{"id":14400,"date":"2017-12-27T13:43:52","date_gmt":"2017-12-27T20:43:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/?p=14400"},"modified":"2017-12-27T13:43:52","modified_gmt":"2017-12-27T20:43:52","slug":"in-the-words-of-jesus-part-1565","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/2017\/12\/27\/in-the-words-of-jesus-part-1565\/","title":{"rendered":"IN THE WORDS OF JESUS\u2013Part 1565"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span style=\"color: #000000;\">ON LOVE; PART MCCIV<\/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<\/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<\/span><\/h6>\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;\"><em>\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9<\/em><\/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<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In the last essay we continued our discussion on the ideas behind the Greek word\u00a0<em>makrothumia <\/em>which the Apostle Paul uses to show us a defining quality of <em>agape.<\/em>\u00a0The Truth of this word as a quality of Love CAN NOT be minimized and we have tried to show this by the way that it IS used to also define God and by its relationship to ALL spiritual progress, progress that begins and ends in <em>agape<\/em>. True <em>agape<\/em> IS universally <em><strong>expressed<\/strong><\/em> to ALL men and it IS through\u00a0<em>makrothumia\u00a0<\/em>that men DO have the ability to DO so;\u00a0<em>makrothumia\u00a0<\/em>IS our understanding of the plight of men which develops our <em>longsuffering<\/em> view of them as we KNOW that the same that befalls them DID once befall us.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">And this IS the view of God as well, the view of Truly spiritual men whose <strong><em>expression<\/em><\/strong> IS Love and IS thereby the <strong><em>expression<\/em><\/strong> of the Spirit and Soul that IS ever One with God. When we read then the words of Paul that describe the <em>vanity<\/em> and the &#8220;<em>bondage of corruption<\/em>&#8220;, we should be able to see in them the plight of men and understand that most ALL have NOT &#8220;<em>escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust<\/em>&#8221; (2 Peter 1:4). This IS the view of men that IS found in <em>agape<\/em> through its defining idea of\u00a0<em>makrothumia<\/em>; this IS the understanding nature of everyman who DOES Truly <strong><em>express<\/em><\/strong> <em>agape<\/em> which idea IS tantamount to <em>keeping His words<\/em> as Paul shows us saying:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; 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;\">In the last essay we tried to show how that this <strong><em>expression<\/em><\/strong> of Love, of <em>agape<\/em>, IS the product of our <strong><em>Repentance<\/em><\/strong> and our <em><strong>Transformation<\/strong><\/em> as we <em>strive<\/em> toward what the apostle calls <em>&#8220;the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body<\/em>&#8221; (Romans 8:23). Here, if we can connect the dots once again, we should be able to understand that the journey, the Path if you will, takes us from Souls in <em>flesh<\/em> in this world afflicted by the <em>vanity<\/em>, the <strong>illusion<\/strong> and the <strong>glamour<\/strong>, to becoming Souls that can <strong><em>express<\/em><\/strong> their True nature which IS Love through the <em>flesh<\/em>, thereby forming that Union of the Soul and his <strong><em>expression<\/em><\/strong> in this world which IS the greater reality of <em>&#8220;the adoption<\/em>&#8220;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We should try to see and to understand that the fullness of this <strong><em>expression<\/em><\/strong> of <em>agape<\/em> IS the product of this Union, this <em>adoption<\/em>, whereby our work in this world IS complete; it IS here that we realize the Truth of <strong><em>perfection<\/em><\/strong> and understand Jesus&#8217; admonition to &#8220;<em>Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect<\/em>&#8221;\u00a0(Matthew 5:48). It IS here that we also realize the deep Truth that\u00a0&#8220;<em>as he is, so are we in this world<\/em>&#8221; (1 John 4:17) and what Jesus means in saying that\u00a0&#8220;<em>every one that is perfect shall be as his master<\/em>&#8221; (Luke 6:40). It IS in this <strong><em>perfection<\/em><\/strong> that we fully KNOW God and KNOW the fullness of His Plan; it IS in this <strong><em>perfection<\/em><\/strong> that we can DO such &#8220;<em>greater works<\/em>&#8221; (John 14:12) as the Master tells us which IS to have full control over the physical realm of men.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This IS the greater reality of &#8220;<em>the redemption of our body<\/em>&#8220;; this IS the ability of the Soul that IS the True man to <strong><em>express<\/em><\/strong> the very nature of that spiritual man through his form in this world and to wield the spiritual Power as Jesus tells us saying &#8220;<em>He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do<\/em>&#8221; (John 14:12). We must remember however that this <em>believing<\/em> IS NOT that nebulous idea of doctrines&#8230;.this <em>believing on<\/em> Him IS:\u00a0<strong><em>to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><sup>4<\/sup>. This IS of course to <em>keep His words<\/em>.\u00a0There IS a dynamic link between this <strong><em>perfection<\/em><\/strong>, <em>agape<\/em> and <em>keeping His words<\/em> that the Apostle John shows us in these sayings:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;<em>But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him<\/em>&#8221; (1 John 2:5)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;<em>No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us<\/em>&#8221; (1 John 4:12)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;<em>Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world<\/em>&#8221; (1 John 4:17)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;<em>There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love<\/em>&#8221;\u00a0(1 John 4:18)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In this last saying the idea of <em>fear<\/em> from the Greek word <em>phobos<\/em> can be quite confusing. If we look at this in the common understanding of <em>fear<\/em>, here and in its other uses in the New Testament, we will NOT see the deeper meaning that should be applied. If we can understand this idea of <em>phobos<\/em> as that one allows <em>doubt<\/em> to creep into one&#8217;s thinking then we can better understand the point that John IS making. This sense of doubt can overwhelm a man and shut out his <strong><em>realization<\/em> <\/strong>of Truth&#8230;.he no longer can see the Truth clearly. When we can understand that the basis for such Truth IS <em>agape<\/em>, we can likely understand this sense of <em>fear<\/em> which IS neither:\u00a0<em>a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain<\/em>\u00a0 nor:\u00a0<em>reverential awe, especially toward God<\/em>\u00a0 <sup>7<\/sup>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">John&#8217;s point should be clear in these sayings that show us the relationship between <em><strong>perfection,<\/strong> agape<\/em> and <em>keeping His words<\/em> and, as Paul tells us above, the latter two ARE equivalent. We should try to understand here then that it IS the man who can <strong><em>express<\/em><\/strong> <em>agape<\/em> who DOES become <strong><em>perfect<\/em><\/strong> and it IS in this idea of <strong><em>perfection<\/em><\/strong> that one can be both &#8220;<em>as his master<\/em>&#8221; and &#8220;<em>as your Father which is in heaven<\/em>&#8220;. Here we must also understand that this <strong><em>expression<\/em><\/strong> of <em>agape<\/em> IS universally <strong><em>expressed<\/em><\/strong> to everyman, to every <em>neighbor<\/em>, and with NO &#8220;<em>respect to persons<\/em>&#8221; (James 2:9).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">And we must see here that Love, True <em>agape<\/em>, DOES NOT see the <em>divisions<\/em> that men have created among themselves; True <em>agape<\/em> see ALL men as Souls on that long journey to <em>&#8220;the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body<\/em>&#8220;, each working out his own &#8216;<em>salvation<\/em>&#8216;&#8230;.his own <em>escape<\/em> from\u00a0&#8220;<em>the corruption that is in the world through lust<\/em>&#8220;. ALL men share this journey but few realize it in their own lives; ALL men ARE &#8220;<em>made subject to vanity<\/em>&#8221; and ALL men &#8220;<em>shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God<\/em>&#8221;\u00a0(Romans 8:20, 21). Here again we should remember that this idea of <strong><em>deliverance<\/em><\/strong> IS based in the Truth and in Jesus&#8217; words saying that &#8220;<em>the truth shall make you free<\/em>&#8220;&#8230;.again, both of these ideas ARE from the same Greek word, <em>eleutheroo<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Prior to Paul&#8217;s words on Love that we have been studying, the apostle shows us a view of the Truth that IS misunderstood at best. He IS telling those who ARE &#8220;<em>sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints<\/em>&#8221; (1 Corinthians 1:2) about the &#8220;<em>same Spirit<\/em>&#8221; and this in order for us to see that whatsoever a man may have spiritually comes from the same source, the\u00a0&#8220;<em>same Spirit<\/em>&#8220;. As we believe that there IS a Universal Spirit, we should understand that this Spirit IS God and therefore IS Love. In this, despite the various theories regarding the Trinity, we should see that God IS the source of ALL spiritual things which ARE essentially the <em>grace<\/em> of God. We should understand <em>grace<\/em> here as whatsoever comes from God and remember that ONLY spiritual things DO come.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Paul tells us that\u00a0&#8220;<em>there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.\u00a0For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit<\/em>&#8221; (1 Corinthians 12:4, 8-9). The doctrinal idea of &#8216;<em>gift<\/em>&#8216; IS used here to render <em>charisma<\/em> as IS DONE by most ALL translators but there IS one that renders this as <em>grace<\/em> which IS a Truer definition of this Greek word, a word which IS the neuter noun to the feminine noun <em>charis<\/em>. It IS the doctrinal idea of <em>gift<\/em>, which IS also rendered as &#8220;<em>free gift<\/em>&#8221; (Romans 5:15, 16) in some places, that can confuse the idea that IS being presented.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We should understand here that such <em>gifts<\/em>, such <em>grace<\/em> to me more accurate, DO require some action on the part of the recipient; this IS contrary to the doctrinal view that such gifts ARE given without merit. Strong&#8217;s defines <em>charisma<\/em> as a <em>divine gratuity<\/em>\u00a0 which idea implies that it IS given in exchange for some service rendered, not as wages but perhaps as reward, but, to be sure, this idea of <em>charisma<\/em> IS always a spiritual thing. How then DOES one attain such <em>grace<\/em>? From where DOES this flow. We can look at this in two ways; first there IS the doctrinal idea that these ARE given at the time of <em>salvation,<\/em> that IS at the time when one accepts Christ according to their doctrinal ideas of how this IS d0ne; in this way these ARE <em>free gifts<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Then there IS the greater reality that this <em>grace<\/em> IS the product of one&#8217;s <em>focus<\/em> upon the Lord, this IS the product of <strong><em>Repentance<\/em> <\/strong>which IS then realized and enhanced through one&#8217;s <em><strong>Transformation.<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0We should try to understand that having such <em>grace<\/em> as a Soul IS everyman&#8217;s nature and that the use of such &#8216;<em>gifts<\/em>&#8216; requires that these become the <strong><em>realization<\/em><\/strong> of the man in the world. In this view the reality of <em>charis<\/em> IS NO different than the reality of <em>agape<\/em>; both become understood and <strong><em>expressed<\/em><\/strong> by the man whose <em>focus<\/em> IS upon the things of God.\u00a0Both <em>charis<\/em> and <em>agape<\/em> ARE components of that Truth that sets one <em>free<\/em>, and these three ARE the reality of &#8220;<em>the wisdom that is from above<\/em>&#8221; (James 3:17), a Wisdom that comes in the <em><strong>revelations<\/strong><\/em> and the <strong><em>realizations<\/em><\/strong> which come in <em>keeping His words<\/em>. Repeating our <strong><em>trifecta<\/em><\/strong> we read:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li><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><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><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;\">Here we should be able to see the source of the Truth and its component parts of Love and <em>grace<\/em> which flow into the Life of the man in this world who will <em>keep His words<\/em> and, by measure, to those who will <em>strive<\/em> to DO so. And we should see the same reality in attaining His Kingdom and having the True Presence of God in one&#8217;s Life. This Presence IS a largely misunderstood phenomenon as so many doctrinal Christians DO believe that they have this and that they Love the Lord without DOING as the Master tells us saying <em>&#8220;He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me<\/em>&#8221; and that it IS to this man that &#8220;<em>we will come&#8230;.and make our abode with him<\/em>&#8220;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What then IS this movement in parts of the church that teaches speaking in tongues, prophecy, healing and other &#8216;gifts&#8217; ARE the privilege of those who believe according to their doctrines? How can a man have the Truth without DOING as the Master says, telling us that this Truth comes <em>&#8220;If ye continue in my word<\/em>&#8220;? How can a man claim to be &#8216;<em>saved<\/em>&#8216; and be assured that he IS going to heaven when he DOES NOT conform to the needed reality that &#8220;<em>he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven<\/em>&#8220;? And how can a man claim to Love the Lord and to have His Presence and the Presence of the Holy Spirit working in his Life without following Jesus&#8217; own criteria that such a man &#8220;<em>will keep my words<\/em>&#8220;?<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The answer to these questions IS the reality that the man CAN NOT have such <em>grace<\/em> without DOING the prerequisite work of True <strong><em>Repentance<\/em><\/strong> which IS to turn his <em>focus<\/em> away from the ways of the world which include so much of the doctrinal views of men. These things, this <em>grace<\/em>, the Truth, and the reality of <em>agape<\/em> in the <strong><em>heart<\/em><\/strong> of a man, ARE NOT found in doctrines and what poses for such <em>grace<\/em> in the minds of men who see their doctrine as their Truth ARE but psychic phenomenon which can be practiced by everyman who chooses the carnal way of the mind and the emotions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This IS the reality that IS to be seen and understood in the Old Testament story of the Exodus where the Pharaoh&#8217;s magicians were able to DO similar things as to turn a staff into a serpent&#8230;.that there IS carnal psychic power and there IS spiritual Power. Similarly there ARE the sorcerers of the New Testament, men who in their carnal psychic powers ARE able to DO certain things, things which pale in comparison to the True <em>grace<\/em> that IS wielded by the apostles. These psychic powers ARE carnal phenomenon as ARE men&#8217;s claims to the gifts of <em>healing<\/em>, <em>tongues<\/em> and <em>prophecy<\/em> today. They may be real but they ARE carnal in the life of everyman whose <em>focus<\/em> IS NOT yet upon the things of God and the Truth that comes in <em>keeping His words<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">And with ALL of the doctrinal emphasis on these supposed &#8216;<em>gifts<\/em>&#8216; men yet fail to see that their source IS NOT found in the doctrines of men nor in any doctrinal training in <em>prophecy<\/em> or in <em>healing.<\/em> Such training IS merely psychic training under the guise of religion and their results ARE most often NO different than can be found with the common psychic whose philosophy DOES NOT attribute such to God. The source of the True <em>grace<\/em> IS found as the <em>reward<\/em>, the <em>wages<\/em> if you will, of\u00a0<em>keeping His words<\/em> as we read in the <strong><em>trifecta<\/em><\/strong> and in the reality of Love, of <em>agape<\/em>, as the <strong><em>expression<\/em><\/strong> of the man in this world. This IS the reality which we should see in Paul&#8217;s words that we have been studying as he shows us that without <em>agape<\/em> as one&#8217;s <strong><em>expression<\/em><\/strong>, the ideas of <em>tongues<\/em>, of <em>prophecy<\/em>, of <em>healing<\/em> and of the utmost philanthropy ARE but carnal endeavors; we read:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;<em>Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not agape, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.\u00a0And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not agape, I am nothing.\u00a0And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not agape, it profiteth me nothing<\/em>&#8221; (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;<em>Agape<\/em> <em>suffereth long, and is kind; agape envieth not; agape vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,\u00a0Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;\u00a0Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;\u00a0Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Agape never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away<\/em>&#8221;\u00a0(1 Corinthians 13:4-8).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The apostle tells us that spiritually &#8220;<em>I am nothing<\/em>&#8221; in these psychic endeavors if I &#8220;<em>have not agape<\/em>&#8221; and here we should try to see and to understand that if he DOES say this about himself, how can the doctrinal thinker believe otherwise. There ARE those who DO believe that they have <em>agape<\/em> but when the common understanding of Love IS stripped away, there IS naught left and in this we should see the reason that the ideas of <em>patience<\/em> and <em>kindness,<\/em> as rendered from the Paul&#8217;s defining ideas of\u00a0<em>makrothumia\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0<em>chresteuomai<\/em>, ARE NOT sufficient to define the Truth of <em>agape<\/em> and thereby the Truth of God who IS Love.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Again the great reality of <em>agape<\/em> IS found in the Great Commandments and here we should understand that this has naught to DO with feelings and emotions but IS to become the most basic attitude of everyman. In the reality of <em>agape<\/em> we must look upon our brothers as DOES God who IS &#8220;<em>no\u00a0<span id=\"yui-gen33\" class=\"criteria\">respecter<\/span>\u00a0of\u00a0<span id=\"yui-gen34\" class=\"criteria\">persons<\/span><\/em>&#8221; (Acts 10:34). It IS ONLY when a man has NO &#8220;<em><span id=\"yui-gen47\" class=\"criteria\">respect<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0<span id=\"yui-gen48\" class=\"criteria\">persons<\/span><\/em>&#8221; (James 2:9) that he can Truly <em><strong>express<\/strong><\/em> Love and Truly understand what it means to &#8220;<em>love thy neighbour as thyself<\/em>&#8220;&#8230;.each and every neighbor regardless of color, of culture, of religion or of national origin; whether rich or poor; regardless of sex and regardless of sexual orientation; regardless of politics and regardless of education; and we could go on and on and on.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">To Truly <em><strong>express<\/strong> agape<\/em> one must look past ALL <em>divisions<\/em> that ARE founded in the minds of men and see ALL men as we see ourselves and unless we DO have some measure of the Truth, this IS rather impossible. And what IS that Truth? Simply that ALL ARE Souls, spiritual beings, living for a time in this body of <em>flesh<\/em> and subjected to the <em>vanity<\/em>, the <strong>illusion<\/strong> and the <strong>glamour<\/strong>, of Life in this world. And while our sense of <em>vanity<\/em> may differ, while our own <strong>illusions<\/strong> may show us different things and while our own <strong>glamour<\/strong> may uphold different ideas of Truth, the essential reality IS that ALL IS <em>vanity<\/em> from the perspective that this <em>vanity<\/em> IS:\u00a0<em>a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends\u00a0<\/em> <sup>4<\/sup>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">To Truly <strong><em>express<\/em><\/strong> <em>agape<\/em> we must understand that\u00a0<em>makrothumia\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0<em>chresteuomai<\/em>\u00a0ARE more than mere <em>patience<\/em> and <em>kindness<\/em>, that these ideas go to the very heart of our view of our neighbor&#8230;.our view of everyman. We must see him as a fellow traveler on the same Path to Truth and we must understand that his plight in this world IS NO different than ours except perhaps in the way that we have been able to somewhat overcome our own heredity, our own nurturing and our own degree of indoctrination through our own <strong><em>Repentance<\/em><\/strong> and our own measure of <strong><em>Transformation<\/em><\/strong>. It IS through these that we can see more clearly the Truth of <em>agape<\/em> and understand its function as the very nature of God and of the Spirit that IS man.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">When we can see that\u00a0<em>makrothumia <\/em>IS this sense of understanding our brother and our neighbor with\u00a0NO &#8220;<em><span id=\"yui-gen47\" class=\"criteria\">respect<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0<span id=\"yui-gen48\" class=\"criteria\">persons<\/span><\/em>&#8221; and that\u00a0<em>chresteuomai<\/em>\u00a0IS our <strong><em>expression<\/em><\/strong> of that understanding universally to ALL men, we can then see deeper into the Truth of <em>agape<\/em> and understand how that one can &#8220;<em>Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you<\/em>&#8221; (Matthew 5:44) and realize how that this has naught to do with that common understanding of Love.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Several posts back we took on the third idea from Paul&#8217;s list of the defining qualities of Love when we discussed the idea that IS rendered as<em>\u00a0&#8220;agape envieth not&#8221;.\u00a0<\/em>While the Greek word<em> zelos <\/em>may include such ideas as<em> envy, <\/em>this IS NOT the paramount idea that the apostle IS trying to impart<em>.\u00a0<\/em>As we discussed in In the Words of Jesus part 1559, we should try to see this word <em>zeloo,<\/em> and the noun form of <em>zelos,<\/em> in terms of <em>emulation;<\/em> Vincent tells us that: <em>Emulation is the better general rendering, which does not necessarily include envy, but may be full of the spirit of self-devotion<\/em>\u00a0<sup>4<\/sup>. To <em>emulate<\/em> another IS to copy them in some way&#8230;.in appearance, in behavior or in whatever quality one may see as worthy of copying.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Can we see how <em>emulation<\/em> IS contrary to the principal of <em>agape<\/em> that the Apostle James shows us saying &#8220;<em>if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors<\/em>&#8221; (James 2:9) and here, if we incorporate some of the Webster&#8217;s 1828 definition of emulate that includes <em>rivalry<\/em> and a <em>desire of superiority<\/em> <sup>1<\/sup>\u00a0we can easily see how that this IS NOT <em>agape<\/em>. And, as we have discussed, IS this NOT the lesson that the Master gives to His apostles in such sayings as &#8220;<em>whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant<\/em>&#8221; (Matthew 20:27).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We close today with these ideas on <em>agape<\/em>. <em>Agape<\/em> understands his brother and sees past ALL carnal <em>divisions<\/em>; <em>agape<\/em> sees ALL men equally as Souls in forms struggling as he once struggled. <em>Agape<\/em> IS the <strong><em>expression<\/em><\/strong> to ALL men of that understanding with\u00a0NO &#8220;<em><span id=\"yui-gen47\" class=\"criteria\">respect<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0<span id=\"yui-gen48\" class=\"criteria\">persons<\/span><\/em>&#8220;; <em>agape<\/em> IS treating ALL men the same. Finally <em>agape<\/em> DOES NOT <em>emulate<\/em> and this we should see through Jesus&#8217; words to His apostles that we have above and such words as &#8220;<em>If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all<\/em>&#8221; (Mark 9:33-35).<\/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 style=\"text-align: center;\" width=\"20%\">\n<p align=\"CENTER\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Light or Activity<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\" width=\"20%\">\n<p align=\"CENTER\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Life Within<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\" 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 style=\"text-align: center;\" 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: justify;\"><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>1 <\/sup>Webster\u2019s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1828 and 1913 from https:\/\/1828.mshaffer.com\/<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><sup>4<\/sup> Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><sup>7<\/sup>\u00a0Dictionary.com Unabridged based on Random House Dictionary \u2013 2011<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><strong>Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Voltaire,\u00a0Writer and Philosopher<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ON LOVE; PART MCCIV \u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9 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 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\/12\/27\/in-the-words-of-jesus-part-1565\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,45,48,25,39,81,44,41,49,20,38,43,30,36,13,14],"tags":[88,82,95,57,87,22,99,23,94,92,97,9,10,17,83,54,8,6,91,21,31,32,12,52,47,34,33,18,84,93,55,89,26,85,7,15,16,50,98,11],"class_list":["post-14400","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-the-good-shepherd","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-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\/14400","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=14400"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14400\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14413,"href":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14400\/revisions\/14413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}