{"id":10795,"date":"2014-12-30T18:24:07","date_gmt":"2014-12-30T23:24:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/?p=10795"},"modified":"2014-12-30T18:24:07","modified_gmt":"2014-12-30T23:24:07","slug":"in-the-words-of-jesus-part-1211","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/2014\/12\/30\/in-the-words-of-jesus-part-1211\/","title":{"rendered":"IN THE WORDS OF JESUS\u2013Part 1211"},"content":{"rendered":"

ON LOVE; PART\u00a0DCCC<\/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
\n

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. While this IS from an older definition of Charity, which IS rendered in the King James Bible from the same Greek word agape<\/em> which IS generally rendered as Love,\u00a0we 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\u00a0of the equality of ALL men regardless of their outward nature or appearance…that ALL ARE equally children of Our\u00a0One God<\/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

In the last essay we related the Truths of the Master’s words on Love from the Sermon on the Mount to the reality of His Presence in one’s Life and more specifically that it IS to DO as Jesus tells us in this Sermon that IS the reality of keeping His words<\/em>. While many may believe that there ARE shortcuts that allow a man to maintain his carnal thoughts and attitudes on Life in this world while gaining His Kingdom, the stark reality IS found in Jesus words on Love, and we should understand here that most ALL of His words DO address this subject. In the selections that we cited from Matthew and Luke in the last essay, the reality should be clear to ALL who can look away from the pronouncements of doctrines and their own preconceived ideas on Life; we should see in His words that ALL IS Love as the Greek\u00a0word agape<\/em> should be understood. Our own attempt to Truly depict the Master’s intent and His reality of Love is again at the top of our essay under the question ‘what then IS Love’ and it IS this reality and more that we should see in Jesus own words that tell us to give<\/em> and to lend<\/em> and to see ALL men as the Father sees them…..without “respect to persons<\/em>“. This IS the essence of the Great Commandments and the Golden Rule which ARE also at the head of our writing again today and as we look at the rest of the Master’s words and the words of His apostles, we should be able to see the deeper ideas that lead up to the “glorious liberty of the children of God<\/em>” (Romans 8:21) which IS the reality of True discipleship.<\/span><\/p>\n

That we should “love thy neighbour as thyself<\/em>” and that we should\u00a0understand and practice Jesus’ admonition saying\u00a0“just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise<\/em>” (Luke 6:31) IS a most difficult endeavor for the carnal mind and emotions and it IS in this sense that men need the Presence of God in their lives as His grace<\/em>, as the revelation<\/strong><\/em> and the realization<\/em><\/strong> of these Truths. It IS only when this grace<\/em> IS freely flowing into one’s consciousness that he can begin to overcome<\/em> the self centered thoughts and attitudes that stream into that same consciousness from his worldly centered personality. That we maintain the doctrinal idea that in some way Jesus comes into one’s Life or that we understand the idea of the Christ and the God Within as the personal reality of God in man, DOES NOT matter as the reality in either view remains, it IS the revelation<\/em><\/strong> of His Presence and the realization<\/strong><\/em> of His Truths that will move a man away from his focus<\/em> upon the self and the self in the world and onto the things of God. In this we must understand the reality of His words and His commandments and see that the ideas on Love from the Sermon ARE His words and His commandments and that it IS these that MUST be heeded as a man’s part in the reciprocal\u00a0reality of one’s keeping His words<\/em> as the precursor to\u00a0having His Presence as we read again in Jesus’ words saying:<\/span><\/p>\n

“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.\u00a0Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?\u00a0Jesus 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.\u00a0He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father\u2019s which sent me<\/em>”\u00a0(John 14:21-24).<\/span><\/p>\n

In the reality of Life in this world, these words from the Master should ring clear and True: that in order to attain the Presence of God in one’s Life, one must keep His words<\/em>. While\u00a0we can play with the ideas of His manifesting<\/em> Himself and His making His abode<\/em> in the heart<\/em><\/strong> of a man, and make doctrinal precepts\u00a0of these realities, the simple Truth remains, that these ideas\u00a0are the reality of His Presence in one’s Life and that this Presence IS ONLY found as\u00a0the quid pro quo, the result of, keeping His words<\/em>. It IS in the difficulty that this brings to the Life of a man in this world that keeps a man from progress; it IS in the ‘stepping out’ that a man must undertake and the sense of difference that this brings into his Life that IS the fear that keeping His words<\/em> brings and in this we should try to see that ALL men KNOW what it takes to Truly be a saint in this world. KNOWING and DOING are however separated in the same ways as we read of Truth and error and of righteousness and sin. And we should understand as well that it IS in KNOWING the Truth of sainthood that IS the underlying reality of the prompting of the Soul to the Good, the Beautiful and the True. It IS this prompting to change one’s focus<\/em> to the things of God that IS ever the impetus to our spiritual progress and it IS this prompting that generally goes unheeded because it CAN NOT be heard over the clamor of Life; or because if is ignored in that sense of fear and of uncertainty. And this IS the tribulation<\/em> of the aspirant as well as the succumbing to the ways of the world of everyman and it IS in the illusion<\/strong> and the glamour<\/strong>\u00a0of Life in this world that men CAN NOT see the greater Truth of his own spiritual reality.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today’s Verse of the Day from biblegateway.com<\/a> is about this sense of tribulation,<\/em> a sense which many see as a\u00a0persecution of Christians by the world\u00a0and others see in the Truer context of the overall nature of the world as being against the Truths that Christ teaches. Here, while some may believe that there IS a devil and that he, or Satan, are against their ways as Christians in prayer and worship and while others may see that there are those who would seek to turn one\u00a0away from his faith in Christ, the deeper realities in this tribulation<\/em> IS the self imposed way of the carnal man. In this we should try to see that this reality IS not realized by most men as they live the Life of the carnal man and, in the illusions<\/strong> of worldly living, even the religious come\u00a0believe that they ARE DOING right while living as men in ways that ARE contrary to the reality of keeping His words<\/em>. Short of being an aspirant or a\u00a0disciple, the\u00a0man who has made that Life decision<\/strong> to change the focus<\/em> of his own Life, which change IS Repentance<\/em><\/strong>, the True tribulation<\/em> goes unseen\u00a0as the promptings of the Soul ARE unheard or else they ARE ignored. If we can see the Master’s words in this sense as He says “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world<\/em>” (John 16:33), we can likely see the greater reality of the disciple of the Lord. In this idea of “These things I have spoken unto you<\/em>“, we should see ALL of His words in His interaction at\u00a0the Passover Supper with the apostles and understand that this IS the same Peace that He offers earlier saying “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<\/em>” (John 14:27). It IS in the sense of His Presence that He shows us in the idea of abiding<\/em> as the reciprocal action of keeping His words<\/em>, that IS the reality of the idea that “in me ye might have peace<\/em>” and it IS this same reciprocal action that He shows us in the idea of “Abide in me, and I in you<\/em>” which we have in the selection below from the fifteenth chapter; it IS here that we should understand the idea that to abide<\/em> in Him IS to abide<\/em> in His word and in His example.<\/span><\/p>\n

And the reality if this abiding<\/em> IS clearly stated for us if we can see through the doctrinal ideas as He tells us that “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love<\/em>“. Can we see the equality in these ideas? Can we see that to keep His words<\/em> IS to abide<\/em> in His Love and that there IS NO difference\u00a0between abiding<\/em> in Him and abiding<\/em> in His Love which IS the very Quality of the Christ and the very Nature of Our God? In these final words of instruction the Master IS reminding\u00a0the Eleven, and us through them, of the\u00a0tribulations<\/em> that ARE the very nature of Life in form and how that they, through the Peace that comes\u00a0by\u00a0abiding<\/em> in His word, CAN overcome<\/em> this as He has done. In His most affirmative statement saying that “I have overcome the world<\/em>” we should see the reality of the Christ….not that He had finally accomplished this, or even\u00a0as some who see this as\u00a0His triumph over Satan believe, but as the deepest understanding that “in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily<\/em>” (Colossians 2:9). The Master had come among us in such fullness that there IS naught for Him to overcome;<\/em> there IS ONLY the need for Him to show us the way and this He DOES in His many words and by His example of giving up ALL worldly attachments and attractions even to His own mortal Life. It IS here that we should see the “greater works<\/em>” of which He tells them; it IS here that we should see that the final trimuph for ALL men IS that they can “overcome the world<\/em>” as He did and it IS this that IS our individual deliverance<\/em> <\/strong>“from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God<\/em>”\u00a0(Romans 8:21).<\/span><\/p>\n

It IS in the reality of the promise of “greater works<\/em>” that we can see our own ability to overcome<\/em> and to be delivered<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0into this\u00a0liberty<\/em> that IS encapsulated in His words saying: “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;\u00a0And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free<\/em>” (John 8:31-32). Here we find this freedom<\/em>, this liberty<\/em>, in keeping His words<\/em> and in discipleship and we should understand that it IS in this sense of liberty<\/em> from the wiles of worldly living that we can realize that great Truth that “the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do<\/em>” (John 14:12). And the greatest of these works can likely bee seen in the context of our own ability to say clearly and with conviction that “I have overcome the world<\/em>“. In the Apostle John’s words we find this idea of overcoming<\/em> in relation to the Truth of discipleship and being accounted worthy<\/em> of the Kingdom of God and it IS when we can understand that these ideas are tantamount to the fullness of His Presence\u00a0that\u00a0we can likely then see the apostles Truth as he says “whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world<\/em>” (1 John 5:4). As we pointed out a few posts back, there IS a great symmetry among the various terms that show the expression<\/em><\/strong> of the Spiritual man in this Earth; it IS in one’s expression<\/strong><\/em> of His words to the world that he IS the True disciple, that he IS accounted worthy<\/em>, that he IS born again<\/em>; it IS in this expression<\/em><\/strong> of Love that one can have the Presence of God in his Life and can begin to realize and to DO such “greater works<\/em>” as we see in His promise those who “believeth on me<\/em>“, those who will\u00a0accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>4<\/sup>, which IS to keep His words<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

It IS this sense of overcoming<\/em> that our selection below leads us to; it IS the man who continues,<\/em> the man who abides<\/em> in the vine<\/em>, who will accomplish the reality of his spiritual pursuits and find the wherewithal to DO those\u00a0“greater works<\/em>” that ARE ONLY done in the man who has Truly “overcome the world<\/em>“. And this sense of overcoming<\/em> IS a constant theme for John as we read in his epistle and in the Book of Revelation. We seldom address this last book of the New Testament and we stay away with purpose as we have little or no True ability to discern the apostle’s meanings. While there are endless calculated ideas on what John intends for us to see in these words, NONE come even close to Truth in our view. Today however we have seen a point of reference that we can see rather clearly and this IS in the idea of overcoming<\/em> which the apostle uses in the Name of the Lord to cite the ‘promises’ given to the church that has overcome<\/em>; we read these ideas from John:<\/span><\/p>\n