Love is the Fulfilling of the Law
ON LOVE; PART CLXXXV
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•Α
GoodWill IS Love in Action
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•Α•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•Α
In the last two essays we discussed much of the Master’s words from the Sixteenth chapter of the Gospel of the Apostle John. It is in this chapter that the Master is making his ‘closing’ comments to His apostles as He moves steadily toward that fateful day when He is taken from them. We took several points from His words and what we see in these is quite different than what is seen by so much of the Christian world. We see the Master’s warning to the assembled apostles of the persecution that they will have to endure at the hands of men who believe that they are doing God’s work and that the words and the works of the Master are heresy and blasphemy. We see the Master’s final words on the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete or the Comforter as He is called here, and through His words here combined with previous sayings we find that the Master is telling His disciples that they can no longer rely upon Him but that when He is gone, the True realization and revelation of the God Within each of them will flower forth and “he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26). We noted here in our verse from the Sixteenth Chapter that a key word in our understanding this saying and others like it in found in our understanding of the word translated as the English word send and we referred our understanding of this to other sayings by the Master such as: “And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me” (John 8:16) which is one that blends so well with the reality of the Master’s words that “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30). With this same view of the idea that is captured in the Greek word pempo which is translated as send, we should see the reality of the Trinity in our own lives and in this see that the Holy Spirit is ever in our constitution, or very nature as spiritual beings, and needs ONLY our realization of this reality and of the working out of that Spirit in one’s Life. In this we should see the reality of the difficulties that we have with language and with translation as this word pempo is used in this context by John while other Greek words are used for the normal understanding of send. And, while there is some crossover in John’s Gospel we can likely get some additional force for our understanding of this idea in the Master’s saying that: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him” (John 13:16) where we KNOW from other gospels that He is speaking of His own relationship with His disciples; in this we understand that we are not sent but by that Inner force that emanates from our own Souls, our Christ Within, who guides our way when that is our Life’ focus. Our point here is that we should seek the True intent of the Master’s words among the realities of His Life and our own; if the Christ and the Father are ONE, then what is the True meaning of sent and what is the True implication of the Master’s words “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away : for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you” (John 16:7) if it is not what we have premised? Is this for these disciples only in that day?
We see also in this chapter that the apostles still do no understand the Truths and the realities that the Master is presenting to them and while we do see the above saying as His ‘guarantee’ that they will understand; that the Inner man, the activity of the God Within as the Paraclete, “shall teach you all things“. This is an important point that is given us again by John in his First Epistle where he tells us of this same idea but calls it the anointing, an anointing that we equate with the Christ Within, our Souls and his activity in Life as the Holy Spirit. John tells us: “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” (John 2:27). We may hear from doctrine that this anointing IS the Holy Spirit as based upon the words of the Master and this is a reality but one which is for us deeper as we see the synthesis of ALL and have the understanding that the Holy Spirit IS the activity of the Christ Within, the activity of the God Within, as expressed in the world. We also see in this chapter that the Master tells His apostles that He has been and still is speaking to them in proverb or in parabolic sayings that are intended to cloud the realities that they cannot yet understand as He brings them along, as they change their focus from what they KNOW in the world to what they must KNOW in the spiritual reality that they are entering. We should remember here that even after this encounter with the Master, the apostles are still unclear and uncertain; that they still do not see His teaching and reality as He is arrested, tried and crucified and this we KNOW from the several references to their attitudes and conversations including the denial by the Apostle Peter as he claims to not even KNOW the Master. This continues even to the resurrection where they wonder and doubt and then to their meeting after the resurrection where they are frightened by His appearance. It is through ALL these things that the apostles grow in their spirituality, it is through ALL this that the Master’s words ring True that “for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you“. That this happens to them IS Truth and, although the words surrounding this in the Book of Acts are fanciful and the things of doctrine, this is a Truly personal individual happening of realization and revelation, a culminating realization that allows them to overcome those things that the KNOW from their lives in the world. And this is the final word by the Master in this chapter and an idea that they do no realize yet for some time. He says as example that “but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
We have discussed the role of Peter in the gospels, that he is our ready example of the disciple who is growing in his spiritual stature from being an uncertain follower of the Master, to becoming the spokesman for the group who is frequently called out by Jesus for his less that righteous actions and thoughts. We should see here that what the Master sees a less than righteous in Peter is beyond the spiritual capability of the vast majority of men and in this is yet another lesson for us ALL. It is Peter who is made for us the example of spiritual growth as he moves beyond his occasional lapses, his denial of the Master, and his confusion at the resurrection, to become the leader of ALL disciples speaking out as would the Master Himself. This happens to Peter before Pentecost which is generally seen as the time of the mass ‘giving’ of the Holy Spirit to the gathered disciples which we should see as a great gathering of Truly spiritual men in one place and we should likely see the miraculous happenings in that place as a spiritual function of the Love and the Power that is in that room. This is for all of them their new beginning, away from the comfort of the Master’s Presence they are now forced to rely on themselves and on their own realizations of the ways of God in the world. As for Peter we KNOW that he moves on in greatness from the perspective of his eventual expression of the Power and the Love and the Glory of the Christ Within through his Life in the world. We see this to great degree as we read of Peter that “Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them. There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one” (Acts 5:15-16). In this we should see the full and total realization of Peter who has com from that point of doubt as he meets the Master to this point of KNOWING without a doubt; not only of the Truth of the Master but of his own REALITY as well…..Peter has overcome the world.
Bringing our attention to our chart below as we began to do two posts back, we should note the additional column that relates the stanzas of the Great Invocation to the Trinity of God and the constitution of man. In our view it is important to understand the nature of man if we are to ever understand our True place in the Life of God in Whom “we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28); when we can see God as the Macrocosm to our microcosm we can then gain a better understanding of Life itself. This of course ALL begins with our understanding that we ARE NOT this body but that we are the divine nature the gives to this body its Life and its consciousness for however long it is ‘alive’ on this Earth. Our reality is found in our understanding that we ARE created “in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27); if this IS True and if it IS also True that God IS NOT a man in form, then we must see our reality in what image we are. We should see then that if God is a Trinity then we are a Trinity as well and if we ARE in His image then we must per force be the same Trinity; this is what our chart below portrays with names that help us to understand the relationship between the Macrocosm that IS God and the microcosm that IS man. The names for the Trinity of Aspects of God are from the Master’s words and the understanding of the doctrines that His words have produced; these are names that are familiar to the Christian world. We can however insert our realities into these Aspects by calling the Father as Spirit for the Master does tell us that “God is a Spirit” (John 4:24) which is the only definitive word that we have from the Master on the nature of God. For us then this IS His primary nature and as such we have little or not comprehension as to what this Spirit actually IS but we accept it as God, the Essence and the Life behind ALL things seen and unseen. In the perspective that there is ONE God, which the Master repeats for us from the Old Testament teachings of Moses, we can see that God IS Spirit or a Spirit and in saying this we then are saying that we as the True man, not the man in the world, ARE Spirit as well and this is reflected in our chart. We should try to see here that this Primary Aspect of God IS GOD and that from this Primary Aspect the other Aspects flow, that they are part and parcel of the ONE but are apparent to us as men in form only by their action and activity.
It is in this understanding that we take the words from John’s Prologue and call the Christ, the Logos or the Word, as the manifestation of the Spirit that IS God and this is written for us as “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men” (John 1:1-4). So then here in the Logos we have the manifestation of the Spirit that is God and this manifestation we can see the Self-fulfilling action of the Will that IS inherent in that Spirit expressed as the Life. In this incomprehensible saying we find the reality that God IS and that we ARE as spiritual beings who “we live, and move, and have our being” IN God and from every conceivable perspective; we ARE as we have said, part and parcel of the Lord which we have explained as: In the idea of ‘part and parcel’ as an idiom is the reality of something that cannot be separated from a condition or activity and in these defining thoughts is the idea that we are trying to get across regarding our relationship to OUR GOD. We, as Spirit, CAN NOT be separated from God, and, if this is True, God CAN NOT be separated from us as well nor from any part of HIS Spiritual Creation. Seeing the complexity of these thoughts, can we see the ideas that we presented regarding the Master’s teaching the mysteries and the secrets to the people and even His apostles and disciples over 2000 years ago; that they are intentionally unclear and remain that way even to the reader of today who has not come to focus his thoughts and his Life on the reality of the Master’s words and NOT on the doctrines that men have created from those words.
In the depths of the True understanding of the word Logos we find the Truth of the nature of the Son, the Christ; we read in the lexicon that according to A Greek philosopher named Heraclitus, Logos was used from 600 B.C. to to designate the divine reason or plan which coordinates a changing universe 2. Of course this same Greek word is also used to designate the idea of a word but in this context it is likely best left untranslated or seen as the Word that springs from from God in the first two chapters of the Book of Genesis where we read that God SAID and in which we should understand that not speech nor even thoughts can give us a True view of this reality. Thus the Logos can be the Word of God that Said “let there be” and in this we should see the Will of God that brings forth the Logos as both the manifestation and the precursor of it as we read that the Logos, the Christ, “was in the beginning with God“. Understanding that “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16), we should try to understand that this expression of God is as much His nature as is the idea of His being a Spirit; ALL things are resolved into ONE. Having said this however we should try to see that this expression of God is, from our limited perceptive, only possible in manifestation and this manifestation is of and IS the Logos and from this we say that Christ is the manifestation of Love to the world.
This is of course the Macrocosm and we must find then the same in the microcosm as the Soul, our personal Logos and Christ Within, which must also be the manifestation of Love to the world and in this we can see the teachings of the Master and our destiny in the Kingdom. Without our expression of Love, our expression of our Spirit nature whose activity IS Love, there is no realization and we are but carnal men in the Earth standing against the teachings of the Master. This is ALL necessarily confusing and can only be see by realization and revelation at such a time as the form Life is ready and properly focused and this same that is True for us here and now was True for the apostles and the disciples in that day.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
| Aspect of God |
Potency |
Aspect of Man |
In Relation to the Great Invocation |
In relation to the Christ |
|
GOD, The Father |
Will or Power |
Spirit or Life |
Center where the Will of God IS KNOWN |
Life |
|
Son, The Christ |
Love and Wisdom |
Soul or Christ Within |
Heart of God |
Truth |
|
Holy Spirit |
Light or Activity |
Life Within |
Mind of God |
Way |
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:
Leaving again the Great Invocation, we encourage ALL to read and reread it and our comments as in these words can be found the keys to our spiritual reality.
From the point of Light within the Mind of God
Let light stream forth into the minds of men.
Let Light descend on Earth.
From the point of Love within the Heart of God
Let love stream forth into the hearts of men.
May Christ return to Earth.
From the centre where the Will of God is known
Let purpose guide the little wills of men–
The purpose which the Masters know and serve.
From the centre which we call the race of men
Let the Plan of Love and Light work out
And may it seal the door where evil dwells.
Let Light and Love and Power restore the Plan on Earth.
This prayer is a part of our Prayers and Meditations section and there is much information about it there and in our discussion of it in the Quote of the Day section of In the Words of Jesus parts 128-132
The above Invocation or Prayer does not belong to any person or group but to all Humanity. The beauty and the strength of this Invocation lies in its simplicity, and in its expression of certain central truths which all men, innately and normally, accept—the truth of the existence of a basic Intelligence to Whom we vaguely give the name of God; the truth that behind all outer seeming, the motivating power of the universe is Love; the truth that a great Individuality came to earth, called by Christians, the Christ, and embodied that love so that we could understand; the truth that both love and intelligence are effects of what is called the Will of God; and finally the self-evident truth that only through humanity itself can the Divine Plan work out.
Like the Lord’s Prayer, this invocation is a World Prayer which is as all that a prayer is intended to be. It is a prayer for the uplifting of the Human Family out of the mire of materialism and selfishness. The Lord’s Prayer asks nothing for the individual praying it but asks that its benefits be for US and for WE which is why it was given by the Christ as a prayer and as a model over 2000 years ago. This invocation is also attributed to the Christ who, as He promised, has never left us; He, through channels that we do not readily understand, has Himself instructed His disciples to distribute this prayer and to encourage its use as a world prayer and as an aid in preparing the world for His return.
The first three stanzas of this prayer should be understood as reflecting the effective potencies of the Trinity which is God and which, when brought down to an individual level, the Trinity which is Man. His Will, His Love and His Light we should seen as the Potent Powers of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts!
- 2 New Testament Hebrew Lexicon on BibleStudyTools.com
