ON LOVE; PART MDXLV
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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 continued our discussion of our Repentance and our Transformation as the Way to “the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). We spent a large part of our discussion on the Great Commandments that the Master clearly shows us in the gospels but which ARE NOT seen in the way intended by much of the church. This IS of course unfortunate; the proper view of the Great Commandments IS found in the Master’s words saying “There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:31). These words ARE included in the preamble of every essay and should be understood as they ARE meant to be understood through the Master’s words from Mark’s Gospel as well as His words from Matthew saying “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:40). We should note here that this sense of importance given to the Great Commandments by the Master IS also applied by Jesus to his words saying “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” which He ends by saying that “for this is the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:12). Speaking to the Jews and His disciples in both instances, we should try to see that Jesus IS showing us that these two pronouncements of the effect of agape make it the primary idea of both His teaching and the teachings of the Old Testament. We should remember here that one of the Master’s primary drivers in His interaction with the Jews IS the way that they had changed the intent and the meaning of the commandments into their mitzvah which Jesus often speaks against in the gospels.
For the most part the Jews missed the entire concept of agape but we should understand that there were some that DID understand the reality. A New Testament example of this IS found in the Master’s interaction with the scribe in Mark’s Gospel where we read the scribe’s response to Jesus saying “Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices” (Mark 12:32-33). Another example of the understanding, but NOT practice according to the gospels, IS from Luke’s Gospel where the Master asks a “certain lawyer” what he thought was the Way to “inherit eternal life“. This lawyer answers saying “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself” to which Jesus says “Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live” (Luke 10:27, 28). Through ALL of this we should be convinced that these ARE the Great Commandments and that these ARE the scriptural ideas that we must follow; it IS in this context that Jesus says “this do, and thou shalt live“. We must try to understand here that this idea of living, an idea we have covered many times in our blog posts, has naught to DO with our Life and death as men in this world. The reality of this sense of living IS in accord with the concept that we have been discussing as: through our Repentance and Transformation we can, as Souls, overcome the carnal mind and live as spiritual beings here in this world.
This IS of course our ‘hidden’ goal. It IS NOT hidden in the Master’s words but through the doctrinal denials that man can Truly be like the Master as the Apostle John shows us saying “as he is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17). This idea IS of course tied to our expression of agape which John shows us as he makes this a part of his dissertation on agape which we read as:
“Beloved, let us
loveagapao one another: forloveagape is of God; and every one thatlovethagapao is born of God, and knoweth God. He thatlovethagapao not knoweth not God; for God isloveagape. In this was manifested theloveagape of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein isloveagape, not that welovedagapao God, but that helovedagapao us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God solovedagapao us, we ought also toloveagapao one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If weloveagapao one another, God dwelleth in us, and hisloveagape is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed theloveagape that God hath to us. God isloveagape; and he that dwelleth inloveagape dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is ourloveagape made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:7-17).
We should try to see here that the idea that “as he is, so are we in this world” IS True on two levels. First as men we ARE “as he is“; we ARE Souls expressing Life through a form in this world the same as Jesus and ALL men. Second, this idea should be understood with the Soul being, as it IS, the Christ Within, which can, through our Repentance and Transformation, overcome the carnal mind and personality in this world and become, as the Master, a perfect expression of agape. Perhaps the KEY thought here IS that “he that dwelleth in love agape dwelleth in God, and God in him” and should we compare this with the Master’s statement from our trifecta, we can perhaps glimpse the Truth of the Presence of God. Jesus tells us that “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“. To clarify this for His apostles, Jesus goes on to say “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” (John 14:21, 23). We should try to see that the entirety of our relationship with the Godhead revolves around our expression of agape which, to be a True expression, must be with NO “respect to persons” (James 2:9). Here again we should be able to see the reality of the idea that His commandments on Love agape cited above ARE the Great Commandments, commandments that should have overtaken ALL others in the church centuries ago. Finally we should try to see that “If we love agapao one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love agape is perfected in us“; this IS our fulfilling of the Great Commandments.
We should try to understand here that our Love agape for God IS grossly misrepresented by the translation of agape and agapao as Love and this IS especially True when we see this idea of Love as the common idea of Love in this world. To “love agapao the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength“, the first Great Commandment, IS to place our focus on the Godhead fully and totally and while we say that to accomplish one of these Great Commandments we accomplish both there IS a bit more depth to this idea. John helps our understanding here saying “every one that loveth agapao is born of God, and knoweth God” and the KEY here IS KNOWING God. In Truly KNOWING God we can fully realize our relationship with the Godhead and with our fellow human beings; in Truth, we can KNOW our relationship with ALL creation. As John shows us the negative aspect of this saying “He that loveth agapao not knoweth not God; for God is love agape“, we should remember the Master’s words saying “He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings” (John 14:24). From the perspective that “God is love agape” we should be able to glean additional meaning from His words that we must “love agapao the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength“. The fullness of this IS found in the fullness of our realization that “as he is, so are we in this world“, our realization that we ARE spiritual beings and that we too ARE agape.
Here again we must look at the reality of the mysteries that ARE Life in this world, indeed, Life itself, and try to understand that ALL IS reconciled when we can perceive the Truth “through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue“. It IS here that we become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:3, 4) and come to have full realization of Paul’s words saying “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). As we discuss these ideas of full realization, we must remember that this fullness comes upon us by measure and that we gain our revelations according to the effort that we put forth in both expressing agape with NO “respect to persons” and KNOWING God which streams from the same expression of agape. In our ability to grasp the idea that we have, ARE is the better understanding, the “Christ in you, the hope of glory” as Souls in this world, IS our ability to fully Transform our lives and move our focus off of the self in this world and onto the things of God. To be sure, these things of God ARE His very nature which IS agape.
The revelation of the mysteries of which Paul’s words above are but one example IS the reality of the rewards that come to a man who IS in the process of Transforming, the man that has successfully Repented, has decided to change the focus and Path of his Life. We should remember that the Master shows us the reality of our realization of the mysteries in relation to being His disciple saying such things to His disciples as “it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables” (Mark 4:11). We should try to see here that this idea of discipleship ranks a man in his process of Transforming. If we look at this in conjunction with Paul’s words above where he tells us that “the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints“, we should be able to see that the disciple and the saint ARE similar appellations. We have discussed this Greek word hagios several times; it IS defined as: most holy thing, a saint 2 by the lexicon and as reverend, worthy of veneration 9 by Thayer’s. In the combination of these ideas we should be able to see that the way that so many in the doctrinal churches ARE called saints IS rather senseless. While the idea of sainthood as a posthumus title may have more substance, this practice IS a doctrinal idea and NOT a scriptural one. Our point here IS to equate this idea of saints with the reality of being His disciple, both ARE a most holy thing in a spiritual sense. To properly understand how that the saint and the disciple ARE equivalent ideas we must look at the Master’s words on who can be His disciple. Jesus directly addresses discipleship in two places.
The first IS found in our trifecta where the first part tells us that “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). Here there ARE two ideas at play; there IS the reality of discipleship as “then are ye my disciples indeed” which should be understood as True disciples. We must also look at the Way that one becomes a True disciple; here the Master tells us that to become such one must “continue in my word“, keep His words to be sure, and here the idea of continue can perhaps be better understood as abiding. The Greek word meno IS rendered most often as abide, especially when it IS used in a spiritual context as it IS here. In Jesus’ words here we have then the need to abide in His words. It IS this sense that carries the best idea forward as to abide in His word IS KEY to one’s success in Transforming; this we should see in Jesus’ words saying “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me” (John 15:4). One additional point here that IS directly in regard to the mysteries, albeit without using that word; abiding in His word makes us a disciple and gives the disciple “the truth“. It IS in “the truth” that the mysteries lie and in KNOWING this Truth, mysteries ARE revealed. This IS the Way of discipleship and the reality of being a saint in this world here and now. The Master offers us other criteria for discipleship as well; He tells us in Luke’s Gospel that “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26-27, 33). While the Master’s words here ARE framed in the negative, we should be able to discern the reality of DOING such things as he shows us here. We should understand in these words from the Master that there IS a specific criteria for being His disciple and based upon this criteria and the idea that one must “continue abide in my word” it IS easy to see that few there ARE that can achieve True discipleship in the world today.
While the Master’s criteria for discipleship may seem to be exceedingly hard, the reality IS that the realities cited come upon us by measure as we Transform our lives from carnal to spiritual. Let us try to break down the Master’s words in Luke’s Gospel relation to our Repentance and our Transformation. The first part IS stated as that we must hate but this word, rendered from the Greek miseo, DOES NOT so clearly translate into the common ideas of hate. Strong’s tells us that miseo IS: from a primary μῖσος mîsos (hatred); to detest (especially to persecute); by extension, to love less 9a. As an explanation of the idea of to love less, Thayers tells us that: Not a few interpreters have attributed to μισεῖν in Genesis 29:31 (cf. Genesis 29:30); Deuteronomy 21:15; Matthew 6:24; Luke 14:26; Luke 16:13; (John 12:25); Romans 9:13, the signification to love less, to postpone in love or esteem, to slight, through oversight of the circumstance that ‘the Orientals, in accordance with their greater excitability, are accustomed both to feel and to profess love and hate where we Occidentals, with our cooler temperament, feel and express nothing more than interest in, or disregard and indifference to a thing’; Fritzsche, Commentary on Romans, ii., p. 304; cf. Rückert, Magazin f. Exegese u. Theologie des N. T., p. 27ff. ALL of these biblical citations ARE in regard to a form of miseo that IS effectively to love less. We hold this same view for two reasons; first that the Lord encourages us to express agape which IS the polar opposite of hate. This IS True when the idea IS considered as Love and it IS equally True when we see the idea as agape through which we see ALL men the same and without emotion. The second IS from the citation of Romans 9:13 where we read “As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated“. Regardless of the context of the original saying from the Prophet Malachi, the idea that our God, of whom John tells us that “God is love agape“, can express hatred is a non sequitur.
There IS a third point here that shows us that the idea of miseo IS NOT as it IS understood as the common idea of hate. In Matthew’s Gospel there IS a similar idea cited as the words of the Master, but the idea of being His disciple IS presented to us as being worthy of Him. Matthew tells us the Master’s words as “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37-38). Matthew’s words here ARE considered as his version of the same event about which Luke writes; they are parallel passages. In this IS perhaps the best measure of Luke’s use of the idea of miseo and through the combination of these and the ideas cited above we should be able to understand that the intent IS Loving less. We should note here, as an additional point of reasoning, that the words used in Matthew to express this Love ARE NOT agape but rather phileo which idea of Love IS emotionally based. Vine’s offers us perhaps the best explanation for adopting the idea of Loving less; they tells us: “to hate,” is used especially….of relative preference for one thing over another, by way of expressing either aversion from, or disregard for, the claims of one person or thing relatively to those of another, Mat 6:24; and Luk 16:13, as to the impossibility of serving two masters; Luk 14:26, as to the claims of parents relatively to those of Christ; Jhn 12:25, of disregard for one’s life relatively to the claims of Christ; Eph 5:29, negatively, of one’s flesh, i.e. of one’s own, and therefore a man’s wife as one with him 9b.
The idea then of Loving our close relatives less than we Love the Master using the idea of phileo IS equivalent to the idea that we must hate such close relatives and the idea of Loving less then replaces the idea of miseo or, better, IS rendered in such a way as to say the same thing. This criteria for discipleship IS perhaps one of the most significant acknowledgements of the reality of the first of the Great Commandments where the idea presented IS that we must love agape the Lord in an unparalleled way. Can we see the point here? We should try to draw a True comparison here between the criteria for discipleship cited by the Master and the reality of the Great commandments that IS based on the words used, phileo and agape. Phileo IS a word that IS better suited to understand as the common idea of Love sans any of the sexual overtones attributed to this idea. Agape IS NOT this sense of Love; the former IS a carnal and emotional idea while the latter IS a spiritual concept that flows from the Soul. For the disciple then the Master’s words should be seen to cover both aspects of Life. They cover our emotional and mental attraction and attachment to others and to the things of this world through phileo and they cover the spiritual attitude of agape that the disciple must have as regards the Great Commandment. The disciple must be bound by both.
While it was NOT our intention to get deeply into the idea of discipleship, it IS an important subject for the man who Truly wants to Transform. Discipleship in its fullness IS the reality of being a saint as both give us access to the Truth and to the mysteries that the Truth reveals. We should try to see that as we Transform we ARE but aspirants to discipleship as we struggle through life much in the same way as Paul reports in Romans. We have discussed these struggles in recent posts and will NOT post them again today; Paul’s words ARE found in (Romans 7:14-25) and show us his struggle at allowing the Soul to overcome the carnal mind as he treads the Path to “the glorious liberty of the children of God“. We should be able to see some ideas of this struggle in the Master’s criteria for discipleship; first as we have discussed above and the difficulty in forgoing one’s Love relationship with parents, siblings and, although NOT mentioned, wives and husbands. These ARE strong carnal bonds that ARE difficult to break but we should understand here that there ARE two spiritual concepts that cover this and neither requires and abandonment of such persons. What IS required in the fullness of discipleship IS that we Love agape the Lord more and that we DO so with “all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength“. This simply means that we put the things of God before the things of the self regardless of one’s emotions and thoughts. This we DO by keeping His words which idea IS also a criteria for discipleship; this we DO by living according to the second of the Great Commandments saying that we must “love agapao thy neighbour as thyself“. We should NOT fear the Master’s criteria for discipleship as the whole idea will come to us gradually as we Transform.
Continuing with the Master’s criteria for discipleship we come to His words saying “whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple“. This idea of “his cross” can be confusing; we should remember here that this has naught to DO with the cross of crucifixion suffered by the Master. The Greek word stauros IS always rendered as cross and IS defined by the lexicon ONLY in terms of the cross of crucifixion. Strong’s offers us a bit more defining stauros as: a stake or post (as set upright), i.e. (specially), a pole or cross (as an instrument of capital punishment); figuratively, exposure to death and while none of these apply to our subject verse, they DO add at the end: i.e. self-denial; by implication, the atonement of Christ 9a. In the idea of self-denial we have an inkling of the Master’s intent regarding our ability to “bear his cross“. Although this IS NOT the specific intent, there IS some reality to our need to DO this as IS shown us in the third criteria from Luke’s Gospel. Thayer’s offers us much the same ideas as the lexicon as DOES Vine’s; Vincent however gives us a bit more to work with. Vincent tells us that the idea IS: his cross. More correctly, his own. An important charge. All must bear the cross, but not all the same cross: each one his own 4. Against other verses Vincent shows ONLY the idea of the cross of crucifixion; i.e. in regard to similar words in Matthew, Vincent tells us that: Jesus uses the phrase anticipatively, in view of the death which he himself was to die 4. Save for the idea of self-denial and the idea that each must bear his own cross, we DO NOT agree with any of the defining ideas put forward in regard to this saying which appears several times in the gospels.
In the parallel saying from Matthew’s Gospel the idea of “whosoever doth not bear his cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple” IS framed as “he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:38). We should understand these as saying the same thing. The idea IS presented several other times without reference to discipleship or being worthy; in these the idea IS that if one IS to follow the Master “let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23, Matthew 16:24). These ARE likely the sayings through which Strong’s added the idea of self-denial in their definition of stauros. There IS one more similar entry, aside from those that specifically reference the actual cross of crucifixion. In Mark’s version of the Master’s encounter with the rich young ruler, at the end of their discourse, Jesus tells him “One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me” (Mark 10:21). In each of these sayings where the idea IS framed as “take up his (the) cross, and follow me” we have the idea of self-denial as a separate act and, in the case of the rich young ruler, we have the same dynamic in more graphic detail as “go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor“. In our view the idea of self-denial IS NOT akin to the idea of taking up one’s cross; we see these as separate actions, and, in Luke’s Gospel, this IS covered separately in the third part of Jesus’ criteria. We ARE left ONLY with the idea from Vincent that: All must bear the cross, but not all the same cross: each one his own.
What then IS the meaning of this reference to the cross? While the idea of a burden comes to mind as we think of the cross that we must bear, this IS NOT likely the reference that the Master IS making. ALL have burdens and we bear them constantly and whether we DO so consciously or unconsciously, they ARE still ours to bear. There IS one idea that may suffice for our understanding of the Master’s call and that IS that we must DO what must be DONE if we ARE to Truly become His disciple. Perhaps the clue that we need IS found in the sayings cited above but NOT completely; Matthew and Luke start with “If any man will come after me” while Mark frames the Master’s words as “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me“. We should try to see that the idea here IS following Him which idea IS, in its fullness, discipleship. The point then of the idea that one must “take up his cross, and follow me” tells us that we must DO what must be DONE to become a disciple. We have then the criteria that the Master offers us which includes this idea of the cross and we also have the fullness of keeping His words. Perhaps it IS because so few understand that the Way IS agape and that the first criteria in Luke’s Gospel takes us to the idea of our expression of agape with NO “respect to persons“, which idea includes “father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also“. Can we see the point here? Can we see that the things that we must DO ARE that we keep His words as shown in the Master’s criteria cited by John above and that we must DO so by our expression of agape with NO “respect to persons“.
One more idea that may help us to understand this idea of the cross as a criteria for discipleship, wherever it appears, can be found in the words that follow Jesus’ words saying “whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple“. Whenever we discuss the Master’s criteria from Luke’s Gospel we tend to relate the next verses to the final idea that says “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” rather that the previous one. If however we relate the Master words saying “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace” (Luke 14:28-32) to the previous verse we can perhaps see a clearer picture of the cross that must be borne. Can we see in these words the need to DO what must be DONE? Can we see that we must calculate the cost of discipleship from the perspective of DOING as we understand that we must be prepared for the journey.
Again, over the course of these blog posts we have attributed this idea of the cost of discipleship to the final criteria that tells us rather clearly that “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple“. Here today however we should try to see that these words that appear between these two criteria can pertain to both. We should try to see that we must be prepared to DO what must be DONE in keeping His words and expressing agape with NO “respect to persons“; and that a man must be prepared to forsake “all that he hath“. ALL of this IS the cost of discipleship and ALL of this must be nailed to the cross that we bear. We should bear in mind here that this cost IS borne by the carnal mind; it IS the carnal mind that will reject the ideas that make us a disciple as the carnal mind wants ONLY to continue to live as he had lived in the “cares and riches and pleasures of this life” (Luke 8:14). We should try to see that it IS this that must be forsaken, it IS the “cares and riches and pleasures of this life” which draw men back into their carnal sense of Life. We should remember these words from the last several posts where we discussed the idea of the Parable of the Sower and its relationship to our Repentance and Transformation. And this IS the point again; from the perspective of discipleship and the Master’s criteria for discipleship we should try to understand that as we progress we ARE likely drawn back by the same ideas that frame our Transformation. Matthew tells us that we can be drawn back by “the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches“, which “choke the word” (Matthew 13:22), choke the need to follow in the criteria that the Master puts forth. Mark tells us that the Master’s words here ARE that “the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word” (Mark 4:19) and in the combination of these three hindrances to discipleship we should be able to see the reality of the Way.
We should try to understand that it IS discipleship that IS the objective of our time here in this Earth. While the idea of discipleship IS greatly diluted by the church and IS NOT taught as a goal, the reality IS still True. ALL men can become disciples of the Lord in some measure through Repentance and Transformation. Keeping in mind the ideas put forth in the Parable of the Sower which we aligned with Repentance and Transformation, we should try to see that it IS our Transformation that the carnal mind objects to and rebels against and in the three stages of “the way side“, “stony ground” and “among thorns” (Mark 4: 15, 16, 18) we have a picture of this rebellion. The same IS True when we view the parable against the ideas of discipleship; here we should try to see that our Transformation IS the Path to discipleship and that the end result IS the same. The goal of discipleship IS shown us by the Master both in the ideas of His criteria and the intended teaching by His apostles and then the church at large. One of the problems for the church IS that most DO NOT see the idea of criteria for discipleship as it IS clearly shown by the Master. Another IS the doctrinal approach to what has come to be called the Great Commission; this some read in error while others interpret it in ways that ARE NOT part of Jesus’ actual intent. The Master tells His apostles and us through them that “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach make disciples of all nations people, baptizing [immersing] them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:18-20). The changes cited here ARE adopted by other bible versions and ARE better aligned with the actual meaning of the Greek words. The point: simply that the church has NOT DONE any of this as the ideas ARE intended; they DO NOT make disciples and this because so few ARE actual disciples and they concentrate on the idea of nations rather than people. Add to this the way that their view of baptism IS but the physical action involved and we should be able to see the problem. We close again today with our trifecta through which we should see the need to keep His words and the Way of discipleship:
- “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).
| 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 |
- 1 Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1828 and 1913 from https://1828.mshaffer.com/
- 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
- 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
- ** Google AI on prejudice
- 12 Expositions of Holy Scripture–Project Gutenberg’s and Baker Book House’ Expositions of Holy Scripture, by Alexander Maclaren–(1826-1910)
- *** A Treatise on Cosmic Fire by Alice A Bailey © 1951 by Lucis Trust
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
