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.

1022. Verses 9-10 And I, behold I, am establishing My covenant with you, and with your seed after you, and with every living soul that is with you - with birds, with beasts, and with every wild animal of the earth with you; from all that are going out of the ark, even every wild animal of the earth.

'And I, behold I am establishing My covenant' means the Lord's presence in charity. 'With you' means a regenerate spiritual person. 'And with your seed after you' means those who are being created anew. 'With every living soul that is with you' means in general all things which with a person have been regenerated. 'With birds' means specifically the things of his understanding. 'With beasts' means specifically the things of his new will. 'With every wild animal of the earth' means lower things of the understanding or will which derive from these. 'With you' here, as previously, means the things that reside with a spiritual regenerate person. 'From all that are going out of the ark' means members of the Church. 'Even every wild animal of the earth' means people outside of the Church.