Vincent tells us that this IS: Another picture of a rich man wantonly throwing handfuls of small pearls to swine. Swine in Palestine were at best but half – tamed, the hog being an unclean animal. The wild boar haunts the Jordan valley to this day. Small pearls, called by jewellers seed – pearls, would resemble the pease or maize on which the swine feed. They would rush upon them when scattered, and, discovering the cheat, would trample upon them and turn their tusks upon the man who scattered them4. While we may find that Mr. Vincent’s references ARE valid against the purely carnal ideas, we should understand that Jesus IS NOT speaking in carnal terms but in spiritual. Jesus example of these things should be clear as He DOES cast “pearls before swine” as He tells the Jews of His own relationship to the Father and of their failures according to the Truth of the law. While these ARE pearls and holy things to those that KNOW, they ARE NOT seen as such by those who hold their own Truths dear and here we should try to see how that the whole idea of being a heretic stems from such actions as giving “that which is holy unto the dogs” and casting “your pearls before swine“. The very definition of heretic which we read as: a professed believer who maintains religious opinions contrary to those accepted by his or her church or rejects doctrines prescribed by that church* shows us that heresy IS NOT against the Truth but rather against the ‘chosen’ ideas of denominations and sects. Thus, as one speaks out against established doctrine he IS seen as a heretic and we should note that this word DID carry much baggage throughout the history of the church; much more so that it carries today.
To be sure, most ALL that we write here in this blog would be considered heretical by the ‘church’ today; NOT because our writing lacks Truth but rather because it IS contrary to and rejects much of the doctrines prescribed by that church. We have often spoken about the implied authority taken by the leaders of the denominations and sects; we can easily see this implied authority in a range situations from high leadership to the everyday pastor. IS teaching about agape and Truth and the authority of the words of the Master heretical? Most certainly NOT and it IS much these same things that caused the Jews to see Jesus as a heretic. In returning to our thoughts on evolution we can perhaps see one cause for our being seen as heretics and this because we DO NOT accept that those few verses from Genesis can be the ONLY foundation for Life in this world. While there IS a movement to disprove the ideas of science through young Earth theories, the effects of this movement ARE as yet restricted to the indoctrinated Christian world which IS for example convinced that the dinosaurs and men lived together in the Earth over the last 6000 years. Should we restrict our view of evolution to the evolving of forms suitable for use by Souls in a situation where Paul’s words can ring True even to the skeptic, we can then perhaps begin to unwind the mystery that IS our presence here in this world. Applying Paul’s words to men as Souls taking possession of human forms we can perhaps reconcile the words of Genesis with Paul’s 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). Contrasting this with Genesis where we read two things:
- “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:27-28).
- “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7).
If we take Paul’s words saying “the creature was made subject to vanity” and understand that the idea of creature IS better understood as the creation, which IS the primary defining idea according to the lexicon2a , and identify this as the Soul, the Soul that IS manifest in this realm of existence from the Spirit, we can perhaps see a logical idea emerging. We should remember that the words of Genesis ARE written for the consumption of men that ARE superstitious, barbarous and of course “ignorant of natural science” and NOT for the thinking man that would follow him and, as such, it IS the ideas hidden behind the words that must be discovered; a process that the church has completely ignored. It IS the Soul, the True man, that IS subjected to this vanity which Vincent defines for us as: a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends4. It IS the vanity into which we ARE born, and then nurtured and indoctrinated into carnal Life that keeps us from seeing the greater Truth of our own spiritual existence. While religion IS intended to bring us back to that vision, it has tremendously failed to DO so for the vast majority of the people. We should try to see that religion has NOT failed per se but men’s interpretations of True religious tenets into the various doctrinal approaches to God has. The idea of the ‘fall of man’ taken from the Genesis story has this same effect according to most theologies that show us that man was close to God before the fall and separate from God afterward. Genesis tells us that “God created man in his own image” and while the church has invented ways that this may be True through the eternal existence of the Christ, they have applied this eternal existence to the man Jesus. That we presume to KNOW the True “image of God” IS as a man DOES NOT make it so however; the True “image of God” IS as His nature which scripture tells us IS Truth and Love. This image IS Spirit manifest as Soul and it IS this that should be seen in the follow up idea from Genesis that tells us that “God formed man of the dust of the ground“, the body if you will, and then “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul“. While there IS some clarity here and in the other verses from Genesis, it IS obscured by the doctrinal ideas of men, ideas that have been ingrained into the Christian worlds’ psyche for 2000 years.
While there can be NO hard and accurate depiction of evolution, we should at least try to see that what IS at question IS the evolution of our animal bodies and, to be sure, even this depiction of these bodies as animal bodies IS ofttimes disconcerting to the Christian world. The deeper realities of evolution for us as men however IS NOT found in the endless debates about evolution or Darwin’s theories and to shut such ideas down in favor of the interpretations of ideas found in the Book of Genesis IS a True disservice to those being nurtured and indoctrinated. The deeper realities of our evolution ARE found in understanding the evolution of mind over emotion which IS an aspect of the Soul’s ability to influence the mind, to begin the renewal process if you will, as both evolve the capacity to express Soul values through the evolved forms that we use in this Earth. It IS a readily accepted idea that when we die our Soul and Spirit lives on but this has been compromised by a failure to see that it IS the Soul that gives Life to the form, to make the body “a living soul“. There ARE NO easy ways to understand this save for whatsoever revelations we may get; it IS ONLY in our realizations of the Truth of spiritual living that we can continue our individual and corporate evolution as men and as the human family. To this end we again post our trifecta, the words of the Master that show us how that we can have such realization through keeping His words and begin to express the Truths and the agape that will surely become those realizations. Jesus tells us:
- “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 will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
- 2a New Testament Greek lexicon on biblestudytools.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
- 12 Expositions of Holy Scripture–Project Gutenberg’s and Baker Book House’ Expositions of Holy Scripture, by Alexander Maclaren–(1826-1910)
- * 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
