ON LOVE; PART DCXCIX
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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).
“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).
In the last essay we completed our look at our secondary set of verses from the Apostle Paul’s Epistle to the Romans and specifically that part that deals with grace as the free gift of the Master which we repeat above. While we concur with the doctrinal idea that this grace IS a gift from God, we differ in the overall interpretation of that gift. While doctrines allude to the idea that there IS NO responsibility for a man to receive this grace other than his belief in the doctrinal approach to Christ in faith, this IS NOT the True message that the apostle IS offering. We have shown how that there IS a historical context in Paul’s ideas about sin as it progresses from a basic unawareness that men ARE so DOING and into the state of the law as given by Moses where men KNOW that they are in sin. This Truth however IS NOT apparent to those who DO NOT see the reality of sin as that sin IS the focus of the Life of a man on himself and his own interests in the world. If we can look at the idea of sin versus righteousness we can see this most clearly: simply, if one IS NOT righteous he IS in sin. This IS of course an uncomfortable perception for a man to have when the view of sin IS as this IS commonly understood, as those evil offenses that ARE deemed as sin by the church. And there is much variation on this theme. When however one can see sin as it IS outlined in the Ten Commandments and in the ancillary commandments which follow, one can get a Truer sense of the reality of sin and understand the way that our own term of focus can be the point of Repentance.
Our greatest example of the True idea of sin can be found in the Great Commandments that we have above; these words from the Master are His reiteration of the words from the Old Testament Books of the Law and we should note that Jesus puts His own stamp on this in His offering us the better understanding of “love thy neighbour as thyself” in the Golden Rule; here He sets forth the thoughts and attitudes of one who Loves as we also read above. It IS our view that these ideas that we take from the Master’s words, plus His other straightforward sayings regarding the Kingdom of God and discipleship, that these are ONLY for the man who DOES keep His words, that he DO the Will of the Father, MUST trump the ideas that are erroneously gleaned from Paul’s writings on the law and on grace. But this IS NOT the way that these things are viewed by the doctrines of men who from the beginning created doctrines of safe harbor for their own ways in the world, ways that are contrary to the Truth of His words but which ARE convenient for men. When we can see sin as this should be defined, as wrong focus or as the lexicon tells us: to be without a share in; to miss the mark; to err, be mistaken; to miss or wander from the path of uprightness and honour, to do or go wrong; to wander from the law of God, violate God’s law, sin; that which is done wrong, sin, an offence, a violation of the divine law in thought or in act; collectively, the complex or aggregate of sins committed either by a single person or by many 2, we will see this much clearer. For many these ideas from the lexicon are their doctrinal understanding of sin but this DOES NOT necessarily result in a proper understanding in practice; few see the failure in the ideas of Love as sin and fewer yet see the precepts of the Master from the Sermon on the Mount as commandments despite Jesus’ comments at the end and the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders.
Some doctrines offer degrees of sin and while there ARE likely many ways to view sin’s seriousness, ALL that IS NOT righteous IS still sin. We should understand that ALL such divisions ARE the doctrines of men and there ARE many things included in the Catholic Church’s ideas of mortal sin that ARE not Truly sin at ALL; these ARE rather the churches attempt to have rule over their perception of the morality of men. In the view that sin IS simply missing the mark which, mark IS righteousness, we can more clearly see and define the very nature of our own actions in thought, attitude and action in it. In the greater reality of Paul’s ideas on sin and on grace we should try to understand the his point as that it IS by understanding the nature of sin as the Master presents this that we are freed from the rote of the law. In the sense of grace, the progression of it to the world, which the Master brings, the ideas of Truth and Love are applied to the hearts of men, that they should see the better way of righteousness as the greater Truths of conscience in the Light of His words. It IS unfortunate that this IS become so lost in the doctrines that have diluted the Master’s words and which promise heaven and hell based in ideas that ARE NOT right interpretations of the New Testament Truths.
The flow of grace IS Truly free globally, the Master came to us with this gift which was to show the better way than merely compliance with the laws as they were given by Moses. The sense of grace that IS offered by the Master is based in the Love that was a part of the law that Moses gave to the world, a part which languished in the doctrinal teachings of the Jewish religious leaders over the centuries. And this sense of Love IS revived and revitalized in the words of the Master. His intent however IS seen by only a few and we should understand that in NOT seeing His Truths on Love, we miss the mark, we sin. And, in this state of sin, this state of focusing one’s Life upon the interests of the self rather that the things of God, a man will NOT realize this grace, this “free gift” of grace, in his own individual Life. It IS here, in the individual Life of the man in the world, that this grace MUST be unlocked and that it MUST be understood as the spiritual ability of revelation and realization of the Truth and the Love; revelations and realizations which grow in one’s Life in direct proportion to their expression by the man in the world; expression which IS the result of his focus upon the things of God. It IS in this focus, it IS in this expression of Love and Truth, that we can be seen as keeping His words and this IS the Truth of the words of the Apostle John who frames this for us in terms of believing as he records the Master’s idea as “He that believeth on me“. Our selection from John’s Gospel again:
“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).
The link here IS the reality of the Master’s teaching; that a man that keeps His words shall DO these “greater works“, and it IS this same idea of keeping His words that allows for discipleship as we read in Jesus saying that “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed“. This same idea IS presented in the idea of Love for the Master as we discussed in the last essay; one can broadly assume that to be His disciple there must be some reality of Love as this IS the crux of His teaching to us; this IS the reality of the new dispensation that be brought among us 2000 years ago and this IS the crux of the Truth of today as well….it IS in Love that ALL things ARE accomplished. If then we Love Him as aspirants or as disciples, or as the man in the world who seeks this position or even one who believes that he may be there, we MUST be keeping His words as we read “If ye love me, keep my commandments” above. And Jesus repeats this Truth as He continues His teaching saying “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him” and 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. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me” (John 14:21, 23:24). While we will spend more time on these ideas when we come to them in our study of the fourteenth chapter of John’s Gospel, it IS important for us that we see the importance of these words as these hold a great KEY to the Truth of salvation as it IS in the same context of keeping His words, which we see as in the Will of the Father, that IS the KEY to the Kingdom of God.
In the last essay we tied these ideas together from the perspective of the underlying idea that to call upon the Master as Lord, Lord requires this idea of Love and we should see the relationship in the reality of keeping His words and of DOING what He says as He frames His rhetorical question that asks: “why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). Can we understand the intent here? And can we see how that this IS the same thought when it IS framed as we read Jesus’ words in Matthew’s Gospel saying: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). There IS a common thread here regardless of how we see His words and this IS the same idea that is captured for us in the opening verse of our selection above: it IS “he that believeth on me” that finds the KEY to unlocking the grace and we should clearly see here the relationship to keeping His words as it IS the man who keeps His words that finds the Kingdom and discipleship; it CAN NOT be any less than these realizations and revelations that can result in “greater works“.
We discussed over the last several essays how that the idea of “because I go unto my Father” IS attached by some to the following verse instead of it appearing as a cause for the “greater works“; we have already been told the cause for these “greater works” as that this comes to the man “that believeth on me“, the man that keeps His words. When this is attached to the next verse which begins His talk to the Eleven on asking of Him, we can see the greater point….that even in His absence the disciples can ask of Him and we should try to see the idea of “in my name” as meaning what the Name of Christ represents and NOT the person of Jesus as so many believe and pray yet today. In the last essay we tried to establish the Master’s intent here as He first shows them the relationship, the reality of the Oneness of the Father and the Son, of the Christ and the Father, and of the reality that these ARE in Jesus. It IS in His showing us that “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30) and teaching us the reality that “I am in the Father, and the Father in me” and in the Truth that it IS “the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works” (John 14:10), that we should be able to glimpse both the spiritual Truth of the Oneness of Spirit and Soul, as in the Truth of the Trinity where the Father and the Son have these roles as we show in our chart below, and the relationship of these ideas to the man Jesus who has within Him the fullness of God which includes the Love that IS Christ.
We should try to understand that the Master IS offering some deeply esoteric ideas here; concepts to which the apostles had likely never been exposed to before. And we should remember that His presentation IS parabolic, He IS intentionally framing the Truth in ways that can ONLY be realized by the man who has eyes that see and ears that hear as the Master tells His disciples more than once. And we should NOT be fooled by His words to His disciples saying “blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear” (Matthew 13:16) as here the Master’s words are in response to their asking why He speaks in parables and this IS just before He repeats the Parable of the Sower to them in more understandable terms. We should instead see the greater reality of these ideas of seeing and hearing in Jesus words to His disciples after He tells them a private parable which they DO NOT understand; we read:
“And he charged them, saying , Take heed , beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread. And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye , because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened? Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?” (Mark 8:15-18).
We should try to see here that the apostles DO NOT Truly understand some of the Master’s words and we can see this in our words above as well as in the questions asked by Phillip and Thomas in this fourteenth chapter and those later from Judas. Here we should ask the question: if these men of God, these men who keep His words, DO NOT understand these things that the Master says after being in His company for many months, how IS it that ordinary men, beginning with the Church Fathers in the early centuries and continuing to today, can profess that they KNOW His meaning and this despite the fact that there IS NOT even a general agreement among these who so profess to KNOW the Truth. And we count ourselves among these ordinary men, men who have NOT made that goal of discipleship a reality in our Life. We have what we believe to be a measure of grace and a measure of that Wisdom from above and we believe that we are better at discerning the Truth of His words than some others who rely upon doctrines, but it IS always left to the reader to decide if we are working with an open heart and with an eye toward the Truth of Love.
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!
- 2 New Testament Greek Lexicon on BibleStudyTools.com
