IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 1004

ON LOVE; PART DXCIII

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•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•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•Α

“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).

ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ

“Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:36-40).

We ended our last essay discussing our thoughts on the first part of the Apostle James’ words on the Wisdom from above where he speaks about what IS NOT that Wisdom saying: “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” (James 3:14). Here in the apostle’s words “bitter envying and strife in your hearts” there is little clarity of what he means as these words are again among the more obscure Greek words that he could have used. In yesterday’s post we explored some to the interpretations of this part of the saying as well as the reality of the translated words and we found that there IS NO consistency in the commentaries nor IS there any agreement on the meaning of the words. Vincent tells us that he word rendered as envy is better seen as emulation and on this the Commentary Critical ⁸ agrees but they see the overall saying in relation to the doctrinal idea of harsh teaching and see “bitter envying and strife in your hearts” as boasting about one’s own Wisdom. Mr. Gill ⁸ on the other hand sees this as that the man who has this “bitter envying and strife” is asserting himself because he is envious of others and seeks to outdo them. We posted at the end of our essay the Webster’s 1828 definition of emulation and it IS here that we find some better ideas for what James IS saying in this regard which, while similar to the ideas above from Mr. Gill and the Commentary Critical, offers us different motivation insofar as this attitude and Vincent helps us here by suggesting that this envying IS better seen as self-devotion.

That this is a difficult Greek word is evident in the usage and in the definitions afforded it by the lexicon where we read that zelos means: excitement of mind, ardour, fervour of spirit zeal, ardour in embracing, pursuing, defending anything zeal in behalf of, for a person or thing; the fierceness of indignation, punitive zeal; an envious and contentious rivalry, jealousy ². As we noted yesterday, these ideas of zeal and envy, even in bitterness, CAN NOT give us a clear understanding of what is the state of the man for whom True Wisdom does not come and here we should understand the nature of James’ words which ARE saying that the Wisdom that this man has IS NOT from above. These ideas of “bitter envying and strife” ARE far too limiting as regards who it would be that would be seeing Wisdom falsely and, like so many of the apostles sayings and words, we should be seeing the deeper ideas of the thoughts and the attitudes of the man; that they are oriented toward the self. Here, while the link to teaching IS included in these ideas, they should be seen in a much broader way and as a tool in helping to understand one’s own nature insofar as Wisdom is concerned. We should remember that these ideas are understood differently by the aspirant and the disciple who as a general rule DOES NOT have this sense of self but can easily be drawn into a sense of ‘my way’ and ‘my idea’ as he lives in the world of duality; the ordinary man IS NOT concerned with these ideas as he does not recognize their existence nor the potency of the self in such spiritual pursuits.

The apostle tells us then that if a man believes that he IS Wise and at the same time has a strong sense of his own self and his own rightness, glamour is clearly seen here, he IS wrong in assuming that his Wisdom IS from above and, on the other side, he should KNOW that this wisdom IS from below, Earthly and carnal. We should see the other word that IS rendered as strife in this same way; here Vincent tells us that strife IS a wrong rendering of this word which should be seen as factious and which implies a man who is given to faction or support of the views of one’s own group in opposition to others; in this we can see the sense of doctrine. In the combination here we should see that if one holds strong attitudes and thoughts regrading belief in one’s own Wisdom, or in the Wisdom of his particular sect or group, and holds these in opposition to others in a sense of righteousness, that this Wisdom IS “earthly, sensual, devilish“. In its link to teaching we should see the reality that these contentious things should not be taught to others and hence the apostle’s warning that we “be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation” (James 3:1). In general we should try to see that it IS the sense of self that IS of importance here, that what one may think IS Wisdom DOES NOT concern the self nor one’s beliefs but rather meets the qualification that the apostle presents next as what IS Wisdom from above as we read: “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 3:17).

While the earlier ideas of what Wisdom IS NOT from above center around the type of person who IS seeking this Wisdom which we interpret here as the person who IS self-devoted, as Vincent frames this, rather that devoted to the things of God, the apostles ideas on what IS Wisdom from above center upon what IS the nature of the Wisdom itself. Here we can link James words on the type of person, the person given to the Truth of “bitter envying and strife” rather than the doctrinal ideas of envy and contentious rivalry as strife, to the ideas from the first chapter where he can ask God for Wisdom but that he must “ask in faith, nothing wavering” in order to receive. In this idea of “nothing wavering” we should understand the single-minded man as the apostle defines for us the reality of the man who wavers saying that a “double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:6, 8). The spiritual impact here IS that the single-minded man IS focused upon God and God alone while the double-minded man IS focused upon himself as a man in the world who may hear the call of his own Soul but chooses to ignore it or pay it little attention. While we try to paint this in a broader way for most men, we should remember that James IS speaking to aspirants and disciples for whom this can make better sense as this man should be focused on the things of God but chooses at times to entertain the temptations of the things of the world. We should understand here that these temptations need NOT be the to the gross things of the world, they just need to be those things that distract a man from the Truth, and ALL of these attractions will be for the lower self, the personality in the world; the ideas of self-devotion, the idea of keeping and promoting ones own thoughts and attitudes or those of ones ‘faction’, ARE a part of the attractions of the lower self. And this can be the teacher who teaches his own version of reality, the teacher who has convinced himself that his views are right, that slavery is allowed under the law for example, or this can be any man who believes such things and believes that they are Wisdom.

James says that this man who believes those self-oriented things should “glory not, and lie not against the truth” and in this idea there IS much that IS unsaid as this includes ALL thoughts and attitudes that a man can have which are “against the truth“. In this one can see his True place whensoever he looks at things in the light of day and NOT in the self-prepared cover of protection with which he deludes himself. Slavery here IS a good historic example and there ARE many similar ideas that afflict man yet today and most ALL of these are contrary to the Truth of Universal Love; that Love for one’s neighbor, ALL neighbors, that DOES NOT have even a tinge of partisanship nor favor; Love that has NO “respect to persons“. The apostle’s point here and in the first chapter IS that if a man IS NOT focused upon God, that the Wisdom that he may believe IS True Wisdom from above IS NOT; it IS “earthly, sensual, devilish“. Here again we should note the reality of these things operating by degree and that there IS revelation to the man who Truly strives to focus upon the things of God and it IS the bits of realization that one receives that help him to keep his focus.

In our words we ARE offering teaching and we are subject to these same things that the apostle speaks about; we wrangle with temptation and we at times waver and we believe that our view IS the more correct one. We DO what we DO however in full understanding of the words of the Master and his apostles and we DO so without building cover or creating doctrines of cover behind which we can practice the convenient things while making allowances for the inconvenient ideas of Love. But what of our words here about things spiritual working out in Life by degree? There is no specific scripture for this save that one we adopted to cover our idea as we use the Master’s words “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:24). While we see this by experience, while we see the continued revelations and realizations while we are still wavering and prone to temptation, these ARE for those who hear us but words. Perhaps the difference IS that we DO naught for our own benefit; the ideas on degree DO NOT make us any more worthy of the Kingdom as we KNOW that the reality of the Kingdom IS in the totality of keeping His words and that it IS toward this that we strive….not the Kingdom per se but the totality of keeping His words. Aside from our own ideas here our words are just words and we ourselves must beware of our own teaching and understand that there IS a greater burden upon us for doing so.

ALL this aside, we have James’ words as guidance and while he does tell us that the person whose focus is in the self and things of the self DOES NOT receive the revelations of Wisdom, he tells us also of the qualities of those things that ARE from above, those things that are the revelations and we should note that his list includes naught that is for the self in the world. These ARE the qualities of the thoughts and attitudes from above that we develop and have; they are: “first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy“. There IS much confusion regarding some of these words as some are rendered differently by translators and viewed differently in commentary but here, even in the more restrictive meanings that may be applied, we should see the reality of the apostle’s intent. For us these words of of great importance as they define what we KNOW as Truth and if what we KNOW as Truth DOES NOT meet this criteria, then it IS NOT Truth. There are many versions of Truth but there IS ONLY one Truth and the reason that there ARE versions IS because men have selected alternatives that better match their own view and their own Lifestyle. In an effort to best understand these ideas on what IS Wisdom from above, we look again at the words and their meanings; we use here some ideas from previous posts with along with our more current thinking on these things:

• The first word is pure and according to Vincent  this IS, the key word in the whole of this verse; Vincent tells us that First. Emphasizing its inner quality, pure, as distinguished from its outward expressions. The idea is not first numerically, but first essentially. The other qualities are secondary as outgrowths of this primary quality ⁴. As we begin to understand the depth that can be assigned to this word, Vincent’s ideas make much sense. Strong’s tells us of the Greek word hagnos, which is rendered here as pure, means: pure (in some contexts morally pure), innocent ³ and in this we should take hold also of the idea of innocent. The lexicon is a bit more doctrinal and has this to say about hagnos: exciting reverence, venerable, sacred; pure, pure from carnality, chaste, modest, pure from every fault, immaculate, clean ². This helps some in understanding the way this is meant and we should see here the English word pure in the Greek word hagnos and, with this in mind, we turn to Webster’s for some understanding of the word pure. We read: Pure 1.Separate from all heterogeneous or extraneous matter; free from mixture or combination; clean; mere; simple; unmixed; as pure water; pure clay; pure air; pure compassion. 2. Free from moral defilement or guilt; hence, innocent; guileless; chaste; — applied to persons. Keep thyself pure.” 1 Tim. v. 22. 3. Free from that which harms, vitiates, weakens, or pollutes; genuine; real; perfect; — applied to things and actions. Pure religion and impartial laws.” Tickell. The pure, fine talk of Rome.” Ascham. 4.(Script.) Ritually clean; fitted for holy services ¹. We should note here that the this word is rendered differently in some bible translations; we find this as chaste and as holy, and while the idea of chaste DOES NOT appear to work in this context, the idea of holy does. Here then if we trust in Vincent’s remarks we can see the this Wisdom is pure according to the definitions we see here and in the whole of these ideas we see that there is NO thing that is for the benefit of the man in the world nor that feeds his sense of self in the world. This Greek word that IS rendered as pure IS closely related to another which IS most always rendered as holy and perhaps we can see here that pure IS the realization by the man in the world of those holy ideas that ARE the Wisdom from above. In the idea of holy we have a word that IS doctrinally defined; it IS a word of doctrine that IS used to relate the Greek word hagios which IS a kindred word to hagnos which IS rendered as pure. In the idea of holy we should understand that it IS of the quality of God who IS perfect and pure. Webster’s 1828 version says this of holy:  Properly, whole, entire or perfect, in a moral sense. Hence, pure in heart, temper or dispositions; free from sin and sinful affections. Applied to the Supreme Being, holy signifies perfectly pure, immaculate and complete in moral character ¹; Webster’s offers more but this is of a more doctrinal nature.

In our view here we should look at these ideas of pure and holy together as they are related and ARE perhaps the same idea from different perspectives; holy speaks of God’s nature and perhaps the nature of the man who has achieved the Kingdom and its perfection while pure in James’ context is not speaking of the man but of the thoughts of the man, that they are in accordance with this sense of perfection. It IS thoughts and attitudes that we are speaking of here and when such IS Godlike and perfect we can see that it IS from above. While this may seem constrictive, it IS only the things of God that can come from God and in this we should be able to exclude ALL things that are intended for the benefit of the man in the world.

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.

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:18-20)

This is called by some of the church the Great Commission and so it is. It is however hardly understood and at times grossly misapplied. Somewhere in the centuries that have passed since the Master left us we have come to think that the meaning of this is just to preach the word through any particular doctrine and baptize according to any particular belief. Vincent tells us that the word translated as teach here should be seen as make disciples of ⁴ and the lexicon bears this out. There is nowhere in scripture an actual defining understanding of the concept of baptism and we generally think of it as the immersion into or the pouring on of water and that somehow this clears us of sin. This is but an outward sign however of real spiritual undertaking by the conscious man and it is only when a man is ready to commit to the Master that a baptism can be considered real. We will leave this as the Quote of the Day for a few days and try to find in it some true meaning. Keeping in mind our four points, we should ponder on this.

The Master is speaking to disciples and not the multitudes and these are those that do believe on Him and follow Him and keep His words. Hard sayings for man in the world but claimed by many nonetheless. There IS a reality in the idea that the disciple should be “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” which IS His words that ARE to be kept and in this light we add these ideas from the Buddha: “Love yourself and watch – today, tomorrow, always. First establish yourself in the way, Then teach, and so defeat sorrow. To straighten the crooked you must first do a harder thing – straighten yourself” (Dhammapada; on Yourself)⁵.

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts!

• ¹  Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1828 and 1913
• ² New Testament Greek Lexicon on BibleStudyTools.com
• ³ Strongest Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible – 2001
• ⁴ Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888
• ⁸ Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com