IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 1533

ON LOVE; PART MCLXXII

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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 some thoughts on the way that the Apostle John’s ideas of the measure of a man, his spiritual measure ranging from the “little children“, to the “young men” and finally to the fathers, shows us the journey of men from Repentance, to Transformation and finally to Redemption. We have posited that to become “as a little child” (Mark 10:15) one must have Repented and must have turned his Life’s focus onto God and that this IS the True way to accomplish the Master’s words saying “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” {Matthew 18:3). It IS in Repentance that one can return to that state of innocence, that state where the nurturing and the indoctrination has NOT yet caused the vanity to fully set into his Life.

The “little children” of Jesus’ example ARE yet free from the illusion and the glamour while the “little children” of John’s example ARE returning to that state by taking their focus off of the things of the world and placing that focus onto Way out of that illusion and glamour, that “bondage of corruption” (Romans 8:21), in which the consciousness has dwelt for so many years. We should try to see that “as a little child” the Soul IS interacting with the world without the mind being dominated by “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” as John shows us.

If we can see his words from the perspective of “little children” the Apostle Paul shows us this same idea; here we should understand that being such “little children” IS a state of being from before one IS become as “the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts” (Ephesians 4:22). In these words from John and Paul we should try to see that the reality behind the idea of lust which IS rendered from the Greek word epithymia IS NOT the sexual ideas that doctrines see; this word depicts the totality of human desires that ARE based in one’s focus upon the things of the world.

That doctrinal thinkers have most often placed this word in the place of sexual deviation IS the product of their sense of self protection. If ALL epithymia, ALL desire, craving, longing as this IS defined, ARE seen as lust then ALL men ARE guilty of some sin through most every occurrence of this word in the New Testament. And this IS the reality of the word as defined by the lexicons which then rely upon the idea of desire for: what is forbidden ^{2, 9, 9a}. Jesus mentions this idea of lust in His Parable of the Sower as the Apostle Mark reports it. Speaking of the seed that “are sown among thorns“, the Master says that they ARE “such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful” (Mark 4:18, 19). Surely the idea here IS more than sexual.

The doctrinal view however shows us a footnote in the King James Bible which says lusts: or, inordinate desires and this again renders such desires as immoderate or excessive; this thinking then leads some translations to pick up the idea from their own view saying that these ARE “evil desires” according to the New Century Version. While many translations DO maintain the clearer view that this IS simply “desire for other things“, John Gill interprets this as:  the lusts of other things entering in: carnal desires after other objects, which are pleasing to the sensual mind, entering into their hearts .

Our point here IS that the idea of lust IS NOT purely a negative word and while too many see it as such, Vincent DOES show us a clearer light saying of these words from Jesus: Lusts, not in the limited sense of mere sexual desire, but in the general sense of longing. The word is also used of desire for good and lawful things (Luke 22:15; Philemon 1:23)⁴. Jesus point, which IS easily seen in the combination of the three versions of this parable, IS that it IS desire for things of this world that ARE men’s hindrance to accepting and then keeping His words and this IS the same view that we should see in the words of John and Paul. In “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes” we should see ALL focus upon the things of this world which ARE ALL “deceitful lusts” and here the emphasis IS on being deceived.

Here we should try to see that desire IS a most natural part of human Life and that when that desire IS turned toward the accumulation of whatsoever IS in this world we have the basic idea that John IS cautioning the “little children“, the “young men” and even the fathers against; He IS saying that spiritual men should “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world“. And while the doctrines of men turn this idea into one of Love as they regard the word, the reality IS that the apostle DOES explain it saying that whatsoever you desire that your body craves, whatsoever you desire that you can see and want plus the idea of pride which IS rendered from the Greek word alazoneia ARE the effect of this Love. That John uses agape in this context shows us that this IS a more complex word while also feeding to a degree the common view of the word. 

Desires ARE fed by the illusion that men ARE men in this world rather than Souls and this IS the reality of that vanity which IS Life in this world; Vincent shows us this vanity as a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends ⁴. Such  false ends ARE one’s desires, lusts to use the biblical term, which ARE, according to the Master and His apostles, that which keeps men separate from God. And such desires ARE fleeting and ever changing; this process of desiring leading to having IS encapsulated for us in this idea from an old TV show; we read Spock’s words saying ‘After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing, after all, as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true.’

These “deceitful lusts” as Paul shows us ARE based in the vanity, the illusion that such ARE the importance of Life and the idea of alazoneia gives us what we call glamour. In the apostle’s term rendered as “the pride of life” we should understand that this IS NOT the zoe kind of Life but rather a bios kind of Life….the Life of of the man in this world or, better, that which he DOES with that Life. Strong’s defines bios as: the present state of existence; by implication, the means of livelihood ^9a. while Thayer’s tells us that this word refers to: the period of course of Life ⁹. Perhaps we can see that Life IS bios for the man whose focus IS upon the illusion while it IS zoe for the man whose focus IS upon the things of God.

Zoe IS used most often in the New Testament when speaking in spiritual terms and although there may be apparent exceptions to this, there IS a firm distinction between zoe and bios that can most always show us the nature of the context wherein either word IS used. Our point here IS that this idea of pride, of alazoneia IS never connected to zoe….it IS a product of  the vanity in which men live their lives as bios which IS Life focused upon the illusory things of the world. We should KNOW that the things themselves ARE very real and include ALL thoughts and attitudes, which themselves include ALL emotional responses and desires, as well as actions and things; it IS ONLY the view of their importance that IS the illusion.

And a large part of the illusion IS one’s view that his doctrinal approach to God IS Truth and in this we find as well a large part of the glamour which IS the practical application of alazoneia. Vincent defines alazoneia for us saying that: It means, originally, empty, braggart talk or display; swagger; and thence an insolent and vain assurance in one’s own resources, or in the stability of earthly things, which issues in a contempt of divine laws ⁴. If we can see that this idea also refers to ALL thoughts and attitudes, which themselves include ALL emotional responses and desires, as well as actions and things and that it IS in these that everyman has such assurance, we can then perhaps see the nebulous ideas of faith and believing more clearly as carnal elements of alazoneia.

This IS the illusion and glamour that IS the basis of Life as bios, Life in the vanity to which the True Life, zoe, has been subjected and these ARE the “bondage of corruption” (Romans 8:20, 21) for everyman. John’s “little children“, “young men” and fathers ARE living as zoe, as men focused upon the things of God while ALL who ARE NOT so focused ARE living as bios, as men in this world. Again this IS the apostle’s caution to the “little children“, “young men” and fathers: that they DO NOT fall back into a Life of bios. Here we should understand that this caution IS first to the “little children” who can more easily fall into bios and then to the “young men” who ARE more established in their measure of Truth.

And finally John’s caution IS to the fathers and this according to Jesus own caution as He tells His disciples that “there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:24). Here Matthew uses the Greek word pseudochristos, and while some doctrines draw a distinction between this and antichristos which ONLY John uses, these ARE very much the same idea. While the fathers ARE less likely to fall back into the clutches of carnal living, they ARE, as “the very elect“, susceptible to the idea of antichristos and to the words of those who see the Truth in the doctrines of men rather than the clear Truths that the Master spoke.

We should remember here that the sense of measure erected here by John IS but three ‘categories’ and these three must cover a rather infinite array of self-perspective points of Repentance, Transformation and Redemption. There IS NO scale upon which to measure any as each man IS unique in the ability of the Inner man to express himself through an equally unique form which includes his most unique attributes….his mind and his emotional response mechanisms. It IS the product of ALL of these  that results in one’s thoughts, attitudes and actions at any given time.

In this IS the Apostle Paul’s greater point in his words saying that the man who Truly seeks God, John’s “little children” and “young men“, should “be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove discern what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2). It IS ONLY when the mind of a man can be informed by the Inner man, the Soul and the Christ Within, that he can Truly express the Truth than IS his revelation and realization….A Truth that comes to everyman through His trifecta of spiritual reality which we repeat here again:

• “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free“ (John 8:31-32).
• “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
• “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me” (John 14:21-24).

These words ARE the simplicity of Jesus’ message to the world of men, a message that IS drowned out by the doctrines of men that have created ‘alternate’ ways to find the Kingdom and the Truth….pseudo ways to be sure. When we can see Paul’s words above combined with his previous words telling such men who Truly seek the Lord to “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1), we can then see the Way to move from being the “little children” into being the “young men” and finally becoming the fathers who ARE on the threshold of the full realization of their Union with the Lord as “the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:23).

Paul tells us to “present your bodies a living sacrifice” and we should try to see this in the simplicity of its presentation. Here the word for living IS zao which IS the verb form of zoe which we discuss above. While we can trace the words rendered as present and sacrifice to the Jewish rites, this IS wholly unnecessary. Similarly we can see the idea of soma that IS rendered as body in these same terms, as the body of the animal presented for sacrifice, but it IS better to see ALL of these ideas in human terms as this IS the apostle’s subject matter.  In human terms the body IS the man, the form of the man which Paul also refers to as the flesh, and this IS inclusive of his mind and his emotional response or, in a word, his personality.

The personality should be seen as that unique combination of the body with its endocrine connection to the mind and the emotions and it IS this that IS to be presented. It IS the personality that IS the actor in the world and it IS the personality that IS “transformed by the renewing of your mind“; here we should understand that the mind IS the highest personality aspect. Can we see how that this ALL works together? It IS when a man can consciously present his personality for Transformation that he IS sacrificing the Life that he KNOWS for a Transformed Life through which he can “discern what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God“.

While the personality, the Transforming person in this world, remains largely the same, its expression becomes evermore that of the Inner man, the Soul and everless that of the carnal man in the world and this IS yet another point in the way that each man IS unique. It is this same uniqueness that we see in the varying styles of the gospel writers and the way that each emphasizes some different perspective on spiritual Life. Again, if we can see Repentance, Transformation and Redemption AS the stages of spiritual Life and as the measure of Truth attained by the “little children“, the “young men” and the fathers, we can then see deeper into John’s words that we have been studying and which we repeat again saying:

“I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake. I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one” (1 John 2:12-14)

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 John 2:15:17).

“Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.” (1 John 2:18-24).

We should be able to see and to understand just who it IS that the apostle IS writing to as he tries to reinforce their developing spiritual qualities and show them some of the pitfalls that they can encounter in this world and in the words of those whose doctrines ARE contrary to the Truth. While the doctrines of men continue to see antichristos as an entity who IS against Christ, the deeper Truth IS found in the most simple ideas that John IS presenting….that antichristos IS everyman and every idea that finds its Truth in those things that ARE contrary to the most basic Truth of Love which becomes the apostle’s greater topic as he continues his letter.

Here, the apostle tells us that we DO KNOW the Truth through our chrisma, our anointing and our unction which IS NO different than the anointing enjoyed by the Master. In Jesus Life the power of the Soul, the Christ Within, had to total control over the body and its personality which became His expression in the world of Truth and Love. It IS this sense of Soul, of the Christ and God Within, that allows us to “know all things” and it IS the realization of this KNOWING that makes this the expression of the man who Truly seeks God.

But ALL is ever reliant upon each man’s ability to “discern what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God“, a sense of discernment that comes in keeping His words. Here we should understand that for the Soul to “know all things” IS the basic reality of Life for ALL men and it IS ONLY when this KNOWING can be increasingly expressed through the personality that True progress IS made and here IS the balance of John’s caution; he says “the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him“. (1 John 2:27).

Can we see the point here? Can we understand that the wranglings of men and their doctrines should NOT obnubilate the Truth that comes from the Soul, from the anointing that “is truth, and is no lie“? And can we see that the measure of Truth IS NOT found in the personality’s own desires but in the Truth of Jesus words? Here again we present the reality of that Truth as expressed by Paul who shows us that it IS in Love that ALL is accomplished and when we see his words through John’s words we can better understand our own need “to awake out of sleep“. Repeating our selection from Paul’s Epistle to the Romans we read:

“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 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
• ⁹ Thayer’s Greek Lexicon on blueletterbible.org
• ^9a The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible on blueletterbible.org