IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 918

ON LOVE; PART DVII

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GoodWill IS Love in Action

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“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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“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).

There IS much confusion regarding the reality of the Kingdom of God. Not only regarding the Master’s words that it IS within each and every man as He tells us that “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21), but also in the reality of what it IS that makes one accounted worthy of the Kingdom and this despite the Master’s many words on this. On the first part, the denial of the Kingdom Within IS unfounded in His words but the doctrines are rather adamant on this nonetheless and this is likely because to understand that this IS True would be set aside much of the doctrines that they had developed and inherited from the traditions of the Jews. Most believe that the Kingdom IS that place where one CAN go after the death of the physical body while it IS our view, and the view of many, that the Kingdom IS here and it IS NOW and that for those who can understand this and strive toward the Kingdom as the Master instructs, glimpses of this Truth abound. And this IS the nature of the several parables that we recently discussed; the finding of the Kingdom and selling or forsaking ALL to possess it in the Parable of the Pearl of Great Price and the Parable of the Treasure in the Field, and the growth of the Kingdom Within as the Master presents in the Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Parable of the Leaven. These ideas from the Master’s words are relegated by many  to show the growth of the church and finding of the gospel and for some even the idea that it IS Christ who is the merchant seeking pearls and finding them in His ‘elect’. ALL of these doctrinal ideas lose sight of the Master’s intent which IS to show in the common terms of the day the very nature of the Kingdom as a personal instruction to the man who can hear, the man “who hath ears to hear” (Matthew 13:9).

And this is our point from the last several essays; that many believe and purport to be among those who have “ears to hear” yet they continue to offer reasoning that IS grounded in their own doctrines and perhaps here IS the fear that right understanding will diminish their archaic doctrinal pronouncements of heaven and hell and eternal damnation as the reward and punishment for the man at death or, as some perceive this, at the ‘end time’. In these doctrinal ideas we should get a better understanding of our own use of the ideas of illusion and glamour as these relate to the ‘religious’ Life; the illusion IS in the beliefs that one’s own sense of doctrine is more right that any other and more right than an independent reading of the scriptures, and the glamour is found in one’s insistence and belief that their own view CAN NOT be wrong and that ALL others must be. We of course are likely bound up in our own sense of illusion and of glamour as these forces are inescapable until that point where one can overcome the wiles of the flesh and be firmly grounded in the Kingdom of God and here in our own sense of doctrine which we believe IS in accord with the intent of the Master’s words and the words of His apostles. And it IS in these conflicting views of Life and of the Kingdom that we continually assert our disclaimer which says that our words should not believed because we say they are True but should be believed only when they can be confirmed in the Light of one’s own Soul. This of course will be a difficult confirmation for any who look at our words with a focused intent based in the betterment of the carnal self in the world as our words ARE intended to be beyond this scope of Life as we try to peer into the Life of the aspirant and the disciple of the Lord.

We frequently use the Apostle Paul’s words to somewhat explain our Life here in this world and we will do so here again today as we plod along toward our end point which IS to better understand the reality of the Master’s instructions on discipleship and the Kingdom of God, the reality of forsaking ALL. Today we look as these from the perspective of the conscious man in the world while understanding that this consciousness is a property of the Soul, the self aware Soul as the True man, which IS used by the carnal Life in the world and which operates through the physical assets of mind and emotion. We should try to understand here that the illusion and the glamour of Life, while it IS the affliction of ALL, has the greater effect upon the man whose focus is in the world and a diminishing effect as the man begins to focus upon the True spiritual Life. We should try to see here as well that it IS the purpose of scripture, or rather the purpose of DOING as scripture instructs, to break down these walls of illusion and glamour that each man constructs for himself out of his own nurturing, his own interpretations of Life and his own experiences in the world. We should note that NOT ALL illusions are the same and this is borne out in the vast variety of men’s perspectives on Life and we should try to see here the idea put forward regarding the cross that must be borne by each which we recently discussed. We read from Vincent’s words on the cross that one must bear that it IS: His cross: his own. All are not alike. There are different crosses for different disciples. The English proverb runs: “Every cross hath its inscription” – the name of him for whom it is shaped ⁴. There is a strong link between the cross that a man must bear in following the Lord and the sense of illusion that afflicts him, the illusion MUST be shed as we journey along the Path that leads to that strait gate.

Our words from the apostle are those words that he writes to the Romans and specifically what has been organized into the eighth chapter of that epistle. The scope of our study will be in these words listed below but our discussion may not treat these in the order that Paul gives us; Paul tells us:

“For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:13-23).

Paul’s vision of Truth is unparalleled in the New Testament and while his words are ofttimes misrepresented, misapplied and misunderstood, they do contain the seeds to our right understanding of the Master’s words and His Truths. We should be ever careful to keep our understanding of any saying within the context that it is offered as the entire intent of the sayings can be altered when taken out of context and this reality IS very evident in today’s rapid response world of audio and video. The context that we present above is what we see as that assemblage of Paul’s ideas that can stand alone but we encourage ALL to read the preceding and the succeeding verses. We see that the first verse above considers the preceding in its content and that the succeeding take these thoughts into their practical operation in Life for the man who can understand the entirety of the context which we will attempt here to make more clear.

• In the first idea above we have that reality of spiritual Life. The idea here that one should “mortify the deeds of the body” to find the True Life and in this idea of mortify we should understand the basic idea of ‘killing’, of putting to death, such deeds. In the idea presented as “deeds of the body” we should be able to see the idea from the last few essays on the “works of the flesh“; while it IS unclear why Paul chooses different words here to express this idea, we should note that the Greek words he uses do have definitions that cross over. In both cases we should see the underlying metaphorical meanings of one’s presence of the world, one’s physical and psychic being and here psychic applies to the mind and the emotions that ARE a mans expression. In both of these ideas we should see that line of demarcation between carnal living and spiritual living and that the higher spiritual Life will ‘kill’ the lower carnal Life allowing the man to Truly Live. Of course the idea of death here is the death in sin and we must recognize the parabolic value in this idea of ‘killing’ that death; this can be seen in that same way as the apostle’s other way of framing this same thought as He tells us that: “they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (Galatians 5:24), which words we find at the end of Paul’s sayings on the “works of the flesh” and the “fruit of the spirit” (Galatians 5:19, 22).
• It IS in doing these things, in living by the Spirit, that the carnal Life becomes the expression of the divine Life and while it may still be a carnal body and personality, that IS that it IS still of the world, it is crucified; the carnal deeds have been mortified and the “works of the flesh” ARE NO more. Now this DOES NOT happen overnight but this IS the work of the aspirant who understands these ideas, the man who understands what it IS that MUST be done. Working these things out in one’s Life IS his journey on the Path and the completion of these things places a man firmly in the Kingdom of God; and the final verse in our saying above plays to this idea in the use of the word Redemption. In these things we should try to see that these are accomplished psychically as the consciousness of man overwhelms and overcomes the proclivities and the nurturing and the Life experience of the mind and the emotions…of the complex human personality. The changes are in realization and in vision which comes to the man as revelation; he sees and thinks and DOES from a steadily changing new point of view so that his very thoughts, attitudes and actions change from that focus upon the self and the self in the world to his focus on the Life of the Soul and the things of God. In this change one comes to realize by degree that he IS “led by the Spirit of God” and that by degree he can count himself among the “sons of God“. This is one’s slowly increasing sense of divinity and this IS the Truth of the Master’s words that we reference above from the Parable of the Mustard Tree and the Parable of the Leaven; this IS the growth of the Kingdom Within as one’s realization of the Good, the Beautiful and the True. In essence the Soul IS ever the Son of God from the perspective of the Master’s presentation of God as the Father and it IS by living by the Spirit of God that one comes to realize this Great Truth.
• Remembering that the apostle IS speaking to men in the world who ARE aware of his thoughts and ideas about the spiritual Life, we should look at this next verse as it were spoken to us as aspirants who also understand these things. We should note that the idea of the dual “received the spirit” can be misleading as in reality there IS but ONE Spirit unless one IS speaking about the personal sense of things in which case this make little sense. Doctrines seems to paint this as the latter and while it can be seen that the man whose focus is in the world is exhibiting a “spirit of bondage” by degree and the man whose focus is on the things of God, the man who has been able to “mortify the deeds of the body“, can be seen as expressing the “Spirit of adoption“, this IS NOT how doctrine views the entirety of this idea. They see this whole idea of adoption as some illusive gift from God that makes one a son. If we can see this as a rather straightforward statement of fact saying that the man has not been given a Spirit that is subject to the corruption of the world and the associated bondage but rather that he has a Spirit that IS ONE with God which IS the Truer understanding of this whole idea of adoption which we have discussed before. In a few words we see this idea of adoption as painted for us by Vincent who, quoting Mr. Merivale, says: the adopted son of God becomes, in a peculiar and intimate sense, one with the heavenly Father ⁴. This idea comes from an understanding of the use of the act of adoption by the Romans in that day; how the adopted son is equal to the natural son and entitled to ALL the benefits of sonship and this is not unlike the Christian idea except in the application of this by doctrine and religion. Paul tells us that we have the “Spirit of Adoption” and he places no criteria upon this as a gift or as something earned; he simply tells us that our Spirit IS NOT of this world but that it IS of God.
• In the idea of Abba, Father there is little clarity and in our view there IS a mystery embedded here that we DO NOT yet see. The common understanding is that the word is simply Father in another language and that it is repeated for the clarity of some Jews. Some of the ideas presented on this word Abba are:
  • The lexicon tells us that this word which IS the Greek word means: Abba = “father”; father, customary title used of God in prayer. Whenever it occurs in the New Testament it has the Greek interpretation joined to it, that is apparently to be explained by the fact that the Chaldee “ABBA” through frequent use in prayer, gradually acquired the nature of a most sacred proper name, to which the Greek speaking Jews added the name from their own tongue ².
  • Vincent tells us of Abba that: Abba (Αββα); Compare Mark 14:36. A Syrian term, to which Paul adds the Greek Father. The repetition is probably from a liturgical formula which may have originated among the Hellenistic Jews who retained the consecrated word Abba Some find here a hint of the union of Jew and Gentile in God ⁴.
  • John Gill, in his Exposition of the Bible tells us of this idea that: an outward calling upon God, as a Father, with confidence; “Abba, Father,Father” is the explanation of the word “Abba”, and which is added for explanation sake, and to express the vehemency of the affection, and the freedom and liberty which belongs to children: the words in the original are, the one a Syriac word in use with the Jews, the other a Greek one, and denotes that there is but one Father of Jews and Gentiles ⁸.
  • The Catholic Encyclopedia tells us that: Abba is the Aramaic word for “father.” The word occurs three times in the New Testament (Mark 14:36; Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6). In each case it has its Greek translation subjoined to it, reading abba ho pater in the Greek text; abba, pater in the Latin Vulgate, and “Abba, Father” in the English version. St. Paul made use of the double expression in imitation of the early Christians, who, in their turn, used it in imitation of the prayer of Christ ¹³.
  • Finally we have this from the Commentary Critical and Explanatory of the Whole Bible: “Abba” is the Syro-Chaldaic word for “Father”; and the Greek word for that is added, not surely to tell the reader that both mean the same thing, but for the same reason which drew both words from the lips of Christ Himself during his agony in the garden ( Mark 14:36 ). He, doubtless, loved to utter His Father’s name in both the accustomed forms; beginning with His cherished mother tongue, and adding that of the learned. In this view the use of both words here has a charming simplicity and warmth ⁸.

Again, in our view there IS a meaning here that we do not see and that perhaps we can discover as we proceed with these ideas from Paul’s Epistle to the Romans and in the reality of that Truth that we ARE Souls, the manifestation of that Spirit which IS ever ONE with 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!

• ² New Testament Greek Lexicon on BibleStudyTools.com
• ⁴ Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888
• ⁸ Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com
• ¹³ The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org