IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 1242

ON LOVE; PART DCCCXXXI

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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. While this IS from an older definition of Charity, which IS rendered in the King James Bible from the same Greek word agape which IS generally rendered as Love, we should amend our own definition here to include the idea that in the reality of Love a man will accord to ALL men ALL things that he would accord to himself and to say that Love IS our thoughts and attitude of the equality of ALL men regardless of their outward nature or appearance…that ALL ARE equally children of Our One God

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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 on the ideas that ARE presented by the Master and His apostles regarding the dichotomy between the things of the world and the things of God. In this area of Truth there IS much that goes unseen or, rather unrealized, by many in the doctrinal church setting where the Master’s many words on riches and wealth ARE misconstrued and misapplied and where the amplifying and clarifying words of His apostles are virtually ignored. For us the Master’s words go well beyond the commonly seen ideas of riches and wealth, for us the Master’s words go to the very heart of what IS important to a man in this world….this IS how the Master defines treasure. Here we should understand that riches and wealth CAN NOT be His ONLY reference as He speaks of the “good treasure of his heart” in regard to the man in this world and of the “evil treasure of his heart” (Luke 6:45); in these ideas we should be able to see that this IS ALL thoughts and attitudes that a man may have. When we can see the reality of sin and of evil as these words are used in the New Testament, we can then see that the reference to both IS that they ARE the things of the world as opposed to the things of God and in this view we can see yet further evidence of the idea of this separation of the carnal and the spiritual.

It IS this separation that the Master intends for men to understand through the parabolic ideas that ARE presented as He tells us to “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also“. Much of the Truth of this separation however goes unseen as a Christian precept as most ALL men, including many of those who teach on such things, strive toward greater and greater material wellbeing and the material wellbeing of their own organization. Most men DO NOT see or DO NOT realize the import of the Master’s words saying “Ye cannot serve God and mammon” nor His many words and references in His teaching to the high ideal that we should “take no thought” (Matthew 6:19-21, 24, 25).

We should understand here that while these ideas ARE NOT going to be seen nor heeded by ALL men, they ARE imperatives for the man who Truly seeks God….these ideas ARE part and parcel of keeping His words. But his IS NOT how so many who believe that they ARE Truly spiritual men see these ideas; for an example of the worldly thoughts that ARE infused into many doctrines we read this commentary from John Gill on the Apostle Matthew’s reference to the Good and the evil treasure: A good man, out of the good treasure of the heart; “A good man”, is a regenerated man, one that is renewed by the Spirit of God, a believer in Christ, a sincere lover of him, and one that follows him, wheresoever he goes, and who has the grace of God implanted in him: for “the good treasure the heart“⁸. Mr. Gill goes on to discuss the other side saying: and an evil man, out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things; The “evil man”, is a man as he was born; who is wholly flesh, carnal, and in a state of nature; destitute of the Spirit, and having no principle of grace in him: “the evil treasure”, is the corruption of his nature, the desperate wickedness of his heart; and those swarms of lusts, and all manner of sin that dwell there ⁸.

In this we should be able to see that the sense that doctrine has of these ideas IS in regard to the division between the believer and the non-believer which IS nonsensical in many ways as there ARE many millions of men who ARE NOT regenerated in the Christian sense of this idea but who, by way of their own beliefs, ARE as Good or even more Good that many that believe themselves so regenerated. And this same idea holds for the man who has NO religious tendency but who IS a Good man in his own right; there ARE many in this way who ARE also more Good that many that profess to be regenerated. It IS only in the reality that such treasure IS NOT merely wealth and riches that Mr. Gill sees our sense of Truth but this idea DOES NOT carry through to other verses in his commentary where treasure IS still seen in the more carnal way. And in this commentary there IS a more obvious issue that we should address: that regardless of doctrine, the only man who IS among those that Mr. Gill cites as being regenerated, renewed by the Spirit of God, and a sincere lover of him, and one that follows him, IS the man who will keep His words as we read in the Master’s words from John’s Gospel that we repeat here again:

“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. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, 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 14:21-24).

This too IS unseen and unrealized by men who believe that they have the spiritual discernment that the Apostle Paul shows us, a discernment that IS opposed to the ability of the “natural man“; such men DO NOT see the stated relationship that Jesus expresses here saying “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me“, nor DO they see the more simple admonishment to ALL saying “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). And in Paul’s words we should see yet another acknowledgement of the dichotomy between the carnal and the spiritual; the apostle tells us “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” (1 Corinthians 2:14). It IS easy for us to see why so much of doctrine DOES NOT see the deeper reality of these ideas and of this separation between the carnal and the spiritual which IS founded in the illusions and the glamour of Life in this world. It IS the very illusion that causes men to look away from these Truths that ARE expressed by the Master and His apostles as men DO NOT Truly see beyond their own Life here in this Earth even though the temporal nature of this Life IS clearly depicted for us, even in the Old Traditions of the Jews; we read Solomon’s words on this temporal nature again:

“As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand. And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?” (Ecclesiastes 5:15-16).

As we have discussed in past essays (In the Words of Jesus parts 1039 and 1115), there IS much correlation between these thoughts by the writer of Ecclesiastes who most assume IS Solomon and the New Testament words of the Master. We point to this in the last essay as we highlighted the Parable of the Rich Fool but we should see this idea as well in the general tone of the Master’s words on treasure and on the deeper thoughts behind His words on “Take no thought for your life”  (Luke 12:22) which Jesus ties to this parable according to the Apostle Luke. We should also see the reality of this in the Master’s thoughts on forsaking ALL for the Kingdom of God; in this we should see the relative unimportance of a man’s carnal thoughts, attitudes, actions and things when set against the spiritual reality of the Kingdom. And this IS the idea, the temporal nature of ALL things carnal, that we should see in the Master’s words to the rich young man as He says to him “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me” (Matthew 19:21).

ALL of these ideas show us the Truth of this separation of the carnal and the spiritual and while one may get waylaid by the idea of serving, this same reality comes to us in the Master’s words saying “No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Luke 16:13). There ARE multiple Greek words that are rendered as serve and the one that IS used here has multiple meanings according to the lexicon; while others are in the context of the servant and ministering, this one, douleuo, carries these meanings: 1. to be a slave, serve, do service; a. of a nation in subjection to other nations; 2. metaph. to obey, submit to; a. in a good sense, to yield obedience; b. in a bad sense, of those who become slaves to some base power, to yield to, give one’s self up to ². While virtually ALL translation render this as serve, the greater idea can be found in the alternate renderings of the douleuo that are offered in the King James Bible among which we find: be in bondage. 

Can we see the greater idea here; that one can be in bondage to mammon, which IS to be in bondage to sin, and which IS the idea offered by Paul as he shows us that it IS from the “the bondage of corruption” (Romans 8:2) that we must be delivered? Can we see that in the ideas presented by the lexicon we have the clearer view of this sense of serving; that this IS to obey, submit to and to to yield obedience in both a good and a bad sense? In ALL respects this IS the question that the man who Truly seeks God must ask; IS he submitting to and yielding to the flesh, the carnal Life in this world, or IS he submitting to and yielding to the spiritual promptings of his own Soul….his own God and Christ Within? And this IS the same meaning that we should from this exchange between the Master and the Jews that would follow him as we read:

“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, 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. They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin” (John 8:31-34).

This IS the same word Greek douleuo that IS used by the Jews and it IS the kindred word doulos that we find in the Master’s response; here the lexicon shows us that this word connotes one who IS: devoted to another to the disregard of one’s own interests  as they define the word to be: a slave, bondman, man of servile condition ².

There IS NO shortage of sayings from Jesus and from His apostles that show us the reality of this dichotomy yet men DO NOT clearly see their point; men DO NOT see past their own carnal instincts which ARE founded in the vanity, the illusion and the glamour of Life in this world. It IS in the sense of self that IS generated by this sense of vanity that the Truth IS lost and it IS here that even the stark assessments of Solomon ARE missed as men cleverly interpret his words, and the words of the Prophets, the Master and His apostles, in ways that allow and even encourage men to seek after the things of and for the self in the world rather than the things of God which ARE found in His Presence in one’s Life. Perhaps we can find men’s reasons for not seeing this Truth in the archaic ideas about heaven being a place, a very nebulous place, where men go after their death in this world; and there are likely many who adhere to Christian doctrines to secure this place rather than suffer the doctrinal alternative of hell. And, in the teachings of some denominations that tell a man that he has little or NO responsibility in this Life save to believe according to any particular doctrine in order to be ‘saved’, there IS additional fuel fed to men’s erroneous beliefs which leave the Master’s Truths unseen and unrealized.

Perhaps too it IS these same dynamics that have closed men’s eyes to the reality of Love as the KEY to the grace of God; Love IS also clearly depicted for us and explained in ways that are easy to see when one IS NOT looking at the self in the world as the center of ALL things. Despite the Master’s words on the Great Commandments that we have again at the top of our essay, words which repeat the more ancient precepts of the law given by the Lord through Moses, and despite the many words that support and explain this Truth of Love that the Master teaches us, men DO NOT see the reality as they yet relate this Greek word agape to the emotional and mental attractions and attachments that they have for others and for the things of the world. Here, while many doctrines DO show the difference between agape and the other types of Love found in the New Testament, they DO NOT see the reality and the depth of its meaning as they misconstrue the ideas and apply them to human relationships of Love, Love in marriage and Love for children and family are most frequent examples, rather than to teach the idea of universal Love without exception and without regard to persons.

Neither the worldly view of Love nor the doctrinal view of Love clearly see the reality that IS offered by the Master and His apostles and neither understands the import of Love even though this IS shown to us as the very substance of keeping His words. In the ideas of Love there IS much greater clarity in Jesus’ words, as we see in the ideas at the top of our essay and in His words from the Sermon on the mount, than we find in the necessary dichotomy between the carnal and the spiritual. Perhaps it IS in the fact that men have NOT found the Truth in this choice between “God and nammon” that they CAN NOT see Love clearly through their focus upon themselves. These ideas ARE however ALL tied together and while the ideas that show us the temporal nature of the world may be more clouded by the parabolic tone with which these are approached, the basic reality of this nature IS rather clear….whatsoever a man may garner in his Lifetime CAN NOT be taken with him when he dies and this IS True regardless of one’s religious view.

This IS what Solomon tells us and this IS what the Master and His apostles affirm as they show us the relative unimportance of the things of the world and this whether they be material or whether they be psychic…..it makes no difference in death that one has achieved anything except perhaps in eulogy. And we should note the deeper tone that IS implied in Solomon’s words, a tone that IS missed by most; we KNOW that a man CAN NOT “return to go as he came“, we KNOW that he CAN NOT return to “his mother’s womb“. In this and in other sayings like this the greater Truths and mysteries ARE revealed. Solomon here has grasped this idea of the Truth of man who comes as a Soul into the body born from “his mother’s womb” and that it IS as a Soul that he will “return to go as he came“. Solomon further clarifies the point as he goes on to say “in all points as he came, so shall he go” which IS as a Soul, as the True man; and there IS naught that can go with him, no profit from this existence save for whatsoever spiritual collateral one may have garnered by the measure with which he was able to keep His words.

Young’s Literal Translation renders the second verse from Solomon’s words as “And this also [is] a painful evil, just as he came, so he goeth, and what advantage [is] to him who laboureth for wind?” and it IS in this parabolic tone that we should try to see the sense of the word evil as a painful worldly experience because the man will come as he came, as a Soul; ALL that he had accomplished for this Life gives him no advantage if it was for this carnal existence.  We close today with this note: the word that IS rendered here as wind IS ruwach which is otherwise rendered as: Spirit or spirit and breath ² in other places and in these ideas we can see two realities; on the positive side there IS the advantage of laboring for the Spirit and on the negative side there IS laboring for the breath, for the Life in this world. While we see the idea here in the negative, there ARE Truths on both sides.

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.

Live in joy, in love, even among those who hate.
Live in joy, in health, even among the afflicted.
Live in joy, in peace, even among the troubled.
Live in joy, without possessions.
Like the shining ones.

The winner sows hatred because the loser suffers.
Let go of winning and losing and find joy.
There is no fire like passion, no crime like hatred,
No sorrow like separation, no sickness like hunger,
And no joy like the joy of freedom.

Today’s Quote of the Day is from the Dhammapada (on JOY)⁵; a collection of the sayings of the Buddha. These words and ideas ARE much the same as those we discuss in our In the Words of Jesus essays. And what is this freedom but the release of our hearts and minds from loving this life in this world and attaining the Presence of God. This word Joy has many meanings as DOES the idea of Love, but in the context that it IS used here we should see the idea that Joy IS Love, Joy IS health, Joy IS peace and that Joy IS without the burdens placed on a man by the illusion and the glamour of the ways of the world. We should try to see that it IS the antithesis of these ideas in hate, in affliction and in troubles that ARE among the possessions of the carnal man, that ARE among the “evil treasure of his heart” (Luke 6:45) according to the Master.

And it IS in the second stanza above that we see the basic psychic ideas that can eliminate the harm caused by such “evil treasure” as a man looks past himself and at the welfare of others which IS the greater reality of Love as the Master teaches us. It IS in losing such possessions, losing such carnal thoughts and attitudes, that one can truly find the “joy of freedom“….this IS the Truth of deliverance.

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts

• ² from New Testament Greek Lexicon on BibleStudyTools.com
• ⁵ The Dhammapada Translated by Thomas Byrom
• ⁸ Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com