ON LOVE; PART MCLIII
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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 a rewriting of sorts on Paul’s words to the Romans that have become the Christian mantra for many denominations and sects of the Christian Church. We DO NOT take this task lightly but in an earnest attempt to show the True intent of the Apostle Paul’s message, a message that IS NOT seen by most ALL of Christianity as men take up their doctrinal ideas in place of the Truth. Most ALL of what we write here in this blog has this same tone which IS to correct the misplaced and misinterpreted ideas of those doctrines that have overtaken the Truth and replaced it with such force as it has become the Truth for many millions, nay, billions of men through the course of history.
We often take pause and reflect upon our role here as a single voice among the many; a voice that IS contrary to the mainstream and one which has little chance of changing their minds which have been so indoctrinated by those who have taken authority to teach them and to whom most ALL willingly submit. We remember here the words of Mark Twain who shows us the working out of indoctrination as a human tendency rather than a purposeful endeavor; he says: In religion and politics people’s beliefs and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second-hand, and without examination, from authorities who have not themselves examined the questions at issue but have taken them at second-hand from other non-examiners, whose opinions about them were not worth a brass farthing. Published in Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 3 (University of California Press, 2015).
This IS a human observation and one that IS True although NOT admitted to by most. This IS NOT an indictment of ALL men however as there ARE those who DO seek the Truth and it IS these that the Master encourages saying “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you“. While many see these words according to their own doctrinal way, as praying for this and that in a carnal sense, the reality IS found at the end of Jesus’ words of comparison of the good father with our Father in heaven saying “how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” (Luke 11:9, 13). The giving here IS NOT anything carnal but it IS spiritual but the whole idea of how this IS received or given from God IS yet trapped in the carnal ideas of a Transcendent God without proper recognition that He IS also an Immanent God.
It IS the God Immanent that Jesus brings into our view and He does so in words that ARE NOT easily understood by any who try to understand them from the perspective of a man in this world. We should remember here that Jesus words ARE primarily addressing the man of 2000 years ago and a culture still steeped in the barbarism and the superstitions that plagued their forefathers; most of ALL we should remember that He IS speaking to a humanity that IS still governed by emotional response save for the comparatively few critical thinkers of the day.
Throughout Jesus’ teaching there IS the thread of His revelation of the Truth of God and His relationship to man and we should ever remember that His parabolic tone IS set to allow those who ask, seek and knock to see behind His words and glimpse that Truth. Jesus’ parabolic tone DOES NOT obnubilate the Truth from those who Truly seek it; this He tells His disciples saying that “Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables” (Mark 4:11) and here we should see that the words that He offers ARE the same to ALL. The difference IS in one’s discernment of His meaning and for the man who IS Truly focused on the things of God the mysteries ARE revealed.
But many millions believe that they have this spiritual discernment without such focus upon the Truth; many millions believe that they have the Truth based in their doctrines and here we should reflect upon the Pharisee and the scribe in that day. Most ALL of these ARE religious men who CAN NOT discern the Master’s Truth because they DO NOT seek it; they ARE comfortable and confident in their doctrines and this despite the way that the Master derides their doctrinal way of Life. Had these Jews seen the greater Truth behind the words of the law, and surely some of them DID, they would have understood the Master’s relevance and His teaching.
However, then as now, those who DO see past the doctrinal assertions of Truth ARE called heretics and expunged from the mainstream of thought that IS based in those doctrines. As we have discussed, from the beginning of the Christian movement, the Christians DID NOT see themselves in the Master’s words about the Jewish religious rulers; that DID NOT and DO NOT see themselves in the role of the Pharisee and the Sadducee, nor in the role of the scribe or the lawyer against whom Jesus speaks and it IS this sense of hubris that IS the bane of most ALL Christian religions through the centuries.
Few denominations and sects have a clear view of the Truth of His teaching and His message as most ALL base their doctrines in their own misplaced and misinterpreted ideas which have overtaken the Truth and replaced it with such force as it has become the Truth for many millions, nay, billions of men through the course of history. And this IS NO less True today; it IS True in most every religion where the doctrines of men have overtaken even the most clearly stated Truths. In our rewritten words from the Apostle Paul we ARE seeking to inject a taste of his original message which perforce CAN NOT be contrary to the words of the Master which the apostle IS clarifying and amplifying. We read again:
“The word Truth is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word Truth of faith KNOWING, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess express with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe KNOW in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man KNOWETH unto righteousness; and with the mouth expression is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).
We must remember that Paul IS speaking to men whose focus has turned to the Lord though there ARE surely different measures of focus among these of whom Paul writes “that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world” (Romans 1:8). Coming from Paul this IS a testament of their measure of KNOWING the Truth, a KNOWING that comes in keeping His words or in that expression of Love which IS the ONLY suitable alternative approach. Despite this testament, doctrines have taken Paul’s words to be applicable to any and ALL who take the saying above in their misunderstood and misapplied way….ALL who confess and believe according to their individual view of the doctrine.
For the man in Paul’s day who IS among those whose “faith is spoken of throughout the whole world” there IS the reality of the apostle’s words; he has some measure of the Truth and it IS “nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart” as Paul infers. We CAN NOT separate the word of God from the Truth, the One Truth of which Jesus tells us that “ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free“. And NOT this ONLY, the Master also tells us that this Truth will come to those who “continue in my word“. The continuation of this idea IS equally in accord with the Master’s words. It IS one thing to have the Truth “nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart“; it IS quite another to express that Truth; NOT merely in words but in thought, in attitude and in action.
While our rendition of Paul’s intent seems a bit cumbersome, it IS ONLY so because of the way we understand and translate the ancient Greek. To profess or to express “the Lord Jesus” IS to have one’s thoughts, attitudes and actions in accord with His and here we should understand that the idea of confession as this IS commonly understood IS wholly inadequate. This idea IS NO different than to “put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 13:14) which carries the same idea as “they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (Galatians 5:24). There ARE many such sayings and ALL come back to the same Truth which IS that to believe in or believe on the Master IS to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life 4.
Paul puts the idea of KNOWING that Jesus IS Lord at the end and while it appears that one’s expression would be the result of such KNOWING, the greater reality IS that these ARE so intertwined as to be inseparable. And here the doctrines of men ARE the rub; any who Truly KNOW that Jesus IS Lord, any who “call upon” Him as Lord, must perforce keep His words; this idea IS however erased by the teaching that ALL one need to DO IS to confess and believe rather than to KNOW and to express. This same expression IS Paul’ intention as he continues his words with the idea of calling “upon the name of the Lord“; we rewrite the the rest of the apostle’s words as:
“For whosoever shall call upon take upon himself the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in take His name whom they have not believed KNOWN? and how shall they believe in KNOW him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher Him being proclaimed? And how shall they preach proclaim, except they be sent set apart? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach proclaim the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed hearkened 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).
This idea of name IS NOT simply the words themselves but what IS behind that word that IS one’s name….it IS what the one who goes by that name represents. And this IS NO different than the idea of “in the name of” (Matthew 28:19). In the idea of apostello which IS rendered as “be sent” we should look at the Strong’s definition and the relationship of this word with the idea of apostle which IS the noun form of this verb. Strong’s defines apostello first as “set apart” and then tells us that: (by implication) to send out 9a.
In the idea of being “set apart” we should be able to see the difference between those who DO take upon themselves the nature of the Christ and those who DO NOT and in this reference the idea of “How beautiful are the feet of them that preach proclaim the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” makes much more perfect sense. There ARE but two Ways to accomplish this being “set apart” and both require the conscious involvement of the man; the first IS to keep His words according to the commandments of the Lord and the teachings of the Master and “the second is like, namely this“: the expression of Love, of agape, and both ARE essentially the same which Paul shows us saying:
“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).
Doctrines however have abducted this idea of kerysso and interpret it in terms of the preacher rather that what IS proclaimed. This word IS used of the proclamations of John the Baptist and of the Master in the gospels and this as something that they DID and NOT who they ARE. Perhaps the abduction begins in these words to the Romans where the idea IS rendered as “and how shall they hear without a preacher?” where the object IS NOT the vehicle but the message. The Good News Translation captures the right idea; they render this as “And how can they hear if the message is not proclaimed?” and our point here IS that the whole idea of one being a preacher IS applied to ALL who teach their own doctrinal view.
The reality of the proclamation IS NO longer the teaching of the One Truth but rather the teachings of individual beliefs and doctrines and here we should see that while most anyone can be the preacher, NOT everyone has access to the One Truth that comes to everyman whose focus will Truly change off of the self in this world and onto the things of God. These ARE essentially the Truth of Love and the words of the Master out of which we have selected 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).
How many preachers ARE teaching this precept of keeping His words? This IS a hard question to Truly answer because so many preachers DO believe that their doctrines ARE the Truth and in this they ARE blinded to the reality of Jesus’ words. Most ALL ARE so indoctrinated by what has become their own core beliefs that they NOT ONLY see themselves as having the Truth but also try to show how that their view IS more right that those of other doctrines with each citing some part of the bible in their own defense.
ALL perhaps believe that it IS they of whom the writings refer saying “How beautiful are the feet of them that preach proclaim the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” and this despite the fact that they teach neither “the gospel of peace” NOR the Truth which IS the gospel of Love. The Greek word euaggelizo IS used twice by Paul in this idea and it IS rendered as “that preach the gospel” and as “and bring glad tidings“. The word IS the verb form of euaggelion which IS rendered by most as gospel and by some as “good news“.
The noun form of this idea, euaggelion, has NO clear understanding save for the way that it IS historically used. Thayer defines this first as: a reward for good tidings 2, 9 citing older Greek literature while Vincent tells us that euaggelion: Signifies originally a present given in return for joyful news. Thus Homer makes Ulysses say to Eumseus, Let this reward be given me for my good news (Od., 14:152). In Attic Greek it meant (in the plural) a sacrifice for good tidings. Later it comes to mean the good news itself – the joyful tidings of Messiah’s kingdom. Though the word came naturally to be used as the title of books containing the history of the good tidings, in the New Testament itself it is never employed in the sense of a written book, but always means the word preached 4.
If we can simply accept the idea that the word refers to what IS preached, NOT by men but by the Master and those who Truly follow Him, we can then see the reality of the idea and see that in both uses Paul IS using the verb form and referring to those who teach such Truth. If we look further and see the idea of reward or a present given, we can then see the idea of “gospel of the kingdom” (Matthew 4:23) as that the Kingdom IS the reward of that Truth. Similarly there IS the idea of “gospel of Jesus Christ” (Mark 1:1) and we can bring this idea as well to such sayings as “whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it” (Mark 8:35).
In ALL of these ideas there IS the sense of reward as the kingdom, as Jesus Christ, and as True salvation and here we should NOT forget Paul’s reference to “the gospel of peace” where the reward IS Peace….and NOT ONLY personal Peace but abounding Peace. This IS the greater idea of euaggelion and when we take this to the verb form that IS used in our saying, euaggelizo, we should perhaps see the idea of the one who offers such reward as Peace and good which in our rendering IS applied to things.
If we take the object as Peace and as good and see these as the reward given against the words, the Truth, that IS preached, we can better understand the apostle’s point in repeating these words from the Prophet Isaiah saying “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!” (Isaiah 52:7). Paul goes on to say that “but they have not all obeyed the gospel” and many attribute this to the one who hears although this man IS NOT the subject of the verse.
Here the Greek word hypakouō IS rendered as “they have” and then as obeyed although it appears ONLY once. The rendering here then would be “but not all obeyed” without the reference to “they have” and here we should see that the idea IS perhaps to say that of those who “preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!“, NOT ALL have hearkened, which Vincent says IS better than obeyed, to their own words.
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
- 9 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon on blueletterbible.org
- 9a The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible on blueletterbible.org
