The One Who Is Spiritual

In Psalm 51:6 King David says, "Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom."

In John 14:6 Jesus says, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me."

The scriptures say much about the importance of truth! Jesus Christ is the Word, and the Word is Truth. Jesus and truth cannot be separated. Jesus and truth cannot be dissected, meaning 'having a divided form or structure'. If one did dissect Jesus there would be found truth in every part of Him.

*In John 17:17 Jesus prays for His followers, "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth."

*In John 4:24 Jesus says, "God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

It is not wise to minimize the importance of truth, nor to compromise with a lie. 

According to Ephesians 4:15 we are to 'speak the truth in love'. Jesus' command to His follower is to love. The first command is one command and plural in nature. It is found in both the Old and the New Testaments. In Mark 12:29-31, after being asked what the greatest command is, 'Jesus answered, "The foremost is, 'Hear, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; and YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.'" Jesus followed with the second greatest command saying, "The second is this, 'You SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

"Caritas" is the Latin word for charity, and it is used in biblical translations, specifically in the Latin Vulgate Bible to translate the Greek word agape, which is the word most commonly used when we speak of biblical, or godly, love. While modern English translations often use "love" instead of "charity" for agape, the term caritas and its derivatives are found in the Bible. A notable example is the opening phrase of Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical, "Deus caritas est," which translates to "God is love" and is directly from the Vulgate's translation of 1 John 4:8 (The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love). So while love and truth are not synonymous, in the concept of caritas (love or charity), love and truth are inseparable and mutually essential. The Catholic Church's social teaching, especially as articulated in Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical Caritas in Veritate ("Charity in Truth"), emphasizes that one cannot exist in its authentic, purest form without the other. Just as the Lord our God is One, the Son and the Father do not exist one without the other. Elohim is 'one', with plurality as in a unit. (*This is not an invitation for Catholic bashing.)

Regarding 1 Corinthians 2:15, I have listed in the photo six different translations I deem reliable. The verse says, "... he who is spiritual appraises (judges; discerns) all things, yet he himself is appraised (judged; discerned) by no one." Some translations say, "not subject to any man's judgment", or "rightly judged by no one".

The original word for 'appraise' used here in this verse is 'ἀνακρίνω', transliterated 'anakrinō', phonetically 'an-ak-ree'-no'. 

Strong's definition is: properly to scrutinize that is (by implication) investigate interrogate determine: - ask question discern examine judge search.

Thayer's definition is: examine or judge; to investigate, examine, enquire into, scrutinise, sift, question; specifically in a forensic sense of a judge to hold an investigation; to interrogate, examine the accused or witnesses; to judge of, estimate, determine (the excellence or defects of any person or thing)

It means 'to separate or divide up, hence, to examine carefully, investigate, then, to determine, judge of, estimate, make a distinction.

I have been feeling distressed in concern for the larger Christian community. This is not a new thing for me, but a common occurrence. I pray and weep much in concern over these. I, too, have been bringing to the Lord the painful feelings of the recent recognition that I am 'expendable' to that same community (not to all, but to most) - which, in love and truth (ONLY) should be my 'tribe', my 'family'. For quite some time I have recognized the solitary nature of God's people as testified about in the scriptures of both Old and New Testaments - frequently experiencing hostility, and finally ending up abandoned and alone, even martyred. Yet, to experience the same can be initially painful. So we pray, "Father, forgive them". They don't know. Jesus DID say that the Way is narrow and few will find it! Oh, that we would heed the words of Jesus and take them to heart.

As I read 1 Corinthians 2:15 this morning, after a time of prayer over all this (Jesus Christ is not only our Teacher but also our Wonderful Counselor) - begging God to see with His eyes, to have His heart, to have understanding that comes from Him, to receive His correction - I got stopped on this verse. What does Paul mean that while the spiritual person judges all things, that same person is judged by no one? Why did this lead me to the verses on truth and love? I believe it is this:

God is love - 'caritas'; 'agape'. Jesus proclaimed He is truth. If God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son (Who are ONE) are dissected, (divided; judged; separated; investigated; scrutinized, etc as per definitions of the word 'appraised/discerned/judged in 1 Corinthians 2:15), there would not be - nor is there - any part to be found separate from one another, nor separate from truth and love. The one 'who is spiritual' (belonging to the Divine Spirit of God the Holy Spirit; one who is filled with and governed by the Spirit of God), then, cannot be dissected and found separate from the same BY ANY MAN. They are subject to no man's judgment in that being dissected (divided; judged; separated; investigated; scrutinized) no part of that spiritual one is found separate from love and truth, nor any part found separate from God, nor any part found separate from another spiritual man. Therein, alone, is unity. The one who is not spiritual cannot (rightly) judge the one who is.