ON LOVE; PART MCCCLXII
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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 the words of Paul ARE virtually ignored, save for those words that ARE in regard to the Christian presumption that they ARE ‘saved‘ through their affirmations and confessions, through their rites and rituals, and that ALL of the positive spiritual assets that the apostle mentions ARE imputed to him. Most ALL take hold of such ideas that offer ‘salvation‘ through doctrinal means and perhaps the most meaningful to much of the church IS “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). Other parts of the church may rely more on sacraments and on those rites and rituals gleaned from the New Testament writings of the apostles or on the supremacy of the priesthood; ALL in ALL most DO NOT regard the words of the Master as their commandments for Life, their commandments for True salvation. Nor DO most Truly understand just what this salvation IS save for their various doctrinal beliefs that ARE mostly ALL based in the pure assumption of attaining heaven at the end of one’s existence here in this world. While Jesus shows us the Way to the Kingdom of God in both parables and in straightforward teachings, his words ARE largely ignored as ARE His words that should show men the fallacy of their doctrinal themes and the failure of such ideas that many Christians believe lift them closer to the Kingdom of God and to ‘salvation‘. Two of these ideas bear repeating here; first His words on the Kingdom and the reality of men’s access to it and we should note that the idea of death never enters into his requirements. Jesus tells us:
“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 7:20-23).
We begin the Master’s words here with the end of the previous segment if we can call it that. Jesus IS teaching us on two things before His words on the Kingdom. First is the role of false teachings and false teachers, both of which bear NO True fruit and we should try to see this more clearly in His following words which downgrade the role of prophecy, of healing and of DOING “many wonderful works” as practiced by some. ALL of these ideas ARE carnal in the absence of one’s DOING “the will of my Father which is in heaven“. We should understand that these ARE NOT the reality of “the fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22) which Paul itemized for us using words which ARE NOT translated properly nor understood spiritually. Paul tells us much the same thing in our selection from 1 Corinthians, that the things that ARE presumed to be “spiritual gifts” (1 Corinthians 12:1) ARE worthless in the absence of agape which IS the absence of keeping His words. The second point in Jesus’ preceding words IS founded in the ability of men to access the Kingdom of God which Jesus frames for us by showing the difficulty. We read this as His instruction saying that we should “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 7:13-14). This narrow Path IS NOT through the doctrinal ideas of the churches but it IS through His words and we should note that in Matthew’s Gospel this follows upon the Golden Rule which IS our clearer instruction regarding our expression of agape. None of these ideas IS strongly taught by the churches which have come to rely almost solely on the atoning quality of Jesus’ death and their doctrines of affirmations and confessions, rites and rituals, or some combination of both. Few if any understand that such doctrinal attitudes ARE part and parcel of the idea that Jesus presents to the Jews regarding their own doctrinal attitudes. The Master tells us that:
“Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:7-9).
While the clarity here should be deafening, the church continues in its belief that such ideas ARE intended ONLY for the Jews in Jesus’ day. Few, if any, understand that such ideas ARE offered in a seamless and timeless fashion. This should be understood by the Master’s invoking of Isaiah’s words which He tells us ARE still pertinent to the Jews; He tells us that these words uttered more than 700 years earlier ARE also a prophecy. Why the church DOES NOT see a continuing prophetic value of this idea in the Christian era IS based solely upon the idea that the Christian never wanted to place himself in that place where his doctrines ARE but “the commandments of men“. It IS this blindness that has encumbered the church from the beginning as they failed to see that the sole importance of their assembled New Testament IS In the Words of Jesus; that it IS NOT in the out of context, misapplied and misinterpreted words of the apostles through which they formed their own version of the gospel, “another gospel” (Galatians 1:5) if you will. The point here, the point of this whole blog titled In the Words of Jesus, IS that the Master’s sayings to the Jews ARE for us ALL, they ARE timeless realities that show the nature of men against their intended nature which IS ONLY revealed when men’s doctrinal blinders ARE removed. It IS this nature which Paul references as he tells us such things as “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will” (Ephesians 1:4-5). We should see here that it IS “before the foundation of the world” that we ARE as Souls predestinated “unto the adoption“, unto the Union of ourselves as Souls with the bodies of flesh through which we live in this world. This idea of predestiny IS the expected end point in the journey of every Soul through incarnation in this world and here we should remember these words from our last selection from Paul’s words. First in the blindness caused by the vanity and then the freedom from that vanity; Paul frames for us saying “the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because expectation that the creature itself also shall be delivered made free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:20-21). Again, we change the idea of hope to the better rendering of the Greek word elpis which Strong’s defines for us as: from a primary ἔλπω élpō (to anticipate, usually with pleasure); expectation (abstractly or concretely) or confidence 9a and which Thayer’s shows us in terms of expectation 9. Then, following Vincent’s ideas, we change because to that; Vincent tells us that: In hope because (ἐπ ‘ ἐλπίδι ὅτι) The best texts transfer these words from the preceding verse, and construe with was made subject, rendering ὅτι that instead of because 4. In this view of these verses we can see that same predestiny, the same expectation that we will be made free from our bondage to our little lives in this world. Here we should remember that the word delivered IS from the Greek word eleutheroo which Thayer’s defines for us as: to make free, set at liberty 9, and it IS rendered as such in Jesus’ words saying “the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). We should understand here that this freedom from our bondage IS a purposeful act by the man whose focus IS moved off of the self and the things of the self and onto the things of God….a purposeful act of Repentance and Transformation.
The Apostle Peter shows us this same idea as our escape as he tells us that “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). It IS this escape that can free men from the blindness of their doctrinal approach to the Lord as they can, through Repentance, leave off of their focus upon the self. Unfortunately most Christians believe that they have already changed their focus through their doctrines but this belief IS by their own personal chimera. The second point regarding Paul’s words from Ephesians IS adoption. Here Paul tells us of the predestiny of our adoption which we should see in terms of his words from our selection from Romans which colored many of our essays. In Romans we learn about the way that the adoption IS a step in our spiritual journey and a step for which the apostle himself yet waits as he writes this epistle. Paul tells us that “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 8:22-23). In these words we see the relationship to a next step in the journey of everyman and, from his words from Ephesians we see that this step IS a predetermined one. This predestination IS clearly NOT ONLY for the individual but for “the whole creation” as a part of the Wonderful and Awesome Plan of God. This idea of adoption which Vincent shows us IS offered as our: assurance that the adopted son of God becomes, in a peculiar and intimate sense, one with the heavenly Father 4 tells us of our predestined Unity with the Godhead. It IS the fullness of this realization that IS the next step in our journey….the step that Paul calls “the redemption of our body“. In this idea, according to the apostle’s words from Ephesians, we have the reality of just what this “adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” means in layman’s terms as he tells us that in this “we should be holy and without blame before him in love“. Here, the word should IS NOT a part of the Greek text but IS added to the rendering of the Greek word einai which IS defined as to exist 9a; this offers us a much more definite idea than we find with the inclusion of should. Without the addition of should, we ARE then “holy and without blame before him in love” and we should understand this as the nature of the adopted son and the reality of the “the redemption of our body“. We should read this also as that the predestination IS that we will “be holy and without blame before him in love” as a Soul living through form in this world. We should try to see as that stage of spiritual accomplishment that begins in Repentance and IS enhanced through Transformation, results in our “adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body“, it IS that state where we ARE Truly “holy and without blame before him in love“….the final Union of the Soul and his expression in this world.
We must however understand this in terms of the Soul, the spiritual man that IS on this wheel of Life in form if we can say it this way. The predestination IS NOT that we will accomplish this Redemption here in this Life but rather that over the eternal Life of the Soul we will find the opportunity to be Redeemed, to be adopted under the reality of the Greek word huiothesia which Vincent shows us saying: the adopted son of God becomes, in a peculiar and intimate sense, one with the heavenly Father 4. We should understand here that this IS an unimaginable event from our finite perspective as men in form in this world and this because we ARE NOT Redeemed but ARE yet caught in the web of vanity that IS our little lives. But we DO live as men in this world who ARE, as was Paul, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” and this whether we have realization of this in our mortal minds or NOT. If we should conflate this idea of predestination with Paul’s words from the next chapter, we can see the overall reality of the apostle’s message which IS to men in this world who ARE striving toward the goal of adoption, a message that IS lost through the doctrinal wrangling of men. Paul tells us “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). Can we see the point here? Can we see the sense of purpose in Paul’s words here as they carry the idea of predestination into the carnal Life of everyman? And can we see how that when this idea of predestiny IS applied to the carnal man in this world, the result IS the muddiness of such doctrines that ARE become an enigma to others who have NOT been indoctrinated into such ideas. Such doctrinal ideas as the predestination of men, including those ideas that men ARE predestined at birth to be ‘saved‘ or lost and that they have NO control over their fate, ARE attempts to explain the cryptic words of Paul. Words that ARE ONLY Truly understood by the man who IS on the Path with Paul, the man who has been or IS in the process of being “transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:1). This part of our Transformation allows for the finite carnal mind to have some measure of True realization of his own nature and his relationship to the Whole, to the One God. It IS in this realization that we can as men begin to understand the unimaginable realities that ARE ever before us. We should understand that this idea of realization takes the form of our revelation of Truth from our own Inner Man, our own Souls. By measure such revelation IS perceived by the mortal mind and it IS in this way that we ARE Transformed. We should understand here that this begins with our decision, as a man who has heard some whisper of Truth from his own Soul, to Repent, to change the focus of his Life. This whisper IS in reality a constant shout if we can frame it this way but one that IS NOT clearly heard over the din of our daily living and our focus upon our mortal and mundane lives and affairs. Should we stop our daily grind and listen to the ideas of Truth that the Master and His apostles offer us in scripture, we can then begin to glimpse that Truth in our own Life. Here we should ever understand that such glimpses MUST perforce be visions of the reality of agape, of Right Human Relations and of GoodWill. ALL else IS but the product of our carnal mind yet grounded in our petty lives, our doctrinal leanings, and in the vanity into which we ARE subjected as men in this world. While our glimpse of Truth awakens us to some greater Truth, it IS our Repentance that makes this Truth come to Life in our lives. We should understand here that this IS a slow process and one that will NOT bear True fruit until we DO Repent, until we DO change our focus off of the self and the things of the self. Until we come to understand the deep reality of Jesus words saying “Take no thought for your life” which allows us to then “Take therefore no thought for the morrow” (Matthew 6:25, 34). It IS from this point that we can consciously understand the Master’s words that ARE our trifecta; words that clearly tell us that the Way to the Truth, the Way to our realization of His Kingdom and the Way to have His Presence in our Life. This Presence IS our realization of the Christ Within, our constant link to the Godhead and to the things of God. Repeating 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).
This IS the True covenant, the True quid pro quo, which IS based in the Truth of the Word first revealed to us through the words of Moses; a Truth has NOT changed save for its availability to everyman. Unfortunately the doctrinal approach of men keeps them from understanding that this quid pro quo IS a reality in the Life of everyman who Truly seeks the Lord. While doctrines teach men that they ARE ‘saved‘ by their affirmations and confessions and by their rites and rituals, this idea of ‘salvation‘ IS but another chimera created in the vanity of men, in their illusion and their glamour. The most clear illusion IS that regarding heaven; that this IS the product of one’s ‘salvation‘. A ‘salvation‘ based solely in the doctrinal ideas of men who see this as a place for those who die in accord with whatsoever doctrinal ideas belong to their particular denomination or sect. There IS NO specific teaching in the entire bible that makes this point which IS gathered by men from isolated and out of context sayings and of particular note IS the Master’s Parable of The Rich Man and Lazarus. In this story we find a picture of two deceased men in a strange realm called “Abraham’s bosom” and where hell IS rendered from the Greek hades. Strong’s tells us that hades IS: properly, unseen, i.e. “Hades” or the place (state) of departed souls 9a and we should note here that there IS NO reference to the good or the evil, to those deserving of heaven or of hell. Thayer’s shows us hades as first a proper name and then as: Orcus, the nether world, the realm of the dead 9; again with no reference to good or evil. The parable goes thus:
“There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead” (Luke 16:19-31).
First of all we should remember that this IS a parable that IS NOT intended to be taken literally as IS done by much of the church that sees in it their view of heaven and hell after death. Second we should see the reality of the Master’s words saying “How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:24-25) embedded in this story. While the connection between riches and failing to attain the Kingdom IS a major theme here, this idea IS not clearly seen against the doctrinal views that ARE contrary to the Master’s words. In this story the rich man IS tormented because he IS rich and because he “fared sumptuously every day“. This however IS NOT understood through men’s seemingly eternal desire to be among the rich….to have abundance. This IS the major theme of the parable which IS missed by most interpretations of the Master’s intent and again here we should try to see the church’s sense of self entering into their doctrinal ideas. Few want to accept the idea that being rich will keep one from the Kingdom but this IS specifically what Jesus says. There IS yet a third point here that IS also missed by most, a point that IS covered in the ending verses of the parable where this rich man seeks to warn his brethren. We should see here several things. First IS what this warning IS that he would give to his brethren….IS it NOT to be rich? Secondly, we should see the idea presented which most clearly says that neither this man nor his brethren heeded the deeper ideas of “Moses and the prophets“, ideas that ARE lost in the doctrinal interpretations of the Jews. Finally we should see the dual idea presented as the rich man asserts that “if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent“. This reflects the idea as it pertains to the Jews which Abraham denies while the continuing words reflect the way that this applies to the Christian through the death and resurrection of Jesus. In these final words we should see the idea of men heeding the words of the Master who IS “one rose from the dead” and the frank reality presented saying “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead“. Can we see the point here? Can we see how that while the church chases after their nebulous heaven, this parable shows us the Truer state of things? A state that IS bound to the reality of the law and to Jesus’ words that amplify and clarify ALL parts of the law that ARE related to the Great Commandments, to Love, to Right Human Relations and to the expression of theses ideas in GoodWill. While parts of the church see this parable as a True story, as a literal historic event, others see this as a parable specifically against the Pharisees; few however see the reality of the plight of the rich man and this despite the Master’s many other words that show us that having riches IS NOT the Way to our realizations of Truth. While Jesus’ words to His disciples should be clear regarding the idea of riches, we can see in Mark’s text that even they CAN NOT readily accept the idea. Here we should note that the church, likely from the beginning, has chosen out Mark’s version because it offers and ‘out’ from this seemingly harsh idea. In Mark’s Gospel we read:
“And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples,How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them,Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves*, Who then can be saved? And Jesus looking upon them saith,With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible” (Mark 10:23-27).
In this version of the Master’s words we see two ideas that ARE grasped by the doctrinal thinker; first IS the idea that IS rephrased as “trust in riches“, an idea that has been seized by the church as a statement that you can have riches but NOT trust in them. Second IS the idea that “with God all things are possible“. In both of these the hidden message, hidden because men DO NOT want to see it, IS the reality that to have such riches and NOT be willing to forsake them IS that “trust in riches” and that in the idea that “with God all things are possible” we should see men’s wherewithal to forsake them. We should remember here that the Way to True discipleship IS as the Master tells us saying “whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33). This IS the opportunity that the rich man of this story IS offered by Jesus who tells him “One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me” (Mark 10:21). While we may wonder what Jesus’ teaching on riches has to DO with keeping His words or agape, this sense of wonder IS based solely upon the church’s teachings for the last 2000 years. This follows upon the teaching of the Old Testament where the ideas presented by Moses ARE deemed to be regarding personal abundance. But the ideas of riches specifically ARE NOT included in the original quid pro quo which promises successes for a nation that follows the law. Should we see such successes as a spiritual reward, we could then better understand the whole of the teachings both in the Judaeo-Christian and most ALL other world religions where doctrinal ideas have ever overwhelmed the Truth. For the Judaeo-Christian religions the quid pro quo, the this for that idea that permeates most ALL human dealings, IS clearly stated by Moses but ignored from the perspective of just what the man, or the nation who seeks the reward must perform. Moses tells the Jews that:
“if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways. And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee. And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee. The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them: And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them” (Deuteronomy 28:1-14).
It IS words such as these that have erroneously been interpreted into ideas of personal gain and personal wealth and we should note that even if the personal were the goal and the aim of Moses teaching, the Jews and ALL that follow them fall far short of the need to “hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them“. Every generation has failed to keep His words and when we can see that much of the commandments, the ancillary commandments regarding the mundane ideas of sacrifice, holy days, sabbaths, and circumcision ARE intended to keep men focused upon the things of God, we can then better understand the reality of these ideas which ARE here presented to a barbarous and superstitious people. When we can see that this sense of focus upon the things of God over the things of the self, a focus that IS embedded into the Ten Commandments along with the commandments regarding agape, GoodWill and Right Human Relations, IS Moses’ overall attempt to maintain that focus, we can then understand the greater principles of Judaism. But this sense of focus has steadily devolved into mundane exercises that ARE presumed to ‘please’ God, they have devolved into the practices of the Jews’ mitzvah which sets the rites and the rituals far above their intended purpose. We can easily see how the Truth has devolved by looking as the current practice in some parts of Judaism where a ritual called Kapparot IS performed on the eve of the Yom Kippur holiday, the Jew’s day of atonement. In this ritual a live chicken IS swung over one’s head and those of one’s family with the idea that this ritual, along with some prayer, will transfer one’s sins the chicken which IS then slaughtered. To be sure this IS a human invention perhaps formulated because the practice of animal sacrifice had ended with the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. Again, this IS a current practice which, while NOT performed by ALL parts of the religion, should remind us of some specific ideas in the Christian churches that ARE also the inventions of men. One need ONLY to look at the long list of rites, rituals and ceremonies that ARE performed by the different denominations and sects of Christianity. To be sure, again, most ALL ARE human inventions, carnal in nature and most ALL prolong that sense of self that must eventually give way to our focus upon the Lord and the things of God….spiritual things ALL. We end today with two thoughts; first IS our selection from 1 Corinthians where we ARE shown the reality of agape against the yet carnal ideas of the church and second IS a comparison of a single idea as presented by Luke and Matthew in the gospels. Our selection from Paul’s Epistle reads:
“covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not
charityagape, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have notcharityagape, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have notcharityagape, it profiteth me nothing.CharityAgape suffereth long, and is kind;charityagape envieth not;charityagape vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.CharityAgape never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away” (1Corinthians 12:31, 13:1-8).
And our comparative verses ARE:
- “Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered” (Luke 11:52).
- “woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in” (Matthew 23:13).
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
- 2a New Testament Greek lexicon on biblestudytools.com
- 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
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
