ON LOVE; PART MCCLV
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GoodWill IS Love in Action
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FIRST IS THE GREAT COMMANDMENTS: “The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31).
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WHAT THEN IS LOVE? In a general sense love is benevolence, good will; that disposition of heart which inclines men to think favorably of their fellow men, and to do them good. In a theological sense, it includes supreme love to God, and universal good will to men. While this IS from an older definition of Charity, which IS rendered in the King James Bible from the same Greek word agape which IS generally rendered as Love, we should amend our own definition here to include the idea that in the reality of Love a man will accord to ALL men ALL things that he would accord to himself and to say that Love IS our thoughts and attitude of the equality of ALL men regardless of their outward nature or appearance…that ALL ARE equally children of Our One God
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PLUS THE EVER IMPORTANT AND HIGH IDEAL TAUGHT TO US BY THE CHRIST: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12).
We ended the last essay trying to show a side of human nature, a nature that IS yet caught in the vanity of Life in this world, that leads men to follow in the ideas of those that they believe have achieved some sort of authority over them; an idea that works in both the religious and political worlds. We can look again at our Mark Twain quotation for the more negative side of this as he tells us that “In religion and politics people’s beliefs and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second-hand, and without examination, from authorities who have not themselves examined the questions at issue but have taken them at second-hand from other non-examiners, whose opinions about them were not worth a brass farthing“**. Here Mr. Twain IS highlighting the way that such things ARE believed by the masses who DO NOT wish to seek the greater Truth but ARE content to accept whatever “at second-hand, and without examination“.
Mr. Twain points out the way that people’s religious and political beliefs can go on generation after generation as even those perceived to be in authority at any given time “have taken them at second-hand from other non-examiners“. Mr. Twain’s rather cynical view regarding the opinions of authority, while seemingly harsh, ARE nonetheless True and in the case of religion go back to the original interpreters of the words of the Master and His apostles. These church fathers negotiated the original versions of the doctrines that still exist today and we should understand here that the resultant doctrinal approach to God IS the result of negotiated opinions and NOT the essence of the Master’s words. This was DONE in a still barbarous and superstitious time when emotions held greater sway than critical thought but these opinions persist yet today changed only by the opinions of the Reformers in some parts of the church.
Jesus however left us NO room for opinion and neither did the law as Moses presented it and so long as the doctrinal thinker believes that he has found his ‘salvation‘ in such opinions that have become doctrinal fact, he will NOT see this Truth. Perhaps it is based in the presumed authority and the presumed anointing of those who expound such opinions that the whole philosophy of relying on men’s interpretations of Paul’s words along with the dilution of the Master’s begins, a philosophy that IS built upon that most nebulous doctrinal idea of faith. In the last essay we again repeated the Apostle Paul’s ideas on “another gospel” and while the doctrinal thinker believes that ALL that others believe which DOES NOT agree with his own opinion IS this “another gospel“, the reality IS that ALL doctrinal ideas that DO NOT include the most clearly stated ideas from Jesus’ words IS such.
Such ideas as those found in our trifecta ARE His word and in each part we find the reality of keeping His words. In the first He frames this as “If ye continue in my word“, in the second He relates this to the “will of my Father“, which IS also His word, and in the third He addresses “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them“. Can we see the point here and understand that it IS in the vanity of men, in their illusion and glamour, that they have cunningly devised ways to replace in their minds the need be “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). And the True rewards of being a DOER ARE attached to Jesus instructions from the trifecta but even the idea of reward IS summarily dismissed by much of the doctrinal world which misplaces the idea in their theories on the free gift of salvation.
The common doctrinal understanding of this free gift IS grace but that too IS a nebulous doctrinal idea and in the doctrinal teachings of many denominations and sects this idea of grace IS deemed to be things of this world; for some abundance, for others healing and for too many the idea IS attached to Jesus’ words saying “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24). Such teaching encourages men to ‘pray‘ for such things as they want in this world and while some may achieve their desires, most DO NOT and this failure IS most always blamed on insufficient faith. But the reality of grace IS found in the Master’s words and this despite the fact that he rarely uses the idea of charis which IS rendered as thank in Jesus words saying “if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them” (Luke 6:32).
This IS the reality of grace, of charis, in this world and we should understand that this IS NOT a carnal reward but rather a spiritual one. As we have discussed in previous posts, this same idea IS offered by Matthew in terms of reward from the Greek word misthos which can also be understood in terms of wages.; the Master says “if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?” (Matthew 5:46). This view of Jesus’ words should be seen in opposition to the doctrinal interpretation of grace based in Paul’s writings which use both charis and the kindred word charisma but instead it IS seen in terms of the same thank that IS interpreted from Luke. This doctrinal view of grace as the free gift of salvation has morphed into these many other lines of doctrinal thinking, many of which relate to material abundance, healing and other benefits to the self in this world. But this nebulous idea of charis IS then tied by many to the equally nebulous ideas of faith and believing so that faith IS the activator if you will for such grace in one’s Life.
And, of course, this benefit comes ONLY to the Christian, the man who has accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior or by whatsoever means pertains to a particular doctrine; it IS this man who will receive grace from God and we should note here that many tie this receiving of grace to other nebulous factors of Life….some require living a ‘Christian’ Life while others employ the ideas taken from Jesus words such at those above from the Apostle Mark’s Gospel. Some require some combination of these things or place the emphasis on tithing; ALL fail however to reconcile their ideas with the secular world that has the same benefits without the nebulous doctrinal ideas that religions have attached. And here is the rub: in the secular world one must work for his reward and it IS generally True that it IS in such effort that one succeeds while the religious world would seek the grace of God merely by asking.
We should see here that as the secular can also reward one without effort, so DOES the religious world; in the one it IS called luck or good fortune while in the other it IS the grace of God. Of course these ideas DO NOT account for ALL variations of receiving; there IS inheritance on both sides as well as other forms of carnal benefit and the point here IS that such worldly benefits ARE just that, worldly and carnal, and the chances of secular success versus religious success, while NOT measured, ARE likely equal. The greater point here IS that there IS grace, there is charis and charisma, and that these, while free, must yet be earned. Grace IS ALL things that come from God and while grace may result in some carnal reward, the grace itself IS NEVER carnal.
The defining idea of charis should be seen in terms of the Master’s usage rather that the ideas applied to this word by the doctrinal interpretation of Paul’s words. This IS ONLY possible by seeing the link between the gospel presentations of Luke and Matthew where the one shows us charis, unfortunately rendered as thank, credit and praise, and the other misthos; in the one we see what comes from God as grace as the reward for Love while in the other we see that such IS earned by a man’s effort in Love. We should understand here that Luke, in using charis, IS tying grace to the action of universal Love by using the exception of specific Love while Matthew IS showing us the same thing using misthos which, while generally rendered as reward, IS defined as: pay for service 9a and it with this defining idea that we should understand the reward.
This IS the reality that should be applied to grace, to charis and to the kindred word charisma, and while these ARE technically free and a gift, the doctrinal understanding IS NOT the True intent of these words. Both Strong’s and Thayer’s 9a,9 define these words according to the doctrinal ideas that have been established but the Master’s sayings from Luke and Matthew show DO us the True intent: that both charis and misthos ARE the reward for Universal Love which IS the KEY to the Truth of keeping His words and the most primary emphasis of the entirety of the New Testament; this we should be able to see clearly through Paul’s words that make Love and keeping His words the same. We read again:
“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).
If we can see charis as grace and understand grace as ALL that comes from the Godhead, from both His Transcendent and His Immanent natures, and that naught that comes from God IS carnal in nature, we can then better understand the deep reality of the great Truth that “there is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:11). This IS the reality of the relationship between the man in this world and God; there IS NO picking and choosing one over another as doctrines would have us believe and there IS NO giving of carnal rewards to men from God. There IS ONLY the kind of grace, of reward, that comes into the Life of everyman in revelation and realization of the Truth; every thing that a man may receive carnally which he believes to be in answer to his prayers IS either happenstance or the product of the human psyche which DOES have great power in this carnal world. Here we should NOT forget one’s own efforts toward the answer to one’s prayer.
There ARE also doctrinal ideas of grace that ARE NOT specifically carnal and these we should also see in terms of reward or of wages for what one IS able to DO as a man in this world through whom such grace flows. This IS the point of our trifecta which shows the flow of grace into the lives of men who will “continue in my word” or who “hath my commandments, and keepeth them“. To such men the reward IS great and IS clearly stated by the Master as Truth and the Presence of God; it IS the revelation and the realization of these things, of the Truth and His Presence, that ARE the grace of God which flows through the Life of those that will be “doers of the word“. It IS by this DOING that one can “enter into the kingdom of heaven” as Jesus promises to “he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” and we should try to see here that this ‘entry’ IS by measure to every man who will strive toward this goal.
And this IS the point: striving IS the effort of the man who sees the goal and charis IS his reward as he comes to KNOW the Truth by measure and realize the Presence of God as the Soul, the Christ Within, steadily overcomes the carnal nature and the vanity in which one has lived, and this by the same measure as his effort to strive. In this IS also the reality of salvation, of being saved. What IS it that one IS being saved from but one’s own “bondage of corruption” which IS the vanity (Romans 8:20, 21) to which he has been subjected through his birth, his nurturing and his indoctrination into Life in this world? It IS in coming to KNOW the Truth that one realizes his own salvation and the measure of his KNOWING IS his measure of grace; this IS the greater reality of such ideas as “by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).
Can we see the point here and can we understand that the ONLY part in this that the carnal man plays IS in his dissatisfaction with his carnal Life which IS prompted by his own Soul? This dissatisfaction allows for a man to hear, through his own conscience, the prompting of the Soul and it IS in following this prompting that one can be seen as striving toward the things of God. In this striving IS the reality of Repentance also as this striving causes such change in the Life of a man that he will make: Such a virtuous alteration of the mind and purpose as begets a like virtuous change in the life and practice 4 as Vincent defines metanoeo which IS rendered as Repent. It IS this that leads a man to the fulfillment of his True purpose in Life rather than his continuing in his vanity, his illusion and glamour, which Vincent defines for us in from the perspective of the Soul saying that mataiotes IS that: perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends 4.
We must see such striving as the goal of everyman and this despite the carnal Truth that few can see this Truth through the illusion and the glamour in which he lives. While it IS the secular world that DOES NOT and CAN NOT see this goal, it IS the religious world that seldom even looks and this because they believe that they have already found their ‘salvation’ in their doctrines. For many their Repentance IS simply to change from one’s secular doctrine to a religious one. We should recall here the ideas that we recently presented on the Apostle Paul as our example of the Life of the religious men and how that his lifelong indoctrination into the Jews religion so blinded him to the Truth that he was a partner in that “great persecution against the church” (Acts 7:59) believing “that he doeth God service“. Paul, according to the Apostle Luke’s writings in the Book of Acts, strongly believes that he “doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven“.
And the caution that Jesus offers His disciples regarding such believing should NOT be seen as restricted to the Jews in those days but should be extended, even to today, as zealots of every religious stripe have caused havoc in the world from the beginning. This IS the condition of the indoctrinated man whose fervor for God takes carnal form and the admixture of this fervor with the emotions of a man result in such illusory beliefs as Paul expressed as he tells his story saying “I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women” (Acts 22:4). Before his great Awakening on the road to Damascus Paul would never admit to his illusion and his glamour, the vanity in which he was trapped, but afterward it becomes for him as clear as day. He was deluded and fulfilled Jesus warning that “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).
We should understand here that this believing by men that they “doeth God service” need NOT include killing but any review of the history of religions will show such as well as the mean mistreatment of those who believe contrary to the persecutor’s indoctrination. Yet today there ARE examples of such killing and while much of this IS restricted to the Muslim world, there ARE ample Christian examples of the same. So long as men convince themselves that they “doeth God service” through their doctrinal religious manner of Life, they will continue to fail in their search for Truth and be among the deceived that believe and DO NOT DO according to the Apostle James words saying “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves“. And who IS the DOER? He IS the one in whose Life there IS the measure of Truth, the measure of the Presence of God and an equal measure of being in His Kingdom according to 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 unfortunate that James words ARE allowed to pale in comparison to Paul’s words and we should try to see how that the sheer volume of Paul’s writings, two thirds of the New Testament according to doctrines, IS a primary factor in this elevation of Paul’s writings over ALL other parts. Another factor IS found in the way that Paul’s voluminous writings ARE easy to interpret into ideas that agree with the carnal leanings of men without the strictness that IS found in James words or the straightforward clarity of Jesus’ words such as we have in our trifecta. Few understand that Paul’s words DO say the same thing as the Master’s and, while from a different perspective, the same thing as James’ words as well.
James tells us to “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” and while this IS easy to understand, it IS NOT so easy to reinterpret into doctrinal ideas as IS Paul’s saying that “by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God“. This latter saying can take on any meaning that one applies to the ideas of grace and faith while the former words from James CAN NOT be made to say anything but the stated Truth. Despite the clarity the doctrinal thinker DOES try to inject doctrinal ideas into James’ words; John Gill for example attaches the idea of deception to the faculty of hearing saying: men should not depend upon their hearing, as if that would save them; this is deceiving your own selves; such as rest upon the outward hearing of the word will be sadly deceived 8.
For us James’ point IS clear as it will be to ALL who can look past the doctrinal approach that IS based in Paul’s words. James IS showing us that to listen to the Truth, be it from one’s own Soul or from the written and oral presentations of the Truth such as the Master and His apostles expounded, IS for naught spiritually unless such hearing results in DOING. It IS in NOT DOING that one IS deceived as he IS left in his own vanity, his own illusion and glamour, which IS amplified because he has come to believe that his hearing IS sufficient. This IS quite contrary to the doctrinal approach to Paul’s words. Beneath the doctrinal interpretations of Paul’s words there IS however the same Truth of DOING; we read this in the apostle’s words saying “For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified” (Romans 2:13).
This too IS clear but because of the context in which we find these words there IS much room for interpretation. In his words Paul uses the Greek word dikaios which IS rendered as just while the kindred word dikaioo IS rendered as justified; both these words have a more specific meanings which ARE in terms of righteousness and this IS how many others render Paul’s idea. For us the idea of justified IS NOT as clear as the idea that IS intended by righteous which, in biblical terms, has a meaning of being in right standing with God; however, this word has been diluted and changed by the doctrinal thinker much in the same way as IS Repentance. Much of the problem with the idea of righteousness IS based in Paul’s writings which, while intended for the man who Truly strives through keeping His words, ARE deemed to be addressed to everyman who believes himself as saved by his doctrinal assent.
But Paul’s words ARE NOT meant for such who DO NOT Truly strive but rather for the man who, as Abraham, can Truly stand upon the word of the Lord based in the Truth of believing. The doctrinal thinker however uses Paul’s words to his supposed benefit as he imputes righteousness to himself in the same way that the Lord imputed righteousness to Abraham according to scripture; Paul speaking of Abraham tells us that he “against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake* alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead” (Romans 4:18-34).
We should remember here also that there IS a great disparity between the age of Abraham, and most ALL reports of men in those days, and Paul’s experience in the time of Christ. We should note that much of the apostle’s commentary regarding Abraham IS based in this disparity. The length of Life of men from the Book of Genesis IS unconscionable to us today and in Paul’s time Life expectancy was even less than it IS today. Our point here IS that there IS something to be gleaned from this decreasing idea of Life expectancy which IS presented to us in the bible and while we DO NOT KNOW what that IS, we should understand that Abraham’s being an hundred years old IS more like today’s man being in his forties or fifties than the picture of age seemingly presented to us by Paul. The point of the story IS however Abraham’s faith and here we should try to see this NOT as that nebulous idea of Christian doctrine but rather that sense of KNOWING, without doubt, that IS accorded by Jesus to a True man of God.
The Master tells us 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” and in this we should see the eternal idea of DOING those things that ARE based in and on the Truth which flows from the Inner Man….the Soul. We should try to see here also that the reality of this Truth IS Love, it IS agape, and while there IS NO written word of God in Abraham’s time there IS still the unction, the anointing by which “ye know all things” (1 John 2:20). It IS from James that we learn that “Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God” (James 2:23) and if we apply the higher reality of such believing, the higher idea of pisteuo as KNOWING, we can then see deeper into Abraham and his realization of Truth.
The imputation of righteousness IS according to His KNOWING and his KNOWING IS in accord with the Master’s words on keeping His words which has ever been the Truth toward which the man in the world should strive. There IS NOT a lot of information regarding Abraham but what we DO have, while channeled into the nebulous idea of faith by the doctrines of men, can be better understood in the same way as we should see it now. To keep His words IS to KNOW and this comes by measure to everyman who will strive to DO so; Abraham KNOWS God and from this we should understand that he keeps His words despite having NO apparent written or oral instruction to DO so. In this he IS called “the Friend of God” and in this we have the imputation of righteousness.
Much is made of Abraham’s wealth in the Genesis story and many make this a large part of the story; if however we can see that this idea of wealth IS intended to attract others who lived in those times to the reality of keeping His words, we can perhaps better understand the intent of the written story as well as the oral tradition that most likely preceded it. No place DO we read that Abraham strives for wealth, we ONLY read that he has wealth and that he follows the prompting of the Lord in his Life which results in his wealth. James helps us to understand the idea that Abraham’s striving was NOT toward the things of the world in calling him “the Friend of God” and then showing us that to strive toward the things of the world IS contrary to this friendship. The apostle says “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4).
We should try to see here that to be “a friend of the world” forges an adulterous relationship with God as Abraham, or any man, who seeks the things of the world over the things of God IS choosing the vanity, the illusion and the glamour, over the prompting of the Lord….the prompting of the God Within to the Good, the Beautiful and the True things of God. This IS the reality of the story of Abraham through which we can see rather clearly that while he IS NOT perfect in his thoughts, attitudes and actions, he DOES NOT leave off of his striving toward the things of God, things that allow him to KNOW God because he KNOWS the Truth.
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
- ** Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 3 (University of California Press, 2015)
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
