WHO WAS THE INITIATOR?

 WHO WAS THE INITIATOR? WHO ARE THE CONTINUING PERPETRATORS?

Dear fellow travelers,

  In the past you were dead because you sinned and fought against God. You followed the ways of this world and obeyed the devil. He rules the world, and his spirit has power over everyone who doesn't obey God. Once we were also ruled by the selfish desires of our bodies and minds. We had made God angry, and we were going to be punished like everyone else. [CEV Eph.2:1-3]

  Hegel is credited with recognizing and publishing the tactical dialectic: 1. Dissatisfaction 2. Destabilization. 3. Crisis. 4. The new normal provided by rescuers. However, he, nor any human before or after him originated this strategic persuasive management technique.

  That would be Satan in his early recorded acts and continuing influence unto this day until he is cast in the lake of fire. (Rev.2):10) In God’s Word we read of it first that many angels followed him. (Heb.12:22) Then in Eden the first humans. (Gen.3:1-13) Now and continuing as he influences the dark side of mankind. (Eph.5:8) Possibly you have been or are subjective to practitioners of the four phased dialectic?

EBB4

THE ENEMY WITHIN

 THE ENEMY WITHIN

Ephesians 6:10-19 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, 

  In my reading this week was an essay by Michele R. Weslander Quaid, hers a career in intelligence. It included “The Hegelian dialectic is the frame-work [used] for guiding people’s thoughts and actions into conflicts that lead them to a predetermined solution.” This includes using the tactic of fear, turning people against people, with the turmoil of division. Sounds Satanic? Something we’ve experienced personally, in family and/or community, even church? An action touching us now?

  I for one have experienced it. Sadly, not even knowing what it is called, I confess to having done so before 1Corinthians 13:11. Possibly you too regret it in your old self. (Eph.5:8)

  So as to assure recognition, here outlined are the 4 stages of Hegelian dialectic:

1. Demoralization/dissatisfaction. The destruction of faith in God and established institutions.

2. Destabilization. Weakening and deuteriation. Ostracization.

3. Crisis/chaos. This largely brought about by propagandization of truth mingled with lies. (Gen.3:1-13)

4.Normalization. Rescue by the providers of a “new normal” for the greater good as the way it now has to be. A new baseline supported by a fearful population.

  However, in the midst of events 1 thru 4 . . . I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  (Rom.8:38-39)

EBB4

 

FOLLOW ME

 A CHILD’S DICTIONARY

  In school I always received high grades for writing. I did however get red marks on texts for a childhood habit that began not with pencil or pen, but soon after I began talking. Grandmother McGee swore I must have been vaccinated at birth with a phonograph needle, plus sternly warning “I know what you mean, but that’s not a word in the dictionary.” With my response being “But it’s in my dictionary!”

  I made up words; words that summarized meaning for me. I wasn’t alone in this as other playmates did the same. In spite of Grandmother’s urgings, I never broke the habit. One of my grownup favorites is “followship”, which to me is inseparable from “fellowship”, making a point as it conveys meaning plainly.

  Followship is something I think about every day because we are always following something or someone; and in our followship there are others following us. A serious thought indeed as Jesus spoke of and invites followship. Here is list of KJV verses that include His “follow me”.

Mat_4:19  And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Mat_8:22  But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.

Mat_9:9  And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.

Mat_16:24  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Mat_19:21  Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

Mar_2:14  And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.

Mar_8:34  And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Mar_10:21  Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

Luk_5:27  And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me.

Luk_9:23  And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Luk_9:59  And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

Luk_18:22  Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.

Joh_1:43  The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.

Joh_10:27  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

Joh_12:26  If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

Joh_13:36  Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards.

Joh_21:19  This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.

Act_12:8  And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. 

  As with every other, this day we will hear many beckonings; an unavoidable situation. But it not at all the question, it being which “follow me” will we hear and heed? Let us chose daily, carefully, for the path does go on forever. (Jn.14:6)  EBB4

 

PS: Did or do some of you make up words? Your children? Grandchildren? If so, please share for all to enjoy as I share them later.

A HOME FULL OF LOVE

 

A HOME FULL OF LOVE

Proverbs 15:16-17 Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith. 

Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith. 

  I’m at my daughter’s visiting. They are now living in a “real” house for the first time in several years. She has had little to make do with and I’m sure that with 6 little ones, it has been hard at times, but I never heard her complain – you see – she and her husband and their children live in their home full of love, which is what today’s Scripture is talking about.

Leslie Nivens (12/12/1928-3/1/2020)

LOVE ONE ANOTHER

 

GotQuestions.org: What can we learn from 1 John 4:7, “Beloved, let us love one another”?

 

  In 1 John 4:7–8, the apostle John instructs believers, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (NKJV). God is love (1 John 4:8), and those who have been forgiven and saved by Him reflect His love. Believers will impact the world by showing others God’s love, and this must begin with the beloved heeding the instruction to love one another.
  John addresses believers as the “beloved.” Calling believers “beloved” brings to mind God’s sacrificial love (John 3:16). A believer acknowledges he is a sinner, realizes that Jesus took the penalty for his sins on the cross and then rose again, and puts his trust in Jesus alone for salvation (Acts 4:12). He knows he is genuinely loved by God, and his life is transformed (2 Corinthians 5:17). A believer receives the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation along with a new capacity to love like Christ loves (Romans 5:5).

Jesus taught His disciples, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” Then He added, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34–35). People don’t naturally love with a godly, 1 Corinthians 13-type of love. To love like that, there must be a change of heart. A distinguishing mark of a follower of Christ is a deep, sincere love for brothers and sisters in Christ. True believers love not only “with words or speech but with actions and in truth” (1 John 3:18).
  There are several “one another” commands in Scripture revealing what it looks like to love one another. Believers are called to be at peace with one another (Mark 9:50), be of the same mind as one another (Romans 12:6; 15:5), have patience with one another and forgive one another (Ephesians 4:32), bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2), speak the truth to one another (Ephesians 4:25), pray for one another (James 5:16), and exhibit other qualities of the Spirit. Indeed, believers are called to love one another several times (John 13:34; 15:12, 17; Romans 13:8; 1 Thessalonians 3:12; 4:9; 1 Peter 1:22; 1 John 3:11; 4:7, 11; 2 John 5) and are practically instructed on what that love looks like. It is this kind of sacrificial love that shows the world who God is in hopes that others will repent and experience God’s love and forgiveness.
  Believers can obey God’s Word and love one another by the power of the Holy Spirit. A believer shows Christ’s unconditional, sacrificial, and forgiving love to fellow believers, but he does not stop there. He also shows the love of Christ to friends, family members, co-workers, and even enemies (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 5:43–48; Romans 13:10). God’s love compels believers to love one another.

OBJECTS OF MAN'S LOVE

 

2. Objects of Man's Love:

God must be the first and supreme object of man's love; He must be loved with all the heart, mind, soul and strength (Mat_22:37 f; Mar_12:29-34). In this last passage the exhortation to supreme love to God is connected with the doctrine of the unity of God (Deu_6:4 f) - inasmuch as the Divine Being is one and indivisible, so must our love to Him be undivided. Our love to God is shown in the keeping of His commandments (Exo_20:6; 1Jn_5:3; 2Jn_1:6). Love is here set forth as more than a mere affection or sentiment; it is something that manifests itself, not only in obedience to known Divine commands, but also in a protecting and defense of them, and a seeking to know more and more of the will of God in order to express love for God in further obedience (compare Deu_10:12). Those who love God will hate evil and all forms of worldliness, as expressed in the avoidance of the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life (Psa_97:10; 1Jn_2:15-17). Whatever there may be in his surroundings that would draw the soul away from God and righteousness, that the child of God will avoid. Christ, being God, also claims the first place in our affections. He is to be chosen before father or mother, parent, or child, brother or sister, or friend (Mat_10:35-38; Luk_14:26). The word “hate” in these passages does not mean to hate in the sense in which we use the word today. It is used in the sense in which Jacob is said to have “hated” Leah (Gen_29:31), that is, he loved her less than Rachel; “He loved also Rachel more than Leah” (Gen_29:30). To love Christ supremely is the test of true discipleship (Luk_14:26), and is an unfailing mark of the elect (1Pe_1:8). We prove that we are really God's children by thus loving His Son (Joh_8:42). Absence of such love means, finally, eternal separation (1Co_16:22).

Man must love his fellow-man also. Love for the brotherhood is a natural consequence of the love of the fatherhood; for “In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother” (1Jn_3:10). For a man to say “I love God” and yet hate his fellowman is to brand himself as “a liar” (1Jn_4:20); “He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, cannot love God whom he hath not seen” (1Jn_4:20); he that loveth God will love his brother also (1Jn_4:21). The degree in which we are to love our fellow-man is “as thyself” (Mat_22:39), according to the strict observance of law. Christ set before His followers a much higher example than that, however. According to the teaching of Jesus we are to supersede this standard: “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; even as I have loved you, that ye also love one another” (Joh_13:34). The exhibition of love of this character toward our fellow-man is the badge of true discipleship. It may be called the sum total of our duty toward our fellow-man, for “Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: love therefore is the fulfillment of the law”; “for he that loveth his neighbor hath fulfilled the law” (Rom_13:8, Rom_13:10). The qualities which should characterize the love which we are to manifest toward our fellow-men are beautifully set forth in 1Co_13:1-13. It is patient and without envy; it is not proud or self-elated, neither does it behave discourteously; it does not cherish evil, but keeps good account of the good; it rejoices not at the downfall of an enemy or competitor, but gladly hails his success; it is hopeful, trustful and forbearing - for such there is no law, for they need none; they have fulfilled the law.

Nor should it be overlooked that our Lord commanded His children to love their enemies, those who spoke evil of them, and despitefully used them (Mat_5:43-48). They were not to render evil for evil, but contrariwise, blessing. The love of the disciple of Christ must manifest itself in supplying the necessities, not of our friends only (1Jn_3:16-18), but also of our enemies (Rom_12:20 f).

Our love should be “without hypocrisy” (Rom_12:9); there should be no pretense about it; it should not be a thing of mere word or tongue, but a real experience manifesting itself in deed and truth (1Jn_3:18). True love will find its expression in service to man: “Through love be servants one to another” (Gal_5:13). What more wonderful illustration can be found of ministering love than that set forth by our Lord in the ministry of foot-washing as found in Jn 13? Love bears the infirmities of the weak, does not please itself, but seeks the welfare of others (Rom_15:1-3; Php_2:21; Gal_6:2; 1Co_10:24); it surrenders things which may be innocent in themselves but which nevertheless may become a stumbling-block to others (Rom_14:15, Rom_14:21); it gladly forgives injuries (Eph_4:32), and gives the place of honor to another (Rom_12:10). What, then, is more vital than to possess such love? It is the fulfillment of the royal law (Jas_2:8), and is to be put above everything else (Col_3:14); it is the binder that holds all the other graces of the Christian life in place (Col_3:14); by the possession of such love we know that we have passed from death unto life (1Jn_3:14), and it is the supreme test of our abiding in God and God in us (1Jn_4:12, 1Jn_4:16).

THE LOVE OF MAN

 

III. The Love of Man. (ISBE)

1. Source of Man's Love:

Whatever love there is in man, whether it be toward God or toward his fellowman, has its source in God - “Love is of God; and every one that loveth is begotten of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love” (1Jn_4:7 f); “We love, because he first loved us” (1Jn_4:19). Trench, in speaking of agapē, says it is a word born within the bosom of revealed religion. Heathen writers do not use it at all, their nearest approach to it being philanthropı́a or philadelphia - the love betweeen those of the same blood. Love in the heart of man is the offspring of the love of God. Only the regenerated heart can truly love as God loves; to this higher form of love the unregenerate can lay no claim (

1Jn_4:7, 1Jn_4:19, 1Jn_4:21; 1Jn_2:7-11; 1Jn_3:10; 1Jn_4:11 f). The regenerate man is able to see his fellow-man as God sees him, value him as God values him, not so much because of what he is by reason of his sin and unloveliness, but because of what, through Christ, he may become; he sees man's intrinsic worth and possibility in Christ (2Co_5:14-17). This love is also created in the heart of man by the Holy Ghost (Rom_5:5), and is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal_5:22). It is also stimulated by the example of the Lord Jesus Christ, who, more than anyone else, manifested to the world the spirit and nature of true love (Joh_13:34; Joh_15:12; Gal_2:20; Eph_5:25-27; 1Jn_4:9 f).

MANIFESTATIONS OF GOD'S LOVE

 

2. Manifestations of God's Love:

God's love is manifested by providing for the physical, mental, moral and spiritual needs of His people (Isa_48:14, Isa_48:20, Isa_48:21; Isa_62:9-12; Isa_63:3, Isa_63:12). In these Scriptures God is seen manifesting His power in behalf His people in the time of their wilderness journeying and their captivity. He led them, fed and clothed them, guided them and protected them from all their enemies. His love was again shown in feeling with His people, their sorrows and afflictions (Isa_63:9); He suffered in their affliction, their interests were His; He was not their adversary but their friend, even though it might have seemed to them as if He either had brought on them their suffering or did not care about it. Nor did He ever forget them for a moment during all their trials. They thought He did; they said, “God hath forgotten us,” “He hath forgotten to be gracious”; but no; a mother might forget her child that she should not have compassion on it, but God would never forget His people. How could He? Had He not graven them upon the palms of His hands (Isa_49:15 f)? Rather than His love being absent in the chastisement of His people, the chastisement itself was often a proof of the presence of the Divine love, “for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth” (Heb_12:6-11). Loving reproof and chastisement are necessary oftentimes for growth in holiness and righteousness. Our redemption from sin is to be attributed to God's wondrous love; “Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption; for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back” (Isa_38:17; compare Psa_50:21; Psa_90:8). Eph_2:4 f sets forth in a wonderful way how our entire salvation springs forth from the mercy and love of God; “But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ,” etc. It is because of the love of the Father that we are granted a place in the heavenly kingdom (Eph_2:6-8). But the supreme manifestation of the love of God, as set forth in the Scripture, is that expressed in the gift of His only-begotten Son to die for the sins of the world (Joh_3:16; Rom_5:6-8; 1Jn_4:9 f), and through whom the sinful and sinning but repentant sons of men are taken into the family of God, and receive the adoption of sons (1Jn_3:1 f; Gal_4:4-6). From this wonderful love of God in Christ Jesus nothing in heaven or earth or hell, created or uncreated or to be created, shall be able to separate us (Rom_8:37 f).

THE LOVE OF GOD

 

II. The Love of God.

First in the consideration of the subject of “love” comes the love of God - He who is love, and from whom all love is derived. The love of God is that part of His nature - indeed His whole nature, for “God is love” - which leads Him to express Himself in terms of endearment toward His creatures, and actively to manifest that interest and affection in acts of loving care and self-sacrifice in behalf of the objects of His love. God is “love” (1Jn_4:8, 1Jn_4:16) just as truly as He is “light” (1Jn_1:5), “truth” (1Jn_1:6), and “spirit” (Joh_4:24). Spirit and light are expressions of His essential nature; love is the expression of His personality corresponding to His nature. God not merely loves, but is love; it is His very nature, and He imparts this nature to be the sphere in which His children dwell, for “he that abideth in love abideth in God, and God abideth in him” (1Jn_4:16). Christianity is the only religion that sets forth the Supreme Being as Love. In heathen religions He is set forth as an angry being and in constant need of appeasing.

1. Objects of God's Love:

The object of God's love is first and foremost His own Son, Jesus Christ (Mat_3:17; Mat_17:5; Luk_20:13; Joh_17:24). The Son shares the love of the Father in a unique sense; He is “my chosen, in whom my soul delighteth” (Isa_42:1). There exists an eternal affection between the Son and the Father - the Son is the original and eternal object of the Father's love (Joh_17:24). If God's love is eternal it must have an eternal object, hence, Christ is an eternal being.

God loves the believer in His Son with a special love. Those who are united by faith and love to Jesus Christ are, in a different sense from those who are not thus united, the special objects of God's love. Said Jesus, thou “lovedst them, even as thou lovedst me” (Joh_17:23). Christ is referring to the fact that, just as the disciples had received the same treatment from the world that He had received, so they had received of the Father the same love that He Himself had received. They were not on the outskirts of God's love, but in the very center of it. “For the father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me” (Joh_16:27). Here phileō is used for love, indicating the fatherly affection of God for the believer in Christ, His Son. This is love in a more intense form than that spoken of for the world (Joh_3:16).

God loves the world (Joh_3:16; compare 1Ti_2:4; 2Pe_3:9). This is a wonderful truth when we realize what a world this is - a world of sin and corruption. This was a startling truth for Nicodemus to learn, who conceived of God as loving only the Jewish nation. To him, in his narrow exclusiveism, the announcement of the fact that God loved the whole world of men was startling. God loves the world of sinners lost and ruined by the fall. Yet it is this world, “weak,” “ungodly,” “without strength,” “sinners” (Rom_5:6-8), “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph_2:1 the King James Version), and unrighteous, that God so loved that He gave His only begotten Son in order to redeem it. The genesis of man's salvation lies in the love and mercy of God (Eph_2:4 f). But love is more than mercy or compassion; it is active and identifies itself with its object. The love of the heavenly Father over the return of His wandering children is beautifully set forth in the parable of the Prodigal Son (Lk 15). Nor should the fact be overlooked that God loves not only the whole world, but each individual in it; it is a special as well as a general love (Joh_3:16, “whosoever”; Gal_2:20, “loved me, and gave himself up for me”).

MY SON

 MY SON 

Micah 6:6-8 Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? 

  Many years ago, when David was about 16, I dreamed that he was standing at the foot of our bed. I could hear the roar of a crowd outside and my heart broke as he told me, “Mom, it’s time, I have to go.” I begged him not to go and I’ll never forget his answer, “But Mom, if I don’t go a lot of people will have to die.” As he turned to leave I awoke with the heart-breaking realization of what my heavenly Father had given up for me.

  God does not require me to give my son as He did His, but as His John 1:12 daughter He does require that I be just and merciful and walk humbly with Him.

Leslie Nivens (12/12/1928-3/1/2020)

DEFINING LOVE

 

From International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE):

Love

luv (אהב, 'āhēbh, אהבה, 'ahăbhāh, noun; φιλέω, philéō, ἀγαπάω, agapáō, verb; ἀγάπη, agápē, noun): Love to both God and man is fundamental to true religion, whether as expressed in the Old Testament or the New Testament. Jesus Himself declared that all the law and the prophets hang upon love (Mat_22:40; Mar_12:28-34). Paul, in his matchless ode on love (1Co_13:1-13), makes it the greatest of the graces of the Christian life - greater than speaking with tongues, or the gift of prophecy, or the possession of a faith of superior excellence; for without love all these gifts and graces, desirable and useful as they are in themselves, are as nothing, certainly of no permanent value in the sight of God. Not that either Jesus or Paul underestimates the faith from which all the graces proceed, for this grace is recognized as fundamental in all God's dealings with man and man's dealings with God (Joh_6:28 f; Heb_11:6); but both alike count that faith as but idle and worthless belief that does not manifest itself in love to both God and man. As love is the highest expression of God and His relation to mankind, so it must be the highest expression of man's relation to his Maker and to his fellow-man.

I. Definition.

While the Hebrew and Greek words for “love” have various shades and intensities of meaning, they may be summed up in some such definition as this: Love, whether used of God or man, is an earnest and anxious desire for and an active and beneficent interest in the well-being of the one loved. Different degrees and manifestations of this affection are recognized in the Scriptures according to the circumstances and relations of life, e.g. the expression of love as between husband and wife, parent and child, brethren according to the flesh, and according to grace; between friend and enemy, and, finally, between God and man. It must not be overlooked, however, that the fundamental idea of love as expressed in the definition of it is never absent in any one of these relations of life, even though the manifestation thereof may differ according to the circumstances and relations. Christ's interview with the apostle Peter on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias (Joh_21:15-18) sets before us in a most beautiful way the different shades of meaning as found in the New Testament words φιλέω, philéō, and ἀγαπάω, agapáō. In the question of Christ, “Lovest thou me more than these?” the Greek verb ἀαπᾶς, agapás, denotes the highest, most perfect kind of love (Latin, diligere), implying a clear determination of will and judgment, and belonging particularly to the sphere of Divine revelation. In his answer Peter substitutes the word φιλῶ, philṓ, which means the natural human affection, with its strong feeling, or sentiment, and is never used in Scripture language to designate man's love to God. While the answer of Peter, then, claims only an inferior kind of love, as compared to the one contained in Christ's question, he nevertheless is confident of possessing at least such love for his Lord.