\u0391\u03a9<\/em>\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<\/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 concluded our work on the Beatitudes and the two verses that precede them. We discussed how that the Master’s words were intended for His disciples and that it IS likely that ONLY His disciples understood what was told them in the Master’s words. Only His disciples likely understood the reference to being blessed <\/em>and that the result of each Beatitude was indeed the blessing<\/em>. In the last two essays we discussed in some depth the idea of being blessed <\/em>and noted that the common understanding was insufficient to properly understand the meaning, especially as it applies to the Beatitudes. We discussed the definitions given by today’s dictionary as well as the biblical ideas assigned to the Greek word makarios <\/em>which IS the one rendered as blessed <\/em>in the Beatitudes and other places where the idea IS strictly spiritual. The spiritual nature of being blessed <\/em>IS missed by most; Strong’s offers us the definition of makarios <\/em>as: supremely blest; by extension, fortunate, well off<\/em> 9a<\/sup>; here the idea of being blest remains undefined save for the most inadequate synonyms offered. Thayer’s offers even less help in understanding makarios <\/em>saying that it IS defined simply as blessed <\/em>and happy<\/em> 9<\/sup>. Vincent on the other hand offers us a long dissertation on the meaning of the Greek word and from this we take his words saying: The vague outlines of an abstract good vanish from it, and give place to the pure heart ‘s vision of God, and its personal communion with the Father in heaven<\/em> 4<\/sup>. Here Mr. Vincent is comparing his thoughts on makarios <\/em>with the conventional thoughts in ancient Greek and his words here capture the spiritual nature of the idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If we can seriously think about each of the Beatitudes’ subjects from a spiritual perspective, we can perhaps glimpse the reality of a communion with the Father in heaven<\/em> in each result and this IS, in our view, the way that the Beatitudes can be best understood. In simple terms, the idea can be understood simply as spiritual fulfillment with the ideas taken from the many different perspectives that the Master shows us. This of course requires that we have a foundational understanding of the KEY words in each Beatitude; that we understand what it means to be “poor in spirit<\/em>“, that we can see the reality in mourning <\/em>and the purpose in being meek<\/em>. We must understand what it means to “hunger and thirst after righteousness<\/em>” as we try to understand that one either IS or IS NOT righteous<\/em>. We must understand how to be merciful <\/em>as this word IS intended to be understood; as our expression <\/em><\/strong>of agape <\/em>in this world. We must KNOW what it means to be “pure in heart<\/em>” and how it IS that we can “make peace<\/em>“. Finally we must understand the reality of being persecuted <\/em>which IS where we left off in the last essay; ALL of these KEY words have been discussed in the last two essays. Repeating the Master’s words again:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you<\/em>” (Matthew 5:1-12).<\/p>\n\n\n\n In regard to the last two Beatitudes which we ARE considering together, we should understand that our persecution <\/em>IS NOT as the church believes; their sense of persecution <\/em>which has devolved into a political scheme more than a spiritual Truth. The persecution <\/em>that the Master refers to here IS against men’s righteousness <\/em>which we should try to see in terms of the KEY words offered in the Beatitudes. Those who express <\/strong><\/em>the ideas of the Beatitudes ARE exhibiting their spiritual status which, in the vanity <\/em>of Life, engenders as sense of prejudice and hatred which then shows itself as persecution<\/em>. A clear example would be the Life of the Master as seen through the Life of today’s disciple. Jesus IS persecuted <\/em>by the Jews, by the religious establishment, because He DID NOT conform to the religious standards held in the traditions of the Jews. The Master spoke against them, rebelled if you will, as He set about showing them that they were wrong in their religious practices and by DOING such things as True healing <\/em>and His expressions <\/em><\/strong>of agape<\/em>. In the Life of the disciple today, the same sense of persecution <\/em>would be seen against those that openly speak against the religious practices of today’s Christianity while such ‘rebellion’ IS accompanied by the expression <\/strong><\/em>of True agape<\/em>. Note here that we ARE speaking of disciples, of those that have the spiritual wherewithal to speak with the necessary Power and gain the attention of those whose religion IS among those spoken against.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this class we can include some of the most famous of our time; Gandhi whose movement of peaceful engagement was derided by many resulting in frequent imprisonment and finally assassination. Martin Luther King IS an American example of such persecution<\/em>, again with frequent arrests and finally assassination. We should note here that these people DID NOT proclaim any level of discipleship but were, at a minimum, aspirants to discipleship whose lives were dedicated to an expression <\/strong><\/em>of agape <\/em>that reached out far beyond their arenas. Our point here IS simply that the disciple, as Gandhi and MLK, will be persecuted <\/em>for their acts of righteousness <\/em>by a world that sees ALL that threatens conformance to the ways of this world as a threat. In Jesus time there were the priests and the Pharisees and we should remember here the High Priest’s commentary saying “Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation<\/em>” (John 11:47-48). We should try to see here that it IS the intermingling of politics and religion that causes such actions and the world has never been free from this plague. Today we have many situations where politics and religion are so intermingled that the political movements ARE taking over complete denominations and sects as some Christians openly proclaim their allegiance to their political ends rather than to the Lord. Even Christianity itself in its doctrinal forms ARE NOT free from the scourge of political persecution and today we have current examples of Christians that make their own sense of righteousness known ONLY to be vilified by other parts of the church and political leaders whose attempts at persecution <\/em>ARE right out of the Pharisees’ playbook. The current ideas of persecution <\/em>that ARE held by the church ARE NOT persecution <\/em>at all; most ARE merely complaints about NOT getting their way either politically or socially, a way that they ARE NOT entitled to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This brings us to the end of our discussion of the Beatitudes which began our deeper discussion on the full Sermon on the Mount. What we should take from this IS that the Beatitudes ARE highlighting the Way of the disciple, that each point IS something that IS a part of that Way. It IS the disciple that IS “poor in spirit<\/em>” as this idea IS properly defined; it IS the disciple that DOES “hunger and thirst after righteousness<\/em>“; and it IS the disciple that IS “pure in heart<\/em>“, IS merciful <\/em>and IS the peacemaker<\/em> according to our understanding of these ideas. The disciple understood what the Master was saying while to the average person they were merely words that were likely understood much as they ARE yet today. These ARE NOT those carnal points however, they ARE spiritual ideas that culminate in the likely persecution <\/em>of those that exhibit the qualities because such expressions <\/em><\/strong>ARE contrary to the carnal ideas that ARE the doctrines of men. Here again we should understand that the doctrines that have been erected by the church over the last 2000 years ARE but the words and edicts of men whose lives have for the most part remained “conformed to this world<\/em>” (Romans 12:2). The Master warns us but the church DID NOT and DOES NOT heed His warning as He tells us “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).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The next part of the Sermon, again speaking directly to His disciples, outlines the Way of the disciple in this world. The Master IS telling the disciple what they ARE to become and how to display to the world the reality of their discipleship. That most ALL Christians have taken these ideas and applied them to themselves IS a part of the doctrinal ideas that ARE the subject of the Master’s words saying that they ARE “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men<\/em>“. Christians ARE taught such things; they ARE told that they ARE the “the light of the world<\/em>” and many ARE told that they should display the values of their denominations and sects as such. In some cases this IS NOT a bad thing but when it devolves to the promotion of one’s doctrinal messages instead of an expression <\/strong><\/em>of agape<\/em>, it serves NO True purpose. The Master tells us:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven<\/em>” (Matthew 5:12-16).<\/p>\n\n\n\n We will NOT get into the ways that salt <\/em>can lose <\/em>its savour <\/em>except to mention that salt <\/em>in those days was not pure as it IS today. Our concern IS with the meaning of this loss <\/em>of savour <\/em>to the disciple. The disciple has savour<\/em>, he has for example the qualities listed in the Beatitudes, and it IS this savour <\/em>that IS the expression <\/strong><\/em>of the disciple; we should note here that the ideas from the Beatitudes ALL revolve around agape <\/em>which IS the central idea of a disciples expression<\/em><\/strong>. While agape<\/em> IS the primary savour <\/em>of the disciple’s expression<\/strong><\/em>, it IS exhibited in his striving <\/em>after righteousness<\/em>, his pure heart<\/em> and his merciful <\/em>way of Life. The Master’s message then IS that if the disciple loses <\/em>this savour<\/em>, loses <\/em>his expression <\/strong><\/em>of agape<\/em>, he IS like salt <\/em>that has lost<\/em> its taste, that has lost<\/em> its flavor. The salt <\/em>IS NO longer of use and the idea that the disciple would be “good for nothing<\/em>” must be understood as a spiritual idea. If the disciple DOES NOT express <\/strong>agape<\/em>, his savour <\/em>if you will, he IS then NO longer acting the part of the disciple and spiritually he IS then “good for nothing<\/em>“.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the Master’s words on salt <\/em>ARE offered in a negative tone regarding the failure of the disciple, Jesus’ next words show us a more positive note that reveals one of the most important parts of discipleship. The Master tells us that the disciple IS “the light of the world<\/em>” and that as this Light the disciple must display it, that he must “giveth light unto all<\/em>“. We should NOT be fooled here, we should NOT think that the disciple IS to openly proclaim his spiritual status; the reality IS quite the contrary. We must understand here that the disciple IS ever humble <\/em>and meek <\/em>and in this the question IS posed: how do we “giveth light unto all<\/em>“? How do we “Let your light so shine before men<\/em>” while maintaining that sense of being humble <\/em>and meek<\/em>? The importance of this IS found in the Master’s words saying “whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted<\/em>” (Matthew 23:12). Both Peter and James echo this idea saying “God resisteth the proud, and (but) giveth grace to the humble<\/em>” (1 Peter 5:5; James 4:6) and in these sayings we should see the importance of being humble<\/em>. The question then remains; how DO we “Let your light so shine before men<\/em>“, how DO we “giveth light unto all<\/em>“? The Master gives us the answer which IS simply “that they may see your good works<\/em>“; it IS in the way that we comport our lives that IS our expression <\/em><\/strong>of “light unto all<\/em>” and this too IS shown us rather clearly by the Master who, speaking about KNOWING the True prophet says, “Ye shall know them by their fruits<\/em>“, a Truth that He repeats saying “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them<\/em>” (Matthew 7:16, 20). Understanding that the disciple must maintain his savour<\/em> and allow his Light to shine while possessing the reality of the Beatitudes as that savour <\/em>and that Light, should help us to understand the Master’s point here as the Way of the disciple. The Master’s next words ARE:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven<\/em>” (Matthew 5:17-20).<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the first verse of this segment we have a statement of fact where Jesus tells His disciple that he IS NOT come to destroy the law as it exists. However, we must remember that the law that Jesus upholds IS NOT the mitzvot of the Jews which includes in its traditions the gamut of ideas including sabbath rules, sacrifices, dietary regulations, rules regarding the clean and unclean as well as the crueler aspects of Moses laws. To the Master these ARE NOT the law and have no bearing on His statement. As to the prophets <\/em>we should try to see that their understanding of the law was much the same as Jesus’ view. Through the course of the gospels the Master decies the Jews positions on such things as the sabbath, sacrifices, dietary regulations and their commitment to their ‘traditions<\/em>‘; Jesus never comments on so much of what the Jews’ considered their law. The Master’s concentration was solely on those aspects of the law that dealt with the interrelationships between men in this world and ALL are in some way aligned with His teaching on agape<\/em>. As we proceed through the fifth chapter we will address this further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The doctrinal churches have built much of their theology and doctrines on the next part of the verse where their interpretation of the Master’s saying that “I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil<\/em>“. This has been used to say that by doing so, he satisfied the righteous <\/em>requirements of the law on behalf of humanity. This idea then leads the church into the arena of justification by faith<\/em> where the idea that Jesus fulfilled <\/em>the law grants a sort of amnesty to the believer<\/em>. This idea of justification by faith<\/em> IS found nowhere in the gospels; it IS derived from a misreading of Paul’s epistles and the tieing of these sayings from the beginning of the Master’s ‘ministry’ to His death some three years later. The doctrinal belief was evolved then into the idea of imputed righteousness<\/em>, yet another idea that IS absent in the Master’s words. To be sure, many other words from the Master ARE woven into these doctrines of justification by faith and imputed righteousness<\/em> and here we should remember that the doctrines of men ARE just that; they ARE the reality that the church IS still “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men<\/em>“.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The clarification of the idea that Jesus DID NOT “come to destroy the law, or the prophets<\/em>” comes in the next verse where He tells us that the law simply IS. This should be clear in the idea that “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law<\/em>“; the law simply IS. The Master goes further into prophecy here in anticipating that the law can be fulfilled <\/em>and here He uses the idea of ALL which can mean that every person will be fulfilling <\/em>the law. This IS similar to the anticipation that we discussed in Paul’s words saying “the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in We should try to see that the Master slowly rolls out His agenda to the Jews; He holds out the idea that the law IS NOT forsaken while at the same time understanding that the Jews consider the entirety of the law, their mitzvot. As we proceed through the Sermon we will see that Jesus both addresses and redefines the important parts of the law, “the weightier matters of the law<\/em>” (Matthew 23:23) as He frames this. It IS these “weightier matters of the law<\/em>” that must be fulfilled before the law IS NO longer of any importance, matters <\/em>that ALL revolve around the expression <\/em><\/strong>of agape<\/em>. Today while many still cling to the law as the edicts of God, they DO, at the same time, believe that they need NOT follow the law; this IS based in the doctrinal ideas cited above, justification by faith and imputed righteousness<\/em>. There ARE those who DO choose to ignore the law as law and these fall into two camps; the first ARE the irreligious who DO or DO NOT follow the civil laws but are aware of them. The second is the awakened <\/em>among us who understand that in agape <\/em>ALL laws ARE considered; Paul shows us this saying “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 The Master’s next words can be puzzling according to our view above that it IS ONLY “the weightier matters of the law<\/em>” that matter. Here Jesus refers to breaking “one of these least commandments<\/em>” without first defining what these commandments ARE. However, we should note here that the Master’s words soon turn toward what we see as His addressing and redefining these same “weightier matters of the law<\/em>“. This IS what He IS referring to as “these least commandments<\/em>“. We should try to see that this IS the beginning of the Master’s redefining of the laws of Moses; here He first defines the importance of keeping His words<\/em> and that we CAN NOT do so selectively. Even those commandments that we may think are unimportant ARE; James clarifies this for us saying “whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all<\/em>” (James 2:10). We should try to see as well that while the list of commandments that follows ARE those that we should see as “the weightier matters of the law<\/em>“, there ARE others which may ONLY be alluded to in His list. Luke tells us that in the Master’s interaction with “a certain ruler<\/em>“, He lists “Do not bear false witness<\/em>” and “Honour thy father and thy mother<\/em>” (Luke 18:18, 20) as commandments to be followed. Paul, in his Epistle to the Romans, lists “Thou shalt not steal<\/em>, Thou shalt not bear false witness<\/em>” and “Thou shalt not covet<\/em>” (Romans 13:9) as commandments. Our point here is simply that NONE of the ancillary commandments the Moses imposed on the Jews make any of these lists and, moreover, such ideas as keeping the sabbath ARE also excluded. The entire list from Jesus which we will cover in some detail and the lists from Luke and Paul ARE ALL in regard to our expression <\/em><\/strong>of agape<\/em>; they ARE ALL in regard to the way that we see and treat others….even those that can be considered “these least commandments<\/em>“.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We should note here that the Master DOES NOT ONLY reflect upon keeping these commandments calling out those that break one of these least commandments<\/em>, He also calls out those that “shall teach men so”<\/em>, those that teach others that these commandments ARE NOT important. The Master separates those who break <\/em>the commandments and those that teach <\/em>others to break <\/em>the commandments from those that “shall do and teach them<\/em>“. In this He outlines the fate, NOT punishment, for both saying that the view of the Kingdom will be different. Those that keep the commandments will be “called great in the kingdom of heaven<\/em>” while those that break and “shall teach men so”<\/em> will be “called the least in the kingdom of heaven<\/em>“. There ARE several ways to try to understand the meaning of these words but the ONLY one that Truly suffices to explain the idea IS that those that break the commandments ARE excluded which, in our view, means that they have NO realization <\/strong><\/em>of the Kingdom; they fail at discipleship. As we have said throughout our posts, it IS in keeping His words<\/em> that we have the Kingdom, discipleship, “the adoption<\/em>” (Romans 8:23) and ARE “partakers of the divine nature<\/em>” (2 Peter 1:4).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Master goes on to speak about righteousness <\/em>and here we have another verse that IS grossly misunderstood. We discussed the idea of righteousness <\/em>as part of the Beatitudes and we tried to show that this IS a spiritual idea that we can attain by measure<\/em>. This IS attested to by this verse in which the Master speaks about greater righteousness<\/em>. He also speaks about the way that righteousness <\/em>IS a factor in attaining the Kingdom and here we should see the relationship between righteousness <\/em>and keeping His words<\/em>. We can see this by comparing this verse with the second part of our trifecta <\/strong><\/em>where we read that the Kingdom IS attainable ONLY by DOING “the will of my Father<\/em>“. As with ALL of the parts of our trifecta<\/strong><\/em>, the idea IS that we keep His words<\/em> in order to attain the ‘rewards<\/em>‘ that ARE cited, the second part DOES NOT show anything different despite being worded in terms of the Father. Repeating our trifecta<\/em><\/strong>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Our point IS that our righteousness <\/em>and 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). We should try to see that being “made free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God<\/em>” IS offered with the same sense of anticipation and, in our freedom <\/em>from our bondage<\/em> we ARE fulfilling <\/em>the law. From the Master’s words to the rightly interpreted writings of the apostles, the New Testament, except perhaps the wrongly understood Book of Revelation, message IS the same. The idea here should be understood through the idea of ALL and we should try to see that when ALL ARE fulfilling the Truth of the law, there IS NO longer a need for the law. While the Master’s overall teaching IS that the law IS NOT necessary save for the Great Commandments, the Jews to whom His words ARE addressed, disciples included, yet hold to the law because of tradition<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nlove<\/s> agapao thy neighbour as thyself<\/em>” (Romans 13:9).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n