IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 1196

ON LOVE; PART DCCLXXXV

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GoodWill IS Love in Action

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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).

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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.

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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)

In the last essay we continued our discussion of grace as the Presence of God through the words of the Apostle John from our selection below. We have always noted that a large stumbling block to True understanding IS found in the carnal interpretation of spiritual ideas and we most often cite Love and the idea of believing in or believing on the Christ as examples of this. In John’s words we find yet another of these ideas and one that has permeated popular Christianity in a rather unfortunate way and that word IS confession. As we have discussed, it IS in the ways of the world, the ways of men who have been “made subject to vanity“, which we should see as the illusion and glamour of Life in form, that IS the cause of the tendency of men to seek cover in their own ideas rather than in the Truths that ARE found in the word of God. And this cover IS the doctrines that ARE promulgated by men who have taken authority by pronouncements of their own carnal view of the spiritual words of the Master and His apostles. It IS in this same vanity that the seemingly authoritative words of doctrine have taken hold in the minds of men and this IS because the carnal sense of Life in this world seems the easier way for one to live while the Way of Love and Life according to the True tenets of the Master’s words seems far too difficult. And this difficulty IS sure, it IS near impossible for the majority of men to tear themselves away from their carnal view of Life and see clearly the spiritual promises; it IS in this light that men draw up their own resolutions which they convince themselves ARE founded in the words of the Master and of God.

It IS this that Jesus speaks against to the Jews in His day and it IS in this same way that He speaks to ALL succeeding generations. And we should remember here that the fullness of this idea IS NOT His alone but this same Truth was brought by the prophets before Him as we read: “ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:6-9). That men think that this and other ideas from the Master ARE intended for the Jew in that day ONLY IS based in this same sense of vanity, this same illusion and glamour, that misconstrues the reality of the Promise offered and interprets it according to the “commandments of men“. It IS on the other side of this, on the spiritual side of keeping His words, that we should read the Apostle Peter’s words again saying: “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:3-4). This idea IS also lost however in the common understanding that has been attributed to lust and the ideas of men who, in the grips of this same vanity, accord the lust and the evil and the sin to others without ever seeing the Truth nor the intent behind them as spiritual ideas. It IS with this in mind that we should try to see the underlying Truths in the Apostle Paul’s words to disciples saying: “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned“.

Many believe that they have such spiritual discernment and fail to see the greater reality: that to receive “the things of the Spirit of God” one must have the reality of His Presence and that to have this Presence one must keep His words and, while this IS by measure according to one’s Life, it IS measured in terms of DOING and in terms of the fruit that one may bear….a fruit that begins with Love. The Truth behind the misconceptions created in doctrines that dilute the Master’s intent, misconceptions that are accepted by the man in the world because the seem the easier way to salvation, IS found in the right discernment of the Master’s words and the context of the whole body of the gospels. And it IS found in the reality of common sense which can correct the ideas of men regarding the words rendered from the ancient Greek, words which in most every language may have a plurality of meanings. But it IS NOT this plurality alone that IS the problem; many of the words, while rendered properly according to ancient usage, lack the strength that should be given them and in this class we have often discussed the words rendered as faith, as believing  and as confession. Each of these IS accepted in the most carnal of views as regards much of the doctrinal teachings although they have a depth that IS NOT seen by most, a depth that IS revealed in the right discernment of the context of their usage. Here, we should try to see the ideas of Paul regarding discernment through our comments above regarding the idea of the Presence of God: how can one have such discernment to KNOW the Truth as a man in this world unless such man IS keeping His words? For us the answer here IS simple; as a man begins to look away from the carnal things, as the treasure that one seeks becomes more spiritual, the reality of what he sees becomes clearer and it IS this clarity that IS his measure of spiritual discernment. In the fullness of the apostle’s saying we may find a deeper idea of his intent; we read:

“Which things also we speak , not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man” (1 Corinthians 2:13-15).

We should note here that this word that IS rendered as discerned in Paul’s words above IS the same Greek word that IS rendered as both judgeth and judged in the following verse; here, while the idea of judgement may suit the doctrinal mind, the reality of discernment IS the intent of the apostle’s words.  Again we must look to the words of the Master to see the reality of the idea that “the Holy Ghost teacheth“; we should try to see here how that it IS the Presence of God in one’s Life that IS this Holy Spirit and that this Presence comes in the reality of keeping His words which IS the fundamental Truth in Jesus saying that “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“. It IS this manifestation of His Truth, this realization of His Presence in one’s Life, that IS afforded to the man who keeps His words and, to better clarify this to His own apostles, the Master repeats the idea in different terms saying “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, 23-24)”. It IS in this same series of sayings from the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of John that the Master reveals the Truth of the Holy Spirit as well, a Truth that IS lost in the doctrinal understanding of the Trinity of God. We must remember as we read His words that they ARE intentionally parabolic and difficult to discern without some spiritual basis; that to the man who IS carnally focused, the man who IS NOT looking past his thoughts and attitudes of the world, the Master’s words “are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them“. We should remember that this lack of KNOWING afflicts even His own apostles and in this we should try to see His example to us of the growth, the increased measure of KNOWING, that comes to the man as His Life, his thoughts, attitudes and actions, turn evermore to the things of God. It IS spiritual discernment that can take out of the parabolic nature of His words the reality of His intent and while this IS by measure, it IS not the basic reality that we lack as we begin to Truly see, but the deeper aspects of their meaning. Here His words on His Presence are clear and one will KNOW these things at first glance when he IS looking away from the world and, in this seeing of Truth, the idea of the Holy Spirit as the Presence of our God who IS Spirit comes through clearly as well.

We have spent considerable time on the Master’s words on the Holy Spirit from this chapter of John’s Gospel and, while we DO have the basic understanding that this IS His Presence, we ARE yet a bit confounded by the way that He paints this for us. Here we have tried to see that it IS in the duality of our vision that we should understand the nature of His words on the Spirit of God apart from the Presence of God; that the Presence of God IS our realization of Him as the God and the Christ Within. This realization IS the reality of our conscious awareness, as men in this world, of the Truth of Life, the Truth of the Soul Within the form and this realization IS the overcoming of the carnal realizations that we heretofore have lived by; in this a man recognizes his own Truth and understands somewhat his own divine nature. It IS this Presence, this realization which IS the grace of God, that comes to the man as the normal effect of keeping His words and it IS in the complexity of this idea that we have the reality of Repentance or that decision to change the focus of one’s Life from the carnal to the spiritual. There ARE many reasons to Repent but the basic reality of this Repentance IS that one IS hearing the promoting of his own Soul and heeding it whereas before this prompting was ignored or lost in the clamor of Life in this world. On the other side of this IS the reality of the Holy Spirit which we see as the effectual work of the Presence of God in the Life of the man in the world….as the outward flow of the realizations of Truth and as one’s own part in the implementation of the Plan of God which we see in Paul’s words saying “the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). In this idea of creature we should see the individual and the whole as they strive toward deliverance as the goal of Life in this world and try to see that the Holy Spirit in the world IS the combined outward flow of the divinity of ALL men.

It IS this outward flow of the divine Life of the Soul that the Apostle John speaks of in the words that we have been discussing from his epistle. It IS the expression of Love “in deed and in truth” that IS the fruit of keeping His words and the ever-growing reality of looking away from the self and the self in the world. And it IS of this reality that John shows us that we DO KNOW our own position, our own degree of expression “in deed and in truth“, and we should remember here that the apostle IS speaking to disciples and to us as aspirants and that there ARE many in the world who DO NOT have the wherewithal to see these things beyond their own carnal understanding. It IS the aspirant and the disciple who can be condemned as this IS phrased while the carnal man DOES NOT see the deeper reality of these words and in this idea of condemn we should simply see the idea presented by the lexicon: to find fault with, blame ; and in the reality of  “God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things” we should see the realization that comes to one’s consciousness from his own Soul, his Christ and God Within. We repeat our selection from the apostle’s words:

“whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us. Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come ; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error” (1 John 3:17-24, 4:1-6).

Our next saying in this IS in regard to our asking; here we should ever understand that the spiritual man asks for spiritual things and NOT for the things of this world which ARE contrary to and opposed to the things of God as we have been seeing through our recent essays. Perhaps we can find the Truer intent of the apostle’s ideas in rendering this as desire instead of asking and understand that this Greek word, aiteo, IS often rendered as desire which idea can make much more sense from a spiritual perspective than to ask. When a spiritually focused man desires something spiritual, it can be accomplished in greater realization as this idea encompasses ALL things spiritual; and it IS in this Light that we should try to see the idea from the Apostle Luke’s presentation of Jesus’ words saying “how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” (Luke 11:13). Much like our view of the Master’s prayers being to Himself and presented for our benefit and the benefit of those hearing him, so our asking here IS to ourselves and, when we consider that although the Greek word autos IS primary rendered as him, the Truer definition IS: himself, herself, themselves, itself , we can see our point more clearly. The greater point here however is that in our asking, in our desire for greater spiritual things, in or striving for evermore grace, there IS the reality that we receive such “because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight“. We should try to see here how that what we ask, what we desire spiritually, IS the same as our realization of His Presence as we read in Jesus’ words above; it IS as we keep His words that the spiritual things come to us and this IS a Truth that IS sorely missing in the world yet today. Here again we come to those words that disrupt the Truth based upon the common carnal view of them; here again we have the ideas of confession and believing and the greatest confusion found in the idea of Love.

We will continue with our thoughts 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.

We repeat here again a saying that is from the Bhagavad Gita, which goes well with our theme of the God Within, the Soul, which we see as the Christ Within and while this is good in the Christian world and is True based upon our understanding of the Christ as the manifestation of God, we should also see in these words below that it does not matter what these divine ideas are called; that it matters not what we call this Inner Man, that he is the same in ALL, he is the Soul.

Thou carriest within thee a sublime Friend whom thou knowest not. For God dwells in the inner part of every man, but few know how to find Him. The man who sacrifices his desires and his works to the Beings from whom the principles of everything stem, and by whom the Universe was formed, through this sacrifice attains perfection. For one who finds his happiness and joy within himself, and also his wisdom within himself is one with God. And, mark well, the soul which has found God is freed from rebirth and death, from old age and pain, and drinks the water of Immortality.—Bhagavad-Gita

It is difficult to tell just what verses of the Bhagavad Gita the above is from; whether it is a paraphrase or a combination. It is from the book “The Great Initiates” by Édouard Schuré which was originally published in French in 1889 and perhaps it is in the translation of the verses that they become hard to recognize. However, the sheer beauty of the presentation caught my attention and so I share it with you. The Path to the Kingdom is the same no matter what religion one professes.

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts

• ² New Testament Greek Lexicon on BibleStudyTools.com