ON LOVE; PART MLXXIII
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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 began the last essay with our thoughts on the way that the various translations of the Bible ARE offered to the world according to the doctrinal bent of the translators and/or the compromise upon which the translators can agree when the work IS done by group or committee. While this IS passed off as insignificant by most ALL doctrinal authorities, they DO at the same time profess that the word IS inerrant and that the Bible IS the inerrant word of God. It IS not our desire here to quibble about the way that this IS done nor which translation may be the best but rather to point out that most ALL translations DO fail to give the True intent of many of the passages and this IS based in men’s preconceived ideas that DO come from their own nurturing and indoctrination.
And for us there IS NO better example than the way that the ideas of the gross offenses of men DO color their understanding of the central ideas of spiritual Life and living that ARE offered by the writers. Much of the Master’s words ARE spoken to His disciples and most ALL of the apostle’s words are written to theirs and in this we should try to see how that the intent of the words of the New Testament ARE directed as the man who IS striving to keep His words….the man who IS Truly seeking God. When we can see Paul’s list of “the works of the flesh” as his caution and his warning to those who may be led astray by the doctrines of other men, led away from the essential Truth of Jesus’ teaching, we can then better see the spiritual importance which IS missed by the interpretations of his words into the gross offences of men.
It IS this view of Paul’s words which sees the Greek words porneia, akatharsia and aslegeia in strictly sexual terms and which causes some to insert into his list moicheia which IS rendered as adultery. While these ideas ARE contrary to His word, the ARE NOT the burden that the aspirants and disciples at Galatia have to face as Paul admonishes them to stay steady in the Jesus words and to NOT fall victim to those who “would pervert the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:7) with their own doctrinal approach to God or, worse, to be among them. On the higher turn these words ARE understood as those thoughts and attitudes that ARE contrary to the purpose the first of the Great Commandments as the apostle exhorts the reader to maintain his focus upon the Truth of God. It IS here that we can see moicheia as one’s infidelity toward this precept of Truth.
And it IS here that we should see porneia not as the fornication of men in sexual relationships but as the tendency of men to see and to interact with their own carnal thoughts, attitudes and things rather than their steadfast focus upon the things of God. This IS seen in the Old Testament where fornication IS what the Jews committed when they raised up and worshiped the golden calf and in the New Testament as similar idol worship with the idea of the idol being any and ALL things that men may substitute for the Godhead. We can see the idea behind akatharsia in much the same way which IS to see Life from the perspective of the self and the things of the self rather than God and the things of God. Vincent tells us of Paul’s use of akatharsia in his writing to the Ephesians that: Paul speaks of working uncleanness (καθαρσίαν) in a spirit of selfish desire (πλεονεξία) which is the spirit of covetousness; and that: In Ephesians 5:3, uncleanness and covetousness are closely associated. Paul means that his exhortation did not proceed from greed for gain or lust for power 4.
If we can see that akatharsia IS the apostle’s reference to the desires and the lusts for carnal things over one’s True striving toward the Godhead in the absence of such selfish desire, we can then perhaps see that aslegeia, which IS rendered as lasciviousness, IS the similar idea of wantonness where one’s desire for the things of the world overwhelm the desire for the things of God. In ALL of these ideas we have those thoughts, attitudes and actions of men which ARE contrary to the reality 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“. In ALL of these ideas we have the most normal activities of men as men which cover ALL things that ARE of and for the self.
And in ALL of these ideas we have perhaps the propensity of aspirants and disciples to look toward the self, to look through the mind and the emotions at their own worldly desires that can at times appear to be more spiritual than they Truly ARE. This IS Paul’s caution against ALL that prohibits the fullness of one’s Love for God “with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength“; this IS the end game as it IS the Life of Peter and of Paul. For us the mission IS to ever strive and to keep in mind and in heart the cautions and the warnings that the Master and His apostles lay before us and here we should reflect upon the deeper workings of the doctrines of men which call such thoughts and attitudes of focus upon God as error through their teachings on salvation. Our Truths “are foolishness unto him” (1 Corinthians 2:14) who DOES NOT see the reality of Jesus’ words which ARE 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).
While Paul’s words above ARE most always seen in terms of sexual deviation, these ARE NOT the only world from his list of “the works of the flesh” which ARE NOT seen in their spiritual reality and, although most ALL ARE misunderstood, we will skip over many as we have discussed them at length in previous essays. We will however address again those words that we discussed in recent posts, the ideas we see as factions and divisions, to show yet again how that the various translations treat the apostle’s ideas in a seemingly arbitrary way. We will approach this in two ways; first on the inconsistency of the rendering of Paul’s words in our King James Bible we repeat what we said in part 1386:
The word that IS rendered as envying in 1 Corinthians IS zelos which IS rendered as emulations in Galatians and the Greek word eris that IS rendered as strife IS rendered in “the works of the flesh” as variance. Add to this that the word rendered as divisions in 1 Corinthians, dichostasia, IS rendered as seditions in our list above and we can see how that these ideas ARE ALL related and ARE the result of the separating and divisive doctrines of men. It IS the entire sense of division and faction that IS the denominational sectioning of Christ’s teachings and in this we should see a resounding YES in answer to Paul’s question “Is Christ divided?“….He has been factioned and divided and even torn apart with most every part claiming to have the Truth.
- American Standard Version: strife, factions, divisions and parties.
- The Bible in Basic English: fighting, attempts to get the better of others, divisions and false teachings.
- The Darby Translation: strifes, contentions, disputes and schools of opinion.
- GOD’S WORD Translation: rivalry, selfish ambition, conflict and factions.
- New International Version: discord, selfish ambition, dissensions and factions.
- New King James Version: contentions, selfish ambitions, dissensions and heresies.
- New Living Translation: quarreling, selfish ambition, dissension and division.
- New Revised Standard: strife, quarrels, dissensions and factions.
- Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible: contentions, quarrels, dissensions and sects.
- Weymouth New Testament: strife, intrigues, dissensions and factions.
- Young’s Literal Translation: strifes, rivalries, dissensions and sects.
- King James Version: variance, strife, seditions and heresies
Can we see the point here? Can we see that there IS NO consistency regarding the rendering of these Greek words and when the entire set of words that ARE “the works of the flesh” ARE viewed this way the ideas presented get yet more confusing. In the King James Version the word rendered as variance should be rendered as strife as several versions render this; the word rendered as strife should be rendered as factions according to Vincent and the American Standard Version; the word rendered as seditions has the meaning of division and the word rendered as heresies has the meaning of sects. We should see here that sects and factions ARE largely the same thing and both show us the idea of division. It IS in this analysis that we can see that the apostle’s point IS that men should NOT be factious nor divisive which IS a rather common feature produced by the many denominations that compete for the Truth and which claim to have it.
But Paul’s caution IS NOT to these denominational creators and leaders directly; his caution IS to those men at Galatia who were being turned as we read in the opening to his Epistle to the Galatians. Paul says “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:6-7). While we DO NOT KNOW just what the perversion here IS, we can take from this the beginnings of the denominational approach to the teachings of the Master and a reliance upon the teachings of the teacher. We should try to see here that while Paul IS saying that they ARE relying upon “another gospel“, he IS also saying that what they ARE leaning toward IS one which “is not another“. Can we see the point here?
We also KNOW that Paul IS strongly against the trend as he repeats twice his charge “let him be accursed” as he references those may “preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you” and we should note here that he includes himself and includes “an angel from heaven” (Galatians 1:8) as the potential preacher as well. But what DOES this mean? How can we understand the idea of “let him be accursed” as it IS NOT Paul that IS ‘cursing’ them. It seems here that the idea IS that these men who teach other than Paul’s Truth ARE plainly accursed and if we can see that this IS rendered from The Greek word anathema which IS sometimes left untranslated, we can perhaps see a deeper meaning.
Along with the ideas of being accursed as the King James renders anathema in Galatians we find this in this defining ideas in the lexicon and Thayer’s explanation that this word is a translation of a Hebrew word used to say the same, we read: a thing devoted to God without hope of being redeemed 2. Using this definition along with the way that Paul uses this word we can then perhaps see that those who “preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you“, those who change the Truth into a more convenient version of the Truth, ARE men who ARE: devoted to God without hope of being redeemed. Can we see the alternate point here that IS missed by doctrines which ARE written by men who ARE devoted but who also “preach any other gospel“.
We should try to see here that it IS the illusion and the glamour in which the purveyors of the doctrines ARE unknowingly trapped that IS the anathema which Paul paints here for us; it IS these men who believe that they ARE Redeemed by their doctrines. While we could go further into these ideas and the way that this word IS used by Paul in other epistles, this should suffice to show the affliction of factions and sects and how that these ARE intimately tied to the illusion and the glamour in which men live in this world. This illusion and this glamour ARE the vanity that Paul shows us that ALL are subjected to and it IS with this idea in mind that we should understand his words to the Ephesians which we repeat:
“This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:17-24)
Vincent tells us that the word other should be omitted and that this should be read as “walk not as other Gentiles walk“; here again we should see the Greek word ethnos in the broader idea of the human family 2 as the lexicon shows us and in this take the idea of men. There IS a contrast here between Paul’s ideas; between his admonition to “walk not as other Gentiles men walk” which IS the way of the world, but to “Walk in the Spirit” which we take from our selection from his Epistle to the Galatians. We should note here that the way of men in this world IS that they walk “in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart“. And in this we should more clearly see Vincent’s defining interpretation of vanity which reads: a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends 4. We close today repeating our selection from Galatians:
“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 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).
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
