ON LOVE; PART MCLIX
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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 began with some additional thoughts on the idea of the Holy Spirit and in the last few posts we discussed how that this Spirit that IS God has been working through mankind from before the early days of the Old Testament narrative. We noted that this reality IS lost in the many doctrines that see the idea of the Holy Spirit according to their own interpretation of the comments of the Apostle John which ARE read as “this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:39). In this interpretation the Holy Spirit becomes the exclusive possession of the Christian who believes according to doctrine but this IS NOT so as we can see in our own reading of this text which we have explained over the last few essays; we read our marked up version again saying:
“Then the Jews sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he?…. In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him KNOW Him and keep His words should receive take to one’s self, to make one’s own: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given spirit was not yet; because that Jesus was not yet glorified rendered glorious. Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? So there was a division among the people because of him” (John 7:11, 37:43).
Such division DOES persists but NOT among people as it was in John’s words; the division IS between the Truth and the doctrine that sits in place of the Truth. Jesus own words show us the fullness of the idea of the Holy Spirit and when we take away the doctrinal idea that this Spirit comes ONLY after the Master’s death and resurrection, we can then better understand His teaching on the Immanent nature of God. We moved from this idea to the fundamental Christian problem of the translation and interpretation of the Greek words used in the New Testament and here again especially the words pistis and pisteuo which ARE rendered as faith and believing and understood in that nebulous doctrinal way.
The idea of God Immanent IS an integral part of Jesus’ teaching in the Gospel of John where the apostle records some of the most direct words from the Master to His disciples. As we have discussed, there ARE those among them who, even near the end of their time together, DO NOT understand what the Master IS saying as He shows us the way to the realization of the True Presence of God in one’s Life. Whether the Master waited until this time to reveal the Truth of the Christ and the God Within, the Spirit Within if you will, or this Truth had been a part of His ongoing message to them we DO NOT KNOW. We DO KNOW however that he alludes to this Truth throughout John’s Gospel and especially in the chapters that follow His revelation that “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“.
This idea of God Immanent IS NOT understood in doctrinal terms which continue to see a Transcendent God whose ONLY relationship to men IS Jesus and this ONLY to those who ARE Christians. And NOT Christians by birth ONLY, for some it IS Christians by way of being “born again” according to one’s doctrinal understanding; for others it IS the rite and ritual of baptism and for yet others it IS the doctrinal idea of being baptized in the Holy Spirit. ALL these ideas restrict the Truth that man IS, at every level of Life, part and parcel of God….that the Spirit that IS the True man IS an integral and indispensable part of God, and that the Spirit that IS the True man IS the Life giving force to the phenomenal appearance of man in this world.
And this IS True of ALL men; ALL ARE Spirit manifest as Souls which ARE expressing that Life through form in this world. Why? This is the real question that the New Testament seeks to answer albeit in terms that ARE couched in ideas that must be searched; they ARE NOT in plain language. What IS in plain language however IS the Way, the Way of Love which leads ALL men to the Way of KNOWING their own essential Truth. But men have by and large stopped searching because their doctrines dissuade them from DOING so and this by each one’s insistence that their own doctrinal view IS right.
But which view IS right? Which of the thousands of denominations and sects has the Truth? Is the Truth found in baptism? What type then? IS it sprinkling, pouring or dunking that IS the Way? IS the Truth found in being “born again” according to the doctrinal ideas of affirmation and confession? Or IS the Truth found in the baptism of the Holy Spirit which IS considered as evidenced ONLY by speaking in tongues? IS in some combination of these ideas? Can we see the point here? If Christian doctrines ARE True how can they ALL be different?
We touch here ONLY on the outward precursors of being or becoming a Christian and we should note that the differences among some denominations ARE far reaching; so far reaching that while each may claim their own sense of being right they DO at the same time decry the doctrines of others as they call some as heretical and others as cults, in and ominous way, and still others as false religions. Most ALL however DO believe in some form of the doctrine of atonement….that the death of Jesus freed men from their sins, past, present and future although, as we discussed in the last essay, there IS NO place that this idea IS clearly presented. What IS clearly presented IS the concept of Love, of agape, and the reality of keeping His words which the Master clearly shows us in our trifecta which we read 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).
We should remember here that the man of the Old Testament, the man of whom we read in the stories of the patriarchs, IS both barbarous and superstitious and we should try to see here how that it IS their actions in the world of men, their reactions to the world around them, that forms the basis of the law. This story of the patriarchs IS a story of a particular and small group of persons who saw the means to survive in this barbarous and superstitious world. From Abraham to Isaac to the twelve tribes of Israel we find those actions that lead to the ‘captivity’ in the land of Egypt and here we should see that the way of the Jew becomes the way of the Egyptian, NOT because they lost their culture but rather because they had little of their own.
We KNOW very little of their time in captivity save for the idea that they were enslaved and it IS from this that the Israelites ARE delivered by the hand of Moses. It IS Moses charge from Jehovah that structure be given to the Life of the Jews in those days and this structure IS the law, without which the Jews flounder. The story of Moses time IS an exceedingly barbarous and superstitious one and it IS difficult to imagine how that our God who IS Love can direct men to DO as the Jews DID and in this we should try to see how that Jehovah IS NOT the reality of God but rather one view of God which IS charged with the survival of this people. If we can see Jehovah and Moses as similar in nature to Christ and Jesus, perhaps we can see through the mysteries of the Jews.
If we can understand Jehovah as the spiritual Presence by which the man Moses acts, we can then perhaps see, on a broader scale, the Way of the Christ through the man Jesus. Christ IS the spiritual Presence of the fullness of God expressing through the man Jesus while Jehovah IS the spiritual Presence of the fullness of God expressing through the man Moses, a man who had NOT fully overcome the frailty of the flesh as DID the Master Jesus. Moses then, while having the spiritual Presence to lead the Jews out of Egypt and bring them to their ‘promised land’, also gave the Jews the law, the code of conduct for men in that barbarous and superstitious day, along with the self-inflicted remedies for departure from that law.
These remedies ARE suitably shown to us in the Old Testament text and many ARE hard to understand in our more modern terms; and we should try to see here that the crux of ALL remedies IS the sacrifice. We should understand here that most ALL of these remedies have faded into obscurity and most ALL of this fading IS based in the coming of age of mankind; his moving from the emotionally charged Life of then to the thought based Life of today. If for this reason alone, the entirety of the Old Testament should be seen for it historical perspective; as a story of the ever strained relationship between people and God.
Yet today however doctrinal thinkers look to the characters in the Old Testament text as models of what one should be today and this rather than looking at their more modern counterparts in Jesus and His apostles. It IS these that should be emulated; rather than the riches of Abraham based in his expression of faithfulness we should see the humbleness of the Apostle Paul and how his faithfulness brought the teachings of the Master to the world. Most importantly we should note that the Presence of God was the realization of ALL of those of whom the texts show us ‘communicated with the Lord’.
We compare Moses and Jesus here and for this we ARE likely derided by the established religious authorities but these comparisons ARE real and can be discerned by an open look at the writings upon which we ALL rely. If we can see the idea of Jehovah as the Presence of God in the Life of Moses and of those who preceded him….in the Life of Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Isaac and then Moses, we can understand how that their motivations ARE to express their True spiritual nature over the carnal; this has ever been the goal. And we should try to see here that this IS an orchestrated spiritual evolution which IS ever a part of the spiritual nature of that Truth to which ALL ARE part and parcel….that Truth that IS God.
That God speaks IS NOT to be seen in the form that doctrines see this; God speaks through those who KNOW the Truth according to the trifecta and the precepts of the trifecta have always been True. It IS evolution, spiritual and psychic, that moves men from the view of God in Abraham’s day of barbarism and superstitions to the time of Moses and then to Jesus. God IS the same; it IS His expression through those who realize His Presence that IS ever changing. Abraham and Moses brought to men the idea of our Transcendental God to whom ALL men owe their being; this IS the reality of Jehovah as the realization of spiritual Truth and Power.
It IS this that we read about in the Old Testament narratives; this IS the spiritual Truth and the Power of the patriarchs, of Moses, of the select few kings and of the prophets. The Power of the prophets IS the Power of God; the power of the few kings that followed the Path of the Lord IS the Power of God; and the Power of Moses IS the Power of God. We should see ALL of this however through the prism of the ways of men in those days….the ways of barbarism and superstition which governed the lives of even those whose expression was this Power. The point here IS that the Soul, the Inner man, must perforce work through the personality and equipment into which he IS born and while we see harsh cruelty in so many of the ways of those men under the ‘instruction’ of God, this must be seen through that prism.
Jesus brings us a different view of the same God, a view that would NOT be accepted in Moses time. This view IS of God Immanent which IS NOT completely understood even by His own apostles and which IS scarcely understood today. The harsh cruelty inflicted under the ‘instruction’ of God DOES NOT play in Jesus’ day save for the way that this may be inflicted by those whose path IS yet carnal….there IS still much barbarism and superstition in these days. But Jesus DOES NOT instruct men to inflict harsh cruelty; he instructs men in NO sense of cruelty whatsoever; this IS the beginning of the new dispensation which, after 2000 years, IS still NOT understood.
The law of Moses IS replete harsh cruelties and harsh treatment according to today’s standards and here we can see a most clear view of how evolution works out in the minds of men. This softening IS ever bemoaned by many we seek to retain harsher treatment of others and we should consider here how that this evolutionary change IS a slow and plodding one as so much of the thoughts and the attitudes of men and their institutions must change. But the law of Moses IS also that place in the western world where the whole idea of agape IS founded; it IS in the law of Moses the we originate the right way to treat one’s neighbor and the stranger and behind this IS the Truth of God….the Truth that behind the human wrangling, behind the barbarism and the superstitions, beats a heart of Love.
While this sense of Love IS presented to the people in Moses’ day and while it IS repeated with more strength in Jesus’ day, the reality of its influence upon the minds and the emotions of men has been limited but, at the same time, growing in Power across the Earth. It IS unseen in the time of Moses journey in the desert for some forty years and while much of the carnage in this day was intended perhaps to protect the fledgling nation of the Jews, much IS also what would be considered today as crimes against humanity. Similarly in the times of the judges and the kings and then the conquest of the Jews by the Assyrians and the Babylonians. It IS NOT difficult to see the barbarism and the superstitions that ruled the day.
And we KNOW that this DOES NOT end there; Jesus comes into the time of the Roman Empire which had become the world power of the day and which was likely as contrary to the law of Moses and any before it. To this world Jesus teaches Love and shows a side of Truth that IS contrary to that which IS apparently shown by Jehovah. But IS this so? NOT if we can see that the ways of the Jews and others in history was governed by the barbarism and the superstitions that plagued humanity and that the words of God that ARE harsh and cruel come from the mouths and the pens of men who live in that time….that the mouths and the pens of men express for us their very nature through what they DO speak and write.
We should try to see here that God IS NOT writing the words of Moses nor IS He dictating the way of the Jews. The words and the writings of Moses and those that follow him ARE embedded in the times in which they live and the promptings of the Soul by which Moses lives, promptings that ARE likely as pure in that day as they ARE today, ARE interpreted according to the mindset and the emotional reality of the man and the times. God IS NOT then directing the slaughter of women and children but the men who ARE interpreting the Truth that IS God ARE DOING so….and this according to the times and the equipment, the mind and the emotions, with which they ARE born.
We should also try to see that this prompting that Moses sees as the word of God IS the word of Jehovah and if we can liken this to the Way that Jesus’ prompting IS that which we call the Christ, we can then see the similarity in the actions of these men as well as the actions of ALL Holy men of God throughout history. There IS NO change and whether we call the Spirit Within Moses and Jesus as Jehovah or as Christ, they ARE essentially the same. The purity of KNOWING and of Love being expressed by the man in this world. And the emphasis IS the same….it IS Love, for God DOES NOT change.
The Inner Man, the Christ Within, the God Within ARE ALL synonymous terms and when the man in the physical world can have True revelation and realization of their prompting, they can and DO speak and act as God. This IS the Power of Abraham to live a rather Godly man and this IS the Power of the patriarch which follow him. This IS the Power of Moses which IS wielded in a much mightier way than those that precede him as well as the Power of Joshua; this IS the Power of the judges and the kings which Power IS localized and limited; and this IS the Power of the prophets to see, to KNOW and to DO.
And this IS the Power of the Master who IS the first and the ONLY to be born into this world with a purity of mind and emotions that DOES NOT color His promptings in carnal thoughts and attitudes which IS the burden that ALL before him had borne. It ALL comes back again to Love; the Love that Moses gives us IS NO different than the Love which Jesus gives us; they ARE both the Love that IS God. We close today with Paul’s words on Love that intimately tie Moses to Jesus; we read 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).
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
