Paul the apostle began his benediction
of this letter to the church members in Corinth as he gave his,
“salutation” with
his own “hand”,
and in chapter sixteen and verse twenty-two of First
Corinthians, Paul addresses those who “love not the Lord Jesus
Christ” as he wrote, “let him be Anathema Maranatha”,
where we read:
If any man love not the
Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.
The verse begins, “If any man love
not the Lord Jesus Christ, ...” Paul began with the
words, “if any man” which means “whether whoever person”
“love not” or “does not approve of, sanction, treat
affectionately or kindly” “the Lord” which refers to “he
to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of
deciding; master and the title given to God the Messiah” “Jesus”
whose name means “Jehovah is Salvation” and is “the Son of God,
Savior of mankind and God incarnate” “Christ” or “the
anointed One, the Messiah and the Son of God”. Paul gave
consideration to a person who does not “approve of, treat
affectionately or act kindly” concerning Jesus Christ.
The verse continues, “...let
him be Anathema Maranatha.”
Paul added the words, “let him be” which refers to “allow
and permit the person be” “Anathema” which means
“cursed, accursed or devoted to the direst of woes” “Maranatha”
which means “our Lord comes or will come”. Paul desired for the
person who does not “love” Jesus to be cursed by his
exclamation of the approaching divine judgment.
When we consider these words from Paul,
we see the “curse” he put upon those who do not “approve of or
affectionately love” Jesus. Jesus desires for everyone to receive
Him as “Savior and Lord”, however, many do not. Paul's knew Jesus
would come in judgment one day, and all those who reject Him shall be
“accursed with the direst of woes”. May all who read these words
take heed before that judgment comes.
Next
time Paul continues his benediction to
the letter by writing, “the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you”,
so read ahead, and we shall join
together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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