the_nature_of_god.pdf

Neville 09-22-1969

THE NATURE OF GOD

To think of the Bible's events as historical, and the characters recorded there as persons such as you and I, is

to see truth tempered to the weakness of the human form, unable to stand the strong light of revelation. But I

tell you: it is in us, as persons, that the nature of God is revealed.

Paul tells us his conversion came through a revelation of Jesus Christ. It did not come through a man, thereby

causing him to change religions. No. Paul never forsook Judaism, but interpreted the meaning of the Old

Testament through revelation. But was Paul a person, an individual being such as you are, as I am; or is he,

too, one of these eternal characters? That is the question I am asking tonight.

I tell you: all of the characters of scripture, including Paul, are eternal states. One day, whether you be male

or female, you will reach the state of Paul, and your journey in the world of death will come to its end.

A friend of mine - a lady with two children and expecting her third - wrote, saying: "In vision I saw the Bible

opened to the New Testament and heard the words: `You are Paul.' I was so startled I broke the vision and

awoke questioning the words, `I am Paul? I am Paul? I am Paul?' The idea seemed too much for me to

grasp, so I returned to sleep and the dream continued. I saw the entire New Testament opened at the Book

of Matthew, then an invisible hand moved the pages through the Book of Revelation as I heard the words:

`It's all about Paul,' So I ask you: Who is Paul?"

Paul is a state you enter when, having been introduced to Christianity or Judaism, the secret behind the words

is revealed. In the state of Paul, you discover you are the Lord Jesus Christ who is God the Father. It is Paul

who says: "When it pleased God to reveal his son in me, I conferred not with flesh and blood." When the

vision is yours, to whom could you turn to ask what they thought of it? They would tell you that you were

insane, so you would turn to no man; rather you would abide in the vision and dwell upon it.

Paul's conversion did not change his religion, for he never forsook Judaism. His one disappointment was that

he could not convince his fellow religionists of the truth of what had taken place in him. Paul represents every

individual - be he male or female - who arrives at that point in time when he awakens to discover that the

characters of scripture did not exist in time and space, but are eternal spiritual states, which the individual

moves through toward the climax, which is Jesus Christ.

The fundamental story of scripture is a metamorphosis - a complete change of form. Like the grub worm is

transformed into the butterfly, so man - as we understand him - is turned into Jesus Christ. And when it

happens in you, there is no one to whom you can turn. It is a fact you cannot deny. I could no more deny my

experiences of Christ unfolding within me, than I can deny the fact that I am standing before you now. And I

am not unique. Christ will unfold in every child born of woman. He must, for God cannot and will not fail to

fulfill his promise in all.

The word "Saul" means "to inquire; to ask." Entering the state of Saul, you are questioning life - its purpose

and plan. Is there a God? Why am I here? Saul's is a questing mind, one which is seeking an answer to the

phenomena of life.

Today is the wonderful Day of Atonement which came to its end at sundown with the singing of a great psalm

in every synagogue which begins, "Awake O Sleeper who forgot eternity in the pursuit of the moment."

Having forgotten that we are all one in eternity, we are called upon to awaken, but awaken from what? From

the pursuit of the moment. Then, in the eternal state called Paul, the story of Jesus will unfold in you, and you,

too, will say: "From now on I regard no one from the human point of view; even though I once regarded

Christ from the human point of view, I regard him thus no longer."

Like every Jew, Paul was looking for an external messiah, one who would come to be the anointed king and

save Israel from the enemy. Then he discovered the messiah was within him and would never appear on the

outside. Paul's thirteen letters were written twenty years before the Book of Mark, which was the first gospel;

so Paul could not have quoted the New Testament, only the Old.

He never converted in the sense of converting from Judaism to Christianity, or Catholicism to Protestantism.

After the revelation, Paul understood that which was revealed to the prophets; for he discovered that the

messiah which was to come, was himself, saying: "When it pleased God to reveal his son in me, I conferred

not with flesh and blood."

There is a poem by Browning called "Saul," in which David tells of the coming of the messiah, saying:

"O Saul, it shall be a face like my face

That shall receive thee. A man like unto me thou shalt love,

And be loved by, forever. A hand like this hand shall open the door

To a new life for thee. See the Christ stand."

Standing before the demented king, David is telling Saul that when he sees Christ, he will wear the face of

David. That he will love and be loved by him forever. Extending his hand, David tells Saul that this knowledge

will open the gate to a new life; for David is the only Christ Saul will ever see.

When Christ stands before you, he will wear the face of David and reveal you as the Lord God Jehovah.

Then you will say: "Thou art my son, today I have begotten thee." This will be the experience of every child

born of woman; for awareness - although limited by a garment of flesh and blood, restricted and weak - is

God, the father of all life, and there is no other God.

Now, when Paul spoke of sin he wasn't speaking of a little misdemeanor, or even a big one. To Paul, if you

are not radiating the glory of God and are not now the express image of his person, you are sinning and falling

short of that glory. Only when you enter into the state called Paul, will you radiate God's glory and express

his image; for it is in that state that David reveals you to yourself.

Paul confessed to the Galatians that God sent his son into his heart crying "Father!" And now I tell you that

when David stood before me and called me father, I saw him more vividly then I have ever seen anyone here.

I can still see his heavenly beauty. I saw David in the year 1959, yet history claims he lived in 1000 B.C. But

David is not my flesh and blood son; he is part of the unfolding picture of an eternal story in which man is

involved. The story, as recorded in the Old Testament, was not understood until it unfolded within one who

said: "I am a child of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Pharisee of the Pharisees." Paul never forsook

Judaism, but tried to interpret it to those who would listen, but they could not understand. They were - as

they still are today - looking for a physical, external messiah to destroy their enemies and establish his

kingdom in this world; but that is not the story.

This eternal truth is housed in every being who walks the earth. One day you will find Christ as your very

being. You who say "I am" before you state your name, will experience all of the eternal, spiritual states

spoken of and named in scripture, to arrive at the final state called Paul.

My friend knows she is Paul, for she heard the depth of her soul tell her so. To her the idea seemed

incredulous; yet I tell her she heard correctly, for she has been called. She has been chosen and elected to be

an incurrent eyewitness to the great truth which will unfold within her.

The Paul of the Bible is a state everyone will attain. And while in that state, David will reveal your true

identity. Enter any state and you become that state. While in the state of wealth, everything you touch turns to

gold. In the state of success, you could turn a failing business into a successful one, for in the state of success

you cannot fail.

You are not a success or a failure, but the occupant of a state. Although you remain untouched by any state,

when you enter one, you express it. Put yourself into the state of health, and you must express health. Enter

the state of fame, and no power can stop you from expressing it.

And when you enter the state of Paul, David will stand before you and say: "A face like my face shall receive

you. A man like unto me thou shalt love and be loved by forever. A hand like this hand shall open the gate of

a new life for you. See the Christ stand."

You will be looking into the face of David, the Lord's anointed; and when he calls you father, you know who

you are, for "No one knows who the Father is except the son, and no one knows who the son is except the

Father." David, your son, sets you free; for he is the son of Jesse, the Bethlehemite, whose revealed name is I

AM. Everyone who says, "I am," is the Father of that eternal youth called David. Awake, O sleeper, and

remember eternity, the son of Jesse, for only he can reveal you as God the Father.

This is the greatest story ever told. It is an incredible story of a transformation, a metamorphosis. "Meta"

means "change" and "morphos" means "form," so metamorphosis means a radical change of form. This is true,

for the being you are destined to be, could not function in a body of flesh and blood.

You will move into an entirely new age. It is a new world, and in it you need a new form. The form is spirit,

yet you have a human face, a human voice, and human hands. That is the form I saw when I stood in the

presence of the Risen Lord and answered his question: "What is the greatest thing in the world?" in the words

of Paul, as "Faith, hope and love, these three, but the greatest of these is love."

At that moment he embraced me and I assumed his incredible form. Since that time we have not been

separated or divorced, although while I wear the body of flesh and blood I must be subject to all of its

weaknesses and limitations. But when I take it off this time, I will be one with that one body, who is gathering

all.

Everyone will be saved, because everyone is God and God is saving himself. At the present time you do not

know you are God; but you will know it when you enter the state called Paul, for in that state the revelations

unfold and you, too, will say: "I did not get it from a man. It came through a revelation of Jesus Christ. He

unveiled himself in me as my very being. Now I know there is no other."

So I say to my friend: your revelation is true. You have been called and elected. You have been chosen - not

by men, but by God, which is the definition of a saint in scripture. How could any man make another man a

saint? The idea is stupid. When you are called, you are sainted. When you are elected, you are sainted.

When you are chosen, you are sainted, and no man, looking at you, could ever see you as a saint. You are

still capable of losing your temper and being violent. That means nothing. Be everything that you are, for you

are already redeemed by reason of your experiences.

So, the characters of scripture are not historical. To see anyone - including Jesus Christ - as a person who

walked this earth, is to see truth tempered to the weakness of your soul, and unable to bear the strong light of

revelation. Jesus Christ is the perfect state into which you are all moving. And in that state, scripture unfolds

to reveal you as God. And who is he? He is your own wonderful human imagination!

If all things are possible to your imagination, then all things are possible to imagine! How would you act if

God imagined you as you want to be? How would you feel? What would you do? Then do it. Feeling its

reality, have faith in your imaginal act. Desire is your hope. Your imaginal act is your subjective appropriation

of the hope you want to objectify. Now, faith is the link between God's power and your desire. He doesn't

question your desire. He who is all creative power and know-how, simply gives it to you. That is Christ, he

who is defined as the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Now, if you test God and prove to yourself that imagination does create reality, tell others. If they try it and it

works for them, does it really matter what the world thinks? If they think the idea is insane, it won't be the

first time. They thought Einstein was insane. There are those who think I am. That's perfectly all right, for the

day will come when God will reveal himself in each individual, and then that one will move from the state of

Saul to Paul.

There is no other God, for God became Man by assuming all of his human weaknesses and limitations. God

is not pretending he is you. When he became your breath, he had to take your unique qualities upon himself.

That was his crucifixion. No man was nailed upon a cross bar; your body is the cross Christ wears. He is

buried in you and will rise in you. His tomb is the human skull where he lays dreaming. So awake, you

sleeper, who forgot eternity in the pursuit of the moment. Although this moment seems so real, you are its

reality and the central being of scripture.

The fundamental purpose of scripture is metamorphosis - the radical transformation of Man into God. And

God has a son, formed by his experiences as the human imagination and personified as David of Biblical

fame. David is he who is "A man after my own heart who will do all my will." He is not a historical character,

but an eternal state which appears at the end of your journey into the world of death.

The world may think they have found David's tomb; but they will never find any historical evidence

concerning these characters of scripture, because they are all spiritual states personified. You will pass

through these states to discover - through revelation - that you are the author of the Bible. Just imagine, Paul's

letters came first. He called them "My gospel." They are Paul's good news of salvation which came through

revelation. Paul's thirteen letters were written first, and all the other books were based upon them; but who is

Paul? Everyone who enters the state of fulfillment.

One day you will enter the state known as Paul; but right now you are Saul, seeking the cause of life, not

knowing it is your very self. In the Books of Samuel and Kings, we are told that Saul tried to kill the very one

who could reveal him to himself; but the revelation could not come until his name was changed to Paul. Even

though, today you are very much a lady, you will eventually become the Paul of scripture. But in that realm,

you are above the organization of sex, as Paul tells us: "In Christ there is no bond, no free, no male, no

female, no Jew, no Greek, for all are one in Christ." Your true identity is not male or female, but Man, and

Man is God and God is Man, as Blake so beautifully put it: "Thou art a Man, God is no more, thine own

Humanity learn to adore."

Tonight, set your hope fully upon this grace that is coming to you; for Christ in you is your hope of glory! Do

you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you? Test yourself and see, for all things are possible to him. Think of

something you would like that reason says you cannot have. Now, assume it's yours.

Your assumption, though false in the sense that it is denied by your reasonable mind, if persisted in will harden

into fact. You do not need to know the means that will be employed to bring your assumption to pass; all you

are required to do is persist in your assumption and allow your own wonderful human imagination to give it to

you.

All things are possible to your imagination. It's up to you to provide the necessary link between your

assumption and its fulfillment. That link is faith. Having assumed your desire is fulfilled, your faith in that

assumption will cause it to harden into fact. That is the law.

Test this law, and if you prove it in performance, it will not matter to you if it seems irrational to others.

Tonight, leave this auditorium in the assumption that you are what you would like to be; and if tomorrow your

assumption can be seen as fact by the world round about you, then you have found Christ, he who is within

you as your hope of glory.

Man is forever coming up with fantastic ideas like going to the moon. At the time, the idea seemed

impossible, yet in time man does go to the moon. So you see, nothing is impossible to God - but nothing!

Simply name that which seems so impossible to you, then assume that you have it. Walk in the assumption it

is now an objective fact and see how God works. I tell you, in a way that you do not know, and you could

not possibly devise, you will be led across a bridge of incident to the fulfillment of that state. All you have to

do is ignore the evidence of your outer senses and go about your own wonderful business assuming the

feeling of the wish fulfilled. Your assumption, instead of receding into the past, will advance into the future and

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