Monthly Archives: February 2017

ON LOVE; PART MCXXII

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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 ended the last essay with some thoughts on the doctrinal idea of baptism in the Holy Ghost. While NOT ALL denominations ascribe to this practice, it IS considered by some a higher form of baptism than the more common ‘water’ baptism. We cited two selections from the New Testament that show us that the idea of being baptized in the Holy Spirit DOES NOT come through an outside agency but rather through the reality of the trifecta….that this sense of baptism IS the normal result of keeping His words. Our point here IS that there likely ARE NONE qualified to give the Holy Spirit to another and that to have the Holy Spirit IS to have the Presence of God in one’s Life.

Similarly, most anyone can perform the physical action of baptism, the submersing or immersing one into water or the sprinkling or pouring of water on another, but NO one can Truly immerse another in the Way of the Lord. The “laying on of hands” (Hebrews 6:2) will NOT give the Holy Spirit to another unless that person IS striving to keep His words and to live his Life according to the trifecta. It IS in this that one “shall know the truth“; it IS in this that one “shall enter into the kingdom of heaven” and it IS in this that the Lord tells us “we will come unto him, and make our abode with him“. Repeating our trifecta of spiritual reality again we read:

• “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 there IS NO doubt that the doctrinal rites and ceremonies have meaning to both those that perform them and those that receive them, there IS yet the reality of Truth; that in order to be immersed in the Truth of the Way of the Lord, one must Repent and change the course of his Life away from the self and the things of the self and onto the Lord. Jesus tells us “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21) and in this we should see both the focus of the Life of everyman and the essence of True Repentance. To have the Holy Spirit IS NO different, according to the Apostle Peter one must “Repent, and be baptized” as in DOING this “ye shall receive the gift of in return the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38).

We should refresh here our reasoning for changing the idea of “the gift of” to the idea of a quid pro quo. The Greek word dorea IS used here and IS always rendered as rendered as gift and we should note that this word the sense of gift IS always from God. Strongs however defines this word as gratuity ^9a which, while a gift, IS a gift that IS given in return for some service. And that IS the context in which Peter gives us this word as he says “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38).

The quid pro quo IS clearly stated here as it IS in the trifecta….if a man will “Repent, and be baptized” then he “shall receive the gift of in return the Holy Ghost“. Can we see the point here? Can we see how that the Holy Spirit, the Presence of God in one’s Life, comes to the man who will DO his part and in this there IS NO “laying on of hands“. We see the same thing in Jesus words about the Comforter as we discussed in the last essay; here the Master ties the Holy Spirt to keeping His commandments and we should easily see here that to DO so IS the reality of Repentance and baptism.

According to Luke’s Gospel the Master tells us “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” (Luke 11:13). Again we have the Holy Spirit given and a KEY to understanding just what it IS that comes from God. Again there IS NO outside agency, NO rite or ritual and NO “laying on of hands” by another whose qualification to convey such spiritual treasure to another IS highly questionable. Here there IS merely the asking and Luke uses the Greek word aiteo to express this. Thayer’s Greek Lexicon ⁹ shows us that this word has confusing meanings based in its usage in the New Testament and in Greek literature but this aside, we should see that the idea here IS asking with some degree of sincerity, desire and need.

The lexicon tells us that this word means: to ask, beg, call for, crave, desire, require ² and perhaps it IS in the combination of ALL these ideas that we can see the intent. This word IS used by the apostles to show Jesus’ instructions on asking according to His admonition to “Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away” (Matthew 5:42), and for The Apostles James’ and John’s request that they have special favor with the Lord which, in Mark’s Gospel, IS rendered as desire. This idea IS also used by John in conjunction with Jesus’ words on the Comforter and here we should try to see a deeper connection; Jesus tells His disciples “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13).

The context here takes us from the Master’s teaching on “greater works” through that which we previously discussed regarding the Comforter and if we could see that a part of this asking IS NOT a mere verbal request but rather a demand based upon one’s actions, we could perhaps see the deeper revelation in His words. The man who keeps His words IS asking for the result of DOING so; and whether this be the Holy Spirit or the reality of “greater works” the idea IS the same which we can see from Luke’s words above and in Jesus telling us to “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Luke 11:19) where the same Greek word IS used.

We should try to see here that while Luke IS showing us we should ask, Peter IS showing us that our asking comes in the form of repentance and baptism which IS one’s change of focus and his immersion in His word. Similarly while John IS showing us that we should get whatsoever we should ask in His name, he goes on to show us a clearer picture of just how we must ask….just what we should DO. John’s report of Jesus words on asking should be seen in the context of the fourteenth chapter where we read:

“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; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot* receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14:12-17).

To understand these words we must break free from the doctrinal idea, the diluted idea, of pistis which IS rendered as believing. The believing Christian who believes according to his doctrines that “if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:9) and who DOES this ONLY without True Repentance and baptism CAN NOT DO such “greater works“. It IS ever the Holy Spirit, the realization of the Truth that comes according to the trifecta, that enables these “greater works” in this world and this alone should give the necessary force to pistis as that KNOWING.

And this IS the Master’s point: if one comes to seeing the Truth of Jesus words and His Life, if one comes to: to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life ⁴ as Vincent defines believing on the Master, then that person IS one who Truly DOES “believeth on me“. It IS in this context that we should see the idea of asking as well; we should see that to believe on Him IS to KNOW some measure of the Truth which comes in keeping His words. This man can DO those “greater works” and this man can ask whatsoever in His name, an idea that carries the same force as believing on or believing in Him. To believe on Him IS to keep His words and to ask in His name IS to ask with full realization of His commandments.

Jesus name represents what and who He IS, it IS the sumtotal of ALL that He says and we should remember here that He IS speaking to His Twelve Apostles ONLY, men who ARE living in accord with His words. In this we should see that if any man desires to DO such “greater works” and to be able to ask whatsoever, he must also be living according to His words and the proportion of one’s grace IS in dependent upon the strength of his focus and striving. Furthermore we should understand that these ARE apostles of the Lord, they ARE disciples according to His criteria; such men DO NOT seek after the things of this world but rather seek after greater enlightenment, greater revelation and greater realization of the Truth.

In returning to our point on asking we should see first this idea of what the aspirant and the disciple would ask for and second we should understand that in one’s striving IS one’s asking; NO words ARE required. As men strive to greater spiritual revelation, they ARE perforce asking for such revelation and “according to the proportion of faith“, they DO receive it. This leads us back to the Apostle Paul’s words that we have been studying and perhaps, understanding what we have be discussing, we can see his words in a clearer way. Repeating Paul’s words to the Romans we read:

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 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 12:1-3). 

“For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:4-21).

We should see several ideas here beginning with the reality of his admonition that the man whose focus IS upon God should “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service“. Here we should complete the apostle’s thought by referring back to his view of these to whom he IS writing. The apostle’s words here ARE directed at those of whom he says “I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world” (Romans 1:8) and in this we should see that his audience IS NOT the simple Christian who believes in a doctrinal approach which DOES NOT embrace the crux of the Master’s words.

It IS to the man who strives that he writes these words and we should try to see from experience and from history that these words ARE NOT understood as they ARE intended by those who DO NOT, those who have NOT some measure of the Truth that comes in True Repentance and baptism. These men ARE changed and they ARE immersed in the words of the Master and it IS for this reason that their faith, their measure of KNOWING the Truth, “is spoken of throughout the whole world“. Paul exhorts these men to “present your bodies a living sacrifice” which IS to fully surrender the carnal Life with its thoughts and its attitudes and its selfish desires and he tells us that this IS “your reasonable service“.

This idea of reasonable IS a weak rendering of the Greek word logikos which IS the adjective form of the Greek word logos. Logos IS rendered in some places as word and IS made most familiar by its rendering of John’s prologue to his gospel where we read “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Vincent tells us that this Greek word logikos IS: Reasonable, not in the popular sense of the term, as a thing befitting or proper, but rational, as distinguished from merely external or material. Hence nearly equivalent to spiritual ⁴.

Strong’s defines logikos as: rational (“logical”):—reasonable, of the word ^9a. The word IS rendered as “of the word” in Peter’s First Epistle where we read “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2). Here Vincent tells us that this rendering IS wrong; he says: The A. V. has rendered λογικὸν , of the word; but wrongly. It describes the quality of the milk as spiritual or rational ⁴. These ARE the ONLY two places that this word IS used in the New Testament and we should try to see here the idea of spiritual and it IS rendered as such in several translations including the Revised Version and the American Standard Version.

In previous essays we discussed how that the Greek word diakonia which IS rendered as ministry and ministering should be seen in terms of service and we related this idea to “your reasonable service” which IS our view of Paul’s intent. Here however the word rendered as service IS latreia which IS used in Jesus’ saying “the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service” (John 16:2). This word IS seen in terms of “divine service” and “the service of God” in the Book of Hebrews and as “the service of God” here in Romans. We should note however that the additions of divine and of God ARE assumed in the doctrinal view of these contexts where the word service alone would likely work as well.

We should note as well that the way that this IS used by John IS somewhat contrary to this ideas of “divine service” and “the service of God“; John shows us that this service performed by men who merely believe that they ARE serving God and both words, service and God, ARE in the text. Jesus IS speaking about doctrinally oriented men, men whose sense of doctrine so overwhelms them that they will DO most anything to protect it; we should remember here that at this time the Apostle Paul, as Saul, IS among them. In these other uses of this word latreia, it IS used to show the idea that in the Old Covenant service was a central part; in Hebrews this IS in regard to the priests and in Romans in regard to Israelites in general.

Our point here IS that the word means service; in John’s Gospel explicitly in regard to men and God and in our selection above it IS used specifically in regard to one’s understanding that such service IS spiritual and rational and expected in the Life of the man who Truly seeks God. This man must perforce DO this: “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God“; and this man must “be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” which IS the very source of the spiritual impetus.

This IS his service to the Truth of God and this IS made possible by the reality of his Repentance and baptism, his change of focus and his immersion into the Ways and the Words of the Lord. And, as Peter shows us, it IS in DOING these things that a man “shall receive the gift of in return the Holy Ghost“. It IS one’s realization of the Christ Within that IS the reality of the Holy Spirit which IS the working out in one’s Life of the Power that IS the unction and the anointing. this IS the same anointing which governed the Life of Jesus whose expression was ever that Truth which comes in keeping His words. This same Power IS ever with the Master because, as He tells us, “he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him” (John 8:29)

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