ON LOVE; PART MDXLVIII
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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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In the last essay we discussed again the Master’s words from His Sermon on the Mount that describe for us the necessary focus of men who desire to Truly seek the Kingdom of God, the Truth and the Presence of the Lord in their lives as men in this Earth. The Master describes for us the nature of the man of Truth as one who chooses “treasures in heaven” over “treasures upon earth“, one who chooses to focus upon the things of God, the single eye, over the things of the self, the evil eye, and the one who understands that in the choice between God and mammon means that one must choose; that it IS NOT possible to “serve God and mammon“. Finally, in this segment of His Sermon, Jesus tells us that we must lose our focus on the carnal and the mundane, on our “treasures upon earth, on mammon if you will, as we “Take no thought for your life” (Matthew 20, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25). ALL these things that the Master shows us ARE necessary changes to the Life of a man who Truly Repents according to the spiritual meaning of the word which Vincent shows us IS: Such a virtuous alteration of the mind and purpose as begets a like virtuous change in the life and practice4. It IS in our Repentance that we can begin to Transform our lives and begin in earnest to serve God over mammon and here today we will try to understand that what our serving God means in the Life of a man in this world. We begin with the Apostle Paul’s words saying “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And 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 12:1-2)
While this idea of being “not conformed to this world” IS bandied about in the churches, it IS NOT at all understood according to the intent of the apostle. Far too many believe that in their doctrinal allegiance that they ARE NO longer conforming to this world and this IS because this IS what their doctrines teach them. This IS far from the Truth however as the reality of being “conformed to this world” IS being held captive, in bondage if you will, to one’s “treasures upon earth” and to one’s continual focus upon the carnal and the mundane which IS the reality of mammon. Most ALL men in and out of the churches fail to understand that in the Master’s words saying “Take no thought for your life” IS His admonishment that we should cease our focus on the self and the interests of the self in this world. In the last essay we briefly touched upon the meaning of this to the modern man who IS overwhelmed with the potential for carnal comfort and spends the majority of his Life seeking for more. This IS the ‘sin’: that men focus their lives upon their carnal comfort which 2000 years ago revolved around the Master’s examples of “what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink;” and “what ye shall put on“. Today, in this modern world, things ARE much different, the advancements in science and culture have brought us previously unfathomable new carnal comforts and pleasures and it IS these that men seek out for themselves and for those that they hold dear. The ‘sin’ IS NOT that we work and provide for ourselves and our families, the ‘sin’ IS that we focus upon these things to the near elimination of any spiritual focus at ALL. Our plans and schemes ARE for more and greater; bigger houses, nicer cars, better social Life, more self importance in the workplace, and the list can go on and on. ALL of this seeking after the carnal and the mundane IS the product of our vanity which IS yet an idea, presented by Paul, that IS little understood. Many equate this idea that “the creature was made subject to vanity” (Romans 8:20) with the doctrinal idea of the ‘fall of man’ as this IS depicted for us in the Book of Genesis. This equating alone IS NOT the problem as it matters NOT how we ARE born into this vanity, it ONLY matters how that we can get out of its clutches. The bigger problem IS that too many see the Book of Genesis as a factual portrayal of the origins of man as they set aside scientific evidence and spend much in resources to support their theories that the words of Genesis ARE indeed factual. We often cite the works of Alexander Maclaren who tells us, regarding the Book of Genesis, that: it be forgotten that this vision of creation was given to people ignorant of natural science, and prone to fall back into surrounding idolatry 12. Mr. Maclaren goes on to show us the very nature of his ideas regarding creation, which for us paint a common sense picture, which much of the church DOES NOT see through their indoctrination into their particular denomination or sect. Far too many involve themselves in the idea that the Earth IS less than 7000 years old which idea for us IS tantamount to believing that the Earth IS flat.
We should try to see that it IS men’s beliefs that keep then bound to their carnal lives which ARE ever “conformed to this world“, often in ways that ARE NOT recognizable to the man himself. We should understand as well that most men DO NOT desire to become saints or disciples; most ARE content in their belief systems which often assures them of their place in heaven. At the same time we should try to see and to understand that the whole of the New Testament IS intended to make disciples of men and here we should remember that in full discipleship IS the reality of sainthood, the reality of being hagios or most holy. This drive to discipleship begins in the Master’s words that tell His disciples “Go ye therefore, and teach make disciples of all nations people, baptizing immersing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world time” ()Matthew 28:17-20). We have made several edits to the King James text and while we have explained most of these in previous essays, it IS time to DO so again. We begin with the idea of teach; here we have the Greek word IS matheteuo which IS a different word than that used in the next verse and also rendered teaching. The primary definition of matheteuo IS: intransitively, to become a pupil; transitively, to disciple9a according to Strong’s while Thayer’s tells us that matheteuo IS: intransitive, τίνι, to be the disciple of one; to follow his precepts and instruction and transitive, to make a disciple; to teach, instruct9. The grammatical classification here IS transitive according to Thayer’s and the word IS rendered as “make disciples of” by other translators. Vincent adds for us: Teach [μαθητευσατε] . Rev., rightly, make disciples of in a simple statement. The idea then should be clear except for the way that the word disciple has become simply a student with our modern dictionary defining it as: a person who is a pupil or an adherent of the doctrines of another*. The dictionary gives the example of a disciple of Freud* and through this we should be able to see the applications of the word in common language. The dictionary DOES add some religious notes saying that the disciple IS: one of the 12 personal followers of Christ; one of the 70 followers sent forth by Christ; and any other professed follower of Christ in His lifetime and then adding that the disciple IS any follower of Christ*. While this last idea IS True, it IS misinterpreted as even the ‘casual’ follower of Christ IS understood to be His disciple. Here we should remember the specific criteria that the Master offers us, criteria that IS ill understood by most.
Because there IS rather straightforward and clearly written criteria for being a disciple of the Master, it should be clear that His instructions to His disciples ARE NOT merely to teach them the tenets of True Christianity but rather to immerse them in the reality of discipleship. The Master’s criteria IS ignored by those who teach that discipleship can be the appellation given to those that ARE simply a ‘casual’ follower of Christ and any reading of His words should reveal this. Jesus tells us “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) and here, as we have discussed, the idea IS that one would abide in His words which IS to keep His words. The Master goes deeper in His criteria for discipleship saying in Luke’s Gospel that “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple” adding after some words on the cost of discipleship that “whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26:27, 33). These ARE clearly stated and subject to very little interpretation save for our understanding of the idea of hate which we have discussed several times in recent posts. These ARE NOT isolated ideas and while other sayings may NOT specifically mention discipleship they ARE nonetheless speaking of the same ideas; we see this in such sayings as “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34). Each of the three synoptic gospels offers us a similar idea. The point here IS that discipleship IS the goal of everyman, albeit a goal that IS NOT quite understood as a goal. That the Master pushes this idea into the hearts of men through His words IS likely the cause for the dilution of the idea of discipleship which has become, like so many others, merely a word; again, this one according to the dictionary simply refers to as any follower of Christ*.
Whenever we see or hear phrases like “come after me“, and “follow me“, the reference IS to becoming His disciple and at each mention there IS an added idea such as “let him deny himself” and “let the dead bury their dead” (Matthew 8:22) which IS said to men so that they will understand that they must leave their focus upon the worldly Life; lose their focus on the carnal and mundane. This IS what IS meant by the Master as He encourages ALL men to “come after me“, and “follow me” as new disciples, aspirants to discipleship as we frame this. As aspirants we DO have some measure of agape Love and Truth flowing into our heretofore carnal minds and it IS through our increasing measure that we can fulfill the words of the Apostle Paul who tells us to “be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind“. While much of the church believes that the diluted idea of discipleship IS their calling based in their allegiance to their doctrinal precepts, it IS actually the Master’s precepts that have that result; the result of being among His “disciples indeed” as this IS framed by the Master. There IS then a wide gap between what the church sees as being a follower of Christ and what the Master means through His words in the New Testament and, to be sure, the difference IS found in the ability of the man to keep His words or, at a minimum, strive to DO so. This IS the message of our trifecta as well: that we keep His words in order to be among His “disciples indeed” and have access by measure to the other ‘rewards‘ that He cites; repeating our trifecta 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).
ALL of these verses from the New Testament ARE in regard to keeping His words which IS in the end the ONLY measure of our discipleship, our ONLY measure of being True followers of the Lord. As we consistently say, it IS sore unfortunate that the churches DO NOT even broach the subject of True discipleship. At the same time we should try to see the value of the churches in as least keeping the idea of God on the minds of their own followers and while this will likely move few further toward the goal, it IS still likely a necessary part of the overall Plan. The ideas here ARE similar to those that we find in the New Testament as the Master comes to abhor the way that the Jews manipulated the edicts of the Prophet Moses and turned them into the Jewish doctrines that Jesus railed against. It IS in their failure to carry forward the Truth of Moses teachings that resulted in such ideas as Jesus telling the Jews’ leaders “Verily I say unto you,That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you“. These words ARE the closing words to the Parable of the Two Sons which shows us the dilemma facing the church today, which IS but a carryover from the Jews’ doctrinal pronouncements muddled with the teachings of the early church. The Master tells us the parable saying “But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not“. There IS a rather clear message here that shows us the state of men’s minds both then and now. Of course the whole of the teaching here has naught to DO with familial relationships and can be, as He intended, applied to the church. The Jews then and the Christians to this day have been charged with carrying forward “the will of my Father which is in heaven“; then, as a group they rebel against the charge as we read of the history of the Jews in the Old Testament stories. This IS the way of the second son who accepts the edicts of the Lord but never fulfills them; fifteen hundred years later the Master calls them out regarding their failure. The first son IS the model but one that IS seldom followed; he rebels against the charge but later Repents and DOES “the will of my Father which is in heaven“. While even the Jews agree that it IS the first son that IS the model, they DO NOT and have NOT followed suit as they still, to that day and beyond, simply ignore the heart of the law in favor of their doctrinal approach. The Master sees this reality that they may agree but yet DO NOT DO and says “Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you” (Matthew 21:28-31). Here the publicans and the harlots represent those that rebel and then repent and as we have often said it IS easier for such as these to enter the Kingdom than those that follow their doctrinal approach to God.
While the idea of most IS that these words ONLY pertain to the treatment of John the Baptist by the Jews’ leaders, the True lesson goes much further. While there ARE several differing commentaries regarding this short parable, most ALL miss the most simple point and this likely because it IS a spiritual one that far removed from common thought. If we were to look at these brothers as Souls and understand that it IS the goal of every Soul to overcome his own vanity and to focus his Life upon the things of God, we would have a great starting point. Both come with the same intent and although there may be differences in their ability to control the fom that they have incarnated into, they both have the same charge. Such differences ARE another topic for another essay but in short we should try to understand that the Soul IS in a position to ‘choose’ the Life into which he IS born; this ‘choice’ however IS NOT a conscious one, it IS rather based upon the accumulated Power of any individual Soul as more advanced Souls will ‘choose’ to be born into more complex lives. Two brothers then ARE tasked with overcoming the wiles of the flesh; the one, perhaps a more religious man, willingly accepts the idea of following the Lord but instead follows in the traditions and the doctrines into which he was indoctrinated. The other perhaps rejects the ideas of religion and while he may seem lost to others, he Repents and follows “the will of my Father which is in heaven“. The story here IS simply that while one may seem to be willingly following the Lord but IS living outside of the precepts of the Master, either willingly or in deception. The other who seems to reject the Lord and follows NO religion, “the publicans and the harlots“, asJesus’ example, eventually see the Light, Repent and begin their Transformation away from being “conformed to this world“. In this parable IS the fuel for our determination that those in the church will and likely DO have the greater difficulty in Truly finding the Lord and while much of this problem IS that they believe that the already have ‘found’ God. This IS the deception shown us by the Apostle James who tells us clearly that men should “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22).
Of course we must understand that this idea IS rejected by the church and we should try to see that such rejection IS also a part of the overall idea of deception that encumbers those who ARE in the doctrinal churches and it matters NOT what denomination or sect one attaches himself to. The idea of deception IS NOT used much in the New Testament but where it IS, it should be noticed and understood. We begin here with the Master’s words spoken to His disciples who, while disciples, ARE yet in the early stages of their own understanding. Jesus tells them and us through them to “Take heed that no man deceive you“. The Greek word rendered as deceive here IS planao and the meaning here IS rather clear; Strong’s tells us that planao means: to (properly, cause to) roam (from safety, truth, or virtue)9a. Here the idea of deception IS that we should NOT let others lead us astray and this idea IS well taken from the King James Translation. Here then is a type of deception for which we must watch as it IS caused by others, it DOES NOT however need to be a malicious deception. We can be deceived by the words of others that we deem as authorities or by the constant repetition of an idea that can become seemingly factual. This IS a different Greek word than that used by James which relates to self-deception but we should understand here that planao can easily lead one to James’ use of the Greek word paralogizomai. This word paralogizomai IS defined by Strong’s as: to misreckon9a which idea takes on a strictly personal understanding. To be paralogizomai then IS to be deceived and we should note here that it can be planao, as a causative idea that can result in paralogizomai or self-deception. We should try to see here how that the words of others presumed to be in authority, words that ARE NOT essentially True but ARE interpretations gleaned by men, can cause us to be paralogizomai or deceived. Bringing this to James words we should be able to see and to understand that the doctrinal indoctrination that IS given to us by presumed authorities can result in our own view that we DO NOT have to be “doers of the word” which IS the view of many denominations and sects. This man then who listens and obeys the doctrinal pronouncements that run contrary to the words of the Master IS then deceived and while his deception may have been caused by the authoritative words of others, the end result for this man IS self-deception. We can also add here that James speaks of NOT being “hearers only” and here we should note that many of the sermons and bible readings that men DO hear DO include the accurate words of the Master that tell us to keep His words and that such admonitions ARE then self-measured against the authoritative posture of the speaker.
The Master puts much emphasis upon this idea of being deceived by others and we should read His words here in context. Jesus tells His disciples “Take heed that no man deceive you“. While these words ARE Jesus’ answer to the question posed asking “what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?“, their intent reaches far beyond discussions of the supposed subject of the ‘end times’. We read the Master’s words from the King James Bible saying “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet” (Matthew 24: 3, 4:6). Again, while Jesus’ words seem specific to the question, the doctrinal understanding of these words by many IS itself deceiving; while the question seems to be in regard to the “end of the world“, the answer IS in regard to the downfall of Jerusalem which will happen during the apostle’s Lifetimes. Vincent tells us that the idea here regarding the “end of the world” should be understood as the end of: the existing, current age4 but we should understand that even this IS led by doctrinal understanding. The Greek word aeon which IS rendered as world has many meanings which the lexicon lists as: for ever, an unbroken age, perpetuity of time, eternity; the worlds, universe; period of time, age2 while Thayers includes the idea of: a human lifetime9 which IS how the word IS used by ancient Greek poets. In the same chapter the Master uses the idea of deception again saying “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:24). In these words we should be able to see the potential strength of the deception of which the Master speaks; here the idea IS from the Greek word planao which we cite above as the causative idea for our self-deception. The idea of deception can carry men into being deceived by contradictory ideas of Truth; by those that proclaim Truths that ARE false and this the Apostle John shows us as well as he recounts a scene where the people ARE torn between accepting the words of Jesus or the words of the doctrinal authorities, the Pharisees; we read:
“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water…..Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? So there was a division among the people because of him. And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him. Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him? The officers answered, Never man spake like this man. Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived? Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him? But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed” (John 7:37-38, 40-49).
We intentionally left out verse 39 which IS John’s parenthetical commentary and which IS unrelated to our subject verses above; many commentator’s differ on the meaning of John’s ‘utterance‘ as Cannon Wescott call John’s words. We can discuss verse 39 later in our essay or in another. Our point here IS that the Pharisee’s ARE themselves deceived by their own indoctrination and that they planao, deceive, others by claiming that their deceptions ARE the Truth; this IS indeed a complicated subject. We should remember how that the Master calls out the Pharisee’s deception, both self-deception and the deception of others based in their self-deception and there IS one phrase by Jesus that encapsulates this. After makes His statements regarding the way that the Pharisees ARE “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men“, His disciples come to Him and say “Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?” (Mark 7:7). To this the Master replies “Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch” (Matthew 15:9, 12:14). As the idea that those who have assumed authority over the spiritual lives of others ARE “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” was NOT accepted by the Pharisees in Jesus’ time, nor by the Jews in Isaiah’s time, the idea IS also rejected by most ALL Christian denominations and sects. In most ALL cases this IS the same dynamic of people believing what they have been indoctrinated into without recognizing that they ARE deceived and then teaching this same to the masses thereby deceiving them. And what IS the deception? We could say that it IS that they DO NOT teach that men should be “doers of the word” but it IS much more than that. The deception of the masses IS a wholesale rejection of the words of Jesus, the Christ after which their religion IS named.
Two more ideas we should add in here. First there IS the Apostle James’ caution on becoming a teacher and this we should understand in every sense but mostly as a spiritual endeavor. Yes there ARE many well meaning priests and preachers across ALL the denominations and sects of Christianity but we should understand that ALL that DO NOT base their teaching on the teachings of the Master ARE deceived and some more than others. Some however ARE NOT deceived as we portray that idea here, some intentionally mislead others for self-aggrandizement and for profit; for many being a preacher IS but a job, a career if you will, with little or NO True spiritual foundation. James’ caution IS simple but largely misunderstood by those who choose to be teachers of spiritual ideas; the apostle tells us “be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body” (James 3:1-2). James IS equating the idea of didaskalos which IS rendered as masters with himself, including himself in the equation if you will. Strong’s defines didaskalos as: an instructor (genitive case or specially) and we should note that most other bible translations use the idea of teachers in place of masters. While Vincent tells us that the apostle’s point IS: warning against the too eager and general assumption of the privilege of teaching, which was not restricted to a particular class, but was exercised by believers generally 4, we DO NOT agree. What we see here IS a caution against being a preacher and teaching whatsoever one was indoctrinated into for whensoever we teach things which ARE contrary to the Truth we ARE in position to “receive the greater condemnation” and the scale of misinformation seems rather infinite. Perhaps the effect of this “greater condemnation” can be found in Jesus’ words saying “if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch“.
Our second pertinent idea here IS Jesus’ words on “false prophets“. These words we have discussed several times over the course of our blogposts and here again we should try to see how that it IS the teacher of false doctrines that IS the culprit in the Master’s words. Jesus tells us “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). The idea of the prophet IS misunderstood when it IS equated with the prophets of the Old Testament. The Greek word prophetes DOES NOT relate ONLY to such prophets but IS a more general word that Strong’s defines as: a foreteller (“prophet”); by analogy, an inspired speaker; by extension, a poet:—prophet 9a. The general idea from Thayer’s IS that the prophet IS: one who speaks forth by divine inspiration 9 and to be sure most ALL Christian preachers can be fit into this category with some outwardly claiming that what they ARE saying came from the Lord. Again, in the absence of a teaching that IS based in the Master’s words, ALL such teachers ARE among the “false prophets” as they teach their own doctrinal ideas based in whatsoever denomination or sect they ARE affiliated with. The bottom line offered to us by Jesus IS that “ Ye shall know them by their fruits“, an Truth that he repeats for us at the end saying “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them“. Such fruits ARE NOT however based in the teachings that they offer as the hearer CAN NOT tell the Truth from the falsehood unless he has moved past doctrinal religions and IS Repented and being Transformed. Such fruits ARE based in the overall comportment of the teacher and here the question should be IS this person living as Life expressive of agape Love to ALL with NO “respect to persons” (James 2:11).
Much of what we have stated here can be seen as offensive to the doctrinal thinker and for that we apologize; not for what we say but for the reaction that what we say may engender. Those of us who write and speak ideas that ARE contrary to doctrines ARE called heretics and based on the common definition of a heretic, we ARE surely among them. But we ARE NOT heretics in the eyes of the Lord nor in the realm of Truth as we resist the ways of doctrinal religions which continually move further and further from the Truths that the Master teaches. Finally we would ask the reader to remember the ideas that we posted a few essays back where we cited the ideas of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his Theory of Stupidity; it will serve us well to review the impact of his words on our current subject and the overall Christian situation.
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 |
- 2 New Testament Greek lexicon on biblestudytools.com
- 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.or
- 12 Expositions of Holy Scripture–Project Gutenberg’s and Baker Book House’ Expositions of Holy Scripture, by Alexander Maclaren–(1826-1910)
- * Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
