How I Used Truth - Lesson 1 - Annotation 5
How is Jesus both the Elder Brother and Saviour of mankind?
5. Jesus is the Elder Brother of man because He came into the full realization of Himself as a spiritual being, the Son of God. He lived in the consciousness of His sonship. He proved it by the example of His own life, and He also fulfilled His mission for all mankind, which was to be the Way-Shower.
Jesus is considered Saviour of mankind because He showed man by example how to recognize God as the Father of all. Jesus proved that God's will for man is all-good in mind, body, and affairs. Jesus taught man how to bring forth this good through the process of scientific thinking and how consciously to identify himself with the Father within.
A brother is someone considered in his relation to another person having the same parents. "Elder" implies having been born or having come into physical expression before another. Jesus at the age of twelve, recognized God as His Father. We find Him at that early age saying to Mary and Joseph on their return to the Temple in search of Him:
"Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business" (Luke 2:49 A.V.).
Because of His consciousness of divinity, Jesus can lead the way to man's "finding the Christ," just as an elder brother will help his younger brothers and sisters to accomplish whatever they wish to do. As a human being Jesus was born of Mary; as a divine being He was born of God (the Holy Spirit).
Through His conviction of His true mission, Jesus consciously merged the human of Himself with the divine. Jesus walked the human pathway and met challenges as we do today. On page 20 of the later editions of the text is a statement in Hebrews 4:15 in which Jesus is described as, "one that hath been in all points like as we are" (How I Used Truth 20). The King James Version covering this verse reads: "one tempted in all points like as we are. The word tempt originally meant "to test." Jesus was tempted at all points in His human nature, in all that belongs to manifest man. His divinity could not be fully manifested until He had proved every phase of spiritual law. In other words, Jesus had to fully understand God's plan for man, for all creation, so that He could manifest the nature of God. While it is true that Jesus was tested on all points, the Scripture is very clear in emphasizing that He was "yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15). He was "without sin" because His understanding was so clear and definite. His obedience so complete, that He did not fail the test on a single point.
Jesus worked out human problems that were presented to Him because He knew the law of God that was necessary to heal any situation. Jesus did not deviate from God principle in His consciousness, in His ministry, or in His personal life. Because of the depth of His understanding He was able to blend His human nature with the divine nature; He expressed and manifested God in all ways.
Jesus Christ is Saviour of mankind in a general way because He brought the "saving grace" of God to the attention of men. As Elder Brother He was the first to prove fully the laws of God. He proved these laws in His own life, as well as in the lives of others, through His miracles of healing and other demonstrations.
Annotation 4 of this lesson brings out that the "mediator" and savior of each one of us individually is our own Christ Self. When giving instructions for prayer Jesus said,
"But thou,when thou prayest, enter into thine inner chamber and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret" (Matt. 6:6)
Jesus was pointing to the individual savior in ourselves, our own Father indwelling or as He put it, "Thy Father who is in secret." It is this God-Presence within us that "saves" us from mistakes that come through ignorance of ourselves as a spiritual being.
Jesus’ mission was to present the truth about man and his relationship to God. When we follow Jesus' teachings (or "my words" as Jesus called them) we are made safe from danger, sickness, sorrow, or any limitation of mind, body, or affairs. In this sense, then, Jesus Christ is the Saviour of mankind, in that He showed mankind "how."
"Jesus showed us graphically how we can free, or 'save' ourselves from our sins and limitations; how we can meet the many temptations that would keep us from enjoying our good . . . He is our Saviour . . . because He lived for us, and through His life He gave to us the divine pattern for saving ourselves from sin" (Practical Christianity for You 37).
For instance, inventors have discovered ways of transportation, and labor-saving devices in home, shop, and office that actually "save" one from drudgery. Yet it still remains with each one to avail himself of the things that will "save" him, that is, make his life more orderly and productive. So with Jesus' relation to us as Saviour. He has done His part by walking the pathway of life. He showed us how we can be "saved" from pitfalls, from a sense of burden, from sickness, frustration, poverty. However, only as we actually live the truths Jesus presented are we "saved." Through turning in prayer to our own indwelling savior, we are truly "saved" from the limited thinking that has produced experiences of lack and frustration.
I would be patient, for Jesus Christ was patient.
I would be kind, for Jesus Christ was kind.
One thing I seeks to follow in His footsteps;
To have in me the mind that was His mind.
--Dorothea Garrison: Best-Loved Unity Poems.
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Preceding Entry: What causes us to lose the consciousness of our spiritual identity?
Following Entry: Explain how your body can be called a temple of God. What takes place in a temple?
