ON LOVE; PART CMIX
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•Α
GoodWill IS Love in Action
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•Α
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).
In the last essay we continued our discussion of the way that the various doctrines of atonement, the atoning quality of the Master’s death and resurrection, have overwhelmed doctrinal thinking regarding the Life and the message of Jesus 2000 years ago. Within the scope of the doctrinal ideas there ARE several different views of Jesus atoning quality which range from what IS called the ‘moral influence theory’, which could be considered as close to our own view albeit without the doctrinal bent, to the ideas of ‘penal substitution’ as a part of the overall ideas that Christ is the substitute for mankind in appeasing God’s demand for justice resulting in the forgiveness of sins. There ARE several other theories but it IS the ideas found in the various ‘substitution theories’ which today have hold on much Christian thinking. While ALL of the prevailing theories of the atoning quality of the Master’s death cite specific parts of scripture to defend their ideas and their position, most ALL of this scripture IS taken out of the context in which it IS offered as we discussed in some detail in the last post.
In our view of the Life of the Master we DO NOT see the doctrinal atoning quality of Jesus’ death in any way save to say that it IS in the reality of keeping His word that ALL things spiritual ARE accomplished and this has been our clear point throughout our writing. It IS in this light that we discussed the reality of what we see as the True Easter message which IS one of reconciliation and an injunction from the Master and His apostles that men strive toward the goals that ARE set out in Jesus words; goals which ALL begin and end in the Truth of Love which IS the epitome if you will of keeping His words. It IS in the greater idea of reconciliation that we will find the Truth of at-one-ment which IS the meaning that should be taken from this word atonement; even in the Old Testament teachings of the rites and the rituals designed to ‘cover’ one’s sins, the desired result IS this sense of at-one-ment or man’s Union through reconciliation with God. It is in this way also that we should see the New Testament ideas that ARE presented in the Greek word hilasterion, which is rendered as propitiation and as mercyseat, and the kindred words hilasmos which IS used by the Apostle John and rendered as propitiation, and hilaskomai which IS rendered as “make reconciliation” by the writer of Hebrews and as “be merciful” in Luke’s Gospel.
It IS in the English ideas which ARE rendered from these Greek words that we find both the confusion and the reality of the ideas which ARE presented by the apostles; the confusion IS in the way that the English words that ARE used are defined according to doctrine and the reality IS found in the alternate words along with the fuller context of the apostles’ sayings. In the fullness of the ideas that ARE presented in the rendering of these words above, we should be able to see the relationship between these ideas of reconciliation, propitiation and mercy; ideas which ARE found when the fullness of the context IS taken into account. While much of this IS covered in the last post, we should try to understand the most basic ideas of the apostles ARE the same as the teaching of the Master and ARE directed at showing men how that righteousness comes to men through the Master’s teachings….through following those teachings, and through Love as the Master teaches us in the Great Commandments and the Golden Rule. When the apostle’s ideas ARE viewed in their context the reality of atonement becomes clearly at-one-ment and while it IS easier for men to believe that they ARE saved by simple believing and by the atoning quality of the death of the Master, the greater reality IS found in Jesus most simple words, in His rhetorical question which asks: “why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46).
When we can see the idea of reconciliation over the idea of atonement, we can then more clearly see the reality presented in the word at-one-ment as this IS the result of men’s efforts to live according to the precepts of the Master. We should understand here that this idea of at-one-ment IS what the Master promises in His sayings from John’s Gospel, His sayings on how to attain the Presence of God in one’s Life. we read Jesus words again saying:
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 should remember here that this IS Jesus speaking to His Eleven, to men who have been with Him through most ALL of the time of His ministry, and that these words follow upon the ideas which open the fourteenth chapter of John’s Gospel. There Jesus IS telling the Eleven again that He IS leaving and, in some of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted ideas from the entire New Testament, He tells them how that they can abide in the Kingdom of God; how that although they may not yet realize the Truth, that they DO KNOW what IS happening and how that they should KNOW the inner mysteries of the Oneness of the Father and the Son….of God and Christ. These ARE the opening messages from the fourteenth chapter but these ideas ARE NOT seen as we see them, they ARE seen as individual sayings rather than ideas which build upon each other and they ARE interpreted according to the preconceived doctrinal ideas of the translators and the expositors of scripture. When we can understand that the word rendered as mansions in His saying that “In my Father’s house are many mansions” (John 14:2) IS the same word that IS rendered as abode in our sayings above, we can then understand the Master’s intent which shows that they DO have a place in the Kingdom of God as Jesus goes on to show them how that this Kingdom becomes the realization of the man who will keep His words.
It IS when we can look past the doctrinal assertions and see the deeper meanings that the Master IS conveying that we can understand the nature of the Presence of God which He presents as His manifestation to them, and as the Father and the Son making their abode with them, in exchange for their Love, which IS that they will keep His words. It IS in understanding the fuller import that Jesus places upon His words that we can understand that to follow Him IS to keep His words and to believe on Him IS to keep His words; it IS when we can grasp these ideas that we can then see the deeper reality of His accompanying words on the Holy Spirit, as He IS the very same Presence of God. And it IS in our understanding of these most basic ideas of Life that we can see through the doctrinal assertions that ARE made regarding His words saying “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).
In the Master’s words on the Presence of God we find the Truth of at-one-ment, as that it IS a man’s realization, as a man in the world, of His Presence. It IS the Presence of God that he will express as his own divine nature which which then becomes the fruit by which He will be KNOWN. We should remember here that while the Master’s words to His Eleven seem to be absolute, that they seem to assume the fullness of keeping His words which results in the fullness of His Presence, that there IS the reality of degrees. In this we should see that it IS by the measure of one’s own focus upon the Truth and upon the things of God that one will have a proportionate measure of realization of the Presence of God. When we can see that this measure of realization IS one’s measure of grace, that this IS one’s measure of the Presence of God in his Life, then one can better understand the Master’s parabolic words on giving and receiving by measure as well as His words on the growth of the Kingdom of God of which He tells us that “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21).
Listed among the scriptures that ARE considered as evidence of atonement we find this from the Apostle Paul: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him“. Here again we have a single out of context verse which, when viewed in the context in which it IS offered, reveals the apostle’s intent. But there IS more here that we must come to understand which IS missed, or rather diluted and changed, by the various doctrines and this IS the reality of sin. As we have discussed, the doctrinal view of sin IS that this IS the grossest of offenses that men can DO in this world; the reality of sin however IS much deeper. In this regard the Apostle James tells us that “whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” and we should see this in the context in which it IS given to us….the context of Love. Here we read that “if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors” and, when we relate this to his words saying “If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well“, we can then understand how that in the simplicity of holding one man above another there IS sin. We can then see the relative depth of this Greek word harmartia which IS rendered as sin. If we can see then that sin IS ALL things that ARE contrary to the Master’s words, against the word of God, then we can also see that sin IS ALL things, ALL thoughts, attitudes and actions, that ARE of the world. It IS in this view that we should read the fuller context of Paul’s words:
“For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:14-21).
Remembering that the apostle IS writing to the aspirants and disciples at Corinth, to men who he sees as striving toward the Truth and who ARE somewhat focused upon the things of God, should give us the understanding that His words ARE meant for such a person. It IS the person who IS focused upon the things of God who will be able to judge as the apostle says; judge that if the Master “died for all“, that such men should live “unto him which died for them“. While it IS easy for us to read into this idea the doctrinal view of atonement, as that He bare their sins in such a way as they need NOT DO anything, that approach takes away what should be the doctrinal force, that men should live “unto him which died for them“. It IS in this sense of living “unto him” that Paul shows us the idea of keeping His words as the rather normal reaction of the man who realizes Jesus divinity and sacrifice. In this we should see that regardless of one’s view of the meaning of the idea that Jesus “died for all“, there IS yet the reality that men should keep His words and, as we see in Jesus own words, this IS the way to the Presence of God in one’s Life. The apostle shows us this in his saying “if any man be in Christ” which IS the companion idea to His Presence in man. Jesus shows us this several times and, in relation to His Presence, we have His words saying “At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you” (John 14:20) which immediately precede His words on that Presence which we have above.
Understanding the reality of sin and the apostle’s approach to the Presence of God and keeping His words should give us a clearer view of the final statement from Paul above as this follows in an ordered way the point that Paul IS making. But we should note here as well that Paul’s ending words above ARE to be seen through the preceding thoughts which focus us on the reality that God had reconciled the world to Himself by Christ. We can perhaps see this more clearly as that the Godhead, through the Life and teachings of the Master and through the example offered in His death and resurrection, has given to men the wherewithal for reconciliation and for that at-one-ment that IS found therein. In the end, this sense of at-one-ment, this reconciliation, come as one’s realization of the Presence of God according to Jesus’ words above. And so Paul tells the disciples at Corinth that they who ARE such men who follow Christ and keep His words, that they have the “word of reconciliation” which IS Jesus’ own teachings as “ambassadors for Christ“.
It IS in this sense that we should understand the idea that God’s view of the world IS NOT “imputing their trespasses unto them” but IS reconciling them through Christ and as “ambassadors for Christ” that the disciple should DO the same. And this idea of “not imputing their trespasses unto them” IS the same tone that we see in Jesus own words as He tells those that He heals to “go , and sin no more” (John 8:11) which IS the greater reality of Repentance. And so we then have the last saying from our selection above. It IS in this saying that men find much fuel for their doctrine of atonement but what does this really say? Simply that by the Plan of God the Christ IS born into this world of sin, this world of corruption from the spiritual perspective, and that while He knew NO sin He was, as ARE ALL men, made subject to it. And the purpose? Simply that through His Life and His teachings, through the example of His death and His resurrection, that we might become (the more accurate rendering of the Greek word ginomai) “the righteousness of God” through Him. This IS NOT unlike the ideas that Paul conveys to us in that other saying “the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in expectation hope, that Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:20-21).
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.
Live in joy, in love, even among those who hate.
Live in joy, in health, even among the afflicted.
Live in joy, in peace, even among the troubled.
Live in joy, without possessions.
Like the shining ones.
The winner sows hatred because the loser suffers.
Let go of winning and losing and find joy.
There is no fire like passion, no crime like hatred,
No sorrow like separation, no sickness like hunger,
And no joy like the joy of freedom.
Today’s Quote of the Day is from the Dhammapada (on JOY)5; a collection of the sayings of the Buddha. These words and ideas ARE much the same as those we discuss in our In the Words of Jesus essays. And what is this freedom but the release of our hearts and minds from loving this life in this world and attaining the Presence of God. This word Joy has many meanings as DOES the idea of Love, but in the context that it IS used here we should see the idea that Joy IS Love, Joy IS health, Joy IS peace and that Joy IS without the burdens placed on a man by the illusion and the glamour of the ways of the world. We should try to see that it IS the antithesis of these ideas in hate, in affliction and in troubles that ARE among the possessions of the carnal man, that ARE among the “evil treasure of his heart” (Luke 6:45) according to the Master.
And it IS in the second stanza above that we see the basic psychic ideas that can eliminate the harm caused by such “evil treasure” as a man looks past himself and at the welfare of others which IS the greater reality of Love as the Master teaches us. It IS in losing such possessions, losing such carnal thoughts and attitudes, that one can truly find the “joy of freedom“….this IS the Truth of deliverance.
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts
- 5 The Dhammapada Translated by Thomas Byrom
