ON LOVE; PART MCDIII
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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 what we called one of the driving forces of doctrinal Christianity: the Apostle Paul’s words that ARE purported to make a man “born again” and ‘saved‘. Paul’s words ARE believed to tout confessing and affirming that Jesus IS Lord and while these words DO say such, the ideas are purely carnal in their effect. In past posts we have discussed the context in which Paul offers his words and while we will NOT get into this again in this essay, we should at least note that Paul’s intent here IS to draw a parallel to Old Testament ideas offered by Moses as he draws out the differences in the approach that was rejected by the Jews in favor of their doctrinal ideas, their mitzvah if you will. Moses, speaking as the Lord, says “Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD” (Leviticus 18:4-5) as he goes on to list several of the ancillary commandments designed to keep men focused on their own morality; we use this word in its broadest possible sense. We should remember that the Jews’ focus on these ancillary commandments ARE what the Master speaks against saying “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone” (Matthew 23:23). While it seems difficult to discern Paul’s intent as he speaks against ‘works‘ and and the law, the reality of that intent IS embedded in the words that precede his words on confessing and affirming the Lord. The apostle says “Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach” (Romans 10:5-8). What we have here IS a contrast of “the righteousness which is of the law“, where the intent IS the “weightier matters” but the practice IS NOT, against the “righteousness which is of faith” based in that KNOWING that comes ONLY in keeping His words. But doctrines DO NOT see this part of Paul’s teaching as they have found their doctrinal reality in the following verses that say “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). Paul’s comparisons and his use of the Old Testament ideas from Leviticus and Deuteronomy ARE set at naught in favor of the doctrinal ideas interpreted from these out of context words on confession and affirmation.
Most important however IS the deeper meanings that should be applied to the idea of homologeo, ideas that ARE missed by most who simply rely upon the rendering of their chosen bible translation and by those who look at the Greek word ideas according to the lexicons. While Vincent captures for us the reality of homologeo, his defining ideas ARE NOT in the mainstream of thought as the average Christian sees his ‘salvation‘ in DOING ONLY what his doctrines prescribe. Vincent says of homologeo that: 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 identification of the confessor with the confessed, and thus takes confession out of the category of mere formal or verbal acknowledgment4. Mr. Vincent adds, as an example of the difference between mere formal or verbal acknowledgment and the reality of the idea, Jesus’ words saying that “Not every one that saith unto me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven“. He DOES NOT finish the Master’s point here which gives us a picture of what it means to be confessing Christ out of a state of oneness with him; Jesus tells us that it IS ONLY “he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21) that can DO so. Jesus goes on to explain to the doctrinal thinker of the day how that the idea of keeping His words IS the KEY as He continues to say “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21, 22-23). These words should have effectively put to rest the idea that homologeo can be mere formal or verbal acknowledgment but it DID NOT because in their vanity men have come to believe that their confessions and affirmations ARE more; that according to their doctrinal bent, saying such words as Paul’s above IS sufficient. Few connect men’s mere formal or verbal acknowledgment with the Master’s rhetorical question which asks “why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). Fewer still see that their own beliefs have deluded them and this according to the Apostle James saying that men should “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). The Complete Jewish Bible rendering of Paul’s words can serve to show us the state of the church today, a state that IS a far cry from the reality of homologeo; they render Paul’s words as “if you acknowledge publicly with your mouth that Yeshua is Lord and trust in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be delivered. For with the heart one goes on trusting and thus continues toward righteousness, while with the mouth one keeps on making public acknowledgement and thus continues toward deliverance” (Romans 10:9-10).
What has become men’s mere formal or verbal acknowledgment of the Christ IS substituted for the reality of the idea, a state of oneness with him; again, the Master clearly disagrees with the doctrinal idea through His saying that “Not every one that saith unto me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven” and Luke’s shortened, but equally to the point version, saying in the form of a question, “why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?“. This doctrinal belief that such confessions and affirmations, that such nebulous beliefs as ARE promoted by doctrines, ARE the conundrum of the church today and some version of this reliance on purely carnal ideas has existed from the beginning. It IS perhaps this that Paul shows us as “another gospel: Which is not another” (Galatians 1:6-7) which IS but another view of the Truth that IS based in the ideas of men. The point here, clearly made by Jesus, IS that our saying a thing DOES NOT make it True; that declaring that Jesus IS Lord without the inner reality of KNOWING, IS just a form of that nebulous faith and believing that can ensnare men’s minds. It IS this doctrinal captivity that IS the “bondage of corruption” that afflicts the church as a whole, a bondage that IS NOT easily escaped. While the root problem here IS likely found in the assumed authority taken by the purveyors of doctrines and the ability of such persons to exercise control over others, we should try to see that it IS the vanity of Life in this world that IS the True obstacle that must be overcome. Paul shows us this vanity saying that “the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because expectation that the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:20-21); whether we see this as the human condition or as the ‘fall of man’ DOES NOT matter; the results of both ARE largely the same.
In the idea of “another gospel: Which is not another” we should try to see how that Paul IS showing us an idea that persists yet today; an idea where men purport to teach the “the gospel of Christ” while they ARE actually teaching the doctrines of men. It IS here that Paul shows us how that such persons DO “pervert the gospel of Christ” and while this may be unintentional, it IS at the same time rooted in that vanity to which ALL ARE subjected. Here we should see how that Jesus warnings on “false prophets” as well as those cautions found in our selection from John’s First Epistle regarding the same as antichrist ARE cautions and warnings against believing the “commandments of men” (Mark 7:7). Repeating our selection we read:
“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 that a part of this vanity IS found in the ability of men to convince themselves that what they ‘believe‘ IS the Truth and it IS in their never-ending proclamations of such ‘beliefs‘ as Truth they have built a True stronghold against which the Master’s Truth has NOT been able to prevail. Paul teaches us on such strongholds but his words ARE NOT seen as against such ideas as church doctrines. Paul prefaces his words saying that he IS being “bold against some, which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh“; some versions render this idea of bold in terms of courage but with either rendering the idea should be rather clear. Paul’s words however ARE ONLY applied to those outside of the doctrinal church while his intent IS more than likely against any that may see their own walking “according to the flesh” as the Christian norm that allows for men to see themselves as men. The point here IS that the Christian, beginning with those that are presenting “another gospel: Which is not another” in his day, ARE those that have chosen a markedly carnal path which they have convinced themselves IS spiritual. This IS the context for Paul’s continuing words saying “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” (2 Corinthians 10:2, 3:5). We should note the difference between the apostle’s words concerning walking “according to the flesh” and his words admitting that “we walk in the flesh“; that the latter IS a statement of physical fact while the former IS a statement of attitude as IS the idea of “after the flesh“. Vincent helps us here saying that: After the flesh. Or according to (Rev.). Quite a different thing from being in the flesh4 while Strong’s helps us in saying that in the idea of war, from the Greek word strateuomai, IS the idea: to contend with carnal inclinations9a. The apostle’s point then can be best understood as while we DO “walk in the flesh” we DO NOT walk “according to the flesh” and that our struggle IS against living “according to the flesh“; it IS a spiritual struggle that DOES contend with our own carnal inclinations. We should see this in the next idea that tells us that “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God“; that IS that our weapons ARE spiritual and ARE capable of “the pulling down of strong holds” which, for the doctrinal Christian, ARE the weight applied to his own doctrines.
Can we see how that such “strong holds” ARE “imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God“? And can we see how that this idea of “high thing” IS those things that ARE: an elevated place or thing9a as the Greek word hupsoma IS defined for us by Strong’s? Can we see also that this idea of “high thing” IS in reference to the components of men’s “strong holds” and to those things that men themselves, religious or secular, have so elevated in their importance? It IS such that “exalteth itself against the knowledge of God“; it IS men’s doctrinal belief in ALL things that ARE contrary to the Master’s Truth which fail to bring such alien thoughts and attitudes into captivity. This brings us back to John’s words that tell us the how that we can have such “knowledge of God“. John says that “We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us” and while the doctrinal church applies this to themselves as being “of God“, their application of this idea IS fatally flawed. While John’s saying IS True, that the man KNOWING God DOES hear the Truth of John’s words, this requires that on be “of God” and there should be NO confusion about what this means. From the simplicity of the apostle’s words saying that “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother” (1 John 3:9-10) the idea of being “of God” IS clear. In these words John conflates several ideas as he tells us that being “born of God“, being “children of God” and being simply “of God” ARE offered in the same context and according to several ideas regarding the comportment of men. While these ideas ARE True for ALL humanity, ALL ARE “born of God“, ALL ARE “children of God” and ALL ARE “of God” spiritually by their very nature as men, these ideas must become the conscious realization of a man; a realization that requires that “he cannot sin“, that he doeth righteousness and that he loveth “his brother“. These ideas, rightly understood, eliminate most ALL men’s ability to be “of God” in the sense that Jesus’ and His apostles teach us and perhaps the singular point here for men today IS that few ever try to accomplish such ideals against the doctrinal teachings that one need NOT DO so.
It IS far easier to simply profess that one IS “of God” but this illusory claim IS meaningless; Jesus frames this reality in also simple terms as He tells us to “Strive to enter in at the strait gate” as He shows us a most basic Truth that IS ignored by the doctrinal thinker; a Truth most Christians will NOT apply to themselves as the subject. The Master tells us “many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:24) and this we should tie to His words saying that “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. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21-23). It IS this idea that dictates the Truth of our confessions and affirmations of the Master as Lord, an idea that IS shown us just as clearly in Jesus’ rhetorical question that asks “why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). There IS an importance to these ideas which we discuss above in regard to the Greek word homologeo and the way that this idea requires that one be confessing Christ out of a state of oneness with him. The idea of keeping His words however DOES NOT stop there as this IS equally a requirement of Truly being “of God” as John shows us above. And the Master IS NOT content with allowing His words above to carry the message as He adds to this the realities of the so-called Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders. As we have stated in previous essays, this IS NOT technically a parable as it IS a statement of fact based in the ideas of building a house and the choosing of a path. Jesus tells us that we can either be among those that “heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them” or among those that “heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not“. Here we should understand that His sayings ARE His words, from the Greek logos, and include, at a minimum, ALL of the previous commandments that He gives us in His Sermon on the Mount according to Matthew. We should understand that based upon the Master’s choices of DOING or NOT DOING most ALL of the entire world IS among those who can be likened to “a foolish man“. Repeating the Master words on the Wise and Foolish Builders we read:
“whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it” (Matthew 7:24-27).
The reality here and in Luke’s version should be very clear and we should be able to easily understand that the context IS keeping His words. Despite the clarity however many millions of Christians believe that they ARE among the wise builders based solely in the teachings of their doctrines; few DO actually keep His words save for DOING so in strictly doctrinal terms. And we should try to understand that the points here ARE NOT intended to demean the Christian that so believes but rather to show the True Way, the Way that the Master has painted for us throughout the gospels. It IS men that have chosen out the path of “another gospel” rather than the Truth of Jesus’ words and it IS by their choice of trusting in those doctrinal authorities which have assumed authority over their spiritual lives that they have become as blinded to the Truth as were the Jews. The result here IS men’s failure to even consider the idea that there IS a Truth beyond what such authorities teach and hence they DO NOT think to Truly “Strive to enter in at the strait gate“; too many have found contentment in the words of promise offered through the doctrines of men; empty promises for most ALL to be sure. And this IS a point that CAN NOT be stressed enough: it IS ONLY in keeping His words which ARE Universal in scope and DO NOT require any understanding of Christianity, especially as this IS taught by the churches. ALL people, ALL religions and ALL cultures throughout the world benefit from His words and we should note here that the reality of the Master’s words ARE taught in every True religion. ALL teach the de-emphasizing of the self as the center of Life both individually and corporately and the emphasizing of the central idea of ALL religious pursuits: agape and its uniform expression to ALL. Of course this re-emphasis IS covered over by the doctrinal ideas attached to most every world religion; the ignoring of the Truth IS NOT limited to the Christian and the Jew. The ignoring of the Truth IS universal as ALL men ARE made subject to the same vanity by way of their birth which IS then compounded by their nurturing and their indoctrination into their own bondage of religion, culture and social experience. The effects of men’s vanity ARE the same throughout the world and while there may be temporal adjustments to this effect over the centuries, the central idea presented by Vincent remains True for ALL; he tells us that this vanity IS: a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends4.
To properly understand this one must try to grasp the idea that men ARE NOT simply this ‘person’ born into this world and then nurtured and indoctrinated into the ways of the world; we must try to grasp the reality that we ARE Souls, spiritual beings that find ourselves in this perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends4. In our carnal minds we may recognize that there IS a higher factor that draws us to the Good, the Beautiful and the True. In order to recognize this however one must per force be able to hear what draws us over the din of our daily living which consumes our carnal minds and emotional responses to our own lives. So much of the Master’s parabolic words DO show us this Inner Man, this Soul, as Jesus tries to inject a spiritual component into our carnally fixed idea, fixed by the vanity, by the illusion and the glamour, and by the nurturing and indoctrination which we endure. Paul shows us this same thing in his teaching on the mysteries while John shows us that it IS ONLY by tuning out the “false prophets” which ARE the antichrist that we can summon the spiritual Power that IS agape; that Power which enables us to de-emphasize the self as the center of Life, both individually and corporately, while we emphasize of the central idea of ALL religious pursuits: agape and its uniform expression to ALL. What IS emphasized in the Life of everyman IS what motivates that man and, in Jesus teaching on our choices, a recurring teaching throughout ALL of His words, we ARE ever encouraged to chose God over mammon, to choose “treasures in heaven” over “treasures upon earth“. Through these choices we can come to understand the idea that we should “Take no thought for your life” (Matthew 6:24, 20, 19, 25) as we de-emphasize the carnal thereby allowing us to re-emphasize the spiritual components which ARE at the heart of the Master’s teaching. ALL of this requires the efforts of men, an effort that Peter shows us as our escape from vanity, our escape from our carnal lives and motivations. And Peter’s words ARE rather clear but despite this clarity they ARE misunderstood through the doctrines of men. Peter tells us “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:3-4).
In Peter’s words we should see the real promise of spiritual living which IS that we can “be partakers of the divine nature“, an idea that encompasses ALL other New Testament promises made by the Master and His apostles. It IS in being such a partaker, to have one’s portion of the “divine nature” if you will, that we can realize such things as those “greater works” (John 14:12) of which the Master speaks; it IS as a partaker that we can have the wherewithal to move the mountain (Matthew 21:21) and to plant the “sycamine tree” in the sea (Luke 17:6). Two things ARE important to remember here; first that the “divine nature” IS agape which IS as John tells us saying “God is love agape” in our selection above. Second IS the matter of the quid pro quo which IS defined for us as something that is given or taken in return for something else* and here we should see the idea of becoming “partakers of the divine nature” in return for our “having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust“. Of course the very idea of any sort of quid pro quo IS NOT an accepted idea in most ALL of Christianity despite the way that the idea IS evident throughout the bible in both positive and negative ways. What we must escape IS our emphasis upon ourselves which IS founded in desires for ALL things carnal and while the church largely sees the idea of lust in sexual terms, the reality IS that the idea IS intended to encompass ALL desires and, to be sure, most ALL desires ARE for the self. Vincent shows us the scope of lust as the word IS used by Peter as he compares the renderings from different bible translations; he tells us of the idea of Through lust [εν επιθυμια] that: Rev. renders by lust, as the instrument of the corruption. Others, in lust, as the sphere of the corruption, or as that in which it is grounded 4. While Vincent gives us a broad view of lust, John Gill takes hold of the more common doctrinal ideas that lust IS primarily a sexual term. Mr. Gill tells us that “having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” should be see as: not the corruption and depravity of nature, which is never escaped by any, nor got rid of so long as the saints are in the world; but the corrupt manners of the world, or those corruptions and vices which, are prevalent in the world, and under the power and dominion of which the world lies; and particularly the sins of uncleanness, adultery, incest, sodomy, and such like filthy and unnatural lusts, which abounded in the world8. From the reality of Peter’s words and the teachings of the Master and His apostles Mr. Gills idea IS Truly counter productive in that it IS telling men that they CAN NOT truly escape from carnal living and carnal thoughts; that they CAN NOT possibly “mortify the deeds of the body” and live which idea of living should be understood as being such a partaker.
In the context of Paul’s words we should clearly understand that the idea here IS that such mortification IS motivated by the Soul and requires ONLY a willing mortal existance, one that has heard the prompting of his own Soul. This IS essentially the same idea as we see in Peter’s words where being a partaker “of the divine nature” IS motivated “through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue” which knowledge John shows us in our selection saying “every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God“. John qualifies this idea saying “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4); this idea however IS missed by most ALL of the church. Returning to Paul’s words, which we DID discuss in some detail when this chapter from Romans was our selection, we read that “if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore*, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live” (Romans 8:10:13). ALL of this IS contrary to Mr. Gills ideas on escaping “the corruption that is in the world through lust“. Finally we should look at the combined ideas that we have in the words above from Peter, from Paul and from John. While they ARE called in different terms, the reality of having “the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you“, the reality of having “knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue“, the reality of being our “born of God, and knoweth God” ARE ALL based in the singular reality of being “partakers of the divine nature“. Looking to Jesus’ own words ALL of these ‘rewards‘ require just ONE thing which the Master shows us in different ways in our trifecta which we repeat 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).
Can we see the depth of the quid pro quo?
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition
- 8 Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com
- 9 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon on blueletterbible.org
- * Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
