ON LOVE; PART DCLXXIX
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GoodWill IS Love in Action
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FIRST IS THE GREAT COMMANDMENTS: “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).
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WHAT THEN IS LOVE? 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.
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PLUS THE EVER IMPORTANT AND HIGH IDEAL TAUGHT TO US BY THE CHRIST: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12).
In the last essay we continued our look at the idea of grace as we understand it: as what comes to the consciousness of the man in the world from God and from the God Within. In this idea we must see that grace IS a spiritual flow and that there IS NO thing carnal about it; that one may prosper in the world over others IS NOT the grace of God but merely the working out of one’s Life in the world. This should be clearly seen in the reality that this prospering affects quite a large range of people….the devout and the moderately religious, the irreligious, and even those whose interests are in the range of illegal and immoral. Surely these last groups CAN NOT claim that their ability to prosper in the world has aught to do with grace and, if this IS True, then the idea of grace for the religious must also be seen in the same worldly light. We should also note here that the Master consistently downplays any importance of the things of the world and tells us clearly that men should NOT seek after such; there are many sayings also that show the spiritual plight of the rich and the worldly and perhaps the most clear IS the Master’s words saying “Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:23-24).
These words are misapplied by doctrines which choose to NOT see the Truth and which hold onto some notions that the Master surely wants men to DO well in the world; and these words are then misunderstood by millions based upon the doctrines and the nurturing that men receive….many DO believe that to have worldly goods IS grace. In our ideas above however we should be able to see that to prosper in the world is generally due to one’s focus upon the things of the world in combination with one’s place and time of birth. That a man IS in the right place and IS making the right worldly decisions plays some part, illegal activity plays some as well. And there IS also the factor of ‘luck’ which IS a completely worldly factor that IS also felt by the religious and the irreligious as well as those involved in illegal and immoral activities. In the Master’s words that precede those above on riches, His words to the rich young man, we find that the way to discipleship IS to forsake the things of the world which this man DOES NOT DO and thereby has NO spiritual gain, a gain which IS the overriding objective of one’s Life here in this Earth. And we should understand that the idea of riches here IS NOT limited to possessions and wealth and, like the idea of treasures, this idea of riches has a psychic component which in the world allows men from most ALL social strata to see themselves as rich in comparison to their own peers. There IS also the spiritual component of each of these as we can see in the Master’s teaching on the “treasures upon earth” as compared to “treasures in heaven” and as we find in the Parable of the Rich Fool where the Master tells us of the fate of the man who “layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:21).
In these ideas and especially in the Master’s words on treasures which he shows us more clearly in His ideas on the treasure of the heart, we should be able to see the reality of the focus of the Life of a man….there IS NO clearer idea regarding this that Jesus saying that “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Luke 23:34). Here, as we KNOW, this idea of treasure encompasses ALL thoughts, attitudes, actions and things that take our attention and our time and it IS in this same frame of reference that we should see riches and one’s sense of riches. In the Master’s words that show us spiritual riches and spiritual treasures we should be able to see through ALL ideas of the things of the world being due to the grace of God and we should see His intent in casting this division between the things of the world and the things of God. It IS unfortunate that there ARE many who teach otherwise, many whose doctrines admix the Old Testament idea of the prospering of the Nation of Israel as presented in the law of Moses, to which there IS the further admixing of the promises to Abraham. These doctrines claim prosperity for the man who IS religious according to their own doctrines and they hold out those who have achieved as examples of this living the Life of praying for such benefits and giving and tithing according to His Will. It IS of course left to the individual to discern this ‘will’ of God in their lives and we would guess that this IS seldom according to the ideas from James on the Wisdom from above which, in our reading and understanding, precludes ALL selfish interests. But these achievers ARE in the same world as those who achieve without this doctrine; those who achieve as we cite above; there IS NO special grace given to the devout nor the moderately religious man nor IS there any withheld from the irreligious nor the man whose interests are in illegal or immoral activities.
The reality of grace IS that there IS NO carnal component to it; there IS NO worldly favor. Grace IS a purely spiritual enterprise and it DOES NOT consist of things but of revelations and realizations of Truth and of Love; these ARE the currency for the man whose focus IS upon the things of God and these ARE the things of God. Jesus puts these ideas in perspective for us, the division between the things of God and the things of the world, in many of His words and sayings but this IS NOT seen by men through the illusion and the glamour of Life; this division exists in this same world from which the man must escape. The Master tells us of the Spiritual way saying: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?” (Luke 9:23-25). The division here IS clear and the reality of Life is clearly painted for those who can see it….that if one chooses the Earthly Life he may “gain the whole world” but in so doing he will “lose himself” which we should try to see as that he will lose the opportunity to Truly save his Life and live it as His disciple. There are many words by the Master and His apostles that cast this same sense of division between the carnal and the spiritual, between the world and God, and there IS none so poignant than James most blunt and straightforward words saying: “know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4).
It IS very important that we understand this sense of division and how that the things of God ARE NOT the things of the world and that these ideas of grace, being that which comes to a man from God, ARE NOT in any way carnal things but spiritual. And so the idea that spiritual currency IS grace and IS the revelations and the realizations that come from God through one’s own view of God Within. In these ideas above we are reinforcing the reality of grace as this should be understood, as the tools and the abilities to live the Life of the aspirant and the disciple in the world and, while there are many words to show this and many ways to see this, the best IS perhaps found in the idea of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes from God and IS God in essence; the Holy Spirit is the realization and revelation of divinity to the man in the world; the Holy Spirit IS a man’s sense of KNOWING the Truth and the Holy Spirit IS the Truth. Here then, for the man who has some degree of focus upon the things of God, there IS a corresponding degree grace, of realization and revelation which, if used as the man’s expression to the world, will grow, and it IS in this growth that there IS more grace in the Life of the man. This infusion of grace into one’s Life IS the presence of the Holy Spirit, the presence of the activity of the God Within and the Christ Within which should be seen as ONE effective presence of God; the God and the Christ Within ARE in the Kingdom of God and their activity in the conscious Life of the man IS the Holy Spirit. We should try to understand that these divine parts of the Trinity of man, the Spirit and the Soul or the God and the Christ Within, never Truly touch the world except through their activity in the consciousness of the spiritually focused man; they psychically motivate the personality which in turn motivates the body itself in the world. The Holy Spirit IS this activity, this motivating factor in the Life of the man in the world and while this can be difficult to see, it may become clearer by studying the chart below.
The presentation of these ideas in the gospels is murky at best and the better view IS found in the Gospel of John where the Master speaks about this Oneness of the Aspects of the Trinity of God and alludes to the same realities in the Life of man. That these ideas ARE NOT clearly understood by the writers of the synoptic gospels IS the likely reason that they ARE NOT elucidated there and in the dialogue from John’s Gospel that we read in the last post we should see the confusion and the lack of understanding more clearly in Jesus’ words with the Apostle’s Thomas and Phillip. And we should remember here as well that the parabolic tone of the Master’s speech IS NOT limited to the multitudes but this IS His tone in communicating with His apostles as well; we read this in the Master’s words saying: “These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father” (John 16:25). We should not make the mistake here of assuming what things the Master IS referring but take the broadest view of this; as we read at the end regarding the Father, we should be able to see ALL things regarding God as His subject. John Gill sees specifics here as he cites that “these things” refers to things: Concerning his Father, and his Father’s house, and the many mansions in it, of his going to prepare a place for them there, and of the way unto it, all which they seemed not to understand; of the nature of communion with him and his Father, and of the manifestation of them to them 8. We should note the lack of understanding by the apostles regarding these things in our current sayings from John below but more so we should try to see that Jesus words and tone are such that those who can understand will understand and that this same dynamic carries forward yet to today.
Vincent see the Master’s word on Jesus’ parabolic language here in a different way as we read that: Proverbs (παροιμίαις); See on parables, Matthew 13:3. He had spoken under figures, as the vine, and the woman in travail 4. Vincent’s view here seems to be specifically regarding the parable as the story and NOT the greater parabolic value of most ALL of His words and the clarifications and amplifications of them by His apostles as well. Repeating our current verses from the Apostle John’s Gospel:
“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake” (John 14:1-11).
We should remember here that our primary focus IS on the idea of grace and its relationship to the Holy Spirit, that both of these are essentially the same, they come to the consciousness of the man whose focus IS on the Lord, they come to him by degree and that in both ideas we have the growth of their activity in the Life and the expression of the man in the world. As we begin here we should remember that Jesus IS speaking to His disciples, the Twelve Apostles who had been with Him for some time and who had heard His many words and had seen His works, His miracles and His ways. With this in mind it IS odd that the first words here would be spoken by the Master to the Twelve as a request that they believe in Him as this IS rendered above. This IS likely NOT the intent as we read from John Gill who says: ye believe in God, believe also in me; which words may be read and interpreted different ways: either thus, “ye believe in God, and ye believe in me”; and so are both propositions alike, and express God and Christ to be equally the object of their faith; and since therefore they had so good a foundation for their faith and confidence, they had no reason to be uneasy: or thus, “believe in God, and believe in me”; and so both are exhortations to exercise faith alike on them both 8. This sets a better tone for the rest of the Master’s words and on this Vincent agrees saying: Ye believe – believe also (πιστεύετε καὶ πιστεύετε); The verbs may be taken either as indicatives or as imperatives. Thus we may render: ye believe in God, ye believe also in me; or, believe in God and ye believe in me; or, believe in God and believe in me; or again, as A.V. The third of these renderings corresponds best with the hortatory character of the discourse 4. Taking Vincent’s more developed approach we should see this as believe in God and believe in me as the ye IS NOT in the Greek text.
So then this IS His admonition to the Twelve; to keep the faith if you will and to believe in both the Father and the Son without wavering. We should remember here that these words are said just after the end of the Last Supper and just after the Master more succinctly explained to them His impending death and that He was leaving them; neither of which ideas IS understood by the apostles. And so we begin here with the admonition that they remain strong and that they be not troubled…and that they continue in their belief in the things Jesus had said and done before them. The next idea of “many mansions” IS another that is misunderstood and that has many possible interpretations.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
| Aspect |
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.
We repeat here again a saying that is from the Bhagavad Gita, which goes well with our theme of the God Within, the Soul, which we see as the Christ Within and while this is good in the Christian world and is True based upon our understanding of the Christ as the manifestation of God, we should also see in these words below that it does not matter what these divine ideas are called; that it matters not what we call this Inner Man, that he is the same in ALL, he is the Soul.
Thou carriest within thee a sublime Friend whom thou knowest not. For God dwells in the inner part of every man, but few know how to find Him. The man who sacrifices his desires and his works to the Beings from whom the principles of everything stem, and by whom the Universe was formed, through this sacrifice attains perfection. For one who finds his happiness and joy within himself, and also his wisdom within himself is one with God. And, mark well, the soul which has found God is freed from rebirth and death, from old age and pain, and drinks the water of Immortality.—Bhagavad-Gita
It is difficult to tell just what verses of the Bhagavad Gita the above is from; whether it is a paraphrase or a combination. It is from the book “The Great Initiates” by Édouard Schuré which was originally published in French in 1889 and perhaps it is in the translation of the verses that they become hard to recognize. However, the sheer beauty of the presentation caught my attention and so I share it with you. The Path to the Kingdom is the same no matter what religion one professes.
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts!
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888
- 8 Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com
