The Indestructible Body
Martin Cecil September 21, 1960
We have noted a very particular responsibility which presents itself at this time, a particular opportunity also, in relationship to that which will be transpiring in New York at this session of the so-called United Nations. We see some outstanding examples of human self-activity being applied to the purposes of men. It is interesting to watch, and to recognize how similar human beings are, whether in exalted worldly positions or in more lowly places. The same patterns of self-determination applied on a larger scale may be noted in this field of human endeavor—the same human weaknesses that are found everywhere. If the world is to depend on these men for leadership, we are made aware of a very precarious state of affairs. There are those in whom there is some spirit of rightness, of course, and we rejoice in that.
We find that wherever there is a right spirit we have something which may be drawn into agreement with the pattern of the Divine Design, so that the influence of the Power of God may be exerted. At this particular time, I suppose, emphasis is being placed upon the evidences of wrongness, and they seem to be very large and strong. But it is not the evidences of wrongness that are going to determine the nature of the outworking; it is the evidences of rightness. These things are, generally speaking, obscure on the world stage but they are present in the hearts and in the attitudes of human beings. Such things often go unnoticed. They certainly do not take a prominent place on the front page of the world press. But it is the elements of rightness, wherever and in whomsoever they may be, with which we are concerned, because it is that which allows for the establishment of agreement on earth with respect to the things of God that permits the working of God's Power in the fulfilment of His purposes. Regardless of the raucous voices, the jockeying for position, the threats and counter-threats, when there is agreement on earth in relationship to the things of God, that which is right shall prevail.
I think we might well be reminded at this point—not that we should need it for ourselves, but it is something which certainly requires emphasis in the world of man—of the first few verses of the 24th Psalm: “The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” That is a statement of literal Truth. Human beings with their brilliant intellects have perhaps forgotten it. Some of them deny it, but it does not alter the fact. It is something of which we need to be constantly and keenly aware.
God is strong. God cannot be defeated. Those who agree with God cannot be moved. Something is going to be moved. Human beings are busily engaged in trying to move each other around so that they can gain position for themselves, perhaps for their particular nation or ideology. Human beings can be moved— sometimes they go up a little, sometimes they come down—but God cannot be moved, and those who are in agreement with God begin to find themselves upon a rock foundation, so that they share in giving form to something which is immovable on earth. We have noted this principle before, and when it is recognized we see the futility, the lack of any necessity, of fighting. From the human standpoint, in relationship to the patterns that are in the world, in order to maintain position it seems most necessary to fight and struggle, to try to push the other fellow down—but from the Divine standpoint it is all so unnecessary, because once there is something established in agreement with God on earth, there is an immovable Rock. The seas may break upon it, may swirl around it, pushing and pulling, struggling and striving, but it makes no difference to the Rock, and that which is not a part of the Rock, in its strugglings and its strivings breaks itself to pieces against the Rock. But for this to be known there must be a Rock. It must have form on earth. We may recognize that there is a Heavenly Rock, if we could put it that way—God is immovable—but there has been lack of such evidence in the realm where man is.
We see the necessity of giving form to this Rock on earth with our own physical bodies, that it may be made manifest, that there may be that in the world of men which cannot be moved. There was a supreme example of the immovability of the Rock when it was made manifest on earth through the body of Jesus. Oh yes, it suffered abuse and was greatly hurt, but it could not be destroyed. Here, in focalized essence, was the revelation of that Body which should take form on earth to establish something here in the world which likewise cannot be moved or destroyed. That which is necessary we recognize to involve many people. Our Master was alone, virtually. All He could do was to reveal the principle in relationship to His own body. In doing so He did, in fact, take upon Himself the world's evil. We need to see this in the right way because it has been thoroughly distorted in the consciousness of those who call themselves Christians.
He accepted the condition which was thrust upon Him. He was willing to submit to that which was brought to bear against Him, not only from the physical standpoint but vibrationally speaking also. We recognize that the vibrational pressure was brought to specific point in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was something which was experienced in His own being—the weight of the world's evil brought to a specific point of focus in relationship to Himself. It was something that He could not have readily avoided, in any case, but it certainly was not His desire to avoid it, seeing that it had reached that point. There was only one thing left to do, and that was to accept it in relationship to Himself, the vibratory pattern of the world's evil, and then work through it and emerge victoriously on the other side. That was the only thing that was left for Him to do if there was to be any possibility of salvation, restoration, healing, however you wish to put it, for the body of mankind. If He had not been willing to do that, there would have been no chance for any other human being since that time. This is so because He was who He was, the LORD of Lords and KING of Kings, the Supreme Apex of Deity in relationship to this world. If the world had gotten away with rejecting Him without His having cleared through, out of the pattern of the world's rejection, there would have been no chance whatsoever for human beings since that time, and, in fact, the world of mankind would have destroyed itself long since. We are here today because of what He did, actually. That is true of everyone on the face of the earth, whether they call themselves Christians or not. It is just the fact of the matter, whether anyone believes it or not.
Our Master accepted the vibratory pattern of the world's evil into Himself, and then came through victoriously out of it. In other words, the body of mankind is now in the same position as He was then, subject to the evil. Human beings are governed by the prince of this world, regardless of any beliefs to the contrary. The very state of the world proves it. The body of mankind is subject to the prince of this world. Our Master, in the outer sense, let Himself become subject to that same experience in focalized essence when He was on earth, and then He proceeded to work through it and to emerge upon the other side victoriously, thereby opening the way for the world body of mankind to experience the same thing. The commonly held idea that somehow or other He died for our sins is, of course, nonsense. He did not die, in any case, for which we may be deeply thankful. He suffered what He did. He went through what He had to go through, because of the sins of the world, that is true. It was something He did willingly without any spirit of rebellion. No one else could have done what He did; no one else is required to do what He did; but if He had not done it, there would be no chance for any of us or for the world.
And so, in Him was made manifest the evidence of the immovable quality—the nature of the Rock made manifest. It can appear to be defaced somewhat, it can be ridiculed and abused, but not destroyed. That which is one with God cannot be destroyed. This experience of oneness is offered to the children of men, but can only be accepted by those who respond to the invitation. Each individual, in responding to the invitation, has to move through his own particular field of clearing. Our Master moved through everything brought to an intense point of focus in relationship to Him, something that is almost unbelievable. Have you ever experienced any difficulty in meeting something in relationship to your own experience? Have you ever been provoked into wrong attitudes or words or actions? Anything that you have experienced, or any of us have experienced, is but a little thing, insignificant, in comparison to that which was brought to bear on Him—and He stood alone! Yes, there was one disciple who did stay with Him, and a few women, but look at the opportunity that we have had. We have not been required to do it alone, nor have we been required to meet what He had to meet, in any sense. He did what was necessary and proved that it could be done, at the Supreme Point. There can be nothing brought to bear in relationship to anyone else that would equal that, so obviously no one else has any excuse. But it does not mean that it was all done for everyone else, in the sense that others would not have to go through their own particular cycles of clearing. It merely meant that it was proven that it could be done by One who met something which no one else would have to meet to such a degree. By doing it, by being willing to take all that into Himself and clear through it, He opened the way, held the door open, for all those who should follow Him. Looking round about, we do not see too much evidence of many following Him.
But here, in the ultimate sense, is the means whereby there may be restoration, healing, for the world body of mankind—resurrection, if you please. And there is no means by which any single individual can experience true healing except as a part of the world body of mankind which experiences healing. The resurrection of our Master's body from the tomb was the resurrection of the whole body; it was not just little pieces. The healing of the body of mankind is the healing of the whole body, not just little pieces of it. The parts of that body experience healing as the body experiences healing. Obviously, some movement in that direction can take place from the individual standpoint—there can be, and must be, clearings of various sorts. You have all had some experience in that regard—clearings in mind and in heart, and physical clearings. But no single human being is going to experience an ultimate state of healing, restoration, outside of the whole body which must experience healing. Up to a point, yes. In our individual physical bodies we recognize the close blending of all the parts, all the organs, all the glands. If there is upset in relationship to one it affects the whole body. Relatively speaking, some organs may be healthier than others, but if one organ is unhealthy all of them are, to some degree, because the body is one body. We see this same principle in operation with respect to the body of mankind—the body of the Son of God on earth.
We may perceive, have recognized, that there are two bodies in relationship to the body of mankind. One is the body of the son of perdition which is, and must be, lost. The other is the body of the Son of God, which, I suppose we could say, is saved, if we see the true meaning of the word saved. It cannot be destroyed. But it hardly exists yet. It is the movement of responding human beings out of the body of the son of perdition into the body of the Son of God that gives the body of the Son of God form on earth, and begins to allow the establishment of that which cannot be moved—no longer just the body of one individual but the true body of the Son of God. Jesus, the name given to the body in which our Master manifested on earth, can be seen as the name of the body of the Son of God. It was not really the true name of that individual body. Jesus (that is not quite the way it should be pronounced) is the name of the body of the Son of God, composed of many parts, many individual human beings.
It is into this body that we would let out bodies come. In doing so we experience what is portrayed, in order to remind human beings of what is required, in the so-called communion service. But instead of playing children's games, playing around with the symbols, the thing itself needs to be done. It is well that the symbols should have been there to keep the idea in human minds, so that they might wake up one day and let the real thing happen; but that is their only purpose. What was it our Master said? “Do this in remembrance of me.” In remembrance of what? In remembrance of that which He Himself revealed, in remembrance of the body of the Son of God, which was not just His individual body. It is the body which should include every man, woman and child on the face of the earth. Presently, the body of the son of perdition fills the earth, standing there like a giant. But, as our Master said, it is lost. Everyone has imagined that He was simply talking about Judas. No, the lost body of the son of perdition is composed of human beings who persist in their self-active ways. And what an example of self-activity brought to focus we see in relationship to the United Nations at this present time, something of a focus of the consciousness of the body of the son of perdition. Confusion, is it not? Something like the consciousness in the bodies of most self-active human beings—just the same thing, on a large scale.
Now we begin to become aware of another consciousness—the mind that was in Christ Jesus, the consciousness of the body of the Son of God, something in which we may share as we become members of that body and begin to allow the form which cannot be moved to appear on earth, the form through which the Will of God may be done, through which the Power of God may be made manifest. Human beings trying to get the Power of God somehow, so that they can use it for themselves to what they conceive to be good or constructive ends, must fail. They have a little life force, and by various self-active means they can build up something which looks pretty big in the world of man. But the only way which God's Power, manifesting in its constructive and creative uses, can appear on earth is through the body of the Son of God. Our Master revealed that in relationship to His own ministry, His own life. Exactly the same principle applies in relationship to the true body of the Son of God, which is not limited just to one individual body. The Will of God is done through the body of the Son of God. It is not done through a lot of segregated individual human beings who are trying to do it, perhaps trying to be good, trying to decide what it is that God wants them to do. There is just one body through which the Will of God may be done and the Power of God be caused to manifest, and that is the body of the Son of God. If the Will of God is to be done on earth, if the Power of God is to manifest, then the body of the Son of God must take form. And then those who compose that form are not segregated individuals. They are coordinated in one body, and the Power is manifesting through that one body. It may appear specifically in relationship to certain accomplishment through this individual or through that individual, or through this group of individuals or that group of individuals, but only because those individuals or groups are a part of the body of the Son of God.
The only value of that which human beings experience on earth as they begin to respond to God is to bring them back to the point where they may recognize, and be received into, the manifest form of the body of the Son of God. Anything that is moving in that direction has potential value; anything that is not moving in that direction is of no value whatsoever, no matter how good it may seem to be to human beings. We have a different basis of evaluation when we begin to see these things, and it is not the usual human concept of good and evil. Those who are yielding in response to the Spirit of God, so that they are coming Home into the body of the Son of God, are blessed; those who are doing anything else are cursed. It is never possible with human vision to discern who is on the way Home and who is not, and we need to heed our Master's instruction, “Judge not.” We take the attitude that it is open for everyone to come Home. We certainly have no desire to exclude anyone. There are many human beings in the world who seem to be, at the moment, excluding themselves. We may recognize that they are doing so, but that is not our wish or desire in the matter. No matter who it is, we never close the door in our attitude. We may be under the necessity of ignoring someone because we are so busy looking after those who are responding, but we do not take an attitude, at any time, that would exclude anyone. They are all welcome to come Home. Of course, people have to change to get Home, so they would not be the same when they got Home as they were when they started. And that, incidentally, is just as true of us as any others. Those who want to stay the same remain in the body of the son of perdition, even though their sameness may be considered to be goodness in the eyes of human beings. Anyone who stands still goes backward! There must be movement in the right direction if a person is to come into the body of the Son of God.
While a person moving toward the body of the Son of God may still be in the body of the son of perdition, nevertheless there can be movement Home. We can see that if all human beings were to accept this invitation the body of the son of perdition would be lost very easily. It just would not have any manifest form any more because all the human beings had moved over into the body of the Son of God. That would be the way the Lord would like to have it, but it is not the way human beings are likely to let it be. The loss of the body of the son of perdition will inevitably take a lot of human beings with it, not because it is God's Will, for God is not willing that any should perish, but because human beings insist on it; and God is not going to violate their right of free choice even to save them. Of course, they could not be saved if He did.
So, we are concerned with this immovable body here on earth. That which forms the body is in agreement with the Focalized Point of Identity in the body. That comes to its ultimate point in the LORD of Lords and KING of Kings, the One who manifested on earth through the individual body of Jesus. This is His body, an immovable Rock when it is allowed to take form. And the body is in agreement with Him. No longer are those who have become members of His body seeking to get God to agree with them—which is the human approach, generally speaking.
The only business in which we can become partners with God is God's business. As long as it is our own we have to get along on our own. We can try to get God to back us up, and we can manipulate around to a certain extent, as human beings have done within the range of what we would call black magic, and achieve a certain amount of success in the human sense. That is quite possible. It is not hard to be successful in the human world, if that is what you want. But it is not what we want, and that sort of success has nothing to do with the victory in which we are interested, the victory which is revealed through the body of the Son of God. That is the real success, and it comes because those who compose it agree with God and are concerned with His business, nothing else. The Son of God is concerned with God's business here on earth; therefore His body needs to be used for the essential purposes of that business, and that which composes the body must be willing to be so used, and also, of course, capable of being so used. It does not happen in a moment, any more than a baby gets up and walks right away. There has to be a body there first, with life in it, and then gradually the processes of coordination can be worked out—when there is a body. It cannot be done until the body is there. And that is just as true with respect to the collective body of the Son of God as it is with the individual human body.
So, the body must take form and all the parts must gradually come into a pattern of coordination, not just simply on the basis of subconscious control but on the basis of a conscious control. The human body only begins to give evidence of its true potentiality when there is a pattern of conscious control working finally through mind and heart, and physical body to some extent. So with the body of the Son of God. There is that which operates on the subconscious basis at the subconscious levels, but there is that which is required from the standpoint of conscious function—the fulfilment of the purposes of God, working in God's business on earth. And as there is this strong body, the body of the son of perdition does not have a chance, no chance whatsoever—the prince of this world is judged; it is already done. That which opposes God cannot stand against God, and that is proven to be so when the means for God's action, the body of the Son of God, is a reality on earth. Let us share in the processes of giving it form.
© Emissaries of Divine Light
