IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 1478

ON LOVE; PART MCXVII

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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 with another comparison of ideas from the words of the Apostle Paul. There ARE many places in his epistles where he refers to the idea that men should “put on” some spiritual idea as a part of their progression into the fullness of the expression of the Christ Within. It IS this expression of the True Life of a man, the Life of the Soul which the Apostle John calls for us the unction and the anointing, that IS the goal of everyman. It IS this expression that IS the True deliverance, the Truth of being made free, “from the bondage of corruption” and it IS this expression that leads us “into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21).

Paul tells us to “put on” many things and in ALL of these we should see the same idea as we had recently discussed; the idea of being “clothed upon with our house which is from heaven“. We should understand here that these words ARE NOT literal ideas as there IS NO literal relationship between being clothed and “our house“; the relationship IS symbolically showing that it IS our heavenly self that must clothe our carnal self; and this “so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked” spiritually. It IS our spirituality that IS of concern here, our expression of Truth that comes with this house that clothes the carnal man and it IS in the idea that one “put on” this “house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Corinthians 5:2-3, 1) that IS the reality of what Paul shows us in our selection from Romans saying “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service“.

ALL of these ideas ARE the same and while much of doctrine sees the death of the body in the apostle’s words to the Corinthians, the ONLY reality IS found in our spiritual interpretation. Paul uses these ideas throughout his epistles and here we should look at some to see the overall relationship that these ideas ALL have as he implores us to “put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 13:14). This first idea IS perhaps the strongest of those that Paul shows us in terms of what we should “put on” and there IS another that IS similar saying “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27).

Unfortunately this latter idea IS one that feeds the doctrinal perception that to be a Christian by way of one’s doctrinal approach means that one has DONE this, has “put on Christ” or IS among those that “are Christ’s“. This IS despite the reality of True baptism and the reality of being Christ’s of which Paul tells us “they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (Galatians 5:24). While the idea of baptism has become the ritual, the True meaning has been lost. It IS when we can understand the idea of baptism as the Greek word intends, as immersion into the reality of Christ of which the water rite IS but a symbol, that we can begin to understand its deeper Truths.

The deeper Truth of both baptism and being Christ’s and Paul’s intent in telling us to “put on Christ” can be seen in these ideas from Vincent’s commentary on the apostle’s words from Galatians above; we read: To put on Christ implies making his character, feelings and works our own. Thus Chrysostom: “If Christ is Son of God, and thou hast put him on, having the Son in thyself and being made like unto him, thou hast been brought into one family and one nature.” And again: “He who is clothed appears to be that with which he is clothed” ⁴. Here in the words of Chrysostom we can also see a deeper understanding of Paul’s ideas on being clothed and the point that we should take here IS that to “put on Christ” IS having the Son in thyself and being made like unto him.

In this we should be able to see as well the basic idea of the final part of the trifecta and see that as there IS a cost to being among “they that are Christ’s” there IS the same cost regarding having the Son in thyself; that IS that His Presence comes to “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them” as we read again in our trifecta of spiritual reality:

• “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).

And so we should see Paul’s use of the idea of baptism in the same way; that to be baptized into Christ IS to be immersed in the Truth that Christ IS, which IS to keep His words, which in turn leads to His Presence, the Presence of the Christ Within, the Soul, as the guiding Light in Life. Vincent tells us that this idea of being “baptized into“: denotes union or communion with ⁴ which IS NOT unlike the idea of adoption as this IS used by Paul. Perhaps here we should take the lesson of the pickle into our discussion and understand this as the lexicon presents the Greek word baptizo to us saying that:

The clearest example that shows the meaning of baptizo is a text from the Greek poet and physician Nicander, who lived about 200 B.C. It is a recipe for making pickles and is helpful because it uses both words. Nicander says that in order to make a pickle, the vegetable should first be ‘dipped’ (bapto) into boiling water and then ‘baptised’ (baptizo) in the vinegar solution. Both verbs concern the immersing of vegetables in a solution. But the first is temporary. The second, the act of baptising the vegetable, produces a permanent change. When used in the New Testament, this word more often refers to our union and identification with Christ than to our water baptism. e.g.Mark 16:16. ‘He that believes and is baptised shall be saved’. Christ is saying that mere intellectual assent is not enough. There must be a union with him, a real change, like the vegetable to the pickle! Bible Study Magazine, James Montgomery Boice, May 1989 ².

This idea IS rather lost in the doctrines of the churches where the greater argument has become the method of baptizing; complete submersion, immersion, dipping or the pouring of water over the head. The imagined picture of the baptism by John the Baptist has overtaken the Truth for which the practice stands and has become a ritual. We should try to see that it IS the change of baptism that IS the objective as we read above in the change of the vegetable into the pickle; it may look much the same but it IS very different.

And the rallying cry of John’s baptism IS NOT what IS found in the baptism of the churches; John’s rallying cry was “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2) which IS also among the first teachings of the Master. This idea of Repentance fits neatly into the idea of baptism as both denote the change in the Life of a man that moves his focus off of himself and onto the things of God. What we should see is that Paul’s words have the same effect; they implore men to change and to “put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ“; and regardless of the way that this idea IS framed, the meaning IS the same.

Paul gives us several other synonymous ideas in his series of admonitions that men should “put on“. The most important ARE those above, that men “put on Christ” through baptism and that we should “put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Romans 13:14) and here we should try to see how that these ideas ARE equal. We should see here that True baptism as one’s immersion in the Truth of the Master and His words IS NO different than and IS the cause of one’s ability to “make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof“. If one IS Truly immersed, Truly at Union with the Lord, he IS keeping His words or striving to DO so which IS the process of putting and the process of Transformation as we read again in Paul’s earlier words to the 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).

In ALL of this we should be able to see how that True baptism, True immersion in the Ways and the precepts of the Christ, IS then also to “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service“; and we should remember here that like the trifecta, to DO one of these IS to DO them ALL. Paul also tells us to “put on the armour of light” (Romans 13:13), to “put on incorruption” (1 Corinthians 15:53), to “put on the new man” (Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10) and tells us as well the working of these ideas saying to “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering….And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness” (Colossians 3:12, 14).

Can we see the apostle’s point here? And, more importantly can we see that the role of agape and understand how that ALL these other spiritual  ‘virtues’ come within one’s expression of Love? Again we should look at the deeper meanings of the Greek words and see that meekness IS an attitude of Life that DOES NOT “command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did” (Luke 9:54). Meekness as well as longsuffering ARE bound to the reality of agape; a reality that understands the plight of one’s fellowman and his difficulty in overcoming. We should remember that these ideas ARE spiritual ideas and NOT carnal and they they ARE an expression of Love which we have discussed in detail as part of our study of “the fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22).

Meekness IS so much more than the common understanding of the idea and longsuffering IS so much more than patience and these, when accompanied by mercy, kindness and “humbleness of mind” show the expression of agape which IS ever the fullest goal for ALL humankind….the expression of the Soul through form. ALL of Paul’s ideas here; ALL of his sayings that a man should “put on” his own spiritual nature are an admonition to express the fullness of agape and, to be sure, the apostle’s list of the outward expressions of the aspirant and the disciple to the Romans ARE the same although they reflect the expression of agape under the control of one’s own realized Truth.

In the idea that men should be under the control of one’s own realized Truth, that they should DO ALL according to the proportion of faith, should remind us that any more than this IS but an expression of the caral nature of a man. In the idea that men should “to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith” and the apostle’s repetition of the idea saying that one should prophecy, serve, teach and exhort ONLY “according to the proportion of faith” we should see the apostle’s greater point and, at the same time we should see how that his list IS the expression of Love IS the way par excellence to “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service“.

While doctrines see these ideas as individual ‘gifts’ given to individual persons, the greater reality IS that these ARE the ‘gifts” of the Spirit, the fruit if you will, which come by measure to ALL men whose focus IS upon God. These ARE the grace of God that comes in the revelations and the realizations of Truth and perhaps we can see that Paul’s concern here IS that a man will fail to see, to discern, his True spiritual realizations of Truth apart from the carnal workings of his own mind. And this idea of discernment can be seen through the rest of the apostle’s list where we should understand that whensoever the self IS involved one’s expression, the carnal mind IS somewhat involved.

We can see this in Paul’s telling us about leading others and about mercy which ideas we have previously discussed. That proistemi IS rendered as ruleth and understood in church terms DOES NOT alter the reality of the idea in more unreligious terms. In seeing proistemi simply as leading others and understanding the idea of diligent as earnestness ⁴ as Vincent shows us, we should see the affiliation to the previous ideas of teaching, ministering and exhorting. These ideas, when DONE in earnestness, show the inner motivation of a man while in diligence we have perhaps only the effect of that motivation. Both ideas DO however show us the the apostle’s intent, but ONLY when seen from the perspective of Truth and ONLY when viewed with the constraints of DOING these things “according to the proportion of faith“.

In keeping these ideas according to the apostle’s admonition that men “think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith” and understanding this idea of dealt in more personal terms: that the Lord DOES NOT arbitrarily give any measure of faith to any one person and that such KNOWING IS earned according to the trifecta, we can perhaps see the greater Truth. This IS more clearly seen when the overall idea of the Greek word merizo, which IS rendered as dealt, IS seen in terms of dividing. The point to be taken here IS that in this list of spiritual ‘virtues’ there IS naught to be found for the betterment, the comfort or the ease of the carnal man in this world and in this we should see that in teaching, ministering, exhorting, and in leading others with earnestness, any part that has a personal objective IS NOT a part of that more sober thinking that the apostle requires.

And the same idea pertains to the expression of Love that IS rendered as mercy; here we should try to see mercy as the motivated expression of agape which results in compassion. In this there IS NO personal motivation other than mercy and compassion which ARE the flow of agape through the Life of the man whose focus IS upon the things of God. These ARE perhaps difficult ideas to enforce in one’s Life, to have NO personal agenda in dispensing these spiritual ‘gifts’, but this IS nonetheless the message that Paul IS sharing with us as he tells us “think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith“.

We close today with the Apostle James’ words that should show us the same idea; James tells us that “the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy” (James 3:17). This IS the measurement that should be applied to ALL that we DO, ALL that we may believe IS in accord with Paul’s words above.

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