The art of war, Sun Tzu

Sun Tzu was a chinese military and strategist, he wrote the book "The Art of War". The book is required in the main military academies of the world and in the marketing and business administration careers. Is basically a book of strategy and gives a series of recommendations and rules to take into account to achieve victory over the enemy in the field of war.
The book has served as an inspiration to militaries and great authors like Clausewitz. Studing the book,we can talk about a philosophy of war, the book has similarities with the work of Aristotle ("the common sense is the proper virtue of the governant") and Nicolas Maquiavelli ("The main activity of the prince is the war")
Sun Tzu clarifies that every advantage over the enemy comes from the virtues of the strategist. He asks: who is the most wisest and most capable commander?, which army has the best trained men?, which is the most disciplined army?
Every successful action begins with good calculations and affirm as a principle:

Know Yourself, Socrates

Plato in his books talk about Socrates. This philosopher center his teaching in the dialectic method. An example of this method is describe in the book "The banquet" of Plato.In this book the socratic method is used to searh the nature of love, the Agape, the love for the good. A famous phrase attributed to Socrates is "Know Yourself". Self Knowledge is one of the most important philosophical searches, the expression is similar to that of the oracle of Delphi. Everything about Socrates comes to us through Plato. We can say that Socrates was one of the most important greek philosophers in history, and his ideas about the self knowledge and the socratic method are currently used in philosophy and other sciences based in the human behavior.

The Kingdom of God is among you, Luke 17:21

The Kingdom of God is the center of the teaching of Lord Jesus, the teachings begin in the sermon of the mountain with the beatitudes (Matthew 5, Luke 6) and continue with the parables that describes the Kingdom. The kingdom of God is secret (parable of the hidden treasure, Matthew 13); is progressive (parable of the mustard seed, Mark 4); is sovereign (Parable of the Great Banquet, Luke 14), is new (the kingdom belong to those who are like the children, Matthew 19) The Kingdom of God is not the church, is the transformation of man towards his nature, to his full development, the likeness to God, and also the correct order of the society.

Sowing in the spirit

To understand what it means "sowing in the spirit", we have to know the meaning of the parable of the good samarithan (Luke 10:25-37), and the parable of the sower (Matthew 13). The parable of the good samarithan explain to us that we have to choose between the sin like the pharisee or we live righteously like the good samarithan. The good samarithan acts according to the golden rule, this rule is known as the spiritual gift of rectitude or imitate god. Imitate God is to live according to the spirit. Practice the sin is to live according to the flesh. We have to choose. The 10 commanments is these scheme is a form of error, an heresy.
The parable of the sower explain to us the importance of receive the wisdom of God, retain it and put it in practice with constancy. The spiritual gift of fear of the lord or serenity is define as constancy, firmness, devotion, ecuanimity. This gift is the path to ilumination.
Sowing in the spirit is the resume of this parables, is to live righteously, to search the wisdom of god with contancy and firmness. The kingdom of god as ethical concept means all this, to search the true good for men: the eternal life.

Godliness

When we talk about ethics we talk about spiritual gifts. The spiritual gifts are perfections. The main characteristic of the spiritual gifts is the progressivity: "godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life wich is now, and of that wich is to come", this thought speaks about the idea of the progressive work, the progressive life, the progressive improvement, a life is the preparation for another. This way or mood of thinking can only be perceived by the eye of the mind, the guide of god.This is not fate, this is security in God. This way of thinking, of preparing ourselves, of working progressively, is the true essence of eternal life, the life in glory.

The Wise

To understand what is a wise man, we have to study the metaphysical concepts of essence and substance. The essence is the main characteristic of the being. Example: the essence of man is reason, the essence of God is wisdom. The substance is that of what is preach. For example: when we talk about God, what we talk about? We talk about wisdom, the wisdom is the substance of God. When we talk about men? what we talk about? We talk about the person. The person is the substance of man. In Metaphysics there is similarity when there is participation in the essence. Man and God have different essences, there is no likeness between man and God. And this is where the idea of the wise arises, a wise is a person with the essence of God: the wisdom. The wise is by his essence the bridge between men and the divine. Aristotle in his book, "Politics" explains that the good government depends of the leadership of the wise men and in the succession from a wise to another the quality of life in the community.

Blessed are those who emulate God

The tractate of the perfect and moral virtues is a book that resume the classic philosophy from Plato until Thomas Aquinas. Is fundamentally a book of ethics, using practical cases and metaphysical concepts and definitions; showing to what the man tends towards his development and the correct order the society: the kingdom of God.
The tractate is a book aimed primarily to those who seek the wisdom of the ancient word, and with it the ultimate destiny of humanity. The world needs the classic wisdom to survive, the philosophy is a science that serves as the basis for other sciences.
The wise is the best philosopher, and in the measure that human society develop better philosophers this will solve his problems as Plato said.

The Spiritual Gift of Justification

The doctrine of Justification is understood by knowing that justice is necessary but not enough. Justice is a form of error because the spiritual gift of counsel is precise and accure. The practice of the virtue as Aristotle teach to us is an heresy, because happiness is an apparent good, the true good for men is the eternal life not happiness. The kingdom of God means dominion, empire of the divine perfections, the kingdom of god is not about virtue but perfections, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly father is perfect", Matthew 5:48. To live according to the divine law we need a special help because justice is not sufficient, the strength of the soul is not enough to reach salvation, we need more, and this moore is the Justification,a special help, a gift from God.

There is no fear in love

John is the disciple most beloved by Jesus. He is the author of the Gospel of John and the letter 1 John. In his texts speaks frecuently about the nature of love. For this author to know God is "love". He expresses: "Whoever does not love does not know god, because God is charity" 1 John 4:8; and, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear", 1 John 4:18.
We can extend the text in another way; we cannot attribute imperfections to God. God is the origine of the perfections that we see in the universe, explains Thomas Aquinas. Then he adds: "God is love wihout passions". The fear is an imperfection of the soul. The love as spiritual gift of God (Charity), is the love free from fear, free from the sin and the punishment. Remember the difference between passions and attachments. The hope and the joy are moviments of the spirit and guide men towards the good; instead the fear and the shame (passions) for example, are movement of the soul and guide men to evil. A practical case of Charity, is the parable of the Prodigal Son, Luke 15:11-32.

Friendship is equality

Aristotle in his book Nicomachean Ethics speaks frecuently about the theme of friendship, he speaks about the mercy, "the ethical friendship"; the justice, "the general friendship; and the Concord, "the political friendship". For Aristotle friendship is not also necessary but beautiful:"friendship is equality", "the benevolence is the beginning of the friendship" expresses to us.
Friendship is equality because it is closely related to a form of love: "Philia". In the ancient greek lenguage each form of love had his own name: eros, the love of lovers, agape the love for the good and Philia. This last form of love is the love that arises from the pleasure of seeing ourselves reflected in the others. The natural love, Philia is the origine of the friendship and the equality, the likeness, among men.

Take hold of the eternal life

The Apostle Paul of Tarsus wrote two letters to his disciple Timothy. In his first letter exhorts us to seek eternal life and no the opinated goods. But what is eternal life? Eternal life could be understand as a fruit of the spirit. A final result of the righteous life, of which the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10) is an example. Aristotle tells us that the end of man is happiness, but Christ in the Gospel of Luke 6: 24-26 explains that happiness is an apparent good, happiness appears to us as a good, the 4 curses are an example. Christ in the sermon of the mountain teaches us not to follow the false goods (this is related with the concept of heresy), not to live according to the flesh. The true good of man is eternal life. Eternal life is contemplative activity explains Thomas Aquinas (Summa Theologica), remeber the text in the bible: "This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God", John 17,3. This knowledge of God is more than contemplation is happines of the heart (the gift of happiness), is longevity (meditation is related with the long life), is security in God. In resume the eternal life is a "set of blessing", that describes the life in glory.

The definition of the sin

The good is rectitude of judgment or to say the spiritual gift of counsel: listen (perceive with attention), meditate with intuition and inspiration and decide creatively; also it is righteousness of action: the golden rule.
From the definition of the good comes the concept of error, of heresy. Sin is basically a mode to fail.
We can all sin, fail, but when the sin becomes an habit we become sinners, people who fail, people who do not hit the target, who do not aim.
The pursuit of happiness makes us sinners and this is because happiness is an apparent good, only when we seek the true goods, which are eternal life, the fruits of the spirit, the life in common is that when we become people  who live according to the law of God.
http://www.quintoevangelio.com.ar/en/articles/item/110-justice-and-sin.html

The Mercy

Mercy is defined as kindness, affability, benedicence. The beatitudes of Matthew tell us a beatitude concerning mercy: Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy. Matthew 5: 7.
The Mercy returns mercy, or expressed in another way: the spiritual gifts return spiritual gifts. The Spiritual gifts are perfections, explains Tomas Aquinas teacher of the scholastic. The beatitudes implicitly tell us about the  law of the return: you  reap what you saw. The right actions bring us blessings.
The Beatitudes carry a concept: happiness, but not happiness as a false good, but as a return, as a collateral effect. When we take the right, the correct actions we diminish, we minimize suffering, and as the opposite of happiness is suffering, when we decrease this last concept we predispose ourselves to happiness.
The minimization of the suffering is an ethical goal to achive happiness.
http://www.quintoevangelio.com.ar/en/articles/item/109-mercy.html

About Justice

Aristotle in his book Nicomaquean Ethics define  Justice as give and receive proportionately, Aristotle also defines Justice as generalized friendship. The end of Justice is fundamentally the happiness but also the end of justice is the friendship thence this double definition.
Aristotle defines virtue as the middle term between the excess and the defect, nevertheless justice is an exception to the definition because justice is not a middle term.
Not all Justice is good, sometimes Justice can be a mask, Aristotle explain that sometimes a vice can be shown as virtue, for example the rigor. This is because moral virtues like prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude describes an intermediate state between good and evil.
The equivalent in psychology of the cardinal virtues is the concept of mask. The fundament of Justice is love, that is why we can seem just without being as Plato in his book The Republic said....

But earnestly desire the greater gifts, 1 Corinthians 12:31

To understand the phrase "But earnestly desire the greater gifts" from 1 Corinthians 12:31, we must understand what means to live according to the spirit (Romans 8:5).
God is the origin of the perfections we observe in the cosmos, to these perfections we call them spiritual gifts.
The gifts are lived because we grow. They are way, that is, we all have a ranking of rectitude, of mercy. 
They are progressive and are linked together, an example of a bond: Blessed are the pure in heart because they will see God, Matthew 5: 8, in this example a gift in this case integrity returns contemplative activity, the law of return acts upon our actions (You reap what your sow), the spiritual gifts return spiritual gifts as in this case. 
The spiritual gifts are progressive because we bear fruits: the fruits of the spirit, Galatians 5:22-23 (love, joy, peace, forbearans, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control); and the works of the flesh: Galatians 519-21 (wrath, strife, seditions, envyngs, murders, drunkeness, orgies, adultery, fornication, witchcraft, hatred, litigations, jealousy).
Tomas Aqunas makes a distinction between the spiritual gifts of the will: mercy, rectitude, continuous improvement, constancy (fear of the lord); and the spiritual gifts of the understanding: good discernment, wisdom and spiritual gift of knowledge.
The search of wisdom and the progressive thinking lead us to the greater gifts: the eternal life, the perseverance, the fruits of the spirit, and the spiritual gifts of understanding.
http://www.quintoevangelio.com.ar/en/articles/item/104-can-we-do-profecy-and-when-a-profecy-is-good.html

We live according to the flesh or according to the spirit

The ethics has a purpose: the study of the good and the evil. The ethics explains that the good and the evil have their origin in the truth and in the falsity.Truth and falsehood are concepts previous to good and evil. Why? Because to know if something is good or bad first you have to know it, something is false when it is presented as something that is not, remember and this is important that abstraction does not admit falsehood, as in the case of mathematics.From the metaphysical point of view evil is a deprivation of good affected by falsehood, but the evil is also a discernment.We all discern, we all choose in one way or another. There is a chaotic, unjust, destructive mood of thinking to this we call bad discernment, remember the concept of natural man in 1 Corinthians 2:14-15. In the other hand there is a benevolent, uplifting, just mood of thinking to this we call it good discernment.The ways of thinking are lifestyles, we choose.The goal of sin are the false goods: happiness, good fortune, abundance of material goods; But the purpose of rectitude is the true good to achieve: the eternal life. 
In the text of Romans 6:23 wages means return, the return of the sin (law of the return, you reap what you sow).
http://www.quintoevangelio.com.ar/en/articles/item/103-we-live-according-to-the-flesh-or-according-to-the-spirit.html

About Passions

The expression in Proverbs 14:29, "Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly"; has a relation with the expression of  Tomas de Aquinas: "God is love without passion".
Passions are movements of the soul like shame, guilt, anger. In the other hand, attachments are movements of the spirit like joy, charity.
Remember that passions have their own will, which is different from reason, passions incline man to error. In the other hand, the attachments perfects the will, as for example the doctor and the love for medicine.
People affected by passions and particularly anger have a multiple personality, depending on whether they are affected by reason or passion, that is why quick tempered displays folly.
http://www.quintoevangelio.com.ar/en/articles/item/101-about-passions.html

Union with God

"But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit", 1 Corinthians 6:17. This expression has a similarity with the following texts: "That all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you" John 17:21 (spiritual gift of concord); "This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true god", John 17:3 (contemplation).
The concept of union with God is related with the contemplative life (John 17:3) and the concord (John 17:21). The eternal life is a spiritual gift, the eternal life consist in a set of blessings that God give in advance to us, one of this blessing is the contemplation. The contemplation is a special meditation, a direct relationship with the divine, contemplation is devotion.
The Concord instead is a special type of friendship, is the union of wills that arises from the charity, the love for the good.
Be one in spirit with the Lord is share with him the good love, the love for the good, the love of charity.
http://www.quintoevangelio.com.ar/en/articles/item/99-union-with-god.html

Spiritual Gift of Perseverance

The Spiritual Gift of Perseverance is the daily determination of doing good and avoiding evil and its distinctive characteristics are the loss of  fear and the resistance.
Remember that the love of charity is the love without passion, or to say the love without fear. Anger, shame and fear are passions; shame and guilt for example are typicals passions of an intermediate state between good and evil.
The Spiritual Gift of Perseverance is the spiritual gift proper of the spiritual man (pneumatic man) or the man gifted by the spirit.
The triple division of man (1 Corinthians 2:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:23): body, soul and spirit gives birth to 3 types of man: the natural man (prevails the body), the rational man (prevails the soul) and the spiritual man (prevails the spirit). This diference among men is because there is an intermediate state between good and evil.
Understand the spiritual man is to understand the eternal life and the perseverance. Perseverance and eternal life allways go together, like face and mint of the same coin.
http://www.quintoevangelio.com.ar/en/articles/item/95-the-spiritual-gift-of-perseverance.html

Gnosis

There are different passages in the Bible related to Gnosis. The concept of Gnosis is philosophical, in religion is called to receive the Holy Spirit.
Consider the following texts: "In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night and God said:" Ask what you want". Solomon replied:"Give therefore to your servant, a heart that knows how to listen, to judge his people, and discern between good and evil ".... and God said ...." I give you a wise and understanding heart "1 Kings 3: 9
In this case God is not offering, God is asking to Solomon what he wants most. Because what is asked first is what is most wanted.
Solomon ask to God, the sacred listening, Solomon ask the capacity to do the good through the good judgment. In other words when the desire for the good prevails three spiritual gifts arises: spiritual gift of wisdom, good discernment and spiritual gift of knowledge.
In the Gospels there is another text related with this dialogue between God and Solomon: "Everyone will be salted with fire". Mark 9:49
The salt in the Gospels represents the wisdom of God, the salt like the wisdom has his own flavor. Ask to God a change of heart, to receive the Holy Spirit means to receive the taste for wisdom.
The fire represent the Holy Spirit, the energy of God, Jesus promise the Holy Spirit to the disciples..
Let's see the pasage of Pentecost in Acts of the Apostle 2:
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit.
http://www.quintoevangelio.com.ar/en/articles/item/93-gnosis-and-love.html