Love is the Fulfilling of the Law
ON LOVE; PART CCLXI
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•Α
GoodWill IS Love in Action
ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•Α
“Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart” (Ephesians 4:13-18).
In yesterday’s essay we looked at the reality of the Master’s words on Love as they originated in ancient times and were carried forward with renewed emphasis by the the teachings of Jesus and His apostles. We saw that at their outset they were designed to be the guiding Light to the Jews in that day regarding their interaction with each other and, in this rather isolated community, there is much in the writings that take the idea of neighbor as we read in “but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD. Ye shall keep my statutes” (Leviticus 19:18-19) and relate it directly to the stranger among them whosoever he may be. And these edicts of the Lord regarding strangers effected all things, that he should be treated equally except as it concerned the Jew’s religious practices and here only until he was proselytized. This reality is exemplified for us in this from the Book of Exodus and again, as a subscript to the Ten Commandments, but commandments nonetheless: “Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 23:9). There are likely some that will disagree with our ideas on the Lord’s intent in these sayings about the stranger and here again we should try to see that the tendency to minimize the Word of the Lord IS NOT the right attitude for us to take as a unified race of men who must live in the ultimate reality of the ONE Humanity. We should take ONLY the broadest view which is inferred for us by Jehovah through Moses who tells us: “But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God” (Leviticus 19:34). Now we should see this ancient point as being brought forward into Jesus’ day as He gave to us the Great Commandments which we repeat here from Matthew’s Gospel as we have seen these from the Apostles Mark and Luke over the last essays; being asked “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?”, Jesus answers saying: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:36-40). We should note here the ending remark and relate it to the ending remark that we find in the Master’s presentation of the Golden Rule as well and we should see that although the Golden Rule IS NOT stated in the Old Testament as we KNOW it, that it is implied or inferred by the many other words given by the Lord on this very same subject of Love. According to Matthew the Master says: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:12). He tells us here of this Golden Rule that THIS IS THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS and He tells us in regards to the other saying, the Great Commandment on Love, that upon it does HANG ALL THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS. In these words we should see the importance of these ideas for the world of men.
Seeing then that the Golden Rule considered by the Master as being THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS, should we not at least understand what it is that this means? He IS of course speaking to the Jews in His day, men who are under the Law and this whole concept is a bit muddled in the Christian Churches and this confusion IS based in the words of the Apostle Paul who seemingly rails against the law but which sayings and phrases are much misunderstood. And here we have, from the doctrinal perspective, Paul’s teachings that form a great part of the doctrines of some parts of the church where a line IS drawn between ‘faith‘ and the law. Before we go down this road however let us look at what the Master says regarding the law:
- “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil” (Matthew 5:17). Now it DOES NOT say here that He had come to end the Law as He outright admits that He had not “come to destroy the law, or the prophets” and in this we should see that the law persists. And, if we can believe that any of His words are spoken and recorded for our use yet today, we must believe that they ALL are as we are not so justified that we can pick and choose. This then also defines the state of the idea above which says that the Golden Rule IS the law and it IS the prophets and we should try to see that in the Golden Rule IS the essence of ALL that the law and the prophets say. Similarly with the Great Commandment on which ALL the law and the words of the prophet hang; can we see that from this concept of Love that ALL of True Life IS suspended and can we find as well in these words Paul’s like saying that “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Galatians 5:14)? In this saying by Paul we should see a KEY to ALL his other sayings regarding the faith and the law.
- “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matthew 5:18); “And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail” (Luke 16:17). In these sayings by the Master we should see the reality that the law still IS although it IS NOT necessary to see the law in the same way. This thought is made more evident in our next points below but as a general rule, the law still exists but the effective practice of the law has changed for the one who believes in and believes on the Christ, the one who keeps His words and here, in the context of our discussion, we should say that these laws of Love as discussed above Must become the paramount focus of the Life of the man if he is to rightly understand the reality of the message of the Master and the writings of Paul. And we should remember our understanding of this is that the words of the apostles are to clarify and amplify and not to change the words of the Master which in this case the doctrinal teachings of much of the church will do if they profess that the law is no longer important.
- “The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it” (Luke 16:16). This saying can be a bit confusing in light of what we have offered above but this need not be so. Here the idea is that until John the Baptist began to make men aware of the Kingdom and its presence, which is as the Master tells us within us, men had no better perspective than to keep the law and its many rules; to KNOW and to understand them individually and to obey them; this was the way of salvation. With John they hear of the Kingdom and the reality of Love, GoodWill and Right Human Relations and the Jews in those days knew of these concepts from the words of John and it is, as we see above, upon these that the Law IS built so that in the practice of these ideals one practices the law without KNOWING or understanding the many rules. Of John’s teachings we KNOW little but we do have this exchange with the people which outlines for us the Love, the GoodWill and the Right Human Relations of the day:
- “….the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise. Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages. And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not” (Luke 3:2-15).
Can we see the difference in the approach of the Baptist’s words as compared to the stark terms of the law and can we see here that these words of John are a preview of the teachings of the Master? Can we see that the tone becomes an appeal to the man who wants to do those things that are according to John and to Jesus and not the accomplishment of the things of the law because they ARE the law?
- “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). In this final saying we should see the combined intent of what we see above as written by the Apostle John in the Prologue to his gospel. This idea here is that Grace and Truth are beyond the Law, they are the essence of the New Dispensation that comes to us in Christ, the manifest Love of God to the world of men.
We should understand that ALL things work together and although the apostle does say this in a different context, one where Paul is speaking to disciples about the Holy Spirit’s action in the Life of the one who IS predestinated, which IS another much misunderstood term and one that we must cover in our essays another time. Paul tells them and us through them that “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). We should note that this saying is from that much used chapter from Romans that gives us such deep understanding of the plight of the man in the world and his eventual deliverance from this and these sayings regarding this predestination follow closely upon those verses that we use so often. More importantly is the right understanding of this term “to them that love God” which we should understand as them who keep His words as this IS the key to the calling, the High Calling of discipleship. While we may have to read into Paul’s words the reality of the Master’s words that “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30), we should understand that there is that need then to keep His words if a man is to be seen in this Light as the Master tell us clearly that: “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Remembering our thoughts above on the law and its effect on the Life of the man in the world we should see here one more thing that will play into our understanding of this doctrinal controversy regarding the law versus ‘faith’ and this is the Master’s words in that same segment where we are told of His ONENESS with the Father; here He says that “Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:34-35). There is much in this saying that tells us that the man focused upon the the things of God, the man “unto whom the word of God came“, is the man who has that realization of Truth, that realization of his True nature as the Soul, the Christ and the God Within.
And this brings us to our point in this ALL as regards our understanding of the many words of Paul on the differences between the law and faith; here we must remember and understand that faith IS that KNOWING and not that wishful attitude that is used by so many in its place. True faith IS KNOWING the reality of Life as the understanding of it flows into one’s consciousness in form from the Soul; True faith IS that realization of the Love of God by the man who keeps His words; True faith IS that understanding of the growing Love and Power of the man in the world who is focused upon God and True faith is that faith which grows within the man who IS continually focused on the things of God until he can reach that point of KNOWING in which he could move the mountain. And we should understand here that it IS to the man who IS so focused that faith can and does take the place of the law as for this man who is ever keeping His words, the law becomes superfluous and he IS Truly guided by faith and by the Love that IS God.
We again did not get to finish our sayings at the top and we will try to get back to this in the next post although we do have some more to say on this current topic of faith and the law as we see here that if a man IS focused upon the world and the things of the world that faith CAN NOT and DOES NOT work for him over the law.
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 |
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.
Staying on the theme of Love we repeat again the sayings of the Apostle Paul that put this Love into perspective.
But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging 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, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 12:31, 13:1-13 (New King James Version)Regardless of our daily theme, the underlying theme of our posts and of this entire blog is Love. In these words from Paul we should be able to see the overriding importance of Love in the Life of each of us. This is a common theme throughout the gospels and the other writings of the apostles and a theme that is not nearly understood. In our theme today regarding Paul’s writings to the Romans and in the previous discussions on them we seek to impart the better understanding of the reality of Life, the Life of the True man as the Christ Within, the Soul, as it is from this perspective that we can gain that revelation of Truth and, as Paul says above, be free from the condemnation and the vanity of Life in form, free from the illusion and the glamour. We repeat here what we said about these verses in a prior post:
Today’s Quote of the Day from the Apostle Paul is his testimony to the power of Love. After speaking at length about the gifts of the Spirit that one should desire in order to be of service to the Lord, he says plainly that Love is a more excellent way. Love in the context of these verses is not the sentimental or affectionate kind that we ordinarily think of but rather 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. This defining of Love is covered in some depth in a previous post; In the Words of Jesus part 47.
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts!
- 2 New Testament Greek Lexicon on BibleStudyTools.com
- 2a Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon on BibleStudyTools.com
