The love of God is greater far
than tongue or pen can ever tell;
it goes beyond the highest star,
and reaches to the lowest hell;
the guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
and pardoned from his sin.

Refrain:
O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure:
the saints’ and angels’ song!

When years of time shall pass away
and earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
when men who here refuse to pray,
on rocks and hills and mountains call,
God’s love so pure shall still endure,
all measureless and strong;
redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
the saints’ and angels’ song. [Refrain]

Could we with ink the ocean fill
and were the skies of parchment made,
were every stalk on earth a quill
and every man a scribe by trade,
to write the love of God above
would drain the ocean dry;
nor could the scroll contain the whole,
tho’ stretched from sky to sky. [Refrain]

Author: Frederick M. Lehman (1917), Copyright Status – Public Domain

And you hath he quickened (made alive) who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air (Satan) the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

Among whom also we all had our conversation (manner of life) in times past in the lusts (strong desires) of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath (judgment) even as others.

But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:1-10

…let the word of Christ dwell (take up its life) in you richly…

Though the mills of God grind slowly,
Yet they grind exceeding small;
Though with patience he stands waiting,
With exactness grinds he all.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

But though he (Jesus) had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: That the saying of Esaias (Isaiah) the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake;

“Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?“

Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again;

“He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.“

These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.

Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:

For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

John 12:37-43

…let the word of Christ dwell (take up its life) in you richly…

They (the Pharisees) answered and said unto him (Jesus), Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. Ye do the deeds of your father. 

Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself,

Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.

John 8:39-47

…let the word of Christ dwell (take up its life) in you richly…

On an occasion when the renowned 19th-century evangelist D.L. Moody shared his faith with a stranger, this man aggressively told him to “mind his own business.” Moody quietly replied, “That is my business.”*

Another popular anecdote often recounted by Moody goes as follows:

A layman (or DL Moody himself) approached a woman and asked if she knew Christ. When the woman recounted the interaction to her husband, he was annoyed and asked, “Why didn’t you tell him to mind his own business?” She answered: “You would have thought it was his business.” *

And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. Acts 11:26

The disciples were publicly called Christians, because this was their chief business.**

What is your chief business?

*D.L. Moody Life anecdotes – Public Domain

**WE Vines Expository Dictionary of Old & NT Words – pg 87.

The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost. Matthew 18:11; Luke 19:10

Lost – apollumi – its meaning comes from two words: the first (622)* – to cut off/to amputate; the second (3039)* – to grind to powder.
Hence in the active voice; to destroy, to perish, kill.**

The wages of sin is death.

The soul that sinneth, it shall surely die.

Physical death is separation from the body. Spiritual death is separation from God.

…let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…

*Strongs Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible – Greek Ref. 622 & 3039.

**WE Vines Expository Dictionary of Old & NT Words – pg 380.

How can it be that two men, both who claim to be Christian, can differ so much in their interpretation of Scripture?

Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. I Corinthians 1:10

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. I Corinthians 2:9-16

Could it be that one or both men are destitute of the Holy Spirit?

For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but
holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. II Peter 1:21

Since the Holy Spirit authored the Word of God, He will never lead contrary to His Word. Those who contradict Scripture are false teachers and unbelievers.

Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?*

That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that** (when) ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,…….Ephesians 1:12 &13

…let the word of Christ dwell (take up its life) in you richly…

*What does it mean to believe? See blog article; The Gospel According to Scripture.

** “After that” you believed is an accurate translation, but there are some who have abused the passing of time between believing and receiving the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:9 says; But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. In other words, if you do not have the Holy Spirit in you, you are not a Christian. Therefore we must conclude that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer at the moment of regeneration (the moment one is born from above), “when” one truly believes*.

So what is the point? Not everyone who is trying to tell you what the Scripture says and means is a true believer. Since the Holy Spirit is ultimately the author of Scripture, He will never lead contrary to the written Word of God in spite of what some may claim. Contradiction of Scripture (Scripture is the only basis for Christian belief), is the mark of an unbeliever and a false teacher.

Do you see huge discrepancies throughout professing Christendom? Perhaps it is because many are destitute of the Holy Spirit. Ask God for discernment and compare all teaching, to the written Word.

Could it be that bitterness develops when the Christian refuses to see the hand of God in everything in his or her life?

And we know that all things work together for good* to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Which one is true of you?

*Good in Scripture refers to that which accomplishes God’s purpose.

…let the word of Christ dwell (take up its life) in you richly…

William Shakespeare’s MacBeth – Act V Scene 1 – AI Overview

In Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 1, Lady Macbeth is sleepwalking and obsessively trying to wash imaginary bloodstains from her hands. While she once confidently told her husband, “A little water clears us of this deed,” her guilt later makes her realize that no physical cleaning agent can remove the metaphorical spot of her sins.

When the doctor observes Lady MacBeth in Act 5, Scene 1, he concludes that her sickness is mental, not physical, saying “More needs she the divine than the physician”. He indicates that only spiritual help, not a physical wash, can remedy her guilty conscience.

Lady Macbeth cries, “Out, damned spot!” and realizes that the stain is permanent, highlighting that the guilt is in her mind’s eye rather than on her skin. The play emphasizes that the blood is a symbol of irreversible moral guilt, meaning there is no solution to cleanse her hands.

The central tragedy is that no one can tell her how to cleanse her hands, because she is dealing with the psychological consequences of her actions.

Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?  Proverbs 20:9

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Isaiah 1:18