{"id":13745,"date":"2017-05-18T17:33:20","date_gmt":"2017-05-18T23:33:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/?p=13745"},"modified":"2017-05-25T08:20:44","modified_gmt":"2017-05-25T14:20:44","slug":"in-the-words-of-jesus-part-1507","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/2017\/05\/18\/in-the-words-of-jesus-part-1507\/","title":{"rendered":"IN THE WORDS OF JESUS\u2013Part 1507"},"content":{"rendered":"

ON LOVE; PART MCXLVI<\/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
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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

In the last essay we continued our discussion on the words of the Apostle Paul that have become a mantra for many Christian denominations, a mantra whereby they believe that they ARE saved through their confessions and affirmations regarding the Christ. They have taken Paul’s words out of the context in which he offered them, a context the repeats the words of Moses telling the Jews that to obtain the promises that ARE offered to the Jews, that they must keep His words<\/em>. Moses tells the Jews that “I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments<\/em>“. <\/span><\/p>\n

It IS this sentiment that Paul IS repeating in his Epistle to the Romans as he tells them the same idea and compares the word of God through Moses to the Christ; in this we should see the idea that neither IS “hidden from thee, neither is it far off.\u00a0It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?\u00a0Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?\u00a0But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it<\/em>” (Deuteronomy 30:16, 11-14).<\/span><\/p>\n

Paul, speaking in a new dispensation of Truth IS amplifying the reality of the Immanent God, the God and Christ Within, over the idea of the commandments and the words of the Lord and here we should see that if the Christ IS Truly realized as the Inner man, that such a man would per force\u00a0“love the LORD thy God, to\u00a0<\/em>walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments<\/em>“. There IS NO need to search for the word of the Lord nor IS there a need to search for the Christ; both ARE ever a matter of realization;<\/strong><\/em> for the Jew in Moses day a realization<\/em><\/strong> of the word of God in one’s heart<\/strong><\/em> and in since Christ a realization<\/em><\/strong> of the Truth of God.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Moses teaching to the Jews there IS the element of controlling the outward Life according to the written word which IS men’s guide to the Greater Truth and we should remember here that this teaching IS given on a ‘national’ level. Moses speaks to the nation and directs the activities of the leaders so that they will lead the people\u00a0“to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments<\/em>“; and this IS DONE in accordance with the ways of Life in this barbarous and superstitious time. It IS difficult to see the ways of the Old Testament, the killing and the slaughter even of children, as the product of a God of whom the Apostle John tells us IS Love.<\/span><\/p>\n

But “God is love<\/em>” (1 John 4:8, 16) and the strange brutality and preference for the Jew of the Old Testament IS NOT an expression<\/em> <\/strong>of Love from the Godhead but rather it IS from those who interpreted the impetus of their idea of God into human thought, attitude and action. God DOES NOT change nor does His nature and in this we should see that if He IS Love today, He IS always Love. Here again however we must NOT see Love as that human expression<\/em><\/strong> of mind and emotion….we must see Love as the Unity and the Oneness of the entire creation, a Unity that IS defined for us by Paul’s saying “Christ in you, the hope of glory<\/em>” as the revelation<\/em><\/strong> of the great mystery of Life; a revelation<\/em><\/strong> that ONLY becomes the realization<\/em><\/strong> of the few who look past their doctrines and see the vital Truth of His words.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus’ teaching and the amplifying and clarifying teaching of His apostles IS NOT to a nation but to the individual and when we can see the ideas of the word of God and the Christ as synonymous terms, we can then better understand Paul’s revision to Moses words. Paul tells us that “Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.\u00a0But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)\u00a0Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)\u00a0But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach<\/em>” (Romans 10:5-8).<\/span><\/p>\n

Paul equates for us the “the righteousness which is of faith<\/em>” and\u00a0“the word of faith<\/em>” and if we can see these in the same way and understand that these ARE the reality of the Christ Within, we can then better understand Paul’s point which continues on to those words that have become the Christian mantra; Paul says “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>” (Romans 10:9-10).<\/span><\/p>\n

When we connect the apostle’s words we can see that the word that IS in “thy mouth, and in thy heart<\/em>” must become the expression<\/em><\/strong> of the man; NOT merely as <\/span><\/p>\n

verbal confession<\/em> and that nebulous faith<\/em>, but the reality of living according to His words through Love. Here we should understand the apostle’s reference to the mouth<\/em> according to Jesus words saying that it IS “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh<\/em>” (Matthew 12:34). In this we have the greater reality that if “The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart<\/em>“, then this IS what “the mouth speaketh<\/em>“….this IS one’s expression<\/strong><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

And Moses’ point was the same: that if “the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it<\/em>“, then one will be a DOER. To be a DOER of the word IS of course one’s expression<\/strong><\/em> of the word in one’s thoughts, attitudes and actions and this IS the sole objective of both Moses and Paul’s teaching. Moses shows us, in terms that the Jews could understand,\u00a0how that “thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it<\/em>” while Paul shows us the spiritual reality of salvation<\/em>, of being able to free<\/em> oneself from the “bondage of corruption<\/em>” (Romans 8:21) that has ever been Life in this world.<\/span><\/p>\n

This IS the point that the doctrines of men refuse to see: that one must free<\/em> himself from his bondage<\/em> to the vanity<\/em>, to the illusion<\/strong> and the glamour<\/strong>, of Life in this world. As we often discuss, the Apostle Peter shows us this same idea in terms of escape<\/em> and in this we find the reality of personal responsibility, the same as we see in the words of Moses above and in the misunderstood words of Paul on the same idea. Peter tells us that to gain the promises<\/em>, the “exceeding great and precious promises<\/em>“, that one must escape<\/em> “the corruption that is in the world through lust<\/em>“. And, behind his words, the apostle gives us some idea of the reality of being saved, that it IS NOT to ‘earn’ heaven in some future state but rather to “be partakers of the divine nature<\/em>”\u00a0(2 Peter 1:4) here and now.<\/span><\/p>\n

Paul simply calls this idea of partaking<\/em>\u00a0“of the divine nature<\/em>” as being saved<\/em>, as\u00a0one’s salvation<\/em>, and NO where in his words do we find any hint that this IS reference to some future state of being after death; the ONLY death that the apostle refers to in this context IS one’s spiritual death….that one can remain in it or one can “awake out of sleep<\/em>” (Romans 13:11). The Truth of one’s awakening<\/em><\/strong> IS NOT found in the confessions and the affirmations of doctrine nor in the simple idea\u00a0that one can “call upon the name of the Lord<\/em>” in appeal, the Truth of awakening<\/em><\/strong> IS found in one’s realization<\/em><\/strong> that Jesus the Christ IS Lord and then by living one’s Life according to the Truth that IS revealed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Again this IS the reality of believing<\/em>:\u00a0to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life<\/em><\/strong> 4<\/sup>. And this IS the effectual end to one’s Repentance<\/em><\/strong>, one’s change of focus<\/em> from the self and the self in this world to the things of God. This idea of Repentance<\/em><\/strong> IS NOT found in sorrow or remorse for something that one may have DONE; this Repentance<\/em><\/strong> IS the reality of the Master’s message as He begins His teaching 2000 years ago. This Repentance<\/em><\/strong> IS the reality of change\u00a0which in the beginning IS reflected in one’s striving and in the end IS reflected in the reality of one’s Transformation<\/em><\/strong> from living in “the bondage of corruption<\/em>” into one’s living in “the glorious liberty of the children of God<\/em>” (Romans 8:21)<\/span><\/p>\n

While so many Christians believe that they have found their salvation<\/em>, they fail to see the reality that IS painted for them by the prophets and by the Master and His apostles. In their diluted version of Truth they DO NOT see themselves in the negative view that IS the picture of the Jew’s relationship with the Lord and they DO NOT understand the impact of such sayings as “Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?<\/em>” (Isaiah 53:1); it IS these ideas which ARE repeated for the Jew hundreds of years later and which ARE yet True for ALL men today. The Apostle John repeats Isaiah’s words in his comments on Jesus, on the way that the Jews DO NOT see in Him the Truth that they believed that they were seeking. John tells us:<\/span><\/p>\n

“But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him:\u00a0That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?\u00a0Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again,\u00a0He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.\u00a0These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.\u00a0Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:\u00a0For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God<\/em>” (John 12:7-43).<\/span><\/p>\n

While the words of the prophet ARE presumed to be prophetic words for the future and that these reference Jesus as DO the rest of this collection of Isaiah’s words,\u00a0there IS a deeper reality to the idea that the prophet puts forth, a reality that begins some verses earlier in what IS now the previous chapter. Speaking to Israel in that time Isaiah says “Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.\u00a0The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God<\/em>” (Isaiah 52:9-10). It IS in this Light that we should see the endless question that reaches back into history and can be projected forward even until today.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?<\/em>” IS the question of the ages in spiritual terms; who has Truly believed the revelations<\/em><\/strong> that come in the scriptures of the world. NOT the historical ideas but the spiritual ones that ARE intended to change the course of the lives of men; spiritual ideas such as\u00a0“his commandments and his statutes and his judgments<\/em>” In the Judaeo-Christian tradition this has always been the intent and in the Truth of ALL world scriptures the same messages ARE intended, perhaps NOT as commandments but definitely as the Repentant<\/em><\/strong> change away from the self and onto the things of God.<\/span><\/p>\n

It IS ever men’s focus<\/em> on the self that IS the great distraction from Truth and it IS this same focus<\/em> that creates the doctrines of every religion that sees Life in carnal terms and sees men as this fleshy<\/em> form in this Earth. Jesus brings us the clearest picture of the Truth of man, that he IS NOT this fleshy<\/em> existance but he IS the Life that motivates and sustains his form; and while the Master’s words ARE couched in parabolic jargon, the words of His apostles DO clarify and amplify His thoughts. The doctrinal approach to His words however DOES NOT see the Truth beyond the preconceived ideas of men, ideas that ARE the target of the words that such doctrines seek to interpret.<\/span><\/p>\n

A clear example of doctrinal manipulation IS in the doctrinal approach to Love where the words ARE exceptionally clear throughout the New and the Old Testament and to this we must add the misinterpretations and those most nebulous ideas that ARE taken from such Greek words as pistis<\/em>, pisteuo<\/em>, charis<\/em> and the various words that have been applied to the idea of\u00a0salvation<\/em>….sozo<\/em>, soter<\/em>, and soteria<\/em>. And a most clear example of the result of that manipulation IS found in the words from the Apostle Paul that we have been discussing, his words from the tenth chapter of his Epistle to the Romans. Reading his words again:<\/span><\/p>\n

“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>” (Romans 10:9-10).<\/span><\/p>\n

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.\u00a0How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?\u00a0And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!\u00a0But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?\u00a0So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.\u00a0But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world<\/em>” (Romans 10:13-18).<\/span><\/p>\n

Disregarding the previous words that agree with Moses’ call to keep ALL \u00a0“his commandments and his statutes and his judgments<\/em>” and which explain that the Truth IS NOT “hidden from thee, neither is it far off…..But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it<\/em>“, the doctrines of men have created their mantra. This mantra IS then tied to the idea of being “born again<\/em>“, which idea IS also taken out of its context where the original idea from Jesus shows that to be “born again<\/em>” IS to “enter into the kingdom of God<\/em>” (John 3:5). They miss, intentionally or NOT, the logic that the Master presents in the second part of our trifecta<\/em><\/strong> which we repeat here again:<\/span><\/p>\n