ON LOVE; PART MCDXLXVIII
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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 dichotomy between the carnal and the spiritual. While these ARE recognized separations, the extent of the ideas behind the words IS sorely missed by most ALL of the church. Carnal IS ALL things of the world, of the self while spiritual IS ONLY the things of God and should these ideas be understood the very nature of the of sin and evil would be exposed. We often phrase the idea as carnal and mundane and we use the word mundane with its definition as: of or relating to the earth, especially as opposed to heaven; worldly*. Similarly we use the word carnal defined as: pertaining to or characterized by the flesh or the body, its passions and appetites; sensual; not spiritual; merely human; temporal; worldly* with special attention to the latter defining ideas. While the lexicon’s definitions ARE similar, these ARE NOT generally how the word IS used in Christian circles; it IS rather used as evilly oriented and ever leans toward sexual ideas. The Greek word sirkikos which IS rendered as carnal and fleshy and IS defined for us as: fleshly, carnal: having the nature of flesh, i.e. under the control of the animal appetites; governed by mere human nature not by the Spirit of God; having its seat in the animal nature or aroused by the animal nature;
human: with the included idea of depravity2. It IS the final idea of depravity that IS most often used when considering the idea of carnal but it IS the foregoing ideas that ARE most aligned with the intent of the word. Should we compare carnal with vanity as it IS defined by Vincent we should see the greater idea. Vincent tells us that vanity IS : a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends4. The point here IS that ALL that IS of the world IS carnal and while this IS an accepted idea it becomes muddied by the Christian’s alignment of the idea with depravity. Most ALL men ARE carnal even when we consider the idea sans depravity; their motivations ARE mostly carnal and while this may for some reach into the idea of depravity, this IS NOT a rule that should be attached to the word. Here we should look again at the Apostle John’s words saying “all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 John 2:16). Few if any can say that their lives DO NOT function under John’s defining ideas of carnal as ALL “that is in the world“. Properly understood the “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes” pertain to the desires of men for ALL sorts of worldly things and the next idea, “the pride of life” shows us that our motivation to succeed and to better our material lives IS also a part of “all that is in the world“. While John DOES NOT use the word sirkikos, the idea IS contained in his reference to the things of the world which idea IS the active component that should be attached to our carnality.
We ARE carnal creatures in a carnal creation and while religions try to separate the religious from the secular, ALL ARE yet carnal and ARE in their own measure of that “bondage of corruption” that IS our vanity (Romans 8:21, 21). In the last essay we came upon some words from Henry Alford who IS a kind of contemporary of Vincent; this IS what he has to say in regard to the idea of mataiotes which IS rendered as vanity. Mr. Alford says: It signifies the instability, liability to change and decay , of all created things) not willingly (‘cum a corruptione naturâ res omnes abhorreant.’ Bucer in Thol.) but on aocount of ( διὰ is so far from losing its proper meaning by the reference of τὸν ὑποτάξαντα to God, as Jowett affirms, that it gains its strictest and most proper meaning by that reference: see Romans 8:11 . He is the occasion, and His glory the end, of creation’s corruptibility) Him who made it subject (i.e. God)5. Mr. Alford largely agrees with Vincent regarding the idea of our vanity which IS NOT to be confused with anything vain. This vanity IS a condition that, when used for the entirety of the created worlds, places ALL men into that condition by the Will of God. This Will should NOT be understood as we understand the will of men but rather this Will should reflect the very nature of the Godhead which IS essentially agape and ALL that this Love can mean. This Love IS expressed for us by Jesus who willingly “healed them all” (Matthew 12:15). At the same time as we should see in these words His Universal Love, His Universal expression of agape, we should also see that attribute of agape of which Peter tells us saying that “God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34). These ideas, Universal Love and the fact that “there is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:11) ARE necessarily entwined and should be read into such sayings as the Master tells us saying “he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust“. Luke frames this same idea a bit differently giving us Jesus’ words as “he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil“; both of these should show us the entwined ideas of Universal Love and that “God is no respecter of persons“. We should note that in both gospels, Matthew’s and Luke’s, these words follow upon Jesus’ teaching on Love and how that we should follow in the Lord’s Ways if we ARE to “be the children of the Highest” (Luke 6:35) or as Matthew frames this “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:45). We should note also that these words precede Master’s admonition that we should “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48) or, as Luke frames this that we should “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful“. What we should see here IS a profound defining idea for agape that has been missed by most for the last 2000 years, ideas that the Apostle James shows us in relation to men saying “If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But 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 2:8-10).
This then IS the definition of agape that we should employ in our everyday lives; a definition that IS covered by the simpler idea that “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” and Jesus’ explanatory statement telling us that we should practice intently the Golden Rule saying “all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12). While there IS NO shortage of scriptural ideas pertaining to this Universal Love with NO “respect to persons“, the whole idea of agape as Love has been viewed in ONLY a carnal and mundane way which we define as men’s emotional and mental attachment and attraction to others and to things in this world. Again we should say that because the whole idea of agape has been transferred to the rendered word Love and because Love IS seen in carnal and mundane terms, that we should eliminate the translation of agape into Love. We should use the word agape along with its True meanings of which there ARE likely very many spiritual precepts. We often say that the Truest meaning of agape IS found in the way that it should be expressed with NO “respect to persons” and while it may appear that it IS ONLY James that tells us this, the idea IS found throughout the New Testament. First and foremost we find this concept embedded in the words of the Master in His teaching to us on Love which we discussed in the early parts of our study of the Sermon on the Mount. That we DO NOT see the embedded idea IS again a function of the vanity of men who had chosen and still choose to interpret the Truth into snippets that protect the ability of men to live as men in this world. The deeper reality IS found in the way that Jesus shows us the Truth of agape saying clearly that:
“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust“.
(Matthew 5:43-45)
These words ARE among His commandments of which He tells us that “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19). Despite these words of caution from Jesus, the doctrinal approach of men has taken the Truth of Jesus’ statements on agape out of its context and have rendered the spiritual ideas that they contains as trite sayings. Most ALL fail to understand that one NOT living according to a commandment IS NO different than being one that “shall break one of these least commandments“. It IS here that we should try to see the deeper relevance of James words saying that “if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin“. Jesus’ words on agape in Matthew’s Gospel follow upon the other precepts from the Master’s Sermon, other precepts that have ONLY a hidden idea that they ARE also in regard to agape. His preceding words on killing and hate, His words on NOT resisting evil and His words on adultery ARE ALL included in this reality of what agape IS; NONE of these things ARE possible for the man whose expression IS agape Love. Luke, in his version of the Master’s Sermon, DOES NOT separate the ideas as DOES Matthew; Luke tells us Jesus’ words as:
“I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful“
(Luke 6:27-36)
Luke begins the Master’s words and ends them with the same precept of agape as Matthew as he purposefully includes other precepts in the space between Jesus words on agape. This should be an indication that such precepts ARE themselves part of the process of our expression of agape and it IS here perhaps that we should consider again the idea of meekness. That meekness IS commonly defined in terms of weakness, which idea IS found in our modern dictionaries, should NOT distract us from the True meaning as the Master portrays it. Today’s dictionary tells us that meek means: humbly patient or quiet in nature, as under provocation from others; overly submissive or compliant; tame* and it IS the latter part that commonly defines the idea. Webster’s 1828 dictionary, one written under the influence of Christianity by Noah Webster, defines the idea differently saying that to be meek IS to be: Mild of temper; soft; gentle; not easily provoked or irritated; yielding; given to forbearance under injuries; Appropriately, humble, in an evangelical sense; submissive to the divine will; not proud, self-sufficient or refractory; not peevish and apt to complain of divine dispensations1. These defining ideas ARE based in two biblical sayings; first that “the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth” (Numbers 12:3) and second, from Jesus’ own words, saying “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Matthew 11:29). Of course we should NOT forget the idea that “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth” which, while a largely misunderstood idea, shows us the reward if you will for meekness. While we can see that over time the idea of meekness has lost its biblical meanings to the common ideas of weakness, the reality of the word should still be the Christians motivation to turn the other cheek, to give and lend without expectation of return or reward and to “Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you“. These things ARE our expression of Love with NO “respect to persons” and these attitudes of True agape DO allow for us to be “the children of the Highest” in the Truest sense. These precepts ARE however quite far from the thinking of most ALL men both in and out of the church and it IS when we can consider meekness as our strength that we can fully understand the whole concept of agape and its expression with NO “respect to persons“. It IS this expression of agape that IS the hallmark of the True Christian and the KEY to many of the other Beatitudes. From a carnal and mundane perspective this meekness IS NOT a desirable trait but spiritually it IS a fundamental component of the Way of agape Love.
It IS meekness that IS the idea behind much of the Master’s words and while the idea of the Greek word praus lacks a solid biblical meaning in New Testament terms, there IS NO lack of meaning in such words which reflect this meekness from Jesus as we cite above. While these ideas ARE NOT generally tied together we can likely find NO greater idea of their relationship than the Master’s saying “That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain” (Matthew 5:39-41). This then IS the reality of praus, of meekness: we can resist whatsoever comes against us, we can fight for our rights against those that would take away something from us, but in meekness we DO NOT. This IS the example of the Master who many times could have used His sovereign power against those that opposed Him but rather chose to just move away as we read from Luke who tells us “And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. But he passing through the midst of them went his way” (Luke 4:28-30). The Apostle John shows us another example; we read that “Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by” (John 8:59). Can we see the point of meekness here? And can we see the deeper reason for Jesus instruction to us that we should “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you” (Matthew 7:6). This IS NOT to say that it IS ONLY in such actions, as the Master’s teaching deeper Truths than the Jews could accept, that can put us into adversarial situations, rather it IS every action that DOES produce such situations and in this world there ARE many. Regardless the cause we should NOT live in anger or resentment which IS the deeper idea here in Jesus’ words saying that “ye resist not evil” and here we should understand that this idea of evil contains ALL actions of men in this world that ARE carnal and mundane. We should remember that the Master teaches us that we should resist anger saying “whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment” (Matthew 5:22) and here we should learn to discount the words “without a cause” as most manuscripts DO NOT include this idea. ALL anger IS contrary to the Truth of Jesus’ message and we should try to see that in the way that Jesus presents this idea as equivalent to killing that there IS a depth that IS NOT understood by most ALL men in and out of the church. The Master tells us how that we should understand the simple idea from the Ten Commandments that tells us “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13, Deuteronomy 5:17); spiritually we should see His words as our admonition against the precursors to that final act which ofttimes starts with anger.
Jesus tells us that “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire” (Matthew 5:22). While the church DOES NOT see nor understand the equivalency that Jesus places on these ideas, the reality IS that there IS one and it IS our fundamental idea of meekness that we should see at play here. In meekness we DO NOT become angry nor DO we assign disparaging ideas to others as we fight off the carnal tendencies that once governed our lives; we become peacemakers and we come among those that “shall be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9). This IS our spiritual goal: to be “called the children of God“; but NOT by men in this world as the very seeking of such a position IS contrary to the Truth of agape. It IS this idea that IS given to us in the interaction between the apostles and the Master where we read that:
“And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory. But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized: But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared. And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John. But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many“.
Mark 10:35-45
In this rather lengthy exchange there ARE many lessons that ARE missed by the church which focuses most often on the ending idea that Jesus’ mission IS “to give his life a ransom for many” and perhaps we should start here with this last part. The word ransom IS rendered from the Greek word lytron which IS used only twice in the New Testament; here and in the similar idea from Matthew’s Gospel where we read Jesus’ words as “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many“. In Matthew’s Gospel it IS the mother of James and John that asks favor for her sons. The word has ambiguous meanings but the church has for the most part attributed the whole idea to their doctrinal view of atonement where ALL men ARE freed from their sins by Jesus’ death on the cross. Strong’s defines lytron saying that it IS: from G3089; something to loosen with, i.e. a redemption price (figuratively, atonement):—ransom9a and here we should note that both atonement and ransom ARE but figuratively attached to the word, likely as a doctrinal convention. Thayer’s relies upon Old Testament ideas for the Greek word which was translated from the Hebrew in the Septuagint. Thayer’s says of lytron that: the price for redeeming, ransom (paid for slaves, Leviticus 19:20; for captives, Isaiah 45:13; for the ransom of a life, Exodus 21:30; Numbers 35:31f). For us nothing in either Strong’s nor Thayer’s leads us to the doctrinal idea of atonement but rather completes the primary idea that the Master was getting across to His disciples. Vincent addresses the idea briefly quoting Sophocles who uses the idea of lytron in saying “For one soul working in the strength of love Is mightier than ten thousand to atone“4 which IS for us a fundamental Christian precept regarding agape. Alford, who we recently began using in our studies, begins his commentary with some seemingly doctrinal ideas regarding the word rendered as many both in this verse and in 1 Timothy 2:6) but his final analysis of the ideas of lytron states that ‘As the Son of man came to give His life for many and to serve many, so ye, being many, should be to each one the object of service and self-denial’5; here the idea of lytron IS tied to the overall meaning that Jesus IS offering us that “even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many“. The point here IS NOT atonement as this IS understood by the church but rather a lesson in service captured by Alford’s ideas that ‘ye, being many, should be to each one the object of service and self-denial’. This idea of service IS missed by most ALL as they arbitrarily fix Jesus’ words on lytron to their doctrinal preconceptions.
The Master IS using His exchange with James and John to show us that everyman that seeks to Truly be “called the children of God” should NOT seek such office in the eyes of men. James and John ARE seeking a pronouncement of their ‘superiority’ over the other disciples as they ask that Jesus “Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory“. Jesus soundly turns on their ambitions by explaining the True nature of discipleship and how that being His disciple IS far from the ways of the world and He DOES so in quite simple terms that ARE NOT yet appreciated by most. Comparing the disciples to the ways of men in the world the Master says “so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all“. It IS in the conclusion of this simple answer that we see Jesus words that have become an issue of atonement rather than a call to the disciples that ‘ye, being many, should be to each one the object of service and self-denial’ as Alford notes. And it IS this message that should have permeated the minds of men who Truly seek to be “called the children of God“. It IS unfortunate that most ALL of this message from the Master has been hidden from view because of the doctrinal interpretations of the last phrase which IS taken out of context and used to support doctrinal assertions regarding the atonement, assertions that ARE carnally based and actually contrary to Jesus’ message. We have often related this idea of atonement to the reality of at-one-ment which IS the natural result of being among those that ARE “called the children of God“. Paul refers to this saying that the Master “abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace“. We should understand here that this peace IS our freedom from that vanity, from our own “bondage of corruption” as we come to stand as a singular expression of agape. It IS in this that we find the reality of the peacemaker who will “inherit the earth” through His expression of agape in meekness. The first place of peace IS found in our ability to express Truth and Love through our flesh in this Earth and it IS this that Jesus’ refers to in telling His apostles “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). While this idea of peace, the idea of “Peace be unto you” (John 20:26) and “peace be with you” (Romans 15:33), has become a religious refrain uttered in services across denominations and sects, few Truly understand the reality of what this peace IS and where IS DOES begin. It IS here in this peace that we ARE NO longer “A double minded man“, a man that IS “unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8).
Can we see in these ideas the reality of those that can be Truly “called the children of God“? Can we see that it IS in our freedom from our vanity, our freedom from our bondage, that we can enter into e “the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21)? It IS this that IS our goal, our purpose if you will for living here in this world: that we “might be partakers of the divine nature“. It IS this that we look toward as Souls in form but this looking forward IS generally unbeknown to the carnal mind whose acts ARE yet highly reliant on our emotional response to whatsoever we see and hear. It IS the Soul, the Inner Man, the Christ Within that IS the True man and it IS in this reality ONLY that we can Truly express agape in this world with NO “respect to persons“. Peter shows us that the Way to become “partakers of the divine nature” in found in our ability to overcome the carnal cravings that have heretofore governed our lives, to step out if you will from the mundane lives that we have constructed for ourselves in our vanity. Peter tells us rather clearly that “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to[b] glory and virtue: 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 1:3-4). This IS of course in accord with the Master’s instructions to disciples and here perhaps we should try to see that it IS discipleship, True discipleship as defined by Jesus, IS the more succinct goal. And this goal IS NO better explained for us than in our trifecta of the Master’s words on how to pursue discipleship, the Kingdom and His Presence in our daily lives through the overcoming actions of our own Souls. Jesus 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).
It IS these things that ARE the hallmark of being “partakers of the divine nature“. In True discipleship we have the entirety of the idea of the mysteries exposed for us “through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue“. This reality IS founded in the Master’s words that in True discipleship we “shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” and it IS through this revelation of Truth that to the disciple it IS “given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God” (Luke 8:10). Similarly it IS in being “partakers of the divine nature” that we Truly “shall enter into the kingdom of heaven“, a Kingdom that we should understand as the Master presents it to us saying that “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). While this idea IS NOT accepted by most ALL of the church for various doctrinal and selfish reasons, it IS nonetheless a most basic Christian Truth. The Lord IS ever in His Kingdom which encompasses ALL and to have His Presence in one’s Life brings with it the reality of His Kingdom; NOT as a place as IS commonly understood but rather as a state of being where the Life in this world IS the Life of the Soul, the Life of the Christ Within. This of course brings us into the reality of the Presence of God in our Lives and here we should understand that this Presence IS a realization and a revelation from the Christ Within that we ARE living in that state of mind and emotion where our expression of agape rules our heretofore carnal lives. This IS the reality of being “partakers of the divine nature” and as Peter shows us this IS accomplished by “having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust“. It IS Truly unfortunate that ALL of this reality has been scrubbed from the doctrinal interpretations of scripture. The Church has ever shied away from even considering the True potential of the disciple of whom the Master tells us that “The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord” (Matthew 10:24-25). The Apostle John clarifies and amplifies these words saying that “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” (1 John 4:16-17). In these words saying that “as he is, so are we in this world” we should see our potential through discipleship, a potential that IS NOT unlike the experience of the apostles, many of whom DID eventually have the fullness of the Power of the Godhead flowing through their lives. While we ONLY read of a few, the reality was likely much more widespread, as IS revealed for us in the lives of Stephen and Philip. Of Stephen we read “Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people” (Acts 6:8) and of his martyrdom. Of Phillip (presumably NOT the Philip of the twelve) we read that “the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed” (Acts 8:6-7). This IS being counted among the “partakers of the divine nature“.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
- 1 Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1828 and 1913 from https://1828.mshaffer.com/
- 2 New Testament Greek lexicon on biblestudytools.com
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition
- 5 Alford’s Greek Testament Critical Exegetical Commentary; Baker; 7th Edition (1980)
- 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
