ON LOVE; PART MCCLXVII
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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 discussed how that the various ideas of doctrines have obnubilated the Truth of the Master’s teaching for 2000 years as men have ever chosen to ignore the most clearly stated precepts in favor of obscure interpretations of the apostles’ words. We surmised that the reasoning for this from the beginning has been to allow men to be men; this IS likely the same motivation that caused the Jews to organize their doctrinal approach to the Lord according to the less meaningful social constructs dictated by Moses rather than the heart of the law which addresses the relationships between men and men.
The heart of the law, as the heart of the Master’s words, IS agape and it IS in this Truth that Jesus tells the Jews of both the Great Commandments and His Golden Rule saying that “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” and “this is the law and the prophets” respectively. In these ideas we should see that the deeper idea of both IS agape and that it IS agape that IS as the heart of the law; we should see as well that the Jews diluted and changed this Truth through their doctrinal approach to the Lord. We should note here that based in the historical record of the Jews, as well as the Master’s words spoken against their approach, that their doctrinal approach DID NOT suffice to bring them closer to the Lord although they Truly believed that it did.
The doctrinal Christian world, after 2000 years, IS in this same position; they too have diluted and changed the Truth and if we look at the historical record since the Advent of Christ with a critical eye toward religion, we can see much the same. Add to this that we still have the Master’s words and if today’s doctrinal Christian would look at Jesus’ words against the Jews and apply them to themselves, the conclusion would be the same: that IS that the practices which Jesus rails against to the Jews can nearly ALL apply to the Christian as well. To this we should also add the same doctrinal vanity that afflicted the Jews….that the Christian Truly believes that he IS closer to the Lord.
For both the Jew and the Christian the reality of vanity IS the same as IS the sense of deception that James shows us saying “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). These words ARE the amplification of Jesus’ own words; we should see in these the idea of His rhetorical question which asks “why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). This simple question reported by Luke IS shown us with much explanation by the Apostle Matthew who frames this saying “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. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them*, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21-23).
The point here IS NOT hidden any more than the Great Commandments were hidden in Moses presentation of the law to the Jews and while Moses offered little to differentiate between the commandments and words on Love, the Jew could have understood the intent as these two commandments are the synopsis of the original Ten Commandments. In previous essays we have shown that there ARE among the Jews those who recognized the Truth of the Great Commandments and their Power but who, at the same time, embraced fully the ancillary ideas, the social and moral and health oriented constructs, added for the orderly Life of men and their comfort in the atoning ideas. Jesus words ARE equally clear, moreso in fact, and ARE NOT hidden but laid out in clear and concise language, but these too ARE dismissed in favor of the doctrinal approach which offers again the comfort of atonement albeit on a much broader scale.
In Jesus words we should see that the message IS clearly that one keep His words….that one should DO”the things which I say“. This message IS however diluted and changed despite the way that Jesus follows up both of these presentations of keeping His words with His ever so slightly parabolic Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders which shows, from the perspective of the builder’s product, the results of keeping His words….or NOT. Again His words ARE ever so clear yet ignored in favor of those doctrinal ideas gleaned from their selfish interpretation of the apostles’ words. The Master clearly says:
According to Matthew: “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it” (Matthew 24-27).
According to Luke: “Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great” (Luke 6:47-49).
While this should have been the overriding emphasis of the whole of Christianity from the beginning, it IS the doctrines of men that have taken that position. We should remember here that these ‘parabolic’ words come immediately after Jesus’ rhetorical question in Luke’s Gospel and just after the Master’s broader words from Matthew’s which show us that ALL IS pretense if it IS NOT in accord with “the will of my Father” which He frames for us as “he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven“. We should remember as well that in both gospels ALL of this follows upon Jesus words on Love, on agape, and in the context of having NO “respect to persons” (James 2:9). It IS important to note here that there are several other ideas that should be included in the idea of “whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them“.
Among these ARE Jesus teaching on judgement and condemnation which, in the way of doctrines, IS become a much ignored precept. In those sayings which the Master also references in the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders we also find a guiding idea that can lead to one’s right understanding of the second of the Great Commandments and the Golden Rule, judgement and condemnation. In his words on “the mote that is in thy brother’s eye” there IS a great KEY to understanding ALL of these precepts of the Lord. The point here IS that Jesus refers His parable to ALL who hear His words of Truth and we should try to understand that the whole idea IS NOT in regard to the house, whether it will stand or fall, but rather in regard to the greater idea of salvation understood in doctrinal terms.
It DOES NOT seem that this IS the way that this parable IS understood however; few relate the ideas to their salvation as they almost uniformly give deference to the Apostle Paul’s words as their key to salvation. This IS despite the fact that Jesus DOES tell us that a man’s entrance into the Kingdom IS dependent ONLY upon keeping His words which He frames as DOING “the will of my Father which is in heaven” in the same part of Matthew’s version of the Master’s words. There should be NO doctrinal disconnect here as Jesus’ words ARE clear. In the words of the Prophet Isaiah we read such sayings as “Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?” (Isaiah 53:1) which ARE repeated by both the Apostles John and Paul; by John in relation to the failure of the Jews to see the Truth in the works of the Master (John 12:38) and by Paul in regard to the gospel as he says, in that same chapter upon which doctrines rely for their version of Truth, that “they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?” (Romans 10:16).
And this IS the point of the gospel and Paul’s idea of “another gospel“: Paul’s use of this idea that “they have not all obeyed the gospel” IS pointed directly at the Truth of the Master’s words and the words of the law that preceded them. As the apostle IS writing these words he has NO idea that they would be misrepresented and misapplied by the next generations of men; Paul IS writing inspired words to encourage and correct the reader and we should be able to see that his words ARE encouraging men to seek the True Path and correcting them into the Way of the Lord Jesus. Paul had NO intent to define doctrines as anything other than the words and the example of the Master. As we have discussed the idea that men were attempting to change very nature of the Master’s words should be seen in the early compromise that IS forged with the apostles at Jerusalem, a compromise which Paul willingly accepts because it works to his benefit in teaching the gentiles.
This compromise allowed the gentiles to be free from the Jew’s ideas regarding the law’s effect upon the new Christian religion and it IS presented to us in James’ words saying “Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood” (Acts 15:13-20). While this IS an arbitrary list, its purpose IS to appease both sides; for the Jew it addresses certain behaviors that they ARE prevented from in the law and for the Christian it represents ideas that ARE easier to accept than circumcision, the sabbath and the role of sacrifice and festivals. We should NOT be so sure here that the idea of fornication from the Greek word porneia IS in reference to sex but rather try to see that it IS in regard to the relationship of man with God.
Perhaps it IS with this early compromise of the Truth of Jesus’ words which contain NO reference to these ideas save the deeper idea of porneia as this IS reflected in the first of the Great Commandments that leads to the further dilutions of the Truth at the hands of men and their teaching which Paul calls “another gospel“. We should remember that Paul’s context here seems to include this idea of dilution as he says “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:5-6) as he calls this “another gospel: Which is not another“. If we can see his meaning here as saying that the underlying gospel IS based in the words and the examples of the Master, the teaching based in it has taken another path rather than the most simple ideas of keeping His words. While James’ words of compromise ARE readily accepted by Paul and the Christian world as a new basis for the new religion, we should remember that none of this IS part of Jesus own instructions; again save for the reference to porneia being contrary to the singular idea of the Great Commandment. In fact, if we look more closely, parts of this directive from the apostles at Jerusalem ARE contrary to Jesus words where we read that:
“when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand: There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable. And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him; Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats? And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man” (Mark 7:14-20)
Can we see how that the directive to “abstain….from things strangled, and from blood” DOES NOT consider the Master’s words here which in every respect takes away the value of the dietary laws for those who would follow Him. We should see this as a secondary meaning of Peter’s vision as well; here we should try to see that while Peter IS an apostle of the Lord who hears the Master’s words on what defiles a man, he continued to restrict himself according to his Jewish indoctrination. In this vision he “saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat” (Acts 10:11-13).
We see Peter’s self restriction as he says to the voice of the Lord “Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean” and this despite Jesus’ words on what defiles a man. In answer “the voice spake unto him again the second time,What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common” (Acts 10:14-15). Peter’s encounter with the sheet in his vision shows us clearly what the Master had spoken regarding defilement and it shows us as well that “that God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34) which IS what the apostle interprets from the vision himself. We should try to see that this IS NOT an isolated idea; this IS NOT the ONLY place that Jesus corrects the way of the Jews by way of correcting the law itself; that IS His diminishing the effect of the ancillary parts of the law added by Moses as he sought to protect and help the people come to terms with the “the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith” (Matthew 23:23).
In the same part of Jesus words to the Jews regarding that which “defileth the man” the Master speaks out against the traditions of men and we should understand that such traditions ARE the outgrowth of the ancillary parts of the law, the rites and rituals, the dietary parts as well as the law of the sabbath and sacrifice which Jesus openly ignores. That the Jews continued in these things goes back to the days of Isaiah whose words Jesus repeats saying “Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7). We should understand here that in parts of Judaism much of this IS yet True as they still practice the “commandments of men” while still ignoring the basic Truths of the Great Commandments in much the same way as these ARE ignored by the Christian.
The Christian compromise IS much the same as the Jew’s compromise and we should try to see that more than the Lord’s displeasure with the idea that IS presented to us as that the ancient Jews “went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them” (Judges 2:17), it IS the causal factor of NOT keeping the heart of the law. The same IS True then and now as partisanship has overwhelmed much of the church and it IS odd that these two parts of a singular religious motivation see their partisanship in different ways. While most of Christianity, the leaders and those who follow these, leans hard to the right, the Jews seem to lean left. The difference here from the perspective of religion IS oddly that the Jews lean toward the social norms that ARE based in the fabric of the Master’s words while the Christian leans away from such social ideas as ARE incorporated into such sayings as:
“I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (Luke 6:27-36).
These words ARE then followed by such ideas as “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven. Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again” (Luke 6:37-38) but it seems that the ONLY True Christian focus IS upon the last saying and this in regard to receiving. The greater point here IS that too many Christians have divided themselves from the rest of the human family while believing that ONLY they have True access to God and to His Kingdom. Can we see in this the crux of Paul’s words on “another gospel: Which is not another“?
It IS ALL of these words from Luke’s Gospel, plus the Master’s other sayings that ARE scattered throughout but which Matthew places into the same Sermon on the Mount, that ARE the focus of the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders and it should not be difficult to see nor to understand that it IS the man who DOES these things or strives toward that goal, the man who embraces the ideas of agape that ARE the central point of His words, who ARE among those who “doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” as we read in Matthew’s version of the Sermon. And it should NOT be difficult to see nor to understand how that ALL else IS folly and IS based in the deception, the self-deception, that James shows us saying “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22).
This idea of deception IS from the Greek word paralogizomai which IS used ONLY two times in the New Testament, here as deceived and the other as beguiled. Strong’s defines this as to: misreckon 9a while Thayer’ tells us that paralogizomai means: to reckon wrong, miscount 9. We should see in ALL these ideas the reality of the vanity to which ALL ARE subjected and, according to James, those who ARE “hearers only” of the word, the religious if you will, ARE especially deceived. Vincent tells us that paralogizomai should be seen in relation to its root words as it IS: From παρά, beside, contrary to, and λογίζομαι, to reckon, and hence to conclude by reasoning. The deception referred to is, therefore, that into which one betrays himself by false reasoning – reasoning beside the truth . Perhaps the key idea here IS found in the last part, that this deception IS reasoning beside the truth.
There IS a doctrinal disconnect here as James’ words are treated much like the Master’s….against the backdrop of salvation by grace and atonement; but these words ARE NO more disposable than ARE the Master’s words of Truth. Indeed, these words should serve to clarify and amplify the Master’s own words as ALL of the apostles’ words ARE intended to DO. If we can see that the Master’s words ARE the Truth and that the reasoning of men, although established centuries ago, IS reasoning beside the truth, perhaps we can see the deeper idea from Paul’s words on “another gospel: Which is not another“. We should understand here however that these words from James ARE used by the doctrinal thinker is ways that ARE NOT the apostle’s intent; they ARE used by many with the doctrines themselves becoming the Truth rather than the clear Truth of Jesus’ own words….words such as these which ARE our trifecta of spiritual Truth:
- “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).
James, next words need some clarification; we read “For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed” (James 1:23-25). If we can relate the first part of this to the Master’s words from the Parable of the Sower perhaps we can gain some insight into the apostle’s intent; Jesus tells us of those who hear the word saying:
“The sower soweth the word. And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended. And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful” (Mark 4:14-19).
Can we see James’ point in these words? Can we see that when the man who IS “a hearer of the word” DOES “beholdeth himself” he IS akin to the various types of ground in the parable? Each different ground hears the word and most “immediately receive it with gladness“; James shows us that these see the word in themselves and that unless one be “a doer” of the word that he will “straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was” when he did “receive it with gladness“. Jesus explains this forgetting as “Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word ” in the case of the least fruitful ground, as being able to “endure but for a time” as the “stony ground” and then as allowing “the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful“.
James’ point IS the same but reflects on how a man perceives himself as “a hearer of the word“; James IS more blunt and straightforward and when we conflate these ideas with his beginning thought, we can then more clearly see how that the idea of deception, self deception, works. It IS NOT that the man forgets the word which enlightens him, rather it IS that he forgets that enlightenment which fades in his being “not a doer“. The deception IS found in the way that a man relies upon what he has heard sans the enlightenment which would make of him a DOER. In the end the Master’s words and James words agree and this IS especially True of the final comments of each. James tells us that “whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed” while Jesus tells us of the “good ground” saying “these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some* sixty, and some an hundred” (Mark 4:20).
The Apostle Luke further clarifies Jesus’ words from this parable in terms of DOING as he tells us that Jesus’ says “But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15). The idea here of an “honest and good heart” can be a bit misleading as in the saying the Greek words ARE kalos and agathos which can both be rendered as good. However, the idea of honest DOES work well from the perspective of NOT “deceiving your own selves“; Vincent explains kalos saying: Honest; lit., fair, noble. Honest, not in the popular sense, but in the sense of the Latin honestus; noble, virtuous, worthy 4.
For our purposes here we should try to see the intended point which IS that the heart of the man who DOES keep His words IS governed by the inner spiritual sense that IS the Soul….it IS the man that “shall be blessed in his deed“. To this we should add the opposing idea which Jesus shows us in the preceding verses of the parable and which James frames for us as the “forgetful hearer“….the man that IS among those who ARE “deceiving your own selves“. It IS these that have mis-reckoned their doctrines for the Truth which they were intended to represent from the beginning….this before the compromises that create what Paul calls for us “another gospel“.
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
- 9a The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible on blueletterbible.org
- 9 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon on blueletterbible.org
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
