A company might have executives setting policy and strategy, engineers designing products, managers handling personnel and others handling various functions. They all do different things -- but if they're doing them with a shared underlying purpose, the company -- and the individuals in it -- will likely be successful. The Lord wants all human society to function in a similar way. We have different skills and individual loves, but if we all share a mutual love -- a love of serving others -- then society will function as one, will be a reflection of heaven and will be a good receptacle for the Lord's love. This can also happen within each of us, as we unify our talents and ideas around a central love. And in an abstract sense, it illustrates how a wide collection of varying ideas can be unified around a shared good intention. That is the kind of love pictured when “one” is used in the Bible, either as a specific number or in the sense of several people or objects “being one.” In more casual references -- when used to identify a specific person or object -- the meaning is relatively literal, and is connected to that person or object.

1163. “古实, 麦西, 弗, 迦南” 是指众多民族, 他们在内义上表属于脱离仁之信的认知, 知识和敬拜形式. 这从圣言中提及这些民族的各个地方清楚可知, 因为这些民族在那些地方就表示这类事物. 也就是说, “古实” 或埃塞俄比亚表人们借以确认谬念的对圣言的内在认知. “麦西” 或埃及表人们想借以探究信之奥秘, 并通过它们确认谬念的知识, 或各种记忆. “弗” 或利比亚表出于圣言字义的知识, 他们同样借以确认谬念. “迦南” 或迦南人表仪式或脱离内在的外在敬拜之物. 所有这些由于脱离仁爱, 故都被称作 “含的儿子”. 这些民族还表简单的认知和知识; “古实” 表对圣言的内在认知; “埃及” 表知识; “弗” 表出于圣言字义的认知. 这就是为何它们具有双重意义的原因, 既有反面意义, 也有正面意义, 这可从下面所引用的经文清楚看出来.