Monthly Archives: September 2012

Love is the Fulfilling of the Law

ON LOVE; PART XLVII

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GoodWill IS Love in Action

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“Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink ? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:34-40).

Today’s Verse of the Day from Biblestudytools.com is from the Apostle Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians which we start here with today because it puts into few words what we have been spending so many on and that is that when one is focused upon the things of God, the things of God will grow in him and this is basically how we left off in yesterday’s essay. Paul says “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” and this, as the Verse of the Day, is in agreement with the words of John in his First Epistle as well where we read “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him” (1 John 2:27). Both of these idea from the apostles are spoken to disciples and to aspirants and it is in this context that we must understand them…..this is, unless one IS focused upon the Christ Within, the Soul, and the things of God, there will be no realization of these things.

A more complete view of Paul’s message may serve to show the totality of the similarity of these sayings which, while they are using different words, offer the same reality. Paul says: “Now we have received , not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:12-14).

There are many who believe that they are hearing from God, from their own Souls, spiritual messages but who are in reality just hearing from their own personalities about the things of the world and this is the key, if the self is involved in any way other than in service to the Lord or to the Lord through others with NO reward nor expectation of reward, then this message may be one from above and here we have the words of the Apostle James to guide us in understanding what IS wisdom from above. James tells us plainly that: “But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy” (James 3:14-17). We should be careful here as to how some of this is interpreted because “bitter envying and strife” do not just cover the harshest of ideas that these bring forth but, in envy we should also see emulation which Vincent is as tells us is a better translation and of which he says: Emulation is the better general rendering, which does not necessarily include envy, but may be full of the spirit of self-devotion ⁴. Strife is rendered wrongly according to Vincent who tells us that: Thus it comes to be applied to those who serve in official positions for their own selfish interest, and who, to that end, promote party spirit and faction ⁴; (For more on these words see In the words of Jesus part 323). There is a reality here that is seen also in the ideas of judgement as spoken by the Master and by Paul in the end of his saying above:

• The Master tells us that we should “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment”  (John 7:24) and we should not see this as judgment in scriptural or doctrinal terms only but we should view this as discernment; let your discernment be in righteousness which is but another way of understanding what James tells us above. The Bible in Basic English (BBE) translates the verse this way: “Let not your decisions be based on what you see, but on righteousness” and this idea of righteousness is included at the end of James’ words on wisdom that we read above saying: “And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace” (James 3:18). We should be able to see in the combination of these sayings that the Wisdom that is from above, from one’s Soul, is discerned in righteousness, judged according to spiritual terms, and the fruit of this is found in the ideas put forth that can confirm our discernment and these include “pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy“. These are the fruits of righteousness from the perspective of another and from the perspective of the man in form who views what he is doing and is believing as an aspirant or as a disciple.
• Paul gives us some understanding of this idea of Judgement as well and as a part of his writing to the Corinthians regarding things spiritually discerned: “But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:15-16). We should note the double use here of the idea of judge; on the one side we have “he that is spiritual judgeth all things” which is right discernment as we have been discussing and on the other is “is judged of no man” which is the traditional and common understanding of the word as it is presented in the King James Version. The Common English Bible (CEB) shows us a different perspective and one that flirts also with the ordinary doctrinal approach that implies that so long as one professes to believe, that he can be considered as spiritual in this context. The CEB says: “Spiritual people comprehend everything, but they themselves aren’t understood by anyone” and we should see in this the idea of discernment although comprehend is a much weaker word and in in this there is somewhat our perspective as well as a novel approach to the second part in that rather than being judged by others, one is, being spiritual, not understood. This latter understanding is more acceptable to our concept of the message which, along with our understanding of the beginning would give us the idea that “But he that is spiritual judgeth discerneth all things, yet he himself is judged of understood by no man“. This seems to capture the reality of the statement as made by Paul which, as we take the idea to the final verse, is completed in the understanding that the spiritual man HAS the mind of Christ and none but those who are spiritual can KNOW the mind of God or can instruct those that are. Of course we must understand this as it is pertaining to the things of God and that the reality of the spiritual man is the man of right living and right focus, that he is the disciple of the Lord and the aspirant to that High Calling is working toward this reality by degree. We should remember here also the injunction of the apostle saying “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5)

The Apostle Paul creates for us here another deep and mostly misunderstood segment of True Christian teaching; the word mind is translated from the Greek word phroneo which is translated in another version as attitude and of which Vincent tell us is taken in the Revised Version (RV) as “have this mind in you” and which all for us say and mean to say the same thing. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Bible⁸ tells us that Let this mind be in you The Arabic version renders it, “let that humility be perceived in you”. The apostle proposes Christ as the great pattern and exemplar of humility; and instances in his assumption of human nature, and in his subjection to all that meanness, and death itself, even the death of the cross in it; and which he mentions with this view, to engage the saints to lowliness of mind, in imitation of him; to show forth the same temper and disposition of mind in their practice, which also was in Christ Jesus; or as the Syriac version, “think ye the same thing as Jesus Christ”; let the same condescending spirit and humble deportment appear in you as in him ⁸, but to us this is but doctrine speaking, a doctrine that does not see the plain and simple relationship between Jesus and the rest of humanity but tends to set Him apart. The Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible⁸ takes a similar position on this saying: The oldest manuscripts read, “Have this mind in you,” &c. He does not put forward himself Philippians 1:24 ) as an example, but Christ, THE ONE pre-eminently who sought not His own, but “humbled Himself” ( Philippians 2:8 ), first in taking on Him our nature, secondly, in humbling Himself further in that nature (Romans 15:3)⁸ and this commentary also misses the point that is made in the subsequent verses. Looking at the rest of Paul’s saying can bring us a better revelation than do the commentaries and normal interpretations:

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation , and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:5-8).

Looking at this in its entirety we can see the lead in as just that, a lead into the rest of his words. Regardless of how we look at these first words; as they are written above in our King James Version or as attitude or as the RV states it we have the understanding to go forward that using whatsoever it is, His mind, His attitude or just a mind similar as “have this mind in you” as Vincent reports it from the RV. Our RV ends this with “which is yours in Christ Jesus” and although this takes away somewhat from our understanding of having the mind and the attitude that the Christ has, it does work with the rest of our premise. What then is the mind of Christ? Paul tells us that it is the Master “in the form of God” which, as we have discussed, He IS and we are as well as we are ALL made in the image of God and John clarifies this for us saying “as he is so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17). Paul goes on to tell us that the Master did not consider His understanding of this relationship with God as of any consequence, He understood that He IS as God IS and Paul is telling us that we should see this from the spiritual perspective as WE ARE. This is not unlike what we have in our first saying above where speaking to and as disciples Paul says “Now we have received , not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God” which is to say than in form, as “he that is spiritual” we realize “not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God“. When this “spirit which is of God” is what we express through form then we ARE disciples of the Lord and as such we come to understand the Master’s own words on this saying “The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord” (Matthew 10″24-25) and, better yet, as we read in Luke’s Gospel He says: “The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master” (Luke 6:40) and it is in this perfection that we find the True and accomplished disciple.

Here above are some of the sources of this Grand Idea that we can be as Jesus and as the Christ and, as we have oft said, this is our objective and our goal. So then having this mind, this attitude of Christ, which carries with it the understanding of our ONENESS with God and our ultimate equality though the reality of our being part and parcel of God plus the reality of our affinity to God as Spirit and as a Trinity, we come to the realization that we are yet subordinate and that, in this world as Spirit expressing through form, we are in the role of a servant. This we take from the next reality which is that in our equality and our ONENESS with God that we are but a part of the WHOLENESS of God and we realize that we can do naught with does not serve the WHOLE. So that we do not fall off of the subject, Paul is telling us that this attitude of the Christ must be the attitude of the disciple and therefore of the aspirant as well; that in our understanding of our ONENESS comes the responsibility as expressed by the Master: that we should realize and recognize and accept our sameness with the Lord and that we should then NOT act in any way as being above but we should act as the servant and that we should be obedient to the High Calling of the Soul even to the death of the carnal self in this world of men. This is the Path of the Christ and this is the Path of the disciple and this is the message of the apostle when he says “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus“.

There is much food for thought here in this essay and a confirmation of the things we have said in previous essays regarding our relationship with the Christ and with God as we see in our chart below.

Aspect of God	Potency	Aspect of Man
Father	Will or Power	Spirit or Life
Son, The Christ	Love and Wisdom	Soul or Christ Within
Holy Spirit	Light or Activity	Life Within the Form

We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.

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.:

So that we do not forget that the reality of this ALL is still LOVE which is our Truth regardless of whatever other realizations may come to us in Life, we present here again the Apostle Pauls words followed by our own understanding of this reality:

….but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law (Romans 13:8-10).

The first of all the commandments is, Hear , O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this , Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these

(Mark 12:29-31)

We should remember always to link to this Greatest Commandment that other saying of the Master that gives to us the practical understanding of how to love one’s self plus the practical instruction on how it is that we CAN Love our neighbour; He tells us:

Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them

(Matthew 7:12)

Unlike so much of the Master’s sayings that come to us in the form of parables and for which we can only surmise that we have the spiritual presence to understand, these sayings are very straightforward and they are the key to many of the promises of spiritual life; they are the very key to the Kingdom of God. To these sayings we add our adopted definition of the Greek word agape (agapao) which is translated into the English words Love and Charity and which is:

‘In a general sense love is benevolence, good will; that disposition of heart which inclines men to think favorably of their fellow men, and to do them good. In a theological sense, it includes supreme love to God, and universal good will to men’

• ⁴ Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888
• ⁸ Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com