Monthly Archives: March 2017

ON LOVE; PART MCXXIX

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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 variation in the Master’s words between the Gospel of the Apostle Matthew and that of the Apostle Luke. The words of the apostles ARE written in the same context of Love and how that one’s expression of agape should be toward ALL men….even those with whom one may have difficulty. When we can see the relationships that the apostles paint for us and understand that the reality of Love as agape stretches across ALL things, we can better understand the Truth that IS the gospel history of the Life of the Master; we can understand also how that each sees and writes according to his own perspective. We read now the ideas from the last post in their context:

• Matthew tells us: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:44-48).
• Luke tells us: “But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (Luke 6:34-36).

We should see here the equivalency of the perfection of God and His mercifulness and, in turn, we should see the same of men in this world….that their expression should be mercifulness, and in this, perfection. The clarity of this however ONLY comes through when we can understand this idea of merciful as the expression of agape equally and uniformly “unto the unthankful and to the evil” as well as the good which Matthew paints for us saying “he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust“. In these ideas we should see the reality that “there is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:11) and a clear example of how that the apostles’ words clarify and amplify those of the Lord.

Through these ideas we should also be able to see and to understand that the role of God in the Earthly affairs of men IS rather non-existent save for the incursion into this realm of those Great Souls who have come among us to show us the better Way. These Great Souls ARE however men as ALL ARE men and this we discussed over the last several essays in regard to Jesus who came among us “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14) or, as the Apostle Paul shows us saying “in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily“(Colossians 2:9). This fullness IS the reality of the way that divine thoughts and attitudes overwhelm the minds of men and set the course of their lives by the steady flow of “grace and truth” that come in one’s revelations and realizations.

In Jesus, and to some lesser degree in ALL incarnate Sons of God, there IS the supernatural ability to NOT be adrift in “the bondage of corruption” which IS to NOT be “made subject to vanity” (Romans 8:21, 20). This supernatural ability IS NOT based in any preference of God that may place one man above another but rather in the accumulated spiritual collateral that has been garnered, spiritual collateral that IS based in one previous expressions of agape and some measure of perfection. This lack of divine intervention shows the reality that “God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:24) and should offer everyman a view of his own potential according to the Master’s words saying “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).

Here of course the whole of idea of pistis and pisteuo must be understood in terms of the trifecta and the results of living in accord with its tenets which ARE superseded ONLY by the Truth of Love….the Truth of agape. And this NOT because the words of the apostles that tell us that “love is the fulfilling of the law” change His words; this idea DOES NOT change the Master’s Truths but rather this idea explains the Way of the New Dispensation of Christ. The reality here IS one of relationships and it IS when we can understand the relationship between perfection and mercifulness as we read above that we can Truly grasp these ideas. The trifecta, which we repeat here again, tells us that we should keep His words in order to garner the rewards that are His Truth, His Presence and His Kingdom; 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).

What Paul shows us IS the New Dispensation Way of DOING this as he tells us “all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Galatian 5:14) and the reality here IS found in understanding “what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height” of agape (Ephesian 3:18). Love IS ALL encompassing and its True expression IS the fullness of keeping His words; the man who has such expression CAN DO naught but “the will of my Father which is in heaven“. And this Will includes ALL of the words of the Master; ALL of His commandments of which He says that “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me“; in these ideas ARE both parts of the Great Commandments which we repeat again at the top of our essay.

It IS in one’s measured state of his expression of agape that the reality of the realizations and revelation of the trifecta become his own. It IS here that one comes to understand his brother and see the plight of men in their bondage, in their vanity, which IS the illusion and the glamour in which they live. It IS here that one can see past the carnal and begin to understand Life in this world as a stepping stone to a greater realization of Truth, NOT in KNOWING alone but in practical application by which the Soul demonstrates his ability to overcome “the works of darkness“….which IS to overcome ALL carnal instincts that have heretofore overwhelmed the minds of men.

And this IS the overall instruction of the New Testament which was couched in the ideas of DOING in the Old Testament. Folded into this IS the reality of Paul’s theme of grace and works, a theme that IS sorely misunderstood in the doctrinal approach to God. When we can see that grace IS ALL things that come from God and that this ALL IS spiritual things, revelations and realizations of Truth, we can then better understand the apostle’s point. It IS in these realizations that agape flows into the mind and it IS this that DOES Transform and renew the mind; it IS by this that one can begin to “prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2).

It IS in this process of Transformation that the man whose focus IS upon the things of God begins to understand the more complex ideas that ARE put forth by the the Master and His apostles and we should try to see here that inherent in this process IS the necessity to see and understand those less complex ideas that ARE presented in clear and plain language. This IS perforce the first step as it matters NOT that one understand Paul’s ideas that ARE set forth in the first part of our selection below if that man DOES NOT understand the simplicity that IS shown us in the second part where the topic IS Love….the same Love with which the previous chapter ends. Repeating our selection again we read:

“Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. 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. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Romans 13:1:14).

Much of the doctrinal controversy IS in regard to the most simple ideas such as who IS one’s neighbour and what DOES it mean to Love oneself but the answers to these questions ARE easily found in the Master’s words and the clarifying and amplifying words of His apostles. Paul tells us here that “Love worketh no ill to his neighbour” and in this we should see that as everyman would want NO ill worketh against him, so he should NOT worketh any against his neighbour. This IS the basic idea of “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” as this IS expanded upon by the Master in His Golden Rule. And more; in his previous words Paul shows us the idea of Love for everyman as he tells us such simple things as:

“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” (Romans 12:10-18).

These ideas ARE rather self-explanatory when seen from the spiritual perspective that comes in one’s basic understanding of agape and its expression by the man whose focus IS upon God. There ARE however some problems with the translations and the interpretations of these ideas that ARE ONLY reconciled when the idea of one’s neighbour IS understood. In the first idea here the word rendered as “Be kindly affectioned“, philostorgos, IS taken by many to mean a form of Love as Vincent shows us saying: From στέργω to love, which denotes peculiarly a natural affection, a sentiment innate and peculiar to men as men, as distinguished from the love of desire, called out by circumstance. Hence of the natural love of kindred, of people and king (the relation being regarded as founded in nature), of a tutelary God for a people ⁴.

Many see here ONLY Love for fellow Christians but this IS NOT the intent of the apostle’s words and, if we gauge Vincent’s comments against the Master’s words saying “Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!” (Matthew 12:48-49), we can perhaps see Paul’s point. This IS clarified further by Luke who tells us Jesus’ words as “My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it” (Luke 8:21) thereby defining the idea of the disciple. The remainder of this verse in Romans IS also seen by many doctrinal thinkers as preferring the fellow Christian over others but we should see that this IS contrary to James’s words on having NO “respect to persons” (James 2:9) of which he says, to DO so, IS  sin.

There ARE many variations in the rendering of these words and, for us, the True intent IS found in ideas like “in honor giving preference to one another” as this IS rendered in the New King James Version and the more cumbersome grammatical idea of “Honor one another above yourselves” as this IS rendered in the New International Version. Perhaps the best idea comes from the Bible in Basic English where we read this as “putting others before yourselves in honour“. While the King James IS likely accurate, it IS NOT understood as it was intended as the meanings of so many words has changed; preferring, according to Webster’s 1828 dictionary, IS defined as: Regarding above others; advancing to a higher station ¹.

It IS NOT our intent here to go over these ideas from Paul again but ONLY to show some of the basic misconceptions regarding his words. Here we have the error of preferring and Loving the fellow Christian above others and two essays back we had the idea that IS rendered as “if possible”….“live peaceably with all men” which should be understood as the New Living Translation renders this saying “Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone” thereby putting the onus upon each of us without question.

Some other word ideas ARE to see business as spiritual business and NOT worldly and the opposite of this should be seen in the idea of being “fervent in spirit“; “continuing instant in prayer” can be better understood as steadfastly ⁴ praying and if we can understand prayer as our affirmation of the Truth as we find in the example that Jesus gives us in the Lord’s Prayer, perhaps we can see the apostle’s point. In distribute we should see partake; in hospitality we should NOT see the rendering of others such as “Bring strangers in need into your homes” but we should rather see the more universal Old Testament ideas regarding the stranger which we read as “the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself” (Leviticus 19:34).

And this brings us back to the idea of the neighbour; in Leviticus we see the stranger placed into the place of the neighbour which IS shown us a few verses earlier where we read “thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Leviticus 19:18). Can we see how that the stranger IS defining the deeper idea of the neighbour and can we see how that Jesus leaves NO doubt about this idea as he answers the question “who is my neighbour?” (Luke 10:29). The answer IS given in the great Parable of the Good Samaritan but this too IS NOT uniformly understood as it IS offered by the Master.

As we have previously said, the examples that the Master offers us in this parable  should serve to show the hypocrisy of the priest and the Levite who ARE presumed to be men of God but who DO NOT understand the basic concepts of their own religion. The Jews ARE taught to Love by the words of the law but, just as the Christians, they have misinterpreted the words of the Lord to their own convenience. The Samaritan of the parable IS as much a stranger to the injured man as the priest and the Levite and more….the Samaritan IS hated by the Jew and here we must assume that the injured man IS a Jew. The lesson here IS NOT ONLY that the injured man IS one’s neighbour but that he IS also a stranger; and we should see that from the perspective of the Samaritan who sees the Golden Rule as his guide that the injured man could be anyone including the priest or the Levite.

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

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts