🇬🇧 Glory be to Jesus Christ! 🌞
Conclusion of the epistle.
1 Corinthians 16:18 – ‘εμον’ – ‘emon’ – ‘my’.
1 Corinthians 16:21 – ‘εμη’ – ‘eme’ – ‘my’ (mine).
Paul greets the addressees, encourages them to show love and respect, in particular to those who work in the Lord’s field, and reminds them of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
The holy kiss
is a friendly greeting. To learn more about kisses,
follow this link:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/Kiss.html
The epistle was written from dictation, and at the end Paul himself signed it with his own hand as a sign of its correctness.
As for the anathema
at the end, this is the only letter with such
an ending. All believers should have at least a small measure of
heartfelt love for Jesus Christ, the Saviour and Redeemer, the Lord. If
they do not have a drop of this sincere love, they are not Christians,
and therefore, having a pretence of faith, they deny it, and therefore
will not be part of the Church (which is what the word anathema
means
in its proper sense). Paul thus reminds us that if any Christian does
not love Jesus even a little bit, they will be excommunicated from the
Church (separated of their own will). This is not a curse, but a warning
and a reminder.
The letter ends with a wish of grace and an assurance of love for the recipients of the letter.
Matthew XXI, 42 – ‘ημων’ – ‘emon’ – ‘us’ (ours).
The Parable of the Criminal Wine Makers is briefly explained here:
https://www.facebook.com/Oleksandr.S.Zhabenko/
The quote about the cornerstone is found in Isaiah XXVIII, 16 and
Psalm CXVIII, 22. I previously wrote about the context of the prophecy
in Isaiah:
23032023.html
A continuation of this reading is the one referred to here:
10082023.html
I will add that it is known that this parable is about the Israelite elders and their followers who persecuted many prophets and went as far as to commit God-murder – crucify Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The servants and the son in the parable represent the prophets and Jesus.
Although the parable itself is about the elders of the nation of Israel and their followers, it is a warning to all, because similar temptations arose in later times, for example, many followers of Jesus Christ were also persecuted. The parable warns everyone against this and also shows that the Lord is a Righteous Judge.
It also shows what prompted people to persecute God’s faithful and Christ Himself – the desire to appropriate God’s things for themselves, which is actually synonymous with arrogance. Many other sins come from arrogance, and arrogance itself was the root cause of the fall, so the Lord teaches us not to be arrogant but to be humble.
See also about God’s gifts here:
06042023.html
To the Hieromartyr Anfim, Bishop of Nicomedia:
For a frequent reading from the Apostle, see the link:
14052023.html
John X, 9, 11, 14 – ‘ειμι’ – ‘eimi’ – (I) ‘am’. It is used only with emphasis. ‘εμου’ – ‘emou’ – ‘Me’.
John X, 14 – ‘εμα’ – ‘ema’ – ‘My’.
The very image of the door and the pasture is well described here:
https://www.facebook.com/Oleksandr.S.Zhabenko/
Glory be to Thee, our God, glory be to Thee!