ON LOVE; PART MLVI
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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 post we combined several related topics beginning with our current selection on the “the fruit of the Spirit“. Through our ideas on these words from the Apostle Paul, his final word from his list of “the fruit of the Spirit” specifically, we were taken to the Master’s words that ARE commonly called the Great Commission. Here we try to show how that it IS through egkrateia, one’s ability to be controlled by the Inner man, the Soul, that the Truth of His words can be practiced rather than the past and current practice of teaching one’s own doctrinal ideas. In the reality of one’s having some measure of the Presence of God and the Truth, he would see past the doctrinal ideas and become the disciple who could “make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).
Over the last posts we discussed these ideas in much detail and detailed how that it IS in the lack of egkrateia, which IS indicative of the lack of the Truth that IS Paul’s list of “the fruit of the Spirit“, by which men continue upon their own doctrinal paths and teach such doctrines as Truth to others. We discussed again Jesus’ own defining ideas on the very nature of the disciple as well as the idea that it IS NOT possible to fulfill the precepts of the Great Commission unless one IS, at a minimum, striving to Truly keep His words. That few in the doctrinal churches will agree with our view IS of NO moment as the logic of the Truth IS inescapable; it IS when men can understand the role of illusion and glamour, the Truth of being “made subject to vanity” (Romans 8:20), that they can begin to Truly understand the deeper meanings of the words of the Master and His apostles.
We ended the last essay with some thoughts on the ideas of faith and works. We ARE brought to this by the same words from Paul as we try to see that this list of “the fruit of the Spirit” IS a list of the works of the disciple and the aspirant….that these ARE the works that come by faith….by KNOWING some measure of the Truth. This the Apostle James shows us in his saying that “I will shew thee my faith by my works” (James 2:18). This IS the works that come through KNOWING and we should understand that in such KNOWING as the Master shows us saying “ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” there IS NO choice but to DO those works that ARE one’s expression of “the fruit of the Spirit“.
It IS through these ideas that we should then try to understand Paul’s ideas on faith and works. The apostle tries to show us how that to follow the law because it IS the law IS NOT the Way to salvation; he tries to show men how that the law of Moses IS intended for the man in his day, the man whose sense of Life was ONLY in the carnal view; this message however IS NOT seen. In the evolving message of Truth that came to mankind in the days from Abraham through the time of Jesus, the Truth DOES NOT change….it IS only men’s approach to that Truth that IS altered by the deepening of the message. We can follow the idea from the Old Testament to the New Testament and see the changing reward which goes from long Life and abundance in the Earth to the promise of the realization of the Presence of God and we should understand that it IS this realization that IS the primary mystery that few had been able to KNOW.
Paul shows us of this evolving message as he tells us of the Christ Within and calls this “the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints” (Colossians 1:26). And Jesus shows us this as well as He offers us the deeper aspects of the law which dictates such things as “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28/). This IS the mystery of the heart, of the consciousness of men, as the director of one’s Life and we should try to understand how that the bluntness of the law and the physical action IS changed to the more subtle thought processes of men. In this we should see how that the heart that IS focused upon the Lord will NOT entertain adultery….it IS ONLY the heart that IS focused upon the self and the things of the self in this world.
And while the Apostle Matthew DOES tell us of the Way of the Master’s parabolic speech, men DO NOT yet understand; Matthew tells us “All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 13:34-35). Beginning with the prophets and continuing through the Master, more and more Truth has been revealed and while much of it IS offered in parabolic terms that requires some measure of focus and striving to understand, much else IS laid out clearly and succinctly but missed because of the carnal focus of men.
The revelation of those “things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world” DOES NOT come to the man who IS NOT focused upon the Truth and we should understand here that these revelations and the resultant realizations of Truth come in the Presence of God in one’s Life. NOT the presumed Presence that IS based in one’s doctrine, but the True Presence that IS based in the trifecta….the Presence that comes in keeping His words. And the same IS True of ALL of the mysteries that ARE hidden away in Jesus’ parables as well as those that ARE shown us by His apostles; perhaps chief among these IS the Truth of the Christ Within which IS that anointing and that unction which Paul shows us as “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). While doctrinal authorities will NOT agree, we should be able to see and to understand how that the most simply stated ideas must be accepted before the deeper mysteries ARE revealed. It IS some of these simpler ideas that we find 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).
In such simple ideas as “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15) which the Master speaks just before His words from the third part of our trifecta there IS the fullness of the Truth which IS the essence of the first part. In these IS the Way to that Truth and the resultant Life that one will lead when he accesses that Truth. This however IS NOT seen by most although His words ARE exceedingly clear. Instead the doctrinal church clings to their misunderstood ideas of another saying which IS NOT so clear but IS taken in a literal fashion by most ALL who call themselves Christians. Jesus tells us that “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6) in this very same chapter and rather than seeing His ideas in the context of John’s whole presentation, the doctrinal authorities have used their literal view as a wedge between Christians and the rest of the world and it IS this wedge that has created such factions and divisions of men that have resulted, and continue to result, in hatreds, in wrath, in variance, in emulations and in strife as Paul shows us in his list of “the works of the flesh” which we repeat here again:
“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 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 should understand here that these hatreds, this wrath, and variance, these emulations and this strife ARE become both the feelings of the Christian towards the non-Christian as well as the feeling of the non-Christian toward the Christian who implies that ALL non-Christian views of God, as they may see them, ARE false Gods; and that ALL other religions ARE false as well. They DO NOT see their own Truth; they DO NOT see the role of illusion and glamour in their thinking; and they DO NOT see how that their own bickering among their many denominations and sects IS sure proof that they DO NOT have any greater understanding of the Godhead than those other religions that they seem to constantly deride.
In these words from the Master saying “I am the way, the truth, and the life” we find a classic example of how men choose to interpret some of the more complex ideas in a very literal way yet choose NOT to interpret the clearly literal idea in the same way. In our example above saying “If ye love me, keep my commandments” we should be able to see how that this IS a literal statement and that this IS followed up with the same thought in a negative view saying: “He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings“. These words ONLY add to Jesus’ clear intent.
This clarity IS however swallowed up by the doctrinal teachings that rather profoundly state that a man CAN NOT keep His words and it IS in this doctrinal pronouncement that the reality of striving IS lost. The doctrinal claim that a man CAN NOT DO anything spiritually in his own strength IS yet another doctrinal presumption that IS loosely based in New Testament ideas; this doctrinal teaching however misses the entire point of focus upon the Godhead and the reality of Repentance that this focus IS. In this sense of focus there IS NO longer the idea of one’s own strength as the strength and the ability to DO flows into one’s Life from his own Soul, his own Christ and God Within.
It IS in the glimpse of Truth that comes to a man who turns toward that Truth that brings the revelations and realizations that ARE the Presence of God. This IS NOT however a glimpse through doctrines….this IS a glimpse at the Truth of the Master’s words that clearly say “If ye love me, keep my commandments“. While doctrines supplant the reality of keeping His words with the faith and grace ideas that they take from the epistles, the reality IS ever in Jesus’ words and this reality IS amplified and clarified by the apostles. This amplification and clarification IS however NOT seen by doctrinal authorities who choose to rely instead upon the convenience of their own ideas that they mistakenly take from the apostles’ words .
While we emphasize striving and the measure of Truth that one can achieve in striving, much of doctrine teaches against this idea based in the misunderstood ideas of Jesus’ words saying such things as “without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). This idea IS a part of the Master’s parabolic words on the vine and the branches and here again we find the doctrinal tendency to take literally those ideas which ARE parabolic while NOT seeing the Truly literal component of others. Jesus words on the vine and the branches ARE intended to give a complete message of the relationship between the Christ and the man in the world….with this we will deal another time.
Here and now our objective IS to try to see how that this idea that “without me ye can do nothing” CAN NOT be taken out of its context and deemed to mean that a man can DO NOTHING without his doctrinal reliance upon the ideas of faith and grace. This doctrinal idea negates the very message of the Master that leads up to this parabolic idea, a message that IS centered upon the third part of the trifecta above as the Way that leads to the Presence of God; with this Presence, one IS NOT without Him. Most ALL miss the point that the Presence of God in one’s Life comes in keeping His words as a man in this world and that it IS in Repentance that one’s focus begins to change onto the reality of that Presence.
It IS in striving to maintain and to increase that focus that one attains ever greater measure of the grace of God and comes to KNOW ever more of the Truth of Life. That doctrines DO NOT see this IS unfortunate but real as they have chosen to see the convenient ways of man over the Truth of the ways of God. Perhaps it makes men feel much better about themselves when they can see NO need to follow the Lord by keeping His words; they miss the ONLY way to Truly Love God. And it IS ever more unfortunate that there ARE parts of the Church that even deny the reality of striving with such sayings as ‘Do Not Strive In Your Own Strength’; in this they see this striving and DOING in the rather nebulous ideas of faith.
It IS striving that brings one his measure in ALL things spiritual and without this sense of striving there IS NO progress upon the Path to one’s deliverance “from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). It IS ever by measure that we achieve and this sense of measure IS founded in Jesus own words. We close today with this idea of measure that we ARE reminded of today; Jesus says:
“So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come” (Mark 4:26-29).
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
| Aspect |
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 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 a Quote of the Day that we spent much time with over the course of our essays. In this affirmation we find the Truth of discipleship as we have been ever been expressing and here we can relate our themes of the last few days; “take no thought” for the things of the world and that we approach the Kingdom and discipleship in the nature of the little child, in humbleness, meekness, unashamed in any way and unassuming. The message that this imparts for us today IS that it IS the Soul that is at work in the world of men as it expresses to some degree the purpose, power and the will through Life in this world. These words are from a meditation offered to his students by our Tibetan brother and in which we find greater understanding of the message of the Master. This IS Truly the way of the disciple.
