The following texts seem to be ignored concerning the deity of Jesus as the one through whom salvation comes.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. -- John 1:14 (NKJV)
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." -- John 14:6 (NKJV)
"For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him." -- John 5:22,23 (NKJV)
"And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." -- John 17:3 (NKJV)
What follows is something that rings of the truth but is only meant to take away the true nature of the one true God. Do not be deceived by those that are well meaning. Know this: In order to know who Jesus is you must search out the things of the bible accepting the whole bible for the true word of God. It is His letter to us and is meant to guide us to His full revelation.
".............Neale Donald Walsch is the author of 'Conversations with God' series. This is his 'spin':
Reader's Question: Dear Neale:..I have always believed that Jesus was a savior to all mankind. After reading CWG, I'm not sure. What is the truth as you know it? Craig, Williamstown, NJ.
Neale's Response: Dear Craig, You've asked what many consider to be the central question of the century. The impact of Jesus' life was so extraordinary, it will never be forgotten. That is because Jesus was-is-a savior to all mankind. As are you and I.
Now, the difference between you and me and Jesus is that he donned the mantle, wore the cloak, accepted the responsibility. Most of us have not. In that sense, Jesus is our savior. For he did with his life what very few of us have done with ours. He did what we all came here to do! And in so doing it, he "saved" us from the necessity of doing it at all, if we do not wish.
Let me explain. We have all come to save the world. Not from the "snares of the devil," or from "everlasting damnation." (As CWG teaches, there is so such thing as the devil, and damnation does not exist.) We have come to save the world from its own mistaken notion of itself.
We are, right now, living in a world of our own creation, a non-truth, an experience which has nothing to do with ultimate reality, or with Who We Really Are. Jesus knew this. He also knew Who He Really Was. And he declared it, for all to hear. He declared something else as well. He said that what he did on the earth, we could do also.
Some people do not believe this. They cannot believe that they could be given-indeed, that they have been given-the same abilities as Jesus. Yet this level of faith is the key to experiencing those gifts. That is what Jesus taught. That was his central message. I think a careful reading of the following pages (CWG Book 1) would help provide clarity for you about this: pages 52, 55, 67, 86, 180 and 197.
I wrote a booklet, Recreating Yourself, which addresses much of this directly. In it, I make the point that it was Jesus himself who said, "According to your faith be it unto you." It was Jesus himself who said, "0 woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt." And the woman's daughter was made whole from that very hour. And it was Jesus himself who said, "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." Still, if you cannot believe in yourself and in your own divine heritage (and because so many people cannot), Jesus, in an act of enormous love and compassion, invites you to believe in him.
"Verily, verily I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it."
Isn't that an extraordinary promise? So great and so complete was Jesus' understanding of who he was, and of who you are ("I and my Father are one" he said, and later, "all ye are brethren"), that he knew deeply there was no limit to what you could do if you believed in yourself, or in him. Could there be a mistake about Jesus' declarations here?
Could there be a misinterpretation? No. His words are very clear. He wanted you to consider yourself one with the Father, exactly as he is one with God. So great was his love for all humankind, and so full was his compassion at their suffering, that he called upon himself to rise to the highest level, to move to the grandest expression of his being, in order to present a living example to all human beings everywhere. And then he prayed that we would not only see the evidence of his oneness with the Father, but our own as well.
"And for their sakes I sanctify myself that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one."
You can't be much clearer than that.
Conversations with God tells us that all of us are members of the Body of God, though we imagine ourselves to be separate, and not part of God at all.
Christ understood our difficulty in believing that we were part of God, part of God's very body. Yet Christ did believe this of himself. It was therefore a simple matter (and a marvelous inspiration) for him to invite those who could not imagine themselves to be a part of God to imagine themselves to be a part of him. For he had already declared himself to be a part of God, and if we could simply believe that we were a part of Christ, we would by extension necessarily be a part of God.
Jesus must have emphasized this point many times, because the record of his teachings, and the commentaries upon them in the Bible contain countless references to this relationship. String just a few of these separate references together and you have an extraordinary revelation:
I and my Father are one. (John 10:30)
And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one. (John 17:22)
I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one. (John 17:23)
That the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. (John 17:26)
So we, being many, are one body in Christ; and every one members one of another. (Romans 12:5)
Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one. (1 Corinthians 3:8)
For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread. (1 Corinthians 10:17)
For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or gentiles, whether we be bound or free; and have been all made to drink into one spirit for the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? (1 Corinthians 12-16)
But now are they many members, yet but one body. (1 Corinthians 12:20)
All of us are members of the Body of Christ. All of us are the Christed One. And if Christ is one with God, so, too, are we. We simply do not know it. Refuse to believe it. Cannot imagine it.
Yet it is not true that going through Jesus is required in order to be going with Jesus. Jesus never uttered such words, nor did he come close. That was not his message. His message was: If you cannot believe in me, if you do believe that I am who I say I am, what with all that I have done, then you will never, ever believe in yourself, in who you are, and your own experience of God will be virtually unattainable. Jesus said what he said, did what he did-performed miracles, healed the sick, raised the dead-even raised himself from the dead-that we might know Who He Was...and thus know also Who We Really Are. It is this second part of the equation which is most often left out of the traditional doctrine about Christ.
You see, Jesus is our savior, to the degree that he has saved us from the illusion of our own separation from God. Jesus is the Son of God, as are we all. As we teach in our workshops: You have come to the room to heal the room; you have come to the space to heal the space. There is no other reason for you to be here.
Neale Donald Walsch is the author of 'Conversations with God' series....................
"The following is a refection of what I believe the truth is..........Lane
'Evil Men (and Women) Will Wax Worse and Worse,
Lying, Deceiving, and Being Deceived' . . .
Jesus called Satan the "father of all lies." The Bible warns "in the last days" evil men (and women) will be prevalent. Lying and deception (which are now called "spin") will characterize the generation (and the leaders) who will pull the world down into the dark abyss and terrors of the coming "Apocalypse" . . .
"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come . . .
Evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse,
deceiving [speaking lies easily and convincingly] and being deceived."
(2 Tim 3:1, 13)
The Bible goes on to warn all those who call the things God calls evil, "good," and the things God calls good, "evil." Although there are many examples of this twisting of right and wrong found in our world today, including lying and deceiving, other obvious examples include homosexuality, which God (and the Bible) calls evil which is now being presented as "good" (on television, in movies, and in our schools) . . . while simply posting the 10 Commandments in a public place, or individual, group, or national prayer, publicly spoken in the name Jesus Christ, which God (and the Bible) calls good, is now being ridiculed and attacked as "evil" . . .
"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;"
(Isa 5:20 NKJ)
However, since many people believe they are getting away with these things now, they don't believe they will be judged after they die. However, the Bible is pretty clear when it says . . .
"And as it is appointed for men to die once,
but after this the judgment"
(Hebrews 9:27)
The Scriptures tell us God cannot lie and He hates all lies. God says truth is non-negotiable and is fundamental to His law. In the past, liars and perjurers were held accountable and dealt with harshly and severely. Today we see lying casually accepted in the news, in the movies, and on television. Lying is now being presented as funny and harmless. This generation is unique in its reaction to liars and perjurers. This nation even lifted up and still glorifies a recent President whose most notable characteristics were flagrantly staring into a TV camera lying and deceiving ... and then later being convicted of criminal perjury. This generation mocks our rules of law. This generation mocks God's Law. As noted, telling the truth is fundamental to God's law. In the Bible we find when a nation and its leader(s) defiantly mock, ignore, and turn their backs on God's law, God will turn His back on that nation and will remove His protection and blessings from that people. God help us. The future of that nation and people is always very, very grim. We also find in the Bible God will raise up evil nations as 'rods' of His anger and judgment ...
Have a hard time believing in God? Just watch the news. The above verses are clear ...
Why? God is warning us . . .
The Kingdom of Heaven is available to every man, woman, boy, and girl in this world. It is freely offered to any and all who will receive it. Simply learn of Jesus, invite Him into your life as Lord, believe He died on the Cross for all of your sins and rose from the grave. Learn of Him and believe in Him . . . For He was the only one who has ever loved you enough to substitute Himself for you on the Cross. He suffered and died on the Cross to save you from the torments and darkness of Hell . . . if you will accept it. That is why He is called Savior. If you sincerely believe these things and ask Jesus to come into your life and honestly try to stop doing those things God says are wrong, you will go to Heaven.
It's God's Promise!!!
The only unpardonable sin is to reject God's love and His free offer of life in Heaven by rejecting Jesus Christ, who stepped forth from Heaven ... not to condemn the sinner, but to save the sinner (from Hell) and who willingly and lovingly shed His blood on the Cross so we can be washed clean of all of our sins. The Bible also says there will be no peace in our lives until we make peace with God, through His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible also says there will be no peace on Earth until Jesus Christ returns . . .
I seldom make a big deal about the truth. I want to believe that the truth is a light of it's own. And people for the most part can see the truth of things. But I do know that bible calls us to be His standard and His torch. We are not to hide but to go out speaking the truth...But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8.
May the Lord bless you and help to see the truth,
Lane
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