IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 580

Love is the Fulfilling of the Law

ON LOVE; PART CLXIX

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GoodWill IS Love in Action

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“There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:1-15).

We did not get  back to the text of the Fifteen Points that we have been featuring as our Quote of the Day and it is our intent to do so today. This being said, we should also say that this was our objective in the last two posts but we have been sidetracked by our vision of the perils of blindly believing and the cautions that the Master gives us regarding who and what one listens to and believes. He tells us to “Take heed what ye hear” (Mark 4;24) which we see in the deeper context of to be aware of, or be careful of, what one believes and He cautions us as well KNOW the character of who we may tend to look to for guidance and to believe by telling us that “Ye shall know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16). In these sayings we should understand that there are thoughts and people in the world whom we should not believe and while the Master simply tells us that it is by their fruits, His apostles give us added light and we should try to see that the Master’s words are ever without limitation; that the same fruit that one should look for in the person, should be looked for in the words that a person produces as well. The apostles amplify and clarify Jesus’ remarks; the Apostle James gives us his dissertation of the Wisdom from above which is suitable for measuring the fruit and the Truth of ALL things that we hear from our own Souls or rather how we should KNOW that what we are hearing is actually from the Soul as the source of Wisdom and IS NOT from the personality which has its own interests, its self, at heart.We are ever finding new and better ways to frame James’ words and to what we say here we should add that what we see, hear and think from whatever source is only turned to Wisdom by the realizations that we get from the Soul or, the mistaken realization of Wisdom or of God telling us a thing, that we may get from our personality. While the input may come from a variety of places the source of Wisdom or of what one may believe is Wisdom is from within; as Truth from above, tending to the realities of what James calls the Wisdom from above and the mistaken Wisdom from the personality which tend toward the self and James’ words to us of what IS NOT Wisdom from above and which he calls “ earthly, sensual, devilish” (James 3:15).

While James gives us this invaluable lesson on how to discern the True Wisdom from above, the Apostle Paul defines for us just what the fruits that the Master refers to should mean to us. We should understand here that the words of the Master on fruit are ever meant to reflect things of the Spirit and not ever things of the world and Paul amplifies the Master’s words and clarifies His message by defining for us the fruit of the Spirit. Paul gives us his list and he gives us a summary of the list’s realities as well in the simple statement that “the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth” (Ephesians 5:9). There are some differences in this text between the King James Version (KJV) and most other versions; the KJV calls this the “fruit of the spirit” while the others refer to this as “the fruit of the light” which is as it appears in the American Standard Version (ASV). This difference is based upon the source text that is used and perhaps we can see the reasoning for this in the more complete text from this epistle:

“Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth; ) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” (Ephesians 5:6-11) (KJV).

We should note that in the confusion between Spirit and Light in our selected verse that there is little or no practical difference as we see that the Light of the Soul IS the fruit of the Spirit as in this Light from above is the Wisdom and the ideals and virtues that Paul tells us of in this and his other saying on the fruit of the Spirit from his Epistle to the Galatians which we are told precedes this to the Ephesians above. We should note as well that here the apostle is, from his own perspective,  cautioning us on deception, on believing the edicts of any man’s speech without first seeing the fruit of his Spirit in words and actions or, as it is alternately written, the fruit of the Light that such a man may be expressing.

We covered these ideas above in the last posts and here again with a different perspective and we should understand the importance of the words of the apostle above and of the Apostle John whose saying on the anointing that we ALL have we have also covered much and from differing perspectives. In the last post we spent much time on John’s saying and how it reinforces the Master’s sayings and His cautions to us regarding what we believe and what we believe is coming to us from above. We have also cautioned all in our own words and about our own words which should have to pass the same tests as those that the Master and His apostles lay out for us, they must resonate within each man who reads or hears them so as to be interpreted by the consciousness that is expressing the Light of the Soul as expressive of the Good, the Beautiful and the True and that one’s understanding is not of or for the self either from the perspective of the writer or the reader. It is difficult to say this clearly as there is but one consciousness in a man and, as we have said, it is when one’s focus is upon the things of God that the consciousness is held in the Light of the Soul and, conversely, when the focus is upon the world the consciousness is held in the light of the personality, of the lower self who is beset with illusion and glamour. It is ONLY in the Light of the Soul that the True Wisdom from above and the True fruits of the Spirit can be seized by the consciousness of the man in form. ALL is folly when it is considered as Wisdom from above or the fruit of the Spirit by a man who is focused upon the things of the world or, as James tells us, it is “earthly, sensual, devilish” and in these words there is nothing heavenly nor divine.

Before we move on then we repeat the words of our Tibetan brother who cautions his readers against blind belief of his own words and here again we use his words to cover our words as well. We often publish these words of our brother regarding the acceptance of what we write by anyone. We repeat a shortened and slightly modified version here again today for the new reader:

He tells his readers: The books that I have written are sent out with no claim for their acceptance. They may, or may not, be correct, true and useful. It is for you to ascertain their truth by right practice and by the exercise of the intuition. If they present truth in such a way that it follows sequentially upon that already offered in the world teachings, if the information given raises the aspiration and the will-to-serve from the plane of the emotions to that of the mind (the plane whereon the Masters and one’s own Soul can be found) then they will have served their purpose. If the teaching conveyed calls forth a response from the illumined mind of the worker in the world, and brings a flashing forth of his intuition, then let that teaching be accepted. But not otherwise. If the statements meet with eventual corroboration, or are deemed true under the test of the Law of Correspondences, then that is well and good. But should this not be so, let not the student accept what is said. (EXTRACT FROM A STATEMENT BY THE TIBETAN)

It is in this same way that we offer here our ideas and thoughts and it is in this same way that they should be accepted or not.

Our sentiments on this idea of accepting and believing what is said as we model them after the Tibetan’s words are in essence a self proclaimed version of the cautions of the Master and the way of measurement given by Paul and James. At the same time these words express in a more modern language and way the reality of the words of John that we discussed in much detail in the last post. What the apostle speaks of as the anointing, the Tibetan tells us is the illumined mind and the intuition and we should try to see the relations here as the illumined mind is a mind, a personality, that is under the control of the Soul, the Christ Within and the intuition, from a spiritual perspective, can be seen as the functional realization from the Soul. The end result of ALL these words, from the Master, from John, Paul and James, from the Tibetan and from us, is to say that a man should not believe because the words he hears or reads are from some authority nor because they may cause comfort in our Earthly lives, one should only believe when the words can be corroborated by the Soul through the illumined mind as fitting into the mold created for us by Paul and James which is the fruit of the Spirit and the Wisdom from above. We should be able to see intuitively that the words are not directed to the comfort of the lower carnal man in form for the hearer or from the speaker and we should understand that it IS ONLY the Inner man, the Soul, the anointing, that can direct that intuitive response away from the selfish interests of the man in form. This is a difficult thing to overcome, this illusion and this glamour that may tell a man that what he sees, hears or believes spiritually is True when in reality these things are only concerned with the carnal life in the world…..the “earthly, sensual, devilish” that James cautions us about.

Returning now to Emmet Fox’s Fifteen Points we should be able to read these and our interpretations and understandings of them under the influence of the cautions of the Master and His apostles and under the same criteria that we speak above from the Tibetan’s statement and our own and we should measure both Mr. Fox’s words and our own against the Wisdom from above, the fruit of the Spirit and the steady non-self attitude of the anointing and this for both the reader and the writer.

• The sixth of the Fifteen Points is another that is an expression of Love and is likely intended to reflect the Master’s words that tell us “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying , Lord, when saw we thee an hungred , and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:34-40). Many Christian institutions are constructed around these ideas from the Master, many philanthropically oriented organizations and individuals center their charitable work around these ideas as well. However this list is not intended to be the catch all for salvation as many may perceive it to be and the overall lesson from the Master should be seen as unconditional Love for ALL men centered in the essence of the proclamation that came forth from the “heavenly host” at the birth of the Christ Child saying: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:13-14). It is GoodWill that can be seen in each of these ideals expressed by the Master in this parabolic saying and we should see that this sense of GoodWill goes much further and deeper and does not stop at the purely physical assistance that one can lend to a brother. 
• The seventh point is one that is rather difficult is put into a right perspective as the words of the writer are filled with his own sense of doctrine and we can and must say this same thing of our words although we do not have a formally defined doctrine. Mr. Fox is presenting his point of view and that of his organization and it is in the words that we have published over the last several days through which we can find our acceptance of his writings as a whole. Nonetheless there is some parts of his and nearly every doctrine that brings some value and some Truth and here, Mr. fox is telling us that we should share what it is that we believe which, from his speaking in and through his doctrine may lead one to believe that he is writing about his own Truths that he teaches. There is no easy way to end this saying other than to say that if we have strong beliefs that we have measured against the words of James and Paul and according to the cautions of the Master and through the understanding of the ideas of John, then we should share these ideas. This is of course what we believe that we ourselves are doing!

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:

Emmet Fox, a New Thought Christian teacher, gives us his Fifteen Points teaching one of which we used to exemplify the Master’s intent in His teaching to us about the Golden Rule. All of these points are however forward looking from the perspective of the man who desires to advance spiritually and they are based upon the reality of the Master’s teachings on Love.

I Am Really In Truth: ‡

1. If – I always look for the best in each person, situation and thing.
2. If – I resolutely turn my back on the past, good or bad and live only in the present & future
3. If – I forgive everybody without exception, no matter what he may have done; and if I then forgive MYSELF whole-heartedly.

4. If – I regard my job as sacred and do my day’s work to the best of my ability (whether I like it or not).

5. If – I take every means to demonstrate a healthy body and harmonious surroundings for myself.

6. If – I endeavor to make my life of as much service to others as possible, without interfering or fussing.

7. If – I take every opportunity wisely to spread the knowledge of Truth to others.
8. If – I rigidly refrain from personal criticism, and neither speak nor listen to gossip.
9. If – I devote at least a quarter of an hour a day to prayer and meditation.
10. If – I read at least seven verses of the Bible everyday.
11. If – I specifically claim spiritual understanding of myself every day.
12. If – I train myself to give the first thought on waking to God.
13. If – I speak the Word for the whole world every day, say at noon.

14. If – I PRACTICE, the Golden Rule of Jesus instead of merely admiring it. He said, “Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.” The important point about the Golden Rule is that I am to practice it whether the other fellow does so or not.

15. If – above all, I understand that whatever I see is but a picture which can be changed for the better by Scientific Prayer.

Repeating our text on this and Mr. Fox from a previous essay: Now we should understand that the above ideas are the doctrine that Mr. Fox taught and that like any doctrine it is based in what the man believes which is for most of us a revealer of the illusions that we are under. Much of these Fifteen Points are rather directly for the teachings of the Master. On the whole these are most all good and virtuous ideas but of the most importance insofar as the Master’s teachings are concerned are those points that give us some understanding of how a man should act in regard to others and the most profound is the simple wording of number fourteen. This teaching is given out for the use of the general Christian audience as Mr. Fox addresses people much like every other preacher or pastor albeit with his own doctrine and with a bit more emphasis on the Love that the Master taught. We should add here that many of the other Christian denominations do not agree with the teachings of the New Thought Movement nor Mr. Fox with some even referring to this teaching as cultish. We bring this out here not because we agree with their teachings but to show that there is some movement towards the teaching of Love by some newer parts of the church and the tell-all of this movement is in point fifteen which is outside of the teachings of the Master except one interpret His words in this way. This is doctrine and this is illusion from the perspective that these precepts are not in alignment with the words of the Master insofar as His ideas on discipleship and the hard line that is drawn for the actuality of being accounted worthy of His Kingdom. From our perspective these points are good and are most all worthwhile and they will lead people who can subscribe to them closer to the Master. This idea is true of most all denominations as they do attract people who can think and believe along certain lines and, as we have said before, it is better to believe in the doctrine of a denomination and to follow it as best one can than it is to flounder through Life with little or no direction at all.

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts!

• ‡  From The Fifteen Points by Emmet Fox; © 1932 HarperCollins Publishers Inc