| John 1 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was god.1 [Christ is the Word of God; his name is the word of God. The Bible is not the Word; the Bible is scriptures. "The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning. Then I was by him, as one brought up with him; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him." Pro 8:22-30.] 2 The same was in the beginning with God. [The Word, who dwelled with God in the beginning, stepped out to become Jesus, the firstborn in the dimension of the new creation. "I came out from the Father. I came forth from the Father." John 16:27-28; and He possesses all the fullness of the Father, is the only visible representation of the Father, (the invisible God), and is the only begotten Son, (all other sons of God are adopted).] 3 All things were made by him; and there was nothing made without him. [him is Jesus.] 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.2 [The word, who is Jesus, is the life of God and the light of men. Christ is the light of men: the true light that enlightens every man who comes into the world, given to them so that they might believe. John 1:7,9. The life of God in measure to control men was lost for all men when Adam disobeyed God and fell. When you have crucified your sinful, selfish life and are afterward restored to the righteousness and holiness of God's image, Christ, then you live in Christ, and Christ lives in you, controlling all your words and deeds; and this life is then eternal. Eternal life is to be a new creature in Christ on earth and forever.] 5 The light shines in the darkness; and the darkness did not comprehend it.3 [The light of the Word, Christ, shines in the darkness of men's hearts, but men do not understand that it is Christ, gently and anonymously reasoning with them, attempting to reprove them for their evil ways. Eph 5:13. If men believe what Christ tells them, they believe and love the truth, but if they deny the reasoning, loving their selfish, evil ways, they hate the truth and light, who is Christ. Peter told believers: "we have the more sure prophetic word [the word in your heart]; to which you do well to pay attention, as to a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star [Jesus] rises in your hearts;" 2 Pet 1:19.] 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. [John the Baptist was sent to prepare the way for the Light.] 7 This man came as a witness, to bear witness to the Light, so that all men might believe through it [the Light, Christ].4 [John came to bear witness to the Light, (the Light of the Word), so that all men might believe what the light reveals to be true, obey the light, and thereby be saved — this is to believe in Jesus. From the Word of the Lord within: "Heed the light, which is to assent to truth." Jesus tells us: "believe in the light, that you may become the children of light," John 12:36. This Light had been prophesied to be God's new covenant with salvation to the ends of the earth, to both Jews and Gentiles. Isa 42:6,49:6. The light of life, which God has hidden in the heart, is the mediator of the new covenant; he that would come into the new covenant, must believe the light and obey the light, Christ.] 8 He was not the Light, but was sent to bear witness of the Light. [John was not the Light, but he testified to the Light, Christ.] 9 Which is the true Light that enlightens every man who comes into the world.5 [All men have a small measure of the light (Christ) given to them so that they might believe the light's anonymous convictions of their evil ways to be true and eventually be saved; for God would have all men to be saved, and so He gives all men equal opportunity to be saved with sufficient light to guide them. If we persistently heed the light and word in our hearts that reproves us, then we receive more of His spirit, eventually being freed from all sin and seeing Jesus bring us our salvation and eternal life. With a hunger for righteousness we seek God by exposing ourselves to his further commands and teachings by waiting on him in humble silence as we listen and watch.] 10 He was in the world, and the world had been made by him, and the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own did not receive him.6 12 But to all as have received him, those who believe in His name, He has given the right to become sons of God,7 [When you receive the Light and Word in your heart as Jesus speaking to you and revealing the things of God to you, you have received Him and identified Him as Jesus. From the Word of the Lord within: "When you are sure that he who is speaking to you is Christ, you have received Him. You are a son when Jesus appears in your heart to guide you."] 13 Children born, not of blood, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word becomes flesh and dwells in us; and we behold his glorious splendor,8 the glorious splendor of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. [Jesus, whose name is the word of God, was made flesh to come to the earth as a man and is made flesh again when He is fully formed and resurrected in a purified believer. This verse has been mistranslated in all Bibles to be: And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us; and we beheld his glory. See the Footnote to this verse that explains this correction in full detail. This verse is a continuation of verse 13 above by explaining how children are born of God. Paul wrote: "And what agreement can the temple of God have with idols? For you are the temple of the living God; as God has said, "I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people," 2 Cor 6:16. From the Word of the Lord within: "Let the word of Christ richly dwell in you. If you give heed to my words, I will dwell in you and walk in you."] 15 John testified about him and cried out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me is preferred before me; for he was before me.'" 16 And from his fullness we have all received grace after grace and gift after gift. [The fullness was in them: Until we all come to the unity of the faith, and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Eph 4:13]. 17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth comes by Jesus Christ.9 [You receive grace and truth from Jesus, the Word and Light who is within every man's heart that every man might believe, as you listen to Him and obey Him. If you continue in listening and obeying, (which is to continue in His Word), you will be taught all truth and you will experience the end of grace and be free of sin.] 18 No man has seen God at any time, the only begotten [Son of] God, who is in closest fellowship with the Father, has made God known. [Jesus Christ, who was a part of God from the beginning, reveals God through himself. To see Jesus revealed in your heart, is to see God... God is known only through revelation, not through reading, study, and talk. Jesus is the only image and the substance of the invisible God. Col 1:15.] 19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" 20 He admitted, without any vagueness, confessing, "I am not the Christ." 21 And they asked him, "Who then? Are you Elijah?" And he said, "I am not." "Are you the prophet?"10 And he answered, "No." 22 Then they said to him, "Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say of yourself?" 23 And He said, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,'" as said the prophet Isaiah. 24 Now those who had been sent were from the Pharisees. 25 And they asked him, "Why do you baptize then, if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the prophet?" 26 And John answered them, saying, "I baptize with water, but there stands one among you, whom you do not know. 27 It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal's strap I am not worthy to unloose." 28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. 29 The next day John saw Jesus coming to him, and said, "Look, there is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. 30 This is he of whom I said, 'after me comes a man who is preferred before me, for he was before me.' 31 And I did not know him, except that he should be revealed to Israel; for this reason I have come baptizing with water." 32 John testified, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I did not recognize him; but He who sent me to baptize with water, had said to me, 'Upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' 34 And I saw, and I testify that this is the Son of God." 35 Again the next day John stood with two of his disciples; 36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!" 37 And when the two disciples heard him speak, they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said to them, "What do you seek?" And they said to him, "Rabbi, (Master), where do you dwell?" 39 And He said to them, "Come and see." So they came and saw where he dwelt, and remained with him that day; for it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two disciples, who had heard John speak and had followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his own brother, Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah, the Christ." 42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus saw him, he said, "You are Simon, the son of John; you shall be called Cephas," which translated means stone. 43 The following day Jesus went into Galilee, and found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." 44 Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 And Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets, wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." 46 And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" But Philip said to him, "Come and see." [Anyone from Nazareth was held in contempt by the rest of Israel in that time. Since Nazareth was held in contempt by the rest of Israel, God would be expected to favor such a region with the origin of the Messiah, thus to confound the wise and self-righteous; several Old Testament prophecies speak of how little regard Jesus would receive.] 47 Now when Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, he said to him, "Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!" 48 And Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Phillip called you when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." 49 Then Nathanael answered and said to him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel." 50 Jesus answered and said to him, "Do you believe only because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree?' You shall see greater things than these." 51 And he said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you that in the future you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man." Next Chapter | |||||||||
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was god. The traditional, pervasive translation instead is "and the Word was God;" and was chosen to avoid the use of the word "god" or "deity," (see Footnote 3 in the Net Bible to this verse), which is more correct, but the translators thought that did not fully support Jesus being the same as God, (as defined by their invented "trinity," which word cannot be found anywhere in the scriptures); so they just wrote, "the Word was God." Further, as stated in this verse, the Word was with God; and if the Word was with God, the Word, (Jesus), cannot be the same entity named God that Jesus was with. However, Jesus possesses all the fullness of the Father, Col 1:19; and Jesus exists in the form of God; Phil 2:6; and he is the only begotten Son, (all other sons of God are adopted), and all things in heaven and earth were created by him; and Jesus and the Father are one spirit, and no one comes to the Father except through Jesus.
As Jesus said, defending himself for saying he was the Son of God: Then Jesus answered them, "is it not written in your law (Psa 82:6), 'I have said, You are gods?' So he called them gods, men to whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;" John 10:34-35. Now if men to whom the Word of God came are gods, then clearly Jesus, who is the Word of God and who created the heavens, the worlds, and all that is in them, [Jesus] is also a god, (and the only begotten Son of God is a god much greater than any man who became or becomes a god; Jesus is, and will continue to be, their Lord and King, the KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS).
Jesus never claimed to be God, but Jesus plainly said:
Without question, Jesus is divine; without question Jesus is a god much greater than all except the Father, the one God, whom Jesus said was His God and our God, whom Jesus said was greater than Himself.
Jesus and God are not the same; they are one in Spirit, but that does not make them the same. Peter, John and Paul became one in Spirit with Jesus and God; but that did not make Peter, John or Paul to be the same as God or Jesus.
Jesus also said, "I came out from the Father. I came forth from the Father." John 16:27-28; and "The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning. Then I was by him, as one brought up with him; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him." Pro 8:22-30. In the beginning, Jesus stepped out of the light, fire, and spirit called God, to become the only visible representation of God as the first-born, (Jesus), of all the new creation, so that all God's fullness could dwell in him, (Jesus); and then by him, (Jesus), were all things created, that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together — so that in everything he might have the supremacy. Jesus stepped out of the Father to be the firstborn of an entirely new creation: the heavens, the earth, and all that is in them. All things were created from the Father and for whom we exist; all things were created by Jesus, for the pleasure of Jesus, through whom we exist. Jesus is the only express image of his [God's] person; and Jesus exists in the form of God; Phil 2:6; and he is the only begotten Son, (all other sons of God are adopted), and Jesus and the Father are one spirit, and no one comes to the Father except through Jesus. Before the heavens and the earth were created, Jesus was part of the Father, but not the whole Father.
He is one with God and in the form of God, so that all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father, John 5:21-23; if we are to honor the Son, even as we honor the Father, then to us the Son is equal to God. God commanded the angels to worship the Son, Heb 1:6; and so we, being far less than angels, should also worship the Son, our one Lord, (when able to worship properly).
Jesus never claimed to be God; he claimed to be the Son of God, and he said he was less than the Father. When he told Phillip, "anyone who has seen me, has seen the Father;" in the next two verses John 14:10-11, Jesus explained:
"Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak to you are not spoken from myself; but from the Father living in me, who does the miracles.
Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me, or else believe me because of the miracles themselves." John 14:10-11
When Jesus said, "I and my Father are one," John 10:30, Jesus was not saying that He is the Father; Jesus was saying that the Father was in Him and that He was in the Father, which is like crucified believers that can be in union with and one with Christ and the Father too, as John 17:20-23 below describes:
"Neither do I pray for these alone, but also for those also who will believe in me through their word [teachings]; that they all may be one; as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. John 17:20-21.
And the glory which you gave me I have given them; so that they may be one, just as we are one. John 17:22.
I in them, and you in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that you have sent me, and have loved them, as you have loved me." John 17:23
A crucified believer in union is one with Jesus and one with the Father, but that does not make such believers Jesus or the Father; they are one in Spirit, but the believers are not, (nor can they ever be), Jesus or God. The same is true with Jesus; he is one with the Father, he possesses all the fullness of the Father, he is the only visible representation of the Father, but he is not the Father; they are one in Spirit, but Jesus is not God. Scripture tells us there is only one God, and He is the God of Jesus:
One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Eph 4:5-6.
Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom all things exist, and for whom we exist; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things are made, and through whom we exist. 1 Cor 8:6
There is another very important point to consider: as Jesus stated below, Jesus came to the earth as a servant to the Father, speaking, judging, and doing only as the Father ordered Jesus.
Before he came to the earth, Jesus was a servant to God in heaven; and on the earth Jesus was a servant to God; and Jesus is still a servant to God. Why is that important?—because he came to the earth as the example to us, for what we should become — servants. He died a horrible death on the cross in obedience to God, why?—to show the extent of obedience that we must have in order to attain salvation.
Jesus, the (greatest) servant of God, came to the earth to create more trustworthy servants.
From the Word of the Lord within:
Think about it. How could anything but a humble servant, (Jesus, the greatest servant to have ever lived), be our example and pattern to follow? If the Father himself had come to the earth, in whatever form he chose, He could have issued many commands, given us incredible direction, and of course demonstrated miracles without limit; but how could the Father show us how to be a servant, other than commanding us to be servants? Love shows us how to act by example; love does not insist on its own way; and love came to the earth with total obedience to show us the obedient way of the cross, the only way to make peace with God during our life on the earth.
See the Footnote to 1 John 5:7 for many more scriptures that detail Jesus being the Son of God, but not God.
From the Word of the Lord within: "Those who want to believe that Jesus is God, may do so until He makes it clear to them."
2 In Him, (the Word), was life; and the life was the light of men. Christ is the life; the life is the light; so Christ is the life of God and that life is the light in men. The light of life, which God has hidden in the heart, is the mediator* of the new covenant; he that would come into the new covenant, must believe the light and obey the light, Christ. When Christ said: I have come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly [in a superior form], John 10:10; the life, (of which he spoke), is the life of God, the Spirit of Christ, which is the light. And to obtain the life of God, which is the light more abundantly, you must follow Christ in obedience to his spoken commands of words, which you hear from inside your heart: The words I speak to you are Spirit and life-giving, John 6:63; I am the light of the world [every man]. He who follows me will not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life. John 8:12.
*The light, (Christ), is the mediator of the new covenant; he mediates between God and man. Those commands we hear or see revealed that command us to change our behaviors, (to repent), are laws put in our mind and written in our heart and are added to the inner law on every man's heart. From the Word of the Lord within: "When you have heard the dead words in the Bible and recall them, heed what is said; always obedient to His commands. You must obey every law the Spirit establishes."
Christ is the light of all men: the true light that enlightens every man who comes into the world, given to them so that they might believe. John 1:7,9. Believe what?—the truth that is spoken to a man about his evil ways. God is light, 1 John 1:5. Jesus is the light of every man in the world. From the Word of the Lord within: "There is a presence within you, which is the same as God; the light in you is the same from which it originated. Heed the light, which is to assent to truth. The light shows us our image, however fanciful we have become; neither is it pleasant what the light exposes."
We must labor to follow Jesus in order to obtain the life of God more abundantly [in a superior form] that He produces in our heart, which life is the light, which light in sufficient measure is the anointing, which is truth and is no lie — the inward truth. Then we have the truth; then we know all things.
3 And the light shines in the darkness; and the darkness did not comprehend it. Man is filled with darkness that chains down the light of Christ, which is in every man that comes into the world. John 1:9. The light shines in the darkness to try to reason with us, but man does not understand that it is Christ within us, gently trying to show us a better way — with no threats, with no coercion — just gentle reasoning in hope that we will respond to the truth and depart from evil. Men do not understand this gentle persuasion; men have not even been taught by religion to expect to be reasoned with occasionally in their lives. So men do not comprehend what the light is, and they ignore its gentle counsel. And the light shines in the darkness; and the darkness did not comprehend it. John 1:4-5. When men die and are judged, those words of anonymous reasoning from the light of Christ they ignored will be remembered, and men will be judged by those words, John 12:47-48; and they will be ashamed they ignored the gentle pleadings of their loving creator.
Every man starts in spiritual darkness, walking in darkness, without the guidance of God's light. The light shines in the darkness, exposing our sins. After obedient repentance and after many revelations of hearing His word within our hearts, God causes his light to shine out of darkness to give us the light of knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus. George Fox explains this light further in his writing The Light Explained:
Now mark, it is there. What? Does it shine in darkness, and yet darkness does not comprehend it? Is this not the state in which the world did not know him, and the Pharisees did not know him, though the Kingdom of heaven was within them, Luke 17:21. And light shined in darkness, and darkness comprehended it not; here is the unconverted state. So he came to his own, and his own received him not; light shines in darkness, and darkness comprehends it not. For once you were darkness said the Apostle, Eph 5:8. but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light. Now mark, there was a time of darkness, but now they were light in the Lord. Now here were the converted and the unconverted. These were to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. The light shines in darkness, though darkness does not comprehend it, and you were at sometime darkness, and light shines in darkness, and darkness does not comprehend it; this defines the unconverted state, and the converted estate.
God has commanded light to shine out of darkness, and has shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Now mark, here is light that shines out of darkness. God had commanded it to shine out of darkness. What? Was it not there before? Now it has come forth; before it was in darkness, light shined in darkness, and God has commanded it to shine out of darkness, and before you were darkness, but [now] are the light of the Lord, which light that shines in the heart, gives the light of the knowledge of the glory of God; here is the converted state. Now while light shines in darkness, and darkness does not comprehend it, there is the unconverted state, 2 Cor 4:4-6, John 1:5.
The apostle was sent to turn people from the darkness to the light, from the power of Satan to God. Now this was the state of preaching to them while they were in darkness, whom the God of the world had blinded their eyes. They preached so that the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ should shine in them. Mark, shine in them. Therefore the god of the world has blinded the eye of the mind, and to such the Gospel is hidden. For darkness cannot comprehend the light, while the god of the world has blinded your minds. Therefore the Apostle was sent to turn them from darkness to the light, light shines in darkness. So the god of the world has blinded them, lest the light of the glorious Gospel should shine in them. Now where it shines in the heart, it gives the knowledge of the glory of God, where it comes forth. And where it shines in darkness, and darkness comprehends it not, there is the god of the world that has blinded the mind, and to such the Gospel is hidden, which is the power of God; and the light of the glorious Gospel is not comprehended, which is the image of God; and it does not shine in them, to give them the light of the knowledge of God. Now as such are turned to the light, the eye comes to be opened, and from the darkness these come; and these come from the power of Satan, the god of the world, that has blinded their eye, that the light of the glorious Gospel shines in them, to give them the light of the knowledge of the glory of God. To such the Gospel is not hidden, by the manifestation of the Truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. Now here is the state not turned from the darkness to the light, and their eye is not opened; then the god of the world has blinded them. Such are in the unconverted state. To the unconverted, the Gospel is hidden, though light shines in darkness, and the god of the world blinds their minds. So this is the time those, who are darkness, are not yet turned from the darkness, and the darkness does not comprehend the light. Now where God has commanded the light to shine out of darkness; (mark, out of darkness), such come to be turned from the darkness to the light, such witness conversion, and the image of God shines in them.
George Fox further wrote, "Thirty minutes in the light is worth a lifetime."
The darkness of Christendom does not comprehend or explain the light. Christendom does not understand anything about the light; none of the wicked shall understand. Dan 12:10
4 This man came as a witness, to bear witness of the Light, so that all men might believe through it [the light, Christ]. This verse is frequently incorrectly translated as This man came as a witness, to bear witness of the Light, so that all men might believe through him. However, John didn't come so that all men would believe through John; he only testified to what all men should believe: the light within men, who is Christ. In the Greek for this verse, the last Greek word in the sentence, autou, can be translated as: 1) himself, herself, themselves, itself, 2) he, she, it, 3) the same. Since the translators were all schooled in the doctrines of Babylon, (which ignores the light), they didn't understand and always translated that last word two words to be "through him," appearing to refer to all men believing John's testimony, which is a major reason the relevance of the light is totally missed by Christianity. This verse is correctly translated as "believe through it," but "believe through him" incorrectly implies all men are to believe through John.
Can you be saved believing through John?—No! Can you be saved believing there is a light?—No! To believe John or to believe there is a light, because John said there was, only has value if you pay attention to, heed, and believe the light; which light is in every man that comes into the world, (verse 9), put there so that every man might believe in the truth that the light speaks to him. If you believe what the light shows and tells you about your evil behavior, to then change your behavior, you are heeding the light; and then God gives you more of His Spirit. Jesus never told us to believe John's testimony or believe that there is a light, but Jesus did say: "While you have light, believe in the light, that you may become the children of light," John 12:36; and a child of the light is a son of the Father of lights, who is God, who is light, 1 John 1:5. To imply that there is great value in believing John, supports the false doctrine of Babylon: believe in Jesus and you are saved, which blithely ignores many very specific scriptures that speak to salvation's exclusions, requirements, and qualifying conditions.
Believe what? John — NO. Believe some historical facts expressed by Christendom's so-called Apostle's creed, invented 350 years after the death of the Apostles? — NO. Believe that there is a light? — NO. You are to believe the Light's anonymous pleadings, (which every man hears at some point in his life), to turn from your evil behavior, so you then might turn away from that behavior because you love the truth that the Light shows you. The light is another manifestation of the Word, Christ, the Spirit. The light or Spirit reasons with a man to reject his evil ways; if a man believes what the light shows or tells him to be true, then he believes in the light, which is why God gave every man the light— so that all men might believe in it. To believe in the light is to believe what it shows you by revelation as true and then to keep and obey its teachings; this is to believe in Jesus because Jesus is that light. If you do not keep or obey the words you hear Christ speak to you, those words will be your judge when you die. John 12:47-48. Continued seeking the light's revelations results in more light, (or Spirit of Christ, or grace), separating a man from his sins, resulting in salvation; which is a deliverance from all sin and union with God in his kingdom forever as a child of the light. For God is light, and in him is no darkness at all, 1 John 1:5. A child of the light is a son of God. The historical facts of the Bible are beautiful and inspiring, but their belief does not make a man acceptable to God; nor does believing John's testimony make you acceptable to God.
What is necessary for belief? Three things:
1) to believe the words you hear spoken to you in your heart are truth,
2) to believe the source of the truth is Christ, who is the word in your heart, and who is the truth, and
3) obedience — in fear of God's disapproval for disobedience — or to want to please God, respecting his virtue and not wishing to disappoint him.
Without obedience, your belief or faith is just lip service; and your disobedience is denial of Jesus as Lord and Master.
5 Christ is the light that enlightens every man who comes into the world, given to every man so that he might believe the truth. Christ is the word of God; the light is the light of the word, also Christ. This light is what convicts us when we lie or steal. This light is what gently and anonymously reasons with us in our lifetime to depart from our evil, selfish ways. And if we listen to the light, and obey the light's convictions, we love the light; we love Christ, and the light or life of God will increase in us. But if we love our lifestyle and hate the charges of the light against our selfish actions, we hate the light; we hate Christ. Christ, the light has come into the world [every man], but men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil [sin] hates the light [so hates Christ], and does not come to the light for fear his deeds will be exposed and reproved. But he who practices truth comes to the light, so that his deeds may be shown to have been produced [formed and powered] through God. John 3:19-21. Christ in the flesh told us to believe in the Light, the Christ within you: "While you have light, believe in [depend on, trust and obey] the light, that you may be the children of light." John 12:36. (God is light; to become children of the light, is to become a son of God.)
God is light, 1 John 1:5. From the Word of the Lord within:
Faith in the voice is evidenced by your obedience to what you hear the Lord speak to you as you wait on Him and listen in humble silence; to follow is to obey what you hear — that is operational faith that is alive, not dead.
In the beginning of the journey to find God, all men sit in darkness and walk in darkness; the light periodically shines in that darkness to reveal the secret sins in our heart. When you have shown obedience to this light, you will receive a further measure of light, (the Holy Spirit): the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him, Acts 5:32. If we ignore and forget the light's gentle, anonymous pleading with us to turn from evil, at death we will remember the words we heard; and to our shame we will be judged by those words. John 12:47-48. God is fair, God is just, God is pure; and he pleads with every man, wishing that all would be saved. Also the grace of God, which brings salvation, has appeared to all men Tit 2:11; grace appears to all, but each man must choose to respond to the grace to receive salvation. Further, the Spirit of God was poured out on all mankind at Pentecost, Acts 2:14-18, and a measure of Spirit is given to every man, 1 Cor 12:7; so there are no men excluded from the pleadings of the Spirit. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. Rev 3:20. To hear him, in prayer we must stop telling him all the things we want him to do for us, and listen for him to tell us what he wants us to do. God is not there to serve our wishes and wants; but if we seek to hear his convictions, we can become his servant to serve His desires and commands; doing his will on earth as it is done in heaven. We must wait on him, in humble silence, watching, and listening, so that we can hear him and see what he wants to show us about the secrets in our heart; which if we do not deny, he then cleanses our hearts of that revealed sin. By his grace, he shows us our sins and then removes them from our heart, until with persistence to the end, he redeems us from all sin and purifies us to become for himself a people who are his very own, zealous for good works. Tit 2:11-14.
There are some who say that Christ cannot be in a man because He is in the heavens sitting at the right hand of the Father. George Whitehead's writing addresses this concern:
That is the Word or Son of God, was life; and the same life was the light of men; and that He was the true Light which enlightens every man coming into the world. And therefore that men are to "believe in the Light, that they may become children of the Light." Hereby we believe in Christ the Son of God, as He is the light and life within us; and in which we need to have sincere respect and honor, and belief in Christ, as in his own unapproachable and incomprehensible glory and fullness, as He is the Fountain of life and light, and giver unto us; Christ, as in himself and as in us, being not divided. That as man, Christ died for our sins, rose again, and was received up into glory in the heavens; he having, in his dying for all, been that one great universal offering and sacrifice for peace, atonement, and reconciliation between God and man. And He is the propitiation, not for our sins only, but for the sins of the whole world. We were reconciled by his death, but saved by his life, [which life is the light of men, given to all men so that they might believe — believe what the light reveals in them.]
That Jesus Christ who sits at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, is yet our King, High Priest, and Prophet; in his church a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched and not man. He is Intercessor and Advocate with the Father in heaven, and there appearing in the presence of God for us; being touched with the feeling of our infirmities, sufferings, and sorrows; and also by his Spirit in our hearts he makes intercession according to the will of God, crying, Abba, Father.
For any whom God has gifted and called sincerely to preach faith in the same Christ, both as within and without us, cannot be to preach two Christs, but one and the same Lord Jesus Christ; having respect to those degrees of our spiritual knowledge of Christ Jesus in us, and to his own unspeakable fullness and glory, as in himself; in his own entire being; in which Christ himself, and the least measure of his light or life, as in us, or in mankind, are not divided or separable, any more than the sun is from its light. And as He ascended far above all heavens, that he might fill all things, his fullness cannot be comprehended or contained in any finite creature, but is in measure known and experienced in us, as we are capable to receive the same; as of his fullness we have received grace for grace. Christ our Mediator received the Spirit, not by measure, but in fullness; but to everyone of us is given grace, according to the measure of his gift.
The unperfected, blind guides of Christendom know nothing about the light. Neither can they accept this scripture, which shows that Christ, the light, is in every man who comes into the world, John 1:9; given to every man so that he might believe, John 1:7; nor can they accept the following three other scriptures that show the same:
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to benefit all. 1 Cor 12:7
And it shall come to pass in the last days, said God, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all men. Acts 2:14-18
The grace of God, which brings salvation, has appeared to all men. Tit 2:11
(Grace has appeared to all men, but each man must choose to respond to the grace to receive salvation.)
They insist on disbelief of the above scriptures applying to every man. Why? Because if Christ is in every man, then there is no difference between sinners in their sect and sinners outside their sect; they lose their imagined distinction of Christ only being in their believers; which is a necessary imagined distinction to deny the true gospel of being freed from sin and made pure by the grace of God. If every man in the world has the light, and if every man in the world has been given the spirit, then what do the sects have to offer? Nothing except lies! They are only a form of godliness without the power to change a man to become godly, pure, holy, clean, and perfect, while on earth. The sects do not understand how God purifies men, and think purity on the earth is impossible: Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand. Dan 12:10. Christendom's lie that one must invite Jesus into their heart, and doing so results in salvation, shows their ignorance of even the basic understanding of God. Heed their blindness and total ignorance; consider that the rest of their teachings are also wrong, because they are. They offer death, no salvation, no heaven, no eternal life in God! From the Word of the Lord within: "the Christian medium itself is conformable to death." But if we believe in the light, (what the light shows us to be true), we can become children of the light. John 12:36
Trying to save face, the ministers of Christendom deny the light being Christ in every man; some calling it a natural light, others denying it is in every man and claiming the light is a metaphor for an external light of knowledge to all, not the Spirit of Jesus in every man:
From the Word of the Lord within: "To charge the light or slam the light is forbidden; to deny the light is sufficient."
If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light of the morning in them. Isa 8:20
I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright morning star. Rev 22:16
You might be thinking: "I don't know anything about this light, but I know God; I read the Bible every day."
But the Bible says God is only known by revelation:
From the Word of the Lord within: "Do you know him or just pretend to know him; to know him is to have met him and listened to him."
God and Jesus are only known by revelation in your heart: Christ, the word within, who is the grace of God, and who explains the ways of God;
and finally by Christ, the light of the word, who shows you the glory of God in the face of Jesus.
Even faith must be authored by Christ, and this must occur by revelation from Christ: But after that when faith has come, 3:25, as faith should afterwards be revealed. Gal 3:23
Do not confuse the light of Christ with the light claimed by Eastern religion's gurus, some who can pass on their light to you just by being in their presence. Their light requires no obedience, never convicts, never cleanses, never purifies, never unites with God, never teaches about Christ, never teaches about righteousness, never judges you, and never brings salvation with the eternal life of God. Their light is a pleasure trip of Satanic origin. See the Footnote to 2 Peter 1:19 for detail of the Satanic, counterfeit light.
There are two detailed writings on the light available on this site for your further understanding: 1) the primer is The Mystery of the Light, and 2) the advanced writing is by George Fox, The Light Explained.
6 He came to his own, and his own did not receive him. Jesus was rejected by the Jews, his own people. We read that and marvel, but wherever the Spirit of Christ is risen, Jesus is rejected by those religious people too. Why? Because Jesus will always stand against the religions created by men, who in their rituals and ceremonies seek to provide justification for remaining in their selfish lifestyles of lusts, pride, and pleasures. This is exactly what happened when Jesus appeared as the resurrected Spirit of Christ in the early Quakers of the 17th Century; the Episcopalians, Baptists, Presbyterians, and Congregationalists imprisoned them, whipped them, seized their properties, and killed them — even hanging them in Boston. Just as Jesus said: If the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you, John 15:18... They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. John 16:2. So when the Spirit of Christ is again revealed in men, Christendom will again hate and persecute the risen Christ, whom they claim to worship and esteem.
7 But to all as have received him, those who believe in His name, He has given the right to become sons of God. This verse is popularly translated as: But to all as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, "even" to those who believe in His name. The word "even" is not in the Greek text, nor is it even hinted at, and most translations leave it out or note is as having been added for understanding; but it was added by translators without understanding from the Holy Spirit, only having their Babylonish doctrines to guide them.
Taking the word " even" out of this verse, it becomes: But as many as received Him, those who believe in His name, He gave the power to become sons of God. According to George Fox, this is not an either/or statement. This is a critical distinction, which says: believing in His name, as we normally define to mean believing that Jesus is the Son of God, is not believing in his name as Fox has described; and it clearly is not enough to have the power or right to become a Son of God. You must have received Him, which those who believe in His name do. The phrase those who believe in His name is an appositive phrase to all as have received him. George Fox writes that we must first see the mediator and the covenant before we have the power or right to become a Son of God:
Is not the word, Christ, the author of faith, by which all things were made and created? Is not that the powerful word of faith? Is not he the author of it? The faith that comes from him gives victory over the world. Is not the son of God Him whom the Father has sealed, ‘that enlightens every man that comes into the world?’ And ‘whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life,’ and are sealed. So every man in the light shall see the new covenant, and the mediator, before he has power to become the son of God; and there is prophecy before the son is born, and openings from the Lord, and those are things of God.
So you must wait on God before you will see the covenant and mediator, (both being Christ the light and word in you), before you have the power to become a son of God; and then you must have many more revelations before a son is born. Your waiting is looked upon very favorably by God, as heard from the Word of the Lord within: "Without our promises the soul is grieved; with them the soul settles down to a vigilant tribute to the Lord." The Lord is telling us, that by daily waiting on, listening for, and watching for him, you are showing your respect and admiration for Him.
Left open is the question: what does "believe in His name" mean. We have already seen that it is not "believing that Jesus is the Son of God," as Christianity would like to believe, along with believing they are automatically a son of God. Fox writes that when the light and word is revealed to you as Jesus, the son of God, and you believe the light to be named Jesus, you have both received Him and you have identified the light and word to be named Jesus: you have believed in His name. Then you have the right or power to become a son of God, but not immediately be a son of God. To receive Jesus is to hear him speak words and see what he reveals from within your heart and to believe that he who is speaking to you and revealing by his light is the Son of God, Jesus. The word (Jesus) is near you, even in your mouth, and in your heart [so you may hear and obey it]; that is, the word of faith, which we preach. So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God [from within your heart], Rom 10:8,17, Deu 30:10-14. He is the true light given to every man to believe and that enlightens every man that comes into the world. John 1:7,9. Jesus, the light and word, was always there with you from the day you were born; but you had not "received" him, like you receive someone into your home with a welcome and with attention. Now, after you hear Him, after you see what He is revealing to you, sometimes after you see events come true that He has shown you before; but as He is always kind, truthful, merciful, humble, steady, unemotional, serious, easy to accept; so you are thrilled, instilled with hope, happy, relieved, and thankful, as you receive Him with welcome, attention, and thanks, acknowledging him to be Jesus, the Son of God in your heart speaking to you!
So we go to Him and listen for His voice and watch for what He shows us about ourselves and what is in our heart.
If you love the Light and Word as Christ, you obey and repent from anything evil shown to you; and you are changed for the better.
Loving the Light as Jesus that shows you your condition, and the Word that commands you, you are acknowledging this Teacher within you as Christ.
From the Word of the Lord within: "When you are sure that he who is speaking to you is Christ, you have received Him."
When we have "received" the Light and acknowledged the Light to be Christ, we believe in the Light as Jesus commanded us to believe.
Just like when Christ asked Peter, "whom do you say I am," and Peter replied: 'You are Christ, the Son of the Living God.'
Christ then said: Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but by my Father who is in heaven.
And I say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Mat 16:15-8
— the rock solid understanding that he who speaks to you is the Son of God, which the gates of Hell cannot prevail against.
Now look what Jesus further says about how rock solid applies to us:
For everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does [practices, obeys] them, I will show you what he is like:
He is like a man who built a house, and dug deep and laid the foundation securely upon a rock;
and when the flood arose, the torrent beat violently upon that house, but could not shake it
because it was founded on a rock. Luke 6:47-48
He builds his Church on a rock solid foundation. He builds himself in you on a rock solid foundation.
When you believe it is Jesus speaking to you and revealing by his light, and demonstrate your belief by obedience, you have identified the speaker as Christ — just like Peter did in the physical realm, except your identification of Christ is in the spiritual realm within your heart.
Paul said: According to the grace of God that has been given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let every man take heed how he builds upon the foundation. 1 Cor 3:10
The correct foundation is very important and key to your potential growth. Your foundation must come from Christ himself, not reading the Bible, not someone preaching to you, (unless they are like Paul who spoke words only from the Spirit), not what someone tells you. For this purpose the Son of God is revealed [in us], that he might destroy [in us] the works [sin] of the devil. 1 John 3:8
8 the Word becomes flesh and dwells in us; and we behold his glorious splendor the glorious splendor of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. All the translations have among us instead of in us. George Fox said this was one of the errors of the translators, that the original Greek had in instead of among; which error occurred because the translators were unredeemed men without knowledge of the true gospel nor the promise of Jesus dwelling in a man. And so on examination of the verse in the original Greek, the word was en, typically meaning in. Notice in verse 26, John the Baptist tells the Jews: there stands one among you, whom you do not know; which original Greek word was mesos, entirely different than en; and mesos means middle, midst, in the midst — amongst. Once you change among us to in us, the past tense for dwells makes no sense because once Jesus dwelt in John, He did not leave John and the others; which indicates further errors by the translators, only trained by men in the doctrines of Babylon.
The Greek word, (eskhnwsen, 4637), translated for "dwelt" has an Aorist tense, (5656), which can be past, present, or future, so it could just as well be translated as " dwells" in us. The same variable tense was used for the Greek word, (egeneto, 1096), translated as "was made" flesh could just as well be translated as "becomes" flesh. So this verse is far better understood as: the Word becomes flesh and dwells in us, which is exactly what happens at the end of your journey in seeking God's kingdom and His righteousness: as God has said, "I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." How does the word become flesh?
The words we hear him speak to us are Spirit and impart the life of God to us, John 6:63;
which life of God is Christ, John 1:5,14:6, so that Christ is formed within you, Gal 4:19.
Until finally Christ is fully formed and actually resurrected in you. 2 Cor 4:14,Col 2:11-12,3:1, Eph 2:5-6,Rom 6:13
You then see (behold) Christ, the glory of God, appear in your heart and witness him bringing your salvation and eternal life.
Further, the word for beheld his glory, translated from the Greek, (eyeasameya, 2300), also had an Aorist tense, (5622); but Jesus was not glorified while on earth. In the Last Supper of John 17:5, Jesus prayed, "And now, O Father, glorify me with your own self with the glory that I had with you before the world began;" (Jesus had given up his glory to come to the earth as a humble man); and then in John 17:24, Jesus further prayed for the disciples to be with Him in heaven, able to see His glory: "Father, I will that they also, whom you have given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory." The disciples, who were later translated into the kingdom, as John so testified, though still walking on the earth, in consciousness and sight stood in the presence of Jesus and the Father beholding their glory; so the correct translation of this verse should read, "we behold his glorious splendor." If Jesus had been in his glorious splendor on the earth, the Jews would all have been terrified for the Jews had been afraid to come near to Moses because his face shone from having talked to God; and the glorious splendor of Jesus far, far exceeds what Moses displayed. However, when a disciple has been long-prepared to enter the kingdom, he basks in Jesus' consuming fire and brightness, dwelling in His unapproachable light while sitting with Him in the heavens. "Now to the one who is able to keep you from falling, and to cause you to stand, rejoicing, without blemish before his glorious presence," Jude 1:24. From the Word of the Lord within: "We stand in His presence; in the kingdom we stand before God and His holy angels; we behold His beauty. We stand in the presence of God speaking forth His words as commanded. You can live in heaven and still walk the earth. I will come again to the elect; I will be a crown to lead and guide them."
This verse explains how children are born of God and is a continuation of John 1:13 which reads: " Children born, not of blood, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God." How are they born? "And the word becomes flesh and dwells in us; and we behold his glorious splendor, the glorious splendor as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."
Paul wrote: "And what agreement can the temple of God have with idols? For you are the temple of the living God; as God has said, "I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." 2 Cor 6:16.
From the Word of the Lord within: "Let the word of Christ richly dwell in you. If you give heed to my words, I will dwell in you and walk in you. Christ is actually resurrected in every person that comes to him and obeys him repetitively."
9 grace and truth comes by Jesus Christ. This verse is typically translated as "came" not "comes." However the original Greek word is egeneto in the Aorist Tense, which is variable in tense, but usually the present tense. There was grace before Jesus' appearance on the earth, as mentioned in the Old Testament; there was truth before Jesus' appearance on the earth, as many times mentioned in the Old Testament. There was salvation before Jesus came to the earth; there was salvation by grace through adherence to the law. Jesus made grace available by faith without works of the law; but not a faith that Jesus is the Son of God, instead the faith that is authored and grown to perfection by Jesus as you hear him speak to you from within your heart that you might obey it; that is the word of faith the Apostles preached. Since Jesus is the grace of God, and since Jesus is the truth, it is simple to understand that grace and truth has come, does come, and will come by Jesus Christ, who is the light that enlightens every man that comes into the world, given to every man that he might believe. John 1:9,7. Jesus created the earth and the heavens, and all that is in them; Jesus was the God of Abraham; Jesus was the Rock in the wilderness that the Jews drank from. 1 Cor 10:4. So Jesus coming to the earth did not create grace and truth; but what he did do was:
We must seize the hope of these wonderful promises to be motivated to destroy our sinful nature on the inward cross of self-denial, which is not easy and requires patience and endurance. That is how we follow Jesus to crucify our sinful nature and receive the life of God, when we see the end of grace and we see Jesus bringing our salvation.
The "Age of Grace" brought to us by Jesus is just another invention of the false church, making their abominable instant salvation by grace sound better.
10 The Jews asked John if he was the prophet; the prophet (Jesus) of whom Moses referred to: from among you the Lord your God shall raise up a prophet like me from your brothers; you shall listen to him in everything, whatever he says to you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul that does not listen to and obey that prophet, will be destroyed and removed from the people. Acts 3:22-23. This applies to every generation of Jew and gentile, which includes you and me.
The soul is that part of man, which is capable of uniting with God to become an entirely new creature, sharing in the divine nature, united with God, who dwells within that man. The light, which enlightens every man who comes into the world, is the talent, which must be increased, or it is taken away and given to another. The soul is what must first be purified before God can unite with a man, to everlasting life of the soul.
Note! The Jews knew the scriptures. The Jews were looking for the Prophet. The Jews had the scriptures, but they did not have the Spirit that gave forth the scriptures; therefore they could not properly apply the scriptures to novel events. They had the scriptures, but they had not been listening to the Word of the Lord, the Word of the Lord within. Yet their own Old Testament scriptures had scores of severe warnings and consequences to those who failed to listen to God's voice; so their understanding of the scriptures was superficial and flawed, lacking the Spirit's personal teachings to themselves. They did not recognize Jesus when he came because they had not been listening to the Father, whose word was in their hearts to obey; and so, the words of Jesus were strange, and unrecognizable. And today, if you have not been taught by the Holy Spirit, you too are incapable of hearing: the natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Cor 2:14; the natural man cannot understand sin, righteousness, or judgment. And so when the Spirit of Jesus speaks against Christendom through his saints, unless you have been taught by the Holy Spirit, you cannot understand: Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand. Dan 12:10. And this understanding does not come from reading, it must come from words spoken by the Spirit of God directly to you.
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