IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 1201

ON LOVE; PART DCCXC

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GoodWill IS Love in Action

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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)

In our rather lengthy last essay we looked again at the ideas of grace that we have been presenting and how that grace IS the reward of DOING, the reward of keeping His words and the reward for our expression of Love to the world of men. We should note here that this idea of reward should NOT be viewed in the common idea of favor as the Greek word charis IS often rendered but rather as the idea of wages, as compensation if you will, for the work that IS done in expressing the Truths that the Master teaches, for the measure of fruit that one bears in this world of men. We have often said that this word charis has a rather nebulous meaning in English when it is expressed as grace and that the ideas behind this word ARE best understood as ALL things that come from God. We looked again at the division between global grace and individual grace and we should note that there IS much confusion here in our own sense of things as we account the idea of our own relationship with God as a part of this global reality when viewed from the perspective of the man in the world. In this idea we ARE the Soul, the Christ Within and the Presence of God, in our own lives in this world and, from this perspective, we ARE that grace that IS realized by the man whose focus IS upon those spiritual things; this IS a most difficult idea to see from a strictly carnal perspective where the grace of God IS confused with the carnal benefits that may come to a man. However, when we can see that the irreligious have such benefit as well as the religious, we can then see that these carnal benefits ARE NOT included in His grace. The grace of God IS ONLY the spiritual and in this we should understand that grace IS His Presence, it IS our revelations and realizations of His Presence and His Truth, as this flows into one’s conscious Life from the Soul, the Christ Within, which the Apostle John calls for us the unction and the anointing.

It IS His Presence as the realization of Truth that brings to a man the reality of the “greater works” as it IS this realization that results in the KNOWING which IS the degree of faith required to see the deeper Truths in Jesus words saying: “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do” (John 14:12). In this we should see the same measure of faith that IS spoken of by the Master as He says “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you” (Matthew 17:20) and understand that this IS NOT that simple faith of our common understanding but that this IS that total sense of KNOWING the Power of God in one’s Life. And this IS the alternate reality of believing, a reality that the gospel writers express from the same thought of faith as they frame the Master’s words as “whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith” (Mark 1123). In these words from the Apostle Mark we should understand the KNOWING reality of this sense of believing and see this in the same way as the KNOWING reality of faith; it IS in this KNOWING that ALL things become possible and this IS the ultimate of believing which IS essentially the same idea that IS offered by the Master regarding our DOING yet “greater works” which shows us the effect of such KNOWING.

The reality of the gospel views of believing DO come down to the same common denominator which IS the reality of keeping His words; in the one instance we should understand that to garner such Power as to move the mountain one must be in total accord with the ways of God and for this we have the example offered in the Life of the Apostle Peter who had to see ALL things spiritually in order to realize the greatness of His own Power which IS reflected for us in the Apostle Luke’s words saying: “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 5:15-16). In this sense of faith and of believing we have the totality of KNOWING which the Apostle Matthew frames for us 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); here in Matthew’s report we have the combination of the ideas of believing and faith and see the reality that in KNOWING one will “doubt not“. In our other instance of this word believe above we have the more direct relationship to keeping His words and we KNOW this because this idea of believing on IS directly related to the Master’s words which follow saying: “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“. Here we must understand that it IS in His Presence that we have such Power as Jesus speaks of in moving the mountain and that this idea of moving the mountain IS within the reality of those “greater works“; we must understand that these “greater works” ARE spiritual works and have naught to do with the desires of the self in this world.

And this IS the reality of the Life of the aspirant and the disciple of the Lord as he moves his Life from the carnal to the spiritual and toward that reality of being “born again” which the Apostle John shows us IS to be “born of God” and, in our current selection of sayings below simply “of god“. It IS in the end of this journey that a man can realize the “greater works” and the reality of KNOWING that it takes to move the mountain and John shows us these ideas in his epistle saying: “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:4-5). In these words we have ALL parts of the dynamic of KNOWING at work and we should see the idea of both “greater works” and the reality of Power to move the mountain in the apostles idea of “he that overcometh the world“. It IS ALL of this that comes to us in the reality of keeping His words which the apostle shows us saying “this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments” (1 John 5:4-5, 3). And this IS the same idea that we get in the Master’s words to His apostles saying:

“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 the completeness of these ideas we have the Presence of God that comes to the man who keeps His words and in the reality of the message of believing we have the same dynamic….there can be NO contradiction. We read that the Power of God comes to the man who believes on the Master and we read that the Presence of God comes to the man who keeps His words; it IS in this sense of NO contradiction that we should see that these ideas ARE the same and understand that if one Truly believes that the Master IS God, that the idea of DOING as He says IS then imputed. Further, when we can see the idea of believing and faith as our own measure of KNOWING the Truth, we can then see the movable scale of revelation and realization that comes to the man whose focus IS upon the things of God. In this we should see the deeper idea of the Apostle Paul’s words to the Corinthians as he shows them the importance and the effect of keeping His words through Love; the apostle says: “For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come , then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known” (1 Corinthians 13:9-12). We should understand that these words ARE written to aspirants and disciples, to men who have Repented and changed the focus of their Lives to some degree; it IS the apostles words of encouragement, clarification and amplification that we see here, words that show for us the growth of the Presence of God, the growth of the Kingdom of God, in one’s Life as he strives to the reality of his own deliverance “from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). And it IS this same encouragement, clarification and amplification that we should see in the words from John’s Epistle; there IS NO new doctrine here, there IS only a clearer view of the reality of Love and how that these ideas of believing and confessing have the same strength as keeping His words as ALL of these ideas are sprinkled about in the apostle’s words for the same reward of His Presence which IS the grace of God. We read our current selection again:

“whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us. Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error” (1 John 3:17-24, 4:1-6).

While John repeats the Master’s Truth of the Presence of God in the lives of those who “that keepeth his commandments“, this idea IS NOT clearly seen by doctrines as we can see in John Gill’s commentary on this idea; Mr. Gill says: And he that keepeth his commandments; Attends to those instructions and declarations concerning faith in Christ, and love to the brethren, and acts according to them: dwelleth in him, and he in them; that is, he dwells in Christ, and Christ dwells in him; the same is said of believing in Christ under the figurative expressions of eating his flesh, and drinking his blood ⁸. In this diluted vision of keeping His words, the reality of the Master own teaching on Love for ALL is missed as IS the reality of ALL that Jesus tells us regarding the Life of the man whose focus IS upon God. We should note however that Mr. Gills comments upon the Master’s own similar sayings regarding His Presence ARE quite contrary to his ideas above from John’s Epistle; in the gospel account above we read: He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them; He that has not merely the external revelation of them in the Bible; but has them written on his heart, by the finger of the Spirit of God, and keeps them under the influence of grace and strength received from him⁸. In this commentary there IS NONE of the religiosity that we see above and, from our perspective, since the ideas set forth in both sayings ARE the same, the commentary should be consistent; in this we have a view of the problems faced when the whole of the New Testament IS seen as books, chapters and verses rather that the combined view of the ONE teaching on Love as the essence of His words.

While John instructs us on the idea that those who ARE of the world “speak they of the world“, this idea IS seen by men as that the reference IS to others and NOT to themselves despite the reality that within the church’s combined self-righteous attitude, many call out others as among those that ARE “of the world” as they ARE themselves called out in the same way. The reality IS that John’s words ARE addressed to those who ARE keeping His words and those who ARE striving toward that reality in the plain view of the Truths that the Master teaches; and we should try to see that any who teach contrary to the Master’s words IS this antichrist, IS teaching contrary to the Truth and IS among those who IS “of the world“. Paul also offers us some instruction in this area of being “of the world” as he cautions us to NOT be among the self-righteous who may think that their view of Truth IS higher that another’s especially when this IS among those whose idea of conformance and Transforming ARE NOT seen so clearly; we read:

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And 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. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to 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 12:1-3).

While Paul’s words ARE addressed to those in the church at Rome, we should try to see the idea as he presents it; first IS the reality of “present your bodies a living sacrifice” which should be seen as nothing less than that one should “doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Here we should try to see that in such ‘sacrifice‘ IS the reality of Transforming and in ALL things that ARE contrary to the Master’s words there is conformance; here we should see that such thoughts, attitudes and actions ARE “of the world” regardless of the religious intent. It IS one’s place in this scheme of conformance and Transformation that we ARE cautioned on here and we should understand that this measure of faith, is our measure of KNOWING that comes in our realizations of the Truth which IS the grace of God that comes to a man from his own God Within. We close today with this from Vincent’s Word Studies where Mr. Vincent includes for us a quotation from St. John Chrysostom on this idea of sacrifice in which we can see the epitome of keeping His words:

A living sacrifice ( θυσίαν ζῶσαν ); Living, in contrast with the slain Levitical offerings. Compare Romans 6:8, Romans 6:11. “How can the body become a sacrifice? Let the eye look on no evil, and it is a sacrifice. Let the tongue utter nothing base, and it is an offering. Let the hand work no sin, and it is a holocaust. But more, this suffices not, but besides we must actively exert ourselves for good; the hand giving alms, the mouth blessing them that curse us, the ear ever at leisure for listening to God” (Chrysostom) ⁴ .

We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.

Note on the Quote of the Day

This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.

We repeat here again a saying that is from the Bhagavad Gita, which goes well with our theme of the God Within, the Soul, which we see as the Christ Within and while this is good in the Christian world and is True based upon our understanding of the Christ as the manifestation of God, we should also see in these words below that it does not matter what these divine ideas are called; that it matters not what we call this Inner Man, that he is the same in ALL, he is the Soul.

Thou carriest within thee a sublime Friend whom thou knowest not. For God dwells in the inner part of every man, but few know how to find Him. The man who sacrifices his desires and his works to the Beings from whom the principles of everything stem, and by whom the Universe was formed, through this sacrifice attains perfection. For one who finds his happiness and joy within himself, and also his wisdom within himself is one with God. And, mark well, the soul which has found God is freed from rebirth and death, from old age and pain, and drinks the water of Immortality.—Bhagavad-Gita

It is difficult to tell just what verses of the Bhagavad Gita the above is from; whether it is a paraphrase or a combination. It is from the book “The Great Initiates” by Édouard Schuré which was originally published in French in 1889 and perhaps it is in the translation of the verses that they become hard to recognize. However, the sheer beauty of the presentation caught my attention and so I share it with you. The Path to the Kingdom is the same no matter what religion one professes.

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts

• ⁴  Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888
• ⁸ Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com