\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 In the last essay we discussed the symmetry of the biblical ideas of being perfect <\/em>and being merciful <\/em>as these words ARE used by Matthew and Luke to describe the nature of the Godhead and our need to be as He IS. A KEY word in this statement IS the word biblical as the common understanding of perfect <\/em>and merciful <\/em>ARE NOT what IS intended by the apostles in recording the words of the Master in their Gospels. Both terms ARE used in the apostles’ telling of the reality of agape <\/em>and how that men should follow in this same Way. For Matthew the idea IS used to close this segment of the Sermon on the Mount where after giving us much information regarding the reality of agape <\/em>he tells us the Master’s words as “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect<\/em>” (Matthew 5:48). In the proper understanding of perfect <\/em>lies the KEY to our understanding Jesus’ words here and, as we cited in closing the last essay, the Apostle John helps our understanding by defining “perfect Luke, in his gospel, DOES NOT reference perfection <\/em>as he offers us his version of the Master’s words saying that men should “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful<\/em>” (Luke 6:36). Outwardly there IS NO link between being merciful <\/em>and being perfect <\/em>but when we analyze these word ideas we can come to the realization <\/strong><\/em>that both concern our expression <\/em><\/strong>of agape <\/em>in this world. That God IS merciful <\/em>IS a statement offered throughout the bible but our handy reference IS in these words from Luke. And, while the idea of compassionate <\/em>may play a role in the carnal ideas attached to mercy<\/em>, compassion <\/em>IS NOT a KEY aspect of the nature of God. Here we must understand that the Godhead DOES NOT have feelings as men DO; emotion plays little or NO role and here we must remember that “there is no respect of persons with God<\/em>” (Romans 2:11). It IS this KEY factor that will help us to understand the Way of agape <\/em>Love that we must follow in our striving <\/em>to keep His words<\/em>. In the end, we should try to see that there IS little choice in understanding the symmetry of perfection <\/em>and merciful<\/em>; these ARE aspects of the nature of the Godhead and since the Matthew and Luke use them to express the same thought, there must perforce be a intimate link between these two ideas. That these ARE aspects of the nature of the Godhead should for us be indisputable as there ARE clear statements. While we may seem to stretch the idea of mercy <\/em>to be our expression <\/strong><\/em>of agape <\/em>Love in this world the very use of the word ideas lead us to this conclusion. We should remember here that our expression <\/strong><\/em>of agape <\/em>IS the singular Truth that ties ALL things together from a biblical perspective and that most DO NOT see this reality DOES NOT affect the Truth that in our search for spiritual enlightenment <\/em>we must “love thy neighbour as thyself<\/em>“.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Master tells us to keep His commandments<\/em> and while the church may NOT agree, His commandments ARE the totality of His statements regarding the comportment of men in this world. They include the essence of the Ten Commandments as restated by the Master and we should consider that these commandments ARE, in Jesus words, the law. Again we have disagreement with the church on this idea of the law as the Apostle Paul seems to speak vehemently against keeping the law. When we consider however that Paul IS NOT speaking against the law itself but rather against the doctrinal way that the Jews organized the law into their own doctrinal approach, their mitzvah if you will, we can then have a better understanding of the words of Paul regarding the law. This better understanding begins with such ideas as “all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself<\/em>” (Galatians 5:14) and the more expansive “Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law<\/em>” (Romans 13:8-10). It should be noted that the ideas of the law that stood tall in the eyes of the Jews ARE NOT a part of Paul’s words; there IS NO mention of the sabbath, no mention of the dietary laws and of ritual sacrifice. These ideas from the Jews outward expression <\/em><\/strong>of the law were non-factors then and should be non-factors today. It IS this very idea of replacing the Truth of the law with the doctrinal ideas engendered by men that should have awakened <\/em>the church to these words from Paul at the start of the Christian era. The Christian church however was more than happy to carry on the way of the Jews who supplanted the Truth of the law with their own mitzvah and, from the beginning, the Christian church fathers constructed similar doctrines that supplant the Truth of the Master’s words with “the commandments of men<\/em>“.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is with this in mind that we should understanding the timelessness of the Master’s words to the Jews and try to realize that it IS in their timelessness that they extend to every generation of men and every religious approach to the Godhead. The Master clearly tells us “Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men<\/em>” (Mark 7:6-7). To be sure, much of the condemnation that the Master had against the Jews was in regard to their interpretations of the law as their rites and rituals were given more credence than the simplicity of their prophet’s words saying for the Lord that “I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings<\/em>” (Hosea 6:6). This IS the source of the Master’s words in the eyes of the church and while the same ideas should be understood by the Christian world but the ARE NOT. The reference to sacrifice <\/em>and “burnt offerings<\/em>” IS of course obsolete but when we consider these religious tenets, these rites and rituals, as examples of the Jews’ overall doctrinal philosophy, the idea should have been easily be understood by the early church which instead created its own versions of rites and rituals. From our perspective, it IS imperative that the Christian world embrace these words from the Master in regard to their own doctrinal approach to the Lord if the church as a whole desires <\/em>to be free from the same condemnation that the Master offered to the Jews. Of course this IS NOT an accepted philosophy as the church will NOT admit their own error any more than DID the Jews and it IS somewhat amazing that the Jews’ doctrinal adherence, with some variation between sects and with the elimination of animal sacrifice <\/em>for the most part, has NOT waned over the centuries. Were the Master to return to Earth tomorrow, would He be satisfied with the overall conduct of the church that bears His name and utilizes His likeness as their symbol? For us the answer IS a resounding NO; and this IS the whole point of our blog and the many posts that we have offered which support the idea that we must listen to the words of Jesus over the “commandments of men<\/em>“.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A primary problem with the “commandments of men<\/em>” IS that they ARE mostly carnally based ideas rather than spiritual ones while those that seem to be spiritually based ARE concerned ONLY with the church’s nebulous ideas on faith <\/em>and believing<\/em>. Another problem with the “commandments of men<\/em>” IS that they DO NOT attend to the words of the Master as they fail to see the force of agape <\/em>Love and the result of its expression <\/strong><\/em>as mercy <\/em>and perfection<\/em>. Add to this the way that some of the Master’s actual words ARE fully ignored or have been allowed to slip into an area of offence that IS NO longer offensive. We have said in past posts that the church IS overly fixated on the idea of sex as a major area of sin in this world yet at the same time sexual dalliances ARE NOT condemned but ARE generally accepted save for when they may cross ideological lines such as race (mostly in the past) and gender. We should try to remember here that while such ideas as adultery <\/em>and fornication <\/em>continue unabated by men and ARE ignored by the church, the spiritual component of each IS seldom seen as a factor in doctrinal teachings. And this IS NOT specifically a Christian problem as it afflicts most ALL religions on both the carnal and spiritual fronts. We should understand here as well that while the Master comments upon such human frailties, He DOES NOT condemn <\/em>any who participate but simply offers the Way forward saying such things as “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more<\/em>” which words ARE spoken to the woman who was “taken in adultery, in the very act<\/em>” (John 8:11, 4). Can we see the Master’s expression <\/em><\/strong>of mercy <\/em><\/strong>here? Can we see that it IS in agape <\/em>Love that He seeks to correct the behavior without condemnation? And this IS perhaps a most basic lesson from the gospels, that we express <\/strong>agape <\/em>Love to ALL. Regardless of how we may feel about a person as a personality, it IS our spiritual impulses that must guide our lives and, to be sure, the personality IS an active carnal component of Life until we can stand and say with the Master that “I have overcome the world<\/em>” (John 16:33).<\/p>\n\n\n\n This IS NOT an impossible task; in fact it IS NOT even a difficult one. The Master tells us clearly to “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light<\/em>” (Matthew 11:28-30). The Apostle John restates this idea that the “yoke is easy<\/em>, and the “burden is light<\/em>” saying “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith<\/em>” (1 John 5:1-4). Of course we must remove the doctrinal ideas from these words, ideas like believing <\/em>and faith<\/em>, nebulous ideas to be sure, must be understood in terms of KNOWING. KNOWING that “Jesus is the Christ is born of God<\/em>” IS NOT a mental or emotional affirmation but rather comes from the Soul as part of our striving <\/em>NO longer be “conformed to this world<\/em>” but to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind<\/em>” (Romans 12:2) and this renewing <\/em>IS the product of keeping His words.<\/em> In John’s words here there is much to consider and the deeper Truths DO flow into the hearts <\/strong><\/em>of those that “love God, and keep his commandments<\/em>“. Here we should consider the idea that “whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith<\/em>“. First we should relate the idea of being “born of God<\/em>” to the Master’s parabolic words regarding being “born again<\/em>“; being “born of God<\/em>” IS essentially synonymous with being “born again<\/em>“. Second we should understand that this reference to faith <\/em>IS NOT to the nebulous doctrinal faith <\/em>but rather it IS in the reality of KNOWING that we can “overcometh the world<\/em>“. Finally we should understand that there IS a criteria for those that Love God which IS stated as the third part of our trifecta <\/em><\/strong>which we repeat here saying:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The criteria for Loving God IS NOT hidden from view but IS at the same time ignored by the millions upon millions that profess such Love for God while ignoring the essence and the letter of His words. In the end, “this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous<\/em>” IS the important idea to be taken from John’s words and it IS the result of so DOING that we can be “born of God<\/em>” in a spiritual sense, we can be Truly “born again<\/em>” (John 3:3). Paul also offers us some ideas on this idea of being “born of God<\/em>“, ideas that ARE NOT understood through the apostle’s context but rather as individual ideas NOT properly related to each other; we read:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 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. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. 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. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For 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 8:3-14).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many of the most important precepts offered to us by Paul ARE found in this eighth chapter of his Epistle to the Romans and we have covered much of this in previous posts. Here however our perspective will be more specific as we focus <\/em>upon the dual ideas of being “born of God<\/em>” and being “born again<\/em>“. While many believe that the ARE “born of God<\/em>” and “born again<\/em>“, they base their belief on their doctrinal allegiance and NOT on the Truth of scripture or, better, the Master’s words such as those of our trifecta<\/strong><\/em>. Being “born again<\/em>” again IS NOT defined for us in the Master’s words to Nicodemus save to offer us ideas that ARE parabolic and include the idea of being “born of water and of the Spirit<\/em>” which itself IS undefined in this dialogue. The Master DOES tell us that “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit<\/em>” but this DOES NOT explain the idea of being “born of water and of the Spirit<\/em>” nor IS it likely intended to DO so. In fact, the entire idea of being “born again<\/em>” should be understood apart from the dictates of doctrines which believe that to be so IS to DO what IS doctrinally commanded and, of course, this varies from denomination to denomination. Accepting that the Greek word gennao <\/em>means born <\/em>we must then seek out the Truth behind the Greek word anothen <\/em>which IS rendered as again <\/em>in the King James Bible. Most other translations DO render anothen <\/em>as again <\/em>or in other ideas of renewal such as “born anew<\/em>” and “a new birth<\/em>“. A few translations, seemingly breaking away from the doctrinal slant, render the idea of anothen <\/em>as “from above<\/em>” which IS the technical definition of the Greek word. Strong’s tells us that anothen<\/em> means from above<\/em> 9a<\/sup> while Thayer’s offers us that the meaning IS: from above, from a higher place<\/em> 9<\/sup>. Both of these defining ideas comport well with the proper view that Vincent shows us saying that the meaning IS: Literally, from the top<\/em> while telling us that Expositors are divided on the rendering of anwqen, some translating, from above, and others, again or anew<\/em> 4<\/sup>. Vincent continues saying that: In favor of the rendering from above, it is urged that it corresponds to John’s habitual method of describing the work of spiritual regeneration as a birth from God; and further, that it is Paul, and not John, who describes it as a new birth<\/em> 4 <\/sup>while including several biblical references. Mr. Vincent then adds: That Nicodemus clearly understood the word as meaning again, since, in ver. 4, he translated it into a second time<\/em> 4<\/sup>. Can we see the point of the whole idea of being “born again<\/em>” IS simply undefined and while the combination of the ideas of above <\/em>and again <\/em>hold the KEY to understanding Jesus point, it DOES NOT Truly explain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Being “born of God<\/em>” can then help us to understand being “born again<\/em>” when this IS viewed with the idea of renewal <\/em>as we find in Paul’s words above. There IS a large divide between following one’s doctrinal approach to the Lord and actually walking <\/em>“not after the flesh, but after the Spirit<\/em>“; this IS of course a matter of focus<\/em>. Most ALL men DO walk after the flesh<\/em>. The secularly oriented man definitely DOES and the doctrinal adherhent, depending on his denomination or sect, IS NOT far from this same state of mind. We almost constantly concern ourselves with what IS going on in our little lives as we focus<\/em> upon our daily living and when we add to this our concern about the future we arrive at the state of mind of most ALL men. This may leave out some in the church whose lives revolve around the church but even these are prone to attending to their individual betterment in Life. We should understand that this IS the normal action of mankind in this world and while our picture IS NOT complete we should be able to see that this IS NOT what Paul means in saying that we should “walk<\/em>……after the Spirit<\/em>” which idea the apostle DOES somewhat define for us as he continues. The above commentary shows us those “that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh<\/em>“; this IS their Life in this world and in this we should be able to see the Master’s words saying “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<\/em>” (Matthew 6:28). It IS the opposite of this care for our daily lives that we should see in those that “walk<\/em>……after the Spirit<\/em>“, that these would be focused <\/em>upon “the things of the Spirit<\/em>” which, in our tone, IS to be focused <\/em>upon the things of God. Paul goes on to explain that “to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace<\/em>” and we should be careful here to understand this idea of death<\/em>. This IS NOT the death <\/em>of our bodies and the cessation of Life in this world; the idea here IS spiritual death<\/em> as the “carnally minded<\/em>” man IS just that: he IS focused <\/em>upon the “the things of the flesh<\/em>” which idea IS far reaching and encommpasses ALL that occupies the minds of men in this world. What then can we say here about being “spiritually minded<\/em>” but that this IS the polar opposite of our carnal focus<\/em>, If our carnal focus <\/em>IS in regard to our daily lives and the betterment of them, then being “spiritually minded<\/em>” should be devoid of such focus<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It IS such ideas as this: that to be “spiritually minded<\/em>” IS devoid of such focus<\/em> on our carnal lives that has likely resulted in the teachings of the church over the centuries, teachings that allow for the carnal focus <\/em>of men. To be sure, this carnal focus<\/em> will remain the purview of most ALL at least until the focus <\/em>of the church turns to the actual things of God over whatsoever the church has deemed important. This brings to mind the words of the Reverend William Barber who, while still a doctrinal preacher and teacher, said \u201cthat is why I\u2019m so concerned, about those that say so much\u2014about what God says so little, while saying so little\u2014about what God says so much. And so in my heart, I\u2019m troubled. And I\u2019m worried about the way faith is cynically used by some to serve hate, fear, racism and greed<\/em>\u201c. These words, spoken at a political event several years ago show us our point in a clear and concise manner. And this IS the point: the church IS more concerned about the petty political and social stands that they have taken on ‘moral grounds’ than it IS about the Truth of agape <\/em>Love and the Way of agape <\/em>Love in this world. Here we could insert most any words that define such political and cultural wars into the Master’s words in place of the KEY word at the time which was sacrifice<\/em>. Try taking the church’s fixation upon such ideas as abortion<\/em>, homosexuality and any cultural ideas that may be spurred on by the so called ‘browning of America’ and insert them in place of the idea of sacrifice <\/em>in the Master’s saying that “if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless<\/em>” (Matthew 12:7). And this brings us to another saying that we have cited in our blog posts; this one from my esoteric studies IS perhaps the singular idea that has led me to speak so harshly against the organized religion and their various doctrinal precepts. We read that \u201cThe church today is the tomb of the Christ and the stone of theology has been rolled to the door of the sepulchre<\/em>\u201c^. These words were written nearly a hundred years ago but ARE as True today as they were then when our world was significantly less complicated save for the horrors of war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, those of us who see the Light ARE constantly turned to being ever more “spiritually minded<\/em>” and we must remember here the principle of measure<\/em>; that it IS by measure <\/em>that we grow into such a state. Understanding that it IS NOT for ALL men to focus <\/em>upon the things of God DOES NOT however free the church from its responsibility to make such a focus <\/em>the overall theme of their doctrinal teachings. And we should understand that if they had followed the words of the Master this theme would have been their teaching from the beginning; a teaching centered in the words of the Master which accepted the fact that His words ARE NOT written ONLY for the Jews but for ALL mankind. Instead the church continues in their culture wars, some much more than others, alienating segments of society while DOING so little to advance the Truth and agape <\/em>Love that will save us from ourselves. This brings us back to our main topic which IS our own expression<\/strong><\/em> of mercy <\/em>and our own search for perfection<\/em>. Having defined mercy <\/em>as the expression <\/strong><\/em>by men of agape <\/em>Love in this world, we will now try to better understand the reality of perfection<\/em>, of being “perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect<\/em>“. From the simplicity of this phrase we should be able to understand that in the Master’s mind this IS NOT an impossible task and this should be seen in the same way that we see the idea of being “merciful, as your Father also is merciful<\/em>“. Neither however ARE accepted ideas in Christianity; the Christian world DOES NOT believe that a man can be as God as they hold the Godhead far above man without ever realizing that as Souls we ARE ALL part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. Part of the Master’s ‘problems’ with the Jews religious leaders stemmed from this same idea of His being God like, of His being equal to God as we read in John’s Gospel. The apostle tells us “Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God<\/em>” (John 5:18). The greater point missed by the Jews IS that Jesus told the Jews that God was the Father of ALL saying such things as “And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven<\/em>“. Unlike most other references to God being the Father, this one IS spoken “to the multitude, and to his disciples<\/em>” (Matthew 23:9, 1) much like the many similar sayings that ARE a part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Despite the Master’s words and their inclusion in the gospels for ALL to read, the Christian DOES NOT see this arrangement of Father and Son except as it concerns Jesus Himself. Both the Jews and the Christians discount the words from the Book of Psalms saying “I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High<\/em>” (Psalm 82:6) which, while out of context, can be understood as a standalone saying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The point here IS that the Master IS telling us that we can be as the Father and we should accept this statement as Truth; and here it matters not that the Father IS perfect <\/em>or that He IS merciful<\/em>. Similarly we should look again at the words of John who tells us clearly, referring to Jesus, that “as he is, so are we in this world<\/em>” (1 John 4:17). ALL of these ideas should cure the idea that men CAN NOT be God like as the reality of Life IS that we ARE. And we ARE especially like the Master against whom we can measure <\/em>both our spiritual nature and our humanity, bringing the whole idea of being “as he is<\/em>” into the Light. John IS NOT the ONLY source of such ideas; the Master Himself offers us this same idea saying “The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master<\/em>” (Luke 6:40); here we have the same idea of love<\/s> agape<\/em>” (1 John 4:18) saying “whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected<\/em>” (1 John 2:5). In this we have the best way of understanding being perfect <\/em>which IS the nature of that agape <\/em>that IS God according to John’s saying that “God is love<\/s> agape<\/em>” (1 John 4:18, 17). When we can understand agape <\/em>as the very nature of the Godhead and the objective of expression <\/em>for everyman, we can then begin to unlock the mysteries<\/em> of Life that come to us as we endeavor, strive <\/em>is the better word, to “keepeth his word<\/em>“.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n