ON LOVE; PART CMLXXXVI

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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 the last essay with a review of the three segments that we see in the Apostle Paul’s list of “the works of the flesh“. Our view of the way that his IS listed in most ALL bible translations IS that the breakout into verses IS rather arbitrary while our own segmentation IS based upon the effect of each word in the Life of the man in this world. We see the segments rather clearly and have commented upon them and the words that fill them extensively over the many posts through which we have studied Paul’s intent; to see this as we see it requires that one drop the common understanding of the apostle’s words that doctrines have given us over the centuries. It IS the common understanding of Paul’s words that has made his list into one of sexual deviation, the presumed darkness of witchcraft and an idea of idolatry that sees other gods as its object.

And this IS ALL from the first segment which we see as Paul’s comments upon a man’s infidelity toward God on a spiritual level and NOT as what the church considers as those gross offences that men may DO. It IS in the illusions and the glamours of Life in this world that the gross IS substituted for the most normal activities of men. These ARE the thoughts, attitudes and actions of everyman who sees this Life in form as his own reality without considering the Truly spiritual man that he IS. While this idea of the spiritual self, the Christ Within as Paul shows us, IS admitted by many, it IS understood ONLY by few and this IS evident in the teachings of doctrine which claim that the Soul, the spiritual center of a man, IS his mind and his emotions at work in this world. When we can understand that the Soul IS the True spiritual man living through a physical body and that the mind and the emotions ARE components of that body, we can then understand that the True man, the Soul, IS beyond the total spectrum of human frailties and IS part and parcel of the One God.

In this view we can then see the fullness of the idea of focus and its effect upon the consciousness of the man in form. If we can see the consciousness of the man as the Life of the Soul in form, we can then begin to understand the simplicity of the complex interactions between the carnal and the spiritual; we can then see how that the consciousness reflects the focus of one’s Life to the world. If the focus of the man IS in the self and the things of the self then this IS what he will reflects while a focus upon the Godhead and the things of God will reflect just that in accordance with the reality of the first of the Great Commandments. In the words that  “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” we see the totality of the focus of one’s Life upon the Good, the Beautiful and the True.

To be in accord with this Great Commandment IS to be fully focused upon God which IS the reality of being fully focused upon one’s spiritual self as his ultimate purpose and to express this fullness to the world of men. Few there ARE that can DO this today and a great part of the reason can be found in the idea that this IS NOT the teaching of religion; this leaves men in a state where God gets but a small portion of the attention of men; and when we factor in that this small portion IS further compromised by the tenets of doctrine, we can get a sense of the True plight of men. It IS this fullness of focus that IS “the glorious liberty of the children of God“. It IS this fullness of focus that IS the reality of the trifecta: it IS here that men DO KNOW the Truth and it IS in this Truth that men ARE “delivered from the bondage of corruption” (Romans 8:21) which IS to be freed from the wiles of the world.

We should remember that this same Greek word, eleutheroo, IS rendered as both delivered in Paul’s words to the Romans as “make you free” in the Master’s words in our trifecta below. Paul shows us that this freedom IS from the “bondage of corruption” and when we can see these words in greater depth we can understand a greater message. The Greek word douleia, which IS rendered as bondage, IS in reference to slavery and IS defined by the lexicon as: slavery, bondage, the condition of a slave ² and if we can understand the whole idea of corruption as the ways of the world, that these ARE contrary to the Ways of God, we can get a better idea of the reality from which one IS freed. The Apostle Peter uses this same Greek word, phthora, to tell us that it IS corruption, the ways of the world, that we must escape in order to be “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4); and, if we can contrast these ideas from Peter and Paul with the first part of the trifecta of Jesus’ words, we can see that it IS the Truth, which comes in focus upon the Godhead, that shatters the corruption and makes men free. It IS this feeedom that it gives them that “glorious liberty of the children of God“. Repeating the trifecta we read again:

• “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 should understand that there IS NO True difference between the precept of the first of the Great Commandments and the idea above….that men keep His words; and both of these ARE missed in most ALL doctrines from the beginning. While the apostle’s DO capture these ideas in their writings, their views are diluted and changed to meet with the convenience of men whose focus IS yet upon themselves and the ways of the world. In the second segment of Paul’s “works of the flesh” we have a similar dynamic at play but in regard to the second of the Great Commandments, that “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself“. In this segment the apostle lists for us those things that pit man against man which IS contrary to the agape that Jesus teaches us and which He clarifies with the Golden Rule which tells us that “all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them“.

For two thousand years both of these ideas have been misinterpreted, misconstrued and virtually ignored by men and their doctrines and while part of this failure can be found in the way that Love, that agape, IS viewed as that emotional and mental attraction and attachment to others and to things, even this view fails in the clamor of daily living. Paul shows us this failure in showing that the  hatred, variance, emulations and wrath ARE NOT in the thoughts and the attitudes of the man who Truly seeks God and, in words that are misinterpreted and misunderstood, he shows us the root cause of these in the factions and the divisions which men create between themselves, and their own groupings, and others. Repeating the apostle’s words:

“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).

It IS the factions and the divisions of men by men that ARE at the heart of this segment of Paul’s list of “the works of the flesh“. It IS men’s factious thoughts and attitudes that ARE the divisions of men along a multiplicity of perceived lines of difference. And ALL of men’s views of differences ARE in some way contrary to the admonition of the Apostle James who shows us the essence of Love, of agape, saying that “if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin“. James shows us as well that this sin, this sin of factions, IS NO different than any other sin; he tells us that “if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:9-10).

It IS unfortunate that this view of Love, this Truly biblical view of agape, IS missed by most ALL men and has been missed from the beginning. This too IS NOT missed in the words of the apostles but, in men’s interpretation of their words, the reality of seeing everyman as one sees himself IS virtually ignored. It IS in this sense of difference that we find the thoughts and the attitudes which lead to factions and divisions and it IS these that bring us the other parts of Paul’s list to life….it IS these factions and divisions which ARE the root of the hatred, the wrath, the contentions of variance, the self-devotion of emulation, and the envying that results. It IS this sense of division that men create, it IS these factious thoughts and attitudes, that ARE the ideas that ARE most contrary to the precept of the second of the Great Commandments and the high ideals of the Golden Rule.

In these first two segments of Paul’s list of “the works of the flesh” we have his caution and his warning that “they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God“. This IS ONLY meaningful however when we can look past the common understanding, look past the sexual overtones given by doctrine and look past the old ideas related to witchcraft and idolatry. It IS in the reality of men’s infidelity toward God and in their chosen objects of worship….NOT idols as in the Old Testament interpretations but in those things of the world that take men’s attention and become their focus. And we should see how that the idea of witchcraft or sorcery IS NOT ONLY those intentional carnal endeavors of men to control their environment but this IS ALSO the reality of ALL super natural powers which ARE wielded through the emotions and the mind, but which ARE thought to be spiritually driven, and ARE practiced by any man who DOES NOT Truly strive to keep His words. It IS men’s interpretation of their own “spiritual gifts” in the absence of Love as Paul shows us which add to the infidelity and idolatry that keep men from the Truth of the first of the Great Commandments.

Paul’s caution and warning IS ONLY meaningful when we can understand how that it IS the factious behavior of men that creates the divisions that keep a man from fulfilling the most basic Truths of the second of the Great Commandments. It IS in men’s failure to see ALL men as they see themselves, as spiritual beings who ARE part and parcel of the One God, a failure that IS aided by the illusion and the glamour, the vanity as Paul tells us, through which men see their Life and the world in strictly human terms. It IS the failure of Love, the failure of men’s right view of agape as the great KEY to their spiritual reality, and the failure of doctrines to show and to teach this precept in which there IS NO “respect to persons” along any lines of division. It IS in this singular view of agape that True realization comes: the True understanding that ALL men ARE subjected to the same illusion and glamour which distorts reality and which prevents most ALL from seeing the basic Truths of Life and the reality of “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27)….and the reality of the Master’s doctrinally denied Truth that “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21).

These ARE those segments of Paul’s list that ARE contrary to the Great Commandments and it IS this list of things that will keep a man from “the kingdom of God“; but this IS NOT ALL that the apostle shows to aspirants and to disciples who have largely overcome the baser human instincts. He also tells us that for this man who has overcome the ideas that ARE in the gross interpretations and who has a basic understanding of the reality of these ideas against the Great Commandments, that there IS yet another caution which IS that a man should “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). It IS with this admonition that Paul includes in his list the ideas behind methe and komos. This IS the third segment of Paul’s list; it IS in these ideas that we should see again that when a man comes to believe that he KNOWS the Truth, when he comes to believe that he has the Presence of God and IS accounted worthy of the Kingdom, while he IS NOT in accord with the Great Commandments, it IS methe, and it IS in this sense of drunkenness that we find komos.

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