ON LOVE; PART MCLXXI
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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 some additional thoughts on the words of the Apostle John that ARE written to the “little children“, the “young men” and the fathers as he sets for them, and for us, the sense of the measure of the realization of Truth that IS become the privilege of each rather clearly defined group. We have noted how that his words include a caution against their falling back into a focus upon the things of the world and an even stronger caution against the idea of antichristos. We noted as well how that the idea of the antichrist has been abducted by doctrines and made to be a singular personality who will be instrumental in the various ‘end times’ scenarios promulgated by the many denominations and sects of Christianity.
We should remember here that the apostle IS introducing us to the idea of chrisma which IS rendered as anointing and as unction in this second chapter of his epistle. This IS the ONLY place in the New Testament where this word IS used and the full weight of John’s intent has never been Truly seen. We have related this idea to the Apostle Paul’s also unique pronouncement of the “Christ in you” which he shows us as “the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations” (Colossians 1:27, 26) and here, in both of these most misunderstood ideas, we have the reality of God Immanent, the reality of the Truth of God in form.
Paul also shows us the body as “the temple of the Holy Ghost” (1 Corinthians 6:19) and if we could relate these ideas to Jesus words from our trifecta, we perhaps understand the fullness of John’s point. ALL of these ideas have a prerequisite understanding that IS necessary in order to more clearly see this Truth that the unction, the “Christ in you” and the Holy Ghost ARE ALL the same Spirit which IS Jesus’ own reference in saying to the man who will keep His words that “we will come unto him, and make our abode with him”. The ONLY difference IS that of perspective; DO we look at these as a man in the world or as John’s “little children“, “young men” and fathers who have had at least a glimpse of the greater Truth.
The prerequisite understanding IS simply to KNOW oneself as the Spirit that gives the body Life as in this understanding one can see ALL of the points above as fundamental Truths. That Spirit IS the unction, the “Christ in you” and the Holy Ghost and ALL of these DO exist as the fundamental Truth of everyman; ALL ARE Spirit living for a time in form. We should remember here that it IS the Spirit, and his manifestation as the Soul, that IS made “in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27). Men however have ever confused the sense of self with the body, with the mind and with the emotions and many religious authorities call these latter two elements of the personality the soul. There IS perhaps intentional confusion regarding the terms used to depict Life in both the Old and the New Testaments, a confusion that IS aided by the rendering of the Greek and Hebrew words into other languages.
From the perspective that the Soul IS the manifestation of the Spirit, both here in our sense of time and space, and in what we can call the heavenly realms, we should be able to see that this DOES NOT include the body and this despite the ‘wishful’ thinking of many who believe in the ill-conceived idea that ALL bodies will be resurrected at some future time. These ideas ARE based ONLY in the belief that the man IS essentially what we see here in this Earth; we have discussed these ideas several times over the course of our posts. Then, sans the body, much of doctrine sees the personality as the surviving Soul that will go to either heaven or hell at some time; some say at the death of the physical body while others posit that this heavenly or hellish experience comes at some later time.
That there IS NO religious consensus NOT ONLY afflicts Christianity but ALL world religions and most ALL that IS stated IS but opinion based in the strong desire to continue after the inevitable death of the body. It IS in this area of uncertainty that the superstitions of the past still linger and if we can understand that these ARE ALL the product of ‘wishful’ thinking as IS the promise of most ALL denominations and sects, we can then understand the fixation of men on this subject. There IS a song by Jackson Browne that paints a more rational picture of death apart from the fantastical stories that ARE brought back by those who were brought back to Life or seemingly so. There ARE many stories, many books and even movies that depict some idea of heaven as experienced by this or that person but there IS essentially NO agreement between them; here IS Jackson Browne’s more rational view:
I don’t know what happens when people die
Can’t seem to grasp it as hard as I try
It’s like a song I can hear playing right in my ear
But I can’t sing (it)
I can’t help listening
And this IS the point….we DO NOT KNOW what happens when people die; this IS yet another part of “the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations” but which, at the same time, IS the privilege of John’s fathers and, by measure, the “little children” and the “young men“. We should understand here the True import of John’s descriptive words on these measures of Truth which we discussed over the last few posts; we should understand that these measures range from Repentance to Redemption. If we can see that John IS showing us the measure of these groups which has naught to DO with age; that the idea of age IS used to more clearly show this measure against a scale that can be understood, then we can see in these groups the varying measures of what Paul calls saints.
It IS to saints that the mysteries ARE revealed and this IS NOT the nebulous doctrinal idea of a saint that calls ALL who claim to be “born again” as such. Nor IS this the more Catholic idea of men declaring sainthood posthumously although this IS a closer idea to the apostle’s intent than the former. We should try to see that the saint has the revelations of Truth, the revelations of the mysteries, both of which ARE one’s KNOWLEDGE of God as a man in this world. John shows us the reality of these ideas as he tells us that “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:3-4). We read again our selection from John’s Epistle:
“I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake. I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one” (1 John 2:12-14)
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 John 2:15:17).
“Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.” (1 John 2:18-24).
In the context of our discussion here we should try to see that as “we know him“, we come to also KNOW ourselves through our realization of God Immanent and this IS the greater point of ALL that the Master and His apostles say….realization. Realization IS bringing to the mind in the world that KNOWLEDGE that John shows us as the product of the unction. We should try to see his words as showing us that while we may have this Christ Within, it IS ONLY when one focuses upon the things of God that this IS realized….it IS ONLY when “we keep his commandments” that we can Truly say that “we know him“. Again, these ideas ARE ONLY understood through the revelation and the realization of these Truths which come, in Jesus’ words, according to our trifecta which we repeat here 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).
In John’s words above we should be able to understand the process of revelation and realization and, in his warnings and his cautions, we should be able to see his concern that one can easily fall back into a more carnal sense of living. ALL begins in Repentance which we should ever understand as more than the common idea of sorrow or remorse regarding some thing one may have DONE. Repentance IS the far reaching change in thought, attitude and action that moves one’s focus off of the things of the world and onto the things of God and we should see that part of the apostle’s caution IS in regard to such worldly things and men’s desire for them. In this idea of Repentance IS the most fundamental message from Jesus to the Jews whose doctrines were more concerned about the carnal than the spiritual.
It IS in this stage of Repentance that we should see John’s “little children” of whom he says that “your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake“. Here we should see the idea of forgiveness as in the clearer definitions of aphiemi: that the sins ARE forgotten and left behind 2 by the man who Truly Repents and comes to KNOW some measure of Truth. The idea here IS that regardless of what one has DONE or what one’s previous attitude was, Repentance wipes ALL clean; this DOES NOT mean that one will forget whatsoever he had done or thought but rather that his Life going forward IS sans such things. The doctrinal idea of forgiveness from God IS just that, a doctrinal idea based ONLY in the Transcendent nature of God.
If we could see Jesus’ teaching as a combination of the Truth of God Transcendent, which IS the way that God was heretofore viewed by men, and the new view that He brings of God Immanent, a view that IS carried forward in the writings of His apostles, we can better understand why the Master speaks to the Jews as He DID. Their ONLY view was God above and over ALL which was also Paul’s view as a religious Jew and a Pharisee. Paul understands this view of God ALL too well as DO the other apostles whose nurturing and indoctrination was in the Jew’s religion.
It IS God Immanent that comes through in the Master’s words, especially His words as reported by John, and it IS God Immanent that we find in Paul’s words citing “the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations…. which is Christ in you, the hope of glory“. Paul expands upon this idea in other sayings like “One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Ephesians 4:6) which IS part of a longer dissertation related to our current discussion. And it IS God Immanent that we see in our trifecta and in the ideas from John in his epistle that we cite above.
It IS unfortunate that so much of this Truth IS lost in the doctrinal assertion that this idea of “Christ in you” applies ONLY to certain Christians that ARE “born again” according to some doctrinal standards….which then show this Presence as being in the person of Jesus. In Paul’s words to the Ephesians we should see the reality of ALL from the beginning of his words telling us of “One God and Father of all“; in this sense ALL means ALL and this DOES NOT change as the sentence continues. The Truth of the Presence of God in one’s Life IS the Truth of the Christ and the God Within which IS one’s realization of the unction, the anointing, of which Jesus has the fullness. It IS this realization that Truly begins in Repentance and it IS this stage that John calls “little children“.
It IS by measure that one continues in ever greater realizations of Truth as a man in this world and in this we should see the process of Transformation, a process that Paul shows us saying “If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: 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 4:21-24). We should try to see here that the difference between “the old man” and “the new man” has little to DO with religion or the doctrinal ceremonies involved….it has ONLY to DO with the evolving thoughts and attitudes of the man who has Repented, the man who has made that conscious change to True righteousness.
True righteousness IS the product of the changed thoughts and attitudes that were formerly concerned with the self and the things of the self in the world and ARE now, for “the new man“, concerned with the things of God. This then IS the process of Transformation: striving to keep His words and to KNOW God which ideas we see linked in John’s words saying “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments” and in the words of the Master that ARE our trifecta. This man who IS in the process of Transformation IS the man whose measure of Light IS increasing from that of “little children” to that of the “young men” and we should see here that the ‘place’ of everyman IS a self-determined portion. It IS ONLY the individual who can Truly say when he has reached that point on the Path to Truth where he meets Paul’s criteria. when he IS among them that “are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one“.
As we discussed two posts back, the idea of being strong here can be related to the idea that IS rendered as pressing and violence in the Master’s words according to Luke and Matthew where Jesus tells of how the strong ARE taking or seizing the Kingdom of God. While there ARE different Greek words used, the idea remains the same. John IS speaking of spiritual strength, a strength that comes through because “the word of God abideth in you“, while Jesus IS showing us that it IS these that “are strong” who “take it by force” (Matthew 11:12). Jesus point goes to the heart of the personal journey of everyman who chooses to strive, to become as “little children” and it IS the strength developed in this process of Repentance and Transformation by which one can access the Kingdom of God.
Two points ARE missed here; first Jesus DOES tell us that “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21) and while these words ARE manipulated and changed into the understanding that the Kingdom IS “among you” or “in your midst” to accommodate doctrinal views, the Truth remains in the many sayings that show the Kingdom as here and now. A similar doctrinal effect IS applied to Paul’s words saying “Christ in you” where the biblical footnote shows ‘among‘; Vincent tells us here that: In you may be either within you, dwelling in your hearts, or among you. The latter accords with among the Gentiles, the former with dwell in your hearts 4.
The second point here IS John’s use of the idea of “little children“, an idea that the Master uses rather symbolically saying “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” {Matthew 18:3). While we may like to think that one must take on the characteristics of “little children” in order to gain the Kingdom and while there IS much to this idea, can we see this idea anew through John’s use of the word? Our point here is that in the Repented state of John’s “little children” we have the man who IS actively seeking the Lord and striving toward that Kingdom which he will take by his own spiritual strength as he Transforms; and it IS this man who Truly has become as “little children“.
Perhaps we should try to see that in order to be Truly Transformed one must take on the nature of the “little child“, a nature that was his prior to his realization of himself as a man in this world. It IS in this realization that one loses his innocence and his trusting nature, his nature of Love, and begins to see Life through the carnally nurtured and indoctrinated eye. The “little child” IS the example to the man, an example that IS realized in the Repentance and Transformation that brings him back to the most simple state. Here we should see that the Master IS NOT saying that one must actually “become as little children“; He IS saying that “Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein” (Mark 10:15).
We should try to see that the words of the Master from Matthew’s Gospel ARE NOT concerned with the becoming….they ARE concerned with the converting which IS rendered from the Greek word strepho. Vincent tells us this regarding strepho: The word converted has acquired a conventional religious sense which is fundamentally truthful, but the essential quality of which will be more apparent if we render literally, as Rev., except ye turn. The picture is that of turning round in a road and facing the other way 4. The sense of change that this word offers IS NOT unlike the change that we see in the Greek word metanoeo which IS rendered as Repent and here perhaps we should see that strepho IS the result of metanoeo. While we did not discuss nor refer to our selection from Romans, we close today with Paul’s words on Love.
“Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed” (Romans 13:8-11).
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.
We change our Quote of the Day today to the words from Solomon on Wisdom along with our thoughts on them from the original postings of them in In the Words of Jesus parts 46 and 556. These words ARE a testament to those things that we should be asking of the Lord and which are representative of the Holy Ghost. Wisdom, understanding and knowledge which will lead us to understanding the fear (reverence and respect and awe) of the Lord and the knowledge of God so that in this world we can understand righteousness and judgement and equity and be preserved by discretion and understanding. Thus are we in a position to treat everyone as we would want to be treated ourselves.
Since we are centered on the ideas of Wisdom today we offer the following from Proverbs as our Quote of the Day. Solomon, who is KNOWN for his Wisdom, which we read in the story of his Life was His gift from God, a gift that he receives because he does not want for the things of the world. But Solomon gains as well the things of the world in plenty and as his Life story proceeds we can see clearly that it is his Life in the world that is to his detriment. The wisdom however produces for us the writings of the Book of Proverbs and it is this that he is remembered for. His Life is interesting reading and is well documented in the Books of Kings and Chronicles.
….incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path. When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee (Proverbs 2:2-11).
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
