ON LOVE; PART MXVI
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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).
In the last few posts we looked at the ideas of faith as this IS rendered from the Greek word pistis according to several different uses as we try to take the nebulous ideas of faith found in doctrines into a more substantial understanding. Our view IS and has always been that the intent behind pistis and piseuo IS that sense of KNOWING that comes to a man as the realizations of Truth and that it IS this reality that IS “the measure of faith” (Romans 12:3) which the Apostle Paul shows us comes from God. Jesus shows us that this faith IS KNOWING in His many words regarding the use of faith and He shows us how that this KNOWING, this “faith as a grain of mustard seed” can have the result where “nothing shall be impossible unto you” (Matthew 17:20). The Master goes on to explain this dynamic as He tells us that this KNOWING IS to “have faith, and doubt not” (Matthew 21:21).
We have then the idea of KNOWING and the idea of measure and both of these ARE important parts of understanding the concept of faith and believing as these words are used in the New Testament. We should see here also that Jesus teaches us of this concept of measure in regard to the fruit which a man will express as He tells us that the man who IS the “good ground“, those who “having heard the word, keep it” (Luke 8:15) ARE those that “beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty” (Matthew 13:8). And when we see that this fruit that IS borne by measure IS inclusive of faith according to Paul’s list of “the fruit of the Spirit“, we can then see the further relationship between these ideas and Jesus words from our trifecta which show us the very source of KNOWING; how that the man who will keep His words “shall know the truth“.
If we can take this idea of KNOWING and apply it to Paul’s words to the Romans that we have been using in our posts, we can then see through the doctrinal assertions and understand that his intent IS to show us that this faith, this “word of faith“, IS that same sense of KNOWING. It IS this sense of KNOWING that one professes in his words and actions and in his thoughts and attitudes of the reality of Christ; and it IS this KNOWING “in thine heart” that unveils the Truths that ARE hidden in the mysteries behind the Master’s resurrection, mysteries that reveal the Truth of how that a man IS saved. This Greek word sozo which IS rendered as saved IS yet another that has attained a rather nebulous meaning in doctrines and one that they have related to those other doctrinal ideas of heaven and hell. We can perhaps get a glimpse of the idea behind sozo in the words of the Jews who, watching His crucifixion, say of Jesus that “He saved others; himself he cannot save“; here there IS the picture of His healing and, in a deeper view, we can see this saving as the removal of the carnal burdens which men carry until they ARE “delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21).
It IS in the reality of KNOWING which comes in keeping His words that one DOES understand the Truth of His resurrection and with this the reality of Repentance, Transformation and Redemption as the Path to the Kingdom of God. In Repentance one changes the focus of his Life onto the things of God; in Transformation that focus, which progressively leads us to keep His words, becomes the new expression of the man in the world. It IS here that the Soul informs the consciousness and the mind rather than what had been informing the consciousness: the carnally focused mind and the emotions in accordance with one’s nurturing and experience. In this IS the greater Truth of “the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2).
Finnally there IS Redemption; here IS that Union with God, that singleness of purpose which flows from the Soul; it IS here that a man has the fullness of control over ALL things and can say with the Master that “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). This IS the reality of the apostle’s words that show us the Path to deliverance, the Path to freedom, as the result of “waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:23). We should remember here that this waiting IS NOT idle time but it IS a waiting according to that which we read in the words of the Apostle James who tells us of the husbandman, that he “waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth” (James 5:7). This CAN NOT be idle time but time actively spent caring for the plantings from the seed which IS His word.
ALL this then IS the greater reality of Paul’s words saying: “The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:8-10). Here we should see how that for a man to “believeth unto righteousness” IS to KNOW the Truth through which True righteousness IS the result. In the common understanding of believing and affirming according to doctrine, in the ‘alter call’ ceremony that so many denominations employ, the reality of this KNOWING as the Truth of faith and believing IS missed against the diluted ideas of being saved and of the common doctrinal understanding of righteousness. What IS more missed however IS the words of the Master that tell us the Way to the Kingdom, that tell us how that we can Truly be “born again” and have the Presence of God….the words that tell us how it IS that we can Truly come to KNOW some measure of the Truth. What IS missed IS Jesus words which we call 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).
Here in these words IS the reality of the teachings of the Master regarding one’s own spiritual progress in Life and while these words ARE exchanged by much of doctrine for the more convenient ideas that they interpret from the apostles, the Truth IS clear to any “Who hath ears to hear“. Much of doctrine sees words such as these Jesus’ saying “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 13:9) as that they ARE directed toward the Jews who DO NOT see the Truth in the Master’s works nor His words but, as we have said before, these words and ideas ARE an indictment of ALL generations that DO NOT see nor heed the clear Truths but rather seek out their own doctrines in their stead.
The Prophet Isaiah, the Master and the Apostle Paul ALL refer to the same ideas of men NOT hearing and NOT seeing the reality of the presented Truths and in their words IS the KEY to True salvation yet today. Each presents the reality that the doctrines of men have obnubilated the Truth and while many may believe that they ARE saved by their several doctrines, the greater reality IS in these words saying: “For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them” (Matthew 13:15, Acts 28:27).
The Apostle John gives us this same Truth from Jesus but from a different perspective; above the fault lies squarely with men while John’s version shows what may be perceived as that this deafness and blindness IS at the hand of God. We read the Master’s words here as “Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them” (John 12:39-40). When we can see how that the reality here IS found in the illusion and the glamour of Life in this world, that these ARE the cause of men’s carnal viewpoint, that these ARE the corruption, we can then understand the reality of this approach which shows God as the initiator.
What should be seen and understood here IS found in Paul’s words saying that “the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same” (Romans 8:20). In these words we should see the actions of men under the Plan of God; the actions of men who ARE lost in the illusion, lost in the vanity which Vincent shows us as that: the reference is to a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends 4. We should note two things here in these sayings from the various writers.
First we have the idea that the Lord will “heal them” while the Apostle Mark, using the same idea, has Jesus’ words as “and their sins should be forgiven them” (Mark 4:12). In this we should see how that these ideas ARE the same in this context. Further, we should see the relationship between this healing and the idea from Paul above on being saved; both of these come from different words that have the same basic meaning based in the way that these ARE rendered. Aside from the rendering of sozo as saved, this word IS also rendered as make whole and heal 2. These ARE the same ideas that ARE rendered from the Greek word used as heal in the sayings above….iaomai, which means to heal and make whole 2. We should try to see here again how that the concept of being saved IS a doctrinal one and how that this idea IS also a nebulous one as we discuss above. The greater reality IS found in the ideas of healing and making whole and in most ALL New Testament usages of both words these can be readily seen in spiritual terms as the healing effect in the lives of men of Repentance.
And this IS our second point: it IS the idea of Repentance that we should take from the word that IS rendered as converted. Here again we have two Greek words with the same sense of meaning; NOT based in the way that these ARE rendered however but based in the way that these ideas can be applied to the spiritual lives of men. The Greek word epistrepho which IS rendered as converted has the meaning of turning which Vincent shows us from the root word strepho saying that: The picture is that of turning round in a road and facing the other way 4. The context in Vincent’s commentary IS similar as Jesus tells us that “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:13). We should view these words along with His words from our trifecta and see the way that this idea and that of keeping His words work together. This IS NOT our point however; here the idea of converted as turning should bring to mind the True ideas of Repentance.
Repentance IS change, the change of focus from the things of the self to the things of God, which IS tantamount to that sense of turning one’s Life away from the things of the world and onto the things of God or one’s being converted as this idea IS used. This IS the message that should be taken from His words that men “should be converted, and I should heal them“; that they should turn away from the carnal….that they should Repent. While it may seem that we have gone away from our topic of faith, the reality IS that this Repentance, this conversion, which leads to healing and salvation, IS the product of that KNOWING which IS faith. It IS these ideas that doctrines DO NOT see nor hear as they lean toward their own understanding which Solomon frames for us in terms of faith saying: “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).
It IS in this sense of trust that we find the reality of KNOWING and if we can see how that this idea IS echoed by the Master’s words and those of His apostles regarding the things and the ways of the world, we can then see the deeper Truth that IS faith. We should also see here how that the first part of the Great Commandments IS the reality of this trust; that it IS in Loving “the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength” that one IS Truly using his faith, his KNOWING, of the realities of Life as these ARE revealed out of the mysteries. We close today with the ideas that we began discussing but DID NOT finish from the Book of Hebrews and our selection from Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians. From Hebrews “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1) we read; and from Paul:
“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
