ON LOVE; PART CMLXXVII

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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 our last essay with the Master’s words that ARE given to His disciples at the end of His time with them according to the Apostle Matthew. In Matthew’s shortened version of the time between Jesus’ resurrection and His departure, we have what IS called the Great Commission; His charge to ALL disciples to go forth and carry on His own work in the world. As we have discussed in past essays, these words from the Master ARE NOT seen in the Light of His Truth but rather in the light of the many doctrines of men. It IS in this way that the factions and the divisions of men ARE spread across the globe by well meaning evangelists and missionaries whose objective it IS to spread their particular doctrine. This IS likely done without realizing the link here to the words of the Prophet Isaiah, and of the Lord, that show the vanity of such undertakings; we read again: “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:7-9).

While this may seem a harsh criticism of the whole of the evangelical and missionary world, there IS a basic Truth here in the formation and the continuation of the factions against which the Apostle Paul speaks and in the way that the Master’s words ARE taken and understood. Jesus never said nor DID the apostle promote the “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men“. The Master’s words should ever have been abundantly clear and the words of the apostles DO amplify and clarify His words which say that the disciples of the Lord should be “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” and in this we should see the totality of His words. We repeat His charge again saying:

“All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 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 28:18-20).

While these words from the Master have fueled the vast missionary movement of the churches of the world and while Jesus’ words have become a central point for many of the denominations and sects, there IS a greater reality to His words that seems to be missed. There ARE many misconceptions in these words but the largest point of error IS in what it IS that missionaries teach and this IS based in the same doctrinal error that persists in the more general problem of the churches: that they ARE for the most part “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men“. The Master’s KEY words ARE clear as ARE so many of His words that go unheeded in the face of doctrine; He tells His disciples in that day and humanity in general that they should be “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” and it IS in this that we should see His words and NOT the misinterpreted words of the apostles that have become Christian doctrine. In this regard we present again our trifecta….His words of Truth and Life for the man who will strive to keep His words; Jesus tells us:

• “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).

These words that we call our trifecta ARE the central point of Jesus’ teachings and it IS this forms the foundation for that Love, that agape, that men ARE to express in this world. And it IS the idea of keeping His words that should be seen as His topic in saying that the True aspirant and disciple IS to be “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you“. One need only to read His words above over the ideas of doctrine to see how that this IS the Way to Truth, the Way to the Kingdom and the Way to the Presence of God in one’s Life. The Master leaves NO room for any clever interpretations of His intent for the man who Truly seeks God. This idea of teaching has be hijacked by the doctrinal church and has been effectively turned into the teaching of the various doctrines in an effort to make proselytes loyal to that doctrine.

This IS NOT the Master’s intent however and this we can read in the way that He uses the word matheteuo which IS also rendered as teach. In matheteuo we should see the idea of make disciples of as Vincent tells us and as some other translations render this. But more; we should understand the Master’s use of the idea of a disciple as we discussed in the last post and understand that to be a disciple IS much more than merely being a student. We read Jesus’ words on being His disciple again 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…..So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26-27, 33).

Jesus’ admonition IS NOT that the disciple should indoctrinate proselytes but rather that he should “make disciples of all nations” and here again we come to a misinterpreted idea and word in ethnos which IS rendered here as nations but should be seen as gentile which has the greater meaning as either ALL men or those who ARE NOT Jews. The whole of this Great Commission then IS the Master’s call to those who ARE disciples, and  those who ARE striving to be so as aspirants; that they should go about teaching men those things that He taught and commanded…..that IS that men should keep His words. This IS NOT however the crux of most any doctrinal teaching where the factious thoughts and attitudes of denominations and sects becomes the primary focus; few, if any, offer men the Truth of His words and the reality of keeping His words as the KEY to the Kingdom, to His Presence and to the Truth.

And this IS what the apostle Paul IS offering us in our selection from his Epistle to the Galatians that we have been studying: that men refrain from factious thoughts and attitudes and the divisions which they cause. It IS in refraining from these divisive ways that one can also refrain from those ideas that accompany them which Paul shows us as in his words which are rendered as hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings and murders. We should try to see here how that it IS men’s sense of factions that ARE a chief component in Paul’s ideas regarding the flesh as it IS these thoughts and attitudes which ARE how that “the flesh lusteth against the Spirit“. This IS equally True as regards the apostle’s first segment where we should see that men’s concern for their own self in this world, which IS the essence of his infidelity toward God, IS another way that “the flesh lusteth against the Spirit“. We read the apostle’s words 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).

As we look at the Great Commission along side of the Great Commandments we should try to see how that it IS men’s idea of self, individually or as one’s doctrinally based group, that IS at the center of one’s own teaching of that doctrine to which he adheres. In this view we should try to see how that one’s doctrinally based group IS a faction, a division of the Truth if your will, which will take a stand against most ALL other religions as well as against some other denominations and sects of Christianity. In regard to the Great Commission we have the “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” and in regard to the Great Commandments we have Paul’s idea of factions which will prevent that Unity of Love and will show the man and his group to be a respecter of persons.

When we add to these ideas the thought that the Great Commission IS that disciples will make disciples we have yet another difficulty in that while they may mean well, the evangelist and the missionary, ARE NOT generally acting in the role of the disciple as the Master defines him. The evangelist and the missionary ARE teaching their own sense of doctrine and the precepts of their own faction. Finally, as we close our discussion of the Master’s intent in giving this Great Commission, we should look again at the word that IS rendered as baptize and understand that this IS NOT the ritual which IS but symbolic of the immersion of the man into Truth; we should see that the ONLY result of True immersion, True baptism, IS that the man will keep His words or strive to DO so as he turns the focus of his Life off of the self and onto the things of God.

As a part of the Great Commission the disciple IS making disciples of others BY their teaching of the Truth and immersing the subject in His words which IS the deeper reality of “baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost“. It IS difficult to separate this idea of baptism from the doctrinal ideas that abound in this term but the idea here IS much like the idea of believing in or believing on the Master. We should this believing in the terms that Vincent offers us; although his ideas ARE in tune with his sense of doctrine, the Truth of his words DOES ring True beyond ALL doctrine; Vincent tells us:

To believe in, or on, is more than mere acceptance of a statement. It is so to accept a statement or a person as to rest upon them, to trust them practically; to draw upon and avail one’s self of all that is offered to him in them. Hence to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is not merely to believe the facts of His historic life or of His saving energy as facts, but to accept Him as Saviour, Teacher, Sympathizer, Judge; to rest the soul upon Him for present and future salvation, and to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life ⁴.

It IS the bold words here that ARE the KEY to understanding this idea of believe in and believe on; it IS only in this context of keeping His words that the reality of those “greater works” of which the Master speaks can come. In His words saying that “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) we should be able to see the depth of the Truth of believing as this word IS used by Jesus here and in so many other sayings. These “greater works” DO NOT come from mere affirmations of His divinity but they DO come in the positive action of keeping His words. It IS this same idea that IS embedded in the Master’s words regarding moving the mountain and it IS this same idea that we should see in baptism.

Vincent tells us this regarding “baptizing them in“: Baptizing into the name of the Holy Trinity implies a spiritual and mystical union with him ⁴. It IS in this idea of union that we should understand the dynamic that to have such Unity IS to have the Presence of God in one’s Life which IS accomplished in keeping His words as He tells us in the trifecta above. The ideal action then as regards the Great Commission IS that a disciple, or an aspirant who Truly strives, IS to teach others the Truth of the Master’s words and in so DOING to immerse the subject in the Truth of God; we should try to see here how that the most effective way of DOING this IS by the example of the Life of a disciple. Difficult perhaps but this IS the Life of the apostles of the Lord.

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 n

o 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