\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 our trifecta <\/strong><\/em>of spiritual reality, the Master’s words that should have led the church to the Truth of Jesus’ message of agape <\/em>and of living in accord with His words. We offered the trifecta <\/em><\/strong>in relation to the ideas that we were discussing and the verses that we selected to show the correspondence between our expression <\/strong><\/em>of agape<\/em>, keeping His words<\/em>, and the result which IS that we come to KNOW God. KNOWING God IS KNOWING the Truth; KNOWING God IS NOT merely an idle theme but IS rather a state of consciousness that overwhelms the carnal mind so that we can “know the truth<\/em>” which “shall make you free<\/em>”\u00a0(John 8:32). While this freedom <\/em>IS undefined, the idea should be clear; we should understand that in KNOWING the Truth, in KNOWING God, we ARE freed <\/em>from the concerns and worries and ambitions of our heretofore carnal existence. This Paul shows us saying that in overcoming <\/em>these things, in overcoming <\/em>our vanity<\/em>, we “shall be Much of the church denies that we have this ability to be “partakers of the divine nature<\/em>” based upon its ultimate meaning of being just as the Lord, and this IS Truly unfortunate. The idea IS shown us throughout the New Testament in both the words of Jesus and in the words of His apostles and while we have discussed these ideas before, let us DO so again with the intent of understanding the deeper ideas that ARE found within “the divine nature<\/em>” and its relationship to our main theme of agape <\/em>and its expression<\/strong><\/em>. Beginning with the idea of being a partaker<\/em>, which IS from the Greek word koinonos<\/em>, we find that the idea that Peter IS offering IS that we ARE to become: a partner, associate, comrade, companion<\/em> and a partner, sharer, in anything<\/em>2<\/sup> as the lexicon shows us. Strong’s tells us that the idea of koinosos <\/em>IS: a sharer <\/em>and while this DOES NOT go as far as being a partner<\/em>, it IS similar. Peter’s message IS that we share <\/em>in the very nature <\/em>of the Godhead while the lexicon and Thayer’s tell us that we have a part in it as a partner<\/em>. What it IS that we ARE a partner <\/em>in IS the very nature <\/em>of God; His nature <\/em>IS called here theios<\/em> which IS rendered as divine<\/em>. Strong’s tells us that the word means godlike <\/em>and we should note that it IS a derivative of theos <\/em>which IS always rendered as God. There should be NO question as to Peter’s meaning here based upon the defining ideas of the Greek words used. Clearly, Peter IS showing us much the same thing as the Master who tells us that “The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord<\/em>” (Matthew 10:24-25). Even more direct IS the Master’s saying that “The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master<\/em>” (Luke 6:40).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Apostle Paul tells us that “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you<\/em>” (Romans 8:9-11). In these words we should be able to see the a common idea with the third part of our trifecta <\/em><\/strong>as regards the Presence of the Lord “by his Spirit that dwelleth in you<\/em>“. Here we should see that the KEY IS that “the body is dead because of sin<\/em>” and we should NOT be confused by this as the “Spirit that dwelleth in you<\/em>“, the Soul and Christ Within if you will, will “quicken your mortal bodies<\/em>“. This idea of quicken <\/em>IS from the Greek word zoopoieo <\/em>which we should understand as: to cause to live, make alive, give life; by spiritual power to arouse and invigorate<\/em>2<\/sup> as the lexicon shows us. If then the mortal body<\/em> IS quickened <\/em>“by his Spirit<\/em>” we ARE then Soul infused and in the process of our Transformation<\/strong><\/em>. While this IS NOT the most direct language to show our point, we should try to see how that this ALL works out in the lives of men who Truly seek the Lord. Paul DOES go on to clarify his point somewhat in saying that “if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God<\/em>” (Romans 8:13-14). In these words we see that “the body is dead because of sin<\/em>” IS a closer reference to the idea that we must “through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body<\/em>” than it IS to a statement about the nature of the body itself although both ideas can be True at the same time. Paul IS essentially telling us that if we can overcome<\/em>, if we can “mortify the deeds of the body<\/em>“, we can become “the sons of God<\/em>” and it IS in this state that we ARE “partakers of the divine nature<\/em>“. Paul also shows us a part of the idea of abiding <\/em>which we should relate directly to our trifecta <\/em><\/strong>where we read that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Paul asks us a question that IS pertinent to the whole of the idea of being among “the sons of God<\/em>“. The question, while embodied in a statement, asks “if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you<\/em>” and it IS here that Paul’s words get complicated; a complication that much of the church DOES NOT see or chooses NOT to. To have the “Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you<\/em>” IS NOT the result of wishful thinking nor of doctrinal allegiance; having the Spirit dwell <\/em>in you IS the result of keeping His words<\/em> and this the Master shows us in our trifecta<\/strong><\/em>. The Master tells us clearly that “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<\/em>” and while some may be confused by the idea of His manifestation, He DOES clarify this further. Jesus tells us, after a question regarding manifestation<\/em> from an apostle, that “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<\/em>“. Can we see the point here? Can we see that to have the “Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you<\/em>” we must keep His words<\/em>. While two different Greek words ARE used here, the ideas ARE much the same. Oikeo <\/em>which IS rendered as dwell <\/em>in Paul’s words references the idea that the dwelling <\/em>IS within one’s body and this usage IS common in Paul’s writing. Meno<\/em>, on the other hand, has the same defining idea of dwelling<\/em> attached to it while including the primary idea of abiding<\/em>. The difference here IS that meno <\/em>IS used in reference to our relationship with the Lord while oikeo <\/em>appears to reference the relationship between one’s Soul and one’s form in this world. We should understand that the answer to Paul’s question DOES NOT refer to one’s having a Soul as we ALL DO; the answer to Paul’s question IS DO we have realization <\/em><\/strong>in our heretofore carnal mind of the Presence of the Soul as the actor or ARE we yet bound to our carnal thinking. Paul then IS asking simply if we have realization <\/em><\/strong>of the Truth and of agape <\/em>that comes from the Soul. Can we consciously express <\/em><\/strong>the Christ Nature? When we can, we ARE becoming “sons of God<\/em>” by measure <\/em>and we ARE becoming “partakers of the divine nature<\/em>“.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We should try to understand that the fulfillment of Paul’s words here relies upon the criteria laid out for us by the Master which IS that we keep His words<\/em>. Paul IS more graphic than merely telling us to keep His words<\/em> as he tells us that we must “through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body<\/em>“. Peter’s words ARE similar as he tells us that we must escape <\/em>from our carnal natures; he tells us that we can become “partakers of the divine nature<\/em>” whensoever we can escape <\/em>“the corruption that is in the world through lust<\/em>“. We should try to see here that while it IS “corruption that is in the world<\/em>“, it IS made personal by our carnal desires <\/em>and lusts <\/em>and we should see these two word ideas in the same way. For too long the biblical idea of lust <\/em>has been seen by most ONLY in regard to sexual matters but this IS NOT the case. The Greek word epithumia <\/em>which IS rendered as lust <\/em>carries a primary definition of desire <\/em>which IS qualified by Strong’s to say that epithumia <\/em>IS: a longing (especially for what is forbidden)<\/em>9a<\/sup>. While Strong’s idea IS likely related to the way that the idea was used and by the occasional reference to epithumia <\/em>in sexual terms but this should NOT have set the precedent. The idea IS desire <\/em>and the qualification should be desire <\/em>for that which IS carnal; here we should try to see that ALL that IS contrary to the Will of God, ALL that IS of the world alone IS spiritually what is forbidden<\/em>. Both James and Paul show us this necessary dichotomy between the carnal and the spiritual and we have discussed this several times over the course of our blogposts. James tells us “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>” (James 4:4). While this should be easy to understand, it IS NOT. Paul offers us a similar idea saying “That 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>” (Romans 8:4-8).<\/p>\n\n\n\n A point that IS missed in the above words from Paul’s Epistle to the Romans IS that in the phrase “they that are in the flesh cannot please God<\/em>“, the they <\/em>refers to ALL that ARE NOT living in accord with the words of the Master. While millions upon millions may believe <\/em>that they ARE pleasing<\/em> God, the reality IS that save for those that Truly strive <\/em>to live within the commandments, few actually ARE pleasing <\/em>the Lord. Add to this the way that so few have actually seen the value of following the apostles’ words saying that we must “through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body<\/em>” and that we must have “escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust<\/em>” and we can better see the state of religion today. The doctrinal religions have persuaded men, based in the authority given to the preacher and the teacher at ALL levels, that to follow in a doctrinal Path will lead them to heaven when they leave this Earth. Jesus on the other hand clearly tells us that to attain His Kingdom one must be in accord with “the will of my Father which is in heaven<\/em>“. Ever more pertinent to the failure of the church ARE the various doctrinal claims as to what DOES allow one to “enter into the kingdom of heaven<\/em>“. From one’s performing according to the rites and the sacraments, to following the precepts of one’s particular doctrinal bent or any other doctrinal ideas that ARE presented to men, it should be understood that NONE of these enhance our ability to “enter into the kingdom of heaven<\/em>“. The whole idea of going to heaven or to hell after one’s death IS a fantastical idea built upon men’s fear for their individual future and there IS NO actual scriptural reference to this state of being after death; neither IS the now unpopular idea of a purgatory scriptural. The reality of our attaining heaven IS that the work IS DONE in this world by revealing to the world one’s own Soul and this by living in accord with the Truth and the agape <\/em>Love that reaches far beyond any particular religion or any doctrinal assertions that may claim otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From our perspective there IS a purgatory period but this IS largely undefined and CAN NOT be easily defined; it IS a Truly unknown state of being after one’s death in this world. What happens when we die IS a subject that IS so widely contemplated that the creation of the many, many after death scenarios was and still IS inevitable. As men we long to KNOW what we will become and the Apostle John alludes to this from the perspective of the disciples saying “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is<\/em>” (1 John 3:2). We should try to see here that this appearance of the Christ IS NOT necessarily the way that doctrines dictate, that the Master will physically come back to this Earth to bring ‘home’ Christians. This appearance may well be the appearance in one’s Life of the Christ Within as the director of that Life which IS the Way of discipleship according to the Master’s words that ARE our trifecta<\/em><\/strong>. James also offers us some Truth regarding our lives here in this Earth and the end of those lives. The apostle tells us “Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil<\/em>” (James 4:13:16). These words follow upon James words above that show us the dichotomy between the carnal and the spiritual so that this whole chapter shows us the futility of living as men in this world while enjoying and planning for our carnal pleasures. And this IS ever the message of the Master albeit a message that IS somewhat muted through His parabolic language and through the doctrinal method of trying to teach spiritual ideas while allowing for our living as men in this world. As both Paul and James point out, most ALL doctrinal teachings regarding Life and death ARE NOT the Way to Truth and to spiritual reality….they ARE but the way of the world of which Paul also tells us “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>” (Romans 12:2).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mankind’s endless search for what happens after death may at some point yield some answers but we should try to see that these will be spiritual answers and NOT the product of the carnal mind which “is enmity against God<\/em>” as Paul tells us above. Our point here IS that death IS inevitable and everything about it IS a part of the mysteries <\/em>that can be unlocked through our communion with our own Souls. This communion IS the result of shifting our focus <\/em>off of the carnal and the mundane and putting it onto the things of God through our Repentance <\/strong><\/em>and Transformation<\/em><\/strong>. It IS in Repentance <\/strong><\/em>and Transformation<\/em><\/strong>, rightly understood, that we can cease our conformity <\/em>“to this world<\/em>” which IS ever our starting point. We should understand here that ALL of us ARE so conformed<\/em>; doctrinal religions DO NOT help us against this peril and the vanity <\/em>which propels it. Our doctrinal religions may offer some form of comfort against the uncertainty of our demise but this IS largely but a facade by which we can convince ourselves of our individual eternity<\/em>. Our eternity <\/em>however IS of a different nature than the ongoing existence of our individual personalities; we ARE, each and every one of us, sparks from the Divine Flame which we call God and as sparks we ARE as eternal <\/em>as that Flame. Such ideas of course ARE NOT easily comprehended by the carnal mind save for whatsoever the carnal mind can create from them; such creations ARE most always void of Truth. A Truth that IS perhaps best understood through the Master’s dialogue with Nicodemus where we read that “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth<\/em>” (John 3:8). The wind <\/em>here IS likened to the Spirit of man and we should note that it IS the same Greek word, pneuma<\/em>, that IS rendered as both wind <\/em>and Spirit. The sense of mystery <\/em>surrounds both ideas. The revelations <\/strong><\/em>of these mysteries <\/em>IS available to the saint <\/em>and to the disciple and our ideas on Life and death can be somewhat understood in much the same way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It IS when we can be, by measure<\/em>, “partakers of the divine nature<\/em>” that these mysteries <\/em>can be revealed to a heretofore carnal mind and it IS in this state that we can find True comfort. It IS here perhaps that we should try to see the reality of the Master’s words saying “If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you<\/em>” (John 14:15-18). Much IS made of the idea of a Comforter in doctrinal religion but without much understanding of the reality of just what this Holy Spirit IS. The language used by the Master concerning this Parakletos<\/em> IS perhaps among the most parabolic ideas offered to us but, at the same time Jesus DOES show us some ways to understand just what Parakletos<\/em> IS. He shows us that the Comforter, the Parakletos<\/em>, IS “the Spirit of truth<\/em>” and that this “Spirit of truth<\/em>” DOES “dwelleth with you, and shall be in you<\/em>“. The idea that the Comforter “dwelleth with you<\/em>” has been understood in the church as the Greater Holy Spirit rather than the individual spark of that Spirt that IS our own Spirit. This IS likely because of the idea that the Spirit “dwelleth with you<\/em>“. The Greek word para <\/em>that IS rendered here as with <\/em>has broad meanings however and perhaps can be best understood as near<\/em> while some see the idea as that the Spirit “is in you<\/em>” rather than “shall be<\/em>“. Many render the idea as a future state where the Spirit IS in the disciple and this IS perhaps a KEY to understanding the parabolic value of the Master’s words. From the perspective of the man in this world the Spirit IS always near <\/em>and while this IS seen by most as the Universal Holy Spirit, it IS as well the individual Holy Spirit that IS always near<\/em>. It IS near <\/em>because it IS NOT active in the Life of a man until his Repentance <\/em><\/strong>and and until his Transformation <\/em><\/strong>has begun; it IS here that a man will realize that the Holy Spirit IS “in you<\/em>“. Because of the way that the Trinity <\/em>IS viewed by most ALL of the church this idea of “in you<\/em>” IS become misplaced as has the idea of the Christ Within. In the end we will discover that these ARE one and the same, that the Holy Spirit IS the action of the Christ Within in this world. The Master alludes to this in this same dialogue with His disciples saying “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you<\/em>“.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After speaking to His disciples about keeping His words<\/em> and the expression <\/em><\/strong>of agape<\/em> toward Him, after the third part of our trifecta<\/em><\/strong>, Jesus tells them “the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you<\/em>” (John 14:26). In this there ARE many things to understand beginning with the reality that the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit of Truth ARE ALL the same; and while this should have led to a greater understanding of the inflow of Truth into the Life of the disciple and aspirant to discipleship, it has NOT. Let us begin with the Greek word Parakletos<\/em> which IS rendered as Comforter by the King James translators. Parakletos<\/em> IS rendered by others as counselor<\/em>, as helper<\/em>, as advocate <\/em>and as companion <\/em>and friend<\/em>; some simply use a transliteration and render as paraclete<\/em>. This title for the Holy Spirit IS perhaps intended to show that the Holy Spirit will work closely in the Life of the man who Truly seeks the Lord and as a way to express the inexpressible for men’s better understanding. The word IS defined by Strong’s as: an intercessor, consoler<\/em>9a<\/sup> which ideas ARE for us more meaningful for understanding the role of the Holy Spirit. Thayer’s defines the idea in strictly doctrinal terms saying that the defining idea IS: summoned, called to one’s side, especially called to one’s aid<\/em>9<\/sup>. Vincent offers us a rather lengthy explanation of the idea of Parakletos<\/em> and in his words IS much food for thought; Mr. Vincent tells us of Parakletos<\/em> that:<\/p>\n\n\n\ndelivered<\/s> made free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God<\/em>“. Our trifecta <\/strong><\/em>IS replete with promises<\/em>, ALL spiritual to be sure, and while these ARE stated as discipleship and KNOWING the Truth, attaining the Kingdom of God and having the Presence of the Lord in our lives, these can be summed up in the simplicity of Peter’s words saying that through these promises <\/em>“ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust<\/em>” (2 Peter 1:4). While we have cited many ideas as the goal of our existence in this world, these can be ALL summed up in Peter’s words that we can be, and will be if we can escape <\/em>“the corruption that is in the world through lust<\/em>“, “partakers of the divine nature<\/em>“.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n