The Great Gospel of John
Volume 7
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord on the Mount of Olives. (cont.) Gospel of John, Chapter 8
- Chapter 141 -
God's humble love for men. Men's position in relation to God. True humility. The true worship of God. Forgiveness of sins.
Agrippa said: "O Lord, You endless wise Master from eternity, how great must Your love be for us men, Your created beings. The fact that You wanted to humble down Yourself so deeply to come down from Your Heavens in our human form, to us worms on this dirty world, to teach us and to show us the ways that we should go if we want to reach eternal life."
2
I said: "Dear friend, your question expresses the overflow of your heart and is good, because also your heart is good, but in your mind it has only now just begun to dawn a little, and the love of God for you humans seems to be something indescribably wonderful to you because you imagine God as a very great and mighty emperor who shows himself only very rarely to the common people and talks even less to a simple man.
3
If you look at God from that point of view, you are very mistaken, for God is the Creator of all things and beings, and not an endless proud emperor who, sitting on a golden throne considers his people to be disgusting and despising worms, and threatening everyone with death who would dare to approach the throne of the emperor without asking first and having been granted permission.
4
However, if it is sure that all beings are God's work, then they also are the work of His love - which is their existence - and they are works of the highest wisdom of God that gives them their corresponding form and also preserves them. So if without the love and wisdom of God no other creature would ever exist, then why does it seem so amazing to you when God loves you people so dearly?
5
You yourselves are only pure love out of God and in God, and your existence is in itself by the will of God's love only the embodied love of God. Yet, when this is irrefutable, then how can it be so amazing to you that God loves you so much that He Himself came to you in the form of a human being and is teaching you now the way to a free independent life that is equal to God and as if it were coming forth from yourselves. Are you then not the work of God? Yes, sure, that is what you are.
6
But God is a complete Master from eternity in the greatest things as well as in the smallest. He has never been a bungler or a blunderer and so He does not have to be ashamed of His works. Man is the most perfect of all the numerous and endless different created beings, the pinnacle of divine love and wisdom, and destined to become himself a God. Why should God be ashamed of His most sublime work and consider them unworthy to approach it?
7
Look My dear friend, such ideas about God, coming entirely from the outside world, you should let go. First of all they are false, and secondly they do not help you to come continuously closer to God, but such false ideas will only make you drift away from God, and in time, only out of false respect, you also would not even dare to love Him. Just like now there are so many people and nations on Earth who, although they are visible works of divine love and wisdom, have the completely wrong belief, as well as the completely false opinion that God is so endlessly exalted above His creatures that only a highest priest can approach Him on specific times with specific prayers during the most splendid and lustrous ceremonies. And after such an approach, the chief priest thinks of himself to be so endlessly exalted and sacred that not even a subordinate priest - let alone another unholy human - may dare to come near to him, since they are of the opinion that nothing unholy can approach the highest holiness of God, because the greatest holiness of God would be profaned by it, what they have considered to be a sin for the poor and blind people, which is so great that it had to be punished with death by fire. O what a voluntarily and more than stupid blindness of the people.
8
Now look. I alone am the Lord from eternity. How am I now among you all? Look, I call you children, friends and brothers, and what you all are for Me, that is the destiny of all men, and no one is less or more. Because every man is My perfect work, who as such should recognize himself and know his value, and should not completely underestimate himself and consider himself less than no matter what kind of monster, because whoever despises a clearly recognizable work from Me, despises necessarily also Me, the Master. And what would that be good for?
9
Friends, humility in the human heart is one of the most necessary virtues by which one can come first to the inner life of light. But that virtue exists actually only from true love for God and to fellowman. It is the gentle patience of the heart, by which man surely recognizes his excellence but who is never exalting himself as a ruler over his weaker brothers, but surrounds them with all the more love and tries to raise them to their own recognized higher perfection through teaching, counseling and action. Therein consists the real and only true humility, but it never exists in despising oneself.
10
I Myself am humble and gentle of heart, and My patience goes beyond all limits, but you have never experienced that I have despised Myself before men. Whoever does not recognize him to be a work of God cannot truly respect his fellowman or even God, but only for a totally wrong reason.
11
It is quite as wrong for someone to overestimate himself and soon become a persecutor and suppressor of his fellowmen and thereby losing the love as the divine life element, as it is to underestimate himself. The reason for this I have already shown you and thus let us stay equal and be of good cheer, because if you now, in respect of Me, because you have recognized Me, would behave too respectful and fearful, then you would no more be able to bear one more teaching from Me.
12
Consider Me therefore as a perfect Man, who is completely filled with God's Spirit and therefore He is now your Master and Teacher. Then you will be able to get along with Me in the best way, and out of this you will profit the most. Did you all understand this well?"
13
Agrippa said: "Lord and Master, this we all have understood very well because all this is the very simple and naked truth. But what do we have to think now about all these prayers and psalms that were so much in use with the Jews? Do You not, as the now recognized only true God, want to be worshipped?"
14
I said: "It is true that Moses said: 'The Sabbath is a day of the Lord, then you will not do any hard servile work, and with a pure heart you shall pray to God your Lord.' But I say to you now, that from now on every day will surely be a day of the Lord on which the true man should do good according to My teaching. Whoever does good according to My teaching, celebrates the true feast of the Sabbath and prays truthfully without ceasing to God, and I shall be pleased with him.
15
If anyone is aware that he has sinned, he should make up with the one against whom he has sinned, and should sin no more after that. Then his sins will also be forgiven. But by praying in a certain manner, chastising oneself and fasting, no one's sins will be remitted as long as he does not give up his sins.
16
However, as long as anyone continues to sin, he cannot be accepted into My Kingdom of truth, because sin always belongs to the domain of lie and deceit. Look, this is how it is. But now comes the midday meal, this we will take and only after that we will continue on the way of truth."