ON LOVE; PART MCXLVI
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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 continued our discussion on the words of the Apostle Paul that have become a mantra for many Christian denominations, a mantra whereby they believe that they ARE saved through their confessions and affirmations regarding the Christ. They have taken Paul’s words out of the context in which he offered them, a context the repeats the words of Moses telling the Jews that to obtain the promises that ARE offered to the Jews, that they must keep His words. Moses tells the Jews that “I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments“.
It IS this sentiment that Paul IS repeating in his Epistle to the Romans as he tells them the same idea and compares the word of God through Moses to the Christ; in this we should see the idea that neither IS “hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it” (Deuteronomy 30:16, 11-14).
Paul, speaking in a new dispensation of Truth IS amplifying the reality of the Immanent God, the God and Christ Within, over the idea of the commandments and the words of the Lord and here we should see that if the Christ IS Truly realized as the Inner man, that such a man would per force “love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments“. There IS NO need to search for the word of the Lord nor IS there a need to search for the Christ; both ARE ever a matter of realization; for the Jew in Moses day a realization of the word of God in one’s heart and in since Christ a realization of the Truth of God.
In Moses teaching to the Jews there IS the element of controlling the outward Life according to the written word which IS men’s guide to the Greater Truth and we should remember here that this teaching IS given on a ‘national’ level. Moses speaks to the nation and directs the activities of the leaders so that they will lead the people “to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments“; and this IS DONE in accordance with the ways of Life in this barbarous and superstitious time. It IS difficult to see the ways of the Old Testament, the killing and the slaughter even of children, as the product of a God of whom the Apostle John tells us IS Love.
But “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16) and the strange brutality and preference for the Jew of the Old Testament IS NOT an expression of Love from the Godhead but rather it IS from those who interpreted the impetus of their idea of God into human thought, attitude and action. God DOES NOT change nor does His nature and in this we should see that if He IS Love today, He IS always Love. Here again however we must NOT see Love as that human expression of mind and emotion….we must see Love as the Unity and the Oneness of the entire creation, a Unity that IS defined for us by Paul’s saying “Christ in you, the hope of glory” as the revelation of the great mystery of Life; a revelation that ONLY becomes the realization of the few who look past their doctrines and see the vital Truth of His words.
Jesus’ teaching and the amplifying and clarifying teaching of His apostles IS NOT to a nation but to the individual and when we can see the ideas of the word of God and the Christ as synonymous terms, we can then better understand Paul’s revision to Moses words. Paul tells us that “Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach” (Romans 10:5-8).
Paul equates for us the “the righteousness which is of faith” and “the word of faith” and if we can see these in the same way and understand that these ARE the reality of the Christ Within, we can then better understand Paul’s point which continues on to those words that have become the Christian mantra; Paul says “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. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).
When we connect the apostle’s words we can see that the word that IS in “thy mouth, and in thy heart” must become the expression of the man; NOT merely as
verbal confession and that nebulous faith, but the reality of living according to His words through Love. Here we should understand the apostle’s reference to the mouth according to Jesus words saying that it IS “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matthew 12:34). In this we have the greater reality that if “The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart“, then this IS what “the mouth speaketh“….this IS one’s expression.
And Moses’ point was the same: that if “the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it“, then one will be a DOER. To be a DOER of the word IS of course one’s expression of the word in one’s thoughts, attitudes and actions and this IS the sole objective of both Moses and Paul’s teaching. Moses shows us, in terms that the Jews could understand, how that “thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it” while Paul shows us the spiritual reality of salvation, of being able to free oneself from the “bondage of corruption” (Romans 8:21) that has ever been Life in this world.
This IS the point that the doctrines of men refuse to see: that one must free himself from his bondage to the vanity, to the illusion and the glamour, of Life in this world. As we often discuss, the Apostle Peter shows us this same idea in terms of escape and in this we find the reality of personal responsibility, the same as we see in the words of Moses above and in the misunderstood words of Paul on the same idea. Peter tells us that to gain the promises, the “exceeding great and precious promises“, that one must escape “the corruption that is in the world through lust“. And, behind his words, the apostle gives us some idea of the reality of being saved, that it IS NOT to ‘earn’ heaven in some future state but rather to “be partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4) here and now.
Paul simply calls this idea of partaking “of the divine nature” as being saved, as one’s salvation, and NO where in his words do we find any hint that this IS reference to some future state of being after death; the ONLY death that the apostle refers to in this context IS one’s spiritual death….that one can remain in it or one can “awake out of sleep” (Romans 13:11). The Truth of one’s awakening IS NOT found in the confessions and the affirmations of doctrine nor in the simple idea that one can “call upon the name of the Lord” in appeal, the Truth of awakening IS found in one’s realization that Jesus the Christ IS Lord and then by living one’s Life according to the Truth that IS revealed.
Again this IS the reality of believing: to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life 4. And this IS the effectual end to one’s Repentance, one’s change of focus from the self and the self in this world to the things of God. This idea of Repentance IS NOT found in sorrow or remorse for something that one may have DONE; this Repentance IS the reality of the Master’s message as He begins His teaching 2000 years ago. This Repentance IS the reality of change which in the beginning IS reflected in one’s striving and in the end IS reflected in the reality of one’s Transformation from living in “the bondage of corruption” into one’s living in “the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21)
While so many Christians believe that they have found their salvation, they fail to see the reality that IS painted for them by the prophets and by the Master and His apostles. In their diluted version of Truth they DO NOT see themselves in the negative view that IS the picture of the Jew’s relationship with the Lord and they DO NOT understand the impact of such sayings as “Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?” (Isaiah 53:1); it IS these ideas which ARE repeated for the Jew hundreds of years later and which ARE yet True for ALL men today. The Apostle John repeats Isaiah’s words in his comments on Jesus, on the way that the Jews DO NOT see in Him the Truth that they believed that they were seeking. John tells us:
“But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him. Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:7-43).
While the words of the prophet ARE presumed to be prophetic words for the future and that these reference Jesus as DO the rest of this collection of Isaiah’s words, there IS a deeper reality to the idea that the prophet puts forth, a reality that begins some verses earlier in what IS now the previous chapter. Speaking to Israel in that time Isaiah says “Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God” (Isaiah 52:9-10). It IS in this Light that we should see the endless question that reaches back into history and can be projected forward even until today.
“Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?” IS the question of the ages in spiritual terms; who has Truly believed the revelations that come in the scriptures of the world. NOT the historical ideas but the spiritual ones that ARE intended to change the course of the lives of men; spiritual ideas such as “his commandments and his statutes and his judgments” In the Judaeo-Christian tradition this has always been the intent and in the Truth of ALL world scriptures the same messages ARE intended, perhaps NOT as commandments but definitely as the Repentant change away from the self and onto the things of God.
It IS ever men’s focus on the self that IS the great distraction from Truth and it IS this same focus that creates the doctrines of every religion that sees Life in carnal terms and sees men as this fleshy form in this Earth. Jesus brings us the clearest picture of the Truth of man, that he IS NOT this fleshy existance but he IS the Life that motivates and sustains his form; and while the Master’s words ARE couched in parabolic jargon, the words of His apostles DO clarify and amplify His thoughts. The doctrinal approach to His words however DOES NOT see the Truth beyond the preconceived ideas of men, ideas that ARE the target of the words that such doctrines seek to interpret.
A clear example of doctrinal manipulation IS in the doctrinal approach to Love where the words ARE exceptionally clear throughout the New and the Old Testament and to this we must add the misinterpretations and those most nebulous ideas that ARE taken from such Greek words as pistis, pisteuo, charis and the various words that have been applied to the idea of salvation….sozo, soter, and soteria. And a most clear example of the result of that manipulation IS found in the words from the Apostle Paul that we have been discussing, his words from the tenth chapter of his Epistle to the Romans. Reading his words again:
“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. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world” (Romans 10:13-18).
Disregarding the previous words that agree with Moses’ call to keep ALL “his commandments and his statutes and his judgments” and which explain that the Truth IS NOT “hidden from thee, neither is it far off…..But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it“, the doctrines of men have created their mantra. This mantra IS then tied to the idea of being “born again“, which idea IS also taken out of its context where the original idea from Jesus shows that to be “born again” IS to “enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). They miss, intentionally or NOT, the logic that the Master presents in the second part of our trifecta 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).
Again we have a clearly stated idea which IS superseded by the doctrinal approach and this IS precisely John’s point as he repeats the words of the prophet saying “who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?“. Isaiah shows us that the “arm of the Lord” has “been revealed“; that the Lord “hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations” but that men DID NOT believe nor receive the revelation. It IS this same idea that John repeats regarding the Jews in his day and here we should see the idea that men DID NOT yet believe nor have revelation of the Truth as they chose, and yet choose doctrines, over reality….”the praise of men more than the praise of God“.
Perhaps it IS this idea of praise that IS at the heart of the doctrinal approach to God. Perhaps here those men who had and have taken authority seek the easy way to influence the minds of men by the ease of their doctrines. Perhaps it IS the desire of such men to offer the people a most simple way that DOES NOT involve the basic Truths of keeping His words and Love. In both the lives of the teacher and of the student we should understand that ALL are under the influence of the vanity, the illusion and the glamour, which obnubilates the Truth and causes both to seek an easier way, and this without realizing that such a quest IS futile.
The doctrines of men have adopted the mantra and the idea of being “born again” and have misconstrued the intent of Paul’s words that follow above, words that show us the reality of Truly calling “upon the name of the Lord“, a reality that equates with KNOWING the Lord and expressing His nature. To “call upon the name of the Lord” IS NOT an appeal to the Lord for this or that by rather a constant summoning of the Power that IS the unction and the anointing, the Christ Within, by the man in this world. This summoning IS one’s constant answer to the prompting of his own Soul and the constant realization of greater Truths that come to the man who will strive to keep His words. It IS this man “to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed“.
Paul goes on to show the reality of the way and how that the Truth that men DO NOT yet see can be revealed to them, how that men can come to KNOW the Lord. The apostle asks “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?” and in the series of questions that follows IS his answer which IS misunderstood and misinterpreted into the doctrinal approach to God and the creation of a massive array of churches, denominations, sects and cults that each claim to have the Truth. With this we must see how that the role of the ‘preacher‘ has taken on the teaching of doctrines over the teaching of Truth which Paul shows us as “the gospel of peace“.
The idea here of ‘preaching‘ and of the ‘preacher‘ ARE become strictly doctrinal terms under the ideas put forth by those who took such a mantle upon themselves and claimed the authority and the presumed privilege of speaking for God. They miss and misinterpret the apostle’s words saying that “they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?” and presume that Paul means this in regard to the man who hears rather than the man who says or who goes about: to publish, proclaim openly: something which has been done 2 which IS part of the lexicons defining ideas for kerusso which IS rendered as ‘preach‘ and ‘preacher‘.
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
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888
