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NASB | Matthew 11:11 "Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 11:11 "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater [in privilege] than he. |
Subject: "Least in the kingdom of God"? |
Bible Note: "As for as Isaiah 9:6, I am not familiar with the questionable translation that includes "Almighty" rather than the correct "mighty."" I do apologize, to both God and to you: you are right: I just checked and it is actually 'mighty' instead of 'almighty', in all the translations I have found. I am sincerely sorry. But I do not see what difference it makes with respect to the following "God" and "Everlasting Father"... "Phillipians 2:5,6 speaks for itself in that Paul encourages us to have Jesus' humble attitude - not to grasp at something that does not belong to us, but to submit ourselves to the only true, invisible God, and He will exalt us." Yes, Paul is encouraging us to be humble. But where did '...that does not belong to us' come from? Paul is stating that Christ Jesus WAS in very nature God, and equal with God, but He did not consider His status 'anything to be grasped', but humbled Himself and came to earth to suffer and die as a man. The Almighty Himself suffered and died for us.. I consider my sins and the sins of all humanity worse than what could be recompensed by the offering of any animal or an ordinary (even sinless) human person's life to God. Only He Himself could save the world by bearing the punishment and letting His own Self become what He hated the most in the world: sin (2Cor 5:21). "Friendship with the world is enmity with God, yet many popular "Christian" ministers consult with world rulers... Find the people that "are no part of the world" and its divisive political wars, and you will find those 'sanctified (set apart for sacred service) by the truth.' That is, you will find the truth and it will set you free from the slavitude of false religion." It is a truly a great pain to see the name "Christian" being abused so many times - but I suggest that we do not judge the belief itself by those who claim to hold it yet do not live by it. I could also mention a few embarrassing facts about Jehovah's Witnesses but I will resist the temptation to do so; I do not condemn you for the faults of others whom you share your faith with. Just a comment: 'sanctified by the truth' does not seem to be the same as "set apart for sacred service" to me. But that is again, my personal opinion. I am interested to know what you think about these issues. I honestly wish you were as free in your faith as I am in mine... I'll pray for you tonight. Yours in Christ, Zsuzsi |