{"id":17871,"date":"2022-06-22T08:22:29","date_gmt":"2022-06-22T14:22:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/?p=17871"},"modified":"2022-06-22T08:22:29","modified_gmt":"2022-06-22T14:22:29","slug":"in-the-words-of-jesus-part-1798","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/2022\/06\/22\/in-the-words-of-jesus-part-1798\/","title":{"rendered":"IN THE WORDS OF JESUS\u2013Part 1798"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">ON LOVE; PART MCDXXXVII<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:16px\"><em>\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:16px\">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).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:16px\"><em>\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:16px\">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, 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&#8230;that ALL ARE equally children of Our One God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:16px\"><em>\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:16px\">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).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:16px\"><em>\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:16px\">After spending much of the last essay comparing Christianity with Buddhism as seen from their respective scriptures and NOT the doctrinal ideas that men have taken from those scriptures, we ended with another discussion on the Great Commandments. While the results of following the scriptural precepts ARE the same in effect, they ARE different in approach, and, from our own Christian indoctrination, we can see a clearer Path to the Truth through the Master and <em>keeping His words<\/em>. We should try to understand that while Jesus was the Christ, the Love of God manifest in this world, Gautama Buddha (a.k.a. Siddh\u0101rtha Gautama) was the Buddha, the Wisdom of God manifest in this world. Both the appellations of the Christ and the Buddha ARE NOT simply references to a person but rather to a person that possessed the fullness of these &#8216;Aspects&#8217; of God as their <strong><em>expression <\/em><\/strong>in this world. Paul shows us this in regard to Jesus saying of Him that &#8220;<em>in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily<\/em>&#8221; (Colossians 2:9). While we KNOW this of the Master, we DO NOT KNOW the fulness of <em><strong>expression <\/strong><\/em>of the Buddha but, to be sure, it likely approached that of the Christ. While God IS ALL things, His nature IS expressly <em>agape <\/em>and again we must understand that this idea of Love IS far removed from the common understanding given to the words, an understanding which IS but a pale shadow of the reality of <em>agape<\/em>. In this post we will continue to explore the idea of <em>agape <\/em>beginning with the intended effect of <em>agape <\/em>on the spiritually minded man and here we should remember the Apostle Paul&#8217;s words saying:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\" style=\"font-size:16px\"><p>&#8220;<em>the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God<\/em>&#8220;.<\/p><cite>(Romans 8:4-8)<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:16px\">The common man in this world, religious or otherwise, IS ever subjected to the <em>vanity <\/em>into which ALL ARE born; and to be sure the common ideas of agape and Love ARE mostly fixated on the carnal relationships that one may develop. Despite the claims of the religious, such carnal relationships ARE with the world and of the world and the Apostle James shows us the reality in which most ALL live saying &#8220;<em>Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God<\/em>&#8221; (James 4:4). We should try to see that ALL men that ARE yet in their own &#8220;<em>bondage of corruption<\/em>&#8221; (Romans 8:20, 21) which IS their <em>vanity<\/em>; these ARE the <em>adulterers <\/em>and <em>adulteresses <\/em>that James cites: ALL that ARE <em>focused<\/em> upon the mundane and the carnal aspects of Life in direct opposition to the first of the Great Commandments. Here we should reflect on the primary scriptural idea of such words as <em>adultery<\/em>, an idea that IS accepted by many as a concept but rejected in the reality of their lives. <em>Adultery <\/em>IS NOT ONLY the idea of infidelity in a marriage in this world but IS used to show the effects of <em>vanity <\/em>on the lives of men. Spiritually speaking we should try to see that our <em>focus <\/em>IS intended to be on the Lord and this precept IS the essence of the first Great Commandment which tells us clearly that &#8220;<em>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<\/em>&#8221; (Mark 12:30). Against this ALL men whose <em>focus <\/em>IS upon the things of the world ARE the <em>adulterers <\/em>and <em>adulteresses<\/em>; they have <em>forsaken <\/em>their relationship with the Lord in favor their <em>focus <\/em>upon the things of the self and we should understand here that nearly ALL ARE <em>guilty<\/em>. James also tells us that &#8220;<em>whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all<\/em>&#8221; (James 2:10) and we should understand here that this Great Commandment IS, at a minimum, &#8220;<em>one point<\/em>&#8221; and as a maximum the crux of the entire True religious experience. In their view of sin however most ALL DO NOT see the reality of James&#8217; words as they have compartmentalized the idea of sin largely ignoring the Great Commandments and setting aside many others that interfere with their views of Life in this world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:16px\">Again we must try to see that the True idea of sin IS NOT found in the proclamations of men who see the idea in terms of good and evil without understanding that ALL that IS NOT spiritually <em>focused <\/em>IS carnal and IS sin. Few understand that being in sin IS simply remaining in one&#8217;s Life of <em>vanity <\/em>which we should try to see in the Buddhist idea of <em>suffering<\/em>. We should try to understand as well that it IS <em>vanity <\/em>into which we ARE born, nurtured and indoctrinated and it IS <em>vanity <\/em>that leaves us in <em>a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends<\/em><sup>4<\/sup> as Vincent defines the idea. Paul clearly describes this to us as he relates our individual and corporate &#8220;<em>bondage of corruption<\/em>&#8221; to the <em>vanity <\/em>to which ALL ARE subjected. The apostle tells us &#8220;<em>the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same <\/em><em>in <s>hope, Because<\/s> <strong>expectation that<\/strong><\/em> the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God&#8221; (Romans 8:20-21). Understanding this subjection from the perspective of the Soul we can perhaps glimpse the course that must be undertaken for True <em>salvation<\/em>, a course that includes our <em>escape <\/em>from our <em>bondage<\/em>; Paul uses the Greek word <em>eleutheroo <\/em>to show us this <em>escape<\/em>. This word IS the same as appears in our <em><strong>trifecta <\/strong><\/em>and IS rendered as &#8220;<em>make you free<\/em>&#8221; as the Master teaches us about the Power of Truth but few understand that it IS in the hands of everyman to <em>transform <\/em>his Life from the carnal to the spiritual. While the idea of <em>escape <\/em>IS NOT found in Paul&#8217;s words, it IS found in the Apostle Peters&#8217; who, writing of the same idea of being &#8216;<em>made free<\/em>&#8216; tells us: &#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). The greater point here however IS NOT the plight of men in <em>vanity <\/em>and <em>corruption <\/em>but the Way out of that carnal state of being; the greater point IS that when we DO <em>keep His words<\/em> we ARE executing our <em>escape <\/em>according to Paul&#8217;s words saying &#8220;<em>be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God<\/em>&#8221; (Romans 12:2). This journey however must begin in <em>agape <\/em>and in what the Master shows us ARE the Great Commandments which, while spoken to the Jews, ARE the KEY to True <em>salvation <\/em>as in living through these one can more easily <em>escape <\/em>&#8220;<em>the corruption that is in the world through lust<\/em>&#8220;. Here, through the combined words of the Buddha and the Christ we should be able to understand that the task at hand for men in this world IS ever to look past the self and into the world of <em>agape<\/em>&#8230;.the world of True Love where ALL men ARE Truly equal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:16px\">For us this idea of <em>agape<\/em>, our <em><strong>expression <\/strong><\/em>of it, IS the singular KEY to ALL Truth and the resultant understanding that comes into the heretofore carnal mind which sees the world of the self and the promotion of that world in Life as the primary <em>focus<\/em>. But this IS NOT the Truth and should we read the Master&#8217;s words and the amplifying and clarifying words of His apostles in the absence of preconceived doctrinal ideas, we can likely see that our <strong><em>expression <\/em><\/strong>of <em>agape <\/em>has always been the goal. From the Master&#8217;s words to the Jews saying such things as &#8220;<em>go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance<\/em>&#8221; and &#8220;<em>if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless<\/em>&#8221; (Matthew 9:13, 12:7) to the words of apostles, the idea of our <strong><em>expression <\/em><\/strong>of <em>agape <\/em>IS paramount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:16px\">And these words from Jesus to the Jews ARE NOT limited to Him as many ARE enhancements of the ideas that were seeded in the centuries before by many of the Prophets who proclaimed the objective of putting the law into the people&#8217;s <em><strong>hearts <\/strong><\/em>from which they could <em><strong>express <\/strong><\/em>the most basic Truths of the law rather that the rote practices of doctrine. The Prophet Jeremiah tells the Jews &#8220;<em>this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people<\/em>&#8221; (Jeremiah 31:33) and certainly this DID NOT refer to the ideas of <em>sacrifice<\/em>, diet, observance of the sabbath nor even the symbol of <em>circumcision<\/em>. The idea here was that the Jews should forego their doctrinal interpretations and seek to keep the <em><strong>heart <\/strong><\/em>of the law which was always in regard to one&#8217;s relationship with others and with the Lord. The reality of <em>circumcision<\/em> was shown early on by Moses who said such things as &#8220;<em>Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked<\/em>&#8221; and &#8220;<em>the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live<\/em>&#8221; (Deuteronomy 10:16, 30:6). It IS this that IS confirmed by the prophets who tell us that men should &#8220;<em>Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart<\/em>&#8221; (Jeremiah 4:4) and the words of Hosea speaking as the Lord which the Master uses saying &#8220;<em>I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings<\/em>&#8221; (Hosea 6:6). Such words DID NOT deter the Jews from their carnal doctrinal approach, their mitzvah if you will; neither have the Master&#8217;s words been able to move the Christian away from his <em>focus <\/em>on the things of the Self and onto the Truth of <em>agape <\/em>and its <em><strong>expression <\/strong><\/em>in this world. While the first of the Great Commandments IS in regard to Love for the Lord, the reality of this Love IS a deeply spiritual enterprise that involves our ability to see past the doctrinal ideas that have been presented for centuries. This <em>agape <\/em>Love involves our greater understanding of the second Great Commandment as it regards ourselves as spiritual beings and part and parcel of the Truth that IS our Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:16px\">This second Great Commandments has left men confused, willfully or NOT; few fully understand the concept of the <em>neighbor <\/em>despite the Master&#8217;s explanation and the words of His apostles that show that the idea IS simply everyman. More confusion stems from the idea that one Love oneself as this IS NOT to be seen from a carnal perspective. Spiritually a man IS that spiritual being that we refer to as Spirit and\/or Soul and when we can see this aspect of Life as the self, we can begin to better understand the whole of the idea. Working this back into the first Great Commandment we should try to see that the self, the Spirit\/Soul, IS part and parcel of God as the Spirit that IS God. Jesus tells us that &#8220;<em>God&nbsp;is <s>a<\/s>&nbsp;Spirit:&nbsp;and&nbsp;they that&nbsp;worship&nbsp;him&nbsp;must&nbsp;worship&nbsp;him&nbsp;in&nbsp;spirit&nbsp;and&nbsp;in&nbsp;truth<\/em>&#8221; and it IS from this perspective that we should try to see ourselves as part and parcel of the Lord. In this way the reality of <em>agape <\/em>should tell us that we must see our fellowman as part and parcel and see ourselves in that Way as well. This IS apparent in Jesus teaching and in much that the apostles tell us. It IS in this way that we should see that the second Great Commandment IS our Way to be in accord with the first as we Love everyman as part and parcel of God; we Love everyman through our understanding of these concepts. In a recent post we tried to explain the idea of part and parcel and we repeat that here to further our understanding of this concept. We said: To be part and parcel IS NOT as simple as it IS shown in today&#8217;s dictionary which defines the phrase as <em>an essential or integral component<\/em>* and as <em>an essential or basic element<\/em>*. In both definitions the idea of <em>essential <\/em>IS perhaps the KEY but the idea goes in two ways when we use the phrase in reference to the Lord. We ARE by nature a part of the Godhead as ALL that exists exists in someway within God. At the same time ALL that IS &#8216;KNOWN&#8217; by God IS also KNOWN by us as spiritual beings which idea is a reflection of John&#8217;s words on the <em>unction<\/em>. So then to be part and parcel IS to be a part that has the fullness of the whole but this idea must be understood strictly spiritually and upon the levels of existance that reach beyond our understanding of any perceived spiritual realm. The concept here IS NOT difficult but it IS contrary to the doctrinal presentations into which the Christian world has been indoctrinated and we should understand here that the greater the indoctrination one endures, the more difficult it will be to break away from it and Truly <em>seek<\/em>, <em>ask<\/em> and <em>knock <\/em>as the Master shows us. To be sure these ARE ALL intended in a strictly spiritual way; the Master tells us &#8220;<em>Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened<\/em>&#8221; (Luke 11:9-10). Perhaps when we combine this idea with another of the Master&#8217;s sayings: &#8220;<em>seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you<\/em>&#8221; (Matthew 6:33), we can better see the fullness of His teaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:16px\">The spiritual idea of <em>seeking<\/em>, <em>asking <\/em>and <em>knocking <\/em>ARE NOT in any way related to carnal thoughts or things as such things of the world ARE in opposition to the things of God. We read this most clearly in James words above where we use his words to address the broader idea of <em>adultery<\/em>. In this context of <em>seeking<\/em>, <em>asking <\/em>and <em>knocking<\/em>, these same words show us the dichotomy of the spiritual and the carnal and the way that things carnal ARE in opposition to things spiritual; James tells us &#8220;<em>the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God<\/em>&#8220;. Paul&#8217;s words, offered in a different context above, help us to understand James&#8217; words as Paul tells us &#8220;<em>to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God<\/em>&#8220;. The point here IS that while parts of the church confuse <em>seeking<\/em>, <em>asking <\/em>and <em>knocking<\/em> with the carnal pursuits of men, this IS but another of the doctrinal perversions that detract men from the most basic Truths as shown us in the words of the Buddha and the Christ. The Lord IS NOT interested in our carnal pursuits nor IS the Godhead responsive to such ideas as those offered through the prosperity gospel teachers and in so-called &#8216;name it and claim it&#8217; philosophies which ARE generally aligned with the prosperity gospel and the so-called &#8216;word of faith&#8217; movements. It IS based in the basic idea of <em>vanity <\/em>and the accompanying human proclivities which drive activity in the world. It Is against these proclivities, these natural and ofttimes habitual human inclinations, that the Master offers us such sayings as &#8220;<em>Ye cannot serve God and mammon<\/em>&#8221; (Matthew 6:24). <em>Seeking<\/em>, <em>asking <\/em>and <em>knocking<\/em> for spiritual things IS the scriptural intent but this IS NOT understood by most of the churches yet today and this because the line between carnal and spiritual has never Truly been established; even such sayings as &#8220;<em>seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you<\/em>&#8221; ARE generally misapplied. These words follow upon the general idea of &#8220;<em>take no thought<\/em>&#8221; regarding worldly things and the interpretation IS that it IS worldly things that will be given to those that &#8220;<em>seek ye first the kingdom of God<\/em>&#8220;. This interpretation IS contrary to many other New Testament ideas and we should try to see two things here. First that in Truly seeking &#8220;<em>the kingdom of God<\/em>&#8221; one IS <em>striving <\/em>to <em>keep His words<\/em>; one IS following the Master&#8217;s admonition that we should &#8220;<em>Strive to enter in at the strait gate<\/em>&#8220;. <em>Keeping His words<\/em> then opens up for us the realities of our <em><strong>trifecta <\/strong><\/em>where True spiritual things ARE found and this IS our second point; within the idea of &#8220;<em>these things shall be added unto you<\/em>&#8221; IS the reality of the Truth, gaining the Kingdom and having the Presence of God in one&#8217;s Life. It IS these benefits of the <em><strong>trifecta<\/strong><\/em>, these benefits of <em>keeping His words<\/em>, that allow us to put ALL into a spiritual perspective where carnal things become rather unimportant; &#8220;<em>what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on<\/em>&#8221; come to play only a minor role in Life. Repeating our <strong><em>trifecta <\/em><\/strong>we read:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\" style=\"font-size:16px\"><li>&#8220;<em>If ye<\/em> <em>continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free<\/em>&#8221;&nbsp;(John 8:31-32).<\/li><li>&#8220;<em>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;&nbsp;(Matthew 7:21).<\/li><li>&#8220;<em>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<\/em>&#8221; (John 14:21-24).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:16px\">Such a minor role IS in accord with the reality of Jesus&#8217; words saying that men should &#8220;<em>Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?&#8221;<\/em> While the idea here IS interpreted across Christianity as that we should NOT <em>worry <\/em>or be <em>anxious<\/em>, the greater idea IS that to gain the Kingdom, a <em><strong>realization <\/strong><\/em>of His Presence in one&#8217;s Life, and the Truth that will &#8220;<em>make you free<\/em>&#8220;, our <em>focus <\/em>must be on the Lord as we read in the first of the Great Commandments. &#8220;<em>Take no thought<\/em>&#8221; should mean just that but the idea IS a difficult one to understand while one IS still subjected to that <em>vanity <\/em>that afflicts ALL men. The more one &#8216;thinks&#8217; about his personal situations, his career, his car, his house, his personal relationships with others and so on, the less he IS able to think about the Lord and the things of God let alone Love Him with the necessary totality. Can we see in this a most fundamental reason why the Christian world has chosen to interpret the words of the Master and His apostles the way that they have been interpreted? Can we see why the commandments of the Lord, the commandments of the Master, have been diluted and changed over the centuries as the church has found ways to allow men to live as men with such thoughts about one&#8217;s personal situations often taking center stage in one&#8217;s Life? We should try to see that it IS ONLY in the absence of our obsession with things carnal that we can approach the Truth. It IS ONLY our rather constant review of our own carnal lives that keeps us from understanding or even comprehending the ideas that the Master shows us as the Truth that will &#8220;<em>make you free<\/em>&#8220;, ideas that ARE rather clearly annunciated in the New Testament. Comprehending the words of the Master IS a carnal thing while understanding His words requires a modicum of the Truth that comes in <em>keeping His words<\/em>. Understanding Him requires Wisdom, as aspect of the Soul&#8217;s Power that flows into Life with the <strong><em>expression <\/em><\/strong>of <em>agape<\/em>. While the dictionary shows us the similarity of these two words, we should try to see the idea that the one, comprehension, IS but a most basic understanding that IS rooted in the carnal mind. Understanding on the other hand IS the ability of a man to see the Truth behind the ideas presented and IS based in that Wisdom that flows into the <em><strong>heart <\/strong><\/em>of everyman who DOES &#8220;<em>Strive to enter in at the strait gate<\/em>&#8220;. Ponder on this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:16px\">When we Truly understand the Master&#8217;s intent in such sayings as &#8220;<em>Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?&#8221;<\/em> we DO at the same time have <em><strong>realization <\/strong><\/em>of the Truth. This <em>realization<\/em> should show us that the world of men places undo importance on these things which ARE summed up in the idea that we should &#8220;<em>Take no thought for your life<\/em>&#8220;. Life here in this world encompasses the totality of our drive to eat and drink and clothe oneself and we should understand that these most basic human ideas ONLY support our carnal wellbeing so to speak. The Master&#8217;s words here ARE NOT in regard to our worry and anxiety regarding these things but rather in our giving our thoughts to these things especially in our giving them undo attention. We should understand here that ALL such human endeavor, ALL that benefits the style and status of the carnal man, IS contrary to the first of the Great Commandments which should teach us that to be Truly &#8216;<em>saved<\/em>&#8216; on must &#8220;<em>love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength<\/em>&#8220;. The idea here IS a total <em>focus <\/em>upon the Lord and, when we consider the most basic Truths about <em>agape <\/em>we should be able to sense the almost total failure of men religious or NOT. In previous posts we have cited the idea of circular references in scripture and there IS NONE so easily seen as this: to Love the Lord we must <em>keep His words<\/em> as we read in our <strong><em>trifecta<\/em><\/strong>. Paramount in His words IS the <strong><em>expression <\/em><\/strong>of <em>agape <\/em>to ALL which we read in the second of the Great Commandments saying that &#8220;<em>Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself<\/em>&#8220;. Therefore, we CAN NOT Truly Love the Lord without Loving our fellowman. It IS NOT that this precept IS missed by a Christian world that regularly claims to Love the Lord; it IS more that many have dismissed the idea that Jesus&#8217; words ARE tenets as they have moved to Paul and their interpretations of his words to formulate their doctrines. As we have discussed in previous posts, this IS much the same as the way that the Jews organized their doctrinal approach to the Lord, their mitzvah if you will, as they downplayed &#8220;<em>the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith<\/em>&#8221; if favor of their rote performance of the ancillary ideas of <em>sacrifice<\/em>, circumcision, observance of the sabbath and dietary rules. Would the Christian fate in the Master&#8217;s eyes be any different than the Jews&#8217; in this regard? Would the Master equally say &#8220;<em>Woe unto you, <s>scribes and Pharisees<\/s> priests, pastors and bishops, hypocrites!<\/em>&#8220;(Matthew 23:23) to the Christian world. That the Christian DID NOT substitute the ancillary for the <em>weightier <\/em>IS because they had NO ancillary parts of His commandments and it in this we should try to see how that the Master&#8217;s words ARE even more of a <em>woe <\/em>for them. Jesus tells us &#8220;<em>in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men<\/em>&#8221; and for the Christian to believe these words ARE intended ONLY for the Jews practices IS but folly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:16px\">There IS a purpose in <em>keeping His words<\/em>, a purpose in <em>keeping the commandments of the Lord<\/em>. While much of the church DOES NOT believe that it IS necessary to <em>keep His words<\/em> and while many denominations and sects teach the impossibility of DOING so, there IS a purpose. This purpose IS NOT for any religious reasons that ARE held by the church; the purpose IS simply to gain the <em>rewards <\/em>cited in His words and here again we should look to the <em><strong>trifecta <\/strong><\/em>for a glimpse of that reality. In <em>keeping His words<\/em> we gain the Truth, we become His True disciples and we have access to the Kingdom of God here and now. And, in <em>keeping His words<\/em> we have <em><strong>realization <\/strong><\/em>of His Presence in our mortal lives as the active Force of Truth and Love. It IS this Force, this spiritual Power, that should be understood as the Holy Spirit whose source IS the Soul which IS ever part and parcel of the Christ Principle of the Godhead. Granted <em>keeping His words<\/em> can be a daunting undertaking but when we understand that the message IS that we should <em>strive <\/em>to DO so, the undertaking IS far less dismaying. Both Luke and Matthew show us the idea of <em>striving <\/em>and although Matthew DOES NOT use the word itself, the context of his text of the Master&#8217;s words shows us the same thing. Both DO also show us the difficulty of undertaking this enterprise while much of His words DO show us that the reality of <em>keeping His words<\/em> IS a commandment. Luke frames Jesus&#8217; words saying that men should &#8220;<em>Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able<\/em>&#8221; (Luke 13:24) while Matthew tells us that we should &#8220;<em>Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it<\/em>&#8221; (Matthew 7:13-14). The accepted idea behind the Greek word <em>stenos <\/em>which IS rendered as <em>strait <\/em>IS that this <em>gate<\/em> IS <em>narrow <\/em>but this DOES NOT show us the difficulty that the rest of Jesus&#8217; saying shows us; most ALL translations render <em>stenos <\/em>as either <em>narrow <\/em>or <em>strait<\/em>. Both Strong&#8217;s<sup>9a<\/sup> and Thayer&#8217;s<sup>9<\/sup> define the idea simply using these two words. Vincent however shows us an example in Classical Greek which may allow us to see deeper into that <em>stenos <\/em>as a struggle. Vincent tells us: <em>Strait gate [\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03bd\u03b7\u03c2 \u03c0\u03c5\u03bb\u03b7\u03c2] . Rev., narrow. A remarkable parallel to this passage occurs in the &#8220;Pinax&#8221; or &#8220;Tablet&#8221; of Cebes, a writer contemporary with Socrates. In this, human life, with its dangers and temptations, is symbolically represented as on a tablet. The passage is as follows : &#8220;Seest thou not, then, a little door, and a way before the door, which is not much crowded, but very few travel it? This is the way which leadeth into true culture<\/em>&#8220;. Here we see the interplay of the difficulty that Jesus shows us with the lack of interest that men may have to follow such the Path, a Path that IS <em>not much crowded, but very few travel it<\/em>. Our message here IS simply that we should <em>strive <\/em>and understand that the intent of this word IS NOT so simple as making attempt but rather as Thayer&#8217;s shows us the idea of <em>agonizomai<\/em> which IS rendered as <em>striving <\/em>IS <em>to endeavor with strenuous zeal<\/em>. Here we should try to understand that our <em>striving<\/em> IS much the same as setting our <em>focus <\/em>upon the goal while understanding that while we may NOT reach the goal, we ARE at the same time on the right Path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:16px\">We should try to see and to understand that it IS the goal of everyman to &#8220;<em>Enter ye in at the strait gate<\/em>&#8221; and while this IS NOT the teaching of the doctrinal church, it IS nonetheless the Truth from the Master&#8217;s words. We should note as well that to reach this goal one must &#8220;<em>Strive to enter in at the strait gate<\/em>&#8221; and that this <em>striving <\/em>IS our diligent effort to <em>keep His words<\/em> which again IS NOT the teaching of most ALL of the doctrinal denominations and sects. Today&#8217;s dictionary defines this <em>striving <\/em>as: <em>to exert oneself vigorously; try hard; to make strenuous efforts toward any goal; to contend in opposition, battle, or any conflict; compete; to struggle vigorously, as in opposition or resistance; to rival; vie<\/em>*. In these defining ideas the idea of <em>strenuous effort<\/em>s should be clear and the ideas of <em>contention<\/em>, <em>struggle<\/em> and <em>rival <\/em>we should see the full idea of how it IS that we can overcome our <em>vanity<\/em>, our &#8220;<em>bondage of corruption<\/em>&#8221; and stand with the Master to say &#8220;<em>I have overcome the world<\/em>&#8221; (John 16:33). It should be understood that <em>striving <\/em>IS the mission for ALL and that if our <em>striving <\/em>IS a <em>strenuous effort<\/em> and to <em>endeavor with strenuous zeal<\/em> as the lexicon defines <em>agonizomai<\/em>, we shall be relatively successful. It IS in our relative success that we can understand the deeper reality of Paul&#8217;s words saying &#8220;<em>the creature was made subject to <\/em>vanity<em>, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in <s>hope, Because<\/s> <strong>expectation that<\/strong> the creature itself also shall be <s>delivered<\/s> <strong>made free<\/strong> from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God<\/em>&#8221; (Romans 8:20-21). Our changes from &#8220;<em>in hope, Because<\/em>&#8221; to &#8220;<em><strong>expectation that<\/strong><\/em>&#8221; ARE well documented in previous posts and ARE based in two things; first Vincent&#8217;s analysis of the words used saying of &#8220;<em>In hope because<\/em>&#8220;<em> <\/em>that <em>The best texts transfer these words from the preceding verse, and construe with was made subject, rendering oti that instead of because<\/em><sup>4<\/sup>. Add to this the most basic idea that God DOES NOT need to <em>hope<\/em>, an idea from the Greek word <em>elpis <\/em>that shows as <em>expectation <\/em>in the lexicon and commentaries but IS still seen in terms of <em>hope <\/em>by most; there IS NO wishful thinking on God&#8217;s part. We close today with Vincent&#8217;s words on just what we ARE <em><strong>expecting <\/strong><\/em>to be <em>made free<\/em> from saying that this <em>vanity<\/em>, this &#8220;<em>bondage of corruption<\/em>&#8221; IS: <em>a perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends<\/em><sup>4<\/sup>. It IS this condition that we must <em>strive <\/em>to remove ourselves from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:16px\">We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image-1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"790\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17888\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image-1.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image-1-300x231.png 300w, https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image-1-768x593.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\" style=\"font-size:16px\"><li><sup style=\"color: initial;\">4<\/sup><span style=\"color: initial;\"> Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition<\/span><\/li><li><sup>9 <\/sup>Thayer\u2019s Greek Lexicon on blueletterbible.org<\/li><li><sup>9a<\/sup> The New Strong\u2019s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible on blueletterbible.org<\/li><li>* Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, \u00a9 Random House, Inc. 2020<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:16px\"><em><strong>Those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:16px\">Voltaire, Writer and Philosopher<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ON LOVE; PART MCDXXXVII \u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\u2022\u0391\u03a9\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 with all thy heart, and &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/2022\/06\/22\/in-the-words-of-jesus-part-1798\/\">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":[27,45,48,25,39,81,44,41,49,20,38,43,30,24,29,36,13,14],"tags":[88,102,82,95,99,23,10,8,12,33,84,106,93,104,55,26,113,7,15,16,105,50,11],"class_list":["post-17871","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-beatitudes","category-the-good-shepherd","category-the-kingdom","category-jesus-words-2","tag-abundance-of-the-heart","tag-agape","tag-aspirant-to-discipleship","tag-born-again","tag-disciple-of-christ","tag-enlightenment","tag-christian-love","tag-jesus-words","tag-new-age","tag-pure-in-heart","tag-rebirth","tag-redemption","tag-reincarnation","tag-repentance","tag-resurrection","tag-sons-of-god","tag-striving","tag-the-christ","tag-kingdom-of-god","tag-kingdom-of-heaven","tag-transformation","tag-truth","tag-unity-in-diversity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17871","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=17871"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17871\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17894,"href":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17871\/revisions\/17894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17871"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newagedevelopments.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}