ON LOVE; PART MX
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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. While this IS from an older definition of Charity, which IS rendered in the King James Bible from the same Greek word agape which IS generally rendered as Love, we should amend our own definition here to include the idea that in the reality of Love a man will accord to ALL men ALL things that he would accord to himself and to say that Love IS our thoughts and attitude of the equality of ALL men regardless of their outward nature or appearance…that ALL ARE equally children of Our One God
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PLUS THE EVER IMPORTANT AND HIGH IDEAL TAUGHT TO US BY THE CHRIST: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12).
We ended the last essay as we began it, with some ideas and the Master’s words on the growth of the Kingdom of God in the Life of a man. While these ideas ARE NOT seen by most doctrinal approaches, the reality IS there for ALL to see. When we can see how that this idea of the growth of the Kingdom goes hand in hand with Jesus words on the measure by which men can achieve and expresses fruit, we can then see also how that these ideas ARE essentially the same. Three ideas ARE here for our discernment. First is the measure by which one strives; here, if we can see how that the very idea of striving includes the idea of progressive accomplishment, we can then see how that the ultimate goal can be eventually reached. Jesus tells 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) and in this Greek word agōnizomai which IS rendered as strive we should see the sense of competing but we should see this in the idea of the Soul competing with the carnal nature from the perspective that we: endeavor with strenuous zeal, strive: to obtain something 2 as the lexicon shows us. In this the idea of measure IS inherent and when we look at this in combination with the ideas put forth in the Apostle Matthew’s Gospel we can more clearly see the Kingdom of God.
Matthew frames this idea as that we should “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). While doctrines may NOT see these ideas in relation to the Kingdom of God, we should try to see that in the very nature of the Kingdom, the Kingdom which IS within as the Master tells us, there IS a sense of entry which we find stated by Jesus a few verses farther on in His Sermon which IS the second part of our trifecta below. Our point here IS simply that it IS in striving toward this goal of the Kingdom of God, of entry into it, we should see the idea of measure, of coming closer to being able to shed ALL encumbrance and to “enter in at the strait gate“.
In proportion to one’s measure of striving IS one’s measure of success and this idea IS given to us most clearly in the Parable of the Sower as this IS told by the gospel writers. Here Jesus shows us the idea of measure in relation to one’s expression of fruit and here we must see how that the reality of this idea of measure IS found ONLY in the Life of the man that IS the “good ground“. And what IS this man? This man IS, as Vincent points out, seen differently in the gospels; in Matthew, he understandeth the word; in Mark, he receiveth it and in Luke, he keepeth it 4. It IS in the combination of these ideas that we should see the idea of striving and in ALL of these we should try to see the idea also of KNOWING which IS the faith of the man who IS the “good ground“.
It IS easy to see KNOWING or faith in Matthew’s understanding as well as a sense of pursuing a greater measure of that which IS understood and this from His words showing the way that fruit IS the result. And it IS easy to see KNOWING in the Life of the man who keeps His words where there IS the presumption of fullness. In the idea of receiving the word however we need to get past the common understanding and try to see how that one receives, how that one accepts, Truth. In Mark’s report of the Master’s words we should see that there IS action, the bringing forth of fruit, attributed to receiving and here again we should be able to see the idea of measure. And we ARE NOT left to wonder about this measure at all at Jesus tells us in rather specific terms that the “good ground” DOES “beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty” (Matthew 13:23).
Finally we should see the idea of measure clearly depicted for us in the Master’s words on the growth of the Kingdom Within. In the parable that teaches the growth of the Kingdom from the seed, from the word of God if you will, there IS Jesus’ firm indication of growth….the word grows from its state as a seed to the fullness of a tree. Jesus’ other example of the growth of the Kingdom IS quite different yet, at the same time, we can see the idea of growth in the very action of the leaven. When we look at the Kingdom of God as the actual leavening agent and see it placed into the Life of a man, we should be able to envision how that the very effect of leaven IS the growth of the Kingdom and see that at every stage of leavening there IS a greater measure of that effect until “the whole was leavened“. In Jesus parable that says “The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened” (Matthew 13:33), we should be able to see a measure of leavening in the idea of until.
As we said in the last essay, much of doctrine DOES NOT see these ideas of the growth of the Kingdom as we DO but if we look closely at His words we can most easily see the idea of measure which IS NOT unlike Jesus’ sayings that specifically use this term. While Jesus words on measure for measure ARE seen according to doctrine, there IS more to His words that IS missed. As He tells us “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again” (Matthew 7:1-2) there IS the inclination to see that such judging IS toward another person. If we remove this restriction however and see this idea as the Apostle John shows us the Master’s words saying “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment“(John 7:24), we can see the greater depth.
If we can understand this idea of krino which IS rendered as judge as that this IS one’s thoughts about most anything and most any subject, we can find the clearer picture than the kind of idea that we read in doctrines. By example we read this from John Gill: This is not to be understood of any sort of judgment; not of judgment in the civil courts of judicature, by proper magistrates, which ought to be made and pass, according to the nature of the case; nor of judgment in the churches of Christ, where offenders are to be called to an account, examined, tried, and dealt with according to the rules of the Gospel; nor of every private judgment, which one man may make upon another, without any detriment to him; but of rash judgment, interpreting men’s words and deeds to the worst sense, and censuring them in a very severe manner; even passing sentence on them, with respect to their eternal state and condition 8.
Our point here IS NOT judgment however but the idea of measure and in these words from Jesus we have the reality that whatsoever IS the thoughts of a man, be they spiritual or be they carnal, it IS the same that will be repeated over again in his Life. In this we should see that a man whose thoughts ARE upon material gain will have that as his Life’s expression and it IS in this light that he will be seen; moreover, we should see that this train of thought will be self-propagating in his Life, growing upon itself. It IS in this regard that we should see Paul’s words saying “be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2) with the understanding that such renewing comes in the revelations and the realizations of Truth and the Presence of God as we read again in our trifecta:
- “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).
While the Master DOES NOT speak about the converse to this idea of “Judge not, that ye be not judged“, it should be assumed in the very nature of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus reveals what should NOT be the way of the man who seeks God along with the spiritual Way or the consequences of one’s action. And the converse here should be clear; when a man’s thoughts ARE of the Truth and the things of God, when this IS his expression of Life, then it IS in this light that he will be seen; moreover, this spiritual way of thought and Life will be self-propagating as well and will grow in a measure that IS proportionate to that man’s expression of that Truth which comes in keeping His words. This IS the greater reality of the Master’s several sayings regarding what one may have spiritually as we should read in His words saying “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).
If we can see the idea of hearing here as we have been discussing, that the ear IS NOT required and that this hearing IS akin to understanding and comprehending according to the lexicon, we can better understand the very intent of scripture. If a man can hear his own inner voice, the prompting of his own Soul, and recognize it as such and distinguish it from the emotional and mental promptings that ARE also heard, then to this man “shall more be given“. What enters the ear IS much like what Jesus says about what enters the mouth….it has NO meaning save that which IS given to it by the mind and the emotions or by the inner voice; it IS in the mulling over of what IS said in one’s consciousness that Truth or error IS found. It IS the man who can discern this difference, the man who can KNOW the source of his own thoughts and attitudes, his own motivations, that John IS speaking of in his saying that: “We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error” (1 John 4:6). If we can relate this idea to both the trifecta and to our ideas on judging above, we can more clearly see the Truth.
It IS in the Truth and the reality of faith, of believing and of KNOWING that what IS heard from any source becomes yet a greater measure of such faith, believing and KNOWING. Here IS the reality:
- “Take heed what ye hear” IS to discern and in the long list of meanings given the Greek word blepo in the lexicon 2 we find to see and to discern, to perceive, to discover and to KNOW.
- “with what measure ye mete” IS to measure your own measure as both measure and mete ARE from the same Greek word idea. Metron IS rendered as measure and metreo IS a derivative of that root word which IS rendered as mete. If we can see this idea spiritually, we can see how that in discerning Truth from error, it IS the measure by which one can discern, perhaps the effort put into such discernment, that will result in like measure as….
- “it shall be measured to you“. Can we see the point here? While it seems vague and difficult to discern, the reality IS that these words ARE speaking about the whole phenomenon of discernment and the measure of what one will discern, perceive, discover and KNOW and in these ideas we should try to see that revelation and realization of the Truth that comes from one’s own Soul.
- “unto you that hear shall more be given” IS Jesus’ final words here and in these we should see the explanation of the foregoing; the explanation of what IS heard AND discerned: it IS in one’s realization of the Truth that IS revealed that ever more IS given. This IS the natural way of one’s spiritual growth and the natural way of the growth of the Kingdom Within.
And this IS faith, this IS believing and this IS KNOWING from a spiritual perspective and it IS these ideas that ARE inherent in the apostle’s use of the idea of pistis as a “fruit of the spirit” in his words which we repeat again. And it IS as a fruit that we should look at the entire process of growth and of measure as at ever step in the long journey from carnal thought to the renewed thoughts of the spiritually focused man, there IS greater expression to the world of just what one has come to KNOW. We read Paul’s words again saying:
“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (Galatians 5:17-24).
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 |
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.
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 a Quote of the Day that we spent much time with over the course of our essays. In this affirmation we find the Truth of discipleship as we have been ever been expressing and here we can relate our themes of the last few days; “take no thought” for the things of the world and that we approach the Kingdom and discipleship in the nature of the little child, in humbleness, meekness, unashamed in any way and unassuming. The message that this imparts for us today IS that it IS the Soul that is at work in the world of men as it expresses to some degree the purpose, power and the will through Life in this world. These words are from a meditation offered to his students by our Tibetan brother and in which we find greater understanding of the message of the Master. This IS Truly the way of the disciple.
My Soul has purpose, power and will; these three are needed on the Way of Liberation.
My Soul must foster love among the sons of men; this is its major purpose.
I, therefore, will to love and tread the Way of Love. All that hinders and obstructs the showing of the Light must disappear before the purposes of the Soul.
My will is one with the great Will of God;. that Holy Will requires that all men serve. And unto the purposes of the Plan I lend my little will.
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts
- 2 New Testament Greek Lexicon on BibleStudyTools.com
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888
- 8 Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com
