Monthly Archives: November 2014

ON LOVE; PART DCCLXXVI

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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 reality of the Apostle Paul’s words saying that “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14), we should be able to see the sharp division between the “natural man” and the man in whom “the Spirit of God” IS present. While the Truth of this IS missed by much of the doctrinal church where the belief IS that ALL who believe or who confess Jesus as the Christ according to some variation of doctrine have this “Spirit of God“, the deeper Truth IS found in the Master’s own words, the words of His apostles and,  it IS these words that ARE those Truths that ARE “spiritually discerned“. This spiritual discernment comes to men by way of the grace of God which, as we have been discussing over the last series of posts, IS his realization of these Truths that ARE revealed by the God and the Christ Within. This grace IS the reality of His Presence and of His Love and comes by measure to the man who can look past the worldly effects of Life and of religion and see the Truths as they ARE presented to him by both scripture and his own Soul. This IS the effective Truth of the Master’s words 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” That this IS NOT completely understood by some of His apostles should give us some indication of the difficulty in understanding this idea of the reciprocal nature of His grace. We should remember that the Apostle Judas DOES question the Master’s intent in this saying where He promises His Presence to the man who will keep His words and that this question IS NOT answered in the way that perhaps the apostle expects; it IS answered by the Master’s repeating His previous words with a slightly different twist.

And the Truth of the Presence of God in one’s Life IS NO clearer today than it may have been to Judas and likely others who DID NOT understand His True meaning….that it IS to the man who “hath my commandments, and keepeth them” that this Presence comes and that in this Presence IS His Love. While the apostles question IS to the idea of how that He can “manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world“, the answer merely repeats His charge as He says “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” (John 14:21:23). In this there IS no indication as to how this can work but the reality of why IS repeated and in this we should see the reality of what we have been calling the quid pro quo that IS incorporated into His words. In this we should try to understand that a bit of the how IS answered as the Master shows us that our realization of His Presence IS predicated on keeping His words and, in the fullness of His words, we should try to see how that this IS an automatic and a natural effect in the Life of the man whose focus IS upon the things of God. As we have often said over the course of our study on grace, Love and the realizations and revelations of the Presence of God in the Life of the man in this world, there IS a cost, a price to pay, that IS NOT seen in the doctrinal view which IS colored by the muddled ideas that come from the out of context teachings of the apostles. This IS the cost of discipleship which MUST NOT be discounted and here we should try to see that the entirety of the Master’s teaching and the teachings of His apostles ARE intended to make disciple of men. We see this as a long journey over many Lifetimes but this view IS NOT shared by the doctrinal church which sees ALL of one’s Life in this single Earthly existence and it IS likely this view that causes men to seek other ways to fulfill the Master’s instructions.

In the Master’s closing words from the Gospel of Matthew we read that His instructions to His disciples IS to carry forward the reality of discipleship to others and while this is translated and interpreted differently by different denominations, this Great Commission IS simply stated as their instruction to make disciples of ALL people, immersing them in the Truth of God, and to teach them to DO ALL things that He has commanded and this idea should be seen in the same way as Jesus words above. It IS in keeping His words that the Presence of the Lord comes to man and it IS in a man’s focus, in a man’s immersion, that one attains sufficient grace to keep His words. In this reality we should see that the same Way that IS shown to His apostles IS to be shown to those whom they teach and this IS the crux of the words of the Apostle John who writes on this same idea of how to attain the Presence of God in one’s Life. Again we should remember that John’s words are written to men who ARE focused upon the things of God as followers of the Christ and that for them these ideas of the fullness of His Presence are for reinforcement; at the same time, the reality of these Truths are available for ALL who can look past the doctrinal view and into the eye of Truth. It IS in looking past the age worn doctrines that one can see the greater reality of His words from the Great Commission and relate this to the Truth of the Great Commandments and thereby KNOW the Power of His words and the reality of the Way of Life that these words offer; this IS the Way of the disciple. It IS in the reality of baptism that the Truth of the spiritual Life IS KNOWN but this IS NOT the rite of water baptism nor IS this the idea of some denominations of being baptized in the Holy Spirit in some doctrinal ritual; the Truth of baptism IS a personal part of the journey of each man who Truly comes to God. Baptism IS a man’s immersion into his focus upon the things of God and while another may lead one to the threshold of this new found sense of attention, it IS ONLY the individual man who can become baptized, who can become immersed in the Truth of God.

And this IS the reality of Repentance which IS another word that is not nearly understood as the Master presents it to us. It IS this decision to change the focus of one’s Life that IS the precursor to one’s baptism, to one’s immersion in the Truth of God. If we can look at John’s words below as that they are addressed to men who have seen some measure of the Light of Truth, we can see the idea that these ARE Repentant men, men who ARE immersed in a focus upon the Truth. This IS NOT to say that it IS this man who reads the apostle’s words but that it IS to these that the apostle writes as he explains the deeper aspects of the Presence of God, the reality of keeping His words and the Truth that this IS accomplished in Love for ALL. This IS much as the Master DOES, as He offers these ideas to His apostles and NOT to the general audience who would NOT discern the Truth that He is giving them and, as we see above, at least some of the apostles DO NOT completely understand. John expands upon the Master’s words by offering some additional insight into the very Nature of God, that “God is love“, and shows us how that it IS in one’s expression of this same Love to ALL men that we qualify in keeping His words. Here again, while doctrines get caught up in their own ideas behind John’s use of the Greek words that are rendered as confession and of believing, we must see the deeper meaning behind the apostles ideas, ideas which must be “spiritually discerned“. We read again:

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect , that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this we now that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 4:7-5:5).

In these words and ideas we should see the reality of confession and of believing as that these ARE one’s acknowledgement of the divinity of the Christ and of His Oneness with the Father, and that it IS in this acknowledgement that one should heed His words as the word of God. It IS in this view of Life that we see the Master’s rhetorical question to ALL men saying: “why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). We should remember here what we have come to adopt as our understanding of the depth of believing in and believing on the Master, that to DO so IS to: to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life ⁴. This idea from Vincent IS NOT unlike his words on the word rendered as confession which we read as: It implies identification of the confessor with the confessed, and thus takes confession out of the category of mere formal or verbal acknowledgment. “Not every one that saith unto me, ‘ Lord! Lord!’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.” The true confessor of Christ is one whose faith rests in him ⁴. In these ideas, which are expanded upon in In the words of Jesus part 1170 regarding confession and in part 1101 regarding believing, we see a part of the depth that IS intended….but we ARE missing the common sensical part that this IS God and by the very idea of God we should see our own complete subordination. It IS in similar fashion that we should view Vincent’s ideas on the words from the Great Commission, we read:

Baptizing into the name has a twofold meaning. 1. Unto, denoting object or purpose, as εἰς μετάνοιαν , unto repentance (Matthew 3:11); εἰς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν , for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38). 2. Into, denoting union or communion with, as Romans 6:3, “baptized into Christ Jesus; into his death;” i.e., we are brought by baptism into fellowship with his death. Baptizing into the name of the Holy Trinity implies a spiritual and mystical union with him. E ἰς , into, is the preposition commonly used with baptize. See Acts 8:16; Acts 19:3, Acts 19:5; 1 Corinthians 1:13, 1 Corinthians 1:15; 1 Corinthians 10:2; Galatians 3:27. In Acts 2:38, however, Peter says, “Be baptized upon ( ἐπὶ ) the name of Jesus Christ; and in Acts 10:48, he commands Cornelius and his friends to be baptized in ( ἐν ) the name of the Lord. To be baptized upon the name is to be baptized on the confession of that which the name implies: on the ground of the name; so that the name Jesus, as the contents of the faith and confession, is the ground upon which the becoming baptized rests. In the name ( ἐν ) has reference to the sphere within which alone true baptism is accomplished. The name is not the mere designation, a sense which would give to the baptismal formula merely the force of a charm. The name, as in the Lord’s Prayer (“Hallowed be thy name”), is the expression of the sum total of the divine Being: not his designation as God or Lord, but the formula in which all his attributes and characteristics are summed up. It is equivalent to his person. The finite mind can deal with him only through his name; but his name is of no avail detached from his nature. When one is baptized into the name of the Trinity, he professes to acknowledge and appropriate God in all that he is and in all that he does for man. He recognizes and depends upon God the Father as his Creator and Preserver; receives Jesus Christ as his only Mediator and Redeemer, and his pattern of life; and confesses the Holy Spirit as his Sanctifier and Comforter ⁴.

This IS of course from the King James rendering of the Great Commission which we read as: “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 28:19-20). For us however Vincent’s words go deeper as we can see the greater reality of keeping His words as the common idea behind both confession and believing and that it IS in His Name that these ideas take meaning. It IS in the idea of union and communion, in the idea of adoption if you will, that the reality of ALL of these ideas lies; this IS the hidden value of the Presence of God in the Life of the man in the world as seen through his own eyes. This Presence IS the divine nature of man and his expression of this divine nature, the Nature of the God and the Christ Within, through his Life in this world; and, in this expression there IS ONLY keeping His words and Love for ALL men as this IS the focus of the man who Truly confesses and believes as these ideas ARE intended.

It IS the reality of keeping His words that IS the Way of God and while men may believe that their salvation IS tied to some other doctrinal precept, this IS NOT the stated reality of the Master’s words nor the Truths expounded by His apostles. Here, while we recognize the value of doctrines that ease the way for men to come closer to God, we understand as well that the True approach IS the one that invites His Presence and this IS ONLY found in keeping His words as we read above in the Master’s words on His manifesting Himself, which IS His revelation of the Truth of His Presence, and in the reality that the Father and the Son will make their abode in the Life of the man in this world. And while the depth of the Master’s Truth may NOT be understood by the man who DOES NOT see past the doctrines of men, the time has come for a greater revelation of the True Light of Love from ALL channels that use the Name of the Christ in their message. We should remember that His own apostles, Philip, Thomas and Judas DO NOT understand the depth of His sayings in the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of John and in this we should understand that many in the world today ARE equally confounded by His words, and this regardless of their worldly pronouncements. But even considering this, the time has come, and NOW IS, that the message of Love should be shared in the way that the Master intended; as GoodWill, as mercy and as compassion as these words ARE intended to be understood. And the combination of these ideas IS Love from the perspective of seeing ALL men as we see ourselves and treating ALL men as we would be treated ourselves. This spread of Love IS the reality of the Great Commandments and the Great Commission that have been shrouded in church doctrines and NOT yet allowed to grow and flourish in the world as the mutual respect of man for every other man regardless of any outer appearances; and this IS the reality of having NO “respect to persons”.

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