{"id":11985,"date":"2016-02-29T17:18:41","date_gmt":"2016-03-01T00:18:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/?p=11985"},"modified":"2016-02-29T17:28:37","modified_gmt":"2016-03-01T00:28:37","slug":"in-the-words-of-jesus-part-1342","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/2016\/02\/29\/in-the-words-of-jesus-part-1342\/","title":{"rendered":"IN THE WORDS OF JESUS\u2013Part 1342"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0ON LOVE; PART\u00a0CMLXXXI<\/span><\/h2>\n
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\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. 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<\/blockquote>\n

We ended the last essay with some final words on the Apostle Paul’s ideas which he offers us as\u00a0“the works of the flesh<\/em>“. We noted how that there IS the easier and more carnal\u00a0way of viewing the apostle’s thoughts and that there IS the more difficult Way of seeing the deeper meaning in which most ALL men will find their own sense of guilt. It IS easy to see oneself as better than another when it comes to the common understanding of these rendered words in terms of\u00a0sex and doctrinal idolatry<\/em> and it IS easy to see another as a witch<\/em> or a sorcerer<\/em> based upon things that ARE NOT easy to comprehend but may be\u00a0against one’s sense of Christian values; it IS more difficult however to see one’s own infidelity toward God, one’s own ‘worship’ of the things of this world and one’s own use of the supernatural ideas that ARE built into the Christian understanding of such as Paul’s context.<\/span><\/p>\n

We noted as well how that it IS easy to see the results of our carnal human thoughts, attitudes and actions that ARE the hatred<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0wrath<\/em> that come from strife<\/em> and how difficult it IS to see the root cause of these things in the factions<\/em> and the divisions<\/em> of men that doctrines create. And this need NOT be seen only in religious terms but we should try to see that doctrines ARE the motivating factor in so\u00a0much of human thought; it IS men’s nurturing into their ideas of Life that IS the beginning of his indoctrination into a host of social ideas. Christian doctrines themselves ARE the cause of much of the factions<\/em> that ARE of concern to the man who seeks God and it IS to these than the apostle speaks as he implores his readers to be in Unity saying: “that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment<\/em>” (1 Corinthians 1:10).<\/span><\/p>\n

And it IS in these same words against factions<\/em> that he tells\u00a0us that “ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?\u00a0For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?<\/em>”\u00a0(1 Corinthians\u00a03:3-4). Doctrine however DOES NOT see that this example stretches forth through the entirety of the Christian way over the last 2000 years. Men and their doctrines\u00a0DO NOT see how that this yet afflicts most ALL\u00a0religion and\u00a0most ALL of men’s social attitudes; that their factious<\/em> attitudes\u00a0ARE become a part of the fabric of carnal thought incorporating ALL prejudices and hatreds toward others based upon most simple human differences. We ended our last post with these words on men’s\u00a0factious<\/em> thoughts, attitudes and actions:\u00a0There IS a great KEY here in this idea; it IS the man who can see with NO “respect to person<\/em>“, the man who can see ALL men as divine beings on the very same journey to “the glorious liberty of the children of God<\/em>” (Romans 8:21), it IS this man who can Truly Love. And it IS in this Love that a man can overcome ALL sense of drunkenness<\/em> and revellings<\/em> which ARE the final two words of the apostle’s list of\u00a0“the works of the flesh<\/em>“.<\/span><\/p>\n

While these words that ARE rendered as\u00a0drunkenness<\/em> and revellings\u00a0<\/em>ARE seen in the most carnal ways and in ways that reflect upon\u00a0the sexual interpretations of Paul’s many words, the reality IS that these must be seen, as the rest of his list, in a more spiritual context. Again Paul IS addressing men who ARE beyond these most carnal ideas and this IS rather easy to see in the way that this Greek word methe<\/em> IS used in the New Testament and in common religious terms. The apostle Luke tells us Jesus words saying “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares<\/em>” (Luke 21:34) and in this we should be able to see the reality of methe;<\/em> as that this IS much more that having too much wine. If we can understand the idea of methe<\/em> as that one IS overcome with some sensation that distorts reality, we can then see the Master’s and the apostle’s point.<\/span><\/p>\n

While there ARE parts of the church that DO recognize the idea of being ‘drunk in the spirit’ and while some actually look forward to being in such a state, they DO NOT at the same time apply this idea to Paul’s words nor to the Master’s. If we can see Jesus’ words saying “take heed to yourselves<\/em>” in the same way that we understand Paul’s words saying “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith<\/em>” (Romans 12:3), we can then see this idea of drunkenness<\/em> more clearly from two perspectives. First that the idea of methe<\/em> IS in regard to the propensity of men to “to think of himself more highly than he ought to think<\/em>” and secondly that Paul’s use of the Greek word\u00a0sophroneo<\/em> which IS rendered as soberly<\/em> IS the opposite and shows the man as being in right mind<\/em> 2<\/sup>\u00a0as this IS alternately rendered. Can we see the point here?<\/span><\/p>\n

We should try to see how that this\u00a0being in right mind<\/em> 2<\/sup>\u00a0IS NOT in a carnal sense of right-mindedness or of being sober<\/em> but rather in a spiritual sense. The apostle IS speaking to aspirants and disciples, men who ARE NOT getting drunk on wine but ARE getting drunk on their own sense of Truth, their own measure of the Presence of God which Paul shows us as “the measure of faith<\/em>“. And his admonition here IS that men DO NOT let their measure of the Presence of God cause them\u00a0to NOT “think soberly<\/em>“, but rather for men to\u00a0“take heed to yourselves<\/em>” so they he\u00a0will “not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think<\/em>“. In ALL of this we should see the propensity of men to be too easily\u00a0overcome with some sensation that distorts reality and which can quickly become one’s reality. We should take this idea of\u00a0sophroneo\u00a0<\/em>in terms\u00a0being in right mind<\/em> 2<\/sup>\u00a0and this right-mindedness according to the way that Paul shows us saying “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus<\/em>” (Philippians 2:5).<\/span><\/p>\n

If we can see how that drunkenness<\/em> and thinking\u00a0soberly<\/em>, or better\u00a0being in right mind<\/em>, ARE intended in these ideas from Jesus and from Paul, we can then understand how that this idea should work out in our view of the\u00a0“the works of the flesh<\/em>“. That men and their doctrines see these ideas in strictly carnal terms IS unfortunate and we should understand here that this common view IS aligned with the doctrinal view of the rest of Paul’s list of\u00a0“the works of the flesh<\/em>“, as well as the most general view that men have regarding the ideas of sin and evil and of Satan and the devil. In Jesus’ words according to Luke\u00a0where the ideas of “surfeiting, and drunkenness<\/em>” ARE rendered from\u00a0kraipale<\/em> and methe<\/em>\u00a0the point of Jesus words IS missed. In\u00a0kraipale<\/em> we have a word that the lexicon IS unsure of and surmises that it IS from the same root as IS harpazo<\/em> which means to sieze, to carry off by force<\/em>\u00a02<\/sup>. In the rendering of this as surfeiting<\/em>\u00a0however the King James Bible\u00a0sees the idea of gluttony<\/em> as the Webster’s 1828 version paints this 1<\/sup>\u00a0<\/span>while the lexicon defines\u00a0kraipale\u00a0<\/em>as:\u00a0the giddiness and headache caused by drinking wine to excess\u00a0<\/em>2<\/sup>. Vincent tells us of\u00a0kraipale <\/em>that:\u00a0Derivation uncertain: akin to the Latin<\/em> crapula<\/i>,intoxication<\/i>\u00a0and that:\u00a0In the medical writings it is used of drunken nausea or headache<\/em>\u00a04<\/sup>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other translations render this as carousing<\/em> and we\u00a0should understand here that these ideas and those of gluttony<\/em> and hangover ARE misplaced and reflect the carnal ideas that many apply to what should be spiritual ideas as we have seen in the word rendered as drunkenness<\/em>. If we can understand this idea of drunkenness<\/em> as we have presented it, as that this IS\u00a0some sensation that distorts reality which IS based in the propensity of a man\u00a0to “think of himself more highly than he ought to think<\/em>“, then we can perhaps understand the idea behind kraipale<\/em>\u00a0as a man being full of himself which can work well with the ideas from the lexicon and Vincent above\u00a0and which IS a turn on the idea of gluttony.<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0In this we should see Jesus’ admonition that men should “take heed to yourselves<\/em>”\u00a0which He explains saying “lest at any time your hearts be overcharged<\/em>“.<\/span><\/p>\n

Remembering that the heart<\/strong><\/em> IS a man’s conscious awareness of himself in this world, an awareness that IS motivated by one’s focus<\/em> upon the things of God by measure or the things of this world, we should try to see the King James’ rendering of overcharged<\/em>. The lexicon tells us that the Greek word baruno<\/em> which IS rendered as overcharged<\/em> has the meaning of weighed down<\/em> 2\u00a0<\/sup>and is rendered as such by other translators. In this idea we should try to see how that gluttony<\/em>, as one being full of himself, and drunkenness<\/em>, as\u00a0some sensation that distorts reality, can weigh down<\/em>\u00a0the consciousness of a man and compound his\u00a0awareness of the “cares of this life<\/em>“; it IS this combination that the Master warns against saying that these\u00a0can put a man in a position that\u00a0“that day come upon you unawares<\/em>“. In this we should see how that it IS\u00a0kraipale<\/em> and methe\u00a0<\/em>along with one’s attention to the “cares of this life<\/em>” ARE the plight of the men who DO NOT\u00a0“take heed to yourselves<\/em>“….the man who DOES\u00a0“think of himself more highly than he ought to think<\/em>“.<\/span><\/p>\n

As the apostle’s words ARE directed toward the aspirant and the disciple who IS NOT prone to any of the carnal view of\u00a0“the works of the flesh<\/em>“, so Jesus’ words ARE directed at His disciples who ARE already beyond the ideas of gluttony<\/em> and drunkenness<\/em> as doctrines interpret these ideas. We read that Jesus “in the audience of all the people he said unto his disciples”<\/em> (Luke 20:45) and here offers a litany of ideas regarding the scribes, the poor widow, and the temple and its destruction before He speaks about the ‘end time’ which IS the destruction of Jerusalem. Regardless of how one may view the Master’s words here the idea of His saying above should be clear: that His disciples should\u00a0“take heed to yourselves<\/em>“….DO NOT allow oneself to\u00a0“think of himself more highly than he ought to think<\/em>” but to keep focused<\/em> upon the things of God; to “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy<\/em>” (Luke 21:36);\u00a0and to keep His words<\/em> which ARE again the foundation of ALL things spiritual as we see again in our trifecta<\/em><\/strong>:<\/span><\/p>\n