Tag: truth

  • To have and to hold Christian Love

    To have and to hold Christian Love

    Dearly beloved, Paul writes earlier – a greeting of agape love NOT inappropriate for a marriage, but the Apostle’s intent in this section addresses spiritual gifts and love of the CHURCH specifically.

    we have the mind of Christ.

    1 Corinthians 2:16 KJV

    ἔχω – echō

    • to have, i.e. to hold
    • to have i.e. own, possess

    So think of it this way:

    WE (referring to the Church) hold the mind of Christ. And WE possess the mind of Christ as HIS body, the Church.

    AND, of course, don't miss this application to our vows of Christian marriage as well, (not to mention our relationship to a dearly beloved local church family). 
    Do our marriage vows model a Common Era witness of christianity to an uncommitted world? 

    to HAVE and to HOLD

    used of those joined to any one by the bonds of natural blood or marriage or friendship or duty or law etc., of attendance or companionship

    Strong’s G2192 – echō

    Dearly beloved,

    Do you take this bond of your church (etc.) to:

    have and to hold?


    OR do WE just want to try out relationships of LOVE and church es — NOT having or holding any commitment to Christ Jesus and His body the Church?


    But because of sexual immoralities, each man is to have G2192 his own wife, and each woman is to have G2192 her own husband.

    Paul has already pointed the Corinthians to a higher standard.

    Yet HERE the Apostle continues to apply this love to the body of the CHURCH.

    So what is this agape LOVE?

    The Lord Jesus had warned those who would follow:

    And because iniquity shall abound, the love G26 of many shall wax cold.

    Matthew 24:12 KJV

    The Apostle had opened this section by listing what agape LOVE is NOT.

    Love’s clear contrasts in the love of believers

    Paul now proceeds to list a few of the insufficient adjectives which describe the love of God in Christ Jesus - both what LOVE is and what agape LOVE is NOT. 

    Love Charity



    1 Corinthians 13:4
    • is patient
      • long-spirited
      • forbearing
      • suffereth long
      • is long-suffering,
    • is kind
      • gentle
      • gracious
      • benevolent
      • desires to do good to others
    • does not envy
    • does not boast
      • brag
      • vaunt itself
      • employ rhetorical embellishments in extolling one’s self excessively
    • is not proud.

    1 Corinthians 13:5

    • Doth not behave itself unseemly
      • behave rudely
      • act unbecomingly
      • dishonor others
      • is not disrespectful
      • or inconsiderate.
    • It is not self-seeking
      • seeketh not her own
      • himself, herself, itself, themselves
    • is not easily provoked
      • irritable
      • resentful
      • angered
      • gets annoyed
      • aroused to anger
    • thinketh no evil
      • does not keep an account of a wrong suffered
      • no record of being wronged
      • love that forgives and forgets

    1 Corinthians 13:6

    it does not rejoice at wrongdoing,

    but rejoices with the truth.

    1 Corinthians 13:6 ESV

    • ἀδικία – wrongdoing
      • injustice, of a judge
      • unrighteousness of heart and life
      • a deed violating law and justice, act of unrighteousness

    The Greek word for “truth” is “aletheia,” which signifies not only factual accuracy but also sincerity and integrity.

    In the biblical narrative, truth is often associated with God’s character and His revelation to humanity.

    John 14:6

    source: BibleHub Study Bible

    Agape rejoices with the truth;


    It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

    1 Corinthians 13:7 BSB

    • It always protects,
      • always trusts,
      • always hopes,
      • always perseveres.
    • Love never gives up,
      • never loses faith,
      • is always hopeful,
      • and endures through every circumstance.

    ἀγάπη agapē never fails,

    1 Corinthians 13:8a

    And again, the Apostle's list and concern is for spiritual gifts.

    BUT..

    Paul continues, 
    • As for prophecies,
      • they will pass away;
    • as for tongues,
      • they will cease;
    • as for knowledge,
      • it will pass away.
    • 9 For we know in part
    • and we prophesy in part,
    • 10 but when the perfect comes,
      • the partial will pass away.

    1 Corinthians 13:8b-10 ESV

    And let's not forget, the Apostle's instruction to the Corinthians is to contrast these to our agape love in Christ as His body the Church. 

    Now Paul, their teacher for a year and a half concludes his settling of their differences by essentially telling the Corinthian saints to:

    Grow up!

    When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child;

    but

    when I became a man, I put away childish things.

    1 Corinthians 13:11 NKJV

    Have YOU, dearly beloved, 21st century saint?

    For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face.

    Now I know in part,

    but then I shall know just as I also am known.

    1 Corinthians 13:12 NKJV

    TalkofJesus.com post [2 min.] from September 11, 2013


    and now abide

    νυνὶ δὲ μένει

    menō – not to depart

    • to continue to be present
    • to be held, kept, continually

    to remain as one, not to become another or different

    These are just a few of the meanings when the Apostle pleas with his beloved church to have and to hold Christ -- the love of God for saints chosen to abide in the love of the Lord. 

    What Paul writes here sounds like a benediction — a closing thought. But is not since the Apostle has more to say about spiritual gifts.

    And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love [ἀγάπη agapē].

    1 Corinthians 13:13 NKJV


    NEXT: (with an interruption for Lent 2025 CE) in chapter 14 the Apostle Paul will conclude this section of his epistle on order in worship and spiritual gifts.

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  • DOCTRINE – WHO SAYS?

    DOCTRINE – WHO SAYS?

    GOD IS One and FIRST

    “How long will you waver between two opinions?
    If the LORD is God, follow him.

    1 Kings 18:21b CSB – the question of the Prophet Elijah to the sons of Israel and false prophets at Mount Carmel

    It’s a great QUESTION Elijah asks of men ‘limping between two opinions’ [LSB].

    Wouldn’t it logically follow to ASK the same QUESTION of TRUTH?

    IF Yᵊhōvâ IS ĕlōhîm come to HIM — the Way, the Truth and the Life.

    Roger@TalkofJesus.com

    GOD is first in my life. Do YOU have a problem with that?

    Roger @ Talk of JESUS .com

    God’s TRUTH

    As a matter of fact,

    • MOST people do have a problem with putting GOD and Jesus Christ FIRST and before all else.
    • Many refuse to study TRUTH of what GOD has revealed for human creatures to consider.

    Why Study GOD ?

    • I have already provided an initial reason AND DEFINITIONS related to doctrine in a brief introductory apologetic.
    Have centuries of history defined by the word of Almighty GOD fallen into a bottomless black hole of godless futility?” – RH
    • In my previous look at The LORD God I intentionally offered only QUESTIONS for YOUR consideration without reference quoting the Bible.
    Acceptable Doctrines of the Common Era include a PAN-THEON poised in aTheist theory, pagan myth and stone-cold idols of every egregious god and any false prophet. – RH

    the QUESTIONS of doctrine-based Theology

    What is God? – Q4 Westminster Shorter Catechism

    In case you haven't done your homework, I'll provide an introductory ANSWER HERE, although You'll have to READ the (9) Scriptural answers on your own [referenced in the link above] from which this DOCTRINE is rooted.
    Quest. 4. What is God?
    Ans. 4. God is a Spirit,(1) infinite,(2) eternal,(3) and unchangeable,(4) in his being,(5) wisdom,(6) power,(7) holiness,(8) justice, goodness, and truth(9)

    WHY STUDY GOD?


    Certainly YOU have more QUESTIONS about GOD

    Perhaps you have questions similar to those I suggested last time from DOCTRINE taught through the Baltimore Catechism, which was formerly and formally endorsed by the Roman Catholic Church *before this Common Era).
    * officially replaced by the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults in 2004 C.E.

    Who is God?
    Why did God make you?
    1. Q. Is there but one God?
      A. Yes; there is but one God.
    2. Q. Why can there be but one God?
      A. There can be but one God, because God, being supreme and infinite, cannot have an equal.
    3. Q. How many Persons are there in God?
      A. In God there are three Divine Persons, really distinct, and equal in all things-the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
    Source: https://sacred-texts.com/chr/balt/balt1.htm *

    DISCLAIMER About Sacred-Texts – This site is .. about religion, mythology, legends and folklore, and occult and esoteric topics.

    [*note this aTheist approach]
    ‘This site has no particular agenda other than promoting religious tolerance and scholarship.’

    the Baseless questions of philosophers and scholars

    Scholarship, teaching and atheistic claims as an ‘unbiased‘ or ‘scientific approach” to theological and anthropological QUESTIONS frequently lack the logic and truth they claim.

    Roger@TalkofJesus.com

    There is ONE GOD and one TRUTH.

    1 Kings 18:21b LSB
    Open Bible to page in Isaiah 65
    All of us have become like something unclean…

    “Now I know this: that you are a man of God and that the word of Yahweh in your mouth is truth.”

    1 Kings 17:24 LSB – witness of a widow in Zarephath of Elijah after the Prophet raised her son from the dead

    Answers of TRUTH through Scripture

    chalkboard - written Sola Scriptura! Only Scripture

    All Scripture
    is God-breathed
    and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness

    2 Timothy 3:15 LSB – θεόπνευστος [inspired by God]

    This is NOT to say that the BIBLE contains ALL TRUTH, but that those things revealed by the Lord God through Scripture are TRUE and reliable.

    IF any man should claim some additional truth,’ NOT found in the Bible, THEN this humankind creature made in God’s image imagines the unprovable (even IF its human claim is ‘science‘).

    Are ALL truths EQUAL?

    OF COURSE NOT!

    What claim of man can stand against GOD?


    The heavens declare the glory of God,

    and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands.

    The instruction of the LORD is perfect..

    the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy..

    The precepts of the LORD are right..

    the command of the LORD is radiant..

    The fear of the LORD is pure,

    enduring forever;

    the ordinances of the LORD are reliable

    and altogether righteous.

    Psalm 19:1,7a,c,8a,c,9 CSB

    The LORD Speaks!


    “Then the LORD spoke to you from the fire. You kept hearing the sound of the words, but didn’t see a form; there was only a voice. – Deuteronomy 4:12

    “The LORD spoke to you face to face from the fire on the mountain. Deuteronomy 5:4

    congregation of the Hebrews at Mount Horeb

    “The LORD spoke these commands in a loud voice to your entire assembly from the fire, cloud, and total darkness on the mountain; he added nothing more.

    He wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me.

    THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

    Deuteronomy 5:22

    tablet of the 10 Commands from the Pentateuch or Law of Moses received from the LORD in Exodus

    Inerrancy of the Bible

    inerrant /ĭn-ĕr′ənt/

    adjective

    1. Incapable of erring; infallible.
    2. Containing no errors. Of or pertaining to inerrancy.
    3. Without error, particularly used in reference to the Bible.
      • The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition •

    “.. the Bible says that God’s words are the ultimate standard of truth.

    If the entire Scripture contains the communication of God to humanity,

    then it can be logically inferred that its contents will reflect the perfect nature of God.

    The logical result of these truths is that God’s Word is without error in everything that it says.

    Therefore, it is proper to call the Bible inerrant, infallible or a number of other terms that Christians use to describe its nature.

    Source: Don Stewart :: Does the Bible Testify to Its Own Inerrancy?

    True Witnesses of God’s Word

    This was the appearance of the likeness of the LORD’s glory. When I saw it, I fell facedown and heard a voice speaking. He said to me,

    “Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak with you.”

    As he spoke to me, the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and I listened to the one who was speaking to me.

    Ezekiel 1:28b-2:2 CSB

    Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the speaker, “How long will the events of this vision last ​— ​.. While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there stood before me someone who appeared to be a man. I heard a human voice calling from the middle of the Ulai:

    “Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.”

    So he approached where I was standing; when he came near, I was terrified and fell facedown.

    “Son of man,” he said to me, “understand that the vision refers to the time of the end.”

    Daniel 8:13a, 15-17 CSB

    a Voice from the cloud

    After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. Suddenly,

    Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him.

    He was transfigured in front of them, and his face shone like the sun; his clothes became as white as the light…

    While he [Peter] was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said,

    “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased. Listen to him! ”

    Gospel of Matthew 17:5b [vs.1-3,5]

    Why study God through the Word of Scripture?

    God-willing, we will study this question further NEXT in our look at Doctrines of the Common Era.

    The Source of Truth is exclusive to God and what the Lord chooses to reveal to some or all of his mortal human creatures.


    Believe in God and Know the Truth

    You believe in God; believe also in me.

    Gospel of John 14:1b NET

    Jesus replied, 
    “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
    No one comes to the Father
    except through me.

    Gospel of John 14:6 NET

    Talk of JESUS .com

    Comment on Scripture + Share the Gospel

  • Doctrines of TRUTH in a Common Era of Lies

    Doctrines of TRUTH in a Common Era of Lies

    Introduction to the Common Era

    WHEN did the Common Era Begin?

    Was there an unexpected BIG BANG that exploded TRUTH into truths?

    Did centuries of HISTORY defined by the word of Almighty GOD suddenly fall into a bottomless black hole of godless futility?

    AND IF, in 2023 C.E. humankind could look back toward 2023 B.C.E.

    Would the blurred timeline of History not continue to point toward Christ Jesus born into this common world of sin?

    The Common Era (C.E.) continues to count from the year of our Lord (Anno Domini) even as the world of the Common Era continues to use the birth of Jesus Christ as a blurred line Before the Common Era (B.C.E.) of speculative scientific history.

    Roger@TalkofJesus.com

    Doctrines of a Common Era christian

    Anyone who has read any of my doctrines previously proclaimed here on TalkofJESUS.com will realize the orthodoxy of my foundational teaching of ONE Truth from the HOLY BIBLE.

    I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth.

    1st letter of the Apostle John 2:21, Legacy Standard Bible

    Do you really believe that? Can you affirm that ONLY Scripture Sola Scriptura is the inspired word of the Lord God? {a recall of a church strayed from Scripture - What doctrine do you preach?)

    Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ?

    This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.

    1 John 2:22 LSB


    YOU know the TRUTH.

    Do some blur the LINE of God’s WRITTEN WORD preaching a redefined Jesus

    into an acceptable vocabulary of teaching

    in a COMMON ERA of corporate inclusiveness?

    You know that WE do! For WE preach a King Jesus rarely mentioning Christ or the Cross. 
    
    Certainly we lead with grace and subtle mention of sin. For our one-time only repentance of our past brings US privileges of the present AND a heaven of OUR creation. 
    chalkboard - written Sola Scriptura! Only Scripture

    Most pulpits NEVER mention the Prophets.

    Certainly we FAIL TO WARN of likely persecution of Christ followers and ESPECIALLY the REJECTION of the Church BY YOUR neighbors, friends and biological family into which you were born in this COMMON ERA.

    THEREFORE WE build our local church for the worldly of the Common Era

    — WE seek multitudes of post-Christian era believers who would be easily led.

    So WE the church invite them all into an enticing free love by a rebranded Jesus who saved every one of you simply by bringing you to church one Sunday.


    What is Truth?

    τί ἐστιν ἀλήθεια  
    ~A.D. 30 - WHAT IS TRUTH is the dismissive hand-washing question of Pilate at the trial of Christ Jesus, the SON OF GOD who he found NOT guilty YET sentenced to death ON A CROSS for our sins.

    From the sin of Adam in a distant century Before Christ until the dark day Pilate and the unrepentant sinful elect killed the sinless Son of Man on a Roman Cross —

    GOD IS!


    From the year of our Lord 30 until today in 2023 of the Common Era

    TRUTH is continually redefined by those who know that WE ARE SINNERS, yet deny the Sacrifice of Christ for our sins and REFUSE TO REPENT.

    Roger@TalkofJesus.com

    God is truth and anti-Christ’s will always question God-given TRUTH.

    Let the faithful follower of JESUS beware — for the CHURCH of the COMMON ERA has intentionally re-branded JESUS by answering questions of the tempter with an acceptable Gospel of what JESUS did NOT really say.


    The ‘EVILution’ of the post-Christian church

    Several years back I listened to a renowned English theologian preach against the most unlikely pseudo-science of atheist philosophers tirelessly chipping away at the lexicon of God’s long-accepted truth with Darwinist theory continually tweaking and altering the evolution of man and origin of the cosmos.

    Rather than using our Americanized pronunciation this British scholar appropriately pronounced the slow progressive rebellion of their humanist-god origin from sudden nothing into a severely-slow shaping of reality from amoebas and apes as “EVILUTION.”

    What could be more evil than turning from God and denying the glory of God within our sight and grasp — even for the briefest of mortal times until the inevitable DEATH of our flesh and JUDGMENT of our soul?

    One might think that 21st c. Christians of this pseudo-scientific Common Era need not be concerned with such things.

    Yet the NOT SO GOOD gospel of these last days suggests that the pulpits and teaching of many ‘christian‘ churches have embraced the ‘EVILution’ of the Common Era, forsaking mention of Christ and fleeing the refining fire of TRUTH given succinctly through Scripture.


    In these Last Days of the Common Era

    THEREFORE, my fellow follower of the Lord Jesus Christ,

    LET US take up THE BOOK once more as we ascend the crumbling wall of christian witness

    Recognizing the enemy at our gate

    and hearing the DOCTRINES of the enemy within

    urging US to open the gates of peace when there is no peace,

    PREACHING tolerance in the casual jeans

    of the COMMON ERA deception and rejection

    of JESUS CHRIST our ONLY Lord and Savior.


    a SERIES to weigh and measure God’s Truth

    COMMENT BELOW & TELL ME

    WHAT DOCTRINAL BLURRING OF THE LINE

    FROM the A.D. 1st-20th centuries

    TO this 21st century of the COMMON ERA

    WOULD YOU LIKE TO DEFINE?


    NEXT:
    
    Due to LABOR DAY in this 'one nation under God' once having been a STARTING line for POLITICIANS running for office,  
    I suppose that WE THE PEOPLE of Jesus and the US might want to begin there on MONDAY, God-willing.
    
    AND Following that, an INTRODUCTORY POST of this SERIES.
    
    Roger

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