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).
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ
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.
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ
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).
While our main topic in the last essay was agape, we seemed to drift off into the idea of humbleness and then into the reality of having NO “respect to persons” as regards our own status as men in this world. This IS an important point to understand, this idea of humbleness, it IS a very important part of our expression of agape Love; our expression of that Love that stems from the timeless precept that “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself“. Without humbleness this IS impossible and while this may seem like an ALL or nothing idea, it too IS subject to the factor of measure that we ofttimes cite according to the words of the Master who tells us such things as “with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again” (Matthew 7:2). We should remember that these or similar words ARE used across a wide array of subjects which should show us the extent of their reach in this idea of measure. In the end of the last essay we combined this idea of humbleness with that of riches and began to explore the biblical ideas that show us throughout the New Testament that such riches ARE but a burden to our spiritual advancement. In some parts of the church today the idea of riches and possessions IS an area of concentration that, from our perspective, ONLY serves to enhance the spiritual burden of men. In some parts of the church there IS a constant attempt to use the ideas of the Old Testament, the ideas that color much of the Jews evolution from Abraham to Jesus, to show that the idea of riches IS a Godly ‘gift’ to the man who will follow the doctrinal dictates. This IS contrary to ALL that the Master teaches but this fact has proven ineffective in changing the minds of those who have promulgated such doctrine over the centuries. The clearest example of the Master’s disdain for the idea of having wealth and possessions IS found in the story of the one who IS often referred to as the ‘rich young ruler’ although those words ARE NOT directly used. Rather this man IS called as “a certain ruler” (L:uke 18:18), he IS called as “one running, and kneeled to him” (Mark 10:17) and as “one” who “came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16). Regardless of the approach, the idea IS ever the same as the “certain ruler” has much riches and IS seeking “eternal Life” which IS at best an undefined term yet today save for some doctrinal theories. Luke reports the story as:
“a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved? And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God“
Luke 18:18-27
From the perspective of humbleness we should try to see and to understand that a man of wealth generally CAN NOT be humble as his worldly status places him above most others and ONLY beneath those that have more wealth. Similarly, this man’s objective proves to be that he desires to remain a man of wealth and it IS this that he weighs against his desire to “inherit eternal life“. The story tells us clearly that this man’s desire to keep his wealth overwhelms whatsoever desire that he may have had for “eternal life“. We should add here that this man IS a follower of the law from his Jewish perspective and, according to the text, he appears to comply with the Master’s words saying “except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). From our perspective this IS Good; it shows us the reality of Repentance and the way of Transformation although without showing us this man’s expression of agape; without such expression keeping the commandments profits the man very little. Paul shows us this saying “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity agape, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal” which in the next verse he frames as “I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1, 2). The point here IS that our expression of agape IS the singular idea that puts us on the Path to Truth and while keeping the commandments IS Good it IS simply NOT enough when such keeping in according to doctrinal precepts. This IS perhaps what Paul IS trying to show us as he tells us of works versus faith but the church has interpreted this idea to the exclusion of the completion of such works which IS our expression of agape. In the story above the Master IS making the singular point of agape, our expression of it, in a way that builds upon His words from the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus tells the “certain ruler” clearly “Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me“. In this we should see the Master’s words from His Sermon saying:
“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…..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“
Luke 6:27-33, 35
While there IS NO direct link between the story of the rich young ruler and his expression of agape, we should see the seeds of this expression in Jesus’ words above where the theme IS that we give. We give prayer for “them which despitefully use you“; we give the other cheek to “him that smiteth thee” and we give away our coat to “him that taketh away thy cloke“. Moreover we “Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again” and to this we should add that we should “lend, hoping for nothing again” which IS the same as just giving. Surely these ARE difficult ideas to both comprehend and to accomplish based upon the carnal ways of men in this world. In this difficulty we should see the reality of the tribulation that IS faced by the man who Truly seeks the Lord as well as the manifold reasons for his failure. This sense of tribulation IS well beyond the common understanding as ‘persecution‘ that IS seen by the church as they interpret the Master’s words solely in this way. In the last essay we discussed this idea of thilpsis which IS rendered as tribulation and discovered its many meanings from which the idea of pressure IS perhaps the most accurate description as offered us by Strong’s9a. The whole of this idea, both from the perspective of persecution held by the church and the pressure that afflicts ALL that seek to shed their carnal ways, IS from the Master’s words saying to His disciples “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Here we should try to see and to understand that “These things I have spoken unto you” ARE NOT limited to those words that precede these in the Gospel of John but ALL “things I have spoken unto you“. ALL things that have the objective of that peace of which Jesus says earlier in the gospel “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). As we said in the last essay, Jesus tells us that “In the world ye shall have tribulation” and we should see this as a statement of fact as we understand that for each of us our tribulations will differ and here we should look at this idea from the perspective of Jesus words on the idea that one must “bear his cross“.
As part of the Master’s criteria on discipleship there IS His statement that “whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot* be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). This IS a much debated statement and perhaps in this idea of tribulation we can find a better reality for these words. This same idea IS also included in Matthew’s Gospel where the overall idea seems different but IS actually the same. In Matthew we read “he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:38). The link here IS that being His disciple and being worthy of Him ARE synonymously used by the gospel writers and, based upon Jesus’ other criteria for both, we should see the completeness of these ideas in regard to being True followers of the Lord. Our point here IS NOT to draw this comparison but rather to explore the idea of our tribulation, self imposed as followers of the Lord, and our bearing of our cross and for this we return again to Vincent who tells us:
His cross [τον σταυρον αυτου] . This was no Jewish proverb, crucifixion not being a Jewish punishment; so that Jesus uses the phrase anticipatively, in view of the death which he himself was to die. This was one of those sayings described in John 12:16, which the disciples understood not at the first, but the meaning of which was revealed in the light of later events. The figure itself was borrowed from the practice which compelled criminals to bear their own cross to the place of execution. His cross : his own. All are not alike. There are different crosses for different disciples. The English proverb runs : “Every cross hath its inscription” – the name of him for whom it is shaped4.
While we may NOT agree with the substance of Mr. Vincent’s remarks here we DO agree with the position that All are not alike. There are different crosses for different disciples. Each man must bear their own cross in the same way that each must deal with his own tribulations and for either there can be NO outside help; there IS ONLY the prompting of one’s own Soul as we strive to overcome our individual measure of vanity. Vincent’s reference to John’s Gospel IS to show the idea that the understanding of the apostles IS yet limited and that they DO NOT understand ALL that the Master tells them as they too strive to deal with their own tribulations and bear their own crosses. Returning to our discussion of the rich young ruler we should note that in Mark’s version of this event the Master’s words ARE framed as “Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me” (Mark 10:21). Here the cross IS used to show the tribulation, the pressure, that has overwhelmed the rich young ruler’s desire to “inherit eternal life” (Mark 10:17) and in this we should try to see the plight of most ALL men. That the other gospels have no reference to the cross in this scenario DOES NOT change the idea that we ARE presenting as this idea of taking “up the cross” IS inherent in the reality of Truly following the Lord. The idea of the cross IS clearly shown us by Jesus as He gives us the criteria for discipleship saying “whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27). Through this and the other sayings regarding the cross we should be able to see that it IS discipleship that IS the goal of humanity and that becoming an aspirant to discipleship should be everyman’s most immediate spiritual goal. Other than these sayings there ARE NO other references to the cross in the gospels save for those that depict the Master’s crucifixion but nonetheless the cross remains a strong highlight of Christianity. However, the church most always sees the cross in terms of the Master’s crucifixion and seldomly in regard to the Way of the Cross that must be followed by those that Truly seek the Lord. There IS of course NO idea of the death of His followers in Jesus’ words that tell us to “take up the cross, and follow me” but rather the idea here IS simply the rebirth of a man according to the Master oft quoted words on being “born again“; we read:
“There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit“
John 3:1-8
While these words ARE misappropriated by much of the church and made into a doctrinal simplicity, the reality IS that this idea IS fundamentally about our ability to “take up the cross, and follow” the Master. And, to be sure, this reference IS to each man’s individual cross remembering that it must be his own. All are not alike. To be “born again” IS as the Master describes it to Nicodemus; it IS the result of one’s Repentance and Transformation and the action of being “born again” IS likely NOT complete until one IS fully Transformed. The reality of this IS found in the ideas that the Master gives us regarding being “born of the Spirit“; it IS the birth of the Soul as the controlling aspect of one’s Earthly Life that IS of import here but this IS NOT understood as it was intended by the purveyors of doctrine. While the ideas of being “born again” and of being ‘born of the Spirit” has been misappropriated by the doctrinal teachings of men and laid out as a product of one’s affirmations of acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, the reality IS much more spiritual. The Apostle Paul shows us these same ideas telling us that:
“they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live“
Romans 8:5-13
We should remember that this IS Paul’s writing and that while the church relies on him to guide their doctrines, they either DO NOT rely upon ALL of His words or they manipulate the apostle’s meanings to suit their doctrinal leanings. In this excerpt from Romans Paul begins with the idea that “”they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh” and here the doctrinal philosophy has become that the Christian, just by being a Christian, IS NOT living “after the flesh” but rather “after the Spirit“. Of course we must take the entirety of the apostles thoughts here and NOT ONLY those ideas that we can filter into our doctrinal beliefs. The apostle tells his readers that they ARE “in the Spirit” but he says this with a caveat that IS NOT doctrinally connected to the Master’s words. He tells us that one IS “in the Spirit….if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you” and it IS here that we go to the Master’s words that ARE the third part of our trifecta which we repeat; the Master tells us:
“If yecontinue 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).
In these words we should be able to see, especially from the third part, that the “Spirit of God” ONLY dwells in the man that “will keep my words” and it IS this that the apostle IS amplifying and clarifying for us. Paul IS showing us the practical reality of being “sons of God” in the very next verse saying that “as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Romans 8:14) and here we should understand that to be Truly “led by the Spirit of God” one must be among those that “will keep my words” as Jesus phrases this. This IS the Way that we can Truly have “the Spirit of God dwell in you” according to the Master’s words from our trifecta. While it IS likely that the church fathers understood the gist of Paul’s message here, they DID NOT let their understanding filter through to the masses and this perhaps in fear that most ALL would leave the church because the Path was deemed a difficult one. This however IS NOT so much the case today as the teachers uniformly believe that their own particular doctrines ARE the Path and look NO further despite the discernible and conspicuous way that their doctrines dilute and change the words of the Lord. This brings us back to the idea of being “born again” as we read in the Master’s dialogue with Nicodemus. Christianity.com tells us this about being “born again“: ‘The phrase “Born Again Christian” can be frequently misinterpreted. Looking at its primary reference, we see that its meaning is not about physical birth but about experiencing a spiritual renewal. It is an expression many Protestants use to define the moment or process of fully accepting faith in Jesus Christ. It is an experience when the teachings of Christianity and Jesus become real, and the “born again” Christian acquires a personal relationship with God‘. They continue saying that ‘In Christian theology, being “born again” is understood as a spiritual rebirth. It signifies a profound transformation or conversion experience where an individual turns away from a life apart from God and accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This experience is often associated with repentance, faith, and a commitment to follow Christ‘**.
Our point here IS that although the idea IS framed by most as an experience when the teachings of Christianity and Jesus become real, this IS NOT necessarily the way that it works out in real Life. In the world the doctrinal ideas dilute the reality of the teachings of Jesus in favor of the teachings of Christianity which ARE the doctrines of men. Similarly, the idea of Repentance IS a diluted one that DOES NOT represent the Truth of Repentance as such a virtuous alteration of the mind and purpose as begets a like virtuous change in the life and practice. Vincent shows us that this IS the ultimate reality of the idea of Repentance as the Master uses the Greek word metanoeo. Mr. Vincent goes on to tell us that sorrow is not, as is popularly conceived, the primary nor the prominent notion of the word4 and it IS this popular conception that still prevails. While we should understand that it IS True Repentance that leaves us “born again“, these ideas ARE seldom connected as the church has come to rely solely on the idea of fully accepting faith in Jesus Christ which IS at best a nebulous idea. The Truth of such faith IS found in KNOWING God which IS an idea that requires our realization of the Presence of the Lord according to the way that the Master shows us saying “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“. In these words ARE the reality of being “born again“.
The reality of being “born again” IS explained for us by the Apostle Paul who, again, IS the source for the majority of the ideas of Christian doctrines as the church has carefully picked out those sayings from the apostle that coincide with their doctrinal world view as they rely upon Jesus words for very little. From Jesus the church has adopted such ideas as “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6) which IS perhaps the most divisive religious statement ever KNOWN. These words as well as the ill-translated ideas concerning heaven and hell ARE accepted along with the phantasmal ideas of rapture and the constant interpretations of the ‘end times’. Paul shows us the idea of being “born again” in several places along with a description of what this form of Life involves; one such idea is included in his words above which should be read in their context but which ARE extremely relevant on their own. The apostle tells us “if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness….For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live“. KEY here is the idea that we must “mortify the deeds of the body” in order that we “shall live“. It IS this sense of living, spiritual living, that forms the basis for being “born again” which we must understand as being much more than the nebulous ideas of the doctrinal churches. While the church bandies about ideas based upon the Master’s words to Nicodemus saying “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God“, they completely miss the Jesus point. The reality here has naught to do with ideas of baptism, by water and then ‘spiritual baptism‘ as rituals in the churches and here we should try to remember that the whole idea of baptism IS our immersion in the True Repentance that such baptism brings and then onto our Transformation through which we can Truly be “born again“. It IS through our Transformation, through the “renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:1), that we can and DO “mortify the deeds of the body“. It IS in our Transformation that we exchange our Life “after the flesh” for a renewed Life that pursues the ability to Truly become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).
It IS NOT just a peasant dream to “be partakers of the divine nature“; Peter tells us that this IS among the “exceeding great and precious promises” which “are given unto us” for the ‘cost’ of being able to “mortify the deeds of the body” which Peter frames as “having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4). While having done so IS ofttimes considered as a ‘byproduct’ of one’s doctrinal assertions of faith in Jesus Christ, the reality IS NOT so easily accomplished. Should we look at the New Testament most intelligently, we could realize that the whole of it IS designed to show us the Way to having the Truth of the Presence of the Lord in our lives as men here in this Earth. Beginning with the Sermon on the Mount, we have the Master’s instructions on the Way to becoming “partakers of the divine nature“. From there we have Jesus offered examples of what to DO and what NOT to DO along with some additional commandments that will help to show us the Way. The Master’s interactions with the Jews and others ARE our guide to the reality of righteousness as He continually instructs His disciples regarding the Way, the Truth and the Life, an idea that IS fully compromised by much of the church. And while the synoptic gospels ARE written from a rather historic view of the Master’s time in this Earth, John’s Gospel offers us an inside view of Jesus teachings to His disciples and we should NOT forget that it IS His relationship with His disciples that most ALL of John’s Gospel IS directed at. Jesus instructions in John’s Gospel ARE NOT intended for the man who IS NOT yet Repentant, the man who IS NOT yet being “transformed by the renewing of your mind” yet this IS the way that the Master’s words have been understood through Christian doctrines for centuries.
Our point here IS that it IS our expression of agape that IS the singular expression of man that shows the Truth of being “born again” through being “transformed by the renewing of your mind“. ALL else IS folly. ALL other proclamations of righteousness ARE but empty words in the absence of our expression of agape no matter how such proclamations ARE in accord with the doctrinal ideas of the church. While this may seem to be a bold statement, it IS a statement of Truth that can ONLY be understood when we can understand the Universal reality of agape as the Master teaches us. It IS this reality that we should take from Paul’s words to the Corinthians saying “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity agape. I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity agape, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity agape, it profiteth me nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
The Apostle Paul’s words here ARE a testament to the Power of agape to change one’s Life. While the idea of Love IS doctrinally considered in place of charity, this idea of Love IS NOT the reality of agape but IS, as we have been saying, aligned with the common understanding of the rendered word Love. This idea of Love however IS a carnal sense of the idea that should NOT be understood in place of the intention of the word agape which IS a spiritual Force that allows us to meet ALL of the Master’s criteria. What IS this criteria? First that we “love thy neighbour as thyself“; in this idea we must try to see the Universality of our view of ALL others, everyman to be sure. From the perspective of Love understood carnally this IS no easy task as this idea of Love involves emotional and mental attraction and attachment to others and this IS NOT a readily available level of involvement for men. In fact it IS near impossible to Love ALL men as we currently understand the word. As agape however this IS a rather easy task once one understands and has realization of the reality of the word. Once we understand and commit to agape we can view ALL others sans the current levels of prejudice that the carnal world teaches us. We come to see ALL men as Souls with NO color, NO traditions, NO cultural differences and NO national preferences; to this we must add that ALL religious separations MUST fade away as well. The second criteria IS similar but worded in a different tone that DOES NOT evoke ideas of Love but which nonetheless embraces the reality of agape; the Master tells us clearly that we must follow the Golden Rule that says “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12).
Paul’s words from Corinthians form the basis for his own view of the importance of agape as the single most important redeeming quality that a man can possess and here we must stress that to possess this quality IS to express it. Paul talks in terms of possession of agape as a guiding principal and we should understand here that the inner meaning of having agape IS found ONLY in expressing it. Agape IS a vision of the world that creates in one’s psyche the reality that ALL men ARE ONE in essence and this concept embraces as well the carnal world where we have the reality of One Humanity, One World and One God. Agape IS a realization in the renewed mind that this IS so and it IS with this realization that we act in Love for ALL, that we can “love thy neighbour as thyself” and that we can ‘do unto others as we would have others do unto us’ as the Golden Rule IS often phrased.
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
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
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
