ON LOVE; PART DCCCXXIII
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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. While this IS from an older definition of Charity, which IS rendered in the King James Bible from the same Greek word agape which IS generally rendered as Love, we should amend our own definition here to include the idea that in the reality of Love a man will accord to ALL men ALL things that he would accord to himself and to say that Love IS our thoughts and attitude of the equality of ALL men regardless of their outward nature or appearance…that ALL ARE equally children of Our One God
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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)
While we have been discussing the idea that the Eleven are confused by much of what the Master IS telling them, we must ever remember that these ARE disciples, that these ARE the apostles of the Lord and as such they ARE reliant upon Jesus’ words and ARE in full accord with ALL of His precepts that they can understand. In this we should be able to sense the overall significance of True discipleship and be able to glimpse the Truth of the difficulty that they face in seeing and understanding the Truly spiritual things that the Master IS teaching them. Their questions ARE not about the law as it existed in their day nor ARE their questions regarding the basic precepts of the Master’s own teachings as they effect the carnal existence of men. As men these Eleven ARE in accord with Jesus words as they affect the man and his basic sense of desire for the things for the self….for the things of the world. As men these Eleven have forsaken ALL as we read in the gospels but we should try to see here how that these things that they have forsaken ARE but the worldly things; we read Peter’s words again and the Master’s response:
“Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life” (Matthew 19:27-29).
In these words there IS a reality to the Master’s tone and intent which IS based in the previous discussion regarding wealth and forsaking as the Master addresses the rich young man and shows His disciples the hardship of attaining the Kingdom of God when one has such riches as DOES this man. Many yet today however DO NOT see the practical nature of Jesus response and instead focus upon the eschatology that has become such a large part of many Christian doctrines. In the words used here in our exchange between Peter and the Master, the ideas of thrones and judgement as well as the thought of regeneration ARE but parabolic ideas that ARE focused upon the changes that each of the Twelve must undergo. The translations and the interpretations of these words IS according to the doctrines of men and the traditions and ideas of the Jews while the greater reality can be seen in the more immediate times where the disciple IS regenerated, or “born again“, in the fullness of keeping His words, which IS the essence of following Him. While we can view this in many ways, we can try to see that the Master’s glory based in the completion of His work here in this Earth, a completion that we can see in the Master’s words at that time when Judas leaves the Eleven to ‘betray’ Him; according to the Apostle John the Master says: “Now is the Son of man glorified , and God is glorified in him” (John 13:31). We should remember here that the punctuation is generated by men who seek to frame the original ideas according to their own thoughts and here we can see that this well could say “That ye which have followed me in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory” and understand this as when they have followed him in the realization of the Truth of the Christ whose throne IS in their hearts. Here the word the in”the regeneration” and the word shall are also translators additions and we should note that there ARE several different ideas to be found among the various translations of these words.
If we consider that his IS the end of Jesus work in the Earth; ALL else IS at the hands of others save for the continued instruction that the Master gives the Eleven, and that this regeneration IS the realization of the Presence of God for the Eleven individually, we can perhaps see the parabolic idea of His throne. And, as we have been discussing, Jesus’ continued instruction to the Eleven IS intended to bring them to the same reality of thrones and glory; in their individual realization of the Presence of God, a realization that IS the product of keeping His words as we read again in the Master’s words to them below, IS the greater Truth of their regeneration. And we should understand here that this English word may NOT convey the deeper reality of the Greek word paliggenesia; it IS interesting to note that the lexicon offers us that this word may mean: of the recovery of knowledge by recollection 2, and that this brings to mind the Master’s words about the Holy Spirit, which we understand as the realization of the Presence of God, saying “when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13) and “he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26). We should understand here as well that this idea of paliggenesia being their realization of the Presence of God IS as well the reality of their being “born again” which IS the state of the man who has attained the Kingdom of God.
In this diversion from the ideas of forsaking that we began with, we should try to see that while many doctrines account this in an eschatological way, this IS for them also a diversion and one that takes away from the True message that the Master IS presenting. Peter IS asking about the reward for their own forsaking according to the Master’s words to the rich young man and the analogy that “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 19:24) and the Master’s answer IS first to their own glory if we can use that word here and then second to the more carnal reality that what it IS that they receive has more worth than “an hundredfold” of such things as “houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands“. When we look at the way that this is phrased in the gospels we should have the greater sense of the here and now aspect of the Presence of God and of attaining the Kingdom of God; Mark tells us “now in this time” (Mark 10:30) while Luke says “in this present time” (Luke 18:30) but these ideas ARE not understood as the Kingdom now in the doctrinal view of Life.
These things ARE understood in the more carnal way by the apostles as well which we can see in Peter’s question and perhaps they DO NOT see the Truth behind Jesus’ answer where He shows the idea of paliggenesia which we can see as the very nature of His words that we have been discussing and repeating daily from John’s Gospel…..that it IS in their paliggenesia, in their realization of the Presence of God that will come to them in the Master’s absence, that they will Truly see their reward. We DO KNOW from their questions and from their individual actions as the Master’s fate IS sealed that they DO NOT understand the deeper ideas that Jesus IS presenting to them and it IS in this that we should see the deeper significance of His words saying: “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you” (John 16:7). While we DO KNOW that the apostles have forsaken the carnal things of Life, we KNOW as well that the Master’s injunction IS that “whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple“. It IS the reality of this idea of ALL which should reflect the Master’s previous words saying “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26-27, 33); in this we should see ALL as ALL thoughts, attitudes, actions and things and that the reality of His words in the Master’s words that we have been repeating in every essay reflect the idea of regeneration as the Presence of God; we read again:
“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” (John 14:21-24).
It IS in forsaking ALL that we ARE in accord with the Master’s words and it IS in forsaking ALL that we come to be in the fullness of His Presence where we ARE accounted worthy of the Kingdom of God. And this IS a reality that they yet DO NOT understand as we see in their questions; here in our current selection we see that despite ALL of Jesus’ words since the Supper, in ALL of His words about the Presence of God, the Holy Spirt, His Oneness with the Father, the apostles own ability to DO “greater works“, and the deeper realities inferred in His leaving and their seeing Him again, that they “cannot tell what he saith“. Today many believe that they KNOW what it IS that the Master means here while they DO NOT yet see the Truth that He presents, the Truth of the Presence of God in one’s Life….that the IS in the Life of “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them“. We read our selection from the sixteenth chapter of John’s Gospel again:
“A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father. Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father? They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith. Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me? Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come : but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs:c but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father” (John 16:16-25)
In Jesus’ analogy about the woman “in travail” we should see a sense of encouragement for the Eleven; we have seen His understanding of their sorrow at His leaving their presence and here He IS showing them that this sorrow will turn to joy. As we previously discussed this sorrow IS a carnal reaction and while joy may be carnal as well, the joy here can be seen in Jesus showing them how that they will realize the Presence of God, that they will have the reality of the Holy Spirit in their lives. And it IS in a combination of this idea of joy and the questioning of the Master’s meanings that we should try to see the relevance of the next sayings on their asking. While the idea of “in that day” IS interpreted by most according to the various doctrines, the reality here IS that this references that day of joy, that that for each of them when they have the realization of the Presence of God….this IS their joy. The Master IS showing them that it IS in this day when they come to realize the Presence of God in His physical absence and He IS showing them that they will NO longer ask Him such questions as they have been or discuss among themselves what His meaning IS. And while the reality of asking the Father IS lost to many in the doctrinal ideas of prayer and in the idea of “in my name“, the greater Truth can be seen as we relate this to the Master’s words above on the Presence of God, that “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“. This IS the Presence of God, this IS the cause for joy, and this IS the reality of such asking as the man in the world beseeches his own Soul, his own Christ and God Within. We should see that this IS in line with the Master’s words saying “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Matthew 7:7).
In the Jewish doctrinal beliefs and traditions there IS a Transcendent God that IS taught to the people; in the teaching of the Master this Transcendent God IS also an Immanent God, a God who IS Immanent in His creation and, in the Truth of man, this IS the God and the Christ Within. While this IS acknowledged by most Christian doctrine, the reality of His Presence IS tied to those doctrines rather than to the very nature of Life itself and this IS based in the Jewish Traditions more that it IS based in anything that IS said by the Master and His apostles. We see this ALL as realization and we see this realization as the product of one’s focus and while this may be denied by many, the Truth can be found throughout the New Testament as we apply the ideas behind these words to their words.
When we can see and understand the reality of our own realization of the Presence of God, we can then see through parables and the parabolic tone of the Master and His apostles. We must understand here however that this realization of the Presence of God comes to the man who keeps His words and, in our own view of the intent of the Master’s teaching, this realization comes to the man who strives to DO so. In the Master’s words on the growth of the Kingdom of God we see these idea of having such realization of Truth in proportional measure to the degree of striving and of the degree of focus of the man upon the things of God. And we see this idea of measure in the lives of the Apostles who ARE His disciples in the gospels but who have yet more to accomplish to fully realize the Presence of God in their individual lives; this IS NO more apparent than in the Life of the Apostle Peter whose many stories ARE left for us to see.
In the end of Jesus words from our current selection IS His telling the Eleven of the parabolic nature of His speech to them and in this saying we should try to see that same day of joy as that time when “I shall shew you plainly of the Father“; this as their individual realization of His Presence….in this they shall KNOW ALL things. And this IS that same day of which the Master speaks as He says to the Eleven “At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you” (John 14:20)….their realization of the Presence of God.
Our final selection from the sixteenth chapter of the Gospel of John reads:
“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. At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not * that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God. Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe? Behold , the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:25-33).
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.
Repeating a Quote of the Day from the past that has some significance in relation to what we are discussing here, that the Kingdom of God and therefore God is within us ALL and that it IS His Presence which a man realizes by measure as he begins his journey to the Kingdom of God. Here Lord Tennyson poetically tells us just how close God Truly IS and how it is that we touch Him
Speak to Him, thou, for He hears,
and Spirit with Spirit can meet
Closer is He than breathing,
and nearer than hands and feet.
(Alfred, Lord Tennyson 1809–1892)
From the poem The Higher Pantheism which puts forth the authors spiritual belief. Whether we agree with him or not, the quote if spiritually perfect for all of Christianity as well as any other world religion.
The thought behind the idea above IS NOT unlike that which we have been carrying as our Quote of the Day for many essays; It IS in the closeness that Lord Tennyson shows us that we should see the idea that “God dwells in the inner part of every man” which we read in the previous Quote of the Day. For us this saying and the previous one show us the closeness of the spiritual self to the Father and then too the closeness of the spiritual self with the personality of man. Men may like to think of God as something outside and above but the reality, as we have seen in so many of the sayings of the Master, is that God is with us and in us and we need only to let ourselves be drawn and to focus upon Him. And, if we can use these words from the Gospel of Thomas here we can perhaps see much: “When you come to know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will realize that you are the children of the living Father“
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts
- 2 New Testament Greek Lexicon on BibleStudyTools.com
