ON LOVE; PART MCLXXIII
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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).
As we continue with our thoughts on the words of the Apostle John in the second chapter of his first epistle, we come back to the idea of denying. As we discussed as few posts back, this Greek word arneomai IS largely misunderstood from a doctrinal perspective which sees the apostle’s idea as referring to Jesus person rather than His teaching. The general meaning doctrinally applied to the Greek word arneomai which IS rendered as denieth IS found in some translations as “he who says that Jesus is not the Christ“. The greater idea here IS NOT that the antichristos IS the man “who says that Jesus is not the Christ” but rather it IS the man who speaks contrary to the clear and simple words that He gave men and about which He says “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).
This IS NOT the only place where we read about His commandments which ARE His teaching and His word. Among many places we find this idea in our trifecta and we find it in His words that so many see as their Great Commission where we read that the True follower of the Christ should be “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20). And this IS John’s teaching on the antichristos: he IS those who ARE NOT “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you“. Can we understand the simplicity of this idea and see how that this has been lost in the doctrinal wranglings of men over the centuries.
If we can see the idea of antichristos as one who contradicts the words of the Master and the Truth of the clarifying and amplifying words of His apostles, we can then see the deeper meaning of antichristos….that this IS NOT intended to be melded by the doctrines of men into a singular personality based in superstitions and their views of eschatology. This IS however what has happened and in this the doctrinal minds of men ARE freed from their own responsibility as the True antichristos. This may seem an overly harsh assessment but in the view that the antichristos and the pseudochristos ARE but men whose view of Truth IS bound to their established doctrines, we can better understand John’s words saying “even now are there many antichrists“.
And we should here try to see the irony that, from a doctrinal perspective, would call us antichristos based in our own meaning of the word when all the while it IS men and their doctrines that have ever held views that ARE overwhelmingly more carnal than spiritual and which ARE contrary to the most clearly spoken words of the Master. This view of Truth IS NOT accepted by the doctrinal thinker whose very doctrinal ideas obnubilate Jesus spoken Truths and while men can argue the interpretations of the mysteries, the nature of Life and of Spirit, they CAN NOT argue with the clarity of His words….His view of the Great Commandments and the simple Truths of our trifecta which we repeat again saying:
- “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).
Despite the clarity here that it IS the man who keeps His words that IS His disciple many millions believe that they ARE disciples based in their adherence to their various doctrines or based in their doctrinal idea of being “born again“. This IS NOT what the Master says and when we add the idea of forsaking ALL as He tells us saying “whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33), we can see how few disciples he Truly has.
Similarly, despite the clarity of the Way to “enter into the kingdom of heaven“, that this Way IS found ONLY by “he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven“, many millions believe that they ARE ‘going to heaven’ upon their death here in this Earth. Much of this archaic and superstitious idea IS based in the teachings of the Old Testament doctrinal approach to God that ARE stapled if you will to New Testament words that NEVER really say that this IS so and which ARE again bound to the doctrinal idea of being “born again“. While so many of Jesus’ words show the Kingdom of God, which the Apostle Matthew prefers to call the Kingdom of Heaven, in terms of here and now, doctrines still see this as a place to go at some time after death. Most ALL ignore or manipulate the Master’s words saying “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21).
Finally, despite the clear words regarding both Love for God and having His Presence, that these ARE the privilege of the man “that hath my commandments, and keepeth them“, many millions claim such Love and many millions claim His Presence. Entire segments of doctrine ARE devoted to hearing and listening to God who speaks to the believer, speaks to the man who IS “born again” with NO way of Truly understanding that what one may hear IS the voice of God. Most fail to see that this hearing IS dependent upon His Presence and that His Presence IS dependent upon keeping His words; Jesus says “If a man love me, he will keep my words” and it IS to this man He says “I will love him, and will manifest myself to him“.
If we can see the Greek word emphanizo, which IS rendered as manifest, as: make known 9, 2 which IS a part of the defining ideas given by Thayer, we can then understand our view of revelation and realization. We could see also that the man who keeps His words both Loves Him and has a True realization of His Presence and thereby a clear channel to the promptings of the Soul….the Christ Within. Without this, what IS it that the many millions hear when they presume to hear from God? It is most often the desires of the personality which may or may NOT be based in some interpretation of the constant prompting by the Soul to the Good, the Beautiful and the True. A simple rule here IS that if whatsoever one believes IS from God deals with the carnal Life of the personality in this world, it IS most likely NOT from God. A better understanding of this IS found in the deeper meanings of the words from the Apostle James saying “the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy” (James 3:17).
When the thoughts that come to a man ARE clothed in James words, especially in the deeper meanings of these Greek words rather than the doctrinal interpretations, one can be relatively sure of their source and we should understand here that it IS the renewed mind of the Transforming man that can Truly have such thoughts. The Apostle Paul tells us to “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). Here we should see that the renewing mind IS the mind of John’s “young men“, to a lesser degree his “little children” and to a greater degree John’s example of fathers.
In Paul’s words we have the reality of focus; if one’s focus continues on the self and the self in this world, the mind IS yet conformed. However, when one’s focus changes through Repentance onto the the things of God then the man IS being Transformed and his mind IS being renewed. We should try to see how that the mind will reflect either and likely without any independent choice, that IS that the conformed mind believes that this IS his right condition because of the illusion and the glamour, the vanity, while the renewing mind IS seeing past those illusions that have heretofore controlled the Life. We should try to see here that as we refer to the mind, we refer as well to the totality of the personality which includes the mind, the emotions and the results of one’s nurturing and indoctrination and experience.
It IS these that influence the heart and while it IS difficult to separate these ideas in words, there IS a greater reality to the idea of heart as the Master teaches us; heart IS the final totality of ALL components of Life. Heart IS the very consciousness of the man which IS the Life given to the form by the Soul; consciousness IS that which IS “made subject to vanity” and which must find its way out of “the bondage of corruption” (Romans 8:20, 21) through the use of the personality which, again, has been made subject to its own corruption through the results of one’s nurturing and indoctrination and experience.
This seems much to overcome and in many ways it IS, but we should try to understand that the idea of overcoming IS a sort of misnomer. In the New Testament this Greek word nikao IS seen as conquering and as victory over one’s foe(s) which, in the minds of many, IS His overcoming the evil forces….Satan and the devil. If we can look at nikao according to Strong’s definition of: to subdue (literally or figuratively)9a, we could perhaps see the clearer picture of what must be DONE. Jesus tells us that “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33) and if we can see the idea of subduing here and understand this as to subdue the carnal nature, most ALL else falls neatly in line.
The personality IS a man’s outward expression and, as we have discussed, we should see this as that unique combination of the body with its endocrine connection to the mind and the emotions plus the sumtotal of one’s nurturing and indoctrination; these ARE of course ever influenced by one’s experience. It IS this that must be overcome or, better, subdued; it IS the personality that must be changed to express the True nature of the man which IS the Soul, the Christ and God Within. This nature of Love and Truth and the expression of this nature IS dependent upon the focus of one’s Life and this IS what the Master teaches us, and this IS what His apostles clarify and amplify for us.
And it IS this focus that changes in the reality of Repentance as this IS presented by Jesus. The personality IS a man’s unique vehicle of expression to the world and the consciousness IS one’s sense of Love and Truth that IS buried in that personality through the promptings of one’s own Soul and, if we can see the heart that Jesus speaks of as the combination of these two at any given time, we can then see the roles of these components of Life in this world. Here again we should try to see John’s words as he writes to and defines the “little children“, the “young men” and the fathers; we should try to see here that each of these groups has accomplished some measure of overcoming….of subduing, the carnal nature. Repeating the apostle’s words we read:
“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 try to see that John NOT ONLY defines these groups but also offers them both encouragement and cautions; encouragement by showing them the value and the potency of the unction, the anointing, as he cautions against the ways of the world and the words of others who DO NOT rely upon the Love and the Truth that stream from that anointing. And these cautions ARE intimately related; the antichristos IS NOT ONLY teaching ‘religiously’ that which contradicts the Master’s words but he IS also teaching those thoughts and ideas that keep men bound to the world….that keep him in his “bondage of corruption“. In this we should see that most ALL nurturing and indoctrination ARE DONE by the hand of the antichristos which, in this light, can be seen as ALL whose focus IS NOT on the things of God.
And in this we should see the role of vanity, the role of the illusion and glamour which keep men blinded to the Truth which IS ever lurking within as the unction….the anointing that IS the Christ Within. In this idea of lurking we should understand that the Soul, the Christ Within, IS NOT hidden per se but IS unperceived and even unsuspected because of the role of the antichristos which contradicts the True words of the Master and the amplifying and the clarifying words of His apostles. Can we see John’s point here as he writes to men who have some measure of the necessary Light by which to discern his words which he continues saying:
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. And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life. These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But 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. And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him (1 John 2:24-29).
The idea of the first part of John’s saying here IS, of course, in regard to His word and the apostle’s comments to the “young men” saying “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“. The Greek word meno appears four times in this first sentence and IS rendered as let, abide, remain and continue by the King James translators. In the interlinear the word appears three times and there ARE many variations to the way that this in rendered; in ALL however the primary point is meno. The admonition IS to let the word abide in you and the apostle here IS showing the difference between “that which ye have heard from the beginning” and the words of any who ARE antichristos.
Here we should see that “that which ye have heard from the beginning” IS NOT one’s nurturing and indoctrination; nor IS this the words that the Master spoke and that the apostles confirmed. The “that which ye have heard from the beginning” IS the Truth of “the anointing which ye have received of him“. The idea of meno IS most clearly seen in the idea of to remain and to stay 9, 2 as the lexicons define this word. We should see then that “the word of God” remains and stays in the Life of the “young men” and John IS showing ALL who have gained some measure of this focus to let the word “remain in you” and that in so DOING that man will remain and stay “in the Son, and in the Father“.
While this may seem the opposite of Jesus’ words in our trifecta: to the man who “will keep my words” the Master says “my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him“, the reality IS that these ARE complementary ideas viewed from different perspectives. Here we should see that the word rendered as abode IS from the Greek word mone which IS the noun form of meno; mone IS defined by Strong’s as: a staying 9a. Interwound in these ideas IS the reality of God Immanent and the greater Truth of that nature of God of which ALL ARE ever part and parcel.
John IS showing us the deeper Truths of Life for the man who can Repent and become his “little children” as he shows us the progression of Life from this stage to that of the “young men” and then to the attitude of the fathers. This IS everyman’s journey from Repentance to Transformation and to Redemption according to the True meaning of these ideas which ARE KNOWN by the Soul, the unction and the anointing, but are obscured by the vanity, the illusion and the glamour that IS Life in this world. John shows us as well the ultimate reality which IS the realization of the Truth according to the trifecta; he tells us that the “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” Again we close with Paul’s words on the Way to stay in His word and to stay “in the Son, and in the Father“….these ARE Paul’s words on our expression of Love.
“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
- 9 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon on blueletterbible.org
- 9a The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible on blueletterbible.org
