ON LOVE; PART MVII
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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 discussed the ideas behind the Greek word makarios which IS rendered as forms of blessing and, by some, as the idea of happiness. Through Vincent’s commentary we were able to relate the ideas behind makarios to the idea of KNOWING as he showed us how that this word IS used by the philosophers of the time. Vincent tells us that: from Socrates onward, virtue depends primarily upon knowledge; so that to be happy is, first of all, to know 4 as part of his rather lengthy commentary on the use of this word in the Beatitudes. For us, from a spiritual view, this sense of KNOWING IS faith and believing as these words ARE used in the New Testament and in this we can relate these ideas of grace, which comes in the revelations and the realizations of men whose focus IS upon God as that KNOWING, to the idea used here of blessing which also follows such a man that strives to keep His words.
We came upon the ideas of makarios from Jesus words to the woman saying “blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it” (Luke 11:28). Here we see that the idea of being blessed IS the same as those ideas that we find in the trifecta: that the man who DOES “hear the word of God, and keep it” IS the man who has the KNOWING, the Presence of God and His Kingdom; and it IS in these that we should see the deeper significance and Truth of being “born again“. We should remember that in the Master’s words to Nicodemus He reveals the Way to the KINGDOM as such and when we take His words there saying “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3) along with His words to the woman above and the ideas from the trifecta, we DO get the more complete picture which IS NOT seen when His ideas are separated and taken out of context. We read the 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).
As we converge blessing and grace and see that these ARE that KNOWING that IS faith and believing, we should be able to glimpse how that ALL these topics surround the one goal of ALL humanity which IS to move the focus of Life off of the mundane and carnal and onto the things of God. It IS in DOING this that we can have the revelations that lead to the realizations in which we simply KNOW the Truth as Jesus tells us and it IS in this that we ARE blessed in the ONLY way that spiritual happiness CAN work in the lives of men in this world; it IS in this that we can realize that to be happy is, first of all, to know 4. And this IS the grace of God, that reward that IS realized in human terms for one’s striving toward godliness. In this ALL IS the reality of faith as this IS presented by the Apostle Paul in his list of “the fruit of the Spirit” and in this IS the reality of faith as this IS shown to us by Jesus. In the last post we discussed our ideas on faith from the gospels of Matthew and Mark which we repeat here again; we read:
- “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you” (Matthew 17:20).
- “Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive” (Matthew 21:21-22).
- “Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed , and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:22-24).
If we can dispense with the doctrinal notion that any of the blessings or grace that men take from these words IS carnal or material in nature, we can then understand the True import of the Master’s words. While there IS a great reality to His words saying “have faith, and doubt not” and that he “shall not doubt in his heart“, we should try to see these as that sense of KNOWING which ONLY comes in keeping His words and in striving toward this goal. It IS in this KNOWING that “he shall have whatsoever he saith“; it IS in this KNOWING that “nothing shall be impossible unto you“. It IS in keeping His words and in striving that a man can KNOW “the mysteries of the kingdom of God” (Luke 8:10); mysteries that ARE reserved for the disciple which IS also defined for us by Jesus saying that “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed“.
And KNOWING these mysteries IS the grace and the blessings; KNOWING these mysteries IS the realization of the Kingdom of God and the Presence of God, and KNOWING these mysteries IS the Truth of discipleship. We should try to see the reality here of the idea of measure; the idea that it IS according to the measure of one’s striving that he will have some measure of faith and, as Jesus shows us, some measure of “the fruit of the Spirit” as his expression of Life in this world. This IS the measure of the man who IS the “good ground“, this IS the man of whom Jesus says, speaking of the word of God, that: “And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred” (Mark 4:8). And this IS the same measure that we find in Paul’s words 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 try to see here another relationship between fruit and faith as it IS in the measure of one’s KNOWING the Truth that his measure of fruit becomes his expression. In the last essay we tried to expand upon this idea of measure so as to show how that this can come easier to some than to others. In these ideas however we should NOT see any limitation upon the potential success of any man, but we should rather see that the Soul IS ever prompting everyman to the Good, the Beautiful and the True, to the things of God, so that it matters NOT what one’s innate propensity in Life may be. The ability for any man to understand the realities that ARE revealed varies greatly and while this ability IS likely linked to the physical attributes with which a man comes into this world, it IS as much linked to the degree with which his nurturing, his indoctrination, and his experience afflict his psyche.
While we would like to say that ALL men have equal opportunity to see the Truth, this IS NOT the case; but this IS NOT at the hand of God with whom there IS “there is no respect of persons” but rather at the hand of each Soul’s own spiritual collateral and the propensities that he may bring into a Life on Earth. This IS a most difficult subject and there IS much ‘bad’ information in the world, and especially in the doctrinal churches, to confuse and confound men’s attempts at finding the Truth. We should understand here however that this Truth IS an integral part of the mysteries and a large component of the Truths that a man will come to KNOW as his Life becomes evermore focused upon the things of God. Again, this KNOWING IS faith, this KNOWING IS the believing without doubt that we have been discussing and this KNOWING IS the great Truth in Jesus words which we read from the Apostle Luke’s version of the Master’s words saying: “If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root , and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you” (Luke 17:6).
There IS little difference between moving the mountain and planting the sycamine tree in the sea; both ARE impossible. And both ARE the reality of the message that most clearly says that the True disciple, the man who fully keeps His words, the man of whom the Master says “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do” (John 14:12)”, that it IS this man for whom “nothing shall be impossible“. And this IS also the greater reality of Jesus’ words saying “With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible” (Mark 10:27) in which idea we should see the working of the mystery of “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27) as the Hand of God in the Life of a man.
Christianity in general refuses to believe these things and their doctrines interpret and teach ideas which ARE quite contrary. This IS based in the nebulous understanding of faith and believing that DOES NOT see their reality as KNOWING nor the Way of KNOWING that comes in focus upon the things of God which IS to keep His words. Nor DOES doctrine see that the very fabric of faith and the Truth of that fruit which IS “brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred” IS based in striving which the lexicon defines for us as: to endeavour with strenuous zeal, strive: to obtain something 2. Most DO NOT see that the measure of faith and the measure of fruit which any man may have IS directly dependent upon the effort put forth to focus upon God and the things of God; and most DO NOT see how that DOING the impossible, DOING those “greater works” that may include the doctrinal ideas ARE so much more and DO include those things that the spiritual man would NOT DO as in moving the mountain.
The doctrinal interpretation of these ideas on the ability of the True disciple to DO such “greater works” and to DO the impossible ARE bound up in the churches ideas on divinity which IS but their theology and NOT specifically Truth. The greater reality IS that ALL men ARE divine as spiritual beings that ARE part and parcel of God and it IS the expression of this nature that IS the expression of that “fruit of the Spirit” which Paul calls pistis as well as the expression of the full list. It IS against the basic Truths of Jesus’ words that such doctrinal ideas which oppose Jesus own words on such things as “nothing shall be impossible” and on one’s ability to DO “greater works” ARE formulated and taught and much because of the failure of doctrines to see the reality of faith beyond the nebulous and to understand that the Truth of pisteuo IS much more that the simple idea of believing….that both ARE that KNOWING that comes in keeping His words. Most DO NOT see nor even glimpse the idea that Paul gives us regarding faith as a “fruit of the Spirit“, a fruit that become the expression of the man who KNOWS. 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).
The Apostle John tells us that “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17). It IS against these simple but misunderstood words we have the doctrinal views such as this regrading the Master’s words on “greater works“; we read from the Commentary Critical and Explanatory of the Whole Bible that: His miracles the apostles wrought, though wholly in His name and by His power, and the “greater” works–not in degree but in kind–were the conversion of thousands in a day, by His Spirit accompanying them 8. Here Jesus’ words on “greater works” ARE missed as Truth IS missed in His words on faith and believing above; they ARE missed because of the doctrinal refusal to see Jesus as He Truly IS and to see how that “as he is, so are we in this world” despite His many words that tell us so.
Paul tells us of Jesus the Christ that “in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9) and if we can see this idea together with John’s saying “as he is, so are we in this world” and Jesus’ own words on faith, believing and those “greater works“, we can perhaps see how that they that may “spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ” (Colossians 2:8) ARE the very purveyors of the doctrines that pose as the Truth.
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 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
