'Sense' in the Bible

But go and take to heart the sense of these words, My desire is for mercy, not offerings: for I have come not to get the upright, but sinners.

He answered them, “Because the secrets of the kingdom of heaven have been given for you to know, but it has not been given to them.

For this reason I put things into the form of stories; because they see without seeing, and give ear without hearing, and the sense is not clear to them.

And for them the words of Isaiah have come true, Though you give ear, you will not get knowledge; and seeing, you will see, but the sense will not be clear to you:

For this nation’s heart has grown hard,And with their ears they hardly hear,And they have [tightly] closed their eyes,Otherwise they would see with their eyes,And hear with their ears,And understand with their heart, and turn [to Me]And I would heal them [spiritually].’

When the word of the kingdom comes to anyone, and the sense of it is not clear to him, then the Evil One comes, and quickly takes away that which was put in his heart. He is the seed dropped by the wayside.

And the seed which was put in good earth, this is he who gives ear to the word, and gets the sense of it; who gives fruit, some a hundred, some sixty, some thirty times as much.

When Jesus saw their [active] faith [springing from confidence in Him], He said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

He answered them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to those outside, everything comes in parables

So that seeing they may see, and it will not be clear to them; and hearing it, they will not get the sense; for fear that they may be turned again to me and have forgiveness.

acts of greed and covetousness, wickedness, deceit, unrestrained conduct, envy and jealousy, slander and profanity, arrogance and self-righteousness and foolishness (poor judgment).

Though you have eyes, do you not see? And though you have ears, do you not hear and listen [to what I have said]? And do you not remember,

The disciples were amazed and bewildered by His words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is [for those who place their hope and confidence in riches] to enter the kingdom of God!

David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son?” And the large crowd enjoyed listening to Him.

But woe (judgment is coming) to you who are rich [and place your faith in possessions while remaining spiritually impoverished], for you are [already] receiving your comfort in full [and there is nothing left to be awarded to you].

And he said, To you is given knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God; but to the others, they are given in stories, so that seeing, they may not see, and though they give hearing, the sense will not be clear to them.

But this saying was not clear to them and its sense was kept secret from them so that they were not able to see it: and they had fear of questioning him about it.

and he who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this man your place,’ and then, in disgrace you proceed to take the last place.

“If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life [in the sense of indifference to or relative disregard for them in comparison with his attitude toward God]—he cannot be My disciple.

But they did not take in the sense of any of these words, and what he said was not clear to them, and their minds were not able to see it.

But he said to them, "In what sense do they say [that] the Christ is David's son?

They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was talking with us on the road and opening the Scriptures to us?”

who were born, not merely in a genetic sense, nor from lust, nor from man's desire, but from the will of God.

This made the Jews more determined than ever to kill Him, for not only was He breaking the Sabbath [from their viewpoint], but He was also calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.

And said to him, Go and make yourself clean in the bath of Siloam (the sense of the name is, Sent). So he went away and, after washing, came back able to see.

The crowd answered Him, "We have heard out of the Law that the Christ remains for ever. In what sense do you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is that Son of Man?"

"Master," said Thomas, "we do not know where you are going. In what sense do we know the way?"

A sense of fear came over everyone, and many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles.

And Joseph, who was given by the Apostles the name of Barnabas (the sense of which is, Son of comfort), a Levite and a man of Cyprus by birth,

And Philip, running up to him, saw that he was reading Isaiah the prophet, and said to him, Is the sense of what you are reading clear to you?

But Elymas, the wonder-worker (for that is the sense of his name), put himself against them, with the purpose of turning the ruler from the faith.

For you seem to us to say strange things, and we have a desire to get the sense of them.

"And now, impelled by a sense of duty, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there,

Go to this people and say, Though you give ear, you will not get knowledge; and seeing, you will see, but the sense will not be clear to you:

Because, having the knowledge of God, they did not give glory to God as God, and did not give praise, but their minds were full of foolish things, and their hearts, being without sense, were made dark.

They were secret backbiters, open slanderers; hateful to God, insolent, haughty, boastful; inventors of new forms of sin, disobedient to parents, destitute of common sense,

They show that the essential requirements of the Law are written in their hearts; and their conscience [their sense of right and wrong, their moral choices] bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or perhaps defending them

and [if you claim to] know His will and approve the things that are essential or have a sense of what is excellent, based on your instruction from the Law,

What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, if it had not been for the Law, I would not have recognized sin. For I would not have known [for example] about coveting [what belongs to another, and would have had no sense of guilt] if the Law had not [repeatedly] said, “You shall not covet.”

But sin, finding an opportunity through the commandment [to express itself] produced in me every kind of coveting and selfish desire. For without the Law sin is dead [the recognition of sin is inactive].

Now the mind of the flesh is death [both now and forever—because it pursues sin]; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace [the spiritual well-being that comes from walking with God—both now and forever];

But the sense of my letter was that if a brother had the name of being one who went after the desires of the flesh, or had the desire for other people's property, or was in the way of using violent language, or being the worse for drink, or took by force what was not his, you might not keep company with such a one, or take food with him.

Am I saying these things only on the basis of common sense, or does the law not say this as well?

I speak as to men of sense: judge for yourselves of what I say.

But if anyone says to you, This food has been used as an offering, do not take it, on account of him who said it, and on account of his sense of right and wrong:

Right and wrong, I say, not for you, but for the other man; for the fact that I am free is not dependent on another man's sense of right or wrong.

Does not common sense itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him,

And to another the power of working wonders; and to another the prophet's word; and to another the power of testing spirits; to another different sorts of tongues; and to another the power of making clear the sense of the tongues:

If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?

Are all able to take away disease? have all the power of tongues? are all able to give their sense?

For he who makes use of tongues is not talking to men but to God; because no one has the sense of what he is saying; but in the Spirit he is talking of secret things.

Now though it is my desire for you all to have the power of tongues, it would give me more pleasure to be hearing the prophet's word from you; for this is a greater thing than using tongues, if the sense is not given at the same time, for the good of the church.

So if you, in using a strange tongue, say words which have no sense, how will anyone take in what you are saying? for you will be talking to the air.

There are, it may be, a number of different voices in the world, and no voice is without sense.

But if the sense of the voice is not clear to me, I am like a man from a strange country to him who is talking, and he will be the same to me.

For this reason, let the man who has the power of using tongues make request that he may, at the same time, be able to give the sense.

But in the church it would be better for me to make use of five words of which the sense was clear, so that others might have profit, than ten thousand words in a strange tongue.

What is it then, my brothers? when you come together everyone has a holy song, or a revelation, or a tongue, or is giving the sense of it. Let everything be done for the common good.

If any man makes use of a tongue, let it not be more than two, or at the most three, and in turn; and let someone give the sense:

But if there is no one to give the sense, let him keep quiet in the church; and let his words be to himself and to God.

Be sober-minded [be sensible, wake up from your spiritual stupor] as you ought, and stop sinning; for some [of you] have no knowledge of God [you are disgracefully ignorant of Him, and ignore His truths]. I say this to your shame.

And we have given up the secret things of shame, not walking in false ways, and not making use of the word of God with deceit; but by the revelation of what is true, as before God, we have the approval of every man's sense of right and wrong.

Where then is that sense of blessing you had? For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me.

Which things have an allegorical sense; for these are two covenants: one from mount Sinai, gendering to bondage, which is Hagar.

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any sin, you who are spiritual [that is, you who are responsive to the guidance of the Spirit] are to restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness [not with a sense of superiority or self-righteousness], keeping a watchful eye on yourself, so that you are not tempted as well.

Since they have lost all sense of shame, they have abandoned themselves to sensuality and practice every kind of sexual perversion without restraint.

On this account do not prove yourselves wanting in sense, but try to understand what the Lord's will is.

Even so husbands should and are morally obligated to love their own wives as [being in a sense] their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself.

However, each man among you [without exception] is to love his wife as his very own self [with behavior worthy of respect and esteem, always seeking the best for her with an attitude of lovingkindness], and the wife [must see to it] that she respects and delights in her husband [that she notices him and prefers him and treats him with loving concern, treasuring him, honoring him, and holding him dear].

so that you may learn to recognize and treasure what is excellent [identifying the best, and distinguishing moral differences], and that you may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ [actually living lives that lead others away from sin];

And may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every sense. The Lord be with you all.

Also, the women are to dress themselves in modest clothing, with decency and good sense, not with elaborate hairstyles, gold, pearls, or expensive apparel,

But she will be saved through childbearing, if she continues in faith, love, and holiness, with good judgment.

But godliness actually is a source of great gain when accompanied by contentment [that contentment which comes from a sense of inner confidence based on the sufficiency of God].

He alone possesses immortality [absolute exemption from death] and lives in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal power and dominion! Amen.

preach the word [as an official messenger]; be ready when the time is right and even when it is not [keep your sense of urgency, whether the opportunity seems favorable or unfavorable, whether convenient or inconvenient, whether welcome or unwelcome]; correct [those who err in doctrine or behavior], warn [those who sin], exhort and encourage [those who are growing toward spiritual maturity], with inexhaustible patience and [faithful] teaching.

but Christ is faithful as a Son over His [Father’s] house. And we are His house if we hold fast our confidence and sense of triumph in our hope [in Christ].

And in a sense Levi himself, who receives tenths, has paid tenths through Abraham,

Let us go in with true hearts, in certain faith, having our hearts made free from the sense of sin and our bodies washed with clean water:

and he reasoned that God could even raise him from the dead, and in a sense he received him back from there.

Make prayers for us, for we are certain that our hearts are free from the sense of sin, desiring the right way of life in all things.

Of his purpose he gave us being, by his true word, so that we might be, in a sense, the first-fruits of all the things which he had made.

Who has wisdom and good sense among you? let him make his works clear by a life of gentle wisdom.

For it is an acceptable thing with God, if, from a sense of duty to Him, a man patiently submits to wrong, when treated unjustly.

when they see your modest and respectful behavior [together with your devotion and appreciation—love your husband, encourage him, and enjoy him as a blessing from God].

And baptism, of which this is an image, now gives you salvation, not by washing clean the flesh, but by making you free from the sense of sin before God, through the coming again of Jesus Christ from the dead;

Being conscious in the first place that no man by himself may give a special sense to the words of the prophets.

The Lord is not slow in fulfilling His promise, in the sense in which some men speak of slowness. But He bears patiently with you, His desire being that no one should perish but that all should come to repentance.

These people are stains on your love feasts. They feast with you without any sense of awe. They are shepherds who care only for themselves. They are waterless clouds blown about by the winds. They are autumn trees that are fruitless, totally dead, and uprooted.

And their dead bodies will lie exposed in the open street of the great city (Jerusalem), which in a spiritual sense is called [by the symbolic and allegorical names of] Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.