“There is nothing about me that you cannot attain. I have nothing that does not come from God. The main difference between us as yet is that I have nothing else.” – T-1.II.16:1-3
“Teach only love, for that is what you are.” – T-6.I.20:2
I. A Man Who Remembered the Spirit
“I was a man who remembered the spirit and its knowledge. And as a man, I did not attempt to counteract error with knowledge so much as to correct error from the bottom up. Thus, whenever you refuse to misperceive you are indeed behaving as I behaved. I demonstrated both the powerlessness of the body and the power of the mind. By uniting my will with that of my Creator, I brought His light back into my mind, which naturally remembered the spirit and its own real purpose.” (T-3.IV.16:3-7)
II. Nothing About Me You Cannot Attain
“There is nothing about me that you cannot attain. I have nothing that does not come from God. The main difference between us as yet is that I have nothing else. That leaves me in a state of true holiness, which is only a potential in you.” (T-1.II.16:1-4)
III. Elder Brother, Not Unique Deity
“I bridge the distance as an elder brother on the one hand and a Son of God on the other. My devotion to my brothers has placed me in charge of the Sonship, which I can render complete only to the extent I can share it.” (T-1.II.17:8-9)
“A father can safely leave a child with an elder brother who has shown himself responsible.” (T-4.I.7:7)
IV. “No Man Cometh Unto the Father But By Me” – Reinterpreted
”‘No man cometh unto the Father, but by me’ is among the most misunderstood statements in the Bible. It does not mean that I am in any way separate or different from you, except in time. Now, we know that time does not exist.” (T-1.II.17:1-3)
“Regarded along the vertical, humanity stands below me and I stand below God. In the process of ‘rising up,’ I am higher. This is because without me the distance between God and humanity is too great for you to encompass.” (T-1.II.17:5-7)
V. Equal as Learners
“My mind will always be like yours, because we were created as equals. It was only my decision that gave me all power in Heaven and earth. My only gift to you is to help you make the same decision for yourself.” (T-5.III.8:1-3)
“We have said before, ‘As you teach, so shall you learn.’ … Rather, teach your own perfect immunity, which is the truth in you, and know that it cannot be assailed.” (T-6.I.11:1, 4)
“Believe with me, and we will become equal as teachers.” (T-6.I.12:6)
“I have made it perfectly clear that I am like you and you are like me. But our fundamental equality can be demonstrated only through joint decision.” (T-6.I.9:3-4)
VI. Model for Decision
“You have been asked to take me as your model for learning.” (T-6.I.3:1)
“I am your model for decision. By deciding for God, I showed you that this decision can be made, and that you can make it. I promised you that the Mind that made the decision for me is also in you, and that you can let It change you just as It changed me.” (T-5.III.9:2-4)
“I have enjoined you to behave as I behaved, but we must respond to the same Mind to do this. This Mind is the Holy Spirit, Whose will is for God always. He teaches you how to keep me as the model for your thought, and behave like me as a result.” (T-5.III.12:4-6)
VII. “I and the Father Are One” – Applies to All
”‘I and my Father are one.’ It doesn’t [contradict the statement about being your elder brother]. There are still separate parts in the statement, in recognition of the fact that the Father is greater. Actually, the original statement was ‘are of one kind.’ The Father and the Son are not identical, but you can say ‘Like Father, like Son.’” (T-1.II.18:1-5)
VIII. I Need You as Much as You Need Me
“I go before you, because I am beyond the ego. Reach therefore for my hand, because you want to transcend the ego. My will will never be wanting, and if you want to share it you will. I give it willingly and gladly, because I need you as much as you need me.” (T-8.V.11:1-4)
“We are the joint will of the Sonship, whose wholeness is for all. We begin the journey back by setting out together, and gather in our brothers as we continue together.” (T-8.V.11:5-6)
IX. You Are the Light of the World With Me
“You are the light of the world with me. Rest does not come from sleeping but from waking. The Holy Spirit is the Call to awake and be glad. The world is very tired, because it is the idea of weariness. Our task is the joyous one of waking it to the Call for God.” (T-5.III.10:1-5)
X. I Do Not Call for Martyrs
“I do not call for martyrs but for teachers.” (T-6.I.23:4)
“No one is punished for sins, and the Sons of God are not sinners.” (T-6.I.24:5)
“You are not asked to be crucified, because that was part of my own teaching contribution. You are merely asked to follow my example in the face of much less extreme temptations to misperceive, and not to accept them falsely as justifications for anger.” (T-6.I.12:1-2)
XI. What I Elected to Demonstrate
“I elected, both for your sake and mine, to demonstrate that the most outrageous assault, as judged by the ego, did not matter. As the world judges these things, but not as God knows them, I was betrayed, abandoned, beaten, torn, and finally killed. It was perfectly clear that this was only because of the projection of others onto me, because I had not harmed anyone and had healed many.” (T-6.I.16:1-3)
“You are not persecuted, nor was I. You are not asked to repeat my experience, because the Holy Spirit, Which we share, makes this unnecessary.” (T-6.I.17:7-8)
XII. I Do Not Want to Share My Body
“I do not want to share my body in communion because this is to share nothing. Would I try to share an illusion with the most holy children of a most holy Father? But I do want to share my mind with you, because we are of one Mind, and that Mind is ours.” (T-7.V.14:1-3)
XIII. My Church Is Not a Building
“There is no choice in this, because only you can be the foundation of God’s church. A church is where an altar is, and the presence of the altar is what makes it a church. Any church which does not inspire love has a hidden altar which is not serving the purpose for which God intended it. I must found His church on you.” (T-6.I.15:1-4)
“I know that they cannot really betray themselves or me, and that it is still on them that I must build my church.” (T-6.I.14:5)
XIV. Devotion to Me, Not Worship of Me
“A father can safely leave a child with an elder brother who has shown himself responsible. He is also entitled to love because he is a brother, and also to devotion if he is devoted. It is only my own devotion that entitles me to yours. I have knelt at your altar as readily as I would ever have you kneel at mine.” (T-1.II.15:1-4)
XV. My Agony, My Brothers, My Judas
“My brothers slept during the so-called ‘agony in the garden,’ but I could not be angry at them, because I had learned I could not be abandoned.” (T-6.I.14:1)
“Judas was my brother and a Son of God, as much a part of the Sonship as myself. Was it likely that I would condemn him when I was ready to demonstrate that condemnation is impossible?” (T-6.I.22:5-6)
“The whole message of the crucifixion was simply that I did not [believe in betrayal].” (T-6.I.22:3)
XVI. The Apostles Misunderstood Me
“I am very grateful to the Apostles for their teaching, and fully aware of the extent of their devotion to me. But as you read their teachings, remember that I told them myself that there was much they would understand later, because they were not wholly ready to follow me at the time.” (T-6.I.23:1-2)
“If the Apostles had not felt guilty, they never could have quoted me as saying, ‘I come not to bring peace, but a sword.’ This is clearly the exact opposite of everything I taught.” (T-6.I.21:3-4)
“There are some glaring examples of upside-down thinking in the New Testament, whose whole gospel is only the message of love.” (T-6.I.21:1)
XVII. The Name of Jesus Christ
From the Manual for Teachers (M-23):
“The name of Jesus Christ as such is but a symbol. But it stands for love that is not of this world. It is a symbol that is safely used as a replacement for the many names of all the gods you pray to.” (M-23.4:1-3)
“Jesus has led the way. Why would you not be grateful to him? He has asked for love, but only that he might give it to you. You do not love yourself. But in his eyes your loveliness is so complete and flawless that he sees in it an image of his Father.” (M-23.5:1-5)
“In his eyes Christ’s vision shines in perfect constancy. He has remained with you. Would you not learn the lesson of salvation through his learning? Why would you choose to start again when he has made the journey for you?” (M-23.5:8-11)
XVIII. He Is Still Available
“What does this mean for you? It means that in remembering Jesus, you are remembering God. The whole relationship of the Son to the Father lies in him. His part in the Sonship is also yours, and his completed learning guarantees your own success. Is he still available for help? What did he say about this? Remember his promises, and ask yourself honestly whether it is likely that he will fail to keep them. Can God fail His Son?” (M-23.3:1-8)
“Would the greatest teacher be unavailable to those who follow him?” (M-23.3:11)
XIX. He Has Come From Himself to Answer Yours
“This course has come from him because his words have reached you in a language you can love and understand. Are other teachers possible, to lead the way for those who speak in different tongues and appeal to different symbols? Certainly there are. Would God leave anyone without a very present help in time of trouble; a savior who can symbolize himself? Yet do we need a many-faceted curriculum, not because of content differences, but because symbols must shift and change to suit the need. Jesus has come to answer yours. In him you find God’s Answer. Do you, then, teach with him, for he is with you; he is always here.” (M-23.7:1-8)
XX. The First Coming and the Second
“The First Coming of Christ is just another name for the creation, because Christ is the Son of God. The Second Coming of Christ means nothing more than the end of the ego’s rule over part of the minds of men, and the healing of the mind. I was created like you in the First, and I am reminding you that I have called you to join with me in the Second.” (T-4.VI.14:1-3)
Summary
The Jesus of the Course is not the Jesus of the creeds. He is not a unique divine being whose nature is fundamentally different from ours. He is our elder brother – the first to fully remember his identity as God’s Son and to complete the Atonement. He demonstrated through the crucifixion that the body is nothing and cannot be destroyed by attack; through the resurrection that nothing can destroy truth. He does not ask for worship but for partnership. He does not call for martyrs but for teachers. He needs us as much as we need him, because the Sonship cannot be complete without every part. His name is a symbol for love, and he remains available always to everyone who calls on him. He has made the journey and asks only that we follow, not that we repeat his suffering. Everything he attained, we can attain. The only difference is that he has nothing else.
Prepared for the Astral Library of Light – Section IV: Way of Christ