Jesus' Discourse on Religion of the Spirit 

On June 9, 29 CE, after delivering a one-hour discourse on true religion to the apostles and the twelve evangelists in the morning, Jesus and this group resumed walking towards Phoenicia. Later that afternoon, they stopped to rest in the shade, where Jesus continued to teach them about the religion of the spirit.

The religion of the spirit is that form of religious expression that is revealed in the inner life and experience of the individual who is devoted to spiritual values; this is in contrast with evolutionary religions of the mind that rely on relatively passive agreement with tradition and submission to earthly authority.

In this discourse, Jesus explains in detail what it means to follow the religion of the spirit. He further expands on the meaning and practice of the religions of the mind and encourages his listeners to have the courage to step aside from them in favor of the thrilling adventure of finding God and his will for them through the exercise of living faith and the validating authority of personal spiritual experience.

The following discourse represents Jesus’ teachings, restated in modern phraseology. And these teachings are as relevant today as they were when Jesus first revealed them to his followers.

While Jesus and group paused and rested in the shade of the hillside, Jesus continued to teach his apostles and the twelve evangelists regarding the religion of the spirit, saying:

"You have stepped apart from your peers who seek comfort and conformity in an established, institutional religion. You have chosen to embrace a faith that is bold, adventurous, and progressive. You have bravely voiced your dissent against the restrictive chains of organized religion and rejected the unquestioned authority placed upon ancient traditions regarded as the infallible word of God. While God indeed spoke through revered figures like Moses, Elijah, Isaiah, Amos, and Hosea, divine revelations did not cease with their teachings. Our heavenly Father does not favor specific races or generations by revealing truth exclusively to them. Do not make the mistake of deeming something divine that is purely human, and be attentive to discerning truths that do not originate solely from the traditional sources that claim to be inspired.

"I have urged you to undergo a spiritual rebirth, to be born again in the spirit. I have called you to step away from the confines of unquestioned authority and the stagnation of adherence to tradition, and instead embrace the illuminating light of realizing the extraordinary potential of discovering God for yourself and within yourself and by yourself. This is an experience that surpasses all others in its magnificence and is attainable through your own personal journey. May you transition from a state of spiritual stagnation to one of vibrant life, moving away from the dominance of inherited beliefs towards the direct knowledge of God. In doing so, you will move from darkness to illumination, from a faith inherited through your ancestry to a faith attained through personal and authentic spiritual experience. In this progression, you will evolve from a theological understanding passed down by your ancestors to a genuine spiritual connection that will become an eternal treasure within your own soul.

"Your religious perspective will shift from a mere intellectual adherence to traditional religious authority to a genuine encounter with living faith that enables you to fully comprehend the reality of God and all aspects connected to the divine essence of the Father. A religion based solely on the mind keeps you firmly bound to the past, while a religion centered on the spirit involves continuous revelation; it constantly encourages you to strive for greater spiritual ideals and eternal truths.

"While adhering to a religion based on authority may offer a sense of security for a while, the real cost of such fleeting satisfaction is the surrender of your spiritual freedom and religious independence. My Father does not demand that you force yourself to believe in concepts that are spiritually repellent, unholy, and untrue as a condition for entering the kingdom of heaven. God does not require you to suppress your own sense of mercy, justice, and truth by submitting to an outdated system of religious rituals and ceremonies. By embracing the religion of the spirit, you are eternally liberated to pursue the truth wherever the guidance of the spirit leads you. And who knows – perhaps this spirit has something important to reveal to this generation that previous generations have been unwilling to hear?

"I urge you to abandon the habit of relying on quotes from the ancient prophets and venerating the heroes of Israel. There is truth to be found in some of these prophets, but you should not rely on such second-hand knowledge. Instead, aspire to become living prophets of the Most High and spiritual heroes in the kingdom of heaven. While it may be worthwhile to honor the leaders of the past who had direct knowledge of God, why would you sacrifice the greatest experience of human life: discovering God for yourselves and intimately knowing him within your own souls?"

"The religions of authority can never be truly united. The unity of humanity and the brotherhood of mankind can only be accomplished through the extraordinary gift of the religion of the spirit. The perspectives of humans may vary, but all of humanity is indwelled by the same divine and everlasting spirit. The aspiration for universal brotherhood can only be fulfilled when the divergent mindsets governed by authoritative religions are infused with, and overshadowed by, the unifying and uplifting religion of the spirit – the religion that stems from personal spiritual experiences.

"The religions that rely on authority divide people and place them in opposing positions. In contrast, the religion of the spirit gradually brings people together and fosters understanding and empathy among them. Religions based on authority demand uniformity of belief, but this ideal is unattainable in the current state of the world. However, the religion of the spirit requires only a shared experience and a common destiny, while accommodating diverse beliefs. The religion of the spirit emphasizes unity of insight rather than uniformity of perspective and outlook. It does not require conformity of intellectual viewpoints, but rather unity of spiritual perception. Religions centered on authority become rigid and lifeless in the form of stagnant creeds. On the other hand, the religion of the spirit flourishes through the increasing joy and freedom found in acts of loving service and compassionate care for one another."

"There exists just one single adventure that surpasses all others in satisfaction and excitement: the pursuit of discovering and striving to do the will of God. God’s divine will can be done no matter what your circumstances in life may be. Some vocations may be labeled as holy while others as secular, but in the lives of those guided by the spirit, all things are deemed sacred. Such spirit-led individuals are directed by truth, uplifted by love, governed by mercy, and guided by fairness and justice. And the Spirit of Truth bestowed on the earth will always assist you; it is not only the Spirit of Truth but the spirit of idealistic beauty.

"Cease looking only in ancient scriptures to find the word of God. When you become spiritually connected to God in your inner life, you will recognize his word, regardless of its apparent source. Divine truth can have many sources of origin. Many sincere believers grasp the concept of God intellectually but fail to realize his spiritual presence. This is precisely why I have emphasized the importance of adopting the sincere and trusting attitude of a child in order to truly comprehend the kingdom of heaven. It is not the intellectual immaturity of a child that I encourage, but rather their spiritual simplicity, their steadfast faith, and their wholehearted trust. What matters is not just your knowledge about God, but your continuous ability to sense and experience the actual presence of God within yourself. And once you find God within your own soul, you will begin to recognize his presence in others, and in all humans of the world.

"You may not be able to prove to anyone else that you have found God, but look within yourself for the following two demonstrations of your own progress:

1. You progressively show forth the fruits of the spirit in your daily life.
2. Your inner experience shows you that you have found God in this earthly life and you anticipate knowing him even better as you accept his ascension plan of eternal life after death.

"God sees and honors even the slightest flicker of faith in the individual; he sees and understands our primitive origins. No matter how we try, and even when we fail, he honors our sincere efforts to know him better, even if the most we can do is adopt a passive adherence to a religion of authority. But once we have consented to embrace the religion of the spirit with a whole heart, our faith will become our dominant influence and will unify our attitudes of body, mind, and spirit.

"Your religion will become a fact of real experience, proving that God has discovered, idealized, ennobled, and spiritualized you and that you have joined in the eternal adventure of discovering the God who has thus found and sonshipped you."