In contrast to what the gospels describe regarding Jesus’ supernatural and virgin birth, I present an alternative view that makes more sense to me. I would also like to point out that the idea of a virgin birth is not a first or unique to Christianity, but is commonly found especially in Asiatic religions. Examples include, among many others, Krishna, Buddha, Lao-Tzu, and to some, even Plato. It appears that often the disciples of a great spiritual leader subsequently concluded that somehow that person was an incarnated god. Jesus was unique among humans and had a special mission, but he was not God. It will be shown in what ways he possessed a divine nature and how we can all follow in his footsteps.
Jesus came to the earth like any other human being – born from the physical union of a man and a woman – Joseph and Mary. He was not born equal to God or as God in human flesh with the substance of God, and thus is not God.
However, he was born with a pure soul, constituted to know the Father, as was originally given to the first parents, and unencumbered by inherited tendencies to sin that we all have. He had a deeply spiritual nature and consequently, from his infancy it was natural for his soul to yearn for at-onement with the Father, and as a result, receive Divine Love.
Throughout his childhood, adolescence and into adulthood, his soul had undergone a transformation from just divine image into divine substance, and he enjoyed close communions with God and an ever-growing at-onement with Him. As a result, he was able to live without sin. With his soul being transformed into divine substance, he was both human and divine – but not equal to the Father or member of a divine Trinity.
Jesus’ earthly mission was revealed to him as he progressed in his soul development. However, it was not until his anointing, with the baptism by his cousin John, that he was qualified to start his work (Matt. 3:1-17). At this point, he became the messiah or Christ – which is that part of Jesus, the spirit of truth, which manifests the existence of the Divine Love in the soul.
Jesus’ Mission
Jesus’ mission was twofold, namely: to declare to humankind that the Father had re-bestowed the Divine Love which Adam and Eve, or the first parents, had forfeited; and to show humans the way by which that Love could be obtained, so that the possessor of it would partake of divine nature and immortality, which can only come from God (2 Pet. 1:3-4 (1); 1 Tim. 6:15-16 (2)).
In other words, Jesus came to reveal that the Divine Love with its potential of immortality was again available to humans as well as to spirits (deceased mortals who have passed into the spirit world). This privilege had been lost when the first humans chose to disobey God and go their own way. Jesus not only taught this truth, also referred to as the New Birth (John 1:13; 3:3-7), but lived it as his soul was filled with the Divine Love. Thus he brought immortality and eternal life to light (2 Tim. 1:10 (3)). He should be honoured for this, but not worshipped as God or a member of the Godhead or Trinity. Worship belongs only to God the Father (Luke 4:8; John 17:3).
Jesus never claimed that he came to earth to pay any ransom for humans, or to save them by his death on the cross, or to save them in any other way than by teaching them that the great gift or privilege of immortality had been bestowed upon them, and that by prayer and faith they could obtain it.
Jesus’ blood and death, or the belief therein, does not reconcile humans to God. Neither is this accomplished through any specific commandment keeping, such as Sabbath observance (which among others is a valuable spiritual discipline). For a full reconciliation to God to occur, the soul has to be developed and only the Divine Love, imparted through the Holy Spirit, can bring this about. It transforms the soul from the image of God into the very essence of God – a redeemed child of God partaking of divine substance (in contrast to only being a child of God through the creation of soul, which is true of all humans).
Jesus is coming again, but not in a physical form to wage war and conquer God’s enemies. Rather, he is coming in the form of revelation. His teachings about the Divine Love through the Holy Spirit are entering receptive souls around the world. His desire is that humans turn away from their evil thoughts and ways, and seek the Love and mercy of the Father.
So to recap, Jesus is the saviour not by paying a supposed debt to God by his blood and death, but rather by bringing to light and showing the way to eternal life and immortality. He was the first to receive the Divine Love and become, at the soul level, divine himself – though not God. Thus he became the first fruit of the resurrection (Acts 26:22-23 (4); 1 Cor. 15:20-23).
Everyone on earth and the spirit world can choose to follow Jesus’ example – the only way to unison and at-onement with the Father and access to the heavenly mansions of God’s Kingdom. Seeking soul transformation through the Divine Love so that the human soul becomes like God’s Soul and a partaker of the divine qualities of Love and life is an individual pursuit, because salvation is individual. Each person is responsible for their own growth (Phil 2:12-13).
In other words, the plan of salvation – the only way a person can be saved from their sins is through the New Birth as Jesus pointed out to Nicodemus (John 3:3-8). This is the result of the Divine Love flowing into the human soul. As the soul becomes filled with the Love of the Father, everything that tends to sin and error will be absorbed by the Love and disappear. The Love spreads like leaven through dough and the person becomes like the Father in divine nature and fit to inhabit God’s Celestial Kingdom (Matt. 13:33; 2 Pet. 1:3-4).
As some become filled with the Divine Love, they will begin to understand the laws governing the relationship of spirit to material world. As a result, they will be able to perform miracles like Jesus did, such as healings. They will point others to the way to realize the greatest of all miracles, which is the transformation of the human soul into divine essence through Divine Love imparted by the Holy Spirit.
Jesus’ past and present mission is to call humans to turn to God and to pursue a way of peace and mutual love. This is a soul process. Therefore Jesus is not involved in wars and scenes of carnage – on the battlefield, souls are generally not open to the influence of Jesus’ teachings. Other spirits are designated to help those who have met a violent death to make their transition into the spirit world less violent.
War is never a way to peace, and as long as humans remain in their condition of sin, there will be no peace. Even the horror of war will not prevent future wars. Jesus is not coming to subdue enemies through a bloody war at Armageddon (or elsewhere).
However, each individual soul is in a battle between sin and righteousness (Rom. 7:14-25). Not all souls are winning this battle and hence many dead souls are entering the spirit world. A dead soul needs much help to be awakened to life and this awakening is like rising from death to life. That, in one sense, is a resurrection.
The awakened or “risen” soul can then begin, with its cooperation, to be transformed from sin to purity and develop its natural love, and then progress from natural love to receiving the Divine Love through prayer. Alternatively, it can accelerate its development by praying for the Divine Love upon awakening. This Love will no longer permit hatred and wars and is the only way peace will be brought about (1 John 3:2-9(5)).