{"id":13690,"date":"2017-05-03T17:25:12","date_gmt":"2017-05-03T23:25:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/?p=13690"},"modified":"2017-05-03T17:25:12","modified_gmt":"2017-05-03T23:25:12","slug":"in-the-words-of-jesus-part-1503","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/2017\/05\/03\/in-the-words-of-jesus-part-1503\/","title":{"rendered":"IN THE WORDS OF JESUS\u2013Part 1503"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span style=\"color: #000000;\">ON LOVE; PART MCXLI<\/span><\/h2>\n<blockquote>\n<h6 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\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<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">GoodWill\u00a0IS Love in Action<\/span><\/h2>\n<h6 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\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<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">FIRST IS THE GREAT COMMANDMENTS: &#8220;<em>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>&#8221; (Mark 12:29-31).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">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 <em>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&#8230;that ALL ARE equally children of Our\u00a0One God<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">PLUS THE EVER IMPORTANT AND HIGH IDEAL TAUGHT TO US BY THE CHRIST: &#8220;<em>Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them<\/em>&#8221; (Matthew 7:12).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We began the last essay with some thoughts on Jesus teaching on the depth of Love, a depth that IS inconceivable to most men but which IS more easily realized when one can understand just what this word <em>agape<\/em> Truly means. Over the last several posts we discussed how that the doctrines of men DO NOT take the Master&#8217;s words on Love to <strong><em>heart<\/em><\/strong> and perhaps this IS because they ARE\u00a0inconceivable through their <em>focus<\/em> upon their lives as men here in this world rather than the spiritual lives to which the Master speaks. The reality of <em>agape<\/em> IS given to us in the simplicity of His words that ARE the Great Commandments and the Golden Rule.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As we have at the top of our essays, the idea of the Golden Rule IS that high ideal that IS taught us by the Christ, an ideal that puts the superiority of the self aside in favor of right human relations and in this we should the reality of GoodWill. It IS in GoodWill that we come to see the True functioning of <em>agape<\/em> based in the precept of the Golden Rule and one&#8217;s understanding that ALL ARE together in this One World&#8230;.ALL ARE One Humanity living under the One God, whose <strong><em>expression<\/em><\/strong> of <em>agape<\/em>, the One God Who sees ALL men the same&#8230;.as Souls, ALL on the very same journey to a <strong><em>realization<\/em><\/strong> of the Truth.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We continued on into the Apostle Paul&#8217;s words on Love from his Epistle to the Romans where he shows us that in the <strong><em>expression<\/em><\/strong> of <em>agape<\/em> ALL other spiritual ideals ARE included; that IS, in the <strong><em>expression<\/em><\/strong> of True <em>agape<\/em> and NOT the common understanding of its translation as Love. Paul shows the Romans and us that when one can &#8220;<em>love thy neighbour as thyself<\/em>&#8221; that he will NOT pursue any of the prohibitions to spiritual Life that ARE found in the commandments of the Lord. And this IS the greater point: in both the spiritual and carnal ideas of <em>adultery<\/em>, <em>killing<\/em>, <em>stealing<\/em>, <em>bearing false witness<\/em>, <em>covetousness<\/em> and &#8220;<em>any other commandment<\/em>&#8221; there ARE self-induced prohibitions to one&#8217;s own spiritual Truth.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This IS the greater reality of sin and it IS the lack of Love, the lack of one&#8217;s <strong><em>expression<\/em><\/strong> of <em>agape<\/em>, that allows a man to sin which IS but the carnal <em>focus<\/em> of his Life. Paul IS showing us that the <strong><em>expression<\/em><\/strong> of <em>agape<\/em> IS the crux of His words and, in fact, of ALL of the commandments and tenets of the Lord. It IS to show us this most important spiritual ideal in His words and in His example that He came among us, and\u00a0it IS in His <strong><em>expression<\/em><\/strong> of the fullness of <em>agape<\/em>\u00a0that we should see this. And if we could see that His greater sacrifice IS in coming, perhaps we could better understand His death and His resurrection.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Paul&#8217;s words to the Romans amplify and clarify the words of the Master; the words which men DO see as inconceivable regarding Love as well as those that ARE in regard to <em>keeping His words<\/em>. Paul reduces the latter into the former as he shows us the Power of <em>agape<\/em> in the lives of men and here we should try to see how that ALL of the <strong><em>trifecta<\/em><\/strong>, ALL of the words, the commandments and the instructions of the Master ARE incorporated into one&#8217;s <strong><em>expression<\/em><\/strong> of <em>agape<\/em>, which IS ALL that one must DO\u00a0<strong><em>to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life<\/em><\/strong> <sup>4<\/sup>. It IS in this Light that we look at our <strong><em>trifecta<\/em><\/strong> today:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>&#8220;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<\/em>&#8220;<em> (John 8:31-32).<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>&#8220;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<\/em>&#8221;\u00a0(Matthew 7:21).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>&#8220;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&#8217;s which sent me&#8221;<\/em>\u00a0(John 14:21-24).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>Agape<\/em> IS the central point of the whole of the New Testament and we should ever remember that the beginnings of these instructions on Love, these commandments, began with the teachings of Moses nearly 1500 years earlier. While the overall tenor of the Old Testament reveals what must seem to be a different God than that which Jesus reveals, we should understand that we ARE reading a perspective of God that IS written through the lives of a barbarous and superstitious people. It IS likely for this reason that the great emphasis on Love, on <em>neighbor<\/em>, and on the <em>stranger<\/em> IS missed. The jealous and vengeful God of the Old Testament, Jehovah if you will, IS the messenger to a people and a nation of the Light, the Love and the Power that IS God as Jesus IS the Christ and the messenger of that God to the man.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Most ALL Christians and Jews would call this blasphemy but it IS NOT. The reality of God, that\u00a0\u201c<em>One Boundless Immutable Principle; one Absolute Reality which, antecedes all manifested conditioned Being. It is beyond the range and reach of any human thought or expression<\/em>\u201c***, DOES NOT speak and act in human affairs. It IS those who have grown to represent the fullness of the Godhead that speak and act and this in accordance with the times and the cultures to which They come. Much as Jesus tells us that &#8220;<em>the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father&#8217;s which sent me&#8221;<\/em>, so we should see the words of Moses and the prophets<em>.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As humans these men KNOW the Truth and speak it as it IS revealed by Jehovah, their being one step removed from the Truth of the Absolute, while Jesus KNOWS the Truth as it IS revealed from the Absolute directly. There IS much mystery here which IS NOT resolved by the doctrinal ideas of the Jews or the Christians and while this remains a mystery to men, it IS NOT a mystery to the man who can see through the <strong>illusion<\/strong> and the <strong>glamour<\/strong> and stand with the Master to say &#8220;<em>I have overcome the world<\/em>&#8221; (John 16:33). And so our point: from the beginning the True <strong><em>revelation<\/em><\/strong> from the Godhead IS Love which IS at the <strong><em>heart<\/em><\/strong> of Jehovah&#8217;s Commandments and IS at the <em><strong>heart<\/strong><\/em> of the commandments of Jesus; and it IS this Love, this <em>agape<\/em>, that Paul shows us IS the privilege of the man who IS <strong><em>awake<\/em><\/strong>; we read again:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;<em>Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.\u00a0For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.\u00a0Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.\u00a0And\u00a0that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed&#8221; <\/em>\u00a0(Romans 13:8-11).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As we looked at the last idea here where the apostle tells us that NOW IS our opportunity to\u00a0&#8220;<em>awake out of sleep<\/em>&#8221; we should try to see his message as that the man whose <em>focus<\/em> IS upon the Lord KNOWS that the time has come. To this man who IS <em>striving<\/em> toward the Kingdom, the Truth and His Presence the message IS that he must seize his opportunity through Love, through <em>agape<\/em>. Paul tells us that we should\u00a0<em>eido kairos\u00a0<\/em>which we see as discerning or perceiving our opportunity as NOW, while we yet <em>strive<\/em>, we should <strong><em>awake<\/em><\/strong> to the reality of Love. As we discussed in the last essay, the point here IS being made to\u00a0to ALL who DO NOT yet Love as IS depicted in the preceding ideas.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We ended that essay with some thoughts on the ideas of <em>sozo<\/em>, <em>soter<\/em> and <em>soteria<\/em> which are most often rendered as <em>save<\/em>, <em>saviour<\/em> and <em>salvation<\/em>. We looked as sozo as Thayer&#8217;s lexicon\u00a0defines this; as:\u00a0<em>to save, to keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction<\/em> . Thayer&#8217;s goes on to show us that the Vulgate interprets <em>sozo<\/em> as: <em>to save a suffering one (from perishing)<\/em> and as an example they use disease but also note that this should be understood as spiritual <em>healing<\/em> as well. From a spiritual perspective, the idea of <em>sozo<\/em> IS always found in the idea of <em>saving<\/em> oneself from perdition which idea we find in Jesus words saying:\u00a0&#8220;<em>whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it<\/em>&#8221; (Matthew 16:25).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Although the first part of this IS from the opposite point of view, that <em>saving<\/em> the carnal risks the spiritual, the idea IS much the same and IS easily turned around in the words that follow were we see that it IS in the forsaking of the carnal that one IS Truly <em>saved<\/em>. This IS a bitter pill to swallow for ALL who see their lives in this world as their True existence. Again, the Apostle John shows us this same idea in terms of Love and hate\u00a0saying\u00a0&#8220;<em>He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal<\/em>&#8221; (John 12:25) and here we should see the idea of Love IS NOT <em>agape <\/em>but rather<em> phileo<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This brings us to the idea of <em>soter<\/em> which IS rendered as <em>savior<\/em> and most often refers to God and to Jesus as the Savior of men. The reality here IS that Jesus IS the Messiah and He IS the Christ and it IS in this role that He can be seen as the Savior. This IS NOT by some magical doctrinal idea that to <em>believe on<\/em> Him or to <em>believe in<\/em> Him in that nebulous doctrinal way makes one <em>saved<\/em> and entitles one to that equally nebulous idea of heaven after death, or at the bodily resurrection of believers, or at some other time, according to the doctrines of the various denominations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">If we can understand this idea that to\u00a0<em>believe on<\/em> Him or to <em>believe in<\/em> Him IS <strong><em>to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life<\/em><\/strong> <sup>4<\/sup>, we can then have the clearer picture of the reality of Life and death. This IS <em>keeping His words<\/em> and this IS one&#8217;s ONLY entitlement: that by measure one will have the Truth that frees, the Kingdom of Heaven and His Presence according to the <strong><em>trifecta<\/em><\/strong> which IS Jesus own words on this matter. To have these three ideas of <em>grace<\/em> IS NOT a <em>reward<\/em> that one achieves after death but rather that these become his experience here and NOW.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It IS in this way that one IS &#8220;<em>delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God<\/em>&#8221; (Romans 8:21) as Paul tells the Romans earlier in his letter. Here we should remember that the same Greek word, <em>eleutheroo<\/em>, that IS rendered as <em>delivered<\/em> IS rendered as &#8220;<em>make you free<\/em>&#8221; in the first part of the <strong><em>trifecta<\/em><\/strong>, and in this we KNOW the way to that <em>freedom<\/em> IS the Truth that comes to the man who Jesus says will &#8220;<em>continue in my word<\/em>&#8220;. This <em>freedom<\/em> from\u00a0&#8220;<em>the bondage of corruption<\/em>&#8221; IS one&#8217;s <em>freedom<\/em> from the <em>vanity<\/em>, from the <strong>illusion<\/strong> and the <strong>glamour<\/strong> of Life in this world and this <em>freedom<\/em> IS the product of being &#8220;<em>awake out of sleep<\/em>&#8220;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Jesus tells us how this works throughout His words and He shows us this <em>freedom<\/em>\u00a0couched in His most misunderstood words saying that &#8220;<em>the kingdom of God is within you<\/em>&#8221;\u00a0(Luke 17:21). If we can see this we can then understand the nature of His Kingdom, our <em>deliverance,<\/em> and the Apostle Peter&#8217;s words saying &#8220;<em>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<\/em>&#8221; (2 Peter 1:4).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We should understand that this sense of being <em>delivered<\/em> IS the same idea that Jesus puts upon everyman to DO for himself\u00a0as He says that if one will <em>&#8220;continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free<\/em>&#8220;. This <em>freedom<\/em> IS our <em>deliverance<\/em> and, in Peter&#8217;s words, this <em>deliverance<\/em>, this <em>freedom<\/em>, IS one&#8217;s <em>escape<\/em> from that same &#8220;<em>bondage of corruption<\/em>&#8221; which he paints for us as &#8220;<em>the corruption that is in the world through lust<\/em>&#8220;. Can we see here how that our <em>escape<\/em> IS planned and executed through <em>keeping His words,<\/em> and here again, especially His words on Love.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">That some doctrines teach and believe that ALL that IS required for <em>salvation<\/em> IS some affirmation, confession and <em>baptism<\/em>\u00a0while others believe in a different form of <em>baptism<\/em> and a list of sacraments and still others some other rite or ritual, leaves behind the actual words of the Master and His apostles which show us the True way. We have discussed the idea of <em>sozo<\/em> which IS a conscious effort by a man to &#8216;save&#8217; himself&#8230;.to <em>rescue<\/em> himself from the &#8220;<em>bondage of corruption<\/em>&#8221; which idea comes clearly in Jesus&#8217; own words above.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In <em>soter<\/em>, which IS used by doctrine in regard to Jesus as Savior, we have a True idea but an wrong application of that idea. Jesus the Christ IS the Savior of men; men who Truly <em>believe on<\/em> and <em>believe in<\/em> Him from the perspective of <em>keeping His words<\/em>. The Master shows us this in the second part of the <em>trifecta<\/em> above and in His rhetorical question of the same nature which IS reported for us by the Apostle Luke; Jesus says: &#8220;<em>why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say<\/em>&#8221; (Luke 6:46).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Jesus IS the Saviour; by His teaching and His example we ARE saved when we will:\u00a0<strong><em>accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life<\/em><\/strong> <sup>4<\/sup>. Doctrines however DO NOT see this reality which IS the True center of True Christianity; most would rather contort Paul&#8217;s words into their simplified formula, a formula that likely deludes many who would otherwise seek the deeper meanings and intent of the Master&#8217;s words and the words of His apostles. Paul tells the Romans many things but this out of context idea IS perhaps the most misused; the apostle says:\u00a0&#8220;<em>That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.\u00a0For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation<\/em>&#8221; (Romans 10:9-10).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In this idea we have again <em>salvation<\/em> but here from a different perspective. In our selection regarding Love we see that it IS through <strong><em>awakening<\/em><\/strong> to the Truth of <em>agape<\/em> that the apostle shows us that\u00a0&#8220;<em>our salvation nearer than when we believed<\/em>&#8220;; here we should see that this <em>salvation<\/em> IS tied to <em><strong>awakening<\/strong><\/em> and <strong><em>awakening<\/em><\/strong> IS tied to Paul&#8217;s words on Love. Should we conflate this idea with the apostle&#8217;s use of <em>soteria<\/em> in regard to the affirmation and confession that doctrines see as the most magical tool of the Christian, we will be better able to understand the latter and see the greater Truth in the former.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In Paul&#8217;s words on <em>confession<\/em> and <em>believing<\/em> we have yet another misuse of the Greek word <em>pisteuo<\/em> or, rather, the misapplication of the English word <em>believe<\/em> as that most nebulous doctrinal idea. <em>Pisteuo<\/em> IS more than merely thinking something to be True, <em>pisteuo<\/em> IS KNOWING, it IS conviction, and as such this word inevitably leads us to Jesus&#8217; rhetorical questions that asks\u00a0&#8220;<em>why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say<\/em>&#8220;. In this regard many may say that they KNOW that Jesus IS Lord but this IS wasted according to the Master if such KNOWING DOES NOT cause one to DO &#8220;<em>the things which I say<\/em>&#8220;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">And the severity of this disconnect IS most readily seen in the idea of <em>agape<\/em> as the <strong><em>expression<\/em><\/strong> of everyman in this world. Many Christian doctrines teach the impossibility of <em>keeping His words<\/em> as a man in this world and in such teaching they have stifled the need to <em>strive<\/em> toward that goal; too many believe that it IS by their <em>confession<\/em> and <em>affirmation<\/em> that they ARE <em>saved<\/em> or that this IS accomplished through their <em>baptism<\/em> and the rest of the sacraments of their particular denomination. The reality of <em>salvation<\/em>, of <em>soteria<\/em>, IS found in <strong><em>deliverance<\/em><\/strong> and while much of doctrine sees such <strong><em>deliverance<\/em><\/strong> as being bestowed upon the Christian by God, the reality, again found in the <em>trifecta<\/em>\u00a0and in Paul&#8217;s words above, IS that the onus IS upon men.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Many see the effect of <em>salvation<\/em> as occurring after one&#8217;s death in this world or at the Master&#8217;s return and this idea is shown us in the lexicon where we read of <em>salvation<\/em> that:\u00a0<em>salvation as the present possession of all true Christians<\/em> and then\u00a0<em>future salvation, the sum of benefits and blessings which the Christians, redeemed from all earthly ills, will enjoy after the visible return of Christ from heaven in the consummated and eternal kingdom of God\u00a0<\/em><sup>2, 9<\/sup>. After his ideas on what this <em>salvation<\/em> IS NOT, John Gill tells us that it IS:\u00a0<em>a spiritual and eternal salvation: not Christ the author of it, who was come to effect it; nor that itself, as obtained, which was now done, finished, and completed; nor the application of it to their souls, which also had been made; but the consummate enjoyment of it in heaven, the salvation of their souls at death, and both of soul and body at the resurrection; consisting in a freedom from every evil, and in a full possession of all that is good and glorious<\/em>\u00a0<sup>8<\/sup>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Paul&#8217;s message here IS NOT in this regard&#8230;.he DOES NOT speak about this doctrinal idea but rather he IS saying that in Love, in the effectual <strong><em>expression<\/em><\/strong> of <em>agape<\/em>, one IS <strong><em>awakened<\/em><\/strong> and his expressed reason for us to <strong><em>awaken<\/em><\/strong> IS that it IS in the fullness of <em>agape<\/em>, the fullness of <em>keeping His words<\/em>, that ALL are Truly &#8220;<em>delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God<\/em>&#8220;. We should remember here that Paul IS speaking to men who ARE already <em>striving<\/em> toward this goal as he shows them that in the simplicity of their <strong><em>expression<\/em><\/strong> of <em>agape<\/em> as the Master teaches this, IS the reality of the ability of everyman to:\u00a0<strong><em>accept<\/em> and<em> adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life<\/em><\/strong> <sup>4<\/sup>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.<\/span><\/p>\n<table border=\"1\" width=\"100%\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"4\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\" width=\"20%\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Aspect\u00a0<del><\/del>of \u00a0God<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\" width=\"20%\">\n<p align=\"CENTER\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Potency<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\" width=\"20%\">\n<p align=\"CENTER\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Aspect of Man<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\" width=\"20%\">\n<p align=\"CENTER\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>In Relation to the Great Invocation<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\" width=\"20%\">\n<p align=\"CENTER\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>In relation to the Christ<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"20%\" height=\"59\">\n<p align=\"CENTER\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>GOD, The Father<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"20%\">\n<p align=\"CENTER\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Will or Power<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"20%\">\n<p align=\"CENTER\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Spirit or Life<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"20%\">\n<p align=\"CENTER\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Center where the Will of God IS KNOWN<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"20%\">\n<p align=\"CENTER\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Life<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"20%\" height=\"57\">\n<p align=\"CENTER\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Son, The Christ<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"20%\">\n<p align=\"CENTER\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Love and Wisdom<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"20%\">\n<p align=\"CENTER\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Soul or Christ Within<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"20%\">\n<p align=\"CENTER\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Heart of God<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"20%\">\n<p align=\"CENTER\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Truth<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\" width=\"20%\" height=\"56\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Holy Spirit<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<td width=\"20%\">\n<p align=\"CENTER\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Light or Activity<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"20%\">\n<p align=\"CENTER\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Life Within<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"20%\">\n<p align=\"CENTER\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Mind of God<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"20%\">\n<p align=\"CENTER\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Way<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2 class=\"western\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Note on the Quote of the Day<\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">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<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We change our Quote of the Day today to the words from Solomon on Wisdom\u00a0along with our thoughts on them from the original postings of them in In the Words of Jesus parts 46 and 556. \u00a0These words ARE a testament to those things that we should be asking of the Lord and which are representative of the Holy Ghost. Wisdom, understanding and knowledge which will\u00a0lead us \u00a0to understanding the fear (reverence and respect and awe) of the Lord and the knowledge of God so that in this world we can understand righteousness and judgement and equity and be preserved by discretion and understanding. Thus are we in a position to treat everyone as we would want to be treated ourselves.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Since we are centered on the ideas of Wisdom today we offer the following from Proverbs as our Quote of the Day. Solomon, who is KNOWN for his Wisdom, which we read in the story of his Life was His gift from God, a gift that he receives because he does not want for the things of the world. But Solomon gains as well the things of the world in plenty and as his Life story proceeds we can see clearly that it is his Life in the world that is to his detriment. The wisdom however produces for us the writings of the Book of Proverbs and it is this that he is remembered for. His Life is interesting reading and is well documented in the Books of Kings and Chronicles.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><em>\u2026.incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path. When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(Proverbs 2:2-11).<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Let the peace of God rule in your hearts<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><sup>2<\/sup>\u00a0New Testament Greek Lexicon on BibleStudyTools.com<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><sup>8<\/sup>\u00a0Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">9 Thayer\u2019s Greek Lexicon on\u00a0blueletterbible.org<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ON LOVE; PART MCXLI \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 GoodWill\u00a0IS Love in Action \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 FIRST IS THE GREAT COMMANDMENTS: &#8220;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 &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/2017\/05\/03\/in-the-words-of-jesus-part-1503\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,45,48,25,39,81,44,41,49,20,38,43,30,24,13,14],"tags":[88,82,95,57,87,22,99,56,23,94,92,97,9,10,17,83,54,8,6,91,21,31,32,12,52,47,34,33,18,84,93,55,89,26,85,7,15,16,50,98,11],"class_list":["post-13690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-abundance-of-the-heart","category-born-again","category-bread-of-life","category-children-of-god","category-christianity","category-disciple-of-christ","category-eternal-life","category-faith","category-forgiveness","category-light","category-living-in-the-light","category-reincarnation","category-righteousness","category-son-of-god","category-the-kingdom","category-jesus-words-2","tag-abundance-of-the-heart","tag-aspirant-to-discipleship","tag-born-again","tag-buddha","tag-children-of-god","tag-christ","tag-disciple-of-christ","tag-easter","tag-enlightenment","tag-eternal-life","tag-faith","tag-forgiveness","tag-goodwill","tag-christian-love","tag-gospel","tag-gospel-of-thomas","tag-holy-spirit","tag-jesus-words","tag-jesus","tag-light","tag-light-of-the-world","tag-merciful","tag-mercy","tag-new-age","tag-new-age-developments","tag-new-birth","tag-peace","tag-pure-in-heart","tag-quote-of-day","tag-rebirth","tag-reincarnation","tag-resurrection","tag-righteousness","tag-sons-of-god","tag-spiritual-reality","tag-the-christ","tag-kingdom-of-god","tag-kingdom-of-heaven","tag-truth","tag-united-nations","tag-unity-in-diversity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13690"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13690\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13714,"href":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13690\/revisions\/13714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}