The Way of the Christ

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The Way of the Christ

When Jesus the Christ, the Master Teacher and our Elder Brother declared: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) he was declaring a Spiritual Path leading to Oneness with God. Although Jesus lived and walked this earth in a fleshly body just as we do, he fully functioned as a spiritual being. He came to this earth to show humanity the Way to enter into the Kingdom of God. The way of the Christ is a Way of Spirit, of Freedom, of Inward Prayer, of Forgiveness, Love and Unity, and of Glorification of God.

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The Way of the Christ is a Way of Spirit.

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. - John 4:24

Jesus taught that the Kingdom of God is within, but we cannot enter unless we are born of the spirit - until we have become consciously attuned to our Spiritual nature. He makes a definite distinction between the spirit and the flesh

Jesus answered and said unto him, ... Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. ... Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. John 3: 3-6

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? - Matthew 16: 24 - 26

When the Master Jesus speaks of denying one's self, he is relating to the ego self, i.e. body identification which needs to be denied before we can take on our true spiritual identity. Jesus teaches that we cannot serve two masters, that we must make a conscious choice as to whom we shall serve. The choice is always between the Spirit (our Divine Nature - ruled by God) vs. the Flesh (our human nature - ruled by ego). The table below demonstrates what experiences come with either choice. This may help us in making a correct decision for our lives.

SPIRIT (willing)	FLESH (weak)
Oneness, Unity	Separation
Love, Wisdom	fear and folly
Health, Wholeness	illness, pain, suffering
Sinlessness, Correction	sin, guilt, punishment
Cooperation	competition
Peace	strife, division
Clarity of Mind	confusion
Abundant life	lack, limitation
Blessedness	wretchedness
Eternal life	death

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The Way of the Christ is a Way of Freedom.

When we make a choice for Spirit we are acknowledging inwardly that the Spirit gives life and the flesh profits nothing. We admit that we need the help of the Holy Spirit within us, that the ego not only does not know how to save us from life's difficulties, but it creates them. Try reading the passage below and replace the words devil and tempter with the word ego, and see how much they have in common.

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written: `Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' " Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: "`He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.' " Jesus answered him, "It is also written: `Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' " Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: `Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.' " Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him. - Matthew 4: 1-11

Jesus was indeed the Son of God, and he could very easily have done the things he was tempted to do. However, each time Jesus was tempted, he made a choice for Spirit, a choice to serve God. After he made the correct choice, then God sent his ministering angels. Jesus, the Wayshower, came to show us the Way: Simply be willing to allow God's Holy Spirit to do its work. It does not take will power to resist evil, but rather willingness to step asides and let the Holy Spirit within us (rather than the ego) look out into the world and behold itself. The Holy Spirit sees the world as God created it, rather than the mess we have made. It see the problems as non-existent. It sees wholeness and health and abundance of supply. It sees loving relationships and peaceful coexistence. And as soon as we make the choice for Spirit, God sends ministering angels to assist us. If we hold to the teachings of the Master, then we will know the Truth that sets us free.

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The Way of the Christ is a Way of Inward Prayer.

It is understanding that our spiritual growth takes place from the inside out, and cannot be imposed upon us by any external means. The Master Jesus taught us to go within to seek the Kingdom of God, to enter our inner chamber, the Secret Place of the Most High, our very own Holy of Holies, and shut the door. And this is how he taught us to pray:

Our Father [of all creation] who art in heaven [within me] hallowed be thy name [I AM]. -- Thy kingdom come [I enter thy Kingdom] Thy will be done [where only thy will is done] on earth as it is in heaven [as within, so without]. -- Give us this day our daily bread [I acknowledge your instant and constant supply] -- and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors [As I come to know that all is supplied by God, I release the notion of being owed or of owing any debt] -- Leave us not in temptation, but deliver us from evil [Lift us up in consciousness beyond the realm of fleshly gratification, ego conflicts, confusion and separation to the realm of unity of the Spirit] -- For thine is the kingdom [ I submit this earthly temple to the rule and dominion of The indwelling Holy Spirit] -- and the power [from whence comes all power] -- and the glory [ to God be the glory ] forever. Amen.

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The Way of the Christ is a Way of Forgiveness, Love and Unity.

The Master Jesus taught that we should love, bless do good and pray for our enemies, that we should not hold a grudge, but forgive - not just seven times, but seventy time seven.

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times - Matthew 18: 21-22

He commanded us to follow God's commands to love:

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: `Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: `Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." - Mark 12: 28- 31

He taught Unity, that God is One and that we are One in God. He established our Divine kinship:

THE FATHER AND I ARE ONE. John 10:30

Do you not believe, that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not spoken of myself, it is the Father who lives in me accomplishing his works. - John 14:10

"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." - John 17: 20-23

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The Way of the Christ is a Way of life that Glorifies God.

I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. ... "If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. - John 8: 50 & 54

Finally when we choose to follow the Way of the Christ, we acknowledge the Spirit of God within us as the source, the means and the supply of all our good. The ego gets no credit. All the glory goes to God; for we will proclaim, as did Jesus, "It is not I, but the Father within, He does the work." As we follow the leadings of the Way of the Christ, let us worship God in Spirit and in truth and live our lives so that the Father may be glorified in the son.

And so it is.

(available on audio tape)

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