\u0391\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 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<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We ended the last essay with a seemingly random thought based in the words of the Apostle James who tells us or rather asks us “Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?<\/em>” (James 4:5). These words close out a section of the apostle’s words that we use frequently in our blog to show the deeper meanings of adultery <\/em>as a spiritual offence against our own Souls and the Lord based in our focus <\/em>upon the carnal and the mundane. We use James’ words also to show how that the idea of prayer, of asking things of the Lord, IS asking amiss<\/em> whensoever the object of our desire <\/em>IS carnal. Finally we tie this together with James’ words that show us the necessary separation between the carnal and the spiritual….between the Lord and this world. This IS where we most always stop as the next verse, James’ question, has remained a mystery <\/em>for us regarding his intent. As we said in the last post we DID have a moment of revelation <\/em><\/strong>regarding this question and while we may NOT have a True picture of the apostle’s intent, we ARE now closer than we have been, and likely closer than most, to having that True picture. The entirety of James words reads:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. 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. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?<\/em>“<\/p>\nJames 4:1-5<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n As we said, the first part of this selection, verses 1-4, have played a large part in our thinking regarding the ideas cited above and it IS the final idea that we will further discuss in this post. The best doctrinal explanation that we have seen regarding James’ question IS a verse from the Book of Wisdom which IS an apocryphal book NOT included in the generally accepted cannon. It IS this that some see as the source for the apostle’s saying “Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain<\/em>“; there IS NO certainty regarding what scripture he IS referring to although there ARE many opinions. We should remember here that the uncertainty IS ONLY in regard to what scripture James IS referring to as he seemingly repeats the idea that “The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy<\/em>” and in the mix of source theories the meaning of these words IS little explored. In the Book of Wisdom we read “For into a malicious soul wisdom shall not enter; nor dwell in the body that is subject unto sin<\/em>“. (Wisdom 1:4); this IS what IS offered to us by John Gill8<\/sup>. This however DOES NOT suffice for us as an interpretation of the idea that James presents and we will begin today by breaking down the simple idea that “The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy<\/em>“. We begin here with a look at how other translations have rendered this idea. Some have rendered the idea into a secondary question asking “Doth the spirit which he made to dwell in us long unto envying?<\/em>“; we fail to see any meaning in this. Others offer us a similar question that asks “Doesn’t God long for our faithfulness in the life he has given to us?<\/em>“; while this seems closer to the idea that James intended, the idea of God replaces our own Spirit which should be the subject. Another offers us the full question including the scripture reference asking “Or do you suppose the Scripture speaks in vain when it says that there is a spirit in us which longs to envy?<\/em>” and again the idea lacks any meaning. Still another frames the idea as a statement saying “The spirit that God placed in us is filled with fierce desires<\/em>” which begs us to ask just what IS the Spirit “filled with fierce desires<\/em>” for. We could go on but the point here IS simply uncertainty; NOT ONLY uncertainty regarding the originating scripture but uncertainty regarding just what the apostle IS telling us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There IS one other rendering that for us seems closer to the apostle’s intent; The Bible in Basic English, intended to simplify the language, tells us “Or does it seem to you that it is for nothing that the holy Writings say, The spirit which God put into our hearts has a strong desire for us<\/em>“. In these words the idea of the Spirit IS rightfully individualized and the translators have chosen to show the idea that it IS the Spirit that has this “strong desire for us<\/em>“; this however leaves us again questioning what it IS the the Spirit has a “strong desire<\/em>” for. Understanding that there IS little wasted in the words of this apostle, we should try to also see that James often offers us a most blunt and convictive view of the Truth. From here we should break down James intent through the Greek words that he uses. First IS the idea of lusteth, <\/em>from the Greek word epipotheo <\/em>which IS different from the more common word rendered as lust<\/em>, hedone<\/em>. Strong’s tells us that epipotheo <\/em>IS: to dote upon, i.e. intensely crave possession (lawfully or wrongfully):\u2014(earnestly) desire (greatly), (greatly) long (after), lust<\/em>9a<\/sup>. They tell us that hedone <\/em>IS a more restrictive term meaning: sensual delight; by implication, desire:\u2014lust, pleasure<\/em>9a<\/sup>. In the difference between these words we should try to see that the primary idea from Strong’s regarding epipotheo<\/em>, that this IS to intensely crave possession<\/em> should be the defining idea that we use in James’ phrase. We should see that our misinformed ideas of lust <\/em>as sensual delight<\/em> ARE misplaced in James’ words. Two things ARE important here in regard to sensual delight<\/em>; first that the idea IS NOT solely related to sexual matters as many interpret the idea and second that ALL carnal desires <\/em>DO provide such sensual delight<\/em>. The primary idea of lust <\/em>then should be in regard to our desire<\/em> for carnal things which includes our sense of carnal Love, our status as men, our careers, our living conditions, etc.; ALL of these DO provide sensual delight<\/em>. ALL of this IS from the Greek word hedone<\/em>; the other word, epipotheo<\/em>, should provide a different understanding and one that can be understood spiritually; this IS an important point as James IS writing about the Spirit’s epipotheo<\/em>. Here then the idea should be understood as the Soul’s desire <\/em>to have possesssion <\/em>of the carnal Life, Transforming <\/strong><\/em>it into a spiritual enterprise and, according to the defining idea offered by Strong’s, this desire <\/em>IS intense. We should remember here that Paul tells us that a goal of humankind IS that we “be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind<\/em>” (Romans 12:2). This IS what James IS telling us as well saying that the Soul, the Spirit in James’ words, DOES intensely crave possession<\/em> through the Transformation <\/strong><\/em>process. That this IS NOT a mainstream doctrinal precept DOES NOT matter as any connection of these idea should show the thinking man the reality that it IS the Soul that intensely desires <\/em>the Transformation <\/em><\/strong>of the heretofore carnal mind. It IS easy to see this intent of epipotheo<\/em> by looking at its various uses in the New Testament. The next word that we should understand in this saying IS phthonos<\/em> which IS rendered as envy<\/em>. Here the idea of this word IS simply envy <\/em>of ALL types and the question here should be just what DOES the Soul desire <\/em>in such envy<\/em>? The statement IS simply stated and NOT explained save for what can be gleaned from its connection to the preceding ideas and those that follow. As a standalone statement we should try to understand how that “The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy<\/em>” IS emblematic of what it IS that the Soul desires<\/em>. The Soul desires <\/em>to be the controlling factor in the Life of everyman replacing the carnal mind and emotions a that control in this world. This IS a message that IS at the heart of most ALL religions when seen through their deeper purposes: that the spiritual self will become the actor in this Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We should remember here that the idea of lusteth <\/em>here means to intensely crave possession<\/em>; this should lead us to understand the point at that the Spirit, the Soul in our more immediate view, DOES intensely crave possession<\/em>, of the Life here in this world. This we should look at through the lens of the Master’s words saying “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal<\/em>” (John 12:25). The idea here then IS that when we Love our lives in this world we sacrifice the Souls desire <\/em>to control that Life but when one can hateth his life in this world<\/em>, he can replace it with the spiritual Life. To be sure this IS a choppy explanation as we use the Master’s words on the duality of Life, the carnal and the spiritual, and if we ONLY see this, then we have accomplished our aim. How then DOES the idea of envy <\/em>work into this through the phrase “lusteth to envy<\/em>“? Above we show that the idea of phthonos<\/em> IS envy <\/em>and if we exchange the rendering of “to<\/em>” from the Greek word pros<\/em> to the equally suitable rendering of with<\/em>, the idea can make a bit more sense. Still the question remains though: What IS it that the Soul envies<\/em>? Simply the way that the carnal mind and emotions so control the carnal Life. We should try to see that the idea here IS a carry forward of the establishment of the dichotomy between the spiritual and the carnal, between the Lord and the world, through the idea that “whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God<\/em>” (James 4:4). Our carnal control of our lives makes us then “the enemy of God<\/em>” and it IS against this that the Soul DOES “lusteth to envy<\/em>“. From here, from these ideas on the meaning of the apostle’s words, we should look to the text that follows, text that we have yet to explore. James tells us “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness<\/em>” (James 4:6-9).<\/p>\n\n\n\n If we maintain the theme that the world and the Lord ARE in opposition and extend this to ourselves by understanding that the carnal man, his thoughts, his actions and his attitudes, ARE in opposition to our spiritual selves, our Souls, we can then perhaps make more sense of the apostles words. Others render the idea that “he giveth more grace<\/em>” as that the Lord “giveth greater grace<\/em>” and we see this latter rendering as the better view. In greater <\/em>we can see the idea of stronger and when we see grace <\/em>as ALL that comes from the Lord through our own Souls, greater <\/em>makes better sense than more<\/em>. We should note the connection to the previous saying that “The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy<\/em>” through the Greek word deuteronomy<\/em> which IS rendered as but<\/em>. This should show us that the greater grace <\/em>IS in regard to the idea that the Soul IS envious <\/em>of the carnal Life as it desires <\/em>control of the heretofore carnal Life. Here the idea of proud <\/em>should be aligned with the carnal Life and that of humble <\/em>with the spiritual Life that the Soul desires <\/em>for his expression <\/strong><\/em>in this world. The opposition of the ideas of proud <\/em>and humble <\/em>IS a common thread throughout scripture; the Apostle Peter tells us the same idea as James in a different context saying that “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble<\/em>” (1 Peter 5:5). As we say above James perspective IS in the context of the separation of the carnal from the spiritual and the idea that should be taken IS that the carnal mind’s hold on one’s Life IS based in pride <\/em>which IS a KEY component of our vanity<\/em> while our humbleness <\/em>comes from the Soul as part of our measure <\/em>of Truth. While pride <\/em>IS nearly universally seen as a component of sin, it IS become an accepted factor in the lives of men except when it goes to extremes. Jesus shows us the idea of pride <\/em>and humbleness <\/em>in His words and perhaps the best example IS in the exchange between the Master and His disciples James and John. In this the brothers desire <\/em>a higher station based in their belief that they ‘deserve’ it; this IS of course pride<\/em>. Jesus shows them their error as He ends the discourse saying “whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many<\/em>” (Mark 10:43-45). This same admonition IS offered by Jesus several times throughout the gospels. That this desire <\/em>to be first IS the product of pride <\/em>and vanity <\/em>and IS made a KEY aspect of discipleship through such ideas as “If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all<\/em>” (Mark 9:35). We should remember here that it IS our vanity <\/em>that pushes forth the carnal ideas of men in such ways as they become normalized in Life; it IS ONLY when we begin to see our lives through the prism of Love and Truth that we recognize our own vanity<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This recognition IS however difficult to see for those who ARE NOT exposed to the greater Truth as the idea IS NOT a part of the Christian’s doctrinal lexicon save for strictly carnal interpretations. Perhaps it was to counteract this that Vincent, a doctrinal Christian theologian, offers us several more poignant ideas that ARE NOT in the mainstream of Christian thought. On vanity <\/em>Mr. Vincent tells us that it should understood as a: perishable and decaying condition, separate from God, and pursuing false ends<\/em>4<\/sup>. These words from Vincent show us the very nature of our carnal existence, that it IS separate from God, and pursuing false ends<\/em>. We should understand this through James’ words as well as he tells us of the dichotomy between the world and the Lord which must perforce be extended into the lives of men. James reveals to us the way that men, acting as men in this world, ARE adulterers <\/em>and while this idea IS meant in a purely spiritual way it DOES expose the way that we ARE ever separate from God, and pursuing false ends<\/em>. The separation IS based in our focus <\/em>upon the things of the self in this world, a focus<\/em> that many extend into men’s presumed spiritual relationship with the Lord. Most ALL men ARE pursuing their carnal adventures and while there may be a brief respite for the ‘religious’ man as one may focus <\/em>upon the ideas offered in his doctrinal approach to the Lord, he IS yet pursuing false ends<\/em> spiritually. This IS the result of our vanity<\/em>, our condition of birth into this world, which IS enhanced by our nurturing and indoctrination into whatsoever religion and culture we ARE subjected to. It IS this indoctrination that largely forms our opinions and attitudes which can easily wall us off from the reality that, as Souls, they should be pursuing<\/em>. This however IS the expected burden placed on men, a burden from which they must escape<\/em>, we should understand here however that one CAN NOT escape <\/em>if they DO NOT see their own bondage<\/em>. It IS this that we try to show throughout our blogposts through the words of the apostles and such commentary as we see above from Vincent. Paul shows us our vanity <\/em>saying “the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in For us these words from Peter and Paul ARE the foundation for our understanding of the human plight in this world. It IS vanity <\/em>into which ALL men ARE born and then nurtured and indoctrinated according to whatsoever culture and religion they were born into. ALL ARE nurtured and indoctrinated through their early years and there DOES come a time when the nurturing ends. The indoctrination of men however continues until a man can recognize that what he was nurtured and indoctrinated into IS NOT always his best path. There IS NO timeline for such psychic advancements and some, if NOT the many, never DO see past their indoctrination as they allow it to continue to mold them into whatsoever they ARE becoming. Opposing this human trend IS the prompting of one’s own Soul, one’s Christ Within. It IS the Soul that pushes the mind toward Truth and Love but this push IS ever limited by the attention that one will pay to this prompting. While we believe that ALL men ARE prompted to the Good, the Beautiful and the True, we recognize that most of this goes unrealized against the constant push of men’s own vanity <\/em>through their own ideas developed through their nurturing and indoctrination. In vanity <\/em>we ARE separate from God<\/em> as we focus <\/em>on and pursue <\/em>our carnal intentions for Life in this world; we focus <\/em>on attaining wealth which IS ever measured according to our station; we focus on education and career and we focus <\/em>on our social existence, on our marriages and our children among so many other things. Spiritually this IS ALL pursuing false ends<\/em> as these things take up the great majority of our attention; even the religious man focuses <\/em>upon his carnal Life while taking out a bit of time and attention for religious matters. We should remember that the Master speaks against this human trait saying that “No man can serve two masters<\/em>” as a matter of fact and then repeating this Truth saying “Ye cannot serve God and mammon<\/em>” (Matthew 6:24). James, in his epistle that some see as his amplifying and clarifying of much of the Master’s Sermon on the Mount, tells us that “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways<\/em>” (James 1:8). Here we should try to see that the apostle IS telling us again that trying to “serve two masters<\/em>” DOES naught but create this instability <\/em>in Life; that it IS ONLY the focused <\/em>man that IS spiritually stable. James offers these words as a part of his discussion on asking of the Lord saying that it IS ONLY with singleminded focus <\/em>upon our goal that one “shall receive any thing of the Lord<\/em>” (James 1:7). Here we should remember that it IS through one’s own Soul that we receive those things that ARE spiritual through our revelations <\/strong><\/em>and realization <\/em><\/strong>of the Truth. James IS NOT writing about any thing carnal; he is writing about Wisdom and it IS in this Wisdom that we will find our revelations <\/strong><\/em>and realization <\/em><\/strong>of the Truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As we say above, Paul’s offering of a way out of our vanity <\/em>IS spread across his many epistles while Peter, along with his many words on our escape <\/em>from our vanity <\/em>offers us a single view of how to DO so. Peter tells us that we can have “all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us<\/em>“. We should try to see that this “knowledge of him<\/em>” IS according to that same Wisdom that we read about in James’ words. Peter tells us as well that “all things that pertain unto life and godliness<\/em>” ARE those “exceeding great and precious promises<\/em>” by which we can become “partakers of the divine nature<\/em>“. Finally, the apostle shows us the Way: that as we change our focus <\/em>from the carnal to the things of God we DO perforce escape <\/em>“the corruption that is in the world through lust<\/em>“. It IS in this escape <\/em>that we “shall be That there ARE promises <\/em>should NOT be doubted; such ARE a part of the fabric of our spirituality. Peter uses the Greek word epaggelma <\/em>which IS ONLY used by Peter twice in this epistle. Strong’s tells us that the word IS: from G1861; a self-committal (by assurance of conferring some good):\u2014promise<\/em>9a<\/sup> and this idea of self-committal<\/em> may serve to better our understanding of the apostle’s intent. Thayer’s ONLY offers us the simple defining idea of a promise<\/em>9<\/sup> while Vincent ONLY shows us the difference between different Greek words saying that: In classical Greek the distinction is made between ejpaggelmata, promises voluntarily or spontaneously made, and uJposceseiv, promises made in response to a petition<\/em>4<\/sup>. For us this distinction shows a difference between promises <\/em>that ARE seemingly automatic and those based in our asking <\/em>or prayer. Here we should try to see the idea in the same way as we see the idea of rewards<\/em>, an idea that has become rather alien to the doctrinal church. In the trifecta<\/em> <\/strong>we have rewards <\/em>for our ability to keep His words<\/em> and if we can see these promises <\/em>as this same result we will be in a better position to understand. The Truth IS both a promise<\/em> and a reward <\/em>from Jesus’ telling us that we shall receive both it and a deeper discipleship in exchange for keeping His words<\/em>. The same can be said of our attainment of the Kingdom and our realization <\/strong><\/em>of His Presence in our lives as we see in the other parts of our trifecta<\/strong><\/em>. ALL of these \n
hope, Because<\/s> expectation that the creature itself also shall be delivered<\/s> made free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God<\/em>” (Romans 8:20-21). It matters NOT how we view these words; whether we see them as simply the way of Life in this world or as the result of our understanding of the ‘fall of man’, the doctrinal view based in a few words from the Book of Genesis. The point here IS that the creation<\/em>, individualized and corporate, IS expected to be Redeemed <\/strong><\/em>from their bondage <\/em>into “the glorious liberty of the children of God<\/em>“. While Paul DOES NOT offer us a singular idea on the working out of this Redemption<\/strong><\/em>, the Apostle Peter lays out the Truth in another selection that we ofttimes cite; Peter tells us that “his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 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>” (2 Peter 1:3-4).<\/p>\n\n\n\ndelivered<\/s> made free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God<\/em>“. In these ideas we have our Repentance <\/strong><\/em>and at least the beginnings of our Transformation <\/em><\/strong>and it IS in the latter that we gain access to those “exceeding great and precious promises<\/em>” of which our trifecta<\/strong><\/em> IS but an example. Repeating our trifecta <\/em><\/strong>we read:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n