ON LOVE; PART CMXLIX

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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).

In the last essay we began our discussion on the what we see as the second segment of the Apostle Paul’s words that represent “the works of the flesh“. In our view it IS these segments that show us the relationship of the apostle’s words to the Great Commandments that we have again at the top of our essay. The apostle’s list seems to us to be perfectly aligned with the ideas incorporated into the Great Commandments and this can be easily seen by any who look at the reality of what Paul IS saying apart from the dictates of doctrine. While doctrines have tried to define the first segment of adultery, fornication, uncleanness and  lasciviousness in sexual terms, the reality IS that these ideas from the Greek point us to men’s infidelity towards God; that IS that while men should be focused upon the Godhead, they ARE focused upon themselves and the things of the self in the world. The True ideas behind these words IS discussed in detail in the last several posts.

The next words in the first segment, idolatry and witchcraft, also ARE NOT as they are painted by the doctrines of men. In these words we have the reality of the focus of men upon those things that ARE NOT the things of God and in this we should see the idea of how men ‘worship‘ those things that become their own “treasures upon earth” (Matthew 6:19). And, while idolatry IS one’s focus upon such treasures, the idea behind the Greek word that IS rendered as witchcraft should be seen in terms of the carnal and psychic powers of men which ARE the powers of the mind and the emotions and NOT of the Soul. In this we should try to see how that those things that Paul shows us as “spiritual gifts” (1 Corinthians 12:1) ARE ONLY such when they ARE wielded by the man who IS in accord with the Master’s words and, while this IS True by a measure that IS proportionate to one’s True striving, these things remain as psychic powers for most men regardless of what they may believe according to their doctrines.

In ALL of these ideas from what we see as the first segment there IS the reality that to DO these things, to focus one’s Life upon the self and the things of the self, to focus upon what one sees as their own “treasures upon earth“, and to rely upon one’s own psyche and its powers IS contrary to the ultimate Truth which IS clearly stated as “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“. While doctrines DO NOT see the force of these words which the Master elevates from the obscurity of Deuteronomy to be the Greatest Commandments as ALL other commandments ARE found within this and the second part that tells us that “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself“. These Truths ARE however lost in the convenient interpretations of the words of Paul. And this brings us to the second segment of Paul’s words in which we see that relationship to the second part of the Great Commandments. In Paul’s words that ARE “the works of the flesh” we have those things that ARE contrary to Love for ALL men….for the neighbor, the brother and the stranger who qualifies as both.

The first two words here are rendered as hatred and as variance and in both of these the greater ideas ARE missed because of the way that these ARE translated and understood. As we discussed in the last essay, we should try to see these ideas as enmity instead of hatred as this word has much broader meaning and, in the idea of variance, we should try to understand dissension or controversy ¹ as Webster’s 1828 Dictionary shows us. Both of these ideas ARE ONLY expressed against another and these ARE typical of the whole of the message: that one should NOT DO such things which ARE carnal, emotional or mental, in regard to another and we should try to see how that it IS one’s sense of self the IS the motivator for both. We repeat the apostle’s words saying:

“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).

Many bible translations DO render the Greek word echthra as enmity and many take eris, that IS rendered here as variance, and translate this as strife. As we have discussed there IS yet another Greek word eritheia that the King James translators rendered as strife in this same verse and as we also discussed in the last post, there IS some confusion regarding these words which, while they may NOT ALL be related, should make the gist of the apostle’s message clear. In enmity, in variance and in strife we have the same ideas regarding one’s relationship with another and the cure for ALL of these in the Life of a man IS that he Love and express the True ideas that Paul shows us as “the fruit of the Spirit “.

The next word that Paul offers us IS rendered here as emulation which Vincent tells us IS the correct rendering of the Greek word zelos which IS rendered as envying in the Apostle James’ Epistle. Vincent tells us that this idea should be understood as a spirit of self-devotion ⁴ and Webster’s 1828 version defines emulation as The act of attempting to equal or excel in qualities or actions; rivalry; desire of superiority, attended with effort to attain to it; generally in a good sense….In a bad sense, a striving to equal or do more than others to obtain carnal favors or honors ¹. The dictionary goes on to say that emulation IS: Contest; contention; strife; competition; rivalry accompanied with a desire of depressing another ¹ and in these ideas we should see the rather straightforward relationship of these first three words that pit man against man.

In these rather commonplace human ideas we should be able to clearly see that it IS these that inhibit a man’s spiritual progress and we should see as well how that these ARE ALL the result of one’s focus upon the self and the things of the self in the world. It IS in regard to these type of thoughts, attitudes and actions in the Life of a man that the apostle says “that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” and while men can cleverly and conveniently partition themselves from this reality, the Truth IS clearly stated. That the doctrinal view DOES NOT show forth the apostle’s intent IS founded in the convenient interpretations of the words of the Master and His apostles and here, in these words from Paul, we have a good example. Here men have ever interpreted his words and his intent to their own benefit as men and while they DO assign wrong translations and definitions to some of the apostle’s words, this IS NOT the ONLY fault; it IS rather easy to see that this list of faults between a man and his brother DOES include some common human thoughts and attitudes regardless of how they ARE rendered.

It is in the doctrinal ideas that have been developed by men that the True failure IS found and we can see this in the comparison between Paul’s words saying “that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” and interpretations such as this from John Gill who says of these words that: by which is meant the heavenly glory….what he calls his own to by his grace….this is possessed in way of inheritance, which shows it to be a bequest of our heavenly Father’s, a free grace gift of his, and not to be obtained by the works of the law, or merits of men; but what belongs, and is peculiar to the children of God, who are so by adopting grace: now they that do such works of the flesh as before enumerated; that is, that live in the commission of these things, whose whole lives are employed in such work, living and dying in such a state, without repentance towards God and faith in Christ, shall never enjoy eternal life and happiness; though such who have done these things, being brought to a sense of them, and to the blood and righteousness of Christ for pardon and justification, for life and salvation; such, notwithstanding the works of the flesh done by them, shall, through the free grace of God, and the propitiatory sacrifice of Christ, inherit the kingdom and glory of God ⁸.

It IS in ideas such as this that we find the failure of men to pursue their own spiritual destiny which IS most clearly stated here in Paul’s words and in our trifecta, those words from Jesus that show us the Way of Truth….the Way to discipleship, the Way to the Kingdom and the Way to the True Presence of God in one’s Life. It IS in the realm of Repentance that the reality of Paul’s words can effectively move a man from the carnal to the spiritual as it IS in Repentance that one DOES make that Life’ change where the choice IS made….where a man chooses God over mammon. And this IS the reality of the Truth of the trifecta: it IS in the reality of True Repentance that a man sheds ALL of his past thoughts, attitudes and actions in this world and finds the Truth of believing in and believing on the Master which IS, according to Vincent, to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life ⁴. This IS the reality of keeping His words which we read again in the Master’s words that show us the Way.

• “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).

If we can see the ideas that Jesus presents in the right Light then we can begin to understand the reality of Life in this world and KNOW that the True way to our deliverance “from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21) IS that one keep His words. Men must come to understand that this IS ONLY possible as they come to choose God over mammon, over the thoughts, the attitudes, the actions and the things of the self and for the self in the world. And it IS this choosing that is cemented in striving as the Master teaches us. It IS in striving that men take their steps toward their spiritual reality and gain evermore measure of the Presence of God, the Kingdom of God and the Truth that comes in discipleship.

As we have previously discussed this striving IS a struggle and it IS in this striving which the dictionary defines for us as to: struggle vigorously, as in opposition or resistance ⁷ that we should try to see Paul’s point in this list of words that he offers us. The apostle tells us in the opening line to our selection that “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” and it IS in this way that we must see ALL of Life here in this Earth. It IS here that we should understand that the struggle IS to NOT have or express the ideas of infidelity toward God in adultery, fornication, uncleanness and lasciviousness; to NOT have or express the that devotion and the carnal powers through idolatry and witchcraft as we defined these ideas. And it IS here that we should understand the commonplace ideas that ARE presented in hatred, variance and emulations as these should be understood in relationship to one’s fellowman; that there should be NO enmity, none should be an enemy; NO dissension or controversy as there IS NO carnal thing of such importance to cause this between brothers; and NO emulation in any sense, good or bad, as this emotional response to Life IS the causal factor for the first two words here and has its roots securely in Paul’s words from the first segment.

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

• ¹ Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1828 and 1913
• ⁴ Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888
• ⁷ Dictionary.com Unabridged based on Random House Dictionary – 2011
• ⁸ Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com