The teachings of the Nazarene, known as the Master-Teacher, when analyzed, deal almost entirely with the son of man and his transformation by gradual degrees and as the result of his own efforts. According to the Biblical narrative, the son of man must become the Son of God, or cease to exist. Man's mission on earth, his destiny as a human creature, is not accomplished until he succeeds in the mission on which he first set forth - from whence the Soul came.

The Soul of man, in an unconscious state as the Divine Spark or Christos, had its beginning with God or the Creator in the beginning of time. Whence or where is of no importance whatever. This embryonic - because Undeveloped - Soul is housed or hidden in the human creature known Biblically as the son of man. When the mind is awakened to the existence of that which is above and beyond the material and mortal, by means of the application or direction of the knowledge which follows the awakening, this Divine Spark or Christos will be brought into manifestation; the son of man will have developed into the Son of God.

This thought, this ideal, this consummation is the central idea clearly outlined in the Gospels. Nowhere is it expressed more clearly than in the conversation which took place between the Master-Teacher and a questioner wherein the Nazarene so plainly stated the fundamental truth relative to man's mission on earth and his ultimate attainment of God Consciousness. The Nazarene drew the parallel between that which is sent forth by the earthly father and born of the flesh by the mother and the birth of the Spiritual self, which is the awakening of the Divine hidden in the earthly shell known as man.

This dual nature of man, one ever active, the other dormant and all but non-existent, has never been more clearly stated than by "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water (the legend that the seed germ which gave life to the body of man came from out of the sea - water) and of the Spirit (that which belongs to the Soul) he cannot enter into the kingdom of God (a Consciousness of God's being).

"That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit (as a result of the awakening - which is coming into the Spirit) is Spirit. Marvel not that I said to thee. Ye must be born again (awakened within to your Divine inheritance)." _St. John 3:5-7.

The body that is man, with its attendant personality, enters this world of action through the travail of the mother. At the moment of physical birth, all things being normal, there enters also via the first breath, the Divine Spark, the Christos, a particle from God or the Creator, there to be "buried" until such time as man mentally awakens to the possibilities offered him with his birth to function on all three planes of existence: the physical, mental, and finally, the Spiritual sphere of the Soul.

Man cannot avoid the first birth or conception. This is the result of the acts of those who become his parents. Having been born of the flesh, if man is not a moron, then he himself becomes responsible for his future state and is Divinely bound to either bring about the second or Spiritual birth or destroy his personality - thus becoming a man without a Soul and the Soul becomes free to attain its consciousness in another medium.

The Nazarene did not minimize the importance of this, nor qualify his statement that unless man be born again or anew, in separateness from the body, through in the body; that unless hi is baptized (awakened and enveloped) by the Spirit which is God alone can function according to Biblical lore, he cannot enter the kingdom of those Spiritually Conscious.

This positive teaching by the Nazarene is incontrovertibly in contradiction to the teachings of all dogmatic schools and does not endorse the doctrine of the Forgiveness of Sin, Vicarious Atonement and Justification by Faith, but makes man entirely responsible for all his acts.

The sincere truth seeker, he who wants facts, not theories, however beautiful and face-saving they may be, will do well to hear this in mind and remember that honest men, whatever their station in life, are perfectly willing, even anxious, to pay their own debts, whether material or moral against the Spirit. Only the dishonest in heart and Soul, doing all in their power to escape their responsibilities, cannot have the slightest hop of being able to enter into the kingdom, irrespective of what their conception of the kingdom of heaven is. "Ye must be born again" comes thundering down the ages and is so clear in its intent that none can mistake its meaning.

For ages men have read the Bible and other Sacred literature, but with rare exceptions, they have been blind to the truth and unwilling to accept the clearly evident directions. They have permitted themselves to be lulled into a sense of false security by the expounders of dogmas formulated by men with selfish motives - men who, wholly unlike the Master-Teacher, made every effort to hide, instead of making plain, the truth that would lead mankind into the Path of Truth, the Way of Life and the Light to guide them.

Among those who formulated the doctrines of the Forgiveness of sin, the Vicarious Atonement and Justification by faith were those of the Gnostic school. They knew the truth and were familiar with the spirit of the Christic inculcations. Why did they, who knew, lend themselves to what appears to be Spiritual misleadership and the betrayal of trust?

To be just, it is necessary to look back into the centuries and conditions among humanity as they were then. Man can do more than this, if he is fair and open minded. He can travel the highways and byways, go among the dwellers of hovel and of ghettos. What would he find? Men and women who would or could understand the Anciently termed Greater Mysteries? The concepts of an Inner Spiritual birth, or the salvation of the soul by rooting out the evils in mind and heart?

Even the precepts of the forgiveness of sins by demanding prayers from the heart and contrition are almost wholly beyond their understanding.

It was thus also in the early centuries of the past age or dispensation, but there were then evils in check - evils the organic law could not reach - and so was formulated the idea of fear of hell fires, eternal torment, and rewards for well- doing.

The evil result of this teaching has been due to the continuation of these inculcations among men of understanding who, properly taught, would have been and were able to comprehend the teachings dealing with the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, had these teachings not been kept in darkness ad revealed only to the few.

In ordinary everyday life, in the dealings between man and man, as individual, who refuses to keep his promises and pay his debts as agreed upon, is soon considered dishonest and untrustworthy.

The man, who would permit another, possibly much less favored than himself, to assume the responsibility of his indebtedness, would be considered by honest men as worse than a weakling - on a par with those unmentionable creatures in human form, who demand and use to their own benefit, the receipts of the courtesan.

All things considered, can the of the New Age do otherwise than boldly proclaim the precept that only Man glorified, that is he who readily accepts the responsibilities of the form (image) he bears can attain the Second Birth, thereby the reach Consciousness of Soul and become initiated into (enter into) the kingdom of heaven?

Acceptance of the mere letter of the Spiritual revelations taught by the Nazarene may be productive of evil, but when even the letter is perverted, it is not to be questioned why there is so much evil in the world, and why so very few attain to the Consciousness that God really exists and that His Laws function.

It is only as men accept the truth, which, enables them to become free and to live the life by which the Soul attains Consciousness, that this Soul, the Spark from God, will make itself heard through its "still small voice" and a realization of its Divinity within the center of man's being will result.

In the third chapter of St. John, verse eight, the Master-Teacher is made to say: "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit (Reborn in the Spirit)." This is the "still small voice," awakened by the Soul's stirring and attaining of Consciousness.

The Nazarene did a great deal more than just postulate with his hearers concerning the sublime doctrine he came to expound to all who would listen to him. He, at all times, makes every effort to point out the Way in unmistakable terms. He did not limit himself by merely instructing his disciples and informing his hearers that only by means of the Second birth, the baptism by the Spirit, would they be able to find and enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he also taught them how they might accomplish this.

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up." _John 3:14.

The serpent, in the lesser mysteries dealt with here, always was representative or symbolic of all that was low and debased in man. This the evil passions, such as hatred, anger, malice resentment, envy and others of like nature, were symbolized by or compared to this low, creeping thing. Moses "lifted up" the serpent and it then became symbolic of the exalted, the strong, the virile. The Nazarene pointed out that it is not sufficient for man merely to believe, but that he actually must lift up, that he must take these "serpents" and transmute them and thus establish the tender emotions of forgiveness , compassion, tenderness, love, and place them on the pedestal of Justice which so long has been dethroned.

When this exaltation occurs, the serpent hitherto creeping in the dust of man's debased nature is transformed into the Dove of Peace on the Tree of Life - symbolic of the Soul in its flight toward the Infinite. Thus it is literally and dynamically true that, when the son of the flesh lifts up the serpent, the serpent changes both its nature and its form, becoming the Dove of Light, the Soul in Illumination, the Winged Globe - a perfect sphere; and thus it is, that the baptism by the Spirit, the flight into the realms of heaven, is attained.

The Son of man is the man of flesh; his nature is of the earth; his desires are debasing. Hatred, unjust anger, malice, envy resentment, unforgiveness - all these seem "natural" to the man who still manifests or represents the serpent.

Before man can come even into an inkling of what is meant by the attainment of a Son of God, he must free himself of all these evil passions, not through destructive acts, but by the process of transmutation. As he does this and as the exalting emotions are born, the Holy Fire will be lighted on the Altar within and the baptism of the spirit (Light) prepared for him.

He who proceeds to lift up the serpent part of all men, born as a part of the flesh; he, who by deliberate choice and purpose - Will - changes his thoughts and desires and gradually harmonizes them with the Divine Law, will ultimately grow into a Son of God and recognize the Father.

He, who exalts and prizes above everything else the Divine Spark within himself and sincerely believes that eternal life is found only in the Divine element, will be certain to come into harmony with all of life and thereby bring into consciousness the Spark of Divinity and so immortalize the Soul.

"Verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." _John 3:3.

This is the doctrine of regeneration succinctly stated. To be born of water is to become aware of the fact that the earthly or carnal life is not the true, lasting or Immortal life. Becoming thoroughly convinced of this fact is termed the awakening of the mind: it is the Baptism with Water, the "John," the voice...crying in the wilderness" (the darkness within man) to arouse him into action.

He, who is aroused to this knowledge, who listens to "John" and then begins to use his awakened mind in the building of his Soul, is on the Path. All his thoughts and desires will be changed In place of seeking carnal pleasures which gradually destroy, he will begin to use his mental forces in constructive thinking. Out of this constructive thinking will grow an activity in harmony with his thoughts and the re-birth of the Spirit will result, culminating in Illumination of the Soul.

This, then, is the process of the development of the Divine Spark, the Divine Spirit in man, which always has been there throughout the centuries but, due to deluding teaching, has been kept dormant and unborn.

It cannot be too frequently repeated that the Divine Spark as a link between God and man, is implanted in every normal man. It is there, awaiting to be awakened and brought by rebirth into its rightful inheritance by becoming Christic, the Soul Individualized. The Nazarene emphasized this when he said to his disciples, who had obeyed his instructions: "Ye are the temple of the living God:" and again when he told them: "I am in the Father and ye in me and I in you."

This appears cryptic unless it is remembered that the Regenerate man is the temple of the Living God. The Nazarene had attained to this regeneration, hence was the temple of the living God, God being installed within. Those, who had succeeded in Spiritualization as he had, were become Christic and the Christos was awakened in them; hence, through their Christianization, they individually were the temple of the Living God and Christ - the Christos Individualized - was in them.

Without conscious and deliberate effort man cannot succeed in Soul development and cannot possibly, by accident or otherwise, "become born again," not, in fact, can he be the/a temple of the living (ever active) God. God (all that is good) can dwell only in that which has become purified and exalted in preparation for the reception of the Divine Nature.

According to the Manistic or New Order interpretation, water represents mind, the mind that has accepted truth. This is, as yet, only an intellectual acceptance, but it is also the urge to seek and find that which is more desirable than what was previously known. Unless man accepts, admits, receives, and gives sincere consideration to a precept, he will never come to believe it; and, unless he believes it, he will not make any attempt to live and prove it.

When the mind accepts a truth, it is no longer an altogether mortal mind. By accepting, the mind acknowledges truth and, to that degree, has awakened to a deeper understanding and is better prepared for a further search for that which is as yet hidden.

The new or Spiritual birth, the baptism by Fire or the Light which brings about Soul Consciousness, is the sure indication that the awakened mind, John, has made proper application and direction of the constructive truths and methods of procedure; that it has brought new life out of, or into, the dying, because all who are living the purely material and carnal life are in the process of dying.

A continuation of the new method of thinking-desiring-living will result in still greater enlightenment of the Soul and in its victory over matter, the unholy (un-whole, unhealthy, incomplete, inharmonious) desires of the flesh. The moral, dying body is being transformed into an instrument for the accomplishment of the Great Work, for which Souls came to the earth plane and took unto themselves bodies.

Through these bodies they, because of such inbirths and becoming sons of men, might, by their experiences and gaining of Wisdom, become the Sons of God; instruments through which the Divine Law might function and peace be established both within men and on earth.

All men dream of such consummation, but only a very few make an effort to bring it about. The Nazarene had this in mind when he said: "Many are called (become aware of the possibility), but few are chosen (attain to this state of Consciousness because they lack the desire, or Will, necessary to make the effort)."

It is the gradual mastery of the lesser or lower self that succeeds in awakening the dormant faculties (Biblical "talents") latent in man's being; enabling him, by the constantly increasing intuitive powers to know what he must do and how to do it; succeeding, or making progress step by step, not only toward Spiritual realization and Consciousness, but likewise and concurrently, in his material and personal affairs. No Soul Conscious human being ever was a failure.

In this process man at once and at the same time becomes a Spiritual, or Spiritualized being, and a Master among men; exemplifying, as he will, the Christic self, the Manistic manifestation as one of the citizens of the new world, the New Order of the Ages, as a "temple of the Living God," fulfilling the Divine Law.

The symbolic baptism by water represented by John is an intellectual baptism only - an awakening of the mind to new truths, new concepts, new directions. It is of the utmost importance, because, without such an awakening, man would forever remain no more than a thinking human creature, the plaything of fate and men.

It is the first step, the entrance door into the temple of knowledge, for the purpose of which man came upon earth. The baptism by the Nazarene, by him who had become the Christ, is that of the rebirth, the second birth, the baptism by Fire or the Holy Ghost, or the Light from heaven (all synonymous terms).

Then follows the consummation of the work with the awakening of the Divine Spark within man, as a result of his/the Regeneration of the whole (holy) self there will accrue to him the power to do all things in harmony with the Law. It was this Paul had in mind when he said: "I can do all things through the Christ (in me) which strengtheneth me." The Christos is the only eternal reality; the actual; not temporal, power on earth or in heaven; and this Christos is in men, but not of men.

As long as man continues to live wholly in the, or by direction of, the desires of the body, satisfied with carnal pleasures, he remains purely earthly, and continually builds "unto death." It is only as he awakens and begins to obey the Voice of the eternal within, that he has made the beginning of building the great temple "not built by the sound of hammer," wherein he, the real self, will begin to function or officiate as a holy priest in the service of both himself and his God and, therefore, for humanity.

As long as man continues to live wholly in the, or by direction of, the desires of the body, satisfied with carnal pleasures, he remains purely earthly, and continually builds "unto death." It is only as he awakens and begins to obey the Voice of the eternal within, that he has made the beginning of building the great temple "not built by the sound of hammer," wherein he, the real self, will begin to function or officiate as a holy priest in the service of both himself and his God and, therefore, for humanity.

This birth by the baptism of John and of the spirit is actually a double transformation of the normal self into a higher degree of existence. The Spiritual baptism, or coming into the Light, is a process of Regeneration and is something that must be experienced here on earth in this life.

If a man does not succeed in being "born again" of both the water (mind) and the Light (Spirit) while in the flesh, there will be no opportunity for him to accomplish this after the Soul takes its flight or journey into the next sphere or plane of existence, and he cannot know or enter into the kingdom.

The Nazarene, like other Master-Teachers, Initiates and Messengers before him, made this most plain in his simple and direct statement: "Ye must be born again." He made these statements without qualifications, trying his best to impress man with the fact that he himself was compelled to do this to become the Christ, a truly Regenerate or Reborn being, and so must all others do who seek to follow him.

Much is made of the Nazarene being the child of or "born of a Virgin." this is to impress mankind that he was conceived not in "Son," but in purity of thought and desire, in affection and Love (God's passion), as indicated so clearly by John's declaration that God is Love. It follows that he who has most of love also has most of God in himself; that which he does is conceived in, and born of Love; that every human creature has the opportunity to fill his being with affection and Love. Nevertheless, although he was conceived of God, nurtured and born of Love, it was necessary for the Nazarene, as it is for all other men, to accept John's teachings and live according to them; to be Baptized by the waters of awakening and understanding, and to be the supplicant in life of these instructions, and to be the supplicant in life of these instructions, otherwise he would not have been the perfect example for mankind to follow.

In all of his teachings the Nazarene made constant reference to the exaltation of the son of man, not merely in words of praise or prayer to the invisible God, but in every thought and desire and, more especially, in feeling, (feeling being the manifestation of being, the one reality.) Feeling raises up, if exalted, just as it tears down and degrades, if it is debased. He was emphatic in his inculcation that when man is raised up - refined, Regenerated - the son of man shall become the Son of God and like himself....the man of flesh...but of the Father...and unto eternal life. The Jews of the day, failing to comprehend his meaning, demanded to know "how the son of man could be lifted up" and "who is the son of man?"

The Nazarene's answer was cryptic, and Arcanum: "Yet a little while is Light in you. Walk while ye have the Light, that darkness overtake you not; and he that walketh in darkness, knoweth not whither he goeth."

This was/is the language of the Philosophic Initiates, those who have come into the Rebirth, the Light, and, according to John, "Brethren of the Light" are the only ones who can know or come into "heaven" while still in the flesh.

This Light is, to a lesser degree, in all men. It is that which the Initiates or men of God have known throughout the ages as the Divine Spark, the Christos brought into manifestation, of which the Voice of Conscience is a part. He, who is wise, will make every effort to develop it until it becomes a Flame, lighting up his inner self - becoming the Greater or Ineffable Light of his being.
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