Tag Archives: Transformation

ON LOVE; PART MDXXXII

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

While we ended the last essay with our trifecta, our main closing point was in regard to agape through the Master’s words saying “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” and the Apostle James’ words that amplify Jesus’ words saying “If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: but if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors” (James 2:9). Our trifecta’s importance IS that it shows the need to keep the words of the Master and of the law as well as the associated rewards for DOING so but we should remember here that the primary idea to be taken from the Master’s words IS that “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself“. We discussed how that these words begin in the Old Testament Book of Leviticus where we read “Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:18). These words ARE NOT a part of the Ten Commandments but, as we discussed, they ARE the very fabric of those commandments which tell us to refrain from adultery, killing, stealing and coveting as well as our obligation to “Honour thy father and thy mother” (Exodus 20:12). That the importance of “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” IS understood by the religious before Jesus elevates the idea to be one of the Great Commandments should NOT be doubted; we KNOW that the Jews that ask the Master about the greatest commandments KNOW beforehand. In Matthew’s and Mark’s Gospels the Jews acknowledge the Master’s citation of the commandment while in Luke it IS the Jewish lawyer who cites the idea saying that the greatest commandments ARE “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself” (Luke 10:27).

While Leviticus IS the ONLY reference to the particular words that “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself“, this DOES NOT diminish its importance in Jewish history as the idea IS also cited by perhaps the most influential of Rabbi’s in the century before the Advent of the Master. Rabbi Hillel frames the idea a bit differently but in a way that captures what Paul would write a century later; the Rabbi says “That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the entire Torah, and the rest is its commentary. Now go and study“****. To understand the Rabbi’s point we should look again to Paul’s words that tell us “all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Galatians 5:14) and “Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:8-10). While the words from the Master, from the Rabbi, from James and from Paul should show us the importance of the idea and the Power of agape, they have NOT had the necessary influence upon the Christian world save as a saying uttered with little understanding of its meaning. In this essay then we will continue to explore the meaning of the idea that “Thou shalt love agape thy neighbour as thyself“; to begin this in earnest we have struck out the rendering of Love in this statement and replaced it with the Greek word agape and while the proper usage would be agapao as a verb, agape IS the more familiar idea.

The saying that “Thou shalt love agape thy neighbour as thyself” appears seven times in the New Testament and once in the Old Testament. There ARE several other references to the idea such as the Master’s words saying “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:43-44). From these words we should be able to see the Jews’ understanding of the idea as the Master seeks to change their understanding of this most important precept. Three times, once in each synoptic gospels, the phrase IS used in Jesus’ defining of the Great Commandments, twice these ARE the Master’s words and once they ARE offered by the lawyer as we cite above. Without much commentary Jesus offers us the idea of the Great Commandments saying in Mark’s Gospel that “There is none other commandment greater than these“, while in Matthew the Master tells us that “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:40). From these commentaries on the phrase “Thou shalt love agape thy neighbour as thyself” the Christian world should see the importance of the precept but, again, it has NOT had the intended effect. One other gospel reference to the precept that “Thou shalt love agape thy neighbour as thyself” IS found in the discussion between the Master and the ‘rich young ruler in Matthew’s Gospel; there Jesus cites the commandments that this man should keep. Jesus says that the commandments ARE “Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 19:18-19). In the other gospel versions of this discussion it IS the ‘rich young ruler’ that answers citing a slightly different set of commandments sans the idea that “Thou shalt love agape thy neighbour as thyself“. One additional point here in regard to our ongoing discussion of the commandments that flow into the idea that “Thou shalt love agape thy neighbour as thyself” IS the way that the other commandments that DO NOT hold an agape related meaning ARE left out. Indeed they ARE left out of most ALL listings offered in the New Testament.

The first through the third commandments ARE in regard to the relationship of man with God and ARE encapsulated in the Master’s first Great Commandment so that these ARE NOT ignored entirely but ARE summarized into the idea that “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” (Mark 12:29-30). The next regards the sabbath and, as we KNOW from the gospels, the Master downplays this idea save for keeping the tradition to some degree. Finally there ARE the six commandments that directly affect the expression of agape by the man in this world; these ARE what the Master cites; these ARE those that He sees as important. These ARE the commandments which He amplifies and changes the focus of from the purely carnal and rote to the deeper spiritual meaning although the deeper meanings ARE yet to be discovered by most.

The other references to the phrase “Thou shalt love agape thy neighbour as thyself” ARE found in the epistles, twice in Paul’s writings and one in James; these ARE ALL cited above. Paul IS showing us the Power of agape, the Power of its expression in this world; he DOES this by telling us that ALL of the commandments ARE accomplished through our expression of agape. In Galatians Paul IS discussing the Power of agape against the wiles of the flesh as he outlines his list of “the works of the flesh” and “the fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:19, 22). It IS important to note that “the works of the flesh” ARE the same works, done by the man in this world, which ARE contrary to the Master’s list of the commandments. Each of the ideas presented: “Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like” (Galatians 5:19-21) finds a home in the Master’s list of the commandments that a man should follow. We should note as well that the first of the Great Commandments IS NOT listed in Jesus’ list of commandments that the ‘rich young ruler’ should follow nor in the list that Paul shows us in Roman and perhaps there IS a rather simple reason for what seems to be an omission. Simply, if one follows, lives by if you will, the commandments that ARE cited as “Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 19:18-19) then one IS in reality keeping the first Great Commandment. As we move on, we should remember that the ideas that ARE understood from the commandments and from the list of “the works of the flesh” that Paul provides ARE carnally oriented ideas, they ARE the carnal effects of spiritual premises. We have discussed this in previous posts and will NOT address these again here, but we should try to see that most ALL of the ideas have a spiritual component and perhaps the easiest to recognize IS adultery and fornication as these can be acts against God by men whose focus IS purely carnal. In this regard we should note James words calling ALL “adulterers and adulteresses” because of their focus on the idea of “the friendship of the world” (James 4:4).

Our greater point today IS the reality of agape as a concept and a principle by which we should live. Understanding that we CAN NOT “love thy neighbour as thyself” under the common understanding of the idea of Love IS perhaps our first step towards Truly being able to DO so and to fulfill the Golden Rule that tells us “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12). These words ARE markedly similar to those of the Rabbi Hillel’s saying that “That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the entire Torah, and the rest is its commentary. Now go and study“****. Again, this IS the same point that we should take from both the commandment that “Thou shalt love agape thy neighbour as thyself” and the framing by Paul of the Power of agape saying “all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Galatians 5:14). The current understanding of Love DOES NOT fit into the reality of the idea of agape and perhaps this IS why the King James Translators chose the idea of charity as their rendering of agape in certain places in the New Testament. Charity was defined at the time as: In a general sense, love, benevolence, good will; that disposition of heart which inclines men to think favorably of their fellow 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 men¹. Here there IS little that resembles the ideas attached to the word Love from the same dictionary; regarding Love Webster’s 1828 Dictionary tells us: In a general sense to be pleased with; to regard with affection, on account of some qualities which excite pleasing sensations or desire of gratification. We love a friend, on account of some qualities which give us pleasure in his society. We love a man who has done us a favor; in which case, gratitude enters into the composition of our affection. We love our parents and our children, on account of their connection with us, and on account of many qualities which please us. We love to retire to a cool shade in summer. We love a warm room in winter. we love to hear an eloquent advocate. The christian loves his Bible. In short, we love whatever gives us pleasure and delight, whether animal or intellectual; and if our hearts are right, we love God above all things, as the sum of all excellence and all the attributes which can communicate happiness to intelligent beings. In other words, the christian loves God with the love of complacency in his attributes, the love of benevolence towards the interest of his kingdom, and the love of gratitude for favors received¹.

From these ‘general sense’ defining ideas it should be easy to see the reasoning behind the King James choice of charity over Love as their rendering for agape especially in places where the idea of agape IS itself being defined. Websters offers us secondary ideas for Love saying that to Love IS: To have benevolence or good will for¹ but as they go on into the idea more deeply they also tell us first that Love IS: An affection of the mind excited by beauty and worth of any kind, or by the qualities of an object which communicate pleasure, sensual or intellectual. It is opposed to hatred. Love between the sexes, is a compound affection, consisting of esteem, benevolence, and animal desire. Love is excited by pleasing qualities of any kind, as by kindness, benevolence, charity, and by the qualities which render social intercourse agreeable. In the latter case, love is ardent friendship, or a strong attachment springing from good will and esteem, and the pleasure derived from the company, civilities and kindness of others¹. While the current defining ideas on Love embody the same ideas as we see from Webster’s in the nineteenth century, they ARE at the same time more crudely stated. Our online dictionary defines Love as: a strong feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, such as for a parent, child, friend, or pet; a profoundly tender, passionate affection, often mingled with sexual desire, for another person; sexual passion or desire*. It IS from these as well as other sources of definition that we cite our own defining ideas for Love as an: our emotional and mental attraction and attachment to others and to things in this world. Our point IS that under these defining ideas for Love it IS difficult at best to put the Master’s words saying “Thou shalt love agape thy neighbour as thyself” to work in one’s Life as we try to understand the neighbor to be everyman.

While charity DOES NOT offer us much of an alternative today, it DID reflect some of the more virtuous ideas regarding agape when the idea was used by the King James Translators. Today’s ideas of charity have taken on a distinctively noticeable change from Webster’s 1828 entry of charity as: love, benevolence, good will; that disposition of heart which inclines men to think favorably of their fellow 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 men¹. In today’s dictionary charity IS defined as: generous actions or donations to aid people who are poor, ill, or needy; something given to a person or persons in need; alms; a charitable act or work; a charitable fund, foundation, or institution; benevolent feeling, especially toward those in need or in disfavor; leniency in judging others; forbearance; Christian love; agape. How the idea of charity went from Webster’s idea in 1828 to today’s ideas IS a mystery to us especially when considering that in Webster’s 1913 edition the defining idea for charity was: Love; universal benevolence; good will¹. While we can’t be sure of the motivations involved, we can presume that it IS because of the nineteenth century ideas of charity that the King James translators chose to render Paul’s use of agape as charity rather than as Love in this most important and popular segment of his First Epistle to the Corinthians. We read:

“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. charity agape suffereth long, and is kind; charity agape envieth not; charity agape 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. charity agape 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” (1 Corinthians 13:1-8).

Clearly the idea here IS in regard to charity as defined by Webster’s and NOT the current understanding of the idea and we should note that most ALL modern bible translations render agape as Love; of the forty translations in our library, just eight render agape as charity. In todays world then neither the current understanding of Love nor of charity show us the intent of the Greek word agape and we ARE forced then to extract its meanings from its usage. Beginning with the commandment that “Thou shalt love agape thy neighbour as thyself” we should be able to see how that the intent IS a Universal benevolence and GoodWill to ALL; the same degree of benevolence and GoodWill that we would have for ourselves. While understanding these words as they ARE presented still leaves us with some degree of confusion, this IS much less than we have with our understanding of Love and charity. Benevolence IS simply: desire to do good to others* and this idea can be easily shown for the self; we desire good for our selves and therefore should desire good for ALL. GoodWill IS a bit more confusing as the word in today’s dictionary brings us back to benevolence. As a word GoodWill does not appear to exist in Webster’s early dictionaries although our online dictionary cites the etymology to be: First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English gōd willa. See good, will*. In more modern parlance the idea of GoodWill should have a more distinguished role, especially in churches and religious circles, because it IS the single word that Truly DOES encapsulate the Master’s intent in using the idea of agape. Agape IS intended to be an attitude of mind for men in this world; as an awakened man it IS the Power of the Godhead at work through mercy and grace while in the unawakened man it IS simply a virtue that, from a carnal perspective, reaches out to others in compassion and kindness. Such IS unlikely to be True for the unawakened simply because most ALL DO NOT understand the idea of agape nor the way that it works in this world. And, we should be careful to note that merely because one belongs to a denomination or sect of Christianity DOES NOT make one awakened; the same IS True through other religions. It IS through True Repentance and Transformation that we can be so awakened.

In Repentance we have the first step toward our awakening, a step that originates in the Soul, the Christ Within, which IS ever prompting the mind to the Good, the Beautiful and the True. When this prompting can be heard over the din of daily living, over the cares and worries that ofttimes overwhelm us, we can and will be inclined to Repentance through the message of peace that Jesus shows us saying “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). The Apostle John reflects on this saying “There is no fear in love agape; but perfect love agape casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love agape” (1 John 4:18). We must understand however that this idea of Repentance IS NOT that sorrowful idea that IS the common understanding; this idea of Repentance IS the singular first step toward our awakening to the Truth and the agape that IS God. This idea of Repentance IS shown us by Vincent who tells us of its Power saying: Metanoia (repentance) is therefore, primarily, an after – thought, different from the former thought; then, a change of mind which issues in regret and in change of conduct. Mr. Vincent furthers our deeper understanding by adding that: Repentance, then, has been rightly defined as “Such a virtuous alteration of the mind and purpose as begets a like virtuous change in the life and practice“. While it IS unclear whose defining idea this Truly IS, we DO attribute it to Vincent and here we should try to see his point that in these words the idea of Repentance IS rightly defined. It IS through our Repentance and our subsequent Transformation that we ARE awakened to the further promptings of the Soul and it IS here that we can begin to better understand the words of the Master and His apostles regarding the reality of agape apart from its understanding as Love. It IS here that we can better understand the reality that GoodWill IS Love agape in action. Paul attempts to show us the importance of agape in his words above to the Corinthians and here we will again discuss his points.

First however we should reemphasize that the best way to understand these and ALL sayings regarding agape IS to NOT confuse the idea with the common ideas of Love nor the current understanding of charity. It IS this sense of confusion that has thus far doomed men’s understanding of the reality of the Master’s words; again, few Truly understand the reality of the Greek word agape. Our failure here IS again found in the sheer lack of a deeper understanding of the idea of agape and we should try to see that there IS NO direct translation for this word in our vocabulary….it therefore should stand alone as a transliteration of a Greek word. The most basic reality of agape IS of course found in the Master’s words saying “Thou shalt love agape thy neighbour as thyself“. In and of itself this saying has become trite and rather useless as a beacon for men to follow in this world. This IS both because of the way that the common understanding of Love simply CAN NOT be applied to our relationships with ALL men and the failure of the church to Truly teach. The idea of Love can be easily understood as a preventative factor and the failure of the church can easily be debated by the church. However, this debate would fail in the minds of True seekers after the Lord as in much of the church the idea of the neighbor IS minimized and the sense of Loving oneself DOES NOT carry the necessary impact by which men can understand it. From the beginning of our blogposts we have said that Jesus also gives us an explanatory idea to go with “Thou shalt love agape thy neighbour as thyself” and that IS what has come to be KNOWN as the Golden Rule, albeit a rule that few follow or even understand. Two versions of the Golden Rule ARE offered us in the Gospels; Matthew tells us “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12) while Luke, in a simpler way, says “as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise” (Luke 6:31). We again should note the words of Rabbi Hillel that agree with these sayings “That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the entire Torah, and the rest is its commentary. Now go and study“****. Each of these sayings should be telling us the same thing which we can define in terms of respect. While James tells us that “if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin“, this idea of respect has a similar but different idea behind it that we should explore. Having “respect to persons” as James presents this IS in the same vein as the apostles’ words who tell us that “there is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:11) and that “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34). While these sayings show us that the Lord looks on ALL in the same way, NOT respecting any one over another, such words ARE ignored by the church that believes that one can curry favor with God. This same belief should be destroyed by the Master’s own words saying of the Lord that “he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45) and that “he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil” (Luke 6:35).

This sense of equanimity in the relationship between the Lord and everyman IS clearly in the Master’s words and amplified and clarified by His apostles; yet it IS ignored by a church that gives deference to its doctrines over the reality of the scriptural words that should ‘guide’ them. Further biblical ideas on this idea of equanimity are found in such sayings as “if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear” (1 Peter 1:17). Here the idea of there being “no respect of persons with God” IS played against the idea of judgement for “every man’s work“; the apostle IS saying simply that one should expect NO “respect to persons” for simple calling “on the Father“, an idea that we should understand as prayer. This comports with Paul’s telling us “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:7-8). The point here IS that ALL men ARE seen the same in the eyes of the Lord and while there may be things that happen which allow people to presume that they ARE favored by God and that the Lord IS influencing things in their favor, the reality IS that much of this IS plain happenstance. There ARE however mysterious things that can happen in one’s Life that appear to be the work of the Lord but should we look at this from the perspective of our own Soul’s interaction with our carnal lives we could perhaps discover a greater reality. And, while it IS the Soul that has knowledge of one’s Life’ path in this world, such knowledge IS NOT absolute as there ARE things that can and DO happen upon which the Soul can have NO effect. We may ‘wake up’ just before crashing into a wall and steer away from the danger in a seemingly automatic response and this we can perhaps attribute to the Soul’s influence on our lives. At the same time however if we ARE in an area where an bomb attack IS happening or on an aircraft that IS crashing into a mountain side, we will perish along with ALL others involved. Can we see the point?

These biblical words show us that ALL on this Earth ARE treated in the same way by the Lord and when we look at the suffering of some versus the ideal Life of others we should try to see ONLY happenstance based upon our place and time of birth along with some other carnal factors. The Lord IS NOT favoring one part of society above another; it IS the world itself and the people in the world that ARE responsible for ALL calamity through the necessary separation between the carnal and the spiritual. This separation should be understood through the writings of the apostles but unfortunately they ARE NOT. Few if any realize 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 4:4). defines God’s relationship with the world. The equanimity of the Lord’s relationship with the world IS a starting point for ALL that seek to clearly understand God away from the doctrinal influences into which we ARE indoctrinated. In the end we must realize that “there is no respect of persons with God” and that it IS this that leads us to James’ words saying that “if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin“. Again, there IS a duality to this idea of respect which we must also understand. First “God is no respecter of persons” and, as James tells us we should have NO “respect to persons” ourselves. Here we should see the equanimity with which the Lord sees ALL and the way that we too should view ALL men….as equally entitled to our respect. This IS the duality of the idea and the second point as to the idea of respect. We ARE to show equal respect for ALL men and in so DOING we comply with the idea that we should have NO “respect to persons“. This should NOT be confusing.

This idea of respect IS a functional part of our expression of agape and it IS likely that these ideas have kept many from respecting the Master’s words over the doctrinal ideas that conflict with them. At its core the idea IS that we should see ALL the same which IS the ultimate reality of agape. This means that the far away stranger who we will NEVER encounter should have the same respect as DOES our close relatives and friends. In this world however we ARE taught that family and friends ARE what IS important and here we should try to understand that this idea IS from the minds of men and NOT from the Mind of God. Jesus’ shows us the falsity of this in regard to His own Earthly family; we read that: “There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him. And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. And he answered them, saying,Who is my mother, or my brethren? And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother” (Mark 3:31-35). Matthew offers us the same story saying “Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother” (Matthew 12:47-50). We should NOT be fooled by the final idea in each of these versions of the Master’s words but should rather focus upon the preceding idea that “he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!“. The message here IS ALL can be, and ARE, Jesus’ “brother, and sister, and mother“, the former in their realized nature as being among those that “do the will of my Father which is in heaven” while the latter ARE His “brother, and sister, and mother” in the realization of the Lord. Of course it IS ONLY those “do the will of my Father which is in heaven” that ARE considered as such by the church but when we realize that few if any have Truly met this criteria, that philosophy IS destroyed. In these words IS a prime example of the idea that we must read the message and NOT the words so as NOT to be caught unawares. Another problem IS the church’s adoption of the singular phrase from the Master saying “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6) to show their idea of Christian predominance over other religions. Of course this idea IS but a doctrinal creation of men who have NOT considered the context in which these words ARE spoken nor the nature of the whole dialogue of this chapter and the preceding and succeeding text.

This latter point should show us that the Christian, under his doctrinal beliefs, DOES NOT respect other religions and through this DOES NOT respect their people; in this IS one of the churches great failures at expressing agape. In fact, this point should show us that the church willingly exercises having “respect to persons” which, if it were ONLY this particular point, suffices to emphasize the apostle’s words saying if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors” (James 2:9). We close again with our trifecta as we DID NOT work it into our thoughts above; the Master says:

• “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).

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

• ¹ Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1828 and 1913 from https://1828.mshaffer.com/
• 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
• * Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
• ** https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/love
• *** https://www.psephizo.com/biblical-studies/no-you-should-not-love-your-neighbour-as-you-love-yourself/

Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road

Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher