{"id":10325,"date":"2014-09-24T17:00:43","date_gmt":"2014-09-24T21:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/?p=10325"},"modified":"2014-09-24T15:16:34","modified_gmt":"2014-09-24T19:16:34","slug":"in-the-words-of-jesus-part-1146","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/2014\/09\/24\/in-the-words-of-jesus-part-1146\/","title":{"rendered":"IN THE WORDS OF JESUS\u2013Part 1146"},"content":{"rendered":"

ON LOVE; PART\u00a0DCCXXXV<\/span><\/h2>\n
\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391<\/span><\/h6>\n

GoodWill\u00a0IS Love in Action<\/span><\/h2>\n
\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391<\/span><\/h6>\n
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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<\/em>” (Mark 12:29-31).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/em>” (Matthew 7:12).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As we have continued our discussion on grace<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0the operation of the Holy Spirit in the lives of men in this world, we have tried to show how that the reality of this grace,<\/em> the reality of the things that come into the Life of man from God, ARE the very revelations<\/strong><\/em> and realizations<\/em><\/strong> of divinity and NOT some nebulous \u00a0assurance of salvation as\u00a0IS based in the doctrinal ideas of the “free gift<\/em>” of grace.<\/em>\u00a0We see this grace<\/em> in the Presence of God in our lives as this IS depicted for us in the words of the Master in the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of John which we have been discussing and where we have seen this grace<\/em> in the Master’s promise that\u00a0“the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do<\/em>” (John 14:12). And we should note that these ARE inseparable; that for a man to have the ability to these “greater works<\/em>“, he must first have the Presence of God in his Life. We should see here in this chapter that there IS a requirement for both; a requirement that Jesus reminds His apostles of and a requirement that we should see as the price, the cost of discipleship…..that we keep His words<\/em>. While this is missed or ignored by those whose doctrines ARE based in the illusion<\/strong> of the “free gift<\/em>“, an illusion<\/strong> that is created in the carnal minds of men based on misinterpretations and misunderstandings of the words of the Apostle Paul, this IS rather clearly stated in the Master’s own words as we have been reading. There should be NO mistake in the Master’s intent, there should be no mistake in the understanding that the idea of grace<\/em> IS the same as the reality of the Presence of God in one’s Life which Jesus frames for us saying:<\/span><\/p>\n

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  • “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<\/em>”\u00a0 (John 14:21).<\/span><\/li>\n
  • “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<\/em>”\u00a0 (John 14:23-24).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    We should try to see the ideas behind these words and the understanding of grace<\/em> in this regard: if grace<\/em> comes from God then it\u00a0must perforce be in His Presence in one’s Life and there IS no clearer depiction of this Presence that we find here in the Master’s words. And the cost of this IS here as well. It IS in the Life of the disciple that we find the fullness of the Presence of God; it IS in Life of the disciple, the man who keeps His words<\/em> that we find the reality of “greater works”<\/em> and, for this grace,<\/em> there IS a cost which IS the cost of discipleship. There ARE many places in the words of the Master and of His apostles that show us the reality of the cost and which\u00a0show us the idea that this grace,<\/em> this Presence of God or, rather, one’s realization<\/em><\/strong> of His Presence, are the reward<\/em> and in this we have cited the ideas of the Master Himself as they are interpreted by Luke and Matthew. These ideas are covered in the last essay and we should try to see the reality of the comparison that we have made; that the use of the Greek word charis,<\/em> which IS grace,<\/em> by Luke and the use of misthos<\/em>,\u00a0which is generally rendered as reward<\/em> but which has the better meaning of wages<\/em> or of hire <\/em>by Matthew ARE offered in the same context. We should note that the idea of reward<\/em> IS used from the perspective of doctrines which favor the idea that the things of God ARE free as these ideas hang on some of Paul’s saying such as\u00a0\u00a0“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified<\/em>” (Galatians 2:16) and his words to the Ephesians saying: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God<\/em>” (Ephesians 2:8). There IS a reality to the apostle’s words here but this IS NOT as it IS seen and we should try to see here how that these ideas, taken as they are by doctrine, ARE contrary to the Master’s own words and intent.<\/span><\/p>\n

    We are reminded this morning of the disparity between the doctrinal ideas and the reality of the Master’s intent by the Verse of the Day from biblegateway.com;\u00a0we offer these here in greater context: “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry<\/em>” (Hebrew 10:35-37). We have several points to discuss here in these words from the writer of the Book of Hebrews. First we should remember the the authorship of this epistle IS NOT certain and many later bible authorities DO NOT believe that Paul IS the author; in this we should note that much of the doctrinal view of Hebrews is based in the idea that this IS Paul’s writing and much IS interpreted and translated accordingly. Second we are struck by what these words say and the context in which they are given; the words rendered here as “recompence of reward<\/em>” are from the Greek word\u00a0misthapodosia<\/em> which IS a kindred word to misthos<\/em> which we see above. The word in this verse IS ONLY used by this writer and the lexicon shows us that this means:\u00a0payment of wages due, recompence<\/em>\u00a02<\/sup>; here we should see the idea that we are presenting, that in the confidence<\/em> that one may have in revelation<\/em><\/strong> and realizations<\/strong><\/em> must be kept and NOT let go and we see this in context of fear. The writer continues to encourage patience and then shows the reality of what we ARE saying in regard to His Presence as the reward,<\/em> the wages,<\/em> of keeping His words<\/em>; he says “after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise<\/em>“. Can we see the idea here and can we see how that the promise<\/em> IS the wages<\/em> or the\u00a0reward<\/em>?<\/span><\/p>\n

    This view of these words would be contrary to doctrine and in this light we should note two things; one IS that the translations are arbitrary and inclined to doctrinal beliefs and second that the interpretations of these fail to show the writer’s intent; that it IS the reward<\/em> of DOING “the will of God<\/em>” as defined in keeping His words<\/em> and that this reward<\/em> IS His coming.<\/em>\u00a0While this should be seen in the context of His Presence in the Life of the man who IS DOING \u00a0“the will of God<\/em>“, this IS seen doctrinally as His Second Coming; some also see this as related to the words of the Apostle James who says: “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh<\/em>” (James 5:7-8). In this we should look back at our own view of this as part of our discussion of the Epistle of James; there we see the idea of the husbandman<\/em> as being NOT idle but active in his waiting for the “precious fruit of the earth<\/em>“; and this activity, when related to the man who seeks God, IS that he IS\u00a0DOING “the will of God<\/em>“. While our context in discussing James was different, the reality IS the same; the reward,<\/em> the wages,<\/em> IS founded in the work and in the patient<\/em> undertaking of the work. There IS but one work for the aspirant and the disciple and that IS to keep His words\u00a0<\/em>and there IS but one reward<\/em> which IS grace,<\/em> which IS the realizations<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0and revelations<\/em><\/strong> of divinity which IS the Presence of God in the Life of man. Our previous words from our discussion on James sayings may help in our overall understanding here:<\/span><\/p>\n

    There IS no relevance to the example of the <\/span>husbandman<\/span><\/em> other that this IS an example of the man who has NO control over the rate of growth itself, he can ONLY care for the \u201c<\/span>for the precious fruit of the earth<\/span><\/em>\u201c. The <\/span>husbandman<\/span><\/em> cares for the ground and maintains the young plants and he expects the <\/span>fruit<\/span><\/em> will come. And this IS the example: regardless of the small steps backward, the man who <\/span>strives<\/span><\/em> must attend to the large steps forward in <\/span>patience<\/span><\/em> and <\/span>longsuffering<\/span><\/em> because he KNOWS the difficulty of his endeavor and he KNOWS the tools with which he has to work. Much IS made of the idea of\u00a0\u201d<\/span>the early and latter rain<\/span><\/em>\u201d by some but these words have no meaning in this context save to say that the \u201c<\/span>precious fruit<\/span><\/em>\u201d will come in its season under the care of the <\/span>husbandman<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    We should remember here that the reward,<\/em> the grace,<\/em> comes to us by degree and there ARE times when the increase may NOT be discernible to the aspirant in the world. It IS in this context that we should see the ideas of patience<\/em> and of confidence<\/em> in the words of both writers and here we should understand that while much revelation<\/em><\/strong> may come to a man who IS keeping His words<\/em>, his\u00a0realization<\/em><\/strong> must sometimes wait until there IS sufficient to displace the carnal thoughts that have been held. Finally, in our words from the Book of Hebrews, we should see the value of the last verse in our selection which IS NOT a part of the Verse of the Day but which completes the thought regarding the reward<\/em> from our perspective. The rendering of this as “For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry<\/em>” IS NOT understood by most in\u00a0the way that we see the intent of the overall idea presented here; many relate this back to the Old Testament words of Habakkuk and, while there may be some reality in this link, his words ARE NOT rightly discerned either.\u00a0\u00a0And we can see the confusion in this idea from Vincent:\u00a0the subject of the sentence is the vision of the extermination of the Chaldees. \u201cThe vision – will surely come.\u201d As rendered in the lxx, either Jehovah or Messiah must be the subject. The passage was referred to Messiah by the later Jewish theologians, and is so taken by our writer, as is shown by the article before \u03b5\u0313\u03c1\u03c7\u03bf\u0301\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2\u00a0<\/em>4<\/sup>. Here in Mr. Vincent’s supposition that\u00a0either Jehovah or Messiah must be the subject\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>IS extended to the Second Coming of the Master by many as we read in this from John Gill:\u00a0For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come<\/strong>,\u00a0That the person spoken of is the Lord Jesus Christ, is evident from the prophecy in ( Habakkuk 2:3 ) here referred to, and from the character of him that is to come, ( Matthew 11:3 ) and from parallel places, ( James 5:7-9 ) and this is to be understood, not of his coming in the flesh, for he was come in the flesh already; though Habakkuk indeed refers to his first coming, yet not to that only, but including his second coming also; but of his coming in his kingdom and power to destroy Jerusalem, and take vengeance on the Jews, for their rejection of him<\/em> 8<\/sup>.<\/span><\/p>\n

    There IS much uncertainty in these doctrinal ideas and\u00a0the very idea of His\u00a0not tarrying leads to it; the writer of Hebrews IS NOT showing us that the Master comes quickly or, in the words of the translators, that He will not tarry or delay or that He will not wait as this IS seen by many, as regards His Second Coming or some\u00a0day of judgement. Mr. Gill goes yet further to offer us that:\u00a0It may be applied to his coming to help his people in time of need; the afflictions of the saints are many; they are all for an appointed time, and but for a while; and Christ has promised to come, and visit them…..it may also be accommodated to Christ coming to take his people to himself by death; Christ may be said to come in this sense, and he will certainly come; and this will be in a little while; man is but of few days; death is certain, and should be patiently expected:\u00a0and it may likewise be suitably improved, with respect to Christ’s coming to judgment; that he will come is certain, from prophecies, particularly from the prophecy of Enoch, from his own words, from the testimony of angels, from the institution of the Lord’s supper<\/em>…..8<\/sup>\u00a0ALL of these ideas ARE doctrinal in nature and none capture the reality that IS presented to us by the Apostle John who gives us the Master’s words on the coming of His Presence into the lives of those who, as we read in Hebrews and in \u00a0John, keep His words<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

    And this misinterpretation of His words occurs at every place where the coming of the Lord is mentioned as most ALL men reckon a Second Coming of some nature according to the various doctrines that have sprung from His words. We should understand here that there ARE few in the doctrinal church who Truly see past their own sense of doctrine and into the great Truths that come to the man as grace,<\/em> to the man who keeps His words<\/em> and the man who ardently strives<\/em> to DO so. And we DO NOT hold ourselves over any as we KNOW that our own view is a doctrine as well and that we too have carnal instincts that keep us bound to ideas which\u00a0ARE NOT real but are based in the illusion<\/strong> and the glamour<\/strong> of Life in this world. In this we must ever understand the concept of degree, that it IS by the measure of our focus<\/em> and our DOING of His words that we are rewarded<\/em> by that proportionate measure of grace<\/em> and, as we say above, we must understand that the fullness of our measure of our own realization<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0IS\u00a0only\u00a0achieved as we can dispel the illusions<\/strong> that bind us to our own carnal thoughts. In this perhaps we can see the idea that a man can be in His word by degree and receive revelation<\/em> from that measure of focus<\/em> and yet NOT realize any of the deeper Truths that abound because he IS bound by his own sense of doctrines by which he interprets for Himself those things that ARE revealed. In the fullness of the True disciple however, the man who keeps His words<\/em> and Loves as the Great Commandments show us, there IS NO longer the possibility of deception.<\/strong> It IS this that we read in the Master’s words and it IS this that we read in the words from Hebrews above where the writer says that we should be patient,<\/em> that we should forbear; that in the end we will receive the promised reward of\u00a0 DOING\u00a0“the will of God<\/em>“. Repeating our current sayings from John’s Gospel which we will get back to in the next post:<\/span><\/p>\n

    “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence<\/em>” (John 14:26-31).<\/span><\/p>\n

    We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    Aspect\u00a0<\/del>of God<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n\n

    Potency<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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    Aspect of Man<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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    In Relation to the Great Invocation<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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    In relation to the Christ<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n

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    GOD, The Father<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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    Will or Power<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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    Spirit or Life<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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    Center where the Will of God IS KNOWN<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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    Life<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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    Son, The Christ<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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    Love and Wisdom<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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    Soul or Christ Within<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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    Heart of God<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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    Truth<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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    Holy Spirit<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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    Light or Activity<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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    Life Within<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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    Mind of God<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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    Way<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

    Note on the Quote of the Day<\/span><\/h2>\n

    This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.<\/span><\/p>\n

    We repeat here again a saying that is from the Bhagavad Gita, which goes well with our theme of the God Within, the Soul, which we see as the Christ Within and while this is good in the Christian world and is True based upon our understanding of the Christ as the manifestation of God, we should also see in these words below that it does not matter what these divine ideas are called; that it matters not what we call this Inner Man, that he is the same in ALL, he is the Soul.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Thou carriest within thee a sublime Friend whom thou knowest not. For God dwells in the inner part of every man, but few know how to find Him. The man who sacrifices his desires and his works to the Beings from whom the principles of everything stem, and by whom the Universe was formed, through this sacrifice attains perfection. For one who finds his happiness and joy within himself, and also his wisdom within himself is one with God. And, mark well, the soul which has found God is freed from rebirth and death, from old age and pain, and drinks the water of Immortality.<\/em>\u2014Bhagavad-Gita<\/span><\/p>\n

    It is difficult to tell just what verses of the Bhagavad Gita the above is from; whether it is a paraphrase or a combination. It is from the book \u201cThe Great Initiates\u201d by \u00c9douard Schur\u00e9 which was originally published in French in 1889 and perhaps it is in the translation of the verses that they become hard to recognize. However, the sheer beauty of the presentation caught my attention and so I share it with you. The Path to the Kingdom is the same no matter what religion one professes.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Let the peace of God rule in your hearts!<\/span><\/h2>\n