The Great Gospel of John
Volume 1
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
On Mount Morgenkopf near Kis
- Chapter 155 -
Caution towards spiritual novices. Hints about graduated spiritual development. How God can be Man and man a god. Distinction between scientific orientation and that through faith. How to initiate, spiritually, in the right way.
After this I call Kisjonah down from his ten yard high pulpit, telling him confidentially, 'Keep it secret for now and do not give Me away before time! Because there are many around here who have not yet reached your ripeness and must not find out fully yet as to Who I actually am, or the enlivening of their spiritual liberation would come under judgment, from which such spirit could then hardly ever ascend.
2
It is enough that many are now getting a premonition as to Who I am, with most of them taking Me for either a great prophet and some for God's Son - which now I am in My exterior. More than this would be of much harm for the present; hence we also shall leave them with that opinion and belief for now and you must therefore not give Me away beyond that!'
3
Says Kisjonah, 'Yes Lord, this is certainly so, but I also am a human; will it not be to the judgment of my soul as well to not only believe without a doubt but be imbued through and through with the knowledge as to Who You are?'
4
Say I, 'You I have prepared through word and teaching. When I came to you a few days ago you took Me for a very wise and highly accomplished physician and when you saw Me accomplish unusual deeds, you began to take Me for a prophet through whom God's Spirit acted. But being a man of much experience, you felt prompted to find out how I had achieved such perfection. Thereupon I revealed to you what man is and what is in him, besides what can become of man when he has fully recognised himself, achieving fullest life-liberty of his spirit therewith!
5
But then I also showed you how God Himself is a Man and whence you too, as well as all beings like you, also are men. I then also showed you confidentially that I Myself am that Man and that every man is called to become and be forever what I Myself am. You were astonished, knowing from then on Who I am.
6
And behold, this was a purposeful preparation of your soul and spirit, so that you could now watch Me create an earth, or men from stones, without being harmed. Because you accepted freely, and that in a fully scientific way, that God can be a Man and man can be a god! And so it can no longer trouble your soul and spirit to fully comprehend that I alone am the One true God and Creator of all things from eternity.
7
But it is quite different with other people, who on the whole are not accessible to the scientific approach. These only have faith and otherwise little understanding.
8
The faith of the soul however is nearer to life than the most perfect intellect. If the faith is a coerced one however, then it also becomes a shackle to the soul. If however the soul is shackled, then there can be no talk of the development of the spirit within it.
9
But where, as in your case, the intellect first was brought to the right insight, there the soul remains free and takes for itself light from the intellect to the extent of her tolerance and digestive capacity.
10
And thus through a properly educated intellect, a true, full and living faith develops, from which the spirit within the soul receives the right nutrients, becoming steadily stronger and mightier, - which can be perceived by any man whose love towards Me and neighbour gets steadily stronger and mightier.
11
But as stated, where man's intellect quite often is undeveloped, man having only faith, which in its confined state is as it were only an obedience to the heart and its will, such must then be approached with caution, for it to not go numb with delusion, or be hideously side-tracked, as it is only too obviously and unfortunately the case with all heathens and others at this time.
12
And you will now see why I called you down from the rock before, when you intended revealing Me to the people. Hence no blind should lead another, but rather one of penetrating intellect, - otherwise they both fall into the abyss.
13
I say unto you all, be assiduous and acquire a proper knowledge in all things! Examine everything you encounter and retain what is good and true and you shall find it easy to grasp the truth and enliven the formerly dead faith, making it into a true lantern of life.
14
I say into you and hence also to all: if you want to reap the proper benefit from My teaching, then you must first understand it and only then truly act in accordance therewith!
15
Just as the Father in heaven is perfect in all things, even so you too must be perfect, - otherwise you cannot become His children!
16
You have read Matthew's Scripture and My sermon on the mount therein; there I taught the disciples to pray and that with the invocation 'Our Father'.
17
He who says such prayer in his heart, yet does not understand it in the right sense, is like a blind who praises the sun, yet is not able to see or form a concept of it in spite of its mighty light. He does not of course sin therewith, yet it is in reality of no account to him, for he still remains in the same darkness.
18
Hence, if you want to truly educate a human heart for life, then do not overlook the proper development of the intellect, or you should make a blind worshipper of the sun out of him, which is fit for nothing.