590 lines
37 KiB
Plaintext
590 lines
37 KiB
Plaintext
Urantia Book Paper 180 The Farewell Discourse
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SPIRITWEB ORG, PROMOTING SPIRITUAL CONSCIOUSNESS ON THE INTERNET.
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Subjects Archive The Urantia Book Urantia Book PART IV: The Life and Teachings
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of Jesus : The Bestowal Of Michael On Urantia The Times Of Michael's Bestowal
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Birth And Infancy Of Jesus The Early Childhood Of Jesus The Later Childhood Of
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Jesus Jesus At Jerusalem The Two Crucial Years The Adolescent Years Jesus'
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Early Manhood The Later Adult Life Of Jesus On The Way To Rome The World's
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Religions The Sojourn At Rome The Return From Rome The Transition Years John
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The Baptist Baptism And The Forty Days Tarrying Time In Galilee Training The
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Kingdom's Messengers The Twelve Apostles The Ordination Of The Twelve Beginning
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The Public Work The Passover At Jerusalem Going Through Samaria At Gilboa And
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In The Decapolis Four Eventful Days At Capernaum First Preaching Tour Of
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Galilee The Interlude Visit To Jerusalem Training Evangelists At Bethsaida The
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Second Preaching Tour The Third Preaching Tour Tarrying And Teaching By The
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Seaside Events Leading Up To The Capernaum Crisis The Crisis At Capernaum Last
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Days At Capernaum Fleeing Through Northern Galilee The Sojourn At Tyre And
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Sidon At Caesarea-philippi The Mount Of Transfiguration The Decapolis Tour
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Rodan Of Alexandria Further Discussions With Rodan At The Feast Of Tabernacles
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Ordination Of The Seventy At Magadan At The Feast Of Dedication The Perean
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Mission Begins Last Visit To Northern Perea The Visit To Philadelphia The
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Resurrection Of Lazarus Last Teaching At Pella The Kingdom Of Heaven On The Way
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To Jerusalem Going Into Jerusalem Monday In Jerusalem ... The Farewell Discourse
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Paper 180 The Farewell Discourse
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Introduction
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AFTER singing the Psalm at the conclusion of the Last Supper, the apostles
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thought that Jesus intended to return immediately to the camp, but he indicated
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that they should sit down. Said the Master:
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"You well remember when I sent you forth without purse or wallet and even
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advised that you take with you no extra clothes. And you will all recall that
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you lacked nothing. But now have you come upon troublous times. No longer can
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you depend upon the good will of the multitudes. Henceforth, he who has a
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purse, let him take it with him. When you go out into the world to proclaim
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this gospel, make such provision for your support as seems best. I have come to
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bring peace, but it will not appear for a time.
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"The time has now come for the Son of Man to be glorified, and the Father shall
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be glorified in me. My friends, I am to be with you only a little longer. Soon
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you will seek for me, but you will not find me, for I am going to a place to
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which you cannot, at this time, come. But when you have finished your work on
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earth as I have now finished mine, you shall then come to me even as I now
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prepare to go to my Father. In just a short time I am going to leave you, you
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will see me no more on earth, but you shall all see me in the age to come when
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you ascend to the kingdom which my Father has given to me."
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1. THE NEW COMMANDMENT
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After a few moments of informal conversation, Jesus stood up and said: "When I
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enacted for you a parable indicating how you should be willing to serve one
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another, I said that I desired to give you a new commandment; and I would do
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this now as I am about to leave you. You well know the commandment which
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directs that you love one another; that you love your neighbor even as
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yourself. But I am not wholly satisfied with even that sincere devotion on the
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part of my children. I would have you perform still greater acts of love in the
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kingdom of the believing brotherhood. And so I give you this new commandment:
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That you love one another even as I have loved you. And by this will all men
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know that you are my disciples if you thus love one another.
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"When I give you this new commandment, I do not place any new burden upon your
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souls; rather do I bring you new joy and make it possible for you to experience
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new pleasure in knowing the delights of the bestowal of your heart's affection
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upon your fellow men. I am about to experience the supreme joy, even though
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enduring outward sorrow, in the bestowal of my affection upon you and your
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fellow mortals.
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"When I invite you to love one another, even as I have loved you, I hold up
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before you the supreme measure of true affection, for greater love can no man
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have than this: that he will lay down his life for his friends. And you are my
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top of page - 1945
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friends; you will continue to be my friends if you are but willing to do what I
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have taught you. You have called me Master, but I do not call you servants. If
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you will only love one another as I am loving you, you shall be my friends, and
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I will ever speak to you of that which the Father reveals to me.
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"You have not merely chosen me, but I have also chosen you, and I have ordained
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you to go forth into the world to yield the fruit of loving service to your
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fellows even as I have lived among you and revealed the Father to you. The
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Father and I will both work with you, and you shall experience the divine
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fullness of joy if you will only obey my command to love one another, even as I
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have loved you."
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If you would share the Master's joy, you must share his love. And to share his
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love means that you have shared his service. Such an experience of love does
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not deliver you from the difficulties of this world; it does not create a new
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world, but it most certainly does make the old world new.
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Keep in mind: It is loyalty, not sacrifice, that Jesus demands. The
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consciousness of sacrifice implies the absence of that wholehearted affection
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which would have made such a loving service a supreme joy. The idea of duty
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signifies that you are servant-minded and hence are missing the mighty thrill
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of doing your service as a friend and for a friend. The impulse of friendship
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transcends all convictions of duty, and the service of a friend for a friend
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can never be called a sacrifice. The Master has taught the apostles that they
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are the sons of God. He has called them brethren, and now, before he leaves, he
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calls them his friends.
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2. THE VINE AND THE BRANCHES
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Then Jesus stood up again and continued teaching his apostles: "I am the true
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vine, and my Father is the husbandman. I am the vine, and you are the branches.
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And the Father requires of me only that you shall bear much fruit. The vine is
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pruned only to increase the fruitfulness of its branches. Every branch coming
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out of me which bears no fruit, the Father will take away. Every branch which
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bears fruit, the Father will cleanse that it may bear more fruit. Already are
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you clean through the word I have spoken, but you must continue to be clean.
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You must abide in me, and I in you; the branch will die if it is separated from
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the vine. As the branch cannot bear fruit except it abides in the vine, so
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neither can you yield the fruits of loving service except you abide in me.
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Remember: I am the real vine, and you are the living branches. He who lives in
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me, and I in him, will bear much fruit of the spirit and experience the supreme
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joy of yielding this spiritual harvest. If you will maintain this living
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spiritual connection with me, you will bear abundant fruit. If you abide in me
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and my words live in you, you will be able to commune freely with me, and then
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can my living spirit so infuse you that you may ask whatsoever my spirit wills
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and do all this with the assurance that the Father will grant us our petition.
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Herein is the Father glorified: that the vine has many living branches, and
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that every branch bears much fruit. And when the world sees these fruit-bearing
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branches--my friends who love one another, even as I have loved them--all men
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will know that you are truly my disciples.
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"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Live in my love even as I
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live in the Father's love. If you do as I have taught you, you shall abide in
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my love even as I have kept the Father's word and evermore abide in his love."
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top of page - 1946
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The Jews had long taught that the Messiah would be "a stem arising out of the
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vine" of David's ancestors, and in commemoration of this olden teaching a large
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emblem of the grape and its attached vine decorated the entrance to Herod's
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temple. The apostles all recalled these things while the Master talked to them
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this night in the upper chamber.
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But great sorrow later attended the misinterpretation of the Master's
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inferences regarding prayer. There would have been little difficulty about
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these teachings if his exact words had been remembered and subsequently
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truthfully recorded. But as the record was made, believers eventually regarded
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prayer in Jesus' name as a sort of supreme magic, thinking that they would
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receive from the Father anything they asked for. For centuries honest souls
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have continued to wreck their faith against this stumbling block. How long will
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it take the world of believers to understand that prayer is not a process of
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getting your way but rather a program of taking God's way, an experience of
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learning how to recognize and execute the Father's will? It is entirely true
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that, when your will has been truly aligned with his, you can ask anything
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conceived by that will-union, and it will be granted. And such a will-union is
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effected by and through Jesus even as the life of the vine flows into and
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through the living branches.
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When there exists this living connection between divinity and humanity, if
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humanity should thoughtlessly and ignorantly pray for selfish ease and
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vain-glorious accomplishments, there could be only one divine answer: more and
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increased bearing of the fruits of the spirit on the stems of the living
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branches. When the branch of the vine is alive, there can be only one answer to
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all its petitions: increased grape bearing. In fact, the branch exists only
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for, and can do nothing except, fruit bearing, yielding grapes. So does the
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true believer exist only for the purpose of bearing the fruits of the spirit:
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to love man as he himself has been loved by God--that we should love one
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another, even as Jesus has loved us.
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And when the Father's hand of discipline is laid upon the vine, it is done in
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love, in order that the branches may bear much fruit. And a wise husbandman
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cuts away only the dead and fruitless branches.
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Jesus had great difficulty in leading even his apostles to recognize that
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prayer is a function of spirit-born believers in the spirit-dominated kingdom.
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3. ENMITY OF THE WORLD
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The eleven had scarcely ceased their discussions of the discourse on the vine
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and the branches when the Master, indicating that he was desirous of speaking
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to them further and knowing that his time was short, said: "When I have left
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you, be not discouraged by the enmity of the world. Be not downcast even when
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faint-hearted believers turn against you and join hands with the enemies of the
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kingdom. If the world shall hate you, you should recall that it hated me even
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before it hated you. If you were of this world, then would the world love its
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own, but because you are not, the world refuses to love you. You are in this
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world, but your lives are not to be worldlike. I have chosen you out of the
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world to represent the spirit of another world even to this world from which
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you have been chosen. But always remember the words I have spoken to you: The
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servant is not greater than his master. If they dare to persecute me, they will
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also persecute you. If my words offend the unbelievers, so also will your words
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offend the ungodly. And all of this will they do to you because they believe
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not in
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top of page - 1947
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me nor in Him who sent me; so will you suffer many things for the sake of my
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gospel. But when you endure these tribulations, you should recall that I also
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suffered before you for the sake of this gospel of the heavenly kingdom.
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"Many of those who will assail you are ignorant of the light of heaven, but
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this is not true of some who now persecute us. If we had not taught them the
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truth, they might do many strange things without falling under condemnation,
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but now, since they have known the light and presumed to reject it, they have
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no excuse for their attitude. He who hates me hates my Father. It cannot be
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otherwise; the light which would save you if accepted can only condemn you if
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it is knowingly rejected. And what have I done to these men that they should
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hate me with such a terrible hatred? Nothing, save to offer them fellowship on
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earth and salvation in heaven. But have you not read in the Scripture the
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saying: `And they hated me without a cause'?
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"But I will not leave you alone in the world. Very soon, after I have gone, I
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will send you a spirit helper. You shall have with you one who will take my
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place among you, one who will continue to teach you the way of truth, who will
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even comfort you.
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"Let not your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; continue to believe also
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in me. Even though I must leave you, I will not be far from you. I have already
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told you that in my Father's universe there are many tarrying-places. If this
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were not true, I would not have repeatedly told you about them. I am going to
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return to these worlds of light, stations in the Father's heaven to which you
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shall some time ascend. From these places I came into this world, and the hour
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is now at hand when I must return to my Father's work in the spheres on high.
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"If I thus go before you into the Father's heavenly kingdom, so will I surely
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send for you that you may be with me in the places that were prepared for the
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mortal sons of God before this world was. Even though I must leave you, I will
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be present with you in spirit, and eventually you shall be with me in person
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when you have ascended to me in my universe even as I am about to ascend to my
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Father in his greater universe. And what I have told you is true and
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everlasting, even though you may not fully comprehend it. I go to the Father,
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and though you cannot now follow me, you shall certainly follow me in the ages
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to come."
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When Jesus sat down, Thomas arose and said: "Master, we do not know where you
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are going; so of course we do not know the way. But we will follow you this
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very night if you will show us the way."
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When Jesus heard Thomas, he answered: "Thomas, I am the way, the truth, and the
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life. No man goes to the Father except through me. All who find the Father,
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first find me. If you know me, you know the way to the Father. And you do know
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me, for you have lived with me and you now see me."
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But this teaching was too deep for many of the apostles, especially for Philip,
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who, after speaking a few words with Nathaniel, arose and said: "Master, show
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us the Father, and everything you have said will be made plain."
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And when Philip had spoken, Jesus said: "Philip, have I been so long with you
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and yet you do not even now know me? Again do I declare: He who has seen me has
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seen the Father. How can you then say, Show us the Father? Do you not believe
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that I am in the Father and the Father in me? Have I not taught you that the
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words which I speak are not my words but the words of the Father? I speak for
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the Father and not of myself. I am in this world to do the
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top of page - 1948
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Father's will, and that I have done. My Father abides in me and works through
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me. Believe me when I say that the Father is in me, and that I am in the
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Father, or else believe me for the sake of the very life I have lived--for the
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work's sake."
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As the Master went aside to refresh himself with water, the eleven engaged in a
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spirited discussion of these teachings, and Peter was beginning to deliver
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himself of an extended speech when Jesus returned and beckoned them to be
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seated.
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4. THE PROMISED HELPER
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Jesus continued to teach, saying: "When I have gone to the Father, and after he
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has fully accepted the work I have done for you on earth, and after I have
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received the final sovereignty of my own domain, I shall say to my Father:
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Having left my children alone on earth, it is in accordance with my promise to
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send them another teacher. And when the Father shall approve, I will pour out
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the Spirit of Truth upon all flesh. Already is my Father's spirit in your
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hearts, and when this day shall come, you will also have me with you even as
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you now have the Father. This new gift is the spirit of living truth. The
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unbelievers will not at first listen to the teachings of this spirit, but the
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sons of light will all receive him gladly and with a whole heart. And you shall
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know this spirit when he comes even as you have known me, and you will receive
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this gift in your hearts, and he will abide with you. You thus perceive that I
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am not going to leave you without help and guidance. I will not leave you
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desolate. Today I can be with you only in person. In the times to come I will
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be with you and all other men who desire my presence, wherever you may be, and
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with each of you at the same time. Do you not discern that it is better for me
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to go away; that I leave you in the flesh so that I may the better and the more
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fully be with you in the spirit?
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"In just a few hours the world will see me no more; but you will continue to
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know me in your hearts even until I send you this new teacher, the Spirit of
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Truth. As I have lived with you in person, then shall I live in you; I shall be
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one with your personal experience in the spirit kingdom. And when this has come
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to pass, you shall surely know that I am in the Father, and that, while your
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life is hid with the Father in me, I am also in you. I have loved the Father
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and have kept his word; you have loved me, and you will keep my word. As my
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Father has given me of his spirit, so will I give you of my spirit. And this
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Spirit of Truth which I will bestow upon you shall guide and comfort you and
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shall eventually lead you into all truth.
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"I am telling you these things while I am still with you that you may be the
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better prepared to endure those trials which are even now right upon us. And
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when this new day comes, you will be indwelt by the Son as well as by the
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Father. And these gifts of heaven will ever work the one with the other even as
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the Father and I have wrought on earth and before your very eyes as one person,
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the Son of Man. And this spirit friend will bring to your remembrance
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everything I have taught you."
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As the Master paused for a moment, Judas Alpheus made bold to ask one of the
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few questions which either he or his brother ever addressed to Jesus in public.
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Said Judas: "Master, you have always lived among us as a friend; how shall we
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know you when you no longer manifest yourself to us save by this spirit? If the
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world sees you not, how shall we be certain about you? How will you show
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yourself to us?"
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top of page - 1949
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Jesus looked down upon them all, smiled, and said: "My little children, I am
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going away, going back to my Father. In a little while you will not see me as
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you do here, as flesh and blood. In a very short time I am going to send you my
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spirit, just like me except for this material body. This new teacher is the
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Spirit of Truth who will live with each one of you, in your hearts, and so will
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all the children of light be made one and be drawn toward one another. And in
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this very manner will my Father and I be able to live in the souls of each one
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of you and also in the hearts of all other men who love us and make that love
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real in their experiences by loving one another, even as I am now loving you."
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Judas Alpheus did not fully understand what the Master said, but he grasped the
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promise of the new teacher, and from the expression on Andrew's face, he
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perceived that his question had been satisfactorily answered.
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5. THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH
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The new helper which Jesus promised to send into the hearts of believers, to
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pour out upon all flesh, is the Spirit of Truth. This divine endowment is not
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the letter or law of truth, neither is it to function as the form or expression
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of truth. The new teacher is the conviction of truth, the consciousness and
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assurance of true meanings on real spirit levels. And this new teacher is the
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spirit of living and growing truth, expanding, unfolding, and adaptative truth.
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Divine truth is a spirit-discerned and living reality. Truth exists only on
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high spiritual levels of the realization of divinity and the consciousness of
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communion with God. You can know the truth, and you can live the truth; you can
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experience the growth of truth in the soul and enjoy the liberty of its
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enlightenment in the mind, but you cannot imprison truth in formulas, codes,
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creeds, or intellectual patterns of human conduct. When you undertake the human
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formulation of divine truth, it speedily dies. The post-mortem salvage of
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imprisoned truth, even at best, can eventuate only in the realization of a
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peculiar form of intellectualized glorified wisdom. Static truth is dead truth,
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and only dead truth can be held as a theory. Living truth is dynamic and can
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enjoy only an experiential existence in the human mind.
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Intelligence grows out of a material existence which is illuminated by the
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presence of the cosmic mind. Wisdom comprises the consciousness of knowledge
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elevated to new levels of meaning and activated by the presence of the universe
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endowment of the adjutant of wisdom. Truth is a spiritual reality value
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experienced only by spirit-endowed beings who function upon supermaterial
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levels of universe consciousness, and who, after the realization of truth,
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permit its spirit of activation to live and reign within their souls.
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The true child of universe insight looks for the living Spirit of Truth in
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every wise saying. The God-knowing individual is constantly elevating wisdom to
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the living-truth levels of divine attainment; the spiritually unprogressive
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soul is all the while dragging the living truth down to the dead levels of
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wisdom and to the domain of mere exalted knowledge.
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The golden rule, when divested of the superhuman insight of the Spirit of
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Truth, becomes nothing more than a rule of high ethical conduct. The golden
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rule, when literally interpreted, may become the instrument of great offense to
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one's fellows. Without a spiritual discernment of the golden rule of wisdom you
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might reason that, since you are desirous that all men speak the full and frank
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truth of their minds to you, you should therefore fully and frankly speak the
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top of page - 1950
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full thought of your mind to your fellow beings. Such an unspiritual
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interpretation of the golden rule might result in untold unhappiness and no end
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of sorrow.
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Some persons discern and interpret the golden rule as a purely intellectual
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affirmation of human fraternity. Others experience this expression of human
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relationship as an emotional gratification of the tender feelings of the human
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personality. Another mortal recognizes this same golden rule as the yardstick
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for measuring all social relations, the standard of social conduct. Still
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others look upon it as being the positive injunction of a great moral teacher
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who embodied in this statement the highest concept of moral obligation as
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regards all fraternal relationships. In the lives of such moral beings the
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golden rule becomes the wise center and circumference of all their philosophy.
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In the kingdom of the believing brotherhood of God-knowing truth lovers, this
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golden rule takes on living qualities of spiritual realization on those higher
|
||
levels of interpretation which cause the mortal sons of God to view this
|
||
injunction of the Master as requiring them so to relate themselves to their
|
||
fellows that they will receive the highest possible good as a result of the
|
||
believer's contact with them. This is the essence of true religion: that you
|
||
love your neighbor as yourself.
|
||
|
||
But the highest realization and the truest interpretation of the golden rule
|
||
consists in the consciousness of the spirit of the truth of the enduring and
|
||
living reality of such a divine declaration. The true cosmic meaning of this
|
||
rule of universal relationship is revealed only in its spiritual realization,
|
||
in the interpretation of the law of conduct by the spirit of the Son to the
|
||
spirit of the Father that indwells the soul of mortal man. And when such
|
||
spirit-led mortals realize the true meaning of this golden rule, they are
|
||
filled to overflowing with the assurance of citizenship in a friendly universe,
|
||
and their ideals of spirit reality are satisfied only when they love their
|
||
fellows as Jesus loved us all, and that is the reality of the realization of
|
||
the love of God.
|
||
|
||
This same philosophy of the living flexibility and cosmic adaptability of
|
||
divine truth to the individual requirements and capacity of every son of God,
|
||
must be perceived before you can hope adequately to understand the Master's
|
||
teaching and practice of nonresistance to evil. The Master's teaching is
|
||
basically a spiritual pronouncement. Even the material implications of his
|
||
philosophy cannot be helpfully considered apart from their spiritual
|
||
correlations. The spirit of the Master's injunction consists in the
|
||
nonresistance of all selfish reaction to the universe, coupled with the
|
||
aggressive and progressive attainment of righteous levels of true spirit
|
||
values: divine beauty, infinite goodness, and eternal truth--to know God and to
|
||
become increasingly like him.
|
||
|
||
Love, unselfishness, must undergo a constant and living readaptative
|
||
interpretation of relationships in accordance with the leading of the Spirit of
|
||
Truth. Love must thereby grasp the ever-changing and enlarging concepts of the
|
||
highest cosmic good of the individual who is loved. And then love goes on to
|
||
strike this same attitude concerning all other individuals who could possibly
|
||
be influenced by the growing and living relationship of one spirit-led mortal's
|
||
love for other citizens of the universe. And this entire living adaptation of
|
||
love must be effected in the light of both the environment of present evil and
|
||
the eternal goal of the perfection of divine destiny.
|
||
|
||
And so must we clearly recognize that neither the golden rule nor the teaching
|
||
of nonresistance can ever be properly understood as dogmas or precepts. They
|
||
can only be comprehended by living them, by realizing their meanings in
|
||
|
||
top of page - 1951
|
||
|
||
the living interpretation of the Spirit of Truth, who directs the loving
|
||
contact of one human being with another.
|
||
|
||
And all this clearly indicates the difference between the old religion and the
|
||
new. The old religion taught self-sacrifice; the new religion teaches only
|
||
self-forgetfulness, enhanced self-realization in conjoined social service and
|
||
universe comprehension. The old religion was motivated by fear-consciousness;
|
||
the new gospel of the kingdom is dominated by truth-conviction, the spirit of
|
||
eternal and universal truth. And no amount of piety or creedal loyalty can
|
||
compensate for the absence in the life experience of kingdom believers of that
|
||
spontaneous, generous, and sincere friendliness which characterizes the
|
||
spirit-born sons of the living God. Neither tradition nor a ceremonial system
|
||
of formal worship can atone for the lack of genuine compassion for one's
|
||
fellows.
|
||
|
||
6. THE NECESSITY FOR LEAVING
|
||
|
||
After Peter, James, John, and Matthew had asked the Master numerous questions,
|
||
he continued his farewell discourse by saying: "And I am telling you about all
|
||
this before I leave you in order that you may be so prepared for what is coming
|
||
upon you that you will not stumble into serious error. The authorities will not
|
||
be content with merely putting you out of the synagogues; I warn you the hour
|
||
draws near when they who kill you will think they are doing a service to God.
|
||
And all of these things they will do to you and to those whom you lead into the
|
||
kingdom of heaven because they do not know the Father. They have refused to
|
||
know the Father by refusing to receive me; and they refuse to receive me when
|
||
they reject you, provided you have kept my new commandment that you love one
|
||
another even as I have loved you. I am telling you in advance about these
|
||
things so that, when your hour comes, as mine now has, you may be strengthened
|
||
in the knowledge that all was known to me, and that my spirit shall be with you
|
||
in all your sufferings for my sake and the gospel's. It was for this purpose
|
||
that I have been talking so plainly to you from the very beginning. I have even
|
||
warned you that a man's foes may be those of his own household. Although this
|
||
gospel of the kingdom never fails to bring great peace to the soul of the
|
||
individual believer, it will not bring peace on earth until man is willing to
|
||
believe my teaching wholeheartedly and to establish the practice of doing the
|
||
Father's will as the chief purpose in living the mortal life.
|
||
|
||
"Now that I am leaving you, seeing that the hour has come when I am about to go
|
||
to the Father, I am surprised that none of you have asked me, Why do you leave
|
||
us? Nevertheless, I know that you ask such questions in your hearts. I will
|
||
speak to you plainly, as one friend to another. It is really profitable for you
|
||
that I go away. If I go not away, the new teacher cannot come into your hearts.
|
||
I must be divested of this mortal body and be restored to my place on high
|
||
before I can send this spirit teacher to live in your souls and lead your
|
||
spirits into the truth. And when my spirit comes to indwell you, he will
|
||
illuminate the difference between sin and righteousness and will enable you to
|
||
judge wisely in your hearts concerning them.
|
||
|
||
"I have yet much to say to you, but you cannot stand any more just now. Albeit,
|
||
when he, the Spirit of Truth, comes, he shall eventually guide you into all
|
||
truth as you pass through the many abodes in my Father's universe.
|
||
|
||
"This spirit will not speak of himself, but he will declare to you that which
|
||
the Father has revealed to the Son, and he will even show you things to come;
|
||
|
||
top of page - 1952
|
||
|
||
he will glorify me even as I have glorified my Father. This spirit comes forth
|
||
from me, and he will reveal my truth to you. Everything which the Father has in
|
||
this domain is now mine; wherefore did I say that this new teacher would take
|
||
of that which is mine and reveal it to you.
|
||
|
||
"In just a little while I will leave you for a short time. Afterward, when you
|
||
again see me, I shall already be on my way to the Father so that even then you
|
||
will not see me for long."
|
||
|
||
While he paused for a moment, the apostles began to talk with each other: "What
|
||
is this that he tells us? `In just a little while I will leave you,' and `When
|
||
you see me again it will not be for long, for I will be on my way to the
|
||
Father.' What can he mean by this `little while' and `not for long'? We cannot
|
||
understand what he is telling us."
|
||
|
||
And since Jesus knew they asked these questions, he said: "Do you inquire among
|
||
yourselves about what I meant when I said that in a little while I would not be
|
||
with you, and that, when you would see me again, I would be on my way to the
|
||
Father? I have plainly told you that the Son of Man must die, but that he will
|
||
rise again. Can you not then discern the meaning of my words? You will first be
|
||
made sorrowful, but later on will you rejoice with many who will understand
|
||
these things after they have come to pass. A woman is indeed sorrowful in the
|
||
hour of her travail, but when she is once delivered of her child, she
|
||
immediately forgets her anguish in the joy of the knowledge that a man has been
|
||
born into the world. And so are you about to sorrow over my departure, but I
|
||
will soon see you again, and then will your sorrow be turned into rejoicing,
|
||
and there shall come to you a new revelation of the salvation of God which no
|
||
man can ever take away from you. And all the worlds will be blessed in this
|
||
same revelation of life in effecting the overthrow of death. Hitherto have you
|
||
made all your requests in my Father's name. After you see me again, you may
|
||
also ask in my name, and I will hear you.
|
||
|
||
"Down here I have taught you in proverbs and spoken to you in parables. I did
|
||
so because you were only children in the spirit; but the time is coming when I
|
||
will talk to you plainly concerning the Father and his kingdom. And I shall do
|
||
this because the Father himself loves you and desires to be more fully revealed
|
||
to you. Mortal man cannot see the spirit Father; therefore have I come into the
|
||
world to show the Father to your creature eyes. But when you have become
|
||
perfected in spirit growth, you shall then see the Father himself."
|
||
|
||
When the eleven had heard him speak, they said to each other: "Behold, he does
|
||
speak plainly to us. Surely the Master did come forth from God. But why does he
|
||
say he must return to the Father?" And Jesus saw that they did not even yet
|
||
comprehend him. These eleven men could not get away from their long-nourished
|
||
ideas of the Jewish concept of the Messiah. The more fully they believed in
|
||
Jesus as the Messiah, the more troublesome became these deep-rooted notions
|
||
regarding the glorious material triumph of the kingdom on earth.
|
||
|
||
top of page - 1953
|
||
|
||
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
Subjects Archive The Urantia Book Urantia Book PART IV: The Life and Teachings
|
||
of Jesus : The Bestowal Of Michael On Urantia The Times Of Michael's Bestowal
|
||
Birth And Infancy Of Jesus The Early Childhood Of Jesus The Later Childhood Of
|
||
Jesus Jesus At Jerusalem The Two Crucial Years The Adolescent Years Jesus'
|
||
Early Manhood The Later Adult Life Of Jesus On The Way To Rome The World's
|
||
Religions The Sojourn At Rome The Return From Rome The Transition Years John
|
||
The Baptist Baptism And The Forty Days Tarrying Time In Galilee Training The
|
||
Kingdom's Messengers The Twelve Apostles The Ordination Of The Twelve Beginning
|
||
The Public Work The Passover At Jerusalem Going Through Samaria At Gilboa And
|
||
In The Decapolis Four Eventful Days At Capernaum First Preaching Tour Of
|
||
Galilee The Interlude Visit To Jerusalem Training Evangelists At Bethsaida The
|
||
Second Preaching Tour The Third Preaching Tour Tarrying And Teaching By The
|
||
Seaside Events Leading Up To The Capernaum Crisis The Crisis At Capernaum Last
|
||
Days At Capernaum Fleeing Through Northern Galilee The Sojourn At Tyre And
|
||
Sidon At Caesarea-philippi The Mount Of Transfiguration The Decapolis Tour
|
||
Rodan Of Alexandria Further Discussions With Rodan At The Feast Of Tabernacles
|
||
Ordination Of The Seventy At Magadan At The Feast Of Dedication The Perean
|
||
Mission Begins Last Visit To Northern Perea The Visit To Philadelphia The
|
||
Resurrection Of Lazarus Last Teaching At Pella The Kingdom Of Heaven On The Way
|
||
To Jerusalem Going Into Jerusalem Monday In Jerusalem Tuesday Morning In The
|
||
Temple The Last Temple Discourse Tuesday Evening On Mount Olivet Wednesday, The
|
||
Rest Day Last Day At The Camp The Last Supper The Farewell Discourse Final
|
||
Admonitions And Warnings In Gethsemane The Betrayal And Arrest Of Jesus Before
|
||
The Sanhedrin Court The Trial Before Pilate Just Before The Crucifixion The
|
||
Crucifixion The Time Of The Tomb The Resurrection Morontia Appearances Of Jesus
|
||
Appearances To The Apostles And Other Leaders Appearances In Galilee Final
|
||
Appearances And Ascension Bestowal Of The Spirit Of Truth After Pentecost The
|
||
Faith Of Jesus
|
||
|
||
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>Ŀ
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