IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 1476

ON LOVE; PART MCXV

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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 essay we continued our discussion of the Greek words that the Apostle Paul uses to show us the Way of the aspirant and the disciple; to show us how that one should first NOT “think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith” and then how that everyman should conduct himself “according to the proportion of faith” that he may have. This faith IS again the strength of KNOWING those things that ARE “that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” that comes to men in the process of Transformation and the apostle’s admonition here IS that one should ONLY prophecy, serve, teach and exhort according to what Truth, what measure of that Truth, he Truly has.

While it IS True that this IS still a very nebulous area, it IS within the purview of everyman to KNOW that he IS or IS NOT thinking “of himself more highly than he ought to think” and to KNOW that what IS the content of his prophecy, his service, his teaching and his exhortations IS based in the Truth of the Master’s words or in the dictates of his doctrinal approach to God. The former IS the easier to discern while the latter is tangled in that morass of illusion and glamour that give such strength to one’s doctrinal views, and this largely to the exclusion of Jesus’ own words which ARE the foundation of the True gospel that Paul IS offering. And ALL the while, as these doctrines rely upon the out of context and misapplied words of Paul and the other apostles, they ignore the more poignant points of their writings as well.

Paul tells us in our selection, he exhorts us, to “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” but this idea IS partitioned into doctrinal terms and NOT with the intent of the apostle. We should note here that the Greek word paristemi that IS rendered as present IS also rendered in this same Epistle to the Romans as yield and perhaps in this we can see the deeper idea. Paul tells us, using this same word, that “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey” (Romans 6:16) and here we should see the reality of presenting “your bodies a living sacrifice” as “your reasonable service“.

Paul tells us as well, again using this same word paristemi, “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God” (Romans 6:13) and here should be clarification enough of his point and how that to be “alive from the dead” IS the result of being “transformed by the renewing of your mind“. We should see here that ALL of the apostle’s words DO work together and his intent IS ever more than one’s refraining from the gross carnal behaviors which afflict some; his intent IS to make of men “instruments of righteousness unto God“. Repeating again our selection from Romans:

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith” (Romans 12:1-3).

“For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:4-21).

This idea of sacrifice, of yielding oneself to God, IS the central point of most ALL scripture and it IS this very idea that most ALL doctrines seem to miss as they rely upon the out of context and misapplied words of Paul and the other apostles; and it IS in this that they create their own ‘sound’ reasoning for their own salvation. This IS the ways of men in this world, men who ARE “made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same” (Romans 8:20) and while this vanity IS attributed by most to the ‘fall of man’, it IS still Jesus’ words and the amplifying and clarifying words of His apostles that ARE given us to correct this. By one’s own Repentance, his own change of focus, everyman can begin to see some measure of Truth in the process of being “transformed by the renewing of your mind“.

In this Truth however there must come a reckoning by every individual who has been heretofore aligned with the illusion and the glamour in which he lives; there must come a point where the real Truth reigns and where a man Truly sees his own shortsightedness in spiritual terms. Most will NOT however take this step “into the glorious liberty of the children of God” as they prefer the deception of their human comfort which IS the “bondage of corruption” (Romans 8:21) in which most ALL men live. Perhaps the reckoning ONLY comes when a man can accept the reality of Jesus’ words according to his own interpretation rather than the presentations of “another gospel” which ARE the doctrines of men. Repeating Jesus’ words that ARE our trifecta of spiritual reality, we read again:

• “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).

Seeing the point of Paul’s words here as yielding the body, which IS sum total of the physical form with the mind and the emotions, we should be able to see and understand his other admonitions which ALL carry the same force and weight. Paul’s words, which we discussed in relation to “the works of the flesh” and “the fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:19, 22), have the same meaning except the one IS an exhortation and the other IS a statement of the result; we read “they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (Galatians 5:24). We should see there that to “present your bodies a living sacrifice” IS the same idea as to have “crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” and we should ever remember that these ARE so much more that the gross sins of men….these “affections and lusts” ARE every carnal desire, every thought and every attitude.

And here we should try to see a view of the power of doctrines that let men ‘off the hook’ so to speak in regard to keeping the Master’s words, doctrines that DO NOT teach the necessity to DO so as the Way to His Presence, His Kingdom and the Truth. Doctrines that fail to teach the depth of His words saying that “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6); words which ARE spoken in the tone of the anointing but hijacked by the doctrines of men in opposition to Paul’s words that we ARE studying now. The doctrinal teaching IS NOT Truth but doctrine masquerading as Truth through which men prophecy, minister, teach and exhort far beyond their True “proportion of faith“….their True measure of KNOWING according to our trifecta.

Paul’s words on yielding and on crucifying DO NOT stand alone; the same intent IS found in his admonition to “put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Romans 13:14). And the same IS also found in his words to the Ephesians saying “That ye 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).

Doctrines however distort these ideas by minimizing the reality of “righteousness and true holiness” as well as the idea of being the disciple and the saint as they paint themselves as such without ever DOING as IS required. While the many different doctrines and sects see these ideas from rather different perspectives, their common denominator IS the idea of salvation, the idea that men ARE saved, that they will ‘go to heaven’ based in the atonement offered by the death of the Christ. Some tie this idea of salvation to their own ceremonial view of religion while others make claim that it IS in the affirmations and confessions prescribed by their doctrines enables the saving grace of the Lord.

None accept the responsibility for their own salvation; none understand the role of everyman to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” as Paul tells the Philippians. Here the apostle also shows us the deeper reality of being “transformed by the renewing of your mind” as he tells us to “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5, 12). Can we see how that ALL of the apostle’s words lead to the same ideas and that it IS in the summation of them that the greater Truths ARE found. There IS a reality here in Paul’s words regarding salvation and that IS that one must “work out your own” which IS the same exhortation that we should see in ALL of his instructions and his lists.

It IS in one’s willingness to have “”crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts“, it IS in yielding “your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God” that one can “”put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ” and in this one IS surely “delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). And, again, this word eleutheroo which IS rendered as delivered IS the same word that Jesus uses to tell us the result of KNOWING the Truth….that “the truth shall make you free“. But much of  doctrine denies these ideas of DOING as well as the idea that men should “work out your own salvation” and while they may believe that they base their understanding in scripture, the reality IS that these ideas ARE based in “another gospel“.

John Gill, in his Exposition of the Bible, tells us that Paul’s idea of work here IS: to be understood not in such a sense as though men could obtain and procure for themselves spiritual and eternal salvation by their own works and doings; for such a sense is contrary to the Scriptures, which deny any part of salvation, as election, justification, and calling, and the whole of it to be of works, but ascribe it to the free grace of God; and is also repugnant to the perfections of God, as his wisdom, grace, and righteousness; for where are the wisdom and love of God, in forming a scheme of salvation, and sending his Son to effect it, and after all it is left to men to work it out for themselves? and where is the justice of God in admitting of an imperfect righteousness in the room of a perfect one, which must be the case, if salvation is obtained by men’s works? ⁸.

Some doctrines however take a more realistic perspective based in some combination of the Truth of the Master’s words and the idea of the atoning quality of His death; Vincent tells us this of this work: Carry out “to the goal” (Bengel). Complete. See on Romans 7:8. Your own salvation. There is a saving work which God only can do for you; but there is also a work which you must do for yourselves. The work of your salvation is not completed in God’s work in you. God’s work must be carried out by yourselves. “Whatever rest is provided by Christianity for the children of God, it is certainly never contemplated that it should supersede personal effort. And any rest which ministers to indifference is immoral and unreal – it makes parasites and not men. Just because God worketh in him, as the evidence and triumph of it, the true child of God works out his own salvation – works it out having really received it – not as a light thing, a superfluous labor, but with fear and trembling as a reasonable and indispensable service” (Drummond, “Natural Law in the Spiritual World,” p. 335). Human agency is included in God’s completed work. In the saving work of grace God imparts a new moral power to work ⁴.

While we see neither of these as the greater Truth of Jesus’ words and the amplifying and clarifying words of His apostles, we DO see a better grasp of the reality of scripture in Vincent’s commentary. Mr. Gills IS coldly wrong and his words on this go on past what we have here. And so here again our point that it IS that the words of the New Testament, the Greek words, ARE rendered and interpreted according to the doctrinal leanings of the translators and the interpreters and it IS this way of reading the words of the Master and His apostles that has created the multiplicity of doctrines that exist today. And ALL of these ARE but “another gospel“.

Vincent also gives us some insight into the ideas of “fear and trembling” as he tells us: Not slavish terror, but wholesome, serious caution. “This fear is self-distrust; it is tenderness of conscience; it is vigilance against temptation; it is the fear which inspiration opposes to high-mindedness in the admonition ‘be not highminded but fear.’ It is taking heed lest we fall; it is a constant apprehension of the deceitfulness of the heart, and of the insidiousness and power of inward corruption. It is the caution and circumspection which timidly shrinks from whatever would offend and dishonor God and the Savior. And these the child of God will feel and exercise the more he rises above the enfeebling, disheartening, distressing influence of the fear which hath torment. Well might Solomon say of such fear, ‘happy is the man that feareth alway’” (Wardlaw “On Proverbs,” xxviii., 14)⁴.

We should understand here that it IS NOT the heart that deceives but the mind that must be renewed and the caution of Paul to the Philippians IS that it IS ONLY with such “fear and trembling” that a man can Truly keep His words according to the Truth of Love and the Great Commandments; and NOT the feeble doctrines of men….NOT “another gospel“. In ALL of this we ARE outliers who ARE severed from the mainstream of Christianity’s many versions of “another gospel” and it IS from this perspective that we DO prophecy, serve, teach and exhort our brothers to try to glimpse the Truth by looking past their nurturing and their indoctrination….by peering into the window that we open….a window that IS founded in His words and NOT the doctrines of men.

Paul’s caution to prophecy, serve, teach and exhort ONLY “according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith” should be seen in terms of Truth. The apostle’s point IS to show us that when a man goes beyond what he KNOWS according to Jesus’ words it IS but doctrine and that this serves neither the giver nor the receiver. And so with the more mundane ideas rendered as giving and as ruling; here we should see that to impart spiritual Truths that ARE NOT such and to lead others according to the “commandments of men” instead of His words also serves neither party. This IS the way of “another gospel” and NOT the Way of the Lord whose words ARE exceptionally clear.

The same ideas can be see in one’s expression of mercy as compassion which sees NO dividing schemes among men. Repeating our closing from the last essay, we should see that Mercy that penetrates the Life of the recipient IS good but it says little of the one who has such mercy. To dispense it with readiness of mind, to turn one’s measured ability to Love outwardly in compassion, however DOES. And when this IS applied to ALL one can clearly see Jesus’ words on Love, on agape at work. There ARE many words left in this list that Paul gives us and we will cover a few more over the next several essays.

We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.

Aspect of  God	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