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Here is the second part I promised:
I just wanted to take the Verse a little deeper from a Greek perspective.
If you notice the word "with." Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. Well, it is the Greek word EN, which means in.
All three prepositional phrases are "in." You will love the Lord your God (in) your whole heart, and (in) your whole soul and (in) your whole mind.
Please notice the location?
I am not going to love with it. I am going to be in it. It is going to be in me, in my inner being. That is how it is literally translated in the Greek.
You see, God gives us the ability to love Him because in the natural, we do not have that capability. So Jesus says this is the first commandment.
Can you imagine how many years have we gone by with people thinking that the first commandment is a commandment?
No, the commandment is YOU WILL. There is no choice there! It is not an invitation like I hope you will, or could you, or should you.
You will, because God's Spirit is the one who has the love. He is the one who loves. And when you have God's Spirit in you, you are in God's love.
And we have to be sensitive to the fact that AGAPE love is not an action, something we have to go out and do. Agape love is a person. That person is Christ. And if we have Christ, we will love Him with all our heart, mind, and soul. And we will love our neighbor (fellow believer) as ourself. It's not a command for us to go out and do. It is something we will do because His Spirit in us gives us the ability to do so!
Blessings in Christ Jesus!
It probably came from Matthew 22:37. The term "Thou shalt love" is not in command form. That is a Future Active Indicative in the Greek text. It is not a command. It is a factual statement. You will love!
Believers are supposed to love one another. But, neither in the Old Testament, nor in the New Testament, is it in command form.
As a matter of fact, the command in the Old Testament is YOU WILL love the Lord your God, and YOU WILL love your neighbor as yourself. It is a factual statement!
It all centers around where the commands came from, Deuteronomy Chapter 6 that has the SHEMA, the prayer that is prayed every morning and evening by Orthodox Jews.
In that prayer, they recite the fact that God says that I will put my Spirit in you, and I will put my laws on your heart, and YOU WILL love the Lord your God.
We are told in Galatians 5:22 that love, AGAPE, is a fruit of God's Spirit.
In 1 John Chapter 4, it tells us that God is love. Now if I focus on the fact that God is love, and I've been commanded to love, and God is love, then what am I to do? Give you God, because He is love. Love is a person. Love is the nature of God!
In my human abilities, or in my human effort, I cannot produce God's nature of love. I can't produce that!
And as I said, Galatians 5:22 tells us it is a fruit. It is produced by God's Spirit, just like faith, and all the other ingredients that make up the fruit of the Spirit.
Some continue to take scriptures out of context and put pressure on themselves to produce these things, when the bible says no.
The bible says point-blank that if you're not loving your brother, then you don't know God! If you do not have AGAPE love in you, you are not saved. That is what the bible says.
I am running out of space but want to share a little more on Matthew 22:37 from a Greek perspective. It is some pretty powerful stuff!
I'll send it as Matthew 22:37 (Part 2)
But he (Stephen), being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
Colossians 3:1
If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Luke 22:69
Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God.
Acts 5:31
Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
Mark 16:19
So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
Hebrews 10:12
But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
1 Peter 3:22
Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.
Romans 8:34
Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
Hebrews 12:2
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Matthew 22:44 (see Psalm 110:1)
The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool?
Revelation 5:7
And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.
You might like to know that the 2 greatest commandments summarizing the law aren't in the 10 commandments. These are separate. For instance the 1st of the ten commandments is to have no other Gods before Him, and 2nd one is to not make any graven images. The 10 commandments don't necesarily summarize all the commandments and laws, as there were hundreds, especially for Israelites in the form of moral law, civil, and cereminial. Matthew 22:36-40. Given the complexity, I think the Pharisee didn't expect Jesus to actually answer that question, but he did beautifully: love God and love others. This is basically the meaning and purpose of life which so many people search endlessly for in the wrong places. Just because Jesus summarized everything doesn't mean the details don't matter though. Obviously we are called to obey and follow God's commandments. Those who claim Christians shouldn't try or make any effort to because you 'can't' I think is a grave mistake and not what Jesus said: John 14:15
God bless.
You list the following scripture:
Matthew 22:38 This is the first and GREATEST COMMANDMENT.
Matthew 22:39 And the SECOND is like unto it, thou shall LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR AS THYSELF.
Matthew 22:40 ON these TWO COMMANDMENTS HANG all the law and prophets.
You listed this scripture addressing the 1st and 2nd Commandments, so I would think that you do believe in these 2 Commandments.
Jesus did say that these 2 commandments are the greatest of the 10. Also, Jesus didn't say the remaining 8 commandments are meaningless, and don't count. So if you believe in the first 2 commandments it is also very logical to also believe in the other 8 commandments. Yet, if I'm correct it sounds to me that you do not believe in the 4th commandment which relates to honoring the Sabbath.
The way I see it ....we can't pick and choose which of Gods commandments that we like. The bible is not a menu that lets us choose what we want so that we can live our lives in the easiest and least disruptive way. Following the bible and God's laws may be tough for us to do in this day and age. How many of us would rather be at a ball game, or golfing on Saturday (the Sabbath) probably many of us could be doing a lot of things we would like to do....rather than observing the Sabbath. I understand...but it doesn't make it right!
God Bless
Luke 5:39 No man also having drunk OLD WINE straightway desireth NEW (wine): for he saith, THE OLD IS BETTER.
John 2:1 And THE THIRD DAY (represents Christ resurrection) there was a MARRIAGE IN CANA OF GALILEE.....(represents New Jerusalem)
John 2:2 And BOTH Jesus was called, and his disciples, TO THE MARRIAGE.
John 2:3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, THEY HAVE NO WINE.
John 2:9 .... and the governor (God the Spirit) of the feast called (CHRIST) the bridegroom,
John 2:10 And saith unto him....but thou has kept the good wine until NOW.
The old (wine: laws written in tablets of natural stone) were replaced by new (wine) laws written in the heart.
Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Matthew 22:38 This is the first and GREATEST COMMANDMENT.
Matthew 22:39 And the SECOND is like unto it, thou shall LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR AS THYSELF.
Matthew 22:40 ON these TWO COMMANDMENTS HANG all the law and prophets.
Ezekiel 36:26 A new heart will I GIVE you, and a new spirit will I put in you....
Ezekie 36:27 ....and CAUSE YOU to walk in my statutes....
A question was asked by the Sadducees (a Jewish religious sect who don't believe in the resurrection) to Jesus: 'if a woman had seven husbands because each one of her husbands died before she did, who would be her husband at the time of the resurrection when the bodies of the deceased rise to be in Heaven?' They asked this question of Jesus trying to trap Him about the impossibility of a resurrection because a woman in this example, would have had seven husbands to deal with in Heaven, maybe all claiming the woman to be his wife & this would be a problem & an impossibility. Jesus answered them about their error in understanding. That in the resurrected state in Heaven, there is no such thing as relationships, whether to enter marriage or to maintain a previous marriage from Earth. Rather, He said, that our relationship will be what the angels of God presently enjoy: being in Heaven to love, worship & serve the Almighty One, rejoicing with one another in sweet fellowship. Will we know each other? I would think that we would, but our focus & desire would only be to our Merciful Father & His Son of Love, all other desires faded away.
And concerning the resurrection, which the Sadducees rejected, Jesus reminded them that God had spoken to them from the Word: "I AM the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." Exodus 3:6. That since God was not a God of a deceased Abraham, Isaac & Jacob, that is why God spoke of them as being alive: maybe not in a resurrected state at that point but certainly alive in spirit & would continue to be so in the bodily resurrection.
Everyone dislikes theirpredicaments, the constant competition. We've been on trial our whole lives.
Whatever the jam, it doesn'tmatter to Jesus, except believing He was the son of God who died on the cross for yoursins, and perhaps Matthew 22:36-40, the 2 highest commandments tolive by.
All along the trail people will nick your gelt, half inch you, surpriseyou with a short sharp shock. Always wear the armour. Show me a saint with an internet connection, and I'll show you a sinner with dereliction.
Jesus searches theheart to identify family members, He won't have any trouble findingyou.
I very much appreciate your touching replies.
Just as you stated in Matthew 22:14. That those of us who truly accept Jesus Christ as our Salvation and give our lives to Him. I believe have been chosen by God and are very precious to Him. As He is everything to us and knows our hearts. All being important members of the body of Christ. Not that I was trying to boast or anything when I stated that to him. Just what was in my heart. I was surprised when I heard the reply I received about that detail.
Here are a couple other Scriptures of being "chosen". Ephesians 1:4, 2 Thessalonians 2:13, 1 Peter 2:3-5.
God Bless you my sister in Christ.
But, it's so refreshing to read someone speak God's Word in truth, especially in the times we live in, where it seems so many people are moving away from sound doctrine.
By the way, I wanted to affirm what you said about being chosen. I think you mentioned in a post that someone corrected you and said people are called.
But, I was just reading today where the Word of God says, "Many are called but few chosen." ( Matthew 22:14) So, lots of people are called, but only those who walk away from the world and take a stand for Christ and walk in Him daily, are chosen. Thank God for being a chosen vessel in which the Lord can use and dwell in!
Revelation 10:7
1 Thessalonians 4:16
1 Corinthians 15:44
Matthew 24:31
1 Thessalonians 4:17
1 Corinthians 15:32
Philippians 3:21
1 John 3:2
Matthew 13:43
Daniel 12:3
Revelation 21:4, 5
Colossians 1:20
John 10
Matthew 22:10
Matthew 25:34
Isaiah 65:17-19
2 Peter 3:13
1 Corinthians 2:9
Matthew 21:15
Psalm 8:3
Isaiah 65 19-25
Revelation 7:16-17
so much more...
:)
I very much liked this post of yours as I agree. As I enjoy the teachings of Paul there are a few "snares" as you called them. We should read the Word of the Lord, Holy Bible, as a whole and not think one prophet or apostle was better than the other. All unique members but of the one body of Christ. Be thankful for all of them.
One thing that was brought to my attention just recently. Paul stating in Galatians 5:14 "The law is fulfilled in one word, even this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy self".
When the Lord was asked "which is the greatest commandment" in Matthew 22:36-40: Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Like you stated we should stay focused on the Lord and keep our attention on Him.
God Bless.
Matthew 5:3-18 Matthew 5:6 "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled."
Matthew 18:2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
Matthew 22:36-39 Master, which [is] the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second [is] like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
In Matthew 20:1-16, Jesus tells a parable.
Mat 20:1For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.
The landowner hires laborers at various times during the day, each agreeing to the wage that was offered. Finally, one hour before quitting time, he hires more workers at the same wage.
When those hired early heard that the latecomers got the same wage for 1 hour that they got for working all day, they indignantly accused the landowner of being unfair and demanded "fairness" of wage. The landowner replied, "Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen." Mat 20:13-16 (KJVA)
In Matthew 22:1-14 Jesus tells another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come." Mat 22:2-3 (KJVA)
However the people who were invited, refused to come and the king destroys them for snubbing the marriage of his son. Then the king told his servants to go out to the streets and invite those who had not been invited to the wedding. Now all those who came to the wedding were given a special garment to wear. On guest refused to wear the special garment and the king said to him, "Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen." Mat 22:12-14 (KJVA)
Now the payoff...
The door is propped open. It is your time to show you are exactly the person they need. Be truthful; don't gush.
Jesus is knocking on doors (hearts). Either we are going to open and invite him in: or we will refuse, or say comeback next week.
But next week never comes.
22:14 Many are called; few chosen - Many hear; few believe. Yea, many are members of the visible, but few of the invisible Church. # Mt 20:16
People's Bible Notes for Matthew 22:14
Mt 22:14 For many are called, but few [are] chosen. "The many called" embrace all who hear the gospel; the whole Jewish nation, and the Gentiles of every land where the gospel is preached. The chosen are those who choose to accept.
- Matthew 22:35-40
We all need to remember that none of us are without sin, and not made perfect. So we need to pray for one another, and remember that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, and should treat each other accordingly with the love that God has granted us. May you be blessed today and throughout your life.
New International Version
36 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"
37 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments
2 Peter 3:18
King James Version
18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen
Romans 1:17
"For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith."
However, in other references the word can be expanded to mean all fellow men (e.g. Matthew 22:39, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."). A different word used here (Gk. plesion), but in the spirit of Christian love, we are to show love also to those whom we come across in our life's journey.
And of course, we can demonstrate love in many ways - in fact, we should go out of our way to see that our brother or sister in Christ, or our unsaved neighbours are well cared for both spiritually & physically, making their lives more easy & enjoyable & thus having the witness of God's love shown to them. How can the unsaved ever understand Who God is unless they find visible proof in those who profess to have God in them? How can their hearts & ears ever open to the Good News unless they become genuinely inquisitive to a type of love they have not known? If done for the unsaved, then how much more we need to be to those in the faith, showing a love & care that goes beyond carnal human desires or abilities.
The danger is not being able to recognize Jezebel's characteristics and being lured into her circle of disciples. If you don't understand how dangerous this spirit is, you need to do some study. The Jezebel spirit is a demonic spirit pretending to be concerned with your wellbeing. Don't get deceived.
The Bible talks about Queen Jezebel in the Old Testament that was married to King Ahab. Remember Queen Jezebel was wicked and murdered many of God's prophets. In the New Testament, the name Jezebel comes up again. Obviously, this is not the same person in the Old Testament, but a spirit called Jezebel that appears again. We can learn much by studying the characteristics of a Jezebel spirit. Here is the New Testament Scriptural reference.
"Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works." Revelation 2:20-23)
Notice five short descriptions of the Jezebel spirit above. She calls herself a prophetess, teaches, seduces, lives in rebellion, and has a turbulent life. (Mentally)
M.
King James Bible
Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. You have to be born again and be a doer of the word to bless our offenders and love the law to not be offended.
Disobedience brought down the human race. Obedience brought man back to God and in the name of Jesus you can come to God. Being a doer of the word is powerful.
Satan comes to take our eyes off the word of God and go by our carnal eyes. We need to hunger and thirst for righteousness. Matthew 22:36-40
King James Version
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Love is powerful. God is love.
In that passage you've quoted, Jesus was speaking with the Sadducees (a religious sect of the Jews) who didn't believe in the resurrection. They wanted to test Jesus about the after life as to which wife of the many a man had married, would be his wife when they all rose from the dead. Jesus told them that human marriage is an earthly union & such marriages don't figure in Heaven. Of those who were resurrected, we of course have Jesus Himself Who rose up from the dead & ascended back to God proving that His Sacrifice for mankind's sins were completed & fully acceptable to God Who had planned for this to happen. Then after Jesus' resurrection, many of those righteous people who had died earlier also arose from their graves & walked among the people (see Matthew 27:51-53).
The Bible tells us that the next occasion of a resurrection will be in the future when Jesus comes to take away His people including raising up His people who have died ( 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) & note the word 'sleep' is a euphemism for those who've already died. And again, after the Great Tribulation (a horrible time of the outpouring of God's Anger upon the world) there will be another general resurrection (read Revelation chapter 20).
There are also instances where someone has died & they have come to life in the Old Testament: 1 Kings 17:17-24; 2 Kings 4:32-37; 2 Kings 13:21 and we have instances in the New Testament of people being brought back to life by Jesus or His disciples.
I noticed you wrote: "shouldn't the Bible say, "Slavery is wrong -- you may have no slaves"?"
First, the Bible doesn't say slavery is morally right anywhere. If you assume that, please state where you think it says that. It says the opposite, though. Not every sin is explained in detail as a comprehensive list as what not to do. Matthew 22:36-40 - 2 greatest commandments say love your neighbor. You can't enslave someone beyond their will and be loving, so its obviously wrong.
There's a verse people commonly cite which is addressed to slaves to be content. Just because something is addressed to someone doesn't mean it's ok.
To anyone who reads the Bible and seeking to know God and emulate Jesus's character it's obvious that slavery and oppressing others is wrong if someone is actually, not everything morally wrong is specifically stated in the Bible, because there's countless ways to harm others. It also doesn't say to not look at pornography and isn't specific to all sexual sins, but if someone made that argument, they would obviously be using a logical fallacy too.
The Bible is full of examples to be kind and loving to each other. Example: Zechariah 7:9-10.
The Bible is also a book of history and real historical things documented, including many negative things. So a common fallacy is people assume just because it says something in the Bible means it's morally ok. No, there was death, slavery, and horrible things happening in that time and it doesn't mean it was morally allowed by God. Everyone will be judged fairly. Slavery was one of the many unfortunate ways people suffered back then- over a million Israelites were slaves in Egypt.
There was also a form of servitude back then which was common for the culture- which was closer to a job in some cases, even though people enjoy calling it slavery in order to strengthen their argument. You can go to a kibbutz today in Israel if you want and see what it's like- would that make you a slave? Volunteering for something to get something in return isn't slavery.