For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son ... (John 3:16-21)

[For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.] (John 3:16-21)

Is this commentary or scripture?

These verses have been controversial because there is considerable scholarly opinion that Jesus' statement to Nicodemus ended at John 3:15, and these verses (John 3:16-21) were added later by another writer.

This makes sense because these verses clearly come from a voice of commentary rather than the instructive, practical voice of Jesus. Further, there is no clarity in the text about who said this. And it stands out with multiple inconsistencies in Jesus' direct teachings.

The notion that 3:16-21 is commentary is supported by the translation from the Original New Testament version, which footnotes 3:16-21 with the following:

"Footnote: While much that was in his documentary source (the Memoirs of John the Priest) has been adapted by the Greek author to bring the text into line with his ideas, as here, some passages, largely by way of commentary, stand out as his distinctive contribution. Whenever possible attention has been drawn to these, as in this instance, and some have been placed below the main body of the text and in slightly smaller type. The present passage is John 3: 16-21. [This passage has been so placed by the translator.]"

Furthermore, the Ferrar Fenton Translation brackets the entire text of 3:16-21, as having been "added by translators."

Supporting this, we find a number of New Testament translations put end quotes of Jesus' statements to Nicodemus at the end of John 3:15. Biblical versions that do this include the New International Version, the New English Translation, the Revised Standard Version, and the Lost Gospels of Jesus.

This would make this section more likely a purport by sectarian translators, inserted following the Roman Nicene council of 325 AD. After all, the philosophy of Jesus was altered by the early Church at the Roman Nicene council of 325.

That council was presided over by the Roman Emperor Constantine, who was a Christian neophyte with no formal spiritual training. Constantine's motive in the council was to affirm that Jesus was divine (God) in order to control the people of the region. This led to the formation of the Roman Catholic church.

It should be noted that some of the council members - who were considered regional Bishops of their respective regions - did not agree with this affirmation that Jesus was divine (God). Instead, they accepted Jesus as God's representative.

What does 'God so loved the world' mean?

One example of some of the inconsistency with Scripture comes with the first phrase of 3:16. This phrase appears inconsistent with many other statements within the Bible that relate to God loving the world or the people of the world. Many translations of 3:16 have utilized "people of the world," though "people" is not in the Greek of this statement. And it is for this reason that most of the Biblical versions utilize only "world."

With regard to the world, Jesus himself stated:

"Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble!" (Matt. 18:7)

"What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?" (Matt. 8:36)

“You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world." (John 8:23)

"I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me" (John 14:30)

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first." (John 15:18)

"But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned." (John 16:7-11)

"I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world." (John 17:14)

“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me." (John 17:25)

So we find some major inconsistency here with regard to how Jesus' teachings perceived the "world" and how this particular commentary of John 3:16-21 sees the "world." Jesus saw the "world" as that place where people have forgotten the Supreme Being. The place that influences us towards self-centeredness. The place where Prophets were persecuted and Jesus was persecuted.

Therefore, if Jesus did say this he was referring to God loving those who are living within the world. This of course is a testament to God's unconditional love and mercy for us.

Does God have only one son?

Then we have the phrase, "one and only Son," which contradicts a number of other Biblical verses, including some statements by Jesus himself:

"Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God." (Matt. 5:9)

"nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection." (Luke 20:36)

In addition, we find this verse in the first chapter of John:

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name (John 1:12)

One of the critical points to consider here is the Greek word μονογενής, which translates directly as “unique or special.” This word is used nine times in the new testament: Luke 7:12; 8:42; 9:38; John 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18; Hebrews 11:17; and I John 4:9. In these texts, this word, μονογενής has been translated to either “one and only” or “only begotten.”

Again, the translation terminology from Greek was driven by the edicts of the Nicene council, as they attempted to portray Jesus as the only begotten son of God. Again, this was consistent with the entire strategy of the Nicene council, the politically motivated gathering of religious leaders from around Europe by Emperor Constantine, in an attempt to control the Christian world by controlling its scripture and interpretations.

This resulted in them choosing four of many living scriptures being read during those times that regarded Jesus, and literally burning the rest. The Dead Sea scrolls and the Nag Hammadi scriptures were just a few of those scriptures not acceptable to the Nicene council. A number of others have also been found, but many were burnt and lost forever.

The Nicene council also carefully selected "official" scribes who translated the Greek texts into the languages of Europe, following the edicts and creeds of the council. This supported the goals of Constantine to politically control the Christian world of that day. This political interest drove the council to translate (or create) the text to imply that Jesus was the exclusive son of God. This in effect would prevent any other teacher to gain a position of authority within the Christian societies throughout Europe.

The question that the "one and only" or "only begotten" interpretation/translation brings up is whether God is so impotent that He could only have one begotten son.

Accordingly, many theologians over the centuries have argued that the more appropriate translation for μονογενής ("monogenes") means "priceless and irreplaceable." This was certainly how the word was translated in Psalms 22:20 and 35:17.

Furthermore, the Septuagint word meaning “only” or “solitary” is μονοτροπος (see Psalm 68:6). This would differentiate from the word μονογενής used here.

In addition, we can see the use of μονογενής as translated as "unique" or "incomparable" from the Hebrew Wisdom of Solomon (7:22), written in Alexandria around 100 B.C.

We can also understand the meaning of μονογενής as we see other Greek works. In a Greek poem written by Parmenides in the fifth century B.C., μονογενής was used to describe a being who was "unique" (Frag. 8.3-4). This illustrates the use of the word in context.

The word μονογενής is also used in the Old Testament to refer to Isaac as supposedly Abraham’s "one and only" son (Heb 11:17). Yet we know that Abraham did not have only one son. Thus the more appropriate translation of the Greek μονογενής is “unique” or “special.”

We can also see that the word μονογενής cannot mean "only begotten son" as in "no one else" when we see that God also applied this honor to David:

I will proclaim the decree of the LORD :
He said to me, "You are my son;
today I have begotten you.” (Psalm 2:7)

The same translation applies to this and John’s statement. Some have also translated Psalm 2:7’s last statement to “today I have become your Father.” Yet the context and Hebrew from which it is translated is the same.

What is a 'begotten son'?

We should note that there is another context of “begotten” that is revealed from Psalm 2:7. Since the word “today” is used, we know that there was a change, prompting God to bestow upon David the honor of being God's "begotten son."

What did David do to deserve this privilege? Certainly, we can see, from the statement "I will proclaim the decree of the LORD," that this assignment is due to David's acting on God's behalf, as he proclaims God's message. This illustrates that David has submitted himself to God, and become God's servant. He has surrendered himself to God, and God has empowered him to be His representative.

This process, of becoming God’s loving servant, results in a spiritual re-birth of sorts. This is a person who is deciding to do God's will instead of his own will. This “re-birth” is what is being translated to as “begotten” or “begetting” (meaning, “to give birth”).

Thus we can see that the application of this word is better describing Jesus as having a unique, priceless and irreplaceable relationship with God, one that is born from a decision to do God's will. This could also be described as an intimate and confidential relationship.

Thus we can more appropriately translate the two words together: “μονογενής υἱός” as a "special follower of God," or “intimate loving servant of God.”

This is confirmed by the fact that the Greek word translated to "son" (as in "son") in the New Testament is υἱός (huios), which according to the lexicon can mean "son" "in a restricted sense, the male offspring (one born by a father and of a mother)." But it also can mean according to the lexicon, "used to describe one who depends on another or is his follower."

This means the word is also used to describe a dedicated follower or loving servant.

This also more appropriately fits the situation and is also more practical. Anyway, why would God only beget one person? Is God somehow limited in His ability to beget children? Most men can theoretically beget tens if not hundreds of children in their lifetime. And we are saying that God would only beget one person? This is simply illogical.

Are there other 'sons' of God?

This also contradicts scripture. We find many places in the Old and New Testaments of others also referred to as “sons of God.” Here are a few:

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

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

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. (Job 1:6)

Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD. (Job 2:1)

When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 38:7)

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." (Matt. 6:9)

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name (John 1:12)

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (Romans 8:14)

For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. (Romans 8:19)

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:26)

Here we can see a consensus on the use of “son of God” within scripture. The "son of God" is not an offspring as we might conceive of in the physical sense. With regard to creation, we are all children of God. But what creates that special title of being referred to as a son of God?

This follows when a person becomes devoted to God. When a person becomes exclusive to God and becomes His loving servant.

In the case of Jesus, we must add an additional concept - the reality that Jesus was sent by the Supreme Being to teach us. He was thus representing God. When the servant of God is sent to teach about God, the term υἱός τοῦ θεοῦ would be better translated to "Representative of God."

Is this about exclusivity?

The exclusivity inferred by many professional sectarians upon Jesus is not God’s exclusivity, as the political Nicaea council wanted us to think. It is us having an exclusive focus on God. As we can see by the quotes above, all of us have the ability to become confidential loving servants of God. We simply have to travel the road to get there. This means we have to dedicate our lives to God.

Gradually, with this dedication, comes our increasingly exclusive focus upon God. This is the exclusive or confidential nature of a unique and personal loving relationship with God. In other words, each of us has a unique, inborn relationship with God. Most of us inhabiting physical bodies within the temporary physical world have simply abandoned that relationship for the sake of self-satisfaction.

This is reflected by the statement above, "Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil." "Evil" is the state of selfishness that portends that we are the most important person. This develops into greed, which develops into lust, anger, violence, and the other symptoms of self-centered emptiness. "Light," on the other hand, is the worship and love of the real center, God. This is the opposite of "evil" or selfishness.

And the statement, "...what he has done has been done through God," indicates that Jesus is God's loving servant, and God utilized Jesus as His representative.

"The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right ..." (John 7:6-8)

"The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because for me the right time has not yet come." (John 7:6-8)

Jesus said this to the brothers of his physical body. Here is the situation:

After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the institutional temple leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, Jesus' brothers said to him, "Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world." For even his own brothers did not believe in him. (John 7:1-5)

What is 'the right time'?

Jesus stated to the brothers of his physical body that in his role as God's representative, there would be the right time for him to speak out publicly about certain controversial matters. Until then, Jesus was guarding his movements, and being careful, awaiting the right time to appear to the crowds and speak out.

Jesus knew that he would soon make his appearance to the public in Jerusalem to speak on these controversial matters. He understood that this would inflame the situation, and likely cause those in power to persecute him. But that time was not yet, and Jesus still had many things to teach his followers.

This is because it is the teachings of Jesus that are critical to our ability to regain our relationship with God. Jesus' physical body dying on the cross cannot alone save us. It is following Jesus' teachings and knowing that Jesus' teachings were important enough for him to suffer the ultimate sacrifice.

Does the world 'hate' Jesus?

Jesus also makes a comment about the people of the physical world – the souls inhabiting physical bodies. He said, “it [the world] hates me because I testify that what it does is evil.”

This clearly states that the people of the physical world are primarily self-centered. Those who are self-centered generally despise those who love others and want to help others. In other words, Jesus had to be careful, because the physical world is primarily occupied by self-centered people, many of whom wanted him out of the way.

Those living in the physical world are here for a reason. Each living being occupying a temporary physical body is here in this physical world because we at some point rebelled against God. 

We rejected our subservient relationship with God. This is what the symbolic story of the Garden of Eden was about: Adam rejected his subservient relationship with God. He ate the forbidden fruit even though God advised him not to.

And what was the forbidden fruit?

Self-centeredness. The desire to essentially have what God has. God is the Supreme Enjoyer. By desiring this position, we are essentially envious of God.

Yet God created living beings in His likeness to exchange loving relationships with Him. This, however, requires the freedom to love Him or not.

Because love requires the freedom to love, God also gave us the ability to choose to love Him or not. This is why He gave Adam the choice to pick the forbidden fruit. The Supreme Being could have hidden the tree from Adam if He wanted to. But he gave Adam the choice: Either do what God wants him to do, or rebel against God and seek his own enjoyment.

Once Adam ate the forbidden fruit, he was thrown out of the spiritual world:

So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden. (Genesis 3:23)

Adam was given a physical body and put into the physical world:

The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. (Genesis 3:21)

In the physical world, we occupy these physical bodies ('garments of skin'). This allows us to try to enjoy a temporary, virtual self much as a video game player will take on an avatar to play the video game.

These virtual physical bodies are more than just vehicles to try to enjoy, however. They are also vehicles of learning. This is accomplished through consequences.

The physical body and its environment are like a miniature school: Designed to take us through numerous lesson plans in an attempt to rehabilitate us. In other words, the physical world is like a rehabilitation center for those spiritual beings who became self-centered.

These virtual physical bodies also block our vision of the Supreme Being: They prevent us from seeing or sensing God - unless God specifically allows it. This is because we made the decision to reject God: We wanted to be away from God.

So what is “evil”?

Evil is acting in a self-centered fashion, with the intent to enjoy oneself separately from God.

In other words, evil is the desire to be the Supreme Being and/or enjoy like God. This is why most of the citizens of the physical world are striving to be the champion, the hero, the superstar, or the boss of some sort. We are trying to carve out some form of godhood. We want to have God's position.

And those who come to teach us these things on behalf of the Supreme Being are mostly despised here. They are despised by the people who want to be champions of the physical world. This is because God's message ruins the illusion that we are the center of the universe, and everything revolves around us.

"You belong to your father, the devil ..." (John 8:44-47)

"You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me? He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God." (John 8:44-47)

What does he mean by their 'father, the devil'?

Jesus is continuing to severely criticize the institutional temple Pharisees and temple officials. He is making a distinction between his teachings and theirs.

When Jesus says that they belong to their "father, the devil" is he referring to the devil as a person who is their physical father? Certainly, the Pharisees and institutional temple priests were not all brothers, so Jesus cannot be referring to their physical father. 

He is using the word "father" - translated* from the Greek word πατήρ (patēr) - metaphorically to indicate their allegiance. The better translation, as we indicated with the prior statement, is "lord." He is saying that they "belong to your lord, the devil."

In the same way, Jesus is not referring to "the devil" as a physical person. He is using "the devil" metaphorically. So what does Jesus mean by "the devil" then?

Some teachers portray the devil as being some horned character who lives underground in caves filled with fire, wearing a red suit and carrying a pitchfork. They have characterized this person as someone who creeps around, sometimes sitting on our shoulders, trying to convince us to do bad things. And we are innocent until the devil coerces us to do evil: "The devil made me do it."

This is a hypocritical and fanatical position. Characterizing this allegorical character called the 'devil' in such a way simply allows us to not feel responsible for our own decisions and actions.

Jesus discusses 'the devil's' attributes further. He stated the devil:

"was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies."

So is Jesus saying that a single person is literally the father of lying? That all lies have been given birth by a single person, the devil? Certainly, again, Jesus' characterization is metaphorical. 

It is not as if there is some person who procreated and produced lying. Are we saying that all the lying we see around us does not come from liars - that they are innocently being forced to lie by someone else?

This also goes for murder. Is Jesus saying that every murder is committed by this single person, the devil, and not by the criminals who are spending time in jail for their crime?

Is the 'devil' responsible?

To take Jesus' metaphorical discussion to this unreasonable degree literally not only avoids our responsibility: it also avoids reality. 

The reality is, those who commit murder and lie are murderers and liars. These acts are born from the people who commit those acts. 

We cannot blame someone else. Can a murderer go into court and say "the devil made me do it" and be declared innocent by the court? Certainly not. The court knows the person committed the crime and the crime came from the person.

What, then, is Jesus referring to as "the devil"? The Greek word being translated to " the devil" in this verse is διάβολος (diabolos). Diabolos is the root of our English word diabolical.

Thayer's Greek lexicon translates διάβολος (diabolos) to mean "prone to slander, slanderous, accusing falsely." And what makes a person become prone to slander and accusing others falsely? It is quite simply, self-centeredness.

In other words, Jesus is referring to sin as self-centeredness - being diabolical.

Thus sin - being diabolical - self-centeredness - is metaphorically related to "the devil" because self-centeredness is the root of desire, the root of greed, the root of envy, the root of murder and the root of lying.

But Jesus' use of a metaphorical devil also relates to the consequence of self-centeredness - becoming bound within the illusory nature of the physical world that hides our true nature as a result of our self-centeredness. This illusory nature of the physical world gives us the facility to express our self-centeredness.

Jesus is telling them about another consciousness: The consciousness of loving and serving the Supreme Being. That is why he is trying to teach them "the truth."

Does self-centeredness contradict love?

Self-centeredness means to covet one's own self above anything else. By being self-centered, we put ourselves first. While some might think selfishness is quite innocent, and many self-help gurus like to teach us to "love ourselves," loving ourselves is our disease. Loving ourselves above all else results in us essentially escaping from our constitutional relationship with the Supreme Being.

Our constitutional relationship with the Supreme Being is that we are His loving servants. But because love requires freedom, we each have the innate ability to escape from our constitutional position and become self-centered instead of God-centered.

The Supreme Being accommodates our escape from our primal relationship with Him by creating the physical world and these temporary physical bodies to allow us to escape our relationship with Him. 

Our identification with these temporary physical bodies allows us to forget the Supreme Being completely. This also allows us to deny His very existence. Why?

Because love requires the freedom to choose to love or not to love. God created us to love and serve Him, but this must be voluntary. And to accommodate that freedom of loving Him or not, there must be a facility to accommodate the choice not to love Him. 

This choice is accomplished by God's creation of the illusory nature of the physical world - which deludes us into believing we are these temporary physical bodies.

To enter God's and Jesus' world requires us to choose to renew our loving relationship with the Supreme Being. It requires coming to a point where we realize we are not the center of the universe. 

It means we recognize that the Supreme Being is the center of the universe - and we are not. It means taking refuge in Him because He is our Best Friend and Soul Mate.

What does 'he who belongs to God' mean?

This is what Jesus is referring to when he says "He who belongs to God." To belong to God means to take shelter of the Supreme Being. It means to dedicate ourselves to the Supreme Being. It means to put the Supreme Being first in our lives. This is the polar opposite of self-centeredness.

As for the mythical 'devil,' we should also clarify that the Supreme Being has no challenger. Though a person may be envious of the Supreme Being and self-centered, God's control of the physical universe is never threatened by anyone.

Maintaining a literal definition of the metaphorical 'devil' allows us to avoid our self-centeredness. It allows us to not see any need to change. Most of us simply don't want to face that we are the problem. We want to blame someone else for our self-centeredness.

Doing this, however, also prevents us from growing. To grow spiritually requires that we first face the fact that I am my problem. It is my selfishness that is causing my emptiness. It is my selfishness that is causing me to hurt others, lie to others. It is my self-centeredness that is keeping me from belonging to God.

Jesus also states that "He who belongs to God hears what God says." He also says that "The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God." The "belonging" referred to here is not a physical relationship of ownership, such as a dog belonging to a human. It also does not mean to join a particular team or sect.

To "belong" means to have a certain consciousness. And what is that consciousness? It is love for God. It is wanting to please God. A person in a consciousness of wanting to please God will be listening for God with their lives. And they will hear God from within.

We might compare this idea of belonging to a basketball player who is standing on the sidelines during a game. If he is dreaming about his girlfriend in the stands and thinking about their date tonight, he will likely not hear the coach say "go in and replace the forward!" His mind is roaming elsewhere. His head isn't "in the game." Thus he really doesn't belong on the court with his team at that point. He really belongs in the stands with his girlfriend.

In the same way, if we belong to the Supreme Being, God will be the center of our lives. We will be wanting to do what pleases the Supreme Being. This is what Jesus was doing. He wanted to please the Supreme Being:

"By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but Him who sent me." (John 5:30)

Jesus pleased the Supreme Being with his teachings - which came from the Supreme Being. This is why he also stated:

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

And what was Jesus' 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.” (Matthew 22:37-38)

*Here is the translation of Jesus' statement according to the Lost Gospels of Jesus:

"You follow your lord, the opposer of God, and you want to do what pleases your lord. He was a slayer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks falsely, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the master of lies. Yet because I speak the truth, you do not believe me. Which of you can convict me of sin? If I speak Truth, why do you not believe me? One who is dedicated to God hears the words of God. For this reason you do not hear them, because you are not dedicated to God.” (John 8:44-47)

"My prayer is not that You take them out of the world ..." (John 17:15)

"My prayer is not that You take them out of the world but that You protect them from the evil one." (John 17:15)

Here Jesus continues his prayer, now asking the Supreme Being to protect his students and disciples. From what?

Who is 'the evil one'?

First, let's clarify what Jesus really said.* The reality is that Jesus did not even say "evil one" according to the original Greek.

Here "evil one" is being translated from the Greek word πονηρός (ponēros), which means according to the lexicon: 1) "full of labours, annoyances, hardships;" and 2) "bad, of a bad nature or condition."

And there is no word in Jesus' statement in the Greek that could be translated to "one" either. It is just ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ - "from the [hardships or bad nature]."

While asking God to protect his students from hardships seems plausible, within this context it is more likely Jesus is discussing "bad nature" or "badness" or even "wickedness" - appropriately derived from "bad nature."

We can also derive this from other statements Jesus made that used this word, πονηρός (ponēros). For example, Jesus used this word in these two statements:

"A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit." (Matt. 7:18)

and

"A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign!" (Matt. 12:39)

In these verses, "bad" and "wicked" are both being translated from the word πονηρός (ponēros).

So now that we have more dimension to this word πονηρός (ponēros) - just what is it?

Consider the "generation" and the "fruit" - what is wrong with these?

Why should they not be taken 'out of the world'?

Jesus is praying for God not to take his followers "out of the world." Why not? 

Because Jesus wants them to stay here so they can pass on his teachings. If they all left "the world" with Jesus then there would be no one to pass on his teachings.

Jesus connects "the world" with the "evil one" not because of a physical connection. It is the connection between self-centeredness. The "evil one" is a figurative expression that describes self-centeredness within each of us.

The type of "badness" or "wickedness" Jesus is referring to is one's interest being only about oneself - and disregarding the interests of others - or the Supreme Being.

This approach to life is what drives all the crime, hatred, envy, violence and wars within the physical world. Self-centeredness is the key driver of the physical world. Even economists admit this when they say stuff like "greed drives the economy."

Thus we find that Jesus is not asking God to protect his students against some outside party. Jesus is asking the Supreme Being to help protect them from becoming self-centered and envious.

This is, in fact, why we are here in the physical world. We are here because we rejected the environment of the spiritual realm. And is the nature of that environment?

Where is love?

Each of us has the capacity to love, but we find "the world" a place where love is the exception, not the rule. Mostly we find self-centeredness here - and its extensions, nationalism, racism, sectarianism, hatred, violence and envy. 

Contrasting this world, the spiritual realm is a place of unconditional love. Citizens of the spiritual realm are naturally in love with the Supreme Being, and they each exchange loving relationships with God and God's other children.

Yes, the spiritual realm is a feast of love. It is a love-fest.

Sometimes we dream about such a place, and we each hope we can make earth such a place. But no matter how hard peace-loving people try, there continues to be violence, bloodshed, greed, envy, crime, hatred and so on here in this world. It never seems to stop. Why?

Because this is where those of us who rejected the love-fest of the spiritual realm go. This is the place where all the people with πονηρός (ponēros) in their hearts get put.

Yes, the physical world is a rehabilitation center. And each of us has the opportunity to become rehabilitated and return home to our loving relationship with the Supreme Being.

Why is there so much envy in 'the world'?

In this world, when someone succeeds, most others will become envious. This is why so many glamour magazines focus on the rich and famous - because people envy their fame, their looks and/or their wealth.

This condition of envy is not our natural position. But somehow we fell into such an attitude. Once we did, we became self-centered.

Since those in the spiritual realm are tender and soft-hearted, our newfound selfishness and envy had no place in the spiritual realm. There we would be like elephants in a crystal shop. This is why the Supreme Being set up the physical realm.

We were pushed out of the spiritual realm and into the physical and subtle physical realms.

The physical realm is like a rehabilitation center and these physical bodies are our tools for rehabilitation. They are like icons or avatars in which we get to set up various situations to learn from and be tested with.

This rehab center and our temporary physical avatars also have some other characteristics. They effectively allow us to forget about God completely and chase our self-centered dreams around. They even allow us to deny God's existence altogether.

This is God's programming - set up to enable us to get away from Him and pretend we are the center of the universe - while teaching us that we aren't the center of the universe. In other words, God set up the physical world to be a rehabilitation center as well as a place for us to exercise our quest for freedom from Him.

And as far as the illusory nature of the physical world, yes, this is organized and created by the Supreme Being. It is also managed by some of His servants - as God's universe is a personal universe, and He delegates many operations to His various servants.

But the illusory nature surrounding each of us is perfectly tailored to fit our particular self-centered desires.

And those who help Him manage the illusions of the physical world are His servants. God never has a challenger - as many have attributed to this notion of a devil or satan. If we want to define someone who helps God carry out His illusory nature - yes there are personalities that we can look to.

But if need to talk through the classic devil or satan story - about satan rejecting God and being thrown out of the spiritual realm - well, that is the story of each of us. That story - of rebelling against our relationship with God - is what each of us did to get tossed out of the spiritual realm. Yes, in that metaphorical sense, the story of Satan is the story of each of us.

Why do we have the choice?

God wants us to love Him, but only if we choose to. Therefore He gives us the choice to love Him or not. And should we decide not to, He sets up this world so we don't have to see Him or be with Him. We can completely escape His existence while we are within these physical bodies.

This is the "world" that Jesus is discussing here in this verse and the previous verse when he said:

"I have given them Your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world." (John 17:14)

And we can see that Jesus is using the word "world" in two respects here - one (in John 17:14) to indicate the consciousness of the physical world - one of self-centeredness, trying to avoid the Supreme Being. The other (in 17:15), is the reality that they are still physically within the physical world, and Jesus is saying that they - his students - will be remaining within the physical world for the time being ("My prayer is not that You take them out of the world...") - but their consciousness is not "of the world." 

Their consciousness is not "of the world" because they are focused - at least in this prayer as he is giving them the benefit of the doubt - on pleasing Jesus and thus pleasing God.

While Jesus' students remain in the physical world, Jesus wants them to pass on to others this consciousness - in the form of his teachings. This is expressed in coming verses, such as:

"As You sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world." (John 17:18)

Jesus is saying that God sent Jesus to the world to try to bring us back to the spiritual realm - and Jesus is sending his students out with the same mission.

And what is that mission? To inform us that we will never be happy chasing our self-centered dreams around this state of temporary illusion. We will only be happy when we resume our natural position as the loving servant and friend of the Supreme Being. Yes - despite our self-centered past, and all the crap we've done - God still wants us to come home because He loves us and knows only this will make us happy.

And this is why He sent Jesus - to invite us back home. 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)

*Here is the translation of this part of Jesus' prayer from the Lost Gospels of Jesus:

"I ask not for You to remove them from the material world, but to keep them from wickedness.” (John 17:15)