ON LOVE; PART MDXXII
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ
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).
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ
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.
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ
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).
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ
We ended the last essay with some thoughts on the duality of Life as portrayed by the Master through the words of His apostles and while we did discuss some of our ideas regarding this duality in a recent post, it will serve us well to DO so again. There ARE a number of sayings in the gospels that directly focus upon this idea of duality but the doctrinal ideas that ARE presented fall well short of explaining just what the Master IS telling us in Truth. We begin today by repeating our words from the last post regarding these sayings; we said that: ‘In ALL such statements there IS a parabolic aspect that must be broken in order to understand their meaning and we should note that whensoever there IS NO basis for such understanding the ideas presented ARE lost’. This last part IS True for most ALL of scripture as men have ever sought to understand the ideas presented according to their carnal interpretations but we should try to see here that in these sayings regarding this duality of the very idea of Life, there IS NO way to understanding them according to the ways of men in this world. The Master tells us that we have a Life and should we desire to ‘save‘ it we will lose it and should we desire to lose it we will essentially ‘save‘ it. From a carnal perspective the ONLY reality here IS in regard to this Life that we have in this world and, save for some modicum of spiritual awareness, we will ONLY see the carnal ideas that have been accepted for centuries. Let us begin by listing the Master’s words according to the gospel writers:
- “He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 10:39).
- “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 16:25).
- “For 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).
- “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it” (Luke 9:24).
- “Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it” (Luke 17:33).
- “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal” (John 12:25).
The mere frequency of this idea in the four gospels should suffice to show the importance of the concept and while the ideas ARE clouded by their parabolic tone, the reality can be easily seen should we apply the reality of Life in this world. As we begin we should, we must, understand that we ARE Spirit manifest as Souls that ARE living for a time in a physical body, an animal body if you will. This existance IS what Paul calls our being “made subject to vanity” (Romans 8:20), a vanity that Vincent defines for us as our: perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends4. This IS the condition of the whole world and while some may believe that they ARE freed from this peril by their doctrinal adherence, this IS but a part of the delusion that James shows us saying “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). Our delusion IS based in the illusion that this IS our real Life, that we ARE merely men in this world who will either go to heaven or to hell at the end of our tenure here. The reality according to scripture IS however quite different and this IS the purpose of the Master’s many words on the duality of Life. Beginning from the top, how IS it that a man “findeth his life” and then why in this finding does he “ lose it“. This IS our introduction to the duality of Life and it IS ONLY in trying to grasp the concept of the Soul that we can understand the deeper meanings which we will try to expound upon here. In the context that the Master presents in Matthew’s words we should try to understand that this finding IS the natural course of the lives of men in this world; we ALL find our Life as men in this world. In this finding what IS it that we lose? The answer to this in in Vincent’s definition of vanity where we are separate from God, and pursuing false ends4. This IS the result of our illusion in most simple terms and this IS the reality of the lives of men despite what they may believe. We should understand here that it IS ONLY the man who DOES keep His words that will have the Truth and the freedom that the Truth brings; it IS ONLY the man that keeps His words that has the Kingdom and it IS ONLY the man that keeps His words that has the True Presence of the Lord in his Life. We should understand also that there IS the reality of measure; understanding the Master’s words saying that “with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again” (Matthew 7:2) should enable us to see that as we strive to Keep His words we will receive our rewards in the same measure.
Luke expounds upon this idea saying “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again” (Luke 6:38). It IS unfortunate that most see these words in a carnal sense and often use this idea to show some of the precepts of prosperity gospel teachings. Many believe that giving to the church and to others opens the floodgates, if we can use that word here, to their receiving like measures of worldly things and we should understand that this seldom works out this way and, when it DOES, it IS purely happenstance. The idea of men here IS a doctrinal creation that DOES NOT exist in the text nor in the meanings of the Greek word didomi which has a wide array of meanings more or less related to giving. We should try to see here that these words from Luke’s Gospel follow upon the Master’s dissertation on agape and that the idea of agape IS what we should give and what, in turn, we should receive. Much of doctrinal commentary focuses on the idea of bosom as a physical idea, a facility for holding things in one’s robes if you will. Vincent shows us the traditional meaning of the word saying that kolpos IS: The gathered fold of the wide upper garment, bound together with the girdle, and thus forming a pouch. In the Eastern markets at this day vendors may be seen pouring the contents of a measure into the bosom of a purchaser4. This however has NO real value in the context of Jesus’ words and here we should perhaps look to Thayer’s which tells us that kolpos IS: the bosom (Latin sinus), i. e. as in the Greek writings from Homer down: the front of the body between the arms9. Can we see a parabolic reference here to the heart?
Our point here IS that while some parts of the church take these words literally, the translated and the interpreted words and NOT the actual words, they ARE NOT intended to show us that if we give that ‘others’, that men, will then give us us. To understand this however we must first understand that there IS naught in this physical world that comes from God as gifts to men. The Lord’s gifts ARE found in James words saying “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“. We should remember here that James’ words follow upon his words on the temptation of men and the singular fact from his saying that “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man” (James 1::17, 13). It IS the things of the world that tempt men and NOT the spiritual Truths that ARE yet unbeknown to him. And, in ALL sayings such as this one, we must understand that evil IS NOT as the word IS portrayed; spiritually the idea of evil IS much like the idea of sin, it IS ALL things that ARE of this world. The foundation of Luke’s version of the Master’s words IS the same as that of Matthew’s: what we measure to others in terms of agape will be measured to us and while this may be from others, it IS most assuredly from our own Christ Within, our own Souls. Further, this saying from James tells us that in the Lord there IS “no variableness, neither shadow of turning” and this IS an important part of our understanding of agape, both from the Lord and in our own expression of agape. This idea should be tied to the Master’s words that tell us of the Lord that “he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). Luke offers us the same idea under different principles saying that the Lord “he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil” (Luke 6:35). This IS the essence of agape as it flows from the Godhead to ALL men universally; as it flows with “no variableness, neither shadow of turning“. While these words ARE taken to mean that the Lord DOES NOT change, the reality IS more than that and includes His expression of agape to ALL equally and without reservation of any kind. Again, the Master’s words here from both Luke and Matthew ARE given to us in the context of agape.
Returning to the idea of measure, we should try to see and to understand that this IS ALL subjective from the perspective of humanity. There IS NO ‘this for that’ as regards the things of this world where such ideas of recompense for our own giving IS returned to us as things of this world; the Lord has NO influence upon such things. While this lack of influence on the world IS NOT shown to us literally, it IS shown to us through the very actions of the Master who never suggests that there IS such influence on the lives of men and while there ARE instances of the Lord’s healing, and feeding the massed gatherings, this should be seen as exceptions and NOT the rule as He healed ALL when the opportunity arose. We read this in the gospels where Luke tells us that “the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all” (Luke 6:19). Similarly in Matthew we read that “great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all” (Matthew 12:15). In the Lord there IS NO idea of measure as we need to understand its effect on the human family; this idea of measure applies ONLY to this created world order and ONLY to the spiritual reality that IS the subject matter of the entire New Testament. In simple sayings the Lord shows us this without explanation and we read His words across a number of different scenarios; while we have listed and discussed these thing in previous essays, it seems prudent to DO so again here:
- First there IS the words from Luke’s Gospel where the subject of giving and receiving should clearly be understood as agape and NOT anything of this world; the Master says: “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again” (Luke 6:38).
- Matthew offers us the same idea in regard judgment; the Master says: “For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again” (Matthew 7:2). While the idea of judgment seems right from the context that these words ARE offered in, His words may also be looked at as two separate sayings that compliment each other. First that judgment can have a karmic effect on the Life of the one who harshly judges and while we can’t see the way that this works out in Life, it IS nonetheless the statement. Then, as a second consideration and perhaps to help us understand the first we have the overall reality of measure which can be applied to judgment as well as ALL other Life pursuits. We should note here that these words on judgment begin the seventh chapter of Mathew and since the separations of chapters and verses IS NOT in the original manuscripts we should carry over the theme from the end of chapter six. Chapter six ends with the Master’s discussion on the choices of men; the choice between “treasures upon earth” versus “treasures in heaven” with the understanding that we choose according to the direction of our hearts. The choice between remaining focused upon the things of the world, “treasures upon earth” if you will, through the evil eye or focusing upon the good things of God through the good eye. Both ARE reflected for us in the next idea of our choice, our ongoing choice, between God and mammon with mammon representing the evil and the “treasures upon earth“. Finally we have the idea of this focus embraced by the Master’s words saying that we should “Take no thought for your life” but should rather focus upon the things of God as we “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 33). It IS this that leads us the Jesus’ words on judgment and measure and we should try to see the effect of measure on each of these spiritual ideas.
- The Apostle Mark offers us the idea of measure in regard to what we hear and the Greek word here IS akouo. Mark tells us that the Master says “Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given” (Mark 4:24). Akouo IS defined for us by Strong’s as: a primary verb; to hear (in various senses):—give (in the) audience (of), come (to the ears), (shall) hear(-er, -ken), be noised, be reported, understand9a. The ideas of the physical organ and its function CAN NOT be the reference because this interpretation renders the entire thought useless in the lives of men. Some interpret the idea to be that we should be careful of what it IS that we listen to and while this IS more appropriate than the idea of sound entering into one’s mind, it still leaves us wondering what the Master Truly means. What we hear IS meaningless if we DO NOT understand it and we should note that the idea of understanding IS a great variable among men. Hence the idea of taking heed which should be understood as being careful of what we take from what we DO hear and what we internalize regarding such understanding. In essence, we could see Jesus’ words here as being careful of what it IS that we believe to be Truth. Whatever we DO believe IS indeed multiplied and measured whether it be the teachings of a cult, a doctrinal organization or our own views of scripture independent of those influences. We should understand here that the Master IS speaking to us in spiritual terms and while the idea of our understanding reaches across ALL of Life and effects every aspect, His point should be understood as a binary idea choosing between the Truth and the not-truth. An example can be easily seen in the doctrinal church and perhaps this IS the Master’s point of reference as regards the Jews. Men ARE taught, indoctrinated if you will, into the doctrines of any given denomination or sect and they come to believe what it IS that they ARE taught. The more then that we attend to such ideas, the more we hear, the more that we will seek to hear and to KNOW regarding that teaching. Conversely, when we hear and attend to the prompting of our own Souls, our Christ Within, the more we will then seek to hear and to KNOW. Of course the latter IS the Master’s point and we should try to see that the very nature of unadulterated scripture IS to guide us to the Truth.
In the end these three sayings from the Master ARE in regard to the idea of measure and ARE shown us against three different modes of human thought and action. Using the idea from Luke we have His words in relation to our giving and, because the context here IS agape, we should try to understand that whatsoever we give in agape, the more that we will have….measure for measure. While Matthew seems to tie this idea of measure to judgment, this IS NOT the important part of Jesus’ message. Yes, if we harshly judge others it IS this capacity that will grow by measure the same way as if we fairly judge others this capacity will grow. We should understand that the idea here IS NOT against judgment although that IS the way the idea IS worded through translations and interpretations and here we should note Jesus’ other words saying “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment” (John 7:24). The main message here for us IS then in regard to measure and the Master’s words here saying “with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again” should be understood to cover ALL of our thoughts, attitudes and actions. In Mark the idea seems to be clearly centered around our hearing and our understanding but we should note here that our understanding and our believing encompass ALL human activity and whatsoever we DO believe IS easily multiplied into a greater measure of understanding and believing whether it be good or evil.
The greater point of ALL this IS that it IS by measure that we grow and this regardless of the application of that measure. Jesus’ examples of giving, judgment and hearing or understanding and believing ARE just that, examples against the principle of “with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again“. This we should understand as a universal concept and NOT that the Lord will bestow some gift or some grace upon mankind. This idea that the Lord will bestow IS a doctrinal creation that exists under a multiplicity of doctrinal philosophies which serve to obnubilate the greater Truths. It IS by measure that we can gain the rewards, the promises of the Lord, as we strive toward the Truth and the Love that ARE the essence of the Godhead. The greater our striving the greater our reward but we should understand that while this IS True across a wide array of carnal and mundane endeavors as well, the emphasis of the Master’s words remain on the spiritual ONLY. In the last essay we touched upon the idea of karma through its mention by Paul who tells us “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:7-9). Here the reward IS shown us as either corruption or as “life everlasting” depending upon what it IS we sow. We should be careful to understand that based in the entirety of the New Testament ALL DO have “life everlasting” which should be understood as Life for eternity. The apostle’s point here, a hidden one for most, the idea IS that we will reap realization of our eternal Life and understand it through our understanding of the Truth. As Spirit we ARE ever present with the Lord and in the Lord but we have full realization of this Truth as the effect, the karmic effect, of our sowing “to the Spirit“. It IS this sowing that we should see in the commandment that we should keep His words and here perhaps our trifecta will show some of the effects of DOING so, effects that ARE our reward for our striving. The Master tells us:
- “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32).
- “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
- “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me” (John 14:21-24).
Despite the claims of many in the church who may feel the euphoria of being ‘saved‘ through their doctrinal affirmations and confessions, the reality IS that True spiritual growth comes to us by measure according to the Master’s words saying “with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you“. In this idea of measure for measure we must look always upon our due part to determine the nature of what IS measured back to us. This IS Paul’s point in saying that “whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” and the apostle DOES NOT leave us without explanation. He continues to show us that if one “soweth to his flesh” that his reaping will be of corruption which idea here IS that one will reap the things of the world and, in a psychological way, measure for measure. We should try to understand that psychically we will embed ourselves ever further into our “bondage of corruption“, into our vanity (Romans 8:21, 20) which we should understand as our perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends4 as Vincent defines this idea. Paul also shows us the converse of this devolving into ever greater corruption saying that “he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” which IS, as we have discussed, our realization of our eternal being as Spirit. While there IS NO more confusing a word than eternal to the finite human mind, the idea IS better understood by measure for those who DO “soweth to the Spirit“; this IS True of the equally confusing idea of infinity as well. How can we measure then these ideas of eternity and infinity? Simply by applying the long list of rewards that men gain spiritually as they “soweth to the Spirit“. And this IS the purpose of our trifecta: that through the sowing and the reaping, the cause and effect, that the Master shows us we gain KNOWLEDGE of the Godhead and of ourselves as part and parcel of that Godhead.
The cited KEY throughout the New Testament IS that we keep His words and, of course, we must be able to link this seemingly momentous task to our expression of agape; it IS through this expression that we ARE able to keep His words. Again, Paul tells us this saying that “all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Galatians 5:17). It IS in keeping His words, through our expression of agape, that we “shall know the truth and it IS this KNOWING that “shall make you free” of the “bondage of corruption“, the vanity, into which we ARE born, nurtured and indoctrinated. It is in this KNOWING that we gain by measure a realization of our True nature and our indelible connection to the Godhead. This IS the promise of the first part of our trifecta. The second part takes us to a seemingly different place that IS actually the same place, it IS in the “kingdom of heaven“, it IS in the Kingdom of God, that we bring our spiritual Truth to bear upon our conscious minds and this according to the Master’s words saying “the kingdom of God is within you“. That this saying IS NOT understood in the church yet today IS because there IS little or NO realization of the Truth. For centuries the church has downplayed the idea that the Kingdom IS within us and that our Life’ purpose IS to let it be expressed through our physical forms to the world in much the same way that the Master DID. This IS the Way of the apostles as well as those for which we have sufficient historical information; ALL achieve some measure of this expression as saints in this world. There ARE likely many reasons for the church’s denial that the Kingdom IS within and one that we have cited in the past may be the motivating idea. We read in John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible that the Kingdom IS: in the elect of God among the Jews, in their hearts; it being of a spiritual nature, and lying in righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost and, to be sure, these elect of God IS a reference to the pre-Christian Christian if we may say it this way. Mr. Gill goes on to deny the universality of the idea that “the kingdom of God is within you” saying that: this is not to be understood of the Scribes and Pharisees, as if they had any such internal principle in them, who were as painted sepulchres, and had nothing but rottenness and corruption in them8. What we must understand here IS that the statement itself saying that “the kingdom of God is within you” IS a universal saying that applies to ALL men and NOT just the Christian and that Mr. Gill’s words regarding the Scribes and Pharisees ARE based in the church’s emotional view of the Jews’ religious leadership. To be sure these men were NOT universally painted sepulchres who had nothing but rottenness and corruption in them although there were likely some just as there ARE some Christian leaders of the same ilk. The Scribes and the Pharisees believed what they had been indoctrinated into, they believed in their interpretations of the law and they believed that the Master was epitome of the “false prophets” (Matthew 7:15) to use Jesus’ own terminology. The idea that “the kingdom of God is within you” should be understood universally and include ALL men, ALL cultures and ALL religions and the ultimate of this understanding IS that in ALL men there IS the potential to fulfill John’s words saying “as he is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17).
The message in this second part of our trifecta IS clear and this regardless of how you view the Kingdom: logically, according to the Master’s words or according to the doctrinal ideas of men. The message IS clearly that unless we keep His words we will NOT “enter into the kingdom of heaven” and while some may dispute the verbiage here, the ideas of DOING “the will of my Father which is in heaven” and keeping His words ARE synonymous. Additionally, it should have been clear from the beginning that calling on the Master saying “Lord, Lord” DOES NOT move a man any closer to the Kingdom if he IS NOT keeping His words. This IS the same idea that we should take from Jesus’ rhetorical question that asks “why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). We should also note here that the answer to those who dispute whether keeping His words and DOING “the will of my Father” mean the same IS included in the last part of out trifecta where we read the Master’s words saying that “the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me“. In this statement we should see the equivalency of the Master’s words and the Father’s Will so that the idea of keeping His words IS the same as keeping the commandments of the Father. To take this idea from will to commandments and precepts we need ONLY to look a Thayer’s defining ideas that tell us that the Greek word thelema which IS rendered as will IS: what one wishes or has determined shall be done (i. e. objectively, thing willed) as they go on to include the ideas of commands and precepts in what shall be done9.
Finally we come to the last part of our trifecta of the Master’s words that should be understood as KEYS to our True salvation which IS our ability to express the Truth and the agape Love that streams forth from the Soul, the Christ Within. This last part covers two ideas at the same time; first we have the reality of Loving the Lord and here the word for Love IS again agape. The point of the whole of these words from the Master IS that if we DO NOT keep His words that we DO NOT Love the Lord. While this IS clearly stated, it IS ignored by most ALL of the Church, by most ALL that profess to Love the Lord yet fail to keep His words. And this then IS the second idea imparted by the Master: that as we keep HIs words we have NOT ONLY our Truly Loving the Lord but also that we have the Presence of God in our Lives. We should note here that the idea that we keep His words IS the primary message and that the rewards ARE twofold; first we ARE then sincere and Truthful whensoever we say that we Love the Lord and second that we have His Presence as Jesus tells us saying that “my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him“. We should understand this in real Life terms and NOT in the parabolic ideas that ARE presented; the real Life terms ARE that as we keep His words we come to have the realization of His Presence in our lives and it IS through this realization that we can Truly see ourselves in John’s words saying “as he is, so are we in this world“. It IS this realization that comes to us by measure as we strive to keep His words and it IS through our Transformation that this measure can be complete.
We close today with additional emphasis on the idea that we must keep His words and this through the Master’s words that conclude this third part of our trifecta. While His telling us should be sufficient to show us the need to keep His words, this has NOT resulted in men willingly DOING so over the last 2000 years. Of course there ARE exceptions, there ARE people that have risen up and claimed their victory through keeping His words but these exceptions ARE unfortunately few and far between. This IS the reality 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” (Luke 13:24). Many desire to enter in but few ARE willing to “doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” in earnest. Finally we have the Master’s summation of the idea of keeping His words as our Way to show our Love for the Lord and to receive the realization of His Presence, a realization through which we will clearly understand Paul’s words saying “if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you” (Romans 8:11). Our last point here IS that the Master seeks to reinforce His commandment that we keep His words by telling us that “He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings“. While we started this essay with a discussion on the duality of Life, we DID NOT ever get back to this as we deviated into a discussion on measure and then on the ideas inherent in sowing and reaping. We will try to get back to this important topic of duality in the next post.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
| Aspect | Potency | Aspect of Man | In Relation to the Great Invocation | In relation to the Christ |
| GOD, The Father | Will or Power | Spirit or Life | Center where the Will of God IS KNOWN | Life |
| Son, The Christ | Love and Wisdom | Soul or Christ Within | Heart of God | Truth |
| Holy Spirit | Light or Activity | Life Within | Mind of God | Way |
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition
- 8 Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com
- 9 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon on blueletterbible.org
- 9a The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible on blueletterbible.or
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
