Pneuma- The Higher Reality
(part 4)
The Spirit Seeks Life
The mother of all questions has to be-- What is life? I have sought the answer to this query since I was about 12 when I would lie awake in bed asking God to reveal to me life’s justification. Well, many years later all the spiritual knowledge I had gleaned from my experiences and excursions came together when I wrote The Meaning of Life. There I described that all life is from God and for God, and actually is God. While my philosophy really hasn’t changed since I wrote this several years ago, I think something this important is always worth revisiting; don’t you?
What I have come to understand is that the spirit of all things seeks life. Some may believe that the terms “life” and “spirit” are too intangible to attach any sort of universal meaning to them, but I disagree. Yes, it seems clear to me that when talking about the higher reality of the spirit, one is brought right back to the question at hand. One could argue whether or not life and spirit are definable, but surely we can all see that they are certainly and more importantly inseparable. There is not one without the other. I have heard a number of believers profess that their LIFE is found in the SPIRIT. And really, who could disagree? However, is this all there is to life- just spirit?
While spirit could be described as the motion of life, it is not its substance. We should understand that without consciousness, spirit is left unknown in the void of nothingness. Surely, it was for this reason that God (Spirit) spoke His Word (Consciousness) into the void- to know and to be known as God. We should also understand that God has given His Word the fullness of Himself, His life so that the Word can then come to realize the Truth. So, in essence, we can think of God as the Cause of life and the Word as life’s every Effect. It is through these “effects” and experiences that God comes to know all things- thereby realizing, justifying and ultimately being God. God and His Word (which is to say Spirit and Consciousness) are the completeness of life. One without the other is incompleteness- an utter impossibility.
So what I must conclude is that while life is spirit, this life can only be realized through higher and higher degrees of consciousness. Furthermore, it becomes apparent that, like the Father and Son, the spirit and consciousness are working together as a necessity to create the fullness of existence for all of creation especially that of man. For us to live we must know, but to know we must live in and as a manifestation of spirit. In other words, without spirit there can be no consciousness because spirit powers consciousness and manifests every lower form of life. But without consciousness, spirit is nothing. We are then left with the fact that all life springs from spirit in a quest to know. So, it could be said that the purpose of life is consciousness while the purpose of consciousness is to accumulate knowledge for the sake of the spirit. This cyclically divine dance is God’s way of living, of breathing into the universe He has created. Through this unbreakable union spirit and consciousness move in unison through creation seeking higher and higher dimensions of existence, knowledge, and peace. Leading this holy mission is humanity, and leading humanity is Jesus the Christ and all who follow him.
When writing God Is- Everything Else Isn’t, I considered that moment just before creation exploded into the void when the Word of God was within God, one with God. In that moment of ultimate peace, Consciousness rested within Spirit, and they were one in the center of nothingness. Here there was God and nothing else. There were no stars, no planets, and no physical life of any kind. But then something earth (and heaven) shattering happened! God spoke (breathed) His Word (a spirit of Consciousness) outward into nothingness. In that instant, the Word (Consciousness) left God to enter oblivion and begin again the process of KNOWING. Universal logic implies that the only way to know is to first NOT know. So in this way, we should understand that “I AM” is the Alpha and the Omega of Consciousness. From a beginning in oblivion to an end in total God-consciousness, spirit moves through a cycle of consciousness.
Harmonic Convergence-
Have you ever considered why we humans love to create, play and also listen to music? While we may think we are alone in this higher art form, many of God’s creatures use the harmony of sounds to communicate how they feel. From the bird singing loudly at the dawn of the day to the whale moaning in the waters of the deep, the world is a symphony of distinct sounds. Early man may have given birth to the composition by beating sticks together for a beat and chanting with others to make a harmony. From these crude beginnings, it is clear that we have taken music and all art forms to far greater heights, but why? What is driving us to create?
Well, I believe that the desire to make music and create can be traced back to our center, the spirit. It is the song of the spirit that sings to the soul to comfort her, encourage her and woo her into loving submission. The song of the spirit resonates in all of life because all of life is moving, vibrating and creating different sounds. Some are soft; some are loud. Some are tenor; some are bass. Whatever our resonation of choice, we are learning that when we follow the Conductor of life heavenly music can be heard on earth, but when we are offbeat or out of tune our collection of sounds just becomes noise. Of course, God is the Conductor of life’s symphony, and to create beautiful music we all must play “our part” at the right time and in the right place. This generates what I like to call the harmonic convergence of God’s will. Like three levels of orchestra pits, God is able to conduct us as Father, Son or Holy helper.
Inevitably, some have found their way into the “Pit” but are learning to follow the lead of the holy helper of the world- the Holy Spirit of God. They lead natural, but holy lives. Other are called to be sons of God and follow the lead of Christ to be builders of the Kingdom. They are on the Stage of life performing in the glory of God. And some are called to return their spirit back to God and into oneness. These are out of this world making the sounds of angels. So through this tri-tiered approach, God can lead us all into harmony no matter what instrument we are playing. So, in terms of music, our spirit is the cause (the player) of our sounds, but our soul is the one who resonates (the instrument) for us to be heard in the world. Like vast array of instruments in an orchestra, the soul is ready to be played and produce all kinds of tones. Sometimes these are heard as purposeful notes creating a joyful song, but other times the soul’s attempts to make music are maligned adding more noise to the lamentations of hell.
To create music pleasing to God, we must follow the lead of the spirit and not the world. This means that even if the world has prepared sheets of music to play for us, we must play what our hearts are telling us to play. You could say we are “playing it by ear” if we are listening to God in our spirit. In this way, we will not THINK what is right and wrong, but we will KNOW in our hearts what is right. While many in the world play the same old song that pleases their own carnal desires, the children of God are seeking God’s will, which, in turn, creates a spiritual harmony. This harmonic convergence of God’s will being played out is very similar to the natural alliance that the cells of the human body perform. Each cell performs a specific function as if it were a separate organism. And yet, because these individual cells are acting in accord with the will of the brain, they become part of something much greater than themselves. This is much the same way the Body of Christ operates being led by the Mind of Christ to perform God’s will. The coming about of this pinnacle of peace and harmony is how God’s brings His Kingdom to earth.
We should know by now that in life the path we take is all about the choices we make. Moreover, life is much easier if we are headed in the best direction like moving with the wind instead of against it. Fighting God’s will is like walking against the wind, which could range from a subtle breeze to a hurricane force blast. But when we go with the Mighty Flow, our way through life is made much easier. When our desires and choices are in line with God’s then we cannot go wrong. This momentum is incurred by doing God’s will continually. Every single compliance we make that aligns us with God’s will increases our movement in the right direction. This spiritual momentum generated by our wiser choices can also be diminished when we choose a different way. Without a doubt, it is this momentum (accumulation of spiritual force) that enables us to break the free from the power of the world. Like a spaceship breaking free from gravity, we break free from those rudimentary forces that grabbed hold of us in the garden when the devil deceived us. Yes, Satan and his accomplice, the human ego, want us to believe we are flesh and then live as gods in this lower, physical world. So the choice is ours- to be the kings of the animal kingdom or sons of the one and only God.
Spiritual Maturity-
Want to know a secret? We are the children of God, but not in a symbolic way, as some Christian churches teach. The truth is that we are the true sons of the Almighty who will inherit all that our Father is! Yes, it seems that I cannot emphasize this fundamental truth enough because so few seem to really take this to heart or into their heads for that matter. If everyone did, the world would instantly be transformed. While it is true that our present form is human, we are beings of spirit who will become much more than human through our growing consciousness and a maturing spirit. Even in this world, the lowest and darkest dimension of life, our spiritual growth has been apparent through the overall evolution of mankind’s religions and morality. Clearly, God has been leading the natural-minded humans by way of the Holy Spirit- our divine helper of the physical world. Yet, not all learn and mature at the same rate. We have surely seen that through the ages spiritual leaders from every religion have risen up and attempted to lead humanity into a higher level of consciousness and, inevitably, into a higher level of holiness. And yet, even those so-called “holy men” of ages long ago don’t seem so holy by today’s standards.
It is well documented (in the Bible) that even the “chosen ones” (the Hebrews) stole, pillaged and killed in search of the Promised Land and all the while claiming this was the will of God. It is also blatantly apparent that these earthly men sought worldly riches like money, land and even wives instead of the treasures of heaven. Don’t misunderstand me here. There is a path for the natural man of flesh that is right, and there is a different path for the maturing son of spirit that is holy. However, it should be obvious that they are not the same path. God wants us to prosper at every level of life, but not at the expense of our spiritual growth. In a natural state of mind, man’s relationship with God begins with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the glory of God in creation, so it surrounds and permeates us always. It was the Holy Spirit that helped to lead mankind to know the Law, the moral code of conduct for the natural man. However, to this day, many Christians are still trying to live according to the Law in order to please God and also continue to desire those natural blessings over anything else. Well, attention Christians-- Jesus did NOT live according to the Law, nor did he receive or desire possessions of any kind.
For those who are ready, the Spirit of Christ is taking us, no, lifting us, into a new and higher relationship with God- a father/son relationship that is! No longer are we merely faithful servants of the Almighty following rules to squelch our fear as in ages past, but now is the moment when the sons of God are hearing and doing God’s will on earth! They live the will of God not because of fear or even for respect, they obey their Father because of LOVE. This means that the sons of God do not READ in book and are not TOLD in a sermon what God wants them to do. No, those led by the spirit FEEL and KNOW in their hearts what the right thing to do is. This is where religions fall short because they are mostly based in the soul (mind) and not the spirit (heart). Many are taught what is right and wrong. Many are taught what Jesus meant by this or that. Many are taught what they should believe. The more spiritually mature will not find peace in these handed down doctrines of others. They do not seek out a person to lead them into the Promised Land; they seek communion with God Himself in the Spirit of Christ!
Living in Christ is a life-altering manifestation of God’s glory that marks the final, but wonderful, chapter of the human saga. Upon entering and living in the Spirit of Christ, we become like our brother Jesus- God’s Word made flesh. In this state, our soul is purified into the Mind of Christ and our energies are only for the Body of Christ. A greater number of souls are beginning to experience that the Spirit of Christ is unity through faith, knowledge and, ultimately, love. We know that this Seed of God has been leading mankind even before Jesus was born if we believe what is written in 1 Peter 1:11- (talk about “1” ness!) Even so, many Christians still do not understand that the Spirit of Christ is more than one man’s spirit. This Spirit is the Son of God and is the spirit of perfection for all who will be called a son of God! This calling and destiny are realized once our spirit and soul are mature enough to accept the truth, which is we are the image of God.
A wise soul once said that the Kingdom grows from a seed into a large shrub (tree) with many branches. That wise soul was Jesus who also became the first fruit that tree produced- perfectly ripe, sweet and ready to eat! Yes, Jesus was the first on earth to mature and become the fullness of God, which is why he is called the Lord, the Christ and the Son of God. Because he broke the barriers of death and Hades he is called the head of the Body of Christ that is emerging from the womb of darkness. This is an essential key to understand. Jesus is not the totality of Christ or the Kingdom of God. He is the beginning, the first fruit and the head. Clearly; the rest of the Body of Christ has not yet been born into full awareness. We are still in the pain of labor, as Christ comes into being in the collective consciousness of mankind. Understand that like a spark within us, we have always had the spirit of God trying to light our souls in this world. After millions of years of SPIRITUAL evolution, that spark becomes a fire like the one in Jesus’ heart. That holy fire within Jesus called him to become our forerunner and our leader out of hell and into the Kingdom of God.
As discussed in Born of the Spirit, we come into this world to spiritually mature and become the qualified sons of God. This spiritual metamorphosis is lifting humanity out of the animal kingdom and into the Kingdom of the Word! The natural mind of mankind is being transformed by the Spirit of Christ that Jesus surrendered for our sake. And His spirit continues to grow like a fire within those who seek God, Truth and Love. Yes, we do well to thank God for Jesus who was the greatest man to ever live on the earth, but God has also led other souls to great heights as well.
Elijah-
According to the Bible, there was once a man who loved and served God in such a highly proper manner that he eluded death. This man of God had a spirit that served God above all else. His spirit was so strong and pure that others seemed to want it. Let’s read a little bit about Elijah.
2 Kings 2:9
When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me, what
can I do for you before I am taken from you?" "Let me
inherit a double portion of your spirit," Elisha replied.
"You have asked a difficult thing," Elijah said,
"yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be
yours—otherwise not."11 As they were walking along and
talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire
appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to
heaven in a whirlwind. 12 Elisha saw this and cried out, "My
father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!" And
Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and
tore them apart.
Elijah went out in a real blaze of glory- so to speak. This story of Elijah and Elisha is an intriguing one for several reasons. First, Elijah doesn’t apparently die, but is somehow and in someway transported out of this world or at least of that region. That’s right; some believe that Elijah was simply taken away from his countrymen to live elsewhere. Others take it a step further and believe this “whirlwind story” of the Bible and other fantastic accounts of supernatural occurrences suggest that UFOs exist. And that the extraterrestrial being (aliens) flying these ships are God’s messengers (angels). While this is an interesting theory that I cannot either confirm or deny, this is not the topic at hand- perhaps another time.
Something I find just as interesting about this story is that Elisha asked Elijah for a “double portion” of his spirit. That sounds a little odd and more like someone wanting a double shot of liquor. I wonder if Elisha wanted that double portion of spirit on the rocks or just straight! I think it is obvious that it is hard for the human mind to think outside of the realm of physicality and substance. We want to measure and quantify everything, but can this request actually be honored with something as intangible as spirit? For than matter, can one give any amount of his spirit to another? Well, before we jump to any conclusions here, we might want to consider this passage.
1 John 4:13
We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
Our question is answered, right? Well, this is a powerful statement in so many ways and speaks directly to the question before us. The cornerstone of Christianity is that Jesus Christ has given his spirit up as a sacrifice, as a seed to bring forth more life like his own. So clearly, the answer is yes; one can give his spirit to another just as God has given us His. Regarding the actual spirit of Elijah, Jesus also told us that Elijah’s spirit returned to this world and lived as John the Baptist. As Jesus proclaimed, this “spirit” of John (Elijah) represented the best mankind could offer. Yes, that spirit within these men obtained the highest level becoming a true and loyal servant of God. As good as these men were, they were not sons of God. John was even asked if he was “the one, the Christ,” and he said that he wasn’t. He knew that he was a servant of God, but not yet a son.
So, while Elijah seemed to know that our spirit is a free-flowing life force that can be shared, Jesus PROVED this to be true! To be free we must go with the Flow, which is God. Through increased consciousness, we will remember that our spirit has come from God and will not be at eternal peace until returning to Him. In this sense then, our spirit (life) is not our own. We all belong to and are connected to God through the spirit, which is how God is drawing us back to Himself. We do not own our life because God is our life. Do you recall what Jesus’ last words were before he died in the natural?
Luke 23:46
Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hand I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last breath.
Jesus did what we all must- we must surrender our spirit (life) to God. Follow Jesus. Jesus died in the flesh so that he could be alive in the spirit. In other words, as a life-giving spirit, he is able to reach everyone (the universality of Christ) simultaneously. There are no limitations to the Spirit of the Son of God! By surrendering our false self in the flesh, we can help others out of hell through our spirit. Any member in the Body of Christ has the power to heal, to forgive and to save because he in an heir of God and co-heir with Jesus in the spiritual riches of heaven.
Unfortunately, many selfish, religious minds do not think this way about eternal life. They think mainly of themselves and imagine the mansion, the riches or the virgins that are waiting for them in heaven. What carnal foolishness this is! Truly, wondrous things of which the human mind cannot even imagine await the souls that enter the Kingdom of God. Entering the Kingdom of God is entering the full life and Spirit of God because the saved children and God are one. In the end, we will learn what the prodigal son learned; all the Father has is yours once your spirit is consciously rejoined again with God’s as it was in the Beginning. We are eternally connected to God and life, but we must become aware of this true and higher life before it becomes a reality. Hope leads to faith, and faith leads to knowledge. Then the knowledge of God leads to our salvation because we come to accept the truth and our appointed destiny- we are the image of God.
The force of Love energizes the engine of salvation, so that once our spirit has rejoined perfect Love, we too are enabled with the power to save others from the darkness of hell and the cycle of death. Then salvation becomes a chain reaction of love at every level of existence. There is absolutely no doubt that what Jesus started two thousand years ago is still alive today. I am not speaking of Christianity, but of Christ! It is the spirit of Jesus, the Christ, who is continually working within the hearts of those who love, those who hope, those who believe and those who know. His spirit became and remains the conduit to God’s divine love and faith, so that through Him and all that would join Him will come the salvation of the world! So for this reason, the spiritually maturing sons of the Father come into the world like princes building the Kingdom of God.
return to the