ON LOVE; PART MCDXLXX
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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 Way of discipleship and the Master’s own criteria for one’s Truly being His disciple. The force of this idea IS readily apparent in the first part of our trifecta where Jesus tells us that “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). The implication here IS of course more than just the idea of keeping His words; it extends that to keeping His words continually; it IS in this way that we can be “disciples indeed” where the Greek word alethos can be better understood as the lexicon presents it saying: truly, of a truth, in reality, most certainly2. While there IS a great divide between the idea of discipleship that IS used in the church and the reality of discipleship offered by the Master, far too many still consider themselves His disciples without DOING what IS necessary, without keeping His words. And this IS the purpose of this blog which began as short daily essays and has become sometimes rambling dissertations on spiritual themes, the foremost of which ARE what the Master actually tells us. IN THE WORDS OF JESUS IS our title and agape IS our subtitle written as ON LOVE. We must understand of course that the latter subtitle IS incorporated into the main title as most ALL of His instructions, His commandments if you will, DO concern our expression of agape as men in this world. This then IS the reality of True discipleship: that a man keeps His words and expresses that Love, that agape, in ALL his worldly thoughts, feelings and actions. While this seems like an extremely high bar, it IS necessarily so; the rewards of discipleship CAN NOT be entrusted to those that yet have a view of themselves as the center of their little universes. Only the True disciple has the fortitude to be able to move the mountain or to plant the sycamine tree in the sea; only the True disciple can wield the Power of the apostles and, to be sure, there have been very few in the centuries since the Resurrection of the Christ. As we often cite the greatest obstacle to discipleship, aside from our being born into vanity and nurtured and indoctrinated into the ways of the world, IS the ongoing indoctrination that men receive. It IS this that dilutes and changes the Truth of the Master’s words and replaces that Truth with the various doctrines that have emerged. Doctrines which ARE NO different than what Paul calls “another gospel: Which is not another” (Galatians 1:6, 7).
Paul’s caution however IS NOT seen in the way that the apostle intended as the doctrinal authorities from the beginning had taken a stance that proclaimed their own doctrines as the Truth and saw “another gospel: Which is not another” as those ‘other’ teachings that they would consider heretical. It IS because of their own presumed authority, often held jointly with government authority, than many which may have helped create an aura of Truth were dismissed and were often seen as criminal. While we DO NOT want to take this essay into an historical view of the early church, it IS important to understand that there were other ‘philosophies’ at the time that were contrary to the established authority and the doctrines which they created. Some of these became the heart of ‘secret’ religious societies, some of which continue to this day. We discussed this previously and called attention to the idea of the Kabbalah, the ancient Jewish tradition of mystical interpretation of the Bible, and how that its effect upon traditional Judaism was ONLY one of curious disdain; while some DO follow this line of Judaism, most remain True to their selected form of orthodoxy. Our point here IS simply that there were other teachings that were ‘quashed’ by those who had assumed authority and we should add here that it IS the people that often gave this authority to whosoever’s message appealed to their carnal nature. In Christianity we can try to see that for one whose message IS Repentance and Transformation as the way of moving men away from their carnal nature and into the words of the Master, IS NOT going to be easily accepted by the masses who DO NOT understand but ONLY see their mortal lives as the primary goal. And while there ARE Christian movements that accept restrictions on the ways of men in this world and practice them ardently, these restrictions ARE at best an attempt to live according to some minor carnal alteration of their inherent vanity. Most of these restrictions have been in regard to dress and moral codes, especially those regarding sexual matters.
The outward appearance of some Jewish and Christian groups can easily show that much of their doctrinal assignments ARE carnal. Others which make no outward show ARE of course the more popular because of fewer or even NO restrictions. It IS the Way of the disciple as detailed by the Master however that IS seen as the most difficult and beyond the reach of ALL; it IS this philosophy that has led to such doctrinal ideas a ‘you cannot save yourself’. We forget however the concept of measure which IS taught to us in sometimes obscure ways. Forgotten too IS the point of our striving, an word that should prompt us to try. The Master tells us to “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:24) and as as have discussed in previous essays, this idea of striving IS the necessary part if one should Truly “seek to enter in“. While it IS True that one CAN NOT change completely overnight, a fact that we see in the Life of Peter and Paul’s three years in Arabia, it IS ONLY through striving that one can somewhat achieve, that IS achieve by measure. Perhaps this IS our greater point today: measure.
We should understand that in order to become a True disciple, one must sincerely want to DO so, one should understand the cost and one should be ever ready to give up evermore of the carnal thoughts, emotions and things that he believes that he possesses. Let us begin here with the Masters words on being His disciple; He tells us these things: “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). He also tells us “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple“. Then, after His words on the cost, He tells us “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26-27, 33). Since the cost, our understanding of the cost, should be considered when one seeks True discipleship, we should also address Jesus examples of that cost. He tells us “which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace” (Luke 14:28-32). We should remember here that Matthew offers us the same theme as Luke but shortened and referring to being worthy of His Presence rather that being His disciple and he DOES so without stressing the cost; these we should consider as synonymous ideas. Matthew tells us Jesus’ words as “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37-38). To be Truly “worthy of me” and to be “my disciples indeed” ARE equal ideas in the New Testament and the differences ARE ONLY in the perception of the writers; both reflect the understood intent of the Master. As to understanding that there IS a cost, it IS perhaps assumed by Matthew that those Truly seeking would KNOW what that would be; Luke however chose to be more specific and offers us what Jesus said to the assembled people, to the “great multitudes” as he frames this. From the examples that He offers we DO NOT see an actual cost for our entering into discipleship, we DO however see that there should be a plan and that there IS an ongoing cost that must be borne.
In the first example we have a builder who must plan, the builder who must “sitteth….down first” and calculate that “he have sufficient to finish” whatsoever he IS building which for us IS becoming a disciple. This we should see in relation to the Master’s words that we use so often and which tell us that “many….will seek to enter in, and shall not be able“. Can we see the point here? Can we see that to be successful in our striving we must “sitteth….down first” and calculate that we “have sufficient to finish“? While Jesus frames the result of NOT counting the cost in terms of being mocked, the reality IS that this mocking IS then our own frustration in NOT being able to DO as we intended. This IS further elaborated by the Master who tells us that to be His disciple, to come to KNOW the Truth, one must “continue in my word“. And this IS the ONLY cost to Truly bear as ALL other aversions to discipleship ARE based in our striving here in this world; our desires, our lusts and our strong desire to live as men in this world. It IS here we must choose between those “treasures upon earth” and those “treasures in heaven“; it IS here that we must choose between God and mammon (Matthew 6:20, 19, 20). It IS here also that we must answer the question DO we “have sufficient to finish“. We should perhaps try to see that this question DOES NOT have an easy answer when it comes to discipleship, nor DOES it have an easy answer in any worldly enterprise as changes come upon us moment by moment. While we may believe today that we “have sufficient to finish“, we may question that belief tomorrow and in this we should see the constancy of our striving and, in terms of discipleship, our ability to “continue in my word” as the Master frames the rules. To be sure, discipleship IS a process and one that requires a man’s full attention. This DOES NOT necessarily mean that one must erase ALL else from one’s Life however, we DO still live in this world and perforce must act and react according to whatsoever IS happening in our lives. Jesus tells us to “Take no thought for your life” (Matthew 6:25) and while this idea IS misconstrued in most of the church yet today, the idea IS a valuable tool on the Path. This IS NOT that we should NOT worry, that IS a given, this IS the Master telling us that we should NOT give our attention exclusively to worldly matters and especially those which border on covetousness which IS an extremely broad idea that IS NOT seen as such. That we share our attention IS part of the struggle that we face against the vanity that has heretofore controlled our lives and it IS this that James addresses as he tells us that “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:5-8). That the apostle IS writing in regard to Wisdom should NOT detract from his message here as it IS in this Wisdom that we DO come “to know the truth“, the Truth that “shall make you free” (John 8:32).
We should remember here how that Vincent defines the idea of merimnao which IS rendered as thought in the King James Bible and in terms of worry and anxiousness in most others. He tells us that: The cognate noun is merimna, care, which was formerly derived from meriv, a part; merixw, to divide; and was explained accordingly as a dividing care, distracting the heart from the true object of life. This has been abandoned, however, and the word is placed in a group which carries the common notion of earnest thoughtfulness. It may include the ideas of worry and anxiety, and may emphasize these, but not necessarily4. It IS when we can see and understand that the Master’s reference IS NOT solely to worry or anxiety that we can come to understand that so long as we pay attention to our worldly affairs as our primary care, that we will remain “double minded“. Here we can relate Jesus words that tell us to “Take no thought for your life” to His previous words on treasure. He says “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” and here we should see this idea of treasure, of what we treasure, as what it IS that we pay attention to. We allude to the idea of covetousness above as a guideline, one that should show us that ALL of men’s desires and lusts are a part of this often misunderstood idea. We covet what we want in Life and this idea ranges across ALL our Life endeavors, from the things that we want for our comfort to what we envision as our career, our family Life and our overall position in this world. ALL of these ARE carnal and should be seen through the lens that Jesus frames for us as “Take no thought for your life“.
While we can try to see the Master’s words in terms of undo attention on the things of this world, that would ONLY serve to dilute the force of His message. To be His disciple IS NOT a part time affair, it requires diligent striving toward the goal and while our time on this Path may begin in doublemindedness, it will surely end in our ability to be “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4) if we so diligently strive. Up to that point we ARE gaining by measure our position in the “glorious liberty of the children of God” by measure (Romans 8:21), a measure that IS proportionate to our measure of striving. And this IS the reality of faith and believing, the reality of pistis and pisteuo: we come to KNOW what we ARE and where we ARE going and this because we DO, as much as IS possible for the novice, as Jesus tells us saying “continue in my word“. This IS the KEY to that “glorious liberty of the children of God“, the KEY to becoming “partakers of the divine nature” and this IS the reality of His teaching to men 2000 years ago; a reality that we capture in our trifecta:
- “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).
This reality IS His message to men; this IS our Way of KNOWING, our Way to His Kingdom and our Way to gain awareness of the Presence of God in our lives. A Presence that results in our expression of agape Love and those “good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). To be sure, NONE can dispute the meaning of the words of our trifecta; there IS NO reinterpretation that can change His message or tone as He tells us that the singular KEY IS that we keep His words. Yet the doctrines of men have failed to support His message save as a side conversation that implores us to be ‘good’. As we have been discussing there ARE parts of the church today that actually teach the opposite of keeping His words; some proclaiming that ‘you cannot save yourself’ and instructing men that such attempts will ONLY end in failure. Others teach that we were never meant to keep His words, that His words and the commandments were given to show us that it IS NOT possible to DO so. To these church failures we have added the doctrinal idea that Jesus’ teaching was for the Jews in His day and that there IS a new covenant based in Jesus’ death and resurrection, an idea that IS gleaned from misinterpretations of the words of the Apostle Paul. Such teachings ARE the result of men’s desire to live as men in this world; they have been formulated, negotiated if you will, by presumably holy men. Such men may NOT have seen their own carnal desires as many in the early church DID forsake much that IS worldly for the sake of their faith. While Moses DID construct an entire philosophy for Life in those days through his ancillary laws that were given with the Truth, the church fathers had NO such luxury, they merely let the Truth be diluted and eventually dissolved into their manifold doctrines. They instead constructed rites and rituals that had NO biblical basis save for some sense of copying ideas such as baptism and communion from the New Testament. While the words of the Master ARE almost universally ignored, the various doctrines of men have supplanted them giving modern relevance to Jesus’ words saying “Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:6-7).
The church of today however DOES NOT recognize the timelessness of these words which begin with Isaiah and ARE repeated by Jesus to show that timelessness. The church of today sees themselves as the arbiters of righteousness, a position that has grown in every dimension since the church fathers early writings, writings which in many ways embraced Paul’s accusation against the Galatians saying “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:6-7). We ARE reminded here of another saying that we have cited over the course of our blogposts; this one from esoteric literature tells us: “The church today is the tomb of the Christ and the stone of theology has been rolled to the door of the sepulchre“^. This IS for us a fundamental Truth that IS exhibited by the many factions of the One Christianity and IS a Truth that began its journey through time in the early days of the church. The ‘holy’ men that began the doctrinal evolution that became today’s Christianity were but men; they were NOT apostles nor were they ALL disciples. And we should note here that the apostles and disciples of the day were likely the dissenting voices against the establishment of the doctrines that began the dilution of the Master’s words in favor of the writings of His apostles. These writings were however subject to the interpretations of men who from the beginning seemingly took out of context sayings and made them stand alone as their doctrinal justification. Our best examples of this ARE Paul’s words saying “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9) and the ever divisive and out of context words from the Master saying “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). This latter saying IS singularly responsible for much of the state of Christianity today. The Christian believes he IS above ALL others but they understand neither the intent of the Master’s words nor the Way that such Truths as “there is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:11) defy the Christian position. Jesus’ intent was to explain in understandable terms for His disciples the very nature of the Godhead and the Way that the Master represented God. His statement IS made in a dialogue with disciples who DO NOT yet grasp Jesus’ relationship to the Godhead as He explains for them that “If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him” (John 14:7). But what DOES this mean; to the disciples it meant that to KNOW the Christ, to see Him and interact with Him, IS tantamount to KNOWING God as the expression of the Master IS the expression of the Godhead in this world. It IS in using the whole idea of the Christ, the anointed if you will, that the whole saying turns. The Christ IS the Way and should we break this down further we could realize that the Christ IS agape and that when we embrace agape we embrace the Lord. Can we see the point here? John tells us that “God is love agape” (1 John 4:8, 16) and if there IS Truth in Jesus’ saying that “I and my the Father are one” (John 10:30) then we should understand that the Christ IS also this same agape Love.
Similarly the Christ IS the Truth; John tells us this in the prologue to his gospel saying “the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” as He tells us the the Christ IS “full of grace and truth” (John 1:17, 14). We should note that these ARE the Apostle John’s words which should show us clearly that he, as an apostle, DID understand the depth of the meaning of the Christ as he presents historical ideas from the perspective of a disciple. John’s Gospel IS in rather sharp contrast to the synoptic gospels which repeat for us a history of His ‘ministry’. John’s perspective IS Truly unique and concerns his view as a disciple showing us some of the inner Truths of Jesus teachings that ARE perhaps NOT yet grasped by the others. We should try to see here that John uses the idea of grace, of charis, which we should understand as ALL that flows from the Godhead and, to be sure, there IS naught in this flow that IS carnal; ALL IS purely agape. Christ then IS the Way and the Truth as we can easily see without the doctrinal idea of exclusivity based upon the personality of the Master where He, as the man/God, Jesus Christ, IS the ONLY Way. But perhaps this sense of exclusivity was the purpose of the early church as they set out to build a religion that was uniquely based upon the teachings and commandments of the Master. The building of a unique religion based upon the teachings and commandments of Jesus however has failed to be such; instead it IS based upon the idea of a new covenant and formed through interpretations of the writings of the apostles….especially Paul. Perhaps it IS worth noting that often in church services and presentations the idea that 2/3 of the New Testament IS written by Paul seems ONLY as a means to justify reliance upon his often misinterpreted words. We should try to understand here that as Christ IS the Way to the Truth, we come to the Truth by embracing the prompting of our own Souls, our own Christ Within which IS agape. Here IS the greater reality of His words from our trifecta 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“. It IS through keeping His words that we find the Way in Christ that leads us to the Truth.
Finally Christ IS “the life“. This final part should NOT be understood in terms of living as we understand the idea here in this world. We should see this Life in accord with Jesus many sayings regarding the Truth of the idea of zoe which IS rendered as Life. In His Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells us “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). While we often discuss these words and Luke’s version saying “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:24), we have NOT yet discussed the matter of Life that IS shown us in Matthew’s version. This IS the same Life that IS meant by Jesus in saying “I am the way, the truth, and the life“; this IS our spiritual Life on the Path, our Life on the other side of that “strait gate” of which we read “few there be that find it“. Jesus several times shows us the difference between Life and Life, between our carnal and mundane lives and the potential to live as an expression of the Christ Within in this world. He tells us “He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it” and here we should equate this idea with Paul’s 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“. We should try to see here the symmetry between one that DOES “loseth his life for my sake” and one who DOES “mortify the deeds of the body” and understand that these ARE both saying the same thing. In the end it IS the Christ Life which we can strive toward and we look to the Apostle John to show us the same reality from the perspective of what IS in our hearts; John tells us Jesus words as “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal” (John 12:25).
The last part of the Master’s saying IS perhaps the most polarizing and most misunderstood; it IS His words saying “no man cometh unto the Father, but by me“. Through these words the church has created a picture of the man Jesus rather than the spiritual Truth that He expressed as the Christ. It IS when we can look at the Master not as Jesus Christ the man but rather as Jesus the Christ, as the embodiment of the fullness of second Aspect of God, as a fully Soul infused being in this Earth, that we can begin to understand the greater mysteries. It IS in this regard that Paul tells us through the Colossians about such mysteries saying “Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily” (Colossians 1:25-29). While this mystery IS revealed by the Master in His many words on Life and discipleship and by Paul in such sayings as above, the idea remains foreign to most ALL who have NOT Truly Repented as such Truths ARE the realizations of those that will DO as the Master tells us 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). For most Christians these words from Paul remain a mystery although there ARE many that believe that they KNOW the mysteries through their doctrines as the church has changed the idea of “Christ in you” to suit their need to deify Jesus as the ONLY way to God. We should remember here that Jesus IS speaking to His disciples here, to the twelve apostles alone, and has been since the beginning of the thirteenth chapter. As disciples they have some measure of understanding the spiritual mysteries that Jesus IS unfolding before them and still they have questions regarding the relationship between the Father and the Son, between God and His Christ.
Jesus words which we ARE discussing here ARE in answer to a question; Thomas says to the Master “Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?” and this IS the first of a series of questions by His apostles. The answer, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6), IS NOT the mystery to the apostles that it has become to the Christian world and rightfully so. In the Christian world few have risen to the stations of True discipleship according to Jesus criteria for being such. The apostles’ understanding IS on quite a different level than even the more advanced thinkers of today and this because such understanding requires that “wisdom that is from above” (James 3:17) which IS the purview of those among the “few there be that find” that “strait gate“. Again, the Way IS the Christ and we gain access to the Way by focusing our attention upon the things of God which IS the Way of Repentance and of agape. In Repentance and our subsequent and simultaneous Transformation the Christ Within IS revealed to the carnal mind. It IS on this Way that we find the Truth that flows from the Christ Within into the heart of those that will keep His words as He tells us to DO. The result of this Truth IS Power of our Transformation as we come closer by measure to the fullness of the Way of the Christ. And both of these result in our finding the True Life, the spiritual Life that flows from the Soul, from the Christ Within, and outward as our expression of agape; this expression IS the Life of the disciple, the saint and the Christ. Finally there IS the singular Truth that “no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” and here we should better understand what the final words Truly mean. The idea of me IS NOT the person of Jesus the Christ but rather the essence of the ideas behind the Greek word emou which IS rendered as me. While Strong’s tells us that emou IS a: a prolonged form of G1473 which IS a primary pronoun of the first person I9a, Thayer’s reveals somewhat more for us. Thayer’s tells us that emou IS: that which I have; what I possess; that which IS proceeding from me; that which IS pertaining or relating to me and finally that which IS mine9.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
- 2 New Testament Greek lexicon on biblestudytools.com
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition
- 9 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon on blueletterbible.org
- 9a The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible on blueletterbible.org
- ^ From The Reappearance of the Christ by Alice A Bailey; © 1948 by Lucis Trust
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
