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Romans 13 (Part 5)

First posted: August 24, 2013

 

This article is the fifth in a series of articles dealing in detail with the spiritual meaning behind Romans chapter 13.

 

Index

A unique verse

Appearances

Deliverances

Jebu-bites

Automatic

The potential

The uniqueness detailed

 

A unique verse

Romans 13:10 declares the following:

 

"Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." (Romans 13:10)

 

To most believers, the above verse seems "simple" enough. However, a closer look at the Greek words from which it was translated reveals something rather interesting about this verse. If you exclude the words "no" and "therefore", along with the words introduced for "readability" during translation, the Greek words from which the above verse was translated are listed below:

 

Word (KJV) Greek word Strong number
love agape G26
worketh ergazomai G2038
ill kakos G2556
neighbour plesion G4139
fulfilling pleroma G4138
law nomos G3551

 

The 6 words above can be combined into 15 different pairs. For some reason, the Lord prompted me to search for all the verses in Scripture containing these pairs. These are the results:

 

Word pair (KJV) Greek word pair Strong numbers No. of verses * Verses other than

Romans 13:10

love & worketh agape & ergazomai G26 & G2038

1

---

love & ill agape & kakos G26 & G2556 1 ---
love & neighbour agape & plesion G26 & G4139 1 ---
love & fulfilling agape & pleroma G26 & G4138 2

Ephesians 3:19

love & law agape & nomos G26 & G3551 1 ---
worketh & ill ergazomai & kakos G2038 & G2556 1 ---
worketh & neighbour ergazomai & plesion G2038 & G4139 1 ---
worketh & fulfilling ergazomai & pleroma G2038 & G4138 1 ---
worketh & law ergazomai & nomos G2038 & G3551 2

James 2:9

ill & neighbour kakos & plesion G2556 & G4139 1 ---
ill & fulfilling kakos & pleroma G2556 & G4138 1 ---
ill & law kakos & nomos G2556 & G3551 2

Romans 7:21

neighbour & fulfilling plesion & pleroma G4139 & G4138 1 ---
neighbour & law plesion & nomos G4139 & G3551 3

Galatians 5:14, James 2:8

fulfilling & law pleroma & nomos G4138 & G3551 2

Galatians 4:4

* A verse is considered to have the "pair" if both words appear somewhere in the verse in the original Greek text, even if the words do not appear next to each other within the verse

 

If you browse through the "No. of verses" column, you will notice how infrequent these word pairs appear in Scripture. In fact, you may notice that 10 out of the 15 pairs appear only 1 time in the New Testament, i.e.- in Romans 13:10, and nowhere else; 4 of the other pairs only appear in one additional verse, and the remaining pair only appears in 2 other verses. This is remarkable if you consider that the words being paired are not unusual and appear rather frequently throughout the New Testament. Some may argue that the infrequency of these pairs is due either to verb "conjugation" or translation issues. However, the verse count in the table above is not affected by conjugation since the search for "worketh" (the only verb in the list) was done on the verb itself, regardless of its conjugation or tense. The verse count is also unaffected by translation issues, given that it was done on the Greek words in the original text. For example, the Greek word kakos, from which "ill" was translated, is normally translated as "evil" in the King James Version, appearing a total of 51 times in 46 New Testament verses; even so, Romans 13:10 is the only time it appears in the same verse with the Greek word for "love", "neighbour", "fulfilling", or "worketh".

 

From the above, therefore, we can conclude that the combination of Greek words used by the Holy Spirit to form Romans 13:10 is unusually unique, despite the frequency with which each of the words appears individually. This uniqueness is made even more remarkable if you consider that 4 out of the 5 pairs that do have "multiple" appearances in Scripture involve the word "law" (nomos in Greek), a word that appears 197 times in 158 New Testament verses. Even so, the pair with the most appearances ("neighbour" and "law") only occurs in 3 verses. All of this begs the following questions: Why is Romans 13:10 so unique? And, What can be learnt from the other verses where word pairings from Romans 13:10 do appear?

 

The answer to the first question lies in the unique connection between "love" and the "law", a connection so counter-intuitive to the soul that most believers fail to accept it, much less understand it in its fullness. To discern this connection in a fuller way, we must address the second question by meditating on the 6 verses that the Holy Spirit has linked to Romans 13:10 through the uniqueness of its words.

 

Appearances

If we go back to the table above and remove the 10 word pairs that appear in Romans 13:10 only, we are left with the following list:

 

Word pair (KJV) Greek word pair Strong numbers No. verses Verses other than

Romans 13:10

love & fulfilling agape & pleroma G26 & G4138 2

Ephesians 3:19

worketh & law ergazomai & nomos G2038 & G3551 2

James 2:9

ill & law kakos & nomos G2556 & G3551 2

Romans 7:21

neighbour & law plesion & nomos G4139 & G3551 3

Galatians 5:14, James 2:8

fulfilling & law pleroma & nomos G4138 & G3551 2

Galatians 4:4

 

Notice that two consecutive verses of James 2 (verses 8 and 9) are mentioned in the table above:

 

"8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: 9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors." (James 2:8-9)

[In verse 8, the word "law" was translated from the Greek word nomos, and "neighbour" was translated from plesion; these 2 Greek words also appear in Romans 13:10, translated the same way.

 

In verse 9, the word "commit" was translated from the Greek verb ergazomai, which literally means "to work", and "law" was translated from nomos; these 2 Greek words also appear in Romans 13:10, translated as "worketh" and "law" respectively.]

 

Notice how this passage establishes a connection between "loving your neighbour as yourself" and seeing all men as inherently equal to you. Therefore, when the Lord speaks of "loving your neighbour as yourself" in Romans 13:10 immediately after speaking of respecting the human authority that He has established on Earth (Romans 13:1-7), He is certifying that those under authority must not see those with authority as inherently superior. Likewise, the Lord is emphasising that those with authority must not see those under authority as inherently inferior. In other words, the functionality of authority does not ascribe superiority to the person assigned that functionality. Those in authority who fail to comprehend this are by default violating the very law their functionality is supposed to uphold.

 

The phrase "have respect to persons" in verse 9 was translated from the Greek verb prosopolempteo, which is derived from the word prosopon meaning "face" and the verb lambano meaning "to take, receive, admit". Therefore, we can say that prosopolempteo speaks of receiving someone because of their "face", i.e. because of what they appear to be on the surface.

 

"1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. 2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; 3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:" (James 2:1-3)

 

As shown by the verses above, James chapter 2 speaks of receiving someone because of that person's external riches. Wealth speaks of "power", since money empowers you to do things that you would otherwise not be able to do. Therefore, we can say that the word prosopolempteo in James 2:9 speaks of receiving certain people because of the visible power they possess and rejecting others because of their lack of visible power. Therefore, the connection between James 2:8-9 and Romans 13:10 certifies that those who equate power with God-endowed authority (as defined in Romans 13) are breaking God's law. Those who receive or reject someone as an "authority" based on the visible, external power that the person possesses is not loving his neighbour as himself and is offending God.

 

Interestingly enough, the words "apparel" and "raiment" in James 2:2 and the word "clothing" in James 2:3 (quoted above) were all translated from the same Greek word esthes (illustrating once again how inconsistent the KJV translators can sometimes be, even in consecutive verses, and even within the same verse!). The 3 appearances of esthes in James 2:2-3 are the final appearances of that word in Scripture. Its last appearance in Scripture prior to the book of James is in verse 21 of the following passage, translated as "apparel":

 

"21 And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. 22 And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. 23 And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost." (Acts 12:21-23)

 

Notice how Herod, who was "arrayed in royal apparel" was received with resounding enthusiasm by the people who, dazzled by the external power that he exuded, called his voice that "of a god a not of a man". Notice also how God then proceeded to show how much He approved of Herod as an authority, smiting him right then and there. Most believers can only recognise "spiritual authority" in someone if the apparel on that person bears the tag of "royalty" or "power". This is why the Church has been overrun by Herods who most definitely do wield great power and can build magnificent temples. Yet, the authority of God is not in them, for they kill the righteous and enable the unrighteous (Acts 12:1-2, Luke 23:11, Acts 9:1-2, Romans 13:4).

 

Interestingly enough, the word "royal" in Acts 12:21 was translated from the same Greek word, basilikos, as the word "royal" in the phrase "royal law" in James 2:8. The word basilikos only appears 7 times in Scripture, the last 4 times being in Acts 12:21 and James 2:2-3, which emphasises the spiritual connection between Acts 12:21 and James 2:2-3. Notice, therefore, how God contrasts the "royal law" with the "royal apparel". People who focus on "royal apparel" end up breaking the "royal law", and people who focus on the "royal law" end up dismissing the ultimate relevance of "royal apparel" (Acts 4:1-31).

 

According to James 2:8, if you "complete" (teleo in Greek, mistranslated as "fulfil") the royal law (i.e.- "love your neighbour as yourself"), you "do well". The phrase "do well" was translated from the Greek verb poieo meaning "to put into practice", and the word "well" was translated from the word kalos. As we have shared before, kalos has the connection of prophetic "usefulness" or "purpose", and it is the spiritual opposite of the word kakos meaning "evil". As we shared above, kakos is the word translated as "ill" in Romans 13:10, which once again affirms the spiritual connection between James 2 and Romans 13:10. When you receive others based on their external power and "credentials apparel", you produce (i.e.- ergazomai) purposelessness (i.e.- kakos), meaning that you "fill" the atmosphere around you with emptiness, creating channels for the prophetic purpose of God to be drained out from your own life and other people's lives. When you instead value others as you do yourself, seeing them as equals (neither superior nor inferior to you) , you put into practice prophetic purpose (kalos), injecting prophetic fullness and life into the atmosphere and into the willing souls of those around you.

 

According to James 2:9, if you receive others based on external parameters, equating power with authority, you "commit sin". The word "commit" was translated from the Greek verb ergazomai, which literally means "to work" and is the word used in Romans 13:10 when saying that love "worketh no kakos". The word "sin" was correctly translated from the word hamartia. As we have shared before, a close study of Genesis 3 reveals that "sin", in its essence, is to allow the ("female") soul to rule over the ("male") spirit, meaning that, in God's eyes, "sin" is equivalent to the "matriarchy of the soul". In other words, when you receive others based on external parameters of power, you allow the soul to squelch the manifestation of the Spirit, thereby hindering the manifestation of God's Kingdom. This explains why the Lord God used the phrase "royal law" (i.e.- "kingly law") in James 2:8, since the upholding of that law allows for the infusion of God's Kingship into the Earth.

 

Deliverances

As shown in the table above, there are 2 verses in Galatians that contains pairs of words that also appear in Romans 13:10:

 

Word pair (KJV) Greek word pair Strong numbers No. verses Verses other than

Romans 13:10

love & fulfilling agape & pleroma G26 & G4138 2

Ephesians 3:19

worketh & law ergazomai & nomos G2038 & G3551 2

James 2:9

ill & law kakos & nomos G2556 & G3551 2

Romans 7:21

neighbour & law plesion & nomos G4139 & G3551 3

Galatians 5:14, James 2:8

fulfilling & law pleroma & nomos G4138 & G3551 2

Galatians 4:4

 

As indicated in the table above, the first verse in Galatians that contains a word pair from Romans 13:10 is Galatians 4:4:

 

"4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ." (Galatians 4:4-7)

[In verse 4, the word "fulness" was translated from the Greek word pleroma, and "law" was translated from nomos; these 2 Greek words also appear in Romans 13:10, translated as "fulfilling" and "law" respectively.]

 

The word "time" in verse 4 was translated from the Greek word chronos, which, as we have shared before, speaks of time within the limitation of the natural realm; chronos time can keep on ticking even after events in the spiritual realm have ground to a screeching halt, which makes it difficult for some to discern that their spiritual development has stopped even when things in the natural seem to be "moving along". The natural realm of chronos has its role to play, but we must realise that it has a purpose beyond itself, and, once that purpose is fulfilled, we must begin to think and operate in a completely different dimension, which involves seeing ourselves as "sons of God", free from the limitations of the natural realm. Simple as this concept may sound, it is one that most of us struggle to comprehend. Even if we may be able to grasp the concept in some areas, there may be other areas where we fail to operate in it. To see ourselves as "sons of God" entails recognising the invisible spiritual authority within us, which, in turn, involves recognising the invisible spiritual authority in others.

 

"All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." (Matthew 11:27)

 

The word "delivered" in the verse above was translated from the Greek verb paradidomi, which is derived from the prefix para meaning "besides, near" and the verb didomi meaning "to give". Therefore, paradidomi has the connotation of a gift that is left near or next to you so that you may pick it up and use it as you prefer, as when a package is delivered at your doorstep. Therefore, paradidomi implies that you must make an effort to go to the "gift" that has been placed within your reach and pick it up. By the same token, paradidomi also implies the possibility that the person receiving the gift may simply leave it there, as when someone leaves a package at his doorstep without bringing it in. Hence, the person has the option to do with the gift as he or she pleases, which denotes a certain "hegemony" over it, as shown in verse 18 of the following passage, where paradidomi is mistranslated as "betrayed":

 

"18 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, 19 And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again." (Matthew 20:18-19)

[The word "deliver" at the beginning of verse 19 was translated from paradidomi as well. This once again shows the inconsistent way in which the KJV translators chose to translate Scripture; they translated the same Greek verb in two different ways in consecutive verses (as "betrayed" in verse 18 and as "deliver" in verse 19).]

 

Notice that the above passage speaks of the "son of man" being delivered unto the "chief priests and scribes" and unto the "Gentiles". The "chief priests and scribes" speak of the human leaders that appear to be God's established "authorities" on Earth, and the "Gentiles" speak (in this context) of those who are in open rebellion against God and who, unlike the "chief priests and scribes", make no claim to be on God's side. The contrast between Matthew 11:27 and Matthew 20:18-19, therefore, illustrates a dichotomy that causes so much confusion in the minds of believers. On the one hand, the "son of man" seems to be "invalidated" as God allows him to be delivered into the hands of his enemies, and, on the other hand, the "son" is validated as he has all delivered unto him by the Father. As "sons of men", we at times seem powerless and hemmed in by the natural realm, but as "sons of God", we have authority to exert change on all things as we exercise our God-endowed sovereignty. To avoid confusion between these 2 natures, we must keep in mind the phrase "when the fulness of time is come" at the beginning of Galatians 4:4, which reveals the following truths:

  1. Being delivered into the control of this world's elements lasts only for a season, meaning that it only operates within the confines of chronos time and will eventually come to an end.

  2. As our deliverance unto the elements of this world is allowed to run its God-intended course in the chronos realm, it produces eternal results in the kairos realm. In other words, when we go through the travail of being delivered into our enemies, and we do so in the Spirit, we are not doing so in vain; something is being produced, something that cannot be killed by chronos time, something that will enable the deliverance of all things into the "son of God" in you and in others. Hence, to be delivered unto the elements of this world fulfils a purpose.

 

The above means that we must be sensitive to when our time of being delivered has been completed and our time of things being delivered into our hands begin. When that time comes, we must begin to exercise our authority as sons of God and retake the part of our inheritance that the enemy has encroached upon (Proverbs 23:10-11). This will have consequences not only in the spirit realm but in the natural realm, meaning that you can expect to see practical manifestations of things being delivered into your hands. There is more detail to what we are saying here, but we pray that, as you read this, you will understand it and receive it in faith, and we pray that you will put it into practice and expect concrete results in faith, for our God is a great God, and He is a God longing for you to seek encounters with Him, encounters where you will see Him as the Great and Awesome God that He is.

 

At times, the believer does not get to see the concrete results within his or her lifetime, but you must be careful not to assume by default that you will not see them; you must remain attentive to the voice of the Spirit in all matters, and you must keep in mind that God's intention is for His Dominion to be eventually manifested in the natural realm. True faith is more than just "ethereal" belief, and His Dominion is intended to be manifested through the sons of God who are aware that they are also heirs and that His Dominion's manifestation through them (the sons of men) is more than an "ethereal reality". From all of the above, we can safely conclude that you have not come to fully love your neighbour until you are aware of this reality, not only within yourself, but within the lives of others.

 

Jebu-bites

As we saw in the table above, Galatians 5:14 is the second verse (besides Galatians 4:4) that shares a "word pair" with Romans 13:10:

 

"14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself 15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another." (Galatians 5:14-15)

[In verse 14, the word "law" was translated from the Greek word nomos, and "neighbour" was translated from plesion; these 2 Greek words also appear in Romans 13:10, translated the same way]

 

Notice how God establishes "loving your neighbour" and "biting and devouring one another" as spiritual opposites in the verses above. To have a clearer sense of what "biting and devouring" speaks of, we must take into account the general message behind the book of Galatians. As you may know, the epistle to the Galatians was written to deal with the infiltration of "Judaisers" amongst believers in Galatia. These Judaisers wanted to enslave believers under the bondage of the Old-Covenant Law by teaching them that they were supposed to practice the literal rituals and laws of the Torah. Therefore, we can safely say that the epistle to the Galatians is a word against the Jebusite spirit of legalism, which judges by laws that God did not establish, often generalising laws that were designed to have a limited scope and turning matters of personal preference into universal laws.

 

As we have shared before, Jebusites are apostles gone bad, and, as we have also shared before, the apostolic endowment turns you into a spiritual "lion" that executes God's judgements on Earth. As you do, you start consuming (i.e.- burning) unrighteousness through the fire of God's judgements. Therefore, when an apostolic endowment goes Jebusite, it turns you from a lion biting off and consuming unrighteousness into a jackal viciously biting off the flesh of others for the wrong reasons, consuming their life away through unGodly judgements that serve no eternal purpose. This means that, in order to truly fulfil the law and love your neighbour as yourself, you must stay away from the Jebusite "jackal" spirit that disdains small things, devouring them rather than valuing them and enabling them.

 

The word "bite" in Galatians 5:15 above was translated from the Greek verb dakno, which is only used once in all of Scripture. The fact that the Lord only uses it in the context of Galatians 5:14-15 has spiritual significance. In this negative context, dakno "biting" speaks of an animalistic, instinctive reaction that is not based on deep wisdom or thought. Therefore, it speaks of judgements whose strength is derived from (Canaanite) emotionalism, judgements from a soul mechanically trained to abide by and apply human laws and superficial traditions. Whereas an apostolic lion's roar reverberates with depth, richness, and royalty, a Jebusite jackal's howl reverberates with shallowness, monotony, and animalism, and its bite reflects all those qualities. Such are the people who hinder God's Kingdom, and such are the people unable to fulfil God's "royal law" (James 2:8-9).

 

Many of you are acquainted with Strong's Concordance and with the "Strong's numbers" associated with each Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek word in the original text of Scripture. As you also may know, these "Strong's numbers" were assigned in alphabetical order, meaning that words whose Strong's numbers are close will tend to be either related or somewhat similar in their spelling. The Strong's number for the Greek verb dakno (i.e.- "to bite") mentioned above is G1143. The Strong's number that immediately precedes it, G1142, corresponds to the Greek noun daimon, which literally means "god, inferior deity", and is the word from which the English noun "demon" is derived. Given that it refers to "inferior deities", daimon could also be translated as "demigod", i.e.- an entity that is "above" mortal men but not quite at the level of God Himself. This is no spiritual coincidence, for it reveals the fact that those who "bite" (i.e.- dakno) their brethren are those who have a belief (deep within them) that some men are superior to others. In doing so, they revere those who exude "greatness" and despise those who exude "smallness", biting them with instinctive anger and devouring them, constantly consuming them with automatic knee-jerk judgements based on non-transcendental laws and traditions.

 

In light of the above, Galatians 4:4-7 (quoted in the section above) reveals a fact that is difficult to stomach: God sent forth (exapostello in Greek) His Son, making Him under the law so as to redeem all who were under the Law and to enable their adoption as sons. This means that the Son had to expose Himself to all the rigours of the Old-Covenant Law, which meant exposing Himself to the Jebusite forces that were ruling with oppressive weight over the land of Israel. Through this exposure, the people of God were liberated from the oppression of the Old Covenant, enabling them to operate as New-Covenant sons and daughters of God. Said another way, the process to liberate God's people and enable the manifestation of the latter rain involves believers who are willing to go through the painful oppression of the "Jebusite barrier", bitten, devoured, and consumed as they do so.

 

Automatic

As shown in the table above, a word pair that appears in Romans 13:10 also appears 6 chapters earlier, in Romans 7:21.

 

Word pair (KJV) Greek word pair Strong numbers No. verses Verses other than

Romans 13:10

love & fulfilling agape & pleroma G26 & G4138 2

Ephesians 3:19

worketh & law ergazomai & nomos G2038 & G3551 2

James 2:9

ill & law kakos & nomos G2556 & G3551 2

Romans 7:21

neighbour & law plesion & nomos G4139 & G3551 3

Galatians 5:14, James 2:8

fulfilling & law pleroma & nomos G4138 & G3551 2

Galatians 4:4

 

"21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. 1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." (Romans 7:21-8:2)

[In verse 21, the word "law" was translated from the Greek word nomos, and "evil" was translated from kakos; these 2 Greek words also appear in Romans 13:10, with kakos translated as "ill"]

 

Notice how the passage above speaks of 2 laws, the "law of sin and death" and the "law of the Spirit of life". The law of sin and death operates in the "members" of the flesh, meaning that it becomes ingrained within the person's very body, which leads to knee-jerk reactions that are almost "automatic" in their nature. This law's operation in the flesh reveals its superficial nature. It only perceives and reacts to superficial stimuli, meaning that all judgements emanating from that law are trivial and shallow in nature. It measures authority by superficial parameters, and it judges the value of others by reacting to external stimuli (2 Kings 9:11-13). In doing so, it works Hittite kakos (i.e.- "evil" - Romans 7:21) into the lives of others, sapping others of their prophetic purpose, leaving them spiritually empty.

 

How do you overcome the law of sin and death? According to Romans 8:1, it involves realising that there is "no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus". This means that, if you make the wilful decision to operate "in Christ Jesus", i.e. in the inner man (the new creation that God has placed in you --- Ephesians 4:24, Colossians 3:10), the enemy cannot condemn you for what the law of sin and death may produce through your flesh. When you see your flesh reacting according to that law, you will be naturally inclined to say to yourself, "Nothing has changed!! I am hopeless!! I can never be the person that God wants me to be!!". If you accept this condemnation, you will simply surrender to the law of sin and death and truly never change. If, on the other hand, you recognise this condemnation to be spiritually null and void, you will ignore the knee-jerk impulses or reactions emanating from your flesh, treating them as residue of a past law, and you will be free to submit to the Spirit of God. As indicated in Romans 7:25 above, you can, through your mind, evoke the "law of God" and apply it over your members, thus retraining them to react according to God. To "evoke the law of God" involves visualising things as God sees them, seeing them from the perspective of God's laws and not the elements of this world. It involves connecting your heart with the Spirit of God (through an act of your will), perceiving everything around you the way He perceives it. It involves evoking everything that produces life and destroying everything that produces spiritual death. If something promotes spiritual death, your mind will begin to see it and abhor it, and, as you connect with the Spirit of God, your mind will proactively seek out the application of laws and principles that produce life. That which the enemy intended for spiritual death will then become an opportunity to produce spiritual life and freedom.

 

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." (Philippians 4:8)

[A close examination of the original Greek text reveals that the attribute "true" near the beginning of the verse is an "umbrella" attribute, with the other 7 attributes acting as a "breakdown" of what "true" is (this is because the word estin appears only before the word for "true" in the original Greek, not before any of the other attributes). The other 7 attributes refer to qualities related to each of the 7 Spirits of God:

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What is "honest" (or "deserving of honour" in the Greek) is related to the Teacher endowment and the Spirit of Sardis

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What is "just" is related to the Apostle endowment and the Spirit of Ephesus (the Spirit of Wisdom and judgements)

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What is "pure" (or "holy" in the Greek) is related to the Prophet endowment and the Spirit of Smyrna (the Spirit of Sacrifice)

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What is "lovely" (or "pleasing" in the Greek) is related to the Pastor endowment and the Spirit of Thyatira (the Spirit of Service)

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What is of "good report" (or "good fame" in the Greek) is related to the Evangelist endowment and the Spirit of Pergamos

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What is of "virtue" (or "(moral) excellence") is related to the Spirit of Philadelphia (the Spirit of Dreams and Visions)

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What is of "praise" (or "commendation" in the Greek) is related to the Spirit of Laodicea (the Spirit of Prosperity).

 

In short, these 7 attributes relate to things that are compatible with each of the 7 Spirits of God.]

 

The more we consciously operate in the law of the spirit of life and the less we regard our knee-jerk flesh reactions, the more natural the law of God becomes in our members and the less the law of sin and death will be reflected in them. As this happens, we shall be able to "love our neighbour" and fulfil the Law.

 

The potential

As shown in the table above, a word pair that appears in Romans 13:10 also appears in Ephesians 3:19.

 

Word pair (KJV) Greek word pair Strong numbers No. verses Verses other than

Romans 13:10

love & fulfilling agape & pleroma G26 & G4138 2

Ephesians 3:19

worketh & law ergazomai & nomos G2038 & G3551 2

James 2:9

ill & law kakos & nomos G2556 & G3551 2

Romans 7:21

neighbour & law plesion & nomos G4139 & G3551 3

Galatians 5:14, James 2:8

fulfilling & law pleroma & nomos G4138 & G3551 2

Galatians 4:4

 

"17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. 20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." (Ephesians 3:17-21)

[In verse 19, the word "love" was translated from the Greek word agape, and "fulness" was translated from pleroma; these 2 Greek words also appear in Romans 13:10, with pleroma translated as "fulfilling"]

 

Notice how verse 19 declares that knowing the love of Christ allows us to be filled with all the fullness of God. Notice also how Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, longs for his brethren to know that love so that the fullness of God may be in them. This means that, if we truly love our neighbour, we shall see in them the potential to contain the fullness of God, a quality that most believers, if questioned, would attribute to no one but the historical Jesus. To most believers, one's neighbour is too "small" to contain the fullness of such a great and mighty God, which reveals how little the Church comprehends the love of God.

 

"1 O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. 2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. 3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; 4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? 5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. 6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet" (Psalm 8:1-6)

 

The uniqueness detailed

Now that we have studied the only 6 verses that share word pairs with Romans 13:10, we can summarise what is unique about Romans 13:10 as follows:

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Apostolic fact (James 2:8-9): To love your neighbour implies not embracing them based on surface parameters. When you judge a person's "regality" (i.e. evangelistic endowment) by their royal apparel, you break the royal law and hinder the kingship of the Spirit. To judge a person's true authority based on external parameters releases kakos purposelessness into the Earth and allows "sin" (the matriarchy of the soul) to abound.

 

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Evangelistic fact (Galatians 4:4): As "sons of God", we have a time during which we are delivered into the hands of our enemies for a season. Once that chronos interval is over, all things are delivered unto us. It is up to us to take up that authority and walk in it in faith. That authority shall be invisible to those who rely on surface parameters.

 

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Pastoral fact (Galatians 5:14): When people do not love their neighbour, they open the door for a spirit of Jebusite "biting", (i.e.- instinctive, knee-jerk, animalistic judgements) and "devouring" (i.e. eating up the other person's authority and self-worth). This Canaanite door for Jebusite "jackals" is enabled by a reverence for "demi-gods" (daimon's) under an Old-Covenant mindset. To free your neighbours into the New Covenant, you must go through the Jebusite barrier of jackal "biting" and "devouring".

 

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Teacher fact (Romans 7:21): The law of sin and death gets ingrained in the members of our external flesh, causing knee-jerk reactions (to external stimuli) that induce condemnation in those who want to do right. If you set your heart towards God, you must ignore that condemnation and proactively evoke the law of God, thereby retraining your members until the law of the Spirit of life flows naturally through you. You will then be able to love your neighbour and fulfil the royal law.

 

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Prophetic fact (Ephesians 3:19): To love your neighbour is to believe that he/she can contain the fullness of God, being aware of the awesome plans that God has for each one of His people.

 

As shown by the above, the reason why the Lord links "loving your neighbour" to the "law" is that to love your neighbour is to see him for what he really is under the New Covenant. To deny his inherent value, authority, and grand potential is to violate the truth. If you remain under the Old Covenant, you will be ruled by the law of sin and death, biting and devouring others, reacting involuntarily to external stimuli, unable to love your neighbour. If you proactively immerse yourself in the Law of the Spirit of life, the New Covenant will be made manifest in and through you, and you will be able to love your neighbour and fulfil the Law.

 

As you fulfil the Law of God, you will become increasingly aware of the extraordinary uniqueness of each person in God. This is why Romans 13:10 is such a unique verse, "simple" and "ordinary" as it may seem to most believers.

 

There is more to say regarding Romans 13, but we will do so (if God allows it) in a future article.