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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).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\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, we 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 of the equality of ALL men regardless of their outward nature or appearance…that ALL ARE equally children of Our One God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\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).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9<\/p>\n\n\n\n Much of the last essay was spent discussing the idea of perfection<\/strong><\/em>, of being “perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect<\/em>” (Matthew 5:48). While this idea of perfection <\/em><\/strong>IS NOT generally accepted in the churches, it IS a part NOT ONLY of the Master’s words but also of the words of the Apostle Paul whom the church looks to for their doctrinal approach to God. Paul tells us as his instruction “that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called<\/em>” and we should note here that we should DO so “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ<\/em>” (Ephesians 4:1, 13). Between these statements the apostle shows us just what it means to “walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called<\/em>“; our point here IS NOT Paul’s specific instructions however but rather the goal of our walk <\/em>which IS to become that “perfect man<\/em>” who can express <\/strong><\/em>in this world “the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ<\/em>“. This IS that same perfection <\/strong><\/em>that the Master tells us that we should be and while the Apostle Luke gives us this instruction in terms of mercy <\/em>saying “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful<\/em>” (Luke 6:36), we should understand that these ideas ARE synonymous when mercy<\/em> IS understood as our True expression<\/strong><\/em> of agape<\/em>. We should try to see here that through the common understanding of mercy <\/em>which IS from the Greek word eleos <\/em>the idea of mercy <\/em>as our expression <\/em><\/strong>of agape <\/em>IS lost. While Luke uses a different Greek word, oiktirmon<\/em>, which IS rendered as merciful<\/em>, Thayer’s tells us that this word IS a poetic term for the more common \u1f10\u03bb\u03b5\u1f75\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd<\/em>9 <\/sup>which IS eleemon <\/em>and IS also rendered as merciful<\/em>. Our point here IS that both Greek words refer to mercy <\/em>and merciful <\/em>and that it IS this concept that we should see in terms of agape <\/em>and NOT simply as compassion <\/em>or the idea of: kindness or good will towards the miserable and the afflicted, joined with a desire to help them<\/em>2a <\/sup> as the lexicon shows us. It IS when we can express <\/strong>mercy <\/em>as the Father then we can be perfect<\/em><\/strong> and this brings us again to our selection from Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians which we repeat saying:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not Paul tells us clearly here that “when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away<\/em>” and here we should try to see ALL that IS carnal “shall be done away<\/em>” including the religious ideas of men….especially those that ARE without the necessary expression <\/em><\/strong>of agape <\/em>as the Master teaches us. When we can understand the idea of “ We should try to understand that the idea of “ye that labour and are heavy laden<\/em>” IS in relation to one’s Life in this world which IS ever laborious <\/em>for the man whose focus<\/em> IS upon himself and the things of the self. We should try also to see that the idea of His yoke<\/em> takes away that focus <\/em>and the labors <\/em>of carnal living. We should try to understand that the yoke <\/em>of the Master IS much the same as the idea presented in His instructions to discipleship which IS that we should be worthy <\/em>of Him as He also speaks of one’s following <\/em>Him. We read that “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me<\/em>” (Matthew 16:24); this idea IS presented several times in the gospels and in this IS the reality of True Christianity, the reality of Truly following <\/em>Him. In the idea of His yoke <\/em>we have our being bound with<\/strong> Him in a journey to Truth; the idea here IS being bound with <\/strong>Him and NOT to Him. In the idea of the cross <\/em>we have ALL things that a man must overcome, ALL that a man must realize IS keeping him from the Kingdom. Vincent tells us of the idea of “his cross<\/em>” that for every man it IS: More correctly, his own. An important charge. All must bear the cross, but not all the same cross: each one his own<\/em>4<\/sup>. While this idea from Vincent IS from a different verse regarding the same subject, the message here should be clear; everyman has a different reality when it comes to his own ability to “deny himself<\/em>“….each man has his own cross <\/em>to bear. An example of one’s own cross<\/em> coupled with one’s ability to “deny himself<\/em>” IS found in Jesus’ words to the ‘rich young ruler’ who IS seeking the Kingdom and eternal Life; Jesus says to him “One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me<\/em>” (Mark 10:21). Can we see the point here? We should ALL KNOW this story but can we see that this man, this ‘rich young ruler’, wants the Kingdom but IS unable to “deny himself<\/em>” which shows us that the pull of the world, our conformance <\/em>to it if you will, inhibits many who may otherwise desire to find spiritual Truth. While the church will NOT agree that it IS necessary to forgo one’s own riches<\/em>, the story of the ‘rich young ruler’ speaks loudly against such riches<\/em>. The churches however ARE yet interpreting the Master’s words into the idea of one’s “trust in riches<\/em>” rather than Jesus’ first iteration of this idea where we read “How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!<\/em>” (Mark 10:23, 24).<\/p>\n\n\n\n While ALL three synoptic gospels tell the story of this man, the idea that riches <\/em>can inhibit a man’s ability to enter into the Kingdom has never been understood by the church. To the contrary, the church promotes men’s attainment of riches <\/em>and some parts, the prosperity teachers to be specific, use an odd combination of Old Testament sayings with words from the gospels to support this promotion. Many have made prosperity a major draw to themselves as teachers, and many of these have gained for themselves the riches <\/em>that they promise others. It should NOT be seen as odd that such denominations and sects that teach prosperity ARE among the fastest growing in the world today. Our point here IS that these words to this ‘rich young ruler’ ARE ignored or they ARE interpreted to become rather meaningless, moot if you will, as they emphasize the single saying that “Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!<\/em>” as they interpret the Master’s intent from this saying ONLY. We should note here that the Greek word peitho <\/em>which IS rendered here as trust <\/em>IS the root word, the primary verb, from which both pistis <\/em>(faith<\/em>) and pisteuo <\/em>(believe<\/em>) ARE derived and likely has a strong affinity to the reality of these ideas which for us represent that KNOWING that comes to ALL who will keep His words<\/em>. From this perspective the idea of trust <\/em>IS NOT a reference ONLY to those who put their faith <\/em>in their riches <\/em>but to most ALL who have riches <\/em>or those who consciously pursue riches <\/em>which IS the singular motivation for many in this world both in and out of the churches. The Apostle Matthew shows us the exchange between the Master and this ‘rich young ruler’ in terms of perfection <\/strong><\/em>which IS the idea with which we began this essay; Matthew tells us that Jesus’ words ARE “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.<\/em>“. Matthew’s version maintains the Master’s idea that “That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven<\/em>” (Matthew 19:24, 23) but, again, this IS NOT taken to heart by the doctrinal church. Instead, the church places their emphasis upon the Master’s words saying “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible<\/em>” when asked by His disciple “Who then can be saved?<\/em>” (Matthew 19:24, 23, 26, 25). The point here IS NOT the way that the church has interpreted the intent of the Master’s words but rather how that the idea of being perfect <\/em><\/strong>IS used synonymously with having “treasure in heaven<\/em>” which idea IS used by both Matthew and Luke who tells this man to “sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me<\/em>” (Luke 18:22). Who then can be the “perfect man<\/em>” but the one who forsakes <\/em>his riches for the Kingdom of God? In Jesus words the answer here IS rather clear; He tells us this ‘rich young ruler’ that he must DO so in order to gain “eternal life<\/em>” which answers this man’s question saying “Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life<\/em>” (Luke 18:18). While the question IS in regard to “eternal life<\/em>“, the Master’s answers in regard to having “treasure in heaven<\/em>” according to Mark. Matthew adds the idea of being perfect <\/strong><\/em>as we show above and ALL three synoptic versions relate this event to the Master’s teaching to His disciples saying “How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!<\/em>” (Luke 18:24).<\/p>\n\n\n\n From these words we should be able to understand the Way that these three ideas ARE synonymous; that IS, being perfect<\/em><\/strong>, having “treasure in heaven<\/em>” and being able to “enter into the kingdom of God!<\/em>” In other places Jesus shows us that having “treasure in heaven<\/em>” IS a personal choice, that one must choose this over “treasures upon earth<\/em>” (Matthew 6:19-20). In His discourse with the ‘rich young ruler’ He ties this reward <\/em>to forsaking <\/em>those “treasures upon earth<\/em>“. While this point should be clear, it IS NOT accepted in the doctrines of men and neither IS His straight forward explanation of how one can “enter into the kingdom of God!<\/em>” which He tells us in the second part of our trifecta <\/em><\/strong>saying “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>”\u00a0(Matthew 7:21). In Truth we must conflate ALL of these ideas given us by the Master; none ARE contradictory but rather His different choice of words should show us that ALL these ideas ARE related under the singular idea that we must keep His words<\/em>. In so DOING we DO choose “treasures in heaven<\/em>” over “treasures upon earth<\/em>” and in this we should see the reality of our forsaking<\/em>; and, when we can understand that the idea of being perfect <\/strong><\/em>IS a part of Jesus’ instructions on agape<\/em>, that we must express <\/em><\/strong>this Love as DOES the Father which IS to ALL and at ALL times, we can then relate ALL of this to the most primary point of keeping His words<\/em> which IS our expression <\/em><\/strong>of agape<\/em>. Keeping His words<\/em> IS the clear Path to the Kingdom, to the Truth and to the actual Presence of the Lord in one’s Life as IS clearly shown us in our trifecta <\/strong><\/em>which we repeat here saying:<\/p>\n\n\n\n These things however ARE missed by most ALL men as the churches teach a different message based in their own interpretations of Paul’s words which have become, over the last 2000 years, the doctrines of men. Few however accept ALL of Paul’s words in their context and we should try to see that if they DID, Paul’s message IS clearly the same as the Master’s save for some additional observations regarding the conduct of men in the church and in the world. This returns us to our selection from Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians where the topic IS agape <\/em>and the tone IS that without our expression <\/em><\/strong>of agape<\/em> ALL that men may deem important spiritually IS for naught. Paul tells us that “charity<\/s> agape, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And 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 charity<\/s> agape, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity<\/s> agape, it profiteth me nothing. Charity<\/s> Agape suffereth long, and is kind; charity<\/s> agape envieth not; charity<\/s> agape vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity<\/s> 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. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity<\/em>” (1 Corinthians 12:31, 13:1-13).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nCharity<\/s> Agape never faileth<\/em>” and that ALL else can and will fail<\/em>, we can then see the Way that our expression <\/strong><\/em>of agape<\/em>, our full expression <\/em><\/strong>to be sure, IS “that which is perfect<\/em>“. While we may NOT see perfection <\/em><\/strong>in our own lives, and this IS the ONLY True judgment, we can nonetheless strive <\/em>toward that goal. And while this IS contrary to the doctrinal ideas of the church which largely believes that a man CAN NOT save himself, it IS in line with the teachings of Truth given us by the Master and His apostles. From the admonition that we should “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect<\/em>” (Matthew 5:48) to the the apostle’s words saying “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them<\/em>” (Ephesians 2:10), we ARE instructed to be “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves<\/em>” (James 1:22). It IS ONLY in being “doers of the word<\/em>” that we can express<\/em><\/strong> agape <\/em>which concept IS paramount in the idea of “good works….that we should walk in them<\/em>“. Such “good works<\/em>” ARE the result of our Repentance <\/strong><\/em>and our Transformation<\/em><\/strong>; as we move from carnally oriented men under the understanding that “they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh<\/em>“, to spiritually focused<\/em> men who mind “the things of the Spirit<\/em>” (Romans 8:5). This movement of our conscious attitudes, our hearts if you will, IS the work of a man who must make every effort, strive <\/em>IS the working idea here, to escape <\/em>“the corruption that is in the world through lust<\/em>” (2 Peter 1:4). This IS the Way to Truth for ALL men regardless of any religious ideas that they may have or any ‘graces<\/em>‘ that they may apply to themselves. Paul tells us of the worthlessness of religious ideas; he tells us that if we believe that we ARE prophets<\/em>, or can speak in tongues <\/em>or ARE virtuous in this Life or have an ‘office’ in the church, that such things ARE meaningless without the expression <\/strong><\/em>of agape <\/em>which IS the True fruit <\/em>and True evidence that one IS among the “doers of the word, and not hearers only<\/em>“. From a Truly spiritual perspective men in and out of the churches ARE on equal footing; both have the same work <\/em>to DO and, as we have said in the past, the more entwined one IS with doctrinal precepts, the more difficult it IS to DO the work<\/em>. This work IS NOT found in the nebulous ideas of faith <\/em>and believing<\/em> taught us by the doctrines of men; this work IS NOT found in accepting the Lord as ‘savior<\/em>‘ without understanding His rhetorical question that asks “why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?<\/em>” (Luke 6:46). This work IS done according to Jesus words and His clear invitation to glory found throughout the gospels and NONE IS more revealing that His saying “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light<\/em>” (Matthew 11:28-30). Of course we must understand that to “Come unto me<\/em>” IS more than merely accepting Him as Lord and savior<\/em>; to “Come unto me<\/em>” Him IS to “Take my yoke upon you<\/em>“.<\/p>\n\n\n\nCharity<\/s> Agape never faileth<\/em>” and when we consider agape <\/em>as the very nature of God, (“God is love agape<\/em>” (1 John 4:8, 16)), perhaps we can see the reason that “Charity<\/s> Agape never faileth<\/em>“. Here again we have the idea of perfection <\/em><\/strong>which started our discussion of this seemingly impossible Way for men. The reality of Paul’s words here tell us that “when that which is perfect is come<\/em>” ALL else that we may think important or of value “shall vanish away<\/em>” and in this we should see the same idea of forsaking <\/em>that the Master teaches us in His discourse with the ‘rich young ruler’ and in His words on discipleship saying “whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple<\/em>” (Luke 14:33). As Paul goes on he tells us of his being a child<\/em> and here we should combine two meanings; one that he was actually a child <\/em>that grew into a man and second that he IS speaking about finding the Truth in agape<\/em>. It is the second that we should pursue here and relate his being a child <\/em>to the rudimentary religious experiences that he had as a Pharisee; rudimentary because they never encompassed the reality of agape <\/em>which was embedded in Moses teachings and brought to the forefront by some of the prophets and by the Master. We should try to see that it IS agape <\/em>that IS the great ‘maturing’ factor for men who Truly see some measure of spiritual reality in this Life on this Earth. This IS the intent of the apostle’s words which should be evident to even the casual reader who IS able to follow the context of the apostle’s words. While many bible translations point us to the first meaning, that Paul IS referencing his actual childhood <\/em>against his ‘maturity’, NO reality IS to be found in this interpretation. And while some commentators DO point us to spiritual maturity, their vision of this IS doctrinally based and NOT based in the context of agape<\/em>; John Gill for example points us to our maturity being: when they come to be perfect men in heaven<\/em>8<\/sup>. But this IS NOT what the apostle IS telling us as he says “when I became a man, I put away childish things<\/em>“; Paul’s reference IS to here and now in this Life and NOT in some future in heaven<\/em>. We should try to relate Paul’s sense of being<\/em>, speaking<\/em>, understanding <\/em>and thinking <\/em>“as a child<\/em>” IS the product his own vanity <\/em>which IS clearly on display in his pursuits as a Jew and a Pharisee. It IS in his illusion <\/strong>and his glamour <\/strong>that he went about persecuting Christians and this we can clearly see in his conversation with King Agrippa where we read that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n