ON LOVE; PART MCCCXXXVIII
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).
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ
We ended the last essay with Jesus’ rhetorical question that asks “why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:44, 46). This question IS NOT posed to any particular group of persons but IS a more general idea that IS tied in the Apostle Luke’s presentation to Jesus words that show us how that we can KNOW who has “the mind of Christ” against the opposing idea of “the natural man“. These ARE the two opposing poles of carnal and spiritual but the Truth of this IS missed by the doctrinal thinker who sees himself as having the former when he IS most always the latter; the Truth IS missed because such men who see themselves as spiritual DO NOT understand the force of Jesus’ words which we generally take from Matthew’s Gospel but here we take from Luke’s. We read the Master’s words here as:
“For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:43-46).
There ARE a number of things that we should try to see and understand in Luke’s presentation and paramount here IS the reality of the idea behind the Greek word poneros which IS rendered as evil. The ideas presented here by the Master ARE spiritual ideas and, being such, we should NOT incorporate carnal meanings into His intent. Evil in this context, and many others, IS NOT the gross behaviors of men but rather the reality of their focus upon the carnal, their focus upon the things of the self and the self in this world. It IS men’s looking away from the Truth of God that IS evil and here we should see that ALL who have DO NOT have nor express this “good treasure” ARE evil. This should be understood as being yet trapped in the vanity, in the “bondage of corruption” that IS the Life of most everyman in this Earth. It IS in the idea that “every tree is known by his own fruit” that we should see the complexity of human behavior and understand that the good fruits of a man’s Life have little to DO with his religious affiliations and that some of the most giving ARE in many ways irreligious. While Matthew shows us this same idea in regard to the “false prophet“, the false teacher who DOES NOT teach the Truth of the Master’s words, Luke ties his rendition to the tendency of men to see evil in others while NOT seeing such in themselves and there IS a strong link between both these ideas as both ARE hypocritical toward the Truth. There IS also much the same in the ideas expressed as “every tree is known by his own fruit” and Matthew’s showing of the Master’s words as “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:15, 20). And while Matthew places Jesus’ words saying “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matthew 12:34) into a seemingly different context, we should see the harmony of these apostles’ ideas in the very nature of what IS being said, what IS being taught and what IS being believed by men in this world. The Jews insisted upon their doctrinal view, their mitzvah, which was contrary to the Truth and, in much the same way, the Christian insists upon his doctrinal view which IS also contrary to the Truth that “Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2) spoke 2000 years ago. It IS in this dichotomy of ideas, doctrines versus the Truth, that we find the deep spiritual ideas of good and evil….of carnal and spiritual. Equating the idea of good with the reality of spiritual can give us a insight into the reality of the use of the word good and Jesus’ saying to the rich young man “Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God” (Mark 10:18). In the same way that Jesus’ shows us the nature of good as this relates to God, we should see that the reality that “God is a Spirit” brings the same revelation to ideas of being spiritual. We should remember here that such ideas as good and spiritual ARE manifest in men by measure, a measure that IS directly proportionate to one’s True measure of focus upon the Truth of God. We should remember as well that True focus IS NOT upon the doctrinal assertions of men but upon the clear teachings of the Master and that evidence of such focus IS each man’s measure of expressed fruit. This fruit should always be seen in accord with the Apostle Paul’s list of what IS “the fruit of the spirit” and while the general ideas from the rendered words ARE carnally oriented, these can be a good start for one’s understanding of this list which begins, perforce, with agape. Paul tells us that “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith….Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).
While the carnal ideas of this list ARE mostly virtuous, the deeper spiritual meanings ARE the Truth of the fruit of which the Master speaks as He tells us of men that “Ye shall know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16). First in this list IS agape which IS so much more than the common ideas attributed to Love, and this includes doctrinal ideas of Love. Most ALL common ideas ARE specifically carnal and ARE in regard to that mental and emotional attraction and attachment that men have for others and for things and if we look at this against the list of those things that Jesus tells us we must forsake in True discipleship, we can perhaps better grasp His intent. The Master tells us that “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” (Luke 14:26). In this list we have the full array of those relations which ARE the subject of Love in a carnal sense and in this we should be able to better see the intended uniformity of agape with NO “respect to person” (James 2:9) which qualifies and enables one to “love thy neighbour as thyself“. The reality of agape DOES NOT hold any in this list above any neighbor and when we include the ‘things’ from Jesus words to Peter on forsaking which include “houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands” (Matthew 19:29), we can perhaps see the greater extent of those things that ARE men’s attachments and attractions in the common idea of Love. Understanding this IS to understand the greater reality of agape as this relates to the opposition of the carnal and the spiritual. We should NOT be fooled by Luke’s choice of the action word here which IS rendered as hate; the idea here, as we should learn from Matthew’s similar saying, IS more aptly that men should Love those on this list less than their spiritual pursuit of being Jesus’ disciple. Jesus continues on to say that “whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33) and here we should see the inclusion of things to the list of relationships and understand that the forgoing of relationships IS ever more difficult than forsaking one’s things. In these two verses we have then an clearer understanding of Jesus’ words to Peter whose question IS “Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?” (Matthew 19:27). The self-centered idea in Peter’s words IS missing in Luke’s version where we read the Peter saying “Lo, we have left all, and followed thee” (Luke 18:28) and while Mark’s version IS the same, we should note that the statement alone alludes to the idea of reward and hence Jesus answer. We should KNOW from this and many other gospel stories that Peter and the other disciples, while they ARE on the clear Path to Truth and Love, ARE yet harboring carnal thoughts and that this continues even past the Master’s resurrection. While the Master’s instructions on forsaking ARE rather clear in Luke’s Gospel, and while it IS rather clear that His apostles “have forsaken all“, His words ARE designed toward the reality of discipleship. And while millions proclaim that they ARE His disciples, we should ever remember His words here saying “whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple“. In this we should see the great test of True discipleship and understand that everyman, like Peter, gains the Truth and the fullness of agape by measure.
In the last essay we stated that we should try to understand that the difference between the Master’s words saying “Take no thought for your life” (Luke 12;22) and the idea of forsaking ALL IS but a matter of degree and that the former will, in the heart of the True follower of Christ, inevitably lead to the latter which Jesus frames for us in terms of True discipleship. We should remember as well that these ARE results, taking NO thought and forsaking, of the foremost objective of His teachings which IS that we should keep His words. It IS in keeping His words that we can realize some measure of the Truth that through agape, our Universal expression of Love, we will come to see the greater Truth of the very nature of God and man. In this we can come to understand that the Life of man IS NOT this form with its attendant personality but rather the Soul, the Christ Within. It IS in understanding this nature that we can see the reality of agape and KNOW that the underlying reason for our expression of agape in the world IS the reality of our Oneness as Souls, as part and parcel of the One God. While doctrines see Spirit, Soul and body as the nature of man, they ever concentrate upon the body as the True man in this world and have devised doctrinal ideas by which this body will endure eternally despite its demise and disintegration. But the body IS NOT a part of the trinity that IS man, nor IS the body a part of the Trinity that IS God. The third part of these Trinities IS the expression of the first two parts through a form that has for its basis ALL that opposes the inflow of Spirit and Soul; and this despite the reality that it IS the Spirit and Soul that give the form its Life. We should be able to see this in Paul’s words on vanity from our selection saying that “the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same“. Should we be able here to see the idea of creature as the Life, the Spirit and Soul, we can then perhaps understand the reality of vanity which Vincent shows us saying that: Here, therefore, the reference is to a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends 4. It IS this Life, the Spirit and Soul, that IS lost in the vanity created through being in a human form whose personality takes charge of the human existence which IS then bombarded with nurturing and indoctrination into the ways of Life in this world. We should try to understand also that the Soul IS ever aware of his plight and IS ever prompting the personality to accept his impulses to the Good, the Beautiful and the True, impulses that ARE lost to the din of daily living and the pursuits of the personality. We should understand here that one’s religious Life IS as much a part of this din and one’s pursuits as ARE ALL other carnal and secular realities. It IS ONLY when one will allow the impulses of the Soul, the prompting if you will, to break through, that we can see the second part of Paul’s words saying that “the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God“. While most doctrines teach that these words from Paul ARE a depiction of the ‘fall of man’ from the Book of Genesis and the deliverance of men by the Lord according to their various doctrines, there IS a clearer reality. This reality DOES NOT rely upon the story of Adam and Eve, a story that was intended for a barbarous and superstitious generation of men 3500 years ago. We should understand that even to these ancient generations of men, the understanding may NOT have been what the Christian makes it today; we should see that what they teach today IS but a reflection of another era of barbarism and superstition, the era of the early church at the beginning of the first millennia anno Domini.
As we frequently point out, the idea of “shall be delivered” IS rendered from the Greek word eleutheroo which IS rendered in Jesus’ words from our trifecta as “make you free“. Can we see the alternate reality to the doctrinal ideas? Can we see that the vanity IS but the decaying condition of Life separate from God, and pursuing false ends? A condition of Life that men must escape from as the Apostle Peter shows us saying “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 1:4). We should understand that this vanity and this “bondage of corruption” ARE the same and ARE, as Peter shows us, in this world in the desires of men to be men and to have such things as comfort them. While many believe that they have the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, in their lives, this IS but a belief based in the doctrinal wranglings of men. Jesus tells us that the Way to this Presence of God IS found in keeping His words and we should try to understand that the apostles’ words that show men that they DO have this Presence, this Comforter, ARE words that presume that the reader IS DOING so….that the reader DOES “hath my commandments, and keepeth them” as Jesus tells us. We should understand as well that it IS the doctrines of men that lay contrary to the words of the Master and His apostles. It IS in their doctrinal presumptions which they teach regarding their nebulous ideas of faith and believing that Jesus comes into one’s Life. Few understand that the ultimate Truth of keeping His words IS the True comfort which the Master shows us IS the reality of the Presence of God as He calls the Holy Spirit thatComforter. We repeat here our trifecta of spiritual reality in Jesus words 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).
These words ARE our roadmap if you will to the spiritual reality that IS required to break through the vanity to which ALL are subjected. It IS in keeping His words that we can realize the Truth and understand the mysteries of Life which Paul shows us as “Christ in you“, a “mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints” (Colossians 1:26, 27). It IS unfortunate that the doctrines upon which so many Christians rely call their followers as disciples and as saints. We should see here that as the idea of disciple IS defined by the Master in terms of forsaking and keeping His words, so the idea of the saint IS defined for us but its usage and defining characteristics. Jesus never uses the word hagios to define the saint as the gospel use of this word IS most always rendered as holy, a rendering that can work in most every reference. To understand the impact of hagios, we need ONLY look at the way it IS used to speak about God, about the ‘third person’ of the Trinity, the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit. We should see here that for a man to consider himself as hagios, he IS considering himself in equal terms to the Spirit of God, the Spirit that IS God, and this IS clearly an outlandish consideration. We have often discussed the defining ideas of hagios and here the idea of its meaning as ‘a most holy thing’ should suffice to show us how that such claims to holiness or sainthood ARE warrantless save for the man who IS Truly Jesus’ disciple according to His criteria. The Apostle Peter shows us the reality of hagios saying “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:15-16); in this we should see that hagios IS the Nature of God and the objective of man in much the same way as we read Jesus words saying “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). Can the doctrinal Christian so arbitrarily consider himself to be hagios, to be on par with the nature of God and of His apostles who ARE Truly saints as best we can understand their lives? So Paul tells us that the mysteries ARE “made manifest to his saints” and, in the proper understanding of this idea of hagios, there ARE few in this world who can even approach the revelation of the True mysteries of Life. This being said, we should understand that there ARE those in this world who can glimpse the reality and sense some measure of the Truth and it IS to these that Jesus says rather clearly “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you” (Matthew 7:6); a saying that IS grossly misunderstood through the doctrines of men. While Vincent attributes things holy to: the meat offered in sacrifice 4 and he interprets the “pearls before swine” reference saying: Small pearls, called by jewellers seed-pearls, would resemble the pease or maize on which the swine feed. They would rush upon them when scattered, and, discovering the cheat, would trample upon them and turn their tusks upon the man who scattered them 4, we should again see carnal ideas placed into a spiritual reference. While the references to both may be based in carnal ideas that ARE True, this IS NOT the Master’s point nor His intent as these words ARE spoken in the midst of a series of Truly spiritual ideas. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Bible, tells us about the uncleanness of dogs in biblical terms citing some Old Testament references to the animal but DOES see a metaphorical reality in the idea of giving things “holy unto the dogs“. Mr. Gill tells us that it: “is generally understood of not delivering or communicating the holy word of God….to persons notoriously vile and sinful: to men, who being violent and furious persecutors, and impudent blasphemers, are compared to “dogs” 8. This IS an overly generalist view that DOES NOT divide the holy word of God of which Jesus says “whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19) from those mysteries of which Jesus tells His disciples “it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables” (Mark 4:11). Can we see the point here? Can we divide what ARE those things that ARE available to ALL men from those which they would NOT understand nor comprehend, those that ARE the mysteries which “them that are without“ CAN NOT KNOW because they have no foundation. We should understand here that “them that are without” ARE NOT ONLY the secular world of non-Christians but ARE ALL who have NOT the revelation of Truth that comes through keeping His words. Mr. Gill goes on to say, in regard to casting pearls, that: it seems rather to be the design of these expressions, that men should be cautious, and prudent, in rebuking and admonishing such persons for their sins, in whom there is no appearance or hope of success; yea, where there is danger of sustaining loss 8.
Mr. Gills commentary here IS of course contrary to so much that the Master has previously said in His Sermon on the Mount; from his words on judging, to His words on who to Love, to His words saying that men should “resist not evil” (Matthew 5:39). The reality of Jesus’ saying IS founded in the Truth that those who DO keep His words will have a revelation Truth which includes the ability of that man to KNOW what IS a part of the mysteries versus what IS the general teaching that will lead a man to those mysteries. From our perspective, much of what we write about, teach if you will, ARE among those ideas that would NOT be accepted by the average doctrinal Christian and therefore should NOT be presented to them in an open forum; much of what we say would cause some to “trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you“….metaphorically of course. Jesus admonition here IS to His disciples and perhaps to others that have had some measure of realization of the Truth and here we should try to see how that those that KNOW should NOT divulge openly any part of those things “which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 13:35) things which can in any way further confuse others. Our greater point here IS in the reality of the saint and the True meaning of holy plus the ever so clear idea of being Jesus’ disciple. That so many call themselves saints and disciples of the Lord IS a part of the doctrinal illusions and glamour that are painted in the vanity of Life through the continuous indoctrination of those who DO NOT take the time to Truly ask, seek and knock at the door of Truth but rather settle, as it IS, for their choice of the various doctrinal approaches. Approaches which they themselves can easily see ARE NOT in agreement even with each other. From our perspective ALL of these various doctrinal approaches to the Lord ARE evidence of what Paul calls “another gospel: which is not another” (Galatians 1:6-7) and today we have many, many of these in worldwide circulation. And this IS NOT Paul’s ONLY caution against such ideas as “another gospel“. In his First Epistle to the Corinthians the apostle writes against such things saying “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:10-13). Despite these words and his words on “another gospel” the church did divide and while most ALL of the early divisions were made moot by the power of those whose teaching caught on politically, the latter divisions persist and grow yet today. While ALL divisions proclaim to be “of Christ“, the reality IS that most ALL of His precepts, ALL of His commandments and most ALL of His teachings ARE ignored in favor of the words of His apostles; misapplied, misunderstood and out of context words to be sure. While Paul’s words can be understood in the time as fending off attempts to incorporate the new Christian ‘religion’ into the Jewish and attempts to subject the new ‘religion’ to an assortment of Jewish tenets which the Master Himself spoke against, the end result was much worse. Not ONLY did much of the Jewish traditions become Christian but an alternate reality became the foundation of the whole; a reality that found its basis in the wranglings of men, selfish wranglings to be sure, which allow for men to call themselves saints and disciples and to be holy without DOING as the original disciples and apostles had DONE through keeping His words. ALL of this IS “another gospel” and one that DOES NOT allow the words and commandments of the Master, the original gospel if you will, to flourish in the world of men. We should remember that such ideas as the Truth of keeping His words ARE for the most part called as heretical.
We should understand that Paul’s words, taken in context and as a whole, DO clarify and amplify the Master’s words and NONE so forcefully as our selection from his Epistle to the Romans which we repeat saying:
“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. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 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 IS telling us that it IS the conduct of a man that distinguishes the man that IS Truly “in Christ” from those who ARE NOT and we should understand that to be so IS to be among the “few there be that find it“, that “strait gate“, of which the Master tells us that “many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able” (Matthew 7:14, Luke 13:24). While the doctrinal thinker sees himself as being “in Christ“, he DOES so based on his indoctrination into his denominational thinking and NOT according to the apostle’s words that say “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:1). In the defining idea of being “in Christ” we should see the greater reality of walking “after the Spirit” which Paul goes on to interpret for us saying “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“. It IS when we tie this reality to the Master’s words from our trifecta, words that show us how that one can have “the Spirit of Christ“, that we can rightly understand the illusion under which so many live as they take upon themselves the glamour by which they have convinced themselves of their rightness and their righteousness. As Paul goes on to show us the very nature of the vanity that keeps men bound to the flesh, to the Life of the man in this world as a man, his point IS missed by the majority of men whose indoctrination has set them into a place where they believe that ALL IS in God’s hands while at the same time so few Truly understand what that means. And few understand that the very nature of their thoughts and their emotions along with their actions define them; few Truly understand that the “the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:1) means to change one’s thoughts and emotional response to become that which IS Truly in “the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). This IS accomplished according to our trifecta….through keeping His words. We close today with a simple thought that will lead us into the next essay and that IS the relationship between the illusion created by man, Satan and the devil, and the reality of the vanity into which ALL Souls ARE born, a vanity that IS everyman’s: perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends 4.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition
- 8 Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
