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NASB | 1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 John 3:2 Beloved, we are [even here and] now children of God, and it is not yet made clear what we will be [after His coming]. We know that when He comes and is revealed, we will [as His children] be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is [in all His glory]. |
Subject: Actual bodies in heaven? |
Bible Note: Hi Val. I think we have may gotten off on the proverbial wrong foot, so please allow me to make a couple of statements. That way, even if you disagree with me, you will at least know where I am coming from and why I write as I do. 1. With the NASB, the Lockman Foundation strives, as much as possible, to get back to the original wording, syntax, and meaning of the scriptures. This is laudable. Every Bible is, on some level, a translation and no translation is perfect. But I believe that the Christian community and our culture is best served by translations that try to stay as close to the original scriptures as we can get and allow the communities themselves to discuss and interpret the meanings of the texts. In a similar way, being a follower of Jesus, I try, as much as is humanly possible, to get back to the original teachings of Jesus. This means that I often have to side with Jesus on certain issues rather than with my culture. This also means that I sometimes have to side with Jesus rather than with church or Christian tradition. This occasionally means that I have to side with Jesus rather then with Moses, Joshua, Isaiah, or even the beloved apostle Paul. After all, Jesus himself said that all authority in heaven and on earth was given to him, not to the entirety of the scriptures. So I am not overly concerned with whether or not my beliefs line up with denomination lines, creeds, statements of faith, or the traditions of the church. My concern is, do my beliefs line up with what Jesus taught? If I have to side with Jesus rather than with church tradition on an issue, I happily side with Jesus. 2. Sarcasm is not a bad thing as long as it is not being sarcastic with people. Remember “Cut off your hand if it offends you” or “Pluck out your eye” or “I wish they would completely emasculate themselves”? Sarcasm can sometimes be an effective way to show how viewpoints that we take for granted could be seen in another light. That is how I strive to use sarcasm (if I do decide to use it). Please don’t mistake it for character assassination. We must have the freedom to question ideas without being accused of “attacking others”. We must learn to separate people from the viewpoints that they hold to. If we don’t, then we are forced to go along with another for fear of confronting their viewpoints. And this means we should be willing to have our own viewpoints challenged also, which I am. 3. Lastly, I’m not here to force my viewpoints on anyone. All I am doing is answering questions to the best of my ability and understanding, trusting that the scriptures themselves, especially as found in Jesus’ teachings, are the pathway to wisdom, right living, and eternal life. If people disagree with me, fine. But I am not going to “shut up” just because someone thinks I am going against church tradition on my views. We don’t grow if we don’t learn. And we don’t learn if we think we already know it all. So I am here to learn along with everyone else. My posts are meant to further the conversation, not to put a stamp of finality on a subject. |