Charity Meaning in the Bible

Charity Definition Bible

Journey Into Love


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This particular expedition is our extremely exhilarating and very heartfelt Biblical Charity study on the elusive and mysterious Charity meaning in the Bible taking an in depth look into the various precious Christian Charity Bible verses. The absolutely awesome and thought provoking Charity Bible message within will enhance your YOU-nique Christian walk.

Let us begin our Christian Charity journey together, shall we? Most know that Charity is a part of being a Christian, but have you ever considered that the act of giving to a worthy cause is merely the verb form of the word Charity? In other words, the act of Christian Charity is what you do and not why you do it. Feeding one's kid(s) or pet(s) is also a verb, but why does a person feed them? That is what is truly important. That is the HEART of Charity.


Charity Meaning in the Bible - Noun

Charity Definition Bible Quest

The noun Charity has a completely different meaning than what most believe it to be. It is so very important for you to honestly distinguish between the two Charity definition Bible meanings, because it intimately affects your precious and fragile Christian walk every day. Today, you will learn what the Bible means when it speaks of Christian Charity.

Biblical Charity Study Quest for Truth
Charity Bible Verses Explained

Paul shares with us, of this Christian Charity ...

1 Corinthians 12:28-31

28 And God hath set some in the Church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
29 Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?
30 Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?
31 But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.

Paul shares that there are different administrations within the Body of Christ and that they are different. There are lots of different Spiritual Gifts one receives to perform these administrations. Paul says we are to strive to obtain the best gifts. That sounds Son sational, does it not? When we choose to serve God, we are given gifts to perform our calling.

However ... Paul closed that chapter with these words: "And yet shew I unto you a more excellent way." Wow ... A more excellent way than receiving gifts which give us the ability to serve God? We have got to check this out.

Charity Meaning - Paul
Charity Definition Bible Truth

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not Charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not Charity, I am nothing.
3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor and though I give my body to be burned, and have not Charity, it profiteth me nothing.

Paul made it clear that even tho we possess the ability to use the Spiritual Gifts in our administration that for them to be used without Christian Charity ... It is as nothing.

So, let me get this straight ... Christians and even called and chosen Christians such as Paul must obtain this Biblical Charity. It seems to be very important for us to know what Paul means by the word "Charity" so that we can comprehend the Christian Charity Meaning in the Bible. C'mon, let's find out.

As we discussed before, some believe that the Christian Charity meaning is the act of helping others or a willingness to sacrifice their time or even more of themselves for others. That is not what Paul is referring to is it? No, it cannot be because of what he shared earlier. This is proven when he says:

"And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned and have not Charity, it profiteth me nothing."

Paul shared with us that if one gives all they have to the poor and/or even sacrifices their body for the cause, but has not Charity ... It is a useless action. (verb)

Now, before we just continue on with this Christian Charity study seeking the Charity meaning in the Bible as if we did not just find a major piece to this puzzle ... It is very important for you to discern the Truth of this matter. Paul said "though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor" and then said "and have not Charity" ... That makes it very clear that the act of giving to the poor is not the same as the "Charity" which Paul spoke of.

Many people give to the poor just to be seen of man to be their hero for the day, so they gave for selfish gain and God knows the heart of man ... That is not Biblical Charity, but rather is called vanity and pride. So again, what is this mysterious Christian Charity?

Some say (After figuring out like we just did, that Charity is not just an act of giving) that Charity is just another word for Love. Uh huh, well that is peculiar as all get out, because the word Love was used in those times, so why did Paul not just say Love? I mean ... Paul uses the word "Love" many times in His Epistles. So, why not this time? Very curious, is it not?

We really need to obtain this Biblical Charity to make our Spiritual gifts effective. Let's explore this Charity meaning a lil more, you wanna?

Paul also shares this ...

1 Timothy 1:5

Now, the end of the commandment is Charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned ...


Colossians 3:14

And above all these things put on Charity, which is the bond of perfectness.


1 Corinthians 16:14

Let all your things be done with Charity.

Biblical Charity Hope
Christian Charity Bible Verses Woe

Concerning the true Charity Definition Bible meaning, Peter shares this with us:

2 Peter 1:5-7

5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness ... Charity.


1 Peter 4:8

And above all things have fervent Charity among yourselves: for Charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

We are learning that this Christian Charity is some very powerful stuff.

We can tell by Paul's words in 1 Corinthians, Chapter 13 that it is not what you do, But why you do it. The Spiritual gifts must be used in Charity. So, what is Charity if not Love?

Well, if we are honest with one another, there is a selfish Love, is there not? You know, that "love" that is possessed and expressed for self gain? I mean how many people have told you that they love you only to hurt you in the end? How many times have you done the same?

I know, I know ... The "conditions" changed on you and the love waxed cold. Maybe this is why Paul used the word Charity rather than love. Perhaps we need another piece of the puzzle ...

Here is what Christian Charity (noun) ... does (verb):

1 Corinthians 13:4-12

4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; Charity envieth not; Charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the Truth;
7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

Biblical Charity Study Guide
Real Charity Meaning in the Bible

To attain this powerful Christian Charity seems like it would be a tough act to follow, but ironically with true Charity within, one could. It is like ... Unconditional Love. To Love unconditionally like Jesus does us. No matter what conditions we place His Love for us in, when we make a mistake or willfully hurt him.

He still loves us ... Unconditionally.

I am thinking we have the answer. The Charity Definition Bible meaning is unconditional Love and that is why giving money to the poor, usually receiving a tax write off is quite a bit different than Jesus sacrificing His life for us. It is not what we do, but the true reason of why we do it. Unconditional Love (Charity) is the noun and our actions, when performing Christian Charity ... Are the verb. Let us continue, shall we?

Then Paul makes this statement concerning Charity

...

1 Corinthians 13:13

And now abideth faith, hope, Charity, these three; but the greatest of these is Charity ...

Is this saying that Christian Charity is greater than Faith itself?

Biblical Charity Study Blessing
Charity Definition Bible Secrets

It is saying that without possessing the essence of the Christian Charity meaning which is (Unconditional Love) ... Your Faith is in vain because Jesus has repeated over and over that loving one another is the most important commandment besides which one?

Matthew 22:37-39

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

This Biblical Charity study clearly discovered that ... You need more Christian Charity (True Unconditional Love) which the Bible makes clear is the most important ingredient while serving the Lord.

We, as the Body of Christ can be doing so much more for the Lord. You could be reaching out to the souls whom He leads to cross your path who are reaching out for help. You could give them a few minutes of your time each day by responding to their pleas for help and even friendship.

So, let's talk about this for a minute. We all have plenty of opportunities to be charitable to our loved ones. And in most cases, we find it easy to love them unconditionally. But what about those we don't know, and even our enemies?

Matthew 5:43-46

43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

This is an extremely deep topic, and at the root of loving your enemies, unconditionally, is forgiveness. I encourage you to study this topic in depth. It will greatly assist you in understanding the kind of charity that Jesus practiced and wants us to add to our own virtues.

Charity Definition Bible Tidbit of Truth... A good start to understanding how to practice charity with your enemies, is to be charitable to strangers. The opportunities we have to spread the Word and glorify God is actually within our reach daily. Many call them "divine appointments." You just have to open your heart to them and ask the Lord to reveal them to you. Let me share with you a story which reveals the Charity meaning in the Bible.

May I Have the Pleasure?
by Beth Moore

April 20, 2005, at the Airport in Knoxville, waiting to board the plane, I had the Bible on my lap and was very intent upon what I was doing. I'd had a marvelous morning with the Lord. I say this because I want to tell you it is a scary thing to have the Spirit of God really working in you. You could end up doing some things you never would have done otherwise.

I tried to keep from staring, but he was such a strange sight. Humped over in a wheelchair, he was skin and bones, dressed in clothes that obviously fit when he was at least twenty pounds heavier. His knees protruded from his trousers, and his shoulders looked like the coat hanger was still in his shirt. His hands looked like tangled masses of veins and bones.

The strangest part of him was his hair and nails. Stringy, gray hair hung well over his shoulders and down part of his back. His fingernails were long, clean but strangely out of place on an old man.

I looked down at my Bible as fast as I could, discomfort burning my face. As I tried to imagine what his story might have been, I found myself wondering; trying to concentrate on the Word to keep from being concerned about a thin slice of humanity served up on a wheelchair only a few seats from me. All the while, my heart was growing more and more overwhelmed with a feeling for him.

Let's admit it. Curiosity is a heap more comfortable than true concern, and suddenly I was awash with aching emotion for this bizarre-looking old man.

I had walked with God long enough to see the handwriting on the wall. I've learned that when I begin to feel what God feels, something so contrary to my natural feelings, something dramatic is bound to happen. And it may be embarrassing.

I immediately began to resist because I could feel God working on my spirit and I started arguing with God in my mind. 'Oh, no, God, please, no.' I looked up at the ceiling as if I could stare straight through it into heaven and said, 'Don't make me witness to this man. Not right here and now. Please. I'll do anything. Put me on the same plane, but don't make me get up here and witness to this man in front of this gawking audience. Please, Lord!'

There I sat in the blue vinyl chair begging His Highness, 'Please don't make me witness to this man. Not now. I'll do it on the plane.' Then I heard it ... 'I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to brush his hair.'

The words were so clear, my heart leap into my throat, and my thoughts spun like a top. Do I witness to the man or brush his hair? No-brainier. I looked straight back up at the ceiling and said, 'God, as I live and breathe, I want you to know I am ready to witness to this man. I'm on this Lord. I'm your girl! You've never seen a woman witness to a man faster in your life. What difference does it make if his hair is a mess if he is not redeemed? I am going to witness to this man.'

Again as clearly as I've ever heard an audible word, God seemed to write this statement across the wall of my mind. 'That is not what I said, Beth. I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to go brush his hair.'

I looked up at God and quipped, 'I don't have a hairbrush. It's in my suitcase on the plane. How am I supposed to brush his hair without a hairbrush?' God was so insistent that I almost involuntarily began to walk toward him as these thoughts came to me from God's Word: 'I will thoroughly furnish you unto all good works.' (2 Timothy 3:17)

I stumbled over to the wheelchair thinking I could use one myself. Even as I retell this story, my pulse quickens and I feel those same butterflies. I knelt down in front of the man and asked as demurely as possible, 'Sir, may I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?'

He looked back at me and said, 'What did you say?'

'May I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?'

To which he responded in volume ten, 'Little lady, if you expect me to hear you, you're going to have to talk louder than that.'

At this point, I took a deep breath and blurted out, 'SIR, MAY I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF BRUSHING YOUR HAIR?' At which point every eye in the place darted right at me. I was the only thing in the room looking more peculiar than old Mr. Long Locks. Face crimson and forehead breaking out in a sweat, I watched him look up at me with absolute shock on his face, and say, 'If you really want to.'

Are you kidding? Of course I didn't want to. But God didn't seem interested in my personal preference right about then. He pressed on my heart until I could utter the words, 'Yes, sir, I would be pleased. But I have one little problem. I don't have a hairbrush.'

'I have one in my bag,' he responded.

I went around to the back of that wheelchair, and I got on my hands and knees and unzipped the stranger's old carry-on, hardly believing what I was doing. I stood up and started brushing the old man's hair. It was perfectly clean, but it was tangled and matted. I don't do many things well, but must admit I've had notable experience untangling knotted hair mothering two little girls. Like I'd done with either Amanda or Melissa in such a condition, I began brushing at the very bottom of the strands, remembering to take my time not to pull. A miraculous thing happened to me as I started brushing that old man's hair. Everybody else in the room disappeared. There was no one alive for those moments except that old man and me. I brushed and I brushed and I brushed until every tangle was out of that hair. I know this sounds so strange, but I 've never felt that kind of love for another soul in my entire life. I believe with all my heart, I - for that few minutes - felt a portion of the very love of God. That He had overtaken my heart for a little while like someone renting a room and making Himself at home for a short while.

The emotions were so strong and so pure that I knew they had to be God's. His hair was finally as soft and smooth as an infant's.

I slipped the brush back in the bag and went around the chair to face him. I got back down on my knees, put my hands on his knee and said, 'Sir, do you know my Jesus?'

He said, 'Yes, I do'

Well, that figures, I thought.

He explained, 'I've known Him since I married my bride. She wouldn't marry me until I got to know the Savior.' He said, 'You see, the problem is, I haven't seen my bride in months. I've had open-heart surgery, and she's been too ill to come see me. I was sitting here thinking to myself, what a mess I must be for my bride.'

Only God knows how often He allows us to be part of a divine moment when we're completely unaware of the significance. This, on the other hand, was one of those rare encounters when I knew God had intervened in details only He could have known. It was a God moment, and I'll never forget it.

Our time came to board, and we were not on the same plane. I was deeply ashamed of how I'd acted earlier and would have been so proud to have accompanied him on that aircraft.

I still had a few minutes, and as I gathered my things to board, the airline hostess returned from the corridor, tears streaming down her cheeks. She said, 'That old man's sitting on the plane, sobbing. Why did you do that? What made you do that?'

I said, 'Do you know Jesus? He can be the bossiest thing!'

And we got to share.

I learned something about God that day. He knows if you're exhausted, you're hungry, you're serving in the wrong place or it is time to move on but you feel too responsible to budge. He knows if you're hurting or feeling rejected. He knows if you're sick or drowning under a wave of temptation. Or He knows if you just need your hair brushed. He sees you as an individual. Tell Him your need!

I got on my own flight, sobs choking my throat, wondering how many opportunities just like that one had I missed along the way ... all because I didn't want people to think I was strange. God didn't send me to that old man. He sent that old man to me.

John 1:14 'The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth'

Life shouldn't be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather, to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly shouting, 'Wow! What a ride! Thank You, Lord!'

Please share this wonderful story.

If your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light ... Matthew 6:22.

Wow ... Charity!

If you know that there are fellow Christians in need of a hand of friendship or just someone to say "Hey, I care," ... And you know the Holy Spirit dwells in you and wants to use you as a vessel to reach others and you do not answer the call ... What makes you different than Jonah when He said no and ran off trying to hide from his calling?

Christian Charity Blessing
Charity Definition Bible Promise

Could this Christian negligence of and failure to comprehend the Charity Definition Bible gift be why we have so much suffering in our own lives? Could God be allowing us to endure things we need not endure as to have us feel what His children which we neglected, must feel every day of their lives?

This Charity meaning in the Bible exploration on the various Biblical Charity Bible verses does not suggest that you should choose to go and do this cuz I asked it of you. I do not suggest that you should choose to go do this out of fear of getting in trouble by God. I (as a fellow Christian and friend) suggest that you should choose to do this cuz you are a Child of God and so are those who are crying out for help and it is the Christian thing to do.

Christian Charity is the epitome of perfect Christian Love. The Charity meaning in the Bible is a truly unconditional Love which has absolutely no gain to self. Find yourself obtaining and maintaining this Biblical Charity and you have found true Charity.

Faith, hope and Charity ingredients are essential in the Christian walk.