Monthly Archives: January 2017

IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 1473

ON LOVE; PART MCXII

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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).

As we continue with our study of the words of the Apostle Paul to the Romans regarding their Way of living as men who ARE in the process of Transformationby the renewing of your mind“, we should try to see and to remember that the whole of our study of the New Testament words of the Master IS about words. ALL IS tied to the way that the Greek words used by the writers ARE interpreted and received by the men who originated the doctrines of the churches and we should understand here that the current versions of those doctrines ARE NOT far removed from the originals.

There have been additions to the doctrines as we see in the Charismatic movement and in the surge of prosperity doctrines and it IS these additions as well as disagreements among men that have led to the thousands of denominations and sects in the world today. And it IS the totality of these denominational approaches to God that we should try to see under Paul’s idea of “another gospel“. Paul tells us what it IS that he IS bringing to men saying that “I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:11-12) and it IS this revelation of the Master’s Truths that the apostle taught.

But this IS NOT what IS taught by those who succeeded him as men have taken his writings into their version of the gospel by picking and choosing words and phrases and interpreting them according to their own understanding and their own carnal approach to Life in this world. It IS these interpretations that have become doctrine, and it IS this doctrine in ALL of its diversity that IS “another gospel“. Paul tells the Galatians who have wandered from the Truth of his teachings, and the teachings of his surrogates, into such teaching which IS of men that “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:6-7).

What we should take from this IS the simple idea that the apostle IS trying to convey as he says that what they ARE moving to follow IS “not another” but which, at the same time, IS a perversion of “the gospel of Christ“. We should see the idea here that while this IS “another gospel“, it IS still based in Christ and in this regard it “is not another“….but it IS also NOT the Truth that the Master taught.  Now it IS unclear to us just what these Galatians were wandering to and for us this DOES NOT matter; it IS the fact that they have moved away that IS of moment.

The apostle DOES give us some ideas however as he takes the reader through his own history and his interactions with the other apostles into what we can presume to be an admixture of the apostle’s teaching of pistis and the Old Covenant ideas of works. He writes “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:1-3).

The foolishness here IS NOT unlike the foolishness that IS yet present in the doctrines of men which yet intertwine the Old Testament with the teachings of the Master. And this foolishness has been exacerbated by the reality that there IS NO longer a Paul to speak against the “another gospel” which has survived now for nearly 2000 years and has become so ingrained into Christian culture that it IS become the working truth for many millions of followers. But it IS still however “another gospel” that IS founded in carnal interpretations and based in the vanity of men and their staunch desire for salvation.

And so much of men’s lack of vision regarding the Truth IS founded in their interpretation of such words as pistis and pisteuo which have been turned into the nebulous ideas of faith and believing rather than the Truth of KNOWING which ONLY comes to the man who will strive to keep His words. And it IS His words that have been turned into the idea of works. Can we see here the point that Paul makes regarding “another gospel“? Can we see how that this has perpetuated for centuries and has driven away so many who have glimpsed the greater Truths of the trifecta as well as the Master’s many other words that reveal the Truth of our Redemption and the amplifying and clarifying words of His apostles?

The doctrines of men, the many versions of “another gospel“, have unwittingly succeeded in dulling the spiritual sense of Truth and here we should see that these ideas that ARE “another gospel” have become the Truth, by denomination and sect, for the people who follow them. And “another gospel” has flourished despite the clearly stated words of the Master which show us the True Way to the Kingdom of God. While there IS NO lack of clarity in His words, doctrines DO NOT yet see that they ARE the Way; they DO NOT see the reality of what we call the trifecta as they fill their teachings with their own interpretations of the words of His apostles and their nebulous ideas of faith, believing and grace. Repeating again our trifecta of spiritual reality:

  • “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).

Perhaps it IS the nebulousness of these ideas that ARE put forth by doctrines that IS the reason why they have such an attraction to men. NO one can see faith nor believing and NO one can see grace as men of ALL stripes and beliefs can appear to be blessed. But one can see that another IS keeping His words and this by the fruit which they express which IS in accord with Jesus words saying of both the carnal and the spiritual man that “by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:20). To be clear here we must say that there ARE doctrinal thinkers who DO see some measure of the Truth and who express this Truth in their lives but, this being said, they still adhere to and teach “another gospel” that dilutes and changes the essential Truth of Jesus message and beclouds “the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest” as Paul shows us. Repeating the apostle’s words:

Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith” (Romans 16:25-26).

In these words from the end of the apostle’s Epistle to the Romans with which we ended the last essay we should try to see two more things. First that Paul’s reference to “my gospel” IS NOT the ‘gospel’ of the doctrines of the world but rather the fullness of the Master’s words and the amplifying and clarifying words of His apostles….ALL else IS but “another gospel“. Here IS where we began this essay: in showing how that the very words that show us Truth can be distorted and left unclear as these ARE by those doctrinal thoughts that call these last phrases a doxology rather than a statement of Truth.

That the subject IS God here IS an arbitrary addition as there ARE ONLY two words in the Greek; de (deuteronomy) which IS rendered as now but which can also be rendered as but, moreover, and, etc. This word IS rendered as now in less than 7 percent of its occurrences (166) and goes untranslated 300 times 2; Strong’s says of its rendering as now that this IS: often unexpressed in English 9. The next word in the Greek IS dunamai which IS rendered here as power with the translators addition of  “to him that is of“; this word has the lexiconic meaning of: to be able, have power whether by virtue of one’s own ability and resources, or of a state of mind, or through favourable circumstances, or by permission of law or custom; to be able to do something; to be capable, strong and powerful 2.

In the doctrinal failure to see the Soul, the Christ Within, as the Power that can move the Life in this world “into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21), we have the assertion of the idea of God and the opinion that this IS a verse of praise. If however we can see that it IS the Soul that IS the reality of the man in this world and that the Soul IS ever one with the Godhead, we can then understand the deeper message that the apostle offers. If we can see him saying to us that we ARE able to to be established “according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ” which IS “according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest“, we can then see that this being established IS based in the revelation that comes to the man who will strive to keep His words.

Vincent tells us that this idea of “kept secret” IS: more accurately, kept in silence 4 and in this idea we should try to see that before the Master’s teaching a man could NOT readily hear the revelations of Truth which were beclouded by the Jewish doctrines on the law. Jesus teachings break through this silence and lay open the realities of Life that had ever been there but which were overlooked by men’s own interpretation of the Truth; an interpretation that DID NOT and still DOES NOT recognize the need to focus oneself upon the things of God. And Paul reminds us of this as he tells us that this revelation of Truth was given “by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God“….that it was “made known to all nations for the obedience of faith” and here again we should see the idea of ethnos as men and NOT nations.

Can we see here how that words and the interpretation of those words can lead men hither and thither? Few there ARE that take the opportunity to see past their own sense of doctrine and to try to see the greater Truths that ARE behind the words that have been interpreted according to the minds of men many, many years ago. And such IS the common doctrinal ideas regarding faith and believing and grace which ARE interpreted into a nebulous array of unseeable ideas that become the pivot point in the Life of the doctrinal thinker yet today. If one prays and gets NO result it IS because his faith or his believing was NOT sufficient and NO one can see the Truth or the falsity of the argument.

While we can blame the spiritual state of men on their nebulous ideas regarding pistis and pisteuo, the greater fault lies in their willingness to accept their interpretations above the most clear evidence of the Truth, a Truth that IS shown to us by Jesus. The Master shows us the depth of these ideas of pistis and pisteuo as He tells us what it means to move the mountain which IS so much more than mere carnal belief that one can DO so. Pistis and pisteuo ARE that KNOWING that comes in the trifecta, the KNOWING that comes to the man that will “continue in my word” as Jesus tells us; this IS that KNOWING that comes from the Soul, the Christ Within, which IS that unction by which “ye know all things” (1 John 2:20).

And this brings us back to our selection from the Paul’s Epistle to the Romans where we can see the way to change one’s own spiritual state; the Way to come to Truly KNOW and to replace the nebulous with one’s realization of the Truth. This Way IS in one’s Transformation from being “conformed to this world” with its doctrinal view of Life, to the realization of Truth by the “renewing of your mind“; it IS ONLY in this way that one can Truly discern “what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God“. It IS the product of this discernment that IS “the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began“. Repeating Paul’s words that ARE the twelfth chapter of Romans, we read:

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith” (Romans 12:1-3).

For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:4-21).

And it IS words here also that plague the True understanding of men; words that have been translated according to the doctrinal leanings of the translators and then interpreted into the various doctrinal views of Life. In the first four words of Paul’s list of ‘gifts’ we found ideas that ARE related to his admonition that one should “not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith“. Into his list then we attach the corresponding idea to each of the four words: that one should prophecy, minister, which we see in terms of service, teach and exhort ONLY “according to the proportion of faith“.

We should note here as we have in previous essays that the word that starts this list, the Greek word charisma which IS rendered as gift, can also mislead men by the common understanding of the translated word. We should remember here as well that the lexicon 2 which we use, while listing many of the defining ideas together, IS but a reflection of the biblical usage which IS according to the doctrinal ideas of the translators. This IS why we DO use Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament 2; while his commentary view IS also doctrinally based, his interpretation of the words goes beyond and often gives us a better picture of the writer’s intent.

In charisma we have a word that IS a derivative of charis which IS most often rendered as grace and which IS one of the more nebulous ideas found in doctrinal thinking. If we can see that grace IS ALL things that come from the Godhead and that there IS naught in grace that IS carnal, we can then understand how that revelation and realization Truly work. Grace IS to revelation as the ‘gift‘ IS to realization; that IS grace IS the flow of Truth from the Godhead, from the Soul which IS the God Within, while the ‘gift‘ IS that which IS realized by the man in this world through his mind.

We have NO better word for charisma in English and while we would prefer to see both as grace according to our ideas here, this could tend to be confusing for some even though there ARE places in scripture where the idea of charis IS used for both sides. Here Paul uses both ideas in a single sentence and this should attest to our idea that one IS the flow and the other is what is in that flow that reaches the mind of man.

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 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.

My Soul has purpose, power and will; these three are needed on the Way of Liberation.

My Soul must foster love among the sons of men; this is its major purpose.

I, therefore, will to love and tread the Way of Love. All that hinders and obstructs the showing of the Light must disappear before the purposes of the Soul.

My will is one with the great Will of God;. that Holy Will requires that all men serve. And unto the purposes of the Plan I lend my little will.

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
  • 9 The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible on blueletterbible.org

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