Christ's Commandments

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Gal 6:1-2 . . Bear one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ.

It's human nature to shun people with problems so they don't drag us into a world of inconvenience and/or negativity. But that is not what I call fulfilling the law of Christ; which reads thusly:

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:34-35)

The love that is defined by "As I have loved you" is a kind of love willing to suffer inconvenience, shame, humiliation, embarrassment, and disgrace for the sake of another.

Christ's love isn't a fault-finding attitude; it's a supportive virtue: it doesn't only feel your pain, it gets involved in your pain. Church can be the loneliest place on earth when nobody cares enough about you to get involved in your pain; but instead would just as soon not know about it. Sadly, there is about as much love for one another in modern churches as there is amongst an audience of strangers at the movies. I sincerely believe that a lot of that indifference has to do with modern churches just simply being too big.

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Sherman

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BoyStan said:
Unfortunately many churches and Christians focus on the OT law commandments. rather all should focus on Christ new commandment. There is a huge difference between 'love your neighbour as yourself' and 'love one another as I have loved you'. The first is a rule for all the community which anyone can obey. The second is for Christ's disciples who only can obey through the indwelling life of the Holy Spirit.
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[MENTION=18784]BoyStan[/MENTION] Now that I got your attention, please update your profile info and make it correct. You are not a robot. :)
 
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Gal 6:6 . . And let the one who is taught the word, share all good things with him who teaches.

That verse is commonly interpreted as referring to providing a teacher with material necessities. Well; it can mean that; but the Greek words for "share" and "good things" are ambiguous.

I suggest that Gal 6:6 refers to feed-back; i.e. to tell the teacher how and/or in what ways the things you've learned from him have been a help to you.

Some teachers just like to hear themselves talk; while others would like what they say to be useful. Feed-back can be very encouraging to the latter.

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Gal 6:7a . . Don't be deceived into thinking God is a silly old fool.

A silly old fool is a senior citizen that people know they can mistreat and/or take advantage of without fear of complaint, resistance, or reprisal.

People in our day and age are easily persuaded that God is harmless and that the Old Testament's version of God is no longer someone to fear since Jesus came along. But as God was capable of withholding blessing back then; He still is.

"A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his flesh, will, of the flesh reap corruption; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life." (Gal 7b-8)

The koiné Greek word for "corruption" is phthora (fthor-ah') which means: decay; viz: decadence; which is saying that when Christians make a habit of indulging the propensities of their base nature; God withholds the fruit of the Spirit as per Gal 5:22-23; which consists of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.

"If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.

. . .So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh-- for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live." (Rom 8:11-13)

To "live" then has to do with the fruit of the Spirit; without which Christians become dead.

There's a parallel to this back in the book of Genesis in the story of the forbidden fruit. God warned Adam that he would die if he ate some of that fruit. The interesting thing is; God didn't' have to assassinate Adam in order to make good on the warning; no, God simply cut off Adam's access to the tree of life and let nature take its course.

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Gal 6:10 . . So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.

Good can take any number of forms but I think a useful description we could apply here is "beneficial".

Jesus did good (Acts 10:30) i.e. he was very definitely beneficial; not just on the cross or by his teachings, but in non spiritual ways too.

Those who are of the "household of the faith" are actually kin; viz: siblings; and like they say: charity begins at home.

Some churches have what they call a deacon's fund; to assist members who are down and out and/or in dire straits.

And don't overlook your church's senior citizens. Some may be getting up in years and finding it difficult to even maintain their own homes and yards anymore. Chores may not seem all that spiritual; but pitch in anyway if for no other reason than your assistance is beneficial.

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Gal 6:11-16 . .Those who desire to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised, simply that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. For those who are circumcised do not even keep the commandments themselves, but they desire to have you circumcised, that they may boast in your flesh.

. . . But may it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither is circumcision anything, nor un-circumcision, but a new creation. (cf. Acts 15:5-32)

Some Christians truly believe it's possible to be an adherent of both Judaism and Christianity at the same time (e.g. Messianic Judaism). No, that's against the rules. Judaism must be abandoned if one is to take up Christianity because human sacrifice is illegal under the terms and conditions of the covenant that Yhvh's people agreed upon with God as per Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. If you try to take up both religions at the same time, the one will invalidate the other.

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Eph 2:11-22 . .Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called uncircumcised by those who call themselves the circumcision-- that done in the body by the hands of men --remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.

. . . But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ . Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household

Christians are prone to forget; and one of the things they forget is that their religion didn't begin with the Roman Catholic Church; no, it began with Abraham; and the purpose of Gentiles hearing the gospel is not so they can replace the Jews as God's chosen people, but rather, so they can join them and share in their blessings.

"If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, don't boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You don't support the root, but the root supports you." (Rom 11:17-18)

"Salvation is of the Jews." (John 4:22)

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Eph 4:1 . . As a prisoner for The Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

What if a believer neglects to live a life worthy of their calling? Will they be lost? No; believers have eternal life, which is a kind of live that cannot die; therefore, it's impervious to the wages of sin.

"The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord." (Rom 6:23)

People with eternal life have 100% immunity from prosecution.

"I assure you, those who heed my message, and trust in God who sent me, have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life." (John 5:24)

The reason they will never be condemned for their sins is because Christ was raised again for our justification. (Rom 4:25). The Greek word is dikaiosis (dik-ah'-yo-sis) which essentially means acquittal-- a legal term that can be roughly defined as the act of adjudicating that a person is not guilty, i.e. an acquittal is a legal declaration of innocence.

According to 1John 1:8-10 believers in this life are never 100% sinless; but that's no longer a legal issue for Christ's sheep seeing as how according to 2Cor 5:19 God is no longer keeping a record of their sins as an indictment to hold against them at the great white throne event depicted at Rev 20:11-15.

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Eph 4:1 . . As a prisoner for The Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

What if a believer neglects to live a life worthy of their calling? Will they be lost? No; believers have eternal life, which is a kind of live that cannot die; therefore, it's impervious to the wages of sin.

"The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord." (Rom 6:23)

People with eternal life have 100% immunity from prosecution.

"I assure you, those who heed my message, and trust in God who sent me, have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life." (John 5:24)

The reason they will never be condemned for their sins is because Christ was raised again for our justification. (Rom 4:25). The Greek word is dikaiosis (dik-ah'-yo-sis) which essentially means acquittal-- a legal term that can be roughly defined as the act of adjudicating that a person is not guilty, i.e. an acquittal is a legal declaration of innocence.

According to 1John 1:8-10 believers in this life are never 100% sinless; but that's no longer a legal issue for Christ's sheep seeing as how according to 2Cor 5:19 God is no longer keeping a record of their sins as an indictment to hold against them at the great white throne event depicted at Rev 20:11-15.

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Eph 4:2 . . Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, putting up with another in love.

Humility is one of those virtues that people love to talk about; but rarely ever seem to exemplify.

The koiné Greek word is a tongue twister. It's tapeinophrosune (tap-i-nof-ros-oo'-nay) which means: humiliation of mind, viz: modesty; which Webster's defines as: free from conceit and/or vanity. I don't know if you've seen the movie AMADEUS but one thing Tom Hulce's character, Mr. Wolfgang Mozart, sorely lacked was modesty.

"Conceit" is defined as: excessive appreciation of one's own worth or virtue; viz: a too-high opinion of one's self; i.e. a master-race mentality.

"Vanity" is defined as: inflated pride in oneself or in one's appearance; viz: narcissism and/or self adoration.

Cosmetics and figure-shaping undergarments don't really qualify as the kind of vanity that Paul is talking about; which is a kind of vanity that goes way beyond just trying to look your best.

Sinful vanity is an ugly creature. It's self aggrandizing. Vanity isn't gentle either, on the contrary, vanity can be quite cruel, thoughtless, competitive, given to rivalry, indifferent, and insensitive; and vanity abhors associating with people whose station in life is decidedly below its own; and God forbid someone below themselves should have the nerve to correct either their conduct or their knowledge.

Patience is a jewel. It's defined as: the power, or capacity, to endure without complaint something difficult or disagreeable. Patient people seem to have a predilection for retaining their composure while under stress. These make the best leaders because they don't get flustered when everything around them is disintegrating into chaos.

Patience is very useful when it comes to "putting up" with certain kinds of rather annoying Christians who seem to have a knack for getting on people's nerves.

During my forty years working as a professional welder, I encountered numerous fellow employees whose skills and performance were excellent; but nobody could work with them. They were just too difficult.

God forbid that Christ's followers should ever be "difficult". It is rather to be desired that they be civil, courteous, thoughtful, sociable, agreeable, helpful, approachable, accommodating, affable, rational, reasonable, temperate, and self-controlled. Christians around whom everybody has to walk on egg shells all the time, are in sore need of a personality make-over if they're to ever have any realistic expectation of associating with God.

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Eph 4:3 . . Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Peace is what everybody wants but seem thoroughly unable to attain-- either by force or by diplomacy --even in Christian churches; where you'd think that at least there you'd find peace seeing as how it's related to one of Christ's beatitudes (Matt 5:9). It's also a fruit of the Spirit. (Gal 5:22)

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Eph 4:17-19 . . So I tell you this, and insist on it in The Lord, that you must no longer live as the pagans do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.

Sensuality and the life of God are diametrically opposed to each other. The one is carnal and the other is spiritual, the one is human and the other is divine. The one does whatever comes natural below, and the other does whatever comes natural above.

Paul said that pagans live as they do because of the hardening of their hearts which doesn't always refer to ones emotions-- those can be roughly defined as one's bowels (e.g. 2Cor 6:12, Phil 1:8, Phil 2:1, Col 3:12, et al).

Hardening of the heart takes place at the core of one's being; the very marrow of their bones; for example the heart of the Pharaoh who opposed Moses and Aaron in the book of Exodus.

Some things are said to be scratch-resistant, fire-resistant, mold-resistance, UV-resistant, rust-resistant, and so forth. Well; a hard heart is God-resistant, really God-resistant. If the highway to Hell could be said paved with sensuality, then the substrate upon which the pavement is laid could be depicted as hard hearts; for example:

"But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear. Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which The Lord of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from The Lord of hosts." (Zech 7:11-12).

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Eph 4:20-24 . .You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

When God completed the six days of creation, He went on sabbatical (Gen 2:1-3). The six days were all bounded by an evening and a morning. The seventh wasn't bounded; i.e. it hasn't ended, indicating that God has yet to resume creating things for the current cosmos. So then, the new self spoken of in the passage above isn't for the current cosmos, rather, it's a self created for a cosmos yet to come. (Isa 65:17, 2Pet 3:13, Rev 21:1)

The koiné Greek word for "desire" is epithumia (ep-ee-thoo-mee'-ah) which means: a longing.

Epithumia by itself doesn't indicate sinful desires. The very same word describes The Lord's personal longing to dine in the company of his apostles just prior to being crucified. (Luke 22:15)

The kind of longings in view are "deceitful" which is from the koiné Greek word apate (ap-at'-ay) and means delusion, which Webster's defines as: a persistent false psychotic belief regarding the self, or persons or objects outside the self, that is maintained despite indisputable evidence to the contrary-- in other words: deceitful longings are delusional longings.

For example: the old saying "The grass is greener on the other side" which of course is an unreasonable expectation. Some people sincerely believe that they would be happier if only they had more money. Well; sad to say, money can be guaranteed to buy you neither love nor happiness.

Delusional longings get people to chasing after brass rings that may or may not satisfy; viz: sometimes the dream is better than the reality. Meanwhile, their life clock is winding down while they're in pursuit of those brass rings and they are steadily becoming more and more secular and unspiritual. Paul "insists" that Christ's followers avoid squandering their time and energy chasing after delusional longings; viz: keep their feet on the ground and their heads out of the clouds.

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Eph 4:25-26 . .Each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.

The Greek word for "neighbor" is somewhat ambiguous. It normally relates to one's fellow man regardless of age, race, gender, or religious preference.

I think in this case, the application is similar except for religious preference because not everyone is identified with Christ's body. Membership is exclusive; viz: only people who've undergone a special, supernatural baptism are admitted.

"For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit." (1Cor 12:13)

Christ's body constitutes a church (Eph 1:22-23). However, this particular church isn't a denomination, or an agency, or a society that we might find listed in the Yellow Pages of a phone book.

Eph 4:26a . . In your anger do not sin.

Anger isn't eo ipso evil. It's how one handles their anger that matters. Anger can be a very useful tool when it's applied by somebody who knows what they're doing. For example:

"And when Jesus had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man: Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other." (Mark 3:5)

Eph 4:26b-27 . . Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the Devil a foothold.

Ol' Smutty Face is no slouch. You just start holding a grudge, or fly off the handle at the inappropriate time, and you and the Devil will be roped together on the Eiger where your common goal won't be the summit of a mountain in Switzerland; but worse: disunity in the body. No fuming!

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Eph 4:28 . . He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.

Isn't is just amazing that early Christian church members were active criminals? Yes, right there in the Ephesian church were thieves. Ironically Paul didn't order the Ephesian Christians to not steal, no, of all things; he ordered them to stop stealing; and not only to stop stealing, but to stop stealing for a living!

You'd think church would be the one place on earth where you'd be safe from crime, but not so. Back in the 1970's I sang bass in the choir of a monster Baptist church in San Diego. The 90+ member choir would meet in a rehearsal room and the ladies would all leave their purses in there when we moved out to be seated in the loft. The room had a very sturdy door and was always securely locked when we left the room.

Well, one Sunday morning when we returned to the room, that Fort Knox door and its lock were smashed open and all the ladies' purses were rifled.

Does cheating on your taxes count as theft? (chuckle) If the Ephesian Christians needed to be told to stop stealing, then modern Christians even more so; don't you think?

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Eph 4:29 . . Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

"helpful" is from the koiné word oikodome (oy-kod-om-ay') which means: to build up (as opposed to tearing down).

"foul or abusive" is from the koiné Greek word sapros (sap-ros') which means: rotten, i.e. worthless (literally or morally) viz: inappropriate.

The foul and abusive category no doubt includes not only profanity, but also biting sarcasm, cruel remarks, thoughtless comments, chafing, relentless fault-finding, sneering, ridicule, mockery, and unnecessary criticism.

Language that's good, helpful, and encouraging is essential if one is to be serious about exemplifying the fifth beatitude.

"Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy." (Matt 5:7)

Speaking of humanity as a corporate body, the Bible says:

"Their throat is an open sepulcher" (Rom 3:13a)

It's not advisable to open a sepulcher seeing as how the contents are no doubt going to be quite odious and in a state of decay; especially in locales where the remains weren't cremated or treated with formaldehyde.

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Rom 12:1 . . Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Sacrifices are basically things dedicated to God; i.e. set aside for God's purposes and/or utilized in such a way as to make God proud instead of disappointed.

Rom 12:2 . . And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

I heard a story about some students in a seminary who prayed about an upcoming exam instead of cracking the books and burning the midnight oil. Apparently they were somehow under the impression that the information they needed for the exam would somehow drift up out of the duck feathers where God had it stored in their pillows and be miraculously absorbed by the gray cells in their brains-- and this while they were fast asleep. Long story short; they all got an F on their exams; not because the professor despised their laziness; no, because they simply didn't know the answers.

Moral of the story is: in order to "renew your mind" and to "prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" one must take the initiative to knuckle down and learn The Lord's wishes; viz: study the Bible via either reading, sermons, Sunday school classes, seminars, lectures, and/or radio programs like Thru The Bible and Back To The Bible, et al. This stipulation is not optional by the way, no; it's one of The Lord's many commandments; and I'm pretty sure he expects it to be obeyed by people loyal to his regime.

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That first story reminded me of what my proff once told us before our final exam... he said "And remember, NO praying before this exam because you can't bring in any outside help!" lol just a funny memory
 
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Eph 4:30 . . Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

The koiné Greek word for "grieve" is lupeo (loo-peh'-o) which means: to distress; to make sad. There's a lot being said these days about human rights abuses, while very little to nothing is said about abusing God's Spirit; which is no doubt far more common. (cf. Gen 6:6-7)

Seals aren't always a mark or a tattoo or an impression made in wax with a signet ring. Sometimes a seal is merely a vocal validation. For example:

"And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: and lo a voice from heaven, saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matt 3:16-17)

"The Son of Man . . . on Him the Father, even God, has set His seal." (John 6:27)

In other words: God vouched for Jesus' credibility by sending His spirit to mark him out, and also by a solemn pronouncement. By that method; God himself personally sealed Jesus' mission; viz: signed off on it; so to speak.

Christ's followers are singled out by the Spirit too; but not with a visible bird or an audible voice, but rather; by the Spirit's occupation inside their very bodies. Christ's followers can't see the Spirit for themselves of course; but God can see it and that's really all that matters anyway in the long run.

But we really should address this "grieve" thing; what's that all about? Well, for starters; it's not something new. Way back in time it was said of God:

"The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the Earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the Earth, and He was grieved in His heart." (Gen 6:5-6)

Noah wasn't the only God-fearing man back in that day, but he was the only one of them not grieving God. Consequently he was spared death in the Flood while the others weren't.

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Eph 4:31 . . Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior.

It wasn't the Lord's wish that Ephesian Christians avoid all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice; no; on the contrary, he wanted the Ephesians to "get rid" of them.

"bitterness" is from the koiné word pikria (pik-ree'-ah) which means: acrid, poisonous, and/or toxic (literally or figuratively)

Christians like that are nothing in the world but deadly reptiles.

"the poison of asps is under their lips" (Rom 3:13b)

"rage" is from the koiné word thumos (thoo-mos') which means: passion (as if breathing hard). Passion is just the opposite of reason; and as everyone knows, emotions are incoherent; so it's to be expected an emotional person is not acting rationally. This is a kind of conduct that Paul says brings sorrow to God's Spirit.

"anger" is from the koiné word orge (or-gay') which means: desire (as a reaching forth or excitement of the mind), i.e. (by analogy,) violent passion, ire, (by implication: punishment)

People overcome by orge typically want some satisfaction; even to the point of at least your ruin; if not your death.

"harsh words" is from the koiné word krauge (krow-gay') which means: outcry.

Out-crying is what protestors do; in other words: assertive, in-your-face confrontational complaints and/or demands..

"slander" is from the koiné word blasphemia (blas-fay-me'-ah) which means: to vilify. Webster's defines "vilify" as: (1) to lower in estimation or importance, and (2) to utter slanderous and abusive statements against; viz: defame, discredit, and/or denigrate.

A statement need not be false in order to qualify as slander; it need only to be unnecessary; viz: you'll often hear people say: Well, I was only telling the truth. Were they? No, that's a ruse. In reality, they're insensitive; and they don't care who gets hurt by their thoughtless remarks.

The Lord notices the words people say, and he also takes note of the spirit in which they say them.

"But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken." (Matt 12:36)

"malicious behavior" is from the koiné word kakia (kak-ee'-ah) which means: badness, i.e. (subjectively) depravity, or (actively) malignity, or (passively) trouble:

Malice usually includes the element of "spite" which Webster's defines as: petty ill will, or hatred, with the disposition to irritate, annoy, or thwart. Compare that to the koiné word for "persecute" in the eighth Beatitude which means, literally: to pursue; viz: to stalk, to hound, to harass.

Webster's defines "thwart" as: (1) to run counter to so as to effectively oppose or baffle; viz: contravene, and (2) to oppose successfully; viz: to defeat the hopes or aspirations of; in other words: to deliberately get in someone's way; block, discourage.

Boy I'll tell you, that Ephesian church was as rough-hewn and crude as the old logging community of Stump Town (now Portland) out here in the Oregon of the 1800's. They cussed, they brawled, they bad-mouthed, they held grudges, they were thieves, they were arrogant, they somehow had the idea that Jews were below them, they were immodest, conceited, vain, and impatient, they walked unworthy of their calling, and they were splintered into cliques.

I've heard more than one expositor boast that the Ephesian believers represent Christ's church at its spiritual peak; but I thoroughly disagree. Yes, there were some outstanding individuals, but by and large the congregation's spiritual condition was decadent, deplorable, despicable, and unbecoming.

BTW: Where is the Ephesian church today? It's gone, just like Christ warned it would be.

"Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write . . I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent." (Rev 2:5)

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