LESSON TWO

"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God."

St. John 1:10-12.

10. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

By God were all things created. He is in the world today as he was in the long ago; but the world knows him no more in the present day than it knew him in the past.

Materialistic man can know only the things of the material. Materialism can know nothing whatever of the things that are eternal. For this reason the world cannot know him.

Those who have received the Light, those who have reached Illumination by living the true life, know him. Only through Illumination, through finding the Soul-the Christ-can man know him. When Illumination is accomplished, man is no longer of the world, but of the Soul; because he knows the Soul, and has attained Soul Conscious

ness.

11. He came to his own, and his own received him not.

He came to all his creatures; but, being blind, they could not know him. The blind cannot see the light. The spiritually blind cannot see the divine Light. Only those who have been awakened, illuminated, can know him. God comes to all today as He came to all in the far past. They cannot recognize Him; because, not having cultivated their soulual faculties, they cannot become conscious of Him.

12. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.

To live the life indicated by the Divine Law, means "to

receive him." In proportion as we live such a life do we receive him. As we receive him, we become illuminated, we become conscious of the Soul, we find the Christ. Receiving him refers not to a definite act, but to a prolonged process. In meeting the conditions of this process, we truly become the sons of God. Becoming sons of God refers to prolonged stages of growth rather than to a specific act. It is the privilege of all men to become sons of God. All men have free-will to decide what they desire to become. If they choose the true life and if they live in harmony with the divine standard, they will reach Illumination. Through Illumination, through Soul development, they become the sons of God and become recipients of the power that always attends Illumination.

No longer can man deny that he is potentially the son of God. No longer can he admit himself to be a poor, depraved creature; for God himself teaches that, if man will receive Him, he will have the power to become the son of God.

Man alone is responsible for what he is. God gave him the privilege, and still gives him the privilege, to become his son. If man refuses to accept this privilege, he alone is responsible.

But no man will believe in him, unless he accepts the teachings and lives a life in accordance with the teachings; because the material man can believe only in the material world. Darkness can not know the light. For the same reason it is impossible for the materialist, the one who is not awakened, to believe in his name.

"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become sons of God, even to them that believe on his name."

The same opportunity is open today. All who will, may accept.

LESSON THREE

"Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

St. John 1:13-17.

13. Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

That which is born only of blood is an animal; for animals are born of blood alone. He who is born of the will of the flesh is born in lust and not of God. He who is born of the will of man is merely an intellectual being. Only he who is born of God, of love, or in love, is truly a man.

Man may be born of flesh, of blood, and of mind, and still not truly be man. But he who is born of blood, of flesh, and of mind, and who was also conceived in love, and who, through love, has developed his soulual nature-such a man is truly born of God.

14. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

In this sentence, the Word means the soul that has taken on the body of flesh. It is the soul conceived in Love. Such a soul is full of glory, and this glory of the soul is like the Father.

Jesus, born in love, was the Word made flesh. Jesus represents the soul taking up flesh in order to manifest. He was full of grace and truth; because he was born in love and in truth. All men, by living the ideal life, may manifest this same glory. They may have the same power. They may be full of grace and of beauty.

15. John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake. He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.

John knew that, through some one born of woman, the glory of the Illuminated Soul would be manifested. Through living the true life, John had become partly illuminated. Therefore he was able to prophesy that one was to come who would manifest Illumination of Soul in all its glory.

Jesus, not only born of blood, flesh, and mind, and conceived in love, but also thoroughly trained in all that was conducive to Illumination, became known to John. John at once recognized him as a Master, as one who had become the son of God, as one who possessed the power of a son of God.

16. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

All men have potentially received all that Jesus received. Therefore all men may have the same power, if they are willing to live the Christ-life. If we obey the laws of the Father, we will receive grace for grace. As we live the life that leads to Illumination, Christhood, or Sonship, we will receive the fruits of such a life. All men have received of his fulness, all men have the same free-will to choose between that which leads to Sonship and that which leads to destruction of the soul.

17. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

Moses had received the laws of life; but it was Jesus who manifested Divine Illumination. It was Jesus who showed to mankind that Sonship might be attained by all those who would live the truth as it had been taught by Moses and the prophets.

LESSON FOUR

Only he who has reached Illumination and has found the Christ, can see the Father.

St. John 1:18-27.

18. No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

Man, being of the flesh, can neither see nor understand the Soul. Only as he heeds the divine decree, "Love one another," is he given the key that unlocks the door to the Temple wherein God dwells.

As man lives in accordance with the Divine Law of Love, does he manifest the characteristics of the Law of Love. This manifestation begins in the center of the being; for there first arises the impulse to live the true life. Manifestation necessarily begins within; for it is within our own being that God dwells. As growth continues, in time we manifest the Father in our outward appearance, and in our daily conduct.

But, even with such manifestation as this, we do not yet see the Father. Outer manifestation is only a reflection of the Father that dwells within the temple. However, as we continue to grow more and more like the Father, as we cleanse the temple more and more so that the Father may dwell therein, Soul Awakening takes place. It is to be emphasized that Soul Awakening is a long-continued process, which finds its culmination in Soul Consciousness, or in Illumination of Soul. Only after maturity of Soul Consciousness has been reached, can it be truly said that the Soul"the only begotten of the Father"-hath seen Him and known Him.

It is not man that sees the Father; for man of himself is nothing. It is the Awakened, the Illumined, Soul that can behold the Father "whom no man hath seen." The