Romans 11:

26a in this way all Israel will be saved

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Cambridge Bible:

“all” bears a less exact reference here, as so often in Scripture, and means “in general;”—“Israel in general, the Jews of that day as a great aggregate, on a scale unknown before, shall be saved.”

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The word "all" does not universally mean everyone without exception. Another example of such a usage is in 2 Chronicles 12:

1 After Rehoboam's position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of the LORD.

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In the NT, another example is Matthew 2:

3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.

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It was rather common in the times of the old and new testimonies that the word "all" was used to exaggerate the point.

Young's Literal Translation, John 6:44

no one is able to come unto me, if the Father who sent me may not draw him, and I will raise him up in the last day;

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ἐὰν μὴ
if not

draws
ἑλκύσῃ (helkysē)
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1670: To drag, draw, pull, persuade, unsheathe. Or helko hel'-ko; probably akin to haireomai; to drag.

BDAG:

ⓒ w. other particles

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α. ἐὰν καί even if Gal 6:1; likew. ἐὰν δὲ καί (POxy 472 II, 7) but if 1 Cor 7:11, 28; 2 Ti 2:5. ἐὰν δὲ καὶ παρακούσῃ but if the pers. refuses to listen Mt 18:17.

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β. ἐὰν μή if not, unless w. pres. subj. ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ᾖ ἀξία Mt 10:13; cp. Lk 13:3; J 3:2f, 5, 27. Mostly w. aor. subj. ἐὰν μὴ περισσεύσῃ Mt 5:20; 6:15; 12:29; 18:3; 21:21; Mk 3:27; 4:22 (s. KBeyer, Semitische Syntax im NT, ’62, 131); J 4:48; 6:44; 7:51; Ro 10:15; 1 Cor 9:16; 14:6; unless, without ἐὰν μὴ αὐτὸ πίω Mt 26:42. W. fut. ἐὰν μὴ μετανοήσουσιν Rv 2:22.

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Biblehub listed 30 translations out of 51 use the word "unless" to translate ἐὰν μὴ with aorist subjunctive. In this case, it is not just ἐὰν μὴ; it is ἐὰν μὴ followed by an Aorist Subjunctive verb. This pattern has been observed frequently enough that some experts believe that this pattern is the equivalent of the English concept of "unless".

In this thread, I will stick with the literal translation: The Father may or may not draw him.

Does the Father draw everyone?

One interpretation of the potential subjunctive mood says no.

Now, Jesus said in John 12:

32 "I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

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The Cross will draw all people to Jesus. After that, the sovereignty of the Father has to draw him to enable him to actually come to Jesus.

See also No one can come to me UNLESS the Father who sent me draws him.

I have a question about the T-shirt that says “I can’t, but I know a guy.”

Just simply, what does it mean?

Link to Survey Summary PDF at end of article. Not to be missed. Methinks.​

​

2023 Forum Attendees Receive Results of Orthodox Convert Survey​

Hello, a friend of mine has had the experience of having helpful guidance about her marriage from balls of light that appeared in her room.
I wonder what Christians feel about getting advice on this, and similar, ways.
It seems in the Bible that followers sometimes get messages and guidance coming through, either directly or through dreams etc.
How can one tell if they should ignore this kind of communication, or if it would be a mistake to ignore it.
I see no reason to believe that it can't still happen... What do y'all think?

I received healing today. So I would like to encourage you to not fear praying for people who are sick. The following I posted in the praise reports:

I would like to give the LORD praise for something that happened to me today. Over the last few days, I have had pain and weakness in one of my arms. It has happened before, and when I went to the doctor last time it occurred they told me I had a degenerative disease in my back and shoulder region. The doctor warned me It can get so bad that if you put pressure on your neck you can end up with a broken neck. This time I must have slept wrong and something had become dislodged. The pain was so bad for a few days, that I could not even type on my computer without having shooting pain, and weakness in my right arm. It was to the degree that I did not know if I could work on Monday. I had to text the pastor of the church and let him know I would be unable to pack down at the end of church due to the pain. I still went to church but did not expect to be able to pack up. On the way my wife prayed for my arm, and I had prayed previously. However, the arm did not come good at that time. At church, I went up to Pastor John and told him I would not be available for pack up. He asked me if he could pray for my arm. He prayed, and the pain in my arm stopped. I told him I would see how it would go. But it remained good. There was no pain in my arm. I was able to pack up without any pain. I purposely lifted some heavy items just to check. Still no pain. Jesus had healed my arm through John’s prayer. At home, I was able to mop the floor, carry the laundry, pack up the clothes, and all with no pain. Right now I am typing on my computer with no pain. I will be able to work tomorrow.

If you have not been to church in a while, I would encourage you to go.

1Th 3:10-11 night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face and perfect what is lacking in your faith? Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you.

Psalms 16 ESV


Let God be God

We all go through stuff, don’t we? And much of it is stuff we really have no control over, especially in this age of AI and computers, for pretty much all communications and business dealings these days are via electronic and computerized devices. And even if we didn’t want to participate in the world of the internet, so many of us have been forced into it because this is the way most things are being done these days.

So some people end up getting their accounts compromised due to no negligence of their own, and then we have these organizations which are standing there off to the side fully ready to be our “savior” and to protect us from those kinds of things taking place again. But who are those people? Can they be trusted? Could they be “wolves in sheep’s clothing”? Absolutely! And many of them probably are opportunists who either create situations and/or who sit like lions ready and waiting to devour anyone, who then pounce on anyone who has reported an account being compromised.

And this is just one example of how we can be put in situations beyond our control and where we are being encouraged to put our trust in strangers to “protect” us from harm. And so it is risky to make that choice to trust in strangers who may or who may not have our best interest in mind. And so this is one incident where we pray, “Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.” For truly the Lord is the only one fully worthy of our trust.

So, before we take the next step in whatever situation we find ourselves in, we need to pray, and we need to seek God’s face, and we need to seek the counsel of God and what he would have us do, for we may just be trading one situation for another, and the other could turn out to be worse. So, we must take refuge in the Lord and then trust him to lead us and to guide us in the way that we should go. For different is not necessarily better.

And, although following in the ways of the Lord does not promise us “smooth sailing,” and that nothing bad will happen to us, if we don’t seek the counsel of the Lord, and if we don’t go the way he has counseled us, but we choose to go our own way, instead, and to run after “another god” to save us from what ails us, then our sorrows indeed could multiply, and not only did we not improve our situation, but we made it so much worse.

So, we need to be those who put our complete trust in the Lord in all things, and in every situation in our lives, and who follow the Lord Jesus with our lives, and who do not run after the gods of this world, and who do not put our trust in humans above putting our trust in the Lord. And we need to let the Lord guide us in our decision-making processes so that we don’t end up going in the wrong direction.

For God’s ways are the only right way, and his ways are the only way to eternity with God in heaven and true deliverance from our bondage to sin. But it isn’t just about sin and salvation and heaven at stake here, although that is the most critical. But this is about taking all our questions and concerns and difficulties to the Lord in prayer and us seeking his counsel and direction so that we don’t end up going in the opposite direction from where he is leading us, and possibly end up in worse situations.

Where Could I Go?

By J. B. Coats

Living below in this old sinful world,
Hardly a comfort can afford;
Striving alone to face temptation sore,
Where could I go but to the Lord?

Where could I go? Oh, where could I go
Seeking a refuge for my soul?
Needing a friend to save me in the end,
Where could I go but to the Lord?

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Please pray for rain so the fires will be put out. Pray for fire fighters and those who have been evacuated in British Columbia, and the Northwest Territories Canada ( Yellowknife, and surrounding communities, Fort Smith, Hay River, Dettah, N'Dilo, & Enterprise etc.) Thank you for your prayers.
update: thanks for your prayers, it rained in Yellowknife today! Aug 20/23 and there was a double rainbow.... one posted that it rained decently for an hour!

3 John 1:9-12 ESV


Do you realize that this is what is happening in the church today here in America? The American church, at large, though not including every church congregation, incorporated herself as non-profit businesses (charitable organizations) under the state beginning back in the late 50’s, I believe. They didn’t have to, mind you, for the church in America was already tax exempt. But their leaders talked them into it. And so the church, at large, essentially became a state church.

And I am not saying that this was not going on before this, but then the churches began acting like human-based businesses, and they began marketing their gatherings to the people of the world in many of the same ways in which other businesses market their businesses and their products. And they began patterning their gatherings after the felt needs of the people of the world, and so they began altering how they conducted their gatherings, and they altered the character of God and his word, too.

They removed from the people the fear of the Lord and they began presenting God as this grandfatherly figure in the sky who is there to meet our every need or wants, focusing primarily or solely on what God does for us while neglecting what is required of us that we must do for him, in return. And so they teach the blessings and the promises of God absent of the conditions for those blessings and/or promises to actually take place. And so we have many professers of faith in Jesus Christ still living for the flesh.

And then so many of them have altered the gospel message, too, and they are not teaching God’s requirements for us to turn from our sins, to forsake them, and to now follow Jesus Christ in obedience to his commands in holy and righteous living. But even if some of them do, they are teaching them as though they are optional, and not required of us at all for salvation and for eternal life with God. And instead of confronting the people in their sins they are largely coddling them in their sins, so they continue in their sins.

Thus, we have a large number of people here in America claiming Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and heaven as their eternal destiny who are still walking in sin, still making sin their practice. And one of the biggest areas of sinful practices (addiction) in the church today is in the area of sexual immorality, and a large portion of that is related to the viewing of pornographic or sexually charged movies or videos, which includes child pornography, so including child sex trafficking, too.

And what are the pastors of these churches largely doing about this? Nothing! Some of them are allowing these self-help groups to meet in their “churches,” but a lot of these support groups don’t even allow people to bring Bibles or to bring up Scriptures or to try to help one another out of their slavery to sin. And at least some of these groups just give these addicts a place to vent or to unload but with little to no accountability to the church leadership with regard to if they are still walking in sin.

And what about those who are being sinned against? I don’t know about you but my experience is that if you report that you are being sinned against then you become the enemy, and/or these pastors will refuse to help, and they may even take the side of the one who is sinning against you. And if you are a person who is following the Scriptures and you confront the sinful condition of the church, then you become an outcast and they may even create ways of getting rid of you, for they don’t want to hear it.

And so here is the encouragement here. We are not to be like them! We are not to be people who take God casually or who think God is just there to meet our desires but that nothing is required of us, in return. And we are not to be casual about sin, either, whether it is about our own sin or the sin that is running rampant in today’s market-driven churches because these pastors are coddling the sinners in their sin rather than insisting that they forsake their sins and that they now walk in obedience to the Lord Jesus.

But we are to be imitators of God and of his righteousness, holiness, godliness, moral purity, honesty, and faithfulness, i.e. we are to pattern our lives after the divine character of God and after the life of Christ. And we are to be students of the Scriptures who read them in their full context and who believe what they teach us and who obey our Lord’s commandments (under the New Covenant). And daily by the Spirit we are to be putting sin to death in our lives and doing the will of God for our lives.

For those who walk (in conduct, in practice) according to the flesh will die in their sins. For if sin is what they practice, and if righteousness and godliness and obedience to our Lord are not what they practice, they will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what their lips have professed. But if we walk by the Spirit, forsaking our sins, and we follow our Lord in obedience and in surrender to his will for our lives, we have the promise and the hope of eternal life with God.

So, not only for your own sake, and for your own salvation, but for the sake of all those who are being sinned against, especially the children, please take this seriously. Please forsake your sins and follow Jesus. And if you are living for the Lord, please be one who speaks up about these issues and who is willing to lay your life on the line to see others be free from their slavery to sin and to see those being sinned against free from the abuse that they are receiving at the hands of the sinfully addicted, too.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

Where Could I Go?

By J. B. Coats

Living below in this old sinful world,
Hardly a comfort can afford;
Striving alone to face temptation sore,
Where could I go but to the Lord?

Where could I go? Oh, where could I go
Seeking a refuge for my soul?
Needing a friend to save me in the end,
Where could I go but to the Lord?

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Other than The Holy Scriptures and the Imitation of Christ what do you use for spiritual reading?

English Standard Version 1 Corinthians 12:

3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.

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Is it really true that NOBODY says Jesus is Lord except by the Spirit of God?

No, not really. Paul gave a general rule of thumb to recognize the operations of the Spirit. It wasn't meant to be universally true all the time.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible:

The meaning is, not that no one has physical ability to say that Jesus is Lord unless aided by the Holy Spirit, since all people can say this; but that no one will be disposed heartily to say it; no one will acknowledge him as their Lord; it can never happen that anyone will confess him as the true Messiah who has not been brought to this state by the agency of the Holy Spirit.

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What about false teachers that use the name of Jesus for personal profit?

Right. They are using the name of the Lord in vain, and not in heart.

Mediocrity is one of those words that seems relatively innocuous but gets people’s attention. I suppose there is something particularly stinging about the prospect of being called mediocre. There are those who say that the opposite of love is not hate, but indifference. Well, perhaps the opposite of excellence is not “badness,” but mediocrity. Whatever the case, mediocrity is at the heart of so many problems in parishes.

Qualitative and Spiritual Mediocrity

There are different kinds of mediocrity which, though they are related, need to be understood. On the one hand, there is what I would call qualitative mediocrity, which pertains to the quality of a given activity, ministry or “product.” It is rooted in the acceptance of low standards of excellence, and it is what most people think about when they hear the word. Then there is spiritual mediocrity, which is present when there is a lack of belief in the supernatural realities of the Church and in disobedience to Her teachings. This is even more dangerous than qualitative mediocrity, but they can often be related.

Just as there are two different kinds of mediocrity, there are two primary ways in which both forms of mediocrity hurt parishes. First, they drive parishioners away, either toward other parishes or, tragically, away from Jesus and His Church. Second, they drive away volunteers and good employees, which leads to the repelling of parishioners.

Okay, now that we’ve laid the groundwork, let’s explore how mediocrity manifests itself in parishes and how we can carry out a righteous, loving war against it. We’ll start with volunteers and employees.

Volunteers and Employees

Continued below.

Interpretation A: Paul is showing his ambivalence towards the practice of Christian baptism when actual water is applied to the human body with the Triune formula. In this sense, Paul is diminishing the importance of baptism, certainly separating it from the preached gospel, and showing baptism is not necessary for salvation. John MacArthur and Norman Geisler are representative of this interpretation.

More extreme interpretations would suggest Paul was opposed to baptism, even tried to discourage new converts from being baptized or even stating Jesus did not want Paul to baptize at all.

Interpretation B: Paul is stating Christ did not send him to personally administer baptism to individual recipients, rather Paul had a special apostolic commission to preach the Gentiles. His work in preaching was unique. However, the administration of baptism requires no unique gifts or abilities. Rather than Paul administering mass individual baptisms, he followed the normal historical NT practice of preaching and let his assistants do the work of baptism.

“To baptize” means to administer baptism. The Greek clearly allows this interpretation as “to baptize” is a present infinitive. Our normal every day usage “to baptize” allows this all the time. As we would say to our children, “Tomorrow, the pastor is going TO BAPTIZE you into the Christian faith.” If this is the case, a better translation I Cor. 1:17 would be: “Christ did not send me to perform individual baptisms but to preach the gospel.”
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I believe interpretation B is the correct one, now I shall marshal the evidence for it and show inadequacies of Interpretation A.
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I Cor. 1:17 must be understood contextually within the first chapter as Paul tackles the first of many problems with the Corinthian Church. Some Corinthians were inordinately enamored with the person who had baptized them — even to the point of adopting the baptizer’s name as a religious appellation (vv. 12-13). In view of such a perversion, the Paul was thankful that he had personally baptized only a few of these people early on in his mission (vv. 14-16) and at a particular point time stopped baptizing altogether.

The same is true with the twelve disciples. [Edited] The twelve disciples participated in only in the first baptism narrative in Acts 2. Peter and John in the second baptism narrative in Samaria. This is the last baptism the NT records of the Apostles.

Acts 10 is curious. Peter was present preaching to the Gentiles, but he ordered his assistants to baptize the new Gentile converts (10:46). Peter follows Jesus’ example in regards how the administration of baptism is to be practiced. In John 3:22-4:2 Jesus’ disciples were participating in baptizing with John’s disciples but the text is clear Jesus’ did not baptize. This is the historical NT pattern. The Apostles preached and the assistants baptize.

Both Paul and Peter gained huge prominence and stature in the NT which continued into the Second Century. It was a great honor to have known or taught by an apostle, and in turn to know someone who had known an apostle. Both Paul and Peter refrained from baptizing as their fame and importance would have detracted from the meaning of what baptism is and does. Ponder the notion if a SCOTUS justice married one our nephews or nieces. We would have bragging rights all day long.
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Basic inadequacies of Interpretation A
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Baptism is not necessary for salvation. This is a specific diagnostic statement strategically used to illicit a negative response. But why does the response have to be negative? Why not neutral or positive? What about usage of the word “ordinary?” Baptism certainly is ordinary in the sense that the “ordinary” way the Christian life is lived is by being baptized.

Baptism is not apart of the gospel. This statement then is brought into tension with other statements by St. Paul such as:

• Romans 6:3-4 and Colossians 2:12, which both make the point that baptism unites us with Christ’s death, burial and resurrection.
• 1 Corinthians 12:13, which tells us that it was by baptism that we were brought into the body of Christ.
• Galatians 3:27, which says that baptism is how we clothed ourselves with Christ.
• Ephesians 4:5, in which He listed baptism alongside the Trinity and one hope, faith, and body as marks of our unity.

Jesus didn’t want Paul to baptize at all. This is the one that hurts the most as it is used by unbelievers to show Scripture itself has flaws and inconsistencies in it. They raise questions like:

• If Jesus did not send Paul to baptize, then why did he baptize Crispus, Gaius and the household of Stephanas?
• Was Paul sinning when he baptized them?
• Was Paul lying when he told the Corinthians Jesus told him not to baptize and he did anyway?
• Paul is untrustworthy?
• Why should we believe anything Paul said?
• Is this a clear case of redactors editing Paul’s writings in the Second Century?

And now, I am a singer in the Diocesan Choir of the cathedral in Washington D.C.! Went to my first practice today. What a fine group of singers! The music is wonderful and I'm looking forward to the first concert in which I get to sing!

The humorous thing for me is that when I introduced myself to the choir director, who is amazing! she asked me to sing with the bass section rather than the tenors. I can do this, since my tenor voice has dropped down into the baritone range, and I was fine with the music since I can read music. 21 years in the BCC choirs I was in didn't hurt either, since there is some Slavic music and familiar composers in the folder I was given.

All in all, a wonderful Saturday morning and a real encouragement to me as a singer. I'm hoping this will also help my singing in the parish choir!

who would have guessed?

I have a desire to chase money and always have. I often hear that greed is always showed as sin a very bad sin in the Bible and to give up all your wealth. Yet I still feel some sort of unknown motivation to acquire wealth (like large amounts millions[but not in any bad or evil ways]) I have sworn to myself no matter what to donate money during my life and leave all of it when I die like building a church, shelters, or starting a charity. Is this the devil trying to make me feel good about greed or a true calling by god to acquire wealth for a positive reason?

With the advent of online services and bountiful supplies of religious teaching and broadcasting the question comes to mind, "Why do I go to 'church' rather than watch 'church' on my video screen?"

No one knows anything about this.

When did she die (if she did)? Where did this take place (if it did)?

That's all. Discuss.

Border Patrol agents reported nabbing 132,652 people at the southern border in July, up 33% from June.

The Homeland Security Department released the numbers Friday afternoon, which is a standard Washington move to bury bad news.

Mr. Mayorkas has encouraged unauthorized migrants — those without a visa or other entry permit — to forgo jumping the border and instead schedule their arrival at a port of entry, where he uses his “parole” power to catch and release them.

This isn't about me as much, but a friend of mine. She revealed her thoughts, coming from a Christian upbringing, going to church, she met a new person in the faith who asked a lot of questions. She then found out, that she wasn't actually sure if she believed in the good news of the Bible.
It feels more like a fairy tale story with some symbols she feels, and that it seems naive that one historic event in a small geographic location in history could be the saving act of God for all humanity. She's worried about Muslims, the Hindus etc. But she also sees great value in the faith, but has a hard time accepting it as The Truth, and finds it a bit silly it sounds like.

I get where she is coming from, as someone who had felt the same at some points.

How do you guys deal with these questions to someone who in uncertain?

Much could be said as to why I believe, but would love to hear your thoughts on how you would approach someone like that, and perhaps what convinced you?

Cain spoke to the LORD in Genesis 4:

14 "Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”

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Cain was afraid of his own relatives: brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, etc. They, the avenger of blood (Numbers 35:19-27) might attempt revenge killing.

See Where did Cain's wife come from?.

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas is intensifying demands that Anheuser-Busch InBev hand over a trove of documents for his investigation of whether Bud Lite’s partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney was marketing beer to children.

The requested documents include communications between the company and Dylan Mulvaney, scripts for social media content, the company’s corporate policy for advertising on social media, and any data that the beer giant possessed on the age demographics of Dylan Mulvaney’s social media following.

Matthew 23:

26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

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inside
ἐντὸς (entos)
Adverb
Strong's 1787: Within, inside, the inside. From en; inside.

Surprisingly this adverb appears only twice in the Bible. Outside of the Bible, ἐντός appears frequently (BDAG).

Greek Word Study Tool:

within, inside

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Wiki agrees exactly:

within, inside

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BDAG:

① pert. to a specific area inside someth., inside, within, within the limits of. ...
Lk preferring ἐντός in the sense among you, in your midst, either now or suddenly in the near future

② pert. to what is inside an area, content τὸ ἐ. τοῦ ποτηρίου the inside of the cup=what is in the cup

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ESV Luke 17:

20 Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, 21nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you [plural].”

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I think the New King James Version provides a better translation:

nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

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The kingdom of God can be among us and inside each one of us. The Paraclete dwells in each one of us.

2 Corinthians 13:

14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion [G2842] of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

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HELPS Word-studies:

2842 koinōnía (a feminine noun) – properly, what is shared in common as the basis of fellowship (partnership, community).

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The same Greek word is in (NIV) Philippians 2:

1Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.

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Aramaic Bible in Plain English:

If you have, therefore, comfort in The Messiah, or the filling up of hearts with love, or communion of The Spirit, or tender care and mercy, 2 Fulfill my joy, that you would have one conscience, one love, one soul and one mind;

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I think communion of the Holy Spirit refers to the indwelling Holy Spirit in our spirit to accomplish oneness with God.

Leviticus 19:

28 “’Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.

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Does it apply to Christians today?

There is no NT command against it. I think it is a freedom we have. If you are thinking of having one, consider

1. Size: I think smaller is better than bigger.
2. Content: Would your Christian circle of friends be offended by it?
3. Taste: You don't want an obnoxious or offensive image on the body.
4. Once it is done, it is not easy to get rid of it. When you are 70 years old, will you still like your tattoos?

I would not have one on me myself. I'd advise my kids and friends against having one. It is up to them to decide.

See also Tattoos and piercings are more common among those who experienced childhood abuse and neglect.

Weigh all these factors and decide for yourself.