ON LOVE; PART MCCCLXXIV
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ
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).
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ
In the last post we spent much time on the dichotomy between the things of the self and the self in this world and the things of God which should ALL be understood under the banner of agape. We looked at this beginning with Paul’s words that show us that this dichotomy IS the intent of Life here in this world while allowing us to see our ultimate freedom from the vanity that IS that Life, up to the single most important human endeavor which IS “the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:23). It IS this Redemption that follows upon men’s Repentance and Transformation and which shows us the fullness of our expression of agape through the idea that this adoption represents for us an: assurance that the adopted son of God becomes, in a peculiar and intimate sense, one with the heavenly Father 4 as Vincent frames for us the meaning behind the Greek word huiothesia. We should understand here that this spiritual journey begins with our Repentance, the change of our Life’s focus from the carnal to the spiritual, and requires our Transformation of which Paul also tells us saying that we should “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). We should note here that as far as the Apostle Paul had come spiritually that he too was yet waiting for the Union with the Father that the adoption represents and the fullness of our Redemption that IS the singular result. We should understand that these ARE NOT words to be bandied about without meaning as they ARE in much of the doctrinal church; these ARE the actual steps to Truth and the fullness of our expression of Love, an expression that sets us apart from the world and from carnal living, an expression that IS the “fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22). We should remember here that Jesus tells us that it IS “by their fruits ye shall know them” and while this IS spoken negatively against the “false prophets” (Matthew 7:20, 19), it IS equally True of the faithful messenger of Truth. Jesus’ words here ARE a caution that tells us NOT to listen to those whose expression IS NOT the “fruit of the Spirit” and if we should look deeply at the history of the church and its relationship with the world, we should be able to clearly see that there ARE very few True prophets, very few True messengers of Truth in the church over the last 2000 years. While this may seem a harsh criticism of the church, we need ONLY look at the teachings of the various denominations and sects that ARE formed under the banner of Christianity and how they starkly differ from the actual teachings of the Master. Add to this the way that the church has justified its carnal positions by demeaning the singular Truths that Jesus brought and coloring them with doctrinal terms that ARE essentially meaningless for our True spiritual growth. To be sure there ARE some in the church that have been able to progress toward the Truth but again, if we sincerely look, few have progressed because of the teachings of the doctrinal churches.
While the apostles show us this dichotomy, this utter separation between the things of God and the things of the flesh, the self in this world, most ALL are amplifications and clarifications of Jesus own words which we often discuss in our essays. Most notable IS His admonition that we should “Take no thought for your life“; these words follow upon similar instructions which, when compiled together, show us the reality of one’s Life in this world as well as the alternatives. To be sure, the Life of which the Master speaks here IS the carnal Life, the Life of the man yet possessed of vanity, the Life that interacts with others in this world with ever an eye toward the self and the fulfillment of personal desires. Such desires ARE NOT ONLY for things but for ALL manner of carnal enterprise; such desires include one’s family and those others held close and include everything from education to career to social status to the protection of one’s own peculiar attitudes and beliefs. ALL of this IS the desires of men and we should note that this list IS far from complete. Jesus shows us this list under the singular words treasure and mammon and tells us that everyman has a choice to make. On the positive spiritual side there IS choosing God over mammon according to His words “No man can serve two masters…..Ye cannot serve God and mammon” and in this we should see the idea that in the reality of Life a man IS serving the one or the other with intent or else he IS trying to serve both which, according to the Master, “Ye cannot” DO. Jesus offers us similar ideas regarding treasure which, while taught by doctrines to be limited to possessions and wealth, encompasses the same ideas as ARE the desires of men for the personal self, ideas that mean much in the Life of everyman and his desire for success. Jesus shows us that there ARE such things of importance in the world, “treasures upon earth” and that these should be avoided; He tells us to “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth“. In His words on treasure we should be able to see that the focus of one’s Life should be to “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” but these competing ideas, these carnal versus spiritual ideas, ARE misunderstood and misinterpreted by men whose focus IS firmly upon “treasures upon earth” according to the human experience. And, we should try to see that those who deny this, those who say that they ARE focused upon God, ARE generally trying to DO the impossible which IS to “serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24, 20, 19). The greater point here IS that ALL of this, the focus upon mammon and the desire for “treasures upon earth“, ARE both the way of the man who DOES “take thought” for his Life and here we should try to see, in the clarity of His words, that the ideas of “what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on” ARE but examples of the desires of men in those days. We should try to see also that the Master’s intent IS better understood in His question that asks “Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?” The answer in spiritual reality IS that men should “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:25, 33). These words from the Master ARE the apostles reference as they show us the same dichotomy saying:
- James tells us clearly that we should NOT be focused upon the things of the world saying “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:1-4).
- Paul offers the same idea as he gives instruction regarding the focus of the minds of men saying “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” (Romans 8:5-7).
Both of these ideas condemn if you will men’s focus upon “treasures upon earth” rightly understood. Both condemn the ways of men living as men in this world; NOT as a matter of sin, but as a matter of missing the Way to spiritual Truth which lies on our ability to “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven“. Again, we must rightly understand the complex idea of treasure and understand that this begins in the psyche, in the heart, and reflects the totality of our desires. It IS from this perspective that the Master tells us “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21) and adds that “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh” (Luke 6:45). Both of these ideas from the apostles also show us the right choice in Life which reflects upon Jesus’ words on mammon, yet another misunderstood and misapplied Greek word. A Bob Dylan song frames this as ‘you’re gonna have to serve somebody‘ and while this IS a bit misleading, it DOES contain the seeds of Truth. Dylan DOES clarify his point saying that ‘it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, But you’re gonna have to serve somebody‘. While these lyrics give the devil a personality as most ALL Christian cultural references to evil DO, the idea of that vanity, the illusion and the glamour of Life in this world, its corruption, can bring these words into alignment with the reality of our spiritual struggle. This struggle IS shown us in the Master many words on Life as He shows us such seemingly convoluted ideas as “He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 10:39) and “whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it” (Mark 8:35). These sayings and others like them relate to the struggle between our carnal lives and our spiritual Life and it IS this that we should see in the words of Paul and Peter that we often reference.
Paul’s words on vanity and our eventual freedom from the illusion and the glamour that ARE its result ARE shown us in the declaratory statement that the creation, individually and corporately, “shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God“. Corporately this deliverance, better understood as the Greek word is defined as to make free 9, IS the goal of the entire creation that puts the Souls of men into form in this world with the objective of overcoming the vanity and expressing the Truth and the agape that IS inherent in the “mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). This corporate freedom seems a far off eventuality based upon the state of the world today and the prevalent separative and emulative attitudes of humanity seem at times unresolvable. Individually however this IS NOT the case and we should try to see here that it IS the individual that can bring the corporate body ever closer to its goal. When we can understand the deeply spiritual and religiously scientific idea of the “the redemption of our body” our perspective will change; until that time however we can ONLY surmise the reality of elevating the animal forms that we now use to the next phase of their particular journey. At the same time this service to the world releases us as Souls from the cycle of Life and death here in this world as we too ARE elevated to the next phase in the journey of the Soul. While parts of the church work diligently to destroy the scientific ideas of evolution and or the origins of men as a species of animal in this Earth, they DO so ONLY to promote their singular cause which IS to establish the few words from Genesis above the hidden Truths. They ARE willing to accept a creation story suited for the population of men at the time that it was written; a story that IS likely repeated from oral traditions established before Moses’ attempt to instill a belief in One God through his words. Our point here IS that there ARE ‘human’ species that evolved into the man of 3500 years ago when Moses wrote Genesis and we should try to see this same idea of evolution in the time from Adam through Noah, Abraham and the patriarchs, and up to Moses days. It IS apparent that the idea of man from the beginning of the Genesis story IS different from the man in Moses’ day and perhaps if we could see that the stories of Enoch and Methuselah who we read lived “nine hundred sixty and nine years” (Genesis 5:27) show us a different humanity, we could begin to gain some glimpse of the evolutionary processes at work. The biggest objection to scientific realities and theories IS founded in the idea that man evolved from the ape. While there IS ample fossil record to make this a viable theory, the church CAN NOT reconcile this with their own view of humanity as stated in Genesis where we read that “God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:27). Most ALL fail to consider that “God is a Spirit” (John 4:24) and that to be created “in the image of God” should show us that man IS Spirit as well.
And most CAN NOT properly discern the next phase mentioned which we read as “the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7). The idea here IS merged with the previous words on the creation of man and seen by most as a convoluted continuation of the seven days of creation which many insist ARE actual calendar days. Most ALL of this IS based in the desire of men to see themselves as men in this world, in a Life that continues ad infinitum under the same sense of personality. We should note here that most ALL Christian afterlife theology teaches that it IS the personality that survives death and IS, for the ‘believer’, reunited with those who had passed on before them. There IS however NO real evidence of this as the veil that separates us from the death experience has NOT been parted so that we can see what lies beyond. In this many Christians ARE willing to accept the supernatural ideas that they for the most part decry; many ARE willing to believe that a medium can see and speak with departed Loved ones in heaven. But IS this True? ARE these Loved ones in heaven or merely in a state of afterlife that replicates in many ways one’s Life experiences? There ARE NO easy answers to this; we DO NOT KNOW what happens when people die. We can however say that the idea of heaven IS NOT as the Christian world portrays it; we can say from the words of the Master and His apostles that this Kingdom IS available to ALL who can move their focus off of the self and onto the things of God and that the Kingdom experience happens here in this world because “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). We can say as well that to ‘have’ the Kingdom here in this world IS the hallmark possession of the True follower of the Lord and that such persons will have a distinctly different afterlife experience than those who pass on while yet subjected to that vanity. As departed Souls garner the fruits of their Earthly lives, their position in the overall scheme changes and while one may still be obliged to live again in this world, his existence will be in accord with the sum total of his previous accomplishments as a Soul in form. Again, we DO NOT KNOW the answer to these afterlife questions and neither DOES the church despite their many differing proclamations. What we DO KNOW IS 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). The idea of death IS NOT a part of these words from Paul and when we can understand that this vanity IS our being trapped in the ways of the world from which we must escape, we can then perhaps better reconcile the scientific ideas of evolution with the Genesis story and understand that the Soul, created “in the image of God” gives Life to the body of a man formed of “of the dust of the ground” (a scientific reality based on the composition of our body). It IS through this that we “became a living soul” but one that IS bound to the vanity of Life. ALL ARE “made subject to vanity” through our beginning years where the Soul’s ability to express his Life IS greatly diminished as the mental and emotional capacity of the form ARE NOT yet ready for such expression. We should understand here that this diminishment IS further exacerbated by the nurturing and indoctrination that we must endure and here IS a great clue for the futuristic idea that corporately the race “shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God“: When the nurturing and indoctrination that men endure ARE more free from instruction into the ways of the world, when they ARE more inclined to progressive spiritual ideas and ideals that ARE NOT prejudicial nor separative nor focused solely upon the betterment of the self in this world, the entire race of men can advance. This IS the Way of our corporate escape.
It IS this escape that the Apostle Peter tells us IS the necessary ingredient that enables men to become “partakers of the divine nature“. We should understand here that this idea of escape from the Greek word apopheugo IS defined as to flee from 9 by Thayer’s and in both this and the rendered word escape we should see the personal action of the man in this world which Vincent frames as to escape by flight 4. To escape, to flee from, IS a rather clear instruction but what it IS that must be escaped has eluded the church through their disdain of the idea of forsaking one’s desires. Peter tells us however what we must escape saying that we must flee from the corruption of our lives which IS the direct result of our lusts. Again, this idea of lust has been understood by much of the church and has been taught as an evil and sexually oriented human failure. This view IS first incomplete and second very misleading to the man who wants to KNOW from what he must flee. It IS when we can understand that the rendering of epithymia as lust IS incomplete against the reality of Peter’s words here that we can begin to see the role of forsaking which we discussed in some detail in recent essays. What will we give up to become “partakers of the divine nature“? What will we stop desiring for our mortal lives so that we can access those “exceeding great and precious promises” which ARE, in their essence, access to the Kingdom of God. That much of the church teaches that the ‘believer‘ need NOT attend to any ideas of forsaking IS perhaps the most unfortunate part of the doctrinal ideas into which men ARE nurtured and indoctrinated. We should note that much of the doctrinal teachings ARE prejudicial and separative, they ARE focused solely upon the betterment of the self in this world through religion and many teach this latter idea as those “great and precious promises” thereby keeping men’s focus upon the mundane and the carnal. These “exceeding great and precious promises” ARE however indelibly linked to becoming “partakers of the divine nature” a status that IS synonymous with Paul’s being freed from this vanity which IS to become a partaker in “the glorious liberty of the children of God“. There IS naught carnal in these ideas, they ARE purely spiritual; both must be seen as spiritual accomplishments that reveal the Christ Within to the world of men. One CAN NOT be such a partaker without a True measure of Christ likeness which IS seen in one’s expression of agape, the goal of ALL Truly spiritually minded men. In their fullness Peter’s words ARE clear and the claim of the doctrinal believer that he IS a partaker without a True expression of agape IS unfounded and contrary to Paul’s words that say to claim such makes one as “sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal” or, better, as the apostle continues, such a claim IS worthless because without agape one IS spiritually nothing. The clarity of Peter’s words DO reveal this to any who can look past their doctrines and their vanity as he tells us that “his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:3-4). We should remember here that a KEY component in Peter’s words IS that such spiritual progression comes “through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue” and that this sense of KNOWING God also requires that one keep His words. The Apostle John shows us this saying that “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love” (1 John 4:8). Here we have opportunity to conflate the idea of agape from John’s words with the overall reality of keeping His words and we should remember that agape IS paramount among His words and commandments. The apostle tells us “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” and in this we should see a clear relationship to our trifecta as well as the way that John’s words here amplify and clarify His words saying:
- “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).
There ARE endless sayings from the apostles that show that their intent IS to amplify and clarify the Master’s teachings but this IS NOT seen by much of the church which sees Paul’s writing as a new covenant that supersedes the words of the Master. It IS this doctrinal tendency to place the words of Paul, and some words from the other apostles, above the words of Jesus that has contributed to the failure of the church’s self ordained mission to reconcile the world to God. Men ARE NOT rejecting God as they stay away from the doctrinal churches, they ARE rejecting the churches portrayal of God. We should try to see that many who reject the teachings of the church ARE among the True seekers of Truth and it IS these that ARE attracted to the occult and esoteric teachings that the church disdains. This reminds us again of a saying from a great esoteric teacher who says that “The church today is the tomb of the Christ and the stone of theology has been rolled to the door of the sepulchre“*. These words ARE written some seventy years ago yet they ARE more True today than they were then. While the roots of the prosperity gospel so called began as slight deviations from Protestant thinking, these became more pronounced beginning perhaps with the teachings of Oral Roberts and continued with a variety of popular teachers who ARE most often affiliated with Pentecostal denominations and sects. This however IS but a part of the problem with today’s Christianity which has NOT moved off of their worn and tired theologies. Because of the failure of such theologies to attract and hold people the Prosperity sects have gained many followers who seek after the immediate rewards that such sects promise. However, these promises ARE but a ruse and we should note that deep in the psyche of the founders of some of these movements this IS recognized and perhaps rationalized against the promised benefits that come to their followers. These movements have made moot the dichotomy between the carnal and the spiritual for their selfish purposes and while other doctrines may be steeped in teachings that ARE contrary to the Truth, these ARE most willingly circumventing the Truth for carnal ends. This carnal view IS NOT seen as such by the followers who see themselves in a spiritual enterprise and this brings us back to Jesus’ words regarding those “false prophets“. While the followers of most every religion may see some sense of fruit in the teachings that they may attend to, most ALL DO NOT see this in the way that the idea IS intended. For many the fruit may be in the articulation of religious ideas but few measure the fruit of those that they place as spiritual authorities in their lives in Truly spiritual terms. In Truly spiritual terms the fruit of the spiritual teacher IS NOT found in his oratory skills nor the content of his sermons but rather as a measure of the eternal Truths that he NOT ONLY presents but also lives by; few doctrinal precepts meet this criteria. These eternal Truths ARE the foundation of the Master’s teaching; these ARE the seemingly difficult ideas that regard True spiritual living in terms of forsaking and one’s expression of agape without any of the prejudices or separative attitudes that plague the minds of men both in and out of the church. True spiritual fruits in the lives of religious leaders must revolve around the Great Commandments as in the absence of this focus, ALL that IS taught IS carnal and IS food for the “carnal mind” which is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” as Paul tells us.
The “carnal mind” IS ever fixated on the self and that one may believe the doctrinal religious teachings DOES NOT change this in the absence of agape. Most ALL men affiliate themselves with this world and its vanity and few ever glimpse the higher ideas of True spirituality that tell us that we ARE NOT this man in this world. This brings us back to the Apostle Paul’s words to the Corinthians that ARE our current selection. These words address the man who seems to be religious based in his doctrinal ideas of Truth. Paul’s words address the attempts of men to express some doctrinal ideas that they may believe to be spiritual but which amount to naught without one’s expression of agape. Paul takes a selection of presumed “spiritual gifts” which ARE cherished by religious men and shows us their worthlessness in the absence of agape and his intent here CAN NOT be mistaken. Repeating the apostles words we read:
“covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not
charityagape, 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 notcharityagape, 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 notcharityagape, it profiteth me nothing.CharityAgape suffereth long, and is kind;charityagape envieth not;charityagape vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.CharityAgape never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity” (1Corinthians 12:31, 13:1-13).
The most basic problem in the Christian world IS the lack of understanding of the very nature of agape; we should KNOW that without a True understanding there IS NO True Path for any man to Truly KNOW God and this because “God is agape“. Can we see the point here? Can we see that to KNOW God we must be “rooted and grounded in love” (Ephesians 3:17) which IS Paul’s prayer for us ALL. The idea of being rooted IS lost in modern language; Thayer’s tells us that rhizoo means: to cause to strike root, to strengthen with roots; to render firm, to fix, establish, cause a person or a thing to be thoroughly grounded 9. The Greek word themelioo which IS rendered as grounded has a similar meaning and the idea that we should be “rooted and grounded in love” means that we should be firmly fixed, established if you will, in agape so that it has become our expression to the world. This IS the man that can KNOW God: the man that Truly expresses agape. We should remember here that it IS agape that IS the singular KEY that IS offered to mankind as the Way to keep His words and the reality here IS simple and real. When one KNOWS agape at it core and understands the Unity that this word represents, it IS easy to then understand the precepts that the Master teaches us in the Great Commandments, the Golden Rule and His many words regarding the proper expression of Love. Moreover, in our understanding of agape as the singular force that leads us to True spiritual Life, to the Kingdom if you will, we also understand the Master’s words that deemphasize the our sense of self and allow the mortal man to meld with the corporate whole in its journey toward the Truth. It IS with this expression of Truth and Love that we can escape from the corruption that is in the world through lust” which IS to make ourselves free from our own “bondage of corruption” as we journey “into the glorious liberty of the children of God“. ALL of this IS painted for us by Jesus and His apostles under the idea of keeping His words. However, in their clarifying and amplifying words the apostles give us great clues for keeping His words without the rote following of the laws and the commandments. This clue IS plainly presented but NOT accepted as it was intended by the apostles who tell us such things as “all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Galatians 5:14). Why this IS missed by the majority of the church IS difficult to understand; perhaps the church DOES NOT believe that this IS doable based in their relentless doctrine that teaches us that their nebulous sense of faith and believing ARE the keys to the Kingdom. This change however from self thought to seeing oneself as a part of the whole that IS God IS the deeper reality of Repentance. Yes this IS a difficult enterprise but we should KNOW that it IS the ONLY True Way. Most ALL of the doctrinal substitutes for keeping His words and expressing agape ARE the inventions of men over the centuries as they have ever been creative in forming that “another gospel” which Paul rails against as a the ways of men to that “would pervert the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:6, 7). For us this idea of perversion IS a proper idea but this can be understood as a severe insult toward the church and its followers and can intimate that there IS a purposeful self serving deviation from the Master’s Truths. Others render the Greek word metastrephō in less offensive ideas of change while still others render in terms of distortion. ALL of these ideas ARE True but we must understand two things here: first that such changes to the tenor of Jesus’ words and their meanings ARE the product of that vanity to which ALL ARE subjected and second that these perversions of the Truth ARE the doctrines established by men in their effort to seem to themselves to comply with some form of biblical precept. This latter point IS the same as that which the prophet and the Master call out the Jews for saying “Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:7-9).
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
- 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
- * From The Reappearance of the Christ by Alice A Bailey; © 1948 by Lucis Trust
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
