The Body Within The Body

The  Body  Within  The  Body

Grace Van Duzen  June 20, 1964

We have the greatest opportunity in the world, but wherever on the face of the earth anyone has that feeling of belonging with the Lord, with righteousness, with all things right, and pure, and holy, there is a part of the Body of God. I was recalling a few words of the service we shared with respect to belonging—a sense of belonging, a sense of oneness. I wonder if anything could be more vital to our consideration at this time than this sense of belonging, the actuality of the oneness of the Body of God on earth. What does the Body of God mean to us? Some words, or is it something living? Are we it? Wherever there is the awareness of this oneness, this sense of belonging, there it is, and it doesn't necessarily mean a certain number of human beings in one place—it can, if that awareness is within each one; but wherever the one is, if that awareness is present, there is a part of the Body of God on earth.

All this took me back to the beginning of things. "In the beginning God created" this wonderful world, and there was a Body of God, and it was perfect and beautiful, and it was one thing—one thing, without any exception. That means that the Whole Body was beautiful and perfect, and everyone a child of God. This was in the beginning. A lot has happened since then. And there was a design, and we know something of that design. There was a pattern of Twelve, and there was a pattern of Seven; not some mystical numerology, but the fact. We don't know much, in an intellectual sense, of what happened in those days of perfection, because the mind of itself cannot know it. It is an awareness that recalls it, an awareness which utilizes every aspect of our consciousness, of our beings: feeling, emotion, mind, body. It is not knowing about; it is coming into an awareness of.

So this wonderful Body was created, a beautiful design, a perfect one, with dominion over all the earth and all the kingdoms of the earth, whether animal, mineral, whatever; and everything was lovely. The Lord created His Temple—this whole earth, and each individual body—for His pleasure. That which man knows something about started a little later, in history as we know it today. We can go back to a time in the record where man began to do something on earth, come together. There was an awareness of a need for oneness. There was a recognition that unless something came together, there was nothing on earth. There were great leaders back in those days, and with respect to Twelve we naturally think of the twelve sons of a patriarch, the twelve sons of Jacob. This is a very interesting story, but it is also symbolic in nature. It is the bringing together of the twelve aspects of mankind under One Father—by name Jacob in the story, a Nameless One in actuality, in reality—the twelve aspects of the Body of God brought together. This was away back there, and this was accomplished. It is spoken of as one family, but they were twelve different, distinct aspects—it was a coming together of the twelve aspects of humanity into One Body. We have this coming together, and then we have the people formed called the children of Israel. And this was not a racial thing; there was marriage into the people of Egypt, the people of Midian, which is fundamentally an Arabian people, despised in a sense by many in those days as barbarians. They were all integrated, because it was comprised of all the aspects of humanity. And there was formed a people, the beginnings of the Body of God again on earth—one thing, one family. But there is something very interesting about this family, about this nation which was moving toward the restored design of God for His people on earth. There was something which integrated them all. You see, there were Thirteen, and the thirteenth was called the Priesthood.

Now, the priesthood has corrupted the way of man through at least five thousand years, and beyond that: those who sought to make of the things of God purely a religion, a self-centered thing for self-centered purposes. But here was the true Priesthood beginning to take form. Here was something that was integrated into each of these twelve aspects. It was something which could manifest in each of the twelve and still be one thing. The Levites was the name of the Priesthood. Each of the twelve inherited, so to speak, property, possessions in the Promised Land—rightly so. There was an aspect of this creation, of this earth, which was under their dominion, each one specifically. The Levites had no inheritance; they had no property. The Levites did not go to war. They were different. They had no particular portion of land on which to dwell. They were in each of the twelve tribes. Each tribe had its Levites within it. They lived in that particular portion. Their substance, their material goods, was provided by that particular aspect of the twelve in which they had their domain. It was said of the Levites that their inheritance was the Lord; their substance came from that inner place of Being. They represented God to man, and there was that in each of the twelve, or there would be no One Body; it would still be twelve. There has to be that which is of the Lord, and which can manifest in the twelve without taking on subjection to the twelve, that remains in the world but not of it. This is the true Priesthood, and there must be that in all the twelve to connect it, to merge it, to meld it into One Body. That pattern was perfect; it was beautiful. So, one could say there must be a Body within a Body, and every aspect of humanity is a part of the Body of God. If we look at ourselves, surely we are part of that Body. Are we not all different? The very fact that the Priesthood is in each of those twelve means, in that sense, that the Priesthood is different, and yet it is not. It is because it is in one of the twelve aspects, but it is above and beyond it. It is in the world, but it is not of it.

If we carry this story along we find that they did get to the Promised Land. They did move in, they were established—something which overcame the boundaries of country, nationality, patriotism. We read that they were very faithful, dedicated. But to whom? To the Lord. And they were constantly warned that all the world was to be included in this pattern—never to let it be a segregated thing. When something comes together to form the Body of God, there is a Oneness, there is a coming together. When the Lord is forgotten it is dispersed, it dissipates, it falls part: there is the very opposite of the working of the Law which draws together all things, and it is scattered abroad. So, going along with our story we found that the twelve began a wonderful movement toward the forming of a Body, a Temple for the Lord on earth. In Revelation we read that God said, "And I will be with them, and I will be their God; they will be my people." The Temple of God is with men. And in this wonderful beginning—for that's all it turned out to be, a beginning—there began to be the differences, something happened which really spoiled the whole thing. As long as the different tribes began to quarrel, it wasn't too serious as long as the Priesthood was intact. But at one point along the way we find a very graphic story, symbolic of what took place in the whole: the corrupt priesthood. The priesthood became corrupt. It began to drift away from that firm dedication, that dedication whereby there was no partaking of anything except what came from the Lord. There was a drifting, and the material aspect entered it—they began to pay certain ones to be priests, and the very minute that the priesthood became corrupt there was nothing to cement the body together. It is that Body within the Body which is so vitally important. Then the twelve began to fall apart, because twelve aspects don't make the body. The Priesthood is that which cements it together, and when that became corrupt, everything fell apart.

We go along, and we see that the minute there was division within the Body, there were predatory excursions from outside, and these took place from all directions—all around their enemies began to take over. But this was after the failure of what was inside. Up until this time it couldn't do a thing, and it never can from the outside; but when it happens from the inside, it can all come rushing in, and that is what happened. And we find that first the kingdom, the one solid kingdom, was divided into two. Then there were two kingdoms, and then they were taken away captive into foreign lands. First the kingdom of the ten—the ten tribes were taken away captive. What happened to the ten? the dispersed tribes of the children of Israel? We could say the second fall of man.

In this great land in which we live—isn't it a melting pot of all these twelve tribes? Don't we lose our identification with those old countries? It's interesting that it's called the "old country." And the "new country." Here, just as surely as those twelve came together, is something new. Perhaps we can say, "Yes, but it's getting kind of old." All right, that's where the Priesthood comes in, because without the Priesthood we don't have anything. Something has been brought to point on earth in this day, which is taken for granted, and which is absolutely priceless, just in an outer sense, that which the world can see. In this great land between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean—where once there were two great continents—here in this great land have come together peoples from all nations on the face of the earth, lost their individual identity, taken new names, speaking one language. It is a wonderful thing. We've noted in our conferences, our classes, when we all come together, the variations, the coming together of the dispersed tribes of the children of Israel. And it's the Body within the Body that is so vitally important; it is in the Priesthood that the Lord is the inheritance.

There must be that Body, within the Body, that is trained for that deep dedication to the Lord, with a constant awareness of belonging. And if, in that Body, if in the Priesthood, there is not that deep sense of belonging, how can there ever be throughout the tribes of Israel? It is right that there are twelve aspects, but it must be One Body. And we'd better be doing something, in that inner place, to bring about a sense of belonging for all people, not just privileged me—everyone on the face of the earth, no matter the color, no matter the tongue. We are here to provide that essence which will cause them all to be One. We have something to take care of, a place close to the Lord where we inherit Him—I am thine inheritance—His very Being. We don't receive something from Him. It is what He is that is our inheritance. And where do we find that? Right here, within the Temple of the Living God. I am thine inheritance. We say I Am, and when I and the Father are One, then He is my inheritance. This is that which must be done by the Body within the Body, and then all that has been done through the years, heroically, beautifully, by dedicated men and women in their places, will have meaning, will not have been in vain.

We see the so-called underprivileged classes in the world. Can we ever look at any of them without something inside saying, "This is wrong"? Every single one belongs to the Body of God, and that feeling of insecurity in those who have been downtrodden certainly puts a responsibility on all of us who know better. Maybe we're not in position to do something in an outer sense about that sort of thing, but what about our own sense of belonging? Is there still a feeling of, I get something from the Body? What is the Body if everyone says that? It's an imaginary thing and everyone's outside. Each of us is the Body, if there is one—and I know there is one. When we look out at the world today, perhaps it's hard to believe that God made a Body, utterly beautiful in all its parts, for His pleasure—and He can't have pleasure in His Body unless the Body is having pleasure. How else could it possibly be known? And when we realize that this was His only intent for man, and that when that Body is restored it will be, as He said, without the crying, without the suffering, without the sorrow, we can see how man has fallen—and for one reason only: he has separated himself. There is a design in the Divine State. It would not be something hodgepodge, just a mixing. There is a perfect design.

The races were formed, in the first place, as we know them today—we won't say what went before; certainly there was a design; it wasn't just monotonous—but the extremes came about because man functioned incorrectly. And when those days of great cataclysm were over, and it looked like nothing was left on earth, here and there were people, just remnants of people, all the same people, but they were isolated and each probably thought they were the sole survivors on the face of the earth. And to perpetuate the human race they intermingled, there was intermarriage, of course, within themselves. This we have symbolically portrayed in the story—symbolic of people, all the way back, and the farther back you get, the more true this is. We're talking about remnants of people from something in those far, far days. And here we see something of the way they were formed. Here was the reversal of God's Law for His children.

We are all God's children, and something glorious has taken place in our day, which is completely without any meaning whatsoever unless there is a Body within that Body—a Body that is close to the Lord, and which lets the things of God come through in meaningful living, not in fancy, not saying, "Oh, I'm the positive Priesthood. How nice!" No, but in humility, really practicing letting the things of God take form through us. More and more one is surprised, perhaps, in walking the Way, at the beautiful evidences, the rewards we could say, of learning to let the Lord fill our days and our lives. Are you sometimes overwhelmed and say, "Thank you, Father, for showing me that"? Do you just sit down sometimes and say, "Thank you"? You can't help it! It happens so many, many times. I suppose one learns to take it for granted—but I hope not. It is good to have that welling up of thanksgiving for the wonder of the Way of the Lord. I am thine inheritance. That means I Am, the wonderful Body within a wonderful Body. In the commonplace things; this wonderful land, a melting pot, a melting away of the things that don't belong, of the differences. Isn't that what it is? Each one of us needs to be that melting pot where the Fire of God's Love burns away all that does not belong, purifies the dross, so that the Divine Alchemist can bring forth the gold. It is all here. And let us never be fooled by the appearances, look out and say, "Oh, there's nothing right." Where there is that which will bind the Body close, it works.

It is time for the Divine Priesthood. We have called it, after the Order of Melchizedek, meaning simply the Divine Design, the design ordained by God for His creation. In the Psalms it says you are a Priest forever after that Order. Man's order isn't very lovely. It takes everything apart; everything is dissected. If you want to learn about something, you dissect it, take it to pieces. Of course, you can't put it together again. There is something so unutterably filthy and degrading about the whole thing, taking apart the beautiful creation of the Lord. It is indecent, isn't it? Trying to be as God—that is what the Body of God has done on earth, turned into a mess, segregated, separated. Every part of this Body, every people on the face of the earth, belongs in One Body. Is there any part, any people, you can think of that you'd like to exclude? It all belongs together. Isolation—that is the order of fallen man. It is exactly the opposite to the Order of Melchizedek, which draws everything together into the One Body it was created to be. As that Holy Priesthood, we surely, with each day, have a deeper, more vibrant, more thrilling awareness of the perfection of God's creation. And we have one place to start—this Temple, oneself. And we become, surely, less convinced of this wrong pattern of man's. The Divine Order is really order. It is perfect, and it partakes of none of this filthy thing that man calls design. He has names for it. There's a certain design, all kinds of names for diseases, for mental disturbances; they are all categorized, a certain design, they say, an order. But it is not order. It is disorder. It is chaos. It takes everything apart, and you have nothing.

So let us, remembering the One who draws us all together, cherish his words with respect to that belonging. Then we find that, seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all things are added. We don't have to get anything from the Body. All things are added to the Body; they're all here; and what a joy when we realize it. It's all here. It's all one thing, and we needn't look to any pattern that we thought was there before, even yesterday, even this morning—because you're not the only one who is changing: your neighbor is too. This is something we tend to forget. You're different, but no one else can change? That's not a pattern of belonging. Give your fellow as much credit as you give yourself. It's one of the greatest lessons we can ever learn, to really believe that the one next to me can change, and that I'm not so self-righteous, after all. It's a Body. We're all moving. That wonderful movement through the air of the spirit has been uppermost in my mind—constant movement. Constant movement is flying, isn't it? You don't dare stop. It's a wonderful feeling. There's no stopping. As we move along and there's a little slip, and you almost go down, just keep on going. Maybe you have to take a look at something, but it is never stopping. You'd be engulfed in the thing. Keeping on going.

And that smile of the One we follow is always there.

When we really learn that, we have something utterly priceless—look up and see that smile.

It says, "It's all right, keep on going."

I surely rejoice in our togetherness, to keep aloft the Body of the Lord. The Body within the Body we are. It's the way it is now, isn't it; exactly the way it is now that is our starting point; the way people are now, not maybe the way they were, how we might think God created them to be in the beginning, but what are they now, right now? And do we have this feeling of Oneness and belonging with respect to all people? Because if it isn't in us, how do we expect them to have it? Never let us think that only we in this room form that Body of which I was speaking. We have the greatest opportunity in the world, but wherever on the face of the earth anyone has that feeling of belonging with the Lord, with righteousness, with all things right, and pure and holy, there is a part of the Body of God. It doesn't matter who he is, or where he is. But it is far easier in a Body, and absolutely essential for a Body to come together—and anyway, it will come together. Wherever those parts of the Body of God are, they will not remain isolated. They must come together. It is a magnet drawing unto itself its parts. But let's never think that there aren't those parts all over the world; not just in this wonderful land, not just in this wonderful room, but all over the face of the earth. They are being drawn to form that Body, but it has to have a place. It has to start. It must come together in actuality, not just in theory. And of course we know it can't be done in isolation. It can be begun; it must be begun that way, or there won't be any drawing together. But those parts are now in all countries on the face of the earth, and we rejoice that it is so. And it isn't easy to do it out there all alone. So let's be sure we have that feeling of true belonging, and then there is the drawing, and the time is shortened.

Man has been prone for so many centuries, millennia, to say, "I trust the Lord," without ever realizing that the Lord needs to trust somebody on earth, and it is wonderful when we really know what it means to be trusted, to know the importance of being trusted, so that if ever we tend to slip we get moving. We all know that feeling, "I've betrayed the Lord," don't we? And there isn't anything like it. No wonder Judas hanged himself! But how good to know that there isn't anything worth it, to know that there is nothing on the face of the earth so priceless as to be trustworthy. This is why we are here. Praise the Lord.

© emissaries of divine light