"Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your son, that your son may glorify You." (John 17:1)

This is the first verse of twenty-six verses that portray Jesus' prayer to the Supreme Being, and this captures the essence of Jesus' mission.

How do we know this is part of Jesus' prayer?

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: (John 17:1)

First we must ask what is the "hour" being spoken of. As the events will unfold in the Book of John, this is most certainly the time when Jesus is to be arrested by the guards of the Jewish high priest, to be eventually delivered to the Romans and subsequently persecuted for his teachings.

So Jesus is asking that God glorify him?

Here the word "glorify" comes from the Greek word δοξάζω (doxazō), which can mean "to make glorious" and "to praise," but it also means "to make renowned," "render illustrious," and "to cause the dignity and worth of some person or thing to become manifest and acknowledged," according to Strong's lexicon.

In other words, Jesus is not speaking of God glorifying Jesus. Can you imagine the type of person who would ask God to glorify him in the midst of others? A pretty self-centered person at that.

No. Jesus is asking God to cause Jesus to be respected by others - "to cause the dignity and worth of some person" - so that he could utilize that respect to influence others.

Jesus said something similar after he healed Lazarus:

"This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's son may be glorified through it." (John 11:4)

And for what purpose is Jesus requesting God to produce dignity and respect from others and influence others? This is where the other usage of the same word - δοξάζω (doxazō) - comes into play. Jesus would be using that respect and influence in order "to praise" God - or "to make renowned" or "render illustrious" with respect to God.

Jesus' goal was to see God praised and glorified. He wasn't interested in his own glory - having the respect of others was only considered a means to establish God's glory -to raise people's consciousness of God.

This brings us to the translation of the word "son" in this verse. Did Jesus call himself "son" as he prayed to God?

No. The word "son" here is being translated from the Greek word υἱός (huios), which according to the lexicon, can only be translated to the word "son" - "in a restricted sense, the male offspring (one born by a father and of a mother)". "In a restricted sense" means that the application of "son" cannot be applied in this context outside of being born by a father and of a mother: A physical family in other words.

In this context, we cannot accept the translation of υἱός (huios) to "son". The lexicon also clearly states that the word υἱός (huios) is "used to describe one who depends on another or is his follower or a pupil."

So when used in conjunction with God, the lexicon clearly states that υἱός (huios) would  apply to "the pious worshipers of God."

In other words, Jesus is not referring to himself as God's son - he is referring to himself as one of God's subjects - a worshiper of God - a follower of God - a servant of God.

We can see elsewhere that Jesus uses the word υἱός (huios) in conjunction with a subject or a servant. Consider these verses, all of which use υἱός (huios) - the same word being translated to "son" here:

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children [υἱός (huios)] of God." (Matt. 5:9)

"But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children [υἱός (huios)] of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." (Matt. 5:44-45)

"And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people [υἱός (huios)] drive them out? So then, they will be your judges." (Matt. 12:27)

Jesus replied, "The people [υἱός (huios)] of this age marry and are given in marriage." (Luke 20:34)

"They are God's children [υἱός (huios)], since they are children [υἱός (huios)] of the resurrection." (Luke 20:36)

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child [υἱός (huios)] of hell as you are." (Matt. 23:15)

"Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, he gave the right to become children [υἱός (huios)] of God." [John 1:12].

We can see in all these uses of υἱός (huios) by Jesus that unless the word is specifically referring to a physical son of a father and mother, then its use is general - to describe a follower or devoted person - a loving servant - or in some cases, "subjects" - which can both be captured by the word "followers."

But because there is a distinction between someone who simply follows a group or consciousness and someone who follows God, it is important to use a separate distinction depending upon the context, just as it is appropriate to translate υἱός (huios) to the word "son" when used to refer to a son of a mother and father.

To comply with this contextual issue, let's test this translation by inserting "servants" or "subjects" instead of "sons" in the verses quoted above:

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called servants of God." (Matt. 5:9)

"But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be servants of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." (Matt. 5:44-45)

"And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your subjects drive them out? So then, they will be your judges." (Matt. 12:27)

Jesus replied, "The subjects of this age marry and are given in marriage." (Luke 20:34)

"They are God's servants, since they are subjects of the resurrection." (Luke 20:36)

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a subject [can also use servant] of hell as you are." (Matt. 23:15)

"Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, he gave the right to become servants of God." [John 1:12].

We also find that Jesus' followers also used the same type of reference:

"....because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons [υἱός (huios)] of God." (Romans 8:12-17)

And in Galatians:
“You are all sons [υἱός (huios)] of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:26)

Which would be properly translated to:

"....because those who are led by the Spirit of God are servants of God." (Romans 8:12-17)

And in Galatians:
“You are all servants of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:26)

For many of the verses above, the words "followers" or "devotees" may also be inserted instead of "servant" to retain the context. However, "children" can only be inserted if the word "children" refers to a person who has committed themselves to the service of God.

After all, we are all "children" of God in that we were each created by God. But not all of us are actively involved in serving God. Most of us are quite the opposite in fact. So we could all be called "children of God" but not necessarily "servants of God." This is because God made service to Him our choice.

This serves to illustrate that the mistranslation to "son" or "sons" of God - υἱός (huios) - would then have absolutely no distinction because everyone is a child of God - as "son" refers to being a child.

Thus the use of "son" as Jesus is referring to himself in this prayer is quite simply mistranslated. Jesus is not referring to a physical "sonship" here at all - because everyone is a child of God.

What Jesus is referring to himself as is God's servant. The fact that Jesus referred to himself as God's servant is also consistent with many other statements by Jesus, such as:

"For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." (Matt. 12:50)

and

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." (Matt. 7:21)

Someone who does someone else's will is none other than that person's servant.

These statements also confirm that Jesus never made a claim to be God's "only begotten son" as preached by many ecclesiastical Christian teachers. Such a claim would make God impotent. Could the Supreme Being - who created the entire physical universe with all the solar systems and living beings - be only capable of having just one son? That would be an absurd hypothesis, and it is negated throughout the scriptures, as we find so many others also referred to (mistranslated) as sons of God:

When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. (Genesis 6:1-2)

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days — and also afterward — when the sons of God went... to the daughters of men and had children by them. (Genesis 6:4)

Like the Greek word υἱός (huios), the Hebrew word בן (ben) can also be translated into either a son of a physical family or "a member of a guild, order, class." A "follower" or "servant" in other words.

Let's see how these verses play out with the right translation:

When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the servants of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. (Genesis 6:1-2)

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days — and also afterward — when the servants of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. (Genesis 6:4)

This clarifies what is going on here - and this is the crux of the scriptures. The scriptures are a history of those who are devoted to God - God's loving servants. The distinction between a person who is self-serving is distinguished in the scriptures from someone who serves God.

This is also the distinction between a person who is self-interested versus a person whose interest is pleasing God - they are acting in God's interest.

This is captured by the word servant, but better, a loving servant or a devoted servant, because the kind of service is not being forced. We are never forced to serve God. God gives us the freedom to serve Him or not because He loves us and He wants our love. He could force us to serve Him all day long but He doesn't. He leaves that choice up to us.

Jesus is specifically stating here that he is God's servant, and that whatever respect and honor God will bestow upon him, Jesus will utilize the influence this bears in order to serve God - by glorifying Him and praising Him.

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

This verse has been woefully misunderstood and misinterpreted over the centuries. The reason is due to a lack of understanding of who Jesus is and who each of us are, and just what Jesus means by "the world."

And understanding what Jesus means by "the world" is the key to understanding this verse.

Many read this as though "the world" means the people of the world - as though Jesus is talking about conquering the people of this world like some sort of conquering emperor like Alexander or many others over the centuries who have sought to conquer nations and peoples.

But this is not what Jesus is referring to here.

The "world" is being translated from the Greek word κόσμος (kosmos), which can certainly be translated to "world" but this is a superficial translation. According to Thayer's lexicon, the word can also refer to "world affairs, the aggregate of things earthly - the whole circle of earthly goods, endowments riches, advantages, pleasures, etc, which although hollow and frail and fleeting, stir desire;" and "the ungodly multitude, the whole mass of men alienated from God."

This meaning still exists in the English language today, as people often use the term "worldly things" to describe materialism.

In other words, Jesus is not referring to conquering the people of the world as in ruling over them. He is talking about conquering materialism - the self-centered world of the physical body and its various illusions.

The physical world may be a real place, but it is full of illusions. The first illusion is that we think we are these physical bodies. The physical body is a shell - a temporary vehicle each of us - the spirit-person - drives for a few decades. At the time of death, we each leave these physical bodies. This has been proven scientifically in hundreds of thousands of clinical death cases where the person revived tells of leaving their body and watching their body from above, and witnessing things that only a person who has left their body could have witnessed.

So many other proofs also provide clear scientific evidence that we are not these physical bodies.

But the illusion of this world is that we feel that we are these bodies. It is like a car driver thinking he is the car. This illusion causes so many erroneous contemplations as we seek happiness within the physical world. We try to satisfy these bodies in so many ways. And even if they are well-fed and perfectly taken care of, we still are not satisfied. This is because we are not the physical body.

It is like a hungry car driver thinking that filling the car up with gas will satisfy his hunger.

This world also provides a platform for our exercise of self-centeredness. Here in "the world" everything revolves around greed. "Greed is good" is the mantra of Wall Street today. Capitalism is the perfect example of "the world" because self-centeredness is what drives consumerism and the economies of "the world."

Here in "the world" we also chase name and fame, control over others and acceptance by others. This is why people strive to be CEOs, star athletes, movie stars and business moguls. It is also why people join clubs and groups, and even become parents. Everyone is striving to be in charge - to be accepted - to be appreciated - to be praised - to be adored.

And as we know from simple observation, all of these things are fleeting and temporary. The CEO must retire one day. The rock star or movie star will get old and lose their popularity. The business mogul will sell his business. The parents' kids will grow up. And all that acceptance from clubs and groups - these groups don't really care about us. They just want us to join so they will feel they are part of a big group and feel accepted. They are just as empty as we are, in other words.

Yet all of this is what Jesus is referring to as "the world." This is the illusion of future happiness founded upon the false identification with the physical body.

Jesus also points out that "the world" brings pain and suffering: "In this world you will have trouble." Actually, the word "trouble" is a poor translation of the Greek word θλῖψις (thlipsis) which means, according to the lexicon: "oppression, affliction, tribulation, distress, straits."

Yes, this world is also a place of affliction and distress - a place of pain and suffering. It is, in fact, hell. While many ecclesiastical Christian teachers threaten us with going to hell and urge us to achieve wealth, success and fame in the world through prayer, Jesus teaches that this world is a place of affliction and distress - we are already in hell.

These bodies are in pain from the moment of birth onward. The baby cries out in pain when born, and the early years are wrought with pain as the body begins to adapt to the outside world. Then come the pains of teething and intestinal issues. Then come the various scrapes and bumps as the child begins to walk. Then come the pains of the playground - both physical and emotional. Soon the child experiences the suffering of peer pressure and discipline as the child must learn to follow the rules. Then come the sufferings of adolescence with the pressures of school, friends and homework. Then come the difficulties related to adult-life - of finding a job and working for a boss and company that we'd rather not. And if we can't find a job - the pain and suffering related to survival itself - getting shelter and eating. Along with these afflictions come many others, including bouts of sickness, stress, fighting with others, and struggling for position with those who compete for what we seek. Then the people we take shelter in - parents and other relatives - die. Then our own body dies.

Today's ecclesiastical Christian institutions cannot explain why the world is such a place of suffering. They cannot explain why some children are born into starvation and rape. They can't explain why God wouldn't make the world a happier place without so much pain and suffering. They can't explain why every body dies.

That is because they do not understand who we are and why we are here.

The physical world is that place where those who have rejected Him go. It was set up by the Supreme Being to give us the freedom from Him that we desire, but at the same time programmed to teach us that we will never be happy away from Him. It is set up to show us this through hardship and consequence learning. This is because He wants us to be happy. Like a parent who disciplines a child because they don't want their child to end up in jail for the rest of their lives, God teaches us through the events and consequences of the world - which take place through His programming.

But the bottom line is that the suffering of the world is our responsibility. Suffering is the natural consequences of our own actions. Yes, we create our own suffering and the suffering of others by our activities of self-centeredness at the expense of ourselves and others - in this lifetime and previous lifetimes.

Jesus specifically points out that his teachings bring relief from the pain and suffering of "the world" - "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace." What does this mean?

This clearly indicates that Jesus' teachings will save his students. Jesus is representing God. He has introduced his students to the Supreme Being and as they re-establish their loving service relationships with God, they can have peace within. Why?

Because a loving relationship with God satisfies our need for love and to be loved. We no longer seek to be loved and appreciated by others because we have His love. We no longer seek to control or dominate over others because we become His subjects and that satisfies the emptiness that lies within.

We are empty without our loving service relationship with God because this is our natural position. God created us to love Him and serve Him. This is who we are.

But because love requires freedom, God gave us the choice to love Him or not. Those who choose not to love Him get sent away to the physical world - "the world" - to exercise our self-centered desires for awhile - in this place of consequences where we can pretend to be who we are not.

Jesus' teachings also deliver the solution to the hardships of the world. He says, "But take heart! I have overcome the world."

If we remember the deeper meaning of "the world" as illustrated here, we can see how Jesus has "overcome the world." How?

With his loving service relationship with God. Jesus is God's perfect loving servant. He is devoted to God and connected to God because his activities are motivated by his desire to please God.

This "overcomes the world" because "the world" is controlled by the self-centered motives of its inhabitants. When a person's motives are to please the Supreme Being, they "overcome the world" because they are no longer controlled by the self-centered desires that drive the rest of the world. They become aloof to the issues of "the world" because they are linked with God through their intent to please Him.

This is Jesus, and this defines salvation. Jesus wasn't seeking to "overcome the world" as Alexander or Hitler sought to conquer nations and peoples of the world. He had already "overcome the world" because he loved and served the Creator and only Owner of the world: The Supreme Being.

This is why Jesus' most important teaching was:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38)

"A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me." (John 16:32)

Ecclesiastical (professional) Christian teachers like to take much of Jesus' statements out of their context, trying to apply them as if he were speaking to everyone throughout time.

But this is nearly impossible with this particular statement, and this is why this statement is not talked about much in the sermons of those professional preachers.

We can see clearly that Jesus is speaking these words to his disciples - those students who had been following Jesus as he preached throughout the countryside, towns and temples throughout Judea.

"You will be scattered, each to your own home," he says. Because his disciples were following him together, it is clear that being scattered and each going to their own homes means they will be essentially returning to their families and roles held prior to becoming one of Jesus' students.

And why will this happen? What is the "time" that "is coming and in fact has come"?

That "time" - as we find evidenced later, is Jesus' arrest and persecution. Most of his students - other than Mary Magdalene and his mother Mary - abandoned him to avoid their own possible persecution. The reason that he said "and in fact has come" is that Jesus is just about to be arrested when he said this.

Following his arrest, they would return to their homes and deny being one of Jesus' followers - just as Peter did three times.

But then Jesus adds an important point: He says, "You will leave me all alone." What does this mean?

Jesus is speaking of them abandoning him during his persecution.

To abandon someone during a critical time does more than just leave them alone. It leaves them in the moral sense: in the sense of dedication. It illustrates that the person was not as dedicated as they may have portrayed earlier. 'When the going gets tough' many will give up. And in this case, Jesus' persecution tested his students' devotion and commitment to him.

In this way, their fleeing following Jesus' arrest illustrated their lack of dedication and commitment to the service of their teacher and to God.

Yet Jesus is clear that their abandonment of him during his trial and persecution will not leave him alone because he knows that God will be there for Him. He knows that his beloved Supreme Being will never abandon him.

This is what happens when a person is so dedicated to the Supreme Being that they are prepared to do what few would ever consider: Give up their lives in their service of the Supreme Being.

And it is this very sacrifice of Jesus - this very dedication - that has the ability to save those who come to understand this.

It is not as though Jesus' crucifixion is some kind of machine or magic lamp that as soon as we look at it or think about it we are saved.

Rather, a person can be saved as they realize the complete dedication and commitment Jesus had to the Supreme Being. That he was so in love with God that he was willing to give up his physical body in order to please God. In other words, it provided a glimpse into the loving relationship between Jesus and God.

Some might compare this sort of dedication to when we hear of a person who dies trying to defend their country. We say something like "they gave their life for our freedom."

And yes, we can understand that Jesus "gave his life." But it was not an impersonal sacrifice, as Jesus clearly indicates here: "Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me." This indicates a personal relationship existed between Jesus and God. It indicates Jesus' reliance upon God.

In other words, Jesus' sacrifice served to teach us that loving and serving God is what will ultimately make us happy. That giving our lives to God will give us complete fulfillment.

When a person realizes the incredible dedication and love towards God required by Jesus to allow this to happen to him, that realization has the ability to change our heart - from being self-centered to being God-centered. And it is this change of heart that saves us: Dedicating ourselves and our lives to God is salvation.

We must remember that Jesus' mission was to teach loving service to God. This was his primary teaching, and also what he showed us with his actions. And his service to God was teaching this.

Understanding that Jesus was so committed to his service to God that he was willing to give up his physical body has the ability to save us because it provides the ultimate example of that loving service.

And it is because this is the ultimate example of dedication and devotion, Jesus did not expect that his students were advanced enough in their dedication to God that they were willing to risk their own lives.

But as we find in the texts to follow, he and the Supreme Being would continue to help them develop that dedication - and many of Jesus' students, such as James and Peter, went on to pass his teachings on to many in the coming years.

The bottom line is that Jesus' life and his coming persecution executed his most important teaching:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38)

"Do you now believe?" (John 16:31)

This simple statement by Jesus to his closest disciples near the end of his lecture after the last supper is profoundly deeper than portrayed by not only this translation, but by ecclesiastical Christianity in general over the centuries.

The key word here is the word "believe." Did Jesus really mean "believe" which means, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

1. a : to have a firm religious faith b : to accept something as true, genuine, or real

Yet this very word reflects the many efforts of ecclesiastical Christianity to either try to convince people or even force people to "believe" in Jesus by attending their churches and paying their salaries. In fact, when we examine the history of ecclesiastical Christianity through today (from about 200-300 A.D. - when the teacher-disciple system gave way to politically appointed church leaders - through today), a good 75% of that time Christianity was the exclusive territory of the Roman Catholic Church.

And during most of this period, "believing" in Jesus meant being practically forced to worship Jesus according to the methods and rituals approved by the Church. And to reject "believing" in Jesus as dictated by the Church for many centuries in many countries in Europe and the Middle East meant certain imprisonment and possibly even death by burning at the stake.

As a result of this history, "believing" in Jesus has taken on a completely different meaning than originally intended by Jesus. Even today among ecclesiastical Christian institutions, "believing" in Jesus means accepting that Jesus is God and that he died for my sins. "Believing" of course has also included becoming a member of some or another particular ecclesiastical Christian sect.

Is this what Jesus meant as he spoke these words?

First of all, when he spoke these words he was standing in front of an audience of his students. He did not need them to believe that he existed, because he was standing right in front of them. He also did not need for them to believe he was great or could perform miracles: They were his dedicated disciples and they had seen his miracles.

And he was not referring to dying for their sins because his physical body had not yet been murdered.

And he did not mean for them to believe he was God because in his previous statement he had just said that he was returning to God:

"now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father." (John 16:28)

To return to someone means being separated from them. Jesus' statement means he had been separated from God. If he was God how could he have become separated from himself?

In fact, this philosophy that Jesus is God is contradicted by all of Jesus' teachings. The only statement Jesus made that sounds remotely like Jesus is God is the statement:

"I and the Father are one." (John 10:30)

Which doesn't mean Jesus is God. If he were, he would not have said this. He would have said "I am the Father."

But to say someone has a oneness with someone else means they have the same purpose. The same goals. The same intentions. There is a oneness between them. It doesn't mean they are the same person.

A husband and wife can have a oneness in this way. They don't become each other. But because they have a loving relationship that results in their sharing the same goals and purpose, they can execute each other's intentions. When one signs a document, they are both committed because they share the same intention.

This is what Jesus was doing. He is executing God's intentions. He is God's loving servant. He is God's representative. He is one with God in love. In purpose. He is carrying out God's directives.

So what was Jesus referring to when he said "Do you now believe?"

The word "believe" is being translated from the Greek word πιστεύω (pisteuō).

This Greek word means "to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in" as well as "conviction and trust to which a man is impelled by a certain inner and higher prerogative and law of soul" according to the lexicon.

This means that the better English translation of πιστεύω (pisteuō) would be "trust."

To "trust" someone is completely different than "believing" in someone.

A person may believe in someone - believe that they may be who they say they are, for example. But to trust in them is a completely different emotion. To trust in someone means to rely upon them.

In this context, of Jesus talking to his disciples, Jesus is asking his disciples to trust in his teachings: To rely upon his teachings and his instructions.

In this world we rely and trust in so many things that should not be relied upon. We rely upon people as though they will never let us down. We rely upon our family as though our family members will never die or leave us. We rely upon our job as though the money will keep rolling in and we will never be laid off or have to retire. We rely upon our house thinking it will stand forever and never be flooded or ripped apart by a tornado or hurricane. We rely upon our mind as though our mind can figure everything out. And we rely upon our physical body as though it will stay healthy and alive forever.

Yet none of these things we rely upon are reliable. All of these things of the physical world will change, erode, die, become sick, get knocked down, become destroyed or otherwise go away. The physical world is a place of unreliability. The things of this world are all temporary for us. Our body will get sick and die. Our mind will play tricks on us. Our house will fall apart by disaster or age. We'll get laid off or have to retire from our job. Our workmates or so-called friends will one day let us down. Our family members will leave us and one day get sick and die. We will eventually lose everything we rely upon within the physical world.

But we can rely upon Jesus' teachings. We can rely upon God. We can rely upon our position as God's family member: God's child and loving servant.

And we can rely upon God being there for us and taking care of us. Always. Eternally. God is not subject to death. God never died on the cross or anywhere else. God never dies. God is eternal. And He is completely reliable.

This is why Jesus asked his students to rely upon God - he asked them to give their hearts to God:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'" (Matt. 22:37-38)

I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father." (John 16:28)

This statement by Jesus has been muddied by misinterpretations by those who do not know God and thus confuse Jesus with God. When translated and interpreted correctly, Jesus is clearly stating here that he is not God, but rather, God's representative and messenger.

To return to someone necessitates being separated from that person. A person cannot return to themselves. There has to be a person separate from oneself in order to return to that person.

Furthermore, the Greek word being translated to "came from" is ἐξῆλθον from the root ἐξέρχομαι (exerchomai), meaning to "come forth of" or "of the point from which he departs" according to Thayer's lexicon. This means Jesus is speaking of coming from and returning to a place - in this case that place where God lives:  The spiritual realm.

This is confirmed by Jesus' saying that "I am leaving the world and going back to the Father." Jesus can only be leaving a place, and "going back" to a place.

So how will Jesus be leaving them and returning to the spiritual realm? Will he float up in his physical body with the holes in his hands and feet as many imagine? No. Jesus is informing his disciples of this because he will soon be arrested by the guards of the High Priest and turned over to the Romans for trial and subsequent persecution - and the murder of his physical body.

At that point, Jesus' spirit-person - his spiritual self - will depart from his body. How do we know this?

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. (Matt. 27:50)

Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last. (Luke 23:46)

When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:30)

To give up ones spirit means the spirit-person leaves the physical body. This has been proven in hundreds of thousands of clinical death cases, where a resuscitated person tells of their experience leaving the body and looking down upon their lifeless body from above, then traveling outside of the body before their body was resuscitated. This means of course that we are not these physical bodies. Each of us is the spirit-person within, operating a temporary physical body as a person might drive a car.

And as we see from scripture, Jesus also was not his physical body, and he too left his physical body - his spirit-person separated from the body that became lifeless. This is how Jesus returned to the spiritual realm. He returned to God and the spiritual realm in his spiritual body.

This of course contradicts many ecclesiastical teachers who speak about God as if He were a vague force, and Jesus is God incarnated.

This concept of a vague entity or force becoming Jesus is actually an impersonal view of God. This is diametrically opposed to Jesus' teachings.

Jesus taught of a personal God. He taught of a God who could be loved and served. We cannot love a vague impersonal force. We can only love a person.

Jesus taught:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38)

How could a person love someone with this kind of intensity without knowing that person? How could we love someone we do not know?

Jesus most certainly was introducing his students to God - πατήρ (patēr), which means "ruler," "creator," "guardian" and "protector" according to the lexicon.

This means that Jesus is not referring to God as some kind of vague force, but rather, as an individual person: Someone he knows. Someone he cares about. Someone he trusts. Someone he has given his life to. Someone he serves. And someone he loves.

God is the Supreme Being. He is the Source of everything. He is the most Intelligent Person. He is the most Beautiful Person. He is the Most Loving Person. The most Caring Person. He is the Kindest Person. He is the Funniest Person. He is the Funnest Person to be around.

Jesus loves God. This is why Jesus was returning to Him. He was returning to God because he wanted to be with God. God is Jesus' Best Friend. Jesus relied upon God. He exchanged a relationship with God. This is why Jesus said:

"I have much to say in judgment of you. But He who sent me is reliable, and what I have heard from Him I tell the world." (John 8:26)

And Jesus loved God and wanted to please God. This is why Jesus said:

"For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of Him who sent me." (John 6:38)

Someone who does someone else's will is either acting as an employee, a slave, or out of love. Since God gives everyone the freedom to love Him and serve Him or not, we know that Jesus was serving God out of love. Jesus served God and his teachings were his service:

"For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it." (John 12:49)

Thus we can know that Jesus was sent by God and was going to return to God's side when he left this physical world:

But from now on, the Son of Man [Servant of humanity] will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God."

A person who sits at the "right hand" of another is none other than that person's assistant or servant. Even today we use the expression, "he's my right-hand man" when we mean someone who assists us - a reliable aid or servant.

This means that Jesus is not God at all, but rather, God's messenger. God's loving servant. God's representative. Jesus refers to God as "the Father who sent me." When someone sends another, the person sent is a messenger of the sender. Therefore Jesus could not be God. He could only be God's representative.

In other words, Jesus is speaking of returning to the spiritual realm to be with God. Jesus is ready to leave hell and return to heaven.

And yes, this physical world is indeed hell.

Jesus is ready to return to that place where everyone is engaged in a loving relationship with the Supreme Being, and everyone is loving and caring for each other. This is the place where there is no selfishness. There is no hatred. There is no envy. This is that place where many of us strive to try to make this material world like. It is also the place people like to imagine - like John Lennon imagined.

But everyone likes to imagine a perfect place where there is no hatred and suffering, but they rarely if ever imagine God as the center in such a place. This is because we are in hell - and hell is a self-centered place. Hell is that place where we are all looking out for ourselves. Where we are all looking for our own happiness at the expense of others. And this is why there is so much suffering here: Because we are all essentially self-centered in this world. We are in hell.

In the spiritual realm God is the center. Everyone is focused upon pleasing Him and making Him happy, and He is always engaged in loving relationships with each person - exchanging caring and fun relationships with them.

The spiritual realm is not as Michelangelo imagined. It is not a bunch of nude people boringly sitting on clouds playing harps, and God is this old guy with a long beard who sort of floats over them.

The spiritual realm is a place of incredible activity, lush beauty, laughter, games, processions, plays, community events, private moments, and everything in between. It is a place where each individual feels God and everyone else is more important. And God is their Best Friend and Companion. In the spiritual realm most citizens do not even realize God is the Supreme Being. He is simply their beloved, best friend, playmate, family member, companion.

This is the place where each person is completely fulfilled and completely happy, because they are submersed in love of God.

This is our real home: this place is where Jesus wanted us to also return to with him:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'" (Matt. 22:37-38)

"In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father Himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God." (John 16:26-27)

Jesus is speaking here to his closest disciples following what has been considered the last supper.

This is important, because many ecclesiastical (professional) Christian teachers try to expand this and Jesus' other statements far beyond their context as if Jesus were speaking to the world, when he was actually speaking to someone specific within a specific time and circumstance.

This doesn't mean that we cannot learn from and apply Jesus' teachings to our lives. But to understand those teachings we have to understand their context.

This statement begins with "In that day." What is "that day"?

"That day" refers to Jesus' previous statement, where he says:

"Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father." (John 16:25)

So Jesus is talking about a time when he will be able to speak to his disciples "plainly" about God.

When will that be? There is no use speculating upon this moment. We must understand that each person has a unique relationship with the Supreme Being. And each of us is advancing towards (or withdrawing from) our relationship with God at our own pace.

This means that Jesus is not speaking of one particular day - such as some time in the future when the world is supposed to end as many ecclesiastical Christian teachers have proselytized - where Jesus would speak plainly to everyone.

The Greek word ἡμέρα (hēmera), from which "that day" is being translated, does not indicate a particular day in fact. It means "the day, used of the natural day, or the interval between sunrise and sunset, as distinguished from and contrasted with the night" according to the lexicon.

This means that "the day" is a better translation than "that day."

Let's use an example. Let's say that a mother and father set a curfew for their child, of say, 7pm. Their child cannot be out of the house after 7pm.

So the father tells the child, "the day you learn to be more responsible, your curfew will be extended."

Now is the father speaking of a particular day - a day that some event is to happen? No. He is speaking of a requisite: As soon as the child becomes more responsible, the curfew will be extended.

Now what if the child then speculated - "well I will be more responsible on my 16th birthday, so that must be the day my curfew will be extended." But that wasn't what the father said. He was speaking of a point in time where his child proved he was responsible enough to go out after 7pm.

Now what if the father said this to multiple children at the same time, and they were different ages? Would it mean that all their curfews would be extended on the same "day"? Certainly not. Each of them would have to show their increased level of responsibility, and each would have their curfew extended at that time. Because they are at different ages, it is very unlikely they would all become more responsible at the same time.

In other words, "the day" Jesus is speaking of here is not a particular day for everyone - as in an event. Rather, it is a unique day for each person who advances to a point where they are ready to hear Jesus speak plainly about God.

We know this because Jesus has indicated why he has spoken figuratively about God in his teachings:

The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?" This is why I speak to them in parables: "Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand." (Matt. 13:10)

This means that Jesus' speaking figuratively (in parables) relates to his audience being ready to hear more details ("speak plainly") about the Supreme Being.

So what happens at the point they are ready to hear more about God? "You will ask in my name," says Jesus.

What does this mean? The phrase is being derived from the Greek words αἰτέω (aiteō) and ὄνομα (onoma). The former relates to asking or requesting - but also means to "call for" or "require." And the later also has a broader definition, according to the lexicon: "the name is used for everything which the name covers, everything the thought or feeling of which is aroused in the mind by mentioning, hearing, remembering, the name, i.e. for one's rank, authority, interests, pleasure, command, excellences, deeds etc."

Quite simply, the phrase "ask in my name" relates to a person's seeking out God ("calling for") by invoking Jesus.

Let's use an example. Let's say that Bobbi has a friend named Tim. We are friends with Bobbi, but we do not know Tim. But Bobbi has told us about Tim.

And let's say that we see Tim at a party and we approach Tim and introduce ourselves. We would probably say, "I'm a friend of Bobbi's" or "I understand you and Bobbi are friends."

What are we doing when we say this? We are approaching Tim "in the name of" Bobbi. We are invoking our relationship with Bobbi as we approach Tim.

The expectation of course is that because Tim and Bobbi are friends, Tim will open up to us, because we are also friends with Bobbi.

Remember that just before this statement Jesus is talking about speaking "more plainly" (which can also be interpreted as "more boldly"). Basically, this means that Jesus will be introducing them to God more directly.

So then as they reach out to God, they would naturally do this in Jesus' name - invoking Jesus in their reaching out to the Supreme Being.

But next Jesus says, "I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf." What does this mean?

Let's go back to Tim and Bobbi. Remember that we would naturally invoke Bobbi's name when we approached Tim. But now Bobbi says to us that even though we invoked her name when we approached Tim, Bobbi will not be asking Tim anything for us.

This obviously means that Bobbi is saying that at that point, we will need to ask Tim directly. Bobbi will not remain the go-between. Bobbi is saying that we can have our own relationship with Tim.

And this is exactly what Jesus is saying here. The very next sentence, Jesus says:

"No, the Father Himself loves you"

This says two things very clearly: First, Jesus is making a distinction between himself and God. "The Father Himself" - this is called a reflexive pronoun. When someone uses the reflexive pronoun they are distinguishing that person from themselves and anyone else.

For example, if a person says "Bill did the job" then this would include the possibility that Bill might have hired some people who helped him do the job. But if a person says "Bill did the job himself" or "Bill himself did the job" then this means that specifically Bill did it. He didn't hire anyone else or involve anyone else.

In the same way, Jesus is saying that God loves them separately and distinctly from Jesus' love for them.

In other words, it distinguishes Jesus from God, and it indicates that each of us can have a distinct relationship with God even when we reach out to God by invoking God's representative.

This point is confirmed by the last part of Jesus' statement, "because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God."

What does "came from God" mean? The phrase "came from" is being derived from the Greek word ἐξῆλθον, from the root ἐξέρχομαι (exerchomai) which means to "come forth of" or "of the point from which he departs" according to  Thayer's lexicon. It specifically relates coming from a place - rather than out of a person, as ecclesiastical Christian teachers have tried to interpret this to mean Jesus came out of God. No, this is saying that Jesus came from God's place - the spiritual realm where Jesus enjoys a loving relationship with the Supreme Being.

This clears the murkiness created by ecclesiastical Christian teachers who do not know God, and because of this, equate Jesus to God. If Jesus were God, then why would he say "No, the Father Himself loves you" and "I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf"? Jesus is obviously speaking of a Personality distinct from himself.

But he is saying that because his students trusted - the Greek word πεπιστεύκατε means to "have trusted" - that Jesus came from God - represents God - then God loves them.

Now Jesus is not saying that God does not love those who do not trust that Jesus was God's representative. God loves each and every one of us unconditionally.

However, the "love" that Jesus is discussing here relates to a relationship.

Let's use an example. Let's say that a mother has 10 children and loves them all equally, even though most of them are brats. However, let's say that one of her children is particularly obedient and is helping the mother clean the house and take care of things, and listens to her when she says something.

Will the mother love this obedient child any more than her others? Certainly not. But she will nonetheless have a special relationship with the obedient child because that child is helping her and engaging in conversation with her. So there is a special relationship with that child - a reciprocating relationship.

The other children will receive the mother's love, but will not reciprocate it. But the obedient child reciprocates the mother's love, and it is that very reciprocation that creates a deeper relationship.

This deeper relationship of reciprocated love is what Jesus is speaking of. When we just ask God for stuff as though He is our order-supplier - our servant - then that is one thing. And because God owns everything, He automatically provides for us.

But should we reach out to God personally and ask if we could learn to love Him and learn to please Him (serve Him instead of just asking Him to serve us by giving us stuff), then God reciprocates that relationship. As our desire to reciprocate a loving relationship with Him grows, He will show Himself to us more and more, and we will be able to establish our unique relationship with Him.

But at the same time, we cannot forget the person or persons who have helped introduce us to the Supreme Being. It is not as if we leave them behind. We don't forget about Bobbi now that we have a relationship with Tim.

Relationships are not mechanical. For example, if Tim found out we were just using Bobbi to get to know Tim and we ignored Bobbi once we gained contact with Tim, then Tim would not want to continue such a friendship. Tim's relationship with us was founded upon our relationship with Bobbi. If we simply abandon our relationship with Bobbi once we met Tim, it will collapse our relationship with Tim because Tim and Bobbi have a tight friendship.

In the same way, when God's representative introduces us to God, and we invoke God's representative as we approach God, we remain dedicated to God's representative as part of that relationship with God. Yet we still - as Jesus stresses here - establish our own unique relationship with God. It is not as if we cannot have a direct loving relationship with God and God's representative has to be our 'go-between.'

We might compare this to an ambassador in a foreign country. The foreign country's president will always respect and maintain communications with the ambassador but that doesn't mean the foreign country's president cannot maintain a direct relationship with the ambassador's president. It is not like the ambassador has to be present for every meeting the two presidents might have.

While having a loving relationship with the Supreme Being does not depend upon our race, our sect, our religious institution or the family our body was born in, there are certain rules for loving relationships that must be adhered to.

One of the most important is not to blaspheme or in any way hurt any of God's loving servants. This is offensive to God. Why? Because God enjoys a special loving relationship with His loving servant, and to offend God's loving servant offends God. Doing so will thus make it very difficult for us to have a relationship with God in the future.

On the other hand, to become dedicated to, hear from and provide service to God's representative - as Jesus' close disciples had done - pleases God. And this renders a greater opportunity for us to approach God by invoking His loving servant.

And the most glorious thing about hearing from God's representative is - even if they might have spoken figuratively - is that as we advance in our desire to come to know, love and please God - their teachings become clearer to us. This is the meaning of "will tell you plainly about my Father". It is not necessarily that Jesus will need to physically speak more directly about God to his disciples - although the scriptures do indicate he did appear to them after the death of his physical body. The fact is, God's representative's teachings can speak "more plainly" in the form of understanding them better, as our desire to love and serve God increases.

Even so, we still must come to establish our own unique loving relationship with God, as Jesus clarifies here. This is because establishing our own loving relationship with God is, in fact, the only thing that will make us happy, and thus Jesus' most important teaching. This is confirmed by this verse:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38)

"Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father." (John 16:25)

This statement indicates a number of important issues regarding the context of Jesus' teachings as they have been quoted and passed on in these four Gospels.

This statement ends with "about my Father" so we know that what precedes is specifically concerning God, the Supreme Being. Jesus clearly refers to God as "my Father" translated the Greek word πατήρ (patēr). This Greek word πατήρ (patēr) can mean "father of a corporeal nature" but also "remote ancestor," "founder of a family or tribe," "founder of a nation," "progenitor of a people" or "the originator and transmitter of anything" according to the lexicon.

Those who like to imagine Jesus as a physical son of a physical Father - God - are seeing God and their relationship in a superficial manner. Jesus is God's representative and God's loving servant, but this relationship - and the spiritual realm - is outside of our physical vision.

Still, as indicated by the word πατήρ (patēr), Jesus sees God as his superior and he feels dependent upon God, as indicated in this statement:

"For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken." (John 12:49)

We also know that Jesus and the Supreme Being have a relationship outside the perception of the physical world:

"And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard His voice nor seen His form..." (John 5:37)

This confirms Jesus' above comment that they do not see God and are not ready to see Him as he is.

"Though I have been speaking figuratively" from Jesus' statement above confirms that Jesus has up til this moment been referring to God in a figurative or metaphorical sense. What does this mean? It means that they have not been ready to hear more about God. It also means that God is more than what has been referred to by Jesus to them so far. It indicates what John 5:37 indicates: That God has form. And God can be seen. And He can be heard.

This means that God is a person. God has a personality and has a form. He has a will and we can exchange love with God.

Then Jesus says, "a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father."

This indicates that Jesus will in the future speak of God without using figurative - or metaphorical - language. He will speak more clearly about God. It indicates that they will become ready to hear more about God in the future.

Why would Jesus not speak more clearly about God to his students before?

Because they weren't ready.

This is the situation for most of us. We are not ready to see God. We are not ready to hear the details about God's form and His pastimes.

Why not? Because knowing about God's true nature would wreck our plans for enjoyment in the physical world. It would ruin our illusion that we are the center of the universe and everything revolves around me. It would wreck our ability to ignore God's existence as we try to make ourselves happy.

You see, the Supreme Being is our eternal Best Friend, but He is also our Master. Each of us has an innate intimate service relationship with the Supreme Being - but one that we have forsaken. We forsook God at some point in the past because we became envious. We saw His enjoyment and His perfection and became envious of Him. This is the symbolism of the Garden of Eden: We ate the fruit of enviousness of God. Consider this statement by the serpent to Eve:

"For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:5)

Since they ate they fruit they wanted to "be like God." This is called envy - wanting to be like someone else.

Just consider what envy does to a relationship. Just think of two school best friends who end up competing for a sports team, and one gets on the team and the other doesn't. Say the one who didn't get on the team becomes envious of the one who does. What will happen to their relationship? It will change. They can no longer be best friends, because there is now a problem. One is jealous of the other.

Now the Supreme Being handles this problem far differently than two school friends might. In His wisdom and love, He knows we will be miserable watching God be the center of the universe while we want what He has.

So the Supreme Being set up the physical world for us and gave us these temporary physical bodies so that we would not have to see Him anymore. Within these physical bodies in the physical world we forget our real identity and come under the illusion that these physical bodies are our identity. This is by God's design.

And these physical bodies were designed to see only within the physical world. Therefore we lose the ability to see Him, since these physical bodies are effectively covering our true identities as spiritual beings - God's loving caregivers and playmates.

God also set up the physical world and these physical bodies to allow us to pretend that we are the center of the universe, and even forget His very existence. Here we can pretend that He does not exist and we are all there is.

This is precisely what modern science accomplishes. It assumes there is nothing beyond the physical dimension and there is no God, nor a Creator. They theorize that life is the result of a big accidental explosion and the right accidental mixture of chemicals - yielding all the various forms of life, as well as love, personality and the quest for wisdom. They claim this is all an accident.

This is all enabled by the Supreme Being in order to accommodate our desires. We have to be able to forget God in order to seek out our self-centered happiness. We have to forget Him in order to pretend to be the center of attention. We have to ignore Him in order to pretend to be the boss. Or the star. Or the big business mogul. Or Olympic champion. Or "Miss Universe" or "Mr. Universe" - or the most beautiful model. Or any other position we seek in an attempt to be superior to others in one respect or another.

This is because God is naturally superior. He is naturally the Lord of all, the Master of all. The center of attention. The star. The most beautiful. The "Mr. Universe."

This is of course why Jesus refers to God as πατήρ (patēr) as mentioned above.

So Jesus will not reveal God's true nature until his students are ready. What makes them ready? They have to lose their enviousness of God. They have to lose their desire to be king, boss, star, guru, master or otherwise be in God's position. This means having a change of heart.

This indicates that those Jesus has been teaching have not seen or heard God within the physical world because they had not yet re-established their loving relationship with Him. How does one come to know and love God? Jesus indicates that this takes place as a result of service:

"Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me." (John 12:26)

In other words, we do not see God because we are not ready to see God, and the only way we can become ready is if we are ready to resume our natural position as one of God's servants.

The process shown by Jesus - and illustrated throughout the Biblical texts, is to serve God's representative. Consider how the great prophet Samuel served his teacher Eli:

"Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy [Samuel] ministered before the LORD under Eli the priest." (1 Samuel 02:11)

This is the traditional method of mentorship under one of God's loving servants, demonstrated throughout the scriptures.

The process awakes one's natural position as servant, but also, the person can actually serve God by serving God's representative: Samuel "ministered before the LORD under Eli the priest." To "minister before the LORD" means to serve God. It means to please God. To do this "under" ones spiritual teacher is to render service to God by serving God's representative.

This was precisely what Jesus' students were doing. They served Jesus by setting up his sermons, arranging for his meals, getting him water when needed, washing his feet and even rubbing oil onto his feet as Mary did. Then Jesus commanded they go out and teach, and that is precisely what they did. This is what a loving servant does: Follow the instructions of their master.

This means that when Jesus' disciples such as James and Peter went out and preached, they were serving Jesus as they preached. This was their service to not only Jesus, but to God. This is the process that Jesus talked about when he said: "My Father will honor the one who serves me."

The spiritual realm is all about relationships. Loving relationships. Just consider how these work. A person who treats our child well and does things for our child will certainly please us. This is because we love our child. In the same way, God is pleased when we work to help one of His loving servants.

The Supreme Being is not a void, or a burning bush or a vague cloud in the sky. He is a person - a loving, beautiful Person. He is our Best Friend and our Constant Companion. We have forgotten this because we wanted to forget Him so we could chase our dreams. Until we have finished chasing our self-centered dreams and are ready to return to our relationship with Him, and accept our position as inferior and His position as superior, we will not see God.

At the end of the day it is love for God that opens up our spiritual eyes and our ability to see God. This is why Jesus' most important instruction was:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38)

"Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete." (John 16:24)

A portion of Jesus' statement - made to his closest disciples - has been taken out of context and used surreptitiously by those who have failed to understand Jesus' message. In addition, part of the statement is being mistranslated.

They have taken the phrase "ask and you will receive" as though it is some kind of license suggesting that we can simply treat Jesus as some kind of super-waiter, where we just order anything and everything up and he delivers it to us.

For this reason we see ecclesiastical Christian teachers telling us that we should be asking Jesus to help our football team win, asking Jesus to make us wealthy - or asking Jesus for virtually anything we want.

This perverted teaching has also been taken to the extreme by modern ecclesiastical Christian teachers, as they proclaim that Jesus' purpose of coming to the earth was to die for our sins. As though Jesus is some kind of sacrificial lamb whose gruesome murder at the hands of the Jewish high priest and the Romans was all about giving us the gift of cleansing so we don't have to be responsible for our selfish activities.

This self-centered view of Jesus' life simply mirrors our disease: We think the universe revolves around us, and if we believe in God, that God and Jesus are meant to deliver things to us. Their existence and activities revolve around me.

Jesus' teachings are diametrically opposed to such a concept.

Just consider this important statement by Jesus

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" (Matt. 7:22-23)

And consider this clear statement:

"For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." (Matt. 20:50)

What does doing "the will of my Father" mean? Does it mean asking God or Jesus for whatever I want? No.

It means serving the Supreme Being.

Jesus' teachings weren't about us asking God to do our will, and thus become our servant. He was asking us to renew our original relationship with the Supreme Being as one of His loving servants, and thus do His will.

This is what a loving servant does. Just consider what a caregiver does as he or she takes care of someone. They do what the other person wants. They don't ask the person they are serving to do what they want.

This relationship by its very nature assumes freedom because there is love. It is not like an indentured servant. None of us are forced to serve God. In fact, the reason we are each here in the physical world wearing these temporary physical bodies is because we decided we did not want to be one of God's loving caregivers.

So He designed the physical world and these temporary physical bodies so that we could get away from Him and try to enjoy life by ourselves.

And the culmination of this chase for our enjoyment is to see God as our servant, centered around giving us what we want so that we can enjoy. This is a perversion of our relationship with God and Jesus confirmed that with the two statements quoted above.

It also perverts the meaning of Jesus' sacrifice as he gave his life for his teachings - to indicate clearly to us just how important his teachings were, that he was willing to die for those teachings. That is why his physical body was murdered. His body was murdered because of his controversial teachings, which contradicted the fundamentalist teachings of the ecclesiastical Jewish priests.

And that is what will save us by the way - understanding the importance of, and trying to follow, Jesus' teachings. So yes, the murder of Jesus' physical body does have the ability to save us - but only if we understand that Jesus was serving God and was willing to die for his service to the Supreme Being. Understanding that and acting upon that is what will save us.

So what did Jesus mean here with his statement, "Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete"?

The key to understanding this is not only the context of the statement - the statements surrounding it - but the meaning of the Greek word translated to "complete" - πληρόω (plēroō).

πληρόω (plēroō) means to become full. The lexicon says it means "to make full, to fill up, i.e. to fill to the full".

We are talking real fulfillment here. Will money fulfill us? Will fame fulfill us? Will winning a football game or other sports match fulfill us? Will becoming one of the richest and most powerful persons in the world fulfill us?

No.

We can see this from the fact that those who have received those things are still not happy. They are still not fulfilled with whatever amount of wealth, fame and power they have accomplished. How do we know? Because they always want more. We can see this in our lives as well. Whatever we have, it isn't enough. We want more.

This means that we are not fulfilled by these things. Why not?

Because we are not these physical bodies. These physical bodies are temporary vehicles we drive. Trying to become fulfilled by dressing them up well and feeding them is like a hungry car driver putting gas in the car and thinking that gas will satisfy his body's hunger.

In other words, the material things of this physical world do not reach us. They do not reach the spirit-person who drives this physical body and leaves it after the physical body dies.

This is a scientific fact - that the spirit-person leaves the body. It has been proven in numerous clinical death studies. The spirit-person rises up over the body and looks down upon it following the death of the body in the hospital. If the body is resuscitated the person comes back into the body and describes what they saw after they left the body.

We are each spiritual by nature. We are not physical. Therefore the only things that will fulfill us are spiritual things. And what is the central "thing" of the spiritual realm? That one thing that we always seem to be reaching for, waiting for, hunting for as we look for our soul mate or gather together for our family dinners? It is love. Love is the "thing" of the spiritual realm. It is what we each need in order to become fulfilled.

Yet we are never fully satisfied with the "love" of the physical world. This is why there are so many divorces and breakups, and why there are so many heavy arguments at the family dinners.

It is because we are trying to place our love on those who do not fulfill our need for love. We can only be satisfied when we place our love on the Supreme Being. And we can only be satisfied when we are acting on that love - when we are rendering loving service to the Supreme Being.

This is what Jesus wanted his disciples to ask for. In fact this statement: "Until now you have not asked for anything in my name" is mistranslated. Jesus did not say this. The word translated to "anything" is οὐδείς (oudeis) which actually means "nothing"!

What Jesus really said was:

"Until now you have asked for nothing in my name."

This has a very different meaning. It put the emphasis on asking in Jesus' name. Asking for something in the name of one's spiritual teacher means what is being asked for is specific to the teachings of the teacher: In Jesus' case, this is love for God. This is what Jesus has been teaching his students, and this is what Jesus wants them to be asking for.

This and only this can give them "complete" "joy" in Jesus' name. Jesus is talking about them asking to become one of God's loving servants, and asking for this in Jesus' name means following in the footsteps of Jesus. It means becoming God's loving servant just as Jesus is God's loving servant.

Certainly Jesus' disciples have asked Jesus many things as they followed him and asked him many questions. So it is not as if they hadn't asked Jesus for anything. But asking for something in his name means asking him for what he has been teaching them.

"Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete" is clearly a statement specific to asking for something that will give them complete joy. This is love for God. This is loving service to God. This is also why Jesus' most important instruction was:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38)

"Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, 'In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me'? Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. In that day you will no longer ask me anything." (John 16:19-23)

Jesus' statement comes after he understood his students were confused by the meaning of his previous statements. What, ultimately, is he trying to tell them?

The key lies with his statement "I will see you again..." Is Jesus talking about the so-called "second coming"?

This is how professional ecclesiastical Christian teachers portray some of Jesus' statements. They like to stage what Jesus said within the context of attracting followers to themselves and their institutions. They are not interested in understanding precisely what Jesus is speaking about.

Why not? Because their focus is upon the trappings of the physical world. They interpret Jesus' statement to be about his so-called "second coming" to earth because that is where their focus is - on earthly things. So they try to convince us with out-of-context statements that Jesus was predicting a time thousands of years later - yet always soon - when the world would end and Jesus would come back and round up all of those who are members of their ecclesiastical institution, while slaughtering those who are not. (Here is a list of some of the predicted dates of the second coming/end of the world by just a few of the many ecclesiastical teachers over the centuries.)

This is quite simply preposterous, and Jesus never once stated this.

Quite simply, Jesus is speaking to his closest disciples first about their coming grief when their beloved Teacher will be persecuted by the Jewish high priest and Romans: "you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices."

Jesus isn't simply saying that they will grieve and then they will have joy later on. He is specifically saying that their grief will turn into joy.

Let's consider this carefully: What situation could exist where grief actually turns into joy - especially that situation where the grief is regarding someone passing away and leaving them?

If we had a beloved grandmother, and the grandmother died and left us, we might grieve. But that type of grief will remain with us throughout our physical lifetime. Whenever we might think about the beloved grandmother, the grief would remain because we would continue to miss her.

And if we are interpreting Jesus to be speaking of a so-called second coming, some thousands of years later - how could that relieve the grieving of his students, who would pass away during the fist century B.C.?

Jesus then utilizes a parable - an analogy - describing how grief can turn into joy. He says, "A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world."

Jesus confirms this is comparable to the type of grief of his students when he follows with "So with you."

Let's now consider Jesus' analogy closely. When a woman is giving birth and experiencing the pain of childbirth, how is that comparable to the coming grief Jesus' disciples will experience? And how does the actual event of childbirth - which prompts the mother to forget those pains - compare to a joy Jesus' disciples will have when they reunite with Jesus?

The only way grief can turn to joy in this context is through an emotion called love. When a person loves someone and that person leaves them, they will typically grieve. This is the pain of separation. Then when they are reunited, that same pain of separation can turn to joy. In fact, the more pain they have in separation, the more joy they will feel when they are reunited.

Jesus' disciples came to love Jesus as not only their spiritual Teacher - but as God's representative. Through God's representative the student comes to know the Supreme Being. This is because God's representative becomes a clear medium for the wishes and intentions of God. One who truly sees God's representative as he is - God's beloved humble servant - sees God through the relationship between God and His humble servant, God's representative.

Jesus knows his students have become attached to him, and that many have established or are on their way towards establishing a loving relationship with God through their relationship with Jesus.

Such a relationship of love does not disclude God's representative. It is not as if the student bypasses their Teacher to reach God.

Rather, it is an inclusive loving relationship. The developing relationship of love between the student and God includes God's representative.

We might compare this to a relationship between a friend who introduces us to another person, who becomes our friend. The new friendship will include the friendship with that person who introduced us. We don't bypass or suddenly forget our friendship with the person who introduced us.

As far as Jesus' points, it is an issue of love. Where love is concerned there are no boundaries. When a student comes to know and love God through God's representative, that love includes God's representative.

In the last part of this statement, Jesus clarifies that the reuniting between him and his disciples will be in the spiritual realm, rather than either his so-called "second coming" or even his reappearance to his disciples a few days after his persecution.

Consider carefully his statement:

"Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. In that day you will no longer ask me anything."

What "day" would it be that Jesus' disciples would no longer ask him "anything"?

The word "day" is being translated from the Greek word ἡμέρα (hēmera), which can mean a 24-hour day or a particular time in general, according to the lexicon.

As long as Jesus' disciples were his students, they would continue to ask him questions. When Jesus reappeared to them a few days after his physical body was killed, they continued to ask him questions. So we know that Jesus is not talking about this reappearance.

So in what circumstance would they no longer have any questions?

Only when they had become fully aware - fully knowledgeable. This situation occurs only for those who return to the spiritual realm. Those who return to the spiritual realm no longer need to ask questions because they know the Truth. They have returned to their eternal loving relationship with God.

This is the meaning of "you will rejoice." The word "rejoice" has been translated from the Greek word χαίρω (chairō), which means to "be glad," "to be well" and "to thrive" according to the lexicon.

This means that when they return to the spiritual realm they will become happy. Why?

Real happiness is related to love. Just consider the temporary feeling of happiness that comes upon a person who feels they have "fallen in love." That feeling is described by most as the sweetest happiness. Sweeter even than becoming popular or wealthy.

Yet as most of us know from experience, that happiness fades with time as we get to know the other person more and spend time with them. The happiness of "falling in love" may fade to friendship or even sometimes into breakup and divorce in some relationships.

This is because while the feeling of falling in love is real - and it does bring some happiness in itself - here we typically fall in love with someone who will ultimately disappoint our expectation of a loving relationship.

This is because we are actually seeking a loving relationship with the Perfect Person. This is God - the Supreme Being. He is that soul mate each of us perpetually looks for but can never really find in the physical world.

And when a person falls in love with the Supreme Being, the happiness of that feeling overwhelms any sort of temporary pleasure of the physical world. Falling in love with God is the ultimate pleasure. It brings the ultimate happiness.

And Jesus could say that "no one will take away your joy" because love for God is transcendental to the physical world. No one can take away a person's love for God because it is not physical.

And the happiness brought upon by love for God does not fade. While falling in love with another human might fade as we come to see and deal with all their faults, this does not take place with God. The Supreme Person is ever-fresh. He is ever-lovable, and a person who loves God can never get enough of Him.

This was Jesus' primary teaching. He wanted his disciples to fall in love with God. And the love that he could see was developing within them would begin to blossom as their grief of Jesus' departure from the physical world expanded.

And love for God was the sum and substance of Jesus' teachings:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38)

"In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me." (John 16:16)

In this continuing discussion with his closest disciples following what is now considered as 'the last supper,' Jesus is explaining in the most simplest terms, what will take place in the coming days.

In the first phrase, "In a little while you will see me no more" Jesus is describing the coming death of his physical body. This will take place at the hands of the Romans, after Jesus will be arrested by the servants of the Jewish high priest and handed over to the Romans with the complaint that Jesus has been stirring up trouble. Sadly, this will be followed by Jesus' persecution and the murder of his physical body.

Following the death of his physical body, Jesus will reappear to his disciples - in order to illustrate what he had been teaching them: That there is life after death, and the person - the spiritual entity - lives on after the body dies.

How do we know Jesus' physical body died and his spirit left his body? Consider these clear statements from the four Gospels:

"It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:30)

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. (Matt. 27:50)

With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. (Mark 15:37)

and

And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, "Surely this man was the Son of God!" (Mark 15:39)

"Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last. (Luke 23:46)

These verses clearly communicate that Jesus' physical body died, and his spirit being left that body. To "give up the spirit" means the person living within - the spirit-person - leaves the physical body at the time of death.

This is also supported by hundreds of thousands of clinical death experiences, where a person who dies in the hospital and becomes revived later describes rising up above their physical body and looking down upon it. Who is rising up and looking down at their body? This is the spirit-person: Each of us is a spirit-person, temporarily driving a physical body.

All four Gospels confirm that they carried Jesus' dead body to a tomb.

So where did Jesus go after he left his body? Where did he, this God-realized spirit-person, go? There are many speculative opinions by ecclesiastical teachers, but it is clear from the scripture that Jesus was to return to the spiritual realm to be with God, but would also visit his disciples again. Jesus clearly describes this above with, "and then after a little while you will see me."

This statement, however, has two meanings. Not only will Jesus appear before them again in the physical world, but should they return to the spiritual realm after their own bodies die, they would again see Jesus.

How do we know Jesus would be returning to the spiritual realm? Consider these clear statements:

"My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place." (John 18:36)

And consider this exchange with the man being crucified next to him:

"Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus answered him, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:43)

This clearly communicates that Jesus would be leaving his physical body and returning to the spiritual realm. It is also clear from the scriptures that Jesus' return to the spiritual realm also meant his returning to be with his beloved God:

After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. (Mark 16:19)

What does it mean to be at the "right hand" of God? A person who "sits" at the "right hand" of someone is none other than that person's subject. Their companion and loving servant. Even today we use this expression, as a business owner might describe his dedicated assistant as "my right hand man."

Jesus was still able to appear to his disciples after his body died. Many teach that Jesus was in his supposedly-resurrected physical body but the scriptures do not ascribe to this teaching. If Jesus reappeared to his disciples in his physical body, why didn't his disciples recognize him? Consider these clear statements, among others:

Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. (Mark 16:12)

At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. (John 20:14)

Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. (John 21:4)

These statements from the Gospels clearly indicate that Jesus did not reappear to his disciples in his physical body. Otherwise, they would have immediately recognized him.

Yet some say that because he showed them his hands and feet with holes in them, he must have been in his physical body.

But there are special circumstances here. Thomas - also dubbed "doubting Thomas" would not believe that Jesus appeared to the others unless he saw the holes in his hands and feet.

So Jesus - in his mercy, wanting to assure Thomas that he indeed lived after the body died - showed Thomas what he needed to see. But we know from the description of this event that truly Jesus was not in his physical body:

A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." (John 20:26-27)

How did Jesus get in through locked doors to suddenly appear to them? Certainly he could not have done this with a physical body. And how could a person put a finger through holes within a physical body, or an arm through the side of a typical physical body? Those "holes" would have blood spurting out of them in a physical body.

Jesus was obviously appearing to their physical eyes using spiritual powers. The ability of a person coming from the spiritual realm - such as an angel - to appear before the physical eyes of someone on earth is due to their God-granted special spiritual potency to make that appearance. And the appearance of angels of God by such means is well documented throughout the scriptures.

And the ability of an angel to appear in different forms to the physical eyes is also well documented.

What we know clearly from the scriptures is that Jesus' physical body died. We also know that he reappeared to his disciples after the death of his physical body. This is clear not only by Jesus' statement above, but by events described throughout the four Gospels.

Why is this a big deal? Many ecclesiastical Christian teachers would have us believe that Jesus' reappearance to his disciples relates to them (and us) believing in Jesus. But they already knew Jesus existed. He didn't have to prove that. Nor did Jesus have to prove to them that he was great, or special. They already knew that.

In other words, was Jesus' reappearance really needed to know his greatness? Wasn't Jesus' incredible life and teachings enough to trust that he was great and truly able to save people?

Yes, it is very short-sighted to think that this was all about Jesus trying to prove he was special or great, and neither does it at all capture Jesus' essential teachings and purpose.

Jesus was trying to show his disciples and students that we are not these physical bodies, and our happiness lies within the realm of the spiritual world. The physical body changes throughout its life, and then dies. When the body dies, the spirit-person within the body leaves that body.

This point is critical because most of us - and those during Jesus' times of course - are focused upon the physical world. We think that we are these bodies and that we'll be happy here - if we can just achieve that "next" thing. But that "next" thing of this world never brings us happiness.

Jesus was trying to teach them and us that real happiness is spiritual. Real happiness comes from serving the Supreme Being and exchanging a loving relationship with God. This brings spiritual happiness to the spirit-person.

And when such a spirit-person leaves the physical world, the person who has re-established their eternal relationship with God during their physical lifetimes can return to the spiritual realm to be with God.

This is what Jesus was trying to teach them. This is why he said: "My kingdom is not of this world." The spiritual realm - that place Jesus is trying to tell them about - is that place where the Supreme Being dwells personally and enjoys loving relationships with all of His children. Each of us has a unique loving relationship with God.

This relates to the very purpose of Jesus' coming to the physical world in the first place. The Supreme Being wants us to come home to Him, and Jesus - being God's representative - came to give us this message from God.

"My teaching is not my own. It comes from the One who sent me." (John 7:16)

And the message Jesus brought related to our re-establishing our relationship with God:

"But seek His kingdom..." (Luke 12:31)

Yes, God wants us back. He knows that we will only be happy when we return to His loving arms. He knows this is the only thing that will satisfy us.

This is why we are perpetually empty as we seek happiness within the physical world. Whether it is wealth, fame, a great job, a successful career, a home on a tropical island or marrying our high school sweetheart or someone we otherwise think is our "soul mate," we find continued emptiness within. Why is this? It is because returning to our relationship with the Supreme Being is the only thing that will satisfy us.

This is why there are so many divorces and break ups even after we have supposedly found our "soul mate." After some time we find they must not have really been our "soul mate" after all.

The Supreme Being is our real Soul Mate. He is the person we are searching for. He is that person who will satisfy my need for the perfect friend and beloved. We simply need to come to know Him again, and re-establish our loving service relationship with Him. This is why Jesus' most important instruction was:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38)

"All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what He will make known to you." (John 16:15)

This verse has been substantially mistranslated and misinterpreted to infer that Jesus is God.

This thesis, however, makes no sense. Let's fist examine the logic of such a thesis before we look more deeply at the translation and its real meaning:

Why doesn't Jesus just come out and say he is God if he is? Why does he speak of God in the third person here and throughout his teachings if he were God?

If Jesus were God then why are there three separate persons referred to in this sentence: "The Father," Jesus ("Mine"), and Jesus' disciples ("you")?

If Jesus were God, who was he praying to when he said:

"Abba, Father, everything is possible for You. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what You will." (Mark 14:36)

And if Jesus were God, why would he ask to do God's will rather than his own will?

Why would Jesus say:

"My teaching is not my own. It comes from the One who sent me." (John 7:16)

"I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me." (John 8:18)

"I have not come on my own; God sent me." (John 8:42)

These and many other statements, indicating over and over, that Jesus is not God - but rather, that he was sent by God. He is God's messenger: God's representative.

Yet the confusion among ecclesiastical Christian teachings continues. Why is this? It is because they do not know who God is. They do not know the Person who sent Jesus.

So they confuse the messenger with the sender.

This is a common mistake when people hear from any messenger. Ever heard the expression: "Don't shoot the messenger"? This expression is derived from the notion that people often confuse the messenger with the sender of a message that may upset them. And this - "shooting the messenger" - takes place typically when the receiver of the message does not know the sender very well if at all.

This is the case with ecclesiastical Christian institutions and their teachers. Why? Because those teachers do not know God, and thus are not representing of God. They are not God's representatives. How do we know this?

Consider first how those ecclesiastical teachers are appointed to their respective positions. We can begin with the one position that is considered today as being the foremost supposed representative of God - the pope.

Today, the pope is elected by a body from a possible 208 cardinals from different regions of the Catholic church. Only those under the age of 80 may vote, leaving 118 eligible and 115 to be coming to the conclave to vote for the next pope.

This means that the pope represents those cardinals who elected him. The pope is not representing God - he is representing a body of cardinals.

And how did these cardinals come to their positions? They were appointed by either a previous pope or a body of cardinals.

And how did they get to the position of getting elected as a cardinal? They attended a seminary school and received a seminary degree. They passed the tests and then were appointed to priesthood by a body of priests.

Appointment, appointment, appointment. This is the process. These are appointments by other people who were appointed by other people. What is this process?

It is politics. Being appointed by other people is a political process. It requires one to navigate ones reputation amongst those who hold a vote. It requires a person to be pleasing to those who have the power to appoint.

And what is the result? Politicians hold those positions. Those who hold those positions know how to navigate a political arena. They know how to please others. They know how to please the right people.

God's representative, on the other hand, does not please other people. He or she is not a politician. Did John the Baptist please those Jewish scribes and Herod who had him beheaded? Did Jesus please the high priests, the pharisees, the sadducees and the Romans who eventually had him crucified? Did Jeremiah or Ezekiel or James please those ecclesiastical organizations around them?

The fact is, these representatives of God pleased God. They were God's messengers, God's servants, and God's lovers. They were not politically elected by groups of men. They were selected by God.

Yet each of God's Saints were indeed connected with a previous Saint. Each took guidance under another representative of God, just as James was Jesus' student, Jesus was John the Baptist's student, Joshua was Moses' student, Samuel was Eli's student, David was Samuel's student, Solomon was David's student and so on. This hierarchy illustrates another level of access to God. The access of introduction. Being a student of God's representative means being introduced to God.

One who knows God already may also be sent by Him personally - they will still honor the introduction system as Jesus did - "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." (Matt. 3:15)

And being introduced leads to coming to know God - not from a political or institutional position, but from a personal standpoint. It means coming to know God personally.

Once someone comes to know God personally, God may empower that person to represent Him. This is God's choice, no one else's. Not even one's teacher can appoint someone to be God's representative. Only God can make this choice.

So how does a person know who God's representative is then? This is only found by God's direction as well. The Supreme Being can show a person who is serious about coming to know Him who His representative is. This comes from within.

Therefore, no political assemblies, no elections, no big hats, no big chairs, no big churches, no national television, no big rallies and no interviews on CNN will indicate who is God's representative. Nor will having lots of followers indicate who God's representative is. All of these supposed "signs" are the result of politics: pleasing people.

We can test this by seeing that practically anyone can gain these things. Even murderers get interviewed on CNN. Even child molesters can become priests. This means that child molesters, as long as they are good politicians, can become cardinals and even popes. And as we saw from people like Jim Jones, murderers can have big followings and be accepted as representatives of God. (Many, like Jim Jones even have claimed to be God.)

So we know these titles or positions do not indicate whether a person is God's representative.

As we can see from the lives of John, Jesus, Job, David, James, Peter and others, being God's representative may even mean the opposite of being respected by many people. It may mean being persecuted by those same institutions that elect and appoint people to supposedly be God's representatives.

The point is that those who make it big in the eyes of people by pleasing other people are the representatives of people. They are not God's representative.

And if we want to know God personally, we must be introduced to Him personally - by God's representative. This is why Jesus said what he said to his close disciples in this conversation after the 'last supper.'

Let's review his statement more carefully now:

πᾶς (pas) is being translated to "all things" - but can also mean "each, every, any, all, the whole, everyone, all things, everything;" and "collectively, some of all types" according to the lexicon.

πατήρ (patēr) is being appropriately translated to the Father.

ἔχω (echō) is being translated to "has," but means to have (hold) in the hand, in the sense of wearing, to have (hold) possession of the mind (refers to alarm, agitating emotions, etc.), to hold fast keep, to have or comprise or involve, to regard or consider or hold as," and to hold one's self or find one's self so and so, to be in such or such a condition;" or "to hold one's self to a thing, to lay hold of a thing, to adhere or cling to" according to the lexicon.

ἐμός (emos) is being translated to "mine." It can also mean "from me," "by me" or "to me." Here because Jesus is discussing holding something, the appropriate English grammar would be "I".

διά (dia) together with οὗτος (houtos) is being translated to "that is why" in this verse. The assumption is the two combined means "therefore" but διά (dia) can also mean "through - of place, of time, or of means" or "through - by reason of, or account of" according to the lexicon.

And οὗτος (houtos) can mean "this" or "these."

λέγω (legō) is being translated to "I said" but the word also means "to teach" "affirm over" "to exhort, advise, to command, direct" and "to point out with words, intend, mean, mean to say" according to the lexicon.

λαμβάνω (lambanō) is being translated to "receive" but can also mean "to take what is one's own, to take to one's self, to make one's own - to claim, procure, for one's self" according to the lexicon. This is  a key element of Jesus' statement because Jesus is referring to the fact that God "takes" what is already His. This is better described as "derives."

ἐμός (emos) is being appropriately translated to "from me"

ἀναγγέλλω (anaggellō) is being translated to "make known to you" but means "to announce, make known" and "to report, bring back tidings, rehearse" according to the lexicon.

The translators have also inserted "the Spirit" here without any indication that Jesus said it.

And their assumption is that God has to receive what He will disclose to Jesus' disciples (the "you" is his audience - his disciples) from Jesus before He can disclose it.

They are claiming that God must rely upon Jesus to get his information? That he has no access to such information other than from Jesus?

This of course is offensive. The Supreme Being does not have to rely upon anyone. He is self-sufficient. He is independent and needs no one. He also knows everything. He does not need to get information from anyone because He knows all things. This is the very meaning of God.

Rather, what Jesus is discussing is a relationship that exists between him and the Supreme Being, and the fact that Jesus is introducing his students to God and into this relationship. This has been confirmed elsewhere:

"I will show you what He is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice." (Luke 6:47)

This introduction to God, as we discussed above, creates a three-way relationship. Consider, for example, if a friend introduces us to their friend. We will now know their friend, but should we make friends with our friend's friend, the friendship will also include our friend who introduced us. It is not as if we would bypass our friend and remain friends with our friend's friend and disregard the friend who introduced us.

This type of three-way relationship illustrates the type of relationships that are maintained in the spiritual realm. The spiritual realm is full of relationships, all centered around everyone's relationship with God. The Supreme Being enjoys loving relationships with all His children, and He also enjoys those relationships that exist between His children.

We can now more appropriately translate this statement by Jesus:

"Everything from the Father I hold on to. Therefore I said He derives from me what will be disclosed to you." (John 16:15)

When a person holds onto everything of another, this is a relationship. Just consider a woman who is in love with a man. She naturally "holds on" to what is the man's. It is not as though she claims ownership - although she could as his wife. But she "holds on" to everything of his because those he is so dear to her, due to their bond. What is that bond? It is their relationship. Should the relationship deteriorate, the bond evaporates.

Remember the analogy of the three-way friendship discussed above. When a person introduces their friend to another friend, each friend being introduced derives from this introduction the element of relationship existing prior to the introduction.

In this case, what is being "derived" from Jesus, to be given to Jesus' disciples, is Jesus' relationship with God. Jesus' relationship with God is being passed on to Jesus' disciples.

For example, if we are introducing someone named Bob to our friend Bill, we might say: "Hello Bill, meet my friend Bob. Bob is very trust-worthy person and you should become friends."

What will Bill do? He will initially "derive" from us our trust in Bob. Bill will rely upon our judgement that Bob is a trust-worthy person. And Bob will also "derive" from us our trust in Bill.

Both will derive their initial trust in us from us and our introduction.

This also takes place with the Supreme Being, but under His conditions. God knows everything. It isn't that God is relying upon Jesus for anything. He knows the heart of each person. But because He enjoys loving relationships, He enjoys being introduced and partakes in three-way relationships.

So what is being given to Jesus' disciples is being derived from Jesus - Jesus' loving relationship with God.

Now God could very easily appear to each of us personally and demand we renew our relationship directly with Him. But He does not work this way. Why not?

Because God is a beautiful and gracious person who wants to honor our current status - that of wanting to escape from Him. Those of us wearing physical bodies within the physical world are here because we wanted to get away from God. We didn't want to love Him. We didn't want to be with Him. We chose - as love requires choice and God gives us all choice - to not love Him and not serve Him in the spiritual realm.

Because He honors our choice, He gave us this freedom to be away from Him. He set up the physical world so we could ignore Him. Here we can pretend to be these temporary (false) identities for awhile, and pretend He doesn't exist. And we can continue to ignore Him, and we can even pretend to be religious while we are ignoring Him. (This is what those who pretend that Jesus is God are doing - they treat this "God" as their servant as they ask Jesus to help their football team win or help them get rich or whatever.)

Pretending that God is our servant is the same as ignoring Him. This is not seeing God. If we imagine that God is up in the clouds sitting on a big chair with a big white beard just waiting to deliver whatever we want... this is not God. This is like a genie in a bottle we are imagining. It is not God.

Others imagine that God became a man and died on the cross to cleanse our sins. This is not God. This is our imagination, imagining that we are saved.

Some also believe that because we went to church and ate a cracker in a ritual while staring at a cross with a statue of Jesus suffering on the cross that we are saved and won't go to hell. Yet we are already in hell. Living in the physical world while ignoring God is hell.

God is a person, but not an ordinary person. He is a loving, kind, beautiful and smart. He is perfect, and He is everything we are looking for in a person we refer to as our "soul mate."

Us coming to know and love this Beautiful Person was Jesus' mission in life. This was why he walked for miles from town to town to preach to people. He was trying to introduce people to the Supreme Being. He was trying to get people to love God. And this is why his most important teaching was related to loving this Beautiful Person, God:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38)