8 / 19 / 05
What is the nature of man? The perennial question that goes to the heart of who and what we are and who or what we perceive God to be. From all I have learned and corroborated, it appears we humans have a unique spiritual destiny. We are told in the Bible that we are created in the image and likeness of God; and as such, we are held to be in a special relationship to Him. But beyond this blanket statement, what does it actually mean; what's it really all about? In John's Gospel we have a clue, he speaks of a Light "that lighteth every man that cometh into the world". What is that Light but a divine spark of the Creator implanted in the heart of man as a flame that gives him life and being. John the mystic, correctly perceived Jesus as the embodiment of that Light in its fullness - coming to fruition in the Incarnation of the Word (Logos*) "and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth". He had received the anointing of the Holy Spirit at his baptism and was consequently a Christed being. (Christos is the Greek word for anointed.) He was not at this point, in my view, fully God realized but well on the way to becoming the "fullness of the Godhead bodily". That was to come later in the episodes of his Transfiguration, Resurrection, and ultimately at the point of his Ascension.
There is no death - life is a continuum; we do go on in our soul's journey toward perfection. Jesus said it: "be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect". Then too, "the works that I do shall ye do also, and greater works than these shall ye do". The clear implication being, that whatever he was, we might ultimately become; else why would he have said it. The question of whether it was achievable for us in one lifetime, is something else.
From this you may deduce that my take on the life and mission of Jesus is not so much a religion about Jesus as it is about the religion of Jesus. You might say, I am a disciple of the Master Jesus the Christ. This same status of the Christ (anointed of God) is open to us all - i.e. usually after many lifetimes of devotion to God and in service to our fellow man, as was the case with Jesus of Nazareth. This question of Jesus' nature (human, divine or combination of the two) is, in my view, more a matter of degree than of kind. (Albeit, the question of the Virgin Birth is something I have not resolved to my satisfaction; the Annunciation and Magnificat in Luke's Gospel are just too compelling and magnificent to be dismissed out of hand.)
In the Old Testament there is a verse that reads:
"There is a spirit in man and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth him understanding."
Everyone, by virtue of this "spirit within", has a direct link to the Almighty in the form of an individualized God Presence that is personal to each. It is our best Source of inspiration and guidance. There is only One God in all the Universe, but each individual has a focus of the Godhead that is specific to them. One day, when we've completed our sojourn here in time and space, we will meld with this Presence and attain "union with God". Jesus the Christ was the supreme example of this, and demonstrated it two thousand years ago on Bethany's hill - from whence he ascended. This same glorious achievement is our ultimate destiny as well, but it exists for us as a potential that must be realized through spiritual practice and in service to life. God has a life plan for everyone of us; but we need to attune ourselves to this "inspiration of the Almighty" by placing ourselves in a meditative state of listening grace so as to align ourselves more closely with that divine plan.
Note: In due course I will be coming out with a more comprehensive/systematic theology in this vein, in a treatise subtitled: "A Tract For Our Times". A theology appropriate for this Age.
Earl Baerg
* Before commenting on the word Logos, it may help to
know how I came to an understanding of it myself. When
I set out to examine what it was about my Christian
faith that I had difficulties with, the most
perplexing question I had was: how is Jesus the Son of
God - when God is Spirit (incorporeal) and Infinite.
It was something I had to make sense of if I was to
hold to it as an article of faith. I determined at an
early age that I would one day seek out the truth for
myself, on this and other points of dogma that I had
questions about. I had an inner sense of knowing that
the truth was out there to be found if I assiduously
applied myself to find it. This set me on a lifelong
quest in search of the truth of life. It was later in
life that I came upon a credible elucidation of the
question that had eluded me all these years, namely, the
divinity of Christ. It came in the form of this Greek
word Logos: the INCARNATION OF THE WORD.
Logos has different meanings that I will try to outline, as gleaned from various dictionary definitions (only slightly paraphrased and somewhat amalgamated). Pre-Christian Greek philosophers spoke of Logos as a universal, eternal, immanent force in the universe. The idea of a divine Mind (nous) which informs all things and constitutes the harmony and structure of the universe. Gnosticism conceived of the Logos as a force uniting God and man, the embodiment of all human perfection. In the Prologue to John's Gospel it indicates Christ as "the Word":
"In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. ... And the Word was made 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".
There is yet another esoteric definition that is perhaps more germane in this context: "The Word is the Logos; it is the power of God and the realization of that power in and as the Christ -- The Christ is the personification of the Word".
There you have it, the revelation of God to man as incarnate in the person of Jesus the CHRIST, i.e. God in manifestation. This esoteric interpretation of the Word (as) Logos, lends new meaning to and offers a greater comprehension of the INCARNATION, ascribed to Jesus in orthodox Christianity.
This high state of spiritual attainment - to be the Christ - is likewise our soul's true purpose and destiny, by virtue of the divine spark within. We all have a portion of this same Christ essence (individualized for us), above us and in our innermost being, but it has to be acknowledged, nourished, and striven for.
