ON LOVE; PART MDXLVI
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 way that there ARE but two types of people in this world regardless of race, religion, national origin or any other dividing ideas that men have erected as barriers. These two types of men ARE those that DO follow the Truth and the Love that ARE the God of every religion, there IS and can be ONLY One God, and those that DO NOT. We said in the last post that the latter type IS the predominant in this world but we should be careful here to understand our point. Those that ARE NOT at ALL concerned with the most basic idea that “Thou shalt love agape thy neighbour as thyself” (Mark 12:31) ARE NOT at ALL in tune with the promptings of their own Souls, their Inner Man which for the Christian IS his Christ Within, and lead a strictly carnal Life. While many of these may be somewhat involved in some doctrinal religious effort, it IS NOT one that has awakened them to the reality of One Humanity, One World and One God. Most ALL of these ARE yet separating themselves, mentally, emotionally and socially from others that they perceive as different. Most ALL ARE concerned ONLY with their daily lives and the procurement of what they believe that they need to live comfortably which idea varies much throughout the world. This IS our view of this segment of humanity and while it IS True that we CAN NOT KNOW the hearts and minds of others, even when they DO disclose such, it IS NOT difficult to presume to understand others. Of course we may be wrong in our assessment of humanity but nonetheless this IS our view of the world today which IS, in our opinion, closer to that sense of agape Love than ever before while mostly failing to properly understand the cosmic influences that we have discussed in previous essays. It IS the other type of person however that we need to discuss in some detail as it IS these that ARE or will be willing to Truly “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). What DOES this mean to us IS NOT a secret nor a mystery; the reality of our striving IS laid out for us in the New Testament as well as in the non-doctrinal ideas of ALL world religions. In Luke’s gospel this idea of striving IS surrounded by parables; first there ARE the parables likening the Kingdom of God to such things as “a grain of mustard seed” and the “leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened” (Luke 13:19, 21). Following His words on striving the Master offers another parable; this one with a notion of time where the idea IS that one should strive before “the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door” (Luke 13:24). We should not mistake the idea here with thoughts about the Lord ceasing to allow men into the Kingdom; the idea pertains to the idea of time on a personal level as we DO NOT KNOW the time of our own demise. This we should ever measure this against Jesus’ words saying “Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not” (Luke 12:40) which idea has naught to DO with ‘the end times’ but rather our own demise. We should note that both these sayings ARE considered to be in regard to ‘the end times’ and it IS this doctrinal belief that has led so many astray as to NOT consider their own end time and the urgency to strive before we CAN NO longer DO so in this Life. And it IS NOT only our death that should be of concern here as there may also be a point at which one can NO longer change his Life’ direction.
While Luke gives us the Master’s words with the idea of time as well as the difficulty of our entering “in at the strait gate“, Matthew gives us a much broader picture albeit without the admonition to strive. Matthew writes “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). Without parables Matthew shows us that the Way IS narrow compared to the broad “way, that leadeth to destruction” and we should understand this destruction as our failure to find True Life as we remain bound by our vanity in this world. Matthew DOES NOT offer us any parables to go with this statement but, after His words on “false prophets” (Matthew 7:15), the Master DOES tell us a more specific view of the problem which, while it IS offered in plain language, it IS NOT understood by many especially those in the churches. Jesus tells us “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 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). We should understand that “the strait gate“, the narrow way if you will, IS the Way by which we can “enter into the kingdom of heaven“; it has NO other meaning. Doctrinal ‘authorities’ DO NOT see Jesus’ words this way; John Gill for example tells us that “the strait gate” IS: Christ himself; who elsewhere calls himself “the door”8 as he goes on to speak about faith. Again, the idea here should be understood ONLY as our ability to “enter into the kingdom of heaven“. The Master IS painting a picture of “the way, that leadeth to destruction” for those that DO nothing to seek “the strait gate” as He tells us that “few there be that find it“; the idea here IS that you cannot find “the strait gate” unless you ARE seeking it. Jesus goes on to speak to those that may believe that they ARE seeking it as He tells us that acting as one who IS seeking IS NOT the same as actually seeking. These words ARE however wasted as those that believe ARE NOT swayed by Jesus’ remarks and the doctrinal ideas regarding His words ONLY carve out the “false prophets” and others who may insincerely proclaim the Name of the Lord. This however IS NOT the gist of the Master’s words; the gist of His words IS that they ARE against ALL that DO NOT “doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven“; any other doctrinal ideas ARE merely that. It IS of those that DO NOT “doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” that Jesus speaks of here as He explains that their way of prophesizing, healing and DOING “many wonderful works” ARE for naught for the man who IS NOT among “doers of the word“. Of these the Apostle James tells us “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22) and this idea of deception IS founded in men’s thinking and believing that they ARE in God’s grace because of their way of prophesizing, healing and DOING “many wonderful works“.
But the Master strongly disagrees with those that believe that they are “doers of the word” without actually keeping His words but rather keeping ONLY their vison of them as created by the doctrines of men. Jesus addresses this doctrinal malady telling us “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). It IS these very doctrines, “the commandments of men“, that tell us that His words ARE directed ONLY at the Jews in Jesus’ day and DO NOT reflect the ‘new covenant’ as seen in the eyes of doctrinal adherents. Jesus’ message IS clear and it IS become a part of our trifecta; He tells us that “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” while adding that to those that DO NOT “doeth the will of my Father” but believe that they DO His words ARE “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity“. The Master offers us NO negotiation as He tells us that it ONLY those that “doeth the will of my Father“, those that keep His words, that can “enter into the kingdom of heaven” and there ARE NO machinations that can be created by the wills of men that can change this. Our point here IS that ALL that follow the doctrinal ideas exclusively, ALL that believe that the ARE in God’s grace without keeping His words, ARE on the broad way, “the way, that leadeth to destruction“. This idea of destruction IS from the Greek word apoleia which IS defined as: ruin or loss (physical, spiritual or eternal)9a by Strong’s while Thayer’s also calls it: a perishing9. Perhaps it IS this idea of perishing that we should relate to that vanity in which most ALL men live and which IS defined for us by Vincent as: “a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends4. It IS men’s continuing in their vanity which should be seen as the lives of those that DO take the broad way.
While the Master’s words ARE clear regarding the “strait gate” and men’s striving toward it, His message has been muted by the church that ascribes the idea of the broad way to those without the church, those that ARE NOT members of a Christian religious experience. While the Master says that “few there be that find” the “strait gate“, most ALL Christians believe that they ARE among the few; it IS in this way that men ARE deceived and we should understand here that the deception IS deep. Far too many mistake their doctrinal allegiance with keeping His words as they substitute their doctrinal ideas of faith and believing for the Truth of Jesus actual words which ARE almost always contrary to the doctrinal ideas of men, “the commandments of men” if you will. ALL of Jesus’ words in the Gospel of Matthew up to this point, His words that ARE KNOWN as the Sermon on the Mount, ARE spoken highly of in the church but ARE at the same time largely ignored; they have become but trite sayings that hold little meaning in the lives of men. Few ARE willing to be meek, few ARE willing to ‘turn the other cheek‘ or condemn adultery both secularly and spiritually. Few understand His words about anger and lust and fewer still have any understanding at ALL regarding the deeply Christian idea of agape Love. The most important failure of course IS our failure at understanding and expressing agape Love as the Master shows us it must be expressed. It IS in understanding and expressing this ‘God kind of Love’ that we can find the narrow Way and the “strait gate” which “which leadeth unto life“.
In both gospels, Luke’s and Matthew’s, these ideas about striving and entering “in at the strait gate“, ARE followed by a rather straightforward parable that equates the foolish man with those who have chosen the broad way over the “strait gate” while showing the Wise man as those that strive to keep His words, those that have chosen the “strait gate“, and the narrow Way. The words of this parable take us again to the idea of perishing which we uncovered earlier as the idea behind “the way, that leadeth to destruction” which IS, again, the way of living in our vanity in this world where perishing IS again the theme. The Master tells us in Luke’s Gospel that:
“Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great” (Luke 6: 48-50).
Luke DOES NOT offer us the ideas of being foolish versus being Wise but they ARE imbedded in the words that he DOES show us in his framing of the Master’s words. These words on foolish and the Wise however DO add to our understanding of Jesus’ words; Matthew tells us this parable saying”
“whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it” (Matthew 7:24-27).
With or without the idea of the foolish and the Wise builders, the message of the Master’s words should be clear. It IS NOT however seen as the ultimatum that it should be understood as. John Gill in his Exposition of the Bible offers us his commentary on Matthew’s version and we should note that it IS this idea that IS held by many in the church. Mr. Gill tells us that: he here speaks of; and as he had in some foregoing verses chiefly respect to preachers, so here, to hearers, his disciples and followers in general. The subject of this comparison, in ( Luke 6:47 ) is, “whosoever cometh unto me”; as all that are given to Christ by the Father will do, sooner or later. In essence this commentary says little about the gist of the Master’s words which, although abundantly clear, IS missed by those that wish to deflect the ideas away from themselves and their ilk. The Master IS simply showing us the effect, in carnal terms, in the lives of those that follow Him, those that “heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them” as Matthew frames Jesus’ words for us. The KEY here, as in so many places in the New Testament, IS that we keep His words, that in DOING so we ARE acting as Wise men and NOT as fools yet trapped in our own vanity. Luke’s framing of the Master’s words IS NOT much different; in Luke’s version Jesus IS calling on those that “cometh to me” and while this can be interpreted many ways, those like John Gill have chosen to make it “his disciples and followers in general” rather than ALL that “heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them“. Regardless of this difference, the main fact remains; the Master IS telling us that as followers, as disciples, as preachers and as hearers of His words, that the Wise man IS the one that “doeth them“. Other followers, disciples, preachers and hearer of His words, either by ear or by reading or even by intuitive means, that DO NOT “doeth them” ARE but fools, they ARE the foolish builders of lives in this world. It IS James reflection upon these words perhaps that causes him to write that we should “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22).
James shows us that in addition to being fools and foolish builders we ARE at the same time deceived by believing that our following of our doctrines and our hearing doctrinal philosophy IS sufficient. James stark assessment of the human condition IS made with a view of the world in his day and when we can understand that the human condition, from a spiritual perspective, IS NOT any better today, perhaps we can better appreciate his words. The apostle’s ideas here ARE directed at those that DO hear the word and from that we can presume that today’s religious ARE included in the broad category of hearers who listen intently to sermons, to podcasts and to broadcast religious programming on television and radio. And while the reach of televangelists IS great, many millions listen to their broadcasts every week and buy their sermons and their books; the result has NOT been a more Christian America but rather a more segregated America. There ARE many reasons for this but paramount among them IS the fact that they each ‘preach’ their own brand of truth which IS often critical of those with whom they disagree and those who they see as inferior. Many have built large ‘churches’, mostly non-denominational IS their claim, and most have become extremely successful at getting the average listener to fork over a portion of their incomes on the promise that they will reap greater benefit. In the end ALL of this ONLY makes millionaires out of many of these ‘evangelists’ and many of them flaunt their riches as part of their ‘spiritual’ success, a success that IS built on false promises and extreme greed. This IS of course contrary to most ALL of the Master’s teachings and here we should try to see the entire lack of any True Christian ideas or ideals in their lives. And here IS the greater rub: they have, along with the rest of the doctrinal churches, taught the masses ideas and ideals that ARE contrary to the Master’s Truths and have done so with a presumed impunity based on the authority that being a ‘preacher’ brings. How many actually believe what they preach we can NEVER Truly KNOW because NO ONE KNOWS what IS in the heart of another. While we have focused on the televangelist above, they ARE NOT alone in blame for creating generations of hearers that listen to sermons that include tidbits of ideas from the New Testament while at the same time ignoring and sometimes denying the reality of Jesus’ own words.
There ARE of course many well meaning teachers of doctrines that Truly believe that they ARE teaching the Truth as they preach their doctrinal ideas to the people. These, while being more fundamentally sincere, ARE yet deceived; both by their failure to teach men to keep His words as well as their failures in actually being “doers of the word“. We ARE reminded here again of the Master’s closing words in the Gospel of Matthew where He tells His disciples that they should be “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20). Since the denominational preacher sees himself as ‘flowing’ from the disciples in manner and authority, he too should be DOING so; he too should be “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” and, to be sure, the True teachings of the Master ARE available for ALL. Returning to the parables, we should be able to see that there ARE Wise and foolish builders in every segment of society and the ministers in the church ARE NO exception; few if any “heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them” but perhaps the worst part IS that there ARE NONE that teach men this very Truth of keeping His words. Few if any teach men that they should “Strive to enter in at the strait gate” as they allow their followers to remain among those “few there be that find it“; this while allowing for the deception that flows from NOT being “doers of the word“. One final point regarding those that have chosen to become ministers in any denominational religious movement; from the words of James we read “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). In these words we should see the power of the master, the Greek word didaskalos IS rendered here as Master when used of Jesus and rendered as teacher2 most other times. What we should see here IS the teacher and his words, which we should try to understand as the authority and his edicts; it IS against what we become and what we may say that James writes. And we also that write this blog think often about James words as we send words as teachers out to the world; we must be extremely careful NOT to deceive.
The deception that James speaks about however IS self-deception and while it may be based upon the words of a teacher, words meant to deceive or NOT, the onus IS ever upon us as individuals NOT to fall into the trap. We ARE reminded here of an interesting short documentary on the theory proffered by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a twentieth century German pastor and anti-Nazi dissident. From prison he wrote several things as letters and among these IS his Theory of Stupidity which we recommend to our readers; it can be easily be found online. In many ways it IS our self-deception that Bonhoeffer calls stupidity and perhaps a key takeaway from his theory IS that: Bonhoeffer believed that stupidity is more dangerous than evil because it’s harder to identify and combat. For us our deception IS based in our established belief system where we accept as Truths certain unprovable ideas as we ofttimes shape our lives around them. That James IS speaking to men in the church should be an unmistakable and factual idea if based ONLY in the way that his words ARE framed but we should try to see that such deception IS NOT limited to religion. Today the deception of men, self-deception to be sure, IS a rampant evil that IS the product of social media, conspiracy theories and outwardly false political speech. To this we should add the lesser evil of religious sermons that mislead men to believe certain doctrinal ideas; these can be intentional or NOT depending upon the heart of those espousing such ideas. It IS our deception that keeps us from the Truth as we see what it IS that deceives us as that Truth; the result IS that we fail to look further. While James shows us this dynamic in terms of our religious pursuits, it IS NOT understood because his words have also been channeled into untenable ideas that show the readers that they ARE “doers of the word” by keeping the edicts of their doctrines as Truth.
And here IS the dilemma for men: to be able to deflect the false ideas that circulate around us and to continually seek the Truth. In this we find the reality of the Master’s words that tell us to “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). Those who can deflect the false can “Strive to enter in at the strait gate” but our deflection IS NOT a sure sign that one will; there ARE millions upon millions that deflect the teachings of the denominations, the sects and the cults as false and their reasoning IS multifaceted. Most however will never seek out the “strait gate” that the Master speaks of but there will ever be the “few there be that find it“. It IS ever the narrow way that we seek, the narrow way that departs us from the mainstream of men. It IS here that we stand alone and we should try to see that regardless of any group that may have the same aims as we DO, we ARE yet standing alone in our own psyche apart from the masses while believing, KNOWING IS the better word here, that we have found the Path that leads us to that “strait gate“. Our entry onto this Path IS the reality of our Repentance, it IS the point at which we Truly decide to leave the world of men and to focus our lives on the Good, the Beautiful and the True. It IS here that we can realize the Truth that we ARE NOT of this world but ARE merely using this world to bring our mortal lives into accord with the Truth and the agape Love and bring those True ideals into greater play in this Earth.
It IS here again that we should try to understand the duality of Life and the way that the two heretofore separate lives, the mortal Life of the body and the spiritual Life of the Soul, must be joined together in order to find the True Life of which the Master and His apostles speak. While in a seemingly different context, that of the crucifixion, the Apostle Paul shows us a picture of this joining together; he tells us that “now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace” (Ephesians 2:13-15). We should understand here that the Master Jesus embodies the goal of ALL humankind; He IS a man, born in the same way as we ALL ARE and nurtured and indoctrinated into a Life and a culture that He surely must shed. He IS born into the same vanity as ALL men ARE but with one exception which IS His personal destiny. The Master IS born as a man who has, through His own spiritual Power, retained the KNOWLEDGE of God, a KNOWLEDGE that we as men must work out in our individual Lives. We should understand here that as Souls we have this KNOWLEDGE but as men we ARE lost in our vanity….lost in our little lives in this world. The Master was NOT so encumbered but, as the New Testament shows us, He was subjected to the same trials that we ALL ARE subjected to almost daily. The tempting of Jesus as it IS called shows us the carnal forces versus the spiritual forces that we ALL have but DO NOT realize that we DO. First Satan, representing the carnal realities of Life, tempts Jesus’ personal Power, to use it as a man for His personal benefit, to make of stones bread for His own show of Power. Such ideas ARE later used by Jesus as He feeds the multitudes twice during His time with us in this Earth. The second temptation IS in regard to His inherent immortality and the reality that so long as He desires he can deflect any and ALL harm that may be directed at Him. As a temptation the idea IS to be used as a show of His Power and we should remember that He does employ this Power several times, not as a show of Power, but as a necessary tool to be used to fulfill His mission. Finally there IS the temptation to rule the world. Again, based in His inherent Power, Jesus IS confronted with the ability to use that Power to control ALL the world and we should try to understand that there ARE among us men who ARE born with a similar, but much inferior, link to their own Souls that choose to use their power for selfish and personal purposes. This IS indeed a hard concept to understand; the very nature of the Soul IS for good, it IS an expression of agape Love and Truth. With this in mind how then can one who has some access to their own Soul’s Power engage that power for selfish and personal purposes. To understand this we must perforce have some modicum of spiritual understanding that itself flows from our Souls and, to be sure, there IS ever the prompting of the Soul on the mortal personality that goes unheeded and IS ofttimes unnoticed. The answer lies in the strength of the personality itself; a personality that IS nurtured and indoctrinated into Life in this world IS essentially a stand-alone enterprise and whensoever it IS motivated ONLY by selfish and personal purposes, it can utilize in some way the impulses that flow from the Soul to serve its ends.
While our spiritual motivation IS to DO as the Master, to “make in himself of twain one new man“, this takes our focus and much work as we try to rid ourselves of our carnal motivation and impulses, rid ourselves of our vanity if you will. It IS our necessary work to “make in himself of twain one new man” as we resolve our inherent duality into the singleness of vision that IS the hallmark of the disciple. For this the Master DOES give us instruction but we have NOT understood His instructions in quite the way that He desired. In simple terms we ARE admonished to “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” rather than accumulate “treasures upon earth” which IS of course the path of least resistance for men in this world. While these words ARE interpreted to mean riches, wealth and possessions, the reality IS that our treasures include most every human idea concerning our lives; it IS this that the Master tells us saying “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:20, 19, 21). Wheresoever our focus IS, whatsoever we deem as important, will determine what motivates us and while this may change from time to time, once our focus IS upon the things of God it tends to remain strong. As we ARE admonished to focus ourselves on the things of God we ARE also told how that this works out in the lives of men albeit in words that ARE ill-understood by most. The Master paints our dilemma in terms of the eye and its being single or evil and; as we have discussed several times in our posts, the ideas here ARE clearly on our focus. While it IS NOT ONLY the eye which can be focused, it IS an appropriate metaphor for the entirety of our ability to focus. Looking at the Master’s words according to this idea of focus can bring us ever closer to understanding His intent in saying that “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:22-23). The difference here IS between our focus upon the Truth and agape, the things of God, through the single eye, and our focus on our carnal lives, the evil eye. The one brings us Light, spiritual Light to be sure, while the other causes us to remain in our spiritual darkness which IS our carnal lives, motivated by carnal thoughts and desires. It IS in response to the idea that one IS guided totally by his carnality that Jesus tells us “If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!“. Then, having told us about our choice of focus and having told us the difference between the one and the other, the Master next tells us that we CAN NOT DO both at the same time; we “cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). The idea of service here from the Greek word douleuo IS simply that: what DO we offer our service to our God or ourselves. Thayer’s offers us a metaphorical idea for this saying that such service IS: to obey, submit to9 leaving the question as what DO we obey and submit to. IS it our carnal whims, desires and lusts or it it the things of God.
We close again today with our trifecta as we DID NOT work it into our text. Our trifecta IS the words of the Master that show us clearly the Way to our individual spiritual Truth; Jesus tells us:
- “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32).
- “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
- “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me” (John 14:21-24).
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
| Aspect | Potency | Aspect of Man | In Relation to the Great Invocation | In relation to the Christ |
| GOD, The Father | Will or Power | Spirit or Life | Center where the Will of God IS KNOWN | Life |
| Son, The Christ | Love and Wisdom | Soul or Christ Within | Heart of God | Truth |
| Holy Spirit | Light or Activity | Life Within | Mind of God | Way |
- 2 New Testament Greek lexicon on biblestudytools.com
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition
- 8 Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com
- 9 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon on blueletterbible.org
- 9a The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible on blueletterbible.or
- * 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
