ON LOVE; PART MCDXC
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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 the idea of measure as this applies to the progress that everyman can make upon the spiritual Path toward that “glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21); toward becoming “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4)”. The point to be taken here IS as we cited at the end of the last post: that despite the fact that while few will reach the pinnacle that Paul refers to as “the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body“, our measure of advancement toward that pinnacle IS what IS important. It IS in our striving toward that pinnacle that we can reach it and become fully “partakers of the divine nature“. It IS in our striving toward that pinnacle that we can experience here and now some measure of being a partaker, some measure of having that “glorious liberty of the children of God” which IS NO different that becoming a partaker in the rewards garnered from keeping His words. Our trifecta outlines some of the specific rewards and we should try to understand here that we can have a measured participation in ALL of the rewards offered, ALL of the promises as the doctrines of men choose to call them. Jesus shows us this idea of measure in such ideas as “with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you” (Mark 4:24) and relating this to our trifecta we should be able to see how that our measure to mete out IS our measure of keeping His words. The Master tells us:
- “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32).
- “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
- “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me” (John 14:21-24).
Here the promises ARE the Truth that “shall make you free“, entrance into “the kingdom of heaven” and the Presence of the Lord in the mortal lives of men. Each of these IS an aspect of being “partakers of the divine nature” and a quality of those that are by measure within the “glorious liberty of the children of God“. And it IS measure that IS our overriding point here as it regards the lives of men in this world. It IS by measure that they gain any degree of spiritual reality and while this may seem a meaningless point, this reality IS the greater goal of the whole of His creation. Each addition to our individual and corporate measure of realization of our spiritual reality IS an addition to our KNOWING and here this KNOWING should be understood as a combination of our KNOWING God and KNOWING ourselves as part and parcel of the Godhead. We should remember that as keeping His words IS the Path to the promises of the trifecta, ALL the promises to be sure, keeping His words IS also the Path to KNOWING God as the Apostle John tells us saying “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4). It IS in our striving to keep his words that we unlock our measure of Truth and it IS in this Truth that we KNOW the Lord and, again, ourselves as part and parcel of the Lord our God. In the end there IS NO alternative Path to becoming “partakers of the divine nature“; there IS ONLY keeping His words and striving to DO so. There IS however an alternative to keeping the individual words and sayings. This alternative IS our expression of agape Love and it IS this that Paul shows us in saying that “all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Galatians 5:14). We should remember here that the Master tells us of the importance of the law saying “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 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 5:17-19). The Master’s words here ARE included to show that the extent of the law, the reality of the law and NOT the totality of the ancillary parts authored by Moses against which the Master rails, ARE the intent of the whole of the New Testament as well. We can define this view of the law as the Ten Commandments but that would NOT clarify why some of the ancillary ideas, added ideas other than the Ten, should be considered as a part of the whole. We can also look at the way that the Ten commandments ARE listed and perhaps find in them the seeds of what Jesus calls “the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith” (Matthew 23:23). The “weightier matters of the law” can likely be easily discerned in the Pentateuch by the way that they concern such ideas as “judgment, mercy, and faith” and perhaps the best example IS the inclusion of “thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Leviticus 19:18).
These words ARE then elevated by the Master to be included in the Great Commandments and here we could question how they ARE NOT included in the Ten Commandments. It IS in an intelligent analysis of the Ten that we find reference to the “weightier matters of the law” which perforce include the idea that “thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself“. As we have pointed out in previous essays these words ARE KNOWN and understood by the leaders of the church in Jesus’ day which should tell us that these words ARE KNOWN for their importance. Perhaps it IS in the telling of the story of the Pentateuch and translating the writers’ words that the idea was lost as a part of the Ten or perhaps the idea IS to be presumed from the other parts of the text of the Ten Commandments that DO concern “judgment, mercy, and faith“. We CAN NOT KNOW the answer to such questions save through that KNOWING that comes through our focus upon the things of God and our striving to keep His words. The idea that the Jews DO KNOW the words and their meaning IS shown to us by the Master’s dialogue with the Jews; we read from Mark’s Gospel that:
“one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, 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. And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question“
Mark 12:28-34
While this agreement between the Master and the Jews’ scribe should show us the force of these words 2000 years ago, this IS NOT a general topic in the church yet today; it DOES show us however just how long these words have been ignored by the human family. The Apostle Luke offers us a similar view of this most important subject but from the perspective of the scribe, the lawyer in the King James text, answering Jesus’ question that asks “What is written in the law? how readest thou?“. To this the lawyer replies “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live” (Luke 10:26, 27-28). The point here IS simply that the Jews DID KNOW and understand that the admonition that “thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” was among the most important of the commandments, an admonition that was severely diluted by the mitzvah that they had chosen to practice as their religion. As one of the Great Commandments, this admonition DID NOT properly resonate in the early Christian church either and this failure has been perpetuated by the denominations and sects that have followed. Against the failure by the Jews the Master continually rails and were He to return today He would similarly rail against the ways of the Christian world who, instead of relying upon salvation through sacrifice, rely instead upon salvation through their nebulous ideas of faith and believing. That Paul shows us that this commandment IS the KEY to True salvation, but that message has been diluted and even changed by the doctrinal assertions of most ALL of the church. What we see and teach as the alternative to men’s need to obey each of the individual commandments, the Christian and the Jew relatively ignore; the Jew likely because they have always relied upon their mitzvah and the Christian because they DO NOT see any importance in the law as regards salvation. To this we again remind of the Master’s words regarding the law and the commandments; the Master tells us “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 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 5:17-19).
As we often say in our posts, the Christian world DOES NOT see clearly the idea of agape which, while they regard it as ‘the God kind of Love’, they fail to properly embrace it and understand what it Truly means. The reality of the word IS NOT found in the lexicons or bible dictionaries; it IS found however throughout the New Testament in examples and in the admonitions of the Master and His apostles. We have often said as well that the reference to agape as Love has distorted the reality of the word and placed it into a word idea that IS encumbered by the common understanding of Love. Agape IS NOT that mental and emotional attachment and attraction that men have for others and for things in this world; men may Love whatsoever they choose but this IS NOT an expression of agape. In the simple expression, “thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” the whole of the idea of agape IS revealed but too many in the Jewish traditions as well as most ALL of Christianity misplace the idea of the neighbor and this despite Jesus’ explanation. While the human personality will NOT as a general rule be able to Love ALL men as the word IS commonly understood, it can, under the influence of the Soul, the Christ Within, express agape to ALL when that word idea IS properly understood….it IS NOT the common idea of Love. But even this, the Christ Within, IS become a disputed factor in most ALL Christian denominations and sects. Paul tells us, again the same Paul that the church relies upon for their sense of doctrine, of the Christ Within and the way that the idea has been hidden from the masses. Here we should recognize that while many believe that they have revealed the mysteries through their doctrines, most ALL ARE still blinded by the parabolic nature of the writings and the Christian’s self-aggrandizing attitudes. Paul tells us “I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus” (Colossians 1:25-28).
Much of the reason for these ideas to be discounted by the doctrinal church IS found in the same self-aggrandizing attitude that causes men to ‘believe‘ that they ARE saints despite the strict meanings of this word in scripture. But men ARE NOT saints regardless of the way that this IS used in much of the church as it IS made to apply to followers of this or that doctrinal approach to the Lord. The idea of the saint IS clearly stated in the lexicon where the Greek word hagios IS dually rendered as both saint and as holy; the word IS simply defined as most holy thing, a saint2. Strong’s tells us that hagios IS: sacred (physically, pure, morally blameless or religious, ceremonially, consecrated):—(most) holy (one, thing), saint9a. Who, as an average doctrinal follower, can make claim to these ideas? Thayer’s offers us the idea that to be hagios one IS: reverend, worthy of veneration and that he IS set apart for God, to be, as it were, exclusively his9. Again, who, as an average doctrinal follower, can make claim to these ideas? Paul IS showing us the idea of Christ Within as “the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations” but his words have had little impact on the church at large. While some commentaries put the idea of “Christ in you” into the idea of the Gospel through such ideas as: Christ, who is the sum and substance of it, is “in” his people; not only as the omnipresent God, as the author of the light of nature, as the Creator of all things, in whom all live, move, and have their beings, but in a way of special grace; and the phrase is expressive of a revelation of him in them, of their possession of him, of his inhabitation in them by his Spirit and grace, particularly by faith, and of their communion with him, in consequence of their union to him; and being so, he is the ground and foundation of their hopes of glory8; here John Gills’ it IS the gospel. Much of Mr. Gills words here can be linked to the third part of our trifecta where we read about the criteria for having True realization of the idea of “Christ in you” but this IS NOT what Mr. Gill IS referencing as he tells us it IS through faith and grace that one has “Christ in you“. We should note here that much of the reason for such a view IS the misunderstanding of the apostle’s use of the Greek word ethnos which IS rendered here and understood according to the doctrinal idea of gentiles. Vincent in his Word Studies in the New Testament tells us of the idea of “Christ in you” that: The readings differ. Some read ὅς, masculine, which, referring to the riches: others ὃ, neuter, which, referring to mystery. The latter corresponds with Col 2:2, the mystery of God, Christ, etc. In either case the defining words are Christ in you, i.e., in the Gentiles; either as constituting the richness of glory in this mystery, or as being the essence of the myself itself. In you may be either within you, dwelling in your hearts, or among you. The latter accords with among the Gentiles, the former with dwell in your hearts, Eph 3:17. Compare Rom 8:10; Co2 13:5; Gal 4:194. Here Mr. Vincent IS analyzing the words and their reference but his analysis DOES include some of our KEY points. He tells us of “Christ in you” as being the essence of the myself itself which idea, perhaps inadvertently, captures the idea of “Christ in you” as the True self hidden in the vanity that IS one’s Life in this world.
For us the idea IS rather clear as it stands in the translation; that the idea of our ‘glory‘ and the subject of the mystery IS the Christ Within as the Soul of everyman awakened or NOT. While the idea of “Christ in you” IS generally accepted by much of the Church it IS seldom seen as we understand the idea, it IS seldom recognized as the Soul. Doctrinally the idea IS that Christ ‘comes to live in you’ when you accept Him according to whatsoever rite or ritual IS offered by the various denominations and sects. The church DOES NOT see the relevance of Jesus’ own words that ARE the third part of our trifecta where the promise IS His Presence in one’s Life. The idea here IS NOT that He ‘comes to live in you’ as the omnipresent God but rather that His Presence comes to be the realization of the man who will DO what He says, the man that will keep His words. This IS clearly stated as He tells us “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“. The defining ideas for the Greek word emphanizo which IS rendered as manifest can ONLY be carnally understood as physical appearance but we should understand that this IS NOT the reference here; the Master IS already seen and known by the disciples to whom He IS speaking. Vincent tells us that the idea of manifest IS: Properly, of manifestation to the sight, as distinguished from dhlow, to make evident to the mind. A clear, conspicuous manifestation is indicated4. While this may be the ‘proper’ idea behind emphanizo, it DOES NOT help us to understand the Master’s point as HE IS already seen by them. Vincent adds a commentary from Wescott however that can help us to understand, help us to break through Jesus’ parabolic tone. Wescott tells us of emphanizo that: “It conveys more than the disclosing of an undiscovered presence [αποκαλυπτω] , or the manifesting of a hidden one [φανεροω]” and here we should note that such disclosing and manifesting ARE what we see in the Master’s words.
This IS “Christ in you, the hope of glory” and here as most always we should see the Greek elpis as expectation rather than hope. Our realization of the Christ Within as the active ‘actor’ in our lives in this world IS the goal that we accomplish through keeping His words as He tells us above. Here we return to our primary message: that we can be KNOWN to be keeping His words through our expression of agape in this world. This IS what Paul tells us saying that “all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Galatians 5:14). We should KNOW that this idea IS NOT hidden but clearly elucidated by the apostle; who tells us also more explicitly that “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). Both of these sayings amplify and clarify the Master’s own words on agape which He shows us in the Sermon on the Mount and in His dialogue with the Jews regarding the Great Commandments. While we DO KNOW that the idea of agape IS NOT Love as the word IS commonly understood, we have yet to properly understand just what this idea of agape IS despite the rather clear words offered to us in the New Testament. We DO KNOW as well that the wrangling of men over the centuries regarding the meaning of the idea of the neighbor IS meaningless as the Master rather fully explains it in His Parable of the Good Samaritan. The lexicon clearly shows us the idea saying that plesion which IS rendered as neighbor IS: according to Christ, any other man irrespective of nation or religion with whom we live or whom we chance to meet2. We should understand that this includes everyman. Among other ideas Vincent tells us of plesion that: The Christian sense is expounded by Jesus in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29 sqq.), as including the whole brotherhood of man, and as founded in love for man, as man, everywhere4 and while this may be the Christian sense, it IS Truly understood by far too few. It IS in our understanding that the neighbor IS everyman everywhere that we find the KEY to seeing just what our expression of agape must be; it must first be to everyman.
From here we go on to a sort of methodology regarding our expression of agape which we take from the words of the Apostle James who writes clearly that “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. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty” (James 2:8-12). While James begins this chapter by showing us that we should NOT look differently upon the rich and the poor, this IS NOT the emphasis of his message that we should have NO “respect to persons“. While many bible commentaries skim over this idea and often relate it to the ideas of the rich and the poor, these few words remain as a major KEY to our understanding of agape. In agape we offer the same to ALL men regardless of any ideas of division or unity and here we must understand the inclusiveness of family and friends; such ARE to get NO better expression of agape as any other. Granted there IS a carnal attachment to family and friends but this falls under the purview of Love as it IS commonly understood and, to be sure, this separation IS a difficult one. It IS one that IS shown us by the Master however; Matthew shows us the idea in relation to our being worthy of Him. We read that “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37) and here we should extend this idea to ALL familial relationships. What we should see here IS the equanimity of agape Love, that even the Master Himself DOES NOT demand any more; while this IS NOT clearly elucidated, neither IS the idea that we should Love the Lord more. Here we should perhaps attach this idea to His words saying “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40) which ARE from His Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. Here Jesus IS showing us the equanimity of expressing agape with NO “respect to persons“.
In Luke’s Gospel the Master’s words ARE in regard to discipleship rather than our being worthy of Him and we should understand here that both these approaches ARE synonymous. Luke tells us that the Master says “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). As we ofttimes discuss the idea of hate here IS NOT as it IS understood in its common definitions and while we generally regard this use of miseo in terms of loving less, there IS more to the idea as the Master uses it here. Perhaps we can try to see that spiritually we can hate our Love for others in this world whensoever that Love disagrees with the idea of having NO “respect to persons“; and, perhaps even more importantly, whensoever our Love for others disagrees with the tenets of the Great Commandments. From another perspective “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16) and against this there can be NO hate as we understand it on the part of the Lord. The reality of this view of one’s close relations can be found in the close of this segment on discipleship; after speaking on the ‘cost’ of discipleship the Master says “whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple“. This should make the Master’s point clear. In the end the point IS simply that the disciple must forsake ALL attachments but this DOES NOT mean he must ignore them; it simply means that he sees ALL relations and friends in the same Light as he sees everyman. ALL ARE Souls seeking the Path which IS perhaps the single thing that ALL have in common. This idea of forsaking has likely greatly contributed to the establishment of church doctrines that DO NOT embrace this ‘radical’ idea. In DOING so, in establishing doctrines that ignore the depth of the Master’s teachings, the church has instead embraced the idea that men should live as men in this world. In so DOING, the doctrines of men have become NO different than the doctrines of the Jews against which the Master continually rails but, unfortunately, this link has NOT resonated in the church. It IS against the doctrines of men in the broadest scope that the Master recalls the words of the prophet, words that were True in the Isaiah’s day, True in Jesus’ day and True yet today. The Master says “Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:6-7). Unfortunately however the church DOES NOT see that these words apply to them as well and to ALL arenas where the doctrines of men have come to supersede the tenets of scripture. Perhaps this failure IS because of the examples that the Master cites against the Jews, “the tradition of men” and the ‘clever’ workarounds that they created against the True commandments where He cites “Honour thy father and thy mother” (Mark 7:8, 10) which idea IS far greater than ‘respect’ for one’s parents.
The Truth however IS found in the words of the Master and NOT in the doctrines of men and this IS True regardless of the assumed authority of religious leaders who push their ‘belief’, better traditions, upon generation after generation, traditions that vary denomination to denomination and which, for the hearer, have become their Truth. In ALL of the variations of theme offered the the thousands of denominations and sects of Christianity there IS ONE high ideal that IS missed by most ALL of them and than IS our expression of agape as the KEY to True salvation. Our expression of agape IS, in the end, our ONLY valid workaround against keeping His words and we should try to understand that this IS NOT a workaround at ALL but rather the Path into that “glorious liberty of the children of God“. Yet today Christian men still pretend that they ARE “partakers of the divine nature” based in their doctrinal approach to the Lord and, in their ‘certainty’, they miss the deeper Truths that the Master imparted to us 2000 years ago. While perhaps a bit harsh, this IS for us the reality of the church yet today and it IS from our perspective that the idea of the doctrinal follower remains far from the Truth because of his indoctrination into a world where it IS “the “the commandments of men” that rule. Perhaps the high point in ALL of the doctrinal thinking that has encumbered men for thousands of years IS that many DO somewhat focus on the Lord but it IS a focus that DOES NOT bear the Truth of any religion. Yes there may be bits of Truth in the presentation of the doctrines of men but these have failed to move humanity any closer to understanding the True message of scripture. For the Jew the problem was their reinterpretation of the words of Moses without any degree of True understanding of the goal; the Jews readily accepted the carnal interpretations offered to them that allowed them to be men. For the Hindu and the Buddhist there ARE likely similar problems as the interpretations, as they effect the man in this world, are diluted by the same type of desires that their scriptures decry. For the Christian the problem IS more complex as the doctrinal ways ARE the product of the minds of men whereas in these other religions they ARE based somewhat in scripture. Yes the Christian references the words of Jesus but at the same time they rely upon their doctrines which they affix to the teachings of Paul and the other apostles. The problem here IS that their interpretations generally ignore the context of the apostles’ words as ONLY agreeable sayings are chosen to guide them. James perhaps sees this potential in the future as well as the way that it IS a factor in his day; the apostle tells us “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). And the Master IS NOT quiet in addressing the ways of doctrines as He tells the doctrinal Jews that “Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you” (Matthew 21.31).
What we should see in these words is twofold; first James tells us that regardless of whatsoever hear from the church or perceive from scripture, it IS meaningless and rather harmful in the absence of keeping His words. It IS in this deception that men pretend that they ARE “partakers of the divine nature” and that this pretense may NOT filter through to the doctrinal mind IS the very nature of our deception. The Master’s words, while similar in effect, ARE intended to show us that the pretense and the deception put the man who IS driven by his doctrines alone behind the common man in his ability to find the Truth. This IS True of the Jew and the Christian because one must first admit to the deception before one can cure himself and understand the he alone can fight off the perils of vanity and escape from “the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4). We close today with our understanding of the vanity into which ALL men ARE born and then nurtured and indoctrinated; Vincent tells us that this vanity, this Greek mataiotes, IS our: perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends4.
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 |
- 2 New Testament Greek lexicon on biblestudytools.com
- 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
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher