ref2A

ref2A




POTENTIAL AND LIGHT


Luke 11: 33-36 No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place (No one lights a candle and puts it in a darkened room and leaves), neither under a bushel (outside in the country dark where it can do no good), but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.
(34) The light of the body is the eye (A) (see below for extended text): (that which sees and then understands is the eye of the mind): therefore when thine eye is single (focus on the spirit of God), thy whole body (mind or soul-mind) is full of light; but when thy eye is evil (after fleshly conceits or deceits), thy body (mind) is full of darkness.
(35) Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness (do not spiritually deceive yourself; or, wake up to the light or vision Jesus provides).
(36) If thy whole body (soul) therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.


Reason: when the word was spoken then there came creation. So, out of the power of the spoken word (2)can come light (creating mind) (3). There is differentiation between light which provides creation, and the void which does not (4). Further, the “children of light” inhabit God’s universe.


(A) Luke 11: 34 “The light of the body is the eye:”
The first is Jesus’ response to a woman (v. 27) who spoke from a crowd and blessed him [also in Thomas (79)]. Jesus’ response in v. 28 is “Yea,”, or, “Yea rather,”, then, “blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.”

This would reflect the first established principle, that is, to hear and then keep the word of God. Many proper descriptions might follow concerning knowing and keeping. “keep it.”, for example, is more than a possession. Knowedge is kept by being kept alive, and kept alive will mean reinstilling it with the light of God, or to use it, assert the creative element, to make manifest, to express even if in thought, or prayerfulness within that which is intended to keep. This is more in line with the active principle of walking in The Way.

We then proceed to v. 29, and Jesus speaks of a generation that keeps looking for a sign, “they seek a sign;”, but that there is no sign to be given to this generation.
Part of walking in The Way is to realize God is within and without, thus there is no sign to search for. Relative to the more esoteric we are told to search for God, but that you cannot find Him by searching. Simply put, searching with the earthbound mind entails finding some sign or indication. Jesus is saying that such a search cannot bear fruit, for you will never find a sign-- you must realize Him (6).

By giving this message he is essentially saying that there isn’t going to be a sign, yet the truth of what you want a sign for is right in front of you. In his listeners mind this sign would be thought of as a miraculous sign, something outward pictured. Jesus gives the inward picture, which is truly waking up to the spirit of God within.

We know the Jewish people accepted miracle as part of life. So, naturally, they would assume the deliverer would give miracle sign. That much is obvious. That they could not believe only by hearing seems to be the problem Jesus faces throughout his ministry. So we see this “admission of failure” because miracle sign will be needed to convince them, and that they do not really have ears to hear.

For most people hearing words will never be enough. This is also one reason why walking in The Way is intended to be self-demonstrating. In like manner we see Jesus exhorting, and even imploring the crowds to start doing what he is telling them to do. He tells them you must participate for the reality of the spirit of God alive to be revealed, for the enlightenment experiences to occur. That is why we find that Jesus taught The Way as a step by step enlightenment, revealed daily. Although he does ask for a certain kind of realization on the part of the disciples, and sometimes the crowds he addresses, walking in The Way remains a participation work, it is a journey and not just a realization or revelation work. That is, what you say and do will determine circumstance, and not necessarily what you realize or know.

Therefore, The Way is not focused on one big revelation, or enlightenment experience, even though that may be helpful. Walking in The Way is the enlightenment itself, with revelation following out of that. Thus, Jesus essentially tells us that if you follow in this doing, this walking, that which he speaks of will become a reality (be kept) in your life.

That is also the reference to the “evil generation: ”. The people in essense are running around calling upon God for a sign, yet they are so asleep they could not see if it was right in front of them, which Jesus is. Thus later and throughout his ministry he is telling people to, “Wake Up! What you are looking for is right in front of you”, presenting a cautionary tale even for today.

v. 30 “Jonas was a sign to the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.” The Anointed One should be (and is) an even greater witnessing than Jonah, who spoke on being loving beyond your own borders, and even loving your enemy; and, that God is the God of all of us, even those who would be considered non-believers in God.

v. 31 Now Jesus speaks again of this current generation, and offers the Queen of Sheba, “she came from the utmost parts ... to hear the wisdom of Soloman.” Now Jesus tells this crowd that a greater one than Soloman is here before them. Note that all of this takes place off of the blessing the woman gave Jesus in the beginning. Thence from this blessing comes a revealment of identity on the the part of Jesus. This speaking begins to pick up a powerful velocity in light and consciousness. Talking about principles is one thing, revealing soul identity is another. Jesus takes the comparative route for this task, and is intended to make people pay closer or special attention, as he is saying he offers more potent wisdom and practise than the revered Jonas or Soloman.
Then he continues with a summation of same in v.32. We continue with v. 34.

v. 34 “The light of the body is the eye” (7) Through the eye (mind) is the only way light enters into the body (soul). The light of the soul is understanding mind, revelation knowledge, pattern and development of cognition within one’s life, character which will move the soul through the so called “mystic portals” to see the greater mind of God. As the mind develops there are many nuances to how seeing, beholding, allows the soul-mind to comprehend.

In context he is telling the people there is something wrong with the way they see. In terms of enlightenment within the Jesus message we can see how often we allow ourselves to suffer the same fate. What veil or curtain needs be pulled back that you might see, Jesus as may well be asking. He answers such a question by pulling back the veil by revealing some of the mysteries of light and dark.

If we return to v. 33, we have “putteth it [not] in a secret place”, but in an obvious place, “on a candlestick”. Therein others may be invited, “that they which come in may see the light.” Understanding mind shines forth. For the wayfarer that would mean sharing in the understanding; or, the greater revelation of our soul, of now seeing the pathway without insistence on miracle. Instead, doing, to keep or sanctify, and recognize that Jesus is showing us The Way.

Yet, this crowd does not seem to quite get it. They do not understand that Jesus is trying to show them a different way to walk with God. They cannot believe that he is the Anointed One. Nor do they quite seem to understand the anointed message he brings. It seems the message will be garnered for only a few at first, and even then fades, this fire that Jesus himself has started (Th. 10, “fire upon the world, and see, I am guarding it until it blazes.”). Instead of seeing the fire, we have, “And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven”, Lk. 11: 16. This does not seem to be a group ready for any kind of revelation knowledge.

We continue, “therefore when thine eye is single,” This can deal with many attributes of character that center on the spiritual path. For instance, commitment, both mental and spiritual; steadfastness, which pertains to faith in the spiritual; willingness, to continue to learn and grow; emphasizing the spirit of God or Jesus as the mainstay of your life; seeing the pathway before you, vision, and being willing to walk it, motivation; and, there are so many ways of describing the, “eye is single.”

The eye is single can also allude to seeing the world from a singular viewpoint. This would be the difference between viewing the world from self point of view (split or worldly), to seeing the world from God’s point of view (as best we may), and from that viewpoint leading to a oneness or singularity with God.

This vision completely eludes the crowd. They cannot recognize the oneness of Jesus with the father, or Jesus as the Anointed One, nor even credence that he is a prophet. They do not have proper focus on God, Jesus is essentially saying. The crowd is asking for that which makes everything easy for them, the showing of miracle sign. Yet, what is easy for them is not understanding, instead of seeing and understanding as Jesus speaks about here.

We also know that many believed, or were converted to this new sect, when miracle began to surface as a more predominant aspect of ministry. Yet, Jesus is saying, would that miracle not be needed, except to ease the suffering. So, even as miracle was “forced” upon Jesus, most of miracle sign was within the arenas where it would do the most good.

Some have wondered about the miracle acts of Jesus, that is, did they really happen. This set of scripture gives us that he finally did have to commit to miracle as a method to wake the people up to the spirit of God. It was demanded, it was expected for the times, and there seemed no other good way of moving the ministry forward, at least quickly enough to complete his mission for the father.

So, the single eye as a focus of singular intent-- wanting to see past miracles, wanting more than only the surface explanation of parable, thence to the something far greater Jesus offers. None of this seems to have truly captured the imagination of the masses. The vision is still just words, and the picture that the spirit of God would paint to capture these words is not being painted (see Revealed Knowledge), at least for the crowd before him.

To reach a bit further we could say that when a person takes on the vision of the single intent to see God, then God can return the gaze, and it is only then that the person can see Him. You cannot see Him, but He can reveal Himself to you, and then you see Him. Even though well within the middle-eastern tradition of thought, this revelation way of seeing and understanding God remained elusive for the Jewish people of the day.

Keep in mind that the idea of revelation knowledge would in part concern how to get rid of the Romans. Even though the call to repentance coming from the prophet John the Baptist was clear, this was in context to repentance as they already understood it. There really was no thought given that a strictly spiritual deliverer would arrive.

Many elements of The Way are illustrated here, however: intent, do you want miracles, spiritual gifts, or do you want the spirit of God awakened in you; purpose, are you willing to walk in the way Jesus shows us, or, if not, what otherwise is your purpose; knowledge, are you willing to receive revelation; satisfaction, if these things are delivered into your life, will you gain the substance of God of which Jesus speaks?

This may seem a long stretch, but it is not. For following is the statement “when thine eye is single, thy whole body is also full of light.” This gives the promise of fulfillment to the whole soul. Within this fulfillment are the above mentioned qualities for growth, and other qualities could also be named.

“But when thine eye is evil (split apart, not one)”. This also ascribes to deducing value between spiritual and earthly, the light and the dark, or in the moral sense right and wrong. To introduce earthly, or relative values, subjugates God’s law of cause and effect (8) as an eternal standard, to be replaced with the many and passing standards of the world. This, in turn, is the spiritual explanation as to why the world continually confounds itself. Also, why part of The Way is being in the world, but not of it, else you be likewise confounded.

So, these principles are far from unknown to the ancient world. As a spiritual standard relative values would be set aside. Although this seems editorial sidelight, it does bear weight if we wish to consider the espoused principles of oneness with God which Jesus gives us, sharing in His spirit alive or awakened in you, or enlightenment in The Way. None of these are given worldly connotation, and the world itself does not value them.

”thy body also is full of darkness.”, that is, split apart within itself, and is not one. Confusion reigns, the doubt reigns, the sense of desperation howls as a wolf at the door, and we become sacrificed to the world by thinking in the worldly manner. The world is split apart. Its earthbound teachings lead to more confusion--- the world is not enlightened. Thus, you can no longer participate with the world in the same manner. You can still be in it, but no longer of it. You can have experience for soul growth within it, but you can no longer align yourself with the world, certainly as compared to the enlightened teaching Jesus brings us.

v.35 “Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not of darkness.” Be wary of deception within self, and be wary of what the world presents to you (9). Do not, for example, bring a political arguement to a spiritual man and expect him to justify his religion relative to your politics. Even the Pharisees attempted this deception. Yet, to them it seemed a quite rational approach, worldly though it may have been. So, the heeding is to watch out that what one has gleaned in and from the world is really more a false trail than one might believe. At least, this seems close to what Jesus is telling them.

As we have worked through this scripture we see more and more delineation when considering the principles of the light of God, and later, the Sons and Daughters of God, and child of light.

END
CRE