ON LOVE; PART MCCCXX
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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).
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In the last essay we briefly discussed Jesus’ Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders which shows the Way of the disciple against the way of the carnal man. It IS unfortunate that the precepts embodied in this comparison ARE NOT seen as being among ‘His words’ which IS the subject of the story itself that IS ‘addressed’ to “whosoever heareth these sayings of mine“. We should understand here that these words which ARE barely parabolic ARE NO less His sayings than any of His other words and, if we can look at the results of keeping such, we can perhaps gain some insight into the reality that IS Life here in this world. While the church looks toward a eternal Life in heaven that IS the ‘gift‘ of God to the ‘believer‘, there IS a greater reality that IS shown to us in the Master’s many words on Life and death which the Churches ‘favorite’ apostle repeats for us saying “if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live“. The resulting ideas of the state of one’s ‘house‘ ARE intended to impact the Life of a man in the here and now and NOT in some nebulous idea of a future place in heaven. The man who keeps His words IS steady in the face to ALL that IS happening around him and if we can see his house as his flesh, his body and his personality combined, and see His words as the rock upon which the house now stands, we can then see the Life of the disciple, the saint and, by measure, ALL that Truly strive to keep His words. Conversely, there IS the man who “heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not“; this man has NO foundation in His words as they ARE become unimportant in his Life. Here his flesh, his house, IS NOT steady but IS as the Apostle James shows us saying that he “is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed” (James 1:6). We add James’ words here to emphasize the point of measure and to highlight the amplified idea that James brings us regarding a man’s ability to be single-minded; that IS to have the single eye. It IS in this category of being single-minded, of have a singular focus upon the the things of God that the fullness of the reward comes; this IS that steady place in the face to ALL that IS happening around him. We should try to see here that the Truly single-minded man IS rare in this world and has ever been so and while the doctrines of men may provide a man with a level of comfort in which he believes that he IS that steady house, this IS but a fleeting effect of the carnal mind that IS yet focused upon the things of the self and a nebulous search for that place called heaven. Repeating the Master’s parable we read:
“whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it” (Matthew 7:21-27).
We should understand here that these words close the Sermon on the Mount as Matthew presents this to us and the idea of “these sayings of mine” DO encompass the entirety of the Master’s words in this Sermon that IS the embodiment of Jesus’ instructions to a world of men that IS trapped in vanity, trapped in a doctrinal approach to the Lord. While we present our trifecta of spiritual reality in most every essay as some of Jesus’ most leading words on the reality of the Way, the Truth and the Life which the Master represents to this world, we should ever remember the constant prompting which He leaves for us in his parables and stories. In the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders we have one of the clearest views of His Truth. The idea of this parable IS simply put by Paul who tells us that “if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live“. In these words we should see the Way of the Wise builder against the way of the foolish one; for the one there IS Life while for the other there IS his continuing in the spiritual death which IS the vanity to which ALL ARE subjected by their presence here in this world. That the doctrines of men have missed this IS itself a product of that vanity, complete with its real sense of illusion and glamour, through which so many doctrinally oriented men DO continually convince themselves that they ARE on the real path to ‘salvation‘ and through which the less religious see the normality of Life in this world. We should remember here Vincent’s defining idea for this Greek word that IS rendered as vanity in our King James Bible and in terms of “failure and unreality“, futility, frustration and “God’s curse” by others; Vincent tells us of mataiotes that: the reference is to a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends 4. In vanity this idea IS implied while in the Weymouth rendering of “failure and unreality” Vincent’s ideas ARE easily seen; in such ideas as futility, frustration and “God’s curse” however the doctrinal bent of men clearly shows through. And it IS in this vein that the apostles write such condemning ideas regarding the relation ship between the world and the Way of Truth. Ideas such as James’ saying that “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). and Paul’s saying that “the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” (Romans 8:7) should lead us to understand or at least glimpse the Truth but these have been misinterpreted into doctrinal themes which hide the greater Truth. To this we should add the Apostle Peter’s words from his second epistle that show us the corruption that IS Life here in this world as he tells us that the Lord “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:3-4).
We should try to understand that contrary to the doctrinal ideas of God and Satan as personalities vying for the attention of men, there IS the logical and scripturally driven reality of the Spirit and the Soul of a man vying for the attention of the consciousness trapped in vanity, to pull its attention away from “the corruption that is in the world through lust” and to hold that attention upon the God Within which has possession of those “exceeding great and precious promises“. It IS this idea that IS Paul’s point as he tells us that men can “mortify the deeds of the body” through “his Spirit that dwelleth in you“; we need ONLY to understand that “his Spirit” IS NOT the singular reality of that “One Boundless Immutable Principle; one Absolute Reality which, antecedes all manifested conditioned Being” ** but rather that part of God, as a spark from the Divine Flame, that IS the Spirit of man manifest as his Soul. This opens up the possibilities for ‘salvation‘, for discipleship and being the True saint, to ALL men and NOT just the Christian as doctrines profess in their corporate sense of illusion and glamour. It IS this corporate glamour that IS both the cause and the effect of the indoctrination that causes those so inclined to see their doctrinal perspective as the Truth. While many Truly believe that it IS ONLY the Christian who IS doctrinally “born again” that can be ‘saved‘ there ARE many more who simply accept the doctrinal precepts as their religious outlook without engaging in the evangelizing that much of the church imposes upon the ‘believer‘. Many millions of Christians have NO firm belief in much of what the church teaches while for millions of others there IS a sense of fear that causes them to try to believe as they were indoctrinated “because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of hell” as the original Act of Contrition cites. Who stands by what belief IS nearly impossible to tell as ONLY the individual Truly KNOWS his own heart and religious ideas and practices ARE easily feigned in and out of the church. And this IS the point of the Master’s words that tell us rather clearly that “by their fruits ye shall know them“. While the topic of Jesus’ words IS the “false prophets“, we should try to see the greater reality of ALL men. To be sure Jesus’ reference here IS to spiritual teachers and those who profess to KNOW the Truth; Thayer’s defines this idea in a biblical way as established by their interpretations of the Old Testament prophets but they DO give us this as well: that the prophet IS universally, a man filled with the Spirit of God, who by God’s authority and command in words of weight pleads the cause of God and urges the salvation of men 9. In this we should see man who feigns such, the man who IS actually among the “ravening wolves“, and here we should understand that ALL wolves ARE ravening. We should try to see that the idea here need NOT be purposefully misleading as IS presumed from the text; we should try to see that the Master’s continuing words better define the gist of the “false prophets“. Here we should include ALL that may have “prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works” with the assumption that many such persons DO believe that what they ARE saying, doing and believing IS the Truth. These too ARE among the “false prophets” and while some may work from a purely selfish perspective, there ARE many others that fall into the latter class who through their own indoctrination seek to spread whatsoever they believe. If we can relate this to the atmosphere of religion today we can see the way that each individual denomination and sect has come to believe that what they teach IS the Truth as they work vigorously to enhance their own vision which ofttimes IS at odds with the Master’s teaching. The overriding point of all this IS in the idea that “Ye shall know them by their fruits” which IS the ONLY way to Truly KNOW the heart of another and of oneself. ALL of this can be seen in Jesus’ words that precede the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders and ALL of this should be taken and understood together; Jesus tells us:
“all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. Enter ye in at the straita gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 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. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:12:23).
In the end here Jesus shows us the plight of ALL who DO NOT bear such fruit and this fruit should be understood in terms of Jesus Himself, in terms of the example that He represents to the world. We can see this more clearly by incorporating Paul’s list of “the fruit of the Spirit“, spiritually understood, as one’s expression of Truth and that Universal Love that forms the first part of His words in our selection above….the Golden Rule. It IS important to understand that these words play directly into the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders; we should see that those who ARE the Wise ARE those that “doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” while those that ARE the foolish ARE those to whom He says “I never knew you“, those that DO NOT “the will of my Father“. While it appears that there IS NO middle ground here, we should ever understand the role of striving and the measure of Truth and Love that this can bring into the Life of the man who Truly seeks the Lord. It IS this striving that IS diminished by the doctrinal ideas of men, doctrinal ideas that tell a man that he IS ‘saved‘ through his rites and his rituals and that there IS naught else that IS needed. Here however the doctrinal thinker finds ONLY a sense of comfort and NOT a sense of Truth. This IS a level of comfort in which he believes that he IS that steady house built upon the rock; this IS however but a fleeting effect of the carnal mind that IS yet focused upon the things of the self and a nebulous search for that place called heaven, a ‘place’ to which the Master shows us the Way saying “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“. While the doctrinal presentations of their precepts IS based mostly in Paul’s words, words that ARE taken out of context and combined with other out of context ideas, much of this IS ever in conflict with the Truth that the Master left us as well as with Paul’s own words when rightly understood. Returning then to the apostle’s words we repeat our selection from the eighth chapter of his Epistle to the Romans; we read:
“they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in
hope, Becauseexpectation that the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:5:23).
Paul’s argument here IS that those who Truly seek the Lord ARE those that “are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh” but rather have an obligation to “mortify the deeds of the body“. We should KNOW here that the subject here IS NOT the gross carnal “deeds of the body” but ALL thoughts, attitudes and actions that ARE the product of the carnal desires of men; ALL desires that have the self or the things of the self as their focus. While the doctrinal thinker may believe that his doctrinal approach replaces the reality of the Master’s words on how it IS that one can have the True Presence of God in one’s Life, the Truth IS found in Paul’s words saying that “if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live” with a right understanding of just what such deeds may be. We should understand that to refrain from what men may believe to be such deeds, murder, theft, and the variety of sexual offenses that the church has deemed as ‘wrong’, IS a good thing. Generally left out however ARE the equally ‘wrong’ ideas of covetousness, adultery as well as the many forms of bearing false witness that ARE routinely found in our political discourse and the church’s own discourse regarding such things that they feel strongly about. We should try to see that Paul’s words ARE clear here but the interpretations of men prevent their True understanding; there IS a failure to understand the basic idea that mortify should engender, much the same way that men fail to see the reality in his words saying that “they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (Galatians 5:24). The greater point here IS that men, Christian men especially, desire to be in right standing with the Truth and it IS through this desire that the doctrines that govern their spiritual lives have evolved. Men have ever seen the Truth in a strictly black and white manner, one IS either ‘saved‘ or NOT ‘saved‘, and despite the nebulous nature of such doctrinal ideas, millions upon millions have come to rely upon them over the centuries. NO man today can say with certainty what was the after Life experience of any who have passed on….this ALL remains a complete unknown and this despite the various stories told by those who appear to have been deceased for some brief time. The very nature of man as a complex being with a personality that separates him from others in the animal kingdom IS yet a mystery and, to be sure, there IS more viable information in ‘occult’ literature than there IS coming from the scientific community regarding such things as mind, emotions and the state of a man before his birth and after his death in this world. This however IS NOT the direction that we study here in these blog posts; our direction IS to show the most basic Truths found in the teachings of the Master and the amplifying and clarifying teachings of His apostles. It IS in a proper reading of their words that we can find the ideas of measure and of striving that can change the black and white perspective of the doctrinal thinker who, if he seriously considered his Life, would find himself ever in that grey area between these two opposing poles. Perhaps it IS in the very idea of grey that the realities of spiritual Life in this world ARE diminished by the doctrinal views of men who desire to be on the right side and who convince themselves that they ARE through their doctrinal approach to the Lord where the very idea of ‘once saved, always saved’, IS used by many. Grey IS defined as: of a color between white and black; dark, dismal, or gloomy; dull, dreary, or monotonous* and most ALL of these ideas can show us the very nature of most everyman’s worldly Life as he IS yet trapped in the vanity, the illusion and the glamour, that IS Life in this world. And while most ALL doctrinal thinkers may believe that they ARE freed by their doctrinal view, the ONLY True freedom comes according to the Master’s words and, here again, in His words from 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).
The points here ARE the same as those from Paul who tells us that “if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live” and that those that ARE free, those that “are Christ’s” as the apostle writes this, “have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts“. There IS NO difference between the Master’s central idea that we should keep His words and the apostle’s idea that we should “mortify the deeds of the body“. To keep His words IS to focus upon the things of the Spirit, the things of God, through a Truly renewed mind that IS renewed by “his Spirit that dwelleth in you” and here again we must go to Jesus’ own words that show us how that a man can realize that Spirit. Jesus tells us that “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” and there IS NO other place in the New Testament that can tell us how this can work. And again we must go to the reality of the Master’s words on fruit as He tells us that “by their fruits ye shall know them” and we must understand there that while the discourse IS regarding the “false prophets“, the false teacher, it corresponds as well to the man of Truth. The fruits of the Life of the man who DOES NOT have such realization of His Presence ARE focused upon the self and NOT the reality of Jesus’ teachings on Love which IS the paramount idea of fruit in the Life of one that Truly keeps His words. As the doctrines of men discount the reality of keeping His words as the ‘gateway’ to His Presence, they convince themselves and those that they teach that to DO so IS NOT necessary and NOT possible which ideas ARE True in the Life of the “natural man” (1 Corinthians 2:14) which IS everyman that IS yet caught in the vanity that uses “the carnal mind” which IS “enmity against God“. It IS this same “carnal mind” that IS used to define spiritual ideas in doctrinal terms rather than in the Truth that the Master teaches us, Truth that the carnality of men deems impossible because it IS contrary to established doctrinal precepts forged in the vain unwillingness of men to DO as James tells us saying “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). We should understand here that to be Truly “led by the Spirit of God” IS NOT the result of one’s doctrinal rites, rituals or affirmations and confessions, to be “led by the Spirit of God” IS the result of keeping His words. In the logical presentation from Paul and the other apostles this IS clearly shown to us but their appeal remains unrealized by those who have divorced the apostles’ words from the words of the Master as they take upon themselves the results but ONLY in words of comfort and NOT in Truth. Much of the apostles’ writings ARE addressed to those who ARE Truly focused upon the things of God, those who strive to keep His words. While Paul IS explaining the deeper Truths to such men in terms that he thinks that they can understand, he IS at the same time encouraging them to be as his IS and nowhere in his writings DOES he ever encourage us to forego the teachings of the Master. Yet this is the effect of men’s doctrines which emphasize the apostle’s writings over the Master’s teaching. Men believe that they ARE “in the Spirit” without ever measuring the fruitfulness of their lives and without ever understanding the force of such ideas as “ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you“. There IS a question here that IS answered by the Master in our trifecta; “if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you” must be understood according to His words that tell us just how this comes to be.
Again, Jesus tells us “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” and we should understand here that nothing that Paul tells us DOES undo this saying. While the doctrinal approach sees their ‘salvation‘ in Paul’s words saying that say “if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10), it DOES NOT recognize that these words ARE a continuation of the apostle’s words that we ARE studying from the eighth chapter. The leap from the need to keep His words that we find in the reality of Paul’s requirement for True Life, the requirement that one DOES “mortify the deeds of the body“, to the most simple ideas of affirmation and confession, IS a leap of the “carnal mind” of which we should understand that “the carnal mind is enmity against God“. And we should try to understand that this doctrinal approach IS based solely in the degree of ease that men can find in so believing rather than the KNOWING value of the Greek word pistis, a KNOWING that also comes according to the Master’s words. In this regard Jesus says “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 here again we have the conditional idea of if. It IS the Truth that frees us from the vanity, from the illusion and the glamour of Life here in this world and if we could but see that this freedom IS the salvation of men, we could then better understand the apostle’s words as he intended them. There ARE likely many millions who Truly DO “believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead” but this IS an historical fact. We should note here that a True ‘confession‘ that “Jesus is Lord“, as this IS worded in most ALL bible translations and implied in the King James, also takes us to the Master’s own words, to His rhetorical question that asks “why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). Can we see the point here? Can we see that Paul’s intent IS NOT to create doctrine but to embellish Jesus own words where the very idea of believing and meaningfully calling Him Lord requires that one DOES keep His words. For many professed Christians these ideas of confession and affirmation ARE their cornerstone of spiritual reality but one that IS NOT founded on His words as the rock upon which the house now stands, the rock of keeping His commandments; their cornerstone IS rather founded upon the sand which IS the reality of the ways of men that DO NOT see the the eternal quid pro quo of keeping His words. While this may seem a harsh assessment, we should look at Jesus words regarding entry into the Kingdom, words that limit this to the man who will “doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven“. To this we should add the Apostle James’ words that call the man who hears the Truth and ignores it saying that this man IS deceived and, if we can conflate James words with the Master’s own words that describe the man whose ‘actions’ appear to be in conformance with the Truth, we should be able to discern the greater Truth that these words should invoke. The most simple Truth of spiritual reality IS founded in keeping His words and as James shows us men’s failure to DO so as deception saying that we should “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves“, the Master shows us much the same thing as he tells us that “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. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21-23).
The point here IS that NOT being “doers of the word“, to NOT “doeth the will of my Father” IS the source of the deception of men that IS founded in the vanity, in the illusion and the glamour of Life and this deception IS the cause of the doctrinal beliefs of men who place themselves into the rewards of spiritual Truth, rewards that include their entry into “the kingdom of heaven” without keeping His words. Paul takes these same ideas from a different perspective as he shows us the resulting actions of the man in this world, that he would “mortify the deeds of the body” which IS the KEY to that Life that we should see as living in “the kingdom of heaven“, living free from “the corruption that is in the world through lust“.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition
- 9 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon on blueletterbible.org
- 9a The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible on blueletterbible.org
- * Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
- ** A Treatise on Cosmic Fire by Alice A Bailey © 1951 by Lucis Trust
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
