ON LOVE; PART MCDLXXXVI
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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).
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We ended the last essay with the closing words from the Apostle Luke’s version of the Master’s words that tell us to take NO thought. Luke tells us that the Master says to His disciples and those others who can hear His words that “it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom“. While these words have been adopted by the doctrinal church, they have NOT adopted the context into which they ARE placed by Jesus; the context that men should “Take no thought for your life“. Luke’s words ARE largely the same as ARE Matthew’s version of this most important spiritual idea save for some minor differences and the inclusion of the idea that the man who Truly desires the Kingdom should “seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind“. As part of our discussion on Matthew’s version of the Master’s words we addressed again the idea of KNOWING and how that the reality of this KNOWING comes to those who DO “continue in my word” as Jesus frames keeping His words to those who strive to DO so. In this KNOWING there IS NO “doubtful mind” and from our discussion on the “greater works” ideas that come from moving the mountain and planting the “sycamine tree” in the sea (Luke 17:6) we should better understand the whole idea of being among those that “shall not doubt in his heart” (Mark 11:23). It IS our doubt that keeps us from Truly KNOWING and this IS True in a number of ways that ARE intimately attached to our individual and corporate vanity, our perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends4. We should understand here that to have NO doubt requires a degree of spiritual fortitude that IS NOT realized by most and while there may be some who possess a carnal version of this fortitude the results of such ARE generally carnal. To have NO doubt spiritually IS the high bar that IS set for men who would seek to accomplish those “greater works” that the Master promises us saying “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do” (John 14:12). Jesus words here CAN NOT be minimized nor can we simply believe as taught by the doctrines of men; such nebulous believing and faith DO NOT allow for us to DO “greater words” as this idea IS presented by the Master. This believing IS another high bar that IS set for humanity which CAN NOT be understood as that nebulous believing of doctrines. The KEY to this believing IS simply that we keep His words. The Master tells us “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do” (John 14:12) and while we have discussed these words many times, we DO so here again in relation to doubt.
We must realize the relationship between the various sayings from the Master that tell us of our potential if we can free ourselves from doubt which He frames for us saying “neither be ye of doubtful mind” along with the other ideas that we presented in the last essay. The level of believing necessary to be able to achieve those “greater works” CAN NOT be such a simple achievement as merely to believe the facts of His historic life or of His saving energy as facts4. The level of believing must be an action on the part of the believer which Vincent paints for us saying such action must be to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life4. This IS keeping His words. Among His words ARE the admonition that we “Take no thought for your life“; these words however have been manipulated by men from the beginning and DO NOT doctrinally show us the importance of this simple phrase which IS likely intentionally complicated by Jesus’ examples. Perhaps a good example of the Master’s intent in found in the Parable of the Rich Fool, a parable that immediately precedes Jesus’ words that tell us to “Take no thought for your life“. Let us read these together; first the Parable of the Rich Fool and then Jesus’ words that ARE joined to this parable by therefore:
“Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God“
Luke 12:15-21
“And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom“.
Luke 12:22-32
The Parable of the Rich Fool IS instructional on many levels. For the carnally minded it sends the same message as DOES Jesus’ words on treasure from Matthew’s Gospel. It also shows us the reality of the words of Solomon in Ecclesiastes where we read “As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand” (Ecclesiastes 5:15). These ARE lessons for the carnally focused man, lessons that ARE clearly stated and KNOWN to men but virtually ignored. Most ALL KNOW the choice between “treasures upon earth” and “treasures in heaven” and most ALL understand that whatsoever treasure one may accumulate must perforce stay in this Earth. Jesus addresses the latter point in our parable saying “whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?“. In regard to the idea that men should “Take no thought for your life” we have a spiritual message through KNOWING that whatsoever one may accumulate must stay and the idea of the planning and scheming that the “certain rich man” contemplated. In the parable we should see that this man DOES NOT see his end as being close as he makes plans for the future of his abundance and this IS True of most ALL men. NONE Truly see the time of their demise save in the instance of the very sick who have some idea. It IS NOT these sick and dying that are referenced in the parable however, the reference IS the man with abundance and his plans for that abundance as well as the way that he dwells upon his circumstance. It IS from this parable that the Master takes us into our other parable unannounced where He reveals to us that the reason for the parable was to allow Him to say “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life“. Just as Matthew uses the Master’s words on treasure, the single eye and the choice between God and mammon to bring us to His therefore connection, Luke uses the Parable of the Rich Fool to serve the same purpose.
Both apostles build up to this most important point of the focus of one’s Life: Jesus admonition that we should “Take no thought for your life“. These words must be understood from the heart if they ARE to resonate in the lives of men and again here we must emphasize the idea that this admonition IS to limit our carnal focus, to limit our carnal plans and schemes for the future, and to promote our focus upon the things of God. And, to be sure, to understand this from the heart CAN NOT be done with a carnal mindset, it IS DONE through our focus on the Lord through our Repentance and Transformation. It IS these two spiritual factors that set in motion ALL else; it IS in our Repentance that we come to keep His words and it IS keeping His words, continuing in them if you will, that brings us the necessary Truths as we Transform our lives away from our carnal predisposition. These ARE the things that Jesus tells us directly. We read in Mark’s Gospel that “Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15). This IS, according to the gospels, the Master’s first admonition; Repentance IS what puts us upon the Path to Truth and we must remember that this IS NOT as the word IS commonly understood. It IS rather as Vincent portrays for us saying that Repentance IS: a virtuous alteration of the mind and purpose as begets a like virtuous change in the life and practice. as begets a like virtuous change in the life and practice4. The point to remember here IS that Repentance IS a virtuous alteration of the mind and purpose, that Repentance begins in the mind as a thing to pursue and so long as this prompting IS NOT overwhelmed by one’s carnal affairs, by one’s ardent thoughts for his own Life, there IS the possibility of True Repentance. We should understand here that this IS NOT an automatic occurrence, it IS NOT that we can ALL wake up one day and Truly Repent, Truly leave behind our carnal thoughts. Repentance IS a process it IS what becomes our Life’s pursuit and while it works out in tandem with our Transformation, it IS still the necessary starting point. It IS our Transformation that steadily brings about the “renewing of your mind“. This the Apostle Paul tells us saying “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” (Romans 12:2). ALL of this works together with our choices, with the choices that the Master presents to us.
Our topic over the last several posts has been the ‘choices’ that the Master offers us and here again we will show how that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). We should try to see here that NONE of this IS simply that “all things work together” as there IS a caveat here that shows us that this IS ONLY so for those that DO “love God” according to “his purpose“. This whole idea IS clarified for us in Jesus’ words to His apostles that ARE a part of our trifecta and we should try here to understand the meaning of the Greek word prothesis which IS rendered as purpose. Strong’s tells us that prothesis means: a setting forth, i.e. (figuratively) proposal (intention); specially, the show-bread (in the Temple) as exposed before God9a. In this we should try to see the idea as the intent, that IS God’s intent, which IS ever spiritual and attached to the Truth. Most ALL translations render the word as purpose but one DOES give us additional insight saying “the people he called, because that was his plan“. Here the idea of His plan, His intent, IS the consideration that we should then tie to the results of our Transformation as our ability to KNOW what IS “that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God“. Two things then ARE important here; first the idea that “all things work together for good to them that love God” as Jesus defines this Love and second that “all things work together for good” to them that ARE Truly seeking after “that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God“. This then we should tie to our choices: in Repentance and Transformation we choose “treasures in heaven” over “treasures upon earth” as we learn the reality of the Master’s words saying “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21). In Repentance and Transformation we choose the single eye over the evil eye as we move our focus off of the self and the things of this world and onto the things of God. We should remember that in both of these changes wrought through Repentance and Transformation the starting point IS our choice. And, while it may take some time to realize the fuller Truths that begin to stream into our hearts, we ARE indeed striving toward our spiritual goals. That in our Repentance and Transformation we choose God over mammon IS the result of those choices above and the result of this ALL IS that we come to understand and to fulfill His words saying “Take no thought for your life“. It IS this understanding that comes to us through the ideas of our trifecta which shows us the results of our striving to keep His words and the reality of how to Love the Lord. 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).
Here then we should see “that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” as we come to KNOW the Truth and its freedom from the ways of the flesh through keeping His words. We should see as well the Way that “all things work together for good” as it IS in keeping His words that we ARE among “them that love God“. These things come though the Master’s words that ARE our trifecta and it IS in our embrace of His “good, and acceptable, and perfect, will” that we ARE able to “enter into the kingdom of heaven” in the here and now. We should NOT be turned off to this reality of keeping His words. While some of the church actually tells us that it IS NOT possible to keep His words or the commandments given us by Moses, their own reluctance IS based mostly in the idea that in so DOING one will lose his sense of humanity. Perhaps this IS because of some early Christians who removed themselves from the world in order to fulfill what they saw as their spiritual mission but we should understand that such leaving IS NOT a criteria. The ONLY criteria IS that we Repent, that we change the focus of our lives off of the self and onto the things of God; once this choice IS Truly made, our Transformation begins. Repentance requires a firm commitment to the Truth and accepts the words of the Master and ALL True saints and it IS here that we must understand the Master’s caution against “false prophets“, men whose teaching IS more carnal than spiritual. We should understand here that most ALL religions teach carnal theory over spiritual reality and this because the DO NOT see that reality; most have NOT had the necessary revelations that come through the trifecta, that come through keeping His words. We must understand here that despite the shortcomings of most ALL religious doctrines, there IS still a need for the churches as they DO keep the idea of God in the forefront for many millions who otherwise might be seeking Truth ONLY in carnal ideas. Jesus tells us that we should “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:15-20). It IS unfortunate that the rendered word prophet IS steeped in Old Testament jargon concerning soothsayers, seers and fortunetellers who can interpret the ‘will’ of God to the people. It IS also unfortunate that some in the churches have hijacked the idea of prophets as many self-assign the title to themselves and sell this to the other congregants. The reality of the word should be understood as a teacher of Truth, a teacher of the spiritual Truths to be sure, and it remains to each listener to determine the real from the unreal; the good fruit from the evil or carnal fruits. Thus the caution and thus the reality that it IS “by their fruits ye shall know them“.
It IS our carnal attachments that keep us bound to this world and these attachments ARE made stronger for those whose sense of doctrine has been substituted for the Truth; this especially in those environments where men ARE taught that it IS NOT possible to keep His words. Some, in fact, teach that scripture, the Old and the New Testaments, ARE given to show us the impossibility of DOING as scripture tells us to DO. These ARE certainly false teachings. Few however see the deep ties between keeping His words and the expression of agape and this despite the way that these ideas ARE presented to us by the Master and His apostles. Paul goes to great lengths to show us the relationship between our expression of agape, our expression of this Love in this world, and while his words ARE used as the backbone of most Christian doctrines, his words on agape ARE either ignored or very misunderstood. Paul tells us three distinct things regarding agape and while we have explored each of these in past essays, we DO so again. We should understand that the expression of agape Love IS the singular idea that brings us closer to the Lord, the singular idea that should be attached to Jesus’ words 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” (Matthew 7:21). Our expression of agape IS essentially “the will of my Father which is in heaven“. While worshipping the Lord and calling to Him as “Lord, Lord” may make one feel better according to one’s doctrines, the Master IS telling us that this IS meaningless in the absence of agape. This we find in the rest of His words that surround this idea where we read that “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 7:22-23). In Luke’s Gospel this idea IS framed in simplicity as the apostle reports the Master’s words as “why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). This rhetorical question frames for us the ways of men in the churches yet today as Jesus highlights the hypocrisy of those who doctrinally follow the Lord. Paul takes up a similar theme in his words to the Corinthians; words that ARE KNOWN as words on Love but ARE misinterpreted to be in regard to the common ideas of Love and NOT the reality of agape. Paul tells us, in regard to those ideas that the Master shows us above, that we should “covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31) before he tells us the deeper meaning that should be attached to such ‘gifts‘; he tells us:
“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, 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 charity, 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 charity, it profiteth me nothing“
1 Corinthians 13:1-3)
The point here IS that whatsoever men may DO in their attempts to be ‘saved‘ IS meaningless unless it IS accompanied by their expression of agape. Again we must stress that this expression IS NOT of Love as the idea IS commonly understood, it IS NOT our mental and emotional attraction and attachment to others and to things in this world. Agape Love IS beyond these carnal ideas; our expression of agape IS our expression of the Unity of Life through the diversity of forms in this world. Hence the theme Unity in Diversity. While this idea IS ofttimes used in a religious context that says that the diversity of religions should NOT cause prejudicial treatment of others of different faiths, the reality IS that this theme should cover ALL differences among men. Color, race, religion, national origin and even general appearance should ALL result in a sense of brotherhood that sees the differences and appreciates them as part and parcel of the fabric of the human family. And this IS an important word in understanding agape: the human family. We ARE essentially One World, One Humanity and despite the beliefs of many we have but One God who IS completely misunderstood and appropriated by men based upon their inherent prejudices. Such prejudices ARE strictly carnal and ARE often learned attitudes based in one’s nurturing and indoctrination; the two factors that enhance the vanity of men thus creating an ever more difficult way for their Repentance and Transformation. And this IS the problem with organized doctrinal religion: their way of nurturing and indoctrination leaves little room for the individual to fight against his own vanity and this largely because he DOES NOT see nor understand it. This vanity IS rightly defined for us by Vincent who tells us that this Greek word mataiotes that IS rendered as vanity should reveal for us our: perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends4. The main idea concerning our vanity comes from Paul’s Epistle to the Romans and while we have cited this many times in our blogposts, we DO so again because it IS a most important concept. Paul tells us that “the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because expectation that the creature itself also shall be delivered made free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:20-21). Our changes here ARE based in several factors and for clarity we will expand upon them again. First there IS NO need for God to hope; God simply KNOWS as scripture tells us. Vincent maintains the idea of hope despite the way that the Greek word elpis IS defined by Strong’s as: to anticipate, usually with pleasure; expectation (abstractly or concretely) or confidence9a. He DOES however change the rendering of Greek word hopi from because to that based in grammatical concerns; for us, the idea IS better framed through the idea that our deliverance IS NOT because of our hope or expectation, our being made free IS a part of the overall Plan of God. Finally we have the change from “shall be delivered” to “shall be made free“; here the Greek word eleutheroo IS the same word used in the Master’s words saying “the truth shall make you free“. In this we take the idea that we ARE being delivered by an outside force, the Lord, to the reality that we must free ourselves from our vanity, from our “bondage of corruption“. Peter shows us this as our escape saying that we ARE in this “glorious liberty of the children of God” through “having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4). Can we see the points here? Can we see that it IS through our escape from our vanity that we DO express that Love to ALL as we shed our prejudices.
The Apostle Paul, whose words have become the basis for most ALL doctrinal teachings, also tells us that it IS men’s expression of agape that fulfills ALL the law. Here we should understand that while the law was the keyword to the Jews, it IS the combination of the law and the reinterpretation of it by Jesus that men’s embrace of agape DOES fulfill. Paul tells us clearly that “all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Galatians 5:14). Clearly these words ARE against the ‘resurgence’ of vanity in the church at Galatia as the apostle tells the Galatians to cease their self-centered attitudes towards one another. The greater point however has naught to DO with the Galatians; it IS rather a unique recipe for keeping His words through our own expression of Love, our own expression of agape. That this IS a teaching moment for Paul IS evidenced by the context into which his words ARE placed. While he begins with his displeasure regarding the behaviors of some Galatians that have returned to their doctrinal Jewish attitudes toward the law. And, while his words saying “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace” (Galatians 5:4) ARE often used to support Christian doctrinal teachings against works, this IS based ONLY in such doctrines. Those at Galatia that were so “justified by the law” had reverted to the Jews’ view of the law that the Master continually derides in His teaching; this IS Paul’s emphasis and NOT the idea that they were keeping the “weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith” (Matthew 23:23). This IS said by Jesus as part of His lengthy list of woes directed at the Jews’ interpretations of Moses laws as they came to prefer the carnally oriented ancillary aspects regarding mundane matters. Paul’s words ARE NOT however addressed to ALL Galatians as he carefully calls out “whosoever of you are justified by the law” as he continues into his teaching on agape. In his words saying that “all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” we should see the most simple Truth that it IS in our expression of agape that we ARE DOING ALL, we ARE fulfilling ALL of the precepts appointed to men through the ages. From here the apostle goes into the differences between the carnally focused man whose sense of the law IS in the mundane matters offered by Moses and the True spiritual ideas that Paul offers us under the heading of “the fruit of the Spirit“. The mundane matters ARE aspects of the vanity into which ALL men ARE born while the spiritual ideas ARE founded in our escape from our “bondage of corruption” and ARE ALL aspects of our expression of agape. But we should NOT be fooled by the carnally oriented ideas attached to “the fruit of the Spirit” as these ARE NOT the True emphasis intended by Paul; His emphasis IS entirely spiritual. We have covered these ideas of both the “the works of the flesh” and “the fruit of the Spirit” in great detail in previous posts; one series of discussion on these ideas begins at Part 1378. The point here IS that Paul IS telling us that it IS agape that allows us to keep His words as a combination of His precepts and the existing “weightier matters of the law” as he goes on to specifically identify aspects of agape. He tell sus that “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23) and we should note how that he ends these words. While we will NOT expand upon the idea of what ARE “the fruit of the Spirit” here we should try to understand that the rendered ideas here ARE rather mundane versions of the Truth of the Greek words understood spiritually. We should note as well that this IS NOT the ONLY place that Paul offers us this idea that agape IS equivalent to keeping the whole law; he tells us this also in his Epistle to the Romans:
“Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. 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 13:7-11
Here in Romans the apostle offers us a more complete look at the reality of our expression of agape. He shows us specific laws which we should understand ARE but examples of the whole of the law and which include NONE of the ancillary ideas propounded by Moses. We should remember here also that it IS the ancillary ideas of sacrifice, circumcision, diet and the sabbath among others that had consumed the Jews religious practices and that it IS against such practices that the Master spoke. While it IS difficult to compare these ancillary ideas to men’s practices of Christianity we should note that some DO include some of the ideas in their individual denominational practices. Overall however the Christian doctrines DO differ from the Jews but NOT in any meaningful way; the Christians have erected their own set of doctrinal traditions which ARE ofttimes contrary to the Master’s teachings and while they seem to emphasize Love and their interpretation of agape, they offer NO practical realities to their emphasis. Most ALL of the church fails to emphasize the reality of agape and this likely because they DO NOT understand what it IS that agape Truly means in the lives of men. Most DO NOT understand that “love agape is the fulfilling of the law“; they DO NOT understand that “all the law is fulfilled in one word” and that the word IS agape.
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 |
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition
- 9 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon on blueletterbible.org
- 9a The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible 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
