IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 267

Love is the Fulfilling of the Law

ON GOD; Part LIV

We spent yesterday on the True idea of discipleship as we find it in the words of the Master, as that High Calling that sets one apart from the world and from the world of men. Being a disciple of the Master is a singularly unique position in the world as it has the profound meaning of being apart from the attachments and the desires for any thing in the world and a total focus upon the realm of the Spirit. It is the accomplishment of being accounted worthy of the Kingdom of God and of taking it to oneself; not for what it does for the man but for what the man can do from it for the world of men. To be a True disciple a man must be able to stand and say with the Christ that “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

As with much else of a spiritual nature there is much confusion regarding discipleship as it is a word that has taken on the worldly meanings and not the meanings that the Master elucidated for us 2000 years ago. That the Master has put such criteria upon the idea of being His disciple is clearly stated in His pronouncements regarding forsaking ALL which we discussed yesterday and in prior posts and it is given to us in the single understanding that follows which is equatable to these other sayings plus His teachings on attaining the Kingdom of God. The Master says that: “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). Do we see the relationship here between this requirement of discipleship and this saying as the requirement of attaining the Kingdom: “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). While there may be some that will try to mediate between keeping the words of the Master and doing the will of the Father, we should ever know and understand the Truth and the reality of His saying to us that “I and my Father are one” (John 10:37) and that these are essentially the same thing.

John Gill in his Exposition of the Bible⁸  tells us this about the saying above on discipleship from John’s Gospel: if ye continue in my word; meaning the Gospel, called his, because he was both the author, and preacher, and sum, and substance of it: and to continue in it, is having cordially received it, to abide by it, and hold it fast, and not to be moved from it, by the temptations of Satan; the cunning of those that lie in wait to deceive; nor by the revilings and persecutions, the frowns and flatteries of men: and when men continue thus steadfast in it, and faithful to it, it is an evidence that it has come with power, and has a place in their hearts, and that they are the true followers of Christ: then are ye my disciples indeed; there are two sorts of disciples of Christ; some are only nominal, and merely in profession such; and these sometimes draw back from him, discontinue in his word, and go out from among his people; which shows that they never were of them, nor are the true disciples of Jesus; for the genuine disciples of Christ continue in his Gospel, hold fast to him, the head, and remain with his people; which to do to the end, is an evidence, of their being disciples indeed⁸. This interpretation by Gill is according to our understanding with minor exceptions which regard His word; this should carry the force not only of the Gospel as a generality but as the specific words of the Master, His terms of discipleship. Additionally, although Gill does note that there are two sorts of disciples, he again does not show the ardent effort required by the Master for this High Calling to be made one’s own; this lower threshold is likely from the words of the apostles who tell us things such as “From that time many of his disciples went back , and walked no more with him” (John 6:66); for us, these things should not detract from the Master’s words and His intent. Perhaps these were acting like disciples in John’s eyes but the True disciple is only one who does according to the Master’s words which tell us: “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath , he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33).

Is our view of this too strict and to burdensome? or is it based on the Master’s words? Can we see how so much of the True intent of the Master has been watered down to a level of acceptance by the average man? The Master’s True disciples asked this question when they ask Him “Who then can be saved ?” (Matthew 19:25). This comes at the end of the Master’s comments on the young man who was inquiring about eternal Life; let us look at the way this is framed in the synoptic gospels:

• From Matthew: “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold , we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first” (Matthew 19:23-30).
• From Mark: “And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible. Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo , we have left all, and have followed thee. And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. But many that are first shall be last; and the last first” (Mark 10:23-31).
• From Luke: “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. Then Peter said, Lo , we have left all, and followed thee. And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake, Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting” (Luke 18:24:30)

Now these are three variations of the same thought but they differ slightly from one another. In Mark’s Gospel the Master tempers His words regarding riches and the Kingdom to say that it is not having riches that will keep a man out but rather trust in those riches and we should see this idea as inherent in the other gospels. The reality of course is that if one is rich that it is likely that he got that way by attending to the things of the world and not the things of God and we should understand the requirement of forsaking ALL that we discussed over the last several posts plays a large role here in a number of ways. First that the Master is asked about eternal Life and He answers in terms of the Kingdom of God thereby equating these ideas for us. Second that this same forsaking spoken of here is the forsaking that we see as the Master’s requirements for discipleship and for being worthy of Him. And, third, we should see here the common thread that holds all these things together as we see above and throughout the gospels; to keep His words, to follow Him, to do the will of the Father all are inclusive of forsaking ALL. Here the Master talks about riches which is perhaps the most physical attraction but we know from our prior discussions that this forsaking is All inclusive. Is He saying that we should give it all away, whatsoever we have? In many ways yes this is what He is saying but more importantly, if a man Truly seeks the Kingdom first it is unlikely that he will face this ALL as a True dilemma.

Moving on through these sayings we see the common phrase in each that says: “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God“. The general understanding of this is that the reference is to the Power of the Father God who will help us from without; but help us to do what is the important question. The parabolic point is missed by most all and this is a point that is also missed throughout the Master’s teachings and this point is the fact of the God Within; this is the God with whom, for each and every man, ALL things are possible. We should look closely at what the Master is here saying; it is not that God can save the rich man but rather that God, the God Within, can save the rich man by his focus upon Him and it is in this focus that, as we say above, he will not face this dilemma any longer but will see the Truth in the Light of the Soul. He is then no longer rich regardless of what he may have as riches become, as the Apostle Paul tells us, as dung. This is the reality of forsaking; it is not that one should live as an aesetic but rather that one should approach ALL things of this world as Paul proclaims: “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ” (Philippians 3:8). In this saying like so many others we are trapped by language and in doctrine to see the suffering of Paul; Strong’s however gives us a better idea by framing this idea of “suffered the loss of” as to forfeit³ which is more relatable to the reality of what must happen and what does happen when one focuses upon the Lord. Can we find the relationship between forsake as the Master instructs and forfeit. The reality of this is in the attitude that one should “count them but dung“, as meaningless and unimportant and therein can be found the essence of forsaking and of forfeiting.

Next we have the True disciples of the Master, through their spokesperson, the Apostle Peter, who either apparently misunderstanding the parable by the Master says that they, the disciples, had given up ALL as it was wont for them to do, or, merely acknowledging their sacrifice, is wondering about the result of so doing. In the parabolic nature of the sayings that precede this it is altogether likely that the apostle is not understanding the Master’s words and is thinking that the rich man can enter if it is the will of God and the Master does not address the reason for the question in His answer. Again, this is the nature of a parable and it is likely that the source of the question becomes moot upon the Master’s answer which is to say that He knows what they have forfeited and the then itemizes the sacrifices and gives them the Truth of the reality of discipleship, the Kingdom of God. There is much misunderstanding of these next words in many parts of the church as they are seen as the promise of worldly things and comfort but the Master’s words are to the contrary when they are properly discerned. The acknowledgement is clear in each of the gospels and it is in line with the ideas that the Master gave us regarding what must be forsaken to be His disciple or to be worthy of Him as we discussed in the last post. And here is the glitch in the thinking of many; the Master is telling us first that we must forsake these things and then is acknowledging that His disciples did forsake these things; so how is it that we would expect to get these things again in this Life on Earth? And and hundredfold? By the very nature of the list of what is forsaken, as it is listed in the gospels and reiterated as that which the disciple will receive, should be seen the parabolic nature of the saying. An hundredfold mothers or fathers? and hundred fold sisters or brothers or children? or even a hundred fold lands or houses; these should all be seen in the Light of the understanding of the disciple and not in the idea of getting anything worldly in exchange for giving up any worldly thing.

What then is the reality of this? Simply that when one is a disciple of the Master, when one is functioning in His Kingdom, then all things are His. Who are my mother and my father and my sister and my brother; who are my children? As we discussed in the last post, the Master answers this in saying: “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 12:46-50). So what then of lands and of houses? How do we reconcile these into the intent of the Master? Can it be that whatsoever these who do the will of the Father have, can be seen as ours as well? Or is it more likely that the context of this is in these sayings of the Master:

• “The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand” (John 3:35). Showing that all things are in the hand of the man through whom the Soul is living; the disciple.
• “All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is , but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him” (Luke 10:22). Saying the same thing as above but adding a reality in our understanding of the relationship between the Spirit of a man and his Soul, his Christ Within. When the Son is revealed to and through the personality consciousness then the first part of this saying is true. 

The reality is of course that one should not even desire the lands and the houses or whatever they are meant to represent and this in the understanding of the need to forsake and of the reality that in so doing, that ALL things are in the hands of the Christ Within, the disciple in time and space. Discipleship is a beginning and not an end, it is the launch point of one’s True spiritual Life. As we see in the Life of the disciple Peter there is a continual growth from a doubting and falling back man living as the Soul through his personality but still effected by the world of form, to the total commitment of the Apostle Peter who takes charge of all in the Book of Acts, who can heal by the proximity of his shadow and who Truly KNOWS which is, from our limited perspective, a sign of the Fullness of the Christ Within flowing through a man, the fullness of the Holy Spirit at work.

Note on the Quote of the Day