ON LOVE; PART MCCXLIV
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).
In the last essay we discussed some of what we see as the origins of the doctrinal concepts of atonement and salvation, concepts that vary among the divisions of the church but which at the same time ARE the unifying themes of Christianity as a religion. Our intent IS to show how that these doctrinal concepts ARE mostly based in the out of context, misinterpreted and misunderstood words of the apostles whose objective and intent ARE ofttimes disregarded in favor or the usefulness of selected sayings. We ended the last essay with what has become KNOWN as the Great Commission as this IS given to us by the Apostle Matthew and we followed our standard King James Bible rendering with that from The Complete Jewish Bible; we read these again saying:
- The King James Version tells us: “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: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:19-20).
- The Complete Jewish Bible says: “Therefore, go and make people from all nations into talmidim, immersing them into the reality of the Father, the Son and the Ruach HaKodesh, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember! I will be with you always, yes, even until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).
In The Complete Jewish version there ARE two untranslated word ideas; the first IS talmidim which is defined, in Christian terms, as: Talmid is a Hebrew word (masculine) that means disciple. Talmidim is the plural – disciples. To be a talmid or talmidah is a strong statement. It means you are devoted to Yeshua (Jesus), fixated on learning scriptures, putting them into action, and to become like Him. This IS a doctrinally oriented way of defining talmidim as this IS used by those Jews who have accepted Jesus as their Messiah, overall, the word DOES reflect the idea of the disciple although likely NOT with the same force that Jesus himself applies to the idea of being one. The next untranslated word idea, Ruach HaKodesh, simply means Holy Spirit.
With out the idea of nations and more specifically “all nations” the Master’s idea takes on a different meaning and understanding; in the idea of “people from all nations” we have the better translation of the ideas presented which ARE NOT in the common doctrinal view that DOES NOT see the people but rather the nation. The idea of “teach all nations” has resulted in a vast Christian missionary venture which goes around the world proselytizing others while offering at the same time some measure of humanitarian aid. This aid IS in itself IS a good thing but it greatly misses the Master’s point as this IS reflected in The Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) rendering which uses the more literal meanings of the Greek words. The word nations here IS from the Greek word ethnos which IS mostly rendered as Gentiles (93x), nation (64x), heathen (5x), people (2x) , and this while the meaning of the word IS: a race (as of the same habit) 9 according to Strong’s and as: a multitude (whether of men or of beasts) associated or living together 9 by Thayer.
Thayer’s also shows us that ethnos means: the human race 9 and it IS in these defining ideas that we should see the most general term of people. We should also try to see that in the CJB, the rendering DOES NOT imply ALL nations or ALL people but rather “people from all nations” which idea IS in accord with the defining quality of agape…that it be with NO “respect to persons” (James 2:9). We should understand here that the Master’s intent IS NOT the vast missionary fields that have been created by the doctrinal approach of men but rather that the apostles and True disciples of the Lord should bring the Master’s teaching to the world of men….to ALL men in ALL nations and NOT yp merely make proselytes according to the particular doctrinal approach of a missionary group. And here is the rub; how can one make “make people from all nations into talmidim” if one IS NOT a disciple himself according to the defining ideas of discipleship offered by the Master.
We should remember here that to be a disciple of the Master requires that one meet certain criteria and, to NOT be too harsh here we could say that the disciple must at least understand what this criteria IS and be making such effort as that he can be seen as striving toward that goal, this IS be a True aspirant to discipleship. There ARE four criteria offered by the Master regarding True discipleship and the first one IS the first part of our trifecta which shows us that one must keep His words. It IS in DOING this that one enters into the realm of discipleship, has a measure of the Truth proportionate to his striving and has the realization of the Presence of God and His Kingdom in his Life in this world. Repeating our trifecta we read that:
- “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).
This IS the first part of discipleship and we should understand here that the idea of “disciples indeed” should be seen as “truly my disciples” which IS as others render this and IS according to the meaning of the world alethos which Strong’s defines as: truly 9a. Thayer’s tells us that alethos means: truly, of a truth, in reality; most certainly 9 which ideas ARE clearer that the gist of indeed. The idea here IS that to be a True disciple of the Lord one must be keeping His words and we can see in those who Truly strive to DO so the lesser idea of the aspirant. In the Apostle Luke’s Gospel Jesus takes this idea of keeping His words to its results and here, in the first part, we should see the essence of the first of the Great Commandments and, in the last part, the essential result of the second; the Master says: “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).
This IS the criteria for being His disciple, these ARE His words yet millions of doctrinal Christians take this title to themselves without any regard for them. Most seem to believe that it IS by their doctrinal allegiance that they ARE disciples and that they need NOT live according the the Master’s words….that they ARE freed from being “doers of the word“. It IS unfortunate that most ALL DO NOT comprehend what being a DOER Truly IS and this because they see ONLY through their sense of doctrine which has occluded the Truth in favor of the more convenient words stitched together by those who have ever taken authority over the spiritual lives of those who follow them. In the reality of the Master’s own defining ideas on discipleship we should be able to see the first doctrinal area by which men miss the point of the Great Commission as this IS outlined in Matthew’s Gospel.
In this we should see the related idea which IS simply that to teach one any degree of True discipleship, one must be a disciple; one must be free from the fetters of Life in this world which IS ever to be free from the vanity, from the illusion and the glamour which ARE one’s “bondage of corruption“. If we could but see that to “forsaketh not all that he hath” IS NOT ONLY in regard to possessions and wealth, we can then see more clearly the goal and the Way. The idea of forsaking must perforce start with the thoughts and the attitudes of a man; he must come to Truly KNOW what Jesus means when He says “Take no thought for your life” (Matthew 6:25). The question here become then the same question that IS asked of the Master by His apostles: “Who then can be saved?” (Matthew 19:25). Jesus answers saying “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God” (Luke 18:27) as Luke frames His response and here we should note that the context here and in Matthew IS in regard to forsaking ALL.
Peter continues to ask in both gospels and his words ARE mostly carnal in nature as he says that “we have left all, and followed thee” (Luke 18:28) as Luke shows us and with a further question as we read in Matthew where he says “we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?“. Here the texts differ greatly; in Matthew’s Gospel the answer IS given in obscure spiritual terms while in Luke’s Gospel the answer IS more carnally oriented as IS the question. We should see however that Jesus’ more carnal answer IS in fact a carnal impossibility which we read most clearly in the Apostle Mark’s Gospel where the Master says of he who forsakes ALL that: “he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life” (Mark 10:30). While there IS NO carnal reality in this answer, many see ONLY the idea of “an hundredfold” and separate this from the overall tone of Jesus’ words.
If however we can take the idea of “an hundredfold” less literally and understand it as manifold perhaps we can grasp the more spiritual context of what the Master IS saying. Can we see that to be as one who qualifies according to Jesus’ words saying “Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s” that “he shall receive an hundredfold now….” (Mark 29, 30) IS, according to the criteria on discipleship from Luke’s Gospel, to be a disciple of the Lord? And can we then see this idea of receiving in the same terms as Jesus’ applies to Himself saying to those who announce that “thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee“? Here the Master answers saying “Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother” (Matthew 12:47, 48-50).
From a less personal view of the Master’s words and in accord with His overall teaching, we should try to see that ALL the world IS “my mother and my brethren” and that this idea applies first with NO “respect to persons” and secondly that this occurs “now in this time“. This IS the realization of Truth in the heart of the disciple: that ALL men ARE “my mother and my brethren” and here we should apply these words from our selection from the Apostle Paul’s Epistle to the Romans where we read that we should “Owe no man any thing, but to love one another“. We should read into the Master’s words that He IS NOT saying that those who DO NOT “do the will of my Father which is in heaven” ARE NOT “my brother, and sister, and mother” but that most certainly those who DO ARE and they ARE aware that they ARE; here we should relate this back to our trifecta and understand the three realizations of Truth that come through keeping His words: KNOWING the Truth, His Presence and His Kingdom here and now.
Can we see here Jesus’ spiritual answer to a rather carnal question? And can we see that without a spiritual view that this can be most easily missed and IS missed by most. John Gill addresses this idea of “an hundredfold” saying that: Not that he should have an hundred houses, brethren but that he should enjoy that even in this present life, which was an hundred times better than any of the things mentioned 8; and in this thinking we should see a carnal approach to Jesus’ words where the intent IS clearly spiritual. Luke shows the answer to Peter’s question in a much simpler manner saying “Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake, Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting” (Luke 18:29-30) and we should read into this idea of manifold ALL that we can see in Mark’s version.
The obscure spiritual terms from Matthew’s Gospel, while they ARE used by doctrines to show the way of the believer, ARE restricted to those who have “forsaken all, and followed thee“. Jesus says of these that “ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” and then follows with the same idea that we discuss above from Mark’s Gospel. This cryptic answer from the Master IS used in many ways by many doctrinal teachers with few restricting this to those disciples who have, by their very definition, “forsaken all“. Most forget this idea of forsaking in favor of their understanding of the idea of “the regeneration” which IS interpreted by many into the doctrinal idea of being “born again“.
While the idea of “the regeneration” can surely be linked to being “born again“, this should NOT be understood in doctrinal terms where everyman who will say such words of affirmation and confession as his doctrines require IS “born again” but, rather, in Jesus’ terms according to His conversation with Nicodemus. It is there that the Master shows us that being “born again” IS the Way to the Kingdom and here we should understand the simple logic of the equivalency of ideas; if being “born again” and keeping His words or DOING “the will of my Father which is in heaven” both reap the same reward, then these ideas must be equal. To measure the idea of “the will of my Father” we need look NO further than the words above regarding those whom the Master DOES Truly see as “my brother, and sister, and mother” and this from a deeply spiritual view.
While there IS a degree of common sense that must be applied to this idea of “the will of my Father“, this IS NOT exercised by those who see His Will as anything less than keeping His words and His commandments; this IS the most central theme of the whole of the New Testament and the Old. But doctrinal thinkers have found clever ways from the beginning to allow for their doctrines to supersede the Truth and some of these ways ARE taken from the Master’s own words, words that ARE used without the required understanding of His intent. In Jesus’ most obscure words from the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John we have a taste of the way of such doctrinal thinking; we read that He says “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:37-40).
While the idea of “the Father’s will” IS incorporated into these words from Jesus, this IS NOT the extent of that Will as it pertains to the Life of everyman. It may be “the Father’s will” that everyman which “believeth on him” has True salvation but these ideas ARE divorced from the Way that a man finds that salvation. And while the KEY to such salvation IS included in Jesus words here, most DO NOT see past the nebulous doctrinal ideas of just what to “believeth on him” Truly means. For this we go again to Vincent’s words which tell us that to believe in or to believe on IS literally to believe into; Mr Vincent tells us that: To believe in, or on, is more than mere acceptance of a statement. It is so to accept a statement or a person as to rest upon them, to trust them practically; to draw upon and avail one’s self of all that is offered to him in them. Hence to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is not merely to believe the facts of His historic life or of His saving energy as facts, but to accept Him as Savior, Teacher, Sympathizer, Judge; to rest the soul upon Him for present and future salvation, and to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life 4.
The crux of Vincent’s words IS of course the idea that is in bold and we should be able to easily relate this to Jesus’ words from our trifecta which most clearly show us that the Way to His Kingdom IS to “doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven“. Can we see that “the Father’s will” IS that men should keep His words and that there IS NO difference between those words and commandments offered by the Father and those that ARE offered by the Son; this the Master tells us, again in our trifecta, saying “the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me“. We should try to understand that while the Master’s teaching IS harsh against the doctrines of the Jews, it IS at the same time given according to the way that that they believed, with the idea of the Father being the symbol of the Transcendent Lord whom the Jews simply call God.
While the doctrinal thinker DOES NOT see the force of believing into the Master as Vincent presents this, relying instead on the nebulous doctrinal ideas of faith and believing, the Truth IS clearly evident in the way that Jesus uses these ideas. We have frequently discussed His use of the idea of believing from the simpler idea of pisteuo, without the added idea of eis, as this IS shown to us as the criteria where without doubt one can move the mountain or cast the sycamine tree into the sea; these abilities come in True believing and True faith which ARE the essence of that KNOWING of which Jesus speaks in our trifecta above. It IS in KNOWING the Truth that one IS Truly free from his own carnal thoughts and attitudes and it IS in this clarity that such ‘miracles’ as ARE wrought by Peter and Paul and by Philip and Stephen as we read in the Book of Acts.
This IS the same freedom of which Paul speaks as he tells us that we, those who DO live in accord with His words, “shall be delivered made free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21); this IS the same freedom as of which Peter shows us the Way that “ye might be partakers of the divine nature” a state that IS provided to those “having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4). These ARE the effect of KNOWING the Truth and of being made free which IS the more accurate rendering of the Greek word eleutheroo which IS used here by Paul and by Jesus in the first part of our trifecta above. This IS the greater reality of the spiritual view of believing which must be divorced from the nebulous and carnal ideas which doctrines present.
While Vincent’s words ARE specifically tied to the more complex idea of pisteuo eis which IS believing into and IS rendered in terms of believing in or believing on, we should be able to see that this force IS also a part of that sense of believing which, from a spiritual perspective, allows a man to DO such things as the Master prescribes in moving the mountain or casting the sycamine tree into the sea. This sense of believing IS also more than mere acceptance of a statement. We can see the force of Vincent’s reference to believing into most clearly in Jesus words to His disciples from the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of John where we read that “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do” and while many translations include the idea that this IS “because I go unto my Father” (John 14:12) as part of His statement and rely upon this more than the idea that this ability comes to “He that believeth on me“, this IS but the force of doctrines at play.
Most ALL bible commentators offer the same reasoning for Jesus’ words here while NONE seem to relate the ideas of “greater works” and moving the mountain. Vincent for example tells us of these “greater works” that this IS: Not more remarkable miracles, but referring to the wider work of the apostolic ministry under the dispensation of the Spirit. This work was of a higher nature than mere bodily cures 4. John Gill tells us similarly that this IS: not greater in nature and kind, but more in number; for the apostles, in a long series of time, and course of years, went about preaching the Gospel….though perhaps by these greater works may be meant the many instances of conversion, which the apostles were instrumental in, and which were more in number than those which were under our Lord’s personal ministry: besides, the conversion of a sinner is a greater work than any of the miracles of raising the dead for this includes in it all miracles 8.
While doctrines downplay the abilities of men to DO such things as the Master did, such was NOT True in the lives of the Apostles of whom we have much testimony nor in the lives of others who follow the reality of the Master’s words and this regardless of what religion they may be called under. In the reality of having such Power a man would NOT flaunt it as to DO so IS contrary to the source of the Power itself, contrary to the idea that one accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life 4. This of course IS to keep His words and, again, one can DO so without ever KNOWING Jesus as Christians understand this; ALL that IS required IS Union with one’s own Christ Within of which the Apostle John tells us that “ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things” (1 John 2:20).
While the doctrinal view of Jesus the Christ may deny that this unction IS the Christ Within, the Truth IS that the anointing which IS that “the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:9) IS the reality of the Life of everyman. This IS the True man, ever One with God and ever trying to overcome the carnal nature and to be made free from “the bondage of corruption“. This reality that IS the True Life of everyman and the True message of the gospels and the epistles of His apostles: that one should escape “the corruption that is in the world through lust” and become, as men in this world “partakers of the divine nature” thereby unleashing the Awesome Power of the Godhead according to the Truth of His words and the testimony of those who chronicled the lives of His apostles.
The doctrinal view of many of the miracles that we read of in the Book of Acts generally involves that most nebulous idea of angels but we should try to see that this view IS based solely upon the way that men addressed such things 2000 years ago. While this way of addressing the unknown in terms of angels and demons was necessary for the man in those days, the man whose Life was yet barbarous and superstitious, most modern men DO have the ability to see these ideas as they really ARE. Never IS the angel defined save for those places where one IS given a name….the angel IS merely a messenger of spiritual ideas and, if we were to look upon the relationship between the Soul and the man in this world, we could perhaps see that the Soul IS that messenger.
Our point here IS that such doctrinal ideas ARE out outmoded, the minds of men in most ALL developed countries can NOW accept the deeper ideas which DO NOT involve a direct action in one’s Life by God or an angel or a demon….that everyman IS, to himself, ALL three. It IS ONLY in this way that such “greater works” can be possible and in these we should see the acts of the apostles which ARE shown us in the New Testament. We close again with our selection from Romans where the singular message IS to keep His words.
“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).
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
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition
- 8 Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com
- 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
