ON LOVE; PART MCCXXIV
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ
GoodWill IS Love in Action
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ
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).
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ
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
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ
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 what IS called in much of Christianity the Great Commission which IS Jesus’ words saying to His apostles that they should “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). While there ARE many problems with the way that these words ARE interpreted, our attention was on the end part, the part of the teaching which, for us, is perhaps the most misunderstood and misused. Jesus’ words here ARE specific and ARE NOT really subject to interpretation; yet for 2000 years the doctrinally oriented church has taught ideas that ARE contrary to His admonition to teach “them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you“.
This IS a rather straightforward idea and while the rendering ethnos as nations, the misunderstanding the reality of baptism, and NOT grasping the depth that IS founded in the idea of eis which IS rendered as in but literally means into can be subject to interpretation, the idea of teaching CAN NOT. Only the doctrines of men ARE taught by the churches and by those schools that train the teachers, schools which ARE divided by denomination and sect with each learning ONLY what each division believes. In ALL this we have a situation where it IS NOT the commandments of the Lord that ARE taught to the people but rather it IS the several interpretations of the words of His apostles that ARE taught and perhaps here we can see the most basic doctrinal failure IS in NOT teaching the True meaning of Love….the Truth of agape.
This meaning IS interwoven with the words of the Master and this meaning IS essential to KNOWING just what it IS that IS included in the idea of “whatsoever I have commanded you“. What then IS included in this idea of whatsoever? According to the words of our trifecta we should be able to see that this IS ALL His words; here He says that “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me” while answering Judas question saying “If a man love me, he will keep my words“. There should be NO question of what His intent IS, NO question that His words and His commandments ARE the same. 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).
In the overall idea of “whatsoever I have commanded you” we should see this idea of keeping His words as being of paramount importance and, from this, it IS easy to see just what His words and His commandments ARE. Beginning with His admonition that men should “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17) and ending with the words of the Great Commission, we have the Apostle Matthew’s record of the fullness of what it IS that whatsoever Truly means. But most ALL of these words, ALL of this whatsoever, IS ignored or diluted through the doctrines of men which minimize the need to keep His words in favor of their own doctrinal approach that IS based in their most nebulous ideas of faith, believing, and grace.
This same IS True with each of the gospels, the synoptics as well as the Gospel of John where we read His words from a less historical and a more personal apostolic perspective. Nonetheless ALL ARE the words of the Master and it IS these that the Great Commision calls on men, spiritual men to be sure, to teach. And if we can see His admonition that IS the Great Commission according to a different reading of the Greek words we can perhaps gain a deeper understanding of His intent. Beginning with the idea of teach which IS rendered from the Greek word matheteuo, we should see the deeper meaning which IS: to make a disciple according to Thayer’s; and when we can look at this idea of disciple according to Jesus own criteria on just what a disciple IS, perhaps we can see the overall objective of ALL spiritual endeavor.
In our trifecta we read that the “disciples indeed” ARE those of whom the Master says will “continue in my word” and here the idea of indeed should be seen in terms of being Truly disciples of the Lord as many translations render this. Jesus here tells us again about His words and keeping His words and if we refer back to the Gospel of Luke for His words on discipleship we can then see how that the doctrinal interpretation has severely diluted and and distorted this idea from the Greek word mathetes. The apostle Luke tells us that the Master defines the disciple in rather specific terms and when we add these terms to the way that Matthew shows us these same ideas from Jesus, we can then perhaps see the deeper reality that IS intended for us to see:
Luke tells us: “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26-27, 33). In between the first two ideas and the last Luke tells us that the Master speaks the Parable of Counting the Cost, a parable which shows us two examples of KNOWING the cost and then accepting that cost. While the clarity here IS easily seen, the ideas ARE generally ignored by the many millions who base their discipleship upon their doctrines rather than His words with many even considering themselves as apostles.
Matthew tells us this same thing sans the parable and with the idea of being “worthy of me” in place of being “my disciple“; we read: “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 10:37-39). It IS easy to see that although the presentation IS different, the subject matter here IS the same. In the Greek word axios which IS rendered here as worthy, we should try to understand the intended depth of the idea being presented by the Master. Thayer’s tells us that the primary idea of axios IS: weighing, having weight; with a genitive having the weight of (weighing as much as) another thing, of like value, worth as much 9 and here we should see that these last ideas should have the same effect as we read above in discipleship.
To see the idea of to be “worthy of me” as being of like value and as worth as much we should first understand that to keep His words as both apostles describe them in these sayings IS to be His True disciple. We should also be able to understand that to be His True disciple IS of paramount spiritual value and this according to His words that tell us “The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master” (Luke 6:40). Can see how that the Master creates here the idea of the disciple being of like value and worth as much? Again, while clearly stated, these ideas ARE refused by the doctrinal views of Jesus the Christ, views that hold Him so far above that they cause doctrinal thinkers everywhere to lose sight of the Truths that the Master offers us.
We should try to see here that to be of like value and to be worth as much IS the KEY to the ideas that ARE presented to us through the Master’s teaching on moving the mountain and plating the sycamine tree in the sea. We should try to see how that to be His disciple, His “disciples indeed“, means that we ARE keeping His words and if we extend this idea to the Truth of believing in and believing on Him we can see the reality of those “greater works” of which He speaks. Such believing IS KNOWING and here we should see Vincent’s idea that such KNOWING comes to the disciple because he DOES: accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life 4.
We should be able to see here how that the simple idea of to “Teach all nations” in the Great Commission IS also distorted and diluted; how that this idea IS to make disciples of which, based on the reality of this idea of the disciple, should show us that it IS ONLY the disciple who can DO such teaching. And that it IS ONLY the disciple who Truly KNOWS and understands what ARE “all things whatsoever I have commanded you“. The next distorted idea comes from the Greek word ethnos which IS rendered by most ALL translations as nations; while there ARE some which DO refer to the more appropriate idea of ALL people, these ARE few. Thayer’s shows us the primary meaning of ethnos as: a multitude (whether of men or of beasts) associated or living together 9 and, taking this in its broadest sense under the idea of “all nations“, we should be able to see Thayer’s second meaning which IS: the human race 9.
Doctrines however have kept the idea of nations as their understanding of ethnos and have created vast networks of missions and missionary work whose intent IS NOT to be “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” but rather to make proselytes according to their own several ideas as ARE taught by the various denominations and sects. While many DO bring needed goods to the poor, the primary goal of most IS found in their several ideas of salvation and through this to establish their denominational ideas in other parts of the world….to ‘save‘ those that they see as lost. Of course here we must remember that in the doctrinal view of most ALL denominations and sects of Christianity IS that ALL ARE lost who DO NOT believe in Christ according to a doctrinal understanding.
Finally we have the idea of “baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” and here we have again a dilution and a distortion of His words. Much like believing in and believing on the idea here IS technically baptizing into and this has much deeper meaning than the ideas of in and on. Vincent, in a rather lengthy commentary on this idea tells us that: Baptizing into the name has a twofold meaning. 1. Unto, denoting object or purpose, as εἰς μετάνοιαν, unto repentance (Matthew 3:11); εἰς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν, for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38). 2. Into, denoting union or communion with, as Romans 6:3, “baptized into Christ Jesus; into his death” . Vincent goes on to tell us that: Baptizing into the name of the Holy Trinity implies a spiritual and mystical union with him 4 and here we should try to see the same idea as we find in his view of the idea of adoption where we read that: the adopted son of God becomes, in a peculiar and intimate sense, one with the heavenly Father 4, and this based in the meaning of adoption, of the Greek word huiothesia to the Romans.
Looking then at the idea of baptizo which IS rendered as baptism we should remember the story of the pickle which shows us the example from the works of Nicander; we read: The clearest example that shows the meaning of baptizo is a text from the Greek poet and physician Nicander, who lived about 200 B.C. It is a recipe for making pickles and is helpful because it uses both words. Nicander says that inorder to make a pickle, the vegetable should first be ‘dipped’ (bapto) into boiling water and then ‘baptised’ (baptizo) in the vinegar solution. Both verbs concern the immersing of vegetables in a solution. But the first is temporary. The second, the act of baptising the vegetable, produces a permanent change 2. We should see here that references to dipping and pouring should be reserved to the Greek word bapto and NOT the word used here baptizo; in baptizo we have immersion and in immersion from a logical perspective we should have a permanent change.
Simple immersion in water or whatever liquid DOES NOT equate to the deeper ideas found in this word. Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines immersion according to the ideas of liquid and adds that immersion IS: The state of being overwhelmed or deeply engaged; as an immersion in the affairs of life 1. This idea IS amended in the 1913 version where we read that immersion IS: The state of being overhelmed or deeply absorbed; deep engagedness 1; here they then use the idea of the affairs of life as an example of the word’s usage. Our point IS that the ritual of baptism, while it has several forms, IS simply immersion into water and from this there IS NO spiritual benefit. True immersion however IS much different; it IS being deeply engaged…being deeply absorbed.
Here, if we follow the thoughts that ARE being expressed, we can see that His instruction IS to baptize, to immerse, and He then shows us how to baptize. How then DOES one immerse another into “the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost“? By “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you“. Here the word rendered as teaching IS the Greek word didasko which actually means to teach. As we started this discussion we come back here to the important part of Jesus ‘commission’ which IS that what should be taught IS NOT the several doctrines of men but rather “all things whatsoever I have commanded you” which IS the full volume of His words….immersing men into the Truth which IS His words, a Truth that IS ONLY KNOWN by the teacher who DOES as Jesus instructs 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”.
The final reality of Jesus words then IS to admonish His disciples to make disciples of ALL men by immersing them into the Truth of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost which Truth IS found in observing “all things whatsoever I have commanded you“. We should understand here that the “name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost“, that Truth which Vincent shows us saying: The name, as in the Lord’s Prayer (“Hallowed be thy name”), is the expression of the sum total of the divine Being: not his designation as God or Lord, but the formula in which all his attributes and characteristics are summed up. It is equivalent to his person 4. Here we should see that His person, His attributes and His characteristics ARE summed up also in the Apostle John’s words saying that “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16).
While ALL of these ideas on the Great Commission ARE missed in the doctrinal approach which allows for any person who IS ‘saved‘ according to their doctrinal persuasion to act as the disciple and to teach the ‘nations‘ those things which such persuasion has taught them. And this rather than to nr “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” which in a word IS to keep His words and to Love. The True state of this Great Commission IS lost in the rather self-serving efforts of the churches and while most of the participants in such missionary trips to the ‘nations‘ ARE well meaning and sincere people, they ARE NOT DOING as the Master commands and they ARE not founded upon the most basic reality: that it IS ONLY a disciple who DOES keep His words that can teach others to DO so….teach others: to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you“.
This brings us back to the topic of agape, a topic that we DID NOT really leave. We should understand here that to teach another about agape requires that one should KNOW what this word means; NOT ONLY in meaning but in practice. So long as men equate agape with that common idea of Love; that idea of men’s emotional and mental attachment and attraction to others and to the things of this world, men will NOT understand the reality of agape NOR will one understand the depth of True discipleship. In being His disciple we should understand the combined idea that comes from Matthew’s and Luke’s versions which we have above; we should note that in both the idea IS that those whom one may Love in this world in the common idea of Love, must be seen as secondary to the Truth of agape for God which IS equally agape for everyman.
While one may continue to have such carnal feelings of Love for those close to him, this must be consciously superseded by one’s expression of agape in accord with the Great Commandments which idea John shows us saying: “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also” (1 John 4:20-21). These words from John ARE intended to amplify and to clarify the Master’s own words and in Jesus words on the Truth of agape we should be able to see the disciple, the man who DOES “continue in my word“. Here we ARE again reminded of the Truth that these seemingly separate ideas of keeping His words and expressing agape ARE one idea and one Truth; we read the Apostle Paul’s words again 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).
While many, many Christians go about their lives believing that they ARE disciples and saints, they miss the greater reality of such ideas that IS founded in the Truth of Jesus’ words….simply stated and clear Truths which ARE at times covered over by the translations, interpretations and doctrinal focus of those men who have taken authority over the spiritual lives of others. But NOT ALL Truth IS covered over, much IS left in absolute clarity but goes unseen by the masses who ARE swayed by their doctrines to see religion in a certain way rather than in the clarity of the presentation of the Master and His apostles.
Jesus’ words on Love from the Sermon on the Mount should be sufficient to explain to men just what it means to “agape thy neighbour as thyself” but most of these words fall on deaf ears. They ARE NOT ONLY interpreted in terms of the common understanding of Love but they ARE, at the same time ignored or else set aside in favor of men’s doctrinal approach to the Lord. And a similar fate has befallen Paul’s words to the Corinthians which we have been studying; the idea of agape IS presented as the Way, the “more excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31) than what was seen by men as being ‘spiritually’ important even in Paul’s day. Agape IS NOT seen as such a ‘more excellent way” and his words ARE NOT understood as saying that without one’s expression of agape ALL such ‘spiritually’ important abilities of men ARE for naught. But this IS what he says as he then defines agape for us in those terms; repeating the apostle’s words again we read:
“covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way” (1 Corinthians )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 12:31, 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).
We have added the idea of desiring the “best gifts” and here we should understand that the common understanding of what these ARE IS the list of the “spiritual gifts” which Paul itemized for us. We should keep in mind that such ARE “spiritual gifts” and that in Paul’s presentation of this idea the word gifts IS NOT included; it IS added by many translators to agree with the following ideas. Some DO render without the idea of gifts saying such things as “about the things of the spirit” and “regarding spiritual things“. The point here IS that the emphasis should be upon the idea of spiritual things, spiritual thoughts and attitudes, and the understanding should be that these come in revelation and realization, and this according to the third part of our trifecta as well as the first where we read about the source of the Truth.
Finally today, as we added this idea of “a more excellent way“, we should understand the that the idea of coveting earnestly IS rendered from the Greek word zeloo of which Thayer’s tells us IS: to imitate emulously, strive after 9 when used in a good sense. Here we should remember the idea of zelos which we have previously discussed in terms of emulation, that this word IS generally rendered as envy. As to the idea of “spiritual things” and the use of the idea of gifts which IS given us in later verses from the word charisma, we should remember that this word IS the Greek neuter noun to the feminine noun charis which should always be seen in the idea of grace, the idea of that which comes from God spiritually. What then IS the “more excellent way” which we defined in the last essay a Way that IS beyond others 9a according to Strong’s? First it IS beyond striving after the grace of God as such and second it IS one’s expression of agape.
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 |
Quote of the Day:
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts
- 1 Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1828 and 1913 from https://1828.mshaffer.com/
- 2 New Testament Greek Lexicon on BibleStudyTools.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
