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NASB | 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life]. |
Subject: Isn't it a relay race? |
Bible Note: Dear John: I admire your attitude. And it is good too see this admission that we have so much to learn. But we should not minimize our ability to learn, or the opportunities we have to learn, or the fact that, the Holy Spirit teaching us, we are learning. There is no question about the fact that “Compared to God we know (almost) nothing”. God has not revealed everything to us. “The secret things belong unto the LORD our God". But "but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children”. God has revealed many things to us, things he wants us to know and do. It does not serve the purpose, I think, that you work so hard to make a case for ignorance. You say that we err in our understanding. That is so true. But Jesus says the reason is that we do not know the scriptures. John, that was back there when ordinary people did not even have access to the written word. Today we all have hard copies, and some of us have searchable electronic ones. The excuses are being taken away. Jesus says, “Search the Scriptures” and surely we can do that. The divisions over what orthodox Christians claim to be correct interpretations are manifold and unfortunate, and they are due to our willingness to listen to those proponents rather than going to the Bible ourselves. If we went straight to the word of God we would not be overly influenced by words such as “orthodox” and “interpretation” that are not even in the Bible. We certainly should just ignore the divisions caused by these orthodoxies, and cease our arguments. You ask: ‘Would you mind explaining what you mean by “reconcile in our own minds statements that seem to be”?’ but then you show that you do know what it’s all about as you speak about “harmonizing … verses with one another without sacrificing the truth of either one”. So I do not need to respond to that. Now as for "I am but of yesterday, and know nothing", I could hardly recognize it in that form. By isolating the statement and changing the personal pronoun, you seem to have developed another excuse for ignorance. But John, what had Bildad the Shuhite actually said? "Ask the people of past generations. Find out what their ancestors have learned. We have only been around since yesterday, and we know nothing. Our days on earth are only a fleeting shadow. Won't their words teach you? Won't they share their thoughts with you?” The people of past generations have written, in the Bible. And we can learn from them. It goes well with what the Lord says through Isaiah; to paraphrase: “Have we not been reading? Then why do we not know?” We can read, and read, and pray, and harmonize, and synthesize, and come to a knowledge of the truth. It is written. You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. |