ON LOVE; PART CMLXXXVII
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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).
As we continue with our study of the Apostle Paul’s lists of the “the works of the flesh” and “the fruit of the Spirit” we should try to correlate these ideas to the beginning verse that we have been using in our selection from Galatians. The apostle tells us that “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 reality that we should view his cautions. We should try to see that it IS the normal human way of men to act as men in this world and that the flesh will continually seek its own way; not its way in the basest and grossest instincts of men but its way as a man attending to the self in this world. Here we should remember that the flesh IS the emotions and the mind that seeks to DO as men DO and to better his own state of being in the world through the motivation of desire for those things which ARE perceived to DO so.
On the other side of this there IS the Spirit, the True man, the Soul in form, that IS ever trying to get the attention of the consciousness which IS, through nurturing and experience, focused upon the things of the flesh….the things of the world. For those to whom the apostle writes there has been an awakening to the prompting of the Soul and it IS through this awakening that the True battle IS fought between the flesh and the Spirit. It IS this awakening that IS the cause of True Repentance; it IS this awakening that happens in the Life of a man who IS seeking Truth and it IS in this seeking that he begins to strive toward the reality of the Kingdom of God. There ARE many places throughout the gospels and the epistles that show us this same dichotomy between the Spirit and the flesh which IS the dichotomy between the things of God and the things of the World; Paul frames this as that “these are contrary the one to the other” and it IS in this reference that he gives us the two lists.
The first list, “the works of the flesh“, IS those thoughts and attitudes that will keep a man from his own spiritual reality and each of the items that he includes IS a thing that IS of the way of the flesh, things which DO, as Paul says, “lusteth against the Spirit“. These ARE a man’s focus upon the world and the things of the world, this IS his focus upon himself and his own interests rather that a focus upon God, the things of God, with an understanding of the reality that ALL men ARE part and parcel of God. And, in the Life of the man who IS somewhat awakened, there IS the added burden of methe and komos in which a man can take the glimpse of Truth and believe that it IS the fullness of that Truth without realizing that this too IS but “the works of the flesh“. There ARE ways to KNOW that one has overcome these “works of the flesh” and these ways ARE found in Jesus’ words which men should apply even to themselves; the Master tells us that “by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:20) and here in our selection Paul offers us a glimpse of what those fruits DO include; 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).
When we can see and understand the dichotomy that DOES exist between “God and mammon“, the dichotomy that DOES exist between having “treasures upon earth” or having “treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:24, 19, 20)….and when we can understand that mammon and treasure ARE NOT riches or those things which riches can buy but ARE the thoughts and the attitudes of a man toward the objects of his focus, then we ARE truly awakening to spiritual reality. And it IS this dichotomy that Truly exists that the apostles show in in such sayings as:
- The Apostle John tells us: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:5).
- The Apostle James tells us: “know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4).
- The Apostle Paul tells us: “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2).
- The Apostle Paul also tells us: “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness” (1 Corinthians 3:19).
- The Apostle Peter tells us: “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4).
These ARE but an example of the many ideas offered by the Master and His apostles regrading the separation between the ways of the world and the Ways of God and we should understand here that these ways of the world ARE NOT limited to the base and the gross thoughts and attitudes of men but ARE ALL of the thoughts and attitudes of men which ARE NOT directed at the reality and the Truth of God. It IS indeed easier for men to believe and to teach that they can find the fullness of the grace of God while living according to the world of men and this IS Paul’s point as he offers us his words on the “the works of the flesh” which, when seen as they ARE intended to be seen, show us that men must look to the Godhead and to the reality of His words on Love for the reality of salvation and to be Truly “delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). And the Master teaches us these same Truths as He tells us that it IS in keeping His words that we find such glory; we read Jesus’ words as our trifecta again saying:
- “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).
In these ideas of the trifecta which we have been publishing in every essay for quite some time, we should be able to see and to understand how that the Master IS clearly pointing men in the direction of Truth, the Presence of God and the Kingdom of God. In the clarity of these words there should be NO confusion yet men and their doctrines choose to look past the Master’s words and to use their own misinterpreted ideas from the apostles to formulate and teach their doctrines. Jesus’ ideas ARE NOT difficult to understand and when a man can come to terms with His instructions for Life, he can then better understand the clarifying and amplifying nature of the words of His apostles who DO take seriously the Master’s final command which, according to the Apostle Matthew, tells us to “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” (Matthew 28:19-20). The KEY here IS NOT in what IS the right meaning of the Greek words rendered as teach, as nations and as baptize, but the KEY IS in the reality of the final words….that they teach “all things whatsoever I have commanded you“.
This of course begins and ends with the Great Commandments and in between this includes the words of our trifecta and, if we can read the apostles’ words apart from our own doctrinal views and beliefs, we can then begin to see the depth of the spiritual reality which they teach as they amplify and clarify His words. And so it IS with Paul’s list of “the fruit of the Spirit“; it IS this list which clarifies and amplifies the Master’s words that we read above saying “by their fruits ye shall know them“. While the context of Jesus’s words here appears to be the way to KNOW those who ARE NOT “false prophets” the deeper reality IS found in the simple words that “Ye shall know them by their fruits“. These words DO cut both ways and just as we can KNOW the “false prophets“, the teachers of error over Truth, so we can KNOW the True man of God and it IS this that is shown us in His saying and his parable; we read:
“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down , and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:15-20).
We should note the placement of Jesus’ words here, how that they ARE found between His words on the “strait gate“….the Way to the Kingdom, and His words on the deception of men who believe that they ARE in His Will while NOT being in accord with His words. While men would like to believe that the “false prophets” ARE like to those prophets of the Old Testament, the better reality IS that these ARE everyman who would be “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7, Matthew 15:9). In this view we should try to see the simplicity of the prophet as anyone who teaches what he believes that he hears from God; and in this idea of hearing there IS a multiplicity of meanings. When what one hears IS NOT in accord with the Truth of the words of the Master or of the law, we should see the teacher in the role of the pseudoprophetes which IS the Greek word that IS rendered as “false prophets” here.
The Apostle Peter puts both of these ideas, prophet and teacher, together for us as he says, speaking about the prophets of old, that: “there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you” (2 Peter 2:1) and in this we should see our point. The Master’s caution IS against believing what IS said by the man who DOES NOT have the reality of “the fruit of the Spirit” visible in his Life; this IS the man whose words may seem to be about God but whose thoughts, attitudes and actions ARE according to “the works of the flesh“. Here, according to our view of the “the works of the flesh“, we should be able to see how that there IS a subtleness in this dynamic as well as a line that IS hard for one man to perceive in another….it IS difficult to impossible to discern the way of another’s thoughts and attitudes toward the substance of the Great Commandments.
While the idea of the “the works of the flesh” then may NOT be so apparent, the idea of the “the fruit of the Spirit” IS; and this IS the way that Jesus tells us that we should discern the man who IS NOT a pseudoprophetes. We should remember here as we begin our study of the “the fruit of the Spirit” as Paul lists these for us that the whole context of his words IS in regard to the dichotomy between the carnal and the spiritual and, what we see with the opening lines from the apostle in our selection above, we should see also the closing line which, while seemingly in a different context, IS dynamically the same. To be Christ’s as the apostle frames this requires the crucifixion of the flesh and the forsaking of ALL that keeps a man focused upon the things of the self and the self in the world. This IS to keep His words and this IS to express “the fruit of the Spirit” through one’s Life in this world.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
| Aspect |
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.
