ON LOVE; PART MDLXVIII
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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 Alexander Maclaren’s words from the Book of Genesis that point out that the purpose of Genesis was: to imprint deep and ineffaceable the conviction that the one God created all things12. We cited Mr. Maclaren’s words to show that there was in Paul’s time an understanding that there IS but one God and DID so to explain in a way the polytheistic views of the Greeks. And NOT the Greeks alone but also the Romans and Hindu cultures and several others had similar polytheistic views of the Godhead. Today Hinduism still appears to be polytheistic but the reality IS that they see their ‘lower’ deities as manifestations of one Supreme God and our point is that it was, from our perspective, the same with other seemingly polytheistic religions. As we begin our discussion on Paul’s words to the Epicureans and Stoics at Areopagus, we DO so from our perspective that these Greek philosophers DID understand that there was One God and that the ‘lesser’ gods were but manifestations of the One who we reference today as Zeus. We can see this in Paul’s words saying “I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD“; the inscription IS NOT gods but God. Repeating Paul’s words we read:
“Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent” (Acts 17:22-30).
While Paul’s opening remarks seem to call the audience superstitious, this IS NOT an accurate view of the idea. Others render the idea in terms of being religious as the New American Standard rendering as “I perceive that ye are very religious“. This IS the better understanding. Thayer’s tell us that the Greek word deisidaimonesteros means: in a good sense, reverencing god or the gods, pious, religious and in a bad sense, superstitious. In this view of the word we see Paul as beginning his talk with an insult according to the King James Bible, an idea that was changed in the New King James Bible. A clearer idea comes from Vincent who tells us that: The word is compounded of deidw, to fear, and daimwn, a deity. It signifies either a religious or a superstitious sentiment, according to the context. Paul would have been unlikely to begin his address with a charge which would have awakened the anger of his audience. What he means to say is, You are more divinity – fearing than the rest of the Greeks 4. We should try to see Paul’s point as being between this idea of “God fearing and “very religious” as this relates to the next phrase “I passed by, and beheld your devotions“. These devotions were in the form of “an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD“. To be clear, despite Paul’s next words, the idea of an Unknown God IS the experience of most ALL men. We should note here that many believe that the idea of this inscription was to NOT offend any other gods that the Greeks had NOT yet identified as manifestations of of the One God. We DO NOT agree with this as this would imply the same superstition that Paul was NOT implying at the time.
Taking Paul’s words as saying that they ARE “very religious” as most render the idea we move on to Paul’s wanting to “declare….unto you“. Here we find another word that would be an insult to the audience; the King James rendering IS that these Greeks “ignorantly worship“. Here Vincent tells us that the idea IS: unconsciously : not knowing. There is a kind of play on the words unknown, knowing not. Ignorantly conveys more rebuke than Paul intended 4. The Greek word here IS agnoeo of which Strong’s tells us that the idea IS: not to know (through lack of information or intelligence)9a and here the idea should be understood as lack of information. We should try to understand that while Paul spent many years in communion with the Truth and the agape that IS the Lord, most ALL then and yet today DO NOT KNOW God as Paul will explain the Godhead. We should understand here that Paul IS speaking to learned men, philosophers as they ARE described in Acts, and we should note three things here. First that Paul IS invited; the Greeks “brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?“. Second, the Greeks DO this, bring Paul to Areopagus, because “he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection” and here it seems that this IS the first that they had heard of such things. This we KNOW because they tell him “thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean” (Acts 17:18, 19-20). Finally we should understand that these philosophers ARE neither superstitious nor ignorant in their lack of understanding of Paul’s teaching. In the apostle’s words that follow, the Greeks may have been in complete agreement save for the matter of the “the resurrection of the dead” (Acts17:32).
Paul begins his dissertation on the Godhead saying “him declare I unto you. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth“. This IS a pretty basic statement but one that may have been alien to the Greeks who DID NOT see Zeus in that way. While creation was more aligned with Chaos and the view that the Universe created itself, they understood that Zeus was: the supreme ruler of the cosmos and the ultimate Father of both gods and men**. Paul teaches the idea of the Godhead much as Christians understand the idea yet today and we should understand here that the Truth incorporates both ideas. The doctrinal view of the Godhead IS NOT from the perspective that God IS the Universe and CAN NOT be separated from its creation, but rather that the Godhead IS outside of His creation and IS “Lord of heaven and earth“. That much of the Christian world, as well as numerous other religions, see the Godhead in a personal way, ofttimes as a man, should enable us to see that the Greek idea of Zeus has been transplanted to Christianity albeit without the mythological treatment of Greek literature. In the idea that God IS the Universe there IS much Truth that remains unrealized. This Truth IS apparent regardless of how we view the genesis of the Universe; there IS a cause and that cause IS God; there IS a reality that the Universe exists and that reality IS God. Paul DOES NOT stretch his understanding to cover the Universe however; he remains centered on “the world and all things therein” which we can consider, from our limited perspective, the body of God. Of course in today’s modern view the whole of our Solar System IS included in this equation and IS explained by the omnipresence of God.
Paul goes on to say that the Godhead “dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things“. This IS a statement of fact that IS NOT appreciated by most ALL of the church that continually builds churches, often elaborate structures, as expressions of awe and reverence toward the Godhead. Paul’s point here IS that the Lord DOES NOT need nor require anything “made with hands” and despite the claims to the contrary in many church denominations and sects, God DOES NOT live in their church. The greater point here however IS that “he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things“; there IS naught that exists that in some way DOES NOT come from God who provides ALL the elements for our lives in this world. We should note here that there may seem to be a conflict with one of our overriding themes; that God DOES NOT influence things in this world and DOES NOT provide those things that people may pray for but there IS NOT. Our view IS contrary to most ALL church teachings but it IS nonetheless True. Paul’s words ARE entirely different in that in the creation of the world “all things” contained therein ARE essentially provided by the Godhead as the course of ‘nature’ continues unabated in this world. The sun rises on ALL and the rain falls on ALL as the Master shows us saying “the maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). While this saying IS more an acknowledgement of the fact that “there is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:11), it IS also an important part of our understanding that Life here in this world IS a part of the nature of things. Paul’s point IS NOT to highlight these ideas however; Paul’s point IS to show explicitly that the doctrinal worship of men, the building of churches and statues devoted to the Godhead, ARE unnecessary. Of course this IS a point that much of the church has yet to realize, while other parts DO conduct themselves with a rather minimalist agenda.
A more important lesson follows as Paul tells these philosophers that God “hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation“. We must be careful here not to misuse the apostle’s words. The first part IS for us the more meaningful as it depicts the Truth of the brotherhood of man; that we ARE ALL “of one blood” and herein lies the reality of our Unity in Diversity. We may look different, be of different sexes, with different colors and physical characteristics, we may have different religions and customs and be from different parts of the Earth but we ARE ALL essentially the same. We ARE “made of one blood“. This reality should have greatly diminished the human sense of prejudice ages ago but it has NOT and Paul’s words here should be seen as a testament to agape. Much of the church has misapplied these words however; many render blood as man and use the idea to imply that ALL ARE descendants of one man….Adam. This IS a totally doctrinal convention and one that refuses to see the reality of Unity in Diversity. John Gill tries to explain the doctrinal idea saying: That is, of one man’s blood; the Vulgate Latin version reads, “of one”; and the Arabic version of De Dieu reads, “of one man”; of Adam, the first parent of all mankind, and who had the blood of all men in his veins 8. The Greek word here IS haima which IS always rendered as blood in the King James Bible and IS generally rendered as blood by others as well. In this verse however there IS much variation with some rendering “of one” and others as “of one man”.
As an aside here; we asked Google’s Gemini about the meaning of this verse and it promptly gave us the doctrinal idea “of one man”, Adam. We pressed the issue asking why the words should not be taken literally and the response was: The phrase “of one blood” in the King James Version (KJV) rendering of Acts 17:26 should not be taken as a literal, biological description of a physical substance. Instead, it should be understood metaphorically and idiomatic, representing common ancestry and the unity of the human family.Taking “one blood” entirely literally causes several textual, cultural, and scientific issues **. We next showed our disagreement saying: No, metaphorically the idea can be understood in terms of the brotherhood of man; that all men are of the same essential origin. Gemini responded saying “Yes, that is exactly right. The concept of the “brotherhood of man”—the idea that every human being shares the same essential origin and fundamental dignity—is the precise meaning of the passage.By framing humanity as a single family, the text emphasizes a shared human condition that transcends ethnic, cultural, or geographic divisions” **. Our point here IS that this AI engine and likely the others as well ARE trained with the doctrinal writings of men and that IS the first point that they emphasize until prodded to look past the doctrinal ideas.
The point here IS that the reality of the idea IS to expose the brotherhood of man and the fact that ALL ARE from the same essential origin. The doctrinal reading of this IS just that, the doctrines of men who ARE trying to reconcile Paul’s words with their doctrines. While this should be clear, the rest of Paul’s words have perhaps served to further diminish his point. The rest of this verse creates a problem that IS used by those whose doctrines support predestination and ARE rejected by those who oppose this philosophy. Paul tells us that the Lord “hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation“. The first part of this may have its roots in Hindu philosophy where there IS a specific timeline for the birth and dissolution of the Universe on a macrocosmic level and which IS somewhat mimicked on the microcosmic level that IS man. This IS the more practical understanding of Paul’s words here. The doctrinal view as reported by John Gill tells us that ALL that IS in our world IS planned according to some divine timeline; he interprets the idea saying that the reference IS to: how long the world he has made shall continue; and the several distinct periods, ages, and generations, in which such and such men should live, such and such nations should exist, and such monarchies should be in being, as the Assyrian, Persian, Grecian, and Roman, and how long they should subsist 8. In this view God willingly created such monarchies and governments that were bent on wars and conflicts and we should be able to see the horrors of the Nazis in this view, that the Nazi movement was an intentional creation of the Lord. Google AI has a similar view saying: God is completely sovereign over human history, prearranging the exact eras, seasons, and lifespans of nations and individuals. Again, this IS NOT the reality in which we live and such ideas ONLY please those who favor the doctrine of predestination. We should try to see that in the macrocosm such ideas CAN NOT be understood as True and nor replicated in humanity through our cycles of Life and death; naught IS so predetermined.
The next idea, that the Lord “before appointed….the bounds of their habitation” IS equally wrong and misunderstood. John Gill tells us that the meaning IS: where men shall dwell, and how long they shall continue there the age or distinct period of time, in which every man was, or is to come into the world, is fixed and determined by God; nor can, nor does anyone come into the world sooner or later than that time; and also the particular country, city, town, and spot of ground where he shall dwell 8. This idea goes well beyond the doctrinal understanding of predestination; it IS a statement that shows that humanity IS incapable of any degree of self-determination. In this, such events as we see as accidents are part of the purposeful action of the Godhead and this should be a bridge too far for ALL. This phrase, “the bounds of their habitation“, should be understood in the same way as the previous part. The Greek words horothesia and katoikia which ARE rendered as bounds and habitation ARE ONLY found in this verse; they appear nowhere else in the New Testament. Regarding horothesia, Vine’s tells us that the idea IS: the fixing of a boundary, rather than the boundary itself 9b and while this may seem a meaningless difference, it does have different implications. Regarding katoikia, Strong’s defines this as: residence (properly, the condition; but by implication, the abode itself) 9a and without entertaining the idea of the supposed implication, we have perhaps the condition of living, of where one may find themselves. Finally we should note that the simple idea of autos is rendered here as the phrase “of their” and there IS NO basis in this Greek word for this rendering. There IS NO easy way to properly decipher Paul’s use of these words here but a better understanding can be gained through an unlikely source. We seldom agree with The Message Bible but here they DO break away from the doctrinal ideas and render the whole verse as “Starting from scratch, he made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living“. Perhaps those that translated the Message Bible had a similar problem to ours; that they too could NOT accept the doctrinal ideas as Truth.
While Paul’s words begin with what we see as a clear statement, that the Lord “hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth“, the church has injected a degree of doctrine that takes away the very reasons for the idea of the brotherhood of men. The effects of this ARE evident throughout the world as prejudices and hatreds control the emotions of men in and out of churches. And while so many seem to teach the deepest spiritual ideas of agape as the Master taught us, they DO so only in words. Most have reduced to mere platitudes the most ancient words saying “Thou shalt love agapao thy neighbour as thyself” and the Master’s words that serve to explain their meaning saying “all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12). In a True understanding of Paul’s words saying that the Lord “hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth” we should see ONLY the essence of Unity and Paul’s own reflection on the Master’s words. The church however chooses to see their doctrinal ideas from Genesis in place of a statement of Unity in Diversity and they further deteriorate the apostle’s meaning by assigning the balance of the verse to some version of predestination that most denominations and sects DO NOT generally accept. We would DO well to read the rendering from The Message Bible into Paul’s words and while they may NOT extend to the deeper spiritual ideas, they form a better foundation for the Truth.
Paul goes on to tell the Epicureans and the Stoics that there IS a reason of sorts that the Lord “hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth” and that IS “That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us“. This IS a theme that Paul carries through most ALL of his writings and while he DOES so in various forms, we should be able to see that seeking the Lord IS the Universal message of ALL scripture. Seeking “the Lord” IS our way out of our “bondage of corruption“, our vanity (Romans 8:20, 21) if you will, and when we remember and apply our defining ideas for this vanity, Paul’s words can take on their True meaning. Vincent describes our vanity saying that it IS: a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends 4. This IS our condition until such time as we ARE awakened to the Truth, until such time as we Truly Repent. Our Repentance IS founded in the reality of seeking “the Lord” and feeling “after him” and it IS in our Repentance that we can actually “find him“. The Greek word pselaphao IS rendered here as feeling, it IS rendered elsewhere as handle and touch. The idea of pselaphao here IS defined by Strong’s as: to manipulate, i.e. verify by contact; figuratively, to search for 9a and here the idea can be understood as searching which idea IS difficult to get to through manipulate. Thayer’s, after telling us that the idea IS: to handle, touch, feel goes on to tell us metaphorically, mentally to seek after tokens of a person or thing 9. Vincent offers us a deeper idea in regard to its translation as handle in Luke’s Gospel where the Master admonishes His disciples to “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have” (Luke 24:39). Using this verse Vincent tells us pselaphao that: It never expresses the so handling an object as to exercise a moulding, modifying influence upon it, but at most a feeling of its surface; this, it may be, with the intention of learning its composition. He goes on to say that: while, not seldom, it signifies no more than a feeling for or after an object, without any actual coming in contact with it at all 4.
What we should try to see IS that Paul’s use of pselaphao IS intended to amplify the former idea of seeking “the Lord” and, in the end the whole point IS that we should “find him“. The essence of the combined statements saying that the Lord “hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him” IS that our purpose IS that we should seek and find the Lord. This should be the goal of every religion as well but, unfortunately, amid the preaching that we should DO so IS the doctrinal ideas of men that tell us that we need NOT DO anything. Paul’s message IS simply “seek the Lord” and perhaps because of his audience, Paul paints his message in reasoning that these Epicureans and Stoics could understand. Paul IS NOT finished with his message however and he adds one final Truth that should have changed the nature of Christianity from the beginning. The apostle adds these words regarding the Lord “though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being“. In our view these words should have been a separate statement with the last one ending in the idea that we should “find him“. These words have never been properly understood in the church. Because this rather complex idea IS separated in the New Testament we ARE forced to address it in parts. Regarding the first part, “though he be not far from every one of us“, John Gill offers us the doctrinal view saying: not only by his omnipresence, and immensity, whereby he is everywhere; but by his power in supporting all in their being; and by his goodness in continually communicating the blessings of providence to them 8. Mr. Gill IS attesting to the omnipresence of the Godhead, a reality that IS NOT Truly understood.
Much of this reality that “he be not far from every one of us” IS doctrinally understood as Mr. Gill shows us above and as an answer to the what many believe IS the overall objective of Paul’s words, that the Lord IS not confined to temples. This latter view IS likely tied to Paul’s words that tell his audience that the Lord “dwelleth not in temples made with hands” but this IS NOT Paul’s point which becomes clearer when we view his entire statement without separating it into different verses. We should not here that yet today many doctrines teach that the Lord IS in their particular church, the Presence of the Lord IS often claimed to be felt by congregants. A common understanding of this IS twofold: through the Holy Spirit’s indwelling within believers (the body of Christ) and through His manifested presence in communal worship*^. This however in NOT the point that Paul IS trying to make and this closeness of the Lord IS then defined by his next words saying “For in him we live, and move, and have our being“. While doctrines try to explain Paul’s words in terms of divine Immanence and human dependence, they fail to see that Paul’s statement IS a statement of fact. There IS essentially naught but the Godhead and we ARE part and parcel of the Godhead on every level of human and spiritual existence. We live in the Universe and the Universe IS God; the manifested Universe IS His body and our bodies ARE a part of that manifestation; every element of every cell IS an integral part of the Universal body of God. Spiritually we ARE equally part and parcel of the Godhead; as Spirit and as Soul we ARE part of those realms of existence which have NO substance as we understand that today. In this reality IS the Truth that “he be not far from every one of us” as He IS in us and we ARE in Him.
The Master shows us this same idea in what seems to be a deliberately indirect way. We read His words saying “Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me” (John 14:11) and while this can be understood through the idea that both ARE God, there IS a deeper meaning. This IS expanded on a spiritual level by Jesus saying “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us” (John 17:21). Here the idea IS that as disciples one “also may be one in us” in our realization of the Truth and while this may not help us to understand Paul’s point, it DOES give us additional understanding as DO His words saying “At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you” (John 14:20). ALL of this can help us to understand that from a spiritual perspective we ARE in the Lord and the Lord IS in us; our challenge IS how do we bring this down to our physical presence on this Earth. This IS done by simply understanding the idea of the Universe as a physical manifestation of the Lord. While much of the church disagrees with this idea, they see the Universe as His creation, there IS little to help them understand the True nature of the Godhead. Most ALL Judeo-Christian denominations and sects take their ideas from the Book of Genesis and the words saying “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1) which implies a Maker and what IS made. This however IS a meaningless idea which they support with their idea of God’s Transcendence and a separateness from His creation. This too IS a meaningless idea that fails to consider the relationship between the spiritual and the physical realms of existence. There IS NO understanding of man as a Spirit save for some nebulous doctrinal ideas regarding heaven and the continuation of Life after death.
ALL of this IS a part of the mysteries that ARE Life, both spiritual and physical, and despite being led to understand the reality that “in him we live, and move, and have our being“, most ALL continue to deny such a relationship. And most ALL refuse to consider the deep spiritual Truths of the Master’s words above, they DO NOT understand the idea that the Master shows us saying “At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you“. Paul IS showing us the reality that we exist within the Godhead and this idea IS NOT understandable so long as the Godhead IS understood in human terms, especially in the view of God as a person. The church ONLY desires to maintain their view of a Maker and what was made and refuses to allow for such ideas as the Apostle John shows us regarding the Master saying “as he is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17). It IS in such refusal to see past their doctrinal ideas, most of which were hatched in the early church, that resulted in that esoteric saying that we often post: “The church today is the tomb of the Christ and the stone of theology has been rolled to the door of the sepulchre“^^. The Way to our better understanding of these ideas, that “in him we live, and move, and have our being” and “as he is, so are we in this world” IS found in our measure of realization and, to be sure, such realization comes through keeping His words which IS the subject of our trifecta 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).
- “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).
The complex idea that “seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being” IS a Universal Truth that extends far from our Earth but as Paul IS specifically referencing “all the face of the earth” we will limit our discussion to this. First we should understand that it IS from the Godhead that “all life, and breath, and all things” flow. From the perspective of our physical Life, this ‘flowing’ originates in the spiritual realm and involves the Spirit that IS God and every component of His Spirit in which we ARE but minute parts. We can envision this as a giant fire containing an infinite number of sparks that make up that giant fire; we ARE among those sparks. The spark CAN NOT be separated from the fire on a spiritual level but from a physical perspective Life takes on a different form. While we have Life and breath, we ARE separated from the Godhead because our attention IS focused upon our little lives in this world. This focus on our individual lives IS shared by ALL in the great brotherhood of man who, according to the Plan, appears for a time in a body in this world. From the spiritual perspective it IS our goal to “seek the Lord“, to “feel after him, and find him” and Paul IS showing us that we need to look inward for the Lord and NOT outward. He shows us that “he be not far from every one of us” which should tell us that the Lord, the essence of the Lord as the Christ Within, IS in us and, to be sure, the Lord CAN NOT get any closer than this. Paul closes this segment telling us that while the Lord IS within as the Soul, we DO, at the same time, “live, and move, and have our being” within Him.
This IS a part of the great mystery that Paul reveals; a mystery that IS missed by most ALL because they ARE NOT yet ready. Most ALL ARE NOT yet ready because they maintain their focus on their little lives as they continue to live in that vanity into which ALL ARE born. It IS in this vanity, this: perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends 4, we exist as Souls. And we exist in the same condition that Paul cites here: with the Christ Within seemingly powerless within us and with this same Christ Within living and moving and having its being within the Oneness that IS God. We should note that this DOES NOT address our physical bodies and here we should try to understand that our bodies have NO purpose other that to carry our spiritual being for a time allowing us to “seek the Lord“, to “feel after him, and find him” so that we can say with the Master “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). These things ARE NOT easy to understand but they ARE at the same time the essence of Paul’s teaching at Areopagus and they ARE the reality of the mystery that Paul reveals saying though he be not far from every one of us
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 |
- 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
- ** Google AI on Zeus
- *^ Google AI on God in the church
- ^^ From The Reappearance of the Christ by Alice A Bailey; © 1948 by Lucis Trust
those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
