Is the Strong's Concordance necessary?
Previously, I was asked if the Strong's Concordance is necessary for the understanding of the word of God. My answer is 'No', because the word of God is pure, and nothing can make it purer. Can we make something that is already pure, purer? Can the pure word of God be improved upon? Not possible.
For a new believer, it may present a challenge in that some of the terms may not be easy to understand initially. However, we are called to study to "Study to shew thyself approved unto God..." (2 Timothy 2:15). We are called to "Search the scriptures..." (John 5:39). We are called to "... search out a matter." (Proverbs 25:2). The point of reference of the truth must always be Scripture, and Scripture alone. We cannot use the synonyms in Strong's Concordance as substitute for certain words in the pure word of God. If we do that, we are indirectly saying that the Bible can be improved upon.
The real Holy Bible has no mistakes. It cannot be improved upon. What that needs to be improved upon, is our understanding of the word of God. This being said, however, our understanding MUST necessarily also come from the pure word of God alone:
"Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation." (2 Peter 1:20)
"... Do not interpretations belong to God?" (Genesis 40:8)
God's word is precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little (r. Isaiah 28:10). "Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them." (Isaiah 34:16). Knowledge and understanding of God's word is built one upon another, little by little. There is no other way to know the word of God except by the method which the Bible prescribes - and that is not by getting the meaning of words from Strong's Concordance.
Colossians 2:8 "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ."
Philosophy: A collection of general laws or principles, framework of thinking, under which all facts related to a subject are to be made subordinate to it, even Scripture e.g. dispensationalism is a philosophical framework that undergirds the interpretation of scriptures.
Vain deceit: A lie meant to deceive or mislead another and cause him to turn away from the truth and turn unto falsehood, which to the end, does not profit that person e.g. oldest manuscript is best manuscript, King James Bible is hard to understand, the gospel remains unchanged in modern bible versions, New King James Bible is an updated version of the King James Bible, etc.
Tradition of men: Opinions, doctrines, practices, rites and customs that have been passed down from generation to generation, and are to be regarded as sacred and cannot be violated in any form or manner e.g. the word of God can only be read and interpreted by the clergy, the pre-tribulation rapture theory is NOT up for discussion, etc.
Rudiments of the world: Man-made principles of learning i.e. of any art, science or language e.g. first principles governing the translation of Hebrew or Greek, dynamic equivalence, Strong's Concordance, etc.
Of all the concordances out there, it is not surprising at all that the Strong's Concordance stands out most prominently among the many. The Devil is the god of this world. He has the power to direct the course of this world, by the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.
“One of the most dangerous of false prophets in churches today is Dr. James Strong (1822-1894)…Some of the latest editions of Strong’s Concordance are not even Strong’s original. In the Greek and Hebrew lexicons in the back section, they contain even more corrupt definitions from new version editors. In the main body of the concordance, which originally was correct, new editions omit important KJB usages of the word ‘Jesus’ in order to match corrupt new versions… His corrupt Greek and Hebrew definitions pepper today’s preaching, as if his lexicon was the final and 67th book of the Bible. His liberal definitions are used as quick and weak patches to fill a void in sermons. The space would be better filled by a laborious looking up of all the Bible’s usages of a word.” — by David J. Stewart, A Dire Warning About Dr. James Strong
Most Christians may not know that James Strong was a member of the Westcott and Hort Revised Version Committee (RV) of 1881 and had worked in masterminding this corrupt version. Strong was also a member of the American Standard Version (ASV) Committee. The ASV was published in 1901. It said that Jesus Christ was a creature, not the Creator. Strong’s Concordance definitions are often the very words of these corrupt versions. Strong’s Greek text is not always that which underlies the 1611 King James Bible. Many times, the words in Strong's Concordance are not anywhere near a literal translation of the Greek (use of “dynamic equivalence” in translation). Below are some examples of how the pure word of God has been corrupted in the Strong’s Concordance:
1611 King James Bible: Godhead
Strong’s Concordance: divinity
1611 King James Bible: one is your Master, even Christ
Strong’s Concordance: teacher
1611 King James Bible: charity
Strong’s Concordance: love
1611 King James Bible: follow
Strong’s Concordance: imitate
1611 King James Bible: temperance
Strong’s Concordance: self-control
1611 King James Bible: too supertitious
Strong’s Concordance: very religious
1611 King James Bible: heresy
Strong’s Concordance: party
1611 King James Bible: curious
Strong’s Concordance: magical
1611 King James Bible: bottomless pit
Strong’s Concordance: abyss
1611 King James Bible: hell
Strong’s Concordance: hades
1611 King James Bible: devils
Strong’s Concordance: demonic beings
1611 King James Bible: Lucifer
Strong’s Concordance: morning-star
The Devil knows how to hijack that which is good and pure, and corrupt it. That's why he is also known as “Corruption” (Job 17:14), as we have just learned. The Devil knows that he could not possibly remove or replace every 1611 King James Bible in churches all over the world, that's why he use concordances and falsely represent them as the “key” to unlock the mysteries in the Bible. The Strong's Concordance is nothing more than a tool used by the Devil to corrupt the pure words of God that we have received into our hearts.
Matthew 13:22 "He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful."
Read: What is a thorny ground heart?
The words of God can do nothing except we have received them into our hearts. The Devil knows that very well. That's why his attacks are very subtle. Look at it this way: The 66 Books of the Holy Bible is the DNA of the church, the very genetic material where all the information for the genetic code of the body of Christ are contained. Therefore, to uproot the church is to implode it from within, by re-writing its DNA.
Let the wisdom and the knowledge of the word of God "... be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation." (Isaiah 33:6) A truly born again Bible believing Christian must be diligent in his study of the word of God. The pure words in the Holy Bible is milk and meat to his soul, even as food is nourishment to the physical body of a natural man.
Only a dead person does not desire food.
Only a spiritually-dead person does not desire the word of God.
John 6:54 "Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day."
Only the pure word of God can produce eternal life. Strong's Concordance and the load of other false bibles cannot. Never answer Scripture with non-scripture. Never answer the Wisdom of God with the wisdom of men. Each is contrary one to another.