ON LOVE; PART MCDI
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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 the way that the Apostle John’s First Epistle equates the ideas of keeping His words and expressing agape; he does this through his words on those that he calls liars. As we discussed, John’s idea of a liar IS NOT the common understanding of this word ONLY as many of the failures of the liar ARE failures of ‘believing‘; that while a man may believe things that ARE NOT True, his beliefs ARE NOT false to him. This should be understood both individually and corporately and in most ALL social constructs. And while the apostle uses the idea of liar in several ways in his first epistle, most ARE NOT addressed by the doctrinal church which has ever underemphasized the apostle’s admonition that men keep His words and express agape. In place of addressing the Truths that make men liars who claim that they DO such things without performing the given criteria, the church holds onto ONLY one of John’s examples of the liar which IS stated as “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son“. In accepting this idea into their doctrinal view however they fail to tie it to the preceding verse saying “I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth“. Furthermore they fail to understand the depth of the idea of Jesus the Christ which relies upon yet another preceding verse saying “ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things” (1 John 2:22, 21, 20). It IS in this KNOWING that a man comes to Truly understand some measure of the Truth which comes as his realizations which ARE the result of keeping His words. The whole of the apostle’s message IS founded in this and here, in addition to seeing John’s point as regarding the unction as the Christ Within, we should see that his words also ARE against the Jews that in those days refused to believe that the Messiah had come. That the church has extended this idea to cover their own ideas over the next 2000 years IS unfortunate and feeds into the divisive rifts created through the illusion and glamour expressed by the church yet today. We should remember here that the apostle’ IS addressing his words to those who KNOW the Truth which IS NOT carnally assessible to men but rather according to the Master’s 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).
While the church has made use of the apostle’s words regarding a man’s denial of the Christ, they miss the point that it IS this man that DOES NOT KNOW what is antichrist and we should note here that the Greek word arneomai which IS rendered as denial also has a deeper meaning. Strong’s tells us that arneomai means: to contradict, i.e. disavow, reject, abnegate9a, ideas that ARE more forceful that denial and can be seen to directly reflect the attitudes of the Jews’ religious leaders. It IS such actions that we see throughout the gospels whensoever Jesus interacts with the scribes, the Pharisees and others of their ilk. Our point here IS that while the church has carried forward John’s words that ARE perhaps specifically addressed to the Jews, the fail to carry forward much of the Master’s words which ARE ever more eternal and universal. And while the idea of the Christ Within can be found embedded in John’s words here, this has nil effect upon the carnal interpretations except to reveal that those who DO NOT KNOW of such things an be equally antichrist based in their carnal interpretations of Truth. In some future series of posts we will analyze the entirety of this second chapter to John’s First Epistle but for now we ARE addressing ONLY the idea of the liar and how this word affects the doctrinal church today. As we have said, the church sees ALL that DO NOT follow the Lord according to their various doctrines to be those that John IS addressing; they DO NOT see themselves despite the clarity of the apostle’s words in the other references to pseustes which IS rendered as liar. Most DO NOT see their own role in the idea that “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) and while their reasoning here IS unclear, it IS likely but a part of the overall denial that men must “continue in my word” as the Master frames this. Here the carnal understanding of denial IS appropriate, a denial that can indeed stretch into Strong’s idea that such IS: to contradict, i.e. disavow, reject, abnegate9a which many Christians, perhaps unknowingly, apply to the Truths of Jesus’ teachings. While the church believes that it sees the idea of the liar clearly in John’s words about denying Christ as they apply the idea of antichrist to such that DO, they again DO NOT see themselves in his other words regarding agape which ARE included in our selection. Most DO NOT see their own role as the liar despite the clarity of John’s words saying “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” (1 John 4:20).
We should try to see that much of this inability to place oneself into John’s words IS founded in two related ideas. First, many DO believe that they ARE expressing agape under their understanding of Love and the failure here IS in the churches overall lack of understanding just what agape IS, especially when viewed from a carnal perspective. The point of this blog IS that the Way to understanding agape, even carnally, IS to understand the Master’s teaching on the Way that the disciple comports himself in this world. To Truly express agape one must be ever in the process of deemphasizing himself in favor of the Universal view of True brotherhood. This of course IS impractical in the absence of some measure of Soul Light influencing the carnal mind and emotions, a Light that flows in the Truth that comes to those who will strive to keep His words. This belief then that one IS expressing agape IS based in deception, the same self deception that James shows us saying “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). It IS in our striving that we take the necessary steps to be doers and it IS in the measure of being such that men DO gain much spiritual collateral, and this gaining IS found in our Transformation, in our being “transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2) as the Apostle Paul shows us. The other related idea IS that this deception IS fueled by the illusions that ARE the product of that vanity to which ALL men ARE subjected. Using Paul’s words again we read that “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 from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:20-21) which IS the carnal affliction of ALL men. While this IS the source of men’s illusions regarding themselves and Life in this world, it IS also the source of their glamour which IS an egocentric attitude that afflicts the carnal mind and causes one to believe in and defend his own illusions. Both our illusion and our glamour ARE the product of the vanity of Life in this world, a vanity that Vincent tells us IS a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends4. To be sure, this state of being, these doctrinal attitudes, ARE that same deception that James shows us and we should understand here that this IS a self inflicted wound that has NO cure in those doctrines that have in many ways helped to put us into this wounded state. John IS trying to point out the way that we can see our affliction but his point IS NOT taken against the authority of those doctrines that teach what has become the the various religious brands of the churches. It IS men’s religious stands that place them into that state where we ARE “deceiving your own selves” and this will be True until men can see the greater Truths which the Master teaches us and which ARE the reality of John’s words. Repeating our selection from John’s Epistle we read:
“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also” (1 John 4).
Again, the doctrinal church relies upon the idea of confession without understanding the depth of meaning behind homologeo, that his should require confessing Christ out of a state of oneness with him4 as Vincent shows us in his commentary on this idea. As with the idea of “believing in“, or on the Master, taken from the literal translation of “pisteuo eis” which IS “believing into“, and the ever more nebulous ideas of faith from the Greek word pistis, the misunderstanding of the True meaning IS lost in the carnal responses of doctrinal religions. The relationship of these ideas IS similar from a spiritual perspective; to confess or to profess the Lord IS to DO so based in KNOWING God which John shows us requires that one keep His words; this according to the apostles saying that “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him“. Here such confession IS but a lie and the professor a liar. Similarly the idea of “pisteuo eis“, “believing into” requires the same reality; that to Truly believe one should keep His words; this IS shown us throughout Jesus’ words and is brought home by His rhetorical question which asks clearly “why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). Vincent, despite his doctrinal leanings, shows us that to Truly “believe in” the Master IS to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life4. In the end most ALL of the gospel instructions ARE focused on keeping His words and most ALL of Jesus’ ‘condemnation of the Jews IS focused on their refusal to DO so as they rely upon their own doctrinal ideas, their own mitzvah. Despite the way that the doctrinal ideas of the apostles’ words, especially Paul’s, change this reality for the Christian, the reality IS that the apostles’ words, rightly understood, DO confirm, amplify and clarify the Master’s teaching. This disparity between doctrines and Truth ARE on full display in our selection from John’s First Epistle; the doctrinal thinker has taken a completely different message out of John’s words than was his intent. While the apostle IS telling us about agape, how that this IS the very nature of the Godhead, and showing us that to understand this we must rely upon what ALL men ARE spiritually, the “unction from the Holy One” which IS that anointing that IS the Christ Principle in this world, the church seemingly ONLY sees their interpretations of antichrist and propitiation.
The idea of antichrist has been hijacked from the beginning and applied by too many to a fictional character founded in the eschatological bent of much of the church instead of the apostle’s warning which IS in regard to “false prophets“. Most ALL fail to see that the idea of pseudoprophetes, the same “false prophets” that Jesus speaks of, and the idea of antichristos, which IS unique to John’s writing, ARE the same and that both point to those that would teach what Paul calls “another gospel“. These ARE false teachers because they teach their interpretations of spiritual Truth and call it the Truth based in the authority that the church has taken to itself, an authority which many of the world’s governments have allowed and which, in many ‘church states’, has been adopted into their own laws. We should understand here that this IS the way that religion in this world has always been; a way that interprets spiritual realities into carnal ideas and mandates while claiming that their prescribed way IS the Truth and ofttimes the ONLY Truth. Jesus shows us how that the Jews DID this as they ignored the “the weightier matters of the law” in favor of what Moses gave them as ancillary edicts and, in Christianity, much of the same has overcome the Truth. To be sure, this IS the same carnal conversion of Truth that IS suffered by ALL world religions. And while John shows us the central idea of these “weightier matters of the law” in his teaching on agape, this has been converted into doctrines that ARE often the very opposite of those “weightier matters“; doctrines that ARE taught to men by the pseudoprophetes of the day, doctrines that ARE contrary to the Truth and to the teachings of the Master. This IS done without regard to the idea of the unction by which we DO “know all things” which John further explains for us saying “the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him” (1 John 2:20, 27). In these words we should see that it IS the Soul of everyman that IS and must be the teacher of Truth while struggling against the vanity of Life in this world, a vanity that IS our: perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends4. In his Epistle to the Ephesians the Apostle Paul shows us the nature of this struggle and while his words have been subjected to various carnal interpretations, Paul IS showing us a great reality that has been missed for nearly 2000 years. The apostle tells us to:
“be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:10-17).
What we should see here IS the Soul, referenced by John as the chrisma which IS rendered as both unction and the anointing in the King James Bible verses that we show above. It IS through our ability to focus upon the things of God that we can “be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might” as we channel that Power from the Soul to the mortal consciousness through which it can be expressed as both agape and Truth. It IS the next verse that has sown the doctrinal ideas into Paul’s words; the next verse where diabolos IS rendered as devil and understood in a supernatural and superstitious way as a spiritual being that can control the lives of men who ARE unaware or who choose such control. The idea of this supernatural opposition to the Godhead as a person, spiritual or otherwise, and his minions IS NOT taken from a literal meaning diabolos which Strong’s tells us IS traducer9a, which IS defined as one that will: speak maliciously and falsely of; slander; defame*. Thayer’s defines diabolos similarly saying that this IS one that IS: prone to slander, slanderous, accusing falsely9. The journey from these defining ideas to the alternate reality of doctrinal Christianity IS based as much in Jewish and pagan lore as it IS in doctrinal wrangling and to NOT see the sense of superstition in this whole doctrinal conversation IS unfortunate. We should note here that some bible translations confuse into the idea of devil rendering both diabolos and daimonion, which IS rendered demon by most, as devil and often with a personality attached. The point here IS that diabolos IS NOT a person, spiritual or otherwise, nor IS this a minion of Satan. Diabolos IS a force, an energy inherent in the vanity of Life in this world, which interferes with the ability of chrisma, the unction or Soul, to influence the carnal personality. It IS this interference that keeps men in their own “bondage of corruption” preventing them from seeing the Path to “the glorious liberty of the children of God“. In this we should see Paul’s continuing explanation saying that our struggle IS “not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places“.
If we can see diabolos as the apostle’s reference as he tells us what it IS that we wrestle against, we can then perhaps understand that the idea of vanity as Vincent shows us NOT only has this idea of traducer inherent in itself but that this vanity, this aspect of it called diabolos, IS also the principalities, the powers and, to be sure, this vanity IS also synonymous with the “rulers of the darkness of this world“. How IS this so? Simply stated it IS vanity that IS the affliction of the carnal mind and while the Soul may be the one subjected to it, this IS ONLY from the perspective that it IS the Soul’s influence upon the Life that this vanity inhibits. Thus it IS from the perspective of the Life in this world that the carnal mind that IS placed into that perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends4 and this because it DOES NOT yet seek the divine influence of the unction by which we DO “know all things“. Doctrines offer much of the same analysis of our ideas except they apply ALL to the devil, to Satan and his minions, while they see men’s defense against this devil resting in their nebulous ideas of faith and the use of doctrinal interpretations of the various aspects of “on the whole armour of God“. This armour IS from the Greek word panoplia of which Vincent tells us that: Panoply is a transcript of the Greek word4 where the English panoply means: a wide-ranging and impressive array or display generally and a complete suit of armor* as a more specific idea. In this we should try to see that this “whole armour of God“, this panoply if you will, includes ALL aspects of the Soul’s influence upon the carnal minds of men who choose to put it on. While the principalities, the powers and the “rulers of the darkness of this world” should be attributed to that vanity to which ALL ARE subjected, the idea of “spiritual wickedness in high places” should be understood differently; as those who would influence the carnal minds of men in thoughts, ideas and attitudes that can equally inhibit the Soul’s influence upon the Life. The “false prophets” and antichrist can fit neatly into this saying as those that would influence men through indoctrination. The idea of wickedness IS from the Greek word poneria which IS a noun form of poneros which IS generally understood in terms of evil. In this we should see that their intention IS to influence and here in this usage, to teach carnal ideas as if they were spiritual, to teach things that ARE contrary to the Truth of the Master’s words.
KNOWING then what we ARE struggling against, we look to the how one can “take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day“, withstand the carnal influences that ARE diabolos which ARE inherent in the vanity that IS Life in this world. We should first understand that to “take unto you the whole armour of God” IS a decision based in Repentance, based in one’s change of focus from the things of the world founded in vanity and onto the things of God founded in agape and Truth. It is these things of God that ARE the panoply, the “the whole armour of God“, with which we can withstand and then “having done all, to stand“. We should see here that the ongoing words ARE for the man that can so stand and this IS an important point which reflects our success and our being “able to withstand in the evil day” whatsoever the world can use to dissuade our standing. We should understand here that what we must withstand IS largely personal and IS the carnal thoughts, emotions and attitudes that keep us in that: perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends4. Here we should reflect on the Master’s words that ARE our trifecta; in these we have a summary of the combined effect of the “the whole armour of God” which Paul IS showing us as individual tools that together suffice to allow us to keep His words. The Master tells us:
- “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).
Paul shows us the tools as first and foremost Truth and righteousness. Both of these tools require that one keep His words which action IS the very source of the Truth and through which we ARE Truly righteous. Jesus tells us that it IS the righteous that shall “shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matthew 13:43) while showing us that it IS ONLY “he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” that will “shall enter into the kingdom of heaven“. Can we see the point here? That the doctrinal church looks past these ideas in favor of their own doctrinal precepts IS Truly unfortunate and worse still IS that much of the church has taken the stance that one need NOT keep His words nor even strive to DO so. Paul’s next tool IS stated as that we should have “your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace”. While this idea IS a bit cryptic, it IS intended to point to the gospel of the Lord which IS NOT the doctrinal idea of what the gospel IS; an idea that IS tied to a combination of selected words from the Master entwined with the writings of Paul to which most give the name of a new covenant. It IS the gospel of the Lord that the apostles reference in what we call the gospels; Mark tells us that “after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God” (Mark 1:14) which IS the True gospel reflecting the Master’s teachings. Matthew shows us a similar idea saying that “Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom” in a similar place at the beginning of his gospel while adding Jesus’ words at the end that tell His apostles “this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matthew 4:23, 24:14). It IS this latter saying from Jesus that has been converted from “this gospel of the kingdom” to the various doctrinal interpretations of what the gospel IS and many over the centuries have convinced themselves that their interpretations which rest heavily on Paul’s words ARE somehow a new “gospel of the kingdom“.
There ARE many references to the gospel in the Book of Acts and to presume that the referenced gospel IS anything but the teachings of the Master IS surely a stretch and one that the church willingly took as they inserted their own meanings in place of Jesus’ “gospel of the kingdom“. Can we assume that Peter and John’s teaching in Samaria which we read as “when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans” IS anything other than “the word of the Lord” that they themselves received? Can we see that what Philip was teaching before their arrival was the same “word of the Lord” based in Luke’s telling us that “Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them” (Acts 8:14, 25, 5). IS there any difference between preaching Christ and preaching “the word of the Lord“? Similarly can we assume that Paul and Barnabas ARE teaching anything other than “the word of the Lord” as they taught in “Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region that lieth round about” where we read that “And there they preached the gospel” (Acts 13:50: 14:6-7)? The answer here IS that any such assumption that the apostles’ teaching IS anything other than Jesus’ words of Truth, “the word of the Lord“, IS but an presumption that IS forced upon the Christian believer based upon the authority assumed by the self-appointed leaders throughout history. The idea that one should be “shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace” leaves us to identify what Paul means in using the Greek word hetoimasia which IS rendered as preparation. Strong’s defines this simply as preparation9a while Thayer’s gives us the defining ideas of: the act of preparing and the condition of a person or thing so far forth as prepared, preparedness, readiness9. What this means in Paul’s usage remains unclear using these defining ideas. John Gill tells us that the idea IS that: here it designs a firm and solid knowledge of the Gospel, as it publishes peace by Jesus Christ, which yields a sure foundation for the Christian soldier to set his foot upon8 and perhaps the idea of foundation IS the more understandable idea that should be applied. Vincent shows us that the word hetoimasia should be seen as: in Hellenistic Greek it was sometimes used in the sense of establishment or firm foundation, which would suit this passage : firm – footing4.
The take away here IS that this preparation refers to one’s firm – footing and to one’s foundation in “the gospel of peace” without which one will be ill prepared “to stand” and to wrestle “against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places“. Finally, we must try to see that the idea of “the gospel of peace” and the “gospel of the kingdom” ARE synonymous terms. Jesus tells His disciples that “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace” (John 16:33) and here we should understand that “These things I have spoken unto you” ARE “the word of the Lord” and ARE both “the gospel of peace” and “the gospel of the kingdom“. Paul continues to explain the idea of “the whole armour of God” saying that the True follower should be “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked“. Here we should understand that this IS NOT that nebulous faith of the doctrines of men but IS rather that KNOWING that comes as revelations and realizations of Truth which, according to the Master, comes to those that will “continue in my word“. It IS in KNOWING the Truth that we can “be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked” and we should see here that the operative word IS ALL. We should understand here that our KNOWING IS our shield against ALL that IS untrue, ALL that IS carnally motivated and it IS by this “shield of faith” that we can see through whatsoever IS offered by those “false prophets” and by the idea of antichrist which encompasses ALL that IS NOT in accord with the teachings of the Christ. It IS the principalities, powers, “the rulers of the darkness of this world” and that “spiritual wickedness in high places“, the vanity and its aspect of diabolos to use simpler terms, that we must shield ourselves from and the ONLY shield of mention IS that pistis, that KNOWING through which we can spiritually live in this world. Lastly we have Paul’s instruction that we should “take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God“. In the idea of the helmet we should see protection “against the wiles of the devil“, against the actions inherent in diabolos, in the vanity to which ALL are subjected. Vincent tells us that this should be understood as: the helmet which is salvation4, an idea that IS accepted by some translations which frame this as taking “salvation as a helmet” and “take salvation for your head-dress“. It IS salvation that IS to be one’s helmet, one’s protection against “all the fiery darts of the wicked” but this IS NOT the doctrinal idea of salvation where the ‘hope’ of heaven should be realized but rather that sense of saving that Jesus shows us in such sayings as “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 16:25). Can we see the point here?
Ending Paul’s list of IS the positive action of the man who has protected himself and this IS found in the idea of the “sword of the Spirit“. the sword IS NOT a defensive weapon but an offensive one; we wield the sword in action by keeping His words, by wielding the “the word of God” which IS His commandments of which we read Jesus’ words saying “the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me” (John 14:24). What we should try to take from ALL this IS that it IS the vanity against which we struggle and in that vanity IS the ways and means of men, carnal men to be sure, that ARE contrary to the Truth of the Lord’s words; the ways and means of those who ARE “deceiving your own selves“.
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
- 9 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon on blueletterbible.org
- 9a The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible on blueletterbible.org
- * Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
