True followers of Jesus' injunction that The kingdom of God is within you.

[Guest guest]

Gods of the Bible - Chapter One

 

Joseph J. Dewey

Introductory Logic

 

Perhaps the greatest common denominator among the followers of New

Age Thought is the belief that one has to look no further to find

God than within himself. They are true followers of the injunction

of Jesus that " The kingdom of God is within you. " (Luke 17:21) If,

then, the kingdom of God is within it must stand to reason that God

resides in his own kingdom and he is also within. If God is within

your brother then when you see his face you also see the face of

God. If God is within you then when you look in the mirror you also

see the divine face. When you feel within with no illusions then you

must be feeling the presence of God.

 

Jesus preached the kingdom of God and invited all believers to come

to it. Exactly what would be the nature of the inhabitants of the

kingdom of God? The vegetable kingdom is composed of vegetables. The

animal kingdom is composed of animals and the human kingdom is

composed of humans. Therefore what kind of residents abides in the

Kingdom of God? Yes. They can only be Gods. When Jesus invited us to

the kingdom of God he called us to leave the illusionary human

kingdom and assume our true nature as Gods in the God kingdom. In

other words, we are to be as he is. A glorious thought is it not?

 

Many who call themselves Christians would disagree. There are those

who think it is blasphemy to consider that God can be anywhere

except sitting on a throne in heaven being worshipped by his hosts.

This narrow-minded group believe that they are the only ones who are

even worthy to use the name of Christ. They feel that others must

interpret the Bible exactly as they do or God will be angry with

them and they will have no right to use His name. Thus all New Age

people are condemned in one master stroke as being anti-God because

they see God as being everywhere including within each man, woman,

and child.

 

But wait a minute! Didn't we learn back in Sunday school that " God

is everywhere? " Yes, we did learn that. Almost all " accepted born-

again Christians " embrace this belief quite emphatically. Yet at the

same time they teach that God sits on a throne in heaven. Can both

be true? Can he be in one place, yet everywhere?

 

Obviously, if he is omni-present he cannot be sitting on a throne in

one location of the universe. He is either a being in one location

like you or I, or he is Life itself that is in and through all

things.

 

The Bible says that God fills " heaven and earth " (Jer 23:24)

and " hell " (Psalms 139:8). Paul said that " In him we live and move

and have our being " . (Acts 17:28) These and other scriptures verify

the doctrine of the omnipresence of God. The interesting point here

is that this doctrine is not objected to by orthodox Christians but

is heartily embraced and promoted by them. Their problem is that

their beliefs contradict themselves. In one breath they will teach

the God-in-one-location-with influence-everywhere as the Mormons

believe and in another they will say he is everywhere.

 

If the orthodox Christian world truly believes that God is omni-

present then why do they condemn New Age Thought for teaching that

God can be found within man? They are condemning such people for

teaching not only what they claim to believe, but also a prevailing

Biblical doctrine. Jesus had a word he used on the ancient Jews who

did not practice what they believed. I will not say that word, but

it can be found several times in Matthew Chapter 23. Read this

chapter and you find that Jesus felt very strongly about people who

do not abide by their belief system. They were the only ones he ever

condemned. No sin he ever witnessed was ever condemned by him except

this one.

 

If God is omni-present as even the most fundamental Christian

believes then God is within humans. If God is within man then his

kingdom can also be found there, for where the kingdom is there also

abides the king. If God and his kingdom are within man then when we

look within and manifest that which we truly see and feel with no

deception or illusion then we are manifesting God and his kingdom.

If a man is manifesting God and we are watching him then we are

seeing God in action. Thus when we witness a human reveal his true

inner self we see God. The man and God are not two, but one.

 

Is it any wonder Jesus said: " I and my Father are One? " (John 10:30)

But if God is truly everywhere then all of us who recognize the God

within are also one with God. Jesus was the rule and not the

exception. He acknowledged this when he prayed: " that they (his

disciples) may be ONE, as we (Jesus and the Father) are. " John 17:11

 

Jesus was God because he was one with the presence of God within

him. But he said we are supposed to do the same thing. Therefore

what is man when he obeys the injunction of Jesus and becomes one

with God? If you and God are one then that one being (which includes

you) is God. We then join with Jesus and exclaim: " Ye are gods. "

 

If God and man are one, then man is God and God is man.

 

We only seem to be two because we have been deceived into thinking

it.

 

Five entities in the Bible have called men Gods. They are the

serpent in the garden, the God of the Old Testament, Moses, David,

and Jesus.

 

DID THE SERPENT LIE?

 

Because the serpent was the first to identify man with God the

doctrine is greatly distrusted by orthodox Bible believers. They

call it the first great lie and seem to believe that this serpent

can never tell the truth. They do not recognize that it would be

impossible for any being to carry on an intelligent conversation and

lie all the time. Even Hitler, Nero and Judas usually told the

truth. The bad guys in history often used the truth to entice others

toward a deceptive act. Thus when the serpent enticed Eve to eat the

forbidden fruit by saying: " Your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall

be as Gods, knowing good and evil. " Gen 3:5 it is possible he was

telling the truth. In fact we know he was telling the truth because

it is verified by one of the Gods: " And the Lord God said, Behold,

the MAN IS TO BECOME AS ONE OF US (one of the many who realize that

God is in man), to know good from evil. " Gen 3:22

 

Why do so many call the serpent's statement the first big lie when

the truth of it is acknowledged by " the Lord God " ? Apparently, the

true first big lie was the teaching that the serpent was lying. This

thinking deludes man into thinking that God is not in him, but " out

there " somewhere. This teaching is necessary for man to believe if

he is to be controlled by " God's representatives " here on the earth.

It is impossible to take away the freedom of a person who finds the

God within, but it is quite easy to control a person who thinks that

God speaks to an authority, but not directly to himself. This

authority that speaks for God becomes then the God without.

 

Thus far we see that the serpent and one of the Gods acknowledged

that man can become as God. Jehovah even went a step further and

called Moses a god. (EX 7:1).

 

Later Moses called those who were supposed to be able to judge the

people and discern good and evil Gods (See Exodus 22. We will

elaborate more fully later).

 

Later David clearly stated to the leaders of Israel: " Ye are gods;

and all of you are children of the most High. " Psalms 82:6

 

Finally arrogant young Jesus angered the Jews by teaching the

oneness of God and man. As they tried to stone him he asked them

what he had done wrong. They answered: " For a good work we stone

thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou being a man,

makest thyself God. " Jesus answered them, " Is it not written in your

law, I said 'Ye are gods?' If he 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?' " (John 10:33-36)

 

The angry Jews immediately saw here that the doctrine that man and

God are one means that man is God. They called this blasphemous just

as many religious people today still do. Jesus, however,

courageously rebuked them and reminded them that men were called

Gods in the Old Testament scriptures and the scripture " cannot be

broken " .

 

Gods of the Bible

http://www.thenewagesite.com/jjdewey/gods/chapter1.php