ON LOVE; PART MCDLXXXIX
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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 the last essay we began and we ended with some thoughts on the way that the idea of keeping His words and our expression of agape Love ARE intimately related; indeed, they ARE synonymous. While the words ARE read by many the impact of the words from the Apostle Paul ARE NOT a part of the teaching of most ALL denominations and sects and this likely because most refrain from anything that involves the idea of works. We should remember that it IS the same Apostle Paul that IS given the utmost credence when discussing his supposed aversion to works, his supposed aversion to DOING anything to promote one’s own ‘salvation‘. This Christian theory IS based on such ideas as “by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8) and “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified” (Galatians 2:16). While the doctrines of men ARE centered around such ideas on works, their theoretical relevance to salvation has been largely in error and this error IS amplified by a True understanding of the apostle’s words in their context. The gist of much of what Paul and the other apostles tell us can remain uncertain and such sayings as those cited here should have remained in uncertainty rather than being wrongly interpreted. As we have often said the doctrinal ideas promulgated by the church regarding works and DOING are contrary to much of the rest of the New Testament. Much of what IS taught and believed IS the result of the wrangling of men in conclaves and synods and councils and the decisions seem to ever be intended to allow for men to practice their religion while at the same time remaining focused upon their carnal lives in this world. In DOING this, in establishing a religion that protects the ability of men to be men, far too many of the other precepts taught by the Master and His apostles have fallen to the wayside of the True Path of coming “into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). The point here IS that while the church has chosen its path with out of context ideas that rely upon the nebulosity of faith and believing, the True Path IS yet available to ALL; a Path that IS founded in agape as Paul tells us saying “all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Galatians 5:14).
Again, the apostle repeats his charge in more depth in his Epistle to the Romans saying “he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:8-10). It IS in these words that ARE specifically intended to show the equivalency of keeping His words and our expression of agape but we should understand that the whole tenor of his words ARE also intended to show us that “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). We have often said that the works that Paul rails against ARE NOT the “good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” but ARE rather those works that the Jews originated as their mitzvah, their 613 interpretations of the law that were based in the idea of DOING ONLY as suits the carnal ideas of men. Their emphasis upon the ideas of circumcision, the sabbath, the dietary guidelines, the chronic focus on sacrifices and the harshness of their sense of punishment for rather mundane things colored their religious Life to the point where those who followed these 613 rules were considered as ‘saved’, but ONLY in their own minds. They forgot about the parts of the Ten Commandments that included Love, and mercy as they accepted the idea of sacrifice as their way to avoid such practices. It IS this that Paul rails against as DID the Master and that the apostle chose to use the idea of works to define this has led the Christian world to miss the whole point of Moses words. It IS Truly unfortunate that the writers of the Pentateuch, the actual writers, saw Moses teachings in the way that they DID. They ascribed their own ideas of religion and embellished them with fantastical stories intended as ‘lessons’ for what Alexander MacLaren refers to as: people ignorant of natural science, and prone to fall back into surrounding idolatry“12. What IS yet more unfortunate IS that the Christian world accepted the ideas of the Pentateuch writers as well as the Jews’ historical writers and incorporated much of the fantastical into their own doctrinal approach to the Lord. The Early Christians carried forward the Jews’ religious ideas as ‘gospel’ despite the way that the Master rails against their practices and tries, with limited success, to correct their Path. And, while accepting the tenor of the Old Testament as Truth, the Christians constructed their own mitzvah, sans those facets that Jesus considered as meaningless. A construction centered around their ideas of the worship of Jesus as their Lord and Savior and this without ever seriously considering the most basic Truth of Jesus’ teaching: agape Love. It IS this teaching that Paul reminds us of in his sayings to the Galatians and the Romans; it IS this teaching on agape Love as the Way that the apostle shows us as the equivalent to keeping the law. Perhaps it IS because the Christians have deflected the idea of works, the idea behind the ritual practices of the Jews, that they at the same time came to ignore this equivalency.
Again, Paul tells us in Galatians that “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified” (Galatians 2:16); lets us parse these words for a greater understanding. The beginning and the end of this statement reflect the same idea that we present above regarding Paul’s aversion to works, that it IS against the “works of the law“. This idea IS vastly different from those “good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” but the church seems to have missed this point. Many hold as True the idea that a man CAN NOT ‘save‘ himself and here the reference IS generally to attaining the ability to enter into His Kingdom after death. This however IS a great doctrinal error; the idea of saving oneself has naught to DO with death but rather with Life and the idea here IS that we can enter into the Kingdom in Life which, while NOT accepted by most ALL of the church, IS a part of the teachings of the New Testament. Beginning with the words from our trifecta saying that “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) we have a picture of the Way. Another idea that the church DOES NOT generally accept IS that “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21) but in these words IS a great KEY to our own salvation. In neither of these ideas DO we see the idea of death; nor DO we see the idea of death in such sayings as “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal” (John 12:25). In this statement from the Master we see ONLY Life and the duality of that Life which IS divided by our focus which IS either on the carnal Life as pertains to “He that loveth his life” or it IS upon the things of God which pertains to “he that hateth his life in this world“. The latter man IS by measure among the “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4) and, as a partaker, he has revelation and realization that he has entered “into the kingdom of heaven“. This IS the state of mind of Peter and Paul and many of the other apostles. Our point here IS that ALL Truth and agape Love can be KNOWN as a man in this world who IS striving toward “the glorious liberty of the children of God“. It IS this man that can say with the apostle “And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:23). It IS again unfortunate that the church has NOT embraced these ideas that ARE shown us by the Master and His apostles as they have chosen to interpret their words into their doctrinal approaches to the Lord.
Paul goes on to show us that our justification comes through “the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ” but these words ARE wholly misunderstood. We begin here with our understanding of the Greek word pistis and our assertion that this IS NOT that nebulous idea of faith embraced by the doctrines of men. To properly understand the gist of the words of Paul and the other apostles we must come to see the deeper reality of the words pistis and pisteuo and we have spent much time on this subject throughout the course of our blogposts. Vincent tells us that: Paul means that justification is by faith alone and that A man is not justified by the works of the law : (he is not justified) except by faith in Jesus Christ4. These ARE rather grammatical interpretations which he opposes against the Revised Version’s rendering that one: “Is not justified by the works of the law save through faith” which rendering Mr. Vincent considers unfortunate. For us however, the whole of the idea IS misunderstood because the idea of faith from the Greek pistis IS NOT what it IS made out to be. For us the whole idea comes down to a sense of justification that IS based on one’s KNOWING the Christ which IS ONLY Truly possible for the man whose focus IS upon the things of God. One CAN NOT KNOW God while focused upon the carnal and the mundane and while the doubleminded man may receive glimpses of the Truth, he CAN NOT actually KNOW the Truth nor the Christ. He IS as James tells us “unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8) and this simply because a man CAN NOT “serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). And, what DOES it mean to be justified? What IS Paul’s overriding point? The Greek word dikaioo which IS rendered as justified reflects upon a man’s righteousness; Strong’s tells us that dikaioo means: to render (i.e. show or regard as) just or innocent9a. Thayer’s tells us that the idea is to render righteous or such as he ought to be where righteous IS used in place of the idea of being rendered just or innocent. Thayer’s goes on to an Old Testament reference saying that the idea IS to show, exhibit, evince, one to be righteous, such as he is and wishes himself to be considered and finally that the idea IS to declare, pronounce, one to be just, righteous, or such as he ought to be9. Taken literally from our subject verse we should see Paul saying that a man “is not justified shown as righteous by the works of the law“. The idea here then IS that by men’s works according to their doctrines, they ARE NOT made nor “shown as righteous“. This IS the apostle’s whole point regarding works and, to be sure, the same holds True in the Christian era where men ARE NOT made nor “shown as righteous” merely by DOING whatsoever IS called for in their doctrines. Men ARE made or “shown as righteous” however by their “good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them“. Can we see the point here?
Taking this further, the Master says to His disciples that “except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). Here we should try to see that according to Paul and to the ongoing railing against them by the Master, there IS little or NO righteousness in the ways of the scribes and the Pharisees; men that practice their mitzvah instead of “good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them“. How this has given Life to the idea that a man ‘cannot save himself’ IS for us a mystery as the words of Jesus and His apostles ALL encourage and even demand that men DO change their ways which we should try to see as changing the nature of their works. Jesus offers us choices to make, choices which must be made, and ARE constantly made, by men in this world; He also tells us the Way to the Kingdom, the Way to the Truth that “shall make you free“, and to the Presence of God in one’s everyday Life. That Way IS of course that we keep His words which, as we have been broadly discussing, can be DONE through our expression of agape Love to ALL men with NO “respect to persons” (James 2:9). Using ideas that ARE regularly in our essays we look to Paul again who tells us that “if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live” (Romans 8:13). This IS a conscious change and the fullness of our Repentance which IS defined for us by Vincent as: Such a virtuous alteration of the mind and purpose as begets a like virtuous change in the life and practice4. This IS the reality of those “good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” as a conscious effort by the man in this world. What then IS the reality of this debate over works? It IS merely the doctrinal church holding fast to an ancient theory regarding faith as they interpreted the idea of pistis into the nebulous idea that it has become. Mortifying “the deeds of the body” takes conscious effort, works on the part of the man, as DOES his effectuating his own escape from “the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4). In the end we should try to see that while the church has interpreted their out of context selections from Paul’s writings into a treatise of sorts against works, the Apostle James offers us the greater Truth by telling us that if we ARE Truly striving toward the “glorious liberty of the children of God” that it IS works that must follow our faith. Again we must NOT interpret pistis into the doctrinally nebulous ideas of hope but rather into the reality that when we KNOW the Truth, we will DO the necessary “good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them“. James tells us:
“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can* faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?“
James 2:14:20
Then, after his examples, the apostle tells us that “as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26). In past essays we have discussed the idea that these words ARE contrary to Paul’s seemingly antagonistic words on works but this idea IS ONLY valid when we DO NOT understand what Paul IS saying; when we DO NOT understand what he means as “the works of the law“. When we can see that Paul’s reference IS to the rote practices of the Jews, those same practices that the Master also rails against, we can then see that Paul’s words on those “good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” and James’ words agree. We should note that both Paul and James use the same examples of Abraham and “Rahab the harlot” (James 2:25) to make their point and, to be sure their points ARE different. While James tells us that it IS the actions of Abraham and “Rahab the harlot” that Truly matter, Paul IS showing us that without faith, without that KNOWING, such action would NOT have been taken. Paul’s promotion of pistis colors much of his writings. That men DO NOT understand this promotion as that KNOWING that comes to the man who keeps His words has obnubilated the subject for from the beginning. We have often taken up this idea of KNOWING as the basis for both pistis and pisteuo which ARE become those nebulous ideas of Christian faith and believing and we have based our points in the words of Jesus. While our points have come from the Master’s words on the potentials of everyman who can Truly KNOW, the ideas ARE much more widespread and perhaps we should begin here with our trifecta where we ARE told specifically what it takes for a man to Truly KNOW. The Master says:
- “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 first point from our trifecta that shows us the source of our KNOWING while at the same time showing us the relationship between this KNOWING and being a True disciple of the Lord. The source IS of course keeping His words and while this IS very clearly stated, it remains unseen by most ALL of the church as men believe that they KNOW based in their various doctrinal approaches to the Lord, This doctrinal basis IS founded in their understanding of pistis, faith, and pisteuo, believing, both of which have been substituted for the True KNOWING that comes from keeping His words. We should understand here that the promises of the trifecta embrace ALL that the Christian world believes that they already have; ALL that they believe that they have without embracing the Truth upon which these promises stand. The Truth they they come to those that DO keep His words. ALL else IS essentially folly and while some may have some measure of these promises, that measure IS based in each man’s embrace of the essential points of the Master’s teaching. For example the man who Loves ALL others, who DOES “love thy neighbour as thyself” despite his doctrinal ideas can have some share of these promises. Can we see the point here? Can we understand that every individual DOES have some degree of Truth in his heart which can be allowed to flourish despite his carnal focus? In the end we must realize and understand that when we DO Truly KNOW some measure of the Truth through keeping His words, those “good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” follow rather naturally. Similarly when we embrace agape and express agape to ALL men equally we ARE keeping His words and the Path to this point of expression brings us our ever greater measure of Truth. This IS the essential meaning of the Master’s words saying “And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given” (Mark 4:24). The idea of hearing here IS perception and understanding which IS shown us by Thayer’s as what we would attend to; when it comes to the physical ear we will hear ALL things in our environment. We should try to see here that this perception need NOT ONLY come through the physical ear but can come from the Inner Man, the Soul, as well through the continual prompting of the Soul, a prompting that generally goes unheard and unheeded.
We should note also the context in which Jesus’ words ARE spoken; it comes after His explanation to His disciples of the deeper meaning of the Parable of the Sower. The Master then says “there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath” (Mark 4:22-25). We must remember here that “All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them” (Matthew 13:34). In Luke’s Gospel this same idea of hearing follows in the same place: after the explanation to His disciples of the Parable of the Sower. Luke tells us that “Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have” (Luke 8:18). While Luke leaves out the idea of measure, it IS included in the idea of having and perhaps a KEY point here IS found in the idea of what one “seemeth to have“, an idea that IS prevalent in the minds of many doctrinal thinkers that believe that they DO have. Ponder on this. Our point here however IS the idea of measure and the Way that whatsoever we DO in regard to keeping His words DOES increase our measure of Truth. Perhaps the point here can be seen as when one has NO Truth based in His words and the rightly interpreted words of His apostles, nor DOES he focus upon the Truth. DOES this man then lose access to whatsoever Truth he may have had through the seeping in of ideas prompted by his own Soul? The broader picture here IS perhaps that whensoever a man fails to act upon those spiritual ideas that ‘come’ to him, he sinks ever further into his own carnality. IS this the Master’s message to the Jews who failed at expressing the heart of the law which IS ever agape Love and its expression as mercy? Jesus emphasizes this idea to the Jews saying “go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice” and then later saying “if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless” (Matthew 9:13, 12:7). This view of the Master’s words to the Jews’ religious leaders IS a valid one and begs the question: why would the Christian world believe that the same DOES NOT apply to them and their own expression of agape Love?
Again our point here IS measure and the way that as we DO express some modicum of Truth in this world, as we DO express Love according to the Master’s defining words on agape, we DO at the same time gain additional measure. This IS the purpose of such words as we see above regarding what a man may take from his hearing and we should note that Matthew and Luke also use this same idea of measure in speaking about what seems to be other topics. Matthew tells us “with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again” (Matthew 7:2); here the idea IS our judgement which can easily be seen in relation to our perceiving through our hearing. While the idea of judgement has been understood in terms of condemnation, the Greek word krino DOES NOT necessarily carry this idea; Strong’s tells us that the word means: a decision (the function or the effect, for or against as they then interpret into such ideas as avenge, condemned, condemnation, damnation, + go to law, judgment9a. None of these ideas however can show us the idea of “righteous judgement” from the Master’s admonition that we “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment” (John 7:2). While the Greek word krisis IS used here in place of krino, they DO have essentially the same meaning and both ARE rendered as judgement. Our point here IS that if there IS “righteous judgement” then the whole of the idea CAN NOT be understood in terms of condemnation. Judgement can take many forms; it can relate to the condemnation we offer to others who DO whatsoever that we DO NOT agree with; it can relate to our judgement of a situation, whether it will result in this or that should we pursue it. Judgement can also be directed at the self as we ARE ever judging our own activities, thoughts and attitudes against some idea of a norm; we can also direct this idea of judgement towards our spiritual pursuits as we must judge our own progress and our Way upon the Path. The idea that “with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged” likely comes down to our thoughts and attitudes where the idea can be that if we ourselves DO judge others, either harshly or lightly, we offer that appearance to others who will then in turn judge our thoughts and attitudes; this seems to be human nature. The idea of “what measure ye mete” here may be a departure from the idea of judgement and reflect upon the idea of measure as a more general theme. Matthew’s words may also be a rephrasing of the previous idea on judgement where the idea of what judgement we mete will be returned. These words from Jesus according to Matthew may of course carry both meanings as these ideas ARE related.
The Apostle Luke who shows us the Master’s words on such measure as “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again” (Luke 6:38). Luke’s focus on giving, while taken to mean carnally oriented things by the church at large, DO NOT necessarily have to mean what we give in such a manner. The Master may well intend to show us our giving as a holistic idea that includes ALL facets of giving; here we should try to recognize that our expressions ARE things that could fall into His word idea. In general terms our giving of our expression of agape to others will result in our being judged in a certain way and may also result in others expressing similarly to us and here the idea of getting more than we express can be enlightening. We should remember here the context of Luke’s version of the Master’s words; it follows immediately after his words on judgement; that they ARE similar to Matthews but contain the ideas of both condemnation and forgiveness; they also follow upon the idea of mercy. We read this ALL as “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again” (Luke 6:36:38). We should ever remember the value of context, a value that much of the doctrinal approaches to the Lord have chosen to ignore. Many use Luke’s version of the Master’s words to highlight the idea of giving and receiving and while this IS a valid spiritual reality, it has been used for strictly carnal purposes by much of the church. Many tie the idea of receiving as a direct result of their giving and teach that the results ARE related to faith. John Gill offers us his thoughts on this giving and receiving saying: Give liberally of your worldly substance to indigent persons, as you have an opportunity, according to your ability, and as cases require: and it shall be returned again to great advantage; with great recompense, either in temporals or spirituals, or both. This however IS NOT the way that many parts of the church view the whole of the idea as they add in the idea of tithes and offerings to the church itself as a ‘requirement’ for ‘just’ disposition to oneself. We should note that the whole thing relies upon having ‘sufficient’ faith to receive and, for many, their giving can be based in their desire to receive. We should note at well that the whole of these interpretations on giving and receiving leave out the context of the Master’s words and separate them from the other similar sayings given us by the other synoptic writers. The context IS clearly mercy, our expression of agape in this world, as it IS compounded by judgement and by forgiveness. We should note the way that Luke frames these ideas and while there IS NO punctuation in the Greek texts, the translators chose to attach the idea of giving and receiving to mercy, judgement and forgiveness via a colon. Most ALL of the word for word translations use the colon to connect the ideas while the thought for thought and paraphrase translations use separating punctuation. Our point here IS rather simple; men have manipulated the text of the bible beginning with the translators efforts in order to ‘humanize’ the ideas allowing for men to be men in this world. This however was NOT the Master’s objective nor the objective of His apostles as they DO offer us the spiritual value of the Truth of His words.
While we seem to have strayed quite far from our opening theme regarding agape as the expression of Truth and Love that fulfill everyman’s spiritual obligations, we have if fact driven further into that theme. It IS important that we understand the value of measure along with the understanding that NO measure IS a wasted effort so long as we continue to strive toward our goal. While few will reach the pinnacle that Paul refers to as “the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body“, our measure of advancement to that pinnacle IS what IS important as we can use what we have accomplished in both the afterlife and our next encounter with flesh. The idea of measure IS a common theme throughout the New Testament and it IS stated for us in many ways that DO NOT include the specific word as the operating factor. It IS for this reason perhaps that the Master DOES tell us in response to a question asking “Lord, are there few that be saved?” that we should “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able”; here the keyword IS of course strive.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
| Aspect | Potency | Aspect of Man | In Relation to the Great Invocation | In relation to the Christ |
| GOD, The Father | Will or Power | Spirit or Life | Center where the Will of God IS KNOWN | Life |
| Son, The Christ | Love and Wisdom | Soul or Christ Within | Heart of God | Truth |
| Holy Spirit | Light or Activity | Life Within | Mind of God | Way |
- 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
- 12 Expositions of Holy Scripture–Project Gutenberg’s and Baker Book House’ Expositions of Holy Scripture, by Alexander Maclaren–(1826-1910)
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher