ON LOVE; PART CMXCIX

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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 discussed the ideas behind the Greek words agathosune and chrestotes which ARE rendered as goodness and kindness in the King James Bible and which can both be seen rendered as goodness according to the lexicon ². The lexicon shows us that the King James rendering of chrestotes as goodness occurs four out of the ten times this word IS used and that they always render agathosune as goodness in its four uses. ALL uses of both words ARE ONLY found in the epistles of the Apostle Paul. Seeing we have two words with very similar meanings should remind us of the same sense of similarity that we found in the several words that reflect upon the factions and the divisions of men from the apostle’s list of “the works of the flesh“. In this list three different words ARE rendered as factions by the various translations of the apostle’s words while two different words ARE rendered as divisions.

That there ARE several words that ALL point to the sense of dividing men along a multitude of lines of thought and attitude should show us the relative importance of Paul’s idea of the carnal attitude of dividing men as a major part of his list of “the works of the flesh“. Similarly, the use of these two words in his list of “the fruit of the Spirit” should show us the importance of this idea of goodness which we have taken to our reality of GoodWill. If we can see how that GoodWill IS Love in Action as we repeat in our headline of every post, we can then better understand how that this sense of goodness IS a “fruit of the Spirit” and an integral part of the whole idea of Love as agape. In our view of GoodWill as Love in Action we can see how that the flow of this highest of virtues, the flow of this very nature of God, into one’s Life as an aspect of the Presence of God MUST perforce become an outward expression of that Love to ALL men as the Master teaches us.

Here then, in this combination of ideas regarding the Way of one’s expression of Love, of agape as GoodWill, we have a view of the deeper reality of the apostle’s words that show that the flow of Love, of agape, IS “the fruit of the Spirit” that the man of God will see as GoodWill in the word agathosune and that it IS this very same GoodWill as Love in Action that must be his expression to ALL men; this we find in the word chrestotes. Love, as a “fruit of the Spirit“, must perforce come from the Soul, the spiritual man, and if we can see that ALL things that come from God also come from the Soul and that it IS these things that ARE the reality of grace, we can then better understand the apostle’s message which we read again saying:

“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (Galatians  5:17-24).

We must remember here that these ideas of “the works of the flesh” ARE NOT those gross offences that men perceive as sin according to doctrine but these ARE those ideas of self that hang on in the Life of the man who IS striving toward the ONLY True goal in Life….the Presence of God. ALL else that a man may DO and accomplish in his Lifetime IS for naught save to perhaps accumulate some additional spiritual collateral and here we should remember those words from the writer of Ecclesiastes saying:

“There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt. But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand. 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 5:13-16).

Paul offers us this same idea as he tells Timothy that “godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out” (1 Timothy 6:6-7). We should try to see here how that ALL that IS NOT in accord with the Great Commandments IS in accord with “the works of the flesh” as we have discussed in our many posts on this subject and we should see as well that to have “godliness with contentment” IS to be in accord with His words….there IS NO other source of Godliness. Conversely, ALL that IS in accord with the Great Commandments IS Love, both for God and for everyman; and this Love IS the totality of Paul’s “fruit of the Spirit” which can then be broken down into the individual aspects of Love that we have been discussing. It IS in this way of looking at Love that we can perhaps see that there IS NO carnal thing in Paul’s ideas….ALL IS spiritual. And, perhaps we can also see how that this Love, this agape, IS NOT the mental and emotional attractions and attachments to others and to things of this world….it IS the very nature of God and of Truth.

It is our expression of this Love, our expression of the understanding that we have of the Truth of Love, that IS our expression of GoodWill and longsuffering and Peace that DO, by measure, allow us to accumulate additional spiritual collateral which we should try to see as our measure of the Presence of God here and now; a measure that surely carries over into whatsoever one may believe to be his future Life. Our point here IS that whatsoever one can DO in this Life that IS in accord with the Truth that IS Love IS bringing him ever closer to the fullness of the Presence of God which IS the fullness of the True idea of discipleship; it IS as one approaches this fullness that the mysteries ARE revealed by measure, a measure that IS proportionate to one’s striving toward the goal of keeping His words which we read of again in our trifecta:

• “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“ (John 8:31-32).
• “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).
• “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).

We should try to understand how that it IS in the fullness of keeping His words that one IS in accord with the Great Commandments and in this there IS NO “works of the flesh” left in one’s Life. We should understand as well here what it IS what IS reaped from keeping His words: it IS the Truth and the freedom this brings, it IS the Presence of God as the motivating principal of one’s Life and it IS one’s very Presence in the Kingdom of God here and Now; it IS these that come in proportionate measure to one’s striving toward that goal. And we should try to see that these things, His Presence, the Truth that frees and the Kingdom itself, that ARE the grace that comes into one’s Life and it IS in this grace that one develops the ability to DO, to express, the reality of “the fruit of the Spirit“.

It IS in this sense that we should read the grace that comes to the man who IS what Jesus calls “the good ground“, the man “which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15). And it IS in this sense that we should apply the idea of measure that IS offered as Jesus words by Mark and Matthew who tell us of this same man that he will “bring forth fruit , some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred” (Mark 4:20). It IS the measure of fruit which one expresses, a measure which IS determined by the measure of grace received which IS in turn measured by one’s striving toward the fullness of Truth, that adds to such striving and IS, in the end, the reality of his own sowing.

And this IS then the tale of grace and the reality of Paul’s two words that both mean goodness or, in our view, GoodWill. This IS also the tale of sowing which begins with striving and moves on to bearing fruit; in this perhaps we can see the meaning of Jesus’ words to His disciples saying “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit” (John 12:24). In this parabolic view of fruit we should see how that the measure of one’s fruit becomes a greater measure of fruit until such time as a man IS fully a disciple of the Lord. It IS in both striving and the grace that comes in one’s striving that an ever greater measure of grace comes into one’s Life and we should try to understand here that in the grace that comes into one’s Life IS the wherewithal to express it as “the fruit of the Spirit“; and it IS a man’s very expression that IS his striving. It IS this same sense of circular activity in one’s spiritual Life that works in every spiritual arena and this IS the meaning of Jesus’ many words that show that the man who has will receive more. In previous essays we addressed this same circular idea saying that:

As we continue our discussion on the idea of grace, we should try to see the practical application of this word which represents for us what it IS that comes from God through the God Within, our own Souls. What comes IS the revelation and the realization of Truth and these are essentially that Love that men MUST express in this world if they are to be considered as keeping His words; and here we should see how very intimate and personal this grace IS as ONLY the man himself will KNOW the degree of grace in his own Life. Grace comes as the result of men’s focus upon the things of God, the Good, the Beautiful and the True, and grace results in the True sense of faith, that type of faith that IS KNOWING by degree the Truths that are hidden in the words of the Master and His apostles; it IS these Truths that ARE revealed to and realized by the consciousness of the man in the world and it IS these Truths that ARE the things of God. While this may seem a circular reference, it IS NOT; it IS rather the reality of the growth of the Kingdom Within where at every step that one takes in his focus, more IS revealed, and it is this growth that allows the man to see more clearly the mysteries if Life and enables him to have yet deeper focus and deeper revelation. (In the Words of Jesus part 1083).

It matters NOT whether we ARE talking about striving and fruit, keeping His words and the Presence of God or men’s focus and the reality of faith; ALL of these ideas and combinations ARE the same and ARE interchangeable. And the reality of this sense of quid pro quo, where one receives by measure the result of his striving or his keeping His words or his focus, IS shown to us by Paul a bit later in this same Epistle to the Galatians from which we take our selection on “the fruit of the Spirit” and the opposite pole of “the works of the flesh“; we read: “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:7-10).

The reality of Paul’s words here IS that the self deception that comes according to the words of the Apostle James goes NO further than one’s own carnal self. As James tells us to “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22) we should see echos of Jesus’ own words saying “why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46) which IS Luke’s version of the center point of the trifecta above. On ALL sides of Paul’s words in our selection and in the quote above we should understand that he IS cautioning against the very same religious ideas that encumber men yet today; ideas that ARE clearly brought to Light in these words from James and from Jesus.

In the idea that “God is not mocked” we should be able to see and understand that one’s operation in “the works of the flesh” CAN NOT even fool one’s self when a man Truly looks past his doctrines and into the Truth of the Master’s words. And NO idea should strike harder than Paul’s here on sowing; in these words we should be able to see that whatsoever comes of a man’s focus upon the things of the world in ANY form and in most ANY purpose, IS corruption and that the proceeds of this focus fall squarely under the words from Ecclesiastes above and the apostle’s reiteration of them to Timothy. And in these ideas we should understand that such things referenced by Paul’s saying “we can carry nothing out” ARE inclusive of ALL carnal possessions and perceived achievements.

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.

This Quote of the Day is the antithesis of glamour and illusion. In this mantram are the thoughts about ourselves and our brothers in the world that can diffuse these forces that hold a man in the world of things and prevent his spiritual progress.

Mantram of Unification

The sons of men are one and I am one with them.
I seek to love, not hate;
I seek to serve and not exact due service;
I seek to heal, not hurt.

Let pain bring due reward of light and love.
Let the Soul control the outer form, and life and all events,
And bring to light the love that underlies the happenings of the time.

Let vision come and insight.
Let the future stand revealed.
Let inner union demonstrate and outer cleavages be gone.
Let love prevail.
Let all men love.

The Mantram of Unification is a meditation and a prayer that at first affirms the unity of all men and the Brotherhood of Man based on the Fatherhood of God. The first stanza sets forth several truly Christian ideals in Unity, Love, Service and Healing. The second stanza is a invocation to the Lord and to our own Souls asking that from the pain (if there can truly be any) incurred in focusing on the Spirit and not the world will come Light and Love into our lives and that we begin to function as Souls through our conscious personalities. We ask that the spiritual control of our lives will bring to light for us the Love that underlies world events; a Love that the world oriented man will not see working out behind the scenes and also that the Love that we bring forth, individually and as a world group, can be seen by all and ultimately in all. Finally, in the last stanza we ask for those things that are needed for Love to abound. Vision and insight so that we can direct our attention properly; revelation of the future in the sense that all can see the Power of Love in the world; inner union so that we do not fall back into the world’s ways, that we faint not; and that a sense of separation, the antithesis of brotherhood, ends as we know it today. Let Love Prevail, Let All Men Love.

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