ON LOVE; PART MCCCXCIX
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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 about the way that much of the Christian church treats the words of the Apostle John that ARE our selection from his First Epistle. We began with the way that the idea of antichrist has been transformed from representing the idea of the “false prophets” to becoming an ‘individual’ who plays an ‘evil’ role in the end times despite the fact that the word antichristos IS never used outside of the context that the apostle gives us. John’s point here IS in regard to KNOWING “that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh” and we should try to see that this KNOWING requires more than just doctrinal KNOWING; this KNOWING extends to a man’s realization of the Truth. Millions may ‘believe‘ that the Master came “in the flesh” and their range of individual beliefs IS NOT KNOWING but rather the product of their nurturing and indoctrination. It IS this realization of the Truth, this KNOWING, that IS Jesus’ point in saying 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) and in this we should see a picture of the man who Truly KNOWS, the man that “is of God“. The reality that this man IS the disciple of the Lord IS lost in the church that ‘believes‘ that ALL Christians have this level of KNOWING based in the precepts of their doctrines. This of course has ever remained an untruth for any and ALL that DO NOT DO according to the Master’s criteria that demands that “ye continue in my word“. In strict Truth the idea would be that it IS ONLY the True disciple that “is of God” and ALL else, ALL that DO NOT Truly KNOW, are those that ARE “not of God” and perhaps the simpler idea here IS that to be “of God” requires that one KNOW God. John addresses this further on in our selection saying “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love“.
The difference that John IS pointing out to us IS that there ARE two types of men, the disciple and the antichrist and here again we should be careful to NOT take the churches idea of ‘evil’ to define this word idea. For us the idea of the disciple IS NOT so broad as the church presumes and the idea would include the aspirant to discipleship, the man who Truly strives “to enter in at the strait gate” (Luke 13:24). This man IS following the Lord, striving to keep His words and understands that the doctrinal ideas of men ARE just that, “the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7). This IS the dividing line that John intends as he writes to those that can answer to his criteria, those that can affirm that “Ye are of God” based in the singular idea that “every one that loveth is born of God“. We should note that this idea of “every one” IS ALL inclusive; there ARE NO religious boundaries and NO social or cultural criteria IS applied here; the ONLY criteria IS that one DOES Love, that one DOES express agape. Again we must remember that this idea of Love, of agape, IS NOT that common idea of Love; it IS NOT the emotional and mental attraction and attachment that one may have for others. Agape IS universally expressed to ALL men according to the Master’s words that show us this universality in the idea of “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” and Jesus’ clarifying idea that “as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise” (Luke 6:31). Can we see here that to be against this expression of agape IS to be against God and this simply because “God is love agape” as John tells us twice in our selection which we repeat saying:
“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And 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. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also” (1 John 4).
We should understand here that this doctrinal view of antichrist IS in many ways self-serving as a doctrinal precept as doctrinal thinkers DO NOT want to be associated with their own created ‘evil’ idea. Most ALL have ever looked past their own roles in spreading non-scriptural ideas as scripture and proclaiming themselves to be “born of God” without the necessary expression of that universal Love that IS agape. This IS the reality of John’s words here, an idea that is doctrinally washed away by the insufficient ideas applied to the Greek word homologeo which IS rendered in terms of confessing. This idea of confession IS so much more that merely declaring a thing in words as the defining idea of the Greek word shows us saying: to say the same thing as another, i. e. to agree with, assent9 as Thayer’s shows us. This idea of confession IS also NOT the doctrinal idea against which so many measure the idea of persecution. The doctrinal idea of confession IS also tied to the way that too many believe that the ARE made “born again” through the Apostle Paul’s words saying “if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10) as they miss the contextual point that IS beyond saying such words. In our library ONLY Vincent offers us a spiritual view of the meaning of homologeo saying, from Matthew’s use of the idea, that “Confess me [ομολογησει εν εμοι] . A peculiar but very significant expression. Lit., “Confess in me.” The idea is that of confessing Christ out of a state of oneness with him. “Abide in me, and being in me, confess me.” It implies indentification (sic) of the confessor with the confessed, and thus takes confession out of the category of mere formal or verbal acknowledgment“4. Vincent goes on to show an example of this idea citing the Master’s words saying: “Not every one that saith unto me ‘Lord ! Lord !’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 7:21) as a means of showing the meaninglessness of saying words alone.
That the idea of antichrist IS missed by the doctrinal thinker can also be seen as the effect of the dilution of the idea of homologeo and while the above ideas ARE failures of the church to rightly understand the apostle’s intent, the greater failure IS found in their use of the idea of propitiation as a means of atonement for the sins of men, that Jesus literally died for our sins. There IS a reality of atonement which IS shown to us in Vincent’s words on homologeo and that reality IS found in a a state of oneness with him which IS a result of one’s identification of the confessor with the confessed. Here if we can understand that this identification IS with one’s own Christ Within we can then better understand the concept of at-one-ment. Paul sees this idea of at-one-ment in the Master’s Life here in this Earth; the apostle tells the Ephesians “he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby” (Ephesians 2:14-16). We should note here that some of the rendering IS flawed through the translators preconceived ideas; the idea of the “middle wall of partition” should stand alone as the words “between us” ARE added by the translators through their preconceived ideas. While some DO render the apostle’s words as ONLY the “middle wall of partition” others embellish upon the idea of “between us” with some showing us this idea as “With his body, he broke down the barrier of hatred that divided us” as the Common English Bible (CEB). While the King James idea of “between us” alludes to differences between men, the CEB and others paint the idea more starkly into the differences between the Jews and the Gentiles, that these ARE reconciled. But IS this the context intended? The apostle begins with the idea of carnal men, men who “were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world” and contrasts these with those who ARE reconciled with the Lord, those who “are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:1, 2, 10). In this context the reconciliation IS NOT between men or groups of men but rather within as Paul shows us this working out in the Life of Jesus who DOES “make in himself of twain one new man“. This IS the deeper spiritual reality and the True lesson of the gospels and while it IS NOT hidden from view, it IS obnubilated by the interpretations of doctrines formulated by men who DO NOT yet see and CAN NOT yet discern the most vital message of Christ: the anointing that IS shared by everyman. It IS in the interpretations of words and ideas that the doctrines of men fail as such interpretations ARE most always carnally based in the thought processes of the finite minds of men which ARE often motivated by emotions rather that any form of True logic.
It IS in the churches ardent desire to hold onto their view of the divinity of Jesus that they refuse to see any ideas that acknowledge what the Master Himself acknowledges in such sayings as: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do” (John 14:12). The failure here in this verse IS based ONLY in the interpretations of men who DO NOT see the reality that everyman has such an ability to DO such “greater works” and we should try to see here that this IS how the whole idea of mysteries effects men. That we can DO such “greater works” IS NOT deemed possible based in men’s doctrinal ideas but ONLY because they DO NOT see, or choose NOT to see, the greater possibilities that ARE the purview of those who ARE Repented, Transformed and who have somewhat achieved the “the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:23). We should try to see here how that men’s own realization of the Truth of their own being relies upon each man’s ability to “make in himself of twain one new man“; it IS here that we can realize “the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints….which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:26, 27). Instead of embracing the mysteries, instead of trying to see that the divinity of men IS the outward display of the Master and eventually of His apostles, men have sought to portray Jesus in ways that He DID NOT portray Himself. His own portrayal IS as a servant who IS in this Earth in the singular sense of the Christ principle expressing Love and Truth through a willing form in this world and He tells us such as He encourages us to follow in His Way. We read this in such ideas as His words saying “I am among you as he that serveth” (Luke 22:27). Neither Jesus’ service nor the service provided by His apostles IS as the Christian perceives service in the church. Their service 2000 years ago was in actually expressing Truth and Love through their individual forms and personalities in an effort to first keep the commandments themselves and second to be an example and a guiding Light to others. This service IS designed to “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works” (Matthew 5:16) and it IS this same idea that IS shown us by Paul as he tells us that “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them“.
While this idea seems contrary to doctrinal ideas that ARE founded in Paul’s preceding words saying that “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), there IS NO real contradiction at ALL. The differences ARE in doctrinal understanding and the acceptance of one saying that IS easier to ‘live by’ over the other which requires personal action. It IS the very idea of service that has caused the rift here and while many DO seemingly embrace the idea that a man CAN NOT ‘save‘ himself, they minister in the church or become missionaries to the world without recognizing such acts as works. Nor should they as such ‘service‘ IS beyond the scope of Paul’s admonition regarding works and while doctrinally oriented instead of being oriented to Truth and Love, such service IS in the right attitude of letting “your light so shine before men“. That such Light IS doctrinal DOES NOT detract from the spiritual intent and in this we should see that when such service IS NOT self serving it can accrue some modicum of spiritual benefit. The point here IS that Paul IS distinguishing between works and works; that IS that he IS showing us True works that “God hath before ordained” and the self serving works of men. The reflection here should be upon the ideas against which Jesus and His apostles speak as regards the religious traditions and habits of the Jews. Much of their aversion to such works comes from the Master words that reflect the self serving works of the Jews; we read this in such cautions as:
- “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven“.
- “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men“.
- “Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast” (Matthew 6:1, 5, 16).
In these saying we have the epitome of self serving works, works that ARE DONE in the sight of men for their approval and one’s personal satisfaction. But this IS NOT all, there ARE other self serving works that Jesus rails against throughout the gospels and these stretch from His list of woes against the Jews’ religious leaders to the most comprehensive saying that “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). ALL of this IS what Jesus’ rails against and it IS such self serving ideas that ARE the subject of Paul’s words against works and the sense of boasting that such works inevitably bring; boasting that need NOT be outspoken but which IS part of men’s desire to DO such things “before men, to be seen of them“. It IS NOT against “good works” that Paul writes and we should understand that it IS “good works” that ARE the reality of those “greater works” which the Master tells us that ALL can DO under the much misunderstood banner of “He that believeth on me“. There IS a two fold doctrinal problem with the Master’s words; first IS that through the churches ideas regarding the divinity of Jesus as the Son of God, they ARE NOT able to attribute the Master’s words to a literal understanding that men can DO as Jesus DID. Most ALL ignore the literal idea that men can DO as the Master did and they fail as well to see the example given us in the Power of His apostles which ARE documented for us in the Book of Acts. There IS a rather universal denial of Jesus’ intent here; John Gill for example tells us: not greater in nature and kind, but more in number; for the apostles, in a long series of time, and course of years, went about preaching the Gospel, not in Judea only, but in all the world; “God also bearing them witness with signs and wonders, and divers miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost”, ( Hebrews 2:4 ) , wherever they went: though perhaps by these greater works may be meant the many instances of conversion, which the apostles were instrumental in, and which were more in number than those which were under our Lord’s personal ministry8. Here these “greater works” ARE reduced to evangelizing. Vincent, to whom we often go for explanations of words and phrase that ARE NOT so doctrinally oriented, says this in regard to the Master’s promise of “greater works“; we read: Not more remarkable miracles, but referring to the wider work of the apostolic ministry under the dispensation of the Spirit. This work was of a higher nature than mere bodily cures. Godet truthfully says : “That which was done by St. Peter at Pentecost, by St. Paul all over the world, that which is effected by an ordinary preacher, a single believer, by bringing the Spirit into the heart, could not be done by Jesus during His sojourn in this world.” Jesus ‘ personal ministry in the flesh must be a local ministry. Only under the dispensation of the Spirit could it be universal4.
Though markedly different, these ‘explanations’ of “greater works” fail against the scope of Jesus’ other ‘promises’ regarding the spiritual ability of men. They fail against the idea of Jesus’ words saying “verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith” (Mark 11:23). Here the idea of moving the mountain becomes doctrinally moot through the idea that “he shall have whatsoever he saith“. But this IS NOT so in other versions of this same thought where the implication IS clear in Jesus’ words saying “if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done” (Matthew 21:21). Luke offers us a similar unambiguous scene saying that “ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you” (Luke 17:6). Many parts of the church today lean on Mark’s version of these ideas to show the idea that if a man believes he can then have whatsoever he may ask for as they use this to promise carnal rewards. As with the Master’s words on “greater works” there IS criteria attached to these abilities of men and that criteria IS clearly stated. Mark tells that us one must “not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass” and in this we should understand the depth of KNOWING that IS True defining idea of pistis and pisteuo which ARE rendered as faith and believing. Luke and Matthew call this “faith as a grain of mustard seed” (Luke 17:6, Matthew 17:20) while Matthew also tells us that we can cast the mountain ONLY “If ye have faith, and doubt not” (Matthew 21:21). While the church may apply their nebulous ideas of faith and believing to the words of Jesus according to Mark, the results of such faith ARE NOT universal but dependent upon many factors and, for us, NONE that ARE Truly spiritual. That a man gets or fails to get “whatsoever he saith” under the auspices of the accompanying saying that “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24) IS much more a matter of happenstance than one’s ability to “have faith, and doubt not” which IS largely impossible for the average human mind that IS NOT so Soul infused that he should “know all things“. This IS to be understood against the backdrop of having sufficient faith which IS the doctrinal tool that affirms a man who DOES get “whatsoever he saith” against the man that DOES NOT and, to be sure, neither of these ideas of getting IS consistent in the Life of any man.
These ideas regarding doctrinal faith and believing ARE the second problem with understanding as literal the Master’s words. Here we should understand that our nebulous faith and believing accusations against the church ARE founded in the reality of Jesus’ words through which such ideas should be understood as KNOWING and that form of KNOWING by which one undeniably KNOWS that such things ARE within one’s Power. This Power of KNOWING IS keenly attached to the Master’s teachings above as well as to the source of such KNOWING that IS His saying 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“. We should understand that ALL other modes of KNOWING ARE carnal ONLY; the Truth resides in the Soul, in the unction by which we DO “know all things” (1 John 2:20) and it IS this KNOWING that IS the realization of everyman that will “continue in my word“. Vincent illustrates this in his commentary of the idea of pisteuo eis which IS rendered as “believe on” or “believe in” the Master. Mr. Vincent tells us that: to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is not merely to believe the facts of His historic life or of His saving energy as facts, but to accept Him as Savior, Teacher, Sympathizer, Judge; to rest the soul upon Him for present and future salvation, and to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life4. This IS the True source of KNOWING and in these words we should see ONLY the idea of keeping His words which IS the constant admonition of the Master which we cite in every post as our trifecta of spiritual reality; we read again His words 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).
Much like the reality of our realization of the mysteries which ARE NOT ‘hidden’ so that we CAN NOT access them but ARE ONLY realized by the man whose focus IS upon the Lord and then by the same measure as that focus, so ARE the promises of the trifecta. To KNOW the Truth IS NOT ‘hidden’ but the Truth, which can be understood synonymously with the idea of the mysteries, IS accessible through keeping His words which the Master frames for us as “If ye continue in my word“. We should note that the promise here IS twofold, realization of the Truth and True discipleship and here we should have an idea of the reality of discipleship. Our access to the “kingdom of heaven” should be understood in the same way as we gain the ability to “enter into the kingdom” by DOING “the will of my Father” as Jesus tells us. Here we should understand that the Kingdom IS NOT some far off place as that which the Christian hopes for after death, it IS rather a state of being centered in KNOWING the Truth of Life, a state where our heretofore carnal minds ARE imbued with that Truth as it flows from the Christ Within….the Soul. We must understand that both of these ARE based in our ability to have realization of this Truth through keeping His words and this NOT because they ARE His words that should be followed ONLY but because they ARE the Path to that Truth which IS itself centered in agape. We should remember here that agape IS the Eternal Motivating Power that IS God and in this we should see the many comparisons that the Master shows us such as “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). Reflecting on this should show us that to be as the Lord IS to be agape, to be an expression of Truth and agape Love in this world of men. This IS the most natural state of being for the disciple and it IS what should be the objective of everyman who Truly desires to Truly follow the Lord. This expression of agape IS the essence of the whole idea of “good works” and Paul’s telling us that it IS such “good works” that “God hath before ordained that we should walk in them“. And this IS the quid pro quo: that it IS in keeping His words that we can have the Truth and be able to express that Truth as our carnality IS merged into our spiritual expression thus putting us into that state of being that we call the “kingdom of heaven” as Matthew seems to prefer or, better, the Kingdom of God.
While most ALL Christians hope and wait for heaven at the of their mortal lives, there IS NO real scriptural reality to this hope. The ONLY scriptural reality IS that a mortal body can be re-quickened if we can use that idea here and there ARE stories to this end in both the Old and the New Testament. For Jesus this IS the result of His own spiritual Power, the Power of agape if you will, but He IS NOT the ONLY one able to DO such ‘miraculous’ cures as Peter and Paul both wielded this same Power. The relationship between the apostles’ ability to heal and the Master’s has never been understood in the church however as the church paints such ideas as that the Master gave them such ability or that it IS the ability of the Holy Spirit working through the apostles that can DO such things. There IS a reality here that IS NOT understood, a reality which IS founded in the idea that for the disciple his carnality IS merged into his spiritual expression and it IS that expression which the activity of the Holy Spirit in his Life. It IS True that these ideas ARE clumsily addressed in the New Testament and the Old but we should remember that when these things were written superstition ruled in the minds of men and the mechanisms for how one could be so imbued with such Power was indeed a mystery. This reality that men can DO such “greater works” again IS founded in the words of Truth that ARE our trifecta where one can gain the Truth, the Presence of God in one’s conscious Life and the Kingdom here and now. This IS the eternal quid pro quo and while the church will deny that this IS the Way in favor of their doctrinally nebulous ideas of faith and believing, few if any have ever Truly tried to hold the reins of True discipleship. It IS ever in keeping His words that men can achieve such ‘glory‘ if we can use that idea here and it IS important to see that while there ARE those who DO forego worldly pleasures to live as monks or similar ideas, this IS NOT a replacement for one’s actual expression of the essence of His words which IS agape as one’s constant expression of agape with NO “respect to persons” (James 2:9). We should understand here that this expression of agape IS NOT in any way related to the common ideas regarding Love; it IS rather a Soul’s ability to contact and influence a mortal Life through focus upon the Soul and the things of God and it IS here that we close with Jesus’ words on discipleship. First that we ARE “disciples indeed” or True disciples if we DO “continue in my word” as Jesus tells us and second we ARE True disciples in forsaking ALL carnality as the Master tells us saying “whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33).
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
- 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
