The Fatherless And The Widow

whirlwind · Aug 12, 2010

James 1:26-27 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is in vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

There are two topics of interest to me in the above passage. First....Before God and the Father. Before seeing that I never considered them to be separate. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all God but not all are the Father. Jesus never referred to The Father as "God." Now I know why.

Two....We are to "visit the fatherless and widows." We could certainly take this literally and help all orphans and widows but this is speaking of the fatherless as those being without The Father guiding them. And the widows are those without Christ, for to them He is dead.

Psalm 94:5-7 They break in pieces thy people, O LORD, and afflict thine heritage. They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless. Yet they say, The LORD shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it.

Isaiah 1:17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

We are to visit the fatherless and widows with His Word...bringing them to the Lord, to their Father, to their Husband.

fivesense · Aug 13, 2010

whirlwind said:
James 1:26-27 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is in vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
There are two topics of interest to me in the above passage.
First....Before God and the Father. Before seeing that I never considered them to be separate. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all God but not all are the Father. Jesus never referred to The Father as "God." Now I know why.

Two....We are to "visit the fatherless and widows." We could certainly take this literally and help all orphans and widows but this is speaking of the fatherless as those being without The Father guiding them. And the widows are those without Christ, for to them He is dead.
We are to visit the fatherless and widows with His Word...bringing them to the Lord, to their Father, to their Husband.

It does not say, in the Manuscripts, "God and THE Father", it says, the God and Father. The translations have provided the conjunction apart from what God has written to us. As for His never referring to His Father as God? Sorry...

AV Jn 20:17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and [to] my God, and your God.

James was extremely terrestrial in his teachings and the whole of the letter deals with earthly conduct and deportment. I suppose most anything can be "spiritualized" to accomodate imagination. It is an affront to God though, when the sufferings and hardships that the Jews endured for their faith is basically just a "spiritual truth" to be understood by those of us who are more "enlightened", and the testimony and demonstration of a whole nation just a mere lesson for others to learn by.
fivesense

whirlwind · Aug 14, 2010

fivesense said:
It does not say, in the Manuscripts, "God and THE Father", it says, the God and Father. The translations have provided the conjunction apart from what God has written to us. As for His never referring to His Father as God? Sorry...

AV Jn 20:17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and [to] my God, and your God.

James was extremely terrestrial in his teachings and the whole of the letter deals with earthly conduct and deportment. I suppose most anything can be "spiritualized" to accomodate imagination. It is an affront to God though, when the sufferings and hardships that the Jews endured for their faith is basically just a "spiritual truth" to be understood by those of us who are more "enlightened", and the testimony and demonstration of a whole nation just a mere lesson for others to learn by.
fivesense

Before writing the OP I referred to the King James and Blue Letter...neither of which showed "the" as having been added. It is also written in.....

Ephesians 5:20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

As for Jesus saying "My God and your God," He did indeed refer to Him as God but....He was no longer in His flesh body. I should have been more explicit in the OP and stipulated that He never referred to His Father as "God" while in flesh. In one other place, while on the cross, He said, "My God, My God why hast thou forsaken Me," but this was not Him speaking to the Father but rather reciting the crucifixion Psalm.

As for the "testimony and demonstration of a whole nation" being a "mere lesson" for us....Paul wrote:

1 Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

fivesense · Aug 14, 2010

whirlwind said:
Before writing the OP I referred to the King James and Blue Letter...neither of which showed "the" as having been added. It is also written in.....

Ephesians 5:20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

As for Jesus saying "My God and your God," He did indeed refer to Him as God but....He was no longer in His flesh body. I should have been more explicit in the OP and stipulated that He never referred to His Father as "God" while in flesh. In one other place, while on the cross, He said, "My God, My God why hast thou forsaken Me," but this was not Him speaking to the Father but rather reciting the crucifixion Psalm.

As for the "testimony and demonstration of a whole nation" being a "mere lesson" for us....Paul wrote:

1 Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

Yes, these things be true. Other than the Originals do not contain "and the Father" only " God and Father, meaning He, the Lord's God, is just that the one true God and the Father, both.
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