ON LOVE; PART MDXX
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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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In the last essay we completed our discussion on the words of the Apostle James regarding Wisdom and wisdom. Our use of the capitalized Wisdom IS to refer to what James calls the “wisdom that is from above” while our use of the lowercase wisdom refers to the wisdom that “descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish“; we have been using this distinction for some time as we refer to Wisdom. For us Wisdom IS a KEY component and insignia of True spirituality which can be discerned among men through the fruits of their individual and corporate lives. Here we should remember the Master’s words saying of the True representative of the “wisdom that is from above” that “by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:20) and while His words point to the “false prophet” the idea covers the True prophet as well. Of course we must try to understand that the idea of prophet from the Greek word prophetes IS NOT limited to the idea of the Old Testament prophets ONLY but to ALL that Truly reveal the divine inspiration that emanates from their own Souls. There IS NO magic formula for being a prophet and we should understand here that so many that proclaim themselves to be prophets ARE at best people who believe such ideas based on their doctrinal affiliation. That the Master tells us that “Ye shall know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:20,16) DOES NOT seem to deter such proclamations by those who may mean well nor the charlatans that also make such claims. That men ARE encouraged to be ‘prophets‘ IS the way of some denominations that DO NOT understand the rich dynamics or the necessary measure of the “wisdom that is from above” and, from our perspective, many who claim to be prophets DO NOT even exercise the wisdom that “descendeth not from above“. Our True encouragement comes from the words of the Master who tells us to “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
We should try to understand that the point of ALL this IS to show that there IS a reality to these ideas of Wisdom and wisdom and that it IS up to our individual discernment abilities to tell the prophet from the “false prophet” while remembering that we can be misled by many. The Master tells us this saying “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:24). We should try to see that these words DO NOT ONLY apply to the so called end times which IS a favorite subject in parts of the church. Some of the ideas in this chapter relate directly to the sacking of Jerusalem in 70 AD while others portend the return of the Christ which IS a very complex subject that we will NOT deal with here. Our focus instead IS upon the idea that some of what the Master IS saying happens rather soon and the idea of “false Christs” applies to this time and ALL subsequent times as well. We should remember here that these words ARE NOT spoken to the masses as much of Jesus words ARE; these words ARE to His disciples which we read in Matthew’s telling us “as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you” (Matthew 24:3-4). Here in the first part of the Master’s warning to His disciples He simply tells them to “Take heed that no man deceive you“; it IS this theme that He then carries forward again warning them of the possibility of deception in a more pointed way saying that “if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect“. We should note here that if it were NOT possible, Jesus would NOT have said this. The message to us then IS that we should be aware of, perhaps beware IS a better view, ALL that speak with ‘godly’ authority and measure their authenticity by our measure of their fruits, of the fruits of their lives. Here again we should try to see the intimate relationship between fruits and works and try to understand that from a spiritual perspective these ARE much the same.
In the last essay we cited two sayings from the Apostle Paul that we see as showing us this relationship and its effect upon the lives of men. Paul tells us first, in the form of a prayer, “that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10). Our second selection shows us a reality that should have shattered the doctrinal ideas against works but has not. Paul tells us that “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). Here while the idea IS related to “good works“, the idea that “we should walk in them” brings us to the idea of being His disciple where His command IS that such should “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven“. It IS by this Light that we can discern the fruits of one’s Life….we can discern this through one’s works. Finally, we should understand that it IS Wisdom, it IS the “wisdom that is from above“, that brings to us the ability to DO the “good works” and produce the fruit by which we DO “Let your light so shine“. As we continue to look at the ideas of “good works” and the fruits of one’s Life we should first go back to the words of the Apostle James where we DID NOT address the last idea that he offers us regarding wisdom and Wisdom. Repeating the apostle’s words for clarity we read:
“Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace” (James 3:13-18).
While James’ words saying that “the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace” may seem misplaced in a discussion on Wisdom and wisdom, they ARE NOT. We begin with the idea here of fruit which we see as the visible sign of one’s works and this IS True as both negatives and positives. “Good works” result in good fruits and here they result in “the fruit of righteousness“. What ARE the “good works” that give us this “fruit of righteousness“? They ARE the list of the aspects of and the qualities of “the wisdom that is from above“. Our use of ALL of the ideas listed as qualities of “the wisdom that is from above” ARE in the end our works; as we come to possess “the wisdom that is from above” we must perforce use that Wisdom in our daily lives and it IS here that they ARE our works. When we have the right measure of this Wisdom we can be seen as pure, as free: from anything that debases, contaminates, pollutes, etc.*. We can be seen as peaceable, as having the inner peace that subdues our carnal impulses. When we have the right measure of “the wisdom that is from above” we can be seen as gentle or, better, as having the forbearance, fairness and even moderation that IS necessary in the Life of one who Truly pursues the Lord. We can also be seen as one who Truly understands the flow of Truth from our own Souls which IS “easy to be intreated” or easy to accept and understand by the man into whose Life this Wisdom flows. ALL of this IS our “fruit of righteousness” which in itself becomes “full of mercy and good fruits“. This iS the reality of having possession of our earned measure of “the wisdom that is from above” and in the idea of earned we should be able to see that such IS the result of our works. This DOES NOT separate us from another reality which IS that our works ARE our striving to keep His words and to express agape Love and Truth with NO “respect to persons” (James 2:9) as the qualities of “the wisdom that is from above” ARE the result of such striving. It IS in our striving that we take on our individual measure of righteousness and we should remember here that ALL this begins with our Repentance, with our decision to change the focus of our lives off of the self and the things of the self and put that focus on the things of God. We should remember as well the idea of our Transformation, the “renewing of your mind” as Paul frames this; it IS in our Transformation that we begin to gain the necessary measure of “the wisdom that is from above“.
James words on the “fruit of righteousness” go on to tell us that this fruit IS “sown in peace of them that make peace” and we should try to understand just what this means. We should begin here with the meaning of the key words. The first word of moment IS that the “fruit of righteousness” IS sown. Sown IS from the Greek word speiro which Strong’s defines for us as: to scatter, i.e. sow (literally or figuratively)9a; here we should be reminded of the Parable of the Sower and understand the figurative meaning that IS imparted to us there. Thayer’s gives us a similar meaning while leading with the the idea of sowing rather than scattering 9 and we should note that both ARE important points in James words. Vine’s offers us some additional depth of meaning; they tell us that metaphorically the idea IS: of “sowing” spiritual things in preaching and teaching before they mention the idea of: “sowing” to the flesh from Paul’s words to the Galatians 9b where we read “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:7-10). Here we have both sowing and reaping and perhaps we should note that whensoever we DO sow, we DO also reap. Our next word of moment IS peace from the Greek word eirene which we discussed as as aspect of “the wisdom that is from above” over the last few posts. There, the word IS rendered as peaceable of which we say that it IS: that sense of inner peace to which the Master refers saying “Peace I leave with you” which Paul calls “the peace of God“. As we ARE speaking here of the same idea of peace as an aspect and quality of “the wisdom that is from above“, we should try to see that the ideas ARE related and that the peace that we sow as a “fruit of righteousness” IS that same inner peace that we come to possess.
The idea here then, as shown in James’ statement that “the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace“, brings us to the next word of moment which IS righteousness. Righteousness IS a complex word idea in both the Greek and in English but the meaning that we must take from it IS purely spiritual in this context. The Greek word here IS dikaiosune which IS always rendered as righteousness; variants of the Greek word ARE also most always rendered in terms of righteous. Strong’s defines dikaiosune saying that it IS: equity (of character or act); specially (Christian) justification 9a and, to be sure, these defining ideas ARE of little help in understanding the role of righteousness save for the idea of equity. While the idea of equity IS used in the Old Testament several times, it IS NOT found in the New Testament. The Hebrew word that IS rendered as equity IS yōšer which IS defined by Strong’s simply as the right 9a while the lexicon offers us the idea that the word means: straightness, uprightness; straightness, evenness (moral implications); rightness, uprightness; what is right, what is due 2. These ideas ARE more revealing and when added to Strong’s definition of dikaiosune which IS simply equity (of character or act) we can see the greater picture. The ideas here ALL lead us to see that it IS the comportment of men, their thoughts, attitudes and actions that define one’s individual righteousness and from our perspective this IS largely True. Thayer’s IS much more expansive in their defining ideas which they share with the lexicon where we read that dikaiosune is: in a broad sense: state of him who is as he ought to be, righteousness, the condition acceptable to God; the doctrine concerning the way in which man may attain a state approved of God; integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking feeling, and acting; in a narrower sense, justice or the virtue which gives each his due 9, 2. For us the idea that we seek IS one that reflects the spiritual nature of righteousness which IS found in the idea that dikaiosune IS the condition acceptable to God. There ARE two references to righteousness in the Beatitudes that can help us to understand the idea of dikaiosune. The first IS “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6). Here the Master IS telling His disciples that they should “hunger and thirst after righteousness” and in this we should see the ardent idea of striving toward this goal. While the idea IS NOT framed as an instruction, it clearly IS; in effect, Jesus IS here introducing the idea of measure, an idea that he often uses throughout the gospels. As we “hunger and thirst after righteousness” we gain some measure of it. And, to be sure that it IS NOT feigned, the Master offers us another clue saying “except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20).
We should try to see that “the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees” IS feigned righteousness in the eyes of the Master; they ARE NOT Truly righteous at all based upon their failure to follow the reality of the law rather than their doctrines which manipulate the law into carnal terms. For us then to exceed that type of righteousness IS to bring it forth from the Soul through True Repentance….this IS yet another gateway idea for our entry “into the kingdom of heaven“. The second Beatitude that references righteousness tells us that “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10). In these words we should try to see that our righteousness will be visible to others as the influence of righteousness, the condition acceptable to God, begins to have a worldly effect. Jesus’ words here ARE a caution that shows us that whensoever our Wisdom IS apparent in this world it will cause a reaction by those that see such Wisdom as a threat. Here again we must understand that “the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy” and that it IS this comportment that will surely irk others whose view IS carnally oriented. For Jesus, this persecution came from the ‘religious’ Jews and others that decried His closeness to the Lord as a threat to themselves. While we ARE here, it may be wise to explain in more spiritual terms just what being blessed means as this IS the reward for the Truly righteous. The Greek word that IS rendered as blessed IS makarios which the lexicon simply defines as: blessed, happy 2; the word IS rendered as happy in several places in the King James Bible and, to be sure, most ALL uses of happy would benefit from being rendered as blessed. For example the King James translates makarios as happy in Peter’s saying that “if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled” (1 Peter 3:14) despite this being an affirmation of Jesus words from the Beatitudes. In Jesus words following the washing of the apostles’ feet we read “I have given you an example, that ye should do as* I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them” (John 13:15-17); here again the Master’s idea IS clearer rendered as blessed. There ARE several bible translations that render makarios as happy even within the Beatitudes.
However, aside from citing the differences in rendering the idea in the King James Bible, we still DO NOT have a True idea of just what blessed means. Strong’s tells us that the idea of makarios IS as: a prolonged form of the poetical μάκαρ mákar (meaning the same); supremely blest before adding that it IS by extension, fortunate, well off 9a. Vincent explains the idea, saying that: it is important to understand its history, which is interesting because it is one of those numerous words which exhibit the influence of Christian association and usage in enlarging and dignifying their meaning. It is commonly rendered blessed, both in the A. V. and Rev., and that rendering might properly be given it in every instance 4. Vincent’s words here ARE quite lengthy and we would encourage the reader to read his words online. Makarios IS NOT the ONLY word rendered as blessed but since it IS the one used in the Beatitudes, it IS the idea that we ARE discussing here. In the Beatitudes the idea of being blessed IS shown us as being a reward of sorts; the usage IS that should one DO or be according to any of the Beatitude topics, he IS then blessed. As a reward we should try to see that it IS connected to the idea presented in the full Beatitude so that in our first example one’s blessing would be the result of the Beatitude. In the idea that “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled“, the blessing, the reward if you will, IS that “they shall be filled” with that righteousness and, from our perspective, the idea of happy plays ONLY a minor and carnal role. Similarly in the Beatitude that says “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven“, the blessing, again the reward, IS simply “the kingdom of heaven“. Here however we must interject the idea that if one IS being persecuted for being righteous in a purely spiritual sense, he IS perforce Truly righteous and therefore has earned the Kingdom; effectively, such a person IS one that “doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). We should also note that such righteousness DOES “exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees“
Returning to James’ words saying that “the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace” we should try to see that it IS “the wisdom that is from above” with ALL its qualities that IS the reality of “the fruit of righteousness” in this context. We should note here also that it IS “the wisdom that is from above” that IS the product of our Repentance and Transformation and that in the “renewing of your mind” should be understood as that the mind IS renewed by “the wisdom that is from above“. This fruit then, this Wisdom, IS sown or, better, scattered, by the one who possesses it and this IS done in peace, it IS DONE with an air of inner peace which IS itself a product of “the wisdom that is from above“. The final idea in Jame’s words IS that this IS DONE, this sowing of “the wisdom that is from above” in a peaceable manner replete with that sense of inner peace, “of them that make peace“. The Greek word ho IS rendered as the phrase “of them” here and as “by them“, “for them” and “to them” in other translations. Still others acknowledge the mystery of James’ words by rendering into such ideas as “peacemakers who sow seed in peace raise a harvest of righteousness” and “Peacemakers who sow in peace reap the fruit of righteousness“. In our view these last two ideas miss the point that James IS making and of the choices listed above, we see that the idea of “by them” accomplishes James’ intent most clearly. Next IS another phrase, “that make” which IS taken from the Greek word poieo; this word has a long list of defining terms which can easily be combined into the idea of making. Thayer’s tells us that in reference to this particular verse the idea of poieo IS: joined to nouns denoting a state or condition, it signifies to be the author of, to cause9. Both of these ideas can be summarized into making and perhaps what we should take away from this IS that the man who possesses “the wisdom that is from above” and who has renewed his mind through that Wisdom IS sowing this Wisdom, this “fruit of righteousness“, peaceably and in ways that ARE “easy to be intreated” or easy to accept and understand because of the peace that he has made in himself. Perhaps this can be better understood through the words of the Apostle Paul who tells us of the Master that “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace” (Ephesians 2:15). Can we see the point here? Can we see that the man who possesses the “the wisdom that is from above” in its fullness has “abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances” and has made “in himself of twain one new man” with that inner peace that flows with the Wisdom from the Soul.
While this concludes our discussion of James words on the Wisdom and the wisdom we should remain and look more closely at the idea of Wisdom itself. The defining idea of Wisdom provided by James should show us what this “wisdom that is from above” IS and while this Wisdom IS ALL these things, we still lack a singular defining idea. We should understand here that agape and sophia, which IS rendered as Wisdom and wisdom, ARE intimately related and that one CAN NOT have one without the other. They ARE a pair if we can say it this way. Jesus tells us that the Wise man IS the one that “heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them” and, simply put, the Wise man IS one who keeps His words (Matthew 7:24). The Master tells us that the opposite of this Wise man IS the foolish man and we should try to understand these ideas in terms of spiritual and carnal. While ALL of this DOES NOT specifically define the idea of Wisdom, perhaps these words from Solomon can help us to understand the spiritual Force and Power of Wisdom. Solomon tells us:
“My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path. When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee” (Proverbs 2:1-11).
We should ALL see ourselves as Solomon’s son and see his words as our instructions regarding Wisdom. To be sure Solomon’s words ARE seen by many as speaking about perhaps a combination of “the wisdom that is from above” and the wisdom that “descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish” as he DOES NOT distinguish between these two poles. However, by the tone of his words and the inclusion of such ideas as that Wisdom “ preserveth the way of his saints” should be enough to convince the reader that the subject IS surely “the wisdom that is from above“. That there ARE two kinds of wisdom should NOT be disputed as there IS a great divide between Wisdom and knowledge and here we should understand worldly knowledge. Worldly wisdom IS intimately related to worldly knowledge with the latter being what one may KNOW and the former being how one uses that knowledge to his benefit of the benefit of others. Google’s AI overview tells us that: Knowledge is understanding facts and information, while wisdom is the ability to apply that knowledge effectively and make sound judgments, often gained through experience 7. Of course both our words and Google’s ARE but summations of the ideas of knowledge and wisdom but we should try to see that neither of these comparisons apply to “the wisdom that is from above” and we should try to see that spiritually Wisdom produces knowledge while in the world the opposite IS ofttimes True. We cited above that there IS a strong intimate relationship between agape and sophia, between Love and Wisdom and we should try to understand that here. We KNOW that “God is agape love” (1 John 4:8, 16) NOT ONLY because it IS written in our scriptural texts, but because we KNOW the nature of the Godhead IS as a unifying and Universal Force that brings ALL things together as One. It IS because of the nature of the Godhead that John writes that “God is agape love“. While the idea of Wisdom IS NOT used frequently in the New Testament, it IS mostly used by Luke, the idea IS used to convey the righteousness and the ‘thought Power’ of the Master. Luke tells us of the young Jesus that “the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him” and here we should try to understand that this Wisdom IS found in “the grace of God” and that grace IS always ALL things that come from the Godhead. Further on we read that “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man” (Luke 2:40, 52). Later, as the Master prepares His disciples for His departure from them, He tells them “they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake. And it shall turn to you for a testimony. Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist” Luke 21:12-15).
That these words from Luke’s Gospel ARE generally attributed to the end times DOES NOT matter, what matters IS the nature of the Master’s words which can be attributable to ALL periods of time where there IS persecution of True religious leaders and followers. Our point here IS misconstrued by the doctrinal church that sees Jesus as ‘dispensing’ such Wisdom while the reality IS that this Wisdom flows from the Soul, the Christ Within, which IS a subject that was perhaps too alien in Jesus time. We should remember that this idea of the Christ Within IS called a mystery by Paul who tells us “the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:26-27). That the mystery “is made manifest to his saints” should serve to tell us that His True disciples, His saints if you will, have this Wisdom and perhaps what the Master IS saying above IS that they must come to have the realization that they need to NOT “meditate before what ye shall answer“. We should try to understand here that as a True disciple, a saint if you will, one has full access to ALL Wisdom and KNOWLEDGE and the ONLY thing that can get in the way of one’s expression of this IS the remnants of the carnal mind that had controlled one’s Life for so long. And we should understand as well that there IS a great range of abilities and access even for the aspirant to discipleship as we gain by measure our individual spiritual reality. While we frequently speak about measure, it IS still a concept that IS ill understood by most as a spiritual concept despite being often spoken of by the Master. The Apostle Luke offers us the Master’s words saying “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again” (Luke 6:38). This saying IS used in the church to say that if one gives, others will give back in abundance and while many believe this, it IS especially important to the Word of Faith movement in the church where the so-called prosperity gospel IS preached.
We should try to see Jesus words here in a spiritual tone rather than a carnal one; it IS “good measure” that we both give and receive and NOT earthly goods such as IS commonly understood. We should try to see that it IS the ideas of the previous verses that ARE what we should give and this would include NO judgement, NO condemnation and forgiveness plus the mercy that IS the subject of our comparison to the Lord. Jesus tells us “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again” (Luke 6:36-38). Can we see the point here? Can we see that we could go yet further into the previous verses to better define what we would give and receive. We should note as well that because of the churches view on this idea of giving and receiving the Greek word didomi IS rendered as “shall men give” in the King James Bible. Other translations render without the idea of men but the idea IS implied in the verbiage of most ALL. Two more points here; first the idea of good in “good measure” IS from the Greek word kalos which, in addition to good, IS rendered as better, honest, meet and goodly and with this we should try to see a clearer idea of this measure. Second, the idea plays into the next statement which IS in regard to measure generally and should be understood to apply to more than just this idea of giving and receiving. It IS with the measure that we mete, that we receive and this applies to ALL instances. The Greek word metreo which IS a derivative of the Greek word metron which IS rendered as measure IS defined as to measure 9a by Strong’s; the ideas here ARE similar and work well together to show the amount, here metaphorically, that one measures out 9 which IS the way Thayer’s defines the idea. This IS a great spiritual Truth that tells us that it IS “with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again” but we must understand the whole idea spiritually and NOT carnally. The measure of our giving in most any form “shall be measured to you again” but this idea must NOT be viewed as any person giving; it IS the Lord, the Christ Within, that IS the instrument by which mercy for example “shall be measured to you again“. And this should NOT be understood as we will receive mercy although in some instances this may happen; this should be understood as that our measure of mercy that we can mete will be increased in proportion to that which we have meted. it IS in this way that we grow spiritually.
As an exercise perhaps we can look at our trifecta of the Master’s words as examples of this idea of measure and our increase in measure as we DO as the Lord admonishes us to DO. Jesus tells us:
- “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).
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 |
- 2 New Testament Greek lexicon on biblestudytools.com
- 4 Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition
- 8 Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com
- 7 Google generative AI on wisdom
- 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
- * Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
