ON LOVE; PART MDXXV
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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 spent much of the last essay discussing the idea of worship as it IS presented in the New Testament. Our view IS that the idea of worship IS ill defined in the lexicons, dictionaries and commentaries as the defining ideas ALL center around the carnal ideas of genuflecting and obeisance from the Greek word proskuneo. We DID however miss another Greek word sebomai which IS also rendered as worship and IS used in the Master’s words “Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7). This word IS a bit closer to the ideas of worship that we should understand from the Master’s words here; sebomai IS defined as to revere, to worship by the lexicon and it IS in the idea of reverence that we can see the greater point of Jesus’ words. For the other word, proskuneo we determined that the common idea of adoration works better than the ideas used in New Testament commentaries and dictionaries. Both reverence, which IS applied to sebomai and adoration, as a general defining idea, should be understood as the definitions for both words. While we DID discuss adoration in terms of agape, that to adore God IS to Love God, we also noted the many sayings from the Master that show us that one CAN NOT Love the Lord or express agape for the Godhead in the absence of keeping His words. This the Master sets this as a criteria for us saying “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me” (John 14:21). Regardless then of the Greek word that IS rendered as worship, the same ideas hold True and the saying that we worship in vain should be understood in these terms. And this was our final point as well: that the worship of men whose teaching IS based in the “commandments of men” IS offered in vain; that such worship IS fruitless, devoid of force, truth, success, result and useless, of no purpose. ALL of these negative ideas come from the various definitions of the Greek word maten and its derivatives mataios and mataiotes which ARE rendered as vain and as vanity.
In the end of the last essay we linked the idea of vanity and vainness to the deception of men and to the Apostle James’ words saying “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). Millions upon millions hear and read the words of the Master in the gospels yet choose to defer to their doctrines rather than the Truth of His words. Church doctrines, “the commandments of men” if you will, ARE become so entrenched in Christianity that the Truth of Jesus’ words and the amplifying and clarifying of them by His apostles ARE generally ignored. They ARE explained away using doctrinal ideas and, to be sure, this should NOT be so. It IS the Master’s words that ARE our guide to True salvation and NOT the various doctrinal ideas gleaned from interpretations of scripture that ONLY serve the world of men and their desire to live as men. Today we embark on a new theme that involves the Truth of the Master’s words and the words of the Apostle Paul, words that ARE sorely misunderstood through the doctrinal ideas of men. We begin with Paul’s words saying:
“I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections” (Romans 1:16-26).
We begin with a warning that what we ARE about to say will offend many whose spiritual lives rely upon the doctrines that began with the church fathers and have evolved to this day. While this IS NOT unusual and while we DO apologize in advance for any commentary that one may feel harmful, it IS the purpose of this blog to highlight the Truth of the Master’s words and the amplifying and clarifying of them by His apostles. And this has been among the major points of our blog posts from the beginning: neither Paul’s words nor the words of the other apostles were ever intended to become the foundation for doctrine; they were never meant to be taken out of context and used in ways that ARE contrary to the Master’s own words. Doctrines ARE the “commandments of men” that Jesus rails against and we should understand here that this IS True in most every religion; the doctrines presented to the people DO NOT generally serve the purpose of the scripture that birthed them; they instead focus upon the ways of men, carnal ways most often, with perhaps ONLY a tone that connects them to their source. And while the opinions of those that created such doctrines may have intended to distill the words of the Master into a working set of doctrinal ideas, this has NOT been the case; this IS especially True in Christianity. As we have often said, the church serves its purpose in keeping the minds of many somewhat on the reality of the Godhead and although it has NOT moved many past its doctrines, it IS perhaps a useful tool that can eventually allow these minds to explore the Truth. This however must start with the Truth itself, the Truth that lies in the words of the Master and the amplifying and clarifying words of His apostles. One more point before we begin: the whole intent of the New Testament IS to move men from the ways of the Jews, their religious hypocrisy if you will, and onto a new Path that follows the pattern of agape Love and Truth that the Master laid out in His words; it was never intended to allow for men to take upon themselves the right to be “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men“. This however has become the case. The whole of the Master’s message IS found in His admonition to keep His words and this IS also the intended reality of the words of His apostles. Keeping His words was our topic again in the last essay as we showed some additional New Testament words that confirm the need to DO so in order to achieve any of the ‘promises‘, promises which many in the church believe that they already have. Our trifecta shows the most basic idea of keeping His words and the various rewards of DOING so. Repeating our trifecta:
- “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 lies the Truth that the church refuses to see; in these words lies the reality of salvation, discipleship and the Presence of the Lord in one’s Life. While the church believes that they have the Way of ‘salvation‘ in their doctrinal approach to the Lord, this IS but doctrinal assertion that bears NO fruit save in the emotional lives of those that choose to believe it. And it IS this idea of believing, this idea of faith if you will, that the church relies upon to support their assertions. The Master tells us the Way in our trifecta, and in countless other Ways in the gospels, yet the church has chosen to be “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” in place of the clearly worded sayings from Jesus. And clear most of His words on this subject ARE; this IS especially True with our trifecta which IS why we use these three ideas to show the Truth. Keeping His words will lead us to True discipleship; keeping His words, framed as “the will of my Father which is in heaven” IS our Way of entry “into the kingdom of heaven” and keeping His words IS the Way to our realization of the Presence of God in our individual Lives. While this last statement IS perhaps the more difficult to understand, this IS ONLY because our proper understanding IS a part of the mysteries of which the Master says to His disciples that “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 mystery here IS of course “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27) and a kindred saying from Jesus that “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). Surely these ideas ARE difficult to understand with the carnal mindset of most ALL men but, when this mindset IS imbued with some measure of the Truth, a True realization ensues and we come to KNOW by measure “the mysteries of the kingdom of God“. Save for this idea of realization the rest of this last part of our trifecta IS rather clear; it tells us that our assertion that we Love the Lord IS ONLY True when we DO keep His words. This IS clear as ARE the ideas offered in the first two parts: that in keeping His words we have access to the Truth and its freedom and we DO become His True disciples and NOT merely the nebulous ideas of discipleship bandied about in much of the church. We also have access to the “kingdom of heaven” which we must try to see as the objective of ALL organized doctrinal religions although most ideas of the Kingdom ARE wishful ideas built by men over the centuries as the place of rest after we die on this Earth. It IS the very nature of the “commandments of men“, the churches’ doctrines if you will, to construct an alternate reality where the words of the Master ARE diminished in favor what IS considered by the purveyors of those doctrines as the ‘easier’ way to ‘salvation‘.
Many believe that ‘salvation‘ is a gift from God, received through faith in Jesus Christ. It cannot be earned through good works, but is freely offered to all who believe. This however IS contrary to the words of the Master who admonishes us to keep His words. Much of this idea that ‘salvation‘ is a gift from God IS based in the writings of the Apostle Paul, out of context writings to be sure. Perhaps the most fundamental error in the way that doctrinal Christianity presents ‘salvation‘ IS found in the way that they have, from the beginning, seen themselves as different from the Jews and NOT subject to the many ways that the Master rails against their ‘religious’ ways. ARE the Christians really any different from the Jews and the Master’s distaste for their doctrinal ideas? Looking ONLY at the woes that the Master utters against the Jews can show us much. Let’s begin with the Master’s words saying “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness” (Matthew 23:27). Today the “scribes and Pharisees” can be understood as the priests, the pastors, bishops and other positions in the church that can be likened “unto whited sepulchres“; ALL DO “indeed appear beautiful outward” according to their stature in the church. Few however have the will to Truly keep His words as most ALL ARE yet enthralled by their carnal stature and success in this world. Perhaps the idea of “dead men’s bones” can be better understood as the spiritual decay and moral corruption which pervade the lives of so many. Surely there ARE many that DO NOT fit squarely into these words but a notion of the corruption can be easily seen in the general acceptance of the ways that men, our neighbors, ARE treated around the world. Can we see the ideas of spiritual decay and moral corruption in Vincent’s defining ideas for vanity which tell us that our vanity IS perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends 4. Indeed, the Christian hierarchy would never willingly see themselves in the way that the Master views the “scribes and Pharisees” in this statement of hypocrisy.
Let’s take on another of the Master’s woes against the Jews; Jesus says “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves” (Matthew 23:15). Here the idea of hypocrisy in the church IS of paramount importance; it has become the reality of the evangelism movement in the church. It IS intended to be the sharing of the Christian gospel or the teachings of Jesus Christ, and inviting others to convert to Christianity. Instead however this evangelism has become the sharing of specific doctrines and the related doctrinal teachings under the guise that such doctrines ARE the Truth. Here the “scribes and Pharisees” ARE NOT ONLY the priests, the pastors, bishops and others in positions of authority; they ARE also ALL that DO evangelize on their behalf and it IS here that we should see the depth of Jesus words saying “in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:9) and its extension to ALL that evangelize. Another of the Master’s woes should be added here although this one may be particularly offensive to some. Jesus tells us “woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in” (Matthew 23:13). While this woe should NOT need explanation, we will offer it anyway. The churches ARE teaching doctrines, they ARE “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men“. In this we have a picture of the way that the doctrinal churches DO “shut up the kingdom of heaven against men” based solely in their teaching and their insistence that their teachings ARE Truth. As we have said from the beginning of our blog posts this teaching IS NO more the Way than was the teaching of the “scribes and Pharisees” 2000 years ago. This IS the sad state of the church yet today, a church that has convinced themselves that their doctrines ARE the way much in the same way that the Jews believed that their doctrines were the way.
This ALL brings us back to the words of the Apostle Paul that we have cited above, words that Paul sees in the psyches of men 2000 years ago. Paul’s words here ARE NOT ONLY in regard to what he sees as current events, they ARE also predictive of the future of the church and the ways of men. Paul begins with a statement that IS misused by much of the church; he tells us that “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth“. Two things here; first we should understand that the apostle IS speaking of “the gospel of Christ” and NOT the doctrines of men and we should understand also that these ARE ONLY loosely related. “The gospel of Christ” IS His words and whether we choose to view the Greek word euangelion as “the gospel” as this IS presented to us by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, or reduce the idea to the definition of a good message 9a as Strong’s defines it DOES NOT really matter. Commonly referred to as the ‘good news’ the gospel IS so much more and the citation of the idea as ‘good news‘, or “good tidings” as it IS rendered elsewhere, severely inhibits the reality that the gospel IS the teachings of the Christ with some commentary from the individual writers. It IS the teachings of the Christ that Paul IS NOT ashamed of and not the “commandments of men” which ARE the doctrines of the churches. Paul IS saying that he IS NOT ashamed by the Truth but this idea has been lost in the churches which have defined the Truth in terms of their individual doctrines. This saying may be singularly responsible for the evangelizing performed by millions of doctrinal adherents. Further, it IS the Truth of the gospels that IS “is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth” and here the idea of believing from the Greek pistueo should be understood in terms of KNOWING and NOT the nebulous ideas of believing that abound today.
Our second point on this introductory statement from Paul IS that just that….believing. This word IS defined today as: to have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, although without absolute proof that one is right in doing so* and this IS in actuality a far cry from the idea of KNOWING. The word IS awash with doubt because when there IS NO absolute proof questioning should ensue. However within the confines of the church such questioning or doubt IS NOT allowed and this itself creates a situation where pretense enters into the equation. Webster’s 1828 definition of believe IS much more telling of the reality that we should see. Webster’s defines the words as: To credit upon the authority or testimony of another; to be persuaded of the truth of something upon the declaration of another, or upon evidence furnished by reasons, arguments, and deductions of the mind, or by other circumstances, than personal knowledge 1. Can we see the contrast here between what pisteuo means to the church and what it actually means which IS KNOWING. Webster’s adds another idea which we should consider here; they say that to believe IS: to expect or hope with confidence; to trust1. Here the very inclusion of the idea of hope shows us that were the Greek word rendered properly as KNOWING, Paul’s words would make much more sense. The lexicon captures our point also saying that pisteuo IS: to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in 2; again, far from the idea of KNOWING. While this idea of KNOWING as the definition of pisteuo IS NOT readily found in any of our bible dictionaries and commentaries, it IS established for us in the Master’s words. Perhaps the best reference IS found in Mark’s Gospel where we read “verily I say unto you, That 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 11:23). While these words ARE used in a distorted way by some in the church, the reality IS that when one “shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass“, they will “come to pass” when the man KNOWS with NO “doubt in his heart“. This IS the reality of pisteuo, and Paul KNOWS this Truth which he conveys saying that the gospel IS “the power of God unto salvation“.
When we can understand that the gospel IS NOT the doctrines of men, the “commandments of men” which ARE their doctrines, and the reality that pisteuo IS that KNOWING that comes to men whensoever they choose to “continue in my word” as Jesus frames it; we can then better understand Paul’s continuation of the theme. The apostle tells us “therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written*, The just shall live by faith“. Here we need to understand that the Greek word pistis which IS rendered as faith IS but the noun form of pisteuo which we discuss above. Both should be understood in terms of KNOWING and we should remember here that such KNOWING IS a function of our focus, a function of our keeping his words; this IS the source of Truth and our ability to KNOW. A KEY idea here IS “the righteousness of God“; Vincent tells us that this IS better understood as in the Revised Version which renders the idea as “therein is revealed a righteousness of God” which on its surface seems much the same. However, Vincent notes that: the absence of the article denotes that a peculiar kind of righteousness is meant 4. For us this IS a sense of righteousness peculiar to the Godhead. For the Godhead righteousness simply IS; it IS a part of the very nature of God which IS revealed in every conceivable way. What then of the phrase “from faith to faith“; “from pistis to pistis” or as we would say from KNOWING to KNOWING. Vincent explains this somewhat saying: We may rightly say that the revealed righteousness of God is unto faith KNOWING, in the sense of with a view to produce faith KNOWING; but we may also say that faith KNOWING is a progressive principle; that the aim of God ‘s justifying righteousness is life, and that the just lives by his faith KNOWING (Galatians 2:20), and enters into “more abundant” life with the development of his faith KNOWING 4. While these words ARE written in a doctrinal tone, there IS much that we can try to extract regarding Paul’s intent. Substituting KNOWING for faith, which we have done, gives us a very different and less nebulous idea of the Truth. The idea here, without much explanation by Paul, who IS writing to those that have a foundation in the Truth, IS that the revelation of righteousness from the Godhead allows men to gain some measure of that righteousness….from faith KNOWING to faith KNOWING. Finally Paul tells us that “The just shall live by faith KNOWING” which we should try to understand as by KNOWING God and relate the idea of “the just” to that righteousness that IS God. Can we see in these words the idea that we ofttimes promote: that as we keep His words we gain revelations of the the Truth and come to KNOW the Lord measure by measure.
Paul next turns his most positive message to a negative one as he writes against the ways of men and their view of the Godhead and righteousness. The apostle says “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness“. We begin here with the idea of “the wrath of God” and while this IS a popular idea carried over from the Old Testament, it IS one that IS contrary to the Truth of God which IS agape. The Greek word here IS orge and while most every translation renders the idea as wrath with a few rendering in terms of anger, this CAN NOT be the reality of the word idea. As we ofttimes say, it IS the Soul, the spiritual man, that IS the most immediate idea of God in the mortal Life of a man and the Soul, like the Aspect of God that he represents in an individual Life. The Soul holds no animosity for the doings of the carnal mind but rather recognizes, if we can use that idea here, that his mortal aspect is yet in the “bondage of corruption“, he IS yet trapped in his vanity (Romans 8:21). Perhaps the idea of wrath can be better understood in terms of frustration which IS another rendering of the Greek word mataiotes which IS otherwise rendered as vanity. The idea here IS that the Soul, as God, IS frustrated by “all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men” which frustration IS a product of the vanity into which the Soul IS cast by way of being born into this world. Paul frames this saying that “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). Our changes here are aptly explained in previous posts. From there we should understand what this vanity IS and in turn what IS the cause of this frustration; Vincent tells us that this vanity IS our: perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends 4 and surely “ungodliness and unrighteousness” fit into this defining idea. While this may seem like a long way to go to deflect the very idea of “the wrath of God” it iS necessary that we understand that there IS NO wrath that afflicts the Godhead in any way. It IS the barbaric past of humanity coupled with the Old Testament stories directed at a superstitious population that have allowed us to think that the Godhead can and will get angry and take that anger out on His creation. That we still believe the fantastical stories about the nature of God presented in the Old Testament IS Truly unfortunate and IS partly to blame for the weakness in the churches’ ability to bring men closer to God. ALL this aside, the gist of Paul’s words here IS that there IS frustration, for lack of a better word, with the “ungodliness and unrighteousness of men” who KNOW better but “who hold the truth in unrighteousness“. We should remember that this epistle IS written to those that have a foundation in the Truth and this we should be able to see from the opening of the chapter where Paul IS addressing “all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints“. To this he adds “I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world” (Romans 1:7, 8).
Paul goes on to confirm that his audience has some foundation in the Truth as he tells them “Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them“. Can we see the point here of the apostle’s comments ‘against’ “all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness“; that despite their KNOWLEDGE of the Truth shown to them through their own Souls, they “hold the truth in unrighteousness“. In other words, these men who ARE aware, who have some measure of revelation of the Truth, choose to ignore it in favor of what Paul IS calling unrighteousness. Here we should try to connect Paul’s words with the ideas of the doctrinal church and the reason why we said at the beginning of this essay that some will be offended by our view of Paul’s words; that they were predictive. It has long been our view that the church has basically ignored the words of the Master in favor of their own doctrines and here, while Paul IS referring us to the “ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness“, we see a commentary on the church. Insofar as the idea that “that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them” IS concerned, we need ONLY look at the New Testament itself and the words of the Master to see this. Through New Testament scripture “that which may be known of God” IS KNOWN.
Paul goes on to make his claims even more specific saying “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse“. While the doctrines of men place most ALL of Paul’s words in this segment that we ARE discussing on the backs of heathens, this IS NOT the case. As we say above the apostle IS writing to men that DO have some foundation in the Truth and that in addition to this the ‘evidence’ of the Godhead can be “clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made“. To the heathen this would NOT be True as it IS NOT True to any who ARE atheistic; such DO NOT recognize the “eternal power and Godhead“. However this IS NOT to whom Paul IS writing and hence his comment that “they are without excuse” in their unrighteousness. To ALL that have even the slightest measure of Truth instilled in their minds by the prompting of the Soul, and this of course includes ALL who ARE doctrinally religious, the apostle IS saying that “they are without excuse“. That they DO or should KNOW some measure of the Truth and that they simply ignore it based upon what they KNOW through adherence to their doctrines. While most doctrinal adherents believe that they ARE living and thinking spiritually, they ARE NOT; they ARE rather living in the carnal mind. And while many doctrinal al believers see themselves as having a renewed mind according to Paul’s words saying “be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2), they DO NOT. Most ALL ARE yet captives of the vanity into which they ARE born and what we should understand here IS that it IS this vanity that deceives them and allows them to believe whatsoever they ARE ‘told’ to believe. This IS the condition of most ALL men who have NOT changed their focus off of the self in this world and onto the things of God, the True things of God which ARE agape Love and Truth.
Paul next takes a darker turn towards those that “are without excuse“. He rationalizes their dilemma saying “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened“. These ARE tricky words because most ALL doctrinal Christians DO in some way glorify God but this IS NOT exactly what the apostle IS saying. First we should understand that Paul IS speaking in a past tense, according to the translation, saying “when they knew God“; we should note here that “that, when they” IS NOT a part of the original text but IS added by the translators. This same idea IS carried by most ALL translations in various forms. The message surely IS that those that “are without excuse” DO or DID KNOW God and we should understand that this alone takes some effort on the part of men; to KNOW God, even by measure, IS the result of one’s focus upon the Godhead and the Truth and agape that it represents. Glorify, from the Greek word doxazo, IS another idea that must be clarified and here we should try to see the idea in terms of honor which idea has its own deeper meanings. Glorify has taken on meanings of praise and worship in today’s culture while honor IS for us more relevant; honor IS defined simply as: honesty, fairness, or integrity in one’s beliefs and actions*. Perhaps the best view of this IS that these that “are without excuse“, while KNOWING God, chose to NOT follow Him but to rather follow their own interpretations of His words. Next IS the idea of their being thankful which IS probably better understood in terms of appreciation; we should however understand this word according to its secondary definition of: the act of estimating the qualities of things and giving them their proper value*. We can then understand this as that they DO NOT honor the Lord, follow Him Truly, and they DO NOT appreciate what the Godhead furnishes but rather “became vain in their imaginations” which idea may be better understood as “vain in their reasonings” as some render the idea. In reasonings we have the view that these who “are without excuse” ARE living in the carnal mind where human reasoning resides. And it IS the carnal mind that controls such ways of men who may hear the prompting of the Soul but choose to ignore it for personal, and perhaps corporate, gain. This sense of gain need not be monetary although it often IS, it can also be gain of stature or gain of authority and it IS likely such that Paul IS speaking of. Again, it IS NOT heathens that Paul IS speaking of but those who “are without excuse” because it IS such that “knew God” but “glorified appreciated him not as God“. It IS these in whom “their foolish heart was darkened” through their own machinations and self-serving attitudes. Here we should revert again to the Master’s words from the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders (Matthew 7:24-27) so that we can properly understand the inference to the idea of their “foolish heart” one that DID NOT keep His words.
The idea that we ARE presenting here IS a rather novel one that interprets Paul’s words into the greater reality that can be understood as predictive as well as True in his day as he watched the attitudes of men who have KNOWN some measure of the Truth revert to their carnal ways with greater power. We close today with the Apostle Peter’s words on such men which we will discuss in greater detail when we complete our selection from Paul. Peter tells us “if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire” (2 Peter 2:20-22).
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
- 9 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon on blueletterbible.org
- 9a The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible on blueletterbible.org
- * Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
