ON LOVE; PART MCCLIII
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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 begin this essay where we left off in the last, with the equating of the ideas of agape and KNOWING God. The Apostle John tells us that to KNOW God one must Love and he offers this to us in the context of Love for allelon which IS defined by both Strong’s and Thayer’s as: one another 9a, 9. While this idea IS often painted as a reciprocal Love based upon the mutual nature of DOING so, this should NOT be the view as such IS contrary to much of the Master’s other words on Love. The better understanding here IS gained in the much older idea that “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” in which there IS NO hint of reciprocity, an idea that IS amplified by such teachings as “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).
The apostle tells us to “let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love” and if we combine this with his later words 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 4:7-8, 20-21), we can then see the fullness of these relationships of being “born again“, KNOWING God, the expression of agape and His commandments. These ideas take us back again to Jesus’ words from our trifecta which we read again; Jesus say:
- “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32).
- “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
- “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me” (John 14:21-24).
While we see the ideas from John’s words in regard to agape, how that it IS Love that IS the ONLY Way to KNOW God and to Love God, the doctrinal thinker becomes sidetracked by other ideas that ARE more in tune with his doctrinal view. The doctrinal thinker IS attracted to such ideas as “Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God” (1 John 4:2) and, through the words that follow, many connect John’s idea of antichrist to their eschatological views; and this although there IS NO connection made by the apostle. John goes on to tell us that “every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world” (1 John 4:2, 3) and there IS much doctrinal fodder found in these word ideas which they patch together in ways that ARE NOT the apostle’s intent.
The idea here of antichrist should be seen in regard to the false prophet which IS simply one who proclaims that he speaks the Truth of God but DOES NOT and here we should try to see that such manner of Life need NOT be intentional….the false prophet DOES believe that he speaks the Truth. We can see the reality of the false prophet in Jesus words from the last essay and in the Life of the Apostle Paul who was a partner in that “great persecution against the church” (Acts 7:59) believing “that he doeth God service“. Paul reflects for us the Life of the indoctrinated man and he can be see as the epitome to Jesus words saying “They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service” (John 16:2). Can we see the point here? Can we see the simplicity of the false prophet and how that “many false prophets are gone out into the world“.
This IS how that the apostle begins his dialogue on the antichrist which idea should be understood as equivalent to that of the false prophet; he says “believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1); It IS this idea that leads into his discussion on KNOWING God which we cite above. Can we see the links here? Can we see that the apostle IS warning us to “try the spirits” as he goes on to tell us how that we can DO so in terms that ARE hijacked by the doctrines of men. Who IS a false prophet and who IS an antichrist? It IS NOT simply that one “that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God” according to the doctrinal understanding of this idea of homlogeo, nor IS it that “Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God” according to this same understanding. We must read on to understand that ALL of this IS in regard to KNOWING God and to one’s expression of agape.
While it IS far easier to understand this idea of confession, of homologeo, in doctrinal terms which require ONLY that one ‘say’ such things, the deeper idea here IS that one will profess this Truth, NOT only with words but with one’s Life expression….with one’s manner of Life. If we can see this idea of profession, the more accurate rendering of homologeo, in the same way as the Greek word anastrophe which IS rendered as conversation but which means: manner of life, behavior, conduct 9a, 9, we can then break through the doctrinal ideas of confession as a divine tool for salvation. We should understand here one more idea, that John speaks NOT of the carnal man but rather in terms of spirit and of Spirit and we should try to understand here that there IS an underlying intent in speaking in these terms.
We need to understand that it IS the expression of a man that IS the display of his spirit or of his Spirit; the former IS a carnal representation which DOES NOT rely upon True spiritual KNOWING while the latter DOES. Again, the man who DOES profess Christ has His expression if we can use that idea here; this man has as his expression the Love and the KNOWING of the Christ Within while the man who DOES NOT profess Christ has a carnal expression and this regardless of his proclamations of salvation and of being “born again“. If we relate this idea to antichrist, we can better understand the point that ALL whose Life expression IS contrary to the Master’s IS essentially antichrist while those who outwardly profess such things which ARE NOT in accord with His teaching ARE definitively so and ARE false prophets.
While this may seem a harsh condemnation of the religious man in this world, it IS but an assessment of the nature of men with an understanding that one’s manner of Life need not be intentionally focused against the Master’s teaching which IS the teaching of the Ages based in agape. This IS an assessment that says that most ALL men are yet trapped in their vanity, in the illusion and the glamour of Life in form, and that rather than freeing themselves from this “bondage of corruption” (Romans 8:20, 21) they have devised ways to remain in their bondage while convincing themselves that they ARE NOT. This IS the great illusion, supported in the secular world by the most normal ways of men seeking to protect the ONLY thing they KNOW, the flesh if you will, and supported in the religious world by doctrines and the tenets of doctrines which feign freedom in a most nebulous way through such ideas as atonement and salvation by grace.
In this we should be able to more clearly see the idea that we present regarding the greater difficulty in attaining freedom IS the plight of the indoctrinated man who IS believing “that he doeth God service“, NOT ONLY in the way that the Master frames this to His disciples, but in ALL aspects of religiosity. The Catholic priest and layperson believes “that he doeth God service” but other religious men of other denominations and sects strongly disagree; similarly the “born again” Protestant pastor believes “that he doeth God service” but those of the other sects DO NOT agree with their Calvinist, Pentecostal or whatever approach to the Lord. And this goes on; those who adhere to the prosperity gospel believe that “that he doeth God service” as DOES most every individual branch of Christianity but few, if any, of the other branches will agree. ALL believe “that he doeth God service” while they ARE actually DOING ONLY as their doctrines instruct and these should, ALL of them, be counted among those approaches to the Lord of which the Master says “Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7).
ALL of these confess the Lord in some way and have various ideas regarding His message. Many see the basis of His teaching in agape but few, if any, have adopted agape as He instructs; most ALL have interpreted Love into strictly carnal terms while believing that they are using spiritual ideas because they ‘link’ their interpretation to their confession of Christ. In ALL of this IS that same deception that the Apostle James so clearly shows us saying “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). While this IS ever so clearly stated, there ARE very few who understand that it IS they themselves that ARE deceived. Most ALL find refuge behind their presumed ‘link’, behind their presumption that because they confess the Lord that they ARE NOT deceived and this despite the words of the apostles which ONLY amplify and clarify the Master’s own words as we have in His trifecta.
It IS in this view of Christianity, the view that by believing, confessing and affirming that Jesus IS Lord, or any variation or any other ritualistic doctrinal idea, a man IS saved, “born again” and Truly a Christian, that the Christian world lives. In this view of Christianity it matters NOT what one’s outward expression may be save for the ways of a man who IS caught in certain circumstances which the ‘church’ finds objectionable. There IS little or NO search for the Truth outside of one’s own beliefs and in this IS the accompanying reality of glamour; this deception IS the illusion and this sense of glamour IS one’s bondage to it. If however the doctrinal ideas were to be put into spiritual perspective, one could come to see that the believing must be KNOWING and this NOT ONLY KNOWING the historical ideas of Christ but the spiritual reality behind them; a reality that so convinces a man that he will Truly follow Him, will accept His words as the Truth and will: accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life 4 as Vincent defines this believing for us.
In a spiritual perspective the ideas of confession could be seen in terms of profession and deeper still as homologeo IS defined by Thayer’s….as: to say the same thing as another 9. In the construct of this sentence the doctrinal idea here has been taken ONLY to mean verbally and this IS most evident in those renderings of his words that tell us to “declare that Jesus is Lord” or, as another renders this “if you acknowledge publicly“. Such doctrinal ideas take much away from the True intent of the idea of homologeo which IS lost to most ALL through the interpretations of Paul’s words into that doctrinal confessing and affirming by which one IS ‘saved‘. The reality of Paul’s words IS much deeper but IS at the same time most difficult to find after centuries of men’s using his words as the source of salvation.
Can we see the greater point here? Can we see that to say the same thing as another 9 IS NOT about what one may say but rather goes to what one may KNOW in his heart to be the Truth….a Truth that comes from within, from the Soul, from the Christ Within. Jesus tells us that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” and we should note that in the Apostle Matthews offering of these words from the Master, they ARE used in a rather negative way. Jesus IS speaking to the Pharisees, to men who believe that they have the Truth of God, as He says “O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matthew 12:34) and here we must try to understand the twin ideas of their being vipers and being evil as neither should be seen outside of the context that He uses here.
If we can see that “being evil” IS being carnally focused despite their ‘religious’ intent and take this same idea into our Christian era, we can then likely see the doctrinal predicament and understand that their “generation of vipers” never ended but continues through the same carnal focus that most ALL doctrinal religions maintain yet today. And what IS a “generation of vipers“? While the Greek word echidna IS universally rendered as vipers or, more generically, as snakes, the intent here must be understood from Jesus’ perspective and NOT from the carnal perspective of men. The doctrinal view that we get for this word from Thayer’s tells us that this word IS used to address: cunning, malignant, wicked men 9 which, from a doctrinal perspective, IS the view of the Pharisee, the scribe and other religious leaders of the Jews by the Christian that DOES NOT see the greater reality.
However, the Pharisee, the scribe and most ALL Jewish religious leaders in those days were convinced that they were on the True Path to God; there was NO question in their minds just as there IS NO question in the Christian mind today. It IS this illusion and the accompanying glamour that causes the Jews to react to Jesus as they DID and it IS this same illusion and glamour that causes the Christian’ failure to see anything beyond their several doctrines; in this we should be able to see the greater reality of the idea of viper as this word IS used by the Master and understand that this IS a conviction of men for being men who DO cunningly construct their own Truths which carnally interpret the One spiritual Truth that they were presented.
And we should note here that while the idea of “generation of vipers” IS deemed to apply ONLY to those to whom Jesus IS speaking, the greater reality if found in the idea of gennema which while it IS rendered as generation in this and like sayings by some, it IS rendered by others in terms of offspring. Jesus here IS calling the progenitors of these to whom He speaks vipers which makes this claim to be against ALL men as the “offspring of vipers“, the offspring of cunning men who have devised ways to interpret the Truth into the “commandments of men“. If we take the context of Jesus words here and apply them to the idea of men’s focus, that it IS carnal or it IS spiritual, we can perhaps better discern His message.
It IS at the Jew’s disagreement with Jesus’ expression of agape that the whole of this discourse begins….Jesus healed on the sabbath day which IS NOT against the Truth of the law but against the interpretation of that law by men; against the “commandments of men“. And while the lesson IS found in the Master’s concluding words saying “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned” (Matthew 12:35-37), the doctrinal Christian view goes to the idea of Jesus defining an unpardonable sin.
This doctrinal idea of this unforgivable sin IS NOT uniformly understood and the very idea of a ‘sin’ “against the Holy Ghost” IS NO where clearly defined. If we can look at this in terms of carnal and spiritual and understand that the idea presented as speaking IS denoting the content of one’s heart, perhaps we can see deeper into the Master’s intent. To this we must add that there IS a difference between the idea of men and the reality of the True man. Jesus tells us that “whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come” (Matthew 12:32) and here we should try to see these words against the reality of the True man spiritually and against the men in this world as men.
And we should NOT tie this to the common idea of forgiveness, that there IS a God Transcendent who must forgive men or who forgave ALL men for ALL time through the atoning quality of the Master’s death. We should instead tie this to the psyche of the man and his conviction of the reality of Life; the man who CAN NOT see the spiritual possibilities IS more or less doomed and this ONLY because he CAN NOT see….this man brings this same psyche into the afterlife. This IS he that “speaketh against the Holy Ghost“. In contrast to this IS the Life of the man who CAN see the spiritual Truth, the man who KNOWS God and who “doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven“; this man DOES NOT take his psyche into an afterlife but rather IS freed then as he IS NOW in this world.
Needless to say there ARE few that fall into this latter class of men and this IS as the Master tells us saying that “wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat” which IS the afterlife into which one carries the psyche; He tells us also that “strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14) which IS that place of being free from the constraints of the personality. Luke shows us this same idea saying: “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). While these ideas seem far fetched to the doctrinal thinker, they ARE much more plausible that the doctrinal ideas of heaven and hell which themselves ARE contrary to the Master’s words which tell us clearly the Way to the Kingdom.
That the doctrinal thinker believes that his confession and his affirmation, or his abiding by the sacraments, allow him to ‘enter’ into the Kingdom, this IS but the cunning work of men who ARE “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:9). If we can see that it IS in their cunning that men, most ALL men, devise ways to circumvent the Truth and understand that the motivation for this IS the vanity, the illusion and the glamour of Life in this world that IS exasperated by the nurturing and indoctrination that men must endure, we can then see the greater Truth of evil and of sin as these ideas ARE used in the New Testament. And this devising IS evermore exasperated by the glamour through which the indoctrinated man shows forth his own “evil treasure” in his manner of Life as he lives and acts as the man in the world, the “natural man“, rather than the man who Truly KNOWS God.
This brings us back to that reality of KNOWING God and to the Apostle John’s words which tie this to Love, to the expression of agape for ALL. While this point IS diluted by doctrine and seen as separate ideas with particular meanings, the reality IS that Love must be Universal. Whether the idea IS presented as “love one another“, “love his brother“, “love thy neighbour” or as “Love your enemies“, the meaning IS the same….it IS Love for everyman, a concept that becomes near impossible based in the common understanding of Love which IS NOT the reality of agape. It is in the context of the viper as the man who contrives carnal ideas from the spiritual intent of the Master’s words that we should see ALL things contrary to the Truth of agape; the Pharisee and his progenitors ARE vipers but the idea of his progenitors must perforce include everyman and in speaking these same words today we should be able to see the progression of such carnal ideas throughout history.
It IS then everyman whose focus IS yet in their Life here in this world that IS the viper; this man DOES NOT see the Great Love that IS expressed by the Master to ALL and that DOES NOT teach this expression as the Way, par excellence, to the Truth of salvation which IS that freedom Jesus promises us in saying 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“. It IS in this freedom and in this KNOWING that one IS made free from the ‘dreaded’ afterlife which IS ONLY heaven for “he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven“; this idea IS the same for the Christian, the Jew, the Hindu, the Buddhist and for everyman who Truly follows the prompting of his own Soul, his manifest Spirit in form in this world.
It IS in following this prompting, which ideas ARE confirmed through the Apostle James’ defining of what IS that “wisdom that is from above” (James 3:17), that one comes to Truly KNOW God. We should understand here that without the filter of James’ words which summarize so much of Jesus’ teaching, what one believes to be a prompting from God IS but the wranglings of one’s own personality and this regardless of the one’s self-perceived level of spirituality; this IS but the further deception of the man who DOES NOT keep His words. This James tells us saying “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” and Jesus tells us in our trifecta where the idea IS clear: that it IS to “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them” that the Christ “will manifest myself to him“.
As we close today’s essay we need to try to take away the seriously negative common understanding of the idea of antichrist and remove this idea from its doctrinal attachments to other scriptures which evoke ideas of ‘true’ evil in the minds of the doctrinally oriented man. These attachments have NO basis in scripture much in the same way as the unrelated ‘visions’ of the prophets and the apostles DO NOT actually depict the eschatological doctrinal ideas that string them ALL together into several different scenarios. Jesus teaches us to keep His words as DOES the entirety of the Old Testament and here we should try to see that to NOT DO so and to teach others that this IS NOT necessary IS contrary to the Master’s specific teaching to men.
While men must discern the Truth of the law from the beginning and understand the division between the words of the Lord that show men the Way of Life from those that ARE intended to frame the orderliness of their lives in Moses’ most barbarous and superstitious day, this dividing line has been discovered in the ordinary course of history. We DO NOT stone offenders nor ostracize the sick; nor DO we make women ‘unclean’ during menstruation or bring a constant flow of animals to a temple to be killed. These ideas have faded into the annals of history but it IS largely this framing of the law that was most appealing to the religious leaders of Jesus’ day and the context in which He tells them and shows them such things that show the True nature and futility of such laws that were already ancient. It IS in this context that Jesus tells them to “go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice” (Matthew 9:13).
Those who followed in such laws and rituals despite the words of the prophets and the Truth of their own prompting ARE the same that Jesus calls vipers and we should try to see here that the apostle uses the idea of antichirst in much the same way. Can we see the point here? While Strong’s defines antichrist as: an opponent of the Messiah 9a and Thayer’s tells us that this IS: the adversary of the Messiah and opposing God 9, few recognize that his can be everyman whose Life intent IS contrary to the teachings of the Master and then, most especially, those who will impart their cunning ways to others.
The glamour of men however prevents such recognition especially when it involves oneself and one’s own beliefs and in this we should be able to see the inherent doctrinal problem: that each and every variation insists that his IS the Truth and then teaches this Truth even though it IS contrary to so much of the Christ’s teaching. The doctrinal workaround IS seemingly endless ranging from ideas that Jesus taught Paul according to the doctrinal interpretation of the apostle’s words to the idea that Jesus’ words ARE for the Jews and Paul’s words of grace ARE for the Christian. Regardless of the doctrinal approach so much of their “commandments of men” ARE contrary to the teaching of the Christ and we should be able to see in this the True idea of antichrist.
So we ARE left with the law and with the commandments and any that say that these ARE covered by the ‘blood’ of Jesus and that these DO NOT apply to the Christian man today ARE equally contrary to the words of the Master who tells us “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19). Here we have the difference between the carnal and the spiritual and the difference between the Christ and the antichrist.
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
- 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
