ON LOVE; PART MDXLIV
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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 continued our discussion on Repentance and Transformation and the relationship between these spiritual realities and the idea of keeping His words. We introduced this idea through the Great Commandments which the Master Himself calls the greatest and the first. In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus answers the question “which is the great commandment in the law?” with the two commandments that we call the Great Commandments; after which He says “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:36, 40). Here we should try to see that in citing both “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” and “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:36, 40, 37, 39) that the Master IS showing us their equivalence. Jesus links these in saying “the second is like unto it” while saying that “This is the first and great commandment” in regard to the first. Vincent tells us that the King James and the Revised versions of the Bible: alike miss the point of this question, which is : which kind of command is great in the law?4. While the Master’s response may show which kind of commandment IS great, we disagree that the King James and Revised versions ARE wrong. In measuring these ideas against the entire volume of the New Testament we can ONLY come to the conclusion that it IS agape that IS the paramount idea, the greatest precept in ALL of the New Testament. Our point here however is that the Master offers us these two commandments as equivalent; He ties them together in a way that should enable us to see that accomplishing either one IS accomplishing both.
The greatness of these commandments IS also shown to us in the interaction between the “certain lawyer” and the Master. Here Jesus asks the man, in answer to his question “what shall I do to inherit eternal life?“, saying “What is written in the law? how readest thou?“. The “certain lawyer” answers saying “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself” (Luke 10:25, 26, 27). Luke DOES NOT include the question of what IS the greatest and the first as DO Matthew and Mark which he seems to replace with this interaction; ALL however serve the same purpose in showing us the Great Commandments. In Mark’s Gospel the question posed IS “Which is the first commandment of all?” and here we should try to see that this idea of first NOT ONLY refers to a numerical order but also denotes: foremost (in time, place, order or importance) 9a and can be understood here in terms of greatest and the Master’s answer IS in the preamble to our essays. In Mark’s Gospel the scribe that first posed the question replies to the Master saying “Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices“. Here we should see, as we should from Luke’s Gospel, that the Jews, the “certain lawyer” and the scribe, ARE aware of the importance of these commandments. Of particular note in Mark’s version IS the Master’s words after He cites the Great Commandments; Jesus tells us that “There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:28, 32-33, 31).
Despite any other doctrinal ideas claiming that the idea IS NOT that these ARE the Great Commandments, our words above and the final statement by the Master that “There is none other commandment greater than these” should suffice to show their True status. We should understand here that while “There is none other commandment greater than these“, the other commandments still hold value in the lives of men especially when they ARE properly understood. It IS NOT our objective however to discuss the commandments in this essay as our focus IS on the idea of agape and its function in our Repentance and Transformation. As we discussed in the last essay, it IS possible that the Great Commandments, their greatness if you will, inspired Paul to write on the equivalence between keeping the commandments and one’s expression of agape to ALL. Paul very clearly shows us this equivalence which IS missed by most as they wrangle the apostles words to fit into their doctrinal ideas. This they DO while maintaining the idea that agape IS akin to the common ideas of Love. A picture of the doctrinal view can be seen in these words from John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible where we read:
“to do the same kind acts of love to others, one would choose to have done to ourselves: and this is the fulfilling of the law; that is, so far as a man loves aright, so far he fulfils the law; not that he does it perfectly, for man in his fallen state is unable to do that, for the law is exceeding broad, and reaches to thoughts, desires, and inclinations, as well as to words and deeds; and besides, love said to be the fulfilling of it, is imperfect; hence then there can be no justification by works of charity, nor by any services of men, which at best are imperfect; nor are they done in their own strength, and without the grace of God; nor is there any that can be said to have fulfilled the law perfectly but Christ, and to him must we look for a justifying righteousness. These words contain a reason engaging to love one another, and to do all kind of offices of love to each other; since it is a main and principal thing contained in the law, and to which that may be reduced” 8.
Two things should be seen in these words; first IS the dilution of Paul’s words into an idea that they ARE a reason engaging to love one another, and to do all kind of offices of love to each other. In other words, Paul’s words from Galatians are merely to show us that we should “love agapao thy neighbour as thyself“. These words DO NOT need Paul’s help as they ARE cited as a commandment by the Master. Second IS the way that the idea of agape IS converted to ideas of Love as the word IS commonly understood; the idea that Paul intends to show us that we should extend the same kind acts of love to others, one would choose to have done to ourselves IS again NOT necessary as the Master shows us both of these precepts clearly in the gospels. What we should see here IS that the very idea that our expression of agape IS equivalent to keeping His words IS minimized in the doctrines of men as IS the entire concept that “Thou shalt love agapao thy neighbour as thyself“. While there may be some degree of kindness in the idea of agape properly understood, this IS NOT the intent of the word which, as we have discussed, IS defined in terms of carnal Love by most ALL bible scholars in our library. From the lexicon, to Strong’s, to Thayer’s, to Vincent and to Vines, ALL see agape in terms of Love as the idea IS commonly understood. Only Vine’s expands upon the idea based upon the use of agape and agapao in the New Testament. In their rather lengthy discourse on agape they DO tell us that the idea of its use IS: to convey His will to His children concerning their attitude one toward another, and toward all men 9b.
This attitude should NOT be understood as the common idea of Love, it should be understood as an attitude that sees ALL men equal, that sees ALL men as the same as we ourselves ARE. As a spiritual reality this attitude sees ALL men, including ourselves, as Souls living through forms in this world, forms that ARE born into vanity and then nurtured and indoctrinated into the ways of the world. In the absence of a spiritual anchor, which IS the essential state of vanity, men ARE separate from God, and pursuing false ends. Men’s separation from God IS easy to see and understand as they pursue their fortunes in this world and we DO NOT use this idea of fortunes solely in a monetary sense. Nearly ALL of one’s plans and schemes revolve around ways to make one’s Life better, more enjoyable if you will. We seek better paying jobs, better living conditions, better educations and careers and, for some, a better allegiance to one’s doctrinal beliefs. ALL of this however IS pursuing false ends as the True ends ARE spiritually defined. Paul shows us our goal as “the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21) while Peter shows us this same goal as becoming “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). These ARE True spiritual goals which require that we focus our lives upon the things of God and NOT the things of the self in this world.
The Way to achieve these goals, which we should see as being the same, IS found in our Repentance and our Transformation. The first part, our Repentance IS the easier of these two aspects of our spiritual journey; it simply requires that we decide to change from our carnal ways and to seek “the glorious liberty of the children of God“. We can be motivated to this decision in many ways; from our dissatisfaction with our carnal lives which DO NOT result in spiritual fulfillment but rather a never ending search for more fortune in our lives. We can be motivated by our hearing the prompting of the Soul over the din of our daily lives and we should note here that hearing this prompting IS likely a part of any dissatisfaction that we may discover in our lives. We can also be motivated by our reading of the Master’s words in the absence of our doctrinal beliefs and here, if we can so read, we can open up our minds to the Truth that the Soul provides through its prompting. We should understand that there ARE many ways to bring ourselves to this decision to change, this reality of Repentance, and among these IS one’s reading of the ideas in these blog posts. We should remember also what our Repentance IS defined as by Vincent who tells us that Repentance IS: such a virtuous alteration of the mind and purpose as begets a like virtuous change in the life and practice 4. We can further divide Vincent’s words and see that the virtuous alteration of the mind and purpose IS our decision to change while the rest of his words show us the reality of our Transformation as a like virtuous change in the life and practice.
This Transformation seems the more difficult part to accomplish as men in this world. Once we have Truly Repented however the Path seems clearer as it IS based in our ardent desire to change. We should try to see that the Soul and the carnal mind must cooperate in our Repentance so that our Repentance becomes a part of our Transformation. This view can help us to understand that our motivation, regardless of what we think it might be, originated in the Soul. It IS the Soul that wants to eradicate the vanity in one’s Life and it IS the Soul that IS constantly prompting the carnal mind to Repent. We should try to understand that this word, Repent, IS NOT what the Soul IS prompting us to, it IS but a word which in the Soul’s language simply means to change the focus of one’s Life. What we should try to see here IS that the Soul, acting through the conscience, IS urging the man, the carnally focused man, to change. This we call Repentance because it IS the word used to render the Greek words metanoeo and metanoia. We should remember here that in recent essays we likened the act of Repentance to the stages of the Master’s interpretation of the Parable of the Sower. We DID so to try to help us to understand that our decision to change, our Repentance, DOES NOT always take full effect when we first accept the prompting of our Soul’s to change. The effectiveness of our Repentance can be measured by the amount of Transformation our carnal minds allow. This IS NOT meant to be confusing. The carnal mind IS strong in this world and as Paul tells us the carnal mind IS in opposition to the desires of the Soul to move away from the vanity of one’s Life through Repentance. Paul tells us 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).
Paul’s words here show us the reason for Repentance and Transformation in terms of death and Life. Remaining in our vanity IS continuing to be “carnally minded” while our change of focus to becoming “spiritually minded” brings us “life and peace“. In these words Paul captures the ideas of treasure and mammon from the Master’s words where Jesus shows us our choices and our decision. 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” (Matthew 6:19-20). Here we should see that we must choose, we must decide whether to remain in our vanity or change the focus of our lives, a change that affects the entirety of our lives. It is our decision to change or NOT to change that defines the reality of our lives which idea the Master shows us saying “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also“. Where IS our focus, on our striving for “treasures upon earth” or on “treasures in heaven“? Can we see the point here? The main idea however IS to show the opposition of the carnal mind to the desires of the Soul which we must understand as God in Paul’s words above. As men the Soul IS our direct connection to the Godhead, the Soul IS part and parcel of the Godhead, it IS the True spiritual man and, as Paul shows us, the Christ Within. Simply put, we ARE the Soul that has given Life to our bodies in this world and which has lost control of that Life as we ARE cast into vanity. There IS of course NO easy way to properly describe the situation that the Soul IS in and perhaps Paul has the clearest idea in saying that “the carnal mind is enmity against God“. We often say that it IS the Soul that IS made “made subject to vanity” but it requires some measure of revelation for us to Truly understand this.
The conflict between the Soul, the True man, and his own carnal mind IS a mystery that IS NOT easily breached. It IS this that IS alluded to by Paul’s saying that we ARE the subject of “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 can grasp the idea that the Soul IS born into Life in this world in the form of an infant and that the awareness of the Soul in regard to his environment begins at naught, we can perhaps get a glimpse of the Truth. The Soul’s awareness grows with the child through his nurturing and indoctrination and this without losing his own understanding of what he IS and his inability to effect the Life that IS controlled by the carnal mind until that carnal mind IS ready for change. Up to this point “the carnal mind is enmity against God” and the Soul’s inability, based in vanity, to change the mind IS based in the idea that the carnal mind “is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be“. It IS this that the Soul seeks to change in Repentance as the Will of the Soul overcomes the enmity and sets a new course for the combined Life….for a moment the carnal mind IS NO longer carnal. The rest of the journey now relies on one’s ability to Transform. We must remember that the carnal mind IS strong in this world and it IS NO easy task to overcome that strength.
This brings us back to our use of the Parable of the Sower to show this process of overcoming based in the stages that the Master shows us. At each stage we ARE faced with a decision to move on in our Transformation or to succumb to the strength of the carnal mind. In the first stage we ARE likened to the wayside. Matthew tells us that those likened to the wayside “heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart” (Matthew 13:19). As we relate these ideas to one’s Repentance and Transformation we should try to see that the idea here IS that the man was NOT ready. Although he may have been prompted to change, to Repent if you will, he had no foundation in the Truth nor the Master’s words. This man may be bogged down by his doctrinal ideas that conflict with the new message from his Soul or just plainly has had NO real interest in spiritual matters. The “wicked one“, as we have discussed IS his own carnal mind which IS “is enmity against God” and therefore the promptings of the Soul. Whether or NOT this man tries again to change IS dependent upon his hearing of the prompting of his own Soul which are seen as messages from one’s conscience in this world. Both Luke and Mark offer a similar idea using different Greek words which ARE rendered as Satan and as the devil. ALL give the idea that there IS a personality who IS opposing one’s change but this IS a doctrinal idea that IS NOT founded in the Greek words. Matthew’s wicked IS from the Greek word poneros which IS generally rendered as evil and wicked using the common understanding of these words. The defining ideas offered however DO NOT support this doctrinal rendering; poneros IS defined as: full of labours, annoyances, hardships and bad, of a bad nature or condition 2,9. As we cited a few posts back, the common ideas applied to these words and the personalization that IS offered by doctrines ARE NOT the intent of the Greek words. In short, Satan IS rendered from satanas which IS defined by the lexicon as: adversary (one who opposes another in purpose or act)2 before going on to the personalization of the idea; Strong’s tells us that the idea IS the accuser 9a and we should note that none of these actually relate to a personality called Satan but rather a principal that has been interpreted into a person by the church. Satan IS NO more a person than IS God. The rendering of diabolos as devil IS much the same; the meaning IS: prone to slander, slanderous, accusing falsely 2; again there IS NO real relationship to the idea of the devil.
ALL of these words that ARE rendered as wicked, as the devil and as Satan can just as easily refer to our own carnal mind which “is enmity against God” but this IS a reality that IS condemned by the churches that for eons have taught the doctrinal ideas of the devil and Satan and of heaven and hell. Should we make it past this stage where there IS little or no foundation from which to continue to build or make it to that point where we ARE NO longer bogged down by our doctrines, we ARE then prepared for the next stage which IS likened to sowing seed “on stony ground“. Mark shows us this saying “these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended” (Mark 4:16-17). Here, in what should try to see as our second attempt at Repentance and Transformation, we have a better understanding, we receive “the word” from scripture through our own Souls and we convince the carnal mind to endure for a time. What we should see here in our view of this as part of our Repentance and Transformation, or in regard to the parable itself, IS that this “affliction or persecution” IS NOT as the ideas ARE rendered. The Greek word thlipsis which IS rendered as affliction means: pressure (literally or figuratively)9a by Strong’s and as a pressing, pressing together, pressure9 by Thayer’s and here we should try to see that this IS a reaction by the carnal mind to revert back to its old ways. Diogmos which IS rendered as persecution, as its ONLY rendering and its definition, IS more perplexing. If we look at this as perhaps a sense of wrong conveyed by the carnal mind to the Soul, we can likely understand the intent. We look around and see everyone we KNOW enjoying their carnal lives as we had previously and we rebel against the call of the Soul to change.
The carnal mind which IS at “enmity against God” IS fighting for its survival and we should try to see that it IS this sense of survival of the carnal mind that IS at the heart of much of Christian doctrine that says that men can just be men. Finally we have the idea that as we feel the pressure to revert from the carnal mind and long for our old Life through feelings of ‘persecution‘ and we ARE “are offended“. This IS yet another idea that makes NO sense in our attempt to Repent and Transform. It IS the Greek word skandalizo that IS rendered as offended but the defining ideas here have little to DO with offence. Strong’s tells us that the word means: to entrap, i.e. trip up (figuratively, stumble (transitively) or entice to sin and if we can see here that it IS the carnal mind trying to undo our decision and our Transformation, we can then better understand the Master’s point. We should note here that our explanatory ideas regarding Repentance and Transformation also apply rather cleanly to the Master’s words as the parable. The carnal mind IS rebelling against the decision that was made to follow the Lord. This IS highlighted for us in Paul’s words of struggle and while it IS difficult to understand how that these two separate components conflict, the enmity can explain much. We should also look to Paul’s words where speaking of Jesus says “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace” (Ephesians 2:15).
Most ALL that have Repented and ARE Transforming, regardless of the speed at which they DO so, have encountered these first two stages and our success in overcoming being the wayside and the “stony ground” prepares us for the next stage where we ARE likened to seed sown “among thorns“. Mark reports the Master’s words as “these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful” (Mark 4:18-19). This clearly worded idea IS similar to the previous idea of the “stony ground” but IS more specific regarding what it IS that can cause a man to stumble. As the “stony ground” the carnal mind revolts in a more general way, it dislikes the changes that ARE being wrought by the Soul and longs for one’s old way of Life. Here “among thorns” we have more specificity; here the carnal mind wants to keep what it IS that he has and fears that in the continuation of one’s Transformation he will shed those things that he has accumulated, he will need to forgo his desires and lusts. While the three gospels each say much the same thing regarding this stage, Luke offers us a slightly different view saying our efforts to Transform “are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life” (Luke 8:14). What we should see here IS that the fear of NO longer being able to partake in the “pleasures of this life” creates a barrier that many will not cross. As we have said, this can be a third attempt where, after learning to better cope through our previous efforts, brings us to a point where we have to measure our desire to follow the Lord against our carnal desires. Failure here IS of course the greater failure as we see both sides clearly and perhaps can easily revert again to our carnal lives as men in this world. Surely we gain some benefit through our attempt and then go on in pursuit of the “pleasures of this life“.
Should we succeed however we ARE counted as the “good ground“, we ARE counted among “they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15). While our words here ARE much the same as in previous posts, we DO believe that understanding our journey through the Master’s words that ARE the Parable of the Sower gives us the Power to forbear the constant prodding of the carnal mind in opposition to our Repentance and Transformation. The Soul prompts us to change while the carnal mind prods us to remain in our vanity and in this we should be able to get a better glimpse of Paul’s struggles (Romans 7:14-25) that we discussed in recent essays. Perhaps the main point IS that there IS difficulty in treading the Path to “the glorious liberty of the children of God“. This difficulty however IS NOT that of which the Apostle John speaks saying that “this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous” (1 John 5:3). John IS telling us that the Master’s commandments ARE NOT grievous while the struggle that we ARE discussing IS an internal affair between the Soul and the carnal mind. The struggle that we ARE discussing IS the result of years upon years of nurturing and indoctrination into the ways of this world; from the perspective of the carnal mind this and one’s experiences have furnished us with ALL that we KNOW. This IS the foundation of our difficulty. We have been indoctrinated into a world of prejudices and hatreds that ARE often held without reason and we should note here that the very definition of prejudice tells us that it IS: an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand without knowledge, thought, or reason. It is an irrational attitude, often hostile, directed toward a person or group based solely on their perceived social group membership rather than their individual characteristics**. Prejudice IS a learned behavior and most ALL men ARE afflicted with some measure of it. It IS prejudice that IS countered by agape and, from the perspective of the carnal mind, such prejudices ARE difficult to let go of. This brings us back again to the reality of agape and the reality that to Truly express agape as the Master and ALL world scriptures clearly profess one must have a clear understanding of what agape IS and, just as importantly, understand the concept than we must express agape with NO “respect to persons” (James 2:9).
While we did discuss this concept in the last post and have touched upon many times over the course of our essays, its importance demands that we continually DO so. It IS True that this concept IS shown us only once in words in the New Testament, it IS alluded to in many places including the Master’s words saying “I say unto you, “love agapao your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye “love agapao them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:44-48). While the clarity here IS overwhelming, the whole idea IS pretty much ignored in the churches; it IS ignored to such a degree that only a strict literal reading IS entertained. There IS however so much more hidden in the Master’s parabolic tone. In saying that we should ““love agapao your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” Jesus IS telling us that there should be NO “respect to persons” in our expression of agape. He IS telling us that ALL these must be viewed the same. Surely we can recognize that some ARE enemies, that some may “curse you“, “hate you” and “persecute you“. From the perspective of agape however, from the perspective of understanding that they too ARE Souls struggling in Life as we ARE, we must see them as we see ourselves. This IS the reality of the Great Commandment and the reality of the Golden Rule that tells us “all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12).
These ideas of agape ARE but the beginning however. The Master goes on to tell us that the Father’s expression of agape IS the same as He “maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust“. In these words we should clearly see that the Father, the Godhead if you will, has NO “respect to persons” as we have read in the words of the apostles Paul and Peter. In our view these words from the Master ARE seldomly seen in the same context as Paul’s saying “there is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:11) nor with Peter’s words saying “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34). Can we see the Master’s point here? And can we see that the effect of our expression of agape can make us “the children of your Father which is in heaven“, an idea that IS discounted by much of the church. John Gill shows us the doctrinal approach to this idea saying: Not that any became the children of God, by doing things in imitation of him: for as in nature no man becomes the son of another by imitating him 8 as he continues with his doctrinal presentation on this verse. Jesus continues, showing us the effect of expressing agape ONLY to those that we choose before telling us with clarity that as the Lord has NO “respect to persons” neither should we. The Master shows us this with much force saying that to express agape with NO respect to persons” as DOES the Lord we can be “perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect“. This IS yet another idea that is diluted and changed by the church for purely doctrinal reasons.
We should understand that this idea of being perfect IS an end result, it IS the end result of our ability to express agape with NO “respect to persons“. Here we should be able to see how that it IS our expression of agape to ALL with NO “respect to persons” which IS perhaps the final step in our Transformation that began with our decision to Repent, our decision to change the focus of our lives. We should remember that this IS NO easy task; NOT from the perspective of the difficulty in expressing agape but from the perspective of our individual struggle with our carnal minds which want NO part in this change. We should remember here Paul’s words that tell us clearly that “the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” and we must remember that it IS our Souls that ARE the immediate sense of God in our individual lives. There IS a cartoon saying from last century that shows us the idea of our enemy in a carnal sense that can be transported to our spiritual journey. Walt Kelly wrote as a part of an Earth Day presentation that “We have met the enemy and he is us“. Ponder on this. We close today with our trifecta of the Master’s words on keeping His words and as we read this we should keep in mind that this expression of agape IS the pinnacle of DOING so:
- “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32).
- “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
- “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me” (John 14:21-24).
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post
| Aspect | Potency | Aspect of Man | In Relation to the Great Invocation | In relation to the Christ |
| GOD, The Father | Will or Power | Spirit or Life | Center where the Will of God IS KNOWN | Life |
| Son, The Christ | Love and Wisdom | Soul or Christ Within | Heart of God | Truth |
| Holy Spirit | Light or Activity | Life Within | Mind of God | Way |
- 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
- 9b Vine’s Expository Dictionary on blueletterbible.org
- * Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
- ** Google AI on prejudice
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
