ON LOVE; PART MCDXLV
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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 Vincent’s commentary on the Greek word moichos which IS rendered as adulterer in James’ Epistle. Moichos IS the noun form of the verb moicheuo that IS used in our subject verses from Matthew’s Gospel. Our point IS that despite the way that the idea of moicheuo IS treated by bible commentary and the lexicon which cite ONLY the carnal applications of the idea, this Greek word DOES have a dual meaning. As we said, Vincent helps us to see the idea that the lexicon uses in its defining ideas regarding the noun but which it omits regarding the verb. Vincent tells us: The apostate members of the church are figuratively regarded as unfaithful spouses; according to the common Old Testament figure, in which God is the bridegroom or husband to whom his people are wedded4. This helps to clarify the lexicon where the second defining idea IS: metaph. one who is faithless toward God, ungodly2a. This point IS made abundantly clear by James’ text which reads “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4). James IS NOT writing in regard to sex but rather men’s choosing the carnal over the spiritual, the world over God, which ideas ARE in complete agreement with the Master’s teaching on treasure and on the reliance of men on mammon. In this regard Jesus tells us “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24) and while the church may see mammon strictly as money and possessions, the implication IS that ALL that IS of the world IS mammon. We should remember here that the word mammon IS but a transliteration of the Chaldean word mamonas which IS untranslated because of the lack of a suitable translatable word in English. We should remember as well that even when viewed in terms of riches and treasure, the whole idea IS ignored in the teaching of the church where men convince themselves that they DO NOT rely upon such mammon as they adhere to the defining idea that mammon IS riches (where it is personified and opposed to God)2a which IS a fully nonsensical idea when viewed spiritually.
The Master’s words however DO tell us the more basic reality of mammon in the simple saying that “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21). In these words ALL things DO qualify as treasure, as what IS important to a man or, to put this in our terms, as what IS the focus of a man. While this point seems to be completely missed by the doctrinal thinker, it IS nonetheless at the heart of our True Repentance and Transformation which IS of course the objective of ALL of Jesus’ teachings, the objective of His commandments. It IS in through the Master’s words that the idea of adultery IS best understood and while the idea of carnal adultery seems to be His point, we should try to see the parabolic nature of His words in the same way as we should see anger as equal with killing. In the end we should understand that His words to His disciples ARE His words to ALL men as ALL face the same choice of remaining in the vanity into which ALL ARE born or escaping their “bondage of corruption” (Romans 8:20, 21) and becoming “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). It IS to show us the importance of Repentance, of changing the focus of our lives, that Jesus continues with some seemingly harsh comments on the Life of the man who remains focused on himself and his Life in this world as a man. Jesus tells us “if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell” (Matthew 5:29-30) and here our understanding may rely upon our understanding of the Greek word skandalizo which IS rendered here as offend. The general idea taken from this word IS that which will cause thee to offend as IS listed in the footnotes to the King James Bible and to be sure this idea extends far beyond the idea of carnal adultery which it follows in Matthew’s Gospel and which IS deemed by most to be the subject. The lexicon however tells us a different story as they say of skandalizo that it IS: to put a stumbling block or impediment in the way, upon which another may trip and fall, metaph. to offend; to entice to sin; to cause a person to begin to distrust and desert one whom he ought to trust and obey; to cause to fall away; to be offended in one, i.e. to see in another what I disapprove of and what hinders me from acknowledging his authority; to cause one to judge unfavourably or unjustly of another2a. These ideas ARE from Thayer’s9 definitions of skandalizo and DO NOT reflect upon the idea of carnal adultery either directly or indirectly; and Strong’s definitions agree by saying simply that skandalizo IS: to entrap, i.e. trip up (figuratively, stumble (transitively) or entice to sin, apostasy or displeasure):—(make to) offend9a. We should add here the reality that neither the hand nor the eye can make to offend or entice to sin.
The gist of Jesus’ words here should lead us to the importance of ALL offenses against the spiritual nature of man, the “divine nature” if you will, and the most apparent offense IS tied to the adulterous nature of men. Again we must understand this adultery from a spiritual perspective as being “a friend of the world” as James frames this for us. We can see this spiritual side of adultery in the Hebrew definitions of na’aph which IS rendered as adultery in ideas of apostasy that ARE NOT carried forward by the Christian lexicons save for such commentaries as Vincent’s above and the way that Jesus IS depicted as the bridegroom in the New Testament. This depiction IS used by some parts of the church which seems to fail to see the relationship to adultery which IS reserved for carnal matters of sex. Whatsoever DOES lead to apostasy then IS the subject of Jesus’ words on the hand and the eye which ARE but body parts that ‘obey’ the hearts of men. Here we should understand the idea of heart as the motivation of men in this world, a motivation that can be spiritual but which IS overwhelmingly carnal in the lives of most ALL men. The Master tells us that it IS “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matthew 12:34) and here we must understand that this IS either carnal or it IS spiritual. ALL leanings toward the carnal keep men somewhat in their bondage which IS ONLY escaped by measure through our striving to “enter in at the strait gate” (Luke 13:24). This escape IS from our “friendship of the world” (James 4:4) and IS depicted by Peter in terms of becoming “partakers of the divine nature“, a becoming that he tells us IS made possible to those that have “escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4). Can we see the point here? Can we see how that ALL of this IS connected and that it IS lust, carnal desires, that lead the hand and the eye to offend? Behind Jesus words then on the idea of cutting off and plucking out we should try to see the deeper reality which IS to escape, which IS to prevent our lusts from controlling our mortal lives. Paul shows us the benefit of this saying that “if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live” (Romans 8:13). It IS this perspective that should be used in our understanding of Jesus’ seemingly harsh words on dealing with the offensive eye or hand through our spiritually adulterous relationships with the world which ARE, as James tells us, in opposition to our relationship with the Lord. We should also note that James also frames this in terms of temptation which can be understood as a precursor to our desires and lusts; he tells us:
“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren“
(James 1:12-16)
We should note here that ALL of these words from the Master and His apostles ARE to the same end which IS to refrain from that adulterous way of living in this world; this IS the message of the entirety of the bible as well as the message of most every True world religion and we should try to understand how that ALL of this IS tantamount to keeping His words. The Master takes us from the idea of adultery using the common understanding of the word to the broader idea of the offense and in this we should be able to understand that the defining idea for adultery in these sayings IS apostasy. This idea however should NOT be seen carnally in regard to religion but rather spiritually in regard to one’s relationship with the Lord, a relationship that exists regardless of one’s outward religious stature. From the offense the Master moves on to a more permanent separation, both carnally and spiritually, which He again frames to the common understanding of the idea and where we must extract the spiritual notes that He offers us. The Master says “It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery” (Matthew 5:31-32). To understand these words spiritually requires us to remember the created idea of the common Old Testament figure, in which God is the bridegroom or husband to whom his people are wedded, an idea that has carried over into the Christian era through the Old Testament and the Master’s parables that center upon the idea of marriage. Jesus uses the idea of the carnal marriage in His typical parabolic way to show the relationship between the Lord and His people. We should try to understand that to be in such a relationship with the Lord requires that a man follows the Master’s instructions as the wife in those days would follow the husband’s instructions. The divorce IS whatsoever IS against this idea of marriage, whatsoever takes a man’s heart from focus upon the Lord. We should try to remember here that the Master IS speaking predominantly to His disciples who ARE in such a relationship. For the rest of us we should try to understand that as Souls, we ARE ever in this relationship with the objective of bringing it to fruition in our everyday lives, another aspect of the “fruit of the Spirit” if you will (Galatians 5:22). The idea of fornication in Jesus’ words IS a reason why the spiritual ideas ARE NOT generally attached to His words and that the whole of marriage and divorce remain as carnal ideas in the church. However, if we should see the idea of fornication in the same way as adultery, as one being attracted to another and consummating that attraction, we could better understand the Master’s point. Fornication has become an idea in the church that IS limited to carnal lusts and desires for what the lexicon calls illicit sexual intercourse: adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism, intercourse with animals etc.2a. We should try to see here that such ideas ARE NOT among the concerns that DID afflict the disciples of Jesus nor was carnal divorce a concern and, to be sure, most ALL of the church has looked past the idea of divorce for centuries.
Spiritually, the idea of porneia which rendered in terms of fornication has the same dual meaning that we discussed regarding adultery and should we look at divorce through that prism we can have an entirely different view of the Master’s message to His disciples and those that follow. Divorce also has that dual meaning that encompasses both the carnal and the spiritual; carnally the word IS used in much more than the realm of marriage which IS at the center of the doctrinal view of most. Again, this doctrinal view has NOT stopped the idea of divorce in this world where in some countries, dependent on culture, divorce IS NOT looked at askew but IS accepted as a part of their own cultural development as it consumes countless marriages. And, to be sure, while the idea of fornication plays a part in the divorce decision, it IS far from the top of the list of causes for divorce. Perhaps it IS because the idea of divorce IS NOT specifically shown us in the Ten Commandments that the idea has taken such a minor role in most of the church over the centuries. Even today but this DOES NOT have any effect on the churches understanding of spiritual divorce which, like adultery and fornication, IS ONLY found in the hearts of men. The lexicon DOES recognize the dual nature of the idea of fornication saying that porneia IS: metaph. the worship of idols; of the defilement of idolatry, as incurred by eating the sacrifices offered to idols2a. This however IS an idea that IS related to the Jew’s traditions and the edict of the apostles regarding the conversion of Jews and gentiles to Christianity in those days; it DOES NOT take on the significance of prostituting oneself with a focus on the self and the things of the self. Strong’s relates the idea of porneia to harlotry9a and we should note here that this word IS also used in regard to spiritual matters by Old Testament prophets. The Prophet Jeremiah shows us this idea of the harlot and of fornication and adultery saying to the Jewish nation that “They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD” (Jeremiah 3:1). While fornication, prostitution, harlotry and adultery ARE words that have a carnal significance, they ARE also word ideas that show the spiritual duplicity of men who remain focused upon their own lives and the ‘idols’ that they have themselves created rather than shifting that focus to the Lord. This shift in focus IS Repentance and while it may take some time to Transform oneself from a carnally oriented person to a spiritual one that understands the biblical concepts of keeping His words, it IS in striving to DO so that we can excel. This IS the likely message that Jesus IS offering to His disciples while others, who have NO spiritual foundation, remain fixated on their carnal lives. This situation IS especially grievous to those that proclaim their spirituality, their allegiance to and Love for the Lord without understanding the defining ideas for that spirituality. Our trifecta shows us the significance of and the Way to such allegiance and Love 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).
Our point here IS to show that these ideas of fornication, prostitution, harlotry and adultery as related to divorce ARE dual in nature and should be seen as spiritual edicts as well as the foundation for a moral code. Our relationship to the Godhead requires our focus and whensoever we allow that focus to stray we become guilty of such fornication and the degree of this can easily lead us to a divorce our hearts from the Truth and Love as we give our hearts to our carnal concerns and egos. We should remember here that the very nature of Jesus speaking IS intended to have a dual nature and this He explains saying such things as “Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand” (Matthew 13:13) while saying to His disciples “Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables” (Mark 4:11). We should try to see that the words ARE the same to the population and to the disciple and that it IS the disciple, through his Transformation, that can understand “the mystery of the kingdom of God“. We should remember here also that the whole idea of men engaging in spiritual fornication, prostitution, harlotry and adultery IS based in the reality that everyman IS a Soul that IS connected to the Godhead in a sort of marriage arrangement and that it IS his failure to realize this that causes his offences. Most ALL True spiritual realities extend into the various moral codes and Jesus IS showing us this as He tells us that it IS our failure to honor our commitment to our spouse, our oath if you will, that IS our carnal offence and a symbol of our spiritual offence as we focus upon the carnal and mundane in place of God. We should remember here that none of these carnal offences ARE those of His disciples and for Jesus to speak in carnal terms to them directly IS NOT His objective. It IS ever the idea of spiritual fornication, prostitution, harlotry and adultery that colors the Master’s cautions regarding these most direct offences against the first of the Great Commandments which tells us clearly that “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” (Mark 12:30).
The Master next takes on the subject of oaths and, to be sure, His words here ARE NOT understood by most, neither ARE they taken to heart. There ARE likely few that will relate these words to His previous words on adultery and divorce. Jesus tells us “ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil” (Matthew 5:33-37). While the ideas here may have been directed at the traditions of the Jews in those days where men’s oaths were their sign of agreement, the idea of such oaths has extended through the centuries. The simplicity of Jesus’ words here IS more simple than the complexities of oaths; the Master tells us that our oaths ARE relatively meaningless despite the way that the idea IS used by men and by God in scripture. Luke mentions one such oath writing of “The oath which he sware to our father Abraham” (Luke 1:73) which comes from God’s oath saying “By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son” (Genesis 22:16). These ideas ARE in regard to the ‘promises’ of the Lord which can be considered as oaths but which ARE NOT Truly so. The idea in Jesus’ words IS NOT so much in regard to oaths or promises but rather in regard to His resolution to this human phenomenon of pledging which IS simply “let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil“. In this we should see a reality of evil as “whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil the ways of the world” which we should see as our subjection to vanity and its reliance on worldly norms and traditions. James clarifies and amplifies the Master’s words saying most clearly “above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation” (James 5:12). The importance that James puts on this saying that this IS “above all things” that he had before written should show us the importance of Truth speaking without swearing and oath making. Again we should try to see that this instruction IS especially important to the disciple and the aspirant to discipleship as such persons must operate in Truth and Love without leaning on carnal tradition. It IS unfortunate that in this world of vanity one CAN NOT readily rely upon another’s Truthfulness and this IS True whether one IS using an oath or a vow or IS swearing upon this or that. In this we should see that it IS the self-serving nature of men that rules over the Truth and while ALL ARE NOT specifically guilty, most ALL DO lean toward the self in their dealings with others. This IS contrary to the second of the Great Commandments that clearly tells us that “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself“. We should note that Jesus’ words here ARE almost completely ignored in the church and this because most DO NOT understand the import of His words. John Gill gives us an example of the doctrinal attitude; addressing “Swear not at all” he tells us that this: must not be understood in the strictest sense, as though it was not lawful to take an oath upon any occasion, in an affair of moment, in a solemn serious manner, and in the name of God; which may be safely done: but of rash swearing, about trivial matters….8. Can we see here how Mr. Gill trivializes the Master’s words?
Matthew next returns to the Master’s words regarding the relationships between men which we discussed against Jesus’ words on killing and anger and the importance of agreeing with “thine adversary quickly” (Matthew 5:25). Here Jesus gets to the crux of a matter that plagues humanity both individually and corporately: vengeance. Jesus tells us “Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away” (Matthew 5:38-42). While the idea here may be seen as promoting weakness, this IS ONLY when it IS measured against carnal standards; most everyman can likely agree that if men would act according to these words there would NOT be our long history of aggression and the seemingly endless and perpetual wars that plague the world yet today. The idea here IS meekness and NOT weakness but these ideas ARE confused by most who DO NOT understand the reality of being as the Master who tells us “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Matthew 11:29). To be sure, Jesus as the man and as the Son of God was NOT weak in any way but this has NOT caused the churches to adopt His philosophy of meekness. Of course we can also view these words through the idea of anger that we discussed in previous essays as the Master tells us that anger IS an equivalent offence to killing; we can also view these words through the idea that men should “Agree with thine adversary quickly“. Anger IS contrary to meekness and we should try to see such agreeing as the Master admonishes us to DO IS a component of meekness. We should try to see here that none of the Master’s saying has ought to DO with crime but rather with the more normal intercourse between men and the sense of vengeance that can overwhelm one’s clear thinking. There ARE persons and things in this world that ARE clearly criminal and we should understand here that the perpetrators of criminal acts ARE those on the outer fringes of societal living, most ARE those in whom the idea of vanity IS maximized to the point where the carnal mind sees ONLY the desires of the carnal self with NO barriers to their having what they desire. The essence of this message IS meekness rightly understood as one’s refusal to ‘strike back’ despite one’s ability to DO so much as the Master was able to retaliate against those that sought to harm Him but DID NOT. Jesus expands this idea into lending and giving as He then links this idea of meekness with His words on Love. We should try to see here that ALL of these words from Jesus ARE in regard to agape and while Matthew gives us his seemingly separate ideas, Luke combines ALL of the same ideas into his version of the Master’s words on agape.
There ARE likely but few in the church over the centuries that Truly accepted these words from Jesus and this IS especially True with such ideas as “Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away”, an idea which opposes the most basic selfish instincts of men. Of course there ARE also few in the church who will turn the other cheek and fewer still that would give more than a court would award despite the Master’s admonition to DO so. We should understand here that our ‘refusal’ to DO what we ARE instructed to DO here by Jesus IS part of our decision NOT to Repent which undertaking IS necessary before one can Transform according to Paul’s admonition that men should “be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). We should remember here that Jesus disciples ARE men that have Repented according to the most basic Christian understanding of the word, the disciples ARE men that ARE Transforming and we get a picture of their Transformation as we read about them in the gospels and the Book of Acts. Jesus IS offering His disciples and whosoever else IS listening basic Christian instructions and while much of His dialogue IS embedded in His parabolic tone, the ideas above ARE clearly stated. In this we should understand that the disciples ARE hearing what the Master IS saying while the gathered crowd IS hearing ONLY the carnal ideas that ARE attached to His words. However, this must be compounded by the way that some of His words ARE made crystal clear to ALL who hear them and this IS the case with such ideas as “resist not evil“, giving more than awarded and, most importantly, that we should “Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away”. These ideas and those that follow ARE NOT ALL burdened by Jesus’ parabolic way of speaking but they have been and ARE taken into Christian consciousness with an attitude that He CAN NOT Truly mean these things. Most ARE therefore rather ignored and ARE NOT an active part of Christian Theology save for the sentiments that they embody. These most direct ideas begin Jesus’ dialogue on agape which IS, as we have said throughout our posts, given to us in clear language with little room for interpretation but men have nonetheless interpreted His words into more self-serving ideas ofttimes based on some other interpretation from the words of His apostles. As we begin to look at these next ideas that show us the deep reality of agape, we should remember that most ALL that the Master has said to this point IS in regard to this Love that replicates the idea of Love as it flows from the Godhead; most have naught to do with the common understanding of the translated word Love.
Jesus now takes us from a discussion on the reality that there ARE adversaries and how to deal with them through His sayings that we should “resist not evil” and should “Agree with thine adversary quickly” into a deeper instruction regarding our motivation to DO so; a spiritually guided motivation to be sure. He also gives us our foundation for seeing ALL men in the same Light which James clarifies for us saying “If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors” (James 2:8-9). It IS essential to our understanding of the tenet of agape that we understand that this IS the same idea that the Master puts forth in more parabolic terms. It IS in seeing ALL men in the same way, without regard to the common differences of race, culture, religion and national origin, that we can understand the most basic Christian ideal that clearly tells us that “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself“. Without understanding this idea of seeing ALL men with NO “respect to persons” in our hearts, it IS hardly possible to keep what the Master calls the second of the Great Commandments that tells us that “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself“. We must try to see here that this idea of having NO “respect to persons” in our hearts mimics the outlook of the Godhead which IS clearly the same as we read in the writings of the apostles who tell us that “God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34), that “there is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:11) facts that Paul repeats to the Ephesians and to the Colossians. Peter understands this from his interaction with Cornelius in Acts and repeats the idea to us telling us that the “Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work” (1 Peter 1:17). And, contrary to most Christian ideas on works, Paul tells us to “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7) which further exemplifies that it IS from the Christ Within that men receive and NOT according to some man made doctrinal approach to the Lord.
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
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
