ON LOVE; PART MCDVII
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FIRST IS THE GREAT COMMANDMENTS: “The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31).
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WHAT THEN IS LOVE? In a general sense love is benevolence, good will; that disposition of heart which inclines men to think favorably of their fellow men, and to do them good. In a theological sense, it includes supreme love to God, and universal good will to men. While this IS from an older definition of Charity, which IS rendered in the King James Bible from the same Greek word agape which IS generally rendered as Love, we should amend our own definition here to include the idea that in the reality of Love a man will accord to ALL men ALL things that he would accord to himself and to say that Love IS our thoughts and attitude of the equality of ALL men regardless of their outward nature or appearance…that ALL ARE equally children of Our One God.
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PLUS THE EVER IMPORTANT AND HIGH IDEAL TAUGHT TO US BY THE CHRIST: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12).
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In recent posts we have tried to show a relationship between Paul’s “another gospel: Which is not another“, the cautions offered us by the Master regarding “false prophets” (Matthew 7:15) and John’s warnings regarding the same which he also calls antichrist (1 John 4:1, 3). That the idea of antichrist has been hijacked and placed into men’s eschatological theories IS unfortunate as the word should be understood as it IS presented; we should see antichrist as those “false prophets” that “would pervert the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:6, 7), a perversion that has been building in force since the days of the church fathers. We tried to dispel the idea that antichrist DOES NOT confess the Master as this idea IS commonly understood by delving into the reality behind the Greek word homologeo, a reality that Vincent shows us saying that the spiritual defining idea for homologeo IS: that of confessing Christ out of a state of oneness with him. “Abide in me, and being in me, confess me.” It implies identification of the confessor with the confessed, and thus takes confession out of the category of mere formal or verbal acknowledgment4. In this idea we should be able to see that any who teach Christian spiritual matters should be in a state of oneness with him, a state that IS ONLY evident in the comportment of those who DO keep His words. This idea of oneness IS NOT a stretch but IS based in Jesus’ words that ARE the third part of 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).
It IS the Master that establishes the science of Christianity. It IS the Master that shows us that to Love the Lord as IS required of the disciple, the saint, the prophet and ALL that profess to be such or teach others to be so according to their doctrine should be those that “hath my commandments, and keepeth them“. And we should understand the force of this idea IS NOT found in the doctrines that ARE taught which ARE based in “the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7). The disciple, the saint, the prophet and ALL that profess to be such or to teach others to be so must perforce be able to Truly confess the Lord according to our defining idea that such a man must be in a state of oneness with him which IS the result of keeping His words. ALL who teach and profess to be such and such that ARE NOT living the Life outlined in the fullness of scripture rightly interpreted ARE among the “false prophets” and it IS such that ARE teaching doctrinal ideas that ARE NOT in accord with the Master’s words nor the remnant of the law that qualifies as those “weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith” (Matthew 23:23). In this IS the simplicity of the idea of antichrist, an idea that IS NOT seen by those who DO teach in the absence of the Truth of His Presence as IS outlined for us in the third part of our trifecta. While the Presence of the Lord in any form as IS presumed by many Christians, the reality of this IS according to His words. Any reading of the Master’s words without doctrinal interpretations will reveal that the whole of such sayings as “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” ARE spoken to His disciples, to those that Truly “bringeth forth much fruit“. Should we see this idea according to the intent of the parabolic idea of “the vine” and “the branches“, we can then better understand the idea that without the Lord “ye can do nothing“. We should try to see that this IS NOT without Jesus as a personality but as His role as the Christ who IS ever one with the Christ Within everyman. Thus, the idea here IS founded in the realization by the heretofore carnal mind that a man IS One with the Christ, that he IS a branch of the eternal Oneness of the Lord in this world. This IS the science that the Master teaches us in words that ARE NOT intended for the superstitious world to which He came, a world devoid of such scientific ideas as we can present today from His teachings, but to His disciples. The crux of the above idea that one can “do nothing” IS found in understanding the prior verse where the Master tells us “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me” (John 15:5, 4). Again we must relate this to His words that ARE our trifecta where the Truth that He, or any aspect of the Godhead, will “come unto him, and make our abode with him” IS based on the singular factor that the man “hath my commandments, and keepeth them“.
In the idea that “without me ye can do nothing” we should try to see the reality of the Soul of everyman, the Christ Within. We should try to see that it IS the influence of the Soul to the Good, the Beautiful and the True that changes the lives of men in this world and allows them to “bringeth forth much fruit“; and, we should understand that this fruit IS spiritual, it IS the “fruit of the Spirit” that Paul shows us. The common understanding that “without me ye can do nothing” has been interpreted to reference the person of Jesus and one’s ‘accepting’ Him as Lord and Savior but for most this IS but another nebulous doctrinal ploy intended to enforce a doctrinal understanding of the relationship between the Christian and the Christ. However, as we have long discussed, this ‘accepting’ Him as Lord and Savior must perforce be more than mere formal or verbal acknowledgment4. It must be a reaction akin to the reality of Repentance which should ever be understood as: Such a virtuous alteration of the mind and purpose as begets a like virtuous change in the life and practice4. Our point here IS that for a man to Truly ‘accept’ and confess Him we must have His Presence according to the criteria established by the Master and NOT according to the doctrinal thinking of what that confession IS. It IS then this man that IS bringing “forth much fruit” which brings us to our new selection from Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians where the apostle IS attempting to redirect those who have fallen to “another gospel: Which is not another“, those whose understanding of such spiritual matters as directed by Jesus IS perverted by the machinations of men. Paul defines for us the ideas of the world, the “works of the flesh” as he calls them, as well as the intended Path of men who ARE Truly seeking the Kingdom, His Presence and the Truth as outlined in our trifecta. The apostle tells us:
“for, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit“.
Galatians 5:13-25
As we proceed we should remember that our direction here IS to develop a greater understanding of the Greek words used by Paul, words that ARE rendered into carnal ideas but which mean so much more when viewed as they ARE intended. There IS a spiritual component behind most ALL of the ideas that men have come to see as in regard to the sexual behaviors of men in this world. Here we should remember that Paul IS writing to True believers who have chosen to believe on the reality of the Christ in spiritual terms which we define again as: to accept Him as Savior, Teacher, Sympathizer, Judge; to rest the soul upon Him for present and future salvation, and to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life4. It IS in this idea of acceptance that we can best understand the ideas that Paul offers us, ideas that give us a dividing line between living carnally and living spiritually. The reality here IS that to Truly accept Him as Savior, Teacher, Sympathizer, Judge IS NOT to merely confess Him according to the doctrinal teachings where such confessions ARE most often a mere formal or verbal acknowledgment. The True end of our acceptance of Jesus as Master or as Savior, which idea flows from His identity as the Messiah awaited by the Jews, must be our acceptance of Him as Lord. Here again we should look to Jesus’ own words to understand the reality of this idea of Lord as He asks that rhetorical question “why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). In this question we should try to see the dividing line between living carnally and living spiritually. Those who DO NOT “do not the things which I say” ARE yet living their carnal lives while those that Truly accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life4 ARE living spiritually. We should remember that in this idea of spiritual living there IS the reality of measure where the greater the effort of a man to keep His words results in his greater measure of realizations of Truth and expressions of agape. These ARE the two paths that Paul shows the Galatians as he tries to redirect them away from the path of “another gospel” which allows them to live as men in this world and onto the Path which IS founded in the “gospel of Christ“, a gospel that IS centered in agape which IS where our selection begins.
We begin with the introductory word, for, which we omitted from our citation of Paul’s words in the last essay. While a simple word that connects the previous verses to the first verse in our selection, Vincent sees in Paul’s use of gar, which IS rendered as for, an interesting point. He tells us that for [γαρ] exposes Paul’s thoughts saying well may I speak thus strongly of those who thus overthrow your whole polity and enslave you, for ye are called for freedom. The idea here IS Paul’s fight against “another gospel” and the teaching of it from those who thus overthrow your whole polity and enslave you. The reference here should be seen as “false prophets” whose objective IS to change the minds of those who had previously attended to Paul’s teaching of the “gospel of Christ” by teaching “another gospel“. Here again we should try to see that it matters NOT that such teaching IS a reversion to the Jews’ religion or that it IS men “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7). In either way there IS the reality that they DO “pervert the gospel of Christ” and take away the freedom promised to them that DO “continue in my word” as the Master frames the idea of keeping His words in our trifecta. This IS the same sense of freedom that Paul shows us saying that “the creature (or creation) itself also shall be delivered made free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). We should remember here that this “glorious liberty” IS equivalent to their becoming “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). We should try to see that Paul IS showing us that it IS “another gospel” that keeps men in their own “bondage of corruption“, a bondage that begins in our birth into this world and which IS furthered by our indoctrination. This IS the peril of hearing and heeding “another gospel” which feeds our vanity and our sense of self in this world, a sense that IS of paramount importance in most every doctrinal teaching but which IS that which must be forsaken in the Truth of scripture.
In this same verse Paul IS instructing the Galatians to refrain from using their freedom carnally as though they were free to DO whatsoever they pleased and here we should understand that to Truly follow the “gospel of Christ” would ever channel one’s freedom into spiritual ideas which Paul shows us as “by love serve one another“. This IS the beginning of the apostle’s teaching on Love and of his attempt to correct the perversions created in the Galatians by “false prophets” that ARE teaching “another gospel” of whom Paul also says “let him be accursed“. The strength of Paul’s words against the Galatians ARE clearly stated in his words 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. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:6-9). We should try to see that Paul’s words would be the same against any who ARE purveyors of “another gospel” and here we should remember the ideas taken from our selection from John’s First Epistle where he shows us that such “false prophets” ARE antichrist. In these words from the apostles we should be able to see the state of the church over the last 2000 years, a church which has rendered the Truth of the Master’s message moot in favor of their own doctrinal ideas, ideas which have served the same purpose as those taught as “another gospel” to the Galatians: providing comfort in the hearts of men as they live as men in this world.
Paul’s teaching to the Galatians IS centered around agape in a way that reflects the Master’s teaching on agape; the apostle says “all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself“. While this IS more than one word it IS the reality of agape that this saying incorporates as it shows us that this IS more than the common understanding of the idea. Paul adds conversely to this spiritual Truth that one “shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” adding “if ye bite and devour one another“; these words should not be taken literally but according to Thayer’s who defines bite, from the Greek word dakno, as: to wound the soul, cut, lacerate, rend with reproaches9. The idea of devour IS more complex as it can pertain to eating and to the destruction of fire; here in Paul’s use Thayer’s offers us the idea of: to ruin (by the infliction of injuries)9. These words, “bite and devour” should show us Strong expressions of partisan hatred exerting itself for mutual injury4 as Vincent interprets Paul’s idea. The partisan hatred shown us in “bite and devour” can be among different ideas of “another gospel” or in regard to those who stayed in the “gospel of Christ“; this could even be against the secular ideas of others. Paul offers the Galatians a caution for those that may take “occasion to the flesh” through their biting and devouring and this warning IS that they “be not consumed one of another“. On this idea of being consumed Vincent shows us that: Partisan strife will be fatal to the Christian community as a whole4; in this idea we should try to see inter-denominational and sectarian strife regarding their individual ideas. After showing the Galatians the extent of their error and offering his cautions, Paul now moves on to a more instructional section of his epistle.
He begins with the admonition that they should “Walk in the Spirit” and we should assume here that they DO KNOW what this means. We should understand that this idea of walk IS a metaphorical sense for habitual conduct of which Vincent tells us that the idea of walk IS used never by Paul in the literal sense4. We should understand as well that to be habitually in the Spirit IS NOT as this idea IS understood today; we should try to see that it takes on similar ideas as we find in defining confession and believing which ARE confessing Christ out of a state of oneness with him and to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life respectively. To “Walk in the Spirit” IS to express the very nature of the Spirit which IS ever One with the Godhead and this sense of walking requires that one live according to His words. This of course IS a tall order for the Galatians who have fallen away from the Truth because of the influence of “another gospel” which IS offered by those who “would pervert the gospel of Christ“. Paul shows us then the result of so walking which he tells us IS that in so DOING “ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” and here IS perhaps the first conundrum from our selection. Not that this idea IS itself puzzling but rather the way that this has been promoted in the minds of men has caused the whole idea to be seen in purely carnal terms and mostly in terms of sexual deviation based in the single word lust. It IS this same idea that has changed the meanings of many of Paul’s words that follow as “the works of the flesh“. The Greek word epithymia which IS rendered as lust has a much broader meaning than that which has been allowed by the doctrinal views of men; specifically it means desire, craving, longing and we should note that it IS the influence of doctrines that has caused both Strong’s and Thayer’s to include the idea that such desire IS: for what is forbidden9, 9a. In a sense this idea IS valid as even spiritually the “the works of the flesh” ARE contrary to the Truth of our ability to “Walk in the Spirit” but this IS NOT the way that lust IS viewed doctrinally.
Paul shows us the deeper reality in his next words saying “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other“; here we should try to see that Paul’s issue IS NOT that men ARE acting as men bent on illicit sex and other carnal endeavors. It IS rather their bondage to their vanity which IS the result of their heeding the words of those “false prophets” that have spread “another gospel“, a gospel which IS carnally oriented and contrary to the very idea of being able to “Walk in the Spirit“. This then IS the change that the apostle IS trying to elicit from the Galatians: that they “Walk in the Spirit” and stop their desire, craving and longing for the things of the world which Paul frames as “the lust of the flesh“. It IS in these ideas that the apostle’s words ARE more sensical; he IS NOT accusing the Galatians of illicit carnal behavior as lust IS often defined but rather that they ARE following “another gospel: Which is not another“. Again, it DOES NOT matter that Paul IS seeing their reversion ‘back’ to Judaism as their acceptance of “another gospel” or that he IS seeing the “the commandments of men” being substituted for the Truth of the “gospel of Christ” as both qualify according to the apostle’s charge. The point IS that they were instructed in the “gospel of Christ” and were “so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel” and now Paul IS trying to move them back to the True spiritual nature of the Truth which IS ever at odds with the comportment of men in this world. We should understand before we embark on Paul’s words that define the “works of the flesh” that we should be seeing his words as spiritual in nature and that ALL carnal undertakings ARE equally abhorrent to men’s spiritual nature. The Apostle James shows us this saying of the carnal way of men who DO have “respect to persons“, men that DO NOT express agape equally to ALL, that “if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:9-10). James’ words here ARE a clarification and amplification of the Master’s teaching on Love but his words ARE NOT understood as this in the doctrines of men who prefer their own doctrinal interpretations of Paul’s words above the clearly stated Truths. This IS the plight of the Galatians and this IS the plight of Christianity from the time of the church fathers until now. A great Truth IS missed in men’s carnal interpretations of the Truth which IS their misinterpretation of the intent of the Master and His apostles; this Truth IS summed up for us in Paul’s words saying “the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other” and here the real idea of lust should be clear. We should look at Paul’s words with James’ words on the subject in mind; James tells us:
“From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?”
James 4:1-5
While we used James words in the last essay to show the futility of prayer for carnal things and to show how the misrepresentation of Paul’s words on “prayer and supplication” (Philippians 4:6) have caused that futility to be completely ignored in most ALL Christian circles. In this essay our point IS quite different; here our point IS in regard to lust and the broad range of ideas behind the Greek word epithymia. James speaks of “your lusts that war in your members” and here we should try to see that this IS NOT a reference ONLY to sexual desires as ALL facets of the human psyche ARE included in this idea of “your members“. That this IS contrary to common understanding IS based in the doctrinal fixation on sex as the primary fault of men; the reality however IS that men’s thoughts, emotions and their resultant attitudes and actions ARE these “lusts that war in your members“. An example of our point IS found earlier in James Epistle where we read “the tongue is a little member and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!“. That the tongue IS a physical member of the body IS NOT the issue here; what comes forth from the tongue, from a man’s thoughts, emotions and attitudes, ARE the issues that DO “defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature” (James 3:5, 6). Lusts then ARE a carnal reaction to ALL that in the world. James tells us that “Ye lust, and have not“; here we should see that James reference IS to ALL that men desire to have which includes NOT ONLY physical things but the ideations of men which ARE furnished through thoughts, emotions and attitudes. James next takes us to the idea of what men may DO to satisfy their desires and here we should understand that his ideas of killing, wars and fighting ARE examples of what men may DO to satisfy their desires. From here James turns briefly to the idea of prayer, of asking for those things which ARE desired, and men’s failure to attain them “because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts“. Here we should understand that his reference to asking amiss IS a reference to asking for those things which one desires: carnal things of the world. James then brings us to two points; first IS the incompatibility of things carnal and things spiritual which he puts in terms of friendship. Both the Greek words philia and philos which ARE rendered as friendship and friend in this verse ARE related with philos being the apparent root word and while these ARE rendered as such by most ALL translations, the idea here should be seen in the fondness that one would have for a friend.
James’ second point brings us back to Paul’s words saying “the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other“. James tells us in words that ARE rather obscure that “Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?” and if we should conflate James’ words with Paul’s we may find a better understanding of their intent. Both sayings tells us of the ‘ability’ of the Spirit to lust and while the idea of “lusteth to envy” seems perplexing, we should be able to see the idea of envy as the Spirit’s sense when viewing the control that the flesh has over the Life of a man; a control that the Spirit strongly desires. Can we see the point here? Can we see how that men’s desires for worldly things ARE the biggest impediment to Truly spiritual Life and how that this IS a common message throughout the New Testament. Perhaps however the stronger point of both comes in James’ saying that “whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” and Paul’s equally clear idea saying of the flesh and the Spirit that “these are contrary the one to the other“; the comparison IS clearer when we see this friendship as fondness.
As Paul continues in our selection he again admonishes us to be “led of the Spirit” and we should note here that to be so led implies that it IS the Spirit, NOT the flesh, that motivates and ‘controls’ ones Life so that “ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh“. While Paul then references the law, we should try to better understand his meaning in so DOING. The common understanding IS that the reference IS to the Jewish laws of Moses but the ideas behind the Greek word numos DO encompass more that Moses’ edicts. Thayer’s defines numos as anything established, anything received by usage, a custom, usage, law9 while Strong’s tells us that numos IS: law (through the idea of prescriptive usage), genitive case (regulation), specially, (of Moses (including the volume); also of the Gospel), or figuratively (a principle):—law9a. The idea of the word can operate in a range of meanings and while we have presented Paul’s derision of the law to the way that the Jews’ acted upon the laws given by Moses, their use of them to their advantage if you will, the apostle’s use of the idea can perhaps be better framed from his preceding words. Paul IS telling the Galatians that if one DOES “Walk in the Spirit” that this man “shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” and it IS this idea that we should see in his continuing words saying “ye cannot do the things that ye would“. It IS this idea that a man “cannot do the things that ye would” that should be understood as anything established, anything received by usage, a custom, the very deportment of a man in his Life, that can be the reference of the idea intended in numos; and this can be True in many of Paul’s usages of the idea. If we can see the idea of men’s carnal lives in the way that they seek to “fulfil the lust of the flesh“; we can then also see that in living spiritually one “cannot do the things that ye would“, CAN NOT DO whatsoever he IS accustomed to DO which IS, in a word, seeking to “fulfil the lust of the flesh“. This IS a stark departure from the common understanding of Paul’s use of the ideas behind numos as it places this word into the thoughts, emotions, attitudes and actions of men rather than the idea of the law itself. The idea here can be simply stated to say that “if ye be led of the Spirit” then one IS NO longer prone to “do the things that ye would“, that one IS NO longer seeking to “fulfil the lust of the flesh“, an idea that we must remember encompasses ALL desires regarding oneself. Be they physical, mental, emotional, attitudinal or according to customs, such desires ARE in their totality the reality of epithymia, the reality of lust.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition
- 9 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon on blueletterbible.org
- 9a The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible on blueletterbible.org
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
