ON LOVE; PART CMLXXXIII

ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•Α

GoodWill IS Love in Action

ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•Α

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).

ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ

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

ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ

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).

As we continue plodding through the words of the Apostle Paul that ARE his list of “the works of the flesh“, we should be able to more clearly see how that these words from the apostle ARE NOT intended to be seen in the carnal way that men have viewed them over the last 2000 years. We should be able to more clearly see the spiritual significance that IS his intent as he writes to men who ARE aspirants and disciples of the Truth of the teaching of the Lord. We should also be able to see and to understand the deep significance that the apostle places upon the Great Commandments through his words and understand as well how that it IS in keeping these that we keep the Master’s words which IS the KEY to the Truth of salvation or, better, the Way to “the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). 

We should ever remember the parabolic nature of the words of the Master and His apostles and understand that their stated ideas ARE NOT offered in a way to confuse men but rather ARE offered in a tone that IS ONLY understood by the man whose Life IS focused upon the things of God and, by measure, to the man who IS striving toward that focus, striving to make this focus his “treasures in heaven“. Jesus teaches us that “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:20, 21) and when we can understand the idea here, that heart IS a man’s conscious awareness of himself in this world, an awareness that IS fed by the things of God or by the things of the world, we can then understand the deeper reality of Repentance. It IS in Repentance that one changes the focus of his Life away from the carnal and puts it onto the Good, the Beautiful and the True things of God which his own Soul has been prompting him towards and, while this prompting may be unheard over the clamor of daily living, it IS ever there.

None of these ideas nor words ARE understood in the way that they ARE intended by the Master and His apostles however as men continue to see their lives as the Life of the man in this world who has a Soul rather that as a Soul in this world whose goal IS to express the Quality of Love, of agape, through the Life of the man in this world. We have ofttimes said that it IS in the convenience of doctrines that so much of the Truth IS lost as men have created their presumed ‘safe harbor’ in their interpretation of the Truths expressed by Jesus. And we should try to see here how that it IS such doctrines that ARE the continuing effort of men against which Jesus speaks as He tells us and ALL before us the words of the Prophet Isaiah saying “Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7).

This too goes unseen by most ALL men and would be strongly denied by those who teach and here again we should see the reality of the Apostle James’ words saying “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). And it IS here that we should see the reality of methe and understand this as a sense of drunkenness which IS an affliction under which men can become full of themselves and drunk on their own sense of spiritual worth. A few posts back we cited the Master’s words saying “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares” (Luke 21:34) and in this we should see the relationship; we should see how that men’s hearts can be weighed down as the lexicon ² and Vincent ⁴ define this Greek word that IS rendered as overcharged. It IS under the weight of doctrine that men believe in their own sense of Truth and it IS in this believing that they become full of themselves and drunk on the ideas that ARE presented as the Truth. It IS under the weight of doctrine that men DO NOT see the spiritual significance of our trifecta which we present again; the Master 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).

While these ideas and words ARE NOT parabolic but rather straightforward, they ARE NOT seen as His commandments nor His words that should be kept as the Way to His Presence, the Kingdom of God and the freedom of KNOWING the Truths of Life. Can we see here the idea of methe as an affliction in the Life of a man who CAN NOT see the plainness of Jesus’ Truths and can we see the reality of His admonition that men “take heed to yourselves“. And so it IS with Paul’s words to the Galatians that we have been studying; the apostle’s admonition IS the same as he tells us that “the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other“. In this we should see how that to live apart from the intent of the Great Commandments IS to live contrary to the words of the Master and to live contrary to His words IS to “soweth to his flesh“….and this IS regardless of where one may believe himself to be spiritually. We read the apostle’s words again 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).

Later in his Epistle to the Galatians Paul speaks about the idea of sowing and reaping and in this we should see the same sense of focus that we have been discussing. This idea IS NOT unlike Jesus’ own words on the “treasures in heaven” versus those “treasures upon earth” where the same sense of focus IS the Master’s point. To “soweth to his flesh” and to “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth” (Matthew 6:20, 19) ARE the same idea and we should understand these ideas in broad terms and NOT only in terms of material wealth and possessions. Every thought, attitude and action that IS directed as focus upon the things of this world, things that ARE of and for the self in this world, IS contrary to the high ideals of the first of the Great Commandments and this IS Paul’s message in the verse just prior to our selection as he says “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). Here we must try to see that to “Walk in the Spirit” IS to have His Presence which IS the grace in the Life of the man who DOES keep His words.

We should see here as well that “the lust of the flesh” IS ALL thoughts, attitudes and actions that ARE in regard to the things of the world and this IS regardless of the presumed spiritual loftiness of them; regardless of how one may view his own motivations in his own sense of methe. It IS in this tone that we should understand the apostle’s words saying: “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:7-8). In ALL of these ideas of focus we should be able to see the strict dichotomy that IS painted for us between the carnal and the spiritual….between the things of the flesh and things of God. That this dichotomy IS NOT seen is the bane of Christianity and the foundation of NOT seeing this separation IS found in the methe, in the intoxicating way that men see themselves as being in the Will of the Lord.

And Paul’s point here IS that so long as a man DOES NOT see this separation, DOES NOT see the depth of how “the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh“, that he IS operating in methe and as such will “not inherit the kingdom of God“; a Kingdom that IS here and now and IS the realization of the Presence of God in one’s Life….the revelation of “the truth, and the truth shall make you free“. We should try to see how that this methe IS both a cause and an effect of the first segment of Paul’s list of “the works of the flesh“. It IS in a man’s believing that he IS in the Presence of God and IS “led of the Spirit” without keeping His words that he will live contrary to the essence of the first of the Great Commandments as he follows the dictates of his doctrine over the Truth of Jesus’ words; this IS an effect of methe. At the same time it IS one’s living according to his own indoctrination into a Life of praise and worship and belief in the atoning quality of Jesus’ death which relieves him of ALL responsibility, save for that nebulous idea of faith which he has learned, that causes a man to see himself as holy or spiritual enough to attain the Kingdom….this too IS methe.

We should understand here that it IS language and it IS words that prevent men from seeing the Truth in the parabolic tone of the Master’s and Paul’s words and we should remember here that there IS NOT a direct attempt to confuse men. It IS in men’s own interpretations, translations and varied renderings of the Greek ideas that confuses and confounds the simple Truth that the Key to salvation and to the “the glorious liberty of the children of God” IS found in keeping His words; this IS the ONLY result of keeping the Great Commandments. The Apostle John tells us that “all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 John 2:16) and in this we should easily see the dichotomy between carnal and spiritual and more; we should see the totality of the idea of “all that is in the world“. Vincent shows us this idea of ALL as: Not all things severally, but all that is in the world collectively, regarded as a unit ⁴, and when we can see John’s words as incorporating ALL thoughts and attitudes regarding ALL that IS NOT spiritual, we can then understand his point and better see the totality of Paul’s reality as he says “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” and his other like sayings which we have been discussing.

We close today with these words from Paul to the Ephesians; words which show the True course of the man who has found the wherewithal for True Repentance. Paul says:

“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved)” (Ephesians 2:1-5).

Looking as these words away from doctrine we should be able to see and to understand the journey of the man who was “dead in trespasses and sins” and understand that this IS NOT ONLY those gross offenses but rather the focus of one’s Life upon the carnal which Paul frames for us as “ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience“. We should see here the comparison between those to whom the apostle writes as those quickened, which idea IS surmised from the text as the opposite of being dead, and those who ARE yet “according to the course of this world“. In this we have a view of how that the aspirant and the disciple were among the “children of disobedience“, which IS simply those who live “according to the course of this world“, and have become alive “together with Christ“.

Paul goes on to show the conversation or, better, the idea of the way that they lived as other translations render this; that they attended to the desires “of our flesh” and we should note how that the apostle includes himself in this. We should try to see how that Paul was not an offender in terms of gross sins but ONLY in the way that he approached God through his own indoctrination into the Jewish way where he thought himself holy. It IS in this office that we should understand “lusts of our flesh” and we should also note how that there IS a fulfillment of these desires to be and to DO according to his sense of Truth. We should note as well how that he speaks of “desires of the flesh and of the mind” and should see in this ALL thoughts, attitudes and actions in Life among “the children of wrath“. Vincent tells us that this Greek word, orge, that IS rendered as wrath: is God’s holy hatred of sin; His essential, necessary antagonism to everything evil ⁴; and in this we should see again lead idea in our selection from Galatians saying: “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other“.

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.

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