ON LOVE; PART MCXLIII
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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 how that the Apostle Paul’s 10th chapter words to the Romans have become the mantra of much of Christianity where doctrines have taken his words out of their context and without a True understanding of his intent. We discussed how that the context of Paul’s words IS essentially the same as the context of Moses from Deuteronomy where he tells the Jews that the Truth “is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off“….”The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart“. Paul shows us that this word, the word of God, IS the essence of the teaching of the Christ and, in Paul’s terms, IS Christ.
The apostle shows us as well that the Jews DID NOT heed the words of the Lord to gain the promises but rather slipped into their doctrinal stance which effectively garnered them the curses; Paul frames this as “I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God” (Romans 10:2-3). And perhaps we should try to see here how that righteousness IS the point; it IS the presumed righteousness of the Jews that both Jesus and Paul call out.
The Jews went “about to establish their own righteousness” as Paul tells us and that they had “not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God“; here, if we can look deeper into the meaning, we would see that to submit IS to keep His words. Again we must add that the plight of the Christian IS the same; the doctrinal church has “not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God“….they too went “about to establish their own righteousness“, a righteousness that varies from denomination to denomination and from sect to sect.
In establishing “their own righteousness” doctrinal authorities have taken the reality of pistis and pisteuo and turned them into the nebulous ideas of believing and faith and have taught that it IS NOT necessary to submit “unto the righteousness of God“. While the Jews doctrines showed them to follow the letter of the law rather than the heart, much of Christian doctrine show us that we need NOT follow either so long as we believe that Jesus IS Lord. And while the Jew’s doctrines interpreted the laws into carnal terms, some of which Jesus railed against, the Christian interpretation of the words of the Master places them into a secondary position against their out of context interpretations of the words of His apostles.
Paul tells us that “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Romans 10:4) as a continuation of the previous thought and if we can see this as that Christ replaces the law which was given by Moses with and ‘updated’ view of the very same Truths, we can then better understand both Paul’s point and the idea that there IS NO sea change in the Way of God from the need to DO the law to the simplicity of that nebulous doctrinal idea of believing. This change IS NOT real; it IS founded in the establishment of “their own righteousness” by doctrinal authorities who fail to relate pistis and pisteuo to the idea of KNOWING and then the idea of KNOWING to Jesus own words that ARE the first part of our trifecta which we read again saying:
- “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).
We should read this first part here as to understand that it IS ONLY in keeping His words that one “shall know the truth” which makes Paul’s words that “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” a picture of those who have “submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God“. This IS the Way to KNOW the Truth and it IS in this Truth that we find the reality of righteousness. Paul tells us that “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness” and this we should see through Jesus own words that tells us to “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matthew 5:17-18).
In the fulfillment of the law Christ IS the “end of the law“; here the law IS NOT replaced in its context….it IS replaced in its approach to the same Truth of God. Here we should see that while the law would lead one to righteousness were it NOT for men’s “being ignorant of God’s righteousness“, Christ’s approach to the law will also lead to righteousness for “every one that believeth“; that IS for everyone that KNOWS this Truth. As Paul continues in his words to say that while Moses “describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them“, Paul IS about to describe “the righteousness which is of faith” (Romans 10:5, 6); again NOT that nebulous doctrinal idea but the righteousness that comes in KNOWING which, again, comes in keeping His words.
And what IS “the word of faith, which we preach” (Romans 10:8) but the words of the Master, the Truth of Love, and, in effect, the Christ Himself. He, through His words, IS the word that Moses speaks of saying, “is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart“. Paul IS equating the idea of Christ with the idea of the word of God and we should understand here that these ARE ever one and the same. While we DO NOT like to equate the idea of logos which IS used by the Apostle John in the prologue to his gospel and in his epistles with the simple idea of words as this IS translated, we can find some deeper ideas in John’s proclamation that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).
In this idea we should try to see how that John IS equating the idea of Logos with God and with Christ and if we can see this Logos as the ultimate word, the word of Truth, perhaps we can combine these ideas of Paul with this from John. Paul uses the idea of rhema as word in as he says that “The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach” (Romans 10:8) and if we can understand rhema as the human expression of God’s Logos, perhaps we can see the dynamic connection between the Christ and the word which IS the law.
To help us understand the depth of Logos as the ultimate word we read this from the lexicon: A Greek philosopher named Heraclitus first used the term Logos around 600 B.C. to designate the divine reason or plan which coordinates a changing universe. This word was well suited to John’s purpose in John 1 2. Can we see here that in the relationship between Logos and rhema we have the divine and the human expression of Truth and that it IS this Truth that IS “in thy mouth, and in thy heart” of everyman who has some realization of that Truth….but NOT for the man who IS yet “being ignorant of God’s righteousness“.
In the story of Abraham which IS painted by doctrines as the picture of faith we find the reality of righteousness. To be sure the story of Abraham IS just that….it IS a story which while being divinely inspired to that man of God Moses, captures the essence of True faith as KNOWING through a very brief look at Abraham’s Life. Many years are condensed into a few chapters of Genesis, more however than ARE devoted to the whole idea of creation. If we can see the idea behind the story of Abraham as that he KNOWS God in that time in world history we can then understand some of the things that he DOES and IS ‘tempted’ to DO; here we must remember that these ARE barbarous and superstitious times.
Abraham’s story IS a story of KNOWING God and living, as much as IS likely possible in his day, in accord with the commandments of the Lord which ARE likely few; we KNOW that he walked with God from the words of the Lord to Isaac saying that he will be blessed “Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws” (Genesis 26:5). We should of course see that such commandments, statutes, and laws must per force be similar in tone to those of Moses and those of Jesus as in the end God DOES NOT change.
This idea that God DOES NOT change is generally accepted and from the perspective of His True nature as that “One Boundless Immutable Principle; one Absolute Reality which, antecedes all manifested conditioned Being” the idea that there IS NO change IS eerily necessary. The apostle James reflects on this saying “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17).
Our point here IS that Abraham IS righteous because he obeys and that he obeys because he KNOWS; that doctrines have diluted this to their own nebulous idea of faith DOES NOT show the true nature of the man of whom it IS said that “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness” (Galatians 3:6). And here again the idea should be seen as that it IS Abraham’s KNOWING God and keeping His words that IS his righteousness. Paul offers us some other ideas on righteousness with which we closed our last essay and in these we should be able to see the greater point; we read:
“What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness” (Romans 6:15-18).
Grace, while another nebulous doctrinal idea, IS ALL things that come from God. Grace IS the product of the trifecta; grace IS the Truth that frees, grace IS the Kingdom of God and grace IS the Presence of God in one’s Life. Grace IS NOT the things of the world nor any carnal religious idea; grace IS “the righteousness of God” through the Truth, the Kingdom and the Presence of God consciously in one’s Life. Paul’s point IS that when one IS “under grace” he will NOT have the wherewithal to sin; when one IS “under grace” he will have that “obedience unto righteousness” as this becomes his nature and his expression.
Paul shows us that it IS 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) that have become “the servants of righteousness“. It IS these that ARE “Being then made free from sin” because they have that “obedience unto righteousness“. The idea of grace has been converted to the idea of some thing, and sometimes every thing, that IS perceived to be from God; for some grace IS prayers answered and, indeed, grace IS seen by many as the source of salvation based in the idea from Paul that “by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God“.
Now this IS a powerful statement from Paul that IS not seen in the context that it IS offered as IS commonplace in Christian doctrine. Most include the next idea as it deflects the need from men to DO and here the idea of works IS confused with the reality of keeping His words, and this despite the Master’s commands and the warning words of James saying “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). When Paul writes that “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
He IS NOT intending to tell men that they need NOT DO as the Lord says in these words and we should be able to see this in the continuation of the apostle’s words saying “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). When we read this together with the previous words and the whole context of Paul’s idea we get the full meaning and intent: that in being saved by KNOWING the Truth that IS God and Christ, that the grace IS salvation and that the KNOWING IS one’s realization of this salvation.
In this we come back around to our primary theme of keeping His words and the understanding that the KNOWING comes by measure in striving to DO so. Here the measure of one’s salvation, the measure of one’s ability to express the True Life of the Soul through form comes in the realization of Truth which IS the grace, the reward if you will, that IS the equal to the measure by which one strives. In this we show proof that “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works” and this because the revelations and realizations of Truth per force make us that “we should walk in them“.
Doctrines have ever misapplied the idea of works as they see this as DOING what IS righteous through keeping His words. We should understand here that the idea IS that salvation DOES NOT come through the ability of a man to keep the law as words on a paper of things to DO and NOT DO. Salvation comes through keeping the law to the man of whom Jesus says “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them“; here, to be sure, the ONLY True way for one to “hath my commandments, and keepeth them” IS through the reality of agape. It IS through agape that one can keep His words as these ARE intended to be kept. It IS agape that IS the reality of the Great Commandments and, as Paul tells us, it IS through agape that ALL of the law IS fulfilled. We read the apostle’s words again:
“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” (Romans 13:8-11).
Can we understand that while one may pretend to be in accord with the law as a general rule, and this because ONLY the man KNOWS his own heart, his own manner of living and interacting with others, one CAN NOT feign agape. Agape becomes the expression of the man who Truly strives toward His Kingdom and it IS unfortunate that doctrines DO NOT teach the reality of agape aside from the common view of Love. If we can understand this we can then see the deeper idea of Paul’s words to the Ephesians; we can better understand that the idea of works here must be controlled by agape. And this IS the point of “Not of works, lest any man should boast“; unless such works ARE the product of agape which IS the spiritual expression of a man, they ARE “of yourselves” as men.
Here we should see that unless one IS in accord with ALL of the Truths of agape, unless one IS beyond the divisive attitudes of men, unless one can Truly have NO “respect to persons” (James 2:9) in any regard, one IS yet acting “of yourselves” as men. In this Light it IS NOT too difficult to discern just what Paul IS calling works; he IS NOT assigning this Greek word egron to any idea of being “doers of the word” as this idea when DONE in Truth IS DONE quietly and with a surety that it IS NOT “of yourselves” as men. To keep His words IS a spiritual pursuit, the process of which IS governed by the Inner man, the Soul, and one which has naught to do with the carnal works of men.
Perhaps here we should draw a line between ergon, works, and agathos ergon which IS “good works“. After the apostle decries works, he promotes “good works” in his next words saying that the man who seeks the Truth is “created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them“. We should understand here that ALL men ARE created, as Souls, in this same manner….”unto good works“, for as spiritual beings there IS NO alternative and here we can see the human problem, the vanity of Paul and our own view of illusion and glamour. When one’s expression in this world becomes the expression of the Truth and the Love that IS God and the God Within, there can ONLY be “good works“.
Jesus tells us “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works” (Matthew 5:16) and it IS this same thing that Paul IS showing us….that it IS “good works” that ARE the way of the man who KNOWS some measure of the Truth while it IS simply works that feign this KNOWING that ARE DONE by the man who IS NOT striving toward this Truth according to His words. Jesus further explains this for us in His words against the ways of men which He addresses to the Pharisees and the other Jewish ‘religious’ rulers and leaders. We close today with this:
“Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying,The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat:All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted” (Matthew 23:1-12)
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.
We change our Quote of the Day today to the words from Solomon on Wisdom along with our thoughts on them from the original postings of them in In the Words of Jesus parts 46 and 556. These words ARE a testament to those things that we should be asking of the Lord and which are representative of the Holy Ghost. Wisdom, understanding and knowledge which will lead us to understanding the fear (reverence and respect and awe) of the Lord and the knowledge of God so that in this world we can understand righteousness and judgement and equity and be preserved by discretion and understanding. Thus are we in a position to treat everyone as we would want to be treated ourselves.
Since we are centered on the ideas of Wisdom today we offer the following from Proverbs as our Quote of the Day. Solomon, who is KNOWN for his Wisdom, which we read in the story of his Life was His gift from God, a gift that he receives because he does not want for the things of the world. But Solomon gains as well the things of the world in plenty and as his Life story proceeds we can see clearly that it is his Life in the world that is to his detriment. The wisdom however produces for us the writings of the Book of Proverbs and it is this that he is remembered for. His Life is interesting reading and is well documented in the Books of Kings and Chronicles.
….incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path. When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee (Proverbs 2:2-11).
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts
- 2 New Testament Greek Lexicon on BibleStudyTools.com
