CHAPTER X
THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE
The great statements of Jesus Christ were never spoken from the personal, but always from the impersonal. No truth ever sprung from the personal mind because it is only the impersonal that can touch the universal, and it is only in the universal that absolute truth can be found. When the mind enters the impersonal state, consciousness comes in touch with the cosmic state of being, and in that state we realize the "I Am" of being. We discern what the "I Am" actually is, and we find that the consciousness of the "I Am" is the open door to the limitless vastness of the spiritual universe. "I am the door." Enter through the door of "I Am" and we pass into that immense world that is found on the upper side, or the divine side of sublime existence.
The "I Am" in every soul is the spirit of Christ within us, and when we become conscious of the Christ within us we can truthfully say that "the mind that was in Christ Jesus, the same mind is in me." The mind that was in Christ Jesus knew the "I Am" of eternal being; in brief, was the "I Am" of eternal being, and therefore could say that I am the way, and the truth, and the life. But this same "I Am" is in every soul and constitutes the real "me" of every soul, and as we grow in Christ we grow into the realization of that great truth that we are one with Christ, and that the same Christ that reigned supremely in the personality of Jesus shall reign supremely in us.
The Christ within us is the only begotten of the Father, and is created in the image and likeness of the Father. There is only one Son of God, but this one Son reigns in every soul, and constitutes the "I Am" in every soul. The "I Am" that occupies the throne of your spiritual being is the only begotten Son of God, and as this Son is like the Father you cannot grow into the likeness of the Father unless you do so through the Son. Nor can you enter into the presence of the Father without going through the Son, because it is the Son that unites the Father with you.
The Son of God is one with God, therefore if you wish to realize your oneness with God you must enter into the life and the spirit of the Son. In other words, you must become conscious of the "I Am" within you because it is this "I Am" that is created in the image of God, and we are not one with God unless we realize that we are created in the image of God. To be one with God is to know that we are in the Father and the Father in us, but we cannot enter into that consciousness wherein we know that we are in the Father until we are conscious of our exact likeness to the Father.
When Jesus declared, I am the way, he spoke in the consciousness of the Christ. It was the supreme "I Am" that made this great statement, and this "I Am" is the way. The supreme "I Am" is the way to everything that man may need or desire throughout eternity, for "I Am" in God, and in God we find the allness of all that is. The "I Am" is the way to God, because it is the "I Am" in man that is always one with God. "I am the door," and there is no other door; it is therefore evident that no one cometh unto the Father but by me.
To go to God you must go by way of the Christ; that is, you must enter into the inner consciousness of the Christ that reigns within us; you must enter so deeply into the spirit of your own sublime being that you can readily realize that "I Am" and know that "I Am" is not distinct from you but is the real and the eternal of you. "Where I am there ye shall be also." You shall some day enter that same exalted state where your consciousness of the "I Am" will be so perfect that you will know that you are "I Am." Then the supreme "I Am" will speak in you as he did in Jesus and will in like manner declare in you, "I am the way."
When we find the spirit of Christ within us we find the way; we then enter the path, the path that leads to the fullness of life and the perfection of being. To daily ascend higher and higher in the consciousness of this spirit of the Christ is to follow the Christ, and to follow the Christ is to enter the Kingdom.
The "I Am" is the truth because all truth has its source in the divine being of man. That the real man is created in the image of God is the one supreme truth, and the real man is the "I Am." To know the truth is to enter into the life and the spirit of the "I Am" within; that is, the Christ within, and to enter into the Christ is to enter into freedom because there can be no bondage or ill whatever in Him. This is how we gain freedom when we know the truth; not by forming intellectual concepts about truth, but by entering consciously into the spirit of the Christ within which is the truth.
To enter into the Christ consciousness is to become conscious of the real being of the Christ, and the real being of the Christ is identical with the real being of man. To become conscious of the real being of man is to know the truth concerning man, and when we know this truth we know that man is divine because man, in his eternal nature, is identical with the nature of the Christ. When we know that we are created in the likeness of truth we know that we are truth, and we can say, when speaking from the Christ consciousness, into which we have entered, "I am the truth." And when we know that we are truth we are conscious only of that which is truth. We cannot be out of the truth when we are in truth, and as there can be no ill or bondage in the truth we must necessarily be in absolute freedom while we are consciously in the truth.
The "I Am" is the life; all life comes from God, and the life that is in us is the life of the only begotten of God. The life eternal is the life of God in us, and it is the "I Am" in us that lives the life of God in us. To gain the life more abundant it is therefore necessary to enter more and more deeply into the consciousness of the "I Am" within. In brief, the more fully we realize the "I Am" or the Christ within us the more we live, and when we enter so perfectly into the Christ consciousness that we actually know that the real in us is identical with the "I Am" in us, then we begin to live the life eternal; then we actually enter eternity while still in personal form; then we know with positive conviction that we are immortal, and we need no further evidence for any other source whatever.
When we learn that "I am the door," and seek this door in the spiritual life within us, we shall find it; and as we pass through this door we enter the other side of life, the divine side, the eternal side. There we find the kingdom of God that is within us, and beyond is the shining shore. But we are not required to leave the personal form and the physical life in order to live on the other side of life. True being is to live on the spiritual side of life and to manifest the perfection of spiritual being in the personal side of life. Thus the Word becomes flesh and the glory of God is made visible in man.
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For narrow is the gate and straightened the way, that leadeth unto life. And those alone who are in the spirit can find it. Follow the light of the spirit in all things, choose the living Christ as the pattern in all things, and depend upon God in all things. Do not seek the truth; seek the spirit of truth. The spirit leads into all truth. To know the truth is to know the way. To be guided by the spirit into all truth is to walk in the light of the spirit all the way, and the way of light leads into the kingdom of eternal life. Follow the words of the Christ until the spirit is found; then follow the spirit into the greater life of the Christ. Keep the eye single upon that light that is revealed through the spiritual vision of the soul. Where that light is shining there is the gate; beyond is the way that leadeth unto life, and all who are in the spirit shall find it even now.
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