ON LOVE; PART CMLXXXIV

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).

We ended the last essay with some thoughts on the ideas that the Apostle Paul expresses to the Ephesians regarding their journey from a focus upon the things of the self and the self in the world to a focus upon God. He tells them that they “were dead in trespasses and sins” and we should try to measure this against our current topic of the apostle’s list of “the works of the flesh“; NOT according to the common renderings and understanding of his words, but according to the way that these were intended to be understood. In the idea of dead we should be able to see the apostle’s point as this idea reflects the spiritual state of the man who lives in “trespasses and sins” and this IS a theme that IS constant throughout the New Testament. That these ideas of “trespasses and sins” ARE ONLY seen in relation to the gross offenses that a man can DO in this world is unfortunate as the reality of this IS primarily in the focus of the man: spiritual Life comes in focus upon the things of God while carnal Life, which IS “trespasses and sins“, come in one’s focus upon the self and the things of the self in the world. And this IS the meaning of Jesus’ words saying “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21).

This IS also the message of the Great Commandments and, in Truth, this IS the message of the entirety of the Master’s words and the words of His apostles. This idea can be more clearly understood when we see that the apostle includes himself in his words as one who was “fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind“. We should see here how that he includes himself as having been among “the children of disobedience” as he says that he too had his “conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh“. Here again the common understandings of doctrine confound and confuse the message as ONLY the gross idea of “the lusts of our flesh” is understood rather that the totality of those thoughts, attitudes and actions that ARE contrary to keeping His words. Repeating Paul’s words to the Ephesians again we read:

“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).

As we discussed in the last post, the idea of conversation IS better understood seen as lived; the Revised Version renders this as “Among these we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of body and mind, and so we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind“. Again, we should try to see these ideas of passions and desires as those “trespasses and sins” which ARE the normal activities, the normal thoughts and attitudes, of men whose focus IS NOT upon the things of God. And we should understand the point that the apostle makes as saying that God, “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ“; we should try to see in this that change of focus, that Repentance, away from “fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind” and onto the things of God.

By Paul’s own words we should see how that he was NOT, and his thoughts and attitudes were NOT, into the gross offenses that ARE the common understanding of “the works of the flesh” but that his own Life was according to his sense of doctrine. We read from the Book of Acts two things; first Paul’s words to the assembled Jews in his own defense saying “I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day” (Acts 22:3). And second his words to King Agrippa saying: “My manner of life from my youth, which was at the first among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews; Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee” (Acts 26:4-5).

While the common Christian idea of the Pharisee IS extremely negative, we should see that the whole of Paul’s “trespasses and sins” ARE religious in nature; they ARE found in his adherence to doctrine rather that to the word of God and in this we should see yet again the words of the Prophet Isaiah which Jesus repeats saying: “Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7). This IS the reality of “trespasses and sins” which ARE apart from those gross offenses and we should see here that both this idea regarding doctrine and that of the gross offenses ARE contrary to His words and contrary to the Great Commandments.

While we can see that some in Paul’s audience of aspirants and disciples may have been involved in the more gross offenses of men, that there IS NO requirement that this be so. We should see here how that it IS the common and the ordinary view of men which IS NOT focused upon the Truth and the things of God that ARE “the works of the flesh” and that the whole idea of methe can be seen in Paul’s Life as he tells us “that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee“.  It IS in their sense of methe that the Jews DID NOT see the Truth of Jesus teaching nor the reality of His Presence and, as we said in the last essay: it IS here that we should see Paul’s meaning in using 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.

When we can understand this drunkenness as the translation of methe: as that a man IS overcome with some sensation that distorts reality, we can then better understand the way of the scribe and the Pharisee as well as everyman who believes himself to be “zealous toward God” while NOT keeping His words in thought, attitude and action….or who IS NOT striving to DO so. Repeating Paul’s words to the Galatians 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).

We have one last word from the apostle’s list of “the works of the flesh” which, like methe, is in regard to the condition of a man, the condition of his thoughts and his attitudes regarding the Truth. This is the reality of this third segment: the condition of one’s thoughts and attitudes. The first two segments were in regard to a man’s relationship to God through the first of the Great Commandments and his relationship to his fellowman through the second. This Greek word, komos, which IS rendered as revellings IS perhaps the more difficult one for us to treat as the meaning seems obscure. The lexicon’s reference IS to a specific action while Vincent points us to other uses where he says that this idea of komos IS: coupled with drunkenness ⁴. If however we DO NOT see drunkenness as merely overindulgence in wine or strong drink, then we CAN NOT see komos only in the way that this IS depicted, as revellings and rioting ².

The lexicon explains komos saying that it IS: a nocturnal and riotous procession of half drunken and frolicsome fellows who after supper parade through the streets with torches and music in honour of Bacchus or some other deity, and sing and play before houses of male and female friends; hence used generally of feasts and drinking parties that are protracted till late at night and indulge in revelry ². While Vincent agrees with this he adds a religious overtone saying that: These revels also entered into religious observances, especially in the worship of Bacchus, Demeter, and the Idaeau Zeus in Crete. The fanatic and orgiastic rites of Egypt, Asia Minor, and Thrace became engrafted on the old religion. Socrates, in the introduction to “The Republic,” pictures himself as having gone down to the Piraeus to see the celebration of the festival of Bendis, the Thracian Artemis (Diana); and as being told by one of his companions that, in the evening, there is to be a torch-race with horses in honor of the goddess. The rites grew furious and ecstatic. “Crowds of women, clothed with fawns’ skins, and bearing the sanctified thyrsus (a staff wreathed with vine-leaves) flocked to the solitudes of Parnassus, Kithaeron, or Taygetus during the consecrated triennial period, and abandoned themselves to demonstrations of frantic excitement, with dancing and clamorous invocation of the god ⁴.

The idea of feasts, drinking parties, and the fanatic and orgiastic rites of Egypt ARE NOT what we should see here however as these ARE based in the sexual connotation that IS given to ALL of Paul’s list. When we apply the ideas of religion however we can begin to see Paul’s use of this term in regard to the condition of one’s thoughts and attitudes and, when we can see this word in relation to the ideas that we have taken from methe, we can perhaps understand the sense of excitement and joy that accompanies the religious intoxication which Paul IS speaking against. This view IS much more feasible that the idea that Paul IS cautioning the aspirants and the disciples to whom he IS writing about the type of komos that IS depicted above by the lexicon and by Vincent. And this view IS likely True across ALL uses of komos in the epistles of the apostles who ALL write to men who have overcome such frivolity; to this we should add that there IS NO relevant spectacle outside of the Greek ideas here that could impact the thinking of the Christian save our view of revelling in the intoxication of being full of themselves and drunk on their own sense of spiritual worth.

This IS a real caution and one that the apostle speaks of in other places as we have discussed; this IS the same caution that we should see in Paul’s words to the Romans saying: “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith” (Romans 12:3). We should understand here that “the measure of faith” that Paul speaks of IS NOT arbitrary with one man having more than another by allotment of God, but rather that one’s measure IS earned, it IS the wages if you will of one’s labors in Love and in keeping His words. This faith IS that KNOWING that comes in our trifecta, the KNOWING of the Truth that IS the realization of a man of the Presence of God; this we see again in our trifecta:

• “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 close here today with the simple idea that these “the works of the flesh” which Paul enumerates for us ARE the very opposite of keeping His words and when we can see this according to the idea that these works ARE the common and ordinary thoughts, attitudes and actions of men whose focus IS upon the things of the flesh, we can then begin to see the overall point of ALL gospel teaching. It IS in “the works of the flesh“….”that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” and it IS in keeping His words that a man “shall enter into the kingdom of heaven“, “shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” and shall have the Presence of God according to the Master’s words saying “we will come unto him, and make our abode with him“.

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