ON LOVE; PART MCDXCIII
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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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As we ended the last essay we went off on a tangent of sorts as we discussed other world religions and the way that their doctrines also distort, dilute and change the basic premises of their original scriptures. Our point: this IS NOT a Christian problem. We KNOW from our Judeo Christian scriptures that there was much controversy, if we can use that word here, regarding the Jews interpretation of the law from the very beginning. The historical books of the bible as well as the words of the prophets testify to this and give credence to Alexander Maclaren’s words regarding the Book of Genesis; we apply them here to the history of the Jews given in the books that follow the Pentateuch. Mr. Maclaren tells us regarding Genesis: Nor must it be forgotten that this vision of creation was given to people ignorant of natural science, and prone to fall back into surrounding idolatry12. These words that were True regarding Genesis can also be seen as True regarding the history of the Jews and the writings attributed to the prophets; from the times of the Judges to the Books of Kings and Chronicles we see many examples of the barbarism and superstitions of the Jews. And, through the colorful stories of the prophets’ tenure we find a rather constant struggle to keep the Jews from DOING what Mr. Maclaren says they, and likely most ALL men of the times, were prone to DO as they continually were found falling back into surrounding idolatry. Through this ALL some version of the Truth DOES survive and IS adopted by men in the form of doctrines and here we ARE reminded of the story of King Josiah whose priest happened upon the Book of the Law which apparently had been ‘lost’; it IS again made into the law of the land if you will by King Josiah. We should remember that this IS a bible story and, according to modern sources, there IS little record of King Josiah save for mention in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles. Our point here IS to show that while the Books of Moses date back ~3500 years, this resurgence led by Josiah begins ~1000 years later. While there IS little historical evidence there IS a lot of theory and this new approach by Josiah may have been the precursor for the doctrines that ARE still used by the Jews today. Regardless of the historical realities, it IS these doctrines against which the Master continually rails as He calls out their preference for sacrifice and tithes and their believed atoning quality, as well as their dietary rules and reliance on the sabbath, as their way of ‘pleasing’ God. He rails against what had become of the Truth in such sayings as:
- “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone” (Matthew 23:23).
- “go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice” (Matthew 9:13).
- “if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless” (Matthew 12:7).
- “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).
- “Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition” (Mark 7:9).
Our point in all this IS simply to show how that the doctrines that had replaced the Truth as the “commandments of men” had overwhelmed any sense of the Truth despite the resistance of the prophets and their dire warnings. While a Christian lesson should have been learned by the early church based in the Master’s teaching of which the items above ARE but an example, such lessons were not even seen as such. This IS one of the great faults of Christianity: that they deemed from the start that the Master was speaking directly and ONLY to the Jews and that such ideas as “Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” have never been understood as a Universal Truth. But a Universal Truth they ARE and this reality can be gleaned from other sayings from the Master who, while speaking of ideas that DO NOT appear pertinent to the Jews, says “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. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21-23). While these words may be understood by some to be addressed to the Christian world, they ARE NOT taught as such but are relegated to the same fate as most ALL of Jesus’ words by too many yet today: that He IS speaking to the Jews. The Apostle Luke takes on these same ideas and condenses the Truth into a simple saying that IS ignored by most ALL in the church which sees Paul’s words as the preeminent source of their doctrines. Luke tells us that the Master asks a rhetorical question saying “why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). This IS the great divide that separates the Truth from the doctrinal presentation of men’s Truths: keeping His words over men’s allegiance to “the commandments of men“.
We ended the last essay with our solution to the problems of the church and we should try to understand that this solution can also cure the problems of humanity. The solution IS of course agape, its understanding and its expression by men in this world. The first challenge IS of course understanding just what agape IS and gaining some idea of how it can cure the problems that seem so entrenched today. We should understand here that the world itself IS moving steadily toward the more progressive ideas that ARE the Master’s teaching and it IS ironic that the much of the church itself rails against such progressive ideas and ideals. Agape demands that we see everyman the same regardless of any separating factors but this view IS seemingly despised by much of the church as they actively work against anything that they consider as progressive. This IS NOT the way that it should be. The Apostle James shows us this in a similar context where we should understand our speech as inclusive of ALL of our outward expressions. James tells us:
“the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place[e] sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom“.
James 3:8-13
James continues from here to show us the reality of Wisdom. We should note here that the apostle takes on again a theme from earlier in his epistle: the doubleminded man. While the subject IS the tongue and the harm or good that it can inflict, it IS the minds of men, the carnal mind to be sure, that Truly inflict such harm. The tongue IS but a tool that can be wielded and we should understand here that this idea DOES perforce encompass ALL outward expressions; this IS an important point that IS missed in a casual reading of James’ words. Conversely, when the tongue IS the tool of the awakened man, the tool of the man Truly striving toward the Truth and Love that IS God, then it IS ONLY good that can be his expression. Logically then the man who IS floundering between the serving the self and serving the things of God IS our doubleminded man of whom James tells us “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways“. These words ARE offered in a discussion on Wisdom as the apostle tells us “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him“. Here the idea IS that we must ask, strive IS the better word, for Wisdom in a singleminded manner with “nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed” (James 1:8, 5, 6). While these words should set the stage for men’s acquiring of Wisdom the very idea of his words IS lost in our carnal understanding of just what this Wisdom IS. It IS NOT the wisdom that “descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish” (James 3:15) as James explains in his words that follow our selection above. This wisdom IS carnally focused and deals with being wise in the fashion of the Unjust Steward of whom it IS said in the parable “the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light” (Luke 16:8). The steward here DOING as men would DO; he IS NOT in possession of “the wisdom that is from above” which IS the possession of the singleminded man whose focus IS upon the things of God. Again, there IS the great in-between in the Life of the doubleminded man and we should try to see here that being such IS far better that being singleminded when that mind IS focused solely upon the self.
James goes on to define the Wisdom that we should seek saying that “the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace” (James 3:19-18). We should note here the presence of peace in this; a peace that IS sown by the Truly Wise who inflict NO harm through their thoughts, attitudes and actions. Also included in this defining idea of Wisdom IS the idea that ALL that the man of Wisdom expresses IS “without partiality, and without hypocrisy” which ARE the hallmarks of that wisdom that “descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish“.
We should try to see here that the solution from the perspective of the church, and here we should see every religion, IS found in the teaching that the church embraces and upon the example of those that DO teach. James starts this chapter of his epistle with a warning and a caution regarding such teaching before he goes into the perils of the tongue. The apostle says “My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body” (James 3:1-2). We begin here with the Greek word didaskalos which IS rendered as masters; this IS the same word used by the apostles in addressing Jesus and while we may see this religiously, the word has specific meaning. Strong’s defines didaskalos simply as an instructor9a while Thayer’s defines the word as a teacher9. To be sure, Jesus IS the Master because He is the instructor and the teacher of ALL Truth and here we should understand that it IS His teaching that has been rather ignored for 2000 years. James IS cautioning men regarding teaching but while the point here IS simple, it IS missed by the vast majority of self appointed teachers of spiritual Truths. The teacher must be ever careful of what he teaches regarding spiritual matters and it IS in the error of teaching doctrines over the Truth that James offers his caution against “the greater condemnation“. Should we see here that the teachers of doctrines ARE condemned as this idea IS understood religiously? Certainly NOT. What we should see IS that the teachers of doctrines that DO NOT comport with the Truth in every religion ARE seen in the same way as the scribe, the Pharisee and the priest that Jesus rails against in the gospels. We could also look at James’ words as an expansion of the Master words saying “in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:9). Jesus offers a caution against the teaching of the Pharisee and other religious leaders of the Jews saying “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees” (Matthew 16:6). Luke expands upon this idea by adding a defining idea for their leaven saying “Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (Luke 12:1). But there IS more than hypocrisy at play in the ways of the Pharisees and it IS this that James points out. The apostle IS leading up to his words on Wisdom and his definition of what this “wisdom that is from above” Truly IS. And perhaps his not so hidden point here IS that if one IS going to teach, if one IS going to be a master in spiritual matters, he should be imparting that “wisdom that is from above” in ALL its glory and NOT some substitute that was developed by men for the use of men as men in this world.
The first step in the solution then IS to teach the Truth and NOT the “commandments of men” that have been substituted by the church for the last 2000 years. This IS the church’s role in the teaching of Truth and Love to the masses and it IS from this point that we can perhaps see the second step come to fruition. As the church begins a new line of teaching based in the words of the Master there will be the development of True Masters that can perhaps be excluded from Jesus admonitions that His disciples “be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ“. While these words ARE addressed “to the multitude, and to his disciples” (Matthew 23:8-10, 1) we should note the that the importance of His words ARE to His disciples. What we should note here IS that even His disciples ARE NOT to be called masters which we should remember ARE most basically teachers. The relevance here IS that we ARE speaking about men being teachers and NOT necessarily spiritual men as we can discern from His words regarding scribes and Pharisees. Jesus tells “the multitude, and to his disciples” that “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi” (Matthew 23:2-7). Can we see the point here regarding men who may appear to be spiritual but ARE NOT? While the ways of many church leaders have ever been as hypocritical as the ways of the scribes and Pharisees against which the Master often rails, few if any have taken the Master’s message to heart. And we should note one other thing here as well: the relevance of the idea of Christ in Jesus’ words. He refers NOT to Himself but to the Christ, that spiritual component that leads His Life and IS intended to lead ours as well. The Christ, Universally and as the Christ Within, IS the Teacher and the Master that should be recognized by men who ARE Truly seeking guidance; NOT the man in the church who IS but a version of the scribe and the Pharisee. While this IS indeed an uncomfortable view of the church from the perspective of teaching the Truth, it IS a necessary one. We can ask how that in the development of True Masters, Truly spiritual men in the church, the Master’s admonition can be excluded and this IS a difficult question to answer. However perhaps we should focus on the idea that in a Truly spiritual man the Light of Christ IS what we would see and follow while at the same time such men should be careful to understand the tone of “Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ“.
To be sure, this change in the teaching of the church IS a long term goal and any realization of it in the short term would be on a strictly individual basis which IS accomplished through the Master’s words saying “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 this Light that shows the world that we ARE focused on the things of God and in this focus can, being imbued with the Light of the Soul, teach and guide others. Unfortunately most any one can lay claim to the idea that they ARE spiritually focused and this IS the situation that we have in the world today where some teach the most outlandish ideas and, based in their presumed authority, ARE believed and followed. There IS however a guideline for our believing in the spirituality of others and while it IS seldom used against the presentations of authority given to the masses by the ‘teacher‘, many of whom claim that they hear directly from the Lord, it has ever been available. Jesus tells us about “false prophets” and for 2000 years there have been countless “false prophets” teaching men false Truths with but a few actually being seen as false. As we have ofttimes said in our posts, there ARE many places in the Master’s words where He speaks ever so plainly and clearly but where His words seem to be accorded parabolic meaning where NONE exists; here IS such a place. Jesus tells us:
“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them“
Matthew 7:15:20)
While Jesus’ words here ARE NOT classified as a parable the idea is treated as one perhaps through the analogy of the wolf in “sheep’s clothing” to the false teacher. Above we discuss the Greek word didaskalos and its defining idea of teacher; here we have the word pseudoprophetes where the first part pseudo IS the reference to false and prophetes refers to prophet. Let us here discuss the idea of the prophet. In the Old Testament the idea of the prophet IS one that denotes the foreteller of future things but this IS a very incomplete analysis. The Old Testament prophets were indeed teachers as they brought to the people their analysis, if we can use that word here, of the Truths that were revealed to them and should we look at the stories offered, we should see that many of them were spiritually Powerful men. Strong’s defines the prophet as: a foreteller (“prophet”); by analogy, an inspired speaker; by extension, a poet9a and there IS little here to show us anything but the common understanding of a prophet. Thayer’s IS more verbose telling us that the idea IS: an interpreter or spokesman for God; one through whom God speaks9 which IS somewhat more helpful to our understanding. Thayer’s goes on to say that the word means: one who speaks forth by divine inspiration; an interpreter of oracles, or of other hidden things; a foreteller, soothsayer, seer; and finally: one who, moved by the Spirit of God and hence, his organ or spokesman, solemnly declares to men what he has received by inspiration, especially future events, and in particular such as relate to the cause and kingdom of God and to human salvation9. It IS this final point that shows us the idea that the prophet IS the teacher as he solemnly declares to men what he has received by inspiration. Vincent explains the idea further saying: The popular conception of a prophet is limited to his foretelling future events. This is indeed included in the term, but does not cover its meaning entirely. The word is from fhmi, to speak, and pro, before, in front of. This meaning of the preposition may have reference to time, viz., before, beforehand; or to place, viz., in front of, and so, publicly; and this latter meaning, in turn, easily runs into that of in behalf of; for. The prophet is, therefore, primarily, one who speaks standing before another, and thus forming a medium between him and the hearer. This sense runs naturally into that of instead of. Hence it is the technical term for the interpreter of a divine message4. While this may seem to be a long winded way to show our point, it IS necessary because of the weight of the common understanding in the church yet today.
So then, who ARE the “false prophets” of today? They ARE simply any who teach their own ‘propaganda’ over the Truth of Jesus’ words. Note that we ARE calling such teachings ‘propaganda’ and NOT doctrines as we generally DO. This IS because there ARE some Truths in the doctrines of men and which IS mixed with the ‘propaganda’ of the denomination or the sect. Propaganda IS defined for us as: information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc* and here we should note that while the general objective IS to help men, ‘propaganda’ DOES at the same time harm many spiritually. Of course we must understand that this help and harm ARE a matter of degree. Some teaching rather normal doctrinal ideas ARE less likely to harm men than those that teach outlandish ideas and even these vary by degree. For example, the Master’s words on wealth and riches ARE rather clearly stated and most ARE NOT parabolic at ALL; yet there ARE those church leaders who enrich themselves through the promise of enriching their congregants. Returning to the Master’s words with a better understanding of just who ARE the “false prophets” of today should help us to see the intent of His message. Aside from the caution, one which IS ignored by most because of the presumed authority of the teacher, Jesus IS showing us how that we can tell the “false prophets” from the teacher of Truth. He tells us that “ye shall know them by their fruits” and then at the end that “by their fruits ye shall know them“. While the idea here IS how to KNOW the “false prophets“, it IS also the Way to KNOW the True teacher and the fruits of each should be apparent in both their teaching and their own comportment. Does it help us to understand the idea that the Master IS presenting without understanding the idea behind “their fruits“? The answer here IS of course NO and the whole of this idea IS compounded by the way that the teacher IS relied upon as an authority who IS both able and ordained to teach others. We should remember here that the example that Jesus intends here IS in regard to the religious leaders of the day and that these too were relied upon as an authority that was both able and ordained to teach others. Can we see the point here? In his many words, the Apostle Paul gives us some help in understanding the fruits that distinguish the “false prophets” from the teacher of Truth. Paul tells us: “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” Galatians 5:22-24).
We have discussed the “the fruit of the Spirit” according to Paul’s list several times over the course of these blogposts. Today however we will NOT get into the deeper meanings of the Greek words save to say that the ideas listed above in the King James Translation ARE NOT the complete reality regarding many of the words. Beginning with the first word, agape, we should see that the idea IS NOT the common ideas of Love but rather the depth of the word as we have been discussing. Another example IS in the rendering of chara as joy; chara IS from the same root word as charis which should always be understood as grace and, when considered spiritually as a “fruit of the Spirit“, chara should be understood in much the same way. Charis, grace, IS spiritually ALL that comes from the Godhead and, through men’s relationship to the Godhead, from one’s own Soul. These fruits ARE to be the expression of the man who focused upon the Lord and here we should try to see that ALL of these fruits would be the expression of the True teacher. Then, when the Master tells us that “ye shall know them by their fruits“, the idea to be taken IS that such ‘prophets‘ express the fullness of this fruit in their words, their attitudes and their actions. While we should note here that there ARE but few that can meet this qualification of expressing the fullness of the “fruit of the Spirit“. We should rely however upon the biblical idea of measure, an idea that makes our individual ability to discern such fruit of great importance. Our point here IS that men in this world can discern the fruit in the lives of others and this we should comport with the Master’s words on being “the light of the world”. That too many count themselves as Light bearers based in their doctrinal teachings and claims IS another unfortunate aspect of religion. Here we should see that to be a Light bearer of any measure one must perforce be expressive some measure of Paul’s “fruit of the Spirit” and of James “wisdom that is from above“. It IS such men who can rise above the “false prophets” through their expressions of Truth and Love. But perhaps we must look more closely than we DO now as even parts of the church DO ‘raise up’ men of ill repute based upon their ‘contribution’ to some desired ‘church’ objective. For example much of the church willingly accepts the immoral and amoral according to their own standards, if such a man will advance their views on such things as abortion and on some purely cultural issues.
What we should see here IS that regardless of any potential contribution, such amoral persons should NOT be lifted up, held up if your will, to the status that should be reserved for the saint and the True disciple of the Lord; both of which should be judged “by their fruits” according to the Master’s words saying “by their fruits ye shall know them“. The greater point however IS found in Jesus’ words saying “Take heed what ye hear” (Mark 4:24) and “Take heed therefore how ye hear” (Luke 8:18). It IS in taking heed, it IS in rightly discerning what IS presented, that we can reject the “false prophets” and teachers as we align such word ideas with Jesus’ other words saying “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees” (Matthew 16:6) “which is hypocrisy” as Luke tells us above. Hypocrisy IS perhaps the greatest clue that one can have as to the Truth of the teacher or prophet and while this can be hard to see in some, it IS clearly the outward expression of others. It IS perhaps in the zone of mammon, of “treasures upon earth“, that most hypocrisy can be discerned but it DOES NOT stop there. In the end there ARE many ways that we can discern the “false prophets” and “their fruits” but one must be willing to look with an open mind at what and who IS presented to them. We should try to understand here that there ARE some “false prophets” that can be likened to the understood meaning of the Master’s words saying that “inwardly they are ravening wolves” but we should be careful to understand the gist of these words. The intent of the Master’s words here IS to distinguish the appearance from the reality, the pretense of the sheep from the reality of the wolf. ALL wolves ARE ravenous by their nature and perhaps the better reference here IS in regard to the motive of those that DO NOT teach the Truth of Jesus’ words.
While these ideas seem to exclude those who DO NOT teach the Truth but rather their own beliefs and doctrines, they DO NOT and it is here that the matter if motivation comes into play. The average Christian preacher of most any rank has a rather pure motive in teaching his doctrine but, at the same time, he IS NOT teaching the Truth of Jesus’ words. Here there IS far less hypocrisy than we would find in motives of the man whose motives ARE self-serving and the difference here can be easily discerned when approached with a open mind. This average preacher IS acting in his vanity along with whatsoever he was nurtured with and indoctrinated into; this IS the rather normal way of men in the church who believe those things that they learned and that they teach. While this DOES NOT make it right, it DOES at the same time eliminate much of the hypocrisy that the Master warns us against. The Apostle James shows us the Way of the True Christian saying that “So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment” (James 2:12-13). We should remember that these words follow immediately upon James’ words on agape and the Way of agape as having NO “respect to persons” (James 2:9). We should also remember that the idea of mercy should be understood to reflect our expression of agape and NOT the way that the lexicon, commentators and dictionaries present the meaning. This we have covered in previous blogposts. The idea here of speaking and DOING goes directly to the idea of hypocrisy and, of course, this covers a lot of the deviations from what one would say to what one actually DOES. This includes more than actions however; it extends to men’s thoughts and the attitudes that govern their everyday activities. By example one CAN NOT proclaim to be a Christian and have thoughts, attitudes and actions that ARE prejudicial toward any other person or group of persons. This IS against the idea that we must have NO “respect to persons” and against the entire reality of True Christianity. This IS hypocrisy.
Since we did not find place to include our trifecta in the above text, we again close with the Master’s words saying:
- “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32).
- “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
- “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me” (John 14:21-24).
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
- 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)
- * Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
