ON LOVE; PART MCDXLXXI
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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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In the last essay we wandered off of our discussion of the Master’s words that ARE His Sermon on the Mount, His words that should serve as our guide to coming into the “glorious liberty of the children of God“. We should remember that it IS by measure that we accomplish this, the same measure by which we free ourselves from our own individual “the bondage of corruption” (Romans 8:21). And this IS our point, we must free ourselves, we must DO the work by being “doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). For the Christian the choice here IS clearly that we either free ourselves or that we ARE “deceiving your own selves” so long as we ARE somewhat intent on trying to follow the Lord. The Way IS painted clearly for us but in terms that we as humanity have opposed as we have reinterpreted the intention of most ALL scripture, Christian and most ALL others, into doctrines that obnubilate that Way. Again, men seek to live here as men according to whatsoever they have been nurtured and indoctrinated into and none can escape this starting point regardless of how far they may have come in previous lives. The Way of course DOES become easier as we transit through our times in this Earth and perhaps the telling of this story IS to be found in the lives of those who incarnated with the Master as His ready attendants. While we DO NOT understand the inner dynamics of this idea of reincarnation we ARE able to say certain things that, from a logical perspective, can be meaningful to our current journey. The apostles, and likely ALL of His disciples 2000 years ago, were apparently regular men living and acting according to their own nurturing and indoctrination until they meet the Master and we should try to see here that it IS their individual Souls, their Christ Within, which IS awakened to Jesus’ Presence in this world. It IS in this awakening that they chose to readily follow Him and while the church may see these men and women as ordinary people that Jesus ‘called’ to Himself and ‘miraculously changed into disciples, this notion fails against the reality that “there is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 8:11). This however IS NOT our purpose in writing today as we continue where we left off in the last post, with our comments on the Master’s words saying “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).
In the ideas above regarding the Way of the apostles and disciples of the Lord we should try to see and to understand that these had previously found the Way and lived according to it by some measure which positioned them to be among the Master’s entourage. The apostles ARE our ready guide to the Way through the way that they lived and worked for the success of the Christ’s mission and message. Yes, they DID have their challenges as we read in the gospels; the main characters in this real Life play are shown to us as men striving to meet the expectations of discipleship in their daily lives. We see this in the interactions between Jesus and Peter as well as those between Jesus and the Zebedee brothers James and John. In the end most were still uncertain as to what was really happening in the world and to themselves as a group and this despite the Master’s telling them in advance what the Plan was, a Plan which required Jesus’ own suffering as a man under the rule of others. It was a Plan that also afflicted His disciples and perhaps the one most caught up in the Plan was Judas Iscariot who IS framed by most ALL as the Master’s betrayer. We covered our thoughts on Judas in previous essays which can be found by searching for appropriate verses in our blog search tool and today we will just say that Judas and his actions were a part of the Plan, a Plan that the other apostles were NOT privy to. This IS evidenced by their interactions at the Passover Supper and the way that the writers wrote about him in their gospels and the Book of Acts. It IS perhaps Judas, as an apostle and a disciple, that had the most difficult task and the most misunderstood one. The whole of this event IS so tied to Christian doctrine that NO alternative ideas ARE entertained in the church and in this we have a view of the difficulty of Judas personal mission for the Master, a mission which IS rather clearly elucidated in the gospels where the idea of Jesus involvement in the ‘plot’ IS revealed. Vincent captures for us some of the nuances of Judas task as he tells us in his commentary such things as: The Son of Man is betrayed according to the divine decree4. And, speaking of the verse in Matthew where Jesus IS arrested Vincent tells us: One of the twelve. Repeated in all three evangelists, in the narratives both of the betrayal and of the arrest. By the time Matthew’s Gospel was written, the phrase had become a stereotyped designation of the traitor, like he that betrayed him4. Even the defining ideas of the Greek word paradidomi cast some shadow on the common ideas regarding Judas. Thayer’s, whose ideas ARE reflected in the lexiconic ideas of biblical usage defines paradidomi saying that it IS: to give into the hands (of another); to give over into (one’s) power or use; to deliver to one something to keep, use, take care of, manage; to deliver up one to custody, to be judged, condemned, punished, scourged, tormented, put to death; to deliver up treacherously (by betrayal to cause one to be taken; to deliver one to be taught, moulded) to commit, to commend; to deliver verbally (commands, rites; to deliver by narrating, to report); to permit allow (when the fruit will allow that is when its ripeness permits; gives itself up, presents itself)9,2.
We should try to see that the Greek word IS NOT intended to be understood as betrayal but rather as a type of giving of a person over to others for a variety of reasons and here the reason would be the fulfillment of scriptural prophecy. Betrayal however better suits the needs of the church that DOES NOT see the unique relationship between Jesus and Judas but sees Judas ONLY as a traitor that betrayed the trust of the Master. And we should try to see as well that the apostles DID NOT use the idea of betrayal per se as their understood meaning of paradidomi, this IS a later convention that has been built upon through 2000 years of doctrinal descriptions of the events as such. In the end Judas IS much disturbed by the events that followed his paradidomi of the Master, so much that he purportedly took his own Life rather than go on with the others who certainly DID NOT understand what had happened between Jesus and Judas. Aside from the accounts of betrayal in the gospels, there IS little else said about Judas and his role in the death of Jesus on the cross. That there IS no mention of him in any of the epistles should perhaps show us that the whole idea of betrayal was soon forgotten by the apostles and perhaps replaced with some greater understanding of what had happened. There IS however one mention in the Book of Acts where we read “And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,) Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry” (Acts 1:15-17). Here Peter reflects on Judas actions as that he “was guide to them that took Jesus” and we should note that while these words seem to be from Peter, much of the chapter IS Luke’s narration of events. We should remember here that Judas was a disciple of Jesus and if True discipleship means anything, it means that such a person had overcome such carnal impulses as those of which Judas IS accused. We should understand also that they ALL seemed to struggle somewhat with their roles as disciples and this IS especially clear in the many New Testament inferences to Peter’s sliding back into carnal thoughts even up to the end. We see this also in the way that James and John desired special positions for themselves, a Truly carnal desire despite the spiritual ideas attached to that desire. Our overriding point here IS that discipleship IS a process and that even those with spiritual collateral coming in as the apostles did still need to overcome whatsoever vanity remains in their lives.
It IS through the visible struggles of the apostles that we should see the need for some of them to ask questions of the Master. We should try to see that even as disciples there IS some modicum of doubt present and a certain amount of carnal interpretation given to Jesus’ words regarding His death and His resurrection; this IS shown to us throughout the gospels. So Thomas asks the question that leads up to our subject verse; we read this beginning with Jesus’ words saying: “whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him” (John 14:5-7). Jesus IS telling them that the DO KNOW and here we should take pause to realize that while they may KNOW the Truth and have revelation and realization of it, they have NOT yet erected that certainty regarding things spiritual in their carnal minds. They KNOW that He IS the Christ but DO NOT yet fully understand just what that means. Despite Jesus showing them here the idea again that “I and my the Father are one” (John 10:30), the church has failed to see the reality in regard to their chosen way of viewing His words saying “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me“. To be sure, the way that Jesus portrays this mystery IS impenetrable to the carnally focused man hence the various doctrinal ideas that have erupted over the centuries. There ARE many other clues to the True nature of both men and Christ that can show us that the Christ Principle, the Love of God made manifest to the world, was fully embraced by Jesus and fully expressed in His teaching and in His example. Here we should note again the words of the apostle John who tells us that “as he is, so are we in this world” which idea he offers us in the same breath as his saying “we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:16-17). We say embraced above because we see that Jesus, as a man in this world, had a choice to make, a constant choice if you will, and one that borders on the story of His temptations by ‘Satan’ in the early part of the gospel narrative. It IS the Power of the Soul that prevails in His Life on Earth and we ARE shown a glimpse of the Master’s bit of self-doubt in such ideas as His prayer to the Father where He says “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” and then “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done” (Matthew 26:39, 42). In these words we should see how that Jesus’ KNOWS the ordeal to which He must submit Himself and that in His strength He was able to refocus upon the things of God. In this Jesus shows us the fullness of His commitment to discipleship and here we should try to see that He too IS a disciple but one who had reached that final place of Redemption and Transfiguration, that event for which Paul tells us the he waits. Paul tells us “not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:23). It IS through ALL of these ideas and the many more that ARE offered to us in the gospels and epistles that we should try to frame for ourselves the idea that “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me“. Vincent offers us a window into the mystery of these words through the words of Thomas Kempis, author of one of the most popular and best known Christian devotional books, The Imitation of Christ. We read: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. Without the way there is no going; without the truth there is no knowing; without the life there is no living. I am the way which thou shouldst pursue; the truth which thou shouldst believe; the life which thou shouldst hope for” (Thomas a Kempis, “Imitation of Christ,” 3 56)4.
Kempis words ARE our interactive view of the meaning of the phrase given us by the Master as he reveals that it IS in our power to be fully “as he is….in this world“. Then, “the way, the truth, and the life” ARE within the realm of men to seek out and to accomplish through the prompting of the Soul, the Christ Within, to the Good, the Beautiful and the True. As the Christ the Master IS telling His disciples that He IS the Way; that this has been transformed into the personage of Jesus IS one of the True stumbling blocks that doctrines have erected. Jesus’ importance in this IS that He IS the embodiment of the Christ, of the Love of God made manifest to men; Jesus lived the Life of the Christ through His personality and for us the Way IS to live the Life of the Christ Within through our personalities. This IS to express the Love of God, understood as agape to be sure, through our lives fulfilling such ideas 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). It IS here that we come to see that one’s “life in this world” IS a Life of vanity filled with those desires and lusts that keep us from heavens door, from the “strait gate” through which “many….will seek to enter in, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:24). It IS Truly unfortunate that the many that DO “seek to enter in” ARE following a doctrinal path that DOES NOT lead to the next part of the Master’s words which they so rely upon; a path that DOES NOT lead to “the truth“. While this doctrinal path may lead some closer to the Truth that they seek, the fullness of this Truth IS ONLY found in one’s understanding of the Christ, one’s understanding of the Truth. This CAN NOT be accomplished in vanity however, it requires that one understand the most basic of Truths, that one must keep His words. This IS our continuing point in repeating our trifecta; the Master’s words that tell us the importance of DOING, of being “doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). 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).
Each of these precepts shows us the Way and the Truth that results from that Way. Each of these precepts shows us the rewards of DOING, of becoming “doers of the word and not hearers only“. These rewards ARE NOT carnal and we should understand here that naught that IS carnal comes from the Lord; what DOES come IS that “wisdom that is from above” James 3:17). What comes from the Lord IS the Truth, the Kingdom and His Presence in the realization of the heretofore carnal minds of men. These ARE the ‘promises’ of our trifecta, Jesus’ words that we selected to represent the gist of the New Testament teaching of the Master. We should try to see how that these ideas meld with our subject saying that “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” and look at the entire idea according to Vincent’s commentary on His name. Vincent tells us: The name, as in the Lord ‘s Prayer (” Hallowed be they name “), is the expression of the sum total of the divine Being : not his designation as God or Lord, but the formula in which all his attributes and characteristics are summed up4. This IS our point; in the idea that “the way, the truth, and the life” ARE the essence of the Master, this essence should be seen in terms of the Christ that indwells the body of Jesus and NOT in terms of Jesus the man/God. And, when He says that “no man cometh unto the Father, but by me“, He IS telling us that NO man IS going to the Father without “the way, the truth, and the life” for this IS who He IS as the Christ in this world. To continue with this idea we should try to see that regardless of religion, regardless that one IS a Hindu or a Buddhist or Muslim, He can come to the Father when he seeks after, strives after if you will, “the way, the truth, and the life“. While it IS True that Jesus the Christ shows us these ideas, shows us how to find “the way, the truth, and the life” in His teachings, the non-doctrinal teachings of ALL True world religions DO show the same thing albeit according to the cultures involved. In the end we should, must IS the better word, try to understand that while the paths outlined by the different world religions may differ, the intended end result IS ever the same. ALL men ARE disciples and saints when they overcome the vanity into which they ARE born and it IS ONLY the way of overcoming that differs. As the Judaeo-Christian Way may be uncomfortable for those nurtured and indoctrinated into other cultures, so their religious Way can be as uncomfortable and alien to the Christian; this IS a most natural world phenomenon. Such differences however should NOT result in the competing attitude that the Christian world revolves in; such differences ARE intended to embrace and enhance the reality of the idea that there IS Unity in this Diversity; this IS the ONLY Way to Truly express agape throughout the world. So long as the Christian believes that their way, their doctrinal approach to the Lord, IS the ONLY way, little progress regarding agape Love will result.
There IS far too much prejudice in the world yet today and NOT ONLY in regard to religion. Men tend to dislike what they DO NOT understand and what may be different against their own sense of being. Such sense IS the product of vanity combined with men’s nurturing and indoctrination and defies the logic of One World, One Humanity and One God, which ideas ARE the basis of True agape Love. That there IS One World IS obvious yet too many still see this world in terms of nations and national philosophies; few realize that it IS this Diversity that IS the very fabric of humanity, of the Human Family if you will, and, while the very idea of a Human Family should reconcile our differences, it DOES NOT. It IS this Human Family that IS the One Humanity, a single phrase that covers every man, woman and child on this planet regardless of their national origin, the color of their skin or the cultures that they embrace. Our failure to see the Unity in this Diversity of nations and people IS the True stumblingblock which causes so many to fall. That such prejudices against religion, color or national origin ARE the result of our nurturing and indoctrination should be evident as parents and peers teach the children to see some of these others as lesser persons. We should be encouraged however by the way that the Human Family IS, in some places, embracing such differences and joining together in ALL sorts of ways from inter-racial marriage to the simple acceptance of others and this modern trend IS exhibited in media for ALL to see. That many may dislike such displays IS unfortunate but even through this we may still have significant progress toward reconciling our differences.
The Apostle Paul tells us something about the idea of stumblingblock saying in regard to food that “Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way” (Romans 14:13). We should of course take his idea to much more that just food as Paul IS referencing the same idea of judgement that Jesus warns us against saying “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again“. While the Master’s words here ARE seen by many in terms of the reason for NOT judging being ‘retribution’, the idea IS far from this. Jesus’ words here ARE a lead in to an aura of judgement that IS created whensoever we judge others. Again, while the specificity of Jesus’ caution IS in regard to judging the affairs of others without seeing that our own affairs ARE NOT much better or even worse, this message of being without judgement has been lost rather than expanded into judging others for any reason. Jesus’ follows His caution saying “why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:1:5). Here we see the hypocrisy of men in terms of judging others but should we expand this to ALL matters of prejudice, we can then more easily see the human problem. We judge entire races of people based in the DOINGS of a small sample; we DO the same with religions and with cultures as we demonize those that ARE different. While this seems to have little to DO with the Christian understanding of the Master’s words saying “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me“, it most definitely plays a part in the hearts and minds of the fully indoctrinated Christian. James shows us the way of judgement as part of his writings concerning agape and we should take his words to show us that judgement IS contrary to that Love. As the apostle teaches us about having NO “respect to persons“, he shows us that to DO so IS a part of the overall dynamic of judging others. He tells us “My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly[a] a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?” (James 2:9,1-4). Here we should also consider the alignment between James’ words and the Master’s who tells us NOT to judge as a part of His word; Jesus gives us the commandment and James amplifies it and clarifies it 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. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:8-10).
Can we see the point here? Can we see how that to have “respect to persons” IS contrary to the Master’s words and IS therefore carnal and sin? Moreover, can we see that this sin IS as great as any other? The greater point however IS that to have “respect to persons“, to pick and choose based upon carnal considerations, IS contrary to the law of Love, to the Way of agape, which sees ALL men as an homogenous whole, as neighbors if you will, with NO “respect to persons“. It IS in this attitude that we can then more clearly see the whole of the idea of that Unity in Diversity which, when broken down, shows us that our differences, our Diversity, creates a worldwide homogeneous Human Family with One spiritual note tying it ALL together and that IS our One God. It IS this One God that animates everyman in this world regardless of any differences in physical appearance, culture, religion or any other heretofore separating factor. It IS this One God that IS the Spirit and Soul of everyman and it IS this One God that has created that variety of forms that ARE the Soul’s intended vehicle of expression in this world. Better we should see this as the intended expression of every man; that such expression IS the of the qualities of the Godhead that flow from the Soul through the hearts of men who have awakened to the Truth of Life and religion. It IS through this sense of Unity that we express agape and fulfill the Great Commandment that “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself“. One last thought on the judgement of others that IS founded in the vanity into which ALL men are born. James also tells us that we should “Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?” (James 4:11:12). These words should of course be conflated with James’ earlier admonition saying “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22).
It IS ALL too common for men to see the faults of others without acknowledging their own faults and some use the faults of others as a defense mechanism to cover for their own. ALL fault finding IS judgement and this IS especially egregious when one DOES NOT consider one’s own faults; it IS this that the Master IS showing us in His words about the mote and the beam. While the main idea here IS that one sees the smallish faults of another while this same man has much larger faults of his own that he DOES NOT call out against himself. This IS the nature of the mote and the beam which ARE rendered by others as “the grain of dust” and “a bit of wood” where the measure included in the Master’s words IS minimized. Others acknowledge the idea of measure by rendering Jesus’ words as a splinter versus a log or similar ideas. The Greek words reflect these ideas of measure: the idea of mote IS rendered from the Greek karphos which Strong’s defines as: a dry twig or straw9a. The Greek word dokos which IS rendered as beam IS defined by Strong’s as: a stick of timber9a. We see the Master questioning the tendencies of men who “beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye” and we should understand here that this IS a most general human trait. We see also the matter of size as we see the smallest particle coming to the attention of another who has a much larger thing in his own eye. Together we should try to see that Jesus’ point IS first judgement and then the traits of men, acting in vanity, calling out others while they themselves ARE equally embedded in similar sins or as the saying tells us, worse. It IS interesting to note Vincent’s ideas on the Master’s words; he tells us: The word mote, however, suggests dust; whereas the figure is that of a minute chip or splinter, of the same material with the beam. Then, after some comment on Wycliffe’s use of the idea as “little mote” Vincent continues saying that: In explaining the passage it is well to remember that the obstruction to sight is of the same material in both cases. The man with a great beam in his eye, who therefore can see nothing accurately, proposes to remove the little splinter from his brother ‘s eye, a delicate operation, requiring clear sight4. While we see the importance of measure as the greater lesson, we should perhaps combine this with Vincent’s idea of seeing clearly as a secondary factor despite the way that seeing clearly IS the highlight of the last part of Jesus’ words. Perhaps the point IS that whensoever we have our own faults, it IS best to deal with them before we try to call out the faults of another.
Paul offers us a similar admonition that IS NOT often seen in this same way. The apostle says, at the end of his words on imaginations that men should be “having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled“. The singular note here should likely be that we must “first cast out the beam out of thine own eye” before trying to “cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye“. Paul’s words here ARE out of context but meaningful to our point and perhaps a discussion of the apostle’s whole thought will clarify what we ARE saying here. Paul tells us “though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled” (2 Corinthians 10:3-6).
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
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
