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Neville 10-13-1969THE FREE MANPaul was the first man in history to be set free. His letters, forming a quarter of the New Testament, werewritten approximately thirty years prior to the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. His 1st letter,chronologicallyspeaking, was to the Galatians and beganinthis manner:"Paul, anapostle - not frommennorthroughman, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised himfrom the dead."That statement, if understood, tells the entire storyofsalvation.An apostle is one who is sent ona mission. Paul's missionwas to tellthe story of salvationfrom experience.Inthis same first chapter he makes this confession:"I will have youknow, brethren, that I did not receive thisfromman, it came througha revelationofJesus Christ."Pauldoesn't denythat he heard the story fromothers, just as youand I have. My mother taught me the storyof Jesus Christ as secular history. She died believing that one little individual lived and died two thousandyears ago. That's how she was taught byher mother. Throughout the ages men have heard the story told inthat manner. So Paulheard it fromothers, but questioned ifthat was what the prophets intended, because theonlyscripture was the Old Testament.When told of a miraculous birth, a resurrection, and ascension of one who dared to claim he was God theFather, Paul rebelled against the idea - until one day, in shocking suddenness, the mystery of Jesus Christunfolded in him. Having experienced this pattern of salvation, Paul insisted in defending his interpretation of the story.Paultells youwho he is, bysaying:"Whenit pleased God to revealhis Soninme..."Some translations recordthe prepositionas "to,"but it is not "to,"but "in"- for Luke tells us that "No one knows who the Sonis exceptthe Father and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses toreveal him." Paul confessed that God revealed his Son in him, therefore he must be God, for only God theFather knows his Son.John tells us that:"No one has ever seenGod, but the only begottenSon who is in the bosom of the Father,he has made him known." Knowingwho he is because of his revelations, Paulclaims: "Am I not free? Am Inot anapostle? Have I not seenJesus, our Lord?"Now, youcan take that statement two ways. Paulactuallysaw the Risen Lord and became what he beheld whenthe union took place. And because ofhis experiencehe could say:"I will tell you a mystery which has been hiddenfor ages and generations." It is the mystery of Christ - the image ofthe invisible God inyou- that is your hope ofglory.When Paul wrote his words there was only the one scripture, which was the Old Testament; so we turn to
 
the 17thPsalmand read these words David spoke to the Lord, saying:"Keep me as the apple ofthe eye andwhen I awake I will be satisfied in seeing your form." The phrase translated "the apple of the eye" literallymeans "the little manofthe eye."Look into the pupilof anyman's eye - be he good or evil - and you willnotsee the man, but yourself. So the Lord, lookinginto your eye, sees his ownreflection.Having hollowed out the eye to form a pupil that could reflect, God can only see himself in its darkness.Now, be faithful, O Lord, to the visionyousaw whenyousaid:"Let us make maninour image."Lookingintoyour eye, God sees onlyhimself, and keeps the heavenly vision, no matter what furnaces he puts youthroughinorder to bringhimselfout as a livingbeing.Paul realized after the experience what David meant whenhe said: "Keep me as the apple of the eye." God,forever beholding himself, does not see the outer you. He sees only the inner man, the same image he sawwhenhe looked at me. No matter what color your outer skin maybe, when God looks into your eye he seesonlythat whichhe is goingto bring out. Havingburied himselfinyou, he willbringout of youthe beingthat heis, endowed withallthe power and wisdomthat he is and clothed inhis bodyofinfinite love.Youmaybe a violent, horrible creature here; but whenthat one is awakened withinyou, youwillcome out asGod, and God is love! This I know fromexperience.Now, Paul does not tell you that, having had the experience, the remaining years will be pleasant. No. Hisstoryis one ofhorror. He was imprisoned, shipwrecked, beaten, and left for dead. Don't think that once youhave experienced scripture youare inanywayset free fromthe horrors ofthe world, for youare not.You will still go through them until the very end, but you will know that when you take off your garment of flesh(your cross) youare set free to radiate and reflect the gloryof God, knowing yourselfto be the expressimage ofhis person. Everyone, individualized without loss of identity, will wear the formof God and possessthe power ofGod, the power to assume any shape or form. Thenyouwill be called and sent ona missionasPaul, anapostle and a free man.Paulwas first known as Saul, whichmeans "ask for,"as Saul was seekingthe cause of the phenomena oflife.His name was changed to Paul, which means "the little one." He is the Jacob who is so small you questionhow he can stand. Look into the pupil ofthe eye ofanyone and your reflection is so smallyou wonder how itcan stand. But Jacob is changed to Israel, whichmeans "the man who rules as God."Not like a god, but asGod. Seeingonlyhimself, Jacob - the supplanter - awakens as Israeland rules as God.God's purpose cannot fail, for "He has made knownunto me the mystery ofhis willaccordingto his purposewhich he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time." Paul discovered through revelation that JesusChrist is a plan whichis contained in man. The planis not outside ofyou, but within; and when it unfolds it isman, for youare man. Paulshared his revelations to the best ofhis ability. We onlyhave thirteenofhis letters.There may have been more, or he mayhave taken those into his confidence who did not record his words;but I am quite sure that he had the identical plan which unfolded in me. It's the same story, for there is onlyone plan. And when the time is fulfilled, that plan will erupt in you, and you will discover you are the LordGod Jehovah.Paulas a person is not named in anynon-biblical source in the first century; yet it is recorded inthe Book of 
 
Acts and inhis letters that Paulwas charged, brought before the governor, and imprisoned. Speakingto KingAgrippa, Paulsaid: "I was not disobedient to the heavenlyvision." Then he asked the question:"Why shouldanyofyou think it incredible that God raises the dead? Now I stand ontrial for hope inthe promise made byGod to our fathers throughhis prophets."Yet Paulis not recorded inanyworks ofthe first centuryoutside of the Bible. So, you see, Paul is no more a person than Jesus Christ, Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob. These aresimply names ofeternal states of consciousness; and when you reach the state of Paul, the mystery of JesusChrist willunfold withinyouand youwillbe set free.At the present time youare Jacob, the little one - the image God sees reflected in the pupil ofyour eye as hebeholds himself. God does not see the outer you. He only sees the heart, the inner man who is himself. It isthat inner manwho is born- not ofblood, nor ofthe willofthe flesh, nor ofthe willofman- but ofGod. Andwhat is born? A savior who is Christ the Lord. "I am the Lord, your God and besides me there is no savior."So whena savior is bornit has to be the Lord God Jehovah, whose name forever and ever is I AM.When I had the experience, I felt myself waking to find myself in a holy sepulcher, the skull where I wasburied. I came out without loss of identityto find the symbolof my birthbefore me. I have now experiencedeverything recorded in scripture and amsharing myexperiences with the world, to encourage those who willlisten to believe in the eternal story and repudiate all authorities, institutions, customs, or laws that mightinterfere withtheir direct access to their God. No one canaid youtowards that image, for it is alreadyinyou.That is what God is beholding. You don't need any authority, be he called a pope, archbishop, rabbi, orpriest to lead you to yourself. One day you will awaken as God, and since there is only God in the worldeveryone willhave the experience ofknowingthat he is GodThis eternal story is true. It is planted in you and its eruption will interpret the Old Testament, which is anadumbration - a foreshadowing which cannot be understood until it happens in you. Paul never understoodthe Old Testament untilits promises fulfilled themselves inhim. He thought he had to abide bythe dietarylawsand ceremonies externally, whenit does not matter what is done onthe outside. Ifyounever see the inside of a church or meet any so-called holy man, it will not matter; for nothing must come between you and yourGod, and whenyoufind your God youfind yourself.Now God has a soncalled David, who is the result of his journeythroughthe fires of experience inthis worldofdeath. Whenyou see David youwill know how true the words are, when he said: "I will tellof the decreeof the Lord. He said unto me, 'Thouart myson, todayI have begottenthee,"' for when David stands beforeyouthere willbe no uncertainty as to your relationship. And youwill say, withPaul: "Whenit pleased God torevealhis soninme I conferred not withfleshand blood."To whom would you turn for an interpretation ofan experience, when there was no uncertainty inyou as towhat had happened? So Paulwent into Arabia and contacting no one, he communed with selfonhis fantasticrevelation. Here is one who was of the seed of Abraham, the tribe ofBenjamin, a Pharisee of the Pharisees.Paul kept all the laws externally but did not understand them until it pleased God to reveal his Son in him.And because no one knows the Son but the Father, when the Son appears the one beholding him is hisFather and knows it.When I saw David, I knew himmore surelythan I do my physicalchildren. In this world a father is told thathe sired a child. He believes his wife, and maybe the child resembles him, but he has no certainty that it is
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