IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 582

Love is the Fulfilling of the Law

ON LOVE; PART CLXXI

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GoodWill IS Love in Action

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“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. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:1-15).

We ended the last post with these words below from the Apostle Paul. We have covered these words before early on in our posts and in In the Words of Jesus part 6, this was our Quote of the Day. We then discussed this in some detail in part 133 and we discussed this in much greater detail in part 460; we could do well to reread this as it relates to our current theme and we speak about it in relation to our words from the Apostle James on the Wisdom from above. Today we look at this again but from the perspective of focus which was our subject yesterday when these words came to mind. The apostle tells us, as part of his dissertation to the disciples at Philippe, that they should act at ALL times as disciples. The words leading up to this saying below are muddied by the understanding of the ideas of rejoice as well as the object of the rejoicing and we read these words and those that follow a bit differently as based upon our understanding of the reality of God and of the High Calling of discipleship. The Apostle tells us this leading up to the finally presentation that we have below:  “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:4-7).  The idea of rejoicing is not so clear, the meaning according to the lexicon is: to rejoice, be glad; to rejoice exceedingly; to be well, thrive; in salutations, hail!; at the beginning of letters: to give one greeting, salute. From this we can exclude the references to salutations and take the idea of to be glad and to be well, to thrive ², as well as the idea of delighted ³ that is added by Strong’s, as these can all make sense in our understanding of the intent of the apostle.

How does one rejoice in the Lord? and what does this really mean? To understand this we should look at the meaning of the Greek word kurios which is translated as Lord in this saying; the word is translated as Lord, lord and master and also as Sir and sir with each dependent upon the translation and the objective of the translators. In most ALL translations of this verse  this word IS rendered as Lord and the intention of the translators is of course God but if we look deeper at these words from Paul we may be able to see an intent that is more along the lines of thought that we try to perceive in ALL. The lexicon tells us that the Greek word kurios can mean: he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord; the possessor and disposer of a thing; the owner; one who has control of the person, the master; in the state: the sovereign, prince, chief, the Roman emperor; is a title of honour expressive of respect and reverence, with which servants greet their master; this title is given to: God, the Messiah ². The only reference to God is the end part of this which is not a defining term for the word but an understanding based upon the beliefs of those who translate and compose doctrine. Strong’s tells us this: lord, master. this can be a title of address to a person of higher status, “lord, sir”; a master of property or slaves; or a NT translation of the Hebrew 136 “Lord” or 3068 “LORD,” that is “Yahweh,” the proper name of God in the OT ³. In all these ideas of translation it is extremely difficult to discern the intent of the apostle but from the hidden revelation in his other writings we should try to see here the reality of speaking to disciples and telling them to rejoice in their discipleship which IS the reality of the True man, the Soul, the God and Christ Within and the first Master that a man will encounter in his long journey home. Paul is saying to rejoice in the Lord, in the reality of the Christ Within as He is recognized and KNOWN by the disciple in form and we can likely extend this to those such as us who also KNOW the Christ Within as we are striving to be able to express Him in our daily Life.

The apostle understands the reality of the Christ Within and is likely responsible for the dissemination of this idea and while we do not KNOW how this was expressed in Paul’s day, we can see some inkling of it in the words above especially when combined with these words below:

 “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Philippians 4:8).

We said in the last post that these are the essence of RIGHT FOCUS and this is a Truth but, at the same time we should see the greater depth of the entirety of Paul’s words. He tells us to “Rejoice in the Lord alway” and we should see in these words first our reality as based upon the use of the words from our perspective of being Soul’s in form, of being the God and the Christ within the form, and second we should see the construction of church doctrine which identifies the the Lord as God the Father, the Universal Boundless and Immutable entity that IS Life and which suggests that Paul is telling the disciples that they should ‘be glad‘ in the Lord which from the perspective of a disciple may be difficult to see. John Gill in his Exposition of the Bible ⁸ says of this verse: …..there is always cause and matter for rejoicing in Christ, even in times of affliction, distress, and persecution; since he is always the same; his grace is always sufficient; his blood has a continual virtue in it, and always speaks for peace and pardon; his righteousness is an everlasting one, and so is his salvation, and such is his love; though some join this word with what follows, [and] again, I say, rejoice; this is what was continually inculcated by him, as being of great importance and use for the comfort of believers, and the honour of Christ ⁸. This is a continuation by Mr. Gill of the same words from the previous chapter were he tells us that: A believer has always reason to rejoice in Christ; in the greatness of his person, he being in the form of God, and equal to him, and therefore able to save his to the uttermost by his obedience and death, and has interest enough in heaven to make his intercession prevalent and successful and power to keep safe all that are committed to him; and in the fitness of his person to be a Mediator, and daysman, to take care of things pertaining to the glory of God, and to make reconciliation for sin; and in the fulness of his person, he having all grace in him for his people, which is all theirs, and with joy may they draw water out of the full wells of salvation in him; and in the beauty of his person which surpasses all others, a sight of which fills with joy unspeakable, and full of glory ⁸. Mr. Gill’s ideas here carry a beautiful message of the reality of the Life and death of Jesus and the never ending Love of the Christ as it is seen in doctrine but these words are not of any use in the journey of the disciple and the aspirant except he understand that it is his own expression of the gladness by the man in form who KNOWS that the Love of God is flowing through his being from the Source, the Soul, the Christ Within. 

The next verse tells us about moderation which is not the most used translation of the Greek word epieikes which is rendered in other versions as gentleness, forbearance, reasonableness and even modesty. Using forbearance which is Vincent’s ⁴  choice we can get a better feel for how the apostle is instructing us to act and how we should be seen; in this word forbearance we should see the ideals of self control and patience. Together then we get the idea that we should be glad, be well and thriving in the reality that we are able to express the Light of the Soul and that in this Light we should be steady and our expression should be seen by all as that we are self controlled and patient in ALL our dealings. From here the apostle tells us that “The Lord is at hand” and here the same Greek word kurios is used and in its multiplicity of potential meanings doctrine chooses to see this as God or as Christ though for us and for disciples in that day, the reality that God “is at hand” should need not special pronouncement. Here we should see the continuation of the thought that they express forbearance in ALL that they do and do so in the KNOWLEDGE that their expression IS the expression of the Christ Within who is near and can be seen in the understanding of the Proverb saying: “and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24). In this saying the idea of at hand can be easily rendered as near which does work better in our perspective of the apostle’s idea.

Continuing on, Paul tells us that we should “Be careful for nothing” and in this we should see a combination of the confidence that the man has KNOWING that the Love and the Power of the Christ Within IS his expression and the lack of fear in ALL that one does. In this we should see the realty of the words of the Apostle John who confirms this thought for every disciple and aspirant saying that “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment . He that feareth is not made perfect in love” ( John 4:18) and we should ever KNOW that this is the way of the disciple, that he lives in and expresses that Love; it is his expression to the world. The next part here is about prayer and we should understand that there IS a Power in invocation but this Power IS ONLY Truly exhibited from the perspective of the disciple and the aspirant who are not using prayer as a way to gain anything for the self. This is not understood by many who believe that prayer can be the answer to one’s personal dilemmas and problems. We should understand here the limits of language and while the words are translated as prayer and supplication and requests there is a crossover of meanings among them. The idea of all is that there is invocation given by the man in form and this is done in humility with thanksgiving but for what are we thankful? Are we thankful in advance for the answer to our prayers or are we thankful in the same essence as we are rejoicing….in the KNOWLEDGE that we have succeeded in the realization of Truth and of God?

As we see it, the apostle goes further with this idea into the next so as to say that the prayer or the request is for this success, as it is in the success of discipleship and in the more limited success of the aspirant that we can find “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding“. This is the success of a prayer that is selfless from the perspective of the man in form and this has naught to do with his carnal Life. This prayer that brings this “peace of God” is for the Greater Light to shine from the Soul, it is for greater realization and it is for those things that we find in the Great Invocation and in the Lord’s Prayer where there is nothing for the individual separated self but which are prayers that invoke the Light and the Love and the Power of the Lord to greater realization by ALL men. Both of these prayers are available in the Prayers and Meditations section on the front page of this blog.

This brings us finally to the verse that started us on this course and which is the finally part of Paul’s dissertation; it is here that we see the reality of the thoughts of the disciple and the aspirant which is the reality of one’s focus on the things of God. The apostle tells us clearly that if we are disciples and aspirants as he is writing to that we should rejoice in our accomplishment and stand among men in forbearance without fear and in the humility that the Christ teaches us as we pray for greater Light which brings to us “the peace of God“. It is in this state of being that we can understand the nature of the thoughts that should be in our minds; thoughts of the Good, the Beautiful and the True.

We did not get back to the words of Emmet Fox again today and will try to complete these in the next post.

Note on the Quote of the Day

This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment:

Emmet Fox, a New Thought Christian teacher, gives us his Fifteen Points teaching one of which we used to exemplify the Master’s intent in His teaching to us about the Golden Rule. All of these points are however forward looking from the perspective of the man who desires to advance spiritually and they are based upon the reality of the Master’s teachings on Love.

I Am Really In Truth: ‡

1. If – I always look for the best in each person, situation and thing.
2. If – I resolutely turn my back on the past, good or bad and live only in the present & future
3. If – I forgive everybody without exception, no matter what he may have done; and if I then forgive MYSELF whole-heartedly.

4. If – I regard my job as sacred and do my day’s work to the best of my ability (whether I like it or not).

5. If – I take every means to demonstrate a healthy body and harmonious surroundings for myself.

6. If – I endeavor to make my life of as much service to others as possible, without interfering or fussing.

7. If – I take every opportunity wisely to spread the knowledge of Truth to others.
8. If – I rigidly refrain from personal criticism, and neither speak nor listen to gossip.
9. If – I devote at least a quarter of an hour a day to prayer and meditation.
10. If – I read at least seven verses of the Bible everyday.
11. If – I specifically claim spiritual understanding of myself every day.
12. If – I train myself to give the first thought on waking to God.
13. If – I speak the Word for the whole world every day, say at noon.

14. If – I PRACTICE, the Golden Rule of Jesus instead of merely admiring it. He said, “Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.” The important point about the Golden Rule is that I am to practice it whether the other fellow does so or not.

15. If – above all, I understand that whatever I see is but a picture which can be changed for the better by Scientific Prayer.

Repeating our text on this and Mr. Fox from a previous essay: Now we should understand that the above ideas are the doctrine that Mr. Fox taught and that like any doctrine it is based in what the man believes which is for most of us a revealer of the illusions that we are under. Much of these Fifteen Points are rather directly for the teachings of the Master. On the whole these are most all good and virtuous ideas but of the most importance insofar as the Master’s teachings are concerned are those points that give us some understanding of how a man should act in regard to others and the most profound is the simple wording of number fourteen. This teaching is given out for the use of the general Christian audience as Mr. Fox addresses people much like every other preacher or pastor albeit with his own doctrine and with a bit more emphasis on the Love that the Master taught. We should add here that many of the other Christian denominations do not agree with the teachings of the New Thought Movement nor Mr. Fox with some even referring to this teaching as cultish. We bring this out here not because we agree with their teachings but to show that there is some movement towards the teaching of Love by some newer parts of the church and the tell-all of this movement is in point fifteen which is outside of the teachings of the Master except one interpret His words in this way. This is doctrine and this is illusion from the perspective that these precepts are not in alignment with the words of the Master insofar as His ideas on discipleship and the hard line that is drawn for the actuality of being accounted worthy of His Kingdom. From our perspective these points are good and are most all worthwhile and they will lead people who can subscribe to them closer to the Master. This idea is true of most all denominations as they do attract people who can think and believe along certain lines and, as we have said before, it is better to believe in the doctrine of a denomination and to follow it as best one can than it is to flounder through Life with little or no direction at all.

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts!

• ‡  From The Fifteen Points by Emmet Fox; © 1932 HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• ¹ Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1828 and 1913
• ² from New Testament Greek Lexicon on BibleStudyTools.com
• ³ Strongest Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible – 2001
• ⁴ Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888
• ⁸ Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com