James Padgett (1852-1923) was an attorney who discovered his gift of mediumship late in life after his wife and soulmate, Helen, had passed over. He received many messages from Helen and higher spirits of the Celestial Kingdom, such as Jesus, John, Paul, and hundreds more. The messages were published as "The True Gospel Revealed Anew by Jesus" in the mid-1900s by the Foundation Church of the New Birth.
Titles in this section:
1) What Is Meant by the New Birth?
2) What Is Divine Love?
3) How the Soul of a Mortal Receives the Divine Love
4) Receiving the Divine Love of the Father
5) The Condition of the Soul When Divine Love Flows Into It
6) The Only Way to the Celestial Kingdom
7) Jesus' Teachings of Divine Love Were Not Preserved in the Bible
8) In the End, Love Will Prevail
9) Why Jesus' True Teachings Were Lost
10) What Is it That Makes a Man Divine?
11) New Thought and the Importance of Knowing the Truth of the New Birth
12) The Spheres of Progression in the Spirit World
13) Natural Love Is Not Divine
14) The Kingdom of the Perfect Man - How Can it Be Established?
15) The Sixth Sphere - The Kingdom of God in the Spiritual Heavens
16) The Natural Love - When Does its Progress End?
17) Making Our Own the Truths of the Father
1) What Is Meant by the New Birth?
Back to Top
James:
No founder of any race or sect has ever taught the New Birth, or the inflowing of the Divine Love in contradistinction to that of the natural love. And the teachings of Jesus are the only ones that reveal to man the existence of this Divine Love, and how to obtain it. So you see the importance of this truth coming to man. I must say here that without the possession of this Love no spirit can enter the Celestial Spheres.
The teachings of the other founders will show men the way to a life of happiness, and to what they may suppose will be continuous existence. But the teachings of Jesus are the only ones that declare and lead men to a realization of the true immortality of the soul.
Source: www.divinelove.org/volume1/v1-63.htm
Luke:
Then what is meant by the New Birth?
Men in their understanding and interpretation of it differ, and it will do no good for me to recite these different interpretations or what the New Birth is not, but the important thing is what it is.
As I have said, the potentiality that was conferred upon our first parents was the privilege of obtaining the divine nature and immortality of the Father by becoming possessed of His Great attribute of Divinity – the Divine Love. And had our first parents by their obedience received the benefits of this great privilege, they would have been born again, as you and all other mortals, and spirits as well, may now be born again.
Then the New Birth is simply the effect of the flowing into the soul of a man of this Divine Love of the Father and the disappearing of everything that tends to sin and error. As the Divine Love takes possession of the soul, sin and error disappear; it, the soul, becomes of a quality like the great soul of the Father, and the soul of the Father in its quality of love being divine and immortal, so when the soul of man becomes possessed of this quality of love, this soul becomes divine also – and the soul is the man – and then the image becomes the substance, the mortal becomes the immortal, and the soul of man, as to love and hope, becomes a part of the Father’s divinity.
Now to declare this plan of salvation and also the rebestowal of the great gift of the potentiality of the soul, Jesus came to earth. This was his mission and none other. As readers of the Bible will remember, and it is a truth, when Jesus was baptized and anointed, and also on the Mount of Transfiguration, the voice of God, as it is written, declared that Jesus was His well-beloved son and demanded of the people “Hear ye him.” Not to believe that he came to die on the cross, not to believe that his blood would bring about the atonement, not to believe in any vicarious atonement or that God in wrath demanded a sacrifice, but only, “Hear ye him.” And Jesus in all his teachings never one of these things, but only the New Birth as I have explained it. This is the only thing necessary to the atonement, and he is still teaching it.
He also taught moral truths affecting the conduct and relation of man to man, and man to God in his natural state, but none of these things or moral teachings was sufficient to bring about the Great At-onement. There is no doubt that the observance of many of these teachings of morality and of man’s conduct towards God will have a tendency to lead men to seek the higher Love of the Father and help their souls to get in the condition that will make it easier for this Great Love to flow into them, but these moral teachings or prescribed conduct will not, of themselves, be sufficient to bring the New Birth, and hence the at-one-ment.
Now Jesus not only taught the necessity for the New Birth, but he also taught the way in which it could be obtained, and that way is just as simple and easily understood as the New Birth itself. He taught, and is now teaching, that through earnest prayer to the Father, and faith, which makes all aspirations and soul longings things of real existence, and by the Holy Spirit, which is the Father’s messenger of love – or to carry His Divine Love – this Love will flow into the souls of men in response to such prayers, and by such faith men will realize its presence and in this way, and this way only, men will receive the New Birth.
This is wholly an individual matter, and without the personal earnest prayer of the supplicant, and faith that comes with the love, a man cannot receive the New Birth. No ceremony of church, no laying on of hands or Masses for the souls of the dead will be efficacious to make the man or spirit a new creature in God.
Source: www.divinelove.org/volume1/v1-58.htm
2) What is Divine Love?
Back to Top
Jesus:
Now, here it had better be understood what this Divine Love was and is, for it is the same today that it was when man was created in the image of God. This love differs from the natural love of man with which he was endowed when created and which belongs to all men and which they all possess in a more or less perfect condition, in this: The Divine Love is that love which belongs to or is part of God, possessing His nature and composed of His substance, and which when possessed by man to a sufficient degree, makes him divine and of the nature of God. This great love God intended should be received and possessed by all men who should desire to receive it and who would make the effort to obtain it.
In all God’s Universe and creation of things material and spiritual the only one of His creatures who can possibly have within him anything of a divine nature is he who possesses this Divine Love.
The bestowal of this Love was intended, in its operation and effect, to transform man from the merely perfect man into the divine angel, and thus create a Kingdom of God in the Celestial Spheres, where only that which is Divine can enter and find a habitation. And you must understand, that as it depends very largely upon man, himself, to establish the Kingdom of God on earth or in the spiritual world, so it also depends largely on man to establish the Kingdom in the Celestial Heavens. God will not and does not by any Power that He may have establish this Divine Kingdom, and if man had never received this Divine Love into his soul, there never would have been any such Kingdom brought into existence.
Source: www.divinelove.org/volume1/v1-09.htm
John:
This Love is the greatest thing in all the world, and the only thing that can make man at-one with the Father, and change the soul of man as it has existed since his creation, into a Divine Substance filled with the Essence of the Father. There is nothing else in all the universe of God that can cause man to become a new creature, and an inhabitant of the Father’s Kingdom; and when men possess this Love, then they possess everything that will make them not only the perfect man but the divine angel.
It is so abundant that it may be possessed by all men by the mere seeking and the sincere desire for its inflowing. But man must understand that it is not his by matter of right, nor is it ever forced upon him, but comes only in response to the sincere, earnest prayer of a soul that is filled with longings for its coming.
It is greater than faith or hope, because it is the real substance of the Father, while faith and hope are the qualities which a man may possess by his own efforts, and which are given him that he may realize the possibility of obtaining this Love. They are merely means – it is the end and fullness of their exercise.
But this Divine Love is not a part of man’s nature nor can he obtain or possess it, except he seek for it. It comes from without and is not developed from within.
It is the result of individual acquirement, and not the object of universal possession. It may be possessed by all, it can be possessed by only a few, and each man must determine for himself whether it shall be his. With God there is no respect of persons, neither is there any royal road to the obtaining of this love. All must pursue the same way and that way is the one that Jesus taught – the opening up of the soul to this love finding a lodgment therein, which can be brought about only by sincere prayer and longing for its inflowing.
This love is the life of the Celestial Heavens and the only key that will unlock the gates, and when the mortal enters therein, all other love is absorbed by it. It has not substitute, and is of itself, a thing apart. It is of the essence of the divine, and the spirit which possesses it is divine itself. It may be yours, it may be all men’s and it may not. You must decide that question for yourself, not even the Father can make the decision for you.
In closing let me repeat that it is the greatest thing in all God’s universe and not only the greatest, but the sum of all things, for from it flows every other thing that brings peace and happiness.
Source: www.divinelove.org/volume1/v1-13.htm
3) How the Soul of a Mortal Receives the Divine Love
Back to Top
Jesus:
As you know, the inflowing of this Love is caused by its bestowal by the Holy Spirit in response to sincere prayer and longings. I mean prayer and longings for the Love itself, and not prayers in general, for the material benefits that men more often and more naturally, as they believe, ask for and desire. The prayers of mortals for these things that may tend to make the successful and happy in their natural love are answered also, if it be best that they should be, but these are not the prayers that bring the Divine Love or cause the Holy Spirit to work with men.
As the prayers of the sincere, earnest soul ascend to the Father, that soul becomes opened up to the inflowing of this Love and the soul’s perceptions enlarge and come more in rapport with the conditions or influence that always accompanies the presence of this Love, and, consequently, its entrance into the soul becomes easier and its reception more perceptible to the soul sense. The more earnest the prayer and sincere the longings, the sooner faith comes and with this faith, the realization that the Divine Love is permeating the soul.
When once the Divine Love finds a lodgment in the soul, it, to the extent that it receives the Love, becomes as it were a changed substance, partaking of the essence of the Love, and as water may become colored by an ingredient foreign to itself, and which changes not only its appearance but its qualities, so this Divine Love changes the appearance and qualities of the soul, and this change of qualities continues ever thereafter. The natural qualities of the soul and the essence of the Love become one and united, and the soul is made altogether different in its constituency from what it was before the inflowing of the Love, but this only to the extent of the Love received.
As this love increases in quantity, the change and transformation becomes correspondingly greater, until at last the transformation may and will become so great that the whole soul becomes a thing of this divine essence and partakes of its very nature and substance, a being of divinity.
When once this love enters and truly possesses the soul and works the change mentioned, it, the Love, never leaves or disassociates itself from the soul – its character of divine essence never changes to that of the mere natural love, and so far as it is present, sin and error have no existence, because it is just as impossible for this essence and sin and error to occupy the same parts of the soul at the same time as it is for two material objects to occupy the same space at the same time, as your philosophers say.
Divinity never gives place to that which is not of the divine. Man is working towards the attainment of the divine when he pursues the way provided for obtaining the divine nature, and as he advances and obtains a portion of this divine, no matter how small, he can never retrace his steps to the extent of ridding himself of this transforming essence, and again become without its presence.
But this does not mean that a man may not lose the consciousness of the existence of this essence within his soul, for he frequently does. The indulgence of his carnal appetites and evil desires will place him in the condition that he may cease to have a consciousness of the existence of the Divine Love in his soul and to himself, he will be as if he never had any experience of the change that I speak of.
And while this Love can never be eradicated by the evils that man may indulge in or by the mental beliefs that he may acquire, yet the progress of this Love in his soul may be checked and become stagnant, as if the Love were not, and sin and error may appear to be the only dominant elements of his life and being. But yet, when once possessed, the Love cannot be crowded out of his soul by sin and error, no matter how deep and intense they may be.
I know that this may seem strange and impossible to man’s intellectual thinking, and that it is not in accordance with what has been attributed to me as teaching that a soul may be lost, nevertheless, a soul that has once received this Divine Essence cannot be lost, though its want of realization of the presence of this Love and its awakening from its dormant condition, caused by sin and error and its misdirected beliefs, may delay its manifestation of life and existence for a long time and much suffering and darkness may have to be endured by the soul that is in such condition.
And I must not be understood by this as meaning that a soul cannot be lost, for it can, and many have been and will be, and many will realize the fact when too late.
Source: www.divinelove.org/volume1/v1-150.htm
4) Receiving the Divine Love of the Father
Back to Top
Jesus:
As I have before said, this love never forces itself into the souls of men, and comes only when men seek for it in sincerity and with effort. It is waiting for all men to receive it, but never comes into the soul of its own initiative, and without invitation. So the important question is, how does it come into the soul and what must men do to induce its inflowing.
There is only one way and that is by the opening up of the soul in such a manner that this Love, when it comes in response to sincere seeking, may find an entrance and a condition of development that will cause it to find lodgment and abiding place, harmonious and satisfactory to the qualities of its own existence. Of course, man cannot of himself open up his soul to this inflowing, for, while he has great power, yet the will is not sufficient; nor has he any other inherent qualities that will enable him to place his soul in such condition as to make possible the work of the Holy Spirit in causing the love to flow into the soul.
The only means by which this can be accomplished are prayer and faith. When a man in true earnestness and sincere aspirations, prays to the Father for this Divine Love, such prayer not only brings Love, but causes those portions of the soul which are capable of receiving this Love to open up to its coming and to work in such a way as to attract the Love.
As I said when on earth, there is no other way to get into the sheepfold (the Celestial Heavens) but through the gateway provided – he that attempts to climb over the fence is a thief and a robber. But this should be modified to fit the exact fact, for there is no possibility of getting into this fold by climbing the fence. There is only one way – that through the gate of prayer and sincere longing.
The Divine Love is a thing entirely apart from the nature of man, even in its purest state, and was never conferred on man as was the natural love, and, consequently, when man obtains this Divine Love and it becomes a part of his soul qualities, his nature, as it were, changes, and he becomes a new creature. An additional something has been conferred upon him, and it becomes impossible for him to remain the mere man that he was, and he always would be, except for this change in his nature.
I know that men do not understand the distinction between a man with only the natural love and one with the Divine Love, but the distinction is so great, that the one, when possessed to a sufficient degree, makes the man a part of Divinity, while the other, no matter how fully possessed and how pure it may become, makes man merely man, though a perfect one.
Whosoever will pray in sincerity for the inflowing of this Divine Love will receive it. It is not a respecter of persons, and the sincere aspirations of the soul of any man, be he prince or peasant, rich or poor, will invariably cause this love to come into his soul and change his nature, so that he will become a new creature, and one not subject to death forevermore.
The merely intellectual prayers are not efficacious, for it does not have any effect in opening up the soul, and neither does much of this praying do the work. One little moment of this true praying will be more effective in causing this Divine Love to flow towards the soul than a whole lifetime of idle repetition of prayers that come from a source merely mental. And here let me say that the mind is not the soul, and much less God.
Well, I think I have made plain how this love flows into a man’s soul, and in addition what its effect is, when possessed by man. There is nothing in all God’s universe that can take its place for the purpose of making a man at-one with the Father, and of causing him to become Divine insofar as he possesses this Love.
So I say to all men, pray and pray and never cease to pray for the inflowing of this Love, for there is no limit to its abundance, or the amount which man or spirit can obtain. Always in the Celestial Heavens, we spirits continually pray for an increased bestowal, and always our prayers are answered, but always there is more to follow.
Source: www.divinelove.org/volume2/v2-227.htm
5) The Condition of the Soul When Divine Love Flows Into It
Back to Top
John the Apostle:
As you know, the soul in the condition in which man possesses it before the entrance of the Divine Love is not in accord with the love of God, nor is it a part of the great Oversoul. It is only a special creation made in the image of the Father, having in it the natural love which was conferred upon man at the time of his creation, and not having in it any part of the essence of the Father, or any quality that makes it of the divine nature of the Father, or necessarily immortal.
But when the Divine Love enters into it, and it becomes permeated, as it were, with the Divine Essence, then it takes on the divine nature of the Father, and to the extent that it receives and possesses this Love it becomes at-one with God and ceases to be a mere image, and becomes transformed into the substance.
The soul in this condition is altogether a different entity from the soul in the condition in which it was created and no longer is subject to the dominion of either the mind or of the animal appetites and desires, and, hence, the spirit possessing such a soul is, in essence, a part of the Father, or as Jesus said, is in the Father and the Father in it.
Now, do not understand that such a soul is the soul that man originally possessed with increased development of purity and goodness or freedom from sin, because such is not the case. Such soul by such transformation becomes a new thing, and never again can it relapse into the soul of man’s origin; because of the qualities that it then possesses it becomes immortal, and such immortal nature can never be taken from it.
It is now a thing of love and purity, and consciousness of its true condition is always with the spirit that has such soul.
This transformation is gradual, and men must not think that by the mere act of conversion from their state of death they at once become possessed of the nature of the divine, for such is not the fact. The transformation is gradual and comes according to the susceptibility of the souls to receive this love of which I speak. But when once the inflowing of the love commences it continues eternally although there may be times of stagnation and apparent loss of this Divine Essence, yet always is the transformation taking place, and at certain stages in its progress, the possession of this Divine Love will be so great that the original soul, or its original qualities will entirely disappear and leave only the new qualities which the Divine Love has implanted in it. The leaven when once deposited never ceases t o work until the whole shall become leavened.
I will not write more tonight, but only further say, that this condition of transformation may be obtained by all men if they will only seek for it in the proper way and with faith.
Source: www.divinelove.org/volume2/v2-168.htm
6) The Only Way to the Celestial Kingdom
Back to Top
Jesus:
Then, what is the way that leads to this Celestial Kingdom? The only way? For there is but one!
When I said, “Except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God,” I disclosed the only and true way to this Kingdom. During my time on earth there were some who understood this great truth, and since that time, there have been some who not only understood this truth, but found the way and followed it until they reached the goal and are now inhabitants of this Kingdom; but the vast majority of men – priests, teachers and people – have never understood, and have never sought to find the way. This great truth to their spiritual senses has been, as it were, a hidden thing; and as they read or even recite the same to their hearers it has no special significance, but is merely as one of the moral precepts, such as “Love your neighbor as yourself,” and with not as much importance attached to it as to some of these moral instructions.
And so, all down the ages since the great kingdom has been waiting for men, they, though in all sincerity and in love towards God, have sought for and to a greater or lesser extent, found only the kingdom of the perfect man, and have neglected to seek for and missed the kingdom of the divine angel.
Then, as I have said, this Divine Love of the Father, when possessed by the soul of man, makes him in his substance and essence divine like unto the divinity of the Father, and only such souls constitute and inhabit the Celestial or divine kingdom of God; and this being so, it must be readily seen that the only way to the Celestial Kingdom is that which leads to the obtaining of this Divine Love, which means the New Birth; and which New Birth is brought about by the flowing into the souls of men this Divine Love, whereby (they receive) the very nature and substance of the Father, and wherefrom men cease to be the merely created beings, but become the souls of men born into the divine reality of God.
Then the only way to the Celestial Kingdom being by the New Birth, and that birth being brought to men only by the inflowing and working of this Divine Love, and whether or not a man shall experience this birth depending in its initiative on the man himself, the question arises how or in what way can a man obtain this Divine Love and this New Birth and the Celestial Kingdom. And because the way is so easy and simple, it may be that men will doubt the truth of my explanation, and continue to believe and place all their hopes upon the orthodox doctrines of the vicarious atonement – the washing of the blood, my sufferings on the cross and bearing all the sins of the world, and my resurrection from the dead – doctrines as harmful to the salvation of mankind as they are without truth or foundation in fact or effect.
The only way, then, is simply this – that men shall believe with all the sincerity of their minds and souls that this great Love of the Father is waiting to be bestowed upon each and all of them, and that when they come to the Father in faith and earnest aspirations, this Love will not be withholden from them. And in addition to this belief, pray with all the earnestness and longings of their souls that He open up their souls to the inflowing of this Love, and that then may come to them the Holy Spirit to bring this Love into their souls in such abundance that their souls may be transformed into the very essence of the Father’s Love.
Source: www.divinelove.org/volume1/v1-09.htm
7) Jesus’ Teachings of Divine Love Were Not Preserved in the Bible
Back to Top
Jesus:
I have attempted to explain to you why the great and important truth of my mission to earth, as I explained it to my apostles, and as was taught by them and written by them, was not preserved and contained in the Bible as now written and accepted by the church as canonical.
The great desire in those days was to show and impress upon men those teachings which affected their conduct on earth, and to hold out to them the rewards that would follow such living, and also the rewards which would follow their lives in the spirit world which would become their homes after death. And, as I have said, the leading of lives in accordance with these teachings would insure men a great happiness in the spirit world, but not the happiness which my teachings, if observed, would lead to.
In the various copyings and compilations of the writings of the apostles many changes from the originals were made, and those persons who performed this work, and I mean by this the dignitaries and rulers of the church, did not know the difference between those things which would bring about a purification of the natural love, and those things which were necessary to fit a soul for entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. And hence, when they came to perform this work they made the error of teaching that the living of the moral life would entitle the soul to a reward which they supposed, would be the Kingdom of Heaven and Immortality.
And this erroneous teaching has prevented many a man from gaining the right to the Kingdom of Heaven, as they honestly and sincerely believed would be theirs, when they came to pass into the spirit world.
Many of these teachings are intended to make a reformation in the lives of men and to purge their souls from sin and error so far as the natural love forms a part of the condition of the soul; and I taught these moral truths to a very large extent, for such teachings were necessary, because men’s wills were out of harmony with God’s laws, which affected the natural love, as well as out of harmony with the laws that affected the Divine Love of the Father; and it is the object and plan of God to bring into harmony both of these loves, and thereby enable man to enjoy those things which are provided and waiting for him.
That all men will ultimately be brought into harmony with God, in either the natural love or in the higher one, is certain; and that all sin and error will finally be eradicated from God’s universe is decreed, but the time will depend to a great extent upon the will and desires of men, and, hence, while my great mission in coming to earth and teaching men was to show the way to the Celestial Kingdom, yet a lesser part of my mission was to teach them a way to their redemption from sin and error that would result in the purification of the natural love; and to my great regret and to the untold injury of man, my moral teachings were more at large set forth in portions of the Bible, as now accepted, than were my teachings of the higher truths.
Source: www.divinelove.org/volume1/v1-51.htm
Paul:
I tell you now, as I have before told you, that the Bible cannot be depended on as containing things that I wrote, for there are many additions to what I wrote, and many omissions of what I wrote; and so with the others whose names are stated as the writers of the New Testament. Many things contained in that book were never written by any of the alleged authors of the book. The writings of any of us are not in existence, and have not been for many centuries; and when they were copied and recopied, great additions and omissions were made, and, at last, doctrines and dogmas were interpolated that we never at anytime believed or wrote.
Source: www.divinelove.org/volume1/V1-90.htm
Luke:
I know that after my own death the writings that I had left were not preserved intact, and that many things that I had incorporated therein, were in the numerous copying and recopyings of my manuscripts left out and ignored, and many things that I did not write and that were not in accord with the truth were inserted by these various successive copyists in their work of reproduction. And many of these omitted things and additions were of vital importance to the truth of things spiritual, as they had been declared by the disciples as containing the truths that Jesus had taught.
Source: www.divinelove.org/volume1/v1-60.htm
8) In the End, Love Will Prevail
Back to Top
Jesus:
Love is the one great thing in God’s economy of real existence. Without it, all would be chaos and unhappiness, but where it exists, harmony and happiness also exist. This I can say, because I know from personal experience that it is true.
Let not men think that God is a God who wants the worship of men with the mere intellectual faculties; that is not true. His Love is the one thing that can possibly unite Him and them. This Love is not the love that is a part of man’s natural existence; the love that men have, who have not received a part of the Divine Love, is not sufficient to make them one with the Father, nor is that love the kind that will enable them to enter the Celestial Spheres and become as the angels who are filled with this Divine Love, and who do always the Will of the Father.
This love is found only in the souls of those who have received it through the ministrations of the Holy Spirit – the only instrument of God’s workings that is used in bringing about the salvation of men.
My Father is not desirous that any man should live through all eternity without this love, but the time will come, and very soon, when the privilege of obtaining this love will be withdrawn from mankind, and when that great event takes place, never afterwards will the privilege be restored, and men who are then without it will be compelled to live through all eternity with only their natural love to comfort them and get whatever happiness they may be able to obtain from such love. Men may think that this time of separation will never come, but in that they are mistaken, and when too late, they will realize it.
The harmony of my Father’s universe is not depending on all men receiving this Divine Love, because in the workings of God’s laws of harmony on men’s souls, all sin and error will be eradicated and only truth will remain. But the mere absence of sin does not mean that all parts of God’s creation will be peopled by spirits and men who are equally happy or who are filled with the same kind of love. The man who is free from sin and has only his natural love will be in perfect harmony with other men possessing the same kind of love, but he will not be in harmony with those spirits who have this Divine Love and the supreme happiness which it gives. And yet, such differences in love and happiness will not create discord or want of harmony in the universe.
But the spirit who has this Divine Love becomes, as it were, a part of divinity itself and will never be subject to temptation or unhappiness. He will be free from all powers that may possibly exist for leading him to unhappiness – as if he were a very god. I mean that his divinity cannot possibly be taken from him by any power or influence or instrumentality in all the universe of God.
This love makes a mortal and sinful man an immortal and sinless spirit, destined to live through all eternity in the presence of and at-one with the Father.
So, if men would only think and realize the importance of obtaining this Divine Love, they would not be so careless in their thoughts and aspirations concerning those things which will determine their future state through all eternity.
Source: www.divinelove.org/volume1/v1-133.htm
9) Why Jesus’ True Teachings Were Lost
Back to Top
Jesus:
I have written that many of my moral teachings are recorded in the Bible, and that I came, or rather my acceptance by the Father as His beloved son, and the reception into my soul of His Divine Love qualified me to teach the way to the several kingdoms; and as was said in that Book, what was lost by the disobedience of the first man was restored by the coming of the second, and that only means, that by reason of the knowledge that came to me of truth and of the laws of harmony that govern God’s universe, I was enabled to teach men the way to a return to the purity and development of their souls in natural love that existed before the great loss caused by the disobedience of the first man.
I was not to bring about this restoration by any great power or Godlike qualities of omniscience that I might be supposed to possess, but merely by teaching men to love God and their brothers, and to pursue that course of living and thinking that would necessarily enable them to renounce sin and evil and come into a state of harmony with the laws of their creation.
Now, while I taught these moral truths, I also taught the great spiritual truths that show men the way to the Celestial Kingdom, for in my communions with the Father there came to me not only the Divine Love which transformed my soul into the substance of the Father in its love qualities, but also the knowledge by which this Divine Love might be acquired and the certain way to the Celestial Kingdom, even though to a degree while in the flesh.
But my spiritual teachings that show the way to the Celestial Kingdom were not so well understood by my hearers – and not even by my intimate disciples – but more so by John, and consequently were not preserved in the Bible, as were my moral teachings. And as to the Bible, I mean the original manuscripts were not written until many years after my death. Even in these manuscripts not many of my teachings as to the way that leads to this Celestial Kingdom, were contained; and afterwards when these manuscripts were copied, and the copies recopied, these important truths were not preserved – scarcely any. Though the fundamental ones, namely, GOD IS LOVE and EXCEPT A MAN BE BORN AGAIN HE CANNOT ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, were retained.
And as time went by and the recopying continued, fewer and fewer of my precepts were preserved, and men came to know less and less of these higher truths, and, consequently, the mere moral teachings became better understood and were used by the teachers and instructors of the masses to lead men to a kingdom of God.
And in addition to this, these leaders changed even these moral truths and the interpretations of the early writers in such a way as to enable these leaders to attain to wealth and power and control over the common people in their beliefs and observances of worship. The God of love then, to a large extent, became a God of hatred and wrath, inflicting punishment upon those who dared to disobey those injunctions that the hierarchy of the church placed upon them as the demands and will of God.
Source: www.divinelove.org/volume1/v1-07.htm
10) What Is it That Makes a Man Divine?
Back to Top
Jesus:
I wish to write tonight on the subject of what it is that makes a man divine.
When man was created he was given the highest qualities that could be bestowed upon a mortal and yet he was mere man, but the perfect one, and with these qualities was given him the possibility of becoming divine like the Father in his nature; but this gift was never possessed by him in its full fruition until after my coming to earth and making known to man that such a possibility existed.
The first created man never possessed this gift in its fulfillment, but merely had the possibility of receiving it, on condition that he continued in his obedience, and made the effort to receive it in the way that the Father declared was the only way.
You have been told in detail what this gift was, and how the first parents forfeited the enjoyment of it by their disobedience and ambition to possess it in a way that was not in accord with the Father's way.
As we have said, man lost this possibility at the time of the first disobedience, and thereafter became gradually a man with his moral nature sinking lower and lower until he became almost lost in the condition of the beasts in the field. And from that condition he has been steadily improving or progressing towards his first estate of purity.
But a great many men have ceased to know or have never known that God is the Creator of all things, and that all creation is dependent upon Him for its very existence, and in their assurance and self importance they have assumed and professed to believe that their progress or salvation depends upon their own efforts, and that these efforts are sufficient to bring about this state of purity or harmony with God’s laws and desires.
But in this men are mistaken, for there is nothing in them that is divine, and there never will be where they depend upon their own selves to progress to this state of perfection. The divine nature of the Father is not in man and will never become a part of him until he pursues the way which is absolutely necessary for him to follow in order to become anything more than mere man.
Source: www.divinelove.org/volume2/v2-95.htm
11) New Thought and the Importance of Knowing the Truth of the New Birth
Back to Top
Jesus:
Let me write just a line for I desire to tell you that I was with you tonight at the convention of the New Thought people and saw the impression made upon you by the discourses, and am pleased that what they said only confirmed your faith in our teachings. They are sincere in their efforts to obtain a knowledge of the truth, but the difficulty is, that while they are free from many of the orthodox teachings of the church, yet they have only the natural love and perceptions of the intellect, and to some extent of the awakened soul in its natural condition.
They know nothing of the Divine Love or the way to the true Kingdom and are depending entirely upon the spiritual feelings that come to them with the consciousness of an awakened soul in its conflict with the things that prevent its purification and development into the perfect man.
These people are to be encouraged in their efforts and teachings so far as they disclose the true, natural condition of man and the possibility of his becoming in harmony with the will of the Father in their natural love, and to that extent they are progressing beyond the old orthodox ideas of what the real man is, and what is incumbent upon him in order to get into the condition of happiness that comes with a purification of his love, and a longing in harmony with the laws of God governing that purification.
It is to be wished that these men will proceed in their teachings and thus give to mankind a knowledge of what man really is, and the possibilities that lie before him when he exercises the inherent powers that exist within. For concerning sin and inharmony, until the great truths of the New Birth and the transformation of the soul, and the wonderful Kingdom of the Celestial Spheres, are made known to men through our teachings of these things, these greater truths which lie beyond the knowledge of men at this time will not be his.
In their search for God they are on the wrong track, and will never find him, if they pursue the search in the way indicated by their discourses.
God is not within men, nor do they live and move and have their being in Him, nor is He everywhere, waiting to be developed by men as they grow better and purer. No, they are mistaken in their thought as to God and His habitation, and will learn when they come into a knowledge of the truth, that God is not in man or in everything that surrounds him, but is separate from him and from the environments in which they live and move, and has His locality in the Highest Heavens, where He works out his purposes, and makes Himself and the evidence of His existence known to men by the energies that control the universe in which men exist. He can only be seen by the soul perceptions of a soul that has been transformed into the Divine Angel; to men in every other particular He is unseen and unknown, except as His laws and the effect of their operation disclose His being.
Source: www.divinelove.org/volume2/v2-246.htm
12) The Spheres of Progression in the Spirit World
Back to Top
Ann Rollins, Mr. Padgett’s grandmother:
Well, when a spirit enters the spirit world its condition of mental, moral or spiritual development determines where it shall first live. In the large majority of cases, the first home of the spirit is the earth plane; and in that there are a number of planes, respectively higher or lower than the others. So, when the spirit finds itself in the earth plane, it also finds that its condition is not much different from what it was on earth. The same ideas of right and wrong, of beliefs, of affections and of desires obtain.
Sometimes these conditions will last for many years and again the change will come comparatively soon. This change of condition depends, frequently, upon the friends or relatives when they come over who try to help and instruct them.
If such spirit helpers are themselves developed in the line of intellectual pursuits, they will more naturally endeavor to direct the newly arrived spirit along the same line of thought and aspirations; and so with the morally developed helpers – they will make the questions of morality the important ones for the new spirits to give attention to. And so with the spiritual helpers, or those who have received the Love of the Father in their souls, and to whom such Love is the most important thing in all the spirit world. Naturally they will endeavor to instruct the spirit in matters pertaining to this Love and the increased development of it. So you see, much depends upon the helpers which the new spirit finds waiting its advent into the spirit world, and the instructions which such spirit helpers give it.
But more will depend upon the condition of the spirit itself. As I have said, when it comes into the spirit world it brings with it all its beliefs, desires and affections, and these respective qualities will, to a more or less extent, influence the directions of its progress. It is much easier to influence a spirit who has had, while on earth, awakened in him a love of God even to a small degree, to pursue the thoughts that will lead him into spiritual ways, than it is to persuade one who has never had that awakening. And so with the spirit, who while on earth, gave his studies and thoughts to mental pursuits to the exclusion of thoughts relating to God or to religious matters. Such spirits will naturally be attracted to those things which it considers a continuation of its earthly thoughts, or which will enable it to pursue the development of those thoughts; and consequently, they are its treasures which necessarily have the most of its affections, and from these affections will arise its desires which, unless something greater intervenes, will cause it to follow the course of these desires. And the same principle can be applied to every condition of the spirit, mental, moral or spiritual.
Now, to the point of your question. Such spirit following the natural inclination of its condition, as I have explained, will endeavor to get into that sphere in its progress, where there are afforded the greatest opportunities for the development of the particular phase of its condition which constitutes its chief motive force. And this is in accordance with a spiritual law.
The spirit desiring the development of its mental qualities above all else will naturally seek that sphere where these qualities have the greatest opportunity for such development. And so with the moralist and the spirit of religious thought
Now, God, in His Great wisdom and goodness, has provided these several spheres and has made them suited for the purposes of their creation; and all the spirits have the choice as to which they will enter and seek to live in. But, of course, not only one sphere of its kind is provided, but there are several so provided, so that there may be progression on the part of spirits who have these several phases of desires and attractions.
The second, the fourth and the sixth spheres are appropriated for those spirits who have more of the qualifications and desires for advancement in their mental and moral pursuits, or rather for the development of those qualities possessed by them which pertain more to their mental and moral natures.
Of course in their progress from the lowest to the respective higher spheres, that I have mentioned, spirits must pass through the intervening spheres; but they do not linger in them or seek to make them their homes, or stay in them for their development, because in these intervening spheres the qualities which these spirits are attempting to develop, are not given much attention, and these spirits would not be much benefited by remaining in these spheres. But the fact of passing through these intervening spheres does not indicate, for the contrary is true, that these spirits in so passing, in any degree, receive any additional love or development of their soul qualities. So that, a spirit in the third sphere possessing the Divine Love may have more soul development than one who lives in the sixth sphere who has not the Divine Love.
And so in contrast to the second, fourth and sixth spheres, that I have named, the third, fifth and seventh spheres are the ones appropriated to and specially prepared for the spirits who are seeking the development of the Divine Love into their souls; and in these latter spheres, Divine Love is the great thing that is sought for and acquired.
The spirits of these spheres may be just as highly developed in their mental and moral qualities as are those before described; and, frequently, they are more so, for with the soul development in the Divine Love, strange as it may seem to you, comes mental and moral development. But this development of the mind is not the chief thing for which these spirits seek.
Every desire and aspiration with them is subordinated to their great efforts to obtain this Divine Love to the highest degree, and ever and ever are these spirits seeking for it, and they have never become satisfied, in contrast to those who merely seek the mental and natural love development.
Source: www.divinelove.org/volume2/v2-46.htm
13) Natural Love Is Not Divine
Back to Top
Jesus:
I want to write tonight on the love of man. This love is one that is not understood by humanity in its most important particular. I mean that this love is not one that is sufficient to give man the highest degree of happiness which he may obtain in either the mortal life or in the life to come.
This love is of a nature that changes with the change in the ideas and desires of men, and has no stability that will serve to keep him constant in his affections. No man who has only this love can ever be in condition to say that he will continue to have this love for a longer time than the present; and when he thinks that his love can never change, or leave him, he is only giving thought to the wish.
This love of the purely natural will not suffice for the temptations that beset men on earth; and, also, will not insure against temptations when they become spirits. I know this, and hence I say it with the positiveness of one who knows – you may say, with authority.
But this love is one that may last for a long time, and sometimes it seems that it can never die or grow less; yet, in its very nature, it has not that constancy which insures its lasting longer than a moment of time.
I do not mean to say anything disparaging of this natural love, for it is undoubtedly the greatest gift that the Father has bestowed upon mankind, and without it, men would be in a very unhappy condition. Yet, it is not the Great Love of the Father which all men may receive, if they will only seek and strive to obtain it by prayer and faith.
Love, I know it is said, is the fulfilling of the law, but no man can thoroughly understand this until he knows what love is. I do not mean that in order to fulfill every law man must have the Divine Love of the Father, because there are laws that govern the Divine existence and laws that govern the human and merely spiritual existence; and the Love of the Divine is the fulfillment of the former laws, and the natural love is the fulfillment of the latter laws. So you must see that only as men have the Love of the Divine can they fulfill the laws of the Divine existence, and so, as they have the natural love only, can they fulfill the natural laws.
But this natural love will not be able to make them one with the Father, as I have before written; and the utmost of its powers and functions is to give them that happiness which they will receive in living the life of a spirit or man unredeemed.
I will not say that man should not cultivate this love for his fellow man, to the greatest possible degree, for he should; and if that should be the only kind of love that he may have, either on earth or in the spirit world, the more of it that he possesses the happier will he be, and the greater will be the happiness of his fellowman and fellow spirit. So when I said, when on earth, that men should love their God and love their fellow men as themselves, I meant that they should do so with all the possibilities of whatever love they might possess.
Yet, if men would only learn, as they can, that there is no necessity for them to have only the natural love, but they should all seek the Greater Love and obtain the corresponding greater happiness and immortality. Men do not realize this, though, and seem to be satisfied with this natural love and the pleasures that ensue from its possession.
I would not have them do anything that would lessen this love or shut their hearts to its influence, when it (is) pure and good; but yet, I cannot help trying to impress upon them the great desirability of having this higher love in their souls.
Yes, I am a lover of all men, and I want them to feel the happiness of the inflowing of the Divine Love, and thereby learn what the love of God means, and what they may have if they will only seek.
Source: www.divinelove.org/volume2/v2-16.htm
14) The Kingdom of the Perfect Man – How Can it Be Established?
Back to Top
Jesus:
The Kingdom of God on earth, or in the spirit world, may be obtained by man, or spirit, by obeying the will of God in those essentials that will work a purification of his natural love, and cause that coming into harmony with His laws which affect and control man as mere man; that is, that will restore man to the condition of perfection that existed before the fall of the first parents; and many of my teachings, when on earth, of which there are preserved a number in the Bible, were intended to instruct men into that way of life that would develop their moral qualities and free them from the taint and destructiveness of sin in which they were then and are now living.
The work of man, in order to enable the kingdom to become established on earth, is largely a work of renunciation; and this truth was taught by prophets and teachers prior to the time of my coming to earth and teaching the way to the Celestial Kingdom; and the same truth applies to the spirits that shall make up and establish the kingdom in the spirit world.
The observance of the moral law will enable men to accomplish this end. The love with which man was endowed, as the perfect man, enables him, as it becomes purified and more harmonious, to love God and to love his fellowman as himself, for this natural love is one that in its perfection and nature is universal, and in its exercise every man is his neighbor’s brother.
The progressive qualities of this love which every man may obtain, are truly and wonderfully set forth by Peter in one of his epistles as contained in the Bible ( 2 Peter 1:5-7 ) and if men will seek these successive steps in acquiring the purifying development of this love, they will obtain the great object sought for.
As I have written, the Bible contains many of my teachings, which if followed, will lead to this end, and men will realize the Kingdom of God on earth.
And here let me correct one mistaken belief or idea that has so long prevailed among mankind, and which, in its results, has delayed the coming of the kingdom on earth; and the correction is, that God by His mere fiat (decree), or irrespective of the desires and workings of men’s souls, will not establish this kingdom. Its establishment depends upon men, themselves, and until their loves become and they become in harmony with God’s will, this kingdom will never be established.
I know that it is believed and taught and emphasized, and men place all their hopes and expectations of a heaven of bliss on the statement, that I will at some time come in the clouds of heaven with a great shout, to earth, and by the power which they believe exists in me, establish the Kingdom of God – a kind of kingdom in which I will be the king and rule supreme, and receive as my subjects those who believe in and worship me, and send those who do not into eternal damnation and outer darkness.
Well, this is pitiable, untrue and all erroneous. This kingdom will never be established in this way, for only man, himself, can call into existence this kingdom, only by becoming the pure perfect man that existed when God’s earthly kingdom had at man’s creation, its existence. Man alone, brought sin into the world and man must himself destroy sin, and then harmony with the Father’s Will will be restored, and also this kingdom.
But from what I have written, it must not for a moment or in the slightest degree, be inferred even, that God is not taking and will not take any part in the reestablishment of this kingdom, for it is a fact, that He is working through His angels upon the souls and thoughts of men to bring this kingdom on earth; but He will not force its establishment – it must come voluntarily on the part of men.
Source: www.divinelove.org/volume1/v1-07.htm
15) The Sixth Sphere – The Kingdom of God in the Spiritual Heavens
Back to Top
Jesus:
While the Kingdom of God has not yet been established on earth, it has been in the spirit world, for in the highest sphere of that world the souls of men have become purified and harmony has been restored, and the souls of men enjoy the supreme happiness that was bestowed upon them at the time of their first creation, which God pronounced very good. Sometime you will have described to you the bliss and wonderful happiness of that kingdom; and I will not say that this is beyond all conception of men, and was established not by the mere power and will of God, but by the exercise of the will(s) of men after they became spirits in renouncing evil and sin, and having their thoughts and desires and soul in its natural love purified and made harmonious. And here I must say that all men who have ever lived, or who shall ever live, will at sometime live in this Kingdom of God in the spirit world, or in the Kingdom of the Celestial Spheres; but the large majority will find their homes in the former Kingdom.
Source: www.divinelove.org/volume1/v1-07.htm
Ann Rollins, Mr. Padgett’s grandmother:
The sixth sphere is one where the mental and moral qualities are developed to their greatest extent, and it is not necessary for the spirit to have this soul development to any great extent in order to become an inhabitant of this sphere. In other words, it is a sphere which is given more especially to those spirits who have given more thought to the improvement of their minds and their moral qualities than to the development of their souls by obtaining the Divine Love of the Father. This sphere is one of great happiness for these spirits of mental and moral excellence, and it is the highest that they can attain to in their progression in the spirit world.
Of course, these spirits may also receive this greater soul development, for the Divine Love is free and waiting for all of God’s children; but my observation has been that, when the spirits who find their happiness in purely mental pursuits or in the development of their moral natures, get into this sphere, they seldom become dissatisfied enough with their condition of happiness to desire to seek for a greater one; in fact, the majority of them will not believe that there is any greater happiness that they can attain to, and, hence, the deadening satisfaction which possesses them.
I know it may be a little difficult for you to understand this matter as I have attempted to explain it, but what I have said is true; and in the day of separation, these spirits will realize that fact, but then it will be too late to remedy their neglect or want of soul desire for the soul’s development, that comes only by the inflowing of the Divine Love into the soul in sufficient abundance, and which is necessary to permit them to become inhabitants of the Celestial kingdom.
And the sixth sphere is a more prolific one of probation, in the sense that many of these spirits are awakened to the necessity of seeking this soul development, than are spirits of any of the lower spheres; because after some of these spirits have been there for a long time, they commence to realize this limitation to their mental happiness. And, strange as it may seem to you, they frequently make their first start by calling up the recollections of their childhood days, when they were taught and believed that God loved them, and that His love was the greatest thing in all the world. So you see here illustrated, in a way you probably never have thought of, the saying of Jesus that “except ye become as little children, ye can in no wise enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”
But many of these spirits have no childhood recollections of this kind, and then comes the work of the higher spirits who have been redeemed by this Great Love of the Father.
In all this, you will see how God recognizes and respects the independent will of His creatures. He does not force them to seek His Love, but waits until they, by their own experience, learn that what they once thought was all sufficient for their happiness, is not sufficient; and realizing this insufficiency, they become dissatisfied, and with such dissatisfaction comes the wish to learn the great unknown of desire, which, at last, causes them to feel their dependence upon a source of happiness not emanating from themselves.
The seventh sphere is the one that divides those spirits who have merely intellectual or moral qualities which are developed, as it were, to the highest degree from those spirits who, in addition to mental and moral development, have their souls developed by the Divine Love of the Father.
No spirit who has not this Love can become an inhabitant of the seventh sphere, so that when you hear of any of your spirit friends or acquaintances, or of any other spirits, being in the seventh sphere, you will know that these spirits have received the Divine Love to an extent a little short of that which enables them to enter the first Celestial Sphere and which makes them at-one with the Father, and hence immortal.
And thus, my dear son, in my imperfect way, I have attempted to give you a description of the several spheres and their character and the object of their creation.
You must believe what I have told you, for it is true; and in believing you will see the great advantage in striving to enter the spheres of the soul or the Divine Heavens; for in doing so, you will not only gain your soul’s development but also the development of your mental qualities and your moral nature also.
And thus you will understand the great saying of the Bible: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”
Source: www.divinelove.org/volume2/v2-46.htm
16)The Natural Love — Where Does its Progress End?
Back to Top
John the Apostle:
When the soul becomes wholly purified and restored to that condition of perfection that was possessed by the first parents before the fall, it continues to live a life of happiness and contentment until it realizes its possibility of further progress, either mentally, morally or spiritually, has come to an end, that it has reached its limit of advancement, and that the happiness that it then enjoys is the full complement of what it may obtain or possess. This condition is one which satisfies the large majority of those who have reached the state of the fully restored man, and they are content to live the life of such perfection, and rest in the assurance that there is no greater happiness or more desirable condition existing in the universe of God.
But with some of these souls this state does not bring or contain this complete satisfaction, and in them continues the desire for more and greater progress; but they realize that they have reached the limit of their progress, and that they must continue to live in that state which holds for them the happiness and delight of being perfect and at-one with the’ Father as was intended by Him when man was created the perfect being.
But notwithstanding this knowledge that as the soul develops in its natural love and in its moral and mental faculties to the finality of limitation there can be nothing beyond, yet, there comes to them a dissatisfaction and as it were, a negative unhappiness that causes unrest, and a conscious desire for something, they know not what.
It may be that the memory of something they heard in their progress through the spheres, or an imperfect suggestion of some unconscious, reproduced, dormant memory, inherited from their first parents, of the great gift of endless progress potentially bestowed upon God’s first created beings, and forfeited, that causes the discontent and longings for something beyond the condition of their perfect state.
When this state of mind and soul comes to them, then they are susceptible to the teachings and help of those spirits who have in their souls the Divine Love and knowledge that there is a way that leads to everlasting progress without limit or possibility of reaching the end.
And many of these perfected souls in their natural love have followed the advice of these immortal spirits, and have left the high sphere of their perfection and entered the lower soul spheres of the spiritual heavens, and sought and found the New Birth of the soul, and progressed from sphere to sphere until they reached the Celestial Heavens, where they are still progressing and realizing a contentment never marred, but always accompanied with the knowledge that ever beyond are spheres of greater happiness of truth and knowledge.
But, as I say, the larger, yes much larger number of souls that have been born unto men, will find and rest, in the future, in the state and happiness of the restored first parents.
It should not be necessary for me to attempt to make the application of the truths which I have written to the desires and wills of men, for the vital importance of making the choice between the future of the Divine spirit, and that of the perfected man, is so apparent, that scarcely any mortal, who is not the man that says in his heart there is no God, needs another to apply for him the lesson taught. And I will say in closing that such lesson contains the truths, that actual observation and knowledge have made certain. Speculation does not enter into it, and the possibility of error or mistakes is utterly eliminated.
Source: www.divinelove.org/volume2/v2-284.htm
17) Making Our Own the Truths of the Father
Back to Top
John the Apostle:
I want to tell you that when a man gets to know the truths of the Father, he will become a very happy and wise man, for these truths have in them only those principles that create happiness and wisdom.
The churches, I know, declare and try to enforce the declaration, that it is not possible to discover or have revealed to men the essential principles of spiritual truths to a greater extent than has already been declared in the Bible and the churches’ interpretation of the same, and that, therefore, it is contrary to God’s will that men should seek further for any additional truths, and that men should accept, without question, the sayings of the Bible, and the dogmas and creeds of the churches which their claim is founded upon, and which they declare are the true principles of spiritual truths. And for many years this has been the demand of the churches, and the members thereof have acquiesced, without question or doubt.
Now, this has been one of the great causes why men have not progressed more, not only in their spiritual nature but also in what may be called their natural qualities. They have remained satisfied, and what was believed by them centuries ago is believed today. I say all this to show how stagnant the intellects of men have been, as it depends on search and investigation, and has remained for all these long ages.
I further recite this to show the necessity for men to seek and criticize, and accept or reject as the results of the search may demand.
In recent years, though, men have made greater progress, and the individual has come to the front and the old accepted fabulations of truths have been assaulted and shaken and denuded of their falsities to a considerable degree, and so it should be. Men must seek, and criticize and accept or reject as their own conscience and reasoning powers dictate, and therein will be freedom of the mind as well as of the will
The soul, also, has been smothered in these dogmatic beliefs, and as a consequence its development has been slow and knowledge of things spiritual has not come to man as it should have done, and as is necessary to teach them their destiny and the truths which should control their lives on earth, and which will control their progress in the spirit world. (…continued)
Source: www.divinelove.org/volume2/v2-213.htm
John the Apostle:
- When you are sure that you have discovered or have had revealed to you a truth, let it sink deep into your soul so that it will find such lodgment as will cause you to realize that this truth is a reality and a thing that must not be forgotten or neglected in its application to your daily life on earth.
- When you have found that the truth fits some peculiar condition of your mind’s experience, adopt it as a criterion for determining what your course of action shall be.
- When you have thus adopted it, let it always remain with you as a guide and monitor in determining what your belief as to the particular thing involved shall be.
- When you have thus received this belief of the mind, encourage and feed upon it until it becomes a thing of established faith; and when faith has become a part of your very being, you will find that the accomplishments of such faith, in the way of longings and aspirations, will become things of real existences which will result in actual knowledge.
- When such knowledge becomes yours, then you have solved the problem of what is true and what is not. And when you have solved this, you will become a man who, when he utters his knowledge of truth, will speak as one having authority.
Such was the process by which Jesus became the possessor and authentic expositor of the great spiritual truths that had never before been known and declared by any man.
Of course, these various steps which lead to this great knowledge of truth must be taken gradually and with increased confidence. In all this the help and influence of the Father are necessary, and such help and influence comes only in response to sincere, soul aspiring prayer.
Prayer must arise from the soul of man, and the response must come from God. There is no other means by which this knowledge can be obtained. All knowledge of things spiritual that men may think they possess, coming in any other way cannot be relied on, for there is only one source of such knowledge out of which the real spiritual truths of God emanate.
And love is the great principle that enters into all knowledge of things spiritual, and without love it is utterly impossible for man to rightfully conceive the truths of God and possess them.
Source: www.divinelove.org/volume2/v2-253.htm
Back to Top