27. They understood not that he spake to them of the

Father.

28. Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.

When the Son of man is lifted up (which means, when the Son of man has been changed, or transmuted), he becomes the Son of God. The man of flesh, when changed from the carnal to the Divine, is the Son of God and knows the Father. He has come into his divine inheritance.

29. And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.

He who is become the Son of God is never alone; for, in his temple, dwells the living God. The fire upon the altar is always attended to by the Vestal Virgin, which is purity of thought and act.

30. As he spake these words, many believed on him.

31. Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

"If ye continue in my word," means if ye continue to live the life that Jesus taught by his words. He taught the true life and he lived the true life. If we accept, and live as he lived, we will become the character he was.

32. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

And what is the truth? To know that God made man after His likeness and in His image, and that God is the Soul that dwells within man. "To know God and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent"-this is truth.

God was not made after the image of man; but God made man after His own image. As all things are in God, it follows that, being in God's image, man likewise contains all

things, though in lesser degree. But man must develop his Godlikeness. He must develop his God-Consciousness. The image of God in man is in a potential state, and must be evolved and unfolded and brought to vital consciousness. This man does by living the life indicated by the Divine Law. The truth of God is potential, involved, in man's nature. But it must be evolved and made dynamic and allowed to function in his life. Truth functioning in man's nature sets him free from error and sin. Truth and Goodness are already with him; but he must come to know them and to know his Creator. To know the truth means to become conscious of the Infinite. This consciousness sets man free from the entanglements of the self-life, and thus makes him free to act and move and have his being in a higher realm of realization and experience. He lives on a higher plane of consciousness, as the bird set free from the eggshell is on a higher plane of existence.

God is Love and Light and Life. The more we have of love for all things, in our natures, the more of God we have in us, and the more we will become like Him.

33. They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?

34. Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever commiteth sin is the servant of sin.

A man may be a slave to another man and still be a free mortal; for, though his body may be bound to another, the Soul cannot be bound except by himself.

The man that lives an evil life is a slave-not necessarily a slave to man, but a slave to his own evil thoughts and desires. There is no bondage equal to bondage to one's own petty self. He who lives the life of the flesh is the slave of the flesh. While he who lives a life of harmony with the Divine law, although he may serve another man in bondage, is indeed a divinely free man.

35. And the servant abideth not in the house forever: but

the Son abideth ever.

36. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

37. I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.

This should be interpreted as the experience of the soul in general-the soul that is born in flesh and darkness either gradually destroys itself through neglect of its divine possibilities or accepts the truth and ultimately finds Illumination and Immortalization of Soul. One born in bondage to the senses and pleasures that belong to the senses is loathe to give them up. But, in some way, the truth comes into his life; he is clearly shown that "the wages of sin is death.' Yet, he wishes to continue in the old way because it is the way of pleasure; but he remembers the truth that has come to him, and something within continually reminds him of it, although it has not yet become a part of his consciousness. He may try to crush out that something, that voice, which is within; for it has not yet found a permanent resting place in his nature. It seems foreign to his former self; it is "the voice crying in the wilderness." He may try to rid himself of it, because it interferes with his peace of mind. Yet, in time, he becomes thoroughly convinced that this voice is the voice of his own better nature, his own higher self, his own Soul. In time, also, the truth and the voice become thoroughly established in his nature, until it is natural for him to obey the dictates of the Law of love and good-will toward all creatures, until the pleasures of the lower self no longer are a temptation to him. The true life, the true character, qualities of a Christly Soul, and service to humanity are in themselves their own true and satisfactory reward. The Son thus makes him free-free from the errors of a selfish personality; free on the plane. of higher thought and realization.

LESSON TWENTY-EIGHT

He that is of the Father will do the will of the Father.

St. John 8:38-59.

38. I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.

Jesus, being the Conscious Son of God, or the Christ, did the will of the Father. The Jews were still only the children of their earthly father, the children of the earth with its desires and weaknesses, and could only do the things of the earth; for they were still bound by the earth and that which was of the earth. Thus is carnal man ever bound. 39. They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. 40. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.

Abraham listened to the truth when he was given it by the Father which was within. He obeyed the Divine Law and reaped the consequent reward. But the Jews were the offspring only of the physical Abraham and knew not the God of Abraham.

41. Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.

42. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from neither came I of myself, but he sent me.

God; The Jews were of their father, the flesh. They knew nothing except the desires and the passions of the flesh. They had never lived in harmony with the Divine Law and therefore were not of the Father; for only he is of the

Father who doeth the will of the Father and knoweth the Father.

43. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.

44. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. The devil is evil. He is of the flesh. All evil thoughts, all evil desires, and all evil acts, are from the devil; but be it remembered that evil is the devil. It is of the flesh, it is darkness; for it dwelleth in darkness.

Whoever does evil is of the devil and cannot know God. When man lives according to the Divine Law, he does not listen to the desires of the flesh, but uses the flesh in the gratification of the desires of the Soul, or of the Father.

The flesh has its use; for, without it, the Soul could not manifest, the Christ could not be known. But the flesh should be the servant of the Soul, and not the master.

45. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. 46. Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?

47. He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.

No man can say that he knows God, or that he is the child of God, if he does not do the will of God. To do the will of God means not to cheat, nor to steal, nor to lie, nor to hate, nor to be jealous; but to be of service to humanity, to give forth good counsel, to cheer the fallen, and to give love to all those that need it. "By their fruits shall ye know them."

48. Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? 49. Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me.