I’m only about 20 minutes into this video, but want to post it. This is an amazing video; and is worth watching.
Do not turn it off, take the time to watch it, and examine yourself.
Unsnatchingly His
Glen H.
A beautiful poem written by the late Mr. Albert Ramsey….
While I watched a certain tradesman as he gathered up his tools,
packed his chisels, saws, and hammer and folded up his rules,
A picture came before me, and its parallel I’ll show
How these tools could teach us wisdom in our service here below.
These tools all had an owner, and for each a price was paid.
The owner wisely chose them for the purpose they were made.
Each one was used when needed to complete some grand design,
And as I looked upon them, this lesson came to mind.
Suppose a conversation could be heard within the box.
Each scolding the old Hammer for the way he bangs and knocks.
Says the Chisel, “Take a look at me! My head, as you can see,
Is the garget of that hammer. Why’s he always banging me?
For almost everything I do, he hits me on the head.
Could there not be something softer to do the work instead?”
“Why is it,” says the Hammer, “That you all find fault with me?
I am wielded by my owner, it is plain for all to see.
I wish I were the plumb line with nothing much to do
But hang around the others and be numbered with the crew.”
The Nails all vow to go on strike, their tempers all aflare:
“Tis plain to all unbiased minds, we’re driven to despair.”
Then says the sharp-edged Chisel, while pointing to his head,
“We’ll eliminate the Hammer and get something in his stead.”
Up speaks the Saw with whimpering voice, “Will none my view-point see?
When there’s any cutting off to do, why’s it always left to me?
The Square and Pencil draw a line and say they’re always right,
And if I do not follow them then my teeth cannot be straight.
And that old File is awful rough; I much prefer the Knife,
For he and I, in character, are very much alike.”
The Plane, with sweet majestic voice, speaks up and asks permission
If he can have a word with all to smooth the rough condition.
“My plan is this — I always wait until you all are through.
And after I have done my part I leave things just like new.
Now why behave unseemly? I feel my way is right;
Why can’t you all be just like me? You’d sure be more polite.”
Up spoke the Saw and Hammer that had laboured hard all day,
While Mr. Plane sat on the bench without a ward to say.
“We feel you wrong us greatly by taking such a view,
For you’re mostly always idle, while we have work to do.”
And so they came together to figure out a way,
That they could work together and make the business pay.
And this was the conclusion that was reached among the tools.
“Our thoughts of one another is the reckoning of fools.
The Master owns each one of us, we are not all the same,
Each has his own peculiar work to bring the Master gain.”
Each saw the other in new light and harmony did reign.
Each did respect the other, although not all the same.
The Nail to hold together; the Square to keep things straight;
The Pencil for a guideline; the Plane to make things right;
The Chisel and the Hammer found their teamwork great delight
As they viewed the finished product — the mortise holding tight.
And as they viewed the rough old File, in honour they did pledge
To give him all the credit for keeping them on edge.
Now may my simple musings provoke you to compare
The parallel with Christian in their worship, work and prayer.
How similar is our behaviour to this box of silly tools.
When we see it, let us judge it as “the reckoning of fools.”
We all need one another and there’s none of us the same,
So let us work together to increase the Master’s fame.
This Article was originally written by Mrs. Alicia Beckman for my old site titled “Led By The Truth”. This was a well done article, so would like to share it with you all again. I pray you find this useful….Glen
Having been a woman for, well, my entire life; and having been a Christian since I was six, I grew up hearing the classic passages preached at women time and time again. Unfortunately such constant exposure tends to cause someone to neglect the importance of such passages. Verses all tend to look the same to the “well churched” and any fresh meaning is lost.
I have attempted to reread these passages, and read commentary about them in order to shed new light on them. One such verse, the topic of my writing today is Titus 2:4-5.
“That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.”
Typically the emphasis tends to be on the fact that the older women are to teach the younger women how to be good Christian ladies. However in my own personal study, I decided to put the emphasis on the list of things that we, as Christian women, are to be.
1. Sober. Now, in the Bible we know that typically sober means calm, serious…but, I find it more informative to define things using it’s opposite. Therefore, if we are not characterized as sober, we could very easily be characterized as emotional or sensational. Do you tend to blow things out of proportion? Are your emotions easily hurt when discussing something with your husband, friends, father, pastor…? Perhaps we need a bit of sobriety in our lives.
2. Love their husbands. Again, looking at opposites, I see this going two ways. One has to do with the physical expression of marriage. As Christian wives, we are to love our husbands, the opposite in this case would be abstaining. Another antonym for love is scorn. Of course most of us would say that we do love our husbands. However, I feel that often bitterness and scorn can enter into our hearts without our realizing it. Do you sometimes feel that your husband is unworthy of your love? Do you find yourself constantly resisting your husband? Perhaps we need to work on adding some more love for our husbands into our lives.
3. Love their children. I think the most notable aspect is that loving one’s children is listed after loving one’s own husband. I feel as though many women, once they have children push their husbands away…which can easily lead to a rift in the family and a breakdown of the family structure.
4. Discreet. A woman who is not discreet is thought to be careless, unthoughtful, immodest, and undiscerning. These are tied in with the ideas discussed in sobriety. However, a woman who is discreet knows how to judge situations and react accordingly. She laughs when things are funny and cries with things are sad. But her sobriety keeps her emotions from getting the best of her.
5. Chaste. Sensuality should not be a characteristic for a Christian woman. As stated in the “love their husbands” section, this does not mean that she cannot be sensuous, but that it is something not for everyone to see, simply her husband. However, chaste or purity also has a broader feeling to it as well. Purity, not just sexually, but in all areas of life. Unfortunately, in this world people are far too often remembered for the wrong things they do, that makes striving to be characterized by purity that much harder.
6. Keepers at home. No, I’m not going to do a white-glove inspection of your house. Instead, as we did with the others we’ll look at the opposite. Keeping your home has more to do with involvement in the lives of your family and less to do with actual cleanliness. Therefore, I would say that the opposite is being involved in other peoples’ lives. This doesn’t mean that you can’t have friends or show concern for another’s life. However, I would say that an easy pit for a wife to fall into (especially one in a small community or assembly) is that of gossip: keeping up with other people’s homes.
7. Good. It doesn’t get much more broad than that. Clearly we see the opposite of good is bad. I know many women are thinking, “I’m not bad.” Other versions I’ve read translate this as “kind,” therefore the opposite would be “unkind.” Have you ever spoken an unkind word, whether the recipient of the insult was there to hear it or not? Have you ever refrained from offering help or kindness to someone simply because you were “too busy” or “did not want to be bothered”? Perhaps we need a little kindness, a little goodness in our lives.
8. Obedient to their own husbands. This is where many women flinch, “She’s going to bring up that word: submissive.” Actually we are discussing things by antonym, so the word I will use is disobedient. Very simply do you ever do something that your husband told you not to do? Or, the more applicable question: do you do things that you know your husband would not want you to do? Very often we do not get permission to do things, however, we know our husbands well enough to know what he would consider to be acceptable and unacceptable. I also think there is a second aspect to this: the opposite of obey your own husband is obeying someone else’s husband. Now, this concept may sound a bit strange at first, but do you ever put the words of your preacher/pastor/elder over the words of your husband? Yes, the elders of the church are meant to guide us. But, our husband is specifically our head, and we should obey him (especially where he and the elder may differ). Let the elder’s wife be concerned with obeying her own husband.
This thought has been on my mind for some time now and I’m not sure if I can get it worded like I wish, but I will try.
So often I have heard people go “Oh you must be a Christian because you won’t do ____________ with us!” Perhaps you have heard the same line but in a different way, but I believe you get my point.
I have a pile of different thoughts all at once and I’m trying to put them down one at a time to keep this somewhat structured.
I guess my point is the focus is all wrong, our whole way of thinking about Christianity and even God is wrong in so many ways. A person should not be in the mind set that they can pick out a Christian based on what they are not doing, but what they are doing for God.
The focus was never supposed to be about us, and yet in looking at the person and what they are not doing, the focus is taken off God and for many onlookers, all they see are self-righteous bigots who think they’re better then everyone else, even though this usually isn’t the case (I hope not.)
What does scripture say about this? Indeed Paul spent much time correcting early Christians in their way of thinking, to insure holy living that is honouring to God, and that should not be forgotten and the point of this article is not at all to take away from the need for living properly in a sinful society (Eph. 1:4), yet when Paul wrote to some of the Christians like the Ephesians and the Colossians, did he say something like:
“I”m so happy for the evidence of your faith in that you have trusted Christ and now you no longer do _______________”
Paul could write in a number of places something else……
Eph 1:15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints,
Col 1:4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints,
1Th 3:6 But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love and reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us, as we long to see you–
2Th 1:3 We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.
I believe you get my point. When Paul was speaking about the evidence of genuine salvation and what was being observed by others, it had to do with the Faith of the person and the evidence of love for one another.
I’M A BETTER CHRISTIAN BECAUSE I DON”T SMOKE, DRINK, DO CERTAIN THINGS
I have heard many professing Christians give lines similar to that, or have sat and listened to some railing against others because they don’t feel they are holy enough. Mark 9 reports a similar thing among the disciples as they wondered who was better, and God quickly corrected that way of thinking. Yet because of this way of thinking, it has affected our society around us too. A Christian is more often degraded in a work place, school or other area of life because of something they do not do. This is good, but our human nature tends to catch us patting ourselves on the back, which is not the focus. If we are going to be persecuted for something, let it be very very obvious to the onlooker who we are being persecuted for and let us be found being thought strange of because of something we are doing……. but what do I mean?
THAT PERSON MUST BE A CHRISTIAN BECAUSE THAT PERSON IS….
I use the term persecution a few times in this article and please forgive me, us in the Western world as of yet do not really understand the term of persecution, but there are Christians in other parts of the world, Christians from centuries ago, who were doing something, that led to a persecution that did not lead to a pat on the back, but led to wonderful glory to God, the one who deserves it. When someone is doing something for Christ and they are ridiculed for it, this is not something new, for Christ warned about it in the first chapter of 1st Corinthians
1Co 1:23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
1Co 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.1Co 1:31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
….PREACHING THE GOSPEL
Act 14:1 Now at Iconium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed.
Act 14:2 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.
Act 14:3 So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.
Act 14:4 But the people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles.
Act 14:5 When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them,
This is just one of many places throughout scripture that showed a persecution of the Christians, not because of something that they weren’t supposed to do, but of what they were doing. Christ made it very clear to go out into all the world and preach the gospel, to proclaim the good news of Christ, and when it is done faithfully and sculpturally, the world is going to mock, as was explained in 1 Corinthians chapter 1.
…ASSOCIATED WITH CHRIST
Yes Peter did fail when he was faced with the accusation of being associated with Christ, yet Christ made it clear that His desire was for us to walk with Him, and yet promised ridicule if someone truly did. Are you living for Christ in such a way that people find you odd because you love this person named Jesus Christ? Let’s make it clear, DO NOT confuse persecution for you living in a traditional way and people laughing at you for it as God honouring, and you bearing reproach for the name of Christ. When the name Christian was first given to the early followers of Christ, it had to do with the fact that they were like Christ, and the subtopic of “Associated with Christ” will touch on what being “like Christ” is.
Joh 15:17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.
Joh 15:18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
Joh 15:19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
Joh 15:20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
Joh 15:21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.
— Having The Fruit of the Spirit
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Gal 5:23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
The natural ways of man is not what is listed above. If you are confused at all about what we are all naturally about turn to Romans chapter three and read the chapter. But for a Christian, someone who has claimed to have been saved by the grace of God, should be attributing these things constantly. In today’s society something like this will be noticed, and it should be made very clear that we are followers of Christ. If we are showing kindness as Christ has shown it, it will become self-evident who we serve. Are we bearing the fruit of the Spirit in such a way that our Saviour is being displayed and given the glory?
…DEBATING ABOUT THE THINGS OF GOD
Act 9:22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.
Act 9:23 When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him,
I have no interest in getting into the defence of apologetics here, but to any who believes debating is arguing, I apologize for your ignorance and please take the time to look up the difference.
Debating the things of God can not properly be done without the gospel, and if we look into the Acts and the Epistles right after preaching the gospel, one of the greatest areas of persecution was the defence of the gospel. As we can see above in chapter 9 of Acts, the Jews wanted to kill Paul. Paul would have to be snuck out of cities, and hide, after the proclamation of the gospel and the reasoning with the people in synagogues and in other areas, yet debating/reasoning of scripture was often done in the times of the Apostles and lead to persecution. Even today many men who spend much of their time reasoning with others have had death threats on their life, property ruined and stolen etc. When Apologetics is done in a Christ exalting matter, the world is going to reject it.
WRAPPING UP
There are many other areas that could be touched on of things that we should be doing for Christ instead of concentrating solely on what we shouldn’t do. There’s the proper study of scripture like the Bereans among many. As you can see, everything that is done for Christ leads to persecution, but this is something that Christ told us about numerous times, yet our goal should be as Paul’s:
2Ti 4:5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
2Ti 4:6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.
2Ti 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
CONCLUSION:
Indeed how a Christian should live is extremely important and there are teachings in scripture that are very clear on what we should or should not do in our daily lives, and they should be followed very closely. Yet when I or even others are looking at someone just how someone is living morally to the public eye doesn’t always determine if they have faith in Christ or not. I have some atheist/agnostic friends that would come across to the public as very moral people. When the world is looking at a person, one sure way of telling if they are a true Christian or not is what do they think of Christ? Is Christ a convenient object that you have claimed to be your Saviour just because your circle of friends happen to be Christian so you want to fit in, or is Christ someone who is so dear to you because you have realized that it was for you He died, you will never have to perish for Christ took your place.
As a Christian our goal indeed should be about insuring our life is holy and being lived as God would be pleased. But what is going to make the people around us actually notice God, actually realize what we have is not just about us but all about Christ is when we learn to honestly say what Paul could say:
2Co 4:5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord,…
This is more of a rant then it is an organized ministry message, so to my readers, please bear with me.
I have been working a lot more lately so I don’t have as much time to write as I would like, but a lot more time to think.
Lately I have listened to a lot of or heard of a lot of ministry concerning how a Christian should deal with stress. Or how can we present a study on self esteem, or how to live for Christ, how to do more for Christ, or what we should be doing for Christ.
At face value you may think, “what’s wrong with this?” Personally I think there is a growing problem with this, and these topics when I hear them spoke on, I like to call them simply “Band-Aid” Ministry.
If I get a serious cut on me, the proper procedure is to put some type of liquid or ointment on it, to heal the wound properly, I then may apply a bandage if needed, to help. But if I simply slapped on a Bandage without taking the time to properly care for my situation, then nothing really gets any better and it may continually get worse.
This is similar to the topics I listed above. Would we need these topics if we spoke more about well …….theology, to sum it up. If we studied God more, perhaps this band-aid ministry would be laid to the side. Perhaps if men that spoke on “self-esteem” “dealing with problems” studied Christ, and preached Christ, then it would come naturally on how to deal with problems in our lives.
SELF - ESTEEM
So we want to teach self-esteem from the Bible? Self -esteem is essentially making one feel good about themselves. What does the Bible tell us about ourselves? Well if you are confused or wish to try and present self-esteem topics in your class or study, try starting by reading Romans chapter 3. This chapter is full of things that tell us about who we really are.
v. 12 — no one does good
v. 13 — tongues are full of deceit
v.17 — don’t really care about peace.
Other passages are places such as places like Ps. 51:5 that tells us that we are born in sin. If we are going to be faithful to God then our goal is not at all to preach “self-esteem” Can you imagine if that was one of the roles of the Holy Spirit? Going around to make people feel good? Last I checked, that sounds like an interest of Satan. Our responsibility is to present to a person their need of a Saviour, not their need to feel good about themselves and never fear God.
Joh 16:8 And when he (Holy Spirit) comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:
DEALING WITH STRESS
Do we need all different types of things to help deal with stress? Do we need to hum things? Do we need to find odd things to focus on to help us cope? Do we need to just concentrate on taking a break?
How about realizing that all things are well in Christ? We miss the big picture so often, and forget Hell is real, and that by the grace of God, we Christians are saved from it. Who needs to be stressed when the God of eternity is at peace with us?
Rom 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Are we allowing the stress of this world to get at us? Perhaps it’s because we are forgetting Philippians chapter 4. I am guilty of this too, yet I could never get through a day without knowing I’m saved for all eternity.
Php 4:6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Php 4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus
WRAP UP
There’s so much more that could be said, but I don’t know what else to say. It seems so obvious to me. We should all try studying topics a little more such as:
Deity of Christ
Unity of the God-head
The Holiness of God
The Security we have in Christ.
Then perhaps we wouldn’t need this band-aid ministry that is not leading us towards the direction that the Bereans held in the book of Acts, but instead show characteristics of the Cretans in Titus 1:12.
“I would rather a thousand times be five minutes at the feet of Christ than listen a lifetime to all the wise men in the world.” –D.L.Moody
*
1Co 6:18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.
WORLD VIEW
“This theology defies all common sense. It would require that people bind themselves to a lifetime commitment to have sex with only one person, and to live their entire life as man and woman with only that person, without ever having had sex with that person or having lived with that person…” — The Rational Radical (www.rationalradical.com)
The above quote is one that represents many people in the world today and one verse comes to mind
1Co 3:19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.
Many in the world today consider it absolutely great to have sex before marriage and consider it foolishness not to do so otherwise. Many will claim that their body is their own and they can do with it as they please and are going to express themselves through their sexual freedom.
OWNERSHIP OF BODY
Perhaps to start this article off it is worth noting who owns the body of a Christian. If you are saved and not married this is very important to listen to. There is no need for confusion on the topic, for God helps clarify all things.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (esv)
Christ owns our bodies. The moment we got saved the Holy Spirit took up residence within us. We are servants of God.
Romans 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. (kjv)
So I believe it is quite obvious, we should listen to see what He has to say.
SEX — THE MARRIED COUPLE
It is clear from scripture that this was something to be enjoyed between one husband and one wife, we can see it implied in the verse below
1 Corinthians 7:9 But if they cannot exercise self–control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion. (esv)
It is very clearly stated in the next verse
1 Corinthians 7:3-5 The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self–control. (esv)
SEX — UNMARRIED COUPLE
It is forbidden to have any form of sexual activity outside of marriage. The only one focused on in this article is sexual intercourse. The following sections will be further reason why unmarried couples should not have sex.
1 Corinthians 7:7-9 I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another. To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single as I am. But if they cannot exercise self–control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion.
FORNICATION?
1Co 10:8 Neither let us commit fornication,…(kjv)
Fornication in the ESV is translated “sexual immorality” but let us look at what the word “fornication” or the greek word “porneuo”
The basic meaning of the word means a sexually immoral sin against God. Sexual actions committed that is contrary to God’s word. The previous two topics in this article showed an allowance of sex between a married couple, but if another can not contain himself he/she should get married. Which shows no allowance of sex outside of marriage.
Another verse to help clear up what fornication actually means is this verse below:
1Co 7:2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.
SERIOUSNESS OF SEX OUTSIDE MARRIAGE
One is the strong fact that it is against God. It is sin against our body which is the house of the Holy Spirit.
BIBLICAL EXAMPLE
Matthew 1: 18 -20 ¶ Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed (similar to ‘engaged’ of today) to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. (esv)
Joseph was thinking on the law in Deuteronomy 22:23-25. There were two examples if the woman had sex with another man before marriage. If she was engaged with another man they both would be stoned to death. But if she was forced only the man would be stoned. Joseph it is very obvious dearly loved Mary, and even though was obviously unsure at this time what had happened, was going to divorce her quietly so that accusations would not be brought against her.
The whole problem was that Joseph had thought that Mary had sex before marriage.
1Co 6:13 Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.
CONCLUSION
I pray that the point has gotten across. Our bodies are for the Lord and fornication is a sin against God. Sex outside of marriage is fornication (1 Cor. 7:2) it is sin and against God (Gal. 5:19)
For people that are unmarried and seeking one to marry the question that they need to ask themselves if they are likeminded with Peter and the other apostles when it comes to doing God’s will or man’s ideas:
Ac 5:29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
Eph 5:3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
*picture taken from: www.effective-communicating.com
The topic of addressing God, has been an issue amongst the brethren for some time now. When some men are praying they will only address God as “thee” or “thou” while others use the term “you”
The aim of this paper is not to look at world views and what people think, but what scripture says about this topic.
Many people will say “oh thou means you, it’s the same thing!”. While others will simply disagree with that claiming the fact that there is a you and a thou in the Bible there must be a difference. They claim that the reason Thee and Thou are used to address God is because it shows more respect for Christ then simply saying “you” The point of this paper is to see if there is any evidence of the terms showing more respect or if “you” is just as good as “thee” in addressing God.
People will take the time to point out all the thee and thou words in the Bible that is addressed to God. One thing they do not take the time to point out is all the same words addressed to other people or the simple fact of what the term actually means in the Bible.
If you will notice the thee and thou in the Bible is speaking in a singular sense while you and other forms are plural. When thee and thou is used it is used to cause no confusion with who one is speaking to. In today’s English if we are praying to our Saviour and address Him as “you” I am quite confident that a dear brother or sister in the crowd is not going to think someone is calling them Holy, sinless and a truly wonderful Saviour. I pray that you will read through this article. I realize there are a lot of references to the Greek. I have tried to write it in an easy to understand way. I pray that you find this useful and that any confusions will be cleared up.
Below is a little “Mini Dictionary” that you may need to refer to often as you read through this article, to ensure you understand all the information.
MINI DICTIONARY – this will prove helpful later in this:
Direct Object: Referring to something receiving an action (hug him)
Indirect Object: Referring to something that is indirectly affected by a verb (his singing gives me a headache)
Dative case: where a noun is after a verb/ There is a direct object with the noun and verb. (ie John 18:34 - tell thee/to tell you)
Accusative case: direct object of a verb in an accusatory sense (to make you, baptize you, offend you)
Genitive case: expressing ownership (your light, thy gift)
Irregular plural: the plural of a word not said/written in the usual way as in ending with s, es, ch. Example of an irregular plural would be person = people
Possessive pronoun: a pronoun showing ownership (your law, your health)
2nd person imperative present: a commandment given to someone
Irregular dative case: An action towards a specific group of people
There are a number of different words used in the New Testament to describe terms such as, “you, yours, ye, thee, thou, thine and Thy.
Listed are all of the main ones used in the New Testament. The numbers beside them are from the Greek Lexicon, if you wish to look them up yourself. And then finally the English words that use the Greek word
SU – 4771 - THOU
SOV – 4674 – Thine, Thy
SOI – 4671 - Thee
SE – 4571 - Thee
SOU – 4675 – Thy, Thee, Thine, Thou
HUMEIS – 5210 - Ye
UMAV – 5209 - You
UMETEROV – 5212 - Yours
UMWM – 5216 – You, Yours
ISYI – 2468 - Thou
UMIN – 5213 – You
As you can see, these words have been put into two groups for two reasons, Let me see if I can show why
Su (4771) is used the same as you today
Sov (4674) the root of this word (your) is su (you)
SOI (4671) is a dative case of su
SE (4571) is an accusative case singular of su
SOU (4675) is a genitive case of 4771
HUMEIS (5210) is an irregular plural of su
UMAV (5209) is an accusative case of humeis
UMETEROV (5212) is a possessive pronoun of humeis
UMWN (5216) is a genitive case of humeis
ISYI (2468) is a 2nd person imperative present of humeis
UMIN (5213) is an irregular dative case of humeis
As you can see, every one of these words have one root word. The root being “su” then there are a number of different ways of using that root word according to who you are addressing and in what way you are addressing them.
Below is all of the words used in the New Testament. Each one will have an example of verses associated with it and how they are used in the New Testament.
SU = THOU = YOU (4771)
Mt 14:28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou bid me come unto thee on the water.
Re 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
This term here is used when one person is speaking to another, one on one. You will see this used a lot when addressing God in the New Testament. It simply shows that someone is only talking to one person. It would be like you addressing one of your friends “You are very nice”. In KJV English it may be worded: “Thou art very nice”
SOV = THINE/THY = YOUR(S) (4674)
Lu 15:31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine
Joh 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
This is the basic form of “yours” when addressing a specific person. Using the term today would be to say to a certain friend “this is your gift”
SOI = THEE = YOU = 4671 ( dative case of you)
Mt 5:40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
When this term is used in the New Testament it is used when an action is being performed on someone. So if you look at the first verse listed here an equally correct way of saying this is: “if any man sues you
SE = THEE = 4571 (accusative case singular of you)
Mt 5:42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away
1Ti 3:14 These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly:
This is used to show a direct action towards someone. As you can see in the two above verses the first one shows the action of asking someone, the other showing someone wanting to come to someone.
SOU = THY, THEE, THINE, THOU = YOUR 4675 (genitive case of you)
Mt 4:7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
Mt 6:4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
Lu 12:20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
This is simply showing an ownership for something. As you can see in the three verses some plane ones can be listed: “thy God”, “thine alms”, “thy Father” and “thy soul”.
HUMEIS = YE = A SPECIFIC GROUP = 5210 (irregular plural of you)
Joh 6:67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
1Th 2:20 For ye are our glory and joy.
Now here you can see the term “you” being used. In the majority of the cases when you is being used it is specifically addressing something in the plural.
As you can see in this section, it is referring to a certain group of people in an irregular plural Instead of Christ referring in John 6:67 to the twelve again by saying “ Will you twelve”. He simply says “ye” to refer to the group. You see that in the next verse as well when speaking of Christians. It would be equal to referring to a woman with 7 female friends as “women”.
UMAV = YOU = 5209 (accusative case of Humeis)
Mt 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you do good to them that hate you , and pray for them which
1Th 2:11 As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you , as a father doth his children,
We see here how the you is used in the plural to address a strong comment towards people. As you see here ones will “curse them”, “hate them”
UMETEROV = YOURS = 5212 (possessive pronoun of humeis)
Joh 7:6 Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready.
Ro 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
This is simply stating something owned by a group of people. The first one is speaking of a certain time for the apostles. The second verse is better translated “mercy to you” (as given to the Christians.)
UMWN = YOU=YOURS = 5216 (genitive case of humeis)
Joh 16:6 But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.
2Co 12:15 And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you ; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.
The usage here shows ownership of something while addressing more then one person. First one here shows people’s heart. The next one if properly translated is speaking of the people’s souls, and giving all one can for it.
ISYI = THOU = A command to someone else = 2468 (2nd person imperative present of humeis)
Mr 5:34 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.
1Ti 4:15 Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.
This word is only used 5 times in the New Testament. It is used to emphasize an order given to someone else.
UMIN = YOU = 5213 (irregular dative case of humeis)
Lu 12:4 And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
Ga 1:3 Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,
This here is used to give an action to not just one person but is designed to speak to a group of people.
WHICH IS USED WHEN ADDRESSING CHRIST?
Mt 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. — 4771
Heb 1:12 And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy 4675 years shall not fail.
There are three words bolded here. Beside each one is the Greek word that is equivalent to this
Thou = Su
Thou = Su
Thy = Sou
If you look back you will notice that the The words “thou” in these cases speak to someone specifically to cause no confusion. It is addressing a certain person. The word thy in this section as well speaks as a special ownership of something to someone specific.
Joh 17:6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
Once again these two terms as well are equivalent to the English form of yours
MORE RESPECTFUL TO SPEAK TO GOD WITH THEE/THINE!
Some people will still hold fast to the claim that using thee and thou is more holier, when in reality you can see that the term the root of all other ways of using the term. It is the very basic common way of addressing someone in specific. The term was used for others that weren’t so holy:
Judas
Matt 26:50
And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him.
Caiaphas
Matt. 26:64
Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
Pilate
John 19:11
Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.
Zacchaeus
Luke 19:5
And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.
Lame Man
Matt. 9:6
But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.
These verses should be enough to show that the apostles, and even KJV translators did not use some special word to show respect to the Saviour. Showing respect to God was given in addressing His define name. The Lord was never concerned of addressing Him as thee or thou or anything such that. The Samaritan woman could get the key to it: “is not this the Christ?”
CONCLUSION
Many people have a huge problem with how someone prays when it concerns the “thee and thou” topic. It is very unscriptural and one is missing the entire purpose of prayer. I would like to emphasize that this paper was not designed to turn people away from praying in the “thee and thou” format. I myself have grown up addressing God in this manner and it would be very uncomfortable for me to switch. Does that mean I’m doing wrong? Does that mean that the people that say “you” are doing wrong? Absolutely not, both are saying the same thing. One is using today’s English, the other using older English.
For one to get shudders when someone says “you”, for one to feel God is wounded by the you because they are, or for one that frowns down upon a brother for saying you and will not listen to his prayer, has lost the true meaning of praise and worship. Let us not be caught up in endless bickering about unscriptural things. Let us stick to the word of God and all praise be given to the one that has saved us for all eternity.
Php 3:3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Heb 2:12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
Re 19:1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:
picture taken from: here
If anyone is familiar with John MacArthur they may immediately recognize the title of this entry. I may disagree with Mr. MacArthur on certain issues such as his view on Lordship Salvation, yet he is perhaps one of the most current outspoken men proclaiming the glory of God in today’s world. He has the privilege of appearing on Larry King Live quite often, using the opportunity to present a clear gospel. He also is very clear and easy to understand in his teachings on the doctrines of Grace.
But MacArthur is not the point of this article today. I have mentioned him because listening to the radio a little while ago he came on with his radio show titled “Portraits of Grace”. It’s something you may hear a lot and never really think about, but that day it hit me and has stuck with me, how that indeed we truly are portraits of Grace, and yet we often forget it.
When we look at ourselves in mirrors etc, we often are concentrated on what we look like, do we ever stop, look at ourselves and see a portrait of Grace? A picture of something that reveals the grace of God? For that is exactly what, we as Christians are. This seems so basic and nice, it’s almost hard to explain it.
PORTRAIT OF GRACE
Just to clarify, my point. Grace basically means undeserved Kindness (for a bigger description read my article “Grace in Romans”). Where a portrait is something that portrays someone. If you have a picture of you on the wall, it is portraying to onlookers what you look like. So when people look at us they should see a picture of grace. But in what way?
GRACE GIVEN
Let’s think about the picture of you hanging on a wall again. It’s a picture from when you were in school, and just the day before the picture was taken, you got in a fight on the playground and received a black and blue eye. So as people walk by your picture on the wall they stop and stare closely at it, and perhaps ask “Is that a black eye?”. A portrait of you can also display from the portrait something that was given to you from someone else.
This is the main point of us as Portraits of Grace. We are presenters of grace, because of the great amount of Grace that has been given to us. There was an old story one time of a prominent Atheist who used to enjoy visiting small communities and would proceed to attempt to destroy the faith of Christians. One day as he was doing his speech, he wanted someone to challenge him. No one in the crowd at that time would, but all one man could do was ask “How Do you explain me?”. The man had for all his life, been a drunkard, was very violent, the community was afraid of him, and he used to abuse his family and harm his wife. Then one day he realized his condition and trusted Christ as his Saviour. The atheist at that time couldn’t explain to the man what had happened, but to the community they knew something had happened, and it all happened when the man trusted Christ.
The grace God gave us though, may not always just be evident to people that know us. But our grace is displayed to the Angelic realm as well as Peter could explain.
1Pe 1:12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.
Let us not forget the grace that was given to us from God. People who had no love for Him, yet He so willing died for us. A death we never deserved.
Rom 3:24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
GRACE TO GIVE
Think about the school picture of you again. In the picture if you have a frown on your face and glaring at the camera person, people would think you were a grumpy child. Now if you were giving a big toothless smile, people may get another thought. This is very similar to our manner of actions in the world today.
I have often heard the end part of Matthew 10:8 quoted “you received without paying; give without pay. Or as the KJV puts it “Freely ye have received, freely give.”
I usually see it used in relation to Christian sites that are offering things for free. But it can so apply to the grace as well that we have received from God. 1 Peter if you read the book, over and over again wants us to act as Christ. Paul throughout His writings mentions it too. So are we?
2Co 8:3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord,
2Co 8:4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints–
2Co 8:5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.
2Co 8:6 Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace.
2Co 8:7 But as you excel in everything–in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you–see that you excel in this act of grace also.
2Co 8:8 I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine.
2Co 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
I hope you took the time to read all the verses posted above. If someone asked me to quote one passage of scripture to tell a Christian who was trying to live more for God. This is one passage that would closely be tied with Galatians 5 and the fruits of the Spirit. The teaching in this passage is very powerful. Take note that you have one group of Christians in this passage doing everything they can for another group, and in verse 6 what does Paul call it? An act of Grace. In verse 7 Paul tells us to excel in this grace, but he is not telling us to, why? Because it should simply be a result of our genuine love…. if grace is not being shown to others is our love genuine? Are we like the Casting Crowns song who calls such people who evidently are not showing grace just “shiny plastic people”? Are we masquerading around in, “oooh I have great love for Christians, but when it’s put to the ultimate test we fail miserably?
Can we think of an example of people we have not shown our grace too, because we felt that a sin in their past was simply too much, and we couldn’t trust them? Have we looked at someone struggling financially and go “Serve them right, get a new job, save better etc”? Have we looked at someone going through a trail and think “They gave me a hard time so let them deal with it?” I’m sure we have been guilty of one of those thoughts if not all of them. Think if Christ was like that. He’d look at us and go “They have did awful things against me, they have in the past, as soon as they were born they were lieing, so forget them.” Or what if He looked on someone he redeemed and thought “Money problems? If they were using all their money for the glorification of God, then perhaps I would help them, but they have abused some of their money, to enhance a lust of theirs or feed a small form of idolatry, so they can deal with it.” Or what if he said “They are having problems? Well yesterday they forgot to thank me for some food they ate, yesterday they allowed unrighteousness to go on in their presence, I think I’ll not bother with uplifting them today.”
You probably got tired of reading the examples, but oh can’t you see the ridiculousness of what I’m saying? Christ tells us in Hebrews 13 and 5 that He will never leave us nor forsake us, and we return the favour by not showing grace to others?
If we have caught ourselves doing such a thing let us be sure to fix it. Approach someone and apologize. We have developed a self-righteous attitude towards others we feel have done a worse sin then us, yet all of us deserve hell. Who are we to pick and choose who we show grace to?
END THOUGHT
So as we go about our daily walk, whether it be a non-Christian or a Christian let us ensure that Grace is being given in all things. When we catch something being done that is not loving or helping another, let us stop. If you can think of something that has harmed the feelings of a person ensure forgiveness is sought. If the writer has done so, make sure and let me know so I can apologize.
But let us make sure on a daily basis as we interact with people and face big decisions in the world, family, friends and our local Christian gatherings that we are being Portraits of Grace.
1Jn 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.
“HE IS NOT HERE, HE IS RISEN”
If the resurrection is not historic fact, then the power of death remains unbroken, and with it the effect of sin; and the significance of Christ’s death remains uncertified, and accordingly believers are yet in their sins, precisely where they were before they heard of Jesus’ name.
– W.J. Sparrow-Simpson.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is perhaps the most controversial topic in debates against Christianity. The entire Christian faith rests upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
With the raising of Jesus Christ it added the final nail in a number of things. One being that he definitely was not just an ordinary man. For others this was evidence that he was God and for others as well it was assurance that the faith they had put in Jesus Christ was real (1 Cor. 15). Also Jesus Christ promised a victory over death so reason would follow that he could show He had power over death (Heb. 2:14; Rev.20:6).
Before we get too far though we will look at the four major debates with the resurrection. These points will be made not basing them off assumptions such as miracles exit or that they do not exist. This will be attempted to be done with the help of philosophers Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli and their book “Pocket Handbook of Christian Apologetics”. The 4 points I will begin with are:
HALLUCINATION VIEW
The group that would hold to this view would believe that the people never really saw the actual Jesus of Nazareth. They believe that since they claimed to have saw a walking and talking person that was supposed to be dead, it was an obvious hallucination, even on a large scale.
There are a number of issues with this view
There are many other points that could be brought up but we will move to the next view…
MYTH VIEW
This view would hold to the idea that the story was all made up. It was a simple story but over time the story became fabricated until Jesus Christ had arose from the tomb (A very common belief held today).
There are a number of issues with this view too though.
Alice who are the protagonists of extraordinary adventures like “Wonderland”. The character depth and development of everyone in the Gospels – especially, of course Jesus Himself – is remarkable”
CONSPIRACY VIEW
This view holds to the fact that the whole story is a lie. The Apostles and followers made the whole thing up for some reason. There are some very good reasons why this isn’t reasonable. Some of the reasons are…
SWOON THEORY
This idea is that Jesus Christ was actually crucified, but he did not die on the cross. They took Him off, laid Him in the tomb and during the night he arose, or the fact He was simply carried away, and came to from the faint he had fallen into. There are a number of issues with this theory.
There is a great deal more that could be said about the resurrection of Jesus Christ but I will draw this to a close with 3 quotes..
“Let it simply be said that we know more about the details of the hours immediately before and the actual death of Jesus, in and near Jerusalem, than we know about the death of any other one man in all the ancient world” – Wilbur Smith
“But when he said that He himself would rise again from the dead, the third day after he was crucified, He said something that only a fool would dare say, if he expected longer the devotion of any disciples – unless He was sure he was going to rise. No founder of any world religion known to men ever dared say a thing like that!” – Wilbur Smith
“As they were gathering in
Galilee, Jesus said to them, ‘the son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.’ And they were greatly distressed.” – Matthew 17: 22-23 (esv)
Mat 8:24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.
Mat 8:25 And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.”
Mat 8:26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.
If we were to sit and think about it for a moment we would realize that our life is very similar to the thought that we are living on a ship. Often it is rough like the story in Matthew 8. Often we can get overwhelmed to a point where we feel so helpless. But how exactly is a ship related to us? To have a proper voyage on the sea, you need certain crew members. This can be comparable to our life as well.
THE CAPTAIN
2Ch 13:12 And, behold, God himself is with us for our captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the LORD God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper. (KJV)
The people of God in the Old Testament had the confidence to know that God was their Captain, to lead, and support them in everything. This should be true for us today. Do we forget who our captain is?
Heb 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Heb 2:10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
Christ is the Captain/Author of our Salvation. He is here to guide us and help us. But are we allowing Him to guide us? Can you imagine the disorder of a ship on the sea if they wouldn’t listen to their captain? Is our life like this? Do we pick and chose what is right and wrong? Do we take a list of things that God has told us is wrong, pick one or two out of them say it’s wrong and yet disregard another thing in the list that is wrong but we’re doing? Are we truly allowing Him to be our captain?
FIRST OFFICER
Jas 5:14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
Jas 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.(KJV)
The first officer was under the Captain, they assisted Him in things, and is very similar to the elder within our local assembly. They are there as shepherds instituted by God to guide the flock within the assembly while we are here on earth. The First Officers/elders are here to help. Elders can forget the importance of their role and the meekness that needs to be displayed in it, but at the same time we can easily forget what they are there for. They are here to help us too.
NAVIGATOR
Psa 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Psa 25:5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.
Psa 119:160 Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth forever.
The navigator/compass is an extremely important part of a ship. How do we guide our life without a functional compass? What if the person doesn’t know how to read the compass? Doesn’t know how to use it? It could cause some serious problems for the voyage.
Do we use/read the Bible? Do we actually know how to study it? Do we ensure the accuracy of what we are telling others? Do we make sure it flows with other scripture? Do we apply the truth to our lives, are we allowing the true word of God to navigate our life?
DOCTOR
Heb 3:13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
Can you imagine a ship without a medical officer on board? What if someone was hurt in an attack and needed help to stay alive, who would do it if no one knew how? What if someone just got sick, who would help him heal? This applies to us in such a big way. Are we acting as doctors to other Christians? If someone stumbles are we there to pick them up? If they are hurt do we help them? Are we behaving as we should be?
PASSENGERS
Luk 14:23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
If we use the thought that that our life is like a Ship, then in life there are passengers. Many of the passengers we encounter are unsaved, just like a Ship may assist another ship that is sinking, are we speaking to the unsaved? Do people around us know that there is some type of difference? People need to realize they are in need of salvation, are we assisting and caring for the passengers in our life?
DOCKING
Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
At the end of the voyage, when we dock our ship of life, there is no more sea to sail. No more toils and temptations, we will be home with our Captain. When we die or the Lord comes back, we will be with him — How well, will we have sailed our ship?
