| One True
God |
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What
does the statement "There is only one true God" mean? It can mean many things
to many people. Why is that?
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Most dictionaries would say something to the
effect that the word "God" as used by most mainstream religions, including
Christianity, refers to an all powerful all knowing supreme being and depending
upon the religion, God or other names that refer to this supreme being would be
ascribed a variety of attributes. From the Christian perspective the word "God"
is not a name it is a reference word intended to point our attention to the
incomprehensible source of all life. In the bible God is given names that don't
describe Him but rather describe His influence in our lives as part of His
creation. As Christians we believe that the man Jesus Christ was the
incarnation in human form of God. So from a human standpoint we have in Jesus
Christ as human an expression of God as is possible. The name Jesus used for
God was "Father". Jesus taught his disciples that they must look beyond the
flesh and personality in order to see God manifest in his mind and character.
Christians also believe that Jesus Christ has a special role in creation which
is to enable in his followers a mind and character like his with similar
attitudes and motivations. This is why he taught that no one comes to the
"Father" except by means of him. He summed it up in one simple statement, "I am
the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except by the
Son". And there are many passages in the New Testament that make it clear that
Christ is unique in this capacity. He is not only an example, a teacher and a
prophet, he is a mediator or interface between man and God. The New Testament
teaches, "There is only one name under heaven whereby man may be saved". From a
Christian perspective it makes sense that an incomprehensible God would
reconcile man to himself by himself, that is by taking on human form and
directly intervening with his creation. But these considerations do not define
God, or do they?
Let us get to the heart of the matter which is not God
but is more how and what man thinks.
Before we examine this matter it
might be wise to establish how humans form or build meaning about any given
thing or issue. I say this because to make a statement about anything to anyone
can often be misunderstood because people ascribe their own "meaning" or sense
of significance and relevance to what they hear, see, and experience. This
sense of significance and relevance is with respect to what is their perception
of life, their assumptions regarding a sense of reality, the possible and the
impossible, the probable and the improbable, that which they hold as absolute
or certain in their lives. It may not be obvious but the agency in man
responsible for "meaning" is the human mind.
So there is a general
principle we need to understand about ourselves and it has to do with the
operation of our minds. Everyone knows they have a mind but most people cannot
explain to you what their mind is. And those that do give an explanation often
differ radically in their descriptions and often disagree. I once had a person
tell me that their character was separate from their mind and their personality
was separate from their mind, and it would appear they felt that much of what
is the mind was not the mind. This person was obviously not very well in touch
with themselves. This person had never really tried to discover what was
causing their emotions, feeling, thoughts, desires, lusts, perceptions, and so
on. They even thought that their memories were separate from their mind. One
thing about education is that education tends to force people to come to a
better understanding of the operations and general character of mind -
specifically the human mind.
Whenever any human being engages
themselves in communication with themselves or with others their "mind" is
active as the controlling aspect of that communication. This is true of all
human interaction with oneself, others, and with life in general. Because we
are born this way many do not have a conscious appreciation regarding the role
of the human mind. They just take certain things for granted and never develop
an understanding. Life for them is very simple, black and white, right and
wrong, good and bad, and so on. Many think of emotions, feeling, desires, and
even their thoughts as separate from their minds. They do not see these as
functions of the mind. They have not developed an objective monitoring
capability using their mind to monitor their mind. They lack introspection, the
ability to develop a level of mental processing that is aware of all other
mental processing. They tend to respond to their drives, and events external to
them in an almost unthoughtful animal like conditioned response.
We
should not be animal like in our thinking, we can be well above that. The new
testament teaches us to take charge of our minds and to set our minds on things
"above" and to develop our minds to be Christ Like. These things were said to
the educated and the uneducated during the first century of the early Christian
church. In the first century "church" the concept of "mind" was well
understood. This is clear by the nature of the dialog between writers of the
New Testament and those to whom they were writing. Without addressing the issue
in exactly the way I have done above the apostles and disciples of Jesus
explained the same things but in other words. It is not difficult to understand
why the average person in the first century AD would have such a good
understanding of mind. Life then was simple compared to the complex worldly
culture our today's society in the western world. Although there are many
passages in the New Testament, and the wording is often different between
different writers and depending upon those addressed in the writings, the
intent is clear. The intent is that we are creatures of mind and are
responsible for our minds and how we think. From our minds comes our behavior,
our attitudes, and our motivations. One teaching is that there is the "carnal"
mind which is like the animal mind and which is enmity to God or keeps us
separated from God. Since we are responsible for the operations of our mind
this means we have to develop an appreciation regarding the workings of our
minds and consciously alter our minds. Much of New Testament writing is
concerned with this issue. This requirement to prepare our minds is
clearly laid out in multiple places throughout the New Testament yet we rarely
hear a preacher or evangelist talk about this requirement. This issue is basic
to our relationship with each other and with God.
The New
Testament indicates that our minds need to be transformed according to a New
Reality which involves a "oneness" or union with the Divine Mind so that our
mind becomes an expression of the Divine Mind in the form of an individualized
identity having a specific role and purpose. This transformation affects our
entire intellect, our ability to think by making decisions using knowledge
derived from our experiences. The intellect is the rational (logical and
imaginative) directing component of the mind and incorporates all our feelings,
perceptions, desires, conscious and unconscious mental processes and is capable
of subjecting our physical drives and appetites to be subordinate to higher
notions of living. These concepts, not necessarily expressed in the same words,
are clearly explained throughout the New Testament. Unfortunately, these
teachings seem to escape the average evangelist and church "goers". So before
we can properly determine meaning we have to know that meaning is a sense of
awareness and significance of something affecting our lives and this is the
property or real estate (so to speak) of the human mind. Now we can talk about
meaning in general and then we can talk about what the statement "there is only
one true God" means.
Meaning in the human mind is usually expressed
in the form of relationships defined in terms of space, matter, and time. These
are clearly physical attributes. "John is a strong (willed) person and walks
quickly" is an expression of meaning. This sentence has a "meaning" both stated
and implied. The physical presence of John is defined in terms of measurables
such as male versus female, size, weight, physical appearance, voice,
personality as understood by his actions to us and others over time, and so on.
Our opinion of John categorizes him as some kind of "person" (human being
having mind consisting of intellect with memory and thinking processes giving
rise to a personality consisting of desires, feelings, beliefs, goals, and so
on which result in specific behavior and deeds). Others define our personality
by how we affect them by our behavior and deeds which often imply attitude and
motivation. Our notion of John probably varies over time as we get to know him.
After knowing him for a while he now appears to be a much different person than
we originally thought. So meaning is always in flux and it is important that we
learn to build meaning in a way that yields an accurate and lasting
assessment.
We deal with people and life in general based on the
build up of meaningful patterns of so called insight or understanding formed
within the mind.
Examination of the expression "the one true
God" necessitates that our mind build up meaning regarding what (relationship)
this expression refers to. Our effort will inevitably involve some metaphysical
issues pertaining to ultimate reality or basic knowledge. Not so if you are a
materialist. A materialist ascribes to the doctrine that everything in the
universe is reducible to matter and can be explained in terms of physical laws
associated with the presence of matter. People such as these are most often
primarily concerned with their physical well-being, material possessions, and
physical and/or animal aspects and pleasures of life. Their purpose in living
and their ethics and morality are based on this concept. Their ambition in life
is to get the most out of life with respect to these issues. Some of them
realize that they need society even though they may be predatory in character
and milk society for all they can get out of it. Others are more humanitarian
and ascribe to a utilitarian philosophy. These people I call humanists. Many of
them adhere to a religion of a similar name "humanitarianism" which is the
doctrine that man may perfect his own nature without the aid of divine grace
and most often denies the divinity of Jesus Christ. Sometimes the word humanist
is used for these people because of the anti Christian viewpoints of those by
the same name during the Renaissance who were followers of Humanism and often
characterized by an emphasis on human interests rather than on the natural
world or religion. The big difference between a humanist and a Christian is
found in the New Testament teaching that we as believers in Christ are
"imputed" righteous until through our transformation we become "righteous",
that is having the mind and character of Christ with his kind of attitudes and
motivations coming out of our mind.
The higher aspirations of Humanism
is to control a world of orderly, sensual - often sexual - gratification where
the so called benefits of physical well being are distributed to all as equally
as possible. These people are strict materialists and hide their religion
behind science and are very active in destroying the Christian way of life. The
beliefs of the humanist are becoming more and more dominant in Europe and have
been responsible for legislation in North America that does away with any and
every mention of God or Christ. Humanists of the sort we refer to here support
sexual perversion and come to the aid of those who practice sexual behavior
condemned in the bible. By the way, they don't make good scientists because
they cannot see past their nose, that is to say, they would never discover the
true origins of our perception of the material universe because they are not
interested in looking beyond this point. The humanist in the role of the
materialist scientist thinks that the "material universe" is absolute and self
sufficient - not powered by intelligent force or existing in such a force.
Their greatest difficulty comes out of the rapidly growing ability to find
smaller and smaller so called nuclear size particles which no longer behave as
particles but specifically oriented energy. Their problem is they cannot
conceive of energy in non materialistic terms. They have no suitable models for
this matter generating energy or even a way of talking about it. This
intelligent source energy is a dimension of spirit, an energy framework within
the mind of God. As Paul said, "for in God we live, move, and have our very
being". See articles on this web site that clarify these issues from a
technical or scientific perspective.
In the fields of science, medicine,
art, and other pursuits the materialist tends to reduce all issues down to
physical necessities and pleasures with humanitarian and social issues reduced
also to this kind of a focus. For the materialist then the term God, if they
were to use it, would mean the physical universe and the laws of physics that
maintain it's structure. To the materialist there are so called laws of nature
but no lawgiver.
Much of modern day science and medicine has been
defined and developed by materialists or by those that may not call themselves
materialists but think like materialists. And this includes many that call
themselves Christian. For example, in the field of psychology there are many
professionals that equate and restrict the term "mind" to the human brain and
nervous system as powered by biological physical functions expressed as
chemical interactions. In a laboratory environment they experiment with life
forms such as mice, monkeys, and dogs. They do this in an effort to cause and
study behavior as a result of tinkering with brain sections by surgically
removing or physically, electrically, or chemically stimulating brain sections.
This is part of their effort to substantiate their theories and develop a
knowledge of what parts of the brain are active during a variety of situations
including trauma, shock, extreme duress, excitement, various sicknesses, and so
on. They need to know this from their perspective of life in order to
manipulate man and life in general as well as be able to "cure" human social
disorders. By removing a part of the brain and observing a loss of coordination
or memory they deduce that these areas are instrumental or possibly key in
various thinking processes and behavior. It has never occurred to most of them
that they are simply studying the physical interface between mental functions
that are body based and those that are not. Their materialistic philosophy
prohibits such considerations. And it does not sound like a contradiction to
them when they challenge such a concept with an expression like "show me" which
from their perspective means to produce physical evidence of that which is not
physical in character. In other words, their sole focus is on a sense of
reality that says everything worth knowing has to be physically based and
perceived. So they move from this premise and declare the physical universe as
an autonomous and absolute reality of which we are a part. It is these concepts
and principles which now saturate our scientific and educational communities
and shape the very thinking patterns of our cultures and societies. But there
is an entirely different way of looking at life other than the absolute
physical terms and perspectives that come from the materialist. That other way
is actually taught in the New Testament.
Therefore, given this worship
(appreciation) of matter as the absolute reality, the materialist would dismiss
the notion of God as the imaginary notion occurring in the intellectual part of
the brain and generated through environmental conditions (physical environment,
social interaction and cultural influences). As previously stated, many
materialists have their own religion called humanism through which they attempt
to influence and mold society and it's many institutions around their belief
system based on materialism. The meaning or meanings of life processes to a
materialist are restricted to space, matter, time, and energy/matter
measurements based on the assumption that these 3 categories are absolute and
final. Materialists therefore have no place in this examination of God because
for them the issue is a non issue or so they think because their reductionism
reduces everything into terms of matter.
The reason why the materialist
was mentioned in this examination and not just ignored is because many
Christians today, having grown up in western society and culture and have
adopted the materialistic notions of science, medicine, and religion as well as
the associated standards of conduct, achievement, and well being. These
materialist notions are imbedded not only in the language we speak but also in
how we establish in our minds what is reality and what is possible and
impossible. This cultural influence also extends in one other very
important aspect, the standards we live by, that is the things we think are
significant, important, valuable, and gratifying. However, the coin has two
sides. So also is our language, thinking, standards, and desires influenced by
the same society and culture imbedded by Christian notions. There is a
cultural dichotomy. This is one of the reasons why humanism is opposed to
the kind of Christianity as practiced in the first century after the
resurrection of Jesus Christ. The objective of humanism, as defined here, is to
remove all vestiges of this "fundamental Christianity" from present day society
and culture. This by definition makes such humanists anti-Christ. They oppose
the person, purpose, and plan of Jesus Christ who claimed to be the incarnation
of the One True God.
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So far then we have
established what meaning is, how it is dependent upon our state of mind, and
lastly how the culture in which we are raised affects and constrains our mental
abilities to discover meaning of any sort. As a side issue we have also defined
a social conflict between those that serve the Christ and those that serve the
anti Christ. In addition, it has been suggested that the teachings (fundamental
concepts of life and living life) of Christ as set out and explained in the New
Testament open to us a reliable and authoritative reference for establishing an
accurate and lasting meaning in our lives.
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So what! Why go on about this. Simply because
we have to recognize that our intellect (that part of our mind that reasons
based on acquired knowledge and experience), the thinking part of us may not be
consistent or even cognizant regarding fundamental Christian concepts.
Our entire life style may be at odds with the fundamental Christian
concepts because our thinking patterns within our mind have been molded by the
materialistic society and culture into which we have been born. This
means that certain concepts, standards of life style, and understandings or
insights might prevent our minds from properly accepting what is
expected of us by Jesus Christ if we are to truly be his followers. Have you
ever wondered why today's so called Christians do not on the whole have the
victory and power in their lives that the first century Christians had in
Jerusalem after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ?
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The bottom line here
is our "minds", how we think and perceive life in general. In addition, this
means that how we "perceive" - the action of the human mind to model life and
arrive at meaning - is fundamental to our thinking and development of our
intellect. How we perceive reality may also be infected with this materialism.
Such a state of infection cannot be eliminated in a sudden instant like a
lightning bolt striking a tree and destroying it. We cannot just suddenly
decide to have holy and pure minds and presto we have holy and true minds. On
the contrary, such infection disables our ability to perceive clearly and
reason associated with Christian concepts. Also we should note that just as
with the Pentecost culture of the early Christians, when our minds do become
transformed according to the New Reality this necessitates social change or a
return to the Pentecost Culture. There is a tight relationship between our
minds and the culture derived from our minds. The converse is there is a tight
relationship between our culture and the minds that grow in that
culture.
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In other words, If we just go ahead and begin
our examination of the concept of a "One True God" without understanding how
our own mind can get in its own way we will come to some very wrong
conclusions. This is one of the reasons for so much discord between professing
Christians, the proliferation of denominations, and the pursuit of doctrines as
opposed to true intimate, collaborative, and trusting social interaction of
caring for one another. I have this expression, "playing God's game according
to the rules of Satan". This is an important concept. You cannot play chess
using the rules of checkers. You cannot play one card game by applying the
rules of an entirely different card game. You cannot play baseball using the
rules of football. If we think in ways like the materialist and if we
limit and apply ranking and decision making according to the values of a system
defined by the materialist then the meaning we develop or the understanding
that occurs will be limited by those factors. There is much more that
just the Christian belief system as formulated into a statement of faith, that
should separate a Christian from those whose minds are worldly. It is the very way we think that should separate us from those in
the world. We should think as Christ thought. If we consider
ourselves Christians and don't understand that this is both mandatory and a
fundamental teaching of the New Testament then we are missing out on the
Christian experience and reward. The New Testament teaches us to be transformed
into the mind and character of Christ. Many in our society and culture who
profess to be Christians have developed a mongrelized "meaning" of life
containing contradictory aspects and non supportable positions on a wide
variety of topics relating to living. They have accepted the worlds ways,
norms, standards, values, regulations, schooling, work environment, and in
great part behavior, attitudes, and motivation. In other words, they have
accepted the contaminated culture of this world and have become an extension in
their lives of that contamination. This has happened because they "play
God's game according to the rules of Satan - according to how the world
thinks".
How can we get around this dichotomy so that our
thinking is not contradictory as well as at odds with the physical universe? We
need an authority to guide our thinking. That authority, if legitimate, would
provide a basis for non contradictory thinking and explain a basis of
perception that both accommodates the physical universe as well as that which
gives rise to the physical universe which is often called spirit. Jesus Christ
is that authority. If we pursue this examination strictly according to the
teaching of Jesus Christ and those of his immediate followers as recorded in
the New Testament then we only have the challenge of properly establishing the
intent of those teachings. But that will not be as easy as it might
sound. And we should not be surprised, if we already are infected by
materialism as most of us are, that we will encounter difficulty within our own
mind in accepting and applying what we determine to be the true intent of these
writings.
We concern ourself with the "intent" and "assumptions" of
these writers with respect to the teachings of Christ. In this regard there are
many scholars that dispute these writings as being purely the work of the
person identified with the work. For example, these scholars might claim that
portions of Matthew were taken from the gospel of Mark or that there is reason
to think that Mark contains interpolations from other sources or editing by
others. They teach that these writings have been altered, text added, text
deleted, text lost, and so on. So we need a method of establishing intent
given that to some degree or another these things may have happened.
Even if such things happened it does not necessarily mean that the
intent of the writings has been lost. It may even be that the intent has been
clarified. After all, the New Testament writings were put together with the
purpose of recording information about Jesus - his person and purpose and
teachings. Whether Mark the Apostle wrote the Greek manuscript ascribed to him
is not nearly as important as the age and content of the document relative to
the teaching of Jesus as well as it's agreement with other such documents. We
see such things happening today. A body of study may be put together by someone
and another comes along with a revision in the form of their own study. In the
first several centuries there were no copyright legislations as there are today
so people did not have to reinvent the wheel in order to add a spoke. So it
makes good sense that if clarification was required it would simply be inserted
or the text modified. Big deal! That only helps make the intent clearer. It
does not discredit the overall writing. It certainly demonstrates that there
was a lot of interest over these writings when they were written. And of
course, if parts are missing that proves again this same interest in trying to
assemble and keep the information intact as much as possible. Therefore,
disputes about the content of manuscripts are only important if the intent is
altered.
Fortunately, intent is not easily altered or removed from
any lengthy work such as the writings in the New Testament. Intent, the
"intended meaning", can be obscured by alteration of text but that same intent
should reappear again and again in the form of assumptions and direct
statements throughout any lengthy writing that attempts to teach specific
things. Paul's writings lengthy and are full of repetition of specific
concepts, views, and teachings. Many of these concepts are imbedded time and
again in writings to different groups having different problems and well as
different groups having similar problems. He explains himself to both the
educated and the uneducated, the Jew and the Gentile. We are talking here about
fundamental Christian concepts not whether there were 3 people mentioned in a
text that also appears in another manuscript that notes only 2 people. Historic
accounts are different. But we are mainly concerned with teachings that impact
how we think in order to be Christ Like. And we have just that situation with
the New Testament. Lots of teachings all focussing on the mind and character of
Jesus Christ and how we are to become like him.
We don't care that much
if similar accounts don't capture the physical facts exactly. Was it 7 fishes
and 2 loaves or was it 2 loaves and 7 fishes, who cares? We care about the
"meaning" or intent of the teachings that occurred in these situations. We care
about how often certain teachings and assumptions occur and in the different
situations in which they occur. We not only have many writings from the Apostle
Paul but other writings from other followers of Jesus. We can apply an
analysis procedure called correlative analysis on these writings.
Correlative analysis discovers and matches subject matter that has a high
degree of commonality of intent - "intended meaning", even though the wording
may be different. Get used to the idea that different combinations of words can
be used to express the same intent. Get used to the idea that there were
teaching methods in the first century Jewish communities of making a point that
we don't employ today in our society. Certain words and expressions had a
specific meaning derived from the culture, the prophets, and the psalms.
Certain teaching customs were in existence in the first century that you would
not find practiced at our local high school or state university. For example,
parables and sayings were phrased in exaggerated ways in order to get a point
across. Therefore, if one does not recognize this and works from a one-to-one
literal Greek to English translation they have lost the intent and have
conveyed the wrong intent. The reader could end up hating their parents,
brothers, and sisters in order to follow Christ simply by taking the parable
with that wording literally. Yet in another discourse Jesus talks about the
ways we should love, even our enemies. This sort of literality, the
emphasis on words and not the "intended meaning", has been the cause of much
division between professing Christians. This points out the need to perform
translation on the basis of intent and not on the basis of single words. Get
used to the idea that there is no one-to-one Greek to English match. Even with
the Greek Interlinear version the English is only an approximation of the
Greek. Certain words used figuratively or as metaphors when given a one-to-one
Greek to English translation cause the intent to be completely lost.
Commonality of intent is discovered by collecting all related subjects or
topics and correlating what is common from the perspective of intent and
assumptions. We look for idioms, figures of speech, metaphors, specific speech
patterns, reliance on certain words, assumptions, unique expressions, and so
on, but from the standpoint of beliefs, teachings, and meaning. The commonality
found clarifies the intent, the "intended meaning". This commonality and
agreement then is the basis for establishing the belief intent of these
authors. There is more to this of course, but contrary to criticism that
the New Testament is not useful as a source of authority regarding Jesus
Christ, I am pleased to say that it is a most wonderfully constructed source of
authority for his teachings.
Therefore, we will move into this
examination of the One True God based on the teachings of Jesus Christ as
recorded and practiced by the first century church. By agreeing to this we are
saying that these teachings are absolute and serve as the basic building blocks
of how we are to think about anything. One of the biggest and far reaching
decisions we can ever make in life is what and/or who we deem as authoritative
in our life. Even though we apply logic, of greater importance are the
fundamental assumptions upon which the logic is based. For a simple example, I
can say that matter is the fundamental basis of life and reason from that and
other related notions. Or I can say that at some level of analysis matter no
longer behaves as matter and the force that gives rise to this phenomena is
intelligent because it moves matter into being according to "laws" or "rules"
or interaction as it is perceived by the human mind. Notice how important the
"perceptive" process is in what we have been saying. To know anything or
to establish any "meaning" depends upon the mind and how it works, and the
assumptions it relies upon.
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The "mind" theme
is covered in the OOLSB (Overcomer On Line Study Bible on this web site). In
this "mind theme" document it is clearly shown without any question left, that
one of the basic and key themes of the New Testament is the human mind and how
the human mind must be set up in a certain way to please God. We have already
established the importance of the mind in discovering meaning regarding life in
general. We have also identified how the mind forms meaning and how various
influences upon the mind can predetermine the nature of meaning developed. How
we think is of fundamental importance according to both the recorded words of
Jesus Christ as well as the full body of writings found in the New Testament.
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Here is some New Testament subject matter that
is common throughout the writings. The human mind is the mechanism or ability
whereby a human can come to know and experience God. As Christians we are to
voluntarily accept the freely given and imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ
and put our lives into continuous moment by moment submission or obedience to
God. We do this according to the teachings of Jesus Christ as being
authoritative. Jesus Christ demonstrated by his victory over death and his
predicted ascension that his words are true and we should accept him as
authoritative in our lives. We perceive in our minds the historic risen Christ
as the now living Christ who is able to act on our behalf. We acknowledge that
without his help we are unable by our minds to arrive at a true "meaning" of
life. This is called conversion and leads to an ongoing transformation of our
mind and character to be like the mind and character of Jesus Christ. Of the
actions just described, all directly involve the mind, it's intellect and will.
We first hear and understand. Then we decide to accept this
imputed righteousness knowing that we are expected to become that
for which we have been imputed. And what do we become? Like Christ in mind
and character.
Character is our personality and behavior and both
are expressions and perceptions of the mind. Based on our character and mind
our personality and behavior result in deeds. Others define us as having a
certain personality based on our behavior, actions, and deeds. Therefore,
others perceive us with their minds and assign to us a profile or personality.
We often see ourselves differently than how others see us. In all of this
interaction the mind is the key aspect of perception and actions. So regarding
this transformation, the human mind is involved initially, is then engaged into
a transformation process, and then becomes the source of all new behavior. But
the transformation process is not a sudden one time thing but ongoing over our
life time. There may be those that make a decision on a specific date and time
regarding Christ. And there are those that come to such a decision in a gradual
manner. In both cases, if they are serious, the transformation has only begun.
Therefore, the human mind is at the basis of our whole life effort whether that
effort is for or against Christ. You should have noticed by now that we are
using the term "God" without definition for the time being. The New Testament
clearly teaches that the "carnal" [materialistic] mind is enmity to God and
that we are to be transformed (in mind) to have the mind and character of Jesus
Christ. The emphasis of all instructions come down to the issue of the human
mind. Hypocrisy is a state of mind and behavior. Faith is a state of mind and
behavior. Prayer is a state of mind and behavior. Sin is a state of mind and
behavior. All states of mind have a corresponding expression as character,
personality, behavior, and deeds that come out of those states or attitudes.
A state of mind is essentially a motivational attitude that will affect how
we "perceive" and understand life. This is what "righteousness" is all
about.
A "righteous" person is one who is motivated and
inclined to think, feel, and then behave according to the model of Jesus
Christ. Perfection is the fixed or immovable state of mind that
demonstrates this preference. We have achieved perfection when this
state of mind is permanently established. That does not mean we will not make
mistakes or miscalculations and demonstrate these errors in our behavior. The
perfection associated with righteousness is not defined at this finite a level.
We are therefore talking about mental attitudes and motivation which give rise
to behavior as opposed to specify rights and wrongs associated with our
behavior. For example, the motivation to care for our bodies results in
specifics about what we eat, exercise, dangerous activities and so on. The
issue of righteousness is about attitude and motivation and not the specifics.
But the attitude and motivation will definitely manifest specifics and so our
behavior and deeds testify to our attitudes and motivations. And this in a
nutshell was what Paul spoke about when he said we are not "under" the law
(which was fixated on human behavior and deeds and disregarded attitudes and
motivation ) but life "under grace", the freedom to make mistakes in behavior
because we are given over to the state of mind having the attitudes and
motivation of Jesus Christ. This is true "righteousness" and demonstrated in
the very actions of Jesus Christ. To again use the "game" analogy. Jesus played
the game of "righteousness" according to the rules of God and not according to
the rules of man or Satan. This can be very hard for some people to understand.
.
Motivation and
attitude are far more important than the specifics of our behavior. As humans
we need the latitude available in our experience to learn from our mistakes.
Mistakes are specifics that don't really work relative to the Christ like
intent of our attitudes and motivations. As Christians we therefore must
tolerate in each other such "mistakes" associated with specifics. As
Christians, we have to learn to look beyond the specifics of behavior and words
and comprehend motivation and attitude. We must learn to see Christ working in
each other and honor that work as opposed to focusing on behavioral specifics
we find offensive and let these things become a stumbling block to Christian
fellowship. We must be slow to being offended and quick and prone to being
forgiving and understanding in our relationships.
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There is definitely something wrong with
our attitudes and motivations if our nose is always out of joint and we find
ourselves condemning those sincerely seeking to be Christ like. As we judge we
will be judged. We receive back from life the consequences of our attitudes and
motivations not so much the consequences of specific manifestations. So you
burnt the donuts that you were preparing for the poor. Do better the next time.
So you were dishonest in some matter or have been so on an ongoing basis. Do
better from now on. So you made some very unwise decisions that hurt a lot of
people. Do better from now on. Once you realize the unsuitability of previous
actions and deeds, then repent from continuing in that manner and do better
from now on. It is now that counts. The past is past. It is what we do
now that counts. This is the grace of God. We cannot live in the past. We learn
from our mistakes which are part of the past. However, there are some
situations involving people where it would be helpful in our relationships to
acknowledge the wrong done to another and here we should apologize and express
our regret. But this is not always wise, appropriate, or even possible. The
past is past. It is what we do now.
We live under the grace of God and
we should not pretend to the world that it is otherwise. We should be clear on
this both with ourselves, the fellowship of believers, and the world at large.
We will make mistakes regarding specifics but our predominating attitude and
motivation is to be Christ like. As we clean up our minds that predominating
mental state will become more evident. Everyone should understand by our
humility in this respect that regarding specifics one can only do the best they
know. A mind full of stinking garbage cannot hope to create behavior and deeds
that smell like a flower garden. Many of us have minds containing stinking
garbage - attitudes and motivations that are not Christ like. It takes time to
root out the weeds in this garden we call our mind. During that period there
will definitely be specifics in word, action, and deed that we will regret when
we look back on our life. It is therefore our responsibility to clear out
the undesirable mental real estate and build pure Christ like minds. I
am not better than you because of specifics in my behavior and accomplishments
in my life. I am what I am by the grace of God. A Christian should never
portray themselves as anything but the humble servant of the Most High. The
world will always judge us from the perspective of the world and according to
worldly attitudes and motivation. We cannot let that be a problem to us. It is
how we live now that is important.
What we have established so far is
that our mind is part of the process of perceiving God because it is
fundamental to the "perception process" that develops meaning or understanding.
Exactly then what do we perceive with our mind regarding the term "God". Again
we beg off for one last issue. The New Testament teaches that we are tri-une in
that we classify man as being body, soul, and spirit. Today, expressions like,
we have a body, we have a soul, we have a spirit are both slang and confusing
and don't necessarily express the understanding held by the New Testament
authors even though they used those words and expressions. We do not have body,
soul, and spirit as in some how "we" are not these items but they belong to
"us". Our very identity and mind is wrapped up or made possible by what we are.
But it is clear according to the New Testament that we are body, soul, and
spirit. These are 3 different aspects of what we are as human beings. These are
not things or pieces, they are aspects of a single entity called the human
person or the human soul. Whatever "mind" is, it is part of all these 3 aspects
of a human being. Note also, that when we say we are a "physical body" it is
our mind that perceives this. When we say we are a soul our mind is reflecting
back upon itself. And when we say we are "spirit" we refer to a non physical,
non material aspect of us- a force which gives rise to what we are and which
has come from God who also we say is spirit. So in defining ourselves we have a
glimpse of our source to which we give the name "spirit". Since the word
spirit means non physical intelligent source it can only be described in terms
of it's influence or effects on the physical and can not be defined in physical
terms.
Spirit therefore takes form but cannot be described by
form. Spirit refers to force as in that which gives rise to life. Any spirit
influencing the physical does so in some form. Spirit(s) is implied by our
perception of form(s). Intelligent forms imply a spirit base. The word spirit
is based on the word breath which was perceived to give intelligent life to the
human body. The soul is the expression of a fundamental will or intelligent
defining force. When this force is given a physical embodiment then "mind"
develops through interaction with the physical aspects of the body and is an
imprint on the spirit. Therefore, our spirit "develops" mind and character
based on the experience of the perceived physical body in the perceived
universe within which the body was created. The word spirit can also refer to
attitude or zeal about something but both are attributes of the human mind and
specifically the willing process associated with the intellect. So from a
creation standpoint we have spirit (over simplified as "will") which takes on
form (over simplified as "body") and develops a soul (over simplified as
"mind"). It is the "mind" that "perceives". As the process of development
occurs the "mind" improperly takes ownership in a faulty perceptive process
that improperly identifies reality as the physical body within a material based
universe operating according to immutable laws. Once this sense of reality is
entrenched in the mind the limits and constraints of that reality rule the
thinking and behavioral human model maintained within the imaginative faculty
of the intellect. This is the "carnal" mind that is enmity to God. In other
words, the "mind" is unable to properly "perceive" reality.
Okay,
you've probably guessed it. The word God refers to our perception of reality.
That sounds like a real let down doesn't it. But when you think more about it
you will understand that nothing is more important than God when we make Him
our reality. More correctly stated. Nothing is more significant or important
than is the discovery that God is reality and we are part of that reality and a
creation within it. This statement does not reduce God to the limits of man's
mind what it does is glorify God for what and who He is. What may be degrading
is that most Christians do not make God their ultimate reality. They are doing
the degrading. Whatever is viewed as important, significant, of value,
possible, impossible, that which constrains and limits our consciousness and
behavior, that is God to most people. These are the things they worship, that
is admire, value, appreciate, pursue, need, and praise. So it is no wonder the
term God has taken on so many different definitions. The words' meaning depends
on who is doing the perceiving. So even the materialist has a God.
Note
the use of the words constrains and limits. That characterizes what went wrong
in the human development of "mind". The human mind should be free of
constraints and be able to create beyond immediately perceptible forms. We
should be able to easily transcend the physical limitations perceived by most
as absolute limitations of the physical dimension. The bible story of the
Garden of Eden is a story of doubt regarding the intent of God and the need to
be in alignment with this intent. God, among other things, is the force of
creation of all things. He is the beginning and the end. He is the Divine Mind.
He is the force that can move in our lives to free us of boundaries and create
through us. We are "nothing" without God. Absolutely nothing! He willed (spoke)
us into being within this perceived physical universe which coheres in Him (in
His Mind and according to His Will). We will not speak here at this time
regarding the nature of God who is spirit and therefore incomprehensible to the
human mind. However, let us introduce the analogy of the dream and the
dreamer. In this analogy God is the dreamer and the dream is creation
and we are part of that creation having been made in a likeness being spirit
with mind. And we can say the force of God gives rise to form within
the spirit and mind of God. And that form when it is man can perceive the
manifestation of that force in the fabric of life (the dream). In the analogy,
the force called God (the dreamer) creates and maintains that form. To use the
term "force" is a compliment or a praise to God because it recognizes Him as
the single intelligent force of all that is or can be. We do not speak of force
in the rigid terminology of the mathematician and as used in various
mathematically based physics theories explaining physical phenomena. Our term
"force" includes all that and beyond. That same intent or meaning is captured
in the scriptures when it is said that God is both the beginning and the end
and without Him there is nothing. Paul said something similar to the
philosophers on Mars Hill when he said, "For in Him we live move and have our
very being". The translations vary but the intent is clear. This is the one
true God. But all these terms whether spoken by Paul or me fall short of
comprehending in human terms the Alpha and Omega, the Holy, Holy, Holy
One.
If you are a logical person then you should be wondering about the
statement that we cannot comprehend God who is the ultimate reality. This means
that if we accept God as our reality we cannot comprehend our reality. Way to
go! And in response, so what? Where before there were clear limits on the
possible and impossible now there are no limits, everything depends on our mind
and how it develops. But we can form notions or concepts called "models" that
define "God" in terms of His purpose and plan for each of us. We can define
agencies of God's presence. Jesus did this when he referred to "God" as his and
our "Father". Some people want to change this to "Mother" or "Father/Mother".
But the term "Father" might be more appropriate if we pursue the issue further.
We will get to this further on.
Firstly, the New Testament teaches us
that it is possible to "experience" God. How can we experience what we cannot
comprehend and touch or smell. We just do. We do so by becoming part of
something that constitutes our experience. You directly experience a burning
house or forest by being in the fire. No description is the same or equivalent
to the experience. A man cannot understand the female experience of giving
birth to a child as well as the woman having the child. One has to be part of
the experience to understand the experience. But how would we "experience" God
who is spirit and does not have physical form as does his creation. Enter
Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is many things. First Jesus is an
example of what to expect when God incarnates human form as a person. As
followers of Jesus Christ he taught that we should aspire to a "oneness" with
God as he was "one" with God. He even went beyond this and indicated a similar
"oneness" between his followers and with God. Therefore, Jesus Christ is not
only an example of God in human form so that we can understand the character of
a holy and pure mind consecrated to God, but from that perspective of
perfection he expects us to emulate that state in our lives. He expects us to
be part of the same experience that he is part of. Upon entering that state and
with others also doing the same there occurs an opportunity and requirement or
need for a very special kind of fellowship to be shared one believer with
another. But realizing that we are unable to accomplish this "state" on our own
he facilitates this "oneness". He does this by sending the Spirit of God into
our soul where the word soul here means body, mind/soul, and spirit - the whole
man. Now, only Jesus can send the Holy Spirit into the life of a believer. This
is clear New Testament teaching. Effectively what happens when he does this is
that our mind is joined to the Divine Mind as a result of our spirit merging in
a "personal" oneness with the "person" of God. This management of "oneness"
under the direction of Jesus Christ is the beginning point of a process of
transformation where our will, desires, feelings, attitudes, concepts and
thinking patterns within our intellect all begin to change according to the
living example we have in Jesus Christ. This is the purpose and plan or Will of
God for each individual so endowed and becomes revealed or manifested in our
caring, behavior, and deeds. This "oneness" constitutes an "experience" of
God.
When our "person" (the word person stands for a mind similar to a
human mind having intellect, reasoning capabilities, feelings, and so on that
express as personality and behavior as driven by the central agency of mind
called the will) encounters the "person" of God our bodies are said to be the
tabernacle of the Lord. Therefore, we become an individualized incarnation of
God but through the mediation or interface of Jesus Christ and so we are deemed
"adopted" sons and daughters of God where only Jesus Christ has the power and
authority of the person of God. Our person becomes an extension under his
management. His person is that single true person of God in human form - Jesus
Christ. There is a clear and distinct difference between being the "person" of
God and becoming an extension of the person of God just as there is a clear
distinction between a house and a room added to the house to use a familiar
analogy that Jesus himself used.
But these are words and the meaning
can easily be lost so let us find a more effective way of saying this. Jesus
taught the use of analogies. So let us do that. To draw further on the analogy
of the dream and the dreamer: Jesus Christ would be a character in the dream
(creation) but representing the dreamer (God) and we would be other persons in
the dream. Jesus appears in the dream on our behalf. Jesus in the dream analogy
is therefore a unique personal manifestation of the dreamer (God) where we are
the others in the dream (creation). Jesus in the dream is able to manage with
these others in the dream the establishment of a state similar to his own of
connection and "oneness" with the dreamer (God). By so doing Jesus is an
intermediary or interface to the dreamer (God).
This analogy is similar
in form to when we have dreams. Let us say I or you each have a dream and in
the dream there are other people. During the dream you decide to appear to
these other people. We can do that in our dream and many of us do dream that
way because it is our dream and under our control. Let us say that in your
dream, the purpose of so appearing is to "remember" those other people in the
dream that would be nothing when you awoke and the dream was no more. You want
to give these people in the dream an attribute of permanence. You want them to
have a presence in your mind when the dream ends. But in the dream these people
must want to voluntarily have this permanence in your memory when you awake.
This is necessary because in your dream one of the rules of the dreams'
operation is to form others with your attributes such as freedom , power, mind,
and so on (like you). For you to do this you must insist that each person
identifies with you and joins to your mind. These are the ones you want to
remember for they are the purpose of your dream in the first place. This is
something you do by entering into the dream and creating an interface to your
mind, not something the people in your dream do, for they are not able to
create this connection being created as unique individuals in and part of the
the dream.
So it is with the dream analogy (creation). By God appearing
to us in a form like our form in the person of Jesus Christ as a creation
(player in the dream) we, the others in the dream, are able to relate by the
physical laws of creation (rules of the dream) to the reality being presented
to us as well as the model of mind, personality, and behavior expected of us.
This is exactly what Jesus did in real life. Real life is not a dream but it is
the manifestation of creation from within the mind and being of God. So the
analogy helps explain these relationships. Jesus said that the Father is
visible to man through the Son - referring to himself as both a special
manifestation of God and also a model of God in human form to which we might
relate and emulate.
What this all comes down to is that most of us have
a sense of reality that is "inside out" or "upside down". We see the physical
universe as an absolute reality and this conflicts with our notion of God and
"oneness" with God. Relative to our analogy of the dream. As participants in
the dream we see the dream as the absolute reality perhaps with some vague
notion of the dreamer. The dreamer is not real to us because we are thinking in
terms and rules associated with the dream and not at all from the perspective
of the dreamer. In fact, if the meaning in our minds is saturated with the
terms that describe the dream we even lack the ability to communicate the very
notion of a dreamer with ourselves and others in the dream. To most in the
dream, the dream and its content is reality, and the "rules" by which the dream
proceeds or is maintained define in our minds the possible and the impossible.
But what we must do is alter our sense of reality to where God is our reality
and we see the physical universe according to the analogy of the dream and from
the perspective of the dreamer. This is where "oneness", true "oneness" not
just voiced "oneness", is the key to obtaining this perspective.
This
change in reality does not make us the person of God but makes us an extension
of God as our mind and character transforms to the template provided by Jesus
Christ. Once we begin to think in the terms of the dreamer (God) we demonstrate
true "oneness" and we participate in his purpose and share in his mind. When we
speak of God, then mind and spirit mean basically the same thing. So if we
share the spirit of God we share the mind of God as a sub process of that mind.
A most obvious teaching in the New Testament is that our will must be
subservient to the Will of the Divine. Within the Divine Mind for each of us is
both purpose and function as we are to be coworkers with Christ. We are to take
on the "mind of Christ". He is both our example, our leader, our interface to
God, our brother, our friend, and a true expression of God in human form. And
finally it is Christ who helps us in this transformation by sending from the
Father the Holy Spirit to bind our spirit with the Eternal Divine Spirit
which/who is the person of God.
As a side note, the aspect of God being
a person and not just an intelligent force is an important distinction and made
so by the use of the word "Father". Sex has no place in heaven and the word
"Father" is not intended to convey a sexual attribute. In addition, we would be
offended if someone called us an "intelligent force" because the word person
conveys a recognition of a very special kind of intellect driving our mind as
well as a recognitions that we are distinct identities each having a high
value. There is also a more subtle aspect to being a person. As a person we
form intelligent meaningful relationships with others like us. So it is no
surprise then that we apply this notion of respect to God. But as with any
word, if it is not protected from mutation it can take on secondary and
tertiary meanings, become an idiom, or completely change it's meaning. That is
what has happened in our society with the word "Father". We should not be
squabbling over whether God is properly a Father or Mother or both. In our
society both these terms are secular and sexual in connotation. They don't
apply to the intent. The intent is that the dreamer (God) can and will form
relationships with those in the dream (creation) and that relationship results
in sharing the very life or essence of the dreamer (God).
We can take
on the attributes of the Divine while yet being only the creation because of
His grace shown toward us. To enable this the dreamer (God) has entered the
dream (creation) and bonded with some in the dream (creation) in a most
personal way by making them co workers with Himself in this dream (creation).
They are equipped and made able through the the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus
Christ is the way the dreamer (God) entered the dream (creation). God
incarnated as a character in that dream (creation). This made that character -
Jesus Christ - of primary importance in establishing the personal relationship
as has been previously mentioned.
Perhaps rather than using an analogy
to visualize the relationship Christians are to have with God through Christ it
might be worthwhile to examine a specific instance of human behavior to see how
this dichotomy works and paralyzes the human mind to manifest the power and
presence of God. At the time of this writing the football World Cup tournaments
are occurring with several of the favored teams now out of the competition.
What is most remarkable about these games is not the game itself but the
national pride associated with these teams and the almost total depression and
disappointment felt by a great many fans when their national team fails to stay
in the competition and is eliminated. These fans take this all way too
personally. For example there was an incident in Argentina where fans were
gathered to view the expected success of their national team. One fan was a
woman clutching a bible to her heart and praying for the Argentina national
team to succeed. At the final moments of the game the team lost out and the
woman bolted to her feat screaming her disappointment and despair. It was like
she saw a loved one killed before here eyes. In Moscow and under the influence
of alcohol fans turned into a mob, set cars ablaze, and caused major property
destruction. In France fans reacted to the elimination of their national team
with tears and many acted as if they were attending a funeral. Some even viewed
their national team with contempt because this team has not met their
expectations. Now to put this in perspective. A football game is just that - a
game. Sports may provide an avenue for people to vent their emotions and
frustrations and as such is more desirable than other forms of violent
expression. But it is also evident by our definition of "religion" that these
fans have both ego identification with their national team and worse yet
"worship" their team and lust after the success of "their" team. This is a
tremendous amount of human energy, time, dedication, and mental/behavioral
preoccupation that these fans are putting into this sport. So much so that by
our definition the sport itself has become their religion. When Christians act
( display this commitment and dedication to sport ) this way they are
displaying that dichotomy of mind that limits the same effort on their part in
becoming "one" with God and experiencing the "fellowship" of the team called
the Body of Christ. They are observers and not participants. Also, sports when
engaged in this way is just one simple example of how a "value system" of the
world society and culture can influence how we think and what we worship. The
point here is how our minds are influenced to function by the things we
worship, that are considered highly significant and of great personal
value.
With the World Cup example when taken in conjunction with the
dream analogy it should be sufficiently obvious to the reader how the culture
in which we are raised or even exposed to, can compromise our ability to form
the New Testament defined relationship with God where God becomes our reality
and the ways of God as exemplified by Jesus Christ become our pattern of
living. The proof and meaning of One True God is a pragmatic proof. By this I
mean that by living this reality it is demonstrated. The proof is in both the
experience and demonstration of this reality. The proof is visible in action
and deed and not in words. Words as in the dialog of this article are only a
mechanism to convey to the reader that they should look into the "living
witness" of God through Christ. This living witness is called the Body of
Christ and is defined by the kind of fellowship believers share with one
another as they manifest Christ in their mind and behavior. Therefore, all true
Christians have a responsibility to set their minds on things "above" and to
"practice or live Christ" and to honor and observe the "fellowship or ministry
of caring" for the transformation occurring with each other.
In New
Testament terms, those that live this reality are the witness that convinces
and persuades the non believer towards the experience of transformation into
the mind and character of Jesus Christ. The proof is to be a living example
which is the manifestation of the kind of fellowship between believers and
between believers and God as taught by Jesus Christ. This required example is
one of the "rules" of the "game" we call life. This "fellowship" is God's rule,
and Jesus "commanded" all believers to love (care for) one another. New
Testament writings clearly saw this "caring" as manifest in attitude and
behavior to one another. Christians are to have a specific concern to attending
or ministering to one another with regard to our transformation or growth in
making God our reality and the "caring" that God exhibits as our motivation of
all our behavior. When we become this way our will expresses the purpose
and plan of God in Christ for our individual life as part of this "fellowship"
of believers. Clutching a bible and praying for the success of a national team
is not an expression of this individual Christ oriented focus and plan. But
this extreme example shows just how easily the value system of this world can
compromise our mentality. We must destroy the dichotomy that we have been
considering here or else our minds will lack the necessary purity to hear and
obey the Holy Spirit.
Notes for further study and
discussion:
[Are there spirits that are ephemeral, transitory, and
transitional as opposed to spirits that are permanent and eternal. Can a germ,
a virus, a butterfly, a horse, a human, and even a plant be considered as one
of these categories. If so how is their presence according to the Will of
God]
[Are there spirits that are associated with group forms versus
individualized and if so how is their presence according to the Will of
God]
[Jesus after his ascension appeared in several different human forms
forcing his disciples to look beyond the form to recognize the person]
[Form
may be realized differently in another dimension of being (such as heaven may
be) and therefore mind in a different dimension would function differently than
mind in this physical dimension]
[Heaven could be a state or a place or
both, I believe it is both. But in being a place it may not be according to the
terms of this physical dimension but according to an alternate dimension. The
term "heaven opened" is used several times in the New Testament.]
[Jesus
took on a "glorified" body that transcended this physical dimension as he
appeared suddenly in the midst of his disciples and physical things like walls
were transparent to him even though at times he allowed himself to be touched
and he ate and he drank.]
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