ON LOVE; PART MDXXXV
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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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As we ended the last essay we returned to our subject verses from the Apostle Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. We began several posts back with the first verse of chapter eight and yesterday ended our discussion of the twentieth and twenty first verses. The importance of these two verses CAN NOT be minimized and in reality we have barely scratched the surface of the meanings that we can glean from them. As we move on to the next verses, these two will remain a part of our discussion and, for that purpose we cite them together. Paul tells us: “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 made free 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 8:20:23). As we have said, Paul IS showing us the reality of Life in this world; how that we ARE born into vanity by the Plan of God with God’s expectation that we will be “delivered made free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God“. There ARE many deeply spiritual ideas embedded in these words, ideas that have NOT been a part of church teachings from the beginning. The first verse here IS generally seen by the church as it IS related to the ‘fall of man’, an idea that has been created from the words of the Book of Genesis. Our vanity however IS much more than what can be taken from this ‘creation’ story. This idea of vanity should be understood in terms of the Soul; it IS the Soul that IS born into this world in such a helpless condition that the explanation of vanity provided by Vincent can begin to be seen at this point of birth. Vincent defines our vanity as our: perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends 4. At birth the Soul has NOT been Truly separated from God and installed into a human body without the wherewithal to express himself through that body. The objectives for which the Soul incarnates DO however leave the Soul in such a state of separation. Most every time we address this idea of vanity, yet another idea comes to mind that can perhaps help us to better understand. Today we will posit that the Soul, while entrenched in this infant form, IS ONLY separate from God in that respect. The Soul stands beyond the confines of flesh until such time as the carnal mind can be Transformed to be an extension of the Soul.
We should remember that these words that define vanity ARE from a man and NOT scripture but, at the same time, they ARE the best tool that we have to define this vanity. The Soul IS NOT itself in a perishable and decaying condition as these words describe the Life of the man who remains in vanity; the Soul stands by ever ready to Transform that Life. The Soul ‘watches’ as the infant IS nurtured and indoctrinated into the ways of the world and while there does come a time when the Soul can communicate with his form, prompt the mind if you will, this DOES NOT mean that the form will respond. To this point the form, the carnal mind, has been steeped in whatsoever was the nature of the nurturing and indoctrination that it received. There IS NO real help for the child or the man save for the Truth of scripture, NOT doctrines, and the prompting of his own Soul which first appears as conscience. Most of this we have discussed in the last few essays. It IS at some point in Life, as the child matures, that the idea of pursuing false ends takes hold; it IS based on the nurturing and indoctrination that one endures that a man pursues his Life in this world and, without the input of True scripture and the Soul, the pursuit IS largely carnal and therefore false ends. It IS based on ALL this that we should try to understand our vanity and recognize that this state will continue until a man becomes aware of the Truth as presented by the Soul and the Truth of scripture. We ARE in a state of vanity until the Soul begins to take hold of the personality but this ONLY happens when the heretofore carnal mind agrees to listen to the prompting of the Soul represented first as the conscience and later as the Truth that flows from the Soul in our Repentance and Transformation.
While it IS seems rather simple on paper, actually DOING this, Transforming the mind as Paul shows us saying “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” (Romans 12:2), takes much effort on the part of the carnal mind. We ARE conformed to this world through many years of nurturing and indoctrination so that we come to think that being so conformed IS the natural way of Life in this world. And so it IS for the vast majority of people who never seek a deeper spiritual encounter. We should understand here that being involved in a church, believing that one IS ‘saved‘ by their doctrinal ideas, or just being a non-religious person, ALL have the same outcome: conformance “to this world“. ALL of these ARE a part of the world order to which we ARE conformed by our nurturing, indoctrination and our Life’ experiences; ALL learn to seek more and better for ourselves and those we care for. Better jobs, better houses, better cars and better social status ARE among the things that ARE included in the desires of men, their lusts if you will, and we should understand here that many of these things ARE prescribed by the church as the way to live. This however IS contrary to most ALL of the Master’s teachings culminating in His words saying “Take no thought for your life” (Matthew 6:25). We should understand as well that this Path to being “led by the Spirit of God“, this Path to “the glorious liberty of the children of God” IS NOT for everyone. This IS a Path that leads us to discipleship which requires us to escape from “the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4); most ARE NOT willing to DO this.
This IS the purpose of the gospel accounts of the Master’s encounter with the rich young ruler who desires discipleship and the eternal Life that he inquires about but IS unwilling to escape. While the story IS shown us in regard to riches, the reality can be spread across most ALL human desires and we should try to understand that most ALL desires DO involve riches at some level. We should try to see that the idea of riches is a personal one that has different meanings for ALL depending on the time, the place and the customs in which one lives. The gospel story should also show us that supposing that one IS keeping His words as DOES this rich young ruler becomes void for any who ARE NOT willing to give up what they have, yet another spiritual idea that we can approach by measure. While the Master DOES NOT tell this man that he could gradually give up his possessions and wealth, the implication is there.
The KEY for men IS Repentance but this IS a very misunderstood idea in the church and in society. Something must bring us to Repentance; it can be scripture, it can be the prompting of one’s own Soul that IS allowed to be heard over the din of daily living, or it can be the result with one’s dissatisfaction with the way that one’s Life IS progressing. There ARE many ways that we can be brought to Repentance, brought to that change of our focus off of the things of the self and onto the things of God. We should remember here our defining idea on Repentance, which we get from Vincent, tells us that Repentance IS our: virtuous alteration of the mind and purpose which in turn begets a like virtuous change in the life and practice. We should understand that our Repentance begins in the mind but this must be a ready mind, a mind that IS reacting to Life through scripture, through the prompting of one’s Soul, or through dissatisfaction. To be sure, when the mind IS ready the Soul will take full advantage and help a man to escape from “the corruption that is in the world through lust“. Perhaps a missing part here IS the idea that the man must want to experience some sort of spiritual awakening. Surely millions come to this point and, for lack of a sure place to go, they try different denominations or sects and can get caught up in a cults that promise some form of fulfillment. Millions more venture out of the ‘religion’ into which they were indoctrinated and try other world religions as they seek a spiritual awakening. Still others come across a new spiritual venture accidently. None of this however will work in the hearts of men if they DO NOT let their minds out of the box that their years of nurturing and indoctrination have created, a box that ONLY adds to one’s vanity and bondage. Paul tells us that we must “be not conformed to this world” but so long as one sees his participation in his religion, his denomination or sect as providing the means to “be not conformed” he will believe that he has NO more to DO and that his current state IS his awakening. Such people ARE never “transformed by the renewing of your mind” because they think that the doctrinal allegiance has DONE this for them.
Throughout our blog posts we have maintained that the Way IS found in keeping His words, keeping the words of the Master and His interpretations of the commandments of Moses. We have also tried to show how that it IS in our expressions of agape that we can keep His words without any rigorous attempts to follow the letter of the law and Jesus commandments. These things ARE Truly the Way to awaken our carnal minds to the reality of our spiritual nature and the promises that ARE laid out for us by the Master and His apostles. However, to properly understand what we ARE saying, and to properly understand the Way to be able to “prove (discern) what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God“, one must detach himself from what he has ‘learned’ through his nurturing and indoctrination into religions and into the ways of the world. Perhaps here a saying from the Master will help us to understand this; Jesus says “the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). While the context here IS not the same, it IS in response to His disciples taking refuge in their flesh, the idea IS still True. As men, as flesh if you will, we tend to “mind the things of the flesh“; this IS the reality of our vanity, a reality that we must overcome. For the religious of most any degree as well as for the non-religious the journey IS the same and, while the latter may have the easier time because they have less indoctrination to deal with, the method IS the same. The disadvantage to the non-religious can be seen in their unfamiliarity with scripture while the disadvantage to the religious IS that they ARE familiar with scripture ONLY through the doctrines that they believe. What IS the Path then? What IS the Way that we can “delivered made free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God“? Simply scripture.
In the last essay we spent much time on the idea of scripture and on the nature of the translations that we choose to follow and it IS an important to understand that some of the bible translations available today ARE written according to the doctrines of men. To use a translation that follows the doctrinal ideas of the church and incorporates these into the text and the commentaries that ARE available in some versions leaves us in the same place that we were, believing that our doctrines ARE True. Perhaps Jesus’ words will help us to understand this; the Master says: “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). It IS here that we should be careful when selecting a bible version that DOES NOT follow the doctrinal ideas of the writers, a version that IS NOT “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men“. From our perspective it IS the word for word bible versions that offer us the ‘cleanest’ translations of the New Testament. We should note here, as we said in the last post, that we should stay away from intermingling the Old Testament with the New and concentrate our efforts specifically on the New Testament and on the Gospels. We have long said and Truly believe ourselves that it IS the words of the Master that contain ALL the instruction that we need and that the words of His apostles should be understood as amplifying and clarifying Jesus’ words and NOT establishing doctrine as much of the church believes.
We should understand that the word for word translations of the bible also contain what we see as translation anomalies that result in our receiving ideas that were NOT the specific intent of the writers. We have discussed these types of issues throughout out blog posts. The idea here IS that we must be careful in understanding the intent of the writers and the method to properly understand IS to meditate upon ideas that seem confusing allowing the Soul to show us the Way. Let us take our current verse from Paul’s Epistle to the Romans and compare some of the bible translations.
- King James Version (word for word): “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now“.
- English Standard Version (word for word): “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now“.
- The Message Bible (paraphrase): “All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it’s not only around us; it’s within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We’re also feeling the birth pangs“.
- New International Version (thought for thought): “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time“.
- New Revised Version (word for word): “We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now“.
- Revised Standard Version (word for word): “We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now“.
- American Standard Version (word for word): “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now“.
- Bible in Basic English (meaning for meaning): “For we are conscious that all living things are weeping and sorrowing in pain together till now“.
- New Living Translation (dynamic equivalence translation): “For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time“.
As we should be able to see here, there IS a wide variety of approaches to Paul’s words with some invoking the idea of childbirth and one even calling it “a pregnant creation“. While the Greek word sunodino has NO ideas of childbirth attached, the lexicon’s commentary and defining ideas DO. While the lexicon usually draws from Thayer’s for its defining ideas, this IS NOT the case here. The lexicon tells us that the idea of sunodino IS: to feel the pains of travail with, be in travail together and metaph. to undergo agony (like a woman in childbirth) along with 2. While the idea of travail can refer to the pain of childbirth as today’s dictionary cites, this IS the third defining idea that IS offered after the main ideas of: painfully difficult or burdensome work; toil; and pain, anguish or suffering resulting from mental or physical hardship. This IS the ONLY place that the verb sunodino appears in the New Testament and the reference to childbirth likely comes from a different word that IS rendered as travail in the King James Bible. Our point IS simply that the use of childbirth and the idea of “a pregnant creation” serve NO purpose save for in the minds of the translators and their individual doctrinal understanding.
Our greater point IS that if one IS using scripture to help in his spiritual progression, he should choose a bible version that provides the clearest ideas of the intent of the writers; this for us IS a word for word translation. The same scriptural problems exist in other religions as well; different translations and interpretations of such works as the Hindu Bhagavad Gita and the Dhammapada, the core teachings of the Buddha, will show us very different ideas based upon the doctrinal ideas of the translators and interpreters. The idea that we ARE presenting for our spiritual growth IS that we must choose writings and ideas that DO NOT mimic the doctrines of men. When allowed, our own Souls will attest to the accuracy of what we ARE hearing or reading. Paul shows us this idea in an earlier verse from our current selection from Romans; he tells us that “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:16). This saying cites pneuma twice, once capitalized and once not. The word pneuma itself has multiple meanings and applications ranging from the Divine Spirit to the human spirit. In context, the idea IS that our Spirit, our Soul of you will, will “beareth witness with our spirit” which we can understand here as the mind, the spirit of the body. Vincent tells us that: This rendering assumes the concurrent testimony of the human spirit with that of the divine Spirit 4. Such commentaries feed into our point; however Vincent also tells us that: Others, however, prefer to render to our spirit, urging that the human spirit can give no testimony until acted upon by the Spirit of God 4 which IS a doctrinal interpretation of the idea. The idea here IS again that we should rely upon our Inner sense, the prompting of the Soul, to show us that what we ARE hearing or reading IS the Truth. However this IS NOT fully possible when our minds ARE yet boggled by whatsoever we were indoctrinated into. The Master offers us a caution in this regard saying in Mark’s Gospel “Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given” (Mark 4:24). Ponder on this.
In most every post we DO publish our trifecta which for us IS a set of sayings from the Master that CAN NOT be misunderstood despite the various ways that the words are translated. While some versions may offer weaker ideas, they ARE nonetheless the same ideas. While such consistency IS NOT available for the whole of the New Testament, we DO have these three important sayings from which we can start our journey to our individual spiritual reality. Repeating our 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).
ALL of our trifecta IS centered on the idea that we must keep His words in order to receive the promises, the rewards if you will, which ARE ALL spiritual realities. While the Master’s words from the first saying in our trifecta ARE specific to those that will “continue in my word“, those who ARE by measure disciples, the church sees the idea differently. Much of the church sees the idea as describing freedom from the spiritual bondage of sin, guilt, and condemnation through faith in Jesus Christ and God’s word. The idea of faith IS NOT in the Master’s words however; the phrase has been hijacked if you will by the church to fit into their doctrines. This IS the pattern of the churches and has been for centuries as they take the words of the Master and conform them to their desired doctrinal end. This task is made easier through the use of paraphrased, thought for thought, and other alternative bible versions but, to be sure, it happens with ALL bible versions. ALL of our trifecta IS viewed in similar ways; ALL are compromised to fit the doctrinal ideas of men and we should understand that this practice IS founded in the vanity of men. The effect of the use of the doctrines of men in place of the often clear Truths of the Master’s words is that men ARE left in their: perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends 4. Here we should try to understand that seeing the Truth through the eyes of men IS a choice made by those who have taken authority over the spiritual lives of the masses and that those that ARE “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” have been caught up in the traditions that began with the church fathers. While most of this was NOT an intentional deviation from the Truth of the Master’s words, it was DONE with purpose; it was DONE with the objective of bringing people into the Christian fold. Had the Truth been taught by the early church there is a likelihood that few would have joined the church for fear of the burden of keeping the commandments as Jesus tells us saying “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me“.
We should understand here that it was the few that were the target of Jesus’ teachings and while the ‘hope‘ was that this few would grow into a True church, it devolved into doctrines instead. The Master tells us that “many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14) but this saying was also manipulated by the early church to conform with the doctrines of men. This phrase IS repeated from the last line of the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard where there IS a foundation for the idea that IS linked to another spiritual Truth saying that “the last shall be first, and the first last“. The combination of these ideas tells us that “the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen” (Matthew 20:16). The context here allows us to understand the idea in a clearer way. Can we see that the first part shows us that regardless of when one comes to the Lord, regardless of when one awakens to the Truth, that the result IS the same? It IS the same for the first as for the last. This is the easier part to understand. The second part however IS a bit trickier because of the influence of the doctrines of men. We should understand here that ALL are called; Strong’s tells us that the Greek word kletos means invited 9a so it should be easy to understand that ALL ARE invited. Chosen IS from the Greek word eklektos which Strong’s defines as select 9a; doctrines have made this into being chosen and specifically chosen by God 9 as Thayer’s tells us. When we come to KNOW some measure of the Truth, we come to realize that the Godhead DOES NOT bestow anything on men. This IS a function of their own Souls which KNOWS of the invitation for everyman and selects being chosen over remaining in one’s inherent vanity. Perhaps this IS better explained via another of the Master’s sayings; Jesus tells us “strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:14).
Here again we have the idea of the few which IS rendered from the Greek word oligos. Strong’s defines oligos saying that it means: puny (in extent, degree, number, duration or value)9a; here, while few DOES show us the idea, it DOES so in a way that DOES NOT reflect the severity of the idea. Few ARE chosen or, better, few choose to follow the Lord and few there ARE that find the Kingdom IS a statement of fact from the Master. The idea of few IS NOT understood as the Master intended it to be and from another example the gospels provide us with another angle from which we should view the idea that “few there be that find it“. In Luke’s Gospel the idea IS framed as “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able” which IS the Master’s answer to the question “are there few that be saved?” (Luke 13:24,23). The answer IS that many will “seek to enter” and we should understand that this DOES NOT mean that they ARE striving; it merely means that they ARE desirous. Those that DO “Strive to enter in at the strait gate“, those that DO put forth the necessary effort, will find success and be among the few. In Luke’s Gospel these words ARE followed by what appears to be a parable but IS NOT counted as one by most. Jesus says “When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity” (Luke 13:25-27). For us these words ARE a parabolic view of the words from Matthew’s Gospel which follow the second part of our trifecta. In Matthew’s Gospel the idea DOES NOT begin with the parabolic idea of “the master of the house“; Matthew IS much more straightforward saying “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. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21-23).
From our perspective the words from Luke ARE more generalized to meet with the idea of “the master of the house” and while the Master may have used these phrases more than once, we believe that they both Matthew and Luke ARE showing us the same thing from different points of view. Our point IS simply that there ARE but few that will Truly endeavor to seek the Lord; few that will strive to DO so, and that the Way of striving IS the Way of the Lord, the Way to be Truly “led by the Spirit of God“. This brings us back to our subject verses where we should try to understand that while ALL are “made subject to vanity” and while ALL ARE expected to be able to free themselves from their “bondage of corruption“, escape as Peter frames this, few will actually DO so. This IS the dilemma of mankind. This idea of few IS relative however to the population of the world. Few in Jesus time when the world population was estimated at between 230 and 300 million people IS much different than the idea of few today. The world’s population today IS more that 8 billion people which IS 2500 times as many as there were in Jesus’ day; surely the idea of few would be much greater today. To figure out how many people Jesus’ referred to as few IS NOT possible, nor IS it possible to calculate a number for today. However, even at one tenth of one percent being the few, the number of the “few there be that find it” IS a significant number of which ALL who strive can be a part, a significant number can escape their vanity.
There IS a step further to go however and this IS what Paul IS showing us in saying “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 8:22:23). We should try to see how that the idea of the few works out in Paul’s words. We showed a bit of the first part of this as we compared translation types above and, as we site above the idea here IS that the creation struggles “together in pain“. It IS the single verb sunodino that IS rendered into the phrase “travaileth in pain together” and the idea here IS NOT physical pain but rather, as Strong’s points out, the idea IS: to have (parturition) pangs in company (concert, simultaneously) with 9a. As we discuss above the addition of childbirth to this verb’s defining ideas need NOT include such ideas but this IS added parenthetically by Strong’s use of the word parturition. Sans this idea of parturition, we should be able to understand the idea of pangs which IS defined for us as: a sudden feeling of mental or emotional distress or longing and, using this idea, we can begin to make spiritual sense. The whole creation, as Souls in form, IS having such pangs together; the whole creation IS feeling the distress of living as men in this world and these words should take us back to previous verses that tell us “I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God” (Romans 8:18-19). What we should try to see here IS that the entire group of verses must be seen as one and understood that way; we CAN NOT separate them and still make sense of Paul’s words that end with “the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body“.
We have always pointed to the extreme value of these words from Paul in trying to understand the nature of Life here in this world as well as the end to which this Life existes. The whole of the idea must be viewed together and, to be sure, the words that precede these also play an important role in our understanding. Paul’s words tell us that “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in 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 made free 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 8:18:23). While these words DO NOT jump off the page as Paul’s testimony to the purpose of our lives in form, they can be revealed to any who choose to strive to be among those that ARE Truly “led by the Spirit of God“; We should remember here that “many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14) or, as we see the Master’s words: many ARE invited but few choose to join in striving to keep His words. In the next essay we will break down the apostle’s words to our greater understanding of where we ARE as men in this world and where our ultimate goal lies.
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 |
- 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
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
