ON LOVE; PART MDXLVI
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FIRST IS THE GREAT COMMANDMENTS: “The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31).
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WHAT THEN IS LOVE? In a general sense love is benevolence, good will; that disposition of heart which inclines men to think favorably of their fellow men, and to do them good. In a theological sense, it includes supreme love to God, and universal good will to men. While this IS from an older definition of Charity, which IS rendered in the King James Bible from the same Greek word agape which IS generally rendered as Love, we should amend our own definition here to include the idea that in the reality of Love a man will accord to ALL men ALL things that he would accord to himself and to say that Love IS our thoughts and attitude of the equality of ALL men regardless of their outward nature or appearance…that ALL ARE equally children of Our One God.
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PLUS THE EVER IMPORTANT AND HIGH IDEAL TAUGHT TO US BY THE CHRIST: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12).
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We ended the last essay with some discussion on the idea of discipleship and its relationship to the Parable of the Sower before adding in the Master’s words that ARE understood as the Great Commission. Viewing the idea of discipleship in accord with the Parable of the Sower IS much the same as viewing our original comparison of the parable as a usable tool to understand our Repentance and Transformation. Our point in DOING so IS simply to show that these ideas, Transformation and discipleship, ARE much the same; both come upon us by measure and our success at both IS based upon our ability to strive toward the goal. While the idea of discipleship IS NOT well defined in regard to being that high point in human achievement, it IS shown to us as such by the Master who tells us that it IS the disciple that IS privy to the mysteries, and by Paul who equates the idea of KNOWING the mysteries with the saint. Jesus tells His disciples that “Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables” (Mark 4:11). We should understand here that “them that are without” ARE ALL that ARE NOT disciples and that the True disciple IS one that complies with the criteria that the Master established. This criteria alone should have destroyed the church’s way of calling congregants disciples as a general rule. The Master’s criteria for discipleship IS clearly stated in those sayings that we use to establish who IS a disciple of the Lord and we should note that there ARE many more gospel references that could be used. Our list of sayings tell us:
- “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32).
- “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26).
- “whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot* be my disciple” (Luke 14:27).
- “whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple“(Luke 14:33).
ALL of these criteria for discipleship ARE given to us in a clear and concise manner which IS NOT subject to excessive interpretation. Despite this we have doctrinal scholars like John Gill saying of Luke 14:26 that: these are not to be preferred to Christ, or loved more than he, as it is explained in ( Matthew 10:37 ) yea, these are to be neglected and forsaken, and turned from with indignation and resentment, when they stand in the way of the honour and interest of Christ, and dissuade from his service 8. Save for the acknowledgement that the idea of hate IS best understood as loved more than he, these types of rationalizations have become the fabric of doctrine. Similarly, in regard to the Master’s call for the True disciple to “forsaketh….all that he hath“, Mr. Gill tells us that the intent of Jesus words IS that men should forsake ‘when called to it, relations, friends, possessions, estates, and what not, which is an explanation of ( Luke 14:26 )‘ 8. While this DOES NOT deny that the disciple must “forsaketh….all that he hath” the idea of ‘when called to it‘ leaves one in a position of waiting on a ‘call‘ that IS a part of the whole process of Repentance and Transformation. A simple look around the world will easily show that many consider themselves as disciples while forsaking naught including their carnal sense of Life. Our point here IS that there IS NO way to Truly separate the idea of becoming His disciple and our Transformation; that it IS our Transformation that makes us His disciple.
We should remember here that our defining idea on Repentance includes the reality of our Transformation. Repentance, as defined by Vincent, tells us that it IS: Such a virtuous alteration of the mind and purpose as begets a like virtuous change in the life and practice 4. This virtuous alteration of the mind and purpose IS our decision to Repent, to change the focus of our lives off of the carnal and onto the things of God. It IS this decision then that begets a like virtuous change in the life and practice which IS our Transformation. While the idea of Repentance can be seen as being accomplished in a moment in time, much time likely goes into actually acceding to the urge to change. Then, once acceded to, this decision begins our Transformation which takes over one’s Life by measure as the carnal mind accepts the Will of the Soul as one’s virtuous change in the life and practice. In this we ARE aspirants to discipleship. We should remember that as we accede to the need to change the focus of our lives our Transformation begins and in this we must also accede to the Will of the Soul. We should remember as well that it IS here that the ideas presented in the Parable of the Sower kick in; it IS here, in our first acceptance of the prompting of the Soul, that the carnal mind can, and likely will, object and rebel. In the idea of being as the way side from the Parable we should see the this point; Luke tells us the Master’s words here as “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” (Luke 8:12). As we have previously discussed the idea of the devil here and “the wicked one” or Satan as the others frame this ARE NOT the way we should understand the idea. These ARE doctrinal concepts that cloud the idea that it IS our own carnal minds, our own personalities, that ARE rebelling and bringing us back to the same state in which we were before we acceded to the need to change.
It IS this same idea of rebellion that afflicts the Soul in the other stages from the parable. As “stony ground” and as “among thorns” there IS a similar sense of rebellion albeit at an ever higher level. While similar, these states of rebellion encompass more than the way side as there ARE then specific things which disrupt our Transformation. As “stony ground” we ARE told that they “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 4:17). We have discussed these ideas of persecution and offence to the understanding that the idea IS a self-persecution that IS the result of the carnal mind seeing that it can NO longer be a part of the world and partake in the carnal activities that one had ‘enjoyed’. In the idea of offence we should see the idea that we stumble, a defining idea for the Greek word scandalizo, because of the rebellion of the carnal mind. These ideas ARE discussed in greater detail in the last few essays. Being “among thorns“, while it IS similar IS yet more specific and involves the way that the carnal mind, the personality if you will, rebels because the changes of Transformation and discipleship prevent one from continuing in what the carnal mind sees as Life’s pleasures. We ARE told here that “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 4:19). While we see much Truth in using the Parable of the Sower to explain the difficulties men encounter in Transformation and disciplship, the church DOES NOT and this IS unfortunate. While these relationships can help us to understand the Path to discipleship, our Transformation if you will, most ALL see these simply as they ARE stated in the Master’s explanation of the ideas to His disciples, as hearing the word and failing to properly react. Few understand that even in His explanation of the Parable to His disciples there remains the fact that this IS a parable which IS ONLY properly understood by disciples. This according to Jesus’ words saying “Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand” (Luke 8:10). The point here IS that for 2000 years men have read Jesus’ explanation and believe that they understand it without recognizing that it IS still a parable that IS beyond the ken of the ordinary man, the man who IS NOT Truly on the Path to discipleship according to the Master’s criteria.
Having established the link between our Transformation and discipleship as parallel Paths that lead to the same end, we should try to understand that they ARE more than merely parallel. Most ALL sincere seekers should be able to see that our Transformation IS a requirement and IS the essence of our journey toward entering into “into the glorious liberty of the children of God“. This journey takes us our of our carnality, our vanity if you will, and allows us to overcome our “bondage of corruption” 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). It IS our vanity, our “bondage of corruption“, that holds us prisoner to the ways of the world and it IS against this that Paul later writes that we must “be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove discern what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2). We should try to see here that our Transformation IS “the renewing of your mind”. While we ARE NOT Greek scholars, we can say here that the idea that the Transformation IS based upon “the renewing of your mind” IS misplaced; in other instances where the idea of “by the” IS used, another word, dia, IS added which IS rendered as by. In others ὁ ho IS rendered as which, who, the things, the son with other renderings, including “by the“, shown as miscellaneous. From our perspective the mind IS renewed, it IS changed from carnal to spiritual, as a function of our Transformation. We should understand that the mind must change, it must be renewed, because, as Paul states earlier, “the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” (Romans 8:7).
What then of the parallel idea of discipleship? We should try to see that we ARE disciples as we ARE Transformed and while the depth of this word disciple IS minimized by most ALL of the church, it IS yet a factor in our journey that CAN NOT be ignored. As we discussed in the last essay, the criteria for discipleship IS clearly stated by the Master and in this criteria we should be able to see that we must Transform ourselves to meet this criteria. As men in this world we readily hold those close to us above others and in so many ways above the Lord. In our Transformation, as we learn to “prove discern what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God“, we come to see the reality of the Master’s words and adopt His principles into our lives. This IS True even if we DO NOT read His criteria as what the Master lists as the criteria for discipleship ARE spiritual Truths that we come to discern through communion with our own Souls. In the end we should try to see that the disciple IS the Transformed man who DOES keep His words, who DOES Love ALL less that he Loves the Lord both carnally and spiritually and who DOES forsake ALL. ALL of this IS in accordance with Jesus’ words which we repeat here saying:
- “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).
- “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot* be my disciple” (Luke 14:26).
- “whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27).
- “whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple“(Luke 14:33).
ALL of this IS the Way of the Transformed man and we should understand that while one IS Transforming his Life he IS as the same time an aspirant to discipleship, he IS a person who has a strong desire or ambition to achieve a particular goal, position, or status** as aspirant IS defined. The difference between this and the normal ideas of ambition IS that in being an aspirant to discipleship one IS hearing and heeding the prompting of one’s own Soul to Transform while normal ambition IS centered around improvements in one’s carnal Life. Being an aspirant to discipleship enables a man to tread the Path to becoming a True saint in this world. We should note here that the word saint IS merely a word, a misunderstood word to be sure, that was chosen to render the Greek word hagios which is the very nature of the disciple….a most holy thing according to the lexicon. As a saint, a man has full realization of the Truth that IS promised by the Master as the result of keeping His words and it IS in this realization that the fullness of the mysteries IS revealed as Paul shows us saying “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). In this revelation of “Christ in you” IS the fullness of discipleship but this IS more than a mere acknowledgement of this Truth. In full realization of the Christ Within one has accepted the Truth and, by one’s own experience, comes to KNOW the reality that “as he is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17).
It IS this realization that we read about in the Book of Acts where the disciples ARE able to, without thinking, DO as the Master in teaching, in healing and in ALL sorts of what ARE biblically called miracles. While Luke’s telling of some of this shows us miraculous events with some attributed to angels and even the Lord, the reality IS that the apostles themselves had the Power to alter worldly things and this according to the Master’s words saying “If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done” (Matthew 21:21). Now we can try to see that Luke purposely covered up the reality of the acts of the apostles by attributing what they had done to angels and the Lord but he DOES NOT cover ALL that they DID, in some of the events that he cites are the apostle’s spiritual Power IS on full display. We read of Peter that raised Dorcas (Tabitha) (Acts 9) from the dead by His own Power but we also read that he was freed from prison by angels who came to his aid (Acts:12). We also read of Peter that “believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women. Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them. There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one” (Acts 5:14-16). Can we see the point here? Surely if Peter can raise the dead and heal by his mere presence, he can loose his own chains and free himself. Peter, despite his well documented trials and tribulations, DOES finally come to the full realization that he can “say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done“.
Similarly we read of Paul that he had premonition of the failure of the ship which he relayed to the centurion saying “Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives” (Acts 27:10) while in the same chapter he required “the angel of God” saying “Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee” (Acts 27:23, 24).to see the end. We read about his own spiritual Power as Luke tells us “there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city” (Acts 14:19-20). Can we see the point? And can we see the fullness of discipleship in the way that “from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them” (Acts 19:12). If we can see that ALL of these ‘miracles’ by Peter and by Paul ARE the reality of their KNOWING that “as he is, so are we in this world“, we can then better understand the idea of the revelation of the mysteries to the disciple and the saint. Why some of these instances require “the angel of God” and others work according to the Power of the disciple who DOES “have faith, and doubt not“, IS a question without an answer. For us, the reality of Life in this world for the average man and the True disciple works out in the same way: without intervention from the Lord. This we base on two ideas provided for us in the epistles; first, as we cite above, “the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” and second which we read in James saying “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). Both of these show us that the Lord has NO interaction with the ways of men in this Earth.
While there ARE NO words in the New Testament that show us that the Lord’s hand IS involved in worldly matters, there IS a plethora of such ideas given to us in the Old Testament. We call most of these into to question however as many ARE the subject of the Lord winning battles or smiting people, ideas that ARE contrary to the idea of a Godhead that IS agape. We read in Samuel that “he smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the LORD had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter” (1 Samuel 6:19). Surely ALL did NOT look “into the ark of the LORD” yet ALL were slaughtered. Similarly we read in Chronicles that “Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee. So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled” (2 Chronicles 14:11-12). There ARE many such ideas portrayed in the Old Testament including such that tell us: “Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass” (1 Samuel 15:3). Our point IS simply that the ‘murder’ of innocents by the Lord or for the Lord IS NOT a reality that can be explained in terms of a God that IS agape. Such ideas as these as well as the barbarous and superstitious nature of the Jews in the Old Testament stories leaves us in a place where we CAN NOT trust that the ideas presented are True representations of the Way of the Lord. While much of this may have happened, it was at the hands of men who perhaps believed that they spoke for the Lord much the same as many DO today. We should remember here just one simple idea regarding most ALL of the stories and whether they ARE actually DONE by men who Truly followed the Lord. We should remember here the Master’s words saying “Ye shall know them by their fruits” and that it IS “by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:16, 20).
The point we are making IS that the the Lord, the Godhead IS the better idea, DOES NOT interact with the ways of men in this world save through the ways of men themselves. In the ideas above regarding Peter and Paul we have holy men and while this is a word that has lost much its lustre it IS in fact a Truth. Peter and Paul ARE counted as holy men by the church but ARE NOT given the credit that they themselves have earned by their discipleship. The idea that it IS men that can have the power, for good and for evil as that word is understood today, IS NOT an alien idea despite the view of this from the church where God ever gets the credit for what good men may be doing and Satan gets the credit for what evil they may DO. Using the idea of evil in this context DOES NOT detract from our view that sin and evil are based in one’s carnal focus and NOT in the acts that they DO. A simple view of these ideas of sin and evil can be found in the struggles of the Apostle Paul which we recently discussed (Romans 7:14-25) and while we will NOT cite his words here today perhaps a look back at the last few essays or the words from Romans will help our understanding. Just as there ARE degrees, measures if you will, of discipleship and Transformation, there ARE degrees of sin and evil, degrees of the strength of one’s carnal mind in this world. Men obsessed with wealth, or sexual depravity or social position and status ALL suffer from a degree of sin and evil that manifests itself in these ways. Going further we find a long history of world leaders (in a bad sense) that have inflicted much harm on the world for their own self aggrandizement and exercise of carnal power. Recent examples of such men can be found throughout history and include the likes of Hitler, Mussolini and Emperor Hirohito through his command. World War 2 IS an example of the reality that the Godhead DOES NOT interact with this world; it IS estimated that up to 85 million persons were killed with up to 55 million of these being innocent civilians. Who can give a sensible reason for the Lord allowing this to happen?
In understanding this we can then better understand the Power and the power of men. The Power for good comes to us by measure and there ARE surely many who use that Power in the world today. One need not be religious to have such Power and for most the motivation to good IS an innate sense based in the karma from previous lives. While helpful, one DOES NOT need to believe in reincarnation to understand this however as such an innate sense can be understood as just that, a predisposition to DOING good. Religion need NOT play a part but a deeper sense of one’s religious beliefs can help one to move past simply DOING good and perhaps help to move a man along the Path to “the glorious liberty of the children of God” which IS a state that IS inclusive of ALL religions. Peter and Paul were Jews; before they encountered Jesus they were steeped in the Jewish religion and traditions and, to be sure, there was NO such thing as Christianity in their day. Peter and Paul and the rest of the disciples of the day were following the teachings of Jesus, a man who they recognized as the incarnation of God in this world. They saw Jesus’ anointing, which IS the very definition of the idea of the Christ; they understood that the Godhead was His expression in this world and chose to follow Him. At a time when many of His disciples were leaving Him because His teaching was so against what they had previously believed we read that “Then said Jesus unto the twelve Will ye also go away?“. To this Peter answers saying “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God” (John 6:66-68).
To the twelve,and possibly others who ARE NOT mentioned in the gospels, several holy men DO appear in the Book of Acts, the Master makes certain promises and in His words we should try to see that Jesus IS telling them about the Power that they will have in the fullness of discipleship which IS near the endpoint of their Transformation. We say near the endpoint because in Romans we read that Paul includes himself among those that are awaiting this endpoint of their Transformation. We read that “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 8:23). Most doctrinal Christians understand this ONLY in terms of adoption and claim this for themselves despite the reality and the tenor of this entire chapter. Truly this idea of Redemption IS a mystery even to us although we DO have some inkling of the reality that lies behind both ideas; the adoption and our Redemption. We have frequently discussed the idea of this adoption from the perspective of Mr. Merivale who Vincent quotes. Like Vincent, Charles Merivale was a 19th century churchman and while Vincent wrote in depth about the New Testament revealing for us some unique ideas that ARE NOT doctrinal, Mr. Merivale wrote about the conversion of the Roman Empire with the same effect. From our perspective both stepped out of their doctrinal mold and offered us enlightening ideas regarding the the text of the New Testament. We often cite Vincent’s commentary on vanity, on Repentance and believing as well as a variety of other topics but we should remember that most ALL of his commentary falls along doctrinal lines. Here in the idea of adoption Mr. Vincent chooses to quote Mr. Merivale and likely because of his agreement with the idea that in adoption:
the placing one in the position of a son. Mr. Merivale, illustrating Paul ‘s acquaintance with Roman law, says : “The process of legal adoption by which the chosen heir became entitled not only to the reversion of the property but to the civil status, to the burdens as well as the rights of the adopter – became, as it were, his other self, one with him… this too is a Roman principle, peculiar at this time to the Romans, unknown, I believe, to the Greeks, unknown, to all appearance, to the Jews, as it certainly is not found in the legislation of Moses, nor mentioned anywhere as a usage among the children of the covenant. We have but a faint conception of the force with which such an illustration would speak to one familiar with the Roman practice; how it would serve to impress upon him the assurance that the adopted son of God becomes, in a peculiar and intimate sense, one with the heavenly Father” (” Conversion of the Roman Empire “)4.
Few doctrinal Christians see the New Testament idea of adoption in this way just as few, if any, see the idea of believing, from the Greek pisteuo, on the Lord as: to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life 4. The idea of adoption in the church may approach the idea that the adopted son of God becomes, in a peculiar and intimate sense, one with the heavenly Father but this IS ONLY True in words. To be one with the heavenly Father would require one to to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life 4 and any view of the world today will clearly show that in practice this sense of adoption in the church IS NOT real. For us this IS the reality of adoption; that we come to realize our Unity with the Godhead, that we ARE one with the heavenly Father, and here we should be able to see Paul’s aversion to claiming this status as he writes to the Romans. We should try to understand that Paul relates this high ideal of adoption to Redemption and particularly to “the redemption of our body“. As men in this world this IS our endpoint, it IS here that we can say with the Master that “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). It IS from this realization that we have come to define the journey of everyman as Repentance, Transformation and Redemption.
While we understand the idea of Repentance as that decision to change the focus of one’s Life off of the carnal and onto the things of God, this IS NOT the way that the idea IS generally viewed. From Vincent we learn that Repentance IS: such a virtuous alteration of the mind and purpose as begets a like virtuous change in the life and practice 4 and through our understanding of this ideal, this change, we have come to see that this definition includes the starting of our Transformation. It IS our virtuous alteration of the mind and purpose, our change of focus, that IS the essence of our Repentance and it IS the like virtuous change in the life and practice that represents our Transformation. To be sure our decision to change, our Repentance, and our actually changing our focus, our Transformation, IS NOT so easy a task because the carnal mind rebels much in the same way as it rebels whensoever we decide to quit a habit. It IS to give us a ‘biblical’ reference that we compared this Repentance and Transformation to the stages shown us in the Parable of the Sower. On this we spent considerable time. It IS in our success, it IS as we become the fourth stage, “the good ground“, that our Transformation IS well underway and we will “in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15). It IS here that we can move ourselves from being an aspirant to discipleship to actually being a disciple who “shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”. At what point in our journey we actually become a disciple IS in accord with our ability to DO as the Master’s criteria for discipleship states. In this IS our freedom from the ways of the world.
This leaves us with the idea of our Redemption and, to be more specific, “the redemption of our body“. Of this we can say very little because we KNOW very little. We we can surmise IS that this stage indicates the completeness of our Journey, a place where we can stand and Truly realize that “as he is, so are we in this world“. To be sure there IS some state of spiritual completeness where we can emulate the ways of the True disciples of Jesus from 2000 years ago. Doubtless there have been others since but the very nature of the disciple IS NOT to boast or be showy and this the Apostle Paul addresses in his epistles. And we need NOT ONLY look at the apostles, the twelve that were with the Master. Paul falls outside of this as DOES Stephen of whom we read that he was “full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people” (Acts 6:8). And we should NOT forget Phillip in this context; of him we read that “Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing* and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that city” (Acts 8:5-8). None of these three ARE mentioned in the gospels but ALL came to be True disciples with Powers akin to Jesus’. We ARE ALL invited to join them.
We close again with our trifecta, our selection of the sayings of Jesus that show us that our greatest tool IS that we strive to keep His words:
- “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).
| 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 |
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition
- 8 Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com
- ** Google AI on aspirant
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
