Was Jesus God?
Quoting from At-Onement With The Logos/Son Of God http://BrotherOfJesus.org#AtOnement
At-Onement With The Logos/Son Of God: The people who walked and talked with the man Jesus daily, said that Jesus became the Messiah and achieved a condition of At-Onement with the Logos who is also portrayed as the Son of God, by living the necessary consecrated life and fulfilling the Royal Law of God within his own mind and being. They also said that Jesus taught others to do the same as he did -- and as their brother, Jesus taught that not only can all of mankind accomplish all that he accomplished -- but that it is the Destiny of every Soul to fulfill the Royal Law and accomplish all that he accomplished. Therefore, all the confusion that envelops the Church in countless opinions and sects is all based upon the question: What does it mean to be At-One with the Logos/Son of God?
This condition of At-Onement cannot be grasped by the vast majority of people who are unable to understand the process of self-transformation that is presented in the Gospels, and is
in fact the very foundation of the New Covenant. In the parable of TheCall (see http://TheCall.Nazirene.org ), the believer/disciple must prepare themselves to come to the Wedding Feast. In the parable of the Ten Virgins, the believer/disciple is portrayed as a virgin who must enter the bridal chamber with the Bridegroom (Logos/Son of God) -- i.e., "The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut" (Matt 25:10). The portrayal of a virgin is that of purity and undefiled by this world
-- and it is used throughout scriptures as an allegorical symbol of purified and
undefiled flesh. In the Gospel According to the Hebrews -- often portrayed
as the Original Hebrew Gospel of Matthew -- the Mother of Jesus is portrayed as
the Holy Spirit. And when the subsequent stage of non-physical birth is
understood, the Virgin birth is an (allegorical) portrayal of when a disciple
achieves the next stage of (non-physical) birth -- i.e.,
when Jesus conveyed to Nicomedus that
"...Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born
again, he cannot see the kingdom of God". And when Nicomedus
did not understand the threefold process of birth, Jesus then asked how
Nicodemus could be called a teacher, and not know these spiritual realities:
"...Nicodemus answered and said to Him, How can these
things be? Jesus answered and said to him, Are you the teacher of Israel, and
do not know these things?" It is important to grasp the depth of the
words that when Nicodemus did not grasp the reality of achieving the next stage
of birth -- stating that a "teacher of Israel"
should understand the process of the additional three subsequent stages of birth
that must be brought about -- where, Jesus replied:
Most assuredly, I say to you,
We speak what
We know and testify what
We have seen, and you
do not receive Our witness. If I have told you earthly things and you do not
believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?" (John
3:1-12 NKJ). These very words -- i.e., "...If I have
told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell
you heavenly things" -- has perpetually plagued faith-based
Christians who lack an understanding of the allegorical symbols and catalysts of
the Gospels that are used to employ the deeper spiritual meaning that is beyond
the comprehension of "natural" organic man.
Thus, the next stage of birth that Jesus told Nicodemus each person must bring
about, is achieved through the refinement and purity of the flesh which enables
the disciple to bring about the non-physical Virgin Birth through our Spiritual
Mother, the Holy Spirit, and the Generative Power of God.
It is written:
"He
who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who
overcomes, to him I will give of the hidden manna"
(Rev 2:17). The Divine Manna or Sacred Knowledge
is portrayed as the Spiritual
Eucharist, and can only be received by those who put on the required Wedding
Garment of Purity, and come to TheCall -- i.e., "It is
the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak
unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63). The
Sacraments of the Church of this world -- i.e., baptism, the Eucharist and
marriage performed by man -- are ritual observances of the flesh that at best,
are incomplete that without the ordination of the spirit,
"profiteth nothing". And while an
authority in the Church may perform the ritual, the reality of the observance is
dependent upon the purity of the heart and thoughts of the mind. Yet, even
those who partake of the ritual in an unpurified manner that is celebrated in
the Churches as an allegorical symbol of receiving the Body and Blood of Christ,
invoke judgment upon themselves. When Paul wrote and warned that
whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will
be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord -- i.e.,
"Therefore whoever eats this bread or
drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and
blood of the Lord. Let a person
examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone
who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on
himself" (1 Cor 11:27-29) -- the question should be posed as to what
constitutes a lack of discernment? While a more exacting translation of the
above is found in many of the older versions which state:
"eateth and drinketh damnation to himself",
few Christians who have been taught the modern man-made doctrines of the Church,
are able to understand how a baptized and confirmed Christian can eat and drink
damnation and
judgment for their failure to properly discern the Lord's
body.
The Gospel teachings of Jesus and the New Covenant
which were originally known as TheWay -- i.e., "I
worship the God of our fathers As a follower of The Way" (Acts 24:14
NIV) -- has specific Sacraments -- and the spiritual significance of these
sacraments are not at all understood today. In the parable of TheCall to the
Wedding Feast, what is portrayed as the required
"wedding garment" is in fact the sacrament of baptism. And those
who failed to put on the required "wedding garment", were cast into the "outer
darkness of mind and being" -- i.e., "'Bind him hand
and foot, take him away, and throw him into the outer darkness; there is where
the weeping and grinding of teeth will be.' For many are called, but few chosen"
(Matt 22:1-14). And it is this condition of the
"outer darkness" that enslaves and inhibits the prodigal sons and
daughter from remembering when they dwelt in the Edenic Kingdom prior to their
journey into this, the Far Country. But the original teachings on baptism
was totally abandoned by the segment of early Gentile Church which portrayed
itself as Orthodox, and it is this man-made dogma that has caused the original
teachings on baptism to not only be different, but in conflict with what is
practiced among Christians today. In total rejection of the modern dogma of the
Church, Paul writes that "...For if we sin deliberately
after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice
for sins, but a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fury of fire which will
consume the adversaries." (Heb 6:4-6;10:26-27 RSV). Peter confirms
the foregoing in the words: "It would have been better
for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and
then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them."
Paul again warns that those who sin after coming to the Lord
"eateth and drinketh damnation to himself".
And while Christians have blindly chosen to ignore these warnings, they are
confirmed in the Homilies of Clement who was the first century disciple of the
Apostle Peter where Peter is quoted as stating with respect to the sacrament of
Baptism: "He has commanded us to go forth to preach,
and to invite you to the supper of the heavenly King, which the Father hath
prepared for the marriage of His Son, and that we should give you wedding
garments, that is, the grace of baptism; which whosoever obtains,
as a spotless robe
with which he is to enter to the supper of the King,
ought to beware that
it be not in any part of it stained with sin,
and so he be
rejected as unworthy and reprobate."
Contrary to the modern usage of the sacrament of baptism, according to Peter,
once the "wedding garment" is received, if
the person then willfully sins, then the wedding garment is stained, and there
can be no further repentance -- i.e., you "...ought to
beware that it be not in any part of it stained with sin, and so he be rejected
as unworthy and reprobate."
The most popular and accepted scripture over the
first three centuries was the Shepherd of Hermas (see
Shepherd), which states
that once one receives the sacrament of baptism which is the
"wedding garment", there is only one
opportunity for repentance from any future sins -- i.e., "For
he that hath received remission of sins ought no longer to sin, but to dwell in
purity. ...But I say unto you', saith he, `if after this great and holy calling
any one, being tempted of the devil, shall commit sin, he hath only one
(opportunity of) repentance." While this original teaching will be
rejected by the modern dogmatic Church who uses the Jesus-god of Constantine as
an exemption from being required to live in accord with the Commandments and the
Original Gospel Teachings, this statement in the Shepherd of Hermas is in fact
confirmed by Paul in the warning: "For it is impossible
to restore again to repentance those who ...then commit apostasy, since they
crucify the Son of God on their own account and hold him up to contempt.. For if
we sin deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer
remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fury of
fire which will consume the adversaries." (Heb 6:4-6;10:26-27
RSV). Thus, Acts 3:19 confirms the original teachings that baptism -- as the
required wedding garment -- must constitute a total repentance from sin, and the
living of a life where the believer does not consciously commit any future sin:
"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may
be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may
send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you...". The phrase
"that he may send the Messiah" is important
when properly translated into the English languish -- i.e.,
(1)
when you repent;
(2) then turn to God with the Whole of your mind and being;
(3)
that your change of mind and purification from sin may be brought about;
(4)
and that after what is portrayed as the transformative process portrayed as
"...times of refreshing may come from the Lord"
that permits the Anointing (Messiah/Christ) of your mind ("...that
he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you...") -- and
this is a portrayal of The End Times - Armageddon/Rapture - The Coming Of The
Kingdom
http://TreeOfLife.Nazirene.org#EndTimes . Jesus made reference to the
people who experienced the Anointing and the Kingdom coming in them when he
stated: "Assuredly, I say to you, there
are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man
coming in His kingdom" (Matt 16:28). In the
Gospel of Thomas this
transformative spiritual process in portryaed in the words:
"Jesus saith,
let not him who seeks cease until he finds, and when he finds he shall be
astonished; astonished he shall reach the kingdom, and having reached the
kingdom he will rest." And thus, only those who put on the
wedding garment of purity and cease to sin can experience the Second Coming and
receive the Anointing (Messiah/Christ). To repent and turn to God,
requires a total change of mind and lifestyle. Those who truly accomplish
this, will personally receive the Anointing (Messiah/Christ), which will open
their minds and enlighten them in accord with their Spiritual Condition.
Therefore, unless one receives the
Spiritual Baptism that is Ordained by God (not man), they cannot receive the
Spiritual Eucharist -- i.e., the Divine Manna of the Kingdom -- which can only
be received by those who put on the unspotted Wedding Garment of Purity and come
to TheCall, it will remain impossible
for them to understand both the true meaning of the scriptures, as well as the
Higher Reality of the Soul and the Kingdom of God. In the Homilies of
Clement who was the first century disciple of the Apostle Peter, Peter is quoted
as stating with respect to the sacrament of Baptism: "He
has commanded us to go forth to preach, and to invite you to the supper of the
heavenly King, which the Father hath prepared for the marriage of His Son, and
that we should give you wedding garments, that is, the grace of baptism; which
whosoever obtains, as a spotless robe with which he is to enter to the supper of
the King, ought to beware that it be not in any part of it stained with sin, and
so he be rejected as unworthy and reprobate."
In the early pre-Nicene scripture known as the
Shepherd of Hermas,
which was the most popular scripture used by the early Gentile Church over the
first three centuries, a reference is made to a tower, of which it is written:
“And the tower, I asked, what does it mean? This tower,
he replied, is the Church. And these virgins, who are they? They are Holy
Spirits, and men cannot otherwise be found in the kingdom of God unless these
have put their clothing upon them: for if you receive the name only, and do not
receive from them the clothing, they are of no advantage to you. For these
virgins are the powers of the Son of God. If you bear His name but possess not
His power, it will be in vain that you bear His name”.
The Clothing that is made reference
to, is the required "wedding garment" of
spiritual purity. And in understanding what is written, it is most
important for us to be aware of the continual message found in the words:
“If you bear His name but possess not His power, it will
be in vain that you bear His name”. Thus, if you call yourselves
Christian, but fail to purify and develop your mind and body from the
defilements of this world -- and do not possess the true Knowledge of the
Spiritual Christ by receiving the Spiritual Eucharist directly from the
Indwelling Logos/Son of God -- and have not yourselves inherited the same higher
powers of mind that the Son of God promised all his followers would possess --
then “it will be in vain that you bear His name”.
Where the Church Authority Hippolytus
who is quoted above portrays Jesus becoming the Anointed (Messiah/Christ) by fulfilling the Law, the relationship of a Holy Man who can be portrayed as s Spiritual Virgin who fulfills the Law within his own Mind and Being was noted by Gibbon who wrote that Jesus was portrayed by his direct followers as being in “...supernatural union of a man and God... In their eyes, Jesus of Nazareth was a mere mortal, the legitimate son of Joseph and Mary: but he was the best and wisest of the human race, selected as the worthy instrument to restore upon earth the worship of the true and supreme Deity. When he was baptized in the Jordan, the Christ, the first of the aeons, the Son of God himself, descended on Jesus in the form of a dove, to inhabit his mind, and direct his actions during the allotted period of his ministry” (Gibbon; The Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire, V.4, P.366). Thus, when the Holy and Anointed man Jesus became At-One with the Indwelling Logos/Son of God, he entered what in Natural Law was understood to be a Coverture
Marriage Relationship -- which is founded upon the concept that woman was an integral part of the man as seen and demonstrated in our laws that predated our so-called modern times. In Blackstone's Law Commentary, under the Common Law, Book II, Chapter XXIX, VI, marriage is described as the absolute merger of husband and wife into a single legal identity: “…By marriage, the husband and wife are one person in law... The very being or legal existence of the woman is suspended during the marriage, or at least is incorporated and consolidated into that of the husband, under whose wing, protection, and cover she performs everything; and is therefore called… a femme-covert; and her condition during her marriage is called her coverture”. In Law, the concept of the unity of husband and wife as a single person was so complete, that a married woman was even absolved of full criminal responsibility for her own conduct: “…criminal acts committed by a woman in her husband's presence were assumed to be done under the husband's command, and he was therefore held responsible” (The Law of Domestic Relations by Homer Clark, St. Paul, Minn, West Publishing Co., 1968, p. 229). As U.S. Supreme Court Justice Black observed: “…this rule has worked out in reality to mean that though the husband and wife are one, the one is the husband” (Law, Society, and Industrial Justice by Philip Selznick, New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1969, p. 53). And it is this Coverture relationship that is portrayed in the 22nd saying of the Gospel of Thomas when the disciples asked about how the Kingdom is to be entered:
Jesus said to them, "When you make the two one, and when you make the inside like the outside and the outside like the inside, and the above like the below, and when you make the male and the female one and the same, so that the male not be male nor the female female; ...then will you enter the kingdom."
By fulfilling the Law and restoring the duality of Adam
(male) and Eve (female) and the Tree of Duality within himself (see The Restoral Of Adam And Eve http://TreeOfLife.Nazirene.org#RestoralOfAdamEve ), the man Jesus who had achieved the purity of what can be portrayed as a Spiritual Virgin, became Anointed (Messiah/Christ), and was able to enter into a Coverture Marriage with the Logos/Son of God -- as seen in the above words of Gibbon: "...When he was baptized in the Jordan, the Christ, the first of the aeons, the Son of God himself, descended on Jesus in the form of a dove, to inhabit his mind, and direct his actions during the allotted period of his ministry” And the relationship of the man Jesus who entered into a Coverture Marriage with the Logos/Son of God, is therefore portrayed in the above words:
“…By marriage (At-Onement), the husband and wife are one person in law... The very being or legal existence of the woman is suspended during the marriage, or at least is incorporated and consolidated into that of the husband, under whose wing, protection, and cover she performs everything; and is therefore called… a femme-covert; and her condition during her marriage is called her coverture”.
Paul could not speak openly about the
spiritual meaning of the Gospel, because "natural"
organic man who dwells in the "outer darkness"
of mind and being (see Outer
Darkness), is incapable of perceiving or understanding with any depth of
mind and consciousness. His carnal idea of God is a being that is separate
from himself. Carnal man is incapable of understanding that the person he
is in this world is a three-dimensional projected image of his True-Self that is
a twelve-dimensional Being of Light (see
http://BeingOfLight.com ) -- and that his True-Self can be portrayed as a
single Neuron in the Mind of God (Logos). That each of
us is an embryonic expression of God, is the reason why the man Jesus stated
that "I can do nothing on my own" (John
5:30). And why the man Jesus stated that "I have
not spoken on My own, but the Father who sent Me has commanded Me what to say
and how to say it" (John 12:49). And further
stated: "Do
you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that
I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me
does his works" (John 14:10). That all of
mankind is connected together within the Mind of God, is openly stated:
“And He has made from one blood every nation of
men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed
times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord,
in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far
from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also
some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring’”
(Acts 17:26-28 NKJ). Thus, the portrayal of mankind that
"For we are also His offspring’” -- and the reality that
"...for in Him we live and move and have our being"
must be understood that what is being portrayed in the present environment of
the world in which we are presently dwelling.
Jesus said that,
"Is it not written in your Law, 'I have said you are 'gods'" (John
10:34) -- because each of us dwells in the Mind of God -- and is an expression
of God. And this is confirmed in the quotation of the Apostle Peter as
quoted in the Homilies of his disciple Clement where he explains:
"...For
he is within the mind of every one of us, but in those who have no desire of the
knowledge of God and His righteousness, He is inoperative; but He works in those
who seek after that which is profitable to their souls, and kindles in them the
light of knowledge. Wherefore seek Him first of all; and if you do not find Him,
expect not that you shall learn anything from any other. But
He is soon found by those who diligently seek Him through love of the truth, and
whose souls are not taken possession of by wickedness. For He is present with
those who desire Him in the innocence of their spirits, who bear patiently, and
draw sighs from the bottom of their hearts through love of the truth; but He
deserts malevolent minds, because as a prophet He knows the thoughts of every
one. And therefore let no one think that he can find Him by his own wisdom,
unless, as we have said, he empty his mind of all wickedness, and conceive a
pure and faithful desire to know Him. For when any one has so prepared himself,
He Himself as a prophet, seeing a mind prepared for Him, of His own accord
offers Himself to his knowledge” What Peter is stating is that
while the Logos exists at the core of all of mankind, (1)
"...in those who have no desire of the knowledge of God and His
righteousness, He is inoperative"; (2)
"...But He is soon found by those who diligently seek Him through love of the
truth"; (3) the True Prophet "...deserts
malevolent minds, because as a prophet He knows the thoughts of every one".
That Jesus as our elder spiritual
brother is an example that is true of all of mankind, is presented in the words:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me
will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do,
because I am going to the Father" (John 14:12). This statement
has perpetually plagued Christians when they are confronted with the issue of
why they cannot do the works and the miracles that Jesus did? If Jesus
promised that
"...whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater
works than these will he do", then why can't
Christians perform these works? The Answer: Because they don't believe in
the Jesus of the Gospels -- they believe in the Jesus of the Church that was
created in the fourth century. They interpret the Gospels in the manner of
the Jews by throwing away the Key of Knowledge (see The Application Of
The Key Of Knowledge
http://KeyOfKnowledge.org#ApplicationOfTheKeyOfKnowledge ).
And because the modern Christians look outwardly for what can only be found
inwardly, modern Christians cannot even be counted as believers.
Further, Jesus answered and said unto them,
"Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do
this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain,
Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done"
(Matt 21:21) -- and this statement is true when it is turned within the mind of
the believer.
All those who put on
the required "wedding garment", and come to
TheCall, become nourished by the Divine Manna, and enter into a
Coverture
Marriage/Union with the Logos/Son of God
-- thereby consciously fulfilling the statement of Jesus that
"The Spirit
will show you what is true. The people of this world cannot accept the Spirit,
because they don't see or know him. But you know the Spirit, who is with you and
will keep on living in you" (John 14:17). When
Jesus warned that "The
world is unable to receive Him because it doesn't see Him or know Him"
-- when those who call themselves Christians, throw away the
Key of Knowledge in the manner of the
Jews, and worship the Jesus-god of the Church of Constantine, then the
spiritually defiled faith-based believers, cannot
"know the Spirit", with defiled wedding
garments, they can't
enter into a Coverture
Marriage/Union with the Logos/Son of God, and neither can they
be drawn into the Inner Kingdom. They
therefore do not believe in the Jesus of the Gospel, and because of their
unbelief, they cannot "do
the works that [Jesus] did; and greater works than these [they cannot] do"
-- i.e., "Nothing impure will ever
enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful"
(Rev 21:27 NIV). This same truth was expressed by Isaiah where it is written:
"And a highway will be there; it will
be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be
for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it"
(Isa 35:8 NIV). And this same truth is expressed in the words of Jesus when he
warned:
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the
gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few
find it" (Matt 7:13-14). The
"narrow way" is within you.
Was Jesus
God? As explored above: Because the man Jesus had -- over
the course of many lifetimes -- achieved the Virgin Purity necessary to enter
into a Coverture-Union/Marriage
with the Indwelling Logos/Son of God, it could be paradoxically stated that
Jesus was God Incarnate -- but paradoxically, Jesus correctly taught that all of
mankind has this same potential ability. And it is this same invitation
to fulfill the Law within one's own self -- i.e., that if "...any one else fulfilled the commandments of the Law, he would have been the Christ" (see
above) -- is extended to all of mankind in the parable of TheCall to the Wedding Feast (see http://TheCall.Nazirene.org ).
If the Kingdom of God is within us -- and the Source of our Consciousness is in
fact God ("...for in Him we live and move and have our
being") -- and we are able to enter into a
Coverture Marriage with the Logos/Son of God
-- then when we speak, it is the Logos speaking through us:
"But
when they hand you over, do not worry about how to respond or what to say. In
that hour you will be given what to say. For it will not be you speaking, but
the Spirit of your Father speaking through you" (Mat 10:19-20).
As stated by
Supreme Court
Justice Black with respect to a
Coverture Marriage when he made the
observation: “…this rule has worked out in reality to mean that though the husband and wife are one, the one is the husband”.
And it was therefore the Logos (a.k.a. Son of God) who spoke through the man
Jesus and stated: “Truly, truly, I say to you, before
Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58) -- which words was
"the Spirit of your Father speaking through you"
-- as Jesus explained:
"Believest thou not that I am in
the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I say unto you I speak not from
myself: but the Father abiding in me doeth his works"
(John 14:10).
Therefore, the Original Gospel Teachings were set forth to the lost prodigal sons and daughters how to enter into a
Coverture Marriage with the Logos/Son of God
-- and the Original Gospel teachings did not tell people what to believe -- but rather, how to tap into the Universal Source of Truth within them, and Experience the Truth.
Jesus taught his followers: "If you stick with this, living out what I tell you, you are my disciples for sure. Then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you" (John 8:31-32 TheMessage). Jesus didn't say that they would believe the truth -- or that they would discern what they believed would be dogmatic truth out of the scriptures or some book written by other men -- but rather, Jesus conveyed to them that if they follow in TheWay of the New Covenant that he inaugurated, that they "...will experience for yourselves the truth, ...and it is this SELF-EXPERIENCED TRUTH that...will free you" from the error and ignorance that consumes the people of this world -- and especially the blind guides who portray themselves as rabbis, teachers, clergy, religious leaders and authorities.
That the historical man Jesus was a true Holy Man who became the Anointed (Messiah/Christ) by fulfilling the Royal Law within himself, is attested to at Acts 2:22 where Jesus is portrayed as "a man, attested to you by God" -- and this was demonstrated by God performing "mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst". If Jesus was himself God incarnate as believed by the later Romans, then these words portraying Jesus as a man approved by God through the works and wonders that God did through him, never would have been presented in this manner. When the people questioned the source of Jesus' words, he called himself a prophet: "So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house" (Matt 13:57). And not only did he call himself a prophet, but spoke of the crucifixion as his ultimate process of perfection: "On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You. And He said to them, Go, tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.' Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem" (Luke 13:31-33). And when the man approached Jesus calling him good teacher, Jesus rejected the title stating: "So Jesus said to him, Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God" (Mark 10:18). And when Jesus replied to the question as to how a person is to enter into life, he stated: "If you want to enter life, keep the commandments" (Matt 19:17).
When it was recognized that the man was asking Jesus about how to achieve eternal life -- and that Jesus did not reply to believe in him (Jesus) as God -- but to keep the Law and the Commandments -- then the Ebionite position that Jesus became the Anointed (Messiah/Christ) by fulfilling the Law -- and that it was necessary for Jesus' disciples and followers to in like manner fulfill the Law and keep the Commandments -- is exactly what Jesus the Anointed Prophet taught and expected of those who believed in what he taught. Now if you add to the above the very words attributed to Jesus, we can
then understand both the original Ebionite position that the followers of Jesus must keep the Law, and the profound spiritual ignorance which rejects the requirement of actions as an integral part of the equation: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matt 5:17-26 NIV). How
does the follower/disciple of Jesus both keep the Law and fulfill the
requirement that, "...unless your
righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you
will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven"? By fulfilling
the Royal law within your own mind and being, and therefore becoming transformed
into the Living Consecrated Temple that enters into a
Coverture Marriage with the Logos/Son of God?
posted by Brother Of Yeshua @ 7:43 AM
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