Divine Oneness
Greetings and good morning, brothers and sisters. This is Dr. James Perry continuing with our series where we seek to explore the deeper meanings of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Over the years, the heavenly Father has shared many revelations of spiritual truth to me, and I want to share them with you. This morning we will consider the process for attaining divine oneness. We shall do so from the perspectives of Jesus being one with the Father and our being one with the Father through Jesus, his Son.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
Divine Oneness
"Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works sake." John, Chapter 14, Verse 11
Brothers and sisters, when Jesus sojourned in the flesh, Phillip asked him to show him the Father. Jesus’’ response was why didn’’t Philip know him, as he had lived with Jesus and called him ““master.”” Jesus said, ““if you know me, then you know my Father. Who has seen me has seen the Father.”” He went on to say, "believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me or else believe because of the works." How is this so?
The technique whereby God escaped from a solitary existence in infinity and eternity was for him to separate his personal functions from his non-personal functions. We must always keep in mind the God is not only spirit but he is among many other things energy as well. Thus, he reveals his personal self in his Son, and having done so he now becomes Father to this Son. To know the personal attributes of the Father, we must look to his Son, for that is where we will find them, separated from his other non-personal attributes. This is why whosoever has seen the Son has seen the Father. "Literally and figuratively, spiritually and personally, the Father and the Son are one. It is a fact: He who has seen a Creator Son has seen the Father." Time and space present no barrier to the Father. The Father is present by will.
Jesus is the only begotten Son of the heavenly Father. He is the personal revelation of the Father. When we desire to know what the Father is like in character and what his spirit is like, we look to the Son. He who has seen the Son has seen the Father.
When we behold the Son, we don’’t actually behold the personality of the Father. When Jesus told Phillip that when he saw him, he saw the Father, Jesus did not say that he was the personality of the Father. The personality of Jesus is different from the Father’’s personality, but they both share the same spirit. The personality of the Father is infinite and absolute. We must always bear in mind that the God is not only personal but also non-personal. He is also force and energy. So we come to know the personal aspects of him as Father, and the revelation of him as Father is personally revealed in his Son. The Father’’s spirit and his character are present in his Son. If it were divinely possible for the infinite and absolute Father to appear on earth in person, his character and his conduct would be the same as Jesus’’. His reaction to living the human life would be identical to the way that Jesus reacted--so perfectly. The Father’’s ministry would be the same identical ministry as his Son’’s. Thus, whosoever has seen the Son has seen the Father.
If we comprehend Jesus, then we comprehend the Father. At some point in our spiritual development, we will actually see the Father in person, and when we do we will know factually then what we know by faith now: The Father and his Son are one. In fact, if our faith were perfect, we would not expect to see other than the Son when asked to be shown the Father. Always must we look to the Son to see what the Father is doing, for the Son only does that which he sees the Father doing.
And now we come to the technique whereby we become one with the Father through his Son, Jesus. The Father is living love, and this love is eternal. Jesus invites all of us to come to him, and he will give us eternal life. This eternal life is the same life that flows from the Father through Jesus to us. If we accept Jesus, by accepting his command to love each other as he loves us, this love, which is eternal, will infuse our souls and impart eternal life to them. It is the Father’’s will that Jesus imparts this eternal life to us, for Jesus said, "I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’’s will--that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that everyone which seeth the son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day."
By taking on the human nature, Jesus, the Son of God, made it possible for all who comprehend and believe him to take on the divine nature. Taking on the divine nature imparts eternal life to the soul. So when we love one another as Jesus loves us, we are in truth experiencing the divine nature. We are experiencing eternal life, divine oneness. If we are to survive the mortal life and receive the gift of eternal life, we must abide by the Father’’s will as Jesus demonstrated. The life of the Father flows through his divine Son, Jesus, and from Jesus to us.
While we live our lives in the flesh, divine oneness will be ours by faith. That is, we believe we are one with Jesus, and because we do we become one with him in spirit. This oneness with Jesus in the Spirit of Truth imparts the same values and meanings to our souls as if it were a fact. By accepting this divine oneness with Jesus, we can love here as we are with the same love that we will have when we are resurrected on high. We can live the heavenly life even while we live the earthly life, with its ups and downs. Spiritual values, the things of the Father, are not subject to the ups and downs of life, to the vicissitudes of life. Spiritual values vanquish time and ignores space. Eternal love knows no boundaries. All fall before its unconquerable force and attractive affection.
Divine oneness is the desirable state for all mortals for it is the reality of eternal life, the passport from temporal reality to eternal reality. And it is available to us here and now simply by our following Jesus. Love one another, brothers and sisters, as Jesus loves us.
This concludes today's message on understanding how we achieve divine oneness in the flesh through Jesus. We hope you find something in this message to ponder and pray about as you go about your day.
Until next time, this is Dr. James Perry.
Your Kingdom Come; Your Will Be Done!
Inspirational Messages of Light
By Dr. James Perry
Divine Oneness
