The Power of the Inner Christ

The Power of the Inner Christ

“And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” Rev 1:5-6

Let us start with the first phrase: “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness…”

Just as seven repeats many times in this book so does the number three, symbolic of the Trinity.

We are told that the letters to the seven churches in Revelation are from three sources. The first was John, the second was from “him which is, and which was, and which is to come.” Finally, the third source is Jesus Christ.

John represents the third aspect of the Trinity, the voice of the Holy Spirit as speaking through a prophet or holy messenger. He “which is, and which was, and which is to come” represents God the Father the source of all power, the first aspect. Jesus Christ represents the love of God, the soul, the mediator between heaven and earth, the second aspect.

The name Jesus Christ means “anointed to save, or deliver.” Jesus did not intend to keep the name just for himself, but advised all of his followers to take the name upon themselves. All enlightened souls are anointed to deliver those behind them on the path. When we have been lifted up by someone above us, then it is our mission to lift or deliver others to higher ground also. There is a universal rule which tells us that we cannot go higher until we have given out what we have learned and assisted in lifting our brethren to where we are. When we have done this, then another will come along and lift us to higher ground. This is the principle behind the name of Jesus Christ. To believe on His name is to believe on this principle, that there are higher lives in the Universe waiting to help, deliver, or “save” us when we are ready.

This salvation is a mutual effort of the student and teacher. The teacher does not actually do the saving, but provides the tools, example and the knowledge to the student. The student then has the choice to use those tools to take the next step or to stay where he is for a while longer. If he takes the next step, he is “saved” from his past error and moves into a bold new future.

The presence of Christ involves a group of disciples wherein the Christ within them will be manifest on a large scale. These disciples will try to fulfill the commandment given by Paul:

“Let this mind BE IN YOU, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.” Phil 2:5

In speaking of himself and faithful disciples he said: “But we have the mind of Christ.” I Cor 2:16

Many people quote these scriptures, but few believe them. If we really have the mind of Christ then we will find that all of the scriptures that apply to Jesus also apply to us. For instance, Jesus said:

“And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:13, 15-16.

Not only should we believe the words and works of Jesus, but we must believe in and have faith in the Son of God that dwells within us. If we do this we can have everlasting life and life at the end of the age or in the age of peace. The Son of God that can be lifted up within every man forms a part of Christ, the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit.

Paul tried to teach the real Christ when he said:

“For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: SO ALSO IS CHRIST…Now ye are the body of Christ and members in particular.” I Cor 12:12&27.

The entity who is Christ is called the “head” of the body thus making him an essential “door” and savior of us all, for without the head the body cannot live. On the other hand, the head cannot live without the body, making the Master as dependent on us as we are Him.

Notice the verse calls Jesus Christ the “faithful witness.” Of what is he a witness? The Christ in us, the soul, is a witness to the truth and a faithful one at that. This is the first phrase describing Christ.

The second part of the phrase is “and the first begotten of the dead.” Most of us are aware of the standard interpretation that Jesus was the first to rise from the dead, thus making him “the first begotten of the dead.” The question for us is what is the interpretation as it refers to the inner Christ in the aspiring disciple?

The answer is this: the pilgrim is dead to the life of God and the Spirit until the time that the Christ is born within the cave of his own heart. From that point on he is begotten from the dead. How, then, is he FIRST begotten?

“First begotten” comes from the Greek PROTOKOS. This can be translated with two slants: the first refers to a literal first-born child, but the second is first in order of importance. In other words, a first-born could be the most important child and thus be called PROTOKOS.

He who is born of the spirit and begins to tread the path of Christ consciousness takes the most important step in his progression and is thus the firstborn from the dead.

The third descriptive phrase is “and the prince of the kings of the earth.”

Christ was offered, by the Adversary, all the kingdoms of the world and refused. He tread the path of the humble servant and became greater than any earthly ruler.

The same applies to all disciples who follow in his footsteps. The seeker contacts the Christ within and finds this to be the true king. He discovers that ruling the inner world is more important than having all the kingdoms of the outer world. He thus becomes a prince with power beyond that had by the kings of the earth.

The fourth phrase reads: “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.”

Scholars admit this is a mistranslation. It should read:

“Unto him that loved us, and SET US FREE from our sins by his own blood.”

The word “sin” comes from the Greek word HAMARTANO, which means “to miss the mark.” In other words, when the Greeks 2000 years ago shot at a target with an arrow and missed they “sinned” (HAMARTANO), or missed the target.

The man who was Jesus Christ set us free from the error of missing the mark through his service and sacrifice. Even so, when the seeker contacts the inner Christ (which bears witness to the truth) he will be “set free” from error.

What is the symbol of the blood as it refers to the inner Christ? Blood in the scriptures is often a symbol of life. When the disciple communes with the inner Christ, the life of God (blood) flows through him and sets him free. “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father.”

In ancient times only a very small number could become kings and wield great power. Even so, in Israel only a few could become priests and enter the inner holy court of the temple. It is different for those who tread the path of Christ. All who commune with the inner Christ become kings and priests in the inner kingdom of heaven. “…to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”

All this comes to us not by the power of the outer carnal man, but the inner God to whom we must give the glory.

If you don’t run your own life, somebody else will. John Atkinson

Dec 3, 2006

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