ON LOVE; PART MCLI
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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).
While many, many people, Christian and ‘secular’ types, speak about Love, the reality of what IS Truly meant by this word IS missed. The singular idea that men should “love thy neighbour as thyself” has exploded past being Christian dogma and IS seen by both as a cliche more than an admonition from God. Similarly we have the idea behind the Golden Rule which IS clear in its intent that “all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” but falls far short in practice; again we have an eternal Truth that IS become a chiche.
And while the definition of chiche as: a trite, stereotyped expression; a sentence or phrase, usually expressing a popular or common thought or idea, that has lost originality, ingenuity, and impact by long overuse may seem a harsh way to look at the world’s view of these eternal Truths, this IS nonetheless what they have become and here we take but one exception; not to the idea that these ideas have lost their originality, ingenuity, and impact, but to the idea that the cause, in this case, IS overuse. These ideas have lost their force because that they ARE NOT understood and because they stand against the most common human view of the self as the center of each person’s universe.
And it IS this sense of self that yet pervades most ALL of doctrinal Christianity; it IS largely for this reason that the doctrines of men have adopted the most easy paths to the Lord without realizing that, for the most part, such doctrinal paths ARE NOT the Way; they ONLY rely upon that nebulous idea of heaven. In this sense of self men ARE looking for some reason to believe and something to believe in that DOES NOT alter the basic psychological ideas of being human and this without realizing that the True Path alters the very psychology of man.
In this human need for some sense of salvation doctrines have formulated the idea of evangelizing, that IS the idea that one IS ‘guaranteed’ some greater place in this nebulous heaven by bringing other people to their own doctrinal ideas of Truth. Again, these doctrinal Truths vary among the thousands of denominations and sects. More importantly however it IS in search of this sense of salvation that drives men to promulgate their versions of Truth and the resultant doctrines which ignore the most basic Truths that ARE given by the Master and His apostles in favor of those ideas which offer some sense of being saved.
Doctrinal thinkers look past the words of the Master and even the clarifying and amplifying words of His apostles to find those ideas that make their salvation easier and, again, without realizing the nebulous reality of their path. NO one has Truly seen heaven, save in the imagination of writers and painters, with some relying upon the ‘near death’ experiences of others to fuel their belief. And, in the choice between heaven and hell, an even more nebulous idea, we find the force of doctrines in the lives of many millions of men. The nebulous nature of both heaven and hell ARE further beclouded by the doctrinal idea of faith; that men should believe in these doctrinal ideas that ARE based ONLY in the doctrinal interpretations of isolated and ofttimes vague pieces of scripture.
And much of these beliefs ARE founded in the uninterpretable visions, dreams and prophecies that have become part of the accepted canon of the church’s; writings that ARE interpreted differently by whatsoever denomination has forged them into their doctrines. Chief among these ARE the prophecies of Daniel and the Apostle John and if the amount of time and energy put into discussing and debating these ideas was put to discovering the greater Truth, this world would be a better place and one without the nefarious ideas that demean other nations and cultures which ARE seen in the role of evil by so many.
And here IS our point; men would rather believe the nebulous ideas that ARE improperly gleaned from the words of the Master and His apostles, and even believe as literal the prophecies of Daniel and John, than to believe the many clear, concise and straightforward words of Truth that ARE their True teaching. The Master’s words ARE filled with clear, concise and straightforward instructions for Life but these are shelved for the more obscure and that doctrinal idea that they ARE NOT meant for the salvation of any because of the various doctrines of atonement.
Such doctrines of atonement ARE used by some as the reason that Jesus’ instructions need NOT be followed for salvation while the reality IS that such reasons ARE but excuses that allow for men to hold onto their doctrinal approach. So much of this excuse fails miserably when we consider that it IS NOT ONLY the words of the Master that ARE become unnecessary for one’s salvation but also the words of the same apostle upon whose words the whole of doctrinal salvation IS founded. The same man upon whom doctrines rely for their mantra of confession and affirmation ALSO gives us specific instructions on Love, on agape, which ARE put upon the same shelf as the words of Jesus and NONE ARE more clear that this:
“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).
To be sure, NOT ALL doctrinal approaches shelve the commonsense ideas that ARE presented by the apostles although many, in their claim to salvation based in their doctrines, DO also claim the status ideas that Paul and the others show us. Many believe that in this sense of salvation that they ARE “awake out of sleep“; that they ARE Christ’s and many believe that based in their doctrinal salvation that they “have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” without ever understanding that the singular evidence of this IS one’s expression of agape as taught us by Jesus and amplified by His apostles.
While men’s doctrinal sense of salvation IS tied to the confession, the affirmation and the calling “upon the name of the Lord” that IS outlined in Paul’s words that we have been studying, the reality of these words remains unseen. Paul, in his comparison of ideas with those of Moses, has the same intent: to show men that it IS by the covenant that they ARE saved, that salvation IS their reward for KNOWING the Truth and expressing that Truth in one’s Life. While Moses shows the way that blessings ARE received for the Jew saying “all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God” (Deuteronomy 28:2), Paul shows us that the blessings ARE one’s salvation and that this IS the reward of ALL who profess and express Him as Lord.
There is yet another key to the Truth in this way of viewing Paul’s words and that IS as one comes to KNOW that He IS Lord that one will DO as the Lord says and instructs and NOT merely admit that He IS such. Jesus Himself shows us the futility of merely admitting or even calling Him Lord, calling “upon the name of the Lord” as Paul frames this, in His rhetorical question asking “why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). We should remember that these words reported by the Apostle Luke ARE the same as the Apostle Matthew shows us as the second part of our trifecta which we repeat here 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).
Can we see here the deeper ideas incorporated into the confession that doctrines have taken as their mantra? Can we see that to “confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus” IS infinitely more than just words….that this goes to the thoughts and the attitudes of the confessor or, better, the professor, which become his expression of the Truth that comes in KNOWING the Truth. This IS the deeper idea in Paul’s admonition that one “shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead“. For us this IS KNOWING that Jesus IS Lord, that He IS the Christ, and when this believing, this KNOWING IS securely in one’s heart, that man will per force keep His words. Repeating the apostle’s words again we read:
“The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 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. 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).
Many other bible translations render the confession as Vincent shows us saying of the words “the Lord Jesus” as this IS rendered above that: Others, however, read τὸ ῥῆμα ἐν τῷ στοματί σου ὅτι κύριος Ἱησοῦς If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the word that Jesus is Lord. Rev., Jesus as Lord 4. While this may seem an inconsequential difference, there IS the reality that we cite above: if He IS Lord, Truly Lord, then one will at least strive to keep His words. With this we should try to see how that the rendering of homologeo as profess rather than confess gives more strength to intent of the man who strives toward his True salvation.
And we should remember as well that men DO have a role to play in their own salvation that IS NOT merely saying some words and believing some thing to be True….it IS everyman’s personal responsibility to perform his part of the covenant. This idea of covenant reaches back through time to the beginning and, from a spiritual perspective, there IS always the need to “hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God“. There IS NO magical formula here and the idea IS NOT even that one DO as the Lord says at any given time; the whole of the idea IS that men come to realize their own Truth regarding the Way that men would live were they NOT subjected to the vanity, the illusion and the glamour….were they not yet asleep in their own “bondage of corruption” (Romans 8:21).
While it is written that there IS a new covenant we should understand that the foundation of this IS yet in the Old Testament; the Prophet Jeremiah gives us the word of the Lord saying: “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah” and while there IS NO timetable here and while many believe that the days that come ARE Jesus’ days, there IS a continuation of the prophet’s words that DO explain the basis of the new covenant. He says “this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jeremiah 31, 33).
Can we see the point here? That the new covenant IS the same as the old covenant; it IS ONLY the way by which this works out in the lives of men that changes. And we should be able to see this from multiple points of view; first the Master tells us that “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) and in this we should understand the rather timeless nature of the Truth.
Another point IS found in Paul’s words above on Love; it IS the law, everyman’s part in the covenant, that IS accomplished in Love and this IS a part of the change that Jeremiah announces….and Jesus brings to Life. The Way to have the law in one’s heart IS through the Truth of Love and its expression but we should understand here that this has always been True. And it IS a matter of most simple logic, save for the ceremonial parts of the law, and perhaps if we could see these parts more in terms of the ‘doctrine of Moses and Jehovah’, we could better understand them.
To be sure, this IS a complex subject that IS wound up in the words of Moses, and the leading ideas that the Lord gave through the Patriarchs. We should remember that from the beginning the humanity to which these ideas were brought were barbarous and superstitious and, from the Old Testament text itself it IS easy to see that this version of humanity needed ‘strict’ controls if they were to progress. And progress they DID and still DO in some admixture of carnal and spiritual advancement; the world to which the Master came IS vastly different from that which we find in the earlier chronology of the Jews.
Jesus teaches us that there was ever a deeper intent even in the ceremonial ideas of the law; and NOT ONLY this but also that there was a deeper intent in those parts of the law that Truly mattered. Jesus and His apostles show us that the idea of circumcision IS a unnecessary ritual and that “The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath” (Mark 2:27). The Apostle Stephen reminds us that circumcision IS a part of the covenant relationship with Abraham and while we DO NOT KNOW much of this relationship between the Lord and the man, this was the way of focusing upon the Lord in that day; Stephen tells us of the Lord that “he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day” (Acts 7:8).
In the early days the covenant was rather simple and was one which recognized the barbarous and superstitious nature of men in those days but, by the time of Paul’s writings, the change in that covenant was secured as we read in the apostle’s words saying “circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision” (Romans 2:25). Can we see the point here? Can we see that the application of the covenant had changed but that it was NOT recognized in doctrine and this even though it IS clearly stated in the words of Moses?
The doctrines of the Jews continued to ignore the “the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone” (Matthew 23:23) as Jesus tells us. Here we should try to understand judgement as a positive idea from the Greek word krisis; Strong’s tells us that the primary idea of this word IS: decision (subjectively or objectively, for or against) 9a and if we can tie this to the other words that the Master uses here, we can better see the intent and a picture of the way that the Jews had varied from the Truth.
While krisis IS rendered most often as judgement, it IS also rendered as damnation, accusation, and condemnation by the King James Translators; ALL of these ideas ARE rather negative and ARE NOT the Master’s intent in this saying on what the Jews lack. If we can see this word as Strong’s shows us however we can then understand Jesus ideas here as well as better understand its use in other places. Jesus uses the verb form of this word, krino, along with the noun form, krisis, in such sayings as “Judge not, that ye be not judged” (Matthew 7:1). Here we should try to see what the Master IS saying to the Jewish leaders IS NOT about judgement per se but rather about judgement that DOES NOT include the other factors of mercy and faith which we should see as KNOWING.
The accusation here IS that the Jews judged and decided according to their interpretation of the law rather than with an expression of Love, mercy, and with the KNOWING and understanding that IS the Truth of the Law. We should remember here that the Master IS railing against the Jews with a lengthy list of woes concerning their doctrinal behavior and take away the idea that men should ever, especially when in possession of some degree of authority, judge and decide ALL things with mercy and faith.
We should see as well that both of these ideas ARE NOT a leading part of the culture of the scribe and the Pharisee as IS intended in the Truth of the law and if we tie this to Jesus’ other words against their behavior saying “if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless” (Matthew 12:7) we can perhaps understand the greater idea behind this list of woes. And more, when we can understand that mercy IS the expression of agape, of Love, in this world, we can better see the reality of both these sayings and understand how that it IS Love based in pistis or KNOWING that allows for one’s “righteous judgment” according to Jesus’ admonition that we “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment” (John 7:24).
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.
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
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition
- 9a The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible on blueletterbible.org
