ON LOVE; PART MDXXXVIII
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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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We ended the last essay with some thoughts and research on the first part of our subject verse from Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. We have been studying the eighth chapter and we ARE currently on the twenty third verse, a verse which we see as the culmination of our endeavors as Souls here in this Earth. The doctrinal interpretations and defining ideas that we have thus far encountered DO NOT relay the importance of the apostle’s words, mostly because they DO NOT see past the carnal import which they apply. Paul tells us here that “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 8:22-23). We have already addressed the twenty second verse in some detail and we did begin to discuss the first idea in the twenty third where Paul puts himself and his reader in with those that with the “creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together“. We should remember here that the reader that Paul addresses his words to here ARE those who express “obedience to the faith” (Romans 1:5) which idea we should see as those who keep His words., The doctrinal ideas pertaining to our subject verses seem to be based on the belief that ALL who read Paul’s words ARE included in them regardless of whether they ARE obedient “to the faith” or NOT as most all see their doctrines as equal to the Master’s words. They ARE NOT of course. In addition to putting himself and his audience into the same place of distress and anguish, ideas that we have chosen out of the available defining ideas for the Greek word sunodino which is rendered as the phrase “travaileth in pain together“, Paul separates himself and his cohorts from the masses that may also “groaneth and travaileth in pain together“. This he DOES by proclaiming that he and his cohorts which “have the firstfruits of the Spirit“, that they are distinguished from the great multitude 9. While we dismissed this idea from our view of the entire verse, it DOES work from a carnal and literal perspective. Our point of view here must be spiritual however as the apostles IS speaking of purely spiritual ideas that must be reconciled. ALL of Paul’s words in our selection ARE spiritually motivated and should be understood as that the Soul IS the subject in his relationship with the flesh. Our entire selection IS:
“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, Becauseexpectation that the creature itself also shall bedeliveredmade free 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 8:15-23).
To set up our discussion of the idea that Paul and his cohorts, those “which have the firstfruits of the Spirit“, ARE waiting and what they ARE waiting for we should understand that the end result that they ARE approaching IS the culmination of their work in this world. We should remember that we must take spiritual view of the idea; it IS that these have as their expression in this world the True ideas of “the fruit of the Spirit“. From their Soul infused personalities they ARE expressing the deeper spiritual ideas that define the Greek words from Paul’s saying that “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (Galatians 5:22-24). From the last verse here we should be able to see that they have been able to, at least by measure, “mortify the deeds of the body“, that they ARE “led by the Spirit of God” and that “they are the sons of God” (Romans 8:13, 14). One CAN NOT have “the firstfruits of the Spirit” nor approach the end result of this Union with the Lord without being Truly “led by the Spirit of God“. While we speak here of Paul and his cohorts, it IS NOT clear that any have Truly accomplished this Union and we should remember here the Apostle Peter’s words that offer us the same idea which we will come to in Paul’s words. Peter, in a much simpler way and without much explanation tells us tells us of the Lord that “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:3-4).
Peter tells us that is IS through KNOWING God, through “the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue“, that we ARE given “exceeding great and precious promises“. Here we should interject the idea that these “exceeding great and precious promises” ARE that we “shall be delivered made free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God“, that we shall be freed from our vanity. The point here IS that this Union with the Lord IS the reality that we ARE “partakers of the divine nature” after having “escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust“, after having freed ourselves from our vanity; freed ourselves from our: perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends 4. Having DONE ALL this as Soul infused personalities in this world we still ARE waiting; we ARE however now waiting ONLY for the culmination of our work in this world; we ARE “waiting for the adoption“. Earlier Paul shows us that we have “the Spirit of adoption” and here we should try to see that the idea IS that we have the wherewithal to be among the adopted “sons of God” (Romans 8:15,14) which IS to be “partakers of the divine nature“. It IS important here to understand Paul’s use of the idea of adoption and for this we again go to Vincent and Mr. Merivale, a historian and expert in Roman law. Regarding the idea of adoption as it was seen by the Romans Vincent tell us that: Mr. Merivale, illustrating Paul ‘s acquaintance with Roman law, says: “The process of legal adoption by which the chosen heir became entitled not only to the reversion of the property but to the civil status, to the burdens as well as the rights of the adopter – became, as it were, his other self, one with him… this too is a Roman principle, peculiar at this time to the Romans, unknown, I believe, to the Greeks, unknown, to all appearance, to the Jews, as it certainly is not found in the legislation of Moses, nor mentioned anywhere as a usage among the children of the covenant 4.
Mr. Merivale IS telling us that Paul’s writing about the adoption is based upon his knowledge of Roman law and we should note that Paul IS the only writer who writes on the subject or uses the Greek word huiothesia which IS rendered as adoption. Mr. Merivale goes on to say that: We have but a faint conception of the force with which such an illustration would speak to one familiar with the Roman practice; how it would serve to impress upon him the assurance that the adopted son of God becomes, in a peculiar and intimate sense, one with the heavenly Father 4. In this we have the Union with the Godhead, a Union that ever exists as the Soul but which IS now brought to bear on the carnal mind of the Soul infused personality. It IS through the adoption that ARE, as men in this world, made one with the heavenly Father; that we ARE “partakers of the divine nature” and we ARE freed “from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God“. We should understand here that our reaching this state of being in this world began with our Repentance and our Transformation and that in our Transformation we move step by step, measure by measure, toward our goal of adoption. Paul continues on to show us what this means.
Paul’s uses a single word to show us what it means to be adopted son of God and we should be careful here to NOT allow ourselves to fall into the doctrinal ideas of adoption where most any ‘Christian’ considers himself to be one. As a general idea, Google’s AI offers us a summary of the various Christian ideas regarding this adoption; they say: In Christian doctrine, being adopted as a son of God is a gracious act by which God brings believers into His family, granting them a new identity as His children through Jesus Christ. This status, received through faith, provides the blessings of a Father-child relationship, including God’s protection, provision, and an inheritance as joint heirs with Christ**. This IS NOT unlike the general tenor of doctrinal teachings where the one who attests to faith in Christ and God, one who ‘believes‘ the doctrinal ideas of his chosen denomination, IS both adopted and ‘saved’. Concerning both doctrinal ideas the church gives NO credence to the Master’s own words concerning the relationships between God and man. Nor DOES the church pay any attention to the Master’s words that tell us about the comportment of men who seek the Lord nor do they show us the reality of the apostles’ words. The comportment of men who seek the Lord IS shown us by the Master in His Sermon on the Mount and encapsulated in our trifecta where the task is laid out clearly along with the rewards of so DOING. Our trifecta of Jesus’ sayings tell 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).
In these words we have the Way of discipleship, the Truth and the freedom that the Truth brings and we should try to see that the mysteries ARE included in this idea of Truth. In these words we also have our entry into the Kingdom and the Presence of the Lord in our lives in this world. ALL these things most ALL Christians will claim that they have without ever considering that they must keep His words to receive them. Instead most ALL Christians see their salvation and their adoption as the result of their doctrinal affirmations which ideas come from a few out of context sayings from the Apostle Paul. Few if any consider the words that ARE in this very chapter of Romans that we ARE studying; few if any acknowledge the fact that “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” (Romans 8:13-14). Can we see the point here? Can we see that one that IS actually “led by the Spirit of God” will perforce keep the Master’s words and can we see that to “mortify the deeds of the body” requires that we DO as Peter shows us saying that we must have “escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust“. Escaped from the carnal desires of men.
Paul’s uses single word that describes for us just what this adoption IS; that it IS “the redemption of our body“. This IS the culmination of our work in this world. We should understand here that this idea IS NOT intended to be easily understood and that the objective IS likely that it will remain a mystery to those who DO NOT strive toward the goal of the adoption through the simplicity of keeping His words. While our Redemption IS the idea that IS attached to our adoption, this IS NOT well defined for us spiritually. Paul helps us to understand this a bit better by telling us that our Redemption IS “of our body” but both ARE spiritual ideas that ARE NOT further explained. Redemption IS rendered from the Greek word apolutrosis which Strong’s defines as: from a compound of G575 and G3083; (the act) ransom in full, i.e. (figuratively) riddance, or (specially) Christian salvation. We should note that the end part here (specially) Christian salvation IS a doctrinal idea and that the idea of ransom in full makes NO sense in regard to our subject verse. While the idea IS mostly rendered as Redemption, some have chosen to relate it directly to salvation with the Bible in Basic English rendering apolutrosis as “the salvation of our bodies“. Another renders the idea as “wait to be adopted and for our bodies to be set free“; others allude to the idea of “freeing of our bodies [from sin]“. Most of these alternate ideas ARE in line with the various doctrines that see the idea of Redemption in regard to the idea of ransom thus alluding to the idea that our bodies ARE being held for ransom which we must pay or, better, that Jesus paid for us. Again, this IS a doctrinal idea that IS based on the Master’s words saying “even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). The Master’s words that He IS “to give his life a ransom for many” can work out in many ways. It has been tied to the idea of Redemption by doctrines and it IS the primary source of the doctrinal idea that Jesus died for our sins, an idea that Paul takes up saying “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3).
What we ARE saying here may go against the entirety of Christian philosophy that regards Christ’s death on the cross as ‘payment‘ for our sins. When we consider this payment, who IS it that Jesus’ death pays, who held the debt? The doctrinal idea seems to be that: Jesus died for our sins as a ransom to God, fulfilling divine justice and providing a way for humanity to be forgiven and reconciled to Him. This payment is understood as a perfect sacrifice that satisfies the penalty for sin, which is death, so that those who believe can receive eternal life**. Much here IS fabricated; first the idea that there IS a debt owed to God and that there IS a thing called divine justice and second that the Godhead demanded ransom for those sins which Jesus provided. While we call this a fabrication, the Apostle John writes, speaking of Jesus that “he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). While most use these words as acknowledgement of their doctrinal assertions regarding ransom, Redemption and the idea that “Christ died for our sins” they miss the points of the preceding verse and the following one. In context John tells us “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him” (1 John 2:1-5).
In dissecting these words we should try to see that the intent IS that “we have an advocate with the Father“, a Parakletos if you will. This word parakletos IS rendered as Comforter in John’s Gospel and IS sometimes left untranslated as Paraclete or rendered as Advocate as we have here. John calls Jesus the Paracletos or Advocate while in the gospel the idea IS framed by Jesus saying “the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost” and alluding to Himself saying “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you” (John 14:16-18). This Comforter, this Paracletos, then IS also “the Spirit of truth” and our “Advocate with the Father“. What we should try to see here IS the Union, if we can use that idea here, of the Master, the Comforter, “the Spirit of truth” and our “Advocate with the Father“. We should remember here that we ARE speaking of mysteries and here this combination of the Master, the Comforter, “the Spirit of truth” and our “Advocate with the Father” can be understood as that mystery of which Paul writes saying “this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). Finally we should should try to see that the whole subject of the Paracletos IS in relation to our Christ Within….our Souls. Ponder on this.
While the churches have defined their doctrinal ideas regarding the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit, much of what they believe makes little sense. That the Holy Ghost IS the third part of the Trinity IS NOT a scriptural fact but rather a creation of the doctrines of men to help explain such ideas as “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). While we have discussed the Holy Spirit several times over the course of our essays, we have NOT yet looked at the Holy Spirit through the Apostle John’s words as we DO today. Above we noted that the Master seems to refer to Himself as the Holy Spirit and this He does through his words from the fourteenth chapter of John’s Gospel. This we have addressed before but with no real explanatory ideas. The same facts ARE True today; Jesus tells us that the Comforter IS the Holy Ghost; He tells us also that the Comforter IS the “Spirit of Truth“. Finally the Master refers to Himself saying that “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you“. We should NOT be confused here by the Master’s opening words to these verses where He says that the Father “shall give you another Comforter“; we should remember here the parabolic tone of much that Jesus’ offers us that IS involved in the mysteries and, to be sure, the reality of the idea that God IS a Trinity IS a component of these mysteries. Vincent tells us that: It is to be noted that Jesus as well as the Holy Spirit is represented as Paraclete. The Holy Spirit is to be another Paraclete, and this falls in with the statement in the First Epistle, “we have an advocate with God, even Jesus Christ 4. Perhaps the point here IS that the Master IS trying to distinguish between Himself and the personage of the Christ and the Christ Within which IS the idea brought to us by Paul’s statement on “the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints” (Colossians 1:26). This revelation of the mystery IS NOT made manifest to ALL but rather ONLY to “his saints“, an idea that IS NOT reflected in the way that much of the church calls their doctrinal adherents saints.
Saint IS from the Greek word hagios which IS defined as: sacred (physically, pure, morally blameless or religious, ceremonially, consecrated)9a. Thayer’s tells us that hagios IS first: reverend, worthy of veneration, then set apart for God, to be, as it were, exclusively his and finally pure, sinless, upright, holy 9. The whole idea of hagios IS, in our view, misinterpreted by most ALL Christian doctrines. The best reference DOES NOT mention the word but shows us how that we have access to the Holy Spirit or the Comforter or any of the appellations applied above. Jesus tells us that “the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you“. Here we should see several ideas come together; first that “the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him“; in this we should see most ALL men, both in and out of the churches. Again, we ARE speaking about God and KNOWING God which idea DOES NOT refer to the common ideas that ARE bandied about but rather according to such ideas as “hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked” (1 John 2:3-6). Can we see that the evidence that one Truly KNOWS God IS found in keeping His words? This IS clearly stated by the apostle saying “we know him, if we keep his commandments“. Taking this idea back to the Master’s words we should have a clearer picture of just who has the Holy Spirit; it IS those that “know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you“; this IS those that “keep his commandments“.
To tie this ALL together we should try to see that the mysteries ARE NOT revealed to everyman that calls “me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say” (Luke 6L46) as Jesus frames the idea. The mysteries ARE revealed to the disciple and by measure to the aspirant to discipleship. The Master shows us this saying to His disciples “Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand” (Luke 8:10). Clearly Jesus’ words above from the fourteenth chapter of John’s Gospel ARE parabolic; not in the way of a story hiding a meaning but rather in the way the Master IS offering a statement that has a deeper spiritual meaning hiding behind the words. For example, most anyone can find something in the Parable of the Sower which IS the reference from Luke’s Gospel but ONLY disciples can understand the deeper meanings. In the Parable of the Sower the hidden and deeper meaning IS that “But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience“, a meaning that has naught to do with the sower or his seed. Jesus tells us this but we still DO NOT understand the idea.
Our point here IS simply that we DO “have an advocate with the Father” and hidden behind ALL of the words and ideas from the Master regarding this paraclete IS the reality of the Christ Within which IS the “mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). Here we must NOT see this word gentiles as doctrines show us but rather we must see it as the Greek word IS ethnos IS defined. The lexicon defines ethnos as: a multitude (whether of men or of beasts) associated or living together; a multitude of individuals of the same nature or genus, the human family; and a tribe, nation, people group 2. This ALL brings us back to the idea that the Master IS “the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). This word propitiation IS from the Greek word hilasmos which IS defined by Strong’s as atonement 9a and by Thayer’s as an appeasing 9; both of these ideas ARE doctrinal and because of the limited use of the word idea, it IS difficult to get a more spiritual meaning. Vincent, while giving us meanings that ARE also according to doctrine, offers us some words from Westcott. Westcott tells us that: the scriptural conception of the verb is not that of appeasing one who is angry, with a personal feeling, against the offender; but of altering the character of that which, from without, occasions a necessary alienation, and interposes an inevitable obstacle to fellowship 4. From this and a proper understanding of sin we can try to see the apostle’s point as that Jesus propitiation IS His teachings that can alter the character of that which, from without, occasions a necessary alienation, and interposes an inevitable obstacle to fellowship. Granted this IS a bit difficult to follow as it opposes the entirety of the doctrinal message that Jesus’ death was an appeasement to God for the sins of men, an atonement if you will.
Wescott’s wording here IS a bit convoluted but we should try to see that the Master IS teaching us to alter the character of our lives in this world which, from the outside, IS alienating and placing an obstacle to our fellowship with the Lord. Our carnal lives ARE that obstacle. Without studying the works of Westcott, who with Hort authored the Greek New Testament in 1881, we CAN NOT be sure what he meant to say in these words that we have taken from Vincent’s writing’s. We can see in them a reality that IS missed by most ALL doctrinal scholars. While we ARE NOT claiming to be any smarter than such scholars, we DO have the advantage of looking past our indoctrination which gives us the ability to see the New Testament with clear eyes and hearts. Most ALL of the church IS bound to their doctrines and this bondage, when added to the normal “bondage of corruption” that is inherent in our vanity, creates a situation where this combined bondage blinds men to the Truths that ARE often clearly placed before us by the Master and His apostles. Jesus tells us of the blindness of the Pharisees and, from our perspective, it IS this same sense of blindness that has afflicted the church, a blindness that IS extended to generation after generation according to the Master’s words saying “if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch” (Matthew 15:14). What then IS the Apostle John’s point in saying the Master IS “the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world“?
From our perspective we DO NOT agree with the doctrinal ideas of atonement or appeasing when the idea of each IS that the Master IS paying the price for the sins of the world and that those who believe on Jesus will receive the benefit of this propitiation. We can however take Westcott’s words and build from them two ideas. First IS that this word has naught to DO with the Master’s death, the idea of His death IS NOT mentioned in the context of the apostle’s use of the Greek word hilasmos, a word that IS ONLY used twice and rendered as propitiation. Other translations render this word from the second chapter of the epistle in terms of sacrifice saying such things as “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins” and “He is God’s way of dealing with our sins“. Such renderings clearly tell us that the Master IS paying the price for the sins of the world which IS, again, an idea that we DO NOT see as a Truth in the New Testament. Our second point IS that the idea behind propitiation, or behind the Greek word hilasmos, IS in regard to the Master’s Life and teachings which, when rightly understood, break down the inevitable obstacle to fellowship which IS our vanity. We should be able to easily see the relationship of these words from Westcott to Vincent’s own defining ideas for vanity. Westcott tells us that this hilasmos or propitiation DOES: from without, occasions a necessary alienation, and interposes an inevitable obstacle to fellowship while Vincent tells us that our vanity IS our: perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends 4. To be separate from God, and pursuing false ends IS surely an inevitable obstacle to fellowship and it IS inevitable because ALL men ARE born into vanity as Paul tells us saying “the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because expectation that the creature itself also shall be delivered made free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:20-21).
ALL of this leads us to the revelation of the reality of Life in this world as stated by Paul. We should understand that much of what we ARE saying will remain unproven to any but those that DO, by measure, have access to the mysteries and here the idea IS specifically “this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory“. For us this “Christ in you” IS NO longer a mystery but for much of the church the idea IS NOT understood to mean the Christ Within which IS, from the perspective of Life in this world, the Soul. In addition to NOT understanding this, much of the church denies that this IS even a possibility and this because it IS NOT a part of their doctrinal ideas and because the idea IS “the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, “. This IS NOT to say that it was revealed to the world in Paul’s time but rather that it was “made manifest to his saints” who gained access to the Truth; the whole statement IS True yet today. We should remember the reality of hagios which IS here rendered as saints, that it refers to most holy thing 2 and, as Thayer’s describes the idea, it refers to those: reverend, worthy of veneration and set apart for God, to be, as it were, exclusively his 9.
Finally we come to our conclusion of the idea that “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 8:22-23). In these words IS the very meaning of Life in this world. As Souls born into vanity and expecting to “be delivered made free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God“, Paul IS awaiting his final state of being which IS his adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body“. When he, or anyone for that matter, achieves this state where he becomes, in a peculiar and intimate sense, one with the heavenly Father 4, his body IS so imbued with spiritual Truth that his whole body IS redeemed from its former state of carnality. Ponder on this and see if you too can see and understand this mystery or, at least become aware that it IS.
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
- 9 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon on blueletterbible.org
- 9a The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible on blueletterbible.org
- ** Google AI on the Christian doctrines of adoption
Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road
Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher
