ON LOVE; PART MDXLI
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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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In the last essay we discussed the spiritual trio of ideas that we refer to as our Repentance, our Transformation and our Redemption. While we DID NOT quite get to the third and more mysterious stage of Redemption, we did touch upon this in recent essays where we discussed the Apostle Paul’s view of the Life of a man in this world. Paul shows us that ALL men begin their carnal lives by being born into vanity which IS, from the Soul’s perspective our: perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends 4 as Vincent defines the idea of mataiotes which IS rendered as vanity. This vanity IS an affliction to the Soul and it IS out of this state that our Repentance and our Transformation take us. To live in this vanity IS to live in the world as a carnal man and while much of the church believes that their doctrines remove us from our perishable and decaying condition, the reality IS that they DO NOT. Indeed, men’s doctrinal allegiances serve to prolong one’s immersion in vanity despite their occasional focus upon the Godhead. In our vanity we live and act as men concerned with our daily lives and we should understand here that there IS neither good nor bad in this way of Life, there IS merely the idea that we remain carnally focused. This focus IS contrary to the words of the Master who tells of of the choices that lie before us as men and we should try to see here that choosing the Way of the Lord over our vanity IS our Repentance. It IS our decision to change the focus of our lives according to our defining ideas of Repentance which Vincent shows us as: such a virtuous alteration of the mind and purpose as begets a like virtuous change in the life and practice 4. As we have discussed, the decision to alter the mind and purpose IS equivalent to following the words of Paul who tells us to “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).
This decision to alter the mind and purpose IS our decision to NO longer be “conformed to this world“, to NO longer live and act as men concerned with our daily lives. It IS our decision to reverse our state of being which IS vanity. While it IS the Soul that IS subjected to vanity according to Paul’s words saying “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” (Romans 8:20-21). This Truth IS NOT the awareness of the carnal mind which DOES NOT recognize itself as being in this bondage of vanity. The carnal mind, without the KNOWLEDGE provided by scripture and affirmed by one’s own Soul, ONLY sees itself as a man in this world. A man whose goals ARE to live and act as a man whose focus IS on his own betterment, his own progress as a man according to his own level of vanity. A level which IS enhanced by one’s individual experiences beginning with his nurturing and indoctrination into the ways of the world. It IS against this way of Life, against this progression of vanity, that the Master offers us the choices that will move us to Repentance if we choose to follow His words. Jesus tells us to:
“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?”….” Then, after some words on the nature of men’s seeking after such things, the Master concludes His instructions saying “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” (Matthew 6:19-25, 33-34).
These words, in their own parabolic tone, show us the choices that men must make and we should try to see here that following these words, deciding to DO so, IS tantamount to our True Repentance. In the Master’s words ARE that: virtuous alteration of the mind and purpose as begets a like virtuous change in the life and practice. Our decision to follow his words IS our Repentance and following them IS the work of our Transformation. In the end of the last essay we tried to describe our Repentance and Transformation using the Master’s interpretation of the Parable of the Sower. We DID this in an effort the show how that in the stages of Life portrayed as the wayside, the “stony places“, and “among the thorns” we have a man’s attempts at Repentance and Transformation. While it IS True that Repentance and Transformation may NOT be the ideas that Jesus was promoting in this parable, we have taken His words to show just that. In His words we see a picture of the trials and failures of a man’s attempts to Repent and Transform and finally his success. Repeating the parable, today from Luke’s Gospel, we read:
“The seed is the word of God. Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that 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 8:11-15).
Luke’s version IS a bit more direct than Matthew’s. Luke tells us clearly that the Master’s words ARE that “The seed is the word of God“. We should note here that NOT ALL men hear the “word of God” without a doctrinal interpretation and we discount these in our commentary here. For us the idea that we hear the “word of God” denotes our individual ability to hear the word from our own Soul, either directly or by reflection upon the words of scripture. Whensoever they Truly take on a Life changing meaning, we can be understood to hear the “word of God“. This IS one of the dynamic Life’ events that lead us to Repentance; we ARE NOT likely to be so led by doctrinal interpretations of scripture. We should understand that there ARE many Life events that can lead a man to Repent and perhaps one must first come to understand just what Repentance IS, even without using the word. Here in Luke’s Gospel we should see that it IS Life that draws men to the “word of God” and that it IS the Soul that prompts the carnal mind with the Truth. However for Repentance to work out in one’s Life one must be ready to hear and to heed such prompting. It IS a unique experience in every religion for a man to undergo such a virtuous alteration of the mind and purpose as begets a like virtuous change in the life and practice 4.
Understanding what the seed IS, we move on to what we call the first stage in our journey toward “the glorious liberty of the children of God“. We should remember that what we ARE DOING here IS but an exercise that may provide the reader with some ideas that can work to his better understanding of the spiritual journey that he must undertake if he IS to fulfill the goal of the Soul that gave Life to his flesh. NOT ALL men will fail in their first or subsequent attempts at the changes the Repentance brings into one’s Life and the picture that we ARE painting is ONLY intended to show that our failures ARE of NO moment so long as we continue to “Strive to enter in at the strait gate” (Luke 13:24). In the first stage or example of one’s attempts at Repentance we ARE called “the way side“; it IS to such persons that the “word of God” IS sown. While Matthew tells us that it IS the “wicked one” that intervenes, Luke tells us that it IS diabolos. The Greek word diabolos IS most often rendered as “the devil” which IS understood in Christianity as an entity associated with Satan, the prince of evil spirits. The word diabolos has long been misunderstood and misused in Judeo-Christian theology; the literal definition IS a calumniator or slanderer 4 according to Vincent and a traducer 9a by Strong’s. While none of these words equate to the doctrinal ideas of a devil, the devil idea IS the paramount way that diabolos IS understood. Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines caluminator as: One who slanders; one who falsely and knowingly accuses another of a crime or offense, or maliciously propagates false accusations or reports 1. Strong’s definition of traducer has a similar meaning and neither of these gives rise to the common understanding of an entity called “the devil“. Perhaps it was to avoid such understanding that Matthew uses poneros which IS rendered as wicked. Here too however it IS the doctrinal rendering that goes to the idea of an entity using the “wicked one“.
The idea of an entity IS misplaced however as there IS NO entity opposed to the Godhead in such a way as the idea IS understood; there IS ONLY the reality of vanity and its effects on the carnal minds of men. On a broader scale the idea can be understood as the world and both James and Paul offer us this reasoning. James tells us that “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4). Paul tells us, in words that we recently discussed, that “to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” (Romans 8:6-7). What we should see in these words IS that it IS “the carnal mind“, the “friend of the world“, that IS opposed to the Godhead. We should remember here that the words from both Matthew and Luke ARE showing us a parable. While these words were intended to be an instruction to His disciples so that they could better understand the reality of the Parable of the Sower, much of the Truth has been lost to the idea that both ARE referencing an outside entity. What IS it then that can “taketh away the word out of their hearts” but one’s own carnal mind which IS yet in his own “bondage of corruption” and which, through his vanity, nurturing and indoctrination, has become a “friend of the world” and an “enemy of God“. Can we see the point here? Can we see that the Master’s words likely referenced diabolos in its native understanding as calumniator and traducer and that the difficulty in this understanding led to its use by men as devil and “wicked one“. It IS always so much easier to blame someone else.
It IS the man who has Repented however that has become the his own enemy and this we briefly discussed in the last essay as we included Paul’s words describing his own struggles as he tries to quell his carnal mind. Repeating a portion of Paul’s words we read that: “that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do” (Romans 7:15-19). Three things we should understand here; first IS that the idea of sin IS NOT as it IS understood in the doctrines of men nor in secular language. The idea of hamartia which IS rendered as sin IS: to be without a share in; to miss the mark; to err, be mistaken 2. Sin IS NOT a reference to a single thing that a man does but the overall attitude that keeps him in his vanity; sin IS the result of our carnal focus. Second is the idea that evil IS also not as it IS doctrinally or secularly understood. In the New Testament there ARE three words rendered as evil and here Paul uses kakos. Kakos IS most always rendered as evil but the real meaning of this idea IS NOT a term describing something morally wrong or harmful** as Google’s AI explains nor IS it morally wrong or bad* as today’s dictionary defines evil. Strong’s tells us that kakos IS: apparently a primary word; worthless 9a while Thayer’s tells us that kakos IS: universally, of a bad nature; not such as it ought to be 9. In the combination of these ideas we should try to understand this evil as being worthless, of a bad nature and not such as it ought to be as viewed spiritually, as viewed from the perspective of the Soul viewing his form that IS yet immersed in vanity. Vanity answers to ALL these defining ideas.
Perhaps the clearest way to remove the preconceived ideas of evil as it IS understood doctrinally and secularly IS to view the idea through Jesus words as He explains the ideas of asking, seeking and knocking. The Master says “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” (Matthew 7:11). Surely Jesus IS NOT calling everyone evil as the word IS understood. He IS calling them evil in the view that they ARE yet in their vanity. Should we compare our definition of vanity to Strong’s and Thayer’s definitions we would understand that the idea, for ALL Greek words rendered as evil, IS that such men ARE in a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends 4; they ARE yet carnally focused. Using these ideas we should be able to see the reality that Paul IS offering us regarding the struggles of maintaining one’s Repentant and Transformational attitude. The third thing that we should try to understand from Paul’s struggles IS that he sees his own plight and understands the difficulty in real Transformation and he endures. Perhaps his own ordeal can be summed up in his closing words saying “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:24). Taking this ALL back to our discussion on the Parable of the Sower, we should try to see that the actions of the devil ARE the actions of our own carnal minds that ARE pursuing false ends as they ARE yet ensconced in sin and evil rightly understood. We should try to understand that in this scenario the carnal mind IS opposed to our change and as “the way side” we fail.
The next stage that the Master teaches us about IS the “stony places” (Matthew 17:20) which Luke refers to as “on the rock“. Receiving the “word of God“, the seed according to the parable, “on the rock” can be readily understood as an untenable situation but for the man who IS Repenting and seeking to Transform, this IS an attempt to succeed while unaware of the probable outcome. The Master explains this as that “they hear, receive the word with joy” but, as in the “stony places” from Matthew, “word of God” IS unable to take root because one’s carnal mind IS NOT yet ready for the change that IS Repentance. Jesus suggests that they believe for a while and here again the idea of believing from the Greek pisteuo should be understood as KNOWING. There IS a certain amount of confidence in the Life of a man who IS beginning to Repent, he DOES KNOW that there IS something more and he his seeking it in this attempt to change. However, the carnal mind, being not yet fully prepared, gives in to the carnal temptations that had heretofore colored the man’s Life. Temptation IS perhaps a better idea than what we read in Matthew’s Gospel where he reports the Master’s words as “tribulation or persecution….because of the word” (Matthew 21) but it IS likely that both ARE True representations of the Master’s intent. One’s temptations can easily draw a man back into his carnal life and such temptations can easily be seen in one’s effort to overcome “tribulation or persecution“.
James offers us a view of temptation that can help us to understand this from this perspective as well as a view of carnal temptations that can lure a man back. James tells us “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1:12-15). While James’ words here ARE relevant to our subject verses, there IS an added idea that IS pertinent to today’s church where ALL too many, including clergy, proclaim that God told them to DO this or that. James IS telling us that whensoever this claim revolves around any carnal thing, the reality IS that those that proclaim this ARE in reality being “drawn away of his own lust“. Regardless of the view that we take here, temptation, “tribulation or persecution” or some combination of these, the idea that we ARE intended to understand IS that those receiving the “word of God” as “stony places” or “on the rock” DO fail at their attempt to Repent and Transform.
While some may be dissuaded by the failures in these two stages and return completely to their carnal Life complete with their vanity, others will try yet again. This brings us to the third stage, that where the seed, the “word of God“, “fell among thorns“. In this stage the man who IS attempting to Repent and Transform IS rather undefined in both Luke’s version and Matthews; we ARE NOT told of this man’s reaction to the word. We ARE ONLY made to understand that whatever effect the word had was fleeting as the man sees ONLY what he believes he IS losing by following a spiritual Path. As we said in regard to Matthew’s version, our carnal enemy IS again ourselves as a man looks at his progress and notes that he IS NO longer able to live as he did, he IS NO longer able to live as a man in this world….his carnal mind revolts. We should remember here that the Soul IS the aspect of Life that IS prompting the carnal mind to Repent, to change and Transform, and that the carnal mind IS the stronger factor in this world. This man’s desire to change IS “choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life” and he reverts back to his carnal ways.
As an aside, we should try to see how that these three stages that for us describe the struggles of a man trying to Repent and Transform, ARE also the factors that likely led the early church to construct doctrines that allow for a man to remain as a man in this world while believing that he has succeeded and has become the final stage which IS “the good ground“. From our perspective this IS the state of the church yet today, most ALL offer doctrinal precepts that DO NOT lead to Repentance and Transformation but, because this has become doctrinal Truth, it remains the doctrinal way of ‘salvation‘. Most ALL men ARE in pursuit of the “riches and pleasures of this life” with the full support of the church. Matthew refers to this as “the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches” (Matthew 12:22) and this brings us again to James’ words where we read “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). These words and this stage are also pertinent to today’s church where the idea of doctrines versus Truth IS NOT yet understood. Most ALL still consider that Jesus’ words saying “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 me” (Mark 7:6-7) IS NOT intended for them.
The next stage in the Parable of the Sower IS the successful story of Repentance and Transformation. Here in Luke’s Gospel this IS called “the good ground” just as it IS in Matthew. The result of being “the good ground” differs however as Luke tells us that the man who IS “the good ground” will “in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience“. While Matthew shows us the idea that this man will “heareth the word, and understandeth it“, Luke goes directly to the idea that this man will keep His words. Both capture the Master’s intent as Matthew goes on to say that in the understanding IS the ability to “beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty” (Matthew 13:23). The idea here of of bearing fruit IS much the same as keeping His words as to bear fruit in this spiritual sense one must keep His words. Matthew shows us two forms of measure here while Luke shows us the patience that IS necessary in our Repentance and Transformation. Both show us a picture of the man who successfully Repents and Transforms as “the good ground“. The difference between this and the previous stages in both gospels should be understood as a man’s decision to change, his Repentance, against the various reasons why the Repentant man could NOT fully Transform, could NOT continue in keeping His words. To be sure ALL of the reasons for failure can be found in the way that the carnal mind revolts against the Soul’s prompting allowing the man to give in to his temptations to remain as a man in this world. The carnal mind DOES NOT understand his own vanity, his own perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends 4, nor DOES the carnal mind Truly care. Paul shows us the Way of the Transforming man in his First Epistle to the Corinthians; he reminds the Transforming man of the perils that afflicted the Jews in the wilderness with Moses and says:
“Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:11-13).
These ARE of course words of encouragement which ARE generally misunderstood in the doctrinal church. NOT that they DO NOT see the encouragement but rather that they DO NOT see how that the man “that thinketh he standeth” can actually escape. First we should understand that Paul IS showing us that the Old Testament stories, some of which ARE fantastical, are “for examples: and they are written for our admonition“; this IS an important point. We should try to see that he “that thinketh he standeth” IS a Transforming aspirant to discipleship as ALL in this process ARE regardless of whether they understand this or NOT. The word rendered as standeth IS from the Greek word histemi which IS defined as the act of standing but which has other metaphoric ideas attached. The lexicon offers a long list of defining ideas for histemi which relate to the act of standing but this IS NOT the apostle’s intent here. At the end of this list however the lexicon tells us that the idea of histemi IS: to stand; continue safe and sound, stand unharmed, to stand ready or prepared; to be of a steadfast mind; of quality, one who does not hesitate, does not waiver 2. From this Thayer’s attributes the idea of to be of a steadfast mind to this particular verse but for us most all of this list applies. The understanding here should be that the Transforming man should NOT “think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith” (Romans 12:3) which words ARE a part of Paul’s instructions regarding Transformation. What we should try to see in Paul’s message here IS that as a man becomes the fourth stage of “the good ground” and IS progressing in his Transformation, that he should understand that his continuing temptations from the carnal mind ARE “such as is common to man” and that it IS the Soul that “will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able“. The Soul will “make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it“. Of course this IS NOT a guarantee, men can fail at every stage, but it IS sound advice for our journey; it IS through our focus upon the things of God that we ARE able to withstand the temptations and progress along the Path to “the glorious liberty of the children of God“.
Again, what we have done with the Parable of the Sower, with the Master’s interpretation of it for His disciples, may not be what Jesus intended for us to take away from His words. They DO however work out for us as a guide if you will for our successes and failures at our individual Repentance and Transformation. We ARE often in the situation of the “stony places” or “on the rock” where we can persist for a while but “in time of temptation fall away“. The carnal temptations ARE many but we should try to see that most ALL ARE related to our former carnal lives which we ARE striving to overcome. We ARE also ofttimes “among thorns“, a condition where we perhaps see the carnal successes of others and long to return to that way of living. Here our newfound Truths can be rather easily choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life; Matthew shows us this as our longing based in the “deceitfulness of riches“, a deceitfulness that we DO NOT recognize at the time. ALL of this can befall us after we have been able to get past the first stage where the beginning struggle between the Soul and the carnal mind occurs. We have an inkling of change based in the prompting of our Souls which IS finally heard over the din of daily living; but the carnal mind, yet strong in this world, revolts and we revert until the next prompting to change.
We should understand here that we can endlessly fail in accomplishing a lasting Repentance and a redeemable Transformation out of our carnal malaise. It IS in our striving that we can endure and this striving requires that we ARE striving to keep His words as the Truths of Life flow as His words from our Souls. Aside from this flow of Truths we also have scripture. Perhaps as an aid in our Transformation we have reading, in the absence of doctrines and those things that we had believed, this too can Truly help us to Transform, to renew our minds if you will. This Paul shows us in saying “be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind“. Can we see the point here? We should note that one need NOT be a Christian to Repent and Transform and the unadulterated scriptures of any religion will suffice in aiding in our Transformation so long as we can understand the written message. For our purposes we have the New Testament from which we have taken our trifecta of sayings from the Master that show us the need to keep His words and the rewards thereof. 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).
In these words we have a sampling of the New Testament Truths that ARE ignored by most ALL who claim the rewards as theirs. Millions believe that through their doctrinal ‘salvation‘ that they will ‘go’ to that mystical heaven about which so much misinformation IS become the understanding of most ALL of the church. Others believe that they ARE disciples of the Lord based upon their doctrinal affiliation and a very diluted understanding of the idea. And far too many believe that they have the Presence of the Lord in their lives in various degrees depending upon one’s chosen denomination or sect. ALL of these beliefs ARE false however unless one DOES what IS required to obtain the stated rewards of discipleship, the freedom that the Truth brings, the Kingdom of God and a True realization that one has the Presence of God. The criteria here IS simply that we keep His words but this too has become a controversial idea in much of the church that believes that a man need DO nothing but believe.
It IS here that doctrines and Truth clash; it IS here that so many people fail and remain in their carnal lives while believing that they are ‘saved‘. The Master’s words that ARE our trifecta are exceedingly clear as ARE so many New Testament ideas that ARE ignored in the doctrines of men. And it IS here that the Master’s words, words that the church denies ARE for our ‘Christian’ era, ARE NOT ONLY ignored but ARE relegated to the idea that such words ARE ONLY for the Jews. In a church that thrives on the idea of the inerrancy of the Bible, the commandments of the Master, the clearly worded precepts of Jesus, should be what IS followed; unfortunately this IS NOT True. What we should try to see here IS the three stages of a man in the Parable of the Sower that we discuss above in relation to our Repentance and Transformation ARE also applicable to the church at large. Most ALL fail, some because they believed from the beginning that teaching the Truth of the Master’s words would NOT attract people; some because they perceived that the difficulty in teaching men the Truth, based in their own inability to follow the Truth, would NOT attract people to Christ. And finally because for some teaching the Truth was in direct competition with the ideas that ARE nurtured and indoctrinated into the minds of men who fall victim to such carnal ideas as makes men comfortable. It IS unlikely that such ideas as actually keeping the Master’s words were NOT thought about by the early church and then abandoned for the reasons above and others.
The Master gave them warning and through the New Testament His words continue to warn us saying, again very clearly, that “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:8-9).
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
- 8 Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com
- 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
- ** Google AI on evil
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
