ON LOVE; PART MDXIX
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FIRST IS THE GREAT COMMANDMENTS: “The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31).
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WHAT THEN IS LOVE? In a general sense love is benevolence, good will; that disposition of heart which inclines men to think favorably of their fellow men, and to do them good. In a theological sense, it includes supreme love to God, and universal good will to men. While this IS from an older definition of Charity, which IS rendered in the King James Bible from the same Greek word agape which IS generally rendered as Love, we should amend our own definition here to include the idea that in the reality of Love a man will accord to ALL men ALL things that he would accord to himself and to say that Love IS our thoughts and attitude of the equality of ALL men regardless of their outward nature or appearance…that ALL ARE equally children of Our One God.
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PLUS THE EVER IMPORTANT AND HIGH IDEAL TAUGHT TO US BY THE CHRIST: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12).
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We ended the last essay with some thoughts on the idea of being “born again“, an idea that IS used but once by the Master in His discourse with Nicodemus and then again by the Apostle Peter in his first epistle. It IS the Master’s use that has resulted in the church’s interpretations of the words, interpretations that govern much of the theology of some denominations and sects. Google’s AI tells us that the idea of being “born again” IS: ‘According to the Bible, being born again is a spiritual change of heart that occurs when a person turns from hostility or indifference towards God to a love for Him. It’s a core doctrine of evangelical Christian denominations, including Anabaptist, Moravian, Methodist, Baptist, Plymouth Brethren, and Pentecostal Churches‘7 Google’s generative AI gives us a more concise view of the many articles that it has access to than we would get from individual documents on line. The AI explanation IS a broad view of what being “born again” means to the evangelical Christian denominations but IS NOT intended to offer us a complete understanding, it ONLY offers us a synopsis. The AI explanation IS largely accurate in its explanation of the idea but DOES NOT offer us anything regarding the working of this in theology. They DO however go on to give us some of this information saying that: ‘Some say that to be born again, a person needs to: Admit their sins; Ask for forgiveness; Repent, or turn away from their sins; Ask Jesus to be part of their lives; Allow God’s Spirit to enter their hearts‘7. We should note here that these ideas ARE largely the same as the doctrinal criteria placed upon the idea of being ‘saved‘ and in this we should see that in the church these ideas, being ‘saved‘ and being “born again” are rather synonymous. None of this however IS the reality of the idea of being “born again” as it IS presented to Nicodemus by the Master. Repeating Jesus words we read:
“There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life“
John 3:1-15
To be sure the idea of being “born again” IS the criteria for entering “into the kingdom of God” and over the course of our blog posts we have surely shown that to “enter into the kingdom of God” IS far beyond the ideas of the churches, ideas where affirmations and asking the Lord to come into one’s heart and be part of one’s Life ARE the necessary criteria. The ideas of seeing and entering into “the kingdom of God” should also be seen synonymously as they ARE both used in the same reference to being “born again” in the Master’s words above. As a criteria for entering “into the kingdom of God” being “born again” IS NOT alone; let us look here at some of the other synonymous ideas presented by the Master. Jesus’ first saying on our entering into the Kingdom in IS framed in the negative but it IS equally important; He says “except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). We should try to see here that the Pharisees ARE NOT Truly righteous save in their own eyes and in the eyes of the Jews in those days who DID NOT KNOW of their shortcomings which the Master so aptly points to throughout the gospels. Perhaps it IS best to understand this in that way; as that one must be more righteous that the Pharisees ‘pretend’ to be. The next criteria, also formed in the negative, IS one that we visit in every essay; the Master 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” (Matthew 7:21). Here the criteria IS clearly stated: we must keep His words which IS to “doeth the will of my Father“.
The Master’s next saying regarding entering “into the kingdom of God” IS a bit more complex and needs some help to understand His meaning; Jesus tells us “Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven“. To understand this criteria we must go to the entirety of Jesus’ presentation which begins with the question “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?“. The above saying IS the Master’s answer which IS followed by His explanation saying “Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3, 1, 4). The idea then IS to be as humble as IS a “little child” and this we would define as a child that has NOT yet succumbed to the nurturing and indoctrination of the world. Vincent explains this saying: Not, as this little child humbles himself, but, shall make himself humble as this little child is lowly; shall willingly become by spiritual process what the child is by nature4. John Gill offers us the following explanation saying of the “little child” that : or any other of the like age; for there is no reason to suppose, that there was anything peculiar in this child, which was not in another, it being common to children to behave towards one another, as on a level; not to envy one another, or to set up one above another, or be vainly elated with the distinctions of birth and fortune8. Perhaps in a word the “little child” IS framed in innocence. We should try to see then that to “enter into the kingdom of heaven” one must be humble and innocent and unencumbered by the ways of the world; this IS our intended conversion. John Denver reflected on this for us singing:
“For the children and the flowers Are my sisters and my brothers Their laughter and their loveliness Could clear a cloudy day…..It is written from the desert To the mountains they shall lead us By the hand and by the heart They will comfort you and me In their innocence and trusting They will teach us to be free“
Rhymes and Reasons by John Denver
The next saying from the Master, while more anti our normal lifestyles, IS just as important. Despite its repetition in the three synoptic gospels, it IS one of the most misunderstood by a church that sees NO need to stop living as men in this world in order to gain the Kingdom. The Master says “Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:23-24). While Jesus’ point here IS clearly worded, it has become the habit of men to interpret His words to suit the psyche of men rather than the “the will of my Father which is in heaven“; it IS interpreted to allow men to accumulate wealth and to praise their efforts. For many the interpretation has become that so long as men give ‘liberally to the poor’ they will be ‘good’ Christians and entitled to the Kingdom when they die. Most ALL fail to realize that the Kingdom IS here and now for those that Truly follow the Lord. This IS clearly stated in the Master’s words saying “if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17) and then, from Mark’s Gospel, “One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me” (Mark 10:21). It IS through the most general idea of self that few see the reality of the Master’s words here despite the way that they DO personalize His previous words on treasure and mammon (Matthew 6:19, 24). ALL of these ideas should be seen as synonymous to our current saying that clearly tells us “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” and His explanatory words saying “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God“. Finally we should note the Master’s words saying “But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:27). In these words we have the clear idea that attaining the Kingdom DOES NOT wait for death. The Church however IS fixated on the Kingdom as the final resting place for the ‘practicing’ Christian according to some denominations and the final resting place for those that ARE ‘saved‘ according to others. These ideas they have gleaned from the Jewish traditions plus their own ‘clever’ reading of the Master’s words and the words of His apostles.
While the above clarifies the synonymous nature of ALL that IS included in the above words; that being “born again“, seeing the Kingdom, being Truly righteous, keeping His words, becoming humble as a “little children“, and shedding one’s wealth or perhaps NOT seeking it, ALL mean the same thing and ARE a homogeneous combination that acts in the lives of those who Truly “Strive to enter in at the strait gate” (Luke 13:24). And perhaps this IS the most important part for the man that seeks the Kingdom: that we strive toward that goal according to His words. In addition to what we have said above there ARE many other ideas and even caveats spread out across the gospels and epistles. We should NOT forget the way that the Master minimizes the way we should view our carnal selves saying such things as “if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire” (Mark 9:47). While we can say that Jesus IS NOT telling men to “pluck it out“, He IS telling us that this fate would be better, spiritually of course, that continuing to allow the eye to lead a carnal and self-serving Life. We should understand here that while this IS an extreme example, it IS offered with a purpose and with a view toward why the church has been so much less extreme for 2000 years. In the end it IS our purpose to clearly show that to be “born again” and to “enter into the kingdom of God” ARE synonymous ideas; so much so that you CAN NOT have one without the other. While the latter, entering “into the kingdom of God“, IS ever the goal of humanity, being “born again” IS the mechanism. While this may seem a bit contradictory, their being synonymous and their relationship between being the goal and the Way to that goal, this IS ONLY from the perspective of analysis. The equivalency IS founded in the Master’s specific words saying “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” where we have already shown the equivalency of seeing and entering the Kingdom. If a man “be born again“, he CAN “see the kingdom of God” and he CAN “enter into the kingdom of God“; this becomes our right as “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). At the same time, the idea of entering “into the kingdom of God” IS ever held out as our spiritual goal as we should see from the several sayings that we cite above and we should note here that each of these sayings from the Master has its own individual criteria listed, one of which IS being “born again“.
There IS however ONLY one entering “into the kingdom of God” and while it may seem that there ARE many Ways to enter, there IS ONLY One and ALL of the listed criteria DO roll up into that One Way. That Way IS to keep His words and, most importantly to keep those words that He Himself called the “great commandment” and its companion which Jesus refers to as being “like unto it“. Whether we consider these as two commandments or one DOES NOT matter as it IS in the combination that ALL IS accomplished through the reality of agape. Jesus tells us clearly that “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40). We should understand here that one CAN NOT be True without the other; if we Love the Lord we must per force Love ALL men and conversely if we DO Love ALL men we DO per perforce Love the Lord. This IS made clear by the Master in many ways. We must remember here that this idea of Love IS agape, it IS our view of ALL men in the same way as we view the Lord and this too IS both a cause and an effect of being “born again“.
Returning to our text on being “born again“, we should note how that Nicodemus sees ALL of this in a purely carnal way despite His status as “man of the Pharisees” and “a ruler of the Jews” and this the Master notes saying “Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?“. In this we should try to see that the Jews’ religion was NOT the spiritual enterprise that it was intended to be; it was rather a doctrinal relationship that tried and failed to mimic the intent of the commandments. The Jews’ doctrines, their mitzvah if you will, was substituted for the Truth and while the words remained the same their meaning and interpretations were vastly different from that Truth. It IS this that the Master rails against throughout the gospels. While being “born again” was NOT a factor in the Jews doctrinal religion, it has become a factor in the Christian world where, yet again, the intent of the words has been changed to the doctrinal meanings that still abound today. Can we see the point here? And can we see that the Master’s words to Nicodemus ARE carnally based spiritual words? While this may seem an oxymoron of sorts, the reality IS found in Jesus’ words saying “If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?“; this IS of course in reference to the body of words regarding being “born again“. Jesus explanation of being “born again“, while intentionally cryptic, IS rooted in ideas that Nicodemus should have understood better than we. The Master tells Nicodemus “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit“. What we should understand here IS that the Greek word pneuma IS most always rendered in terms of Spirit and Holy Ghost; in the King James Bible’ lexicon the rendering as wind IS NOT even listed in the list of rendered words but IS found under the idea of miscellaneous rendered words. Vincent tells us that: In Hebrew the words spirit and wind are identical4 and through this we can perhaps see that Nicodemus was NOT seeing what we may be seeing in Jesus’ words. In Greek there IS another word that means wind, anemos, which John DOES use elsewhere in His gospel. Vincent adds here that: The usual rendering, wind, is confirmed here by the use of the kindred verb pnei, bloweth, and by fwnhn, sound, voice4 but this IS at best an assumption that IS made so that men can better understand Jesus’ saying.
We should keep in mind here that the Master DOES tell Nicodemus “If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?” and that these words ARE spoken immediately after Nicodemus’ asking Jesus “How can these things be?“. This question IS directly related to Jesus’ words on “the wind” and through this we should be able to sense that the Master believes that Nicodemus, if ONLY through his position as Pharisee and “a ruler of the Jews“, should have understood the relationships that He IS speaking of. We should note here as well that by rendering the first occurrence of pneunma as Spirit rather than wind DOES NOT materially change the idea that Jesus IS imparting and that, at least for us, the rendering of Spirit offers clarity. We should note here also that the Greek word pneo which IS rendered as bloweth IS the root word that pneunma comes from and that the primary definition of pneo IS: to breathe hard9a according to Strong’s. While the word IS often rendered in terms of blowing, the word idea has a link to one of the foremost ideas held by the Christian world where we read in Genesis that “the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7). This IS of course the reality of Life in this world; the body IS formed “of the dust of the ground” which IS a simple way of saying that the composition of the body IS basically the same as the composition of “the dust of the ground“, a predetermined assortment of elements and mineral compounds. It IS into this body that the Spirit ‘breathes’ the Soul if we can say it this way and it IS here that Life in this world begins for each and every individual born. We should remember here that, as Paul shows us, this Soul infused body IS born into the vanity of Life in this world and that NONE escape from this reality. Paul tells us clearly that “the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because expectation that the creature itself also shall be delivered made free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:20-21). When we can understand that his way of birth, this being “born of water” which represents the majority of the body, perhaps we can then understand the full saying that “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God“. We should note here that the two predominant elements that make up the body, oxygen and hydrogen, ARE the components of water which IS chemically H2O.
This way of explaining the idea of being “born of water” IS contrary to the ideas of most ALL of the church but IS at the same time a perfectly plausible way of looking at the Master’s words which otherwise remain but a cryptic idea that IS tied to Jewish ritual or baptism or some other religious note. Being “born of water” then IS our way of becoming men in this world and we should try to see that this IS a necessary component for men to understand as they seek the Truth and the Kingdom. The rest, being born “of the Spirit” IS then the ONLY part of this equation that men must accomplish in this Earth and here we come again to the duality of Life that the Master shows us and which we discussed in a recent essay. This duality shows us that there IS this Life in this world that IS subject to vanity and that there IS a Life that we can experience when we can escape our vanity, when we can escape “the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4). It IS this escape that IS the reality of being “born again“, it IS this escape that IS the reality of our Repentance and our Transformation; it requires, as the Master alludes to, our active participation and NOT some magical doctrinal event. To be “be born of water and of the Spirit” IS NOT some magical formula that rests in the hands of the doctrinal churches and their many definitions of what being “born again” means; it IS instead a practical instruction that we choose Life. This choosing IS our practical choice if we Truly ARE seeking the Kingdom; again, the Master tells us “whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it” (Mark 8:35). That we must be “born of water” DOES NOT mean that we must stay in that state of being; it simply means that as part of the Way we must first be born into this vanity and then we must endeavor to be born “of the Spirit“. For Nicodemus the reality IS that he IS born into this world, “born of water” if you will, and the Master IS telling him that he must now be born “of the Spirit” if he wishes to “enter into the kingdom of God“.
We should understand here that Nicodemus hardly understands the Master’s words or the point that He IS making. We should try to see that Nicodemus likely leaves the Master’s presence in the same way that he arrived KNOWING ONLY that “we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him“. Jesus DOES however give Nicodemus food for thought and he likely goes on pondering the same question that he asks of the Master saying “How can these things be?“. And perhaps over time the lesson IS somewhat learned; a lesson that DOES NOT comport with the religious beliefs of the Pharisees or the Sanhedrin. In John’s Gospel we read that Nicodemus DOES go against his own, he supports Jesus before “the chief priests and Pharisees” saying “Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?” (John 7:45, 51). While the story of Nicodemus may be entertaining, a religious Jew going to Jesus, we should try to understand that there IS a deeper message than a Pharisee’s curiosity and his desire to KNOW something more. That message IS to ALL of us and clearly tells us that “Ye must be born again“. While the church has largely accepted this message, they have at the same time diluted it to comport with their doctrinal ideas of ‘salvation‘ which ARE based in such ideas from Paul as “by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). The problem here IS simply that ALL of the most important terms ARE misunderstood and misapplied. Foremost IS the Greek word pistis which IS rendered as faith and which has become for the church but a nebulous ‘feeling’ instead of the staunch KNOWING that it Truly IS. And we should understand here that this IS KNOWING some measure of the Truth which idea IS analogous to KNOWING God. The idea of grace IS also misrepresented by doctrines as well as by the established defining ideas; charis which IS rendered most often as grace means: properly, that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness9 according to Thayer’s but this leaves out the most important aspect of grace. Most importantly, charis should be understood as ALL that comes from the Lord with the caveat that naught that IS of this world DOES come from the Lord. James tells us that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17) and in this we should try to see that ALL IS good and ALL that IS perfect that comes from “the Father of lights“.
That there IS nothing carnal coming from the Lord should be the established Truth but unfortunately it IS NOT as millions ARE ever looking for carnal and mundane gifts from God. This IS a teaching of much of the church that encourages men to pray for such things as they desire; most ALL fail to understand that when we ARE told: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8) the subject IS purely spiritual. Similarly when the Lord tells us: “whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it” (John 14:13-14) He IS NOT referring to our carnal desires but rather to spiritual Truths and the wherewithal to use such Truth. The dichotomy between the carnal and the spiritual IS well established in the New Testament. From Jesus words on treasure which shows us what it IS that we should ask for and seek after as we “Take no thought for your life” to such ideas as “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:19, 20, 25, 33). Unfortunately the idea of things here has been supposed to mean things carnal and mundane but which ARE in the text merely men’s sustenance in this world which Jesus shows us as food, drink and clothing….necessities of Life. As we often cite, James shows us this idea of the dichotomy between the carnal and the spiritual saying “know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever* therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4). Paul offers us a similar idea saying “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” (Romans 8:5-7). Our takeaway here IS that when DO Truly “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness” we ARE at the same time seeking to be “born again“. This brings us again to our trifecta, our three sayings that ARE the epitome of our desire to be “born again“; In these words we ARE told the Way to the Kingdom, the Way to the Truth and the Way to have the conscious Presence of the Lord in our daily Life. We read:
- “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 must try to realize here that the precepts of our trifecta ARE NOT merely words from the Master that should be considered as explanatory of His commandments, these ARE at the same time showing us the Way to be “born again” and the Way to His Kingdom and ALL that this represents in the Life of the disciple and the aspirant to discipleship. While keeping His words IS defined here as the KEY to our glorious relationship with the Godhead, we should try to see that the whole idea of keeping His words IS neatly wrapped up for us in the deepest ideas of agape and our expression of this ‘God kind of Love’. In keeping His words we have full access to the Truth that flows from the Godhead and though our Souls, our Christ Within. Keeping His words provides for our consciousness realization of the Truth, His Kingdom and His Presence in our lives. And, most importantly, whensoever we have this realization we must per force express it. It IS through this expression ONLY that we can see the reality of our being “partakers of the divine nature“, the reality of our being “led by the Spirit of God” and the evidence that we ARE or ARE becoming “the sons of God” (Romans 8:14). It IS ALL of these things that allow us to Truly say that we ARE “born again“, an appellation that IS wasted in the churches by their dilution and changing of the most basic principals taught us by the Master. Perhaps it IS to those that claim to be “born again“, to those that claim to have been ‘saved‘ with the hope of heaven when they die, that Jesus so clearly asks “why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). The question here IS of course rhetorical; the answer IS embedded in the form of the question but this has NOT been recognized by those in the church that cling to their doctrinal presentations over the Truth of the Master’s words for the last 2000 years . Our point here IS simply that the Christian church has followed the way of the Jews with their doctrinal approaches to the Lord, approaches that ARE clearly derailed by the Master’s words against them throughout the gospels. And, while the Jews conduct today IS much the same, they follow in their mitzvah despite the words of correction offered by the prophets and by the Christ, few if any recognize that the Christian world IS in the same, if NOT a worse, situation. We close today with the timeless words repeated by the Master saying “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). Few understand the timelessness of these words.
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
- 7 Google generative AI on Born Again
- 9 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon on blueletterbible.org
- 9a The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible on blueletterbible.or
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
