ON LOVE; PART MCLXIX
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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).
We began the last essay with some additional thoughts on the relationship between the reality of the Genesis story and the words of the Apostle Paul that show us the vanity, the “bondage of corruption” to which ALL ARE subjected as a part of the Plan of God. That there IS a Plan should NOT be in dispute but the working of this Plan IS at the center of so much of the mystery that IS spoken about by the Master and His apostles. The Plan IS clearly stated from the perspective of men who find themselves in this world, Souls who have incarnated into a Life with the sole objective of being able to express the Truth and the Love that IS his True existence.
While we can likely find many places in the New Testament that allude to the Plan as it affects humanity, for us there ARE two ARE most prominent for their clarity. First IS Paul’s words that we so often use in our writing; the apostle tells us:
“For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because expectation that the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:19-23).
Here we see the Plan in action from the perspective of men and we should ever be aware that our part IS but a small piece of the overall Truth of Life and God. Paul shows us that from the perspective of the spiritual man, the Soul if you will, there IS the subjection to the deeper ideas of vanity which we KNOW as illusion and glamour. Paul goes on to show us that this vanity IS our “bondage of corruption” from which we will be made free, an idea IS which IS rendered by the King James translators as delivered. While doctrinal thinkers see this idea of deliverance as an act of the Godhead through faith in the Lord, the reality IS found in the words of the Master who tells us that such freedom IS the result of Truth and that Truth comes to those who DO abide in His word.
This the Master shows us in the first part of our trifecta where 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” and here, when we see continue as abiding which IS the primary idea behind the Greek word meno, we can then relate this to the Apostle John’s words with which we ended the last essay; John tells us of the “young men” to whom he writes that “ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one“.
When we put these ideas together we can see that these “young men” ARE those who ARE Truly striving toward the fullness of that freedom; as “the word of God abideth in you” one IS made strong which idea we defined in terms of Jesus’ own words saying that “from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force” (Matthew 11:12). Here the idea of violence IS from the same Greek word that IS rendered as strong and if we can see that it IS John’s “young men” that ARE DOING so we can then see how that his words show us the growing measure of Truth in the Life of the one who will Truly strive toward that Kingdom.
Going back then to Paul’s words we should see that while our being “made subject to vanity” IS our “bondage of corruption” and that this IS “by reason of him who hath subjected the same“, which IS the Plan of God, there IS ALSO the deliverance, the being made free of these, through KNOWING a growing measure of the Truth that comes in abiding in His word. This then IS the Plan as it affects men: to be born into this world and its vanity and then to be freed from this “bondage of corruption” through becoming John’s “young men” in whom “the word of God abideth“.
It IS these who have overcome the wicked one” and, as we have discussed, this idea of “the wicked one” IS a doctrinal invention which IS better understood as that these “young men” have overcome, as Souls in this world, the labours, annoyances, hardships 9 that have bound them and kept them from the Truth. Finally, Paul shows us the result of this freedom, a result that Paul and those of like mind with him yet await. This IS “the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” which in John’s terms should be seen as the state of the fathers to whom he also writes; those that “have known him that is from the beginning“. While Paul IS likely among these fathers, he DOES NOT admit such perhaps in agreement with his own caution against boasting.
ALL of these ideas DO work together and ALL amplify and clarify the words of the Master which ARE themselves rather clear insofar as keeping His words IS concerned. Our other prominent idea regarding the way that the Plan of God works in the lives of men IS from the Apostle Peter who tells us that “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:2-4).
Here in Peter’s words we have again the “knowledge of God“, the same knowledge of which John tells us that “hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments” (1 John 2:3). Here we should see Peter’s audience; that these ARE those that ARE keeping His commandments and if we can inject into this the idea of measure, we can better relate the words of the three apostles to the words of the Master found in our trifecta. This idea of measure can be seen in the idea of multiplication with the implication that the greater one’s “knowledge of God“, the greater his “Grace and peace“. Peter goes on to show us that it IS “through the knowledge of him“, of the Lord, that we have “all things that pertain unto life and godliness“.
We should try to conflate these various ideas and see that as “we keep his commandments” we DO come to “know him” and it IS “through the knowledge of God” that we have His “Grace and peace” which IS then “all things that pertain unto life and godliness“. And moreover we have as well His “exceeding great and precious promises” which also ARE “Grace and peace” and “all things that pertain unto life and godliness“; it IS through these we can “be partakers of the divine nature” which IS the total of ALL these ideas. This IS the Plan of God: that we receive ALL these things in reward for our “having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust“. We should remember here that this escape provides our freedom from the “bondage of corruption” which IS self induced by men who strive to be first “little children“, then “young men” and finally fathers in the fullness of that freedom provided by the Truth. We read John’s words on this measure of Truth again saying:
“I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake. I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one” (1 John 2:12-14)
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 John 2:15:17).
We add today the next verses from John’s Epistle that show the relationship between a man and the world around him. Here we should see both a caution against maintaining a focus upon the things of the flesh and a transition into the reality of spiritual Life. This IS of course a caution to ALL men but it IS specifically a caution to the “little children” and the “young men” who ARE yet caught betwixt and between both realities. And while the fathers may have overcome ALL things and KNOW God, we should understand that the pull of worldly living can still affect them.
While we use the idea of the aspirant to define the man who IS in that period of transition, the man who has seen a glimmer of Truth and has decided within himself to strive toward that Truth, others DO lump him into the role of the disciple. We use aspirant because the Master has specific guidelines for defining the disciple, guidelines which culminate in the idea that “whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33). Based in Jesus specificity here as well as in the first part of our trifecta, we should be able to see that it IS John’s idea of fathers ONLY that meets this criteria and in this we call the “little children” and the “young men” aspirants.
There IS ever a choice to change one’s focus from the things of this world to the things of God and the great motivator to DO SO it found in a man’s disillusionment with what his Life has become. This however IS NOT enough if the choice of God over the things of the world ends in the doctrines of men which DO NOT reach out to the Truth but merely substitute one way of worldly living for another. So then along with disillusionment men DO need the better choice and this IS what John IS offering. After his words on the state of the men to whom he writes which should create a self-measurement, the apostle goes on to show them how that they DO NOT need to accept the words of doctrines that DO NOT have the Truth and which can bring a man back into the reality of “the things that are in the world“.
And this IS the nature of John’s words on the antichrist which follow and which we discussed in some detail a few posts back. If we can see antichrist as whosoever and whatsoever IS contrary to one’s own anointing, one’s own unction, we can then see the relevance that this word has in this context and we should remember that throughout the ‘prophetic’ writings which ARE cited by doctrine, this word antichristos DOES NOT appear. What CAN bring a man back into the reality of “the things that are in the world” but this very idea of antichrist? And what can be this antichrist in this context except those who would pervert or constrict the flow of Truth from its True source which IS one’s own Soul….the unction and the anointing.
But these words have been turned into doctrinal ideas that ARE NOT in tune with the context in which John offers them and if we can see the aspirant and the disciple who IS NOT yet reached the completion of his journey in these ideas that we have gleaned from esoteric texts, perhaps we can understand both John’s cautions. first IS the caution of the world and affixing one’s focus back upon the things of the world regardless of how religious they may seem—here remember the Pharisees. And second IS his caution regarding the antichrist who IS any man who will teach as Truth thoughts, attitudes and ideas that ARE contrary to the Truths that the Master espouses which IS, in a word, the Truth of agape as Love. Repeating again a view of the disciple to show why John’s cautions ARE necessary, we read:
For what is a disciple? He is one who seeks to learn a new rhythm, to enter a new field of experience, and to follow the steps of that advanced humanity who have trodden ahead of him the path, leading from darkness to light, from the unreal to the real. He has tasted the joys of life in the world of illusion and has learnt their powerlessness to satisfy and hold him. Now he is in a state of transition between the new and the old states of being. He is vibrating between the condition of soul awareness and form awareness. He is “seeing double” **.
In with these two cautions the apostle also shows us another idea that has been misconstrued into doctrinal ideas about the ‘end times’ as he tells us of eschatos hora which IS rendered here as “the last time“. In its truer context some expositors DO see the reality of John’s words but, as with so many spiritual issues, doctrinal thinkers DO NOT see themselves as a part of the subject matter. The apostle tells us “Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time” ( John 2:18) and it IS this first idea of “the last time” that we address here. John Gill in his Exposition of the Bible, tells us:
Little children, it is the last time; Or hour; not of the Jewish civil and church state, for that had been at an end for some time; this epistle was written some years after the destruction of Jerusalem; nor the last hour of the Gospel dispensation, or world to come, for this was but the first age of that; and much less the last hour of time, or of the present world itself, for that has been many hundreds of years since; but the last hour of the apostolic age. All the apostles were now dead, John was the last of them; perilous times were now coming on, impostors and heretics were rising apace, against which the apostle cautions his little children; and so still he writes to them, agreeably to their age and character, who, being such, were most likely to be imposed upon by those who lie in wait to deceive. And as ye have heard that antichrist shall come; or “is coming”; and begins to show himself in the false teachers and deceivers.
It IS surely the end of the apostolic age if the brief Life of the apostles can be called that but it IS more, it IS the end of that time where men who saw the deepest Truth of the Master’s Life and teaching did live by His example and teach His precepts. From this point on there ARE many who begin to teach what the Apostle Paul calls for us “another gospel” and here we should try to see that these ARE the antichrist and ALL gospel teachings and interpretations that ARE NOT in full accord with the Master’s teaching ARE such as well.
As we have often cited in our blog, ALL who teach, ALL who have taken authority for the spiritual welfare of humanity according to their own doctrines and views of Truth which ARE contrary to the teachings of the Master ARE antichrist. Here we should remember that this word antichrist IS made into and evil term by the same doctrines that DO NOT see the deeper Truths. John IS cautioning the “little children” and the “young men” and even the fathers to look past those who would pervert the One gospel of Christ. Paul shows us these in connection with “another gospel” saying: “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).
Here Paul IS showing us that although this IS “another gospel“, it IS at the same time NOT “another gospel” and here we should see that the teachings to which he refers ARE based in the Truth of Christ but have wandered from the Truth of the Master’s word. John IS showing us this same thing as he tells us of the antichrists and here we should see those that teach “another gospel“. John explains that while such teachers came from among them, that they have deviated from the Truth; John says: “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us” (1 John 2:19).
Reading John’s words we see the same sense of disappointment that we see in Paul’s tone above. From Paul’s perspective he IS disappointed with those who willingly receive “another gospel” and from John’s perspective there IS disappointment with those who would teach it. From the beginning times of the church fathers the simplicity of the Master’s teaching was NOT Truly seen save for in the words that ARE read….they DID NEVER carry the meaning that He intended, a meaning that the apostles cite throughout their writings but which ARE interpreted according to doctrine. This IS NO different that the treatment of the law at the hands of the Jewish rulers throughout their history culminating in the Pharisee and the priests that yet taught doctrine in Jesus’ day.
The Apostle John continues his cautions and mixes them with the great Truths that ARE missed by most ALL doctrinal thinkers as he shows us the Truth of the unction and the anointing. He also shows us how to KNOW the antichrist although his words here ARE grossly misunderstood. We close today with our view of the essence of the Master’s message as it IS encapsulated by Paul, a message that shows us the reality of Love and how that this reality interacts with ALL of the messages of the Old Testament. We follow this with our trifecta which reflects the Way….a Way that has been largely ignored by the church since the “the last time“
“Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed” (Romans 13:8-11).
- “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 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.
We change our Quote of the Day today to the words from Solomon on Wisdom along with our thoughts on them from the original postings of them in In the Words of Jesus parts 46 and 556. These words ARE a testament to those things that we should be asking of the Lord and which are representative of the Holy Ghost. Wisdom, understanding and knowledge which will lead us to understanding the fear (reverence and respect and awe) of the Lord and the knowledge of God so that in this world we can understand righteousness and judgement and equity and be preserved by discretion and understanding. Thus are we in a position to treat everyone as we would want to be treated ourselves.
Since we are centered on the ideas of Wisdom today we offer the following from Proverbs as our Quote of the Day. Solomon, who is KNOWN for his Wisdom, which we read in the story of his Life was His gift from God, a gift that he receives because he does not want for the things of the world. But Solomon gains as well the things of the world in plenty and as his Life story proceeds we can see clearly that it is his Life in the world that is to his detriment. The wisdom however produces for us the writings of the Book of Proverbs and it is this that he is remembered for. His Life is interesting reading and is well documented in the Books of Kings and Chronicles.
….incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path. When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee (Proverbs 2:2-11).
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts
- **A Treatise on White Magic or The Way of the Disciple by Alice Bailey ©1951 by Lucis trust
