IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 1128

ON LOVE; PART DCCXVII

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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 concluded our thoughts about the Master’s introduction of the idea of the Holy Spirit to His apostles in the Gospel of John. We should note here that Jesus introduces the Comforter as that He IS a replacement so to speak for Himself as He pushes forward the idea that He IS NO longer going to be among them. At the same time, Jesus tells them that the Comforter IS already with them, He tells them that “he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14:17) and we should remember here that according to Vincent, some DO read this as: is in you ⁴. While this distinction IS NOT important for our understanding, it DOES have some effect upon the doctrinal ideas of the Holy Spirit as He IS portrayed for us in the Book of Acts; our view here IS that the Comforter IS with them as the unrealized spiritual Love and Power that comes to them from their own sense of God Within. Here we should try to see the Master’s parabolic tone as He informs the Eleven of the new realities that they face and as certifies for them the Oneness of Himself with the Father saying that “the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works” (John 14:10). Here He shows that the Love and the Power of God ARE within Him and we should try to see here that there IS but one Love and Power of God and that this IS also His reference in speaking about the Comforter, the Holy Spirit that IS God.

In the steady build up of these Truths from the Master’s words, the apostles are seeing the reality of God and of the Kingdom of God, albeit still in Jesus parabolic tone, and it IS up to them to discern the Truths from His words that then equate their own abilities in Life to His. As He tells them it IS in their purview to see the reality of the great Truth that “the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do” and that this grace IS unlocked for those who “believeth on me“, He IS showing them the reality of “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), a reality that IS sorely missed by men yet today. But Jesus DOES NOT leave us to wonder, He only leaves us to discern the Truths of His words which He confirms saying “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15); here, while we can see the greater reality of the relationship of this to believing upon Him, most DO NOT. One CAN NOT rightly discern the idea that by way of simple believing, by way of simply assenting to this or that about the Christ, that one could have access to this idea of “greater works“. It IS in this view that this Truth is diluted as Mr. Gill shows us saying: Having mentioned his miracles as proofs of his deity, he assures his disciples, in order to comfort them under the loss of his bodily presence, that they should do the same, and greater works; for we are not to understand these words of everyone that believes in Christ, of every private believer in him, but only of the apostles, and each of them, that were true believers in him ⁸. Mr. Gill then goes on to say that: perhaps by these greater works may be meant the many instances of conversion, which the apostles were instrumental in, and which were more in number than those which were under our Lord’s personal ministry ⁸.

While there ARE some denominations that agree that the miracles from Jesus time DID NOT end with the apostles, few there are that can see the dynamic range of the Master’s words, that there IS a reality in this idea of “greater works” and in our ability to DO ALL that He Himself did. The greater reality of His message however IS NOT in this ability, this grace, but in the ideas that are behind it; if we are to understand that it IS “the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works” from the Master’s perspective, then we must understand that our own “several ability” (Matthew 25:15) to DO these “greater works” IS based in the same reality of the God Within us. The Master teaches us about this idea of “several ability” in the Parable of the Talents or Minas which IS a view of the Kingdom of God and we should see here the relationship between this “several ability” and our ideas on grace and on the Holy Spirit. This parable teaches us that such ability, such grace, must be used and expressed by the man who seeks the Kingdom. This “several ability“, this grace, comes into the consciousness of the man in the world from his own Soul, his own God Within, in much the same way as it came into the Life of Jesus; it IS the Love and the Power of God that allows for the “greater works“.

The Master tells the Eleven, and us through them, of the price of this “several ability” as well. He tells us that this IS for the man who “believeth on me“. And we should not see this as idle words nor as the simple idea of affirming His divinity; in this idea IS the reality of keeping His words which IS framed for us in the idea of the Greek word pisteuo which we should understand this as much more that the simple idea that we see in the English language. In the range of ideas that come with pisteuo we should be able to see the deeper reality based in the context that it IS used and here that context IS that we CAN DO as the Master. To this end we rely upon Vincent’s ideas that discuss the compound idea of  “believeth on” which IS taken as both  “believeth on” and  “believeth in” from the: preposition, εἰς   into ⁴. While this usage of believe upon IS cited by Vincent as much more than simple assent, we believe that most ALL of the usages of this word by the other apostles ARE intended in the same way; that this idea of pisteuo has far reaching implications that ARE NOT generally understood in the English word believe. Repeating a part of Vincent’s comments on this of idea of believe upon as presented by John, we read:  To believe in, or on, is more than mere acceptance of a statement. It is so to accept a statement or a person as to rest upon them, to trust them practically; to draw upon and avail one’s self of all that is offered to him in them. Hence to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is not merely to believe the facts of His historic life or of His saving energy as facts, but to accept Him as Savior, Teacher, Sympathizer, Judge; to rest the soul upon Him for present and future salvation, and to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life ⁴.

In the intersection of this word pisteuo and the kindred term pistis which IS generally rendered as faith, we should try to see the greater idea of KNOWING and of conviction; this IS the sense of pistis that we see in the Master’s sayings on having the “faith as a grain of mustard seed” (Luke 17:6) and it IS this that we should relate to the idea of “greater works“. As we discuss above, Jesus DOES continue to show the depth of His meaning as He relates the idea of “greater works” with the asking and then the asking with the idea of keeping His words which IS seen in the simplicity of His saying that “If ye love me, keep my commandments“. It IS in the fullness of the intent of His words here that we should see the reality of the cost of these “greater works“; that this ability, this grace, IS the reward, or the wages, of keeping His words. Can we see here the relationships? Can we see that in keeping His commandments that the Comforter IS realized and that this Comforter IS the ability to these “greater works“, this Comforter IS our sense of grace in this world as we come to KNOW our “several abilities“. ALL of this IS grace, ALL of this is the revelation and the realizations that we gain in our hearts as we come to KNOW the greater Truths of Life, of God and of His Kingdom. In our Christian culture of separate and out of context sayings however, so much of this IS missed as IS the ultimate reality of His words  “If ye love me, keep my commandments“.

We must ever remember the parabolic nature of the Master’s words in general and to His apostles as well; we should try to see the ideas that are incorporated into the whole and understand that it IS the Master’s words that should rule our Christian concepts. In this light we can see the reality of the Oneness of the Father and the Son, as well as the Oneness that IS found in our own ability, our own grace, to be as He IS which reflects that same Oneness onto us. Through His words on this Oneness and then His words on our own grace, we should see the idea of the God Within clearly and it IS from here that the Master continues to build. First in His words on the Comforter, the Holy Spirit which IS God and who, according to the Weymouth Translation, “remains by your side and is in you“. We should recognize as well that in the end of the last series of sayings from John’s Gospel the Master says “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you” (John 14:18) and this just after telling the Eleven of the Holy Spirit who “remains by your side and is in you“. The Master IS building for us His unique view of the Trinity as He speaks of the God Within and then of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, Within as well; He alludes also to the idea of the Christ Within and He Himself as the Comforter.

This idea IS wholly misunderstood by most doctrines that seek to maintain the separateness of the Aspects of the Trinity but there IS NO real scripture that offers us this sense of separateness. To the contrary, there ARE these ideas from John’s Gospel which can, if properly discerned, meld the Three Aspect of God into the Oneness that IS God and this we should try to see in the next verses that we present. In the idea of “At that day ye shall know” we should understand the relation to the idea that He IS leaving their physical presence but we should also see the Truth that He tells the Eleven….that “ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also” (John 14:19). There IS a spiritual note to be seen here in these words which Vincent helps us with saying: Ye shall live also (καὶ ὑμεῖς ζήσεσθε); This may also be rendered, and ye shall live, explaining the former statement, ye behold me. So Rev., in margin. This is better. John is not arguing for the dependence of their life on Christ’s, but for fellowship with Christ as the ground of spiritual vision ⁴. It IS in this sense of living that Jesus offers the next idea that should cement the idea of the Trinity of God and the Trinity of man as He tells them that “I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you“. He tells us that not ONLY IS it the Father that “dwelleth in me” but also that “I am in my Father” and, as we have already seen, this IS brought down to us in His words on “greater works“, the works the Father, “he doeth the works“. Repeating our new section from John’s Gospel we read:

“At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. 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. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, 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. These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:20-26).

And He compounds this idea of Oneness for us by offering the next part of this Trinity of One God; He tells us also that of the idea that the Eleven, and through them us, are in Him and that He IS in them. In these words saying “ye in me, and I in you” lies the ultimate reality of the Christ Within which IS largely discounted by doctrine from the perspective that this IS the True man but which IS upheld by some in the idea that for the believer, that Jesus comes to live in them. In our reality the Christ IS ever within every man as His Soul, the Father IS within every man as the Spirit and the Holy Spirit IS within every man as his expression of the Godhead to the world of men. In our view of the Trinity we see the reality of God in man and man in God; this IS the underlying reality of Jesus’ teaching here as He tells them that they will come to realize these things when the final part IS played out in His death and His resurrection.

Again the Master goes on to explain that there IS a price to be paid for this grace, for this ability to “greater works” and for the realization of the Oneness of the man with his God. And this price IS found in keeping His words which He frames for us as “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them“. It IS the dilution of this idea that has plagued Christianity from the beginning and this dilution IS also seen in this commentary of John Gill who says of the first instance of Jesus’ message from the fifteenth verse that: keep my commandments: Christ is Lord over his people, as he is the Creator and Redeemer of them, and as he is an head and husband to them, and as such he has a right to issue out his commands, and enjoin a regard unto them; and these are peculiarly “his”, as distinct from, though not in opposition to, or to the exclusion of, his Father’s commands; such as the new commandment of loving one another, and the ordinances of baptism, and the Lord’s supper, which are to be observed and kept as Christ has ordered them, constantly, in faith, and with a view to his glory ⁸. Can we see here how that the idea of the ordinances of baptism, and the Lord’s supper have been allowed to supplant the Truth of the totality of His words.  

The Commentary Critical and Explanatory of the Whole Bible sees Jesus’ words this way: If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father–This connection seems designed to teach that the proper temple for the indwelling Spirit of Jesus is a heart filled with that love to Him which lives actively for Him, and so this was the fitting preparation for the promised gift  Here there IS NOT even the idea that we should DO as He says which idea IS shown to us in the Master’s rhetorical questions: “why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46) nor IS there the reality of His words regarding the Kingdom where we read “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) and this IS missing from Mr. Gill’s approach as well. We should see here the dynamic relationship between calling Him as Lord, Lord and the idea of “If ye love me“. Matthew Henry offers us a rather lengthy view of this saying which can give us much insight although he seems to confine his thoughts to only the apostles themselves while we see them in the broadness of ALL men who can so achieve. We close today with Mr. Henry’s words:

Keeping the commandments of Christ is here put for the practice of godliness in general, and for the faithful and diligent discharge of their office as apostles in particular. Now observe, 1. When Christ is comforting them, he bids them keep his commandments; for we must not expect comfort but in the way of duty. The same word (parakaleo ) signifies both to exhort and to comfort. 2. When they were in care what they should do, now that their Master was leaving them, and what would become of them now, he bids them keep his commandments, and then nothing could come amiss to them. In difficult times our care concerning the events of the day should be swallowed up in a care concerning the duty of the day. 3. When they were showing their love to Christ by their grieving to think of his departure, and the sorrow which filled their hearts upon the foresight of that, he bids them, if they would show their love to him, do it, not by these weak and feminine passions, but by their conscientious care to perform their trust, and by a universal obedience to his commands; this is better than sacrifice, better than tears. Lovest thou me? Feed my lambs. 4. When Christ has given them precious promises, of the answer of their prayers and the coming of the Comforter, he lays down this as a limitation of the promises, “Provided you keep my commandments, from a principle of love to me.’’ Christ will not be an advocate for any but those that will be ruled and advised by him as their counsel. Follow the conduct of the Spirit, and you shall have the comfort of the Spirit ⁸.

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.

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