Responsive Reading: John 17 : 1, 2, 20-23

1.     These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:

2.     As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.

20.     Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

21.     That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

22.     And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

23.     I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

1. John 3 : 16, 17

16     For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17     For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

2. Matthew 12 : 22-28

22     Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.

23     And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?

24     But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.

25     And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:

26     And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?

27     And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.

28     But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.

3. John 10 : 22-30

22     And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter.

23     And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch.

24     Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.

25     Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.

26     But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.

27     My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

28     And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

29     My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.

30     I and my Father are one.

4. John 12 : 42-50

42     Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:

43     For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

44     Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me.

45     And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me.

46     I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.

47     And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.

48     He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

49     For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.

50     And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.

5. John 14 : 6 (I)

6     I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

6. Romans 5 : 1, 10, 11

1     Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

10     For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

11     And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

7. I John 3 : 5-8

5     And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.

6     Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.

7     Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

8     He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

8. Hebrews 10 : 19-22

19     Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,

20     By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;

21     And having an high priest over the house of God;

22     Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

9. II Corinthians 5 : 17-20

17     Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

18     And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

19     To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

20     Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.

10. I John 3 : 2, 3

2     Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

3     And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

1. 336 : 25 (God)-26, 28-31

God, the divine Principle of man, and man in God's likeness are inseparable, harmonious, and eternal. ... God and man are not the same, but in the order of divine Science, God and man coexist and are eternal. God is the parent Mind, and man is God's spiritual offspring.

2. 497 : 13 (We)-15 (to ;)

We acknowledge Jesus' atonement as the evidence of divine, efficacious Love, unfolding man's unity with God through Christ Jesus the Way-shower;

3. 18 : 13-14 (to ,)

The atonement of Christ reconciles man to God, not God to man; for the divine Principle of Christ is God,

4. 19 : 6-11

Jesus aided in reconciling man to God by giving man a truer sense of Love, the divine Principle of Jesus' teachings, and this truer sense of Love redeems man from the law of matter, sin, and death by the law of Spirit, — the law of divine Love.

5. 26 : 10-18

The Christ was the Spirit which Jesus implied in his own statements: "I am the way, the truth, and the life;" "I and my Father are one." This Christ, or divinity of the man Jesus, was his divine nature, the godliness which animated him. Divine Truth, Life, and Love gave Jesus authority over sin, sickness, and death. His mission was to reveal the Science of celestial being, to prove what God is and what He does for man.

6. 6 : 23-28

Jesus uncovered and rebuked sin before he cast it out. Of a sick woman he said that Satan had bound her, and to Peter he said, "Thou art an offence unto me." He came teaching and showing men how to destroy sin, sickness, and death. He said of the fruitless tree, "[It] is hewn down."

7. 7 : 1-7

The only civil sentence which he had for error was, "Get thee behind me, Satan." Still stronger evidence that Jesus' reproof was pointed and pungent is found in his own words, — showing the necessity for such forcible utterance, when he cast out devils and healed the sick and sinning. The relinquishment of error deprives material sense of its false claims.

8. 25 : 22-31

Though demonstrating his control over sin and disease, the great Teacher by no means relieved others from giving the requisite proofs of their own piety. He worked for their guidance, that they might demonstrate this power as he did and understand its divine Principle. Implicit faith in the Teacher and all the emotional love we can bestow on him, will never alone make us imitators of him. We must go and do likewise, else we are not improving the great blessings which our Master worked and suffered to bestow upon us.

9. 242 : 9-14

There is but one way to heaven, harmony, and Christ in divine Science shows us this way. It is to know no other reality — to have no other consciousness of life — than good, God and His reflection, and to rise superior to the so-called pain and pleasure of the senses.

10. 201 : 20-5

Grafting holiness upon unholiness, supposing that sin can be forgiven when it is not forsaken, is as foolish as straining out gnats and swallowing camels.

The scientific unity which exists between God and man must be wrought out in life-practice, and God's will must be universally done.

11. 22 : 23-30

Final deliverance from error, whereby we rejoice in immortality, boundless freedom, and sinless sense, is not reached through paths of flowers nor by pinning one's faith without works to another's vicarious effort. Whosoever believeth that wrath is righteous or that divinity is appeased by human suffering, does not understand God.

Justice requires reformation of the sinner.

12. 23 : 1-11

Wisdom and Love may require many sacrifices of self to save us from sin. One sacrifice, however great, is insufficient to pay the debt of sin. The atonement requires constant self-immolation on the sinner's part. That God's wrath should be vented upon His beloved Son, is divinely unnatural. Such a theory is man-made. The atonement is a hard problem in theology, but its scientific explanation is, that suffering is an error of sinful sense which Truth destroys, and that eventually both sin and suffering will fall at the feet of everlasting Love.

13. 30 : 26-1

If we have triumphed sufficiently over the errors of material sense to allow Soul to hold the control, we shall loathe sin and rebuke it under every mask. Only in this way can we bless our enemies, though they may not so construe our words. We cannot choose for ourselves, but must work out our salvation in the way Jesus taught. In meekness and might, he was found preaching the gospel to the poor.

14. 21 : 9-14

If the disciple is advancing spiritually, he is striving to enter in. He constantly turns away from material sense, and looks towards the imperishable things of Spirit. If honest, he will be in earnest from the start, and gain a little each day in the right direction, till at last he finishes his course with joy.

15. 45 : 6-21

Our Master fully and finally demonstrated divine Science in his victory over death and the grave. Jesus' deed was for the enlightenment of men and for the salvation of the whole world from sin, sickness, and death. Paul writes: "For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the [seeming] death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." Three days after his bodily burial he talked with his disciples. The persecutors had failed to hide immortal Truth and Love in a sepulchre.

Glory be to God, and peace to the struggling hearts! Christ hath rolled away the stone from the door of human hope and faith, and through the revelation and demonstration of life in God, hath elevated them to possible at-one-ment with the spiritual idea of man and his divine Principle, Love.