IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 423

Love is the Fulfilling of the Law

ON LOVE; PART XV

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GoodWill IS Love in Action

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“If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath , he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26-27, 33).

In the allied saying from Matthew’s Gospel we read:

“He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 10:37-39).

The Apostle John tells us this of the Masters words on discipleship:

“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed” (John 8:31).

“Herein is my Father glorified , that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples” (John 15:8).

While we see our verses above as rather clear and to the point regarding the reality of True discipleship, there are many in the world who do not. Some disregard these saying entirely in their pronouncements and doctrines, others skirt the issues of forsaking and bearing one’s own cross and yet others change the meaning and the intent to fit the need of the time or of their own particular view of the Christian experience. I remember listening to a multi part sermon on ‘Becoming a Disciple of Jesus’ that spanned more than ten hours and these ideas of the Master as we read them above were not the highlight and, indeed, some of them were not mentioned at all except perhaps in passing. Now this was a worthwhile series of sermons and much good Christian information is departed but the tone of the teaching is that ALL can become disciples of the Master and may do so without adherence to the ideas that we have read above now for many days. 

It is our intent to try to bring the Master’s ideas closer to the reality that we all face in the world today and to be able to understand what it is that He means by His words of forsaking and bearing and hating which, even in the understanding of loving less, is a difficult thing for the man in form to comprehend. We do KNOW however that at the least, the Masters words tell us that we must keep His words and that we must “bear much fruit” and, while the idea of bearing fruit may be interpretable, the idea of keeping His words IS NOT, and in this is the ultimate fallacy of doctrines that promote discipleship which do not start from the universal Love for ALL that the Master teaches.

In the last post we looked at the teachings of the Master on the Kingdom of God as they relate to our understanding of discipleship. Our understanding is of course that these are essentially the same thing, that being His disciple is that High Calling that makes one accounted worthy of His Kingdom and it is in this area as well that doctrines do not support the reality of the teachings of the Master. In a strange and convoluted combination of Old and New Testament teachings, the various doctrines of the churches have created a place that in reality does not exist and many call the afterlife of the human family the Kingdom of God to which one goes if he is a ‘good’ Christian when he dies. This is despite the FACT that the Master tells us clearly, albeit as a difficult concept to understand, that “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). Jesus also sets forth rather easy to understand rules as we discussed in some detail in the last post and, as we noted, the foremost of these is that a man do the “will of my Father which is in heaven” as the Master states it. In fact, Jesus makes the extra point that a man should not rely solely on Him as Lord or belief in Him; He tells us clearly that “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven” and we should KNOW that this is not in reference to the simple verbal saying but is rather the intent behind those words. From here He makes it clear that there are none who shall enter “but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).

So then we look upon these ideas of the Kingdom of God and of discipleship as the same in essence and while the the criteria for discipleship may on the surface seem to be more demanding, both do require the ultimate which is keeping His words. In regard to discipleship this is clearly stated above and in regard to the Kingdom we find it stated as doing “the will of my Father which is in heaven” and we KNOW that these too are the same thing. Two sayings by the Master can relate the Will of the Father to the words of the Master although we should not need to review these in Light of the Master’s pronouncement that “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30). Nonetheless, here are the Master’s words: 

• “For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak” (John 12:49). Here we should see that the commandment of the Father to the Son is much like the prompting of the Soul which we speak of and this we say remembering the Christ and the Father are ONE and, just as this is True, so the Soul and His expression on the Earth are ONE as well.
• “He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me” (John 14:24). While this is a negatively oriented saying we should take from it the reality that the words of the Son are the words of the Father and in this we understand that there IS NO difference and, expanding on this, we should see that the Will of the Father and the Will of the Son are ONE as well if for no other reason than Jesus pronouncement that “I and my Father are one“.

Remembering that ALL these things as expressed in the chart are essentially ONE, we should also remember that as the Apostle John tells us in the preamble of his gospel that the Christ, the Son, is the Word of God and, while we may see this as a much deeper thing originating in the understanding of the Logos, the simplicity of the translated word should help us to understand the relationships of ALL things.

Before we leave this topic and move forward and closer to our chosen topic which is the understanding of the requirements for discipleship and for being accounted worthy of the Kingdom of God, let us look at some of the ideas regarding this word Kingdom as it is used by the Master and as it is understood by the doctrines of the churches. We have spoken in the past about the common understandings and about the doctrinal attempts to differentiate between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven and we will not go through this again today except to say that there is no scriptural reference that can lead one to this conclusion that these are separate. Neither is rightly defined in the New Testament except by the Master’s parables of what the Kingdom is “likened unto“; these are many and nary a one can be seen as relating to that state of the death of the physical body and the end of that part of one’s existence.

These ideas of what the Kingdom is likened to should carry much more weight than does the idea of kingdom itself and we should likely see that in this word is the state of understanding of the man in that day over 2000 years ago. There are many who to this day believe that God is a King sitting on a Throne in a place called Heaven and the Jesus, the Christ, is sitting in another Throne on the Father’s Right Side. We should understand that these ideas are but fanciful ways of understanding the incomprehensible and that there is a reality behind this that is divorced from the workings of the world of things and which finds its place in the realm of Spirit. Much of what is believed in the Christian Churches today is based upon the lore of the more ancient times before Christ and on the parabolic pronouncements of the Master regarding Kings and Kingdoms. The reality of this is not to be found in the fables of old and this Paul tells us and, while he may not be specific in documenting what the particular fables are, we should be able to see them whenever we find doctrine or teaching that is grounded in a ritualistic past or in a fanciful picture of Life on Earth transposed as Life in heaven. Paul tells us:

• Writing to Timothy the apostle says: “As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do”  Of course we should see in this word doctrine not those things that we understand as such today but the True doctrines of the Apostles which Paul goes on to explain as: “Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm” (1 Timothy 1:3-4, 5-7). In our understanding we KNOW that Charity is Love and the “good conscience” is the heart as spoken of by the Master and in Paul’s mention of “faith unfeigned” we should see that there was then as there is now a certain pretense as regards this matter of believing and KNOWING.
• In his second letter to Timothy the apostle says a similar thing: “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:2-4). Dare we say that there are some denominations and sects of the church that are a reflection of this very thing that Paul warns of.
• In his letter to Titus, Paul tells him much the same thing and, without getting into the offense which you can look up at will, we find: “Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith; Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth. Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate” (Titus 1:13-16). Now this is a sharp indictment and one that in this world of illusion and of glamour is never realized as affecting oneself.
• The Apostle Peter has something to say on this idea as well albeit from a perspective of, what we call above the True doctrines of the Apostles. Peter tells us, speaking of the validity of the apostles own testimony, that: “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Peter 2:16).

Our purpose here is not to defame any doctrine or any preacher of such but rather to cause the man who reads and hears to beware of what it is that he reads much as the Master tells us that we should do. Jesus own commentary on this should tell us that preaching and claims may abound and that we should ever be careful to KNOW that what we hear may be fables or the doctrines of men or that they may be the Truth. The Master tells us:

• Telling us what was prophesied by Esaias the Master “Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:6-7) and in this we should see our point above that this is a sharp indictment and one that in this world of illusion and of glamour is never realized as affecting oneself. 
• On hearing the Master tells us another thing based upon the prophesy of Esaias and one that should set the tone for the ideas on Truth that Paul sets forth above in his message to Timothy saying that  “…the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned“. Jesus says: “Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive” (Matthew 13:13-14). 
• In a rather obscure passage from the Gospel of Mark we have these words on hearing which we have discussed in previous essays (In the Words of Jesus part 105); the Master says: “For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given” (Mark 4:22-24). By the context of these words we KNOW that hearing is the subject although these same thoughts are put forth in regard to judgement and in the understanding of parables among other ideas. For us here it is in regard to hearing and we repeat here what we say about these words as they appeared as a Quote of the Day some time back: 
  • “Take heed what ye hear” is inclusive of what we believe that we understand and what we perceive. The rest can be seen to say that if we hear right and measure right its source and meaning and accept only those that meet the criteria as True then we, by this Wisdom gained, position our selves for yet more. Taken further we should see that if we do not have the right hearing; if we listen to everything and believe thoughts and ideas that do not meet our measure of Truth, the we wind up losing whatever it is that we may have and this is to be then in a yet more confused state of being.

While this is not where we intended to go with today’s essay, there are some very valuable points covered here. We will continue with this and venture into those things that the Master likens the Kingdom to as we had planned to do today. We leave our verses on faith and believing yet again as well as our Quote of the Day which is a great daily affirmation to proclaim.

• “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea”  (Matthew 18:6).
• “The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?…..For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him” (Matthew 21:25, 32).
• “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not…….” (Matthew 24:23-26).

Note on the Quote of the Day

This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.

We leave our quote of the day for another day as in it we find some of the realities of what is man as Spirit, Soul and the Life within the form. In this affirmation we find our understanding of our relationship to God and our relationship to man. Our relationship to God is as Part and Parcel of Him; our relationship to man is in service.

I am a point of light within a greater Light. 

I am a strand of loving energy within the stream of Love divine. 

I am a point of sacrificial Fire, focused within the fiery Will of God. 

And thus I stand 

I am a way by which men may achieve. 

I am a source of strength, enabling them to stand.

I am a beam of light, shining upon their way. 

And thus I stand. 

And standing thus, revolve 

And tread this way the ways of men, 

And know the ways of God. 

And thus I stand.

Today’s Quote of the Day is called the Affirmation of the Disciple and is spoken from the perspective of the Soul and not from that of the man in form. It is the Soul that we are in this life on Earth, housed in this ‘temple’ of flesh and it is the Light of the Soul that must flow through this ‘temple’ in order that we may say with the Christ “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33) which is our goal and our destiny. Speaking then as the Soul we affirm our reality and true existence in God and in His Three Aspects of Light and Love and His Will. As this Light and Love and Will flow through our conscious personalities and forms we, as disciples, take on the nature of the second stanza being able to offer to the world a better way through our service and our Love for all, encouragement to righteousness through our strength of purpose, and the Light which shines in accordance with the Master’s instructions to “Let your light so shine before men” (Matthew 5:16) and illuminates the Path. Finally we realize that we are standing in this world and walking as men but, as conscious Souls in form, we know the way and the ways of God and are able to say with the Christ that “I am not of this world” (John 8:23).

Looking at Life as we depict it above in relation to this affirmation we can see the idea presented that we are a part of God and that this is true on multiple levels, the levels that we call the Trinity. Relating these first three lines to the chart above can offer some clarity as to the nature of God and of man. For more on the ideas in this Affirmation of the Disciple please refer to the Quote of the Day from In the Words of Jesus parts 179-181.