The world came about through a mistake The Gospel of Philip

The world came about through a mistake The Gospel of Philip 

The world came about through a mistake. For he who created it wanted to create it imperishable and immortal. He fell short of attaining his desire. For the world never was imperishable, nor, for that matter, was he who made the world. For things are not imperishable, but sons are. Nothing will be able to receive imperishability if it does not first become a son. But he who has not the ability to receive, how much more will he be unable to give? The Gospel of Philip 

The system began in a transgression, for he who made it had desired to make it imperishable and immortal. He fell away and did not attain (his) ambition. For there was no imperishability of the system, and there was no imperishability of him who has made the system. For there is no imperishability of things but rather of the Sons, and no one can obtain imperishability except by becoming (a) Son. Yet he who is unable to receive, how much (more) will he be unable to give! (The Annotated Gospel of Philip Dr. Thomas Paterson Brown)

The Annotated Gospel of Philip Dr. Thomas Paterson Brown

Hypertext interlinear of the Gospel according to Philip


From the Hypertext interlinear of the Gospel of Philip we can see that the word "world" is the Greek word Kosmos  

A kosmos is anything constituted or arranged by what the moderns call "a constitution," or by the force of circumstances; as a kingdom, empire, state, or what is called "world." Each of these, or a system of states, has its course or aeon; so that when the end of the course is arrived at, the abolition or destruction of the particular state of necessity ensues. (The Herald Of The Kingdom And Age To Come, for 1859)

Kosmos, rendered world in this phrase, signifies, that order of things constituted upon the basis of sin in the flesh, and styled the kingdom of this world Rev 11:15, as opposed to the kingdom of God: which is to be established upon the foundation of "the word made flesh" obedient unto death. (Elpis Israel)

The world came about through a mistake [of Adam]

The world came about through a mistake [It is important to understand that the "world" is not the "earth" - the world was created when the individual spirit consciousness of man (in Adam) transgressed the Command (not by deceit as with Eve) which was the “founding of the world” and we know that the “world is at enmity with God” hence anyone who moves in opposition to the Father’s will is of the world]. For he [Adam by error] who created it [the world was created by the errant thoughts (reasoning) of Adam] wanted to create it imperishable and immortal [so although his intentions were good; he had not the understanding or wisdom needed to do this]. He fell short of attaining his desire [The Father Himself falls short of nothing for He is “perfect in all His ways” so this is obviously mankind who fell short by transgressing the Fathers warning. The lure of knowing they might “become as gods” was a bit too attractive to pass up by such a young man]. For the world never was imperishable [the keyword here is “world” as opposed to “earth” do not confuse the two], nor, for that matter, was he who made the world [again this cannot be the Father but is rendered in genesis as “elohim” which can be any individual spirit consciousness in creation whether angel or man]. For things are not imperishable, but sons are [only that which is One with the Father is imperishable and the body itself is just a thing, however the spirit consciousness is not a “thing” yet from a “legal” standpoint anything without life is merely a “thing”]. Nothing will be able to receive imperishability if it does not first become a son. But he who has not the ability to receive [life], how much more will he be unable to give [life]? (Philip 78)

Adam in the Role of Serpent
Adam the first devil

The Law Of Moses As the Devil

The Law Of Moses As An Adversary

The law was the tree. It has power to give the knowledge of good and evil. It neither removed him from evil, nor did it set him in the good, but it created death for those who ate of it. For when he said, "Eat this, do not eat that", it became the beginning of death. (The Gospel of Philip)

For this reason Jesus appeared. He put on that book. He was nailed to a cross. He affixed the edict of the father to the cross. (The Gospel of Truth)

He was nailed to a tree. He became a fruit of the knowledge of the father. He did not, however, destroy them because they ate of it. He rather caused those who ate of it to be joyful because of this discovery.
(The Gospel of Truth)

15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

16  And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

When Peter was explaining how Christ had opened a way for Gentiles to obtain salvation without the Law, he reminded them how Jesus had healed “all that were oppressed of the Devil” (Acts 10:38). ‘Oppressed’ meaning literally ‘held down’, is he hinting that the people Jesus helped had been hopelessly in bondage to the Jewish system? “Him that had the power of death, that is the Devil” (Heb. 2:14) may refer to the fact that “the sting (power) of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the (Jewish) Law” (1 Cor.15: 56; see also Rom. 4:15; 5:13;7:8, where ‘the Law’ that gives power to sin is clearly the Jewish law). Bearing in mind that the ‘Devil’ often refers to sin and the flesh, it seems significant that ‘the flesh’ and ‘sin’ are often associated with the Mosaic Law. The whole passage in Heb. 2:14 can be read with reference to the Jewish Law being ‘taken out of the way’ by the death of Jesus [A.V. “destroy him that hath the power of death”]. The Devil kept men in bondage, just as the Law did (Gal. 4:9; 5:1; Acts 15:10; Rom. 7:6-11). The Law was an ‘accuser’ (Rom. 2:19,20; 7:7) just as the Devil is.

One of the major themes of Galatians is the need to leave the Law. “You have been called unto liberty... for all the Law is fulfilled... this I say then (therefore), Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit... so that you cannot do the things that you would”. It was because of the Law being impossible for sinful man to keep that is was impossible to obey it as one would like. “But if you be led of the Spirit, you are not under the Law”. This seems to clinch the association between the Law and the flesh (Gal. 5:13-18). The same contrast between the Spirit and the Law/flesh is seen in Rom. 8:2-3: “The Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the Law (of Moses / sin) could not do...”. The Law indirectly encouraged the “works of the flesh” listed in Gal. 5:19-21, shown in practice by the Jews becoming more morally degenerate than even the Canaanite nations, and calling forth Paul’s expose of how renegade Israel were in Romans 1.

Gal. 5:24-25 implies that in the same way as Jesus crucified the Law (Col. 2:14) by His death on the cross, so the early church should crucify the Law and the passions it generated by its specific denial of so many fleshly desires: “They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections (AVmg. “passions”) and lusts”. This seems to connect with Rom. 7:5: “When we were in the flesh the motions (same Greek word, ‘affections’ as in Gal. 5:24) of sins, which were by the Law, did work in our members”. “When we were in the flesh” seems to refer to ‘While we were under the Law’. For Paul implies he is no longer ‘in the flesh’, which he was if ‘the flesh’ only refers to human nature.

Hebrews 2:14 states that the Devil was destroyed by Christ’s death. The Greek for ‘destroy’ is translated ‘abolish’ in Ephesians 2:15: “Having abolished [Darby: 'annulled'] in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances”. This would equate the Devil with the enmity, or fleshly mind (Rom. 8:7) generated by the Mosaic Law; remember that Hebrews was written mainly to Jewish believers. The Law itself was perfect, in itself it was not the minister of sin, but the effect it had on man was to stimulate the ‘Devil’ within man because of our disobedience. “The strength of sin is the Law” (1 Cor.15:56). “Sin taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me (Rom. 7: 8,11). Hence “the wages of sin (stimulated by the Law) is death” (Rom. 6:23). It is quite possible that the “sin” in Romans 6, which we should not keep serving, may have some reference to the Mosaic Law. It is probable that the Judaizers were by far the biggest source of false teaching in the early church. The assumption that Paul is battling Gnosticism is an anachronism, because the Gnostic heresies developed some time later. It would be true to say that incipient Gnostic ideas were presented by the Judaizers in the form of saying that sin was not to be taken too seriously because the Law provided set formulae for getting round it. The Law produced an outward showing in the “flesh”, not least in the sign of circumcision (Rom. 2:28).

There is a frequent association of sin (the Devil) and the Mosaic Law throughout Romans (this is not to say that the law is itself sinful- it led to sin only due to human weakness). A clear example of this is found in Romans 6 talking about us dying to sin and living to righteousness, whilst Romans 7 speaks in the same language about the Law; thus “he that is dead is free from sin... you (are) dead indeed unto sin” (Rom. 6:7,11) cp. “You also are become dead to the Law” (Rom. 7:4). Other relevant examples are tabulated below:

Romans 6 (about sin)	Romans 7 (about the Law)
“Sin shall not have (anymore) dominion over you: for you are not under the Law” (:14)	“The Law has dominion over a man... as long as he lives” (:1 )
“Dead indeed unto sin” (:11)	“She is loosed from the Law” (:2).
“Being then made free from sin” (:18)	“She is free from that Law” (:3)
“As those that are alive from the dead... you have your fruit unto holiness” (:13,22), having left sin.	“You should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God” (:4), having left the Law.
“Neither yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin (as a result of sin having dominion over you)" (:13,14).	“When we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members... but now we are delivered from the law” (:5,6).
“Therefore... we also should walk in newness of life” (:4).	“We should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter” of the Law (:6).

“For what the Law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin” (Rom. 8:3) - cp. Gal. 4:4-5, “Made of a woman, made under the Law (cp. “sinful flesh”) to redeem them that were under the Law”. The drive of Paul’s argument in its primary context was that having been baptized, they should leave the Law, as that was connected with the sin from which baptism saved them- it introduced them to salvation by pure grace in Jesus. The Hebrew writer had the connection in mind when he wrote of “carnal ordinances” (Heb. 9:10; 7:16). To be justified by the Law was to be “made perfect by the flesh”, so close is the connection between Law and flesh (Gal. 3:2,3). “We (who have left the Law)... have no confidence in the flesh (i.e. the Law). Though I might also have confidence in the flesh...” (Phil. 3:3-4), and then Paul goes on to list all the things which gave him high standing in the eyes of the Law and the Jewish system. These things he associates with “the flesh”.

Paul summarizes this argument in Colossians 2, where, in the context of baptism and warning believers not to return to the Law, he argues “If ye be dead with Christ (in baptism) from the rudiments of the (Jewish) world, why, as though living in the (Jewish) world, (i.e. under the Law) are ye subject to (Mosaic) ordinances...?” (:20). The Law was “against us... contrary to us” (Col. 2:14) - hence it being called an adversary/Satan. The natural Jews under the Mosaic Law, as opposed to the Abrahamic covenant regarding Christ, are called “the children of the flesh” (Rom. 9:8). Similarly those under the Law are paralleled with the son of the bondwoman “born after the flesh” (Gal. 4:23). Paul reasons: “Are you now made perfect by the flesh?... received you the Spirit by the works of the Law?” (Gal. 3: 2,3) - as if “by the flesh” is equivalent to “by the law”. Now we can understand why Heb. 7:16-18 speaks of “The Law of a carnal commandment... the weakness and unprofitableness thereof”. Not only is the word “carnal” used with distinctly fleshly overtones elsewhere, but the law being described as “weak” invites connection with phrases like “the flesh is weak” (Mt. 26:41). Rom. 8:3 therefore describes the Law as “weak through the flesh”.

"The god of this world"
If Scripture interprets Scripture, “the god of this world (aeon)” in 2 Corinthians 4: 4 must be similar to “the prince of this world (kosmos)” (Jn. 12:31; 14:30; 16:11). Both the Jewish age [aeon] and kosmos ended in A.D. 70. In the context, Paul has been talking in 2 Cor. 3 about how the glory shining from Moses’ face blinded the Israelites so that they could not see the real spirit of the law which pointed forward to Christ. Similarly, he argues in chapter 4, the Jews in the first century could not see “the light of the glorious (cp. the glory on Moses’ face) gospel of Christ” because they were still blinded by “the god of this world” - the ruler of the Jewish age. The “prince” or “God” of the “world” (age) was the Jewish system, manifested this time in Moses and his law. Notice how the Jews are described as having made their boast of the law…made their boast of God (Rom. 2:17,23). To them, the Law of Moses had become the god of their world. Although the link is not made explicit, there seems no reason to doubt that “the prince of this world” and “Satan” are connected. It is evident from Acts (9:23-25,29-30; 13:50,51; 14:5,19; 17:5,13; 18:12; 20:3) that the Jews were the major 'Satan' or adversary to the early Christians, especially to Paul. Of course it has to be remembered that there is a difference between Moses’ personal character and the Law he administered; this contrast is constantly made in Hebrews. Similarly the Law was “Holy, just and good”, but resulted in sin due to man’s weakness - it was “weak through the flesh”, explaining why the idea of Satan/sin is connected with the Law. Because of this it was in practice a “ministry of condemnation”, and therefore a significant ‘adversary’ (Satan) to man; for in reality, “the motions of sins... were by the Law” (Rom. 7:5)

The tree of knowledge thus comes to represent the Law - because “by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Rom. 3:20). The fig leaves which Adam and Eve covered themselves with also represented the Law, seeing they were replaced by the slain lamb. Their initially glossy appearance typifies well the apparent covering of sin by the Law, which faded in time. The fig tree is a symbol of Israel. It seems reasonable to speculate that having eaten the fruit of the tree of knowledge, they made their aprons out of its leaves, thus making the tree of knowledge a fig tree. Both the tree and the leaves thus represent the Law and Jewish system; it is therefore fitting if the leaves were from the same tree. It is also noteworthy that when Christ described the Pharisees as appearing "beautiful" outwardly, he used a word which in the Septuagint was used concerning the tree of knowledge, as if they were somehow connected with it (Mt. 23:27).


The law was the tree. It has power to give the knowledge of good and evil [for without it we would not know sin nor could we become "as gods" setting ourselves up as gods in the temple of god (our bodies)]. It neither removed him from evil, nor did it set him in the good, but it created death for those who ate of it [there is no salvation available from the works of the law according to the “letter” but the “spirit” of the law was life for those who discerned it as an allegory pointing to the Savior and the power of sonship]. For when he said, "Eat this, do not eat that", it became the beginning of death [This Command was the groundwork for the great task of creating sons.  Shortly after the precept Adam was given his first taste of free will and his conscience failed him and as a result construction could now begin on the greatest temple (not made with hands) ever created!]. (Philip 75)

What is the Serpent

What is the Serpent?

 the word “serpent” immediately suggests an animal, so it Is NATURALLY taken LITERALLY. Understood SPIRITUALLY it is a FIGURE OF SPEECH.

XV. (53) "And they were both naked, both Adam and his wife, and they were not ashamed; but the serpent was the most subtle of all the beasts that were upon the earth, which the Lord God had Made:"{11}{#ge 2:25; 3:1.}--the mind is naked, which is clothed neither with vice nor with virtue, but which is really stripped of both: just as the soul of an infant child, which has no share in either virtue or vice, is stripped of all coverings, and is completely naked: for these things are the coverings of the soul, by which it is enveloped and concealed, good being the garment of the virtuous soul, and evil the robe of the wicked soul. (54) And the soul is made naked in these ways. Once, when it is in an unchangeable state, and is entirely free from all vices, and has discarded and laid aside the covering of all the passions. Philo of Alexandria

XVIII. (71) "Now the serpent was the most subtle of all the beasts which are upon the earth, which the Lord God Made."{21}{#ge 3:1.} Two things having been previously created, that is, mind and outward sense, and these also having been stripped naked in the manner which has already been shown, it follows of necessity that pleasure, which brings these two together, must be the third, for the purpose of facilitating the comprehension of the objects of intellect and of outward sense: for neither could the mind, without the outward sense, be able to comprehend the nature of any animal or of any plant, or of a stone or of a piece of wood, or, in short, of any substance whatever; nor could the outward sense exercise its proper faculties without the mind. Philo of Alexandria

the aforesaid serpent is the symbol of pleasure, because in the first place he is destitute of feet, and crawls on his belly with his face downwards. In the second place, because he uses lumps of clay for food. Thirdly, because he bears poison in his teeth, by which it is his nature to kill those who are bitten by him.

The serpent In whose mouth Is the poison of death, signifies a sinful person according to God's definition (given in Psalm 140:1-3; Romans 3:12-13; Matthew 12:34).

 The name “serpent” was attributed to those MEN who Jesus and John the Baptist had encountered (Matthew 3:7; 12:34; Luke 3:7).  Hence when the word serpent is used to indicate an intelligent  reasoning creature having guile (deceit) in his mouth, It SIGNIFIES a man exhibiting such characteristics.

The serpent a symbol of the Sense consciousness or the desire of unspiritualized man for sensation. He seeks satisfaction through the appetite. By listening to the serpent of sense, man falls to his lowest estate.

The "serpent" of the garden of Eden is the outward senses of consciousness or the carnal mind. The serpent is the symbol of pleasure. It may also be called desire, and sensation, or the activity of life in an external expression, apart from the Source of life.

Jesus as a Concept Romans 5:10

Jesus as a Concept

or

Jesus as a Principle

Christ is a principle or Christ as an abstraction rather than an historical figure a symbolic representation of the divine mind in mortal existence. Jesus represents God's idea of man in expression; Christ is that idea in its fullness.

Jesus Christ is himself a symbol of the thought processes of life's trials and tribulations that we go through. Therefore we see Jesus Christ going through all the trials, internal temptations and thoughts of each of us, "yet without sin," that is, the Lord Jesus overcame the power of sinful thoughts by quoting Scripture.

Jesus, the man of Nazareth, revealed that this high and lofty consciousness of the divine mind is possible to believers, and as a result He is a symbol or principle a representation of what we can become. We are exhorted to "have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus," which implies that all true believers may display a change of consciousness as He did. To come to this realization requires careful training of the thoughts.

The mind that was in Christ Jesus was the mind of God, so we know that we must be perfect even as the Father in heaven is perfect. The carnal mind or the consciousness of sin, has to be put away and the Christ consciousness established in its place.

In the individual consciousness the meaning of Jesus' being born in Bethlehem of Judea is that the principles of the Gospel have taken hold of the mind (Bethlehem), and through praise (Judea) have brought the Christ into manifestation.

We may "put on the new man," that is, bring forth Jesus Christ in ourselves. First we must put away the "old man" of the flesh by reading the Scriptures. The second step is to live the Gospel in thought, word, and deed. The Christ is the man that God created, the perfect-ideal man, and is the real self of all true believers; Jesus Christ is this Christ self brought forth into perfect expression and manifestation.

It is wise to protect the newborn spiritual consciousness from contact with Herod, the personal ego. Herod seeks "the young child to destroy him," but under the guidance of Spirit no harm comes to the Child. He is taken down into Egypt (down into the protected places of the memory), to remain until the personal ego destroys itself; then the Christ child is free to come forth and to express.

Jesus in the Temple, at the age of twelve years, represents the growing consciousness within us that we are sons of God (Luke 2:40-52).

The temptation of Jesus (Matt. 4:111) took place within Himself. The place of overcoming is within the consciousness of man. When we follow Jesus we rise above the demands of the flesh-and-the outward senses the consciousness of sin.

The forty days' fasting in the wilderness is in all respects a renouncing of the demands of the consciousness of sin. In fasting, we in our thoughts live above the material needs. We are "led up," and our appetites and passions are for a season in such an eclipse that we think that they will trouble no more. But "he afterward hungered." There is a return to the consciousness of sin.

We are tempted by the “devil” of our own lusts or evil desires, and so was Jesus. We are not tempted by an evil being suddenly standing next to us and prompting us to sin - sin and temptation come “from within, out of the heart of man” (Mk. 7: 21). They “proceed” out of the heart, as if to stress that the heart really is their source. Jesus was tempted just as we are (Heb. 4:15,16), and in this sense He becomes for us a legitimate example.

The Devil is the ego, the consciousness of sin or the carnal mind which has been built up in ignorance and disregard of the divine law.

To worship the Devil is to submit to self-will, the ego, or the carnal mind. To serve God we must build up spirituality in mind, body, and affairs.

In Luke 4:16-30 Jesus represents the Spirit of truth declaring its mission and power in the place of its development, the common, everyday mind. The highest spiritual Truth may be flashed into your mind while you are performing the commonest duties of life. Nazareth is a type of inferiority; it was considered a community of commonplace, if not disreputable, people. "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth ?" Yet in that mediocre village Jesus was reared--and in any one's mediocre mind the Christ Truth is expressed.

We know many of the trite statements of Truth so well that we find it hard to conceive that they are the mighty power that can relieve us from the bonds of sense. "Is not this Joseph's son?" But in no other place shall we find the Truth that sets free. The power that brings salvation from every ill is within us; it is in the gracious words of the indwelling Christ. "To-day hath this scripture been fulfilled in your ears." Every day our inner ears are filled full of this Truth. We know the right, we know the just, we know the pure. This is "this scripture" that is written on the heart.

Do you ask for a sign of power? Do you want miraculous healing without fulfilling the law of right thinking and right doing? Then you are not receiving the Christ Spirit rightly. You are seeking the temporal instead of the eternal, and if you let this superficial phase of mind rule, you will reject the Christ Spirit and cast it out of your midst.

Mark 9:2-13 tells us of the Transfiguration: Jesus went up into a mountain to pray, and was there transfigured. Prayer always brings about an exalted or rapid radiation of mental energy, and when it is accompanied by faith (Peter), love (John), and judgment (James) there is a lifting up of the soul that electrifies the body; the raiment (the aura surrounding the body) shines with glistening whiteness.

The presence of Moses and Elijah represents the two processes through which this picture of the purified man is to be objectified or demonstrated in real life. The first is the Mosaic or evolutionary process of nature through which there is a steady upward trend of all things. This evolutionary process is part of a spiritual plan for the redemption of the human race from its fallen state. The other is the ability of the prophet Elijah, or spiritual discerner of Truth, to make conditions change rapidly on the mental plane, to be in due season worked out in substance. Thus we are told in the lesson that Elijah must first come and restore all things. The mind must first be set right through spiritual understanding; then comes the demonstration.

Peter's proposing to erect three tabernacles carries out this idea of a substance manifestation for each; but Peter's ideas were vague as to the process, hence the accompanying voice out of the cloud, "This is my beloved Son: hear ye him."

To "tell no man what things they had seen, save when the Son of man should have risen again from the dead," means that we shall not consider these mental pictures as real, and so. discuss them. They represent ideas that can be understood only when they are demonstrated in the risen man. ("These mental pictures" refers to visions, dreams, and all that we see in our high moments of illumination.)

Jesus rode an ass into Jerusalem (Matt. 21:1-9). In Oriental countries, in Bible times, kings and rulers rode the ass, and this animal was the accepted bearer of royalty. In the man-consciousness, the animal part is typified by the ass, and its being ridden into Jerusalem by Jesus portrays the mastery by the I AM of the animal nature and its manifestation (colt). Jerusalem means habitation of peace and signifies spiritual consciousness.

"The Lord hath need of them." These forces of the so-called lower nature in man are necessary to his full expression. A man or woman with the animal nature asleep or suppressed is but partially alive. The vital fires are in this department of being, and it is in this purifying furnace that the material man is melted and the pure gold extracted.

Those who live on the plane of mere animal generation do not ride the ass into Jerusalem--they are not masters of their animal nature--but, like the beasts of the field, are mere slaves to animal desire.

In the regeneration these animal forces are turned inward; they become powers in a higher field of action. To fulfill this part of their mission they must be wholly weaned from animal habits. So long as the animal rules, the man is a slave. When the I AM man takes charge of the body, a new order of things is inaugurated. The vitality is no longer wasted in mere sense gratification. Through high and pure ideals the whole consciousness is raised to a higher standard. Through interior thought concentration the subtle essences of the organism are transmuted to vibratory energies and become important factors in building up that pure body which is to triumph over death.

Let not the one who is indulging the sense man in his animal ways think that he is on the royal road into Jerusalem. "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." The Lord is the higher ruling principle in man; it is to be in supremacy, not the lower. There is much sophistry among a certain school of metaphysicians who love to live the life of the animal, and call it God. The Master metaphysician said, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." Another said, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth unto his own flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap eternal life."

The characteristics of the ass are meekness, stubbornness, persistency, and endurance. To ride these is to make them obedient to one's will. The outer thoughts, or people, recognize that some unusual movement of mind is going on, and they fall into line. Their cry, "Hosanna," means save now. A change of base from personal willfulness to meekness and obedience stirs the whole consciousness, or city, and there is questioning about the cause. Simply saying in the silence, "Not my will, but thine, be done," often stirs up a commotion, and then there is questioning as to the cause. The answer is, "This is the prophet [one who states the spiritual law], Jesus [the I AM], from Nazareth [place of development] of Galilee" (life activity). Rendered in modern metaphysical terms this would read, "This is the supreme I AM stating the law of Spirit in development of life action."

The betrayal of Jesus means, to individual consciousness, the appropriation and use in sense ways of the life and substance that the higher self imparts to us in our periods of exaltation. When we deny the bondage of sense and affirm our spiritual freedom, we set free in the organism an energy or vibratory force that goes through the nerves to every part. This is the eating of the Passover with our disciples. But these disciples, or faculties, are not all in understanding of the divine law and they do not use this spiritual force in right ways. This is shown by their desire to have first place (see Luke 9:46), implying carnal ambition. Jesus demonstrated humility and a willingness to serve--which is always a sign of the true disciple--by washing their feet.

Judas represents the personal self of the body, whose center of consciousness is in the sex function. This consciousness is directly connected with appetite and feeling. This is indicated by the phrase, "He that dipped his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me." In body consciousness that which we eat is finally appropriated by this function and deposited in the seminal glands as a reserve supply for the whole nervous system. In this respect its office is good, and when its work is well done, physical harmony ensues.

Judas develops selfishness and sense desire, however. He steals the substance that should go to the upbuilding of the organism, and wastes it in sexual and other sense sensations. In this way he is a "thief" and is possessed of "a devil." When the new life from the spiritual fountain is poured into the body, Judas absorbs so much of it that its identity and power are lost in the consciousness, which is typified by the betrayal of the Christ. In the end Judas destroys himself, because he is ignorant of the constructive law.

There is, however, a feeding of all the faculties through descent of the divine life and substance, which is typified by the eating and drinking of the body and the blood of the Master. When we know the ways of Judas we are on our guard and we declare the law for him, and thus pave the way for his final redemption.

At the crucifixion of Jesus it was the human consciousness of a perishable body that died. "Our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away, that so we should no longer be in bondage to sin." When the thoughts of sin and death are crossed out, the spiritual truth about life and its manifestation in the body takes form in consciousness. "The Spirit of him that raised up Jesus . . . shall give life also to your mortal bodies." This is pictured in the resurrection of Jesus as an angel of the Lord descending from heaven (the ruling spiritual kingdom) and rolling away the stone from the door of the tomb.

This angel in man's consciousness is the spiritual I AM. "I am the resurrection, and the life." The tomb represents the most negative phase of material thought or human ignorance. The descent of the spiritual ego into consciousness brings divine intelligence and power within and without. "His appearance was as lightning, and his raiment white as snow."

The first affirmation of the I AM for its body is that it is not under any limitation of material thought; that it is free with the freedom of Spirit. "He is not here: for he is risen." The second affirmation of the I AM for its body is a swift and universal proclamation of omnipresence and activity in all realms of consciousness. "Go quickly, and tell his disciples, He is risen . . . and . . . goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you."

Jesus resurrected the body that was crucified; this is forcibly brought out in the Scripture account of the crucifixion. He did this by putting into the body the true state of consciousness. "Put on the new man, that after God hath been created in righteousness and holiness of truth."

We can resurrect our body just as Jesus resurrected His. "Follow me." We can overcome, and make our body like the body of Jesus. We must do this. "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death." We resurrect our body by putting a new mind into it--the mind of Spirit. "Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind." Ignorance and sin kill the body; understanding and righteousness bring it to life.

The three days that Jesus was in the tomb represent the three movements of mind that are involved in overcoming error. First, nonresistance and humility, second, the taking on of the divine activity, or receiving the will of God; third, the assimilation and fulfillment of the divine will.

In individual consciousness the "Sabbath" is perfect rest in Spirit, after the cleansing of mind that follows the introduction and activity of Truth principles. Jesus arose "late on the Sabbath day."

In consciousness the two women, "Mary Magdalene and the other Mary," symbolize the feminine side of the soul forces of Jesus (manifest man). "Mary Magdalene" signifies love redeemed. "The other Mary" represents pure life thoughts welling up from the subconsciousness.

The "angel of the Lord" represents positive spiritual thought of the perfect law of life. The "watchers" at the tomb are the thoughts that tend to limit the activity of the body consciousness. The "disciples" represent ideas of Divine Mind that have centers of action in body consciousness.

The spiritual meaning of the two women's being sent to tell the disciples of the resurrection is that divine love and life must be felt in the centers of action in body consciousness as a result of spiritual thought (angel) before a demonstration or resurrection is complete (Matt. 28:1-10)


When Jesus left this planet, at His ascension; He came back by the power of the holy spirit in an invisible presence in the inner spiritual realms of a believer. John 14:23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

Jesus will become visible to those who "put on Christ" and manifest their new personality. Many are conscious of His presence in some degree, but they do not see Him as He is, because they have not brought their faculties of perception up to His standard. When we awake in His likeness (see Psa. 17:15) then we shall see Him as He is. This does not come about through the soul's leaving the body, but it is accomplished by refining, spiritualizing, and raising both soul and body to higher degrees of power.

Jesus exists in a realm of being where the limitations of form are dissolved. He lives in the heart and mind. When we have identified ourselves with the Christ consciousness as Jesus identified Himself with it, we shall see Him face to face in His spiritual reality.

Many have seen Him in this mind mirage; but we shall not see Him as He is until we awake in His likeness. If the mind has grasped the capacity and power of spiritual ideas, then the appearance of Jesus will be understood.

The Birth of the Christ Consciousness Revelation 12

The Birth of the Christ Consciousness Revelation 12

12:1 And a great sign was seen in heaven, a woman arrayed with the sun, and the moon was beneath her feet, and on her head was a crown of twelve stars, 2 and she was pregnant. And she cries out in her pains and in her agony to give birth.3 And another sign was seen in heaven, and, look! a great fiery-colored dragon, with seven heads and ten horns and upon its heads seven diadems; 4 and its tail drags a third of the stars of heaven, and it hurled them down to the earth. And the dragon kept standing before the woman who was about to give birth, that, when she did give birth, it might devour her child. 5 And she gave birth to a son, a male, who is to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod. And her child was caught away to God and to his throne. 6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and sixty days. 7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels battled with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels battled 8 but it did not prevail, neither was a place found for them any longer in heaven. 9 So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him


John is shown a picture of the Church in its victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. The woman symbolizes the Church she is crowned with twelve stars, the twelve stars are the twelve attributes of the Christian faith which are the 12 aeons 1faith, 2hope, 3love, 4promises, 5grace, 6repentance, 7forgiveness, 8baptism, 9anointing,, 10wisdom, 11Eucharist 12logos

The child she bears is the Christ consciousness.

My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you-- Galatians 4:19

The Dragon is Satan The outward senses of self-centeredness, self-gratification, self-indulgence, self-importance, self-righteousness, self-glorification, self-delusion, self, ego, the "false god," the "beast"

As the Christ consciousness is born, a rival force of the old self occurs, which brings about recurring periods of rebellion in a believer. Through divine intervention (daily readings of the scriptures the spirit-word), the Christ consciousness is protected while the carnal mind, is withdrawn below the conscious level.

Heaven is the realm of conscious harmony, a consciousness of peace in mind, body, and soul. Since man is free to think what he will, conflicting thoughts may enter heaven. When this takes place, man's harmony is disrupted and there is "war in heaven."?

War in heaven this represents the struggle that goes on in the believers mind while the believer tries to adjust his sinful nature to the requirements of Christ consciousness. It is a war which leads to Armageddon

What is symbolized by the "great voice in Heaven" acknowledging the salvation, power, and kingdom of God and the authority of his Christ? The "great voice" from Heaven symbolizes the beginning of the reign of Christ, through whom comes salvation. When we free the mind from Sin, salvation from the earth, or the carnal mind starts to takes place and the Christ consciousness comes into being a new life follows for Christ is "the resurrection and the life."

Why has the "Devil" but a short time in the earth”? In a literal sense the time is relatively short compared with eternity. Allegorically, man soon tires of disharmony, and longs for peace, that he may have by claiming his inheritance as a son of God through our Lord Jesus Christ. When he submits to the will of God, the Devil's reign over him is soon at an end.

Satan also came among the sons of God Job 1:6

Satan also came among the sons of God Job 1:6

Job 1:6"Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before Yahweh, and Satan came also among them."

Problem: Satan in Job is an angel who came among the angels in heaven and criticized Job, whom he had been watching whilst walking around in the earth seeing what trouble he could make. He then brings lots of problems upon Job to try and turn him away from God.

Solution:

Nowhere in the book of Job is Satan clearly stated to be a fallen angel. The argument that Satan is a fallen angel is an assumed one, and involves the following assumptions:


That the "sons of God" refers to angels. The expression is possibly identified with angels in Job 38:7, but is used of humans elsewhere in Scripture: Deut. 14:1 R.S.V.; Psa. 82:6, R.S.V.; Hosea 1:10, Luke 3:38; John 1:12; 1 John 3:1. that the phrase “sons of God” can refer to those who have the true understanding of God (Rom. 8:14; 2 Cor. 6:17-18; 1 Jn. 3:7). Angels do not bring false accusations against believers “before the Lord” (2 Pet. 2:11)

That Satan was a "son of God". The passage only states that he "came among them", but not that he was himself a "son of God" It cannot be conclusively proved that Satan was a son of God - he “came among them”.

It is assumed that "a conference" took place in heaven from the following two references: "To present themselves before Yahweh" (Job 1:6); "so Satan went forth from the presence of Yahweh" (Job 2:7).

But note the following:

The "conference" need not to have taken place in heaven. When men came before Yahweh's accredited representatives on earth (e.g., the judges), they were said to be standing "before Yahweh".

The following are two examples:

"Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before Yahweh, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days." (Deut. 19:17).

". . . Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for Yahweh who is with you in the judgment." (2 Chron. 19:6).

To leave the presence of Yahweh (Job 1:12) does not require Satan ("adversary", A.V. mg., Job 1:6) to have had access to the dwelling place of God in heaven. Cain "went out from the presence of Yahweh" (Gen. 4:16) and he certainly was not in heaven. The adversary was well travelled on the earth: "going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it." (Job 1:7 R.S.V.). (Is walking the usual mode of locomotion for a mighty angel?)

It is impossible that a rebel angel could have had access to the dwelling place of God in heaven for the following reasons:


God does not tolerate evil: "Evil may not sojourn with thee." (Psa. 5:4, 5, R.S.V.); "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity . . ." (Hab. 1:13).


How then could a rebel angel have access to heaven from before the creation of Adam and Eve until 1914? Or if, as it is sometimes asserted that Satan was cast out of heaven before the creation of Adam and Eve, how did he manage to regain access to heaven?


If Satan were a rebel angel with access to heaven until 1914 (as J.W.'s assert), this would invalidate the Lord's prayer. Jesus prayed: "Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." (Matt. 6:10). Did Jesus believe that heaven was the seat of revolution, intrigue, and disorder, and later to be the scene of a great war?

Job never attributed his afflictions to a rebel angel. His declaration was simply: "The hand of God hath touched me". (Job 19:21 cf. 2:10). Even Job's brethren, sisters and acquaintances acknowledged that the evil was brought upon Job by Yahweh: "they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that Yahweh had brought upon him." (Job 42:11).

Satan in the Book of Job

Prologue (chapters 1-2, prose): God invites a character termed "the Satan" to consider the piety of his servant Job. The Satan counters that God fails to realize Job is only pious because he is well blessed in riches and, were he deprived, he would curse Him. God meets the Satan's demands by Himself destroying Job's fortunes, children and ultimately health. Yet Job does not curse God; the Satan loses the barter.

In the Hebrew Bible, as in mainstream Judaism to this day,
Satan never appears as Western Christendom has come to know
him, as the leader of an “evil empire,” an army of hostile spirits
who make war on God and humankind alike.7 As he first appears
in the Hebrew Bible, Satan is not necessarily evil, much less
opposed to God. On the contrary, he appears in the book of
Numbers and in Job as one of God's obedient servants—a
messenger, or angel, a word that translates the Hebrew term for
messenger (ma’lak) into Greek (angelos). In Hebrew, the angels
were often called “sons of God” (bene ‘elohim), and were
envisioned as the hierarchical ranks of a great army, or the staff
of a royal court

Heracleon on the Devil

John 8:44 Revised Standard Version (RSV)

44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Heracleon: Fragments from his
Commentary on the Gospel of John

http://gnosis.org/library/fragh.htm

Fragment 20, on John 4:21 (In John it says, “Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.’”) The mountain represents the Devil, or his world, since the Devil was one part of the whole of matter, but the world is the total mountain of evil, a deserted dwelling place of beasts, to which all who lived before the law and all Gentiles render worship. But Jerusalem represents the creation or the Creator whom the Jews worship. . . The mountain is the creation which the Gentiles worship, but Jerusalem is the creator whom the Jews serve. You then who are spiritual should worship neither the creation nor the Craftsman, but the Father of Truth. And he (Jesus) accepts her (the Samaritan woman) as one of the already faithful, and to be counted with those who worship in truth. 

In the Bible mountains represent kingdoms or empires

For Heracleon the mountain represents the totality of the material order of things (the devil and the world) worshipped by those who existed before the introduction of the Law of Moses in particular the gentiles

Fragment 44, on John 8:43-44a (In John 8:43-44a, “Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your wish is to do your father's desires.”) The reason why they were unable to hear Jesus’ words and understand what he said is provided in the words, “You are of your father the Devil.” He says, ‘Why are you unable to hear my word? Because you are of your father the Devil’ meaning you are of the substance of the Devil. Thus he makes clear their nature, after convincing them in advance that they are neither the children of Abraham otherwise they would not have hated him, nor children of God because they did not love him.



For Heracleon the inability of the pharisees to hear the divine word of Christ john 8:43 is rooted in their possession of the diabolic nature children of the devil neither the children of Abraham nor the children of God but rather the children of the devil possess a nature that is utterly different than the "psychics" and "pneumatics"

the Hylics hylics, also called somatics (from Gk σώμα (sōma) "body"), this refers to the thinking of the flesh or the carnal mind "it represents that physical principle of the animal nature, which is the cause of all its diseases, death, and resolution into dust. It is that in the flesh "which has the power of death" and it is called sin, because the development, or fixation, of this evil in the flesh, was the result of transgression. Inasmuch as this evil principle pervades every part of the flesh, the animal nature is styled "sinful flesh," that is, "flesh full of sin"; so that sin, in the sacred style, came to stand for the substance called man. In human flesh "dwells no good thing" (Rom. 7:17,18); and all the evil a man does is the result of this principle dwelling in him. Operating upon the brain, it excites the "propensities", and these set the "intellect" and "sentiments" to work. The propensities are blind, and so are the intellect and sentiments in a purely natural state; when therefore, the latter operate under the sole impulse of the propensities, "the understanding is darkened through ignorance, because of the blindness of the heart" (Eph. 4:18). The nature of the lower animals is as full of this physical evil principle as the nature of man; though it cannot be styled sin with the same expressiveness; because it does not possess them as the result of their own transgression; the name, however, does not alter the nature of the thing. Elpis Israel



Fragment 45, on John 8:44a Those to whom the word came were of the substance of the Devil. 

Heracleon makes an important distinction between those who are children of the devil by nature and substance and those who make themselves the devil's servants by choice. 

Origen As if the substance of the devil were different than the substance of other rational beings 

So what is the devil's nature or substance?

The diabolical nature is flesh:

Man in his physical constitution is imperfect; and this imperfection is traceable to the physical organization of his flesh, being based on the principle of decay and reproduction from the blood; which, acted upon by the air, becomes the life of his flesh. All the phenomena which pertain to this arrangement of things are summed up in the simple word sin; which is, therefore, not an individual abstraction, but a concretion of relations in all animal bodies; and the source of all their physical infirmities. Now, the apostle says, that the flesh thinks, that is, the brain, as all who think are well assured from their own consciousness. If, then, this thinking organ be commanded not to do what is natural for it to do under blind impulse, will it not naturally disobey? Now this disobedience is wrong, because what God commands to be done is right, and only right; so that "by his law is the knowledge of sin"; and this law requiring an obedience which is not natural, flesh is sure to think in opposition to it. The philosophy of superstition is -- religion in harmony with the thinking of the flesh; while true religion is religion in accordance with the thoughts of God as expressed in His law. Hence, it need excite no astonishment that religion and superstition are so hostile and that all the world should uphold the latter; while so few are to be found who are identified with the religion of God. They are as opposite as flesh and spirit.
Sin in the flesh is hereditary; and entailed upon mankind as the consequence of Adam's violation of the Eden law. The "original sin" was such as I have shown in previous pages. Adam and Eve committed it; and their posterity are suffering the consequence of it.

Fragment 46, on John 8:44a The verse “You are of your father the Devil” is to be understood as meaning ‘of the same substance as the Devil.’ On “and your wish is to do your father’s desires”: The Devil has no will, but only desires. . . This was said not to those who are by nature children of the Devil, but to the animate people who have become children of the Devil by intent. Some who are of this nature may also be called children of God by intent. Because they have loved the desires of the Devil and performed them, they become children of the Devil, though they were not such by nature. The word “children” may be understood in three ways: first, by nature; secondly, by inclination; thirdly, by merit. (A child) by nature means (the child) is begotten by someone who is himself begotten, and is properly called “child.” (A child) by inclination is when one who does the will of another person by his own inclination is called the child of the one whose will he does. (A child) by merit is when some are known as children of hell, or of darkness and lawlessness, and the offspring of snakes and vipers. For these do no produce anything by their own nature; they are destructive and consume those that are cast into them; but, since they did their works, they are called their children. . . He now calls them children of the Devil, not because the Devil produces any of them, but because by doing the works of the Devil they became like him.

Heraccleon suggests that individuals can become children of the devil and possess the diabolical nature in three ways by natural birth (we are all hylics by nature) 
by will that is after being enlightened those who choose to follow the desires of the devil 

by worth that is the enemies of God those described in the bible as children of gehenna or offspring of serpents 

The 2nd and 3rd are sons of the devil by adoption

the error and ignorance of the devil is rooted in his inherent nature which is the opposite of the truth

Hilgenfeld, Volkmar, and DeConick consider that the Evangelist shows that he embraced the opinion of the Valentinians and some earlier Gnostic sects that the father of the devil was the Demiurge or God of the Jews. But this idea was unknown to Heracleon, who here interprets the father of the devil as his essentially evil nature; to which Origen objects that if the devil be evil by the necessity of his nature, he ought rather to be pitied than blamed

Know Thyself and the Devil Romans 7:18-21

Know Thyself and the Devil 

or 

Self Knowledge and the Devil 

Romans 7:18-21

Romans 7:18-21 New King James Version (NKJV)

18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.

In the Gospel of Thomas Jesus tells us that finding the Kingdom is done by a person who "knows himself will discover this"

Gospel of Thomas Saying (3) Jesus said, "[If] those who lead you [say to you, 'See], the kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky [will precede you. If they say that] it is under the earth, then the fish of the sea [will enter it, preceding] you. And, the [kingdom of God] is inside of you, [and it is outside of you. Whoever] knows [himself] will discover this. [And when you] come to know yourselves, [you will realize that] you are [sons] of the [living] father. [But if you] will [not] know yourselves, [you dwell] in [poverty] and it is you who are that poverty."

Knowing yourself is part of self examination when We examine ourselves we come to an understanding that our natural self is unclean or full of sin it is referred to as sinful flesh our natural self is our real adversary or Satan. Satan or the Devil is our Ego or the natural propensities of the flesh, that is "that physical principle of the animal nature, which is the cause of all its diseases, death, and resolution into dust. It is that in the flesh "which has the power of death;" (Hebrews 2:14) and it is called sin, because the development, or fixation, of this evil in the flesh, was the result of transgression." (Elpis Israel) 

The Devil is limitation of mind. The Devil in flesh is the rationalist or uncomprised intellectual who sees the universe as a blind mechanical force, acting in an arbitrary fashion imposing upon mankind an infinite variety of hardships and dis- eases. The Devil is that agency within us which sows seeds of fear and confusion and declares in no uncertain terms that – this is how life is! The Devil is a speaker of lies. (Man Know Thyself: Hermetic Qabalistic Keys to the Bible)

Ecclesiastes 10:2 A wise man’s heart is at his right hand, but a fool’s heart at his left I have suggested on :1 and :3 that Solomon has himself in view, dissecting his own spiritual collapse as he does in the preceding verses of Ecc. 9. So I suggest this too is him stating that he was not really the true "wise man" but the fool, because wisdom had been "far from me" (Ecc. 7:23). Here he puts it another way, in saying that a truly wise man has his heart at his right hand, under his control, with his wisdom in his heart. 

Whereas Solomon sees himself as the fool whose heart was not under his control, spiritual mindedness and psychological self discipline had not been practiced by him at all. And despite realizing that, he still doesn't repent. The Old Testament frequently speaks of man as having two "sides" to his character; one that wished to serve God, and the other which was rebellious. Ecc. 10:2 shows how that the spiritual man is not only aware of this, but he consciously acts to control these two sides: "A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left". 

This kind of self-knowledge is sadly lacking in most human beings, and Solomon is admitting it had been lacking in himself. Proverbs 7,8 likewise has the picture of two women, personifying the flesh and spirit (Prov. 7:12 cp. 8:2,3). Against this Old Testament background, there developed a strong Jewish tradition that the right hand side of a man was his spiritual side, and the left hand side was the equivalent of the New Testament 'devil'. The Lord Jesus referred to this understanding when He warned: "Let not your left hand know what your right hand does" (Mt. 6:3)- implying that the good deeds of the spiritual man would be misused by the 'devil', e.g. in using them as grounds for spiritual pride.

“The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left” (Ecc. 10:2 NIV) has been understood as referring not so much to right and wrong, good and evil, as to the highest good and lesser good (cp. how the left hand can stand for simply lesser blessing rather than outright evil, e.g. Gen. 48:13-20). The fool inclines to lower commitment. The wise will always incline to the maximum, wholehearted level. And Solomon realizes that this is how he has been.  

Paul laments: "In me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing...for the good that I would I do not...if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me" (Rom.7:18-21). Now he does not blame his sinning on an external being called the devil. He located his own evil nature as the real source of sin: "It is not I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law (within me), that, when I would do good, evil is present with (i.e. within) me". So he says that the opposition to being spiritual comes from something that he calls "sin dwelling in me". Every thoughtful, spiritually minded person will come to the same kind of self-knowledge. It should be noted that even a supreme Christian like Paul did not experience a change of nature after conversion, nor was he placed in a position whereby he did not and could not sin. The modern 'evangelical' movement claims that they are in such a position, and thereby place Paul well within the ranks of the 'unsaved' because of his statement here in Rom.7:15-21. These verses have proved a major difficulty for their claims. David, another undoubtedly righteous man,likewise commented upon the constant sinfulness of his very nature: "I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me" (Ps.51:5).

Realizing who ‘the Devil’ really is inspires us to more concretely fight against him. 

For we are our own worst enemy our own devil and an enemy against God. If  we follow the thinking of the flesh, (). So to “know yourself” is to know that it is our own evil heart that is the devil. ()

Our ego catapults self-interest to the forefront of our attention. Daily readings, Bible study and prayer suppress the power of the ego. Over a period of time the reflective mind, remembering the pain of past ego-driven mistakes, will grow in wisdom. But ego never disappears. It can only be suppressed and its power limited by the constant reintroduction of spiritual thinking.

The doctrine of the fallen angel devil tells us that we are not truly to blame. The evil in the world comes from outside us and in reality it is God who is to blame, since He can’t control His own angels. We are told God either doesn’t have the power or the will to stop this fallen angel, and therefore we suffer. This doctrine elevates the flesh and degrades the spirit.

If we wish to partake of God’s nature, we have to recognize the uncleanness of our own nature and reject it.

We must come to know our true self. Our true self is not the person of this world, but the one who was born of God. We are spiritually maturing and growing in knowledge of who we are. We may not be clearly seeing our true self (who is Christ) right now, but we will once we come to fully know and be our True self. We are God’s image that must become perfect like our heavenly Father this is our purpose to reflect the identity, character and glory and become the image of Christ, who is the true image of God. We can only do this in Christ where our true self (life) will be kept hidden in Christ Col 3:3, 4.

So in this light real poverty is when we do not know our true self in Christ. The use of the term 'poverty' is meant for life outside of true knowledge This is spiritual poverty where our minds are lost in deception and our hearts feel homeless because we have not returned to our Father’s house 1Cor 3:16 6:19 Eph 2:20-22 1Pet 2:5. Finally, Jesus says, “you are that poverty” Paul says that nothing good could come from him Rom 7:18 He said that “Paul” had died and Christ now lived in and through him Gal 2:20. Paul knew that his true life was found when he had the spirit of Christ, which is the mind of Christ and not the natural or worldly Paul.

Paul rebuked Corinth for their inability to know whether they had the christ-consciousness developed within them: "Know ye not...that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" (1Cor. 3:16). We must reckon ourselves dead to sin (Rom. 6:11). The Greek for "reckon" is that translated "impute" or "count", and which often appears in the surrounding chapters in Romans, speaking of how God "counts" us to be perfect. We must reckon ourselves as God reckons us.

the christ-consciousness is first born at baptism, but it is quite possible for it to lie dormant or even die unless it is nurtured. Almost all of us have discovered the presence of our real spiritual man some time after baptism. The spiritual self is begotten by the word, leading to the birth at baptism (2Cor 5:17; James 1:18; 1Pet. 1:23); yet it is the word which makes the " man of God" perfect or mature (2Tim. 3:16,17). Note that the " man of God" here probably refers to our inner spiritual self, rather than just being an description for the believer. In this case, 1Tim. 6:11 records Paul speaking to Timothy's spiritual man: " Thou, O man of God, flee these things". "Man of God" was a term used to describe the Old Testament prophets; it is as if Paul is addressing himself to the word-developed man within Timothy. We must likewise relate to the spiritual man within our brethren.

Moreover, this is how we become “sons of the living Father” (compare Thomas 49-50), which is to become like Jesus himself our example. We must have the same faith as Jesus as well as the same self-control just as Jesus needed it to be saved, so do we Heb 5:7, 8 also in the gospel of John it is Jesus who empowered true believers, so #Ec 5:19, 6:2. He gave them the privilege, the liberty, the dignity, which refers to the legitimate entitlement to the position of being called and becoming the sons of God. Israel was once the son and the first-born, #Ex 4:22: but now the adoption of sons to God was open and free to all nations whatever. By believing, undeserving sinners can become full members of God's family.