Monthly Archives: January 2017

ON LOVE; PART MCX

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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 how that the idea that the Apostle Paul presents to us as the result of his admonition that one “be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” IS the reality of our realization of the Truth….the same realization that comes to us in our trifecta which shows us the results of keeping His words. Paul tells us that in so DOING, in being Transformed, that a man can then “prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” but it IS ONLY when we understand this Greek word dokimazo as discernment that we can Truly understand his point.

The apostle’s message here IS that those who can DO as he says, those who can “present your bodies a living sacrifice“, ARE those that can be “transformed by the renewing of your mind” and it IS these who can have then the discernment of “what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God“. These ideas ARE NO different than the admonitions of the trifecta nor that any of the apostles’ many words; in ALL there IS a quid pro quo and here we should understand that there IS NO gift per se but rather the automatic flow of revelation and realization by the same measure by which on DOES strive. We read the apostle’s words to the Romans again with these ideas in mind:

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).

We should remember that Paul’s words here ARE addressed to men of whom he says “I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world” (Romans 1:8). It IS these men whose focus IS upon the things of God in some measure who can “present your bodies a living sacrifice” and here we should try to see that one’s change of focus IS a serious prerequisite to the grace that comes as one’s ability to discern “what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God“.

It IS this revelation KNOWLEDGE that IS the realization of the renewed mind of the man who has been able to “present your bodies a living sacrifice“. This IS NOT unlike the cost of discipleship which Jesus shows us and which can be most easily seen through the Great Commandments. Jesus tells us that “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple….So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26, 33).

The Apostle Luke shows us that these words from the Master ARE separated by his examples of counting the cost and we should see in these ideas Paul’s amplifying and clarifying idea that the disciple must “present your bodies a living sacrifice” which IS the price to pay to be counted among those who have that “glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). We should remember here that Jesus also shows us the Way which DOES NOT involve the rigors of becoming a “living sacrifice” nor of forsaking ALL as the specifics of the way.

The Master shows us that in the reality of men’s striving to keep His words one will, as a matter of course, most willingly sacrifice and forsake as the Truth of His words will cause him “to awake out of sleep“. And we should remember here that Paul’s instruction “that now it is high time to awake out of sleep” (Romans 13:11) IS written in regard to Love, it IS written to tell men that “now it is high time to awake” to the reality of Love as in one’s expression of agape “is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10). And here we should add Paul’s ideas on one’s ability to discern “what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” to the rewards, the grace as the gift if you will, from fulfilling the ideas of the trifecta and understand that by measure ALL comes to the man who strives. Repeating out trifecta we read:

• “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).

 It IS in KNOWING the Truth that one can discern or have the KNOWLEDGE of “what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God“; it IS in the Presence of God that comes to the man “that hath my commandments, and keepeth them” as Jesus tells us and it IS the man who KNOWS “what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” that can claim the Kingdom of heaven as his own. ALL of this works together as Paul tells us saying “we know that all things work together for good to them that love God” (Romans 8:28) and we should understand here that “them that love God” ARE they of whom the Master speaks saying “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me“.

We noted in the last essay that the greater lesson that the apostle IS offering us here IS in that discernment which IS the result of one’s Transformation, and here we should remember that this Transformation IS a process that begins in True Repentance and works in measure according to one’s newfound measure of focus upon the things of God. There IS NO magic pill that Transforms a man there IS NO affirmation that results in “the renewing of your mind“….and there IS ceremony by which one IS Truly “born again” according to the meaning ascribed to this by the Master—a meaning ascribed by His words “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

But doctrines DO NOT see this. Doctrines continue in their belief that there IS a magic pill, that there IS an affirmation or a ceremony by which one IS “born again” despite the logic offered by the trifecta which defines the Way to the Kingdom as that the Kingdom comes to “he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven“. Neither DO they see the reality of discernment as Paul shows us saying that it IS by one’s Transformation that he can discern the things of God which IS the same idea as Jesus shows us as He tells us that “ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free“.

The doctrinal thinker ever puts himself into the company of those of whom Paul speaks in such sayings that show the saint, sayings that show the discernment that comes to the man who IS Transformed. The doctrinal thinker DOES NOT see that this Transformation IS a process that begins with Repentance and continues as a man DOES make that “living sacrifice“. Until Repentance, True Repentance as that change of focus that prepares a man to be that “living sacrifice“, a man IS yet “conformed to this world” as he operates in his carnal and finite mind.

And while few if any doctrinal thinkers will admit this, neither will they see themselves as the “natural man” of whom the apostle says “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). So many that ARE in the ranks of the “natural man” DO NOT see the way to spiritual discernment as we read above yet they DO believe that they ARE among those who have “the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16).

We should understand here that the apostle IS speaking about discernment of “what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” and of its expression “according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith“. We should try to see here that this “measure of faith” defines one’s measure of discernment and of his KNOWING. It IS when these ARE the realization of the man in this world that he should then express some measure of the ideas that the apostle lists for us below and, in regard to the first part of this list, “according to the proportion of faith“. We read again the list of those items of grace and the apostle’s instructions on how to apply one’s KNOWING to Life in this world; we read:

“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).

We should remember that the first part of this list, the first four ways of expression of one’s measure of realized Truth, ARE tied to his caution that tells us that we should DO these things “according to the proportion of faith“; that IS according to the measure of True KNOWING, of True discernment. None of this discernment or KNOWING IS ever tied to the doctrines of men and this IS a point that Jesus makes clear in regard to His own teaching. The Master shows us how that it IS ONLY when one’s focus can come off of the carnal Life, the Life here in this world, that one can begin to see the Truth; Jesus says “My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him” (John 7:16-18).

And this IS the same message that Paul IS giving us. It IS the man who can “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” which IS the reality of Repentance as this man’s focus IS now upon the things of God. Paul tells us that in DOING this one will “be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” and it IS in this that he may “may prove discern what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God“. Can we see the point here? Can we see that any whose focus IS upon the Truth, IS upon the Good, the Beautiful and the True, any whose focus IS Truly upon the things of God, will KNOW that the doctrines of the Master ARE Truth and that the doctrines of the churches ARE but a pale shadow of that Truth.

From His standpoint in time the Master also says that “Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law?” and here, in the response of the Jews, we can clearly see the effect of that glamour the so colors the minds of men that they CAN NOT see, or, better, WILL NOT see the Truth that IS before them. The Jews say to Jesus “Thou hast a devil” (John 7:19-20) which shows us the grip of “the bondage of corruption” and of the vanity in which most ALL men DO yet live. And this reality carries forward into Jesus’ day and beyond. It IS to those who were ‘following’ Him that He says “why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46) and this same Truth can be see in the doctrinal church today.

Returning to the apostle’s list we should see that he IS cautioning men to prophecy, to minister and to teach “according to the proportion of faith” that one has and, as we have discussed, we must see these Greek words in the fuller and deeper meaning and NOT according to the doctrines of men. In prophecy we have divinely inspired utterance or revelation ⁷ which we should see IS the product of one’s striving to keep His words; divine utterance DOES NOT come to the man whose focus IS yet on the things of the world nor to one whose expression IS NOT some measure of ALL of “the fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22). And this idea of prophecy IS NOT the normal psychic abilities of some which  ARE purely carnal and operate through the carnal mind and emotional set.

In ministering we should see the greater idea of service and understand this as Paul presents it….as the work of the aspirant and the disciple, the work of expressing the Truth of Love and some measure of ALL of “the fruit of the Spirit“. In this work one will surely DO as Paul tells us saying to “present your bodies a living sacrifice” and this IS ONLY possible in True Repentance as one’s focus moves away from the carnal and onto the things of God. We should see here how that it IS necessary to DO such service according to the grace that one has achieved; we should see that to DO more relies upon the carnal mind to perform rather than the natural action of Love.

In the idea of teaching we have the same admonishment to DO so “according to the proportion of faith” but here we have NOT ONLY the activity of teaching but we have as well what IS taught. As we discussed this Greek word didaskalia IS most always rendered as doctrine and here the idea becomes just what doctrine one IS teaching; IS it the doctrine of Christ which IS covered under His own admonition that the disciple should be “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20) or IS it “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7)? The former requires the vision that comes as the Truth to the man who strives while the latter IS but the product of the carnal mind.

Then there ARE the words that ARE rendered here as exhorteth and exhortation. The Greek word parakaleo which IS rendered here as exhorteth IS rendered in a variety of ways in the King James Bible including: beseech, comfort, exhort, desire, pray, and intreat. Others render it here as comforting, encouragement, and counselor to define this gift but NONE of these ideas can be seen in a Truly spiritual Light. In another place where the noun form IS rendered as consolation, Vincent tells us that this IS:  Literally, a calling to one’s side to help; and therefore entreaty, passing on into the sense of exhortation, and thence into that of consolatory exhortation; and so coming round to mean that which one is summoned to give to a suppliant – consolation. Thus it embodies the call for help, and the response to the call ⁴ .

Vincent also shows us that this Greek word paraklesis IS related to a kindred word used by the Apostle John….the paraclete from the Greek word parakletos. Here, in this Greek word we surely have a spiritual idea which IS NOT quite discovered in the various translations.

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