Jesus describes what a soul is

March 2nd, 1917

Received by:James Padgett.

Washington D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

I come tonight to write my message on the soul, and will do so, if we can establish the necessary rapport.

Well, the subject is of vast importance, and difficult of explanation, for there is nothing on earth known to man, with which a comparison may be made, and, generally men cannot understand truth, or the nature of things, except by comparison with what they already know to exist, and with whose qualities and characteristics they are acquainted. There is nothing in the material world that will afford a basis of comparison with the soul, and, hence, it is difficult for men to comprehend the nature and qualities of the soul by the mere intellectual perceptions and reason: and in order to understand the nature of this great creation - the soul - men must have something of a spiritual development and the possession of what may be known as the soul perceptions.

Only soul can understand soul, and the soul that seeks to comprehend the nature of itself, must be a live soul, with its faculties developed to a small degree, at least.

First, I will say, that the human soul must be a creature of God and not emanation from Him, as a part of His soul: and when men speak and teach that the human soul is a part of the Over-Soul, they teach what is not true. This soul is merely a creature of the Father, just as are the other parts of man, such as the intellect and the spirit body and the material body, and which before its creation had no existence. It has not existed from the beginning of eternity, if you can imagine that eternity ever had a beginning. I mean that there was a time when the human soul had no existence; and whether there will ever come a time when any human soul will cease to have an existence, I do not know, nor does any spirit, only God knows that fact. But this I do know, that whenever the human soul partakes of the Essence of the Father, and thereby becomes Divine itself, and the possessor of His Substance of Love, that soul realizes to a certainty that it is Immortal, and can never again become less than Immortal. As God is Immortal, the soul that has been transformed into the Substance of the Father becomes Immortal, and never again can the decree, "dying thou shalt die," be pronounced upon it.

As I said, there was a period in eternity when the human soul did not exist and was created by the Father, and when it was made the highest and most perfect of all God's creation, to such an extent that it was made in His image - the only one or thing of all His creations that was made in His image, and the only part of man that was made in His image, for the soul is the man and all his attributes and qualities, such as his intellect and spirit body and material body and appetites and passions, are merely appendages or means of manifestation given to that soul, to be its companions while passing through its existence on earth, and also, qualifiedly, while living in eternity. I mean some of the appendages will accompany the soul in its existence in the spirit world, whether that existence be for all eternity or not.

But this soul, great and wonderful as it is, was created in the mere image and likeness of God, and not in or of His Substance or Essence - the Divine of the universe - and it, the soul, may cease to exist without any part of the Divine nature or Substance of the Father being lessened or in any way affected; and hence, when men teach or believe that man, or the soul of man is Divine, or has any of the qualities or Substance of the Divine, such teaching and belief are erroneous, because man is only and merely the created man, the mere likeness but no part of the Father or of His Substance and qualities.

While the soul of man is of the highest order of creation, and his attributes and qualities correspond, yet he is no more divine in essential constituents, than are the lower objects of creation - they each being a creation, and not an emanation, of their Creator.

True it is that the soul of man is of a higher order of creation than any other created things, and is the only creature made in the image of God, and was made the perfect man, yet man - the soul - can never become anything different or greater than the perfect man, unless he receives and possesses the Divine Essence and qualities of the Father, which he did not possess at his creation, although, most wonderful gift, with his creation, God bestowed upon him the privilege of receiving this Great Substance of the Divine nature, and thereby become Divine himself. The perfectly created man could become the Divine Angel, if he, the man, so willed it and obeyed the commands of the Father, and pursued the way provided by the Father for obtaining and possessing that Divinity.

As I have said, the souls, the human souls, for the indwelling of which God provided material bodies, that they might live the mortal lives, were created just as, subsequently, these material bodies were created; and this creation of the soul took place long before the appearance of man on earth as a mortal, and the soul prior to such appearance, had its existence in the spirit world as a substantial conscious entity, although without visible form, and, I may say, individuality, but yet, having a distinct personality, so that it was different and distinct from every other soul.

Its existence and presence could be sensed by every other soul that came in contact with it, and yet to the spirit vision of the other soul it was not visible. And such is the fact now. The spirit world is filled with these unincarnated souls, awaiting the time of their incarnation, and we spirits know of and sense their presence, and yet with our spirit eyes we cannot see them, and not until they become dwellers in the human form and in the spirit body that inhabits that form, can we see the individual soul.

And the fact that I have just stated, illustrates, in a way, describes the Being of Him, in whose image these souls are created. We know and can sense the existence and presence of the Father, and yet, even with our spiritual eyes we cannot see Him; and only when we have our soul developed by the Divine Essence of His
Love, can we perceive Him with our soul perception, because you have not words in your language to convey its meaning, and nothing in created nature, of which you have knowledge of in which a comparison can be made. But it is a truth; for the vision of the soul perception to its possessor is just as real, as I may say, objective, as is the vision of the mortal sight to the mortal.

It may be asked in considering this matter of the creation of the soul, "were all souls that have been incarnated, or that are awaiting incarnation, created at the same time, or is that creation still going on?" I do know that the spirit world contains many souls, such as I have described awaiting their temporary homes, and the assumption of individuality in the human form, but as to whether that creation has ended, and at sometime the reproduction of men for the embodying of these souls, will cease, I do not know, and the Father has never revealed it to me, or to the others of His angels who are close to Him in His Divinity and Substance.

The Father has not revealed to me all the truths and the workings an objects of His creative laws, and neither has He given to me all power and wisdom and omniscence as some may find justification for believing in certain of the statements of the Bible. I am a progressive spirit, and as I grew in love and knowledge and wisdom when on earth, I am still growing in these qualities, and the love and mercy of the Father come to me with the assurance that never in all eternity will I cease to progress towards the very fountain head of these attributes of Him, the only God, the All in All.

As I was saying, the soul of man is the man, before, while in the mortal existence and ever after in the spirit world, and all other parts of man, such as the mind and body and spirit are mere attributes, which may be dissevered from him as the soul progresses in its development toward its destiny of either the perfect man or the Divine Angel, and in the latter progression, men may not know it, but it is a truth, that the mind - that is the mind as known to mankind - becomes, as it were, non-existent; and this mind as some say, the carnal mind, becomes displaced and replaced by the mind of the transformed soul, which is in substance and quality, to a degree, the mind of Deity, itself.

Many theologians and philosophers and metaphysicians believe and teach that the soul, spirit and mind are substantially one and the same thing, and that anyone of them may be said to be the man - the ego, and that in the spirit world one or the other of these entities is that which persists and determines in its development or want of development the condition or state of man after death. But this conception of these parts of man are erroneous  for they each have a distinct and separate existence and functioning, whether man be a mortal or spirit.

The mind in its qualities and operations, is very well known to man, because of its varied manifestations, and being that part of man which is more of the nature of the material, and has been the subject of greater research and study than has been the soul or the spirit.

While men have, during all the centuries, speculated upon and attempted to define the soul and its qualities and attributes, yet to them it has been intransitive, and impossible of comprehension by the intellect which is the only instrumentality that man generally possesses to search for the great truth of the soul, and hence, the question, of what is the soul, has never been satisfactorily or authoritatively answered, though to some of these searchers, when inspiration may have shed a faint light upon them, some glimpse of what the soul is, has come to them. Yet to most men who have sought to solve the problem, the soul and spirit and mind are substantially the same thing.

But the soul, as concerning man is a thing of itself, alone. A substance real, though invisible to mortals. The discerner and portrayer of men's moral and spiritual condition - never dying, so far as known, and the real ego of the man. In it are centered the love principle, the affections, the appetites and the passions, and possibilities of receiving and possessing and assimilating those things that will either elevate man to the state or condition of the Divine Angel or the perfect man, or lower him to the condition that fits him for the hells of darkness and suffering.

The soul is subject to the will of man, which is the greatest of all endowments that were bestowed upon him by his Maker at his creation, and is the certain index of the workings of that will either in thought or action, and in the souls, qualities of love and affection and appetites and passions are influenced by the power of the will, either for good or evil. It may be dormant and stagnate, or it may be active and progress. And so its energies may be ruled by the will for good or evil, but these energies belong to it and are no part of the will.

The soul's home is in the spirit body, whether that body is encased in the mortal or not, and it is never without such spirit body, which in appearance and composition is determined by the condition and state of the soul. And finally, the soul or its condition decides the destiny of man, as he continues in his existence in the spirit world; not a final destiny, because the condition of the soul is never fixed, and as this condition changes, man's destiny changes, for destiny is the thing of the moment, and finality is not known to the progress of the soul, until it becomes the perfect man and is then satisfied and seek no higher progress.

Now, in your common language and also in your theological and philosophical terms, mortals who have passed to spirit life are said to be spirits, and in a certain sense this is true, but such mortals are not nebulous, unformed and invisible existences, they have a reality of substance, more real and enduring, than has man as a mortal, and are in form and features visible and subject to touch and the object of the spiritual senses. So when men speak of soul, spirit and body, if they understood the truth of the terms, they would say, soul, spirit-body, and material-body.
There is a spirit, but it is altogether distinct and different from the spirit body, and also from the soul. It is not part of the spirit body, but is an attribute of the soul, exclusively and without the soul, it could not exist. It has no substance as has the soul, and it is not visible to even the spirit vision - only the effect of its workings can be seen or understood, - and it is without body, form or substance. And yet it is real and powerful, and when existing never ceasing in its operations - and is an attribute of all souls.

Then what is the spirit? Simply this - the active energy of the soul. As I have said, the soul has its energy, which may be dormant or which may be active. If dormant, the spirit is not in existence; if active the spirit is present, and manifests that energy in action. So to confuse the spirit with the soul, as being identical, leads to error and away from the truth.

It is said that God is spirit, which in a sense is true, for spirit is a part of His great soul qualities, and which He uses to manifest His presence in the universe; but to say that spirit is God is not stating the truth, unless you are willing to accept as true the proposition that a part is the whole. In the divine economy, God is all of spirit, but spirit is only the messenger of God, by which He manifests the energies of His Great Soul.

And so with man. Spirit is not man-soul, but man-soul is spirit, as it is the instrumentality by which the soul of man makes known its energies and powers and presence.

Well, I have written enough for to-night, but sometime I will come and simplify this subject. But remember this, that Soul is God, soul is man, and all manifestations, such as spirit, and spirit body are merely evidences of the existence of the soul - the real man.

I have been with you as I promised, and I know that Father will bless you.

So with my love and blessing, I will say good-night.

Your brother and friend,

Jesus

How the divine love enters into the soul of man

I am here, Jesus.

I am here according to promise, and desire to write you on a subject that all men should be acquainted with. "How the Divine Love enters into the soul of a man."

As I have told you before, man is a creature of God, having a body, spirit and soul; and all these are necessary to make the perfect man. But these three parts of man are different in their characteristics and functions, and are separate and distinct, and have qualities that are unlike in their composition as well as in the duration of their existence.

The body, as you and all men know, has an existence which lasts only during the life of the mortal on earth, and after that life ends dissolves into its elements, which no more can form the same body either in the mortal world or in the spirit world, for these elements are merely things of matter and may be and are used to form other bodies and manifestations of the material of nature; not necessarily in the form of human beings, for they enter into other forms both animal and vegetable, and are so disseminated that never again will they become parts of a resurrected body. Your orthodox do not teach this truth, but think in some mysterious way that the mortal body will sometime be resurrected.

No, the body when it has performed its function of maintaining and shielding the soul and spirit of man during his earth life, is no longer and cannot thereafter be a part of that man, and may be considered as something that is no longer a part of him.

This body though, as a matter of fact, even during the life of the mortal is not the same body during that life, for continually is there changes in the elements that compose that body; and one element or set of elements, gives place to others and becomes lost or absorbed in the great sea of elements that help form or constitute the universe of God.

By operation of the laws of attraction and repulsion, these elements as they replace others, which disappear, conform themselves to the general appearance or outline of the parent body, so that the identity of the body as well as of its appearance is preserved; and as a man grows older, the laws which make the changes in his appearance cause these new elements to conform to these changes, so that, even while the material continues to envelop the spirit during the short span of a man's life, yet that material is not the same for any length of time.

I make this preliminary statement merely to show that the material part of man is not at all connected with the real man, so far as the persistent nature for him is concerned, and this material need not be considered in discussing the subject that I desire to write about.

The spirit part of man is that part which contains what may be called the functions of life and the force and power existing in him and which immediately control him in his conduct and living.

This real, existing principle of life, unlike the body, never dies, but continues to live after the spirit drops its envelope of flesh.

This spirit part of man contains the seat of the mental faculties and reasoning powers, and uses the organs of the material body to manifest these attributes. These faculties live and exist even though the physical body may be in such imperfect condition that the spirit may not be able to make its manifestations in such a way as to enable the mortal to perceive or sense the material things of nature as they are called.

To specify, even though the material organs of sight may become impaired or destroyed yet in that spirit body, which is within the physical body, exists the actual sight just as perfectly and completely as if these impaired or destroyed organs were doing their functioning; and the same is true as regards the hearing and the others of what are called the five senses of man.

And as to the reasoning faculties and mental qualities, they exist in the perfect state whether the brain is healthy or not, or whether it performs its work or refuses to do so. These qualities do not depend upon the soundness or perfect workings of the organs of the physical body in order that these spirit qualities may exist in a perfect condition, but the proper workings of the physical organs, or rather the proper and natural movements and manifestations of the brain, and the conscious operations of the mental faculties, do depend upon the spirit faculties being able to use these physical organs in a proper way and in accordance with the harmony of the creation of the relative and correlative parts of man.

These spirit faculties, which man calls the intellect and the five senses, are a part of the spirit body which is enclosed in the material body and which in turn encloses the soul. When the material body dies, the spirit body continues to exist and live on in the world of spirit, and with it and as continuing parts of it, these intellectual faculties, performing all their functions free from the limitations that the physical organs placed upon them.

And when this change takes place, these mental qualities, notwithstanding that they have not the material organs through which they functioned when in the mortal frame, can conceive thoughts of things material and hear and see things of the material just as they did, and even more perfectly, when they were enveloped by the environments of flesh and blood.

So you see when the mortal dies, the only thing that dies and is left behind is the mere physical body, and with the spirit body survives all those things which can be said to be the real man so far as the mind is concerned. Hence, man never ceases to remember and to progress and to know that he is a being which death cannot destroy or change into something that he was not before death came to him. And thus I answer the question: "When a man dies shall he live again?" He never ceases to live, and his living is not a new life, but merely the continuation of the old life with all the things of mind and conscience that were his in the old life.

In the purely spirit life the spirit body continues to contain the soul and will be its protector and covering so long as that spirit body shall last. But this body then begins to change and by disintegration into what we may call spirit elements, and the formation of new elements to replace the disappearing ones.

This change in this body is not caused by the same laws that operated to change and disintegrate and replace the physical body, but by the law controlling the development of the soul which the spirit body contains.

The soul is the real man because it is the only thing or part of man that may become immortal. The only part of man that was made in the image of its Creator, and the only part of man that may become a part of the Substance of its Maker and partake of His Divine nature, I say may, for that is an important part of this great possibility.

I know this possibility of the soul becoming mortal by partaking of the Divine nature of God, is true; for it is a proven fact in the case of many souls who are now in the Celestial Heavens. I also know that there are many souls in the spirit world, who have been there for many centuries, who have never received this Divine nature and consciousness of immortality. Whether such souls who have not received this Divine nature shall become or are immortal, has never been demonstrated.

This I do know, that in the economy of God's plan for the forming of His Kingdom, at some time, when, I don't know, this privilege of partaking of His Divine nature and the certainty of immortality will be withdrawn from the souls of men and spirits, and then whether these souls who suffer this condemnation will partake of immortality no spirit knows, only God.

There are other things that I know and here tell you, and among them is this, that so long as the soul does not receive this Divine nature, the mind, which I have described as being a part of the spirit body, continues to exist and dominates both soul and body; and in its progress it may attain to a condition of purity and perfection such as were possessed by the first created living souls--our first parents.

Many spirits now are in this condition, but yet are mere men, and their souls remain only in the image of God--nothing more.

While God is mind, mind is not God, and also while God is spirit, spirit is not God. 

So that when men teach that mind is God and that men must seek to attain to that mind, and thus become like God, they fall far short of the truth. 

The mind is only an attribute of God, and beyond and back of that mind is the real God--the personality, and that is Soul, from which emanates all these attributes and manifestations which mortals as well as spirits may be conscious of.

But while God is Soul, yet that Soul is a thing of Substance with a nature Divine, and the seat and fountainhead of all the great attributes that belong to Him, such as love and power and life and omniscience and mercy. 

And here I must state one fact which may startle those who believe and teach that mind is God, and that is, that which is called the human mind is not a part of the mind of God, for this human mind and all its faculties and wonderful qualities are mere special creatures just as are the spirit body and material body of man. 

As I have said, man was created in the image of God only as regards the soul; and here always bear in mind that the creation was only an image.

The mind of man was a special creation just as were the minds of the lower animals, differing only in degree. And if God had not given to man a soul and the spirit body to envelop it, and in which he placed this mind of man, when man died the death of the physical body, that would have been the end of him, as such death is of the body which is not a part of this soul image of God.

As I have heretofore written you, when God created man and made him in His own image as to the soul, he also gave to man the possibility of obtaining the Substance of the Father, that is of having that soul which was a mere image become that soul which is of the Substance of the Creator.

 I have also explained to you how man, by his disobedience, lost that possibility, and for long centuries was deprived of this great privilege, and how it was again restored to him at the time of my coming to earth, so that he now and for nineteen centuries past has had the possession of this great gift or privilege of partaking of the Substance of the Father.

Well, when man by the way that has been pointed out to him, becomes possessed of the Substance of the Father's Divine nature, even in an initial degree, his soul commences to change and lose its character as a mere image, and to progress towards the attainment of that condition when this image disappears and the Divine Substance takes its place; and as the progress continues he receives so much of the Substance that his soul takes on the Divine nature of the Father, and his at-one-ment with the Father becomes so perfect that he becomes an inhabitant of the Father's Kingdom. This occurs when he becomes fitted to enter the first  Celestial Sphere.

And just here occurs another thing which may startle those who teach that the mind is the essence of God, and that the mind which man, both as mortal and spirit, possesses up to that point in the progress of the soul where the transformation into the Divine nature takes place, becomes a thing of naught, or rather becomes absorbed in the mind of the soul, which is the real mind of the Father, and then and ever after, only this mind of the soul is that which enables the real Divine man to understand the things of God to help him in his progress.
I will continue later. You are tired. But remember that I love you and you have me with you at all times to help and sustain and comfort you.
Good night my dear brother,

Your friend and brother, JESUS

 

The First Celestial Sphere is the one immediately above 
seventh spirit sphere.

Continuation from preceding message

I am here. Jesus.

I come tonight to finish my message and will do so, if your condition is such that you may receive it.

Well, as you may remember, my subject is: "How the Divine Love enters into the soul of a human being."

I have already explained to you the difference between, and the respective functions of the physical body, the spiritual body and the soul , and how the real man is the soul, which may live forever. I have also shown you how the physical and spiritual bodies change their component parts, and as such bodies, disintegrated and disappear in the form that they may have at any one time.
Well, the soul is the man and becomes the angel of God's kingdom. The soul may also become only the everlasting part of man in the spiritual kingdom as contradistinguished from the Celestial Heavens.

The only way in which the soul may become an inhabitant of the Celestial Spheres, is by its obtaining of the Divine Love and thereby become a partaker of the Divine nature of the Father; and this can be accomplished only by the inflowing of the Divine Love, by means of the operation of the Holy Spirit, which is the instrumentality used by God to carry this Love to the souls of men.
As I have before said, this love never forces itself into the souls of men, and comes only when men seek for it in sincerity and with effort. It is waiting for all men to receive it, but never comes into the soul of its own initiative, and without invitation. So the important question is, how does it come into the soul and what must men do to induce its inflowing.

There is only one way, and that is by the opening up of the soul in such a manner that this Love, when it comes in response to sincere seeking, may find an entrance and a condition of development that will cause it to find lodgment and abiding place, harmonious and satisfactory to the qualities of its own existence. Of course, man cannot of himself open up his soul to this inflowing, for, while he has great power, yet the will is not sufficient; nor has he any other inherent qualities that will enable him to place his soul in such condition as to make possible the work of the Holy Spirit in causing the love to flow into the soul.


The only means by which this can be accomplished are prayer and faith. When a man in true earnestness and sincere aspirations, prays to the Father for this Divine Love, such prayer not only brings Love, but causes those portions of the soul which are capable of receiving this Love to open up to its coming and to work in such a way as to attract the Love.

The Holy Spirit never performs this work of preparing the soul for the reception of this Love, but merely brings the Love and causes its inflowing when the soul is in condition to receive it. In answer to prayer, there are other instrumentalities of the Father working to prepare the soul condition that is required, and these instrumentalities are the bright spirits of the Celestial Heavens, whose duties, among others, are to answer the prayers of the penitent in the way of infilling the soul with influences that turn the thoughts and aspirations to this Divine Love and its operations.

As I said when on earth, there is no other way to get into the sheep fold but through the gateway provided,--he that attempts to climb over the fence is a thief and a robber. 
But this should be modified to fit the exact fact, for there is no possibility of getting into this fold by climbing the fence. There is only one way--that through the gate of prayer and sincere longing.

I know that many men believe that the performance of church duties, and the observation of the requirements of the church as to baptism and the sacraments, etc., will be sufficient to enable them to get into the Kingdom; but I tell you that they are all wrong, and their disappointment will be very great when they come into the spirit world.

What are called moral deeds and good thoughts will not cause this inflowing of the Divine Love because these things are necessary steps towards the purification of the soul in its natural love; and no matter how pure this love may become, yet it is not the Divine Love or any portion of it.

Good thoughts and deeds, though, may help to turn the aspirations of the soul to these higher conditions, and open up its perceptions to a degree that may lead to prayer and faith, and, therefore, in addition to their work of purifying the natural love may prove to be of great value in assisting men towards the development of the soul so that the Divine Love may enter into it. But to depend on good thoughts and moral deeds and a life pure from sin to give man the right to an entrance into the Celestial Kingdom, is a great mistake.

The Divine Love is a thing entirely apart from the nature of man, even in its purest state, and was never conferred on man as was the natural love, and, consequently, when man obtains this Divine Love and it becomes a part of his soul qualities, his nature, as it were, changes, and he becomes a new creature. An additional something has been conferred upon him, and it becomes impossible for him to remain the mere man that he was, and he always would be, except for this change in his nature.

I know that men do not understand the distinction between a man with only the natural love and one with the Divine Love, but the distinction is so great, that the one, when possessed to a sufficient degree, makes the man a part of Divinity, while the other, no matter how fully possessed and how pure it may become, makes man merely man, though a perfect one.

Whosoever will pray in sincerity for the inflowing of this Divine Love will receive it. It is not a respecter of persons, and the sincere aspirations of the soul of any man, be he prince or peasant, rich or poor, will invariably cause this love to come into his soul and change his nature, so that he will become a new creature, and one not subject to death forever more.

The merely intellectual prayers are not efficacious, for it does not have any effect in opening up the soul, and neither does much of this praying do the work. One little moment of this true praying will be more effective in causing this Divine Love to flow towards the soul than a whole lifetime of idle repetition of prayers that come from a source merely mental. And here let me say that the mind is not the soul, and much less God.

Well, I think I have made plain how this love flows into a man's soul, and in addition what its effect is, when possessed by man. There is nothing in all God's universe that can take its place for the purpose of making a man at-one with the Father, and of causing him to become Divine in so far as he possesses this Love.
So I say to all men, pray and pray and never cease to pray for the inflowing of this Love, for there is no limit to its abundance, or the amount which man or spirit can obtain. Always in the Celestial Heavens, we spirits continually pray for an increased bestowal, and always our prayers are answered, but always there is more to follow.

I must not write more tonight.

I am satisfied with the correctness of your receiving my message, and will come again and write you another.
With all my love and blessings,

I am your brother and friend,
Jesus