The Gospel of Jesus: Concepts in Unity.

The term “Gospel” is used a great deal within the context of the bible and Christianity. The“Gospel” may mean different things in differing contexts. But it’s common to hear the term “The Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Is there a Gospel message for you? Do you have one? Do you embrace it? Do you share it?

I’m prompted to share what I’d call “The Gospel.” But it's a message I've come to understand that aligns with what I read that Jesus taught. I’m happy to share such a message because it simply makes sense to me. But, it’s a very different Gospel. It’s what I’d call the Gospel of Light and Truth. It's the basis Jesus shared with concepts that align with what is simply true about life. Both as I’ve experienced life and how the leading of the Holy Spirit has made itself known to me throughout my entire spiritual journey, starting from childhood. I think there are others who've had a similar journey and a similar experience...

Encountering Conflicting Gospel Messages...

I tried to “live into” the Gospel of Sin and Salvation.

It was a door I walked through, a stage I went through and a time when I experienced growth. But, given enough time, there was a new wave that prompted me to continue onward. Like a lot of other things we experience, there’s a time of newness, a time of very happy positive association, a time of familiarity and ultimately a time of seeking to replace whatever that thing is. And although there were times when I was centered on the Gospel of Salvation, ultimately the equilibrium did not last. The message supported me, and pulled me forward into very necessary spiritual and personal growth, but then it stopped serving me. And to be clear, for a good amount of time, I leaned into the idea that “more was needed.” More church, more worship, more prayer, more study, more religious activities. Mostly because of the implications surrounding such a Gospel. Essentially, if something is not working, "It’s because of you. You're falling short. You’re giving into temptation. You're doing something wrong."

Eventually though, after finding no resolution, I accepted that the changes needed went beyond the monologue that I was somehow at fault. Prior to joining any church, I’d experienced a lifetime of God’s personal leading, prompting, and growth. I think most people do. But when the growth stopped and I found myself expecting more, I’d initially thought it was because of me and my own “failure.” But after careful, deep soul searching, knocking, asking, and seeking, I understood, the change and the process I was going through was simply part of a very necessary step toward renewed personal and spiritual growth.

And because of that realization, I no longer felt ashamed of the changes I was prompted to take. This was between God and myself. Between this entity we call God and what I was convinced is a child of God. It was me determining what it was that I understood about myself and God and what I didn't. I hadn’t been centered because the Gospel of Salvation didn’t align with the inherent sense of connection to God I’d felt from the time I was a child. I’d reached a point where I needed to take my own spiritual growth into my own hands and into my own heart.

As a result of knocking, seeking and asking, I began to see through a different lens and accepted that the need for growth aligned with all the other natural processes I'd observed in every other living thing. Everything is in motion and undergoing a process of growth. Just as the progression of a seed emerges from below the ground and moves toward the light.

I observed we are all part of this continuum. But I also understand not everyone either see’s it that way or even considers the concept being applied to personal growth and spirituality. But for some of us, we realize deep within, it’s nevertheless a necessary change. I came to see, many of us enter in through the door of religion and come out through the door of spirituality. For many others, religion is the entry and remains the abiding place thereafter. I make no judgement. I only suggest each of us call into account what it is we say we believe and how those beliefs are serving us. As an example, most people share what it is "they believe" about the upcoming weather, or about the outcome of a sporting event that's yet to be played and do so without hesitation. Yet, most won't share what it is they believe about God outside of the confines of their church group. A topic that is usually of the utmost importance to them. To which I simply ask the question, "Do you truly believe it then?"

Among a myriad of other prompting and spiritual indicators I’d experienced within, I slowly began to observe the Gospel of Salvation wasn’t always serving those around me as well.

I saw it in a number of ways. For one, I’d come to understand the entire idea of this thing considered Christianity wasn’t supposed to be a “Belief System.” Christianity, as I read it, was to serve us as a “Become System.”

I also looked at the world around me and saw the results of two thousand years in this "Belief System" hadn’t moved human kind "forward" much at all. Instead, I observed the world existing in recurring cycles of separation, fear, and dissolution. A world mired in societal, financial and racial hierarchies of all kinds. All subjects of great importance that Jesus either spoke about or provided an illustration for.

One other observation was quite the wake up call for me:

I’d hear people say, “I’ve missed church, I need to get back to service, because I NEED TO GET FED."

John 6:32 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.”

Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

John 4:14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

I see people “Coming to Jesus” yet, in the absence of the church and worship experience, still hungry, and still thirsty.

But, as my awareness of these signs increased, I didn’t “lose faith” or “fall away” or “backslide.” I simply tried to reach higher to see what direction I needed to take in order to make it align. Since up until this time, there were voices from every direction telling me about God and what I was to believe about God. But I chose to dig as deeply as possible so I could understand for myself what Jesus was actually attempting to teach and could find the voice firstly within myself and secondly hear what that voice was saying.

I clung to that concept Jesus described of a message that would “fill people up, and satisfy them.” One that served women and men in the "here and now." One that would have a sustainable impact on my daily walk of life. A Gospel message that once I partook and “ate this bread of life,” would satisfy me. I asked, "What was the path to Jesus that could be traveled, so that once there, I would never hunger again." A reference point, a basis, to serve as a Gospel that aligned with my deeper sensibilities, with a foundation that was tangible, rational, and presented realistic expectations for how I could actually integrate it and better navigate my life.

The Gospel of Truth and Light:

Jesus shared a profound "new reality" for human kind - not a "new religion."

In this new reality, he presented the keys to understanding God, keys to understanding ourselves and all the connections that occur between the two. He introduced a new way of thinking, breathed it into the world and it emerged as “New Thought." It was intended to completely transcend the established religion of his ancestry, and the prevailing mindsets of his day. In his new thought, he communicated a revised way of understanding God. As a result there also emerged a new understanding for what an "abundant life" could be and a new priority and approach for living such a life.

The overarching message he shared was to lead those who were immersed in the ancient revelations that predated him, to move forward into a completely new understanding. He called this his “New wine” and made it clear it couldn’t be mixed with the former “Old wine,” or the teaching would be lost. His gospel was also to serve the rest of the world, beyond his own religious ancestry, ethnicity and geography for generations to come.

Going forward, the Gospel of Jesus Christ was intended to serve as a guide for “modern audiences.” It was to provide a means of propulsion to push women and men toward understanding deeper “aspects of being” into the modern era and beyond. Eternal concepts that would serve humankind as a ”new reality,” not as a new religion.

At the core of Jesus’s teaching, he was conveying an equilibrium founded within “Concepts of Unity.”

In this “way of being,” "Our” connection to God, is understood to exist in a similar way to “His” connection to God. And in this teaching, the manner in which he shared these concepts was very “inclusive” and without any superimposed hierarchy for those considered “sanctified” and those otherwise considered of any "lesser status." The unity was so deep and profound that he placed himself right in the midst of the union. His illustrations constantly dismantled the existing societal hierarchy of his people, place and time. If there were any "levels" implied, it was founded in concepts of those enlightened and those unenlightened, grounded in his teaching of “Being born again.”

Being born again translates as those who have “transcended the experiential mind” filled with sensory judgements and reflexive responses for a mind that is awakened anew to the values founded in aspects of Light and Truth. The two key aspects which serve as the basis for much of his teaching. The result of knowing such deeper aspects of Light and Truth, exist to establish, grow up and enhance our “reborn spiritual life” to live alongside and ultimately transcend our “physical, sensory based life.”

Our challenge is confronting the archetypal way for how we tend to see things. Specifically, because of the religious model that has existed for thousands of years, we’ve accepted certain ideas that frame our responses for many of the considerations about the idea of God and about ourselves. Because of this model, we've mostly accepted that religious leaders hold a "higher place" in the things of God because of study and education. For some, there's an implication that somehow the Holy Spirit is portioned to our religious leaders in greater measure than to ourselves.

Maybe you've found the following as well? While study about God will teach you about life, if we pay close enough attention, studying life will teach us about God.

Also, in the religious lens that many of us have come to see life through, the transcendent aspects we attribute to the divinity of Jesus, are the priority over and above how we are to understand and apply his greater message to our life. And in doing so, an emphasis on the “divinity” of Jesus prompt worship in much greater measure than transformation. The focus on worship of Jesus, kept at the pinnacle of a spire so high in the sky, causes us to lose sight of his teaching for the new ways of understanding our “reality” down here on earth. Unfortunately in this emphasis, takeaways for approaching daily life have been stepped over in favor of worship and as result, most practical application of his teachings on spirituality is missed.

There's a reason.

The manner that women and men experience Church and their ultimate success is stifled by the “School Model” we encounter in the Church setting. This model keeps us from becoming rational, confident, independent, self aligning, self regulating spiritual beings.

The “model for teaching” Jesus demonstrated however, resembled the “Family Model.”

Here’s the difference: The school model, most prevalent in the religious setting, is based on an educated, trained instructor teaching a less trained, and at times presumed "less capable," student. Nothing wrong with this model when learning Algebra per se, but in the church setting, knowing exactly when and how you’ll graduate can be a little unclear...

In the family model which I observe from Jesus, the implication as we undergo our process for learning, is knowing that one day we’ll apply those lessons when we’ve left home and are ultimately out on our own. In such a model, the individual is provided the essentials for living, is guided and affirmed in the process and carries an expectation to take those essentials with them out into the world. In the world, away from home, the implication is they will exist as a self regulating adult who will operate with complete autonomy over the course of their life yet, do so bearing the original imprint and connection to their family.

In like manner, the result of understanding the essential truths taught by Jesus exist to create enlightened, awakened individuals capable of spiritually self regulating over the course of their life while maintaining their connection to the essential truths they possess.

And to the underlying message I’m sharing, his concepts are intended to serve human kind as commonplace realities that exist within the realm of daily living. Whether established in mundane, recurring tasks, workplace, time with friends or family or time alone, the aspects of the spiritual reality that Jesus spoke of weren’t reserved for ceremonial, religious observances. I contend they weren’t intended to provoke a religious response whatsoever. And certainly never a response that is somehow - something other than real, normative expression. Think about it - His concepts for living were mostly shared out in the wilderness or along the shores of a body of water, spoken to common people hauling children and scraps of food. His spiritual truths are to be understood as ordinary and ever present. A new reality. Our role in response is to seek to understand the essential truths he shared, and simply apply the concepts to our daily living.

What’s illustrated in the teaching examples written of Jesus is that he taught in non-binary terms which suggested, “Here’s the setting and the parameters for what success or enlightenment represent. Now YOU go and determine the boundaries and the necessary elements to work out your process in order to obtain the desired results.”

I read the “Concepts in Unity” Jesus taught for a higher way of being and practical enlightenment as being very “inclusive” by sharing the reality for women and men existed in a manner that resembled his own. A reality “grounded in simplicity” that could be grasped, known, understood and lived out. Specifically, within each of us exists the presence of the guiding, inner intelligence he described as “Our” Father and the connection that exists in a similar way to the presence of God he referred to as “His” Father.

This relationship was to be understood as a vital yet, “commonplace” connection for each and every one of us. In this simple reality, our priority was to understand the presence of God known as "The Father" exists to serve us as the transcendent aspect of how we are connected to our shared source, which is the source of all creation: The creative, love intelligence we commonly refer to as God.

With one caveat: The degree we turn to the light of this truth will serve as the measure of light we receive in return.

Jesus referred to the conduit in this relationship as the “Holy Spirit” and “The Spirit of Truth,” which serves to connect each of us to the guiding principle called “Our Father.” But take note: Language is limiting. As a result, there are concepts that exist that are “profound” yet are described using a vocabulary that falls short of the extraordinary elements that such words seek to reveal. Yet, the key element for our understanding in this discourse is that Jesus essentially spoke of the "transcendent and transformative” using words that are “commonplace and ordinary.”

The term “Father” for example, has been misinterpreted by religious ideologies in a way that misses the deeper meaning from Jesus by limiting the concept to a “masculine, authoritative being.” Consider how reflexively we refer to God and use the term, “He.” Jesus used the term himself, yet again I point to the limits of language. Unfortunately, his teaching on deeper concepts remains mostly unexplored with our response to the designation “He.” Our fixation with the masculine idea not only limits the realm Jesus was attempting to “expand” for our understanding, but also exists alongside the Old Testament concepts that imply an inferior value to women as either a wife and servant to man or as temptress. Which is taken from the former religious ideals that I read Jesus turning completely upside down.

I’ve discerned the term “Father” used by Jesus however, not as a “rule making, and ultimately punishing entity” which the religious leaders of his day maintained as their basis, being unable to see beyond their ancient revelation.

Instead, it’s a term that implies the commonplace, ordinary relationship and expectation, understood in nearly every familial model. Wherein the term “Father” represents the all encompassing “guiding force” that exists to teach, to guide, to counsel, to provoke, to halt, to inspire, to govern, to reveal, to care for, to protect, to awaken, to lift up, and to even bring us down a place of contrition for actions that fail to serve our higher good.

Jesus’s simple message is that “He” and in like manner “We” exist as “one” with the innate presence of God within each of us that exists as Our Father. A most wonderful, transcendent yet most common concept. And a reality that is easily walked in and held as a guide for what we may consider as an Essential Truth.

In similar manor, the terms “Holy Spirit” and “Born Again” have been misunderstood by ideologies that mostly miss the role of such concepts to bring forth any practical, transformative or rational response.

Jesus gave a fascinating allegory for the Holy Spirit by describing it in a most ethereal way. And to the earlier point, his illustration presents us with the context but foregoes any literal idea or detailed interpretation.

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

“What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”

Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.” John 3:3

I believe Jesus is intentionally vague when he likens the holy spirit to the wind blowing. Most importantly, its existence is perceived by others but exists without rationality to all those who encounter its presence.” He also closes the door on those who insist the entire scope of all things related to God can be fathomed or even should be when he says, "... you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit."

Consider that wind and breezes are quite commonplace yet quite extraordinary. They may exist ever so subtly just beyond our perception, or kick up a stir that’s visible or audible or even experienced as quite powerful. To the point of the example he provides, wind exists as a commonality that all of us are aware of, and attuned to in one measure or another. It may be subtle or capable of creating profound changes to the landscape, but nevertheless, the wind, like the Holy Spirit, should be considered commonplace, capable of manifesting in subtle ways and readily at hand. It serves as a kind of conduit unto our connection to Our Father.