ON LOVE; PART MCXCIX
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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 continued our discussion of the words of the Apostle Paul that show us the nature of agape which IS rendered as both Love and as charity by the various translators of his First Epistle to the Corinthians. As we have noted, neither of these renderings of agape DO show us the Truth of what this word IS intended to convey and this IS especially True of Love as the common understanding IS ever tied to that mental and emotional attraction and attachment to specific others and to the things of this world.
Perhaps it IS for this reason that the King James translators chose to use charity to render agape and while this word’s defining ideas in that time DID more closely mirror the ideas of agape as we show at the top of our essays, this IS NO longer True; today charity IS seen by most as helping those in need. In our look at Paul’s words we have been leaving the Greek idea of agape rather than Love or charity but we should note that even the lexicons DO NOT properly show us just what this most complex word Truly means. Strong’s defines agapao, the verb form of agape, as: to love (in a social or moral sense) 9a, while Thayer’s tells us that agapao IS: to love, to be full of good-will and exhibit the same; to have a preference for, wish well to, regard the welfare of; to welcome with desire, long for 9; with references for each idea spresumed New Testament usage.
None of these ideas however capture the spiritual element that must be attached to agape and the common theological refrain that agape IS the ‘God kind of Love’ DOES little to show us the strength that this idea of agape should have. In fact, some of the lexicon’s ideas regarding agape DO seem contrary to the reality of the word as this IS painted for us in scripture. Paul’s words, which have been our selections and which define Love, paint for us a very different picture of the Truth that this word should provide and here again we repeat his words from 1 Corinthians that tell us of both the importance of this ideal and then defines it for us in the terms that we ARE now discussing; we read:
“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not agape, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not agape, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not agape, it profiteth me nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
“Agape suffereth long, and is kind; agape envieth not; agape vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Agape never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).
Again, Paul IS showing us that without one’s expression of agape as this IS intended to be understood according to the Great Commandments, ALL else that IS presumed to be spiritual in one’s Life, “spiritual gifts” (1 Corinthians 12:1) as Paul calls these, ARE for naught. And if we can see the idea that without True agape one’s presumed spiritual voice IS but a “sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal” and that without agape there IS NO spiritual profit….there ARE NO “spiritual gifts“, we can then understand the dynamic of Paul’s saying that without agape “I am nothing” in its True spiritual perspective. While this should be clear, there ARE millions who profess to have such “spiritual gifts” and who, at the same time, DO NOT express that sense of Love that IS agape and many DO NOT even understand what agape IS.
The Truth of agape IS absent in most ALL spiritual instruction, it IS absent from most ALL doctrinal presentations of the Master’s Truth as IS the reality of keeping His words. Much IS lost in the doctrinal theories of salvation and atonement by which many believe that they have NO need to follow the Truth, ideas that are enhanced by the doctrinal teaching of the impossibility of keeping His words as men in this world. Such ideas ARE NOT Truth; they ARE gleaned from out of context and specifically chosen words and ideas that come from the writings of the apostles and from the seemingly arbitrary way that men have applied their own sense of doctrine to too many of the KEY Greek words and have translated them accordingly.
And for too long doctrinal authorities have gone away from the clarity of such ideas as the Master presents to us as well as the clarity of the teachings of His apostles and have spent their time and their energy teaching on those things that ARE unclear while treating many as they ARE literal Truths. In obscure ideas like that “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3) and that He IS “the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2), grows the Christian idea of atonement which for some stretches to ALL people and for ALL time. It IS True that “Christ died for our sins” but there IS a simplicity to this idea that IS stretched into doctrines as atonement for “the sins of the whole world“.
This idea, while a foundational idea of Christianity as we KNOW it, IS NOT a foundational teaching of the Christ Himself who shows us that the True Christian must stand, be steadfast, against the proclivities of men who will kill another because they CAN NOT accept a greater Truth than they had believed. Too much emphasis IS laid upon the Jewish ideas of atonement which ARE allowed to show a Jewish reality to the idea of “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). And while these ideas may have been important to the Jew, they should be meaningless to the Christian who, based in the teaching and the words of the Master, should have heeded His ‘condemnation’ of the ways of the Jews rather than incorporating so much into their own doctrinal approach. Here, as elsewhere, the obscure ideas ARE understood in a literal sense while words such as those of our trifecta ARE NOT. Repeating our trifecta 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).
While these words ARE understood in their context, they ARE relegated to lesser roles based in the doctrinal idea of the impossibility of men accomplishing anything as men which idea IS spawned with and through the doctrinal ideas of atonement and salvation. And it IS in this doctrinal abyss that the reality of Love, of agape, IS also lost, a reality that IS ever intended to as the sole way to overcome the vanity, the illusion and the glamour, and to Truly follow in the Way of the Lord whose very nature IS agape. The Apostle John tells us that “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16) and while this idea can be cited by many, it IS understood by ONLY the very few who see agape as this Truly IS and understand that it IS agape that IS the great KEY to the salvation that IS found in keeping His words. We read Paul’s words that equalize these ideas 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).
And while doctrines teach such things as one CAN NOT achieve heaven apart from their doctrinal approach, they base this in their own interpretation of the words of the same apostle who tells us here that keeping His word IS accomplished in Love, in agape….in the ageless idea that men should “love thy neighbour as thyself“. But men have ever failed to grasp the ultimate importance of this despite the apostle’s words above and his like words as he tells us about the “fruit of the Spirt” and the “works of the flesh” (Galatians 5:22, 20) and says “all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Galatians 5:14). These ideas ARE rather clearly stated yet they ARE NOT understood as the Way par excellence; a Way that CAN NOT be substituted for with the doctrinal ideas of salvation and atonement; as the apostle says, if I “have not agape, I am nothing“.
While some doctrinal teachers DO teach that even when one IS ‘saved‘ according to the doctrinal precepts, that one must yet keep His words in order to attain grace and blessings here in this Earth, they DO yet miss the point. First that such salvation IS but a doctrinal precept and has NO foundation in Truth save for the out of context ideas from Paul upon which such salvation IS based. And much of the problem here IS found in the diluted way that spiritual terms ARE understood….namely pistis rendered as faith, pisteuo rendered in terms of believing, agape rendered as Love and as charity, and charis rendered as grace. These ideas must be seen in a spiritual context and NOT a carnal one.
These words ARE also rendered in additional terms; for example charis IS rendered as thank(s) and as favor while pisteuo IS also seen in terms of commitment and pistis IS as assurance in in terms of believing. These ideas ARE ONLY according to the King James Bible, there ARE many other various renderings in other bible versions and the point here IS that the translators and the translation teams DO, consciously and subconsciously, bring their own doctrinal beliefs into their work. It IS when we can understand the intent of such words from the Master and His apostles that we can begin to see the doctrinal failure; pistis and pisteuo must be understood in terms of KNOWING from a spiritual foundation, from one’s revelations and realizations of Truth.
It IS this KNOWING “as a grain of mustard seed” that gives one the Power to “say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you” (Matthew 17:20). And it IS this KNOWING of the Truth that Jesus shows us saying that “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father” (John 14:12). Again we should see the depth Vincent’s realization of this idea of believing on Him as he tells us that to DO so IS to: to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life 4.
This IS to keep His words and if we can see the idea here as “He that believeth on KNOWETH me” we can then have a clearer vision of who it IS that can have such Power through the words of the Apostle John who tells us that “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. (1 John 4:7-8). Here we must connect the dots and understand that it IS through agape that we DO keep His words and it IS through keeping His words that we come to KNOW the Truth as we read in our trifecta.
We can say the same for the idea of charis which IS ever grace and while it IS True that it IS free, it must still be earned as Jesus shows us saying “if ye love them which love you, what thank charis have ye?” (Luke 6:32). The idea of thank here IS poorly translated from charis and this perhaps to maintain the doctrinal view that grace IS free; out of the 38 bible translations in our library, ONLY three render charis here as grace. The point that charis IS earned however DOES NOT elude us entirely; Jesus’ words from Matthew’s version of this uses the word misthos which IS rendered as reward in Jesus saying that “if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye?” (Matthew 5:46). The defining ideas for this word misthos ARE: dues paid for work; wages, hire 9 according to Thayer’s and: pay for service 9a in Strong’s.
In these words from the Master the reward or the wages that ARE grace come to the man who will Love, the man whose expression IS agape and we should see that the implication here IS to Love ALL and NOT ONLY those with whom one has a relationship of some kind. This brings us to the most acute doctrinal failure; the failure to understand the Truth of agape according to the way that Jesus uses this idea of Love. Simply, agape IS unconditional Love for ALL men and NOT as Love IS commonly understood. Agape IS Love as we have been discussing from Paul’s defining qualities of agape which IS NOT to be confused with the clever and quaint way that his words ARE often portrayed.
Love IS patient and Love IS kind IS a clever and quaint carnal view of the common understanding of Love and even this view IS hardly recognizable in the interactions of men. The reality of agape which IS rendered in our selection above as “Agape suffereth long, and is kind” DOES NOT show a better idea of what this Love IS but from the Greek words used, we can begin to see clearer. Here we have makrothumia and chresteuomai which we looked at through its root word chrestos; the intended ideas behind each of these words IS far more that the simplicity of patience and kindness and each goes to the reality of what agape Truly IS and NOT the common idea of Love.
While patience and kindness ARE admirable qualities of the common view of Love, these ARE NOT Paul’s intent in defining agape. Because agape IS universal in its scope through the idea that men should “love thy neighbour as thyself” as well as Jesus words above regarding the earned grace found in such Love, the defining ideas must perforce be much more. How DOES one Love universally as agape IS the central question to be addressed and the answer IS in the deeper ideas of the Greek words makrothumia and chresteuomai.
As we have been discussing, the fundamental idea of makrothumia as longsuffering and the lesser idea of patience ARE but the carnal response to the deeper idea of having these qualities based in one’s ability to see ALL men in an equal Light; and here we should understand this equal Light in the fact that ALL ARE Souls living for a time in this world as men. We can see this as understanding everyman as our brother and understanding as well that his time here IS much the same as ours and that it IS his unique proclivities, his nurturing, his indoctrination and his experience that set him apart and this ONLY in a carnal sense.
The idea of longsuffering fails when this is seen in modern vernacular as: enduring injury, trouble, or provocation long and patiently 7 and this IS NOT the apostle’s’ intent. His intent IS the same as the Apostle Peter’s who tells us about the Lord saying “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Can we see the point here? Can we see that this longsuffering or this makrothumeo IS NOT God enduring injury, trouble, or provocation long and patiently but that this IS based in His knowledge of man which the Master shows us saying that “God knoweth your hearts” (Luke 16:15).
Webster’s 1828 dictionary combines these two ideas implying that God IS Bearing injuries or provocation for a long time; patient; not easily provoked 1 as their example IS “The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness” (Exodus 34:6). Our point here IS that the Godhead IS NOT Bearing injuries or provocation despite the way that the Lord IS presented by Moses as a sometimes angry and jealous God and despite the reality that this word long-suffering IS provided by men to render the Hebrew words ‘arek ‘aph which idea IS defined as slow to anger 9.
This painting of God, of the Godhead, IS NOT in accord with the idea that God IS Love nor with the reality of God that comes through Jesus words; this painting of God, and there ARE paintings that reflect this idea of anger, IS a product of Moses approach as the way to teach the barbarous and superstitious Jews in his day. This Hebrew idea then must be separated from our understanding of God and, in its place, we should see the idea of God that reflects the reality that “God is love“; this IS a picture of our God who IS “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance“, our God who both KNOWS and understands the vanity which IS the “bondage of corruption” of everyman.
We should see then that God IS agape and agape IS makrothumia and in this combination of ideas we have a God who sees ALL men as they Truly ARE, as spiritual beings living for a time in this corruption, this illusion and glamour, a God who sees men through the reality that “there is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:11). It IS this same vision that we ARE meant to express as men: that we should see ALL men as they Truly ARE, as spiritual beings living for a time in this corruption and that we too should have NO “respect to persons” (James 2:9).
So we ARE to express agape and in so DOING show that understanding of the nature of men, that everyman IS a Soul living for a time in this illusion and glamour and here we should try to see that if we ARE expressing agape, that we must perforce be expressing it in this way of makrothumia. And it IS this idea of expression that we should take from the next defining word chresteuomai and its root word chrestos. Chresteuomai IS defined by Strong’s as: to show oneself useful and they interpret this into: act benevolently . In the last essay we saw that chrestos IS defined by Strong’s as: employed, i.e. (by implication) useful (in manner or morals):—better, easy, good(-ness), gracious, kind and we ourselves implied that this idea, that this expression of chrestos, IS what the Soul has employed the man in the world to DO.
In our earlier essays on the “fruit of the spirit” we say that chrestos IS the actual expression of Love and we should be able to understand that in a deeper way here as it IS used as a defining quality of agape. If we can see both of these ideas, makrothumia and chresteuomai, as the expression of a man in this world, an expression that IS the result of the flow of Truth into the minds of men who ARE acting under the guidance of the Soul, then we will be able to understand where Paul IS directing us to go as he writes “to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints” (1 Corinthians 1:2). We end here saying that NONE ARE sanctified and that NONE ARE saints save those who DO keep His words and who Love and then, by measure, those who strive to DO so.
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
- 1 Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1828 and 1913 from https://1828.mshaffer.com/
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition
- 7 Dictionary.com Unabridged based on Random House Dictionary – 2011
- 9 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon on blueletterbible.org
- 9a The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible on blueletterbible.org
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
