IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 1108

ON LOVE; PART DCXCVII

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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 with our discussion on grace as it IS presented to us by the Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Romans. We have spent much unanticipated time in these words and on the view of them by the doctrinal church which believes that this IS their reasoning for the doctrinal ideas of grace as the “free gift” that comes from believing in the doctrinal ideas regarding Jesus. Our reality here IS that Paul’s words ARE more of a historical look at the reality of sin and of grace in the world from the time of Adam and that the only way to see the apostle’s point IS to understand that the doctrines of ‘original sin‘ and the ‘fall of man‘, as these things are taught by most denominations of Christianity, ARE purely the product of the doctrines of men. They are based in the original teachings of the Church Fathers who DID NOT see the need to separate the Master’s words from the doctrines and the traditions of the Jews in those days. Our view IS that it IS the carry over of the Jewish myths and traditions that led the Church Fathers to see the Master’s teachings from the perspective of the man in the world rather than from the spiritual perspective in which His words are offered to us.

Much of the doctrinal error that has reached into our modern culture originated in these early days when men DID NOT think as clearly as they felt and it IS in their emotional drive that the devotional ideas toward God are formed; and the words of the Master and His apostles are still seen in that light which was combined with the Old Testament ideas as these were interpreted by the Jews in those days. The idea of the ‘fall of man‘ as punishment for the sin of Adam and the and the mistaken view of the True operation of the law as this IS interpreted from the words of Paul, have led religion to believe and to teach their varied doctrines on faith and believing, that these ARE sufficient according the common understanding of these ideas for one’s salvation. This IS of course contrary to the words of the Master who clearly tells us the reality of discipleship and the Truth of being accounted worthy of the Kingdom of God. And this IS contrary as well to the True ideas that ARE hidden in Jesus’ parables which are interpreted according to the established beliefs and the reality of the words of the apostles which are also seen in this doctrinal light. And this leads us as well to the use of words and the understanding of ideas that have been allowed to mean whatsoever doctrines have promulgated. It IS the search for a better idea of the meaning of New Testament Greek words that much of our blog addresses. Today we must look at the ideas of condemnation, judgement, righteousness and justification, as these are used in our selection from Romans below, as these ideas detract from the Truer understanding of the dispensations of grace and the effect of the law and the Master’s teachings that we have been discussing over the last few posts. We repeat our selection again:

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous” (Romans 5:12-19).

The word that IS rendered as condemnation here in these sayings IS misleading as it alludes to the idea that “judgment came upon all men to condemnation” as that this IS for the offense of the one man Adam and that this condemnation became the plight of the whole race of men. The Greek word used here IS katakrima which IS rendered as condemnation and which the lexicon tells us means: damnatory sentence, condemnation ². The lexicon also tells us that this word has its origin in the Greek word katakrino which they tell us means: to give judgment against, to judge worthy of punishment to condemn; by one’s good example to render another’s wickedness the more evident and censurable ². This latter word is the verb while the former IS the noun. The greater idea here IS in the reality of judgment but this too leaves one wanting for a deeper understanding as it IS our view that there IS NO judge beside oneself in regard to spiritual things and there IS NO condemnation from the perspective of punishment or a “damnatory sentence“; these are misapplied ideas based in the erroneous ideas of a vengeful or a wrathful God.

The doctrinal idea of this phrase can be clearly seen in this from John Gill who says: for the judgment was by one to condemnation; by “judgment” is meant, not the judgment of God, or the judiciary sentence pronounced by God on Adam and his posterity for sin; but the guilt of the one man’s sin, which is imputed to all men to condemnation, on account of which the sentence of condemnation passed on all men; the law transgressed, became a ministration of condemnation to them ⁸. Here we see the idea of this sin being imputed to all men and the condemnation that is afforded to all by this sin. That this Life in the world apart from God IS the result of the sin of Adam IS a Truth but the reality of it IS clouded in the doctrinal understanding of sin. If we can understand this idea of sin in its proper context, if we can see the reality that sin is the result of that vanity that the apostle tells us of, we can see the greater idea of Life in the world apart from God. If we can see that this condemnation, as well of most ALL uses of the series of Greek words that imply this or related ideas, IS the natural action of Life in form, that this IS the plight of men under the Plan of God, we can see past the ideas of punishment and of judgement. And the Greek word krima, which IS here rendered as judgement, IS one of these kindred words that implies these same ideas; the lexicon tells us that krima means: a decree, judgments; judgment condemnation of wrong, the decision (whether severe or mild) which one passes on the faults of others; in a forensic sense the sentence of a judge; the punishment with which one is sentenced; condemnatory sentence, penal judgment, sentence; a matter to be judicially decided, a lawsuit, a case in court ².

In the similarity of these words there should be some sense of confusion but this IS NOT our point, our point here IS simply that the doctrinal ideas of judgement and of condemnation derive from the doctrinal beliefs that assign these ideas to the apostle’s intent. The reality DOES NOT change, it IS only our understanding of this that changes. Adam, as the first man or representing the first men, comes to see the world through his human eyes; he senses and he feels the pleasurable nature of Life in the world and he IS consumed by this to the extent that he loses sight of the reality of his own spiritual nature; this IS the way of men in the world, this IS the natural effect of the combination of the Soul with the human animal and here the resultant personality chooses to follow the attractions offered by the world. This IS the expected result and while this IS painted as a story of disobedience, it IS NOT Truly what it appears to be; it IS this that Paul further explains saying that “the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same” (Romans 8:20). This IS Life in the world under the Plan of God; this IS judgement and condemnation ONLY from the perspective of this subjection to the way of this Life and we should understand here that there was NO choice for Adam nor for Eve as the attractions of the flesh in conjunction with the carnal feelings and thoughts of the personality MUST have this result of living for the self in the world. It IS this newfound focus that IS the essential result of this vanity which IS man’s perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends ⁴. 

The greater point here is found in the resolution to this being “made subject to vanity” which IS seen by doctrine in the common understanding of these ideas of judgement and condemnation, as a punishment if you will, that IS passed onto ALL men based in the simplicity of Adam’s sin. For the simplistic nature of the men thousands of years ago, the story of the Garden of Eden may have been necessary for their understanding of their own plight and the nature of their return; the nature of their grace IS found in the pronouncements of the law and then in the words of the Master; both of these show the man the Way based upon the mental and emotional state of the man in those times when these revelations of grace were given. While the Genesis story DOES NOT change, the ability of men to see deeper into it should have and this failure IS the fault of the doctrines of men that begin in the Jewish traditions and continue to this day; there ARE many sayings in the complete story that should be able to awaken the inner vision of men over these many centuries. This IS from our perspective the logical intent, that men would come to see deeper by their understanding of the very words used and NOT here ONLY but in most ALL of scripture; the progressive reality found in the very idea of the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” and of the “tree of life” should give pause to the earnest seeker through the centuries and likely should have advanced the doctrinal views.

And it is perhaps in his recognizing that the Truth of these ideas IS lacking that Paul goes on to teach us of this vanity, that it IS the Plan of God and that there IS a freedom from this, a deliverance from it, found in these ideas above which are keeping the law and keeping the words of the Master. And for us this resolution IS simply focus, the change of one’s focus from the things of the world to the things of God which IS the reality of Repentance; this IS the revelation offered by the Master, this IS a part of that grace that He offers us in the new dispensation of Love. And we should try to see here how that this Love IS the tool of Repentance as one CAN NOT focus upon the things of God without an ardent focus upon Love. And so Paul teaches us of this vanity but this idea IS seen by doctrine in terms of the “fall of man” and NOT in the reality that this IS the way of Life in this world and, while the apostle DOES tell us of the deliverance, the doctrinal approach sees the idea of waiting as it IS commonly understood, as one’s idly standing by in wait. For us this idleness IS NOT the apostle’s intent in the full idea that:

“For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:19-23).

This waiting IS an active process by which the man takes upon himself the the work of his own salvation as he patiently awaits his own completion as a disciple of the Lord. This IS the same patient waiting that we ascribed to the husbandman in the Apostle James’ words saying: “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh” (James 5:7-8). Here we should understand that as the husbandman awaits the fruit, he diligently labors for that fruit and it IS in this light that we must understand our own waiting.  And this IS the greater reality of this gift of grace, that there IS an active participation required for a man to see and to understand this in his individual Life.

Like the dual ideas of krima and of katakrima which mean much the same above, we have the dual ideas found in the kindred Greek words dikaioma and dikaiosis which ARE rendered as righteousness and justification; it is this same dikaioma that IS rendered as justification in its prior usage; it IS in the rendering of Paul’s ideas according to the preconceived ideas from the Jewish Tradition and doctrines that much confusion abounds. The underlying reality here IS that there IS a gift of grace that comes in the Advent of the Lord globally and it IS in following Him and keeping His words individually that one can have this realization of grace. This reality IS however lost in doctrine as the words and ideas are manipulated to show that the gift of grace comes to the man based in the doctrinal sense of believing and this IS an idea that IS NOT offered in the apostle’s words. The most simple way to understand the apostle’s intent IS in accord with the Master’s words that tell us that it IS in keeping His words and in DOING the Will of the Father that one attains the Kingdom and it IS ONLY in this sense that the idea of righteousness should be seen to apply. The doctrinal idea can be seen in this from Mr. Gill who says: so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous; not by their own obedience; nor by their own obedience and Christ’s together; but by his sole and single obedience to the law of God: and the persons made righteous by it are not all the posterity of Adam, and yet not a few of them; but “many”, even all the elect of God, and seed of Christ; these are all made righteous in the sight of God, are justified from all their sins, and entitled to eternal life and happiness ⁸.

These type of doctrinal ideas take away the responsibility of men to DO and are contrary to the very fabric of the Master’s teachings and this IS perhaps a key reason for the failure of religion to in mitigate the world’s problems over the centuries since He left us with the Great Commandments on Love and the multiplicity of His words that should have guided humanity into a greater realization of the Kingdom of God and of discipleship. And so the Master’s words below from the Gospel of John; these words on the Comforter and on the ability of men to DO “greater works” ARE intended for the disciple, the man who “believeth on me” in the True understanding of these words which mean that one keeps His words or, as Vincent shows us, that to “believeth on me” means to: to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life ⁴. In these ideas there IS great Truth that IS missed by those doctrines which have so simplified these Truths as to make them of little effect.

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.  At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you” (John 14:12-20).

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.

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!

 

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