THE GREAT GOSPEL OF JOHN
VOLUME 5
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus in the region of Caesarea Philippi. (cont.) Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 16
- Chapter 97 -
The free will of man. The assistance of divine grace.
1
(Raphael) "Let me tell you, every man who turns to evil and away from the divine order does so at first spontaneously. In most cases, the fault lies in a wrong upbringing. This encourages him to indulge in evil passions which, in turn, lead to all sorts of real transgressions. Through these he also throws himself wide open to all unknown evil influences and can thus be - and remain - depraved down to the foundation of his inner life, - but always only if he wants to.
2
If he is willing to reform, the Lord does not prevent him from doing so; for as soon as someone in distress feels the slightest inner desire for help, he is soon given it. However, if he is quite comfortable and contented in his evil ways and never, be it silently or openly, expresses a desire for betterment, he is not given the extra help for his will.
3
To be sure, the good is whispered to the sensory organ of his heart, called 'conscience,' and from time to time he is quite severely reprimanded by us. If he heeds the admonitions at least to some degree, he can no longer become lost or depraved. In this case, the secret help keeps coming from above, giving the soul insight and strength so that it can extricate itself more and more from the entanglement. And it is then only a matter of good will and progress will be made, - at least to a point where the man, ready for a higher revelation, is seized by the Spirit of God Himself and from then on guided in the true light of life.
4
Yet if man, in his gross delusion and worldly-sensual enjoyment, does not in the least heed the gentle and soft admonitions coming from us and manifesting in the heart, but acts as if he were lord over the whole world, - well, surely, nobody else can be blamed for the incorrigible state of his soul but this very soul itself.
5
Believe me and remember well what I am saying to you now! There are no so-called original devils in the whole natural and spiritual world, but instead only those who previously have lived on the world as incurably bad and bothering people and already not only enticed other people to all sorts of burdens und disgracefulness as the quite actual devils incarnate, but instead also forced them with all the means of force at their disposal "whereby they spread an even greater damnation in themselves, which they will find it difficult to ever fully get out of. You may now think as you may, can and will, it will not be possible for you to lay a blame on the Lord in the least.
6
However, you can well imagine that in the beyond the Lord, in accordance with the established order, will allow all sorts of things through which a depraved soul can be healed. For the Lord has not created any soul for perdition, but for the highest possible perfection of life. Yet bear in mind also that not a single soul in the whole endless space of creation can attain perfection of life through some sudden, implicit act of mercy, but only through its very own volition. The Lord puts many an aid at man's disposal; but man has to recognize them as such, seize them with his own will and use them quite voluntarily.
7
Yes, when a man then spontaneously exclaims in his heart: 'Lord, I am too weak to avail myself of the means which You gave me; help me by lending me Your arm!', - ah, then man has himself asked for the help from above of his own will, recognizing and perceiving the inadequacy of his own strength. Then the Lord can act immediately with all the necessary might and power and promptly help a weak soul.
8
In this case, man's will, as well as his cognition and trust, must be accompanied throughout by the fullest determination. Otherwise that order would prevail, according to which each soul had to help itself by use of the available means; for every outside interference with the intrinsic element of the free will would obviously and necessarily lead to a dissolution of the soul's essence. If, according to the eternal, necessary order of the Lord, the soul has to develop independently, it must develop and perfect itself with the means available, just as every man on earth must himself search for his body's nourishment and must recognize and enjoy it in order to sustain his physical life.
9
No god and no angel will come to Earth saying to everyone: look, eat this and that if you are hungry!, but instead the hunger comes and the person tastes with his palate the fruit growing everywhere and those that taste good to him he will seize and quiet his hunger with them very comfortably. If he is thirsty, he hurries to a fresh spring and if he is cold he will soon sew together a cover out of all sorts of fine material that does not itch and scratch his skin and thus protect his skin from the coldness of the air. And if he wants to be protected from the rain and wild animals, he will soon complete a hut; for all sorts of means have been given to him for this. Wherever he only turns, he finds immediately some knack which he easily recognizes as such and can then use just as easily with the powers given to him for this."