ON LOVE; PART CCCLXIX

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GoodWill IS Love in Action

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The Gospel of Thomas

These are the hidden words that the living Jesus spoke. And Didymos Judas Thomas wrote them down.

(14) Jesus said to them: “‘If you fast, you will bring forth sin for yourselves. And if you pray, you will be condemned. And if you give alms, you will do harm to your spirits. And if you go into any land and wander from place to place, (and) if they take you in, (then) eat what they will set before you. Heal the sick among them! For what goes into your mouth will not defile you. Rather, what comes out of your mouth will defile you.“

(15) Jesus says: “When you see one who was not born of woman, fall on your face (and) worship him. That one is your Father.”

(16) Jesus says: “Perhaps people think that I have come to cast peace upon the earth. But they do not know that I have come to cast dissension upon the earth: fire, sword, war. For there will be five in one house: there will be three against two and two against three, father against son and son against father. And they will stand as solitary ones.“

(17) Jesus says: “I will give you what no eye has seen, and what no ear has heard, and what no hand has touched, and what has not occurred to the human mind.” ¹⁴

Our look at the sixteenth saying from Thomas’ Gospel showed sayings similar to the sayings found in Luke and Matthew in our accepted gospels except for the added emphasis on the single-one as the interlinear renders this. We found several rendering of these words which, while they were all similar, had different points of emphasis and some were presented as they were as separate sentence as we see above. In our view there is no reference to they when these ideas are separated and the wording from the Patterson and Meyer translation seems to say this most appropriately and without the use of the word solitary; they say: “Perhaps people think that I have come to cast peace upon the world. They do not know that I have come to cast conflicts upon the earth: fire, sword, war. For there will be five in a house: there’ll be three against two and two against three, father against son and son against father, and they will stand alone.“

Here we should that the they refers to the father and the son and to whatsoever they would represent to the mind in the world as these are but an example of the severity of the divisions or the conflicts as this is rendered above. In this mode of division and conflict there are sides taken for and against the teachings of the Master, the new Way of spiritual unfoldment, that He is introducing to the world. This is of course not new from the perspective of what it IS that a man must achieve, it is rather new in the depth and in the way of achieving. And the Master is not saying that one should not follow the old way; in fact He says just the opposite as we read Him saying: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matthew 5:17-18). The law then stands as it stands yet today but the approach of men to fulfilling the law and the depth of its fulfillment change with the teachings of the Master. Nonetheless in the lack of vision and understanding of the Jew in general, there is division and there is conflict and this is rather predicted as the Master KNOWS coming into His ministry that these feelings and thoughts of conflict would beset many and this even the prophets KNOW as they speak about the Master’s Life and death on the cross.

The new Way is of course the reliance upon Love to accommodate the law and this in the realization that to Love as the Master teaches puts a man into such a spiritual state that he would NOT offend any and would go about Life with an attitude of helping ALL men thereby losing sight of the perils of self-centeredness and self-absorption. The Apostle Paul gives us this same idea saying: “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Galatians 5:14). This is the new Way of the Master, that Love take that paramount place in the Life of a man, and Jesus does this simply by taking the words of the law itself, obscure words perhaps to many Jews, and elevating them to be of supreme importance as He tells us: “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 have discussed this saying many times in our posts and here perhaps we can see yet another perspective, that this IS a reflection of the new Way that the Master came to teach and that this new Way, although it is the cause of much division and conflict, IS NOT Truly new….it IS the same law from a different view. It is taking a result of following the law and making it a cause for following the law.

So here is division and conflict from the perspective of the new Way; there is also division and conflict caused by the new ideas regarding the depth of the law, a depth that perhaps eluded the people heretofore. The Master tells us several things regarding this and we should see these as examples and not as a hard cold fact that it is these ideas only that are effected; He says:

• “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire” (Matthew 5:21-22). This is a great expansion upon the simplicity of “Thou shalt not kill” and it takes into account this idea of anger that can lead a man to such an act.
• “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell” (Matthew 5:27-30). Here there is the greater reality that the thought about adultery is, from the perspective of the Truth, as bad as the heretofore forbidden act and the Master goes on so that we can understand that He is not meaning only adultery but every offence that a man can see to do. And while His examples are hard, to pluck and eye or cut off a hand, we should be able to see the relative importance of controlling ones emotional and mental appetites which can quickly send the man down the path to destruction.
• “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?” (Matthew 5:43-47). Here is the Master’s correction of the ideas of Love held by the Jew in that day and this correction IS that this Love is unconditional and by example we see the most important point that if God sees no difference in men as He sends the rain and the Sun for ALL, so should that Love that we express be for ALL.

There are other parts of correction and expanded depth in the Master’s words but this should suffice for our point; from the perspective of the new Way found in the words of the Master, the Way of Love and the expanded and deepened view of the existing law, there is created much conflict and division but one should be able to see that any right minded person would not so easily see these ideas as divisive and able to cause that rift that reaches even to come between father and son. There is then a grater point of division and of conflict and this is likely found in the idea of change itself and in the idea that whatsoever a man has believed has suddenly come under scrutiny. This is likely a major factor in this division and to this we should add the attitudes of those who fulfilled the law by pretense and those who were fulfilling the various doctrines and traditions that were never a part of the law and which were put into question by the Master’s new Way of Love and Truth. We should try to see here that reality that the changes brought by the Master, while significant, are not in and of themselves the cause for these divisions but the cause is found in the carnal reactions of the man in the world fighting against change and against being called out for adherence to doctrines that were never in the law from the beginning.

Finally we should address here this idea of ‘alone’ and solitary; looking at the father and the son and what they may represent in the world, we should be able to see as well the reality that as individuals on either side of this argument of new versus old each take a hard stand. They take on immovable positions based in the emotion and the thoughts of not being told one is wrong on the one side and the enlightenment of the new Way of Love and Truth on the other side. No compromise and no surrender from the old who dig in and make their positions ever more difficult to dissuade, against the standing in Truth and in Love of the new Way; each side ‘alone’ in their opposition, forced apart by the division and the conflict. Is this the relevance of the final part of this saying? We do not KNOW for sure but this certainly does make sense of His words which are otherwise just idle words at the end of a saying and we KNOW that this CAN NOT be True.

The next saying, the seventeenth, is another that seems unique; that is that there is no saying like this in the accepted gospels. Here the Master is making statements about what it is that He brings to the world and what the disciple, the True believer, can get from those things that He brings. There are several renderings of these words and because the saying is short, we list what we have available:

• “I will give you what no eye has seen, and what no ear has heard, and what no hand has touched, and what has not occurred to the human mind” (Patterson and Robinson).
• “I will give you what no eye has seen and what no ear has heard and what no hand has touched and what has not entered into the heart of man” (Blatz)
• “I shall give you (plur.) what eyes have not seen, what ears have not heard, what hands have not touched, what has not come upon the human heart” (Layton).
• “I will give you what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, what no hand has touched, what has not arisen in the human heart” (Patterson and Meyer).
• “I shall give you what no eye has seen and what no ear has heard and what no hand has touched and what has never occurred to the human mind” (Lambdin)

All of these are more or less the same; Layton points out that the you is plural which for the rest is likely assumed but we should note that this like most ALL sayings should be seen on a personal level as well as on the corporate. The other difference is between heart and mind and for us, this is a significant difference; the heart IS the consciousness which is the awareness of the total man, mentally, emotionally and physically, as he processes the input that is either from above, the Soul and Christ Within, or from the world via the six senses. Now the interlinear here renders this word as mind and some of the translators that we cite here above use this word as both heart and mind and in this it is difficult to discern the proper rendering. We should note that not all believe as we do regarding the difference between heart and mind  and our understanding comes from our realization that the consciousness IS of the Soul, it is, with the Life, an eternal spiritual property that IS used by both the carnal nature and the divine as is the Life in form. The mind on the other hand is a part of the personality, a component of Life in the world that changes with each successive incarnation. Here then, upon additional research, we find that this word is used in a like saying to that one from the accepted gospels regarding the treasures of one’s heart and, based upon this usage, we will assume the idea of heart in this seventeenth saying that we are discussing here.

Taking this idea forward, we should note that there IS a similar saying in the Apostle Paul’s writings which is a repetition of sorts of a saying by the Prophet Isaiah and we can explore these meanings after we look at some of the commentaries on these words from Thomas’ Gospel:

• Marvin Meyer writes: “This saying is also cited in 1 Corinthians 2:9, perhaps as a wisdom saying in use among the enthusiasts of Corinthians. Compare Isaiah 64:4. The saying occurs frequently in Jewish and Christian literature, and sometimes it is said to come from the Apocalypse of Elijah or the Secrets (or, apocrypha) of Elijah. At other times it is said to be a saying of Jesus. A variant of the saying is also found in Plutarch, How the Young Person Should Study Poetry 17E: ‘And let these (words) of Empedocles be at hand: “Thus these things are not to be seen by men, nor heard, nor comprehended with the mind.” . . .’ The parallels have been collected by Michael E. Stone and John Strugnell, The Books of Elijah: Parts 1-2, pp. 41-73.” (The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, p. 76).
• Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: “The apostle Paul quotes something very close to this saying, perhaps from a lost document, in 1 Corinthians 2:9: ‘As it is written, What eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and what has not entered into the heart of man, such things God has prepared for those who love him.’ By the end of the second century these words were ascribed to Jesus, as in the Martyrdom of Peter (chapter 10) and the Acts of Peter with Simon (chapter 39). Thomas adds a unique reference to the sense of touch. The joys of the kingdom are completely unrelated to sense perception. (We should add that, like other Gnostics, he undoubtedly rejected the accounts in the gospels which speak of Jesus’s risen body as tangible – Luke 24:39; John 20:27). His phrasing of this saying is the exact reverse of 1 John 1:1, which speaks of ‘What we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled.” (The Secret Sayings of Jesus, p. 137).
• John S. Kloppenborg, Marvin W. Meyer, Stephen J. Patterson, and Michael G. Steinhauser state: “In view of the fact that Paul in this letter is struggling against the kind of esotericism promoted by this saying, it is not likely that he has quoted it here simply because he liked it. Rather, he must have drawn it from the repertoire of his opponents, only to fill it with new content amenable to his version of the gospel. According to Paul, that which has been revealed is not the knowledge (GNWSIS) that has ‘puffed up’ the ‘wise’ in Corinth, but the crucifixion, the ‘word of the cross’ as Paul himself puts it (1:18). Paul in a sense co-opts the methods of his opponents in order to correct their message.” (Q-Thomas Reader, p. 113).

There are many other verbose comments on this particular saying but those we cite here make most all the points that are made in the others. The reference to Paul and to Isaiah are noted in these comments and there are varying ideas as to whether Paul’s and Thomas’ source is Truly Isaiah or from some other hidden or apocryphal book while others seem to question the apostles motives for saying this thing. The sayings from Isaiah and Paul tell us:

• “For since the beginning of the world men have not heard , nor perceived by the ear , neither hath the eye seen , O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him” (Isaiah 64:4)

• “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard , neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10).

We should point out here that the commentaries above are yet again distorted and ambiguous and do not attend to the saying itself as they try to tell us what it is not and some go further to tell us certain things about Paul’s words which ARE NOT evident in them nor in the context in which they are offered. The words from Isaiah are clear in their context of the wrath of God as it is seen by men in those days being at naught against what is in store for the righteous, those things that “men have not heard , nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen” and we see this as he completes his thought saying: “Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways” (Isaiah 64:65). And Paul’s saying is a great Truth for ALL who Love God and we should KNOW that Paul’s idea of Loving God is the same as the Master’s and not some whimsical sense of adoration. The Master says: “If ye love me, keep my commandments” and then, perhaps so that there is no misconception of His intent He says again: “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him” (John 14:15, 23). And, if this were not a point made, Jesus continues and tells us from another perspective this same thing saying: “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love” (John 15:10).

Here in these words from Thomas’ Gospel we have the same without the ideas that raise the question of Love and the righteousness and this either because these words are said to His disciples who are already in this state or that in Thomas rendition of the Master’s saying this idea of Love and keeping His words is inherent in ALL such rewards. And what are the rewards? The revelation of the mysteries that He KNOWS and that are locked away and hidden from ALL until such time as a man can accomplish this Love and this keeping of His words. The Master holds the key for them to whom He is speaking but it is the same key that we should see in the opening of the gates of revelation and realization from the Soul, the Christ Within. The Master’s message is simple; ‘do these things which I say, keep my words and understand the Way of Life that is found within those things that I say‘ and Paul tells us then of the working out of this to for those that Love Him, those that keep His words, which is that “God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God“.

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.

Today’s quote of the day is a repeat of the Mantram of Unification which is an affirmation of the Oneness of the human family from the perspective of the disciple and the aspirant and any who hold these ideals as important. In this we find the essence of the two ideas that we have discussed from Values to Live By and that these are firmly grounded in the desire to Love not hate; to serve and not exact due service and to heal and not to hurt. It is Love shown as Truth and justice that is at the heart of this mantram.

Mantram of Unification

The sons of men are one and I am one with them.
I seek to love, not hate;
I seek to serve and not exact due service;
I seek to heal, not hurt.

Let pain bring due reward of light and love.
Let the Soul control the outer form, and life and all events,
And bring to light the love that underlies the happenings of the time.

Let vision come and insight.
Let the future stand revealed.
Let inner union demonstrate and outer cleavages be gone.
Let love prevail.
Let all men love.

The Mantram of Unification is a meditation and a prayer that at first affirms the unity of all men and the Brotherhood of Man based on the Fatherhood of God. The first stanza sets forth several truly Christian ideals in Unity, Love, Service and Healing. The second stanza is a invocation to the Lord and to our own Souls asking that from the pain (if there can truly be any) incurred in focusing on the Spirit and not the world will come Light and Love into our lives and that we begin to function as Souls through our conscious personalities. We ask that the spiritual control of our lives will bring to light for us the Love that underlies world events; a Love that the world oriented man will not see working out behind the scenes and also that the Love that we bring forth, individually and as a world group, can be seen by all and ultimately in all. Finally, in the last stanza we ask for those things that are needed for Love to abound. Vision and insight so that we can direct our attention properly; revelation of the future in the sense that all can see the Power of Love in the world; inner union so that we do not fall back into the world’s ways, that we faint not; and that a sense of separation, the antithesis of brotherhood, ends as we know it today. Let Love Prevail, Let All Men Love.spiritual control of our lives will bring to light for us the Love that underlies world events; a Love that the world oriented man will not see working out behind the scenes.

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts!

• ¹⁴ The Gospel of Thomas; Translated by Stephen J. Patterson and James M. Robinson; http://gnosis.org/