August 23rd.

Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere men?

Why were they doing that, was it not to become associated with a more special group, one that is more correct, distinguished, or better than the others? Is thing not exactly what pack animals do, give their allegiance to one of themselves who has proven its ability to overpower the others who are would be leaders, and command the following of the herd? It's the same thing that happens in prison; it's what the Lord of the Flies is about. It demonstrates what the humans are about, what they always resort to one way or another, whether it's prison, church, high school their country or their own families—they group together with like-minded others to form groups with those who think and talk the same (who claim to follow the same leader), who share the same ideas or DNA because they are less of a threat to them and their group. The survival of their group is a reinforcement to their own survival, like an insulating layer and buffer.

Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?

This issue of division is the reason for the letter to the Corinthians. The first thing he launches into, following his assurance to them of their position as chosen sons upon whom grace has been bestowed (carrying with it a grave responsibility to live up to that position), was the situation of the arising divisions within the body of those who had been chosen to become sons of God on the earth, separated from the humans who rule it to become one body, different than the rest who could only live for themselves. In other words, they were missing the point about what the Father wanted for His sons, what the Son wanted from his bride, what distinguished the true followers of the only living God from the mere humans, of the true Christ from the false christs.

By this men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

The sons of God are led by a nature that strives to be pleasing to the Father. The way they do that is by not acting like mere men who will always break off into groups to try to distinguish themselves from the others as more special, more distinct and better, because that's what's in them to define them as what they are—separated from God therefore ignorant about how to be pleasing to Him.

As you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.

On the contrary all they can do is be led by the spirit of the antichrist which always seeks more for itself than that which is assigned to it, in the style of an animal who is afraid and therefore invests all its hope in the effort to survive for itself—getting, attaining to, securing for itself and those who confirm its identity as acceptable to the others who are abiding by the rules of whatever community they belong to. The heart of the animal is always concerned with its self, its own needs, its plight, its shortcomings, its fears and desire to be satisfied.

Splitting off into groups is natural for its self-seeking nature because then it can choose which group it likes best instead of being conformed to an ultimate reality and authority, which in the time of this letter were the apostles in whom that authority rested. Paul was an apostle, but he didn't claim anything for himself. Instead he referred them back to the one who had actually created their life because he lived in their bodies, as the Father lived in his human body. Paul didn't want followers because that was exactly what this life was *not* about. It was a supernatural phenomenon, happening on a larger scale than that which existed between the Father and the Son, but which was according to the model that relationship established. Human leaders who commanded a following were not to be tolerated, just as humans who wanted to follow other humans, because it wasn't a human thing that was happening. Later that did happen, when the humans set themselves up as the leaders and the other humans followed them, which was the abomination that caused the desolation of that true thing which did exist, about which Paul indeed testified. It left and didn't come back, and the earth has been and still is in the same desolate condition since about the 4th century a.d. The whole earth is devoid of the truth about which the authors of the NT letters testified when they wrote them; it isn't able to be realized by the humans because it's not there, period.

O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.

Then the whole remnant of Judah who came to live in Egypt will know whose word will stand—mine or theirs.

God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.

If we claim to know what we know by our own mind, then we are presenting ourselves just as the humans do, and our motivation is the same as theirs. We don't even know why we write, just that we know that we know by a means other than that which we could have concocted via what we knew 5 years ago when this all started, which was next to nothing specific, just 40 years of observing what lived in us and the other humans, which has subsequently been being explained to us via other-worldly means through the filter of the words that were preserved to tell a story that isn't known in the world of the humans.

That story begins in the beginning of the words and is explained throughout, until about 400 a.d. or so, when the words stopped because the Word stopped speaking. The Son was with the Father and they were enjoying each other's presence, so the arduous task of having to deal with the humans wasn't necessary for a while. Throughout the words is the message about the Father's original and enduring desire to have a family of particular individuals who love Him, whose love and faithfulness has been tested, just like all the others whose love and devotion has been thoroughly tested, as per the Father's desire to have sons who haven't been forced to love and be devoted to Him, but who have specifically chosen to be and remain that way, not by some conceptual choice that doesn't mean anything in the place where their identity is actually valid (the heart), but by an authentic, enduring choice that cost them everything.

No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.

Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.

Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.

If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.

Follow me is the premiere and supreme message of the Son of God to those who know they are chosen to be as he is (a son of God). There is no simpler or more complete message than that which simply says, "Follow me," which delineates many crucial things to those who would become as he is, the head of the secret family of sons hidden in the world of human animals. It says I am the way so you must be as I am instead of what's naturally living inside you to try to keep you as the others who aren't chosen to become sons. I am showing you how to be, which is 180 degrees opposite to your self-seeking nature that just needs to preserve itself and therefore cannot be concerned with the plight of the Father and His desire to have what He set out to get for Himself a long time ago." The way to the Father is being as the Son was. There is no way to feel able to do that unless we can find an agreement and likeness with him as he truly was, not what he was made into by the humans.

The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."

Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!"

Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?"

Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me."