ON LOVE; PART CMXXXV

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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).

We ended the last essay with the Apostle Peter’s last words from our selection, his words regarding the very way to truly become “partakers of the divine nature“. We should see here that the whole idea of the “divine nature” IS the idea of God and that to partake in this nature IS to be as the Master and as the Apostle Peter who was able to DO those “greater works” that the Master promised to those who will keep His words. It IS in the common understanding that men apply to the Greek words that so much of the Truth of Jesus message IS lost and so much of the ideas of the Old Testament and the words of the apostles ARE misconstrued and misapplied. And here we should try to see the apostle’s idea of “like precious faith” as this IS the measure that he applies to becoming “partakers of the divine nature“: that IS to have such KNOWING, which comes in the realizations and the revelations that ARE His grace which comes “unto you through the knowledge of God“, as he himself DOES.

This measure IS NOT applied by the apostle in any personal message or dictum of what men should DO to be like him; it IS rather a measure that IS ordained by Life itself and one that hinges on the ability of men to express the Truth in this Life through agape which IS DONE by escaping “the corruption that is in the world through lust“. It IS the fullness of this expression that IS the result of keeping His words and it IS in keeping His words that we come to KNOW God and to obtain that “like precious faith” of which Peter speaks. In the steady growth of the Kingdom of God in the Life of the man who Truly strives to keep His words there IS the steady growth of the Presence of God and the knowledge of the Truth which frees men; these ARE the three parts of the trifecta which we repeat again below. While Peter IS speaking to men who ARE striving, the result of fully becoming “partakers of the divine nature” IS reserved for the man who can live his mortal Life in the fullness of righteousness which should NOT be misunderstood according to the ideas of men but should be seen in the Master words saying “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).

In the apostle we see the reality of being “partakers of the divine nature” as we read of his growth from the fisherman to the True saint and see the trials and the tribulations in his Life as he works out his own problems and IS able to escape “the corruption that is in the world through lust“. We should understand this phrase as having escaped the ways of the world in thought, in attitude and in action and seeing ALL things in the Light of the Soul which IS the Light of the Christ and the God Within. Peter’s entrapment in the ways of men IS highlighted for us in the gospels as we read how that the Master frequently chastises the apostle for NOT seeing as one who IS freed by “the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord“, NOT seeing as one who IS “delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21).

In the end we DO see Peter in the fullness of his expression of the Truth and as one who IS freed by the Truth that comes to those who “continue in my word” as the Master shows us. While we DO NOT read of the specifics of the apostle’s journey we DO KNOW his outcome by the measure of what he IS able to DO, by those things that Peter could accomplish while still in the world and in the flesh as his mortal body becomes the expression of the divine Light of the Soul. Peter is breaking chains, opening doors and healing by an act of will. He is a man who could move the mountain and fulfill the words of the Master who says to all men who can come to KNOW WITHOUT DOUBT that: “ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you” (Luke 17:6).

It IS in men’s failure to understand the depth of ideas behind the Greek words pistis and pistueo which ARE rendered as faith and believing that has resulted in the rather nebulous ideas that these carry in the doctrines of men. While the Master shows us the depth of faith in His words above and in moving the mountain, the reality of His ideas IS lost to men who see this as a function of the minds of men. We ARE not left to wander about in these ideas however as across the gospels we see that the idea of  having “faith as a grain of mustard seed” (Matthew 17:20) IS the same idea as the Apostle Matthew later shows us in the Master’s framing that thought as “If ye have faith, and doubt not” (Matthew 21:21). We can see the idea of faith more clearly when we see these ideas together and yet clearer when we include the Apostle Mark’s reporting of Jesus’ words as He says that to move this mountain one must “not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass” (Mark 11:23). In these ideas we have the intersection of faith and believing and it IS here that we should see that this IS that KNOWING that comes in one’s realization of the Truth which IS one’s “knowledge of God” as Peter shows us in our selection from Peter’s Second Epistle which we read again:

“Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:1-4)

Just as men’s failure to understand the depth of ideas behind the Greek words pistis and pistueo which ARE positive values in Life, so they fail also to understand the depth of the more negative ideas of sin, of evil and, from our selection above, lust. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Bible shows us a most common view of Peter’s idea of corruption and lust saying that: not the corruption and depravity of nature, which is never escaped by any, nor got rid of so long as the saints are in the world; but the corrupt manners of the world, or those corruptions and vices which, are prevalent in the world, and under the power and dominion of which the world lies; and particularly the sins of uncleanness, adultery, incest, sodomy, and such like filthy and unnatural lusts, which abounded in the world ⁸. While the reality of lust IS desire or strong desire, this IS lost in the ways that men see themselves; they DO NOT realize the apostle’s intent which IS that the Way to become “partakers of the divine nature” IS to escape the desires of the flesh, the mind and the emotions for the things of the world, or the “cares and riches and pleasures of this life” (Luke 8:14) as the Master tells us.

So long as lust is interpreted as the desire for grosser things in Life ONLY, the point that both Jesus and Peter ARE making will be lost. Similarly, as men see sin and evil in ONLY the grossest terms, so they miss the greater point behind the apostle’s words saying “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) as this applies to ALL men who DO NOT have the fullness of KNOWING which IS one’s fullness of the realization of the Truth. The reality IS found in the spiritual view of Life which IS a view that shows that dichotomy between the carnal and the spiritual as shown to us by the Master and His apostles. Our escape, our being made free and delivered from the corruption, IS based in this separation and it IS “through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue” that men will come to see this reality and understand the deeper ideas of the apostles which we repeat here again along with Peter’s words:

• The Apostle John tells us: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:5).
• The Apostle James tells us: “know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4).
• The Apostle Paul tells us: “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2).
• The Apostle Paul also tells us: “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness” (1 Corinthians 3:19).
• And the Apostle Peter shows us, in our selection above, the Way to become “partakers of the divine nature“; that this IS DONE by escaping or, better, fleeing from or to escape by flight ⁴ as Vincent shows us, “the corruption that is in the world through lust“.

These words are the apostles’ iterations of the Master’s own words of freedom which He frames for us in terms of treasure and our own choice of the focus of our lives. While somewhat parabolic the intent of Jesus’s words should shine trough as He tells us about the”treasure of the heart“, both in terms of good and evil and in terms of our focus which we should clearly see in His words saying: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal : 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:19-21). That this Greek word thesauros IS seen only as riches and possessions misses the Master’s parabolic point and this misunderstanding flows into Jesus’ other use of thesauros where we read “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things” (Matthew 12:35). In these words that show the further relationship of treasure and the heart, the consciousness of the man in this world, men should be able to see Jesus’ intent and understand that this treasure IS what IS important to a man….what IS his focus.

There ARE NO riches and possessions in heaven and it IS NOT the physical things that the Master speaks against here but rather it IS the thoughts and the attitudes of men….that they ARE focused upon the things of God or upon the things of the world. And there IS NO fine line here but a very broad delineation between the carnal and the spiritual as we see in the apostles’ words above. There IS NO corruption of the things of God, NO corruption in the thoughts and attitudes that ARE focused in God and in the Truth of His word, but there IS much corruption, much of the working of vanity, of illusion and of glamour, in men’s thoughts and attitudes about the self and the things of the self and this regardless of how lofty one may perceive his own ideas to be.

These ideas are shown to us in a rather repetitive way in Matthew’s Gospel and while His words on the “light of the body is the eye” can seem rather cryptic, the reality can be found in His showing us how that the single eye, the eye that IS focused in the things of God, can bring the Light of the Soul into the body while the evil eye, the eye that serves two masters, keeps the body in darkness as the lust, the desires, for the things of the world keep men in corruption. We read His continuing words saying “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life” (Matthew 6:22-25).

Similar to the misunderstood meanings of treasure in Jesus parabolic tone and similar to the misunderstood idea of evil, we have the misunderstood and misapplied ideas given to the Greek word mammonas which IS rendered as mammon and, again, IS thought to refer to treasure and to riches in a physical sense. In the context of ALL these words from the Master we should be able to see how that mammon IS this same idea of corruption, this same idea of the world, and the reality here IS that a man will serve, with focus on if you will, one or the other….that one “cannot serve God and mammon“; and again this IS regardless how lofty one may perceive his own ideas to be.

We close today by showing that the Master IS NOT done with this idea of focus as he goes on to yet another misunderstood idea as He tells us to “Take no thought for your life“. When we can see the True intent here and understand that this IS a continuation of His theme, we can see yet another way that He shows us to keep His words which IS the result of one’s focus upon the Good, the Beautiful and the True….ones focus upon the things of God. We repeat here our trifecta of spiritual reality which we mention above and which we will continue with in the next post.

• “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free“ (John 8:31-32).
• “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).
• “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).

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.

This Quote of the Day is the antithesis of glamour and illusion. In this mantram are the thoughts about ourselves and our brothers in the world that can diffuse these forces that hold a man in the world of things and prevent his spiritual progress.

Mantram of Unification

The sons of men are one and I am one with them.
I seek to love, not hate;
I seek to serve and not exact due service;
I seek to heal, not hurt.

Let pain bring due reward of light and love.
Let the Soul control the outer form, and life and all events,
And bring to light the love that underlies the happenings of the time.

Let vision come and insight.
Let the future stand revealed.
Let inner union demonstrate and outer cleavages be gone.
Let love prevail.
Let all men love.

The Mantram of Unification is a meditation and a prayer that at first affirms the unity of all men and the Brotherhood of Man based on the Fatherhood of God. The first stanza sets forth several truly Christian ideals in Unity, Love, Service and Healing. The second stanza is a invocation to the Lord and to our own Souls asking that from the pain (if there can truly be any) incurred in focusing on the Spirit and not the world will come Light and Love into our lives and that we begin to function as Souls through our conscious personalities. We ask that the spiritual control of our lives will bring to light for us the Love that underlies world events; a Love that the world oriented man will not see working out behind the scenes and also that the Love that we bring forth, individually and as a world group, can be seen by all and ultimately in all. Finally, in the last stanza we ask for those things that are needed for Love to abound. Vision and insight so that we can direct our attention properly; revelation of the future in the sense that all can see the Power of Love in the world; inner union so that we do not fall back into the world’s ways, that we faint not; and that a sense of separation, the antithesis of brotherhood, ends as we know it today. Let Love Prevail, Let All Men Love.spiritual control of our lives will bring to light for us the Love that underlies world events; a Love that the world oriented man will not see working out behind the scenes.

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