ON LOVE; PART MDXXIV
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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).
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We ended the last essay with some final thoughts on the concept of measure as this IS presented to us in the gospels. As we discussed, the idea of measure IS largely overlooked by the doctrinal church save for its karmic associations and while there may be some Truth to the karmic assertions, the idea of measure IS much broader and affects everyman both carnally and spiritually. Carnally measure should NOT point ONLY to karma but to the reality of cause and effect as it exists in this world. In most every endeavor the idea of measure plays a part and this IS True both positively and negatively. Based upon the measure of one’s effort in a marriage, a career, or in business and education, lies one’s resultant measure of success. This IS NOT karma but similarities DO exist. Karma IS more related to ALL things that a person DOES, good or bad, while the idea that “with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again” (Matthew 7:2) should be our symbolic instruction for success. We see karma as a force of Life that IS both unpredictable and nebulous, while measure IS just that….measure and the idea could be equally framed in terms of effort. While measure IS the translation for metron in most ALL bible translations, it IS often turned to ideas of karma and retribution by those bible versions that offer thought-for-thought or paraphrasing as their model. It IS the word-for-word style of translation that allows us to better see past the ideas of men. However, as we have been discussing, karma IS NOT the intended direction of the idea of measure. The idea of measure appears to be among those ideas that ARE intentionally hidden from clarity while, at the same time, ARE outwardly clear to those that can see past the doctrinal ideas of men. There ARE clearer indicators of karma in the New Testament and perhaps the clearest IS the words of the Apostle Paul who tells us “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” (Galatians 6:7-8). The apostle also adds this idea of karma as he tells us that it IS God that “Who will render to every man according to his deeds” (Romans 2:6). It IS sowing and reaping that should be understood in terms of karma while the idea of measure takes us to a higher place of instruction where we can learn that through the measure that we exert, our efforts and our striving, we will have an equal result in our lives. This IS an important but overlooked aspect of the Truth that the Master offers us.
While the concept of karma IS understood in the West as an aspect of reincarnation, this IS NOT the ONLY view that we should take. Within the idea of karma ARE the concepts of cause and effect, reaping and sowing, and idea that ‘what goes around, comes around’. ALL of these things ARE True but the focus of most IS on carnal ideas and NOT spiritual and, to be sure, the effects of each of these ideas can be nebulous. Spiritually however there IS a different construct that must be considered. Spiritually there IS a link between the ideas karma, cause and effect and reaping and sowing with the idea of reincarnation. However, since the Christian DOES NOT believe that this idea of rebirth IS valid, we will NOT pursue that here except to say that this Life we ‘enjoy’ in this world IS but a speck in time compared to the eternal Life of the Soul. It IS NOT feasible to believe that this live once and spend that eternity in either heaven or hell IS a Truth with NO evidence save for the teachings of doctrinal concepts and the varying stories of those who have had near death experiences. There IS more evidence to support reincarnation than there IS to deny it.
The reality of the concept of measure, based in the idea that “with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again“, however IS NOT karmic at ALL when rightly understood. It IS effective in this world in ways similar to cause and effect as one will reap the ‘rewards‘ of whatsoever one DOES effectively. Studying will reap good grades, a good work ethic will result in promotion if one desires that outcome. Faithfulness in a marriage will result in a marriage that endures and Truly striving toward a goal will generally result in one’s achieving that goal. This IS measure in this world as a carnal concept. Spiritually the idea takes on quite a different tone however. Spiritually the idea of measure IS solely related to the inflow of Truth and agape from the Soul. This inflow IS caused by our focus upon the Truth and agape Love through a variety of means and this IS to say that one need NOT be a Christian to enjoy the realities of the Master’s words. It IS the measure of our focus which IS the measure that we mete and it IS the inflow of the Truth from the Soul that IS the response to that focus. It is in this way, by measure, that we ARE, as men in this world, treated to an ever increasing realization of the Truths and the mysteries of which Paul tells us clearly that “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:26-27). As we have often discussed, the church has dulled these words in the minds of those who follow their doctrinal presentations by NOT understanding the reality of the mysteries and to whom they ARE revealed. Paul tell us that this revelation IS to hagios which word IS rendered as both saint and most holy thing 2, both accolades which the church sees fit to place upon themselves and their adherents. Nothing could be further from the Truth which most will never realize because their focus IS upon their churches’ doctrines and NOT upon the Truth of the Master’s words. The Master’s intent in saying these things about measure and the incorporation of them into the gospels IS NOT to merely cite idle words related to judgment, hearing and the misinterpreted ideas of giving as they ARE presented. The Master’s intent IS to show us, as a separate idea, that “with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again” (Luke 6:38) IS a fundamental reality in the spiritual lives of men, a reality that also has real world effects as we discussed above.
The simplest Way to understand this concept of measure IS to understand the reality of keeping His words. We ARE presented throughout the New Testament with admonitions to DO so but these admonitions ARE also neutered by much of the churches” doctrinal philosophies. Our clear example of the admonition to keep His words IS found in our trifecta but there ARE many, many more verses and ideas that tell us this and that imply it without using the words. Let us look again at our trifecta and some of the other admonishments to keep His words as we try to understand that in so DOING, we are giving our measure of effort and ARE receiving an equal measure of Truth from ‘above’. The Master tells us:
- “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 see first that it IS in keeping His words that we become True disciples which IS the better understanding than becoming His “disciples indeed“. The Greek word alethos which IS rendered here as indeed IS rendered in similar ways in other bible translations; “disciples for sure“. “truly my disciples” and “really my disciples” ARE among the different ways that the idea IS rendered. The lexicon defines alethos as: truly, of a truth, in reality, most certainly 2 while Strong’s defines it simply as Truly 9a. Alethos IS rendered as “of a truth” in several other appearances and “in truth” once and it IS the relationship to Truth that we should see in the Master’s words. We should understand here as well that based upon the other criteria that the Master gives us for discipleship, it IS ONLY in keeping His words that one can actually be His disciple. In Luke’s gospel we read 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. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple” and, after some examples outlining the ‘cost’ of discipleship, Jesus says “whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26-27, 33). This IS the essence of True discipleship and we should understand here that these things ARE ONLY possible when we DO keep His words. Discipleship IS NOT the ONLY ‘reward‘ for keeping His words however, there IS also the reality that “ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”. We should try to see that the idea of measure moderates these ideas of discipleship and Truth so that we can KNOW a measure of the Truth and be His disciple by measure, aspirants if you will, as we strive to keep His commandments as it IS “with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again” (Luke 6:38).
In the next part of our trifecta we have a very different dynamic that IS also a function of keeping His words and, contrary to doctrinal religious thought, can be attained by measure. That the idea IS framed in terms of the Father and His Will DOES NOT alter the Truth that we can “enter into the kingdom of heaven” while we ARE yet in this world. This IS yet another of the mysteries that IS partially revealed in scripture and actually spoken in one place in words that the doctrinal church DOES NOT accept as they choose to reframe them according to their beliefs. Jesus tells us that “behold, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). Standing alone these words may be easy to deflect by doctrinal believers but when we conjoin them with Paul’s words above saying that the mystery IS “Christ in you“, the Kingdom Within becomes much clearer. If we can understand that the Christ IS ever in the Kingdom, our realization of the Christ Within IS the same as the realization that “the kingdom of God is within you“. It IS our realization of these Truths that we gain by measure as we move our minds from having an inkling of the Truth, to having some degree of certainty, to finally KNOWING the Truth. Can we see the point here?
The last part of out trifecta IS a clearly stated reality that IS ignored by most ALL of the church that believes first that they Love the Lord and second that they have the Lord within based in their doctrinal affirmations. This however IS NOT what the Master tells us as He says clearly that these things ONLY pertain to “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them“. Jesus could NOT be more clear on this which follows upon His admonition that “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). We should try to understand here that it IS the one that Truly Loves the Master, Truly Loves God, that DOES keep His words; the one IS NOT possible without the other. When we keep His words we ARE expressing our Love for God and when we keep His words we perforce also Love our neighbor. The greater point here however IS that when we keep His words, when one “hath my commandments, and keepeth them“, we have His Presence. It IS this realization that IS the same as our realization of the Christ Within and the Kingdom Within and, here again, our realization comes to us by measure.
There ARE many more sayings that show us the reality of keeping His words; let us cite a few here with some brief commentary:
- The Master tells the rich young ruler that “if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments“. The question posed IS “what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” (Matthew 19:17, 16) and while the idea IS framed by Jesus as “keep the commandments“, this IS because the man IS a Jew who KNOWS ONLY “the commandments“. It IS in keeping “the commandments” that we have realization of “eternal life” which from the perspective of the Soul we already have. The point here IS transfering that Truth to the realization of the mind, the renewed mind to be sure.
- In John’s Gospel we read the Master’s words saying “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love” (John 15:10). Here again we have a quid pro quo of sorts, one that tells us that when we keep His words, we ARE abiding in His Love and here we must try to understand the very nature of agape as a Cosmic Force of which we can consciously partake. Again, we have inference of a promise in which we can abide; Peter tells us that in the same way, in keeping His words, we can “be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4). It IS in keeping His words that we can escape “the corruption that is in the world through lust” and “abide in his love“.
- The Apostle John carries the theme further in his epistles where we read such things as “hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments“; here the idea IS our ability to KNOW God. John follows this in telling us that “whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him” (1 John 2:3, 5). The apostle also tells us “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous” (1 John 5:2-3). Vincent comments on this saying: Our perception of the existence of love to our brethren is developed on every occasion when we exercise love and obedience toward God 4.
- Jesus, as part of the Parable of Sower, tells us “on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15). Here again we have a biblical idea that many believe they ARE written into as “the good ground“; most however little if anything of what must be done to be “the good ground“. Few hear “the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit“. In this we should try to see James’ words saying “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22).
- Finally we have the Master’s words which He offers to the woman who praises His mother saying “Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked“. To this Jesus replies “Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it” (Luke 11:27-28).
There ARE several other sayings and inferences regarding the idea of keeping His words but these should suffice to show the force of the idea as the Way, the Truth and the Life of the disciple and the aspirant to discipleship. Here IS our dilemma; how to accurately show the church how that their doctrines neuter the words of the Master whose message IS agape Love through the idea of keeping His words. It has been the purpose of our blog posts to highlight this hypocrisy on the part of the church which seems to leave it to its members to be both hearers and DOERS without any significant motivation offered by the church. Surely there ARE churches, and ministers and priests, that DO highlight the reality of keeping His words as the KEY to True salvation but these ARE too few and too far between. The church, rather than delving into the reality of teaching the Truth of the Master’s words, has chosen to teach doctrine. Many of these substitute the Truth with rites and rituals while others choose to get into social, political and cultural wars based on their own worldview rather than the worldview of the Master which IS highlighted by the singular idea that “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself“. Still others have completely muted the line between carnal and spiritual by focusing their doctrines carnal things that ARE contrary to what the Apostle Peter shows us saying that we can “be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4). This corruption, this “bondage of corruption” (Romans 8:21) as Paul frames the idea, IS further exacerbated by those who preach the prosperity gospel which IS but an adaptation of “the corruption that is in the world through lust” presented in ‘biblical’ terms. These combine Old Testament ideas with selected New Testament sayings to create the illusion that the Lord wants men to be wealthy when so much of His actual words ARE contrary to this. In many cases the ONLY persons that Truly benefit, carnally to be sure, ARE the pastors and their families that run such churches and perhaps some members of the denomination’s hierarchy. It IS based on this diffusion of the Truth and the carnal aspects of most ALL doctrinal religions that we often post the idea that “The church today is the tomb of the Christ and the stone of theology has been rolled to the door of the sepulchre“^. Of course when doctrinally oriented people read this statement from esoteric writings, they call the ideas occult and demean them, but any True look at the state of the church over the centuries and yet today will bear out this claim.
That the church ‘worships‘ the Lord, IS yet another idea that can be disputed based in the failure of the church to teach the Truth of the Lord’s words. And Jesus cautions us against this saying clearly that “Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:6-7). Here the Master shows us that in “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” any sense of worship IS in vain. This warning however IS NOT heeded by any in the church, many of whom have convinced themselves that these words ARE ONLY directed at the Jews in His day. There IS however NO logic in this assertion nor any assertion that the words of the Master ARE directed at the Jews and it IS hypocritical that this ‘excuse’ IS used by some to favor their own doctrinal approaches. Surely, 2000 years later, it IS difficult to shed one’s doctrinal traditions but this was the Master’s point. His words on “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” come together with Jesus’ commentary on the ways of the Jews and their traditions. To be sure, the ideas as “the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables” and the manipulation by the Jews of the idea that men should “Honour thy father and thy mother” (Mark 7:4, 10) ARE but examples of the ways that the Jews used doctrine over Truth. It IS this that causes the Master to tell the Jews’ leaders “If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’you would not have condemned the innocent“, repeating the words of the Prophet Hosea. This the Master tells the Jews after previously saying to them that they should “go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice‘ ” (Matthew 12:7, 9:13). And what IS different today in both the Jews’ religion and the Christians? Just the nature of the traditions and perhaps the newness of some of the doctrinal ideas of both. So where IS the True worship? It IS nowhere to be found according to the Master’s words and the message that we should take IS that True worship IS a function of keeping His words. We should remember here the Master’s only other words on worship ARE in His conversation with the woman at the well in John’s Gospel; it IS there that we read His words saying “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23). In this we find the most basic Truth that “God is a Spirit” and we find the idea that True worship CAN NOT be a carnal event and that it must revolve around the Truth.
How then can the Lord be Truly worshipped? The answer lies in how we define the idea of worship. In the lexicon the idea of worship IS offered to us in mostly carnal terms; they define the Greek word proskuneo as: to kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of reverence; among the Orientals, esp. the Persians, to fall upon the knees and touch the ground with the forehead as an expression of profound reverence; in the NT by kneeling or prostration to do homage (to one) or make obeisance, whether in order to express respect or to make supplication 2. These defining ideas seem more suitable to one’s greeting for a king or other high authority than one’s attitude toward the Lord. Today’s dictionary has a better view of the idea as it affects the psyches of men; we read that worship IS: reverent honor and homage paid to God or a sacred personage, or to any object regarded as sacred; formal or ceremonious rendering of such honor and homage; adoring reverence or regard *. While the lexicon offers us the ‘actions’ of worship, we should understand that these ARE easily mere activities with NO supporting reverent honor and homage. In Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, aside from the carnal ideas as exampled from the lexicon, we read that worship IS: Chiefly and eminently, the act of paying divine honors to the Supreme Being; or the reverence and homage paid to him in religious exercises, consisting in adoration, confession, prayer, thanksgiving and the like 1. Except for the lexicon, the dictionaries offer us the idea of adoration and it IS in this that we find the deeper reality of worship despite the fact that the word adore DOES NOT appear in the New Testament. Adore IS defined for us by today’s dictionary as: to regard with the utmost esteem, love, and respect; honor; to pay divine honor to; worship*. It IS this idea of adoration that should be understood in the biblical ideas of worship except when the physical actions ARE the subject. To adore IS to Love with purpose and with reason and it IS this idea that should be understood in terms of Loving the Lord. It IS this idea that should be incorporated into the Great Commandment saying that “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Matthew 22:38) as the better explanation of how one should Love the Lord “with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind“. Can we see the point here? Can we understand that our worship IS our expression of agape Love toward the Godhead, an expression that flows from the Soul, the spiritual reality of men.
It IS in understanding this that we can better understand the idea that “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth“. Our carnal selves ARE incapable of this kind of worship and perhaps a KEY idea here can be found in the Greek word en which can be widely rendered in English using ideas as: “in,” at, (up-)on, by, etc 9a, ALL of which have a specific meanings in context. The lexicon shows us the various uses in the King James Bible as in, by, with, among, at, on, and through 2. It IS Vincent however who breaks the idea down for us in regard to this particular use of en saying that: In spirit and in truth. Spirit is the highest, deepest, noblest part of our humanity, the point of contact between God and man (Romans 1:9); while soul is the principle of individuality, the seat of personal impressions, having a side in contact with the material element of humanity as well as with the spiritual element, and being thus the mediating element between the spirit and the body 4. Aside from telling us of the basic idea of “In spirit and in truth“, Mr. Vincent also goes into the his understanding of the relationship of the Soul with the Spirit and the flesh. While we see his words as largely accurate, we understand the Soul as a much more important part of the equation, as the incarnate representative of the spiritual realm. Our point today however IS the idea of worshipping, our expression of agape, “In spirit and in truth“. Vincent goes on to tell us that: The phrase in spirit and in truth describes the two essential characteristics of true worship : in spirit, as distinguished from place or form or other sensual limitations (ver. 21); in truth, as distinguished from the false conceptions resulting from imperfect knowledge (ver. 22) 4. Vincent’s clarity here IS far beyond the doctrinal ideas that he IS studied in as he outlines for us the reality of this idea of worship which, as the Master tells us, IS the reality of our worship; that it must be “In spirit and in truth“. Vincent goes on to tell us that: True worship includes a spiritual sense of the object worshipped, and a spiritual communion with it; the manifestation of the moral consciousness in feelings, motions of the will, “moods of elevation, excitements,” etc. It includes also a truthful conception of the object. In Jesus the Father is seen (xiv. 9) and known (Luke 10:22). Thus the truthful conception is gained 4.
We can distill ALL of this into the idea that our adoration of the Lord, our expression of agape for God, requires a spiritual sense of the Godhead; it requires that we KNOW God or have some measure of that KNOWING. We should also see that we CAN NOT Love the Lord without keeping His words and this Jesus tells us saying “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me” as we read in our trifecta. John clarifies this and expands upon this saying “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4) and here we should understand that KNOWING God IS the source of Truth. Again we go to our trifecta where we also 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). Can we see how that ALL this works together? This brings us back again to the Master’s words saying “in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:9). Further distillation of the idea should show us that it IS in keeping His words that we have the Truth and it IS in keeping His words that we can be among those of whom Paul says “ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you” and here again we have the reality of realization; that we can realize “that the Spirit of God dwell in you” when we strive to keep His words. While so much of the church IS beholden to their doctrinal ideas, the reality of True Christianity decries this practice and this attitude through the Master’s words telling us that such ideas of doctrinally based worship ARE ever in vain; and we should understand here the depth of the Master’s use of this word. This idea of vain IS closely related to Paul’s use of the word vanity. There ARE three Greek words used to imply vainness; maten, mataios and mataiotes. The first two ARE rendered as vain and once as vanities while the last IS rendered as vanity; ALL mean very much the same things; maten IS defined as: in vain, fruitlessly; mataios IS defined as devoid of force, truth, success, result; and useless, of no purpose and mataiotes IS defined as what is devoid of truth and appropriateness; perverseness, depravity; frailty, want of vigour 2 by the lexicon. From ALL this we should be able to see that the idea of vain IS very much fruitless, devoid of force, truth, success, result and useless, of no purpose. If we can take these ideas into the Master’s use of the idea in “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” we should be able to recognize the severity of the offense.
While the church DOES NOT see these ideas in their sense of worship or refuses to DO so, they ARE in fact at the crux of the matter of the vanity of their worship. And here we should return again to Vincent’s commentary on the specific idea of the vanity into which ALL men ARE born and where they remain until they ARE “delivered made free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). This vanity IS our separation from the Godhead and the vainness of our idea of worship IS a function of that same separation based in Vincent’s description of our vanity. Vincent tells us that this vanity IS our: perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends 4. Here we should try to see that among our pursuit of false ends IS our pursuit of glory through our doctrinal worship of the Lord. While the Master’s words on this idea of vain worship ARE clear and easy to understand, few if any in the church DO understand the intent of His words. They ARE directed at ALL who ARE “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” and while the church ‘believes’ that their doctrines ARE equivalent to His words, they ARE surely NOT. Keeping His words however IS a stretch for most ALL men and this IS partly because the church DOES NOT teach the need to DO so. It IS also because men seldom realize enough of the Truth through the prompting of their own Souls to even desire to overcome their own vanity. It IS this desire, ofttimes based in one’s dissatisfaction with their carnal Life, that leads us to True Repentance and Transformation, ideas that ARE often seen in terms of black and white, of the carnal versus the spiritual. However, this IS where the idea of measure becomes important. When we can understand that we can acclimate to Repentance and Transformation by measure, it can become easier to make that decision to DO so and while this IS NOT a perfect spiritual posture, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8), it IS better than continuing in one’s pursuit of false ends. We can minimize our perishable and decaying condition and reduce our separation from God by moving our focus off of the self and the things of the self and onto the the things of God…..Truth and agape Love.
In the end we should try to see that our worship in vain can end with our understanding that it IS the words of the Master that set out the guidelines for ALL who Truly seek the Lord. When we can understand this we can move forward in Jesus’ words rather than the ofttimes self-serving interpretations of scripture offered by men and, as we leave our doctrinal allegiances behind, we can embark on a new chapter in Truth and agape Love. And yes we can still be members of churches and participate as we normally DO; the ONLY difference IS that we come to KNOW the greater Truth and our worship, our Love for the Lord, becomes a Truth rather than a thing. And it matters NOT that we ARE teachers or students when it comes to this idea of “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” as in our acceptance of the doctrinal teachings we ARE become teachers to the self and to those with whom we may share our religious ideas; a sharing which IS a common motivation of the church. Finally we should look again at the vanity and try to understand that in our vain worship and other carnal ideas there remains the idea of deception; self deception to be sure. Our worship through our church services IS defined as vain by the Master which idea we should understand as very much fruitless, devoid of force, truth, success, result and useless, of no purpose. In our worship most ALL fail to recognize the vainness of it ALL and this IS, in the end, our deception as we hear the words of Truth in gospel readings but DO NOT allow them to resonate in our minds; this because they ARE offered in conjunction with the doctrinal assertions of the church. This deception IS shown to us clearly by James who tells us “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22).
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 |
- 1 Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1828 and 1913 from https://1828.mshaffer.com/
- 2 New Testament Greek lexicon on biblestudytools.com
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition
- 9 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon on blueletterbible.org
- 9a The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible on blueletterbible.org
- * Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
- ^ From The Reappearance of the Christ by Alice A Bailey; © 1948 by Lucis Trust
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
