Why doesn't the greatest commandment include "spirit"?
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Why doesn't the greatest commandment include "spirit" along with heart, soul, mind, and strength?
>Mark 12:29-31 - “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your **heart** and with all your **soul** and with all your **mind** and with all your **strength**.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
Is it because before Jesus’ death and shedding of blood ushered in the new covenant, our spirits were dead?
>Ephesians 2:1,4-5 - As for you, you were **dead** in your transgressions and sins, … But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, **made us alive** with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions —it is by grace you have been saved.
>Ezekiel 11:19 - I will give them an undivided heart and put a **new spirit** in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.
>Ezekiel 36:26 - I will give you a new heart and put a **new spirit** in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
>Luke 22:20 - In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the **new covenant in my blood**, which is poured out for you.
The shedding of blood is required for the establishment of a covenant and for forgiveness.
>Hebrews 9:16-18 - In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. This is why even the **first covenant was not put into effect without blood**.
>Hebrews 9:22 - In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and **without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness**.
I’m thinking that possibly, the old covenant commands, though good, did not have the ability to give life. They are good and perfect, but no one could follow them. They basically were given so the people of Isreal (and people watching) could see that no one could be holy on their own. God needed to provide the way to holiness and life.
>Colossians 2:13-14 - When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, **having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness** [written code], which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it [written code] away, nailing it to the cross.
Could it be that before we were made alive by belief in Christ we had no way to love him with “all our spirit” because our spirits were dead and so the law did not include spirit in the greatest command?
Now we are spiritually alive and can love him with our spirit.
>John 4:24 - God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
Asked by Mark Boucher
(41 rep)
Nov 19, 2022, 06:49 PM
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Last activity: Nov 22, 2022, 11:50 AM