ON LOVE; PART MXXIV
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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 began the last essay with some thoughts on awakening, on the awakening of a man to the glimmer of Truth that comes in the prompting of his own Soul. It IS this man that IS awakening who comes to see the Truth of Jesus’ words that ask everyman why his focus IS upon the things of the world, words that show us the duality and the dichotomy between the carnal and the spiritual, between “God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). Much like His question that asks “why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46), this question IS also rhetorical and has an answer that can be most clearly seen by the man who strives; Jesus asks: “what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?“.
It IS this same duality that comes through in the Master’s preceding words on Life, His words on the Life of the man in the world verses the Life of the True self which must overcome the inherent carnal sense of men. In Jesus’ complete idea which we read as “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26), we should see the choice between “God and mammon“. For a man to save his carnal Life IS to lose his spiritual Life. Conversely, for a man to forsake his carnal Life, to “deny himself, and take up his cross” IS to find the Presence of God in his Life and as his expression to the world which IS his expression of “the fruit of the Spirit“.
If we can see the charge to the man who seeks God, that he should “deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” then we can also see the resultant effect on both the Life of the man and, as we ended the last essay, on his death. The result IS of course the Presence of God, the realization of His Kingdom and that KNOWING that IS the Truth that frees a man “from the bondage of corruption” (Romans 8:21) which IS his carnal view of Life in this world. And these ARE the result of the trifecta as well; here we should see how that Jesus’ charge above IS the same as keeping His words and if we can see past doctrines that teach otherwise we can see the quid pro quo that makes these things our reward and our grace. We read our trifecta again saying:
- “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).
In the doctrinal approach to God, to Life and death, to heaven and hell, to the resurrection of the dead and to the eschatological view of the Master’s return, there IS naught for a man but some hope that his particular version of doctrine IS True. In the reality of the Master’s words however there IS much more than hope and here we refer to hope as such wishful thinking and NOT as that sense of expectation which IS the intent of its use in the New Testament. In the reality of the Master’s words there IS the realization of Truth for the man who will strive to keep His words which IS the man who will strive toward His charge to follow Him. Here we should see how that it IS this realization that IS one’s measure of the Truth and that in this there IS NOT only expectation based upon it, but that it IS this realization of His Presence that overcomes the carnal instincts in the awakened consciousness of the man; it IS this Presence that feeds his renewed mind and emotional responses.
It IS this awakened man that becomes the expression of the Good, the Beautiful and the True, the things of God, to the world of men; it IS this awakened man who IS seen then apart from his old self and in this IS the deeper reason for Jesus’ words which tell us clearly that “A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house” (Mark 6:4). These words ARE True on many levels of living but NONE more than the appearance of a True man of God before those who may have KNOWN him; this we see in the Gospel stories and this we can see in the story of the Apostle Paul. And it IS this change of being that Paul refers to when he admonishes us to “put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” and the KEY to this is found in the idea of the nature of the “new man“….that he lives in “righteousness and true holiness“.
This part IS missed by so many but in the full context of the apostle;s words IS the reality of the teachings of Jesus; we read Paul’s words as: “put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24). We should understand conversation here as one’s manner of Life or behavior as the lexicon tells us; this then IS the way that the “old man” conducted his Life. Here again we see the idea of corruption which IS the ways of the world and, in a broad sense, this IS the illusion which deceives; here Vincent shows us that “deceitful lusts” should be rendered as the lusts of deceit 4 as in the Revised Version and this we can better understand as those desires of men that flow from the illusion which IS Life in this world….carnal desires to be sure.
Our point here IS that this idea of the “new man” IS “put on” or placed over the old and while this may seem a cryptic idea, the reality IS founded in the way that the Soul, the True man, overcomes the carnal instincts and replaces them with the Truths that ARE revealed from the Godhead through that Soul. It IS this different man, this man who IS “renewed in the spirit of your mind” which IS to say the same thing: that the Spirit that IS the True man IS now the influence off of which the mind feeds. In this we should also see Paul’s other words saying “be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:3), and we should understand that this IS that Transformation which IS based in the Truth of Repentance….and we should understand that this IS one’s awakening.
Paul also speaks of the awakened man in saying that he has: “put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him“; here we should see yet another reference to the greater Truth of the trifecta as the apostle tells us that this “new man” KNOWS some measure of the Truth….the Truth which IS God. Again we should note the context of Paul’s words and see that he IS speaking to men who ARE “knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep” (Romans 13:11) and we can see this in what these Colossians have done. The apostle acknowledges that they have largely overcome “the works of the flesh” and then says to them of these things that “In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him” (Colossians 3:7-10).
While Paul acknowledges the Colossians former carnal ways, we should try to see that he IS saying that they ARE beyond them and if we look as the next verses in a positive tone, we can see that they have also “put off” an additional group of works rather than an admonition to DO so now. Here in these lists we should be able to find the same ideas that we presented in the apostle’s list from his Epistle to the Galatians and see how that these too ARE separated into ideas that ARE contrary to the first and then the second parts of the Great Commandments. We can look at ALL of these ideas as these ARE commonly understood but then the essence of the apostle’s message IS lost in the thinking that these men, as well as the Romans and the Galatians to whom he writes similar things, were ALL living in the grossness of sexual deviation and ill treatment of his neighbor before they heard the gospel. To be sure, there ARE likely some in this condition but the common understanding casts this pall over ALL.
The apostle uses these lists of ideas that ARE contrary to the things of God in several of his epistles but nowhere DO we see them with the same clarity that we have in his Epistle to the Galatians which has been our selection for some time now and which we repeat again:
“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).
Out point here IS to emphasize the idea that these words which the apostle uses, words that ARE rendered and interpreted into gross carnal offenses, ARE to be seen in the context of the man who Truly seeks the Lord. This man IS relatively free from the common ideas of gross carnal actions and must be made free from more spiritual ideas that ARE also incorporated into the Greek ideas. This man who Truly seeks the Lord IS focused upon him and upon His words and the apostle here IS reminding some and telling others that they must have that single eye and be able to see past ALL carnal thoughts and attitudes including those that may be difficult to see as wrong….difficult to see as being against the Spirit of the Great Commandments which we have again at the top of our essay.
It IS the doctrinal view that has hijacked the Truth; not only in their interpretation of spiritual things into carnal terms but also in the conveyed perception that those things that Jesus teaches us ARE secondary to their established doctrines. While Jesus tells us “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23), millions believe, based in their doctrinal view, that they ARE followers simply by believing as their doctrines say. It IS the perceived difficulty of Truly following the Lord and the doctrinal teaching on the impossibility of keeping His words that keep men from Truly striving toward the Kingdom of God. It IS in the doctrinal view of salvation as the reward of the believer that has obliterated the deeper ideas of pistis and pisteuo and which has held back generations of men who rely upon the authority which mankind has given to its religious leaders. This IS the peril of doctrines which conceal the greater Truth that we should try to see in Jesus’ words that tell us of His Kingdom: that “few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:14).
It IS a doctrinal idea that appears to be unstated but which at the same time governs the teachings of most ALL Christian denominations and sects that IS become a great hindrance to the Truth, and it IS men’s own indoctrination into these ideas that have perpetuated them from the beginnings of the church. This IS simply that Jesus’ teachings were to the Jews, based in the law while Paul’s message IS seen to be based in grace which doctrines assert to be the path that must be followed. Few see the words of the Apostle Paul, and the rest of the apostles, to be clarifying and amplifying ideas which ARE intended to be attached to Jesus’ own words; and most have founded their whole sense of doctrine in the apostles’ words rather that the Master’s Truths which they ARE amplifying and clarifying.
And few realize that this IS in direct contradiction to the apostle’s own admonitions as he speaks about to whom one’s ‘spiritual’ allegiance IS given. Paul speaks in his own time of those who see their teachers as more; we read “Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I* am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:12-13). His point here IS clearly that ALL ARE of Christ as it IS His teaching that permeates the words of the others and clarifies and amplifies them.
And so it should be today; the teacher should be reflecting upon the words of the Master regardless of what he may be teaching on or from. ALL teachings from the epistles should be seen as amplifying and clarifying Jesus’ words and instead of putting effort into dividing Christ, effort should be made to reconcile the apostles’ words to the Master’s; and this IS NOT a difficult task. It is in the minds of men that the divisions occur and it Is in the minds of men that they ARE perpetuated. We close today with this quote from Mark Twain; while he may NOT be KNOWN as a religious scholar, his words DO ring very True for most ALL men. He says: In religion and politics people’s beliefs and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second-hand, and without examination, from authorities who have not themselves examined the questions at issue but have taken them at second-hand from other non-examiners, whose opinions about them were not worth a brass farthing. Published in Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 3 (University of California Press, 2015).
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
