IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 663

Love is the Fulfilling of the Law

ON LOVE; PART CCLII

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GoodWill IS Love in Action

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“Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as  other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart” (Ephesians 4:13-18)

We began our current topic on spiritual growth and the mysteries of the Kingdom of God and thereby the mysteries of Life based in part on our reading of the apostle Paul’s words above which he writes to the Ephesians. In our discussion of the first two verses we were able o see that it is in the singularity of “the faith” and the knowledge of the Christ that we come into being “a perfect man” which should be seen as being a man in the world who IS “unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ“: this IS our goal and our objective both individually and corporately. In the last few essays we have been looking at the idea of the mysteries and growth as they relate to our attaining this perfection and this “measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” and in this Light we did use again the Parable of the Mustard Seed which, when it IS planted in the conscious Life of the man in the world, grows steadily into the reality of the Kingdom within. Today, let us look again at Paul’s words at the beginning of these sayings and try to rightly understand his intent which, as we said at the start of this discussion, is sometimes hard to discern based on his use of language, the translations and translators bias in rendering the Greek words.

As we began this discussion we looked at the idea of unity in relation to the multiplicity of denominations and sects of the church that professes the ONE Christ and the ensuing variability of the doctrinal thoughts about Christ that come from this, we should see that there is a reality to this which is yet True in the world today. That this is True in Paul’s day can be seen in some of his other writings like this from his First Epistle to the Corinthians where he tells them: “For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I  am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:11-13). Can we see in these words the beginnings of the break, the loss of that singularity? Again we find Paul’s displeasure in his Epistle to the Galatians where 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. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:6-9). We should try to see that in these accusations of Paul to the disciples to whom he writes, there is likely confusion regarding the teachings and the method of approach to God and to Christ and perhaps we can see here again the beginnings of the splits in understanding of “of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God“, splits that have grown over the centuries and especially since the reformation with some based upon doctrine, others upon culture and yet others upon politics….and still others based upon some combinations of these reasons and likely others as well. This was our approach, the church and the effects of the many different doctrines and teachings on man’s understanding of the Christ as well as the reality of the needed singularity that IS sorely lacking yet today.

As we have been saying, the recognition of the intent and the realization of the words changes, is enhanced, as one reviews and ponders the various statements of the Master and His apostles and a part of this necessarily involves our ability to break away from the preconceived and away from the varying doctrinal approaches which much of the translations are based upon. Also, we must ever be aware of the hidden meanings, the mysteries if you will, that are only available to those who can do as we say here and do so from the perspective of the True man, the Soul, and not through the thoughts, attitudes and actions of the personality. In this Light, let us look again at the words of Paul above phrase by phrase and then in the entirety:

• “Till we all come in the unity of the faith“. This of course is understood as being the church and as we read from one of our doctrinal examples, John Gill, we see this understanding: Till we all come in the unity of the faith: These words regard the continuance of the Gospel ministry in the church, until all the elect of God come in: or “to the unity of the faith”; by which is meant, not the union between the saints, the cement of which is love; nor that which is between Christ and his people, of which his love, and not their faith, is the bond; but the same with the “one faith”, ( Ephesians 4:5 ) and designs either the doctrine of faith, which is uniform, and all of a piece; and the sense is, that the ministration of the Gospel will continue until the saints entirely unite in their sentiments about it, and both watchmen and churches see eye to eye: or else the grace of faith, which as to its nature, object, author, spring, and cause, is the same; and it usually comes by hearing; and all God’s elect shall have it; and the work and office of the ministry will remain until they are all brought to believe in Christ ⁸. Now who Mr. Gill refers to as saints is not KNOWN but this can be understood in Christian jargon as any who ‘believe’ and work according to their doctrines and, overall, we should get the idea that he is saying that there must be a unification here of these doctrines to the point where all may see eye to eye. And this has been our point as well, in both our words above and in previous posts. However, there IS another view that can be taken here and this IS the individual view of one’s own salvation; we start here with the lexicon and their understanding of the Greek word pas which is here translated as all; the lexicon tells us that pas means: individually, each, every, any, all, the whole, everyone, all things, everything, collectively some of all types. They go on to explain that: … “the whole world has gone after him” Did all the world go after Christ? “then went all Judea, and were baptized of him in Jordan.”Was all Judea, or all Jerusalem, baptized in Jordan? “Ye are of God, little children”, and the whole world lieth in the wicked one”. Does the whole world there mean everybody? The words “world” and “all” are used in some seven or eight senses in Scripture, and it is very rarely the “all” means all persons, taken individually. The words are generally used to signify that Christ has redeemed some of all sorts– some Jews, some Gentiles, some rich, some poor, and has not restricted His redemption to either Jew or Gentile … ². Here we can see the divergent interpretations of this word pas and we should also be able to understand within this divergence that the idea IS NOT the church but IT is the thoughts, attitudes and action of the target audience to whom the apostle writes….disciples and aspirants. Seeing this then we can also see the reality of bringing ALL of these into a common sense of “the faith“, the KNOWING of their role and their understanding of the awesome responsibilities of the disciple and the aspirant who would be one. Looking yet deeper we can see also that there is the understanding of unity, of oneness, of singularity, in the focus of the man so that he can be seen as single minded in his faith, KNOWING the Truth as he can see it in the Light of the Soul. In this we should see that the man is not inclined to seek the convenience of doctrines but to see the Truth in the Master’s words which the apostle tells us of in the next verses. The Apostle James, also speaking to disciples and aspirants, tells them that: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded” (James 4:7-8); in James’ words here we can see his perception of there being some degree of variance in the minds of men and we have his admonition that this should cease, that the disciple and the aspirant MUST submit and draw nigh. James helps us understand also the reality of this being “double minded” as he tells us “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8) and in this we should be able to understand Paul’s call for unity as single mindedness as the man stands in the Light of the Soul. The Master tells us these words that can be related as well to our struggle toward single mindedness: “It is the spirit that quickeneth ; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:33).
• and of the knowledge of the Son of God. In the Prologue to the Gospel of the Apostle John we read that: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12) and it is in this context that we proceed. Taking the deeper meanings above, the single mindedness of the disciple and the aspirant, we should be able to see clearly the reality of each as a Son of God and that this reality IS realized by the man in form according to the saying from John above which is in itself the source of much confusion. We of course understand the depth of these words and the reality of receiving Him and believing on Him. As we begin here we should understand the the entirety of the first part of John’s Prologue is steeped in mystery, the very mysteries that we seek to unveil, and that most of this mystery IS in the words of the apostle. We start here with the word received which is considered to be in the common understanding of believing which doctrine paints as that there is some sort of power that the Christ bequeaths to them that are so believing and by extension to Christians. Now we understand the reality of believing in and believing on the Christ which we often discuss and in this saying should we look at receiving Him in any less way? To believe in means, in our understanding, to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life ⁴ and this IS for us synonymous with keeping His word. On receiving, as the term is used here and in the previous verse which says “He came unto his own, and his own received him not“, Vincent tells us: Received ( παρέλαβον ) Most commonly in the New Testament of taking one along with another. See on Matthew 4:5; see on Matthew 17:1; see on Acts 16:33. But also of accepting or acknowledging one to be what he professes to be, and of receiving something transmitted, as 1 Corinthians 11:23; Galatians 1:12, etc. Westcott thinks this latter sense is implied here; Christ having been offered by the teachers of Israel through John. Alford adopts the former sense; “expressing the personal assumption to one’s self as a friend or companion.” De Wette explains to receive into the house. Godet strains a point by explaining as welcomed. De Wette’s explanation seems to agree best with his own home. Here again compare the nice choice of verbs: apprehended ( κατέλαβεν ) the Light as a principle, and received ( παρέλαβον ) the Light as a person and the Master of the house ⁴, as regards the idea of “received him not“. And, in reference to the next verse (12) Vincent tells us Received ( ἔλαβον ) The simple verb of the compound παρέλαβον in John 1:11. The meaning of the two verbs is substantially the same (so Alford, De Wette, and apparently Meyer), though some recognize a difference, as Milligan and Moulton, who render παρέλαβον acceptedand ἔλαβον receivedand say that “the former lays emphasis upon the will that consented (or refused) to receive, while the latter brings before us the possession gained: so that the full meaning is, As many as by accepting Him, received Him.” This is a long way to go to get the understanding of the full meaning is, As many as by accepting Him, received Him and in this we should see the same ideas that we gain from believing in and believing on.
  
  What we are trying to establish here is that in Paul’s use of the words Sons of God, that we can get that the deeper understanding which is that of the Soul, the Christ Within as John IS telling us that we have that power to become such Sons in the Earth when we are focused and attentive to the promptings of the Soul, the Christ and the God Within, in Life. It is in this focus that we get revelation and in this revelation IS that Wisdom from above and in this Wisdom is that knowledge which Paul frames as “the knowledge of the Son of God” and which we should see as the Christ and then the Christ Within. Looking back again to John’s words, we should look at the continuation of his thoughts from the Prologue where he tells us that we are as Son’s of God “Which were born , not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13). In this we should see the Master’s teaching of the Fatherhood of God and not the fanciful idea that we are actual children.

The Master’s teaching on His Fatherhood is intended to span the reality of the True man and his expression in the world where we KNOW that it IS ONLY those whose Life is rightly focused that can realize this relationship in the world and we should see as well that in the Master’s words ALL men in the Earth have this potential. In the Master’s positive framing of this we see His use of our relationship to God even as He shows us the relative equality of ALL men saying: “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:44-45). We should note here that the Master does include some criteria for this realization yet frames this in a way that we see the reality of His view of the equality of ALL men. Taking this back to John’s words we see yet another reality which takes the Sons of God title OUT OF THE WORLD as we see that the True man IS NOT born “of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man” and it is in this understanding that the Creation in Genesis should be viewed.

In our deeper meaning then we have these realities:

• That the phrase “Till we all come in the unity of the faith” is reference to the single mindedness, the singleness of focus,  that is necessary for spiritual progress and this IS True both individually and corporately but here, in Paul’s writing, he IS speaking to disciples as individuals.
• That the phrase “and of the knowledge of the Son of God” is reference to the reality of the Christ Within who is KNOWN by that single mindedness and that singular focus upon the things of God. It is here in this state that the Wisdom from above is made available to the personality in form.

We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.

Aspect of God	Potency	Aspect of Man	In Relation to the Great Invocation	In relation to the Christ
GOD, The Father	Will or Power	Spirit or Life	Center where the Will of God IS KNOWN	Life
Son, The Christ	Love and Wisdom	Soul or Christ Within	Heart of God	Truth
Holy Spirit	Light or Activity	Life Within	Mind of God	Way

Note on the Quote of the Day

This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.

Staying on the theme of Love we repeat again the sayings of the Apostle Paul that put this Love into perspective.

But earnestly desire the best gifts.

And yet I show you a more excellent way.

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love,

I have become sounding brass or a clanging 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,

but have not love, I am nothing.

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor,

and though I give my body to be burned,

but have not love, it profits me nothing.

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three;

but the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 12:31, 13:1-13

(New King James Version)

Regardless of our daily theme, the underlying theme of our posts and of this entire blog is Love. In these words from Paul we should be able to see the overriding importance of Love in the Life of each of us. This is a common theme throughout the gospels and the other writings of the apostles and a theme that is not nearly understood. In our theme today regarding Paul’s writings to the Romans and in the previous discussions on them we seek to impart the better understanding of the reality of Life, the Life of the True man as the Christ Within, the Soul, as it is from this perspective that we can gain that revelation of Truth and, as Paul says above, be free from the condemnation and the vanity of Life in form, free from the illusion and the glamour. We repeat here what we said about these verses in a prior post:

Today’s Quote of the Day from the Apostle Paul is his testimony to the power of Love. After speaking at length about the gifts of the Spirit that one should desire in order to be of service to the Lord, he says plainly that Love is a more excellent way. Love in the context of these verses is not the sentimental or affectionate kind that we ordinarily think of but rather 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. This defining of Love is covered in some depth in a previous post; In the Words of Jesus part 47.

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, 1888
• ⁸  Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com