IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 986

ON LOVE; PART DLXXV

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GoodWill IS Love in Action

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“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).

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“Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, 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).

In the last essay we reached the end of the first chapter of the Epistle of James where there are yet more ideas that are expressed in language that should NOT be interpreted in a literal sense as it IS by many. We have spent much time on this chapter and perhaps for this same reason: that James uses Greek words that are sometimes ambiguous when rendered into English, that IS that the common understanding IS NOT what the apostle intended the meaning to be. We should note here another thing that plagues the gospels as well as this epistle: that there are some words that should be seen in the more literal sense but which ARE NOT while there are words that have much broader meaning which are seen in the more literal sense. In James the idea of temptation IS one that means just that, temptation; for us this IS the meaning but this means affliction and even persecution in some doctrinal views. Other ideas like hearing and wrath are seen literally but for us these have much deeper meanings as we have discussed. In the Master’s words, His commandments on Love as we see above are wrangled about in doctrine but not taken to mean what they say while words like resurrection are applied in the common meaning with much doctrine allocated and, for this particular word, there IS much conflicting doctrine for which there IS little True understanding.

We have ventured to say that this trend has been the doctrinal churches perhaps ‘subconscious’ attempt to find safe harbor for their own sense of self as they seem to take the Master’s words in such a way as so they ARE NOT very inconvenienced by the ideas that ARE Truly presented regarding Universal Love, the equanimity of His creation, and the realities of sin and evil. While it IS unlikely that their views will change in the short term, it seems our responsibility to shed Light on the Truth of His words for the man who has ears to hear and it IS for this purpose that we write; to try to strip away the centuries old doctrinal views that serve to obnubilate the realities of Life in this world and man’s True relationship with his most Immanent God, the Christ Within us ALL.

In the last verses from James’ Epistle we found a section of text that IS both revealing and relatively ignored or, better, ascribed to others who are seen as more base that each man sees himself and, in many ways, it IS just this idea that the apostle IS speaking of as He tells us:

“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way , and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed” (James 1:22-25).

We repeat these ideas again as there IS much Power in these words, a Power that can work to make a man see himself differently if he can honestly assess his own state of being in the world. Here, in the word rendered as hearers, we should see the beliefs and the KNOWING, or as the lexicon frames this comprehension and understanding ², of every man; not what he may outwardly profess but what he would inwardly Truly believe and KNOW. In this there is a great sliding scale as what one may believe and KNOW may not be the end of the Truth in any matter and we made an example on this previously in the idea of Love where by if a man believes that the Master’s teaching on Love is for fellow Christians only, then he should follow this and DO it in the way that the Master prescribes which IS to Love ALL regardless of any separating characteristics. While this may not make a man a DOER of the word as we see it, it will make him a DOER in his own understanding and, of course, this being a DOER IS not concerning Love only but ALL things that one would believe to be the Truth. Regardless of where one may be on this sliding scale, this IS a difficult undertaking, to Love ALL or any of the Master’s other precepts, and James’ message relates that to us in his ideas of what the man IS like who has this understanding and such and such beliefs when he looks at himself honestly, but then forgets them when he is back into his own worldly routines. This man who IS NOT a DOER forgets his own Truths and falls into that list of words that the apostle preceded this idea with, words that we see plainly as the ways of the world but are understood in more common terms by others as anger, filthiness and abundant malice toward others. Here again we should see the sliding scale; if one believes as we do that these words rendered as wrath or anger, filthiness and the “superfluity of naughtiness” the ways of the world then that man should “lay apart“, or “put aside” as Young’s renders this,  these things of the world. If however one believes that this means anger, filthiness or uncleanness, and malice then this man should refrain from these things if he IS Truly a DOER of the word.

Can we see the underlying ideas here? That whatsoever a man may believe the word DOES say, that IS what it IS that he should DO and, if one IS not doing these things that he believes, he IS deceiving himself. But what IS this deception? While it IS better stated in our current verses below, this deception IS that this man thinks that he has found his salvation and his Truth when the reality IS that he has only found these if he actually does these things that he believes. In the idea of “the perfect law — that of liberty” we should see the Greater Truths of His words and not merely what one may fashion them to say but, at the same time, we can understand that the man on the sliding scale will, by degree, see some portion of this reality which,  if he IS a DOER, that “this man shall be blessed in his deed“. In blessed we have another word that IS difficult to understand as it has been hijacked by doctrine into religious meanings that are difficult to understand and which some see as being happy. We should remember here that the Master uses this word to describe the nature of the man who accomplishes the specifics of the Beatitudes which we see as directed at disciples so as that they KNOW their state of being; that they ARE blessed AND “theirs is the kingdom of heaven” or they are blessed AND “they shall see God“. We should try to see the spiritual significance in the use of this word and without going into his opinions about the reality of Greek Gods, we post here some of Vincent’s ideas:

Blessed (μακάριοι); As this word and its cognates occur at least fifty-five times in the New Testament, it is important to understand its history, which is interesting because it is one of those numerous words which exhibit the influence of Christian association and usage in enlarging and dignifying their meaning. It is commonly rendered blessed, both in the A. V. and Rev., and that rendering might properly be given it in every instance. Its root is supposed to be a word meaning great, and its earlier meaning appears to be limited to outward prosperity; so that it is used at times as synonymous with rich. It scarcely varies from this meaning in its frequent applications to the Grecian gods, since the popular Greek ideal of divine blessedness was not essentially moral. The gods were blessed because of their power and dignity, not because of their holiness…..With the philosophers a moral element comes definitely into the word. The conception rises from outward propriety to inward correctness as the essence of happiness. But in all of them, from Socrates onward, virtue depends primarily upon knowledge; so that to be happy is, first of ail, to know. It is thus apparent that the Greek philosophy had no conception of sin in the Bible sense. As virtue depended on knowledge, sin was the outcome of ignorance, and virtue and its consequent happiness were therefore the prerogative of the few and the learned. The biblical use of the word lifted it into the region of the spiritual, as distinguished from the merely intellectual, and besides, intrusted to it alone the task of representing this higher conception….Thus the word passed up into the higher region of Christian thought, and was stamped with the gospel signet, and laden with all the rich significance of gospel blessedness. It now takes on a group of ideas strange to the best pagan morality, and contradictory of its fundamental positions. Shaking itself loose from all thoughts of outward good, it becomes the express symbol of a happiness identified with pure character. Behind it lies the clear cognition of sin as the fountain-head of all misery, and of holiness as the final and effectual cure for every woe. For knowledge as the basis of virtue, and therefore of happiness, it substitutes faith and love ⁴.

In this rather lengthy portion of Mr. Vincent’s comments we should see our point that Christian doctrine has taken this Greek word makarios out of the ideas that it originally expressed and into the Christian way of their own views on faith and Love. For us, the greater understanding of the Master’s and His apostles’ intent in using makarios IS lost and what we understand today IS NOT what it is originally intended. We can think of no one word that would suffice to define this idea of blessed but we can find some ideas in the original, pre-Christian ideas that we read above. If we can see knowledge as the spiritual realization, that KNOWING that IS our understanding of the Truth of faith as defined by the Master’s words saying that “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove ; and nothing shall be impossible unto you” (Matthew 17;20). Here the idea of faith IS that total certainty of full KNOWING which leaves NO doubt and this IS how this is framed in Mark’s Gospel as we read the Master’s words saying: “whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith” (Mark 11:23). This IS the reality of faith which far surpasses that religious approach which is tied to a emotional and mental affirmation of Christ; and this reality of KNOWING IS perhaps what should be seen in this idea of being blessed. The disciple IS blessed in his ways according to James because he IS a DOER of the word; because he “looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein” which state of Life brings to a man the fullness of that revelation that IS his KNOWING.

So then this idea of blessed can be seen as a man’s accomplishment of KNOWING and again we should remember that ALL things spiritual work out in Life by degree so that there ARE degrees of KNOWING which build up to the fullness with which moving the mountain is within the ability of the True disciple. And the same idea can be seen in the use of this word rendered as blessed in the Beatitudes and in most ALL cases one can see the accomplishment and the Power that comes with it. For the Greeks this word was used in reference to their gods to which were assigned potencies and Powers that they observed in the Universe and their relationship of these to men; these can be seen as their view of God and this same idea IS likely True in many different cultures where the apparent works of God in the Universe are allotted to individual gods that had the Power to control them. We might add here that this diversity of gods is one of the more profound reasons for the teaching of Jehovah to the Jews; to show forth the idea of ONE God to replace the multiplicity of deities created in even more superstitious times. For the ancient Greeks that Vincent speaks of above these gods were revered and feared and here we can see that meaning in the idea of blessed regarding them and a similarity to the KNOWING as gods in the use of this same word by the Master and His apostles. Perhaps a man IS Truly blessed when he KNOWS the Truth which idea we can see in the Master’s saying to to the woman that called His mother blessed: “blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it” (Luke 11:28).

It IS important to understand the deeper meanings of this word and we have barely touched upon them here as the intent of this word IS Truly spiritual and reflects the spirituality of the one who IS blessed. Much the same IS the reality of the words that are rendered as religious and as tongue; the Greek threskos and glossa. The modern definition of the word religion from a spiritual perspective is: a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects ⁷ and the idea of religious means: of, pertaining to, or concerned with religion ⁷ or, on a more spiritual bent, religious IS seen as: imbued with or exhibiting religion; pious; devout; godly; scrupulously faithful; conscientious ⁷. In these the religious man is the devout, pious or perhaps scrupulously faithful follower and believer of a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices; here we see the idea of an ardent follower while the more common understanding of religious has become more that a man is a member of some group that follows a specific fundamental set of beliefs which is more in line with the first definition of religious, that of pertaining to. The greater idea of religious from the perspective of the apostle’s words is of course the latter idea of ardent exhibition although this word is a bit misleading. James says:

“If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world” (James 1:26-27).

In this saying, while this modern idea of religious will work, we need a better idea as devout, godly, etc, show us outward appearance and here, while the word seems is attached, this should be seen as think which IS the more common rendering; the idea here is more of a personal view of oneself as when one would “beholdeth himself“. How then does one think of himself as religious is the question and the older ideas attached to this word do not work as this IS an uncertain word for which Vincent tells us that: Religious ( θρῆσκος ); Only here in New Testament, and nowhere in classical Greek. The kindred noun θρησκεία , religion, occurs Acts 26:5; Colossians 2:18; James 1:26, James 1:27; and means the ceremonial service of religion. The derivation is uncertain. Θρέομαι, to mutter forms of prayer, has been suggested, as the followers of Wycliffe were called Lollards, from the old Dutch lullen or lollento sing. Hence the adjective here refers to a zealous and diligent performance of religious services ⁴. If Mr. Vincent is correct here we have a word in English that seems closer to James’ intent than DO the more ancient ideas as the apostle IS NOT referring to any zealous and diligent performance of religious services.

If we could follow along with the tenor of the previous verses where the idea of the disciple IS presented as the man who is “a doer of the work” the man who “shall be blessed in his deed“; it IS this man who “looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein” that IS religious in James’ terms and, following upon his theme of deception, there are those who do believe themselves as such and it IS these who believe but DO NOT DO  that the apostle IS singling out. Those who believe that they are saved or born again but who DO NOT DO those things that the Master says in today’s parlance. These are the same that the Master addresses saying “why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say” (Luke 6:46) and to whom He says “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). Many in these groups Truly believe that they ARE saved and born again because they are told so by doctrine and religion and who at the same time DO NOT clearly see nor do they understand the Truth of this word rendered as religion. In the end it does not matter that one IS pretending and is so deceived or if one IS Truly believing that they are right and is so deceived because what they believe IS NOT the Master’s intent; in ALL cases this deception keeps them from the Truth. Here James gives one more example of the man who IS NOT keeping His words, the man who IS NOT a DOER, and the man who IS NOT religious according to these idea: that man “bridleth not his tongue” or, in more direct language, this man does not have control, spiritual control, of his expression to the world.

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.

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 (John 3:3-8)

Today’s Quote of the Day is in regard to the new birth which Nicodemus did not understand and which many today do not understand either. The words of the Master tell us of a total commitment to the Lord as the way to the Kingdom and these verses say that as well. This total commitment is being born again. The differences in language aside, we should try to see the relationship between these ideas of being born again which is the essence of discipleship for it is only in discipleship that one can Truly see the Kingdom. These are much misused ideas because they are seen from the perspective of the man in form and no from the perspective of the Soul living through form.

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts!

• ² New Testament Greek Lexicon on BibleStudyTools.com
• ⁴ Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888
• ⁷ Dictionary.com Unabridged based on Random House Dictionary – 2011