JESUS CHRIST

IX

YE HAVE learned that Jesus of Nazareth was but a symbol or thought-picture of Me, the Christ of every man, sent forth into the world of men’s consciousness to show them the Image and Likeness of My Father that dwells in every man, and which, when man grows to his fruitage, he will outpicture in his life as I showed to the world in My Life as the Man of Nazareth.

Therefore, ye may know that every phase of the life of Jesus of Nazareth was to illustrate in perfect form to man what someday I will show forth in his life, after I have unfolded My Conscious- ness in him sufficiently so I can come forth as the Light within him and can dwell in his soul, and thus make him aware of My Presence in his heart as My Father’s Love.

The awakening of Love in the heart is outpictured as the birth of the Babe Jesus in the manger, where the animals feed; or the birth of the Christ in the purified animal nature.

This birth is often called by illumined ones the First Baptism, or the baptism of the soul by the Holy Spirit; or my Father’s Love. But Love at first is like a babe; while It changes the life of those to whom It comes, yet at the first It is feeble and must be wisely and carefully nourished, so that It will grow in strength and un- derstanding. At the age of twelve the first evidence of Its true nature is shown by Jesus, when He sought and entered the Temple without the knowledge of His parents, and there sat with the Teachers, both listening to their teaching and asking them ques- tions, amazing them with His deep understanding.

So at this symbolical age of twelve will I as Love in the reborn soul show forth My Presence in the consciousness as knowledge and understanding that will confound the wise of the world, even those claiming to be My Ministers.

After the twelve year age I bring to the mind many outer and inner teachers and teachings, in order to unfold to it not only all the knowledge that the world can provide, mixed with its varied sophistries, fallacies and errors, but all the wisdom of the ages avail- able in the different religions, including all their hidden wisdom; until the mind has learned perfectly to listen to My Voice and to know Me as its only real Teacher and its only sure Authority.

Thus the symbolical age of thirty is reached and the conscious- ness of the mind has developed and unfolded in understanding and power, and it is ready for its Baptism; for it is now able to abide in My Consciousness and My Word can abide in it and be its one and only Guide.

This is called the Second Baptism, or the baptism of the mind by My Father’s Holy Spirit, or His Divine Love. This means that the mind can now receive of and be filled with My Con- sciousness, so that a Son of God, its Father in Heaven, can enter and take complete possession and be its one and only Self.

Remember that I, the Holy Spirit of God, the Only Begotten Son, came forth in the beginning from the Father as the Christ, or His Holy Consciousness, which was the only Consciousness of every Son of God, Who as the Higher and Real Self of every man in the world is ever guiding and is ever responsible for his every thought, word and act.

But as the Christ I came to redeem the world, which means the outer consciousness as well as the soul of every man; and by coming as a thought-picture to the world of humanity’s con- sciousness as Jesus of Nazareth, my Father’s Concept of the per- fect Man, I thereby became a Light or an Ideal which serves to quicken, illumine and inspire the minds of men—even as I as a Son of God within the awakened soul quicken the soul and thereby am able to get the mind to listen to and obey My Voice speaking from out the soul.

So at the age of thirty, or of the matured mind fully ripened by Love—My Light within, the Holy Spirit can come forth (or descend as a dove) from My Consciousness in the soul and possess the mind, making mind and soul One in My Consciousness.

Thus ye can see that the First Baptism takes place at the Birth of the Christ in the soul, or at the descent or coming forth of the Holy Spirit or Son of God into the soul. While the Second Baptism takes place at the maturity or ripened perfection of the Christ or the Love Nature, when the Holy Spirit or Divine Self comes forth from the soul and takes complete possession of the mind, and the Spirit, soul and mind then become One Conscious- ness, My Consciousness on earth even as in Heaven.

Then and not until then can My Work be done on earth as planned in Heaven. Only then has the channel of the human mind become purified and its consciousness redeemed, so that a Son of God can freely and fully use it for the work in My Ministry for which all past lives on earth have been a preparation. And not even then—until the human expression has been fully tested, and has proven that the prince of this world can find nothing of self left in it.

My true disciples willingly submit themselves thus to be tested and proven in these last days, for they know the glory of Union with Me that awaits.

Many disciples are now being tempted by the prince of this world, who if ye but know it is the means I use to test and prove all candidates for Christhood, those who aspire to enter the King- dom of My Consciousness and to abide therein. For can ye not see, there must be nothing left in the world of self that can draw them away from Me—they who would be fully One with Me?

Therefore I must needs use the tempter until ye are wholly pure and free from self’s power, and ye can say like Jesus of Nazareth, “Get thee hence, Satan; thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve;” so that the devil leaveth thee, and the angels can come and henceforth minister unto thee.

The proven Christed man then begins his ministry, in the particular part of My Work he has been fitted to do, and many souls are brought into the Light of Christ and enabled to walk therein through his efforts. Being now a pure channel through which My Love can pour, his special fitness permits of new phases of Truth and a new and higher understanding of Me and of My Father God being given to man through him. Each of these phases of Truth complement one another and aid in expanding and rounding out the consciousness and making it easier to know Me, and to enter and abide in My Consciousness.

After the symbolic three years of such ministry, the Christed man is prepared for the betrayal, crucifixion and “death” of his human expression. He is now fully established in My Con- sciousness and is One with his Father in Heaven. This means that nothing that can happen to his earthly body and personality —no amount of physical suffering, no “hurt” to his personal self —can now in any wise affect him or bring his consciousness back to self.

He has been doing his Father’s and My Work on earth even as it is being done in Heaven. He has proven that his conscious- ness is of Heaven and is no longer of earth, and therefore that he no longer needs a physical body as an instrument. For his mind has become his perfect instrument and can conceive for him a body and be in it any place he wills, or he can free himself from his body or cause it immediately to disappear; proving that he knows he is pure Spirit, that mind is Spirit’s perfect servant, and body is mind’s perfect servant; that all are now under his perfect dominion; that he has therefore redeemed and lifted up all of their forces, and that there is no longer anything that can hold him to earth— no separate consciousness, no human self.

This proves that his work on earth is completed; that all the forces of his lower nature have been mastered and transmuted and have been made a part of his Christ Consciousness. The be- trayal and crucifixion of the human self then is but a matter of form and serve but as symbolic illustrations of the final freeing of the consciousness of the soul from its earthly accretions.

The betrayal, the standing before his accusers, reviled, spat upon, stoned and then crucified—without descending once into the separate, personal consciousness, unaffected and undisturbed by none of it, because now being One with Me in My Conscious- ness—brings about the final release of the body consciousness, lifting it into oneness with that of the mind, soul and Spirit. And with Jesus of Nazareth he can then say, “It is finished.”

This is called the Third Baptism, or the baptism of the body by the Holy Spirit, so that it is no longer separate, which means mortal, but it also becomes spiritual—proven by Jesus’ body not being visible when the tomb was opened and it seemingly was not there.

Man’s work on the earth is then indeed finished, but not his work for the earth—that, his real work, then just begins. Being now One with Me, it remains only for him to prepare his dis- ciples, before his final ascension, so that they will continue the department of My Work he started on earth. For ye must know that by this time he will have drawn to him many disciples who will have recognized Me, My Father’s Holy Spirit in him.

With Jesus, he can then say unto them, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”

He can then breathe on them and say, Receive ye the Holy Spirit. Whosesoever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them; whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained,”—and it will be so. And their minds will be opened so that they will understand the scriptures; and the power will be given them in My Name to cast out demons, to speak with new tongues, to take up serpents and drink deadly things and it will in nowise hurt them, and to lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.

After which he shall ascend into the heavenly Jerusalem and sit down at the righthand of God, in company with innumerable hosts of angels, the general assembly, the church of the firstborn, and the spirits of just men made perfect.

Then as a Perfected Man he is truly prepared to do My Work in Heaven as on earth, and as One with Me and My Father he will fill the place in the Heavenly Plan that was waiting for him when the earth was formed.

But through his disciples and My disciples will he now work, alongside of his Brothers in spirit, One with Them in My Con- sciousness, All-knowing, All-loving, and All-powerful. For I, the Light of the world, AM all that he is, and through him as a perfect channel I can now radiate My Father’s Love and do My Father’s Work and that special part of It for which I have been preparing him from the beginning.

The Peace and the Glory of the Christ Service is now wholly his.

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