IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 1521

ON LOVE; PART MCLX

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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 spent much of the last essay discussing the relationship between man and God, a relationship that IS ignored and denied by most ALL of the doctrinal church because it DOES NOT fit with their own nebulous view of God. If we can look past doctrines however we can find a certain logic in the way that we portray this relationship and find perhaps a meaning for this existence that we ‘enjoy’ here in this Earth. As we have said in past posts, there ARE clues to the meaning of our Life here in this world and these ARE at best couched in other ideas that ARE ofttimes beyond our ken. This IS the reality of the idea of mysteries in the New Testament, mysteries that the Apostle Paul shows us ARE “made manifest to his saints” (Colossians 1:26).

These mysteries, and the revelation of them, ARE NOT found in the words of scripture but in the revelation of the Soul to the mind, revelation by the Inner man that IS yet living through form. This combined with the realization by the mind IS the Way to the mysteries, to understanding and to KNOWING and, as we discuss in most every essay, this revelation and realization ARE the Truth of discipleship and the nature of the saint as these ideas ARE used in the New Testament. That doctrinal thinkers see themselves as disciples and saints and even apostles based upon their doctrinal affiliations IS unfortunate as this closes much of the Way to the greater Truths that lies beyond doctrine. Jesus shows us the Way to Truth and to the revelation and realization of the True Presence of God and His Kingdom in 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).

The reality of the saint IS NOT found in the church nor in the pronouncement of one as a saint posthumously based in some doctrinal criteria. The reality of the saint IS one who has come to KNOW some measure of the Truth and who expresses that Truth through his Life in form. In many ways the idea of the disciple and the saint ARE synonymous and here we should try to see that the disciple of Christ IS NOT ONLY the disciple of Jesus but of the Lord God. The disciple and the saint have gained the proper measure of Truth to live according to Jesus’ own rules of discipleship, rules that ARE scarcely noticed by those who claim such status based in their doctrinal ideas of Truth.

In the view of God Transcendent the idea of both the saint and the disciple require one’s expression of the reality of KNOWING God and in this KNOWING IS perforce one’s expression of Love. In KNOWING God one must KNOW that as God IS Love so then must be the man who KNOWS Him Love and here we should see the idea of keeping His words as the Way which IS given both as the law and as the ONLY substitute for the law. And, while the doctrinal church shows us God as Transcendent they DO, at the same time, decry the idea of keeping His words as the Way….they say that it IS impossible to DO so. It IS in this light that doctrines have chosen the ideas of atonement in their pursuit of such discipleship and sainthood.

But this idea of atonement IS but a doctrinal illusion a part of that grand illusion and glamour that ARE the vanity in which men live and from which they must escape. And this brings us back again to the words of the apostle that show us a glimpse of the Truth of Life here in this world and an ever so faint view of the meaning and the purpose of this Life in form. Paul tells us that:

“For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.  For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because expectation that the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:19-23).

While we have discussed these words from Paul many times over the course of our blog, we continually find new meaning and new applications for these most obscure words which ARE the apostle’s own revelation and realization of Truth. He sees the meaning because he IS a disciple and a saint and NOT because of anything that he may have learned in his own doctrines as a Pharisee and a Jew. Paul’s mind was closed to the Truth of Life because of his doctrinal approach to God and it IS this same failure that afflicts ALL who ARE bound to their doctrinal ideas which ARE essentially carnal in nature.  And this despite the appearance of religion so long as that religious approach DOES NOT include the reality of keeping His words or the reality of what the apostle teaches us IS the equivalent measure in Life. We read the apostle’s words on Love again 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).

While we generally see the idea of the Greek word kistis as both the creation and the creature we should note that these translated words DO NOT suffice in explaining just what the apostle IS referencing in his words on vanity above. And while we have used this idea of the creature to identify the physical nature of man as well as the Soul, we should try to see that this word IS the apostle’s reference to that combination of both which IS everyman in this world. But we should see this from the more spiritual perspective; it IS the Soul, the Spirit and the Inner man, that IS waiting earnestly for “for the manifestation of the sons of God” which IS the coming of age of the disciple and the saint.

And this coming of age IS to be seen on both a personal and universal level; that oneself manifest the Christ Within as his personal expression and the wave of this same reality happening across the human family….the creature awaits both. While the personal IS within the control of the man in this world, it IS NO easy task and it IS the realization of this fact IS of paramount importance as one looks at himself and then at others. Jesus Himself reflects upon this difficulty in such sayings as “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:24) and “many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14).

It IS interesting to note of the latter saying that this same idea IS used in Matthew 20:16 and attached to the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard but ONLY in some translations….this part IS left out in most and, oddly, this idea IS NOT referenced in either place by Vincent. The former idea IS self explanatory and if we consider that it IS the disciple and the saint who can “enter in“, the whole of the Christian ideas of salvation and atonement becomes moot. And moot these should be according to the Truth of the Master’s words. And in regard to the latter idea that “many are called, but few are chosen” we should try to see that the view of some, that men ARE chosen by God, IS NOT Jesus’ intent but rather that of the many that may get a glimpse few DO choose to follow the Lord.

In both ideas that we see the difficulty; in the one the difficulty IS painted in a narrow Path that must be followed and in the other the idea IS that one must choose to follow that Path, a choice that essentially removes a man from most ALL that he has come to KNOW. So what then IS Paul’s idea? Simply that the Soul IS awaiting the action of the personality; waiting for the man in the world to lose his interest in things carnal and seek the Truth which begins one’s personal quest “for the manifestation of the sons of God“. Paul goes on here to show us the reality of the human condition, the vanity which IS simply Life in this world of which Vincent says: the reference is to a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends ⁴.

It IS the idea of “earnest expectation” that IS repeated by the apostle as he tells us that it IS “by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because expectation that the creature itself also shall be delivered“. He tells us that the Soul IS here in form by reason of God, and that he shall be freed. We should remember here that this word that IS rendered as delivered in Romans, eleutheroo, IS the same word that IS rendered as “make you free” in our trifecta where the Master shows us the Way to this freedom….this deliverance. Can we see here that it IS in the relationship between God and the God Within that this idea IS clarified.

Paul goes on to show us the very nature of this vanity to which we ARE subjected….that it IS “the bondage of corruption” and that the other side of this IS “the glorious liberty of the children of God“. Here we should understand that this freedom IS one’s realization of that “earnest expectation” and when we can equate children with sons we will be able to see the clearer picture. This IS the essential story of Life in this world: Men as Souls in form, as Souls waiting in “earnest expectation” for their own freedom from the vanity, from “the bondage of corruption“, and and this through realization of and expression of their own Truth which IS that they ARE “the sons of God” awakening into that “glorious liberty of the children of God“.

This being the nature, what then IS the purpose? Paul shows us this in the vague terms of the mystery; he tells us that “the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now” and here we should understand that this vanity, this “bondage of corruption” IS the sole cause of that groaning and travailing. These ideas of “groaneth and travaileth” ARE ONLY found here in these words from Paul and if we can relate this to the idea of longing to be free from “the bondage of corruption“, from the vanity, we can then see his point and his perspective in which he humbly includes himself.

The apostle includes himself and those who ARE also seeking the Truth and its freedom with him. Here we should understand that the way to this freedom IS first to choose the Path and then to follow it and, in so DOING, be “waiting for the adoption” which IS waiting for that True Union of the Soul and his expression in this world. In the idea of waiting we should see the husbandman of whom the Apostle James says that he “waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain” (James 5:7). This IS NOT idle time spent in waiting but, under the very definition of the husbandman, this IS the active waiting of the laborer in the field.

And in the idea of adoption we should NOT see the doctrinal sense; as children and sons of God there IS NO need for adoption as this IS commonly understood. We should try to see adoption as Vincent shows this to us by repeating Mr. Merivale’s words saying: the adopted son of God becomes, in a peculiar and intimate sense, one with the heavenly Father” (“Conversion of the Roman Empire”)⁴. It IS this Union that IS the goal and the fullness of this Union puts men on this Earth that ARE the modern day Moses and the modern day prophets and this IS True in every generation and in every corner of the world.

This IS “the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” and in these synonymous ideas lies the singular purpose of our lives here in this world. But these ARE ONLY words until such time as one has the necessary revelation and realization of just what this means. We should try to see here that if the objective IS Union with God, that IS the Union of the God within with his expression in this world, then the synonymous idea of Redemption must mean the same thing for the body. This IS a difficult idea to understand based in the meaning of the word Redemption, NOT necessarily the English word but the Greek word apolutrosis. This word IS defined by Thayer’s as: to redeem one by paying the price ⁹ and this idea has been taken up by doctrines to mean Christ’s death’s redeeming value….as the price paid for the forgiveness of the sins of men.

This IS a large part of the doctrinal theories of atonement but this idea makes little sense in regard to Paul’s words and his rendering equivalent this idea with that of adoption. Strong’s defines apolutrosis as: (the act) ransom in full, i.e. (figuratively) riddance, or (specially) Christian salvation:—deliverance, redemption ^9a. We should understand that this rather obscure Greek word, according to Thayer, has been defined by the doctrinal view of its usage and if we can see that the idea of deliverance of the body IS nonsensical, perhaps we can see deeper into our equally obscure purpose of Life. If we can imagine the idea of True Union between the Soul and his expression in this world, we can then see the idea that Jesus presents to us saying “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do “(John 14:12).

In this most powerful saying from the Master, a saying that IS discounted by most ALL doctrinal thinkers and deemed to be ONLY in regard to the ‘conversion of the sinner‘ as John Gill shows us ⁸. The Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible tells us: His miracles the apostles wrought, though wholly in His name and by His power, and the “greater” works–not in degree but in kind–were the conversion of thousands in a day, by His Spirit accompanying them ⁸. Can we see the doctrinal view here? If we take Jesus words as literal however we can see the reality of adoption and Redemption and understand that in the Union of the Soul, the Christ Within, and his expression, the Power of the Soul IS unleashed and can then flow through the body nature.

The Master was the perfect expression of the God Within to the world of men; this IS His example to us and if we can see “apolutrosis of our body” in a more spiritual way than the idea of Redemption, we can perhaps glimpse the reality of “the glorious liberty of the children of God“. We should understand that this IS an ultimate goal for everyman who IS born into this world and that in this idea IS the reality of the Master’s words saying that “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Here again we must try to see the reality of Life as so much more than one’s brief period here in this Earth as a particular man; we must try to see the endless, the infinite and eternal, Life of the True man as the Spirit which IS manifest here and now as the Soul.

It IS ONLY when we can see that this Life here IS NOT governed by the doctrinal ideas of Life; that a man IS born, lives for awhile, dies and then goes to heaven or hell that we can begin to see the greater Truth. This doctrinal view of Life inhibits men’s search for Truth and hinders any sense of that spiritual collateral that carries forward into the next phase of Life….be it reincarnation or some other mystery of Life of which, in our current condition, we ARE NOT aware. ALL men ARE “made subject to vanity” each time that they ARE born into this world; ALL men are plunged into this illusion and glamour of Life in form from which they must escape. And this IS ALL we KNOW….this Life in this world becomes the ONLY reality for ALL men and this because of the long time between birth and the ability to see and to think clearly.

This IS the Plan of God and NOT some random cosmic occurrence. Men ARE born, separated from their True identity, and then nurtured and indoctrinated into the ways of this world based in one’s time and one’s place of birth.  NONE share the same experience but ALL DO have one thing in common regardless of the time and the place of one’s birth: ALL DO hear the prompting of the Inner Man; ALL hear the constant call of the Soul to the Good, the Beautiful and the True and when one can hear this over the din of ALL that IS happening around him, then comes his opportunity to heed that prompting and that call.

And one DOES NOT need religion to accomplish this; this IS a most natural way of Life that IS shared across ALL humanity. Our point here today IS that one need NOT be perfect today, one needs ONLY to recognize that there IS an intimate relationship between the man in this world and God and that this relationship IS a purely personal one between the True man, the Soul, and his expression of Life here in this Earth. It IS when a man can express the Love, the agape, in the ways that Jesus describes this for us and can come to see this as the True Way to ‘salvation‘, that he can be Truly free; and it IS toward this end that we must strive.

We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.

Aspect of  God	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
• ⁸ Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com
• ⁹ Thayer’s Greek Lexicon on blueletterbible.org
• ^9a The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible on blueletterbible.org