ON LOVE; PART MCCXXXI
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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 thoughts on the death and the resurrection of the Master and the True Easter message that should come from this momentous event. If men could but see the Truth of Jesus, that although He IS the Son of God that He IS much like everyman, this world would be a different place. Jesus showed the Jews the problem with their religion and the hypocritical way that they practiced it but what has ever been missed IS the way that His same teachings against the Jews were a warning and a caution to the purveyors of the new religion, a warning and a caution that was NOT heeded by the early church whose theological writings most ALL still rely upon.
That there were changes made to men’s view of the Christian religion through the Reformation and like movements, these were NOT changes that corrected the problems of the church; they were changes that further divided men over theoretical ideas that still missed the most basic Truth of Jesus’ teaching: agape. And this IS missed yet today as men confuse the carnal ideas of mercy with the Truth of agape and while there ARE some Christian organizations that DO show a glimmer of the Truth of agape, this has NOT be fostered and spread according to the Apostle Paul’s words which we have been studying and which we repeat here again:
“covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way“. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not agape, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not agape, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not agape, it profiteth me nothing” (1 Corinthians 12:31, 13:1-3).
“Agape suffereth long, and is kind; agape envieth not; agape vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Agape never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).
The death and the resurrection of the Master ARE both symbols of His sense of agape….the Love of God which IS expressed through the Life of Jesus the Christ. He shed His blood to call out the evils of the world and of the Jews’ religion in those days, a religion that cared more for their politics than for the Truth; a Truth that He presented to them in clear terms which they could NOT accept. And as they could NOT accept any view of God that was contrary to their doctrine, so the Christian religions DO NOT accept any view of God or the Christ that IS contrary to their established doctrinal approach to the Lord….a doctrinal approach that IS based in the thoughts and interpretations of men rather than the singular Truth of agape.
The Master tells us that “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30) which IS rendered by most translations without the personal pronoun so as to say “I and the Father are one“. In translating these words from Jesus’ personal perspective there IS a created separation between God and everyman which should NOT exist, a separation that makes the Apostle John’s words saying “as he is, so are we in this world” (John 4:17) moot. While the essence of Jesus’ teaching IS agape and the expression of agape by everyman, the relationship with the Godhead that He presents IS also of vital importance. If men CAN NOT understand the idea of God Immanent from the perspective of everyman then the whole basis for the Truth of agape IS NOT understood as well.
It IS in the relationship between God and man that IS hinted at by the Master which gives men the wherewithal to see that ALL men ARE the same and it IS this that IS amplified and clarified by His apostles who tell us of such things as “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27) and show us that men have “this treasure in earthen vessels” (2 Corinthians 1:7). But these ideas and others that point the way have been hijacked by the doctrines of men and turned into expressions of their glamour where it IS ONLY the Christian who can have such things and this despite the more personal words of the Master who tells us that one must ONLY keep His words which ARE Universal in scope and ARE the Soul of everyman….agape.
The doctrinal view that it IS ONLY in their nebulous ideas of faith and believing that one IS ‘saved‘; they shut out ALL whose expression IS Love but who DO NOT see even the sense in such a view that IS built on the selfish interpretations of men rather than the words of God. And as we have previously discussed they pin much of their nebulous ideas upon out of context and misapplied words from the Master and His apostles. Jesus says that “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6) but this IS seldom used in the context in which it IS presented. The context here IS that Jesus’ words ARE in answer to the Apostle Thomas’ question regarding where the Master IS going and this despite Jesus’ previous words saying “whither I go ye know, and the way ye know” (John 14:4).
Jesus IS telling His apostles that they DO KNOW and yet they ask questions and here we should understand that while they DO KNOW they have NOT yet realized the Truth of ‘where’ which begins in the previous chapter in the Master’s dialogue with the Apostle Peter. In this we read Jesus’ words saying “Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you” and, after some words on His new commandment, we read that “Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards“. These words ARE presented to the apostles as a mystery but, as Jesus tells them, they have the KEY….”whither I go ye know, and the way ye know“; it IS apparent however that they DO NOT Truly understand. The doctrinal focus in NOT on His going nor their KNOWING however, IS NOT on this mystery but upon Peter’s statement that “I will lay down my life for thy sake” and the Master’s response that “The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice” (John 13:33, 36-38).
The point here IS that the words used by the doctrines of men to define their religion ARE offered in this context of Jesus’ leaving His apostles and we should try to see here how that while they DO KNOW the Truth, they ARE NOT yet ready to accept that Truth and the Master IS NOT yet ready to explain in such concrete terms as to reveal in carnal words a deeply spiritual event. As the conversations go on the Master speaks about the Father’s house which IS interpreted by doctrines as heaven; we should try to see here that if the meaning were heaven that the Greek word ouranos, which most always rendered as such, would have been used instead of oikia which always rendered in terms of house and home. In the idea of oikia we should try to see the idea of a dwelling place and NOT necessarily a house and if we can see past the idea of mansions, which of course would NOT be within a house, and understand that idea as abode, ALL this can make most simple sense albeit NOT to the minds of men in those days.
It IS the steady unveiling of the Truth that IS missed by the doctrinal thinker who DOES NOT connect Jesus’ words. Beginning with Him telling His apostles that it IS time for Him to go; He tells them “yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you” (John 13:33) and it IS this that begins the Truth of His departure in most obscure terms. Then is the dialogue with Peter, His telling the apostles to “Let not your heart be troubled” (John 14:1) and His assurances that they ALL can abide in His Father’s house which of course IS NOT a house. Again, if Jesus meant heaven would He NOT just say so? In house we should see that place where God IS and as we go on through His words it becomes clearer that such abiding IS a spiritual thing and NOT a physical place to be as is understood in the doctrines of men.
Doctrinally the idea of mansions has evolved from being a place to stay or abide to the idea of great houses in heaven and while NOT ALL denominations and sects see this false reality, many DO and so teach that Life in heaven IS much like one’s Life in this Earth but according to the rewards reaped from ‘doctrinal’ obedience here in this Earth. The Greek word mone has always been understood as abiding and this idea IS used again along with the kindred word meno, which IS the verb form for mone, as the Master continues to teach them. Jesus then says that “I go to prepare a place for you” and tells them that they DO KNOW saying “whither I go ye know, and the way ye know“. This then begins an extended question and answer session from which doctrines extract their doctrinal view of Jesus the Christ.
We should try to see that it IS after Jesus tells them that they DO KNOW that Thomas asks his question and in the Master’s reply saying that “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” we should see the connection between ALL that He taught them and this great Truth. In the idea that “I am” we should be able to understand that this encompases ALL that He IS; NOT merely His presence but rather ALL that He represents which ideas He continues to show them. First He reminds them of His words saying “I and the Father are one” by telling them, seemingly unsolicited and still in reply to the question, “If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him” (John 14:7).
Can we see the point here? Can we see that it IS in the idea that “I and the Father are one” that the Way to come to the Father IS established as simply to come to Christ and ALL that He represents; that if they Truly KNOW the idea that He offers saying “I am” they “should have known my Father also“. There ARE likely NO words that can clarify these ideas in spiritual terms and the result IS that the apostles still DO NOT understand; this brings the next question from Phillip which ask Jesus to “shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us” to which He replies “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:8, 9). While the apostles, those closest to Him, DO NOT understand these ideas, the doctrinal church believes that they DO as they ignore the questions and the answers save for those words upon which they built their doctrines.
In these words that “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father” we should be able to glimpse the greater Truth that Jesus Way, which IS the sum total of His words and His example, IS the expression of God through His form in this Earth and that it IS this expression that IS the Father….that IS agape. Jesus goes on to tell them in clear words of the Union between the Father and the Son, between God and man, saying that “I am in the Father, and the Father in me” as He then relates this same to them. Using the idea of works and compounding this with the idea of words we read “the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works” as He goes on to tell them that the same can be for them, that they will DO the same as conduits for the Power of God; he says: “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do” (John 14:11, 10, 12).
Doctrinally this idea IS diluted and changed from it True meaning to some ideas of the ministry of the apostles and this despite the Master’s other words on moving the mountain and planting the sycamine tree in the sea. The doctrinal dilutionof the nebulous doctrinal ideas regarding faith and believing DO NOT see the force of believing into, pisteuo eis, the Master which Vincent shows us saying to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is not merely to believe the facts of His historic life or of His saving energy as facts, but to accept Him as Savior, Teacher, Sympathizer, Judge; to rest the soul upon Him for present and future salvation, and to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life 4.
In this understanding the force of believing in and believing on shows us the reality of keeping His words which IS the next part of the dialogue between Jesus and His apostles that IS first stated in His words saying “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). If we could see Jesus’ next words as showing the Way, we could than understand the deeper ideas that ARE found in abiding in the Father’s house as well as what He means in saying that “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2). While most ALL translations render Jesus words as to imply that He is going to His Father’s house to prepare a room for His disciple, individually or together IS uncertain, this idea rests in the idea of rooms and houses; however, when we consider that He IS saying that in my Father’s abode, the idea of house IS figurative, you will abide we can then see that the idea of preparing a place IS better understood as that by His death and resurrection that He IS showing them this reality.
We must remember that there ARE NO words to express such things other than the way that Jesus IS unfolding the idea for His apostles and if we follow the whole of His dialogue with them, this can become clear to us who have knowledge of what happens….a privilege that the apostles DO NOT have. Jesus follows this idea with a picture of the Truth saying that as He is leaving them, showing them the reality of death in the Life of a True disciple, and that He will return as well and show them how that they can be with Him; Jesus says: “if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:3). This idea IS later somewhat clarified by the Master’s saying “At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you” (John 14:20).
So much effort has been made by the church fathers and over the last 2000 years to understand these ideas in a carnal sense of Life and death, of houses and rooms, that the entire message has been lost. Most fail to see that these words of the fourteenth chapter of John’s Gospel ARE perhaps the most significant words on the reality of God Immanent which continues then into the rest of Jesus’ closing dialogue with His apostles. If we could but see the whole idea here: that He IS saying DO not be troubled at my leaving you, that although you CAN NOT come with me now, there IS a place for you as well and in my leaving I am showing you that death has NO consequence in the True Life of a man….I will return. He reminds them of the relationship between Himself and the Father, that they ARE One, and that by His words and His example He IS the Way, He IS the Truth and He IS the True Life in which ALL ARE One.
The Master then goes on to show us the Way that this can be True in the Life of everyman who will keep His words….that DOING so IS the gateway to ALL spiritual Power; Power to DO those “greater works” and Power to have the Presence of God as one’s realization of Truth. It IS these ideas that come forth in our trifecta of which the third part IS the continuation of the Master’s dialogue which comes after He introduces them to the idea of the Holy Spirit and how that “ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” which IS that realization. Again it IS the doctrines of men that have distorted the whole idea of the Holy Spirit, so much so that most DO NOT see that in the continuation of His speaking Jesus further defines this spiritual Presence saying that “I will not leave you comfortless:a I will come to you” (John 14:17, 18). This then brings us to the third part of our trifecta which we repeat here to show just how that He will come to them, to everyman, in Spirit; we read:
- “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).
The idea here in the third part IS abiding, that the Father and the Son will abide in the Life of a man who will keep His words and when we can understand that they already “know him; for he dwelleth with you” we can then understand that this Presence becomes one’s realization as a man in this world, unlocked so to speak, by keeping His words. We should understand here that the Father and the Son ARE inseparable and that one’s realization of their Presence IS the reality of the Holy Spirit, a Spirit that cares NOT what one’s religion IS but only that one keep His words….words of Love according to His teaching. We should understand as well that this Love IS innate in everyman but lost in the vanity of Life in this world and it IS the True purpose of every religion to awaken this agape and although each may teach a different Path, ALL DO meet in agape.
Again, the verbosity of the Master’s words IS the result of there being NO more simple carnal way of explaining spiritual Truth, there ARE NO words to DO so save those clearly stated words that tell us to Love and to keep His commandments, His words and His sayings. It IS in DOING the clearly stated that revelation and realization come to everyman by the same measure as His striving to be “doers of the word“; ALL else IS “deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22) as the Apostle James tells us. It IS the doctrines of men that hide these things from the masses, doctrines that DO NOT see past the carnal interpretations of His words and the words of His apostles while, much as the Pharisees, the scribes and the priests in Jesus’ day, proclaiming them and themselves to be spiritual.
Jesus paints for us a picture of the Truth of God Immanent albeit in words that ARE NOT understood by the carnal mind and here we should note that the apostles who had been with Him throughout His ‘ministry’ DO NOT yet understand them. Here, if we can see that the gospels ARE written according to the realizations of the writer at the time and NOT according to their later revelations of Truth and that this IS purposefully DONE so that the reader can see that picture, we can then perhaps look past the doctrines that consume Christianity to this day. And we should remember here that the Master’s words, while many ARE seemingly in regard to Himself, ARE intended to show the True Inner man who IS always One with Him….always One with God.
In such words as “I will come to you” and “we will come unto him, and make our abode with him” we should try to see and to understand the mystery, a mystery that IS ignored by the doctrinal church. The Truth however IS ONLY a mystery to the man who IS trying to see these ideas from a carnal perspective….from the perspective of a man in this world who IS trying to envision the invisible and grasp it with the mind. This however IS the reality of ALL biblical mysteries; ALL of the unfathomable ideas presented ARE shown us in a way that CAN NOT be understood save by the man who strives to keep His words, the man who strives to Truly express agape. For this man there will be a steady unfolding of the Truth, a Truth that streams into the mind from within according to John’s words that tell us “ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things” (1 John 2:20).
As we have discussed in past essays, this unction IS the Soul of everyman, the Christ Within, the God Within and the Holy Spirit, this unction IS ALL that the Master speaks of in saying that “I will come to you” and “we will come unto him, and make our abode with him“. These ARE present in the Life of everyman, these ARE the Life of everyman. But “this treasure in earthen vessels” IS unrealized by most ALL men; it IS NOT unlocked by the doctrines of men, it IS ONLY realized by the man who will keep His words and by measure by the man who strives to DO so. There IS NO magical formula here as there IS supposed in the doctrinal view of salvation; there IS ONLY the simple logic that as a man strives to find the Truth, that his focus will shift to the things of God and away from the clamor of Life in this world; and in this focus he will become evermore acutely aware of the vanity in which he has lived; it IS in this focus that revelation and realization flow.
And this IS according to the Master’s words that ARE our trifecta; this IS the result of Jesus saying “If ye continue in my word“, this IS the result for the man who “hath my commandments, and keepeth them“….this IS the result for “he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven“. This result IS the Truth, His Presence and one’s growing awareness and realization that “the kingdom of God is within you“. ALL of this IS the result of that change in focus that comes in True Repentance and continues in the striving of a man to keep His words; and it IS here that we see the True Way to DO so in Paul’s words that we have been repeating in most every post; words that show us that to keep His words IS to express agape. Repeating our selection from Romans we read:
“Owe no man any thing, but agapao one another: for he that agapao 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 agape thy neighbour as thyself. Agape worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore agape 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 |
Quote of the Day:
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
