ON LOVE; PART CMXLVI

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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 closed the last essay with Jesus words from the Sermon on the Mount where He speaks of treasure and of that choice that men must make between God and mammon. As we tie the Master’s words to those from the Apostle Paul that we have been studying, we can see how that the reality of the teaching IS the same and it IS in the proper interpretation of the words and the intent that the clarity with which these ideas ARE written for us comes through. As the apostle tells us about the flesh and the Spirit saying that “the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other” we should be able to see how that this IS the same reality that Jesus shows us saying that “Ye cannot serve God and mammon“. 

As we have been discussing, there IS a rather straightforward link between the ideas expressed and rendered as worship, which IS to honor and revere, and to serve which IS to DO the bidding of another. While the idea of serving in the context that Jesus presents to us IS rather hidden by doctrines, the reality IS simply that one’s focus upon the things of the world, be they thoughts or attitudes, things or actions, IS the reality of one’s serving mammon….attending to the things of the self. This IS contrary to the things of God as the apostle tells us. And this link between serving and worship IS shown to us by the apostles’ writing about the temptation of Jesus by Satan which we should try to see as the temptations offered to the heart by the flesh; we read Jesus rebuttal of this temptation saying: “And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve” (Luke 4:8).

It IS this same temptation that we should try to understand in Jesus words on treasure; it IS the lure of the things of the Earth or rather one’s desire for the perceived pleasures of them, that ARE the bane of his spiritual progress and while men DO NOT see this against their own nurturing and doctrines, this IS the greater Truth. It IS these things of the Earth, these “treasures upon earth” that ARE corrupt and it IS this sense of corruption that the apostle shows us IS contrary to the “treasures in heaven” as he tells us of the Way of the man who IS focused upon the things of God. We read that it IS such a man that will “be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). This IS NO different than the opposite view that Paul’s tells us of: that to seek after “treasures upon earth” IS to DO the “the works of the flesh” and for this man he says “that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God“. We read the Master’s words on the focus of a man again 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: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 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” (Matthew 6:19-24).

In the annals of doctrine, men have never accepted the ideas that the Master presents regarding the things of the Spirt, the things of God, versus the things of the flesh which ARE the things of the world….the thoughts, the attitudes, the actions and the things themselves. Men have NOT seen the reality that it IS in the fullness of one’s focus upon the things of God that they find their True deliverance, which IS the freedom found in the Truths of Life, that the Master promises to those who will “continue in my word“. Neither DO men understand the reality of his own service as the Master paints this idea in His words above; most DO NOT see how that living in the world and striving for the things of the world IS serving mammon, nor DO they understand that to serve the Lord IS the fullness of keeping His words. We should ever remember that these ideas ARE the endpoints, the fullness of keeping His words and serving Him as Lord, and that men DO achieve some measure of the Truth and the freedom that it brings as they strive toward the ultimate goal and it IS in this context that we should understand His words saying “with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you” (Mark 4:24).

That men take the kindred sayings that Luke presents in a carnal way, as that it IS worldly goods that will come to the man who gives, IS but another view of the way that even the religious man has a carnal focus; so much of a carnal nature IS made of this apostle’s version of the Master’s words which we read saying: “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again” (Luke 6:38). Here the simple parabolic message IS measure for measure on a spiritual level but this IS lost in the literal interpretations that ARE more aligned with the thoughts and the attitudes of men. This brings us back again to Paul’s words that first highlight the intended dichotomy between the carnal and the Spiritual and then go on to list the ways of men as “the works of the flesh“. It IS for this same reason of the common understanding being accepted as more aligned with the thoughts and the attitudes of men in this world that the Truth of the apostle’s intent IS missed and that his words ARE interpreted to protect the psyche of men from the realization that this these things ARE their own carnal nature. We read again:

“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (Galatians 5:17-24).

While the first doctrinally created segment of Paul’s list shows us the reality of one’s infidelity toward the things of God in adultery and fornication and the covetousness of men’s lusts and desires for worldly goods, and thoughts and attitudes, in uncleanness and lasciviousness which should be rendered as wantonness, we should try to see that the topic DOES NOT Truly change as we enter the second segment. In the last essay we discussed how that idolatry IS simply these same ideas covered from a slightly different perspective as the apostle solidifies his ideas regarding “the works of the flesh” as these ARE opposed to “the fruit of the Spirit“. In idolatry we have the focus of a man being upon the things of the world; it IS here that we have the man who will strive for and accumulate “treasures upon earth” and the idea behind the word IS that this IS his focus.

This word idolatry IS so much more that the worship of idols or other gods and this has always been True. Throughout the Old Testament the idea of the Jews going after other gods should be seen in the same light as we ARE presenting. The word of God saying that men should “Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived , and ye turn aside , and serve other gods, and worship them” (Deuteronomy 11:6) IS His admonition to them to remain focused upon God and His words. Similarly the word of God saying that “Thou shalt have none other gods before me” (Deuteronomy 5:7) IS part and parcel of the Great Commandment where He shows us that we must “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength” as we repeat again at the top of our essay. We should try to see here how that fornication IS the infidelity of men who, in their uncleanness and wantonness, go after the things of the flesh and focus themselves upon these things in idolatry.

The apostle’s next word IS rendered as witchcraft and here again the common understanding frames this as an evil and lumps most ALL other renderings of this idea into that same cup as an evil thing. It IS ONLY here that the King James translators render this as witchcraft as in the other uses of the Greek word pharmakeia the rendering IS as sorcery. That there IS sorcery or witchcraft IS an idea that IS founded in the bible and that they work some kinds of ‘magic’ should be an accepted idea. However, this IS the power of the carnal man, the power of the mind and the emotions that can be turned to DO both good and evil; in either direction such ‘magic’ requires and ardent focus upon the one’s own carnal powers. This again IS the apostle’s admonition; that men focus themselves upon “the fruit of the Spirit” and NOT upon the carnal abilities of the man in the world.

Other renderings of this Greek word pharmakeia which the lexicon defines broadly as: the use or the administering of drugs; poisoning; sorcery, magical arts, often found in connection with idolatry and fostered by it; metaph. the deceptions and seductions of idolatry  ², ARE “the use of strange powers“, “drug use and casting spells“, and “involvement with the occult and with drugs“. We should try to understand here that ALL of the focus of men that IS NOT fully upon the things of God and which has for its objective revelations as those found in Paul’s listing of the “spiritual gifts“, ARE founded in this same idea of pharmakeia. That IS, that ALL such things as the apostle shows us ARE ONLY spiritual if they ARE done by the man who IS Christs; the man who has “crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts“.

For ALL others this IS but the psychic ability of the man in the world, a function of the personality and NOT the Spirit. Here again we should see Paul’s words that we saw in the last post saying that men should “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5). And we should also see the apostle’s words to the Romans saying “if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Romans 8:13). This IS the greater reality of the idea that Paul presents in pharmakeia: that this IS a work of the flesh and that this includes ALL things religious that ARE done by the man who DOES NOT “through the Spirit….mortify the deeds of the body” as ALL ARE then but the psychic powers of men. The dividing line here between the psychic and the spiritual lies in the same place where men achieve some measure of His grace, of His Presence and of the Truth and the Kingdom of God; we repeat again our trifecta of spiritual reality in Jesus words:

• “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).

While men may believe that they operate in the  “spiritual gifts” that Paul enumerates for us, the reality IS that it IS by the measure of their keeping His words, which IS one’s measure of his expression of Love and of one’s focus upon the things of God rather than the things of the world, that they can DO such things. It should be easy to understand that the man who has “the fruit of the Spirit” IS the man who DOES keep His words and who looks past the “the works of the flesh” and that IT IS this man who receives or, better, has the realization of the “spiritual gifts” which the apostle speaks of saying: “For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues” (1 Corinthians 12:8-10).

We must remember here that these things come by measure to a man and in the same proportion of measure by which he focuses upon the things of God and keeps His words and we should also remember here that Paul closes this part of His letter regarding “spiritual gifts” with these words saying “covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31). And this “more excellent way” one’s expression of Love, of agape, to ALL. If we can see these “spiritual gifts” as that these ARE the Way of the Lord, that the Master has and uses ALL of these things, then we can see how that this IS our privilege should we keep His words which we read in Jesus’ words saying: “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do” (John 14:12). Here again we must try to understand the True dynamic of believing on Him which IS KNOWING that He IS Lord and, in so KNOWING, Truly following Him by keeping His words.

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

•  ² New Testament Greek Lexicon on BibleStudyTools.com
•  ⁴ Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888