1 Timothy 1:3 (ESV) "As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. 5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith."I have my genealogy from me back to Adam. It's from me on my paternal path back to Lewis Green and his wife, Elizabeth Lauderdale and the "House of Lauderdale" of Scotland, with surname Maitland. It then goes back through the Scottish nobility to the Stewart kings back to the earliest king of Ireland who married, so they say, Tea Tephi, daughter of King Zedikiah and wife of the first Irish King Heremon. Then Zedikiah is traced back through the Bible to the Israelite kings to King David and back from him to Adam and Eve; 155 generations in all!
If this genealogy is accurate and unbroken, that's impressive, but to whom? Merely to me because all of us are descended from Adam and that's clear from the Bible. As the old saying goes "that and a dime won't even buy a cup of coffee"! God cares little about our origins, but about each of us and our hearts!
Analytical (Jungian) Psychology teaches that we're composites of all who came before us. Indeed we are, or with one person missing from our genealogy, we would not be! Jung called our personalities our "collective unconscious". Our personalities are not only handed down from our parents, grandparents, etc. but from our primitive ancestors. Even our appearance is a collection of stature, complexion and features of all who came before us!
As I sit here, I see a photo of my great-grandmother Elizabeth Jane Randolph. It's eerie; I am her. She looks identical to me when I was in middle school. Looking as she looks has its advantages and disadvantages. People judge by appearances, and I'm sure that I was judged just as she was judged.
With time, I have become my Dad! In my youth, one time I thought "I wish he was dead so I could do whatever I want to do!" Now he is dead and I do what I want to do, but it's things he taught me! I especially admire his sanctified life, but fall short, to God's disappointment! Dad is a replica of his Dad, etc. All my ancestors made me what I am today!
We often look at our paternal line, but some societies use the maternal system of ancestry and naming conventions. My tenth-great-grandmother through her female lines has as much influence on me as does my paternal line. Genealogy is binomial. My parents are are for generation n=1: 2 x 1 = 2, my grandparents are for generation n=2: 2 x 2 + 4, my great grandparents are for generation n=3: 2 x 2 x 2 = 8. You can see that this is 2 to the nth where n = number of generations. After ten generations without marrying any relatives, then it's 2(10th) = 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 = 1024 ancestors and after 30 generations it's 2(30th) = . 1,073,741,824 (1 billion ancestors)! (Of course I had cousins who married and trimmed my tree!)
Is it now clear why Paul said "not to teach any different doctrine, 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies". It has no significance in our spiritual lives. Even if I'm of the House of David, so are most people! Jesus was a common man; a mere carpenter. He was of the House of David, just as I am. However, that made him no different than most people of his day who kept track of endless genealogies; something very important to the Jews!
Jews took pride in their pure blood; their Hebrew blood. They always believed that they were God's chosen people! God did use Abraham, their ancestor, to make their nation as the sands of the seas. However, Abraham is also the father of gentiles as well. God had a mystery for those who took pride in being God's chosen people! What is that mystery?
Colossians 1:25 "Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; 26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: 27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:"The mystery is two-fold: 1) salvation is through Christ and 2) salvation is for all, even the gentile! This mystery fulfills the word of God and was always the intent of God. Therefore, endless Jewish genealogies have no significance! Just as Jesus is the son of David, he's also the son of Rahab, a non-Hebrew prostitute, and Ruth, a Moabite servant. How can we impress Jesus with our grandiose line when it's just as tattered as his? (And ours doesn't include God until we're adopted!)
Paul also says not to "devote ourselves to myths" and follows that up with "endless genealogies". I assure the reader, my genealogy is a myth! There is no way that 155 generations can be tracked over 6000 years without error! With one error, the remainder is all myth. I accepted my James Maitland Lauderdale ancestor for a time, but found out later that he was merely "James Lauderdale", a likely, but unproven, member of the House of Lauderdale! That means that the previous 146 generations is mythology; or wishful thinking!
If genealogies are false spiritual teaching, then what is truthful teaching? It goes back to Paul's letter:
1 Timothy 1:5 "The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith."Rather than accepting endless genealogies, or stature, as divine attributes, it's all about LOVE! Godly love comes from: 1) a pure heart, 2) a good conscious and 3) sincere faith.
A "pure heart" is doing God's will. It's not contaminated by evil. Those with pure hearts have a desire to please God. That's the ultimate form of showing love for him!
Our conscience is that Jungian thing. It's who we are, but what we are is checked by who lives within us! As born-again believer's the Holy Ghost resides in our previously vacant (or demon-possessed) soul. As we behave as we do and think the thoughts mortals think, the Holy Ghost is our check valve, so to speak. He governs our thoughts and actions. He is always there asking: "Will this please Jesus?". Those with a "good conscious" are those who follow the direction of the Holy Ghost left here to guide and teach us!
"Sincere faith" is part of loving God. With that we believe he is who he says that he is, and did what scripture says he did for us, and we trust him with our life and eternal destiny. Our lives become "all about Jesus" since he is "The Way" and only way! That's sincerity! A casual faith in "Providence" is not sufficient. It's dependence and solid trust.
Since I go back to Adam regardless of the path to him, because of my "collective unconscious" I'm in trouble because of "original sin". Jung was right about that! I have reason and free will because Adam sinned and so has his entire line since:
Romans 5:12 "Wherefore, as by one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned..."So if you think "I've been good!" think again. Jesus says that all your "good" is as filthy rags to him! How is it that we are saved if "doing good" is a mockery?
Romans 5:17" For if by one man's (Adam's) offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)"It took one sin by one ancestor of us all, to merit death for each of us, but as Adam caused death for all of us, it's by one man, Jesus, whose grace will save us all! You see, there is hope! It's not in who we are or from where we came, but in whom we have faith!
Roman Catholics trace an endless priestly genealogy back to Peter! The Roman church was built on Peter because his tomb lies beneath the building, but the church is built on Christ, the cornerstone of his spiritual church. Because Pope Whomever is head of the church is of no significance. In fact it's a false teaching.
Likewise, those Landmark Baptists who believe that they are of the direct line of John the Baptist (Trail of Blood), teach the same false teaching! It's not who we were or from whom we descend, but in whom we have believed!
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