ON LOVE; PART MXII
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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 spent many words over the last few essays to show how that the idea of measure, of spiritual measure, IS the reality of the growth of the Kingdom Within and how that this theme IS used by Jesus to show us the way that the seed of His words becomes the fruit that we can express….”some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred“. It IS the idea of measure for measure which the Apostle Mark frames for us as “with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you” (Mark 4:20, 24) that shows us the Path from Repentance, to Transformation, to Redemption and finally to Transfiguration. This IS the Path of the aspirant to the disciple and this IS the Path that IS shown us in the Life of the Apostle Peter through the Gospels and the Book of Acts. This IS the Path in which grace Truly abounds as those revelations and realizations of Truth, the Presence of God in one’s Life and this IS the Path to the reality of the Kingdom of God….this is the Path that IS trodden by the inner man as he strives to keep His words and overcome the “wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11) as the Apostle Paul frames this idea. We should understand that it IS in striving to keep His words that we find the ever greater measure of grace that comes to the man according to our trifecta which we repeat 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).
It IS the same doctrinal view which ignores the Master’s words on the Kingdom, the Truth and His Presence that ARE this trifecta that has given birth to the view of a devil, a Satan by name, as an outside power that IS sent to dissuade men from following and striving as Jesus instructs. Many focus upon these “wiles of the devil” while the essential reality remains: it IS the illusion and the glamour of Life in this world, the vanity according to Paul, that IS the affliction of the flesh which IS the greater reality of Satan. It IS in being “made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same” (Romans 8:20) under the Great and Awesome Plan of God that IS the reality that must be overcome. It IS this same reality that the apostle shows us in our selection that lists “the works of the flesh” and “the fruit of the Spirit” as he also shows us that it IS a battle between the flesh and the Spirt which “are contrary the one to the other” that IS struggle through which the man who Truly seeks God must strive. Repeating the apostle’s words again we read:
“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).
There ARE many denomination differences in regard to this idea of Satan and the devil and their influence upon the lives of men. There ARE denominational teachings that tell men that as they come to embrace their doctrines that the devil will pay special attention and work against them in a variety of ways. There ARE denominational teachings that tell men that there ARE demons in the world today and while this may be based upon biblical ideas, we should try to see how that these ideas ARE themselves based in the science of the day or, better, the lack of it, and the barbarous and superstitious nature of the times. In ALL of this we should try to see how that doctrines have chosen NOT to see the True struggle in which a man will “have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” in favor of allowing men to be men with their only resistance being to the temptations of the devil….temptations that ARE generally in the nature of the gross offences rather that in the reality of Repentance.
ALL of this is the way of men in this world as they construct doctrines that ARE for the convenience of men and which ARE the subject of the prophet’s words which Jesus repeats for us saying: “But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:9). We should understand here that this IS a part of that vanity which Paul shows us, a vanity which Vincent shows us IS: the reference is to a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends 4. This IS the reality of vanity, this IS the reality of the illusion and the glamour of Life in form and this IS the reality against which men must struggle as they seek to free themselves and to be “delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). As we have ofttimes discussed, this word eleutheroo which IS rendered here as delivered IS the same word that IS rendered as “make you free” in our trifecta above and it IS toward this end that men must strive.
It IS this striving that IS the True objective of faith and of believing, of pistis and pisteuo, and it IS this striving that IS the essence of the ideas which we have been studying on measure. In the glimmer of KNOWING which IS the glimmer of faith, men DO find the wherewithal to strive and while much of doctrine pulls men away from the Truth, there ARE some who will listen to their own inner voice which IS the reality of that unction which the Apostle John tells us of saying that: “the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie” (1 John 2:27). It IS in this idea that we should see Paul’s words that show us a great mystery of Life saying that it IS this mystery “which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). Here we should remember the relationship of the Greek words that ARE rendered as unction, as anointing and as Christ and understand that the defining idea of the Greek word christos IS the anointed.
In the glimmer of KNOWING we should be able to see a glimmer of the Truth of “the fruit of the Spirit” and it IS in perusing these spiritual ideas that we find the Truth of striving toward the Kingdom and toward what IS right rather than what IS convenient to the minds and the emotions, to the flesh if you will, of men. Here in this glimmer of Truth IS the seed of His words and the reality of “with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you“. It IS in striving toward an ever greater measure of faith that we come to understand just what IS faith and see the reality behind the doctrinal ideas applied to believing and especially the ideas of believing in and believing on the Master and His words. In this sense of believing and of faith IS men’s KNOWING that He IS Lord and in the reality of this KNOWING IS the affirmative answer to Jesus’ rhetorical question that asks: “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). It IS the affirmative answer that IS the reality of Vincent’s words on believing where we read that to believe in and to believe on the Master IS: to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life 4.
This then IS the essence of faith: that we strive to keep His words. And it IS in so DOING that one’s measure of faith IS increased which, in turn, gives the man and equal increase in the measure by which he will strive. In IS in Jesus’ response to the apostles’ request of the Master to “Increase our faith” that He goes on to explain faith as that KNOWING, that “faith as a grain of mustard seed” which can “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 17:5, 6). We should try to see here the cause and the effect; the cause IS striving based in the glimmer of Truth that takes away the attention, the focus, of the man in the world and the effect IS an ever increasing measure of faith which IS that KNOWING that in its fullness IS “as a grain of mustard seed“.
And this IS the essence of Jesus’ words to His apostles, and through them to us, saying: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, 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). We must of course understand the depth of believing on Him, which IS the same as the depth of KNOWING in its fullness, that IS required to DO these “greater works” and in this see how that keeping His words IS the basis as this becomes, through striving to make His way binding upon the life as we read above. This brings us finally to the idea that left off with in the last post; the words from the Book of Hebrews which ARE much used by the doctrinal teachers but yet little understood: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).
While there IS surely “the measure of faith” (Romans 12:3) as Paul shows us, some also see that there ARE ‘types’ of faith and based in the way that this word IS used this IS surely True as well. However, when we speak of the idea of faith at this IS used by the Master and by His apostles, we should see ONLY the idea of KNOWING and of being convinced that such and such will come to pass or that such and such IS Truth. We should try to see here how that ALL of these words from Hebrews work together; in the idea of faith IS the KNOWING, the conviction and the assurance which in its fullness IS without doubt; in this we can see how that True faith IS from the inner man and that in its fullness this KNOWING DOES NOT allow the mind nor the emotions nor anything carnal to dissuade it. In the idea of substance, which IS rendered from hupostasis, we have the same assurance as this IS rendered by the Revised Version as well as confidence and trust which ideas ARE also found in definitions of pistis 2.
While he idea of substance gives some form to the idea of faith, Vincent tells us that although this idea IS used by earlier translators it IS inaccurate in regard to faith; he goes on to say that: It cannot be said that faith is substantial being. It apprehends reality: it is that to which the unseen objects of hope become real and substantial. Assurance gives the true idea. It is the firm grasp of faith on unseen fact 4. Too much doctrinal emphasis IS put upon the idea of faith as it IS interpreted from these words in the Book of Hebrews and it IS this idea that has given rise to the belief that many hold, a belief which says that carnal things come to a man based upon his degree of faith and it IS in this context the the Master’s words in Mark’s Gospel ARE too often seen. There Jesus tells us “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” (Mark 11:23).
It IS in accordance with these ideas that many believe that if a man has faith as that nebulous Christian idea, that God will grant to him “whatsoever he saith” and while this may be somewhat True for the man who can move the mountain, it IS NOT True according to the way that many doctrines portray it. The greater reality IS that the man who Truly KNOWS will NOT move the mountain nor would his desires be for things carnal and it IS in this Light that we should understand that the words rendered as “those things” ARE NOT in the text. This IS the reality of believing as well which IS portrayed in the next verse saying “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24). Here we should see how that faith and believing ARE the same and how that faith IS to “not doubt in his heart“; it IS in this sense of KNOWING that there IS assurance of things that ARE expected which IS the greater reality of the idea of hope.
We should see how that this idea of expectation IS of similar meaning to the words rendered as faith and as substance; again we have the ideas of confidence and trust as a part of the defining terms for this word elpizo which comes from elpis. Again we should see that the word rendered as things IS NOT in the Greek text but IS added by the mindset that these ideas ARE intended in carnal terms rather than in spiritual. In the end we should try to see these words from Hebrews as KNOWING with assurance the spiritually expected which IS the reality of the mysteries given us by the totality of the Master’s words.
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
