\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 some words from the Dhammapada, the condensed words of the Buddha on a variety of topics. Like most religions and religious leaders, much that IS considered as Buddhist IS frowned upon by the Christian church as antithetical to the views of the church but such ‘opinions’ have little to DO with reality. The Buddha’s message IS clear and concise and while it may NOT dwell on ideas of worship and the idea of God that the Judeo-Christian deems necessary, it IS nonetheless in line, in accord if you will, with the words of the Master that deal with men’s personal spiritual responsibilities. We should try to understand that there has been a long line of ‘Avatars’, if we can use that word here, that have come among us and taught us the Way from the perspective of the culture into which they came. While the word avatar has taken on largely carnal meanings, it IS from a Sanskrit word that depicts: the descent of a deity to the earth in an incarnate form or some manifest shape; the incarnation of a god<\/em>* which IS the primary definition of the word in today’s dictionary. From this perspective the Master was also an Avatar as was the Buddha and the spiritual leaders of most every True religion. While the idea of the descent of a deity to the earth in an incarnate form<\/em> seems to the West to be fanciful and against the norms of Christianity, this IS exactly what we have in the birth and Life of Jesus. It IS Christianity however that has wrongly placed such ideas as to the deific nature such Avatars into question as most ALL want to believe that their own particular religion IS the ONLY one that can unveil the Truth of the Godhead. Nothing could be further from the Truth however and, as we have said many times over the course of our blog posts, the notion that Jesus IS the ONLY Way and the idea that the Jews ARE the ‘chosen’ people of God ARE but fanciful ideas from the self-centered minds of men. The message of ALL True religions IS the same and that IS simply that men must look away from their little lives and their focus <\/em>on the self and the things of the self and place that focus <\/em>upon the things of God. Here we should add that there ARE NO things of God to be found in this world of men save for our expressions <\/strong><\/em>of agape <\/em>Love to ALL. In the last post we ended with some words from the Dhammapada that show us the Buddha’s words on choices <\/em>and these ARE words that DO fit neatly into the same ideas that we have from the Master who tells us that men should “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also<\/em>” (Matthew 6:19-21). As in the Buddha’s words, we have here the idea of choices<\/em>, the idea of what a man should choose <\/em>to advance his spiritual Life and for any who can look past their vanity <\/em>and their indoctrination into the “commandments of men<\/em>” these two approaches to men’s choices ARE synonymous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Buddha speaks about purity <\/em>of mind <\/em>in His words saying: “We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world. Speak or act with an impure mind And trouble will follow you As the wheel follows the ox that draws the cart. We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world. Speak or act with a pure mind And happiness will follow you As your shadow, unshakable<\/em>“***. In these words we should be careful to understand the idea of purity<\/em>; we should try to see this idea as it IS defined saying: the condition or quality of being pure; freedom from anything that debases, contaminates, pollutes, etc.<\/em>*. While the biblical defining ideas pertain mostly to the idea of sin<\/em>, this IS NOT the ‘dressed in white’ idea that it IS understood as by most in the doctrinal church. Again, we should also understand that the very idea of sin <\/em>IS NOT as it IS shown to us by the church, as DOING such things as ARE prohibited by the Ten Commandments which Paul shows us saying “Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet<\/em>” (Romans 13:9) Paul goes on to tell us that these ARE accomplished in our expression <\/strong><\/em>of agape<\/em>. Sin <\/em>IS defined by the lexicon as: to be without a share in; to miss the mark; to err, be mistaken<\/em> 2<\/sup> and while this IS NOT the general view of the idea of sin<\/em>, it IS nonetheless the reality that we should see in its use. So then when the Master tells us to choose “treasures in heaven<\/em>” over “treasures upon earth<\/em>“, He IS pointing us away from sin <\/em>and to the Way to have a Life in which one speaks and acts “with a pure mind<\/em>“. It IS the final thought here that completes our point as Jesus tells us that “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also<\/em>“. In this saying we have the contents of the mind <\/em>of a man which can either be debased, contaminated and polluted<\/em> by the things and the ways of the world or it can contain thoughts of purity <\/em>and freedom <\/em>from our own vanity<\/em>. This IS a most basic message of the Buddha who urges men to look past their lusts <\/em>and desires <\/em>and to focus <\/em>on the Truth that will swell up in one’s mind as he DOES so. And this IS NOT unlike the message of the Master who, in addition to this change of focus<\/em>, this Repentance <\/strong><\/em>and Transformation <\/em><\/strong>if you will, Jesus also instructs us on the expression <\/strong><\/em>of agape <\/em>as the singular Way to overcome vanity <\/em>and the KEY ingredient in our Repentance <\/strong><\/em>and Transformation<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps it IS the Apostle James who explains this best as he writes his commentary on the words and the Ways of the Master. James tells us two things of importance here; first that “every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning<\/em>” (James 1:14-17). We should understand here that men’s temptations <\/em>ARE rooted in vanity<\/em>, in one’s sense of self and self betterment according to the world, and that it IS such temptations <\/em>that causes one to “Speak or act with an impure mind<\/em>“. James also tells us that “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<\/em>” (James 4:1-3). James’ two points here show us the Way of purity<\/em>, the Way of steering oneself away from those things that debase, contaminate, <\/em>and pollute<\/em> the minds of men and keep them bound to this world, a bondage which Paul calls our “bondage of corruption<\/em>” (Romans 8:21) and which Peter addresses as “the corruption that is in the world through lust<\/em>” (2 Peter 1:4). The first IS to resist temptations<\/em> which the apostle later frames for us saying that we should “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you<\/em>” (James 4:7); here we must try to remember that this devil<\/em>, this diabolos <\/em>in Greek, IS NOT a personality and IS NOT Satan nor any of His minions as doctrinally believed and taught. This devil<\/em> IS that part of a man that, when tempted<\/em>, “is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed<\/em>“; we should try to see that the devil <\/em>IS our own carnal minds. So the idea from James can be restated to say that we should resist <\/em>the carnal mind with its lusts <\/em>and desires <\/em>and that with our resistance <\/em>its power will diminish and we should try to see this as a KEY part of our individual Transformation<\/strong><\/em>. The second part of this works out in much the same way; the apostle tells us of “wars and fightings among you<\/em>” and the “war in your members<\/em>” but we should be careful to see past the initial idea of wars <\/em>that comes from this rendering of his words. Strong’s defines the Greek word polemos <\/em>which IS rendered as wars<\/em> saying that it IS: warfare (literally or figuratively; a single encounter or a series)<\/em>9a<\/sup> and here we should try to see that James point IS to be understood figuratively<\/em>. Vincent explains the point saying: The thought of wars and fightings is carried into the figurative description of the sensuality which arrays its forces and carries on its campaign in the members <\/em>4<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While perhaps NOT his intent, Vincent DOES show us that this IS an internal fight <\/em>between the carnal forces and the spiritual forces that seek to overcome <\/em>them. John Gill, according to his doctrinal interpretations offers us a different picture telling us first of the wars<\/em> between Christians saying that the apostles reference IS: to the twelve tribes scattered abroad, and to such of them as were Christians; nor were Christians in general as yet increased, and become such large bodies, or were whole nations become Christians, and much less at war one against another, which has been the case since; and which, when it is, generally speaking arises from a lust after an increase of power; from the pride and ambitious views of men, and their envy at the happiness of other princes and states: nor do these design theological debates and disputes, or contentions about religious principles<\/em> 8<\/sup>. For us this IS nonsensical and we should note that as Mr. Gill goes on to the next part, the “war in your members<\/em>“, he tells us that this IS: pride, envy, covetousness, ambition which, like so many soldiers, are stationed and quartered in the members of the body, and war against the soul; for in the believer, or converted man, however, there is as it were two armies; a law in the members, warring against the law of the mind; the flesh against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh<\/em> 8<\/sup>. This, along with Vincent’s understanding IS the reality of “wars and fightings among you<\/em>“, offers us a clearer picture of just what the apostle IS referring to. We should note that it IS the Greek word en <\/em>that IS rendered as among; <\/em>Strong’s tells us that this IS: a primary preposition denoting (fixed) position (in place, time or state)<\/em> 9a<\/sup>. The word IS most often rendered as in <\/em>and its derivative entos <\/em>as within <\/em>and here we come across another doctrinal word game as many render entos <\/em>as among <\/em>in the Master’s words saying “the kingdom of God is within you<\/em>” as they seek to downplay the reality of “Christ in you, the hope of glory<\/em>” (Colossians 1:27). We should try to understand then that this idea of purity<\/em>, this idea of a pure mind<\/em>, IS the result of our ability to “Resist the devil <\/em>and it IS in our perseverance that “he will flee from you<\/em>“. Again, this IS a choice <\/em>that IS made by men and we should try to see that as one becomes more aware <\/em>of the prompting of his own Soul the choice of purity <\/em>becomes the easier Path to follow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The fullness of James’ words show us a great reality in our struggle to become aware <\/em>and to follow the Path upon which we can be “delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God<\/em>” (Romans 8:21). James tells us:<\/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? 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<\/em>” (James 4:1-7).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n We begin again at the beginning, with the question “From whence come wars and fightings among you?<\/em>“. This IS of course a rhetorical question as the apostle gives us the answer in his next words. When we remember that James gives us the answer, it IS easier to understand that the gist of the question pertains to our inner struggle, our inner war if you will, and while John Gill DOES NOT adequately address the question, he DOES provide a suitable answer saying that it IS: pride, envy, covetousness, ambition which, like so many soldiers, are stationed and quartered in the members of the body, and war against the soul; for in the believer, or converted man, however, there is as it were two armies; a law in the members, warring against the law of the mind; the flesh against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh<\/em> 8<\/sup>. In more concise terms, Vincent shows us the same reality saying: The thought of wars and fightings is carried into the figurative description of the sensuality which arrays its forces and carries on its campaign in the members <\/em>4<\/sup>. Both of these defining ideas for the “wars and fightings among you<\/em>” are important to our understanding of the plight that ALL men surely face as they try to shed their carnality and stand among those who Truly follow the Lord. James goes on to better define the struggle that ensues whensoever we heed the prompting of the Soul and here again we see the reason why the Master tells us that “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>” (Matthew 7:13-14). The point here IS that there ARE few, few then and perhaps fewer still today, that can find the “strait gate<\/em>” (Luke 13:24), that can find that narrow<\/em> Path. James goes on to show us that it IS the lusts <\/em>and desires<\/em>, of men that keep us enthralled with the carnal Life and it IS in these that we also find the reality of our temptations <\/em>where he also tells us that “every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed<\/em>“.<\/p>\n\n\n\n James goes on to tell us the futility of our temptations <\/em>saying of men that “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not<\/em>“. While it IS True that many carnal motivations DO NOT result in the idea that “yet ye have not<\/em>” and we should try to understand that this IS True because the apostle IS NOT speaking of carnal things. Obtaining carnal things IS relatively easy for the man who focuses <\/em>upon such things but, whensoever our desires <\/em>ARE for more spiritual gifts<\/em>, the tables ARE turned. We CANNOT obtain spiritual gifts with a carnal mindset and we should understand that this IS the fate of most ALL men who desire <\/em>to follow the Truth but, because they see ONLY their doctrinal ways, they yet “have not<\/em>“. The correction for this IS our Repentance <\/em><\/strong>and our Transformation <\/em><\/strong>but these ideas, like so many New Testament ideas, ARE ill understood with any success deemed to be the result of men’s adherence to the doctrinal approaches ordained by men. And here we should address the bigger chimera of a Christianity that has ever sought to define our spirituality in carnal terms. Far to many link their carnal successes with their doctrinal ideas and ‘asking the Lord’ for carnal things IS become the norm and IS for most the doctrinal way. It IS of course this that James writes against as he tells us that the reason that we “ye have not<\/em>” IS “because ye ask not<\/em>“, an idea which should NOT need to be explained. The Master addresses this idea of asking <\/em>in simple language which IS interpreted by men and by the church into carnal ideas; Jesus tells us “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>” (Matthew 7:7-8). There IS nothing carnal in this asking<\/em>, seeking <\/em>and knocking <\/em>and this should have been made clear by Jesus statement saying “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness<\/em>” which idea IS offered in accord with the Master’s admonition that men should “Take no thought for your life<\/em>“. The ideas offered, “what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on<\/em>” (Matthew 6:33, 25) ARE based in the realities of the times and we should note here that while there ARE some whose minds ARE yet occupied with such things, the whole of men’s desires <\/em>and lusts <\/em>IS exceedingly more complex today. The church today should NOT be teaching that the way to achieve carnal things IS through prayer but this IS one of the most basic ideas promulgated by the church and whether things prayed for may cross into areas of virtue, such as praying for peace and other virtuous ideas, most ALL ARE yet carnal and ARE carnally motivated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n James goes on to then tell us about such asking <\/em>and we should try to see that the idea that “ye have not, because ye ask not<\/em>” IS reasoned out for us by the apostle as he tells us “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts<\/em>“. Can we see the point here? Can we see that we ARE NOT receiving from the Lord those things that we pray for because they ARE carnal and in IS in this that we ARE seen to “ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts<\/em>“? This IS perhaps the KEY idea in James’ words here from the fourth chapter of his epistle and we should note two things here; first that in the first chapter the apostle outlines what we should be asking for saying that “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him<\/em>“. James goes on to tell us that we must “ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord<\/em>” (James 1:5). In this we should understand that we must be singleminded and focused <\/em>upon that which we pray for, ask <\/em>IS the better idea, and this leaves out of the equation those who ARE NOT focused <\/em>upon the things of God, those whose lives ARE centered around carnal things. Now the Wisdom that James speaks of here IS NOT the wisdom <\/em>that IS found in this world, it IS NOT wisdom <\/em>concerning carnal things, and while worldly wisdom <\/em>can be fruitful<\/em>, it DOES NOT reach the reality of the spiritual Wisdom that the apostle later explains. In the third chapter, just before his words on asking <\/em>and receiving<\/em>, James tells us about such spiritual Wisdom and does so in words that have been compromised by rendering the Greek into carnal English ideas. This we have covered several times throughout the course of our writing and we will ONLY touch upon these ideas as we proceed. James tells us that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace<\/em>” (James 3:13-18).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first point here IS that we ARE asked <\/em>as men to show that the Wisdom that we may believe we have IS spiritual and NOT merely worldly wisdom<\/em>. The idea of the Greek word sophos <\/em>which IS rendered as “wise man<\/em>” seems starkly different from the idea behind the Greek word sophia <\/em>which IS rendered in our text as Wisdom. Sophos <\/em>points us to carnal ideas of wisdom <\/em>and knowledge<\/em>; the lexicon tells us that the idea IS: skilled, expert: of artificers; wise, skilled in letters, cultivated, learned<\/em> 2<\/sup>. Sophia on the other hand IS also defined in similarly carnal terms but with a spiritual twist concerning men. Here the lexicon tells us such things as: wisdom, broad and full of intelligence; used of the knowledge of very diverse matters; the wisdom which belongs to men<\/em>2<\/sup>. They go on to further explain this wisdom which belongs to men<\/em> saying sophia <\/em>IS: the varied knowledge of things human and divine, acquired by acuteness and experience, and summed up in maxims and proverbs<\/em> and the knowledge and practice of the requisites for godly and upright living<\/em>2<\/sup>. They cite several additional ideas that ARE for us covered by these ideas and they add at the end that sophia <\/em>IS: supreme intelligence, such as belongs to God<\/em> 2<\/sup>. Understanding the differences in these words, we go back to sophos <\/em>and the lead question from our selection; “Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you<\/em>“. Here the apostle IS calling out those who ARE wise, skilled in letters, cultivated, learned<\/em> and asking them to show the nature of their wisdom<\/em> by letting a man “shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom<\/em>“. The KEY word here for us IS conversation <\/em>which IS rendered from the Greek word anastrophe<\/em>; here the lexicon defines the Greek and the rendered word as: manner of life, conduct, behaviour, deportment<\/em> 2<\/sup>. Vincent tells us of this word conversation <\/em>that: the word conversation (Lat., conversare, to turn around) which was used when the A. V. was made, as the common term for general deportment or behavior, and was, therefore, a correct rendering of ajnastrofh<\/em> [anastrophe<\/em>]. James modifies the idea by adding that the Truly Wise man should show through “good conversation<\/em> his works<\/em>” and it IS here that we run again into a most controversial idea of works<\/em>. It IS a good manner of life, conduct, behaviour, deportment<\/em> that we ARE speaking of here and we should remember the value that the Master puts upon this word good <\/em>saying “there is none good but one, that is, God<\/em>” (Mark 10:18).<\/p>\n\n\n\n To say Godly conversation <\/em>here IS NOT necessary as we DO get the point that the Master makes and that James IS himself using. So then the idea here IS that we should show through good manner of life, conduct, behaviour, <\/em>and deportment<\/em> our works <\/em>and here we must try to understand that the idea here of works <\/em>IS NOT merely what we DO in our lives but understand that through “good conversation<\/em>” we should have “good works<\/em>“. This idea we should take from Paul’s words saying “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them<\/em>” (Ephesians 2:10) and from the Master’s words saying “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven<\/em>” (Matthew 5:16). These New Testament sayings should show us what James IS referring to before he adds another modifier which IS that we should show <\/em>through our lives and our conduct<\/em>, “good works<\/em>” with “meekness of wisdom<\/em>” and here the Greek word IS sophia<\/em>. The Greek word prautes <\/em>IS rendered here as meekness<\/em>; it IS a derivative of \n
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