IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 917

ON LOVE; PART DVI

ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•Α

GoodWill IS Love in Action

ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ•Α

“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).

ΑΩ•ΑΩ•ΑΩ

“Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:36-40).

In the last several posts we have been dealing with what may seem to be isolated topics and our attempt has been to weave these together in such a way that one can understand the reality and the Truth of the Master’s words and the words of His apostles. A part of this is that line of delineation between the carnal as the spiritual that we have been trying to show from our perspective which IS very different from doctrine and the doctrinal understanding of many; here our view IS that this line IS firmly fixed at the strait gate, that this IS the place, or rather the state of being, where we find the Truly spiritual man. Up to this point of entry, there is an infinite scale of degrees in which a man will find himself; a scale that ranges from the grossest carnal existence to the reality of the higher aspirant who IS about ready to enter and who has been doing as the Master instructs, he IS diligently striving toward that goal. Jesus tells us to “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:24). In this is our picture of the reality of the special and rare nature of the True disciple and the extraordinary state of being accounted worthy of His Kingdom.

As we discussed on the idea of hearing, we should try to see that the very nature of man is to hear or to believe those things that best suit him psychically, those things that make him feel good about himself. It is here that we find our perspective on the state of scripture and doctrine as it has been hijacked so to speak by men who have this very nature which pervades ALL; those who purport themselves as religious ARE NOT immune and this goes back to biblical times and the early church. If we can understand this, then we should understand as well that this hearing IS the hearing of the man in the world, hearing that has NOT been reflected from the spiritual realm of the Soul where there IS ONLY the Good, the Beautiful and the True and NOTHING for the self in the world. That a man believes otherwise is on no moment; and it IS here on this scale that we find our own place and the place of ALL men and it IS in the higher places along that same line that believing becomes KNOWING. We should note here that this DOES NOT mean that there are not men who are spiritually oriented in this infinite scale of degree upon which we find our place as this IS that place of striving and we should try to see that this range of men is not cued by religious affiliation nor by the measure of spirituality as seen by men in the world. One’s place in the cue is dependent only upon the focus of the man as it IS in the growing spiritual focus of each that we will find the Love of which the Master speaks in our sayings above, and it IS in this Love that the sense of self, the sense of the importance of the carnal self in the world, diminishes. It IS the diminishing focus upon that carnal man that brings one closer to the Kingdom of God which, as we should be able to clearly see, IS the reality of the Great Commandment; that one should “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength“. 

In this reality of Love there IS NO longer any importance to the self in the world, the carnal man becomes but the vehicle for the expression of the True man who IS the Soul, the Christ and the God Within. This ability to fully express this Love IS that line of demarcation and IS the Truth of attaining to the Kingdom of God; this IS the state of the man who IS Transformed and this IS the reality of the act of Redemption….the Unity and the glory of the Soul and his expression. And we should remember here that the second of these Great Commandments is the ONLY way to Truly accomplish the first and this the Master frames for us as to “love thy neighbour as thyself“. It IS in our Love for ALL men that we can express our Love for God, there IS NO other vehicle by which we can accomplish this. Much of the Christian ritual and rite is oriented toward professing one’s Love for God but this DOES NOT make that Love a Truth in one’s Life; it IS in the expressed Love for ALL that we find the Truth and the Apostle John shows us this as he says: “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie , and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:6-7). In these sayings we should understand the idea of fellowship as communion as this Greek word is rendered elsewhere as it IS in communion that we find the fuller force of this idea as ONENESS.

In this saying from John we get two things; first we see the idea of Union or ONENESS which IS the epitome of Love as the Master teaches us. Second, we see the idea of walking in the Light which we can see here as walking in the Truth of His words and the apostle paints this for us as that when we are in this Light, in communion with the Master and with the Father, they are also in communion with one another which should be understood as ALL. And, we should note also the end point here; that it IS when we are in this state of communion with our brothers and with the Lord that we are free from sin and here we should try to see that it IS not past sin that we need be concerned with but current sin….we are freed from sin by our Love. In this saying IS also a view of the greater idea of hearing and reading His words which are the same, hearing from a carnal perspective. Then, from this carnal hearing we  look to the Inner ear for the reflection of the words and phrases in the Light of the Soul and if we can get this revelation and this realization of Light, we would see that there could be NO OTHER meaning but to Love ALL men; a view that is devoid of any sense of the carnal self and his thoughts and his feelings. Here we will be so bold as to say that this view of Love IS the view of those who are closer to the strait gate and in the focus of those who can see this way there is less self than in the thoughts, attitudes and actions of those who would minimize this Love as does much doctrine and those who see it in its minimized way. Let us look here at two approaches to these ideas in bible commentary:

• John Gill in his Exposition of the Bible tells us: we have fellowship one with another; not with the saints, with the apostles, and other Christians, but with God: “we have mutual communion”, as the Arabic version renders it; God with us, and we with him. Some copies read, “with him”, as in ( 1 John 1:6 ) ; and such a reading the sense requires; and agreeably to this the Ethiopic version renders it, “and we are partakers among ourselves with him”; that is, we all jointly and mutually appear to be like him, and partake of his nature, and have communion with him; and not only so, but with his Son Jesus Christ, as appears from our having a share in the cleansing efficacy of his blood ⁸.
• Vincent tells us this: Not, we with God and God with us, but with our brethren. Fellowship with God exhibits and proves itself by fellowship with Christians ⁴.

Here we find to opposing views of the same saying and, in our own view, neither IS right. Mr. Gill in his denominational and doctrinal view sees that idea of one another as God which we do not see as the apostles intent. Mr. Vincent on the other hand sees this as we do but he limits this fellowship or communion to Christians which, in the totality of the teaching of the Master and His apostles on Love, IS a limitation that IS NOT warranted and this we can clearly see in the sayings at the top of our essay. This is a handy example of the reality of hearing when that hearing IS in regard to spiritual things but is interpreted by carnal men; our view here IS that if this was reflected form the Christ Within, from the Soul, of these writers that their view would be different and here we should see that the thoughts and the attitudes of the carnal self IS what IS reflected in their consciousness. Can we better see the reality of the Master’s words saying “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 13:9). It IS in these same ideas that we can see the different renderings of words that we discussed in the last essay; how that the translators and the interpreters insert their own thoughts and attitudes as they develop them from their own denominational and doctrinal view and effectively change the very meaning of some of what we were intended to receive from the scriptures. Our example of uncleanness in yesterdays post is a good example but there ARE many more and some that are not quite so clearly seen without the help of one’s own sense of Truth as it flows forth in the Light of the Soul. Mr. Gill and Mr. Vincent are surely religious men but they ARE, as ARE we ALL, trapped in their own view of the Truths of the Master’s words and it IS ONLY when we can break free of those thoughts and attitudes that tether us to the world and the self in the world, that we are Truly free and accounted worthy of the Kingdom.

Here we return our thoughts to our view of reality, that it IS the very nature of man to do whatsoever he can to deflect blame from himself in these spiritual matters and to find effective cover in the manipulation of the words of scripture. But there IS a greater Truth here that CAN NOT be covered and that IS the reality of the strait gate; it matters not what one may believe, one CAN ONLY enter here when one IS free from the ways of the world as IS evidenced by one’s expression of Love for ALL. While it may seem that we are painting a picture that shows the extreme difficulty in attaining the Kingdom, we are only showing the meaning of the Master’s words; it is He who outlines the difficulty in saying  that we must “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able“. And Matthew tells us this same thing in different words and it matters not that these are or are not the same occurrence of the Master speaking on this so directly; we read: “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).

These words are equally clear and show us that there are but few who find the Kingdom. This IS NOT however the way that these ideas are depicted in doctrines that tell us that it IS in the human and carnal ‘goodness’, or in the atonement of the Christ, or in the forgiveness by the priest, or in the affirmations and rituals of a ‘new birth’, or any of the prescribed ideas of faith and of churchgoing and of tithing. These ARE NOT the way to that same Kingdom of which the Master speaks when He tells us that “few there be that find it” or that “many….will seek to enter in, and shall not be able“; this is that special place of being, that special state of Life, where the man can stand with the Master saying “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). As we have ofttimes said, there are no shortcuts to this state of being; there IS only the DOING. There IS a parabolic value to these words from the Master regarding the strait gate and some do have the proper understanding as we see in the Commentary Critical and Explanatory of the Whole Bible where we read: Enter ye in at the strait gate–as if hardly wide enough to admit one at all. This expresses the difficulty of the first right step in religion, involving, as it does, a triumph over all our natural inclinations. Hence the still stronger expression in Luke (Luke 13:24). This mode of thought continues on saying: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life–In other words, the whole course is as difficult as the first step; and (so it comes to pass that) few there be that find it….Its very first step involves a revolution in all our purposes and plans for life, and a surrender of all that is dear to natural inclination, while all that follows is but a repetition of the first great act of self-sacrifice. No wonder, then, that few find and few are found in it. But it has one advantage–it “leadeth unto life.“

While we see these words as True to the intent of the Master, the writers go on to say: Some critics take “the gate” here, not for the first, but the last step in religion; since gates seldom open into roads, but roads usually terminate in a gate, leading straight to a mansion. But as this would make our Lord’s words to have a very inverted and unnatural form as they stand, it is better, with the majority of critics, to view them as we have done. But since such teaching would be as unpopular as the way itself, our Lord next forewarns His hearers that preachers of smooth things–the true heirs and representatives of the false prophets of old–would be rife enough in the new kingdom. We should note here the sense of the writers as regards the unpopularity of the True instructions as regards men and here again we hold out that it IS the very nature of man to hear or to believe those things that best suit him psychically, those things that make him feel good about himself. In this we should note that if there ARE NO alternative choices to the Truth that these things would NOT be True; Truth would not be so subject to unpopularity if it were the only idea. This then leads us to embrace the writers idea that this leads to the next verses where we are warned of false teachers and can see them here as those that teach to the convenience of men and, of course, of themselves.

Can we see here how this ALL works together, how that the words that are offered to us by those who take authority are viewed by the masses as the Truth even though there ARE conflicting versions of this Truth. It is because the hearer DOES NOT seek to understand these outside of the comfort of doctrine that these ideas flourish to such degree that they have become the Truth of those who adhere to whatever are their own doctrines and beliefs. It is because the hearer DOES NOT hear the prompting of his own Soul over the clamor of daily living or over of the strength of his own indoctrination. And, we should remember that there are those among us for whom these ideas from doctrine are not scrutinized because the hearer IS NOT yet so advanced as to KNOW to do so…they just believe. We should understand here that it is the natural way of the man in the world, the man subjected to vanity, subjected to the illusion and the glamour of Life, to conduct himself in these ways of convenience and that the Providence of the Soul, the Christ Within, IS Truth and the expression of that Truth through his form in this world. There IS NO good and evil in this ALL as we commonly understand these things, there is just men who find themselves at different points on this scale of Life in form; different points upon the Path that leads to the strait gate which opens into the Kingdom of God.

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.

And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. 
God is love; 
and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. 
Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness 
in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. 
There is no fear in love; 
but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. 
He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
We love him, because he first loved us. 
If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: 
for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, 
how can he love God whom he hath not seen? 
And this commandment have we from him, 
That he who loveth God love his brother also
1 John 4:16-21

Today’s Quote of the Day from the First Epistle of John is his reflection on God and on Love. John tells us that God is Love and, as we have discussed, Love is certainly as aspect and an attribute of the Godhead and one which is supremely represented by the Christ. John tells us further that without Love there is no relationship with God and likens the Truth of dwelling in Love to being in His Kingdom and in His Presence. He draws for us the idea of Love for ones fellowman being the prime prerequisite for Love of God for although one may say that he Loves God, it cannot be True unless he first Loves his fellowman. In John’s words the equation is certain: “he who loveth God love his brother also“. And, lest we forget that the idea of Love that the Master teaches in not the emotional attraction that we live with daily, we repeat again: LOVE is….

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’. To this we add the ever important High Ideal as taught by the Christ: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12).

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