ON LOVE; PART MCDXCII
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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 a question, rhetorical to be sure, that asks What then IS the reality? The reference here IS that the reality which we speak of IS the resolution of the nebulous ideas of faith and believing into the Truth of our KNOWING and here the idea IS KNOWING God. We went on to say that we CAN NOT KNOW God, and in this KNOW ourselves, in the absence of keeping His words while at the same time we CAN NOT keep His words through our expression of agape without KNOWING God. In this seemingly contradictory situation we have but one way out and that IS through our striving coupled with the reality that “with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you” (Mark 4:24). This IS where we begin today. While striving IS a rather simple word it IS used but twice in the gospels; once according the the negative aspects of confrontation and opposition as it IS used in the Old Testament, and once as the leading definitions which ARE: to exert oneself vigorously; try hard: to make strenuous efforts toward any goal*. It is these latter ideas that ARE embraced in Luke’s citing of the Master’s words saying “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able” (Lluke 13:24). The other gospel reference IS found in Matthew’s Gospel as he cites the Prophet Isaiah’s words saying “Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. And in his name shall the Gentiles trust” (Matthew 12:8-21). These words from Matthew ARE in regard to our other agape related theme as they predict the meekness of Jesus.
Our theme today IS our striving and while this may be colored with aspects of meekness, this IS ONLY found in the natural relationship of the words. In striving toward our spiritual goals we must perforce abandon much of our carnal focus, erode it bit by bit, so that we may stand in opposition to the ways of the world. In this state we may appear meek to others whose concern IS the things of the self and the things of the world. This however would be a very small price to pay for our individual freedom from the vanity and the spiritual corruption of the world. And this IS to be sure the main objective of our striving: to break free from our illusion and glamour so that we can clearly see the Light that IS within us and within this world; Light that IS hidden and obscured by our own vanity. It will be helpful here to repeat the reality of the idea of vanity which IS another word used sparingly in the bible and never in the gospels. Vincent tells us that vanity IS our: perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends4 and in these words we should be able to easily see what it IS that we must strive to eliminate in our lives in this world. While Jesus tells us that our striving IS toward the Kingdom of God into which we desire to enter, we should try to understand that many many factors that enter into this. For example Jesus also tells us that we CAN NOT “enter in” save if we keep His words; He tells us “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). Through this we should see that our striving to “enter in” includes our striving to “doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” which perforce also includes our striving to “love thy neighbour as thyself“. Our striving then becomes the Way par excellence to accomplish our spiritual goals; we must understand here however that this IS an especially personal endeavor for which there IS NO outside help and little guidance.
The Webster’s 1828 Dictionary shows us a yet deeper view of the idea of striving saying that to strive IS: To make efforts; to use exertions; to endeavor with earnestness; to labor hard; applicable to exertions of body or mind1. We should focus here on on the idea of earnestness which IS defined for us as: seriousness and zeal in intention, purpose, or effort; depth and sincerity of feeling*. We we should see here IS that our striving CAN NOT be taken lightly nor can it be a part time affair; our striving requires our earnestness and our real efforts to achieve. In many ways our striving requires our constant monitoring and adjustment of our inherent thoughts and attitudes, inherent based on their forming the basis for our thought processes. We must come to measure every thought and adjust it to conform to “the will of my Father which is in heaven” and to DO so until our thoughts routinely conform. While this may seem an arduous task, it IS NOT any more arduous than carrying on with thoughts and attitudes that we KNOW deep within ARE wrong. The Apostle Paul addresses this saying that we should be “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). While it may be hard to recognize whatever wrong attitudes and thoughts we may have, it IS NOT impossible and in this we should try to see the aspect of human Life we call conscience. While conscience IS defined as: the inner sense of what is right or wrong in one’s conduct or motives, impelling one toward right action*, it IS yet more than this carnal idea. Conscience IS an aspect of the prompting of the Soul to the Good, the Beautiful and the True that has been recognized scientifically although it NOT attributed to the missing part of science: spirituality. Of course we must understand that the more engrossed one becomes with his carnal Life the less he will identify or accept these promptings of his conscience. This IS because our focus on our carnal and the mundane pursuits overcome the ability of the Soul to reach the mind in any meaningful way. However, most ALL have experienced some bouts between the conscience and the carnal mind although for many they ARE seldom heeded against the carnal will. It IS the carnal will that must give way to conscience or, better, to the promptings of the Soul, for a man to become somewhat awakened and, to be sure, ofttimes it DOES NOT take much to temporarily break the carnal will. The carnal will IS the product of the vanity into which ALL are born and into this vanity streams the illusion and the glamour that govern the lives of most ALL men. It IS in our illusion that we ARE pursuing false ends and this because the reality of Life IS blocked by that illusion. Our glamour IS the more difficult aspect of our vanity to define; it has naught to DO with the common understanding of the word idea. Glamour IS simply our self-opinion as a person in this world; glamour reinforces our illusions by telling us that we ARE what we think we ARE. It IS in the realm of glamour that many suffer mentally and emotionally because of their displeasure with their own sense of self; their deficiencies if you will. In our illusion we see ourselves as men in this world and NOT as part and parcel of the Godhead which for most IS a rather alien idea. In our glamour we build upon that illusion and make of ourselves whatsoever we can, either negatively or positively, in our own minds. ALL of this IS vanity.
Overcoming our vanity, our “bondage of corruption” (Romans 8:21) as Paul explains it, IS to overcome the illusions and the glamour of our lives in this world and it IS ONLY though our striving to overcome that we can be successful. The Apostle Paul shows us the struggle that our striving creates and while his words have been misapplied there IS a simple idea to be gleaned. Paul tells us:
“Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me“
Romans 7:12-20
While the theme of these words IS thought by many to be Paul’s adversarial views on the law based upon his prior words that begin this chapter, this IS NOT True. We should note that the apostle IS speaking to a ‘select’ audience saying at the beginning: “Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?“. The Truth here IS that “the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good” as he says in our selection above; this IS the ultimate Truth of the law. We should remember that the Master tells us that “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matthew 5:18). We should then try to see here that it IS men’s efforts from the beginning to change the jot and tittle of the law to suit their needs that have led to Paul’s adversarial views on the law. As we have frequently said it IS NOT against the law the Paul rails but against the doctrines that interpret the law erroneously. Paul goes on to say that he and his intended audience ARE “delivered from the law” but this IS because they ARE no longer “in the flesh” saying quite clearly that “when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter” (Romans 7:1, 5-6). The doctrinal problem here IS that the church has inserted ALL who doctrinally ‘believe‘ into the class of those that have been “delivered from the law“, substituting if you will their nebulous ideas of faith and believing. This IS a doctrinal creation that changes, perhaps unintendedly, much more that “one jot or one tittle” and causes them to “pass from the law“. While many DO claim that it IS the Master’s Life that fulfilled the law thereby allowing it to pass, this too IS but a doctrinal creation that holds NO scriptural weight. A common refrain on this states ‘As believers we are not under Law but under Grace because Christ fulfilled the Law on our behalf‘*^. Paul’s point IS that there IS an alternative to following the jot and tittle of the law and that this IS founded in the words of the Master through the singular idea of keeping His words which idea should have served to clarify and amplify the existing law….the existing law that Jesus showed us as valid. Paul then tells us that “the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good” as he shows us his difficulty in obeying the law as the law through its individual tenets. The difficulty, if we can see it, IS in everyman’s carnal views of the law and its application; the difficulty IS that “the law is spiritual” and must be understood from this perspective. Most everyman who IS awakened can agree with Paul’s words saying “the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin“.
We should try to see that Paul IS clearly speaking as the spiritual man, as the Inner Man, when he tells us that “the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me“. We must remember here that sin and evil ARE but the result of our carnal views on Life and that they encompass ALL that IS contrary to the Truth. Here we should try to understand that the common dilemma facing our Repentance and Transformation IS the vanity in which we live and which IS expressed through our illusion and our glamour. The “good that I would” IS the product of the Inner Man, the Christ Within, which must be filtered through the heretofore carnal mind which, for most ALL aspirants, remains in a doubleminded state. It IS through our inability to bring through our spiritual promptings that “the evil which I would not, that I do” and it IS in our vanity that we succumb to the individual thoughts and attitudes that ARE emanating from that vanity, emanating from that “sin that dwelleth in me“. Paul’s struggle IS the struggle of everyman and we should remember that he IS speaking of his from a much more elevated level of spirituality than most men will ever KNOW. While the ideas here from the Apostle ARE NOT generally seen as his struggle with vanity, a subject that comes later in his Epistle to the Romans, the idea IS clearly seen when we can look at his words in the absence of doctrine. And his struggle IS our struggle; there IS little difference aside from the fact that he IS far more advanced spiritually than even the man in the world today that IS Truly searching for answers. We should understand here that our search IS a part of our striving to free ourselves from the “bondage of corruption” into which we ARE born and while the common tenor of the translations of the apostle’s words teaches us that we must be delivered or set free as from an outside force, the greater reality IS that we must escape. Our escape IS founded through the properly rendered idea that we “shall be delivered made free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21); this we should see as “made free” by our own hand. The idea that we ARE “made free” IS from the Greek word eleutheroo which IS rendered in the King James as delivered and in many others as “set free“. While it may appear that this IS merely a semantic difference the whole context changes when we properly understand that the primary defining idea for the Greek word IS to make free; this IS how the word IS rendered elsewhere and in the first part of our trifecta where “the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). While this alone DOES NOT show us conclusively that this IS a self-action on the part of everyman, the reality becomes Truly evident when we look at the kindred statement made by the Apostle Peter who tells us “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 1:4).
The “the corruption that is in the world through lust” IS the same as our “bondage of corruption” and when we can see that our bondage IS to our desires in this world we can come ever closer to the Truth that IS shown us by every world religion. It IS our desires that control our carnal lives and, as we move from one desire to the next our focus moves as well; this IS the way of vanity in this world. Such carnal desires or lusts ARE the motivating factor of our carnal lives and we should understand that the idea of desires and lusts covers every aspect of human Life. It IS against this that the Master teaches and we should try to see how that His words on our desires complement His words on agape which IS the Way, par excellence, to take our thoughts off of the self and the things of the self. Jesus tells us to “take no thought for your life” and what we should see here IS that in so DOING we ARE defeating our desires for the things of the world and the self in that world. We can see many of the Masters words in this context as we align our desires with the things of the world. Beginning with the choice He offers us between “treasures upon earth” and “treasures in heaven” which IS a choice of what we would desire, Jesus shows us the “more excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31) which IS the spiritual Way of agape. The Master shows us the way that our eye, metaphorically of course, can focus upon either the carnal aspects of Life, the evil eye, and the spiritual aspects of Life, the single eye. This focus IS the product of our desires for either those “treasures upon earth” or those “treasures in heaven“; it IS a focus on which one we seek at any given time. Similarly we have His words on the choice between God and mammon and while this idea IS largely misunderstood, it has the same force as His previous words as He shows us the impossibility of success when trying to achieve both. It IS ALL of this that becomes the theme of His words that tell us to “take no thought for your life” (Matthew 6:18, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25). ALL of these words tell us that we should desire the things of God over the things of this world, that we should desire the “more excellent way” over the carnal monotony, a monotony that IS can be clearly seen from a True spiritual perspective. The rewards of our carnal lives ARE the things, attitudes and relationships that we CAN NOT take away from this world; this Solomon shows us saying such things as “As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand” (Ecclesiastes 5:15). While we may ‘enjoy’ such carnal rewards during our tenure in this world, for most these rewards ONLY serve to create a desire for more in an unending spiral that keeps us focused upon more and better. Jesus tries to show us this through the Parable of the Rich Fool. This parable IS NOT about the idea of being rich as much as it IS about the desires and the plans of men in this world, plans that disregard the fate of ALL men. We read:
“The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God“
Luke 12:16-21
For added emphasis we should note Jesus’ words that Luke chose to place immediately after this parable; the Master says “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on….rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Luke 12:22-31). This IS ever our choice. The point of the parable IS simply that this “certain rich man” was focused upon himself and the things that he could DO for himself rather than being “rich toward God“. We should note here that the idea of being “rich toward God” has naught to DO with riches but rather IS a reflection on the Master’s words saying “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Luke 12:34) which follow the parable and Jesus words that tell us to “Take no thought for your life“. This IS the greater point regarding our focus: it determines what IS in one’s heart. It identifies for us what it IS that IS the focus of our lives and this IS a view that can be seen by most ALL astute observers of humanity. While it IS True that NO one can see what IS in the heart of another, their trends as men in this world can make much apparent. Similarly, when one IS focused upon the things of God, striving toward the Kingdom if you will, he becomes a guiding Light for others who, while they may NOT see the contents of his heart, can see the flow of agape that it expresses. In this we should see more of Jesus words; He tells us as those focused upon His Truth and Love that “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16). It IS in our display of Light that we are seen as “partakers of the divine nature” although likely NOT in these terms. It IS in our display of Love, of agape Love, that we ARE counted among the True “the children of God“. ALL that IS required of us IS that we strive and DO so under the right defining idea that we ARE to: make efforts; to use exertions; to endeavor with earnestness; to labor hard; applicable to exertions of body or mind1. In so striving we find ourselves in the middle of our Repentance and on the Path of Transformation; both of these steps to discipleship ARE themselves the products of our striving toward our ultimate goal.
So then, where DO we begin? This IS perhaps the most difficult question of ALL. First we must realize that we ARE, as men in this world, Souls. This realization can confuse many who have never been exposed to the realities of Life throughout their years of nurturing and indoctrination. Such ideas ARE NOT taught in schools and save for the few who have parents or teachers who DO KNOW some measure of the Truth, most ALL are left ONLY with religion. We should try to understand as we go on here that religion IS a basic stumbling block in the Path to our realization and this despite the Truth being a part of every world scripture. As we have often said, the doctrines of men, in most every religion, have distorted and changed the Truths of their original teachings both written and orally transmitted. The changes ARE often dynamic and the distortion of their Truths intense. While we can speak broadly about many world religions, we ARE NOT expert enough to show specific ways that their various doctrinal approaches have distorted, diluted and changed the original intent. We can however offer a few examples with which we ARE familiar saving Christianity for the end. Lets look first to Islam and the way that many doctrinal ideas have created the violent rhetoric and actions of many Muslims. Such violent rhetoric and action ARE NOT found in a True reading of the words of the Koran, or Quran, nor IS the animosity found between the major groups, the Shi’ite and the Sunni. There ARE other divisions also among which ARE the Sufi which seek a deeper understanding of the words of the Prophet; they ARE considered esoteric. The gist of Islamic scripture IS very similar to that of the Old Testament and, if fact, the Quran cites many of the same stories as DOES the Pentateuch. Islam IS, as ARE ALL True religions, focused upon peace and Love and following the Truth exposed by the text but we must remember here that while the text IS from the seventh century, it seems addressed to a population equivalent to the more ancient Jews. The Quran addresses the Life of Jesus and appoints Him as a prophet and NOT a God, which view IS a major antagonist to the doctrinal Christian religions. Finally, in addition to the violent rhetoric that afflicts many Muslims, there IS the role of doctrinal ideas that have taken precedence over the more basic Truths of Islam. An example here IS the treatment and use of the name of God, Allah, and any ideas that refer to the Quran as a text. Traditions that accommodate such ideas ARE from the ‘founders’ of the Islamic movement and include such ideas as ‘It must never rest beneath other books, but always on top of them, one must never drink or smoke when it is being read aloud, and it must be listened to in silence. It is a talisman against disease and disaster‘**
Our next example IS Hinduism which IS perhaps the oldest world religion dating back more than 4000 years according to historic scholars. Hinduism has many scriptural texts, many with esoterically scientific themes that chart the very creation of the Universe in a much more explanatory way than we find in the Book of Genesis. However, save for those to whom such knowledge would appeal, most Hindus DO NOT seek out such information. The most important texts ARE the Vedas of which we read that: The Vedas India’s earliest surviving texts, dating from approximately 2000 to 1500 B.C.E. These texts are made up of hymns and ritual treatises that are instructional in nature, along with other sections that are more speculative and metaphysical. The Vedas are greatly revered by contemporary Hindus as forming the foundation for their deepest beliefs***. Another important text IS the Mahabharata which IS the world’s longest poem, with approximately 100,000 verses. A part of the Mahabharata IS the Bhagavad-Gita which IS, at least for Westerners, the most popular of the Hindu texts. To be sure most of the billion plus Hindu practice some version of the doctrines which have come from the original texts and it IS in these doctrinal ideas that we find the prevalence of the ‘many gods’ that the religion has come to be KNOWN for. There IS however limited Truth to this. The BBC website tells us that ‘Contrary to popular understanding, Hindus recognise one God, Brahman, the eternal origin who is the cause and foundation of all existence. The gods of the Hindu faith represent different expressions of Brahman. Different Hindu communities may have their own divinities whom they worship, but these are simply different ways of approaching the Ultimate. Hindus recognise three principal gods: Brahma, who creates the universe; Vishnu, who preserves the universe; Shiva, who destroys the universe‘****. Compare these to the Christian ideas on the Trinity. The Hindu religion teaches reincarnation which we believe IS an eternal Truth albeit one that IS denied by most ALL Western religions and here IS our first example of the changing of the written Truths into doctrinal ideas. Without getting into a long discussion on reincarnation we simply note that while the philosophy of rebirth IS restricted to persons returning as persons. However, many doctrines teach that the soul or spirit, after biological death, begins a new life in a new body that may be human, animal or spiritual depending on the moral quality of the previous life’s actions. Here we should try to see that in the uniqueness of the spiritual being that IS man the idea of returning as a pig or a goat IS purely error and perhaps akin to the Western teachings regarding hell, an equally erroneous idea. The idea of being reborn in a spiritual body of course would require no rebirth at ALL as in the absence of the physical form we ARE but Spirit.
Our point in ALL this IS merely to show how that the popular ideas concerning religion ARE based in the doctrines which ARE created and taught by men for whatsoever purpose motivated their ideas. Christianity of course has its own share of doctrinal teachings that distort, dilute and change the Truth, the Truth that IS seldom seen by the average person. This takes us back to the beginning of this part of our discussion which asks: So then, where DO we begin? We should try to see that as Christians we ARE NOT any difference than other world religions which have obnubilated the Truth of their scriptures ofttimes in rather strange ways. For the Christian the dilution and change IS easy to see when one has some measure of understanding of the text of the New Testament; the difficulty however IS similar to the rest. Men have taken upon themselves the authority to dictate what the bible means to the masses; men have created doctrines that ARE often far afield from the intent of the Master’s words and the amplifying and clarifying words of His apostles. It IS NOT easy to see through this miasma and while this may seem a harsh description, it DOES capture the result which IS lost Souls who in their vanity, in their illusion and glamour, CAN NOT see their error. For those entrenched in their doctrinal beliefs there IS little that we can say to help them as they resist our words based upon the force of their doctrines and those that teach them. However there ARE millions upon millions that ARE NOT so entrenched and millions more that pay NO attention to doctrine at ALL and these can more easily be reached with the right message of Truth.
To be clear, a man must be willing to hear and to listen to new approaches to the Lord and there have been many that have ventured into other religions that seem to be more sensible that doctrinal Christianity. However, as we try to show above these religions also work through doctrines that dilute, distort and change the Truth and it IS likely as difficult to discern the Truth in these as it IS in the Christian faith. Hence, our solution and the purpose of this blog which IS ‘Finding the Truth in the Words of Jesus‘. Our solution IS in planting the seed of agape into the vernacular of men, a seed that can develop into a fuller understanding of our purpose which IS ever the eternal question of men. We close today with our trifecta; the Master’s words that lay out His perspective regarding the ways of men who choose to better understand themselves and in so doing understand their purpose and their God. 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).
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 |
- 1 Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1828 and 1913 from https://1828.mshaffer.com/
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition
- *^ https://www.gotquestions.org/abolish-fulfill-law.html
- * Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
- ** Quran, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Quran&oldid=1173054597 (last visited Aug. 31, 2023)
- *** https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-asia/beginners-guide-asian-culture/hindu-art-culture/a/principal-texts-of-hinduism
- ****https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/beliefs/intro_1.shtml#:~:text=Hindus%20recognise%20one%20God%2C%20Brahman,and%20foundation%20of%20all%20existence.
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
