Thou Fool
Thou Fool
What does the Bible say about calling your brother a fool?
(Matthew 5:22 KJV) “But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.”
Here again failure to rightly divide the word of God will only produce confusion. These are the words of Christ under the gospel of the kingdom, but they are not the words of Christ revealed through the Apostle Paul for the body of Christ under Paul’s gospel.
Before we deal with the words as they stand, where they stand; let’s look at a classic example of Christian scholarships attempt at homogenizing the scripture, rather than rightly dividing it as instructed by Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles.
Let’s look at the totally ridiculous explanation that is found in Matthew Henry’s commentary.
“The Jewish teachers had taught, that nothing except actual murder was forbidden by the sixth commandment. Thus they explained away its spiritual meaning. Christ showed the full meaning of this commandment; according to which we must be judged hereafter, and therefore ought to be ruled now. All rash anger is heart murder. By our brother, here, we are to understand any person, though ever so much below us, for we are all made of one blood. “Raca,” is a scornful word, and comes from pride: “Thou fool,” is a spiteful word, and comes from hatred. Malicious slanders and censures are poison that kills secretly and slowly. Christ told them that how light soever they made of these sins, they would certainly be called into judgment for them. We ought carefully to preserve Christian love and peace with all our brethren; and if at any time there is a quarrel, we should confess our fault, humble ourselves to our brother, making or offering satisfaction for wrong done in word or deed: and we should do this quickly; because, till this is done, we are unfit for communion with God in holy ordinances. And when we are preparing for any religious exercises, it is good for us to make that an occasion of serious reflection and self-examination. What is here said is very applicable to our being reconciled to God through Christ.”
As the vast majority of Christian scholars are so willing to ignore the direct context in favor of a more esoteric “spiritual meaning,” Matthew Henry does not disappoint when he states, “By our brother, here, we are to understand any person…” Totally ignoring the context of Christ’s ministry to none but the lost sheep of the house of Israel and that gospel of the kingdom at this time is restricted to the circumcision alone, the Christian scholar has to read themselves and believers in the body of Christ back into Christ’s teachings as the minister to the circumcision.
(Matthew 15:24 KJV) “But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Furthermore to state, “What is here said is very applicable to our being reconciled to God through Christ,” is nothing more than a blatant falsehood. To apply this to the Jews under the gospel of the kingdom is one thing, but to apply it to believers in the body of Christ is a complete failure to understand the revelations given to the apostle Paul for the body of Christ. The believers based upon the revelation of the mystery revealed to Paul are reconciled to God through Christ, solely on the merits of Christ and not any works of their own. The believers under Paul’s gospel are not “being” reconciled to God through Christ, they’ve “been reconciled.”
(2 Corinthians 5:18 KJV) “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;”
Not only have they been reconciled, they’ve been circumcised by the Spirit and separated from the body of the sins of the flesh and sealed by the holy Spirit of promise until they receive their glorified bodies. They’ve been made complete in Christ and are already risen from death to new life through the work of Christ. They are never again in danger of hell fire.
(Colossians 2:9-12 KJV) “9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: 11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: 12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.”
(Ephesians 1:13-14 KJV) “13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”
So Christian scholarship having totally ignored dealing with the actual statement of Christ plays the old shell game by distracting the student with other things rather than deal with the statement, “but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.” This does not and can not apply to the believer who is in the body of Christ under Paul’s gospel. If it is as Matthew Henry states, then Paul was in danger of hell fire. (1 Corinthians 15:36 KJV) “Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:” and so was God, (Luke 12:20 KJV) “But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?” Paul and God weren’t worried about being in danger of hell fire for a second. Why? Because what Christ said under the gospel of the kingdom didn’t apply to them.
This is what happens when Christian scholarship fails to rightly divide the word of truth and confine their applications to the context of the actual text. Remember, when most preachers say, I’m giving you a “spiritual application” of the text, what they really mean is, “I’m making shit up, but I want you to believe it’s as authoritative as what the scripture actually says.”
If you believe them, all I can say to you is, “Thou fool.”
Revised 10/07/2023