ON LOVE; PART MLXXXIV
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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 touched upon some of the doctrinal problems that ARE related to the Greek words pistis and pisteuo, how that they ARE that KNOWING rather that that most nebulous idea that doctrines present. We touched as well upon the ideas behind the unction, the anointing, and its relationship to Christ and to the Christ Within and, while we DID note that the Greek word chirstos, which IS always rendered as Christ, IS related to chrisma, which IS rendered as that unction and anointing, by way of the root word of both, we DID NOT expand upon the way that this word has been treated by that “another gospel” that IS the doctrines of the churches.
As we have discussed, the Greek word christos has the meaning of anointed but IS always rendered as Christ and in such a way as to make it to become a part of Jesus’ name. There ARE a few translations that DO render christos as Messiah in select places but these ARE the exception and not the rule. In one place, in the Apostle John’s Gospel, we read about the Apostle Andrew as he seeks out his brother “He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ” (John 1:41). Here the Greek word IS messias which the lexicon tells us IS the Greek form of the Hebrew word messiah and here John shows us that this word IS “being interpreted, the Christ” or, literally,”the Chirstos“.
The relationship between christos and messias IS that one IS the Greek word and the other is the Greek form of the Hebrew word messiah, a word that IS used only twice in the Book of the Prophet Daniel. Both the Greek word and the Hebrew word have the same meaning of anointed and we should note that as in the Greek, the Hebrew root word mashach IS used to show the ‘anointing‘ of kings. Like many words in the Greek and the Hebrew there IS a common idea for this word and there IS a more spiritual connotation and if we could read this as that David IS anointed king by the Lord and that Jesus IS anointed Son by the Lord, we can then see deeper into the Truth.
In the idea of Jesus the anointed of God we have the reality of the man in whom “dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9) and if we could see the meaning that IS being conveyed here we would understand that Jesus was the expression of the Godhead on Earth. He IS a man who IS expressing the “divine nature” and it IS in this sense that He IS God; it IS in this sense that He IS One with the Father. And our point here IS that everyman has the potential of expressing the “divine nature” and the Apostle Peter shows us this saying of men that “ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4). And this IS the same message that we should take form Paul’s words to the Ephesians that we repeat here again:
“This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles men 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).
It IS by the unction, the anointing which IS the Christ Within, that men can DO those “greater works” and ARE able to move the mountain, plant the sycamine tree in the sea and “have whatsoever he saith” (Mark 11:23) as we discussed in the last post. As John tells us that “as he is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17), we should try to see and to understand that this IS the same as what Jesus tells us in these ideas: whatever it IS that He as the Christ could DO, men can DO when they reach that pinnacle of Truth that comes according to the trifecta. That pinnacle of Truth that IS the fullness described in the Master’s words which we repeat here 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 in the fullness of KNOWING that one can DO those “greater works“; it IS in the fullness of His Presence that one IS able to move the mountain, plant the sycamine tree in the sea and “have whatsoever he saith” and these ideas ARE synonymous. And this IS the not so concealed secret of pistis and of pisteuo….this IS the Truth of KNOWING. This brings us back to the second point from a few posts back where we discussed some of the doctrinal principles that keep men from a focus upon the Truth. The first IS that they ARE taken by the authority of those who ARE perceived to be KNOWERS but who ARE just men “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7)….teaching “another gospel” while purporting it to be the Truth of the Master’s words. In accepting this authority and the indoctrination that it provides, generation after generation ARE deceived into thinking that they ARE ‘saved‘ while they still walk “in the vanity of their mind” as Paul shows us above.
It IS this deception which the Apostle James shows us saying that men should be “doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). We should see here that even this saying has been subjected to the force of “another gospel” as “the word” has become the several doctrines that pose as the Truth rather than the Truth itself. It IS “another gospel” that tells men that their salvation lies in the affirmations and the confessions from Paul’s Epistle to the Romans rather that the reality of the trifecta and in this we should see the causal idea: that men DO NOT see how that they can be ‘saved‘ in this single lifetime. This causal idea IS the reality of our second point.
This causal idea IS further enhanced by men’s perception of the difficulty, the impossibility if you will, of actually being “doers of the word” and a lack of understanding of the Master’s admonition that men should “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able“. Doctrines have taken the position that it IS through the affirmations and the confessions that one will be able to”enter in“. This IS despite the clarity of Jesus’ own words from our trifecta saying that “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“. And this causal idea IS perpetuated and furthered by the refusal of doctrines to see the reality of the continuum of Life as they rebuke the idea of reincarnation although there IS naught that Truly denies this in the whole of the bible.
There ARE many doctrinal teachers and students that proclaim that ‘God has a plan for your Life’ and much teaching about hearing and listening to God as He tells men what it IS that they should DO. Much of this IS the result of a doctrinal interpretation of the words of the Prophet Jeremiah saying “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end” (Jeremiah 29:11) and other like sayings. Many translations render the Hebrew word machashabah as plan and while the lexicon tells us that this is an alternate meaning, the English connotations ARE much different. It IS under the influence of the idea of a plan that many confuse their own psyche with the will of God and pursue courses in Life accordingly.
Our point here IS NOT to get into a discussion of the merits of one’s presumed calling nor the way that this works out in the mind of the doctrinal Christian; our purpose IS ONLY to say that if this IS Truth: if God Truly has a plan for everyman, then the whole idea that “there is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:11) IS moot. And NOT only this, the very idea of the Love of God becomes misplaced as there ARE yet many millions born into abject poverty while others ARE born into wealth and plenty….can it be the Plan of a Loving God for some that they suffer and others that they DO NOT? Then there IS physical health; how do we see the Love of God in the baby born with deformities, or the child with mental and emotional problems, or the child born susceptible to hereditary disease? IS the Love of God spread evenly among these children and others born with more normal physical attributes?
We should try to see how that under the weight of these profound differences the whole of doctrinal thinking that “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” should fail and this failure IS compounded by the idea that in the birth of these children that God can say “I know the thoughts plan that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end“. And it IS NOT these negative differences ONLY that should show us the greater Truth of the continuum of Life in which we ALL, as Souls, play our part. How DO we explain the child prodigy and how should we understand the brilliance in a certain field of a Mozart, a Rembrandt, a Einstein, or an Emerson? How should we look at the Stalins and the Lennis of the Mao Tse-Tung that come into this world wreaking havoc and change and how do we explain one like Hitler or a Genghis Khan or a Pol Pot.
Are ALL of these, both those that brought good and those that seemingly embodied evil, working according to any spiritual plan? ARE any? To be sure they ALL had abilities that far exceeded those of their peers and they ALL channeled their abilities according to the interpreted spiritual strength that they possessed. We should understand first and foremost that if God has a role in the working out of lives that turn to good the whole idea that “God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34) fails. And worse, if the Lord has a hand in the working out of lives that turn to good, would He NOT also have a hand in the lives that turn to evil?
We must rely upon the words of the apostles here and NOT on the suppositions of men that ARE based their own thoughts and their doctrines….we must understand that there IS one aspect of the Godhead that IS immovable and that IS there IS “no respect of persons with God“. In this we must also see that somehow, at some stage of Life itself, ALL men ARE equal and, to be sure, this IS NOT here in this physical world where there IS NO sense equality whatsoever. We should understand here that Jesus DOES NOT speak about reincarnation but He DOES NOT ever deny that this IS a part of Life when related questions arise. It IS the doctrines of men, it IS that “another gospel” that teaches such denial and most ALL of what IS taught IS without merit. This IS the point that we should take from Paul’s words to the Ephesians that we have been studying and which we repeat here again:
“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. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:6-12).
We should note here that those that Paul IS speaking to have first chosen the spiritual Path that the apostle laid out for them and they were then dissuaded from that Path by others who had believed that they had found a greater, or perhaps an easier, Truth. Both of these groups of men rose above their peers spiritually and we should try to see that there was some impetus for their so DOING. This could be the strength of Paul’s message and then its expression through the mind and emotional set of the men who received that message, but then the question remains: why DID some hear the apostle’s message while others turned a deaf ear? The answer IS most likely to be found in the prompting of one’s own Soul, a glimmer of Light that was able to pierce through the self-absorbed carnal Life of those who hear him.
Again then why DO some of these hear and others DO NOT? IS it simply a matter of the attractiveness of the message to any particular person or IS this a deeper idea of readiness? The answer IS likely to be found in a combination of these ideas. To the man who comes to believe because he has something to gain, healing for himself or a loved one for example, there IS the attractiveness of the message and then a likely emotional response of devotion at play. And to the man who has with him some measure of spiritual collateral there IS the attractiveness of the Truth as the mind starts to resonate with the message and unlock the flow of Truth and Love that was ever a part of his Life.
And these same things ARE likely True yet today; there IS still the devotional approach to God that IS based in the need of the man who IS attracted by whatsoever appeals to him; and we should add here that this reality is wrongly used by some denominations that use the allure of healing, of prosperity or of heaven to attract and and keep men in their fold. There IS also still what we will call the ‘mental’ approach and we use this idea ONLY to differentiate these from the emotional response that IS the devotional Way to the Lord. These ARE the awakened men of the world; these ARE men who understand some measure of the deeper aspects of the Truths that the Master presented to us.
It IS these that ARE likely among those Souls that have garnered the ability to better express the Power of the Soul, the Christ Within, and to better control their flesh. Nonetheless these too must be awakened. It IS to this end, their awakening, that ALL New Testament words ARE directed. And NOT ONLY to the awakening but to the idea of keeping men awake and aligned with the Truth and to give them the encouragement to continue Life in ways that ARE NOT the ways of men. Here again we repeat our selection from Paul’s writing to the Galatians which we should try to see from this perspective of awakening.
It IS in seeing the apostle’s idea of “the works of the flesh” as the self-absorbed and self-centered Life versus one’s focus upon the things of God that ARE “the fruit of the Spirit” that we can understand the underlying message that IS behind his other words saying: “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed” (Romans 13:11). And we should note here that these words follow upon the apostle’s words on Love in the same way that they DO in our selection:
“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
