ON LOVE; PART MCCCLIX
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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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We ended the last essay with some thoughts on how our selection from Paul’s Epistle to the Romans creates for us a comparison between the carnal man and the spiritually oriented or focused man. We should note that this same comparison can be found in most ALL of the apostle’s writings which have been manipulated by men into the doctrinal ideas that we see in the various denominational presentations of his words. We should understand here that the purpose and the intended effect of the apostles’ writings IS ever to support the teachings of the Master, to amplify and to clarify His words which were often parabolic but more frequently given to us as clear instructions, some too clear to be sure. The intent of the Master’s words IS to teach men to look away from their doctrinal ideas and we can see this in the way that His words cut through the doctrinal practices of the Jews. But to look away from their indoctrinated ideas IS NOT the sole purpose, there IS the much deeper purpose which IS to sow Love, an understanding of the Truth of agape, into a society that IS seemingly devoid of such understanding. Too often men see the idea of commandments as rules and regulations that CAN NOT be broken without sin but this IS NOT the overriding purpose of the teaching from the beginning. While it IS True that through the offences and the penalties presented in the Old Testament there was a sort of ‘legal’ system created, this IS more likely because in that time it IS the ONLY way to ‘control’ and to teach a barbarous and superstitious humanity. While the offerings of the prophets and the ideas of some of the kings were intended to change this, there was little success as the force of vanity made men to see these offerings as contrary to their own freedom to live their lives as men in this world. Little has changed since the advent of the Christ as men still see Life through their individual and corporate sense of vanity and, while there IS ever greater movement toward a realization of the purpose of scriptural commandments, the effect of such a realization IS NOT yet spread through the churches. So long as the scriptural teachings of the Master and His apostles ARE seen through the vanity of men, there IS little hope that the Truth will flourish and much of this IS bound to the doctrinal ideas of heaven and hell. It IS these ideas, compounded by the various and often quite different teachings of their sense of Truth which keep men from the church today and this absence IS sensed by most ALL religious denominations and sects. As we have often said, it IS the newer ideas of religion that ARE garnering the attention of men and among these perhaps the teachers of the ‘prosperity’ gospel, so called, ARE seeing the greater degrees of interest. We should understand here however that this teaching IS wholly contrary to the Truth that the Master brought to the world as it emphasizes a sense of focus upon the carnal. Many offer men a ‘reward‘, a ‘supernatural’ receiving for one’s giving, for following in the doctrinal precepts that ARE created to afford men the ‘comfort’ of living their lives as men in this world. And this IS as it has always been; men creating doctrinal approaches that offer a sense of comfort in regard to those misunderstood concepts of heaven and hell.
Beyond the ‘prosperity’ gospel teachings there IS the new emphasis on non-denominational churches and an interest in a false start approach to new age teachings; this latter IS an idea that the organized churches strongly oppose and for strongly selfish reasons. That there IS a New Age IS indisputable; that there ARE effects of this New Age that can be see by the open-minded review of the history of human Life on this planet. The focus of men has changed from era to era, from age to age, and this IS an integral part of the evolution of men from the prehistoric to today. In the secular world the idea of ages IS codified in the history of our planet in both social and scientific terms, each setting apart a time period in which certain things ARE accomplished by the race. Many in the churches however ARE continually trying to render such ideas moot as they push for a history of the human race that conforms with those few words from the Book of Genesis which dictates that the whole of the Earth IS but 6000 to 10,000 years old according to their various interpretations. While this surely defies logic, it IS supported by the faith, nebulous as it IS, of the believer. The young Earth ideas ARE the product of some doctrinal teachers and some men of science who find ways to reinterpret secular science to match their various theories of the creation process. IS the Earth 6000 years old or IS the Earth 4.5 billion years old? This IS the question which we should try to see in terms of the Christian’ demand that the bible be viewed as the inerrant word of God. In the end this really DOES NOT matter to any; it IS but another distraction from the Truth of the Master’s words and the words of those who brought the human family revelations of Truth which have become the heart of other world religions. It IS unfortunate that most ALL of these world religions, the Hindu, the Buddhist, the Christian, Islam, Taoism, and so on have devolved into doctrinal presentations that ARE most often far afield from the Truth and the original teachings. This IS a world problem and while there ARE those in each religion that may see the Truth more clearly, their position IS NOT found in the popular doctrinal presentations to men. Again, this debate on the age of the Earth IS become yet another distraction from the Truth in the Christian world as ARE the endless theories of the supposed end times, theories that widely and wildly differ and which ARE compiled from unrelated parts of scripture which ARE most often the product of the ‘visions and dreams’ of the writers. Such ideas ARE ofttimes taken literally and used to define both the end times and the return of the Christ. We should note here that the timing of this end has been seen as happening now or soon from the time of the early church until today and can even be seen in their now according to the writings of some apostles who expected His return and the end during their own Lifetime.
While our recent writings may seem super critical of the doctrinal churches and their positions, we should rather that it be seen as an invitation to change from the hard doctrinal postilions, and there ARE many, toward a more open-minded view of the entirety of scripture. We should remember that this IS most difficult for the man who IS entrenched in his doctrinal views. We should understand that people have been leaving the church en-masse; many churches admit that there has been a large scale leaving of younger people and offer many reasons why this IS so. Few however seem to see that the most basic reason for leaving IS founded in the more mental approach to Life by the younger generations and we should try to see that this has been so for some time….it IS NOT a sudden problem. Ideas of heaven and hell may have propelled many toward religion in the past but to a thinking person this whole idea makes little or NO sense and this especially to those who have read the bible. Few there ARE that agree with the dictates of the various denominations and sects and perhaps much of the distance from the church IS founded in the idea that there ARE so many, so many ONLY True ways to the Lord. The Apostle Paul, in the same chapter of Romans from which comes the Christian’ precepts on affirmations and confessions, offers us some insight that has be disregarded by the church that believes that they ARE what the apostle suggests. Paul says: “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?” (Romans 10:13-16). In this we should see that there IS a cause and effect; we should see that there must be some form of instruction offered. And while the church believes that they DO offer this instruction, it IS disjointed, ALL to varied, and NOT the True Gospel of Jesus the Christ. What IS offered IS the “commandments of men“; and in this the Christian churches ARE in the same position as the Jews to whom the Master says “Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:6-7). We should try to see that the multiplicity of presentations of the One Truth has provided much reason for many to leave the church or to never take any interest. Many see right through the apparent hypocrisy engendered by openly opposed versions of Truth offered by the thousands of denominations and sects. Paul tells us of his understanding of the words of Isaiah saying “How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” and while most ALL divisions of the church believe that they ARE preaching “the gospel of peace“, they bring ONLY a dividing of the One Christ while at the same time ignoring completely the reality of His Gospel. None seem to see themselves in Paul’s words saying “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 1:12-13) and here we should be able see in these words the idea that they could be saying I am Lutheran ; and I am Presbyterian; and I am Catholic. Any denomination or sect names can be inserted here and ALL make Paul’s point and we should see that few there ARE that can Truly say “I of Christ“.
Add to this Paul’s words on “another gospel” and we should be able to understand that the teachings of the various churches ARE just that, “another gospel“; they ARE NOT the teachings of “the gospel of peace“, the True gospel of the Lord. While Paul’s words best fit the time in which he wrote them saying “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:6-7), the reality IS that this has never stopped. Those who took authority in the church continued “unto another gospel” which DID and DOES “pervert the gospel of Christ“. And this perversion IS in believing that His words ARE NOT the Way of salvation; that the True way IS found in the words of Paul, in the ideas of atonement; in rites and rituals, and in the confessions and affirmations prescribed by the doctrinal approach of men. What of Jesus’ words? What would be the response of men to the reality of His clear instructions to the world of men along with rational reasoning for the why and the how they show us the True way. It IS with this motivation: to show a rational reasoning for the why and the how through the words of the Master that we write this blog; it IS for this reason that we include our trifecta which we see as a summarization of the Way, the Truth and the Life that Christians append to the person of Jesus. It IS NOT His person, nor in believing in His person as this idea IS doctrinally understood, that IS the Way, the Truth and the Life. The reality of these ideas IS founded in His words, His teachings and His example of the True Way. If we look at the idea of believing in Jesus, in believing in the Christ as Lord and savior, through the lens that Vincent supplies us we can see that to Truly believe in Him in any regard IS: to rest the soul upon Him for present and future salvation, and to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life 4. Can we see the point here? Can we see how that such ideas as “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22) ARE the keynote to True Christianity? Can we see how that the Master shows us this same idea as He asks that rhetorical question “why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). It IS in His words that we find the Way, the Truth and the Life. And, in regard to the churches fixation on the idea that “no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” as their symbol that their collective way of doctrinal Christianity IS the ONLY way, we should rather see ALL that He represents through His words, His teachings and His example of the True Way. We should understand here that the doctrinal attitude developed from this misunderstood passage has misguided the church for 2000 years and created much division in the world. In this doctrinal attitude we find a primary reason for the hatred of Christians, which the church purports to see as persecution, as they relegate ALL other approaches to God as error through which ‘salvation‘ IS impossible. We should see here that this IS also a reason for the thinking man to leave the church as this rather irrational position IS seen by many as it IS….irrational and guided by that illusion and glamour that ALL doctrinal approaches suffer from. Another part of the rational reasoning for the why and the how must be found in a better understanding of the constitution, the very nature of man. When we can teach from His words the idea that this body IS NOT the True Life of a man, we can then perhaps foster an understanding that it IS NOT carnal rewards that we ARE after but spiritual rewards and it IS a view of these rewards that IS found in our trifecta which we repeat here 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).
To be sure, Jesus DOES teach such things as the True nature of man; we should realize however that He DOES so in terms that can be best understood by the yet barbarous and superstitious man of 2000 years ago. It IS this idea of the Inner Man, the Soul if you will, that has been seen in the churches as the idea of Jesus, Christ, God and the Holy Spirit being in a man based upon some magical doctrinal formula. The reality here however, a reality that IS revealed by the Master in His teachings on the Oneness of Life from the perspective of, if nothing else, the third part of our trifecta, IS that ALL of these doctrinal ideas of the Christ, of the Father and of the Holy Spirit being in a man IS that these ARE the Soul and the Spirit of everyman. Our selection from Paul’s Epistle to the Romans IS replete with references to the Inner Man in much the same way as our trifecta but the ideas presented ARE NOT seen by men who yet view their entire and eternal Life as an extension of their Life in form. “Christ in you, the hope of glory” IS an another example of the treatment of this idea by the apostles, an idea that IS presented as “the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations” (Colossians 1:27, 26). We should try to see here that this IS NOT hidden with purpose by the apostle but rather that it IS hidden as undiscovered by the man whose view of Life IS yet carnal. As we have been saying from the beginning of this blog these things, the Christ, the Father and the Holy Spirit, being in a man IS NOT an award for adhering to doctrinal precepts but ARE the reality of everyman; a reality that IS waiting to be realized in his consciousness. In this IS the reality of our Transformation; as men begin “the renewing of your mind” through a focus upon the Truth of the Master’s words, the carnal mind must perforce give way to the “mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16) as Paul frames this for us. In this process comes the realization of Truth and in this Truth IS the realization of the “divine nature” of everyman which the Apostle Peter frames for us as being “partakers of the divine nature“. Again, we should understand here the role of realization as a man in this world; as a Soul we ARE ever “partakers of the divine nature” but this must be transferred to our mortal consciousness through our focus on the spiritual rather than the carnal which Peter shows us as “having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4). We should try to see here that to understand these things, to unlock the mystery if you will, one must begin to focus upon the spiritual Truths that ARE given us in scripture as we look past the doctrinal presentations that serve ONLY to obscure them. Again this change of focus IS our Repentance. The Apostle John in his gospel reveals these same Truths through the Master’s words and his epistle shows us this reality of Life in such ideas as “ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things” (1 John 2:20). Here we should remember that this word unction IS rendered by the translators and the interpreters according to church doctrine; the word chrisma IS closely related to the Greek word christos which, while always rendered as Christ, simply means the anointed; chrisma IS rendered as an anointing in several translations. The church, rather than seeing this as it IS presented, has made this another part of their magical formula, imputed to them based in their doctrinal approach to God; they believe they have this anointing, this unction, active in their lives while they ARE yet captive to “the corruption that is in the world through lust“
Can we ask here: DOES the average Christian who submits to doctrine “know all things“? The answer IS clearly NO; the average Christian KNOWS NO more that the average secular man or the average man of any other religion as a man in this world. The Christian may proclaim to KNOW of his ‘salvation‘ but this IS but a nebulous idea based in a nebulous sense of faith. We can ask as well if average Christians ARE “partakers of the divine nature” and here the answer can be more clear as IS the answer to the idea of having the “mind of Christ“. For the man in this world both of these spiritually focused ideas must perforce match with the deportment of a man. Jesus frames this for is saying that “Ye shall know them by their fruits” and so that we will NOT miss the point the Master repeats this saying “by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:16, 20). Similarly, to have the “mind of Christ” and to be “partakers of the divine nature” must translate into NOT ONLY one’s actions in this world but also his thoughts and his attitudes. Here we should try to see how that the most basic doctrinal Christian attitude, that he alone IS ‘saved‘ over ALL other religions and approaches to God, IS itself contrary to the very nature of God and the “mind of Christ” who IS ALL inclusive and ONLY appears divisive against the error of the Jews religion. The point here IS that to be as partaker and to have the “mind of Christ” IS a realization that IS NOT a part of any magical doctrinal formula; it IS rather the product of our Repentance and our Transformation; it IS through these that we can accomplish Paul’s admonition saying “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). We should try to understand here that Jesus, having the “mind of Christ” IS able to be a partaker “of the divine nature” as a man in this world according to Paul’s saying that “in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9). If we can connect the dots here we should be able to see that to become “partakers of the divine nature“, to have the “mind of Christ” imputes this same nature to everyman who can DO completely what IS necessary toward the intended end which IS, as Jesus frames this, to “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). We should NOT forget here the role of measure and of striving. Jesus tells us to “Strive to enter in at the strait gate” and here the idea IS generally thought to be to strive toward heaven. If however we can see that this “strait gate” IS the Way onto the Path that leads us to the Truth and to KNOWING God, we can then perhaps understand the idea behind both words, measure and striving. In our trifecta Jesus tells us that the Way to the Truth and the freedom from “the corruption that is in the world through lust” IS to abide in His word. We should note that the Greek word meno which IS rendered in the King James Bible as continue IS most often rendered as abide in other places and here in this verse it IS rendered so by the New King James Version. Framing this word as continue however DOES offer us a unique view of this idea of abiding; it gives it a continual time frame implying that a man should remain, stay if you will, in His word. This IS the source of Truth and the freedom that it brings and we should try to see that in keeping His words continually we can “know the truth“. This requires striving toward that goal of KNOWING and it IS in this striving that a man achieves a measure of the Truth; continual striving then results in the fullness of the Truth which IS the fullness of KNOWING God. The Apostle John amplifies the relation between KNOWING God and keeping His words; John tells us “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4). These relationships ARE NOT seen by most doctrinal thinkers and this IS noted by the Master, perhaps in a predictive way, as we read in the full saying that men should “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). Matthew offers us this same idea saying “Enter ye in at the strait 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” (Matthew 7:13-17). Leaving out the idea of striving, the instruction here IS the same and, through the defining ideas of the strive, we should be able to see that it IS necessary: to exert oneself vigorously; try hard and to make strenuous efforts toward any goal*. This IS striving and this IS what it takes to “Enter ye in at the strait gate“.
It should be clear that KNOWING the Truth IS NOT the product of following one’s doctrinal precepts and here we should try to see how that such ideas as “ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things“, “we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16) and being “partakers of the divine nature” ARE NOT the result of any magical doctrinal formula. These ideas ARE realizations of one’s inherent nature that come as the result of striving to keep His words which IS striving “to enter in at the strait gate“; realizations that come by measure from the “Christ in you” which IS our “hope of glory“. We should understand here that the Soul IS this “Christ in you“, the Soul IS the unction by which we “know all things“; the Soul IS a partaker “of the divine nature” and the Soul IS in “the mind of Christ“. These things ARE True of everyman but remain unrealized because his focus IS yet upon his Life in this world. This IS True of the Christian, the Jew, the Muslim, the Hindu, the Buddhist and whatsoever other True religions exist in this world. ALL have this same nature as Souls and ALL need to have a realization of Truth through keeping the True precepts of their own religion’s “author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 1:22); and NOT the doctrinal facade that has been the creation of men. It IS the Soul that IS the True man in time and space as he lives through a Life in form of which he DOES NOT yet have control, a Life in form that remains bound in his vanity from which ONLY the Soul can free him. It IS this duality of Life that IS most perplexing and difficult to see when one’s focus IS solely upon the self in this world. When one begins to Truly focus upon the things of God one DOES perforce focus upon his own inner self as this IS the Path to realization of the Lord, there IS NO other. One must come to see his own “divine nature” in order to unlock the many mysteries which keep the Truth from men until they can Truly Repent and then Transform. While both of these dynamic events in the Life of a man ARE shown us in the many words of the Master and His apostles, they ARE NOT understood in or out of the churches which rely upon their nebulous ideas of faith and believing by which they see their atonement according to the defunct ideas of sacrifice inherited from the Jews’ doctrinal religion that the Master spends much time tearing down. As much as the Jews believed that their mitzvah brought them to the Lord, so the Christians believe that their doctrines DO the same and while the Master showed the Jews their error, His return will surely show the Christian the same. We should try to see here that the reality shown in our selection from Paul’s Epistle to the Romans contains ALL of the necessary ideas for salvation save the clarity of agape which the apostle adequately addresses in other parts of his letter. Here in our selection the focus simply upon the differences between the man whose focus IS upon God and the man whose focus IS upon the carnal self which “cannot please God“. Repeating our selection 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. 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).
This IS the last post that will include this selection from Romans as we move on to other ways of showing the reality of the Master’s words and the clarifying and amplifying words of His apostles. In this selection we have the comparison between the man whose focus IS upon the Lord and the man whose focus IS upon the things of the self, upon the “corruption that is in the world through lust” which Paul calls for us that vanity to which ALL ARE subjected. It IS in the illusion and glamour inherent in this vanity that men’s vision of the Truth that IS the Soul becomes distorted and it IS this distortion that men see as the reality of their lives. This distortion IS framed for us by Vincent as a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends 4 and this IS the plight of most ALL men. While the doctrinal thinker sees himself as freed from this, he IS actually more bound than the secular man but DOES NOT see this because he believes that he has ALL of the benefits, all of the grace of God, imputed to him. He DOES NOT realize and will fight against the fact that he IS NO better off than the secular man or the man of other religions. It IS when the Truth of God IS rightly understood, a Truth that IS intimately bound to agape as the singular Way to that Truth, that he will have some measure of that realization. We should understand that it IS agape that puts one upon the Path, it IS agape that allows a man to “enter in at the strait gate” and it IS agape that IS the first fruit of one’s Repentance as he comes to see the Unity of ALL, the Oneness that IS humanity. In closing we should try to see and to understand that the product of our Repentance IS the reality of our atonement, this IS NOT some gift according to doctrine but the realization of our at-one-ment with the Lord and with our fellowman….with the whole of His creation.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition
- * Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
