The Two Trees

The first book in the Bible, Genesis, is the book of beginnings, giving us the origin of all things. For this reason it is most important for us to understand what has been recorded here with regard to MAN, and the basis upon which his life would be lived, in relationship with God. In order to communicate divine truth, it was necessary for the Lord to use symbolic language, hence the setting for the revelations concerning man’s beginning is a Garden. Unfortunately, the natural man sees only a garden and the trees, but the truth here revealed, goes far beyond that which is natural. Therefore let us bow humbly at His feet and seek understanding from Him, to hear what the Spirit is saying to God’s people today.

"The Tree of Life also in the midst of the garden, and the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil". Gen. 2:8-9. Here are two trees which are said to be in the middle of the garden. In our previous study of the Garden of Eden, we stated that the Garden represented our inner being, showing how we function in our daily life.

How expressive is the statement, that two trees were in the center of our being. One tree representing life, and the other representing death. These two trees are not external to us, but in the middle of the garden. Life and Death dwell right in the very center of our being. This is a very sobering thought. It seems to me that the Tree of Life represents the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom it is said, "In Him was Life and the Life was the light of men". Jesus Himself said, "I am the Way the Truth and the Life", in John 14:6. It is also record in I John 5:11-12, "This is the record, that God has given to us eternal life, and this Life is in His Son, He that hath the Son hath Life, and he that hath not the Son hath not Life".

So in the very center of our being is this source of Life, available and within reach. However there is another tree in the middle of the garden of which God said, "The day you eat you will surely die". Both these trees are located in the center of our being, however they are mutually exclusive. In other words, to eat of one tree will deny access to the other, so that it is not possible to eat a little from both trees. It is very obvious that only one tree can be the center of our life. Therefore the reason for these notes is to try and bring this figurative language and the truth it contains, into relevance to our daily lives. But before we proceed further we must understand something of the wonders of creation, and the purpose in the mind of the Creator.

 Purpose in Creation

 The first thing we need to note is, that everything in creation expresses God. A.P. Adams states it this way, "Everything in creation expresses a divine thought; the divine thought is its spirit, that is its real true meaning in the economy of God, and to apprehend that spirit is to recognize God in His works, and thus to recognize and know that God is Life. Therefore Creation is always consummated in Life. That is its end, though it be but the creation of a lump of inanimate clay, the purpose of such creation, ever and always is in the final analysis, Life. And because the highest form of Life is that of the Creator Himself, so all creation tends to bring us to the life of the creator. Thus in endless and ever widening circles, does God express Himself in Creation, that Man in the end, may receive His express image and likeness".

The incredible variations in Creation, therefore become a canvas upon which God has revealed Himself. Every rock and blade of grass, reveals God, and everything created has a purpose. Not only has God created all things, but He also controls the interplay between every part of His creation. Thus the purpose of all things is also established by the One who made them. For many of us, the thought of a Divine Plan, which includes all creation throughout all the ages, is completely unknown. Yet, it seems reasonable, that because the Creator knew the purpose for everything created, it must be His responsibility to see that purpose was fulfilled. In the light of these facts, we begin to understand what Paul was saying, "All things are of God". I Cor. 8:6, 11:12., II Cor. 5:18, Eph. 1:11, Heb. 2:10, and Rom. 11:36.

Let us consider for a moment the subject of knowledge. Did you know all true knowledge is of God? It matters not whether it is the knowledge of mathematics, or physics, or medicine, all true knowledge is of God. Therefore, the school teacher, the mechanic, the doctor, or what ever, are functioning out of a knowledge which is of God. However, God intended that man’s quest for knowledge, should always have as its focus, "to find out God", then both the Sacred and the Secular will be blended into one, and the Head and the Heart will be united. Even in science, man is simply discovering the laws governing this universe, which God set in motion when He created the heavens and the earth.

The one thing man is not capable of doing, is producing life. All life comes from God, from a tiny insect to an elephant. There is absolutely no other source of life in this universe. Therefore everything that has life received that life from God. Let us now look at the creation of Man, for we want these truths to be relevant to us today. Traditional theology, declares there are two sources of Life, the first being God, and the second according to John 8:44, is the devil, who is referred to in our King James bible, as a Father. This poses a problem, for everything in creation came out of God, which must of necessity include satan, yet today many are taught this created being now has the power to produce Life himself. How foolish to suggest such a thing. The father relationship John spoke of, simply indicated the type of people involved, using the analogy of children being like their father.

 Man’s Creation

 Gen. 1:26, "And God said, ‘Let us make man in our image and after our likeness"...v.27 "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them".

To this Man was given dominion over all the Creation of God, and was commanded to be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and also to subdue it. What an incredible position was given to Adam, who is the crowning glory of all God’s creation. Every other part of creation was to become subject to this Man, who was to rule as a vice regal of God. It was David the Psalmist who said, "What is Man that Thou art mindful of him, and the son of man, that Thou visitest him? For Thou hast made him to lack a little from Elohim, and has crowned him with glory and honor". Ps. 8:4-6. This is God’s proto-type, the standard to which every man will attain, when all God’s purposes have run their course. The writer to the Hebrews repeats these verses, but adds a small note, "But now we see not yet all things put under him, but we see Jesus". Heb. 2:6-9.

In Genesis we have just that short cameo picture of Man in his pristine glory, made "to lack only a little from Elohim". We scan the ages to see if we can catch another glimpse of this Man of Glory, but we must wait thousands of years before there appears another Man of Glory, even Jesus Christ, who was declared from heaven to be "The Beloved Son". After His death, burial, and resurrection, we see Him seated on the right hand of the Father, expecting until everything is subdued under His feet. But in His life and ministry He is bringing many sons unto glory. Then in Jude 14 we read of Him coming in holy myriads of Himself. Hallelujah!

What is Man?

We take up the history of man in Gen. 2:7 when the Lord God formed man of the dust of the earth. Here we witness the lowering of man into another dimension in order for God to be able to process him, so that in the end he may be brought back, not simply to the Garden of Eden level, but as a New Creation, never again to be moved from that exalted position, which was given him in the beginning, in the likeness and image of God. In Psalm 90:3, Moses said, "Thou turnest Man to destruction, or a bruising, and sayest, Return ye children of men". He takes us down that He might bring us up.

In the forming of man in the Garden of Eden, we are told, first man’s body was formed (not created), and then the Lord God breathed into his nostrils the breath of lives, and man became a living soul. The forming of man was just a lifeless body, until God put something of Himself into Adam, only then did man become a living soul. This is so important for us to understand, for this is the book of beginnings, describing the very basis of our life. Remember Adam stands for every man, he is the representative of the entire human race. So what befell him, is very relevant to us today.

Now let me tell you how Adam saw himself, in relation to God, during his time in the Garden. Adam knew his life came from God, that is, his life was linked to God’s life. So in the context of creation, he saw himself as an expression of God in his particular form, which was man. Of course this is true of all creation. Everything that God created is an expression of Himself. For every form of life came from God. So when Adam looked at himself he saw himself as an expression of God. When he looked at God he saw something of himself, for he was in fact an extension of God, but in another form, which the creator had chosen. God was in Adam, and Adam was in God. For Adam there was no thought that God was there and he was here, for he saw himself as an expression of God, that is God, expressing Himself in the form of Man.

For some, these thoughts may be new but please bear with me, as we check with scripture to see if these things be so. Let me repeat what we said before, "Everything in creation expresses God". Therefore it is valid to say, "God is in everything", the trees, the mountains, etc., etc. But the point we need to grasp is the fact that God is in us. Now this does not mean that I can declare "I am God," that is to replace God. That would be nonsense, for I am only an expression of God, still in another form, from that which God is. Neither is the tree God, but it also is an expression of God in that particular form. Now let us return to Adam in the garden, who did not see himself as being separate from God, but saw himself as an extension of God’s life. This meant that there was an invisible link which joined the two together, even though the form was different, for God is spirit, and man is a Living Soul. The only one who was in the form of God was Jesus Christ. Phil. 2:6.

If the Queen of England has a male child, then he is a prince, a part of royalty. Even if the Queen had fifty children, they would all be royalty. Royalty can only produce royalty. If we have come out of God, and we have, then we must also be "God People". For only "God People" can come through God. Now let us look at the scriptures to see what it has to say.

Psalm 82:6 "I have said, Ye are Gods: and all of you are children of the most high". This is a most significant statement, as the word used for "Gods", is ELOHIM, giving us an understanding of our origin, and our relationship to the Creator. Look again at Deut. 32:5-6, "They have corrupted themselves, and appear not as His Children, that is their blot or problem. Why do ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish people and unwise? Is not He thy Father that hath bought thee? Hath He not made thee and established thee?"

Now let us look at the New Testament to see if this thought is written there. In John 10:30-38, The Lord Jesus begins by making a statement, "I and my Father are One." Now we need to look at the facts, and not at what men say about these things. Jesus never claimed to be God. For he was born of a woman, and took upon himself flesh and blood, thus identifying himself with us, and became subject to death, even the death of the cross. But here he is saying, "I and my Father are One". As a result, the Jews tried to stone him, because, they said, "Thou being a Man, makest thyself God." Now listen to the reply Jesus gave to them:

"Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are Gods? If HE (God) called them gods, unto whom the Word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; say ye of Him whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, ‘Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God’". Jesus used these very scriptures from the book of Psalms to prove his relationship to the Father, and finished the teaching by saying, "I am in the Father and the Father is in me". Jesus never ever suggested that the Father was in Heaven, and he was on the Earth. He said I and my Father are one, so in John 3:13, he could say, "No man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man who is in heaven". If Father is in heaven then so was He, even though his feet were on the earth, he was in heaven, for Jesus and the Father are one. Jesus was an expression of the Father in human form, for he shared the Life of the Father. Beloved what is true for him is true also for you. The life you have today is an extension of his life, but lowered into a vessel of clay. You cannot exist for one second apart from him.

Beloved these are tremendous truths, which the Holy Spirit must bring into our understanding, if they are ever to become a reality in our lives. Let us look at just one more scripture, in case you’re still doubting the truth about who you really are. One day the Apostle Paul was preaching to the philosophers of his day, as he stood on mars Hill, having seen an altar with the inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Now they knew a multitude of gods, none of which were actually connected with the reality of life, but of the one who created all things including themselves, they were tragically ignorant. So Paul began to declare the True God to them. Acts 17:22-31.

"God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, seeing He giveth to all Life and Breath and All things. Besides He makes out of One (Himself) every nation of mankind, to be dwelling on all the surface of the earth, specifying the Seasons, and the bounds of their dwelling, for them to be seeking God, if consequently, they may surely seek for Him and may be finding Him, though to be sure, He is not far from every one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being, for we are also His offspring."

What tremendous statements these are, and how different our lives would be if we would only enter into the reality of them. In God we LIVE! Our very life is centered in God, and apart from Him I cannot live, apart from Him I cannot function as a person, and apart from Him I cannot even exist. Can you imagine the impact these words had on the philosophers of Paul’s day and yet so few today seem to consider them of any consequence? But Paul is not yet finished presenting this "Unknown" God to the people, for he continues:

"For as much as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device".

The highest form of expression God has created of Himself, because He is a Father, is His children. Every child carries something of the Father in them. Nothing you can make, even out of gold, can express God like one of His children, for the Father’s Life is shared with the child. Until a child is conceived, he remains in the loins of the father, who until he was born was in the loins of his father, and so on, until we come right back to the creator, who is the Father of us all.

Now let us recall the desire in the heart of God, before He brought forth Man. "Let us make Man in our image and after our likeness". You see, God was not interested in simply having billions of children on the earth, but billions who were expressions of Himself. This cannot be achieved by MAN simply producing children after HIS OWN KIND. In the infinite wisdom of God, every offspring He produced, remained an integral part of Himself. Unlike natural birth, where the umbilical cord is cut, and the child continues life independent of the parent, with God the umbilical cord is never severed, for if it was, we would cease to exist. God not only gives us life but He sustains that life out of Himself every second of every day, for: "In Him we live and move and have our being!"

These truths are confirmed in the life of Jesus, for He said, "The Son can do nothing of Himself, but only what He seeth the Father do; for what things the Father doeth, these also doeth the Son" John 5:19. The link between the Father and the Son is so complete, that He said, "To honor the Father is to honor the Son". v. 23.

The Great Deception

Man’s understanding of himself, is that we are totally independent beings with a "free" will, to do and act as we please, and our acceptance or disregard of God, is completely at our own discretion. We believe our life belongs to us personally, and we have the right to do with it as we will, without anyone else having the right to interfere. As a result we fight over our rights, and woman’s rights, etc., etc. So we must ask the question, as to how man can consider himself independent of God, in the light of what the scriptures say to the contrary?

For the answer to this great question we must go back to the Garden of Eden, and man’s beginning. In the middle of the garden, and therefore in the very center of our being, there are two trees. One is the Tree of Life, and the other is the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Of the latter God said, "In the day you eat of it, you will surely die". God has recorded for us the tragic disobedience of Adam, and its consequences for all mankind. First of all, let us consider the judgment of God on Adam. The Lord said, "In dying, thou shalt die". Theologians have tried to explain this death, out of the cleverness of their own minds, often with foolish results. Some say, Adam died in his spirit. Some say that death, was "being cast out of the garden and being banished from the presence of God forever". But what is the truth in God?

The truth is, that the moment Adam ate the fruit of that tree, there was born within him, the thing we call self, and Adam became an individual, quite separate from God, by his own perception. He proved the separateness he felt, by trying to hide from the Lord among the trees. This was something he would never have even considered before he touched that tree. Yes, Adam did die that day, for the SOUL assumed the role of "GOD" without input from the indwelling SPIRIT which IS THE TRUE GOD. From God’s point of view, this constituted DEATH. The LIVING CONNECTION between GOD and Adam was now severed, for in Adam’s mind he was now a separate entity from God. At that moment he considered himself mortal, which means, death as a process began in him, and that dying process or mortality, would continue until it was consummated in death itself.

Beloved, we are not speaking here of some academic knowledge, in these things, but we would do well to "take off our shoes" as we come close to the Father’s heart, to learn the answers to life’s great questions. before Adam touched the forbidden tree, he saw himself as an extension of God in "human" form. He was one with his creator, having imbibed something of the very substance of God, so that he saw himself as a part of, and not separate from God. It is interesting to note that, after Adam disobeyed, we read in Gen. 3:8, "They heard the voice of the Lord God, walking in the garden.....". So for the first time in human history, man perceived God as external to himself. Adam’s perception concerning himself and God was profoundly changed that day, and has remained so, to this very hour in all of mankind.

John 1:9, tells us that The Word who was in the beginning with God and was God, "Lighteth every man that cometh into the world". Is it not interesting that worship of deity is incorporated into every culture? It seems that there is in the heart of every man a quest to discover from whence he came, knowing it must be from a higher form of life. Such knowledge really determines the level upon which we will live life on this planet. I believe the two most dynamic questions to which we all need answers, are:

1. Where did I come from? and

2. Why am I here?

The answer to these questions will provide an understanding of WHAT GOD IS, and our own identity. It is an established fact, that whatever, or whoever, we perceive our God to be, that is what we consider ourselves to be. To further understand this change in perception, we must remember there was no such thing as evil evident in all of creation. (see Gen 1:31). It was not until the question of the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil came up that the serpent appeared in the garden. You see, everything that came to Adam was GOOD for it flowed out of God.

The serpent said to Eve, "God knows, that in the day that ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as Gods, knowing good and evil". Yes, it was perfectly true, for their eyes were opened to a new perception, which radically changed man himself, and also his relationship with God. Now you will notice that I use the word perception, for everything I have said about Man being an extension of God in human form, having come from God, and being sustained every moment by God is the truth, and this is the reality. So what man believes about himself today is only a perception.

Listen to the prophet Isaiah in Ch. 1:2-3, "Hear O heavens, and give ear O earth, for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib; But Israel doth not know (their owner), my people doth not consider (where they came from or who is their father)". How could such a state of affairs come about? The answer is simply that Adam touched the wrong tree which introduced a false perception to all humanity, thus "Turning us to destruction, or a bruising". Ps. 90:3.

Now we hasten to add, that all this could not have happened unless these things were the intention of the creator. Remember Paul’s declaration in Rom. 11:36, "All things are from God, and everything exists because of God, and everything ultimately returns to God". Therefore, nothing can happen even to the death of a sparrow, without your heavenly Father’s permission and participation. (Matt. 10:29). So every fine detail of Adam’s experience had to be ordered of the Lord, and was a part of God’s plan of creation, devised before the foundation of the world. To the natural man, it seems foolish for God to plan such events, but as truth unlocks the realities of God, we bow and worship at His feet, and declare, "His ways are perfect".

It was necessary for God to pull the curtain across our past in God, in order for us to be processed in this earth-bound sphere. So the turning of man to "a bruising", Ps. 90:3, was a very necessary part of God’s plan. For if we came from God, then in that case we must all have known truth, at one time, because God is Truth. Thus it was necessary to veil that truth, so as to process us, in the realm of mortality. Therefore in a real sense, Truth is in fact, a remembering.

The Power of Perception

Every nation on the earth has a perception of deity, and it is an established fact, that whatever your "God" is, that is what you will be. See what Jeremiah the prophet says (2:11), "Hath a nation changed gods, which are yet no gods? For my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. Be astonished, O ye heavens at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord". Again we read in Psalm 106:19-20, "They made a calf in Horeb and worshipped the molten image. Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass". You will notice it was not God’s glory that was changed, but their glory was changed into a lesser glory, relative to an ox. In West Iran, there is a tribe there who have worshipped very angry gods, who constantly required to be appeased, and as a result they are themselves an angry people, with the men in particular being very violent towards their wives and children. Whatever god you worship, will be reflected in your perception of yourself, in terms of your being and worth.

For centuries, the Christian church has presented God as an angry God, who must be appeased by the Lord Jesus Christ, to prevent Him venting His anger on us by consigning us to an endless burning hell, if we do not respond correctly to Him. Now if that is your perception of God, you will act accordingly. But the Truth is, that God is Love, not just loving, but is love, and he was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. Therefore to know Him, causes that same love to flow through us, and we will reach out in mercy and grace to all about us.

It is impossible for you to know any God who is external to you. You can only ever learn about a God who is external to you, but you will never, never know Him. You may talk about the God of Abraham, but you do not know Him, only about Him. It will not be, until you find a God with whom you can identify, as being the very substance from which you have come, that you can ever know Him. No one had to teach Adam who God was, or what he was like, if He was angry or kind, for Adam saw himself as an extension of God, and so whatever God was, that was what he was.

For the vast majority of people today, their concept is that God is external to them, so when they pray, they change their voice tone, and speak to someone, who, to them is in a totally different sphere called heaven. To worship God they must "go to church", for that is where you worship God. You see, God is external to them, for they are here on the earth, and God is up in the SKY. This then, is the reason why few people ever really know God, they may know a million things about God, but they do not know Him, for He is external to them, according to their perceptions.

The Apostle Paul sought to correct the false perception of the saints in Corinth, when he said, "And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the Temple of the Living God; as God hath 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.

Again in 1 Cor. 6:16-17, Paul states, "He that is joined to an harlot is one body", because the union involves only the body, but, "He that is joined unto the Lord IS ONE SPIRIT".

As the Lord is opening the eyes of our understanding, we are now discovering our true relationship with God, which is based upon the work of the Creator, and not the result of some action on the part of man himself. To the Corinthians, Paul says, "Don’t you know your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, which is in you". Here then is the contrast with the Old Testament revelation of God dwelling in the Tabernacle that Israel built in the wilderness, and later in the Temple built by Solomon, which were but a shadow of the present reality. Now, God does not dwell in temples made with hands, but He has made his own temple, as part of Creation, that is our own bodies. So God is in us, for "In Him we live and move and have our being. Jesus said, "In my Father’s house are many dwelling places", which are not bricks and mortar, built on some golden street of heaven, but we are His dwelling place in Christ.

Adam with Amnesia

We have all experienced the vanity of life, and seen the rich man die and have to leave all the wealth he had accumulated to others. Most of us have asked the question, "Is there not more to life than what we have experienced"? When we look back at the beginnings of man, and see the reality of life Adam enjoyed as one with the Creator, we realize how far we have come down the road of the "bruising", Psalm 90:3. How many of us have spent much of our lives seeking to "please God", by attending church, and reading our bible, memorizing scripture, praying, being baptized, by giving to the church our tithe, and trying to evangelize the world? But when we have done all we know to do, the aching void within remains, and God still seems as far away as ever. What the bible teaches, we find ourselves unable to do, but find solace in the fact we can quote the verses, and know the doctrines.

Man today is just like "Adam with amnesia", not knowing in reality who we are, or even where we came from. We read the scriptures but they seem to mock us instead of lifting our spirits. We live like beggars upon the earth, fighting for survival, desperately trying to claw our way out of the "quick-sands" of life, before we are overcome. We have done what the preachers have told us to do. We have believed in Christ, we have repented, we have, "asked Jesus into our heart", we have been "filled with the spirit" and speak in other tongues, we study and pray, yet God remains in heaven and we remain on the earth, with nothing more than a "mental link" between the two.

Just like a man who has lost his memory and has forgotten his name, and who he is. Confusion reigns, for we have asked Christ into our heart, but we pray to Him up in Heaven, and look for His coming up in the sky, there seems to be no reality in the things we believe, and say we know. We believe God is working all things after the counsel of His own will, but have to take drugs to calm our nerves so we can sleep at night. We say we trust in the Lord, but our heart is gripped by a thousand fears, which imprison us and refuse to let us go. We believe our times are in His hands, but cannot cope with our grief when loves ones are called to leave. We believe God is all wise and all knowing. but become distraught at the circumstances He allows in our lives.

We say we love God, but we hate our brother, we sing, "we are one in the Spirit", yet refuse to fellowship with those who hold different views to ours. We believe in the unity of the Spirit, and stand for the oneness of the Body of Christ, but pledge loyalty to our group, and call ourselves by sectarian names which divide the Body. We believe John 3:16, and proudly quote, "God so loved the world", but relegate the majority in that world to a burning hell. We believe Christ is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the whole world, but then to make it agree with our doctrine, we limit it to only those who believe like we do.

Life for so many has become a delusion, a fantasy, which we live out with great religious fervor, but our mind remains darkened to the emancipating truths of our origin and being. I firmly believe this is the dawning of a New Day in God, as He prepares His Sons for that great day of manifestation, for which the whole of creation is presently groaning. Beloved, let us have done with the doctrines of Men, which keep men bound in perpetual infancy. I declare to you today, that if you will dare to believe God, instead of men, you will discover the Truth that will set you free.

Before Jesus returned to the Father He prayed for us, and I want to share some thoughts concerning His plan and purpose for us today. The High Priestly prayer of Christ is recorded for us in John 17, and gives us an insight into the very heart of God.

Verses 21-26, "That they all may be one, as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us; that the world may believe that Thou hast sent me. And the glory which Thou gavest me I have given to them, that they may be one, even as we are one. I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and Thou lovest them as Thou lovest Me.

Father I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with me where I am: that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me, for thou lovest Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee, but I have know thee, and these have known that thou hast sent Me. And I have declared unto them thy Name, (Father) and will declare it, that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me, may be in them, and I in them".

We note carefully, what the Lord Jesus Christ desired of the Father. Not that people would be "saved" or "born again but that they may be one in relation to God, and one in relation to one another. In all honesty we have to confess, that despite all the religious fervor of the church, God’s people today are more divided than ever. Just look in any area, and usually there is a multiplicity of fellowships, all with their own distinct emphasis, and this is typical of the situation world wide. These divisions have robbed the church of its credibility as far as the world is concerned. Jesus prayed for a unique oneness, which He said would be a testimony to the world, thus convincing them that God had sent Him.

Beloved, the traditional doctrines of the church have never brought unity to God’s people, and never will. Repentance and "accepting Christ" have not united God’s people, and water baptism with its many modes and formulas, has only further divided the people.

The uniqueness of the life Christ lived on the earth, was only possible because He understood and believed His relationship with the Father. He knew and believed what the word said concerning Himself. In Luke 24:27, Jesus began at Moses and all the prophets, and expounded unto them in all the scriptures, the things concerning Himself. How much more do we need to know what the scriptures say about ourselves instead of trying to define the order of events at the coming of Christ, or who is the anti-Christ?

Most people live out of a false perception considering they are complete in themselves, with their own identity, and feel they are totally responsible to make their own lives successful. All this, in spite of what the scriptures declare in Jer. 10:23, that the way of man is not in himself, it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.

Let us cry unto the Lord and seek His face, and search for Him with all of our heart, until we find Him. and when we have found Him we will have found ourselves, for we can only discover Him within the reality of our own being, as God said, "I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people".

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