ON LOVE; PART MCCXVII
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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 essy with some additional ideas on the defining words that the Apostle Paul uses to show us the very nature of agape, makrothumeo and chresteuomai. Our point IS to show a relationship between what Paul IS intending in these words and the reality of agape that the Master shows us through His teaching. Jesus defines agape by its expression in this world and, most notably, by the way that He frames Love in His Sermon on the Mount as he shows us that we must express this Love to ALL….to those we may favor and to those we may NOT. These instructions along with the more succinct teachings that show the broader generality of agape as “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” from the Great Commandments and “as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise” (Luke 6:31) which IS the Apostle Luke’s version of the Golden Rule, together show us the great Truth that such expression of Love, of agape, must be with NO “respect to persons” (James 2:9).
We noted as well that Jesus shows us how that the nature of Love that IS to be expressed by men IS in the same manner as that agape that IS expressed by the Godhead. As He tells us to Love ALL men, to “Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise” (Luke 6:27-31), He tells us as well of the Father, that “he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil” (Luke 6:35).
Here we should understand that Jesus’ charge to ALL men IS that they be as God in their relationship to others, in their expression of Love to ALL; that men should emulate the Godhead of which the Apostle Matthew tells us that “he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust“. These words show us the view of God and the intended view of man, a view that IS ONLY possible when one can see himself in everyman and see everyman in himself. What IS this view? It IS makrothumeo and chresteuomai which define both Love as agape and God.
In the literal definition of makrothumeo we should try to see ALL that Jesus teaches us on agape; we should try to see and to understand that in the idea of: to be of a long spirit 9 as Thayer shows us IS much more that the common understanding found in patience or longsuffering. We should understand that this word, this idea of: to be long-spirited 9a, as Strong’s defines makrothumeo, incorporates ALL of the words of the Master from the most simple perspective of allowing the True spiritual sense of everyman to reach out as his expression of Truth and Love. Repeating the apostle’s words again 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).
For us the expression itself IS covered under the idea of chresteuomai which, like the root word chrestos, IS defined in terms goodness although it IS mostly rendered in terms of kindness. The verb chresteuomai IS ONLY used here in this phrase from Paul while the adjective form, chrestos, IS used more generally; we should remember that chrestos IS rendered as easy in Jesus saying that “my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:30). Here Vincent tells us that easy IS: Not a satisfactory rendering. Christ’s yoke is not easy in the ordinary sense of that word. The word means originally, good, serviceable 4.
Perhaps we can gain a better view of the idea of chresteuomai by looking again at the Master’s words which we cite above in regard to makrothumeo. Jesus, speaking of the Father, says “he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil” according to Luke who uses chrestos to show us the Way of the Lord. Again, Matthew chose to show us more specifically what the Lord DOES as that kindness and in his saying that “he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” and we should try to see this kindness as goodness and then even as serviceable according to the Webster’s 1828 Dictionary which ideas ARE NOT far removed from the time of Vincent’s writing .
Webster’s defines serviceable as: That does service; that promotes happiness, interest, advantage or any good; useful; beneficial; advantageous; Active; diligent; officious 1; in the combination of these ideas we should be able to see more than kindness as this IS generally understood; we should be able to see that such service IS one’s expression of agape which IS ever good, ever useful, ever beneficial, etc. If we can see makrothumeo as the nature of agape which IS equally applied to ALL as giving ALL, in thought, in attitude, in action and in substance, according to the Great Commandment and the Golden Rule, we can then see the Truth of Love and the Way of the disciple according to the Master’s criteria. And, if we can see chresteuomai in terms of goodness and the expression of that goodness which IS the underlying reality of makrothumeo, we can then understand the Truth of agape and the Truth of God in relationship to man.
What the Master shows us that God DOES in regard for both the good and the evil IS NO different than what the Master implores us to DO; this IS makrothumeo and our DOING this, our DOING as DOES the Lord, IS chresteuomai. And this IS ever the message of scripture: that men leave off there carnal views of Life and take upon themselves the Life of the Inner man who IS ever One with God. And this IS Paul’s point as well through his prayer for the Ephesians saying in part “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man” (Ephesians 3:16). Can we see the idea here? Can we see that “his Spirit in the inner man” IS in fact the Soul, the Christ and the God within?
We should try to see and to understand that this IS the most basic principle of Life in this world: that men ARE able to overcome the vanity; overcome the illusion and the glamour in which they must perforce live; overcome the nurturing and the indoctrination and experience at Life; ALL by way of being “strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man“. This IS the unction by which “ye know all things” (1 John 2:20) and the same sense of anointing that IS the found in the Life of Jesus whose Life IS an expression of the same unction….”his Spirit in the inner man” of which the Master tells us through His own prayer saying “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us” (John 17:21).
And Jesus DOES tell us, as He shows us through His Life, His example and His teaching, how to overcome; and he tells us what must be overcome saying “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). ALL IS about one’s ability to understand his True nature as a Soul, a spiritual being, living for a time in a body in this world; with this understanding comes the reality of agape. It IS in such understanding of himself that one comes to understand his brother….this IS the foundation of Love. We should remember here that from the beginning, from the stories of Adam and Eve, to Noah, to Abraham and the patriarchs, down to the teachings of the prophets and finally the Master and His apostles, men’s part of every covenant has been that one keep His words. It IS in striving to DO so that one can overcome and for us this reality IS shown us in 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).
It IS in overcoming the things of the world, the thoughts, the attitudes, the actions and the desire for the substance of the world, that one finds the rewards, the grace to be sure, of keeping His words. Overcoming IS the product of DOING so and it IS in overcoming that one finds the Truth that frees one from his “bondage of corruption” (Romans 8:21), places him in “the strait gate” (Luke 13:24) and gives him the Presence of the Lord as the active component of his mind. It IS here in overcoming that one can come to KNOW the “exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4). To escape IS to overcome and we should remember here that this, as well as the grace of the trifecta which IS those “exceeding great and precious promises” come upon everyman by the same measure by which he expresses the Truth of agape, which expression IS tantamount to 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).
In saying then that “agape makrothumeo” which IS rendered as “agape suffereth long” by the King James translators and as “love is patient” by many others, we should try to see that the apostle IS saying ALL these things about Love in a single word: that Love IS the True expression of the Inner man, the Soul which IS the Christ Within and thereby the uction and the anointing by which “ye know all things“. It IS, according to the definition of makrothumeo, the long spirited view of Life in this world….the view of the Soul that, in the expression of agape we have the expression of what the Soul, the unction by which “ye know all things” Truly KNOWS.
Perhaps it IS the doctrinal lack of vision, a lack that IS founded in the accumulated glamour of the Christian churches, that prevents a True view of agape as this IS shown us by Jesus and by His apostles. It IS in men’s vanity that they come to believe their own developed ‘truths’ over the Truth that IS put before them by most ALL world scriptures and it IS in this illusion that they DO NOT see how that the words of the Master ARE the most clearly stated version of that Truth. Mankind IS ever looking for the easier way and perhaps it IS in this that we can find the reason why the Master’s Truth, the Master whom the Christian claims to Love and follow, IS essentially ignored in favor of the carnal thoughts and attitudes of men.
Such carnal attitudes ARE tied to the way that men view themselves; most DO NOT see themselves as spiritual beings despite the words of the Master and His apostles, words that they choose to interpret according to their view of themselves. In such ideas as “as he is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17) which, when compounded with Jesus words saying that “I and my the Father are one” (John 10:30), should give men pause to think differently of themselves, we have the basic failure of doctrines which prefer to speculate on the more obscure ideas. Similarly we can look at our selections on Love from Paul who IS become the de facto Lord in the eyes of far too many Christians who prefer their interpretations of some of his words while ignoring others that ARE more clearly stated as ARE his words on Love.
It IS Love, it IS agape, that IS the message that we must see in the Master’s words and we should be able to see and to understand that most ALL other things that the Master says to us ARE intimately tied to Love. His expression IS Love in ALL of His teachings and in ALL of the recorded examples of His Life and when He implores men to “keep my words” as He DOES in our trifecta, we should be able to clearly see the primary doctrinal failure which allows men to claim to Love the Lord and to Love God while living contrary to His edict. Jesus’ negative approach to this idea should easily convict the masses of men who read His words; clear words to be sure, which He tells us saying “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“.
We should see here another important note that doctrinal thinkers ofttimes forget to recognize: that as “I and my the Father are one” IS a spiritual fact, so IS the Truth of His saying that “the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me“. Can we see the point here? Can we see that there IS NO way to differentiate between the words of the Lord and the word of God; that we CAN NOT separate what ARE the recorded words of God from Jesus’ words? Having said this however we must add a qualifier and this from the perspective of the different messengers of those words. From the days of Adam and Eve to the days of Jesus the messengers speak according to the times, according to the culture and to the level of understanding of the people.
Moses IS credited with writing the Pentateuch which IS the Five Books of of the Old Testament and here we should try to see that he has NO way of KNOWING the reality of the events of the Book of Genesis nor the beginning parts of the Book of Exodus. While we can believe that his writing IS inspired as it most likely IS, we must at the same time understand that, as with ALL biblical writers, his inspiration must perforce flow through his own personality, a personality which IS grounded in the barbarous and superstitious times in which he lives. To this we should add that Moses likely has access to whatever verbal or written tradition that existed in his day, traditions which would become a part of his thinking and be reflected in his personality through which his inspiration flows. These same ideas ARE True for every bible writer in both the New and the Old Testaments and here we should note that there IS one exception….Jesus the Christ.
Jesus speaks as one who KNOWS and it IS by His teaching and His example that we can understand this according to His own words saying that “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:20). Here, if we would measure Jesus’ fruit against the fruit expressed by men who have claimed to be His followers, we could most easily see the stark differences, NOT ONLY in the ability of the man in this world but, most importantly, in his intent. Jesus tells us that “I am among you as he that serveth” (Luke 22:27) and in this idea IS the epitome and the fullness of agape and its defining idea of makrothumeo. If we believe the words of Jesus regarding Himself as a man in this world in whom “dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9) as Paul tells us, then we must as well believe in the importance of the things that He tells us we should DO.
Paramount among these things IS Love. Agape IS the force and the Power that IS God and that IS the God Within and, without some idea of the True nature of man as a spiritual being, as a Soul who IS the God and Christ Within, the whole idea of agape IS missed as it has been from the beginning. It IS because the Truth of Love IS missed by men that His Plan has never been truly seen by the Church that has taken His name and we should try to see here again that the more bound to doctrines one IS, the further from the Truth he can become, and this because the doctrines of men supplant the Truth and cause men to wander aimlessly in their vanity, in their illusion and their glamour by with they have ever put their doctrines first.
This IS the exact opposite of makrothumeo, the thoughts and the attitudes and the actions that spring from the doctrines of men, regardless of how virtuous they may appear to others who see Life the same way, ARE contrary to allowing the spiritual Truth of men, the Soul, that “Christ in you, the hope of glory“, to become the singular expression of the man in this world. This IS however the objective: that the expression of men, the chresteuomai, or the goodness in service which IS the more proper defining idea, flows from the Inner man, from the Soul, and IS that makrothumeo which IS the extension of the Love that IS God through the Life of the man in this world.
It IS in glimpses of this reality of Life, it IS “hosea agape makrothumeo chresteuomai” apart from the doctrinal interpretations, that can bring a man to begin to sense and to see the Truth that IS beyond the doctrinal view and beyond religion as we understand that idea. In these few words there ARE volumes of Truth and yet a single Truth which IS that men should Love, that they should express agape according to ALL that the Master and His apostles show us and teach us. And here we should try to see the greater purpose of scripture against the backdrop of the Apostle John’s most acute observation that “ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things“. If we can understand this unction as the Soul, the Christ Within, which IS the Truth of everyman then we can perhaps see how that scripture IS intended to awaken this KNOWING which IS to have the revelation and realization which comes by measure to the man who strives toward the Truth of God rather than the truths of men.
It IS in this context that we should see the apostle’s other words on this chrisma, this anointing and this unction, as 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 2:20, 27). We should of course relate this to the Master’s own words through which we understand that this chrisma, this anointing and this unction, IS the reality of the Holy Spirit in the Life of everyman; Jesus tells us that “the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26). If we can strip away the doctrinal ideas from Jesus words here….
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
- 9a The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible on blueletterbible.org
- 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
