IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 1366

ON LOVE; PART MV

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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).

In the last essay we began our discussion of the next word in the Apostle Paul’s list of “the fruit of the Spirit“, pistis, which IS most always rendered as faith and here, in this verse, also as faithfulness and as fidelity by other translations. We noted how that only one translator rendered pistis as fidelity and how that this idea can be seen in the same way which we take from the first words of Paul’s list of “the works of the flesh” where the ideas that are rendered in terms of sexual sin DO really refer to the infidelity that a man, even a spiritual and religious man, has toward God. This IS an infidelity that IS against the precept of the first of the Great Commandments that we have again at the top of our essay. This aside, the very idea of pistis IS, in our view, misconstrued and misapplied and even the English rendering as faith IS but a nebulous idea that IS seen in the view of believing. As we have ofttimes discussed the reality of pistis and its kindred word pisteuo which IS generally rendered into forms of the idea of believing, have a much deeper and solid meaning as IS outlined in the words of the Master.

To understand these ideas one must look away from the doctrinal teachings on faith as these ARE presented and try to grasp the most basic ideas that the common understanding itself should embrace. If one believes that Jesus IS Lord, if one has faith that God IS, if one can look deeper into the words of the Master and His apostles at the way that these words ARE used, then the only logical course of Life IS that one will keep His words. Men will follow their lord even in earthly terms, men will rest completely on those things that they believe when they KNOW that they ARE true, and it IS this same that IS expected of the man who KNOWS Jesus IS Lord, the man who believes that God IS and that the Bible IS His word. In these ideas we have the reality of the sheep following their shepherd; going as he goes and DOING as He says. And there IS reward, there IS grace that IS given to the man who NOT ONLY acknowledges God and the Christ but who also rests upon His words and His Lordship. It IS the results of keeping His words that ARE the grace of God toward men and it IS found in the free flowing revelation and realizations of Truth, the Presence of God and His Kingdom as we read again in our trifecta of spiritual reality:

• “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).

There IS a reality to the idea of keeping His words that IS missed by most ALL doctrines that choose to use the idea of Jesus’ atoning death on the Cross as a substitute for one’s personal action despite the clear Truth that IS in Jesus’ own words. It IS the doctrines of men that have created theologies that take their interpretation of the words of the apostle’s, especially the words of Paul, and substitute these for the actual words of Jesus while there IS NO place in the words of any that gives this as an option for True spiritual Life. ALL of this seems to be based upon the doctrinal ideas that men CAN NOT keep His words nor the commandments of God but the greater reality here IS that this IS the way of the very Plan of God. We should see this first in Jesus’ cautions regarding the “strait gate” and we should read this second in the way that He portrays the Kingdom of God which grows in the hearts of men who Truly strive.

In the greater reality of the apostle’s words saying  “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” there IS great Truth that IS missed by the common doctrinal use of this idea that IS taken out of context. Here, if we see the idea faith as the greater idea of KNOWING and relate this to the first part of our trifecta we can then see the way that the “word of God” intersects with faith. In the fullness of Paul’s words we also find the idea of obeying; we read:

“How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent ? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:14:17).

In context these ideas DO take on a different tone. The word rendered as hearing IS from the Greek word akoe and if we can see this as what IS heard and disregard the idea that this must come through the ear, we can then understand the deeper idea. In the word that IS rendered as obeyed in the prior verses we have the Greek word hupakouo and here we should see that the root of both these Greek words IS akouo.  Hupakouo IS a compound word with the prefix of hupo, which IS defined as by and under by the lexicon ², and in this we have the idea of by or under hearing; in the rendering of obeyed then we should see under as the idea. Vincent tells us here that: Obeyed as the result of listening, and so especially appropriate here. Compare heard and hear, Romans 10:14. For the same reason hearken (Rev.) is better than obeyed ⁴.

If we can see how that these words intersect with the idea of faith as KNOWING, we can better understand the gist of the apostle’s words and when we add to this our ideas on believing in and believing on we should be able to see the that the apostle’s intent IS the same as IS the Master’s which we read above in the trifecta: that men should keep His words. Vincent shows us in clear ideas and from a Christian view the import of believing in and believing on from which we take his words saying that to DO so IS to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life ⁴. Here then Paul IS showing us how that in hearing the word of God, that ALL DO NOT hearken and cites the words of the prophet; here, if we can interpret the apostle’s words to say that KNOWING comes by hearing and see hearing in the defining idea of to comprehend, to understand ² as the lexicon tells us, we ARE closer to his intent. 

In what IS called the Great Commission, the apostles and those who choose to follow them are admonished to go forth and make disciples of men “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20) and if we can see this as His word and NOT as doctrine we can then see Paul’s intent in the whole context and in the model of his own way of teaching. Here the idea of teaching “the gospel of peace, and bring(ing) glad tidings of good things!” IS the teaching of His words and His commandments as the Word of God; Vincent tells us on this phrase “by the word of God” that the best texts read of Christ ⁴ and in this idea we should see the more complete thought. This IS that it IS through men that DO keep His words that the reality of His words IS imparted to others and that it IS in this teaching that men DO hear and, if they should keep His words which they hear, will develop that faith, that KNOWING of the Truth which comes in so DOING.

Who however IS “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you“? Who IS “them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things“? These ARE nearly nonexistent in this world and have been missing since the beginning when men chose to develop their doctrines which ARE  “in vain ….teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:9). It IS by hearing that men DO develop faith and believing but when this IS NOT faith and believing in the Truth, it leads men to deception and expands the reality of their own illusion and glamour of which we read in the Apostle James words saying “”be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22)”. And when this faith and believing IS in accord with the common nebulous ideas rather than that sense of KNOWING that IS the grace of God through revelation and realization of His Presence, it IS likely NOT “by the word of God” but rather by the doctrinal teachings of men.

Although we took this turn into the Paul’s ideas regarding faith and hearing, our main course here IS to show how that the reality of faith and the reality of believing IS in KNOWING and when we can understand the Master’s showing us that the source of this KNOWING is to “continue in my word” we can better understand a measure of the Truth. We should remember here that we ARE discussing this faith, this KNOWING, as a “fruit of the Spirit” and that in this context this KNOWING must be or must become an expression by the man in this world. Here we should understand that to KNOW some measure of the Truth requires that a man keep His words or strive to DO so and in this we should be able to see how that one’s expression of Love is a fundamental prerequisite. If a man DOES NOT Love then he IS NOT keeping His words and he DOES NOT “know the truth“….nor a measure of this if he DOES NOT strive. Similarly the other fruits that the apostle shows us in his list ARE NOT active in the Life of the man who DOES NOT Love which IS the man who DOES NOT KNOW. 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).

If we can see how that this pistis, this idea of KNOWING the Truth, IS the reality of that faith that Paul shows us as a “fruit of the Spirit” as we see it above, then the more nebulous idea of faith that IS generally assigned to his list IS replaced with a symbol if you will of Love. This symbol IS NOT unlike the symbol of fruit which IS the essence of Paul’s list where it IS the expression by the man in this world of these ideas which show him as a ‘man of God’ for lack of a better way of saying this. So too, pistis, as KNOWING is the symbol that men DO Love as the sense of KNOWING that rises to the level of a “fruit of the Spirit” requires it. It IS in the reality that KNOWING IS the result of DOING that we should read Jesus’ words to the woman who says to Him “Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked“; He replies “Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it” (Luke 11:27-28).

While we DO NOT often use the words of John Gill in a positive way as his doctrinal views ARE generally contrary to the ideas that we take from the trifecta and rely more upon the words of Paul as these ARE interpreted by doctrine, we DO find his points on these ideas from Luke to be in accord with our view here regarding hearing and keeping “the word of God“. Mr. Gill tells us:

it was a far greater happiness to hear the word of God; meaning either himself, the eternal “Logos”, so as to embrace him, believe on him, and have him formed in the heart; or the Gospel preached by him, so as to understand it, receive it as the ingrafted word, and bring forth fruit, and act in obedience to it, observe it, and abide by it, and never relinquish it. This is a greater happiness than to be related to Christ in the flesh, though ever so nearly. The Ethiopic version reads, “that hear the word of God, and believe, and keep it”: for faith comes by hearing, and shows itself in doing. Barely to hear the word, and even give an assent to it, will be of little avail, unless what is heard and believed is put in practice ⁸.

His reference here may be to the actual words of Jesus to those whom He spoke rather that to the hearing which comes to subsequent generations of men but the point IS True nonetheless; there IS NO profit unless what is heard and believed is put in practice.

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 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.

We repeat here a Quote of the Day that we spent much time with over the course of our essays. In this affirmation we find the Truth of discipleship as we have been ever been expressing and here we can relate our themes of the last few days; “take no thought” for the things of the world and that we approach the Kingdom and discipleship in the nature of the little child, in humbleness, meekness, unashamed in any way and unassuming. The message that this imparts for us today IS that it IS the Soul that is at work in the world of men as it expresses to some degree the purpose, power and the will through Life in this world. These words are from a meditation offered to his students by our Tibetan brother and in which we find greater understanding of the message of the Master. This IS Truly the way of the disciple.

My Soul has purpose, power and will; these three are needed on the Way of Liberation.

My Soul must foster love among the sons of men; this is its major purpose.

I, therefore, will to love and tread the Way of Love. All that hinders and obstructs the showing of the Light must disappear before the purposes of the Soul.

My will is one with the great Will of God;. that Holy Will requires that all men serve. And unto the purposes of the Plan I lend my little will.

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
• ⁸ Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com