John 10:34-37 "Is it not written in your Law, 'I have said you are gods'? If he called them 'gods,' to whom the word of God came—and the Scripture cannot be broken— what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, 'I am God's Son'? Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does."
Matthew 5:9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God."
This first quote remains unmentioned by nearly all Christian churches around the world. It reminds us that we are, in reality, much grander than we think we are. Jesus shows that he can truthfully say that he is the Son of God because of this declaration in the Book of Psalms. Anyone can say the same exact thing, but the difference is that Jesus undoubtedly knows it's true because of his personal experiences. You can call yourself the Son of God if you do God's Will, living as a "peacemaker."
Galatians 3:25-27 "You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ."
Here we see that we are can only call ourselves the Son of God if we have "faith in Christ Jesus," which means having Christ consciousness. Jesus is the first person to be identified as the Christ, making him the model or perfect expression of Christ. We do not need faith specifically in Jesus, but really in anyone who has "clothed themselves with Christ."
Matthew 17:5 "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"
John 10:30 "I and the Father are one."
This first quote of the two is from the Transfiguration, and it shows how it is possible to be aware of God's Love so much that His voice is audible. God doesn't love Jesus any more than He loves us, but since Jesus realized that he and His "Father are one," communication is easy.
John 1:29 "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"
Matthew 20:18-19 "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!"
These are great passages, but I believe they have been misinterpreted and misused in the Christian dogma. The "Lamb of God" statement has been taken literally when related to the crucifixion: people think of it meaning that Jesus was a sacrifice, but Jesus never claimed it was so. "Lamb of God" refers the traditional sacrificing ritual and how it was believed to take away sin, bringing about at-one-ment. But John the Baptist did not say "Look, the Lamb of God that will be sacrificed for the forgiveness of original sin!" The Bible never mentions "original sin"! It is purely Christian dogma. Jesus is the Lamb of God because he "takes away the sin of the world" through forgiveness! ACIM teachers like to answer WWJD (what would Jesus do) with forgiveness; who would ever say sacrifice was the answer? Since he is the Forgiver, he is the at-one-ment. This is why he claims he is one with the Father.
When Jesus predicted his death for the millionth time in that second passage, he said that he will be crucified, not for for forgiveness of original sin, but to "be raised to life"! Since this has never happened in the recorded history of the Bible, it says a lot about his oneness with the Father. This was done in order to demonstrate the imperishability and immortality of the spirit, and was also a great conclusion to his legacy. I have to question, "why do people focus on the "atonement" (which is a false definition for at-one-ment) instead of the resurrection?"
Luke 9:23-24 "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it."
Unfortunately, "take up your cross daily and follow me" has been interpreted as preaching the faith and converting everyone. But really, what good does that do? The passage is about being a servant- being defenseless instead of dwelling in the duality of defense and attack. Attempt to "save your life," and you "will lose it." I named my blog the "Selfless Self" because this is what both Jesus and Buddha preach. If you "lose your life," which basically means lose your ego or your life-situation, then you will actually save your life. You must "take up your cross daily" by being tenacious and consistent on the path to God. Selflessness, love, and forgiveness are what Jesus wants you express daily, since that is what he did in his life.
John 3:16 "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
John 14:12 "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."
This "faith in Christ" teaching I talked about earlier in the post, and these two quotes help explain the concept better. Jesus had "faith in Christ," and this is how his "eternal life" was apparent through his resurrection, and how he was able to do miracles. Now, if we were to do this the same way, Jesus says we "will do even greater things" than he did, and we would not perish but have eternal life. We know when someone does not have true faith in Christ if they do not perish and they do miracles like Jesus did. Sound a little extreme? Well, some people on this planet have done just that; Babaji, Saint Germain, Sai Baba, and Maitreya are perfect examples of this.
Matthew 28:19 "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
And finally, the Great Commission. This passage has presently become a grand converting disaster mess uh-oh mishapping. Why do we always have to work through the ego instead of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? We must make disciples of the Trinity, "baptizing" them and guiding them on their way to becoming expressions of the Christ.
To conclude, I must say this: lets get real, and avoid making something that isn't all-encompassing. Jesus Christ's teachings were definitely all-encompassing; Christian teaching is not. We are in desperate need of universality, making disciples of the Trinity instead of converters to Christianity. We must avoid connecting passages that bring about mayhem and corruption. By their fruits you shall know the believers in Christ, not by their ignorance, their ego, their dogma, their converting, or their cult attitude. And remember, "you are gods."
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