In many cases, the spiritual meaning of "own," both as a verb and as an adjective, is relatively literal. When people are described as the "Lord's own," however, it specifically means those people who know Him and have His Word. This has taken various forms since the dawn of humanity; in the prehistoric church known as the "Most Ancient Church" the Lord's truth -- the direct expression of His love -- flowed into people directly. In the Ancient Church the Lord's Word was recognized in nature and in the form of deeply representative stories, some of which were passed on to us in the early chapters of Genesis. Among the Children of Israel the Lord's Word was expressed through the Ten Commandments, the laws of Moses, the very history of the nation of Israel and the various psalms and prophecies. The early Christians had those stories along with the teaching and inspiration of Jesus himself. We now have the whole Bible, including the teachings of Jesus, and can understand the Bible's true meaning. Each of these churches, then, was at some point the Lord's own.

972. That is to say, all things that belong to the external man have been made subject to the internal and are its servant, verses 1-3. But above all the person must take care not to immerse goods and truths of faith in evil desires, that is, take care not to confirm evils and falsities by means of goods and truths that belong to his internal man, for that course of action inevitably condemns him to death and brings punishment, verses 4-5, and in so doing destroys the spiritual man, which is the image of God, with him, verse 6. If that course is avoided everything after that goes well, verse 7.