ON LOVE; PART DCCXLIV
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GoodWill IS Love in Action
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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.
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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).
In the last essay we continued with our ideas on the Way to the Kingdom of God, the Way to His grace and the Way of discipleship. The interrelationship of these ideas IS firmly founded in the Master’s words and the words of His apostles within which we should see two central points and understand that these two points are intimately related as well. From the Master’s words as found in the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of John which we have been studying, the message of the Way should be clearly found in the idea that we keep His words, that this IS the Way to realize the Truth of the Presence of God in one’s Life. Here we should see that the reality of this Presence IS the grace of God in one’s Life as the realization and the revelation of divinity and the operation of this grace in the Power of the Holy Spirit as the expression of the man in the world. Here, while the Apostle John covers some of the Truth by his choice of words, we must try to see through his language to the underlying ideas which ARE rather clearly voiced; John tells us that the Master says that it IS “He that believeth on me” who will shall be able to DO those “greater works” and we should understand here that these works ARE NOT only the miracles of Jesus but the totality of the Way of His Life. We should try to see here how that the idea of words and works IS mingled by the Master and the apostle which we read in His words saying; “the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works” (John 14:10). We see here how that the idea of His word and His works are related but we should understand that this IS NOT only those words that cause the miracle; but rather that this IS the reality of “every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). We should see here that every thought that Jesus utters IS of significance, every word has the ability to awaken the hearer to the greater Truths and it IS in the awakening that grace flows as the realization and the revelations that will allow for the related miracles and the words uttered by the disciple in the world.
The point here IS to show that the idea of “greater works” IS NOT limited to those things that the Master did but that they include the Peace that He offers us in our selection below as well as the reality that it IS by His awakening that the God Within us “shall teach you all things“. We should try to understand here that the ideas encompassed in His words that “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do” (John 14:12) IS but the lead statement that continues with His teaching on the Holy Spirit and on His clarification of His own meaning regarding this idea of “believing on” Him; that it IS by this that the Spirit of God can work in the Life of the man in the world. His clarification IS of course found in the the greater idea that “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). To view these ideas separately IS a mistake that many make, it IS in the totality of His words here that we can come to understand His meaning and see that it IS to the man who Loves God, who IS the man who keeps His words, that the Holy Spirit will come and we should see that it IS this Presence of God that accomplishes the “greater works“, whatsoever they may be. It IS in the idea of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit as we see in our current selection below, that we can bring the grace that fills our consciousness to bear upon the personality in action; it IS by this facility of the Spirit of God that a man KNOWS the Truth as this Holy Spirit IS also the “Spirit of truth” (John 14:17). We should try to understand how that the grace of God, as the ability of the consciousness of man, comes in the realization and the revelation of Truth and that this plus the operation of this through the personality of the man are intimately connected; if the expression of Truth IS NOT, then the flow of grace IS NOT either. Repeating our selection:
“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence” (John 14:26-31).
These words from our current selection are the continuation of the Master’s words and His teaching on the Unity of the Father and the Son, of God and the Christ, and in this Unity He shows us THEIR action as the Spirit of God. It IS this Unity that IS the Presence of God in the Life of the man in the world and it IS the expression of this Presence by the man that IS the reality of the Holy Spirit; not as a person as doctrine paints this but as the activity of the Unity of the God and the Christ Within in the world of men. This IS the Presence of God promised in the Master’s words and it IS this Presence that allows for the “greater works” and in this we should see the unity of His words that tell us of keeping His words with those that show that we must “believe on” Him. Beginning with the idea that to Love Him IS to keep His commandments, the Master goes on to say these things that we have been repeating often:
- “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” (John 14:21).
- “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 14:23-24).
Again we should understand that the Master’s words from this chapter, and most ALL chapters, CAN NOT be broken down into verses that stand alone; ALL of His words here work together for our proper understanding. In this view, the the apostle’s view of the Master’s words “believe on” must be seen in the same light as Jesus words above and His most simple saying that “If ye love me, keep my commandments“. The usage of this term “believe on” that IS used as the Master’s words only by John IS rendered as “believe in” and “believe on” from the single Greek idea of “believe into or onto” which IS the literal interpretation of the Greek words pisteuo eis. While dictionaries and most commentary DO NOT treat these words together as a single phrase, Vincent DOES, and in so doing he helps us to understand the deeper meaning and the apostle’s intent. From the first use of this idea in the Prologue of John’s Gospel we read these comments from Mr. Vincent:
Believe on ( πιστευούσιν εἰς ); The present participle, believing, indicates the present and continuous activity of faith. The word is used by John, sometimes with the dative case simply meaning to believe a person or thing; i.e., to believe that they are true or speak the truth. Thus, to believe the Scripture (John 2:22); believe me (John 4:21); believe Moses, his writings, my words (John 4:46). At other times with a preposition, εἰς , into, which is rendered believe in, or believe on. So here, John 6:29; John 8:30; 1 John 5:10. See the two contrasted in John 6:29, John 6:30; John 8:30, John 8:31; 1 John 5:10. To believe in, or on, is more than mere acceptance of a statement. It is so to accept a statement or a person as to rest upon them, to trust them practically; to draw upon and avail one’s self of all that is offered to him in them. Hence to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is not merely to believe the facts of His historic life or of His saving energy as facts, but to accept Him as Savior, Teacher, Sympathizer, Judge; to rest the soul upon Him for present and future salvation, and to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life 4.
This IS our understanding of the words of the apostle as regards the Master’s intent in saying “He that believeth on me” and the crux of Vincent’s point IS in the last part where we read that to believe on or to believe in the Master IS: to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life. It IS these words that we ofttimes use to show the reality of this idea from the Gospel of John and while we DO NOT KNOW why he chose to frame the Master idea in this way (perhaps this is John’s way of obscuring the plain Truth), we DO KNOW Jesus’ intent by the context in which we read His words. In the reality of acceptance of His precepts and example as binding IS the reality of keeping His words; there can be NO other view of this in the context of His Presence nor in the context of the ability of a man to DO such “greater works“. This IS the first of our two central points regarding the the Way to the Kingdom of God, the Way to His grace and the Way of discipleship; the first of two central point that are indelibly linked together by the very nature of the Master’s words.
The second central point IS of course Love. It IS Love that IS elevated to the role of the Great Commandments by the Master as we see in His sayings at the top of our essay and it IS Love that IS spoken about in conjunction with keeping His words here in this fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of John. In the reality of the Great Commandments we have His view of the main points of the commandments of God. While may some see this idea as merely an answer regarding the question posed as to which commandment IS greatest, the reality IS that the Master presents these in two ways according to the gospels. We read above that “There is none other commandment greater than these” and, as we read this in the Gospel of Matthew, “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:40). While we see these ideas as straightforwardly saying that these ideas on Love, the Love for God and the Love for man, ARE of the utmost importance to the man who Truly seeks to follow the Lord, others see them differently, some according to the Jewish traditions, others as unattainable Truths and yet others in a separate fashion rather that a single expression of the importance of this Love as understood by the apostles. In our view these two commandments ARE HIS words and ARE, according to the Master’s words here, the most important ideas for the Life of the man who seeks God. Here, if our first point IS that we keep His words, then these two commandments on Love ARE of paramount importance in regard to His Presence as we read above; that He will manifest Himself and that He and the Father will abide with the man who keeps His words and Loves Him; and here we see that the greatness of His words in found in these ideas of Love.
While we could go deeper into the doctrinal views of these ideas of Love as found in the Great Commandments, the reality of Life in this world yet today should suffice to show that these ideas ARE NOT seen in the way that the Master intended nor in the way that these ideas are painted for us by His apostles. We should remember here that the Apostle Paul shows us that to keep this second commandment, to “love thy neighbour as thyself” IS to fulfill ALL of the commandments and thereby to fulfill ALL that can be considered as His words….and we should note here that this fulfilling of ALL commandments includes the first Great Commandment as well. We should note as well that the Master’s words that “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” as this IS expressed by Matthew IS carried over to that other great saying on Love by Jesus which we call the Golden Rule. We read this as “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets“. In these words we should see that it IS the essence of this precept that IS the reality of the teaching of the law and the prophets and we can see that it IS upon this ideal of Love that the Great Commandments hang. We ARE of course being creative with our ideas here but we should ALL realize the underlying Truth of Love as the Master teaches this; that it IS in the True sense of Love as expressed by man; Love for God and Love for one’s fellowman, that will release the Presence of God in his Life.
From our study of this fourteenth chapter of John’s Gospel we should come to see the awesome nature of Love and how that it IS a man’s expression of Love for Christ and Love for God that brings us the grace of God which IS His Love for us and which IS His Presence. Further, we should see that it IS this same grace as the realizations and revelations of God to man that IS his ability to DO such things as the Master DOES. And we should see this DOING as the activity of the Spirit of God in the Life of a man…..the very Presence of the Holy Spirit which IS the Presence of God and of the Christ. Men can play with the individual meanings of His words and men can choose to view each of His sayings as an individual note but, when the entirety of this chapter, IS seen as the Way of our approach to God, the greater reality of Life and of the Kingdom can be revealed.
We have then a threefold sense of Love. Love for God and for Christ which IS the reality of keeping His words, the Truth of keeping His commandments, in the understanding that His words and the words of the Father ARE indivisible. This unity of intent and of message is clearly found in Jesus’ saying that “the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me” which idea IS already understood by His previous words that “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30) and that great revelation of this unity which we read in “I am in the Father, and the Father in me” (John 14:11). The Truth of this Love as keeping His words is stated for us four times in this chapter alone, each of which is cited above, and in many other sayings throughout the gospels and the epistles.
Second there IS His Love for us which we read in the Truth of the Nature of God, that “God is love” (1 John 4:16), and in the citing of His Love according to John who also gives us that most misunderstood saying that: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish” (John 3:16). The idea of “believeth in” that IS stated here is according to the same usage that IS covered by Vincent’s words above and which we see in the simplicity of keeping His words. This idea of the Love of God IS that which IS spoken of in the Master’s words here in this chapter as His part of the quid pro quo that we have been discussing; that in exchange for our Love for God and Christ as shown by our keeping His words, we have His Love in return. This Love from God IS presented to us in His Presence as we see in our sayings above where this IS framed for us as His manifestation and as His abiding; both spiritual ideas that show us the God and the Christ Within and the realization of His Presence by the man who keeps His words, a realization which IS His grace.
Our Love then IS keeping His words and His Love is His Presence in the Life of the man who DOES and we should remember that this works our in Life by degree. It IS by the measure of our focus upon the Good, the Beautiful and the True, our focus upon the things of God, that revelations and realizations of Truth come into the consciousness of the man in the world. It IS in this proportionate measure of grace that we are able to approach ever closer to His Presence which gives us ever more ability to keep His words. It IS this upward spiral of Loving and DOING that brings us higher and closer to our own Union with God which Paul calls for us the adoption. This IS another misplaced and misunderstood word for which Vincent shows us that Paul’s use IS intended: to impress upon him (the reader) the assurance that the adopted son of God becomes, in a peculiar and intimate sense, one with the heavenly Father 4.
Finally there IS the last and the most important idea of Love which IS the reality of our Love for ALL men according to the Master’s words and the words of His apostles. A Love that IS at the very core of keeping His 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 |
Note on the Quote of the Day
This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.
We repeat here again a saying that is from the Bhagavad Gita, which goes well with our theme of the God Within, the Soul, which we see as the Christ Within and while this is good in the Christian world and is True based upon our understanding of the Christ as the manifestation of God, we should also see in these words below that it does not matter what these divine ideas are called; that it matters not what we call this Inner Man, that he is the same in ALL, he is the Soul.
Thou carriest within thee a sublime Friend whom thou knowest not. For God dwells in the inner part of every man, but few know how to find Him. The man who sacrifices his desires and his works to the Beings from whom the principles of everything stem, and by whom the Universe was formed, through this sacrifice attains perfection. For one who finds his happiness and joy within himself, and also his wisdom within himself is one with God. And, mark well, the soul which has found God is freed from rebirth and death, from old age and pain, and drinks the water of Immortality.—Bhagavad-Gita
It is difficult to tell just what verses of the Bhagavad Gita the above is from; whether it is a paraphrase or a combination. It is from the book “The Great Initiates” by Édouard Schuré which was originally published in French in 1889 and perhaps it is in the translation of the verses that they become hard to recognize. However, the sheer beauty of the presentation caught my attention and so I share it with you. The Path to the Kingdom is the same no matter what religion one professes.
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts!
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888
