When our Master walked among men on
earth He extended an invitation to all of us, to all men and women everywhere
who are willing to share in that body of Being by which God may be glorified on
earth. In the 15th chapter of the Gospel according to John we find these words:
"I am the true vine, and my Father
is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away:
and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth
more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,
except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the
vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same
bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not
in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and
cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words
abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
"Herein is my Father glorified,
that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved
me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye
shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide
in his love.
"These things have I spoken unto
you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full."
How can we enter into the joy of the
Lord and let it come into life in the fulness of that which is of the divine
design? There are so many wonderful things contained in these simple words,
these magnificent words the Master spoke. We would not be branches without
fruit to be taken away; we would be branches which bear fruit. But if we are
beginning to bear fruit the promise is that we shall be purged that we may
bring forth more fruit. No one here would be content bringing forth just a
little fruit if he or she had the capacity to bring forth more fruit. After all
it is in the fruit of our lives that we find satisfaction, that we begin to
know the joy of the Lord. The Master indicated that it is through the Word, the
Word of the Father, the Word of truth, that we may become clean. To purge is to
cleanse, and we are to become clean through the Word of the Father, the Word of
truth. We remember His word, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth
shall make you free"—free of those things which contaminate, free to enjoy
the clean expression of life.
The particular point of truth upon which
I would meditate with you tonight, the particular aspect of that truth by which
we may be free to live and to know the joy of the Lord, is this: the Word of
the Father through the lips of the Master to us, "Abide in me, and I in
you.... He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much
fruit." "Abide in me, and I in you." What do these words mean to
us tonight?—"Abide in me, and I in you." Many people in many
generations have puzzled over the significance of these words. Many have
wondered how it would be possible to abide in Him and He in us. Actually, on
the surface it sounds like a rather ambiguous statement, but it was repeated a
number of times, the same basic truth presented in different ways: "Abide
in me, and I in you"; "He that abideth in me, and I in him";
"If a man abide not in me"; "If ye abide in me, and my words
abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you."
We recognize that the Master established on earth a consciousness of the
focalization of Deity. If we abide in His body of Being, providing a means by
which His spirit may act on earth, we are abiding in Him, and if His spirit is
in us He is abiding in us.
Recently we gave consideration to this
principle of focalization, recognizing that the center, the point of
focalization, contains the essences of Being which must be expressed in the
enlarged manifestation of creation. We noted that a part of the pattern of
creation is indicated by the expanding expression of differentiation by which
the seemingly minute essences of Deity are expressed outward into a larger
pattern where they may be seen in magnified form through the form of creation.
The focalization must contain the essences of Being which are present in those
who are focalized.
The LORD of Lords and KING of Kings provides the centering,
the focalization for all mankind. While He walked among men, we saw His love,
the truth of word and action and attitude; we saw the effect of such function
in relationship to life in a practical sense, but it was still the essence of
Being brought to focus in the body of a man, and that essence of Being was not
allowed any adequate expression outward at that time. The world sought to
destroy, to crucify; but man could not and cannot destroy God. He may prevent
the manifestation of God in himself, but he cannot destroy God. And so now we
recognize that we, in this generation, in this time and place, have the
privilege of allowing at least a part of the essence of Being contained in our
Lord and King an opportunity for enlarged, magnified, differentiated
manifestation. If you, by your life, can cause some seemingly little part of
our great King to be differentiated on the basis of the individual expression
of your own being, and made manifest, magnified and enlarged so that those
round about may see it, is this not a worthwhile use for life? And if by the
pattern of action in which we indulge we prevent that manifestation of the
essence of Being in Him and we do not let it appear on earth, let alone
permitting it to be magnified and made visible, of what value is life to us? We
say that God is great, and that is true; but human minds are inclined to
measure greatness by bigness.
We recognize that there is greatness that is not
necessarily bigness in the sense of form; bigness of heart, bigness of spirit,
greatness of vision, but not necessarily greatness of form. And if we have a
man or a woman upon earth who has this greatness of heart, this bigness of
spirit, and his or her form is not very large, is it not true that others begin
to give form to that spirit of greatness? They begin to share it, to give it form,
that it may have meaning.
How many people we have known in the pattern of our
lives where that was true—a person, not necessarily a great ruler, not
necessarily known to many people, but a person whose natural greatness of
spirit, of understanding, caused others to share that spirit, to give body to
it in a pattern of appreciation, love, quiet recognition. We have seen this in
relationship to people we have contacted along the way of life, because we have
surely all known those who were noble, those who had dignity, understanding, a
great spirit. And we have seen how others tend to give form to that greatness
of spirit when it is present; if it is there, someone begins to give it form,
to appreciate it. Perhaps somewhere along the path of your past life someone by
a word or a deed encouraged or helped or in some manner blessed you. There was
a greatness of spirit; there was something of courage, of faith, of confidence,
and responding to that expression of friendship you, by your action, gave form
to that spirit which had blessed you; you let it have meaning in your life.
If
this be true in the pattern of our friendships along the way by which we have
come, how much more is it true in our relationship with our Lord and King: a
comparatively little center in one Being, one King, not so great in the sense
of a large body but infinitely great in the sense of that which is contained in
essence within Him. And we say we appreciate the love that He revealed on earth
and that He offers to mankind in this hour, we appreciate His spirit. And what
is His spirit? It is the Holy Spirit. We say we appreciate the blessings we
have known by reason of the fact that He is our Lord and King. But we see that
it is only as we give form to His spirit that we can show that we have any
appreciation or gratitude or recognition. If we do not give form to His spirit
in actual fact in our daily lives, can we say that we appreciate Him? Where is
the fruit? Where is the evidence?
Now suppose that in form, in size, you are
almost as big as our King—the size of your body almost as big, perhaps as
large, and yet that which is contained in Him needs to be differentiated,
expressed on a magnified basis, so that it may be seen and known. And He
suggests to you when you come before His throne, "Here is this aspect of
Being, here is this seed, a perfect gem, but it has not been seen by the world.
Here is something which many should see, something which should be magnified
and given form on earth. Here, take this part of Myself, this essence of My
Being, and let it be enlarged in you so that this aspect of the central essence
may be magnified, differentiated and shown forth to the world." If the
King offered you some such opportunity, would you say to Him, "Dear Lord,
I do appreciate Your generosity in offering me this opportunity and I know full
well that the world needs to see You and know Your spirit, but after all, dear
King, I have something I want to show to the world. I know You will forgive me,
long-suffering and merciful as You are, I know You will forgive me if I decline
Your gracious offer. If You will just pardon me, I must hurry on my way and
reveal to the world this marvelous thing that I want to display." Probably
none of you would be so, what shall I say? arrogant, or what have you, as to
actually think such a thing or say such a thing to yourself or to our King, and
yet what of the pattern of action of life itself? What of the things we do? Are
we saying some such thing by our attitudes, by our daily lives? Must we say it
with our lips to declare it? I think not. We need not say it with our lips to
declare that we are revealing some essence of Being from the King. What is it
that we display by our lives?
If we are the expanded expression, the
differentiation of His aspects of Being, then all together we are what He is. If
we try to take it in our hand and use it for our own purposes it will not be
there, but if we let it be magnified in us, if we let ourselves become
magnifying glasses so to speak, then each little essence of Being that is
contained in such concentrated form in that centering of Being is revealed. He
grants us the privilege of revealing a part of that. He does not say to you,
"Now you must take the whole essence of Being of what I am, everything I
am, and you go out there as one person and you reveal everything that I
am." If He were to ask that, would it not be unreasonable? He revealed
something of it in His own life on earth, but do you think He revealed it all?
I do not. His own words show that He knew that He did not reveal it all. He just made a start and He said the greater
works are yet to come. So if we take some little part of that which is
contained in the essence of Being in our Lord and King and let that be
magnified and enlarged and so differentiated in the individual aspects of Being
and yet so blended with all of our fellows that it may be seen in the right
setting, in the right relationship to all other parts, are we not fulfilling
our mission? "Abide in me, and I in you." Is this not a picture of
what it means to abide in Him? To be a part of His body? What body? The body of
Jesus? Oh no, no! The body of God—to be a part of the body of the King.
Now your body is a means by which some
aspect of His Being, His eternal Being, may manifest and be magnified and
revealed on earth. "I in you, and you in me." "You are contained
in that body of Being which is focalized in Me," saith the Lord. "You
are contained in it. You are in Me, I in you." Once we see this principle
of focalization and the expanded expression of differentiation from Center
outward, in the creative action, we can begin to realize that we can be in Him.
We do not have to go somewhere else. We do not have to go through some
fantastic experience. It is not something of mysticism. It is something which
is practical and natural; for you came into the world equipped with the
capacities of body and mind and heart which would permit you to reveal on earth
some aspect of our Lord and King, something of Him. Not the wholeness of Him.
It would take all the children of men, the whole of mankind, to reveal all of
His essences on a magnified pattern. But that greatness that is contained in
His Being needs a greater body to be fully revealed and adequately appreciated,
and the body of mankind was designed for that purpose: that the differentiated
aspects of the Being of God might be made manifest on earth, magnified, the
beauty and the wonder and the glory.
Only reality can stand to be magnified.
Something is magnified by the very process of living, and it comes out—the words
we speak, the things we do. Something is magnified day by day, and if we do not
like the things that are being magnified, if we are busy hiding something in
the tent, that is not so good, is it? How about having something beautiful
magnified? a gift from our King, something exquisitely lovely so that when it
comes under the magnifying glass and it is seen here in the enlarged
projection, it can be appreciated.
In the projection you are the means by
which something of our King is supposed to be projected onto the screen of
life. What is it that is being projected on the screen of life by reason of
your living? Something, surely. Is it of our King? If it is, that aspect of His
Being which you are projecting into the expression of life, onto the screen of
life, is in you. He is in you and you are within the scope of that pattern of
Being that is centered in Him. You are in Him and He is in you. When we begin
to know the truth that sets us free we can see that when He says, "Abide
in me, and I in you," He is talking to us tonight, inviting us to be a
means by which something of the invisible King might be projected in enlarged
form into the visible realm where men and women may see it. You are a projector
as long as life remains in you. Something is being projected through you. What
is it? From whence does it come? If it comes down from God out of heaven into
you and through you, then you are helping to reveal the greatness, the
magnificence, the wonder, the beauty, the glory, the reality of our King. But
if it is from some other source it does not look so well projected on the
screen of life.
We are projectors. That is the way God
made us. He created us in His image and likeness so that we would have the
capacity of projecting that which is of God here on earth, revealing it in
magnified form, enlarged and made real. What are we projecting? The Master gave
the admonition: "Abide in me, and I in you .... If ye abide in me, and my
words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit." What is the
fruit? The projection of that which is within us. "Herein is my Father
glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father
hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my
commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments,
and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might
remain in you, and that your joy might be full."
© emissaries of divine light
