Edison Prayer Fellowship
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What we believe
All scripture is God-breathed -- given by his inspiration. The Old Testament, which was God's revelation to the Jews, is the schoolmaster that leads us to
Christ. The New Testament is God's revelation to spiritual Israel -- the Church. The Trinity
The term trinity is not found in the Bible; we prefer the term used by Paul to describe the triune personality or manifestation of God: the Godhead (translated
also as Divine Nature). Although it is difficult for finite beings like man to fully comprehend God's nature, He has revealed himself as the Father, the Son
(Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit.
Jesus is the second person of the Godhead who became flesh and dwelt among men. His birth to a virgin was miraculous. At the end of a three and one half year ministry, He gave his life willingly to die on the cross as the sacrifice for sins. He rose from the grave and
ascended to the Father. He will return.
The church is a divinely appointed institution -- it is the ekklesia or called out assembly of believers. Christ is the head of the church. It is his body. It belongs
to Him. God adds members to the church. The local church is a portion of the Body of Christ that meets regularly in a certain area. Each congregation is
autonomous. There is no authority higher than the local level.
The essential parts of scriptural worship are the following: study of God's word, fellowship, the Lord's supper and prayer. Giving is a regular part of a
Christian's responsibility. We are instructed to sing.
Communion is practiced weekly as was the pattern of the New Testament church. It is open to those who accepted Jesus as personal savior and baptized. Each individual must examine himself/herself.
By His grace, God who loved the world has provided salvation for mankind. This was accomplished by the sacrificial death of His Son, Jesus Christ, on the
cross. God has done his part; man has the opportunity to accept or reject God's free gift of salvation. This is accomplished in our obedience to God's will:
Hear the Gospel
Believe in Christ
Repent of Sins
Confess Christ before Men
Be Baptized
Live a Faithful Christian Life
To outsiders, we appear to over-emphasize baptism and its importance. This is done because
1) a number of others de-emphasize its importance, 2) the introductions of changes in its mode and to whom it is administered, and
3) the emphasis that the scriptures places upon this practice.
The mode of baptism is immersion; the Greek verb baptizo can only mean to dip or immerse. This is alluded to in the Bible. John baptized near Jordan where
there was much water. When Philip baptized the Ethiopian Eunuch, they both went down into the water. Baptism is depicted as a burial. God
prefigured baptism in the Old Testament with the flood (a cleansing of the world) and the parting of the Red Sea (a rite of passage to the Promised Land).
John, the forerunner of Jesus, began the practice. Jesus set the example. It is preceded by belief and repentance. Therefore infants can not be scripturally
baptized. It is for salvation, the remission of sins , to wash away sins , to participate in the death of Christ , to put on Christ and it is how one calls upon the
name of the Lord. It is connected with the new birth . It is where a person receives the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is a part of the Great Commission. The Bible
places a great deal of emphasis on the practice.
We worship at:
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Associate Professor of New Testament Studies
Dallas Theological Seminary
Matthew 22:39 reads simply, "A second [command] is like it: `You shall love your neighbor as yourself." In popular circles this verse is often paraded as a text which teaches that we are commanded to love ourselves. Thus, the implied meaning is, "You shall love your neighbor just as you are to love yourself." Such a view seems to have come from secular psychologists (in which self-actualization is at the top of the pecking order of one's goals). From there, it apparently made its way into Christian psychological treatises.
Our objective in this short essay is not to trace the history of this interpretation, but to argue that it is fallacious. Unpacking the meaning of the verse yields the following expanded translation: "You shall love your neighbor as you already do love yourself." Thus, self-love is assumed in this text, not commanded.
There are two reasons for arguing that this is the meaning of the text here. First, a comparison normally sets up a standard or norm against which some position is put forth. The Greek particle wJ" is the primary means used to suggest such a comparison in the New Testament (and is used in Matt 22:39). For example, in Matt 12:13, Jesus healed a man's hand, "making it whole, like the other one." The whole hand was the standard against which the now healed hand was measured. In Matt 17:2, Jesus' face "shone like (wJ") the sun." Obviously, the sun is the standard by which the comparison is to be made. In Matt 28:4, the soldiers guarding the tomb of Jesus "became like dead men" when they saw the angel. In Rom 9:27, the number of the sons of Israel is to be "like (wJ") the sands of the sea." In 2 Tim 2:9 Paul says that he is wearing chains "like (wJ") a criminal." First Peter 1:24 says that "all flesh is like (wJ") grass." In all these texts (and scores of others in the NT) a comparison is made. In each one, the comparison starts with a standard or norm. But if Matt 22:39 implies two commands, then there is no standard of comparison. To argue that we should love our neighbor as much as we should love ourselves sets up no standard, no norm.
Second, and more specifically, wJ" is sometimes found following a command. When it is so, what verb is to be implied in the wJ" clause? At all times, the indicative should be read. 1 That is, the comparison is not of a command to a command, but of a command to a standard that is already being followed. Note the following examples. 2
Matt 6:5--"When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites [are]"
Matt 6:10--"May your will be done on earth as [it is] in heaven"
Matt 6:12--"When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites [do]"
Matt 10:16--"Be wise as serpents [are], and harmless as doves [are]"
Matt 18:3--"become like children [are]"
Luke 15:19--"treat me as [you would] one of your hired servants"
Luke 22:26--"let the greatest among you become like the youngest"
Gal 4:12--"Become as [I am]"
2 Thess 3:15--"Do not look on him as [you would] an enemy, but regard him as a brother"
1 Tim 5:1--"Rebuke an older man as [you would] a father"
Philemon 17--"Receive him as [you would receive] me"
In conclusion, is self-love biblical? Actually, yes. It is biblical in that it is assumed to be true (cf. Eph 5:29). But is self-love commanded? Hardly. The primary proof-text for such is Matt 22:39. 3 And, as we have tried to demonstrate, that text means that self-love is assumed, not commanded. Further, there are numerous texts that suggest that our lives need to be other-directed. The plain meaning of a passage like Phil 2:3 ("regard one another as more important than yourselves") ought to counter-balance any notion that our focus in life ought to be on self. The example of the Lord Jesus follows this programmatic statement in Phil 2:3. In vv 6-11 Jesus is seen as the supreme example of self-sacrifice. Verse 5 links Jesus' attitude to what should be our own: "Have this mind in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus." We, too, should follow the Master's steps and direct our lives outward and upward.
Such absorption with the self is both endemic to human nature and in particular is becoming the hallmark of the West. We are propelling ourselves rapidly to narcissism and anarchy because of such attitudes. Against this, the Bible speaks plainly.
1Not infrequently, the verb is actually stated. The indicative is the routine mood found. Cf. Matt 5:48 ("be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect "); 6:12 ("forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors"); 8:13; 15:28; 18:33; 27:65; Col 3:18; Rev 18:6; etc.
2 You might even want to test these examples by supplying an imperative or subjunctive in the wJ" clause. For example, in Matt 6:5, "When you pray do not be like the hypocrites should be." Obviously, this makes little sense.
3Ephesians 5:33 has a similar construction and should be interpreted similarly. "Husbands, love your wives as yourselves" does not mean"love your wives as you should love yourselves," but "as you already do love yourselves."
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