It’s a pleasure to be here this morning. I brought my Bible with me. I love this book. It’s a book that many people resist because of the way the stories in it have been portrayed and distorted. So many things have been done in the name of the Bible, in the name of God, that have been very destructive throughout history. This morning I’d like to speak about the stories in this book and maybe show a side that you’ve never seen before, because there is a theme that carries through the Bible that has been absent in man’s world. It’s my aim to do my best to articulate this theme so that there can be a new experience.
You know, there are many names in the Bible for the divine, for God. There’s the word God, there’s the word Lord, Lord God, Jehovah, the Word, I Am, I Am That I Am, and probably quite a few more that I haven’t mentioned. I remember, as a child, trying to figure out why there were so many names for God. What is being spoken about here? And as an adult I came to realize that what we speak of as the divine is singular and plural. God is one and God is many, all at the same time. There is one force that’s animating everything throughout the cosmos; and it is this eternal life-giving force, in which all things move and have their being, that has been given so many names.
In the first chapter in the Bible, as a matter of fact, there’s the statement “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” (Genesis 1:26) That’s in the plural. Moses, in one of his great talks to the multitude, said, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one LORD.” (Deuteronomy 6:4) So to the authors of the Bible, in order to explain this dynamic, this Being, they had to use a number of words. But we need not be confused about what’s being spoken about here.
There was a statement made by Jesus. He said when the gospel of the kingdom had been preached and made known to all the children of men, the end of evil conditions in the world would come. I think there was an opportunity missed back in the 1400s to 1500s, when many explorers from mostly Christian European countries traveled in ships, exploring and colonizing various parts of the world. At that time there was an opportunity to actually share something of the truth of this book; but, as it turned out, there were other seeds planted.
For instance, the Black-coats, or the Black Robes, were some of the first missionaries who came to North America, wanting to bring the message of the Bible to the Native American people. However, the message they brought was one full of shame, guilt and fear. One famous Native American, Yellow Jacket, said something to this effect: “If you, my brother, killed the son of the Great Spirit, it is not our concern.” In other words, “You did that. You make amends for that on your own. If he had come to us Indians, we would have treated him well.” So they wanted nothing of the guilt and shame that was being brought.
In Africa, there’s a story that’s told in Kenya. When the missionaries were trying to convert the Africans, the people of Kenya said, “They came with the Bible and we had the land. And a couple years later, we had the Bible and they had the land. And then they built fences and we couldn’t go on the land.” So throughout history there have been all kinds of things done in the name of bringing this gospel. But the gospel really hasn’t been brought.
The Bible is composed of sixty-six books that tell the story of the creation of our solar system, of the earth, of mankind and all life on the earth. And then it tells the story of the fall of man—the fall of man’s conscious awareness of oneness with God. All this is said in about three chapters, or four pages. The rest of the Bible deals with restoring human consciousness to the place that it was designed to occupy. It deals with the lives of men and women who played a part in restoring human consciousness by revealing the divine in their living.
There are various conversations that are had by many characters in the Bible—conversations with God—such as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Elijah… I believe most people in the world have been taught to see these conversations between a human being over here and God over there; God being separate and speaking to this person over here, who is separate.
But I’ve come to realize that these conversations with God were actually portraying human consciousness beginning to awaken to divine consciousness—this separate sense of self awakening to the divine self, the Father within. And so there is a dialogue that happens, and we’ve all had similar kinds of dialogues within ourselves. There’s a process that happens internally to fully accommodate and identify with the truth of who we are.
I’d like to share a part of one of these dialogues with you:
And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
And he [God] said, Certainly I will be with thee….
And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
(Exodus 3:11–15)
I love that passage. The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—He’s been around for a long time, a long time. It’s the same God that created this galaxy, this solar system, mankind, speaking to Moses, saying, “I was the one speaking through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It’s been Me all along, working this process, looking for human consciousness, human capacity that would avail itself for Me to express through.” There was this one Spirit, all down through the ages, speaking to Moses.
And Moses said unto the LORD [this is still his wrestling with the truth of what he’s sensing within himself], O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.
And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?
(Exodus 4:10&11)
The one who is capable of building the solar system is definitely capable of controlling his tongue, and that’s what he says: “I will be there with you.” The next statement is “Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.” (Exodus 4:12)
Jesus said something very similar. He said, “The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.” (John 14:10) Most people attribute the words that Jesus spoke to Jesus, but he said otherwise. And this is a profound point—this is the point that is missed throughout the Bible. He said otherwise. He said, “I’m not the one doing the work. There’s a Father, there’s something within me.” He’s speaking of the power that created the solar system. That is what is speaking. And he referred to it as “my Father within.” That’s what does the work.
So if we are to take Jesus at his word, that he knew what he was talking about, if we accept that hypothesis, then we would attribute everything he said to what he referred to as his Father within. And when you read the Bible from that standpoint, if there were no other point made while standing here today, this is it: If you read the Bible from that perspective, then you don’t see Jesus speaking about his Father within. It is the Father within speaking through him. It changes everything, and this is the message that has been missed down through the ages.
Jesus said, “The works that I do shall [ye] do also; and greater works than these shall [ye] do.” (John 14:12) Who is speaking that? Well, Jesus was, but the “works” that he was referring to is revealing the Father. That’s the works. The greatest service that he provided for the children of men, for people, was the fact that he revealed the Father in his living. In the world now, as it is, many think that the great victory he had was being crucified on the cross. Well, thousands of people have been crucified on crosses, but how many have allowed the Father to find expression in their living? That’s the purpose for living, and the main victory.
The Father speaking through Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6) That’s a powerful statement. When you really listen to who is making the statement, one could say that revealing the Father is the way, the truth and the life.
There is the statement in the Bible about preaching the gospel of the kingdom in all the earth. What happens in a kingdom? In order to have a kingdom, you have to have a king. There’s one in charge and that one has the authority and the means to carry out his will. So this is the gospel that needs to be brought to the world as we begin to realize that we individually and collectively have the responsibility of sharing the work of letting that kingdom come into manifestation in our lives, in our bodies, our minds, our hearts, our affairs and circumstances. In other words, Jesus became the Christ. Jesus allowed the complete radiation from the Father within to come forth through his capacities, and that is the Christ. What comes forth from the Father is the Christ. And that’s our responsibility also. Many read that statement in the Book of Matthew—“and then shall the end come”—as if heaven is going to float down out of the sky without human beings having to do anything. Often there has been the idea that “Well, we spread the Word of this gospel by passing out the Bible; we’ll travel around the world and give the Bible to everyone. And then God is going to say to St. Peter, ‘Okay, St. Peter, you can flip the switch and heaven is going to come floating down now.’” But the message that’s being spoken about here is actually letting the Christ spirit come forth in each person, so that the Father’s will is done on earth, as it is in heaven.
I’d like to share something from the Book of John. Bearing in mind what I’ve been speaking about, I’d invite you to hear these words in a new way:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
(John 1:1–5)
So what is it that was not comprehended? It’s the glory that lives within each one of us. I’d like to close with this statement from the same book. I’ve substituted a few words, which I think will help in seeing this statement in a new light.
[The Father is] the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God….
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
(John 1:9–14)