ON LOVE; PART MCCXIII
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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 modern day version of the Pharisee, the scribe, the Sadducee, the lawyer, and the priest. Jesus speaks harshly to most ALL of these religious leaders and He DOES SO because they DO teach the Truth of the scriptures nor DO they express that Truth in their lives. From the perspective of sin, these leaders ARE as guilty as ARE the publicans and the harlots that they despised and here we should try to see and to understand that these words ARE NOT ONLY representative of the extortioner and the whore, they ARE intended to represent ALL men whose focus IS NOT upon the things of God. The Apostle James shows us this Truth as he teaches us about the deeper ideas of Love, of agape; the apostle tells us:
“If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty” (James 2:8-12).
James IS here showing us that by men’s misplaced sense of Love there IS sin that IS equal to ALL other sin and the KEY point here IS James’ saying that “whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all“. In the reality of sin this idea IS True and here we should be able to see that the publican who puts his Life’s focus into his own selfish ambitions IS NO worse off than the Pharisee, the scribe, the Sadducee, the lawyer, and the priest of whom the Master says such things as “woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in” (Matthew 23:13).
In Jesus long list of woes expressed to the scribes and the Pharisees we should be able to see that these ARE NOT in a better spiritual position than the common people whose focus IS also misplaced, and we should be able to grasp the Master’s intent by His telling them that “Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you” (Matthew 21:31). Of course neither the Pharisee, the scribe, the Sadducee, the lawyer, nor the priest agree with Jesus’ words as they continue to believe that they ARE DOING “the will of my Father which is in heaven“. And this idea of sin reaches out well beyond the scribes and the Pharisees as we read in the words that lead up to this last saying.
In its fullness, Jesus IS addressing those who DO call Him Lord, those who DO see somewhat beyond their own doctrines in those days. The Master says to these that ” 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. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21-23). Can we see the relationship here between these words from the Master and the Apostle Paul’s words on the worthlessness of such “spiritual gifts” when they ARE NOT wielded by the man whose expression IS Love? It IS these words from the Master and His apostles that should get the attention yet today of the modern day Pharisee, scribe, Sadducee, lawyer, and priest.
In the end ALL comes down to our expression of agape; NOT as the common understanding of Love but as that aura of GoodWill that goes out to everyman equally….with NO “respect to persons” (James 2:9). While James equates ALL sin as sin without a sense of degree, this IS specifically from a spiritual perspective where one’s focus IS either upon the Lord and the things of God or else they ARE ON the things of the man in this world. Here IS the reality of Jesus’ words saying that “Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24)….it CAN NOT be DONE, which idea we read in James’ words as “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8).
But who IS there that recognizes this Truth? Who IS there that teaches this while showing the need to strive toward the greater goal. Who IS there that DOES NOT judge his brother while at the same time being equally guilty of sin. And these ideas ARE especially targeted toward the modern day Pharisee, the scribe, the Sadducee, the lawyer, and the priest as it IS these that have taken spiritual authority over the people that they should serve. In the reality of sin IS the reality of ALL things, ALL thoughts, ALL attitudes and ALL actions that ARE contrary to His words. This IS the Truth of the Master’s words above saying “Ye cannot serve God and mammon” and James confirming words that tell us clearly that “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways“; that this man who “is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed” (James 1:6).
This IS everyman and as the church tells men to believe that they CAN NOT keep His words, that they must rely upon that salvation that comes according to their several doctrines, we should be able to see Jesus’ condemnation, for lack of a better word, saying “ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in“. There IS a road to “the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21) and there IS a singular entrance, an entrance which Jesus frames for us saying “strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:14).
The Apostle Luke gives us Jesus’ words differently saying to men that they should “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). Here is the totality of the work of men in this world, a work that IS obnubilated by the ramblings of doctrines that DO NOT instruct us to strive, to progress in steps along the ONLY Path to “the glorious liberty of the children of God“. The Path IS through keeping His words but we must ever understand that until such time as we ARE able to DO so in this world, a man will live by James’ words saying that to “offend in one point, he is guilty of all“. When this IS a man’s understanding of the Truth of Life and the nature of sin, he can then instruct his brother in that Truth and together strive toward his One True goal.
James and the Master put the idea of sin into a perspective that shows ALL to be equal and Truly they ARE from a spiritual perspective. Socially and morally however this IS NOT so; socially and morally there ARE degrees of sin and degrees of punishment for those sins. But we should ever remember that spiritually the True man, the Soul, IS NOT the actor in the world until such time as he has overcome through his striving. The “natural man“, the man whose Life IS NOT governed by the Soul and the inner promptings, IS the actor in this world; his thoughts, his attitudes and his actions ARE the product of the vanity, the illusion and the glamour, and the measure of nurturing and indoctrination that he may have endured.
And here IS yet another part of the bane of doctrines which teach men that they ARE NO longer the “natural man” based in their doctrinal affirmations and confessions, their baptism, or whatsoever else engenders their idea of salvation. But ALL ARE the “natural man“, so long as one has NOT overcome. Here we should try to see the idea of measure, that in Truly striving one DOES develop a measure of Truth which sets him above others spiritually and DOES so according to Paul’s words on Love, words which tell us what agape IS and what it IS NOT. We read the apostle’s words again saying:
“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).
Paul shows us the reality of the “natural man” quite clearly but his point IS lost in the doctrinal ideas of salvation, the doctrinal idea that one IS ‘saved‘ according to whatsoever doctrinal precept one may hold as True. Paul tells us that “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14) and here we should see that the reality of keeping His words and the reality that this IS accomplished in agape ARE become “foolishness unto him” because these ideas ARE contrary his doctrine. And so again our point: much of the Truth of the New Testament IS lost to the people because those who have taken authority DO NOT teach such ideas as that ALL IS of NO value without Love, that “agape is the fulfilling of the law” and that the Way to the Promises of the New Covenant IS found in such ideas as our trifecta which we repeat here 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).
These ideas ARE the crux of the New Testament and the Way of Truth but these ideas ARE closeted by many in the church and have been for 2000 years. It IS their doctrines that men hold dear; it IS their doctrines that they debate while the Truth of His words languishes for ALL who have not the audacity to read and understand according to the True prompting of one’s own Soul. And so the message of the Master goes unseen as it IS understood and interpreted to be ONLY against the Pharisee and the scribe; in this men’s vision goes NO further that their doctrines permit. While doctrinal thinkers should be able to see themselves in Jesus’ words, in such ideas as “woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in“, they DO NOT. Few there ARE that seek the Truth.
It IS our ideas however that become heresy and that ARE likely seen by some as blasphemy; but the Truth of His words IS written for us in quite clear terms regarding the thoughts, the attitudes and the actions of men in this world. In the trifecta we have the Truth of keeping His words and the reality that this IS the Way to KNOWING the Truth, to having access to the Kingdom of God and to Truly KNOWING the Presence of God in one’s Life. It IS clearly stated that “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me” and that the result of such action in the Life of a man IS that “my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him“. Despite this clarity many millions of men believe that they have such Presence, that they have the Holy Spirit, while at the same time NOT expressing agape according to the way that Paul defines this for us. And we should remember here that such expressions of Love, of agape, ARE the same as keeping His words as Paul tells us saying:
Owe no man any thing, but agapao one another: for he that agapao 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 agape thy neighbour as thyself. Agape worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore agape 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).
Yet another doctrinal problem lies in the way that many of the Greek words ARE rendered into other languages and while we can ONLY speak for English, we DO presume that this problem afflicts ALL languages as there IS little discourse regarding variations in meaning. As we have said in previous essays, the New Testament ideas that ARE rendered from the Greek into English DO NOT always reflect the meaning that IS intended and much of the reason here IS found in the way that many words ARE rendered according to preformed doctrinal ideas….they ARE ofttimes rendered to fit the desired outcome. The renderings ARE ofttimes extensions of the more literal meanings and, again, while we ARE NOT Greek scholars, we DO rely upon the ideas of those who ARE and our view IS most often taken from the writings of such scholars sans any doctrinal ideas.
Add to this the way that many of the New Testament ideas have been set to doctrinal meanings that ARE nebulous and misleading, and we come to a clearer picture of religion today. While our targeted words are generally pistis and pisteuo which ARE rendered as faith and believing, our list still grows as we research and consider what we ARE writing in our essays. The failure of these ideas on faith and believing as well as charis which should always be rendered as grace, pales however when we look at the misuse and misunderstandings regarding agape and this because it IS agape that IS the spiritual force of Truth.
So long as agape IS understood in terms of human Love the whole idea of this Truth will remain undiscovered and this IS the point of our current study on the words of the Apostle Paul which show us the importance of agape as a spiritual force and then help us to rightly define it. We have discussed several of the Greek words used by the apostle and have repeatedly gone back over our ideas from different perspectives; we should try to see that as we DO so new ideas on the meanings of these words and interpretations of those meanings come to light. Much of this IS of course our own interpretation based upon our own view of the Truth and the considered intent of the writers.
We should note too that as we apply our understanding of Paul’s words on agape, we come closer to the rather clear meaning that the Master provides in His many words on Love. And this IS the point: to understand agape in such a way that we can also understand what it means to “love thy neighbour as thyself“. In so DOING we can then see the deeper Truth in the Golden Rule and KNOW what it means to ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you’ as this idea IS understood in even the secular world. Jesus tells us that the Great Commandments “hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:40) and He tells us this same thing regarding the Golden Rule saying “this is the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:12).
Looking at these ideas along with Paul’s words on the importance of Love over ALL ‘spiritual gifts‘ that may be deemed important by men, we should get the clear message that agape IS the singular Way out of “the bondage of corruption” in which men ARE trapped. Doctrinal thinkers however seem to refuse to see the clarity with which agape IS presented to us by the Master and His apostles as they prefer to cling to their doctrinal approach and in this they fail to see how that the reality of Jesus’ words saying that “in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7) IS intended for them as it was for the Jews.
So what DOES it mean to the doctrinal Christian who ties his New Testament to the Old as it relates to the promises yet fails to see the reality of the quid pro quo that IS in place in order to receive such promises. Many cite the ‘law‘ and the ‘prophets‘ but fail to understand what it means in Jesus’ saying that on these “hang all the law and the prophets” which IS to say that it IS on the Truth of agape that these hang…..on the Great Commandments and on the Golden Rule. The lexicon tells us that the Great Commandments ARE the summation 9 of ALL that IS offered by the ‘law‘ and by the ‘prophets‘ and if Jesus tells us this, how can men ignore this Truth in favor of their out of context ideas upon which built their doctrinal view.
Similarly we should see the way that Jesus projects the importance of the great Truth that He frames for us saying “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12). Here, in regard to this singular idea, he tells us that “this is the law and the prophets” which IS rendered by many as to say that “this is the meaning of the Law of Moses and of the teachings of the prophets” and by others in terms that tell us that this Golden Rule IS the summation of them. Again, in the clarity of these ideas we see, as clearly, the failure of the doctrines of men which look past the Great Truths of His words to deceive themselves whilst they condemn their brothers who DO NOT see things as they DO.
Such failures ARE the result of a lack of vision and, moreso, a lack of desire to seek the Truth. Men have so ensconced themselves into their various doctrinal views that they ARE become more concerned about their own superior position among such variations than they ARE about the ultimate Truth which IS, as the Master so clearly shows us, agape. Rightly understood agape DOES change the world….it changes the view of everyman towards his brother and his neighbor and this IS what the Master and His apostles ARE trying to show men through their words.
Aside from some of the more cryptic ideas presented by the Master and His apostles, most ALL of their sayings and writings can be interpreted in terms of the expression of Love, of agape, by a man. Their words ARE a picture of the thoughts and the attitudes and actions of everyman toward his neighbor and his brother; thoughts and attitudes that encompass the ideas presented by Paul through our selection from his First Epistle to the Corinthians; thoughts and attitudes by which men look away from the self and see ALL men as they see themselves. Of course this ONLY works if one can Truly see himself as a spiritual being….as a Soul like ALL Souls.
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
- 9 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon 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
