12. I Care for My Brethren

We have now come to the final part of our “Studies in Peter” and to The Jesus Secret II being finally, wondrously FINISHED! We have also come to the end result of the salvation of our souls. A “saved” soul is a soul placed alongside of God’s Soul placed alongside of ours, inside of making all things good.

Yet, even though making all things good and doing good things together goes out into all creation, it’s heart and center, its first position all the way through, is “I Care for My Brethren.” God is reciprocal Love inside committed life together; there is no other visibility for God.

Out from Father’s Eyes. God is opening to me the incredible structure of what it means to be made like Jesus. I had put Peter to the very last of writing the JS2 because I was hoping to slide him gently into Paul’s gospel. To my overwhelming astonishment, Peter is now leading the way.

Yet those who do not put God’s Heart first cannot even see the actual words and their meaning in the Greek. You see, the agony I spoke of in the previous lesson was the same offering to the Father of that which is most valued to me following Abraham’s same giving on Mt. Moriah. Only afterwards, inside seeing out from the Father’s eyes, was I able to see the actual words on the page for 1 Peter 4:19.

Three Parts of Well-Doing. We are inside of God’s well-doing. God does the stuff; we are along for the ride. Yet God makes us participants with Him, and not just spectators. However, just as being like Jesus has three parts, entrance, journey, and destination, so the destination, that is, being like Jesus outwardly, as other people see us, also has three parts.

Just as James instructs us, God’s faith is always married to His well-doing. Thus that well-doing must begin for us right from the start. But what is the larger part, the “98%,” of God’s well-doing? God’s well-doing has only one entrance, and that is valuing other people, specifically, valuing our Christian brethren, especially those with whom we interact. This is the costly part.

The Vast In-Between. The final part of God’s well-doing is the operations of the gifts of the Spirit, including what most people think of, when they think of being like Jesus, “doing miracles.” “Doing miracles,” then, is the final one percent of the final one percent. What is the vast in-between, the well-doing in which we are engaged MOST of the time?
“I Care for My Brethren.” “Feed My sheep.” – “Upon this rock (Father with you), I will build My Church.”

Paul’s gospel rules, but it is Peter who takes us to Church. The mantle of Peter comes upon us, not upon the fellow in Rome. We take God’s people to Church.

Our Final JS2 Page. Our final JS2 page to write is again straightforward. We will begin with the statements of faith, but we will be focusing only on the core of God’s well-doing. Then we will have three boxes following. The first is, “I Value My Brethren; I Humble Myself.” This will be our continual entrance into the Well-Doing of our Faith-filled Source, the Father. The second will be “I Care for My Brethren.” This is the bulk of what we do every moment of every day inside of life together. Our third box will not be on “doing miracles.” Miracles flow out from the Father inside the River of Life. They are not for us, however, but for others. Rather, our last box will be what is most important personally – “Jesus Cares for Me.”

Statements of Faith. I shepherd the flock of God; I care for them. I give Christ Jesus to them eagerly, wanting nothing for myself. I never try to control my brothers and sisters in Christ; instead, I let my own life be an example to them.

I am clothed with humility. I put humility upon myself towards my brethren, even as they do the same towards me. We always yield to one another in grace and honor. I place myself under the mighty hand of God; God lifts me up in His time.

The result is that I receive an unfading crown of glory, even as Jesus is made visible to all through us. I cast all my care upon Jesus. Jesus cares for me. Jesus always takes care of me and mine.

I am sober and awake. I always watch. I resist the devil. I stand firm in the faith. God prepares me. God establishes me, God strengthens me. God sets my foundation. I greet my brothers and sisters in Christ with expressions of love. I possess all peace inside of Christ.

Two Enemies – Two Solutions. Just as giving thanks inside of and for the sake of all things is the entrance into and the costly part of a relationship with the Father, so valuing others is the entrance into and the costly part of acting inside of God’s well-doing. The enemy of giving thanks is contempt, but the enemy of valuing others is rebellion. The only solution for contempt is to agree with God, to justify Him in all things, that He might remove such death from us. The only solution for rebellion is – to walk away.

There are two ways in which we “walk away.” Moses shows us the first – “Get away as fast as you can.” There are times when this is the only necessary response. David and Jesus show us the second, a walk of sorrow.

The Issue inside David. As I have been reading A Tale of Three Kings, by Gene Edwards, the portion on David and Saul took me back to God’s dealings in my life in the 1990’s. But reading the part on David and Absalom is very current, showing me God’s hand upon me over the last fifteen years. The issue is inside of David; the issue is not to become a Saul to Absalom.

What do you do as a ministry of Christ when the people hear you gladly, and give their all to follow the word that you share – for a little while? And then someone comes along with a “better take on things,” and soon they are no longer following your direction. What do you do? Conversely, what do you do as a True ministry of Christ, when all of God’s people are following someone else?

Justifying God and Giving All to Him. God gives us a number of personal views of an individual offering him or herself to God, holding nothing back. Think of Abraham, walking up Mt. Moriah to offer the very PROMISE of God to him, back to God in return.

But Peter is a very particular example. You see, it wasn’t an Absalom who confronted Peter, but the Lord Jesus through Paul. And Peter knew it because it wasn’t the first time. Not everyone has experienced Jesus looking straight into their eyes and saying, “Get behind Me, Satan.” Peter recognized the Lord, as he always did. There is no harsher rebuke, yet Peter did not think, “Woe is me.” Peter justified God and found Him right and True. Peter led by example.

He Humbled Himself. [Jesus] called an invisible God into visibility, becoming the same as humans. And having been found in outward appearance as a human, He humbled Himself… even to the death of the cross. – Be humbled, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that He may lift you up in the right time (Philippians 2:7-8 & 1 Peter 5:6).

David’s conclusion was that if God wanted him to remain king, God would intervene, but if God did not intervene, then David would do nothing to maintain his position. There is no greater loss than to walk away from all you have built inside of God for Jerusalem’s sake, even as it is being taken over by that which is contrary. Yet it is what God does, bringing hurt to no one.

The Lord Will Fight for You. We are getting right at the very core of being just like the Lord Jesus Christ in outward visibility, where it counts. Around such a core true Communities of Christ are built, places wherein brethren love one another with commitment.

“It is not by outward might nor by inward power, but by My Spirit,” says the Lord. –  “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”

There was nothing inside of Moses that would have opposed Korah, nor in David against Absalom. Both held their peace, and both depended on God to make the decision.

Three Christian Leaders. To VALUE your Christian brethren above yourself, and to HUMBLE yourself, are two sides of the same thing. Consider carefully these three men, for they are the three most significant leaders of Christians in our world today, standing before God for nearly 2 billion Christians, if you stretch the groupings just a bit.



Honor or Rebel? Yes, their outward appearance cries against the Lamb who was slain, but do I know what God is doing in their hearts? Do I honor them as I honor the Lord Jesus, or am I a secret rebel? You see, my stance towards these three men, Pope Leo XIV, King Charles III, and Bartholemew of Constantinople, would become my stance against any Christian who dared to “oppose” what I call “the Truth.” As Gene Edwards pointed out, I could quickly become as mad as Saul.

God placed Brother Buddy Cobb in my life, whose teaching I contradict at every point, but whose place in God’s Church I honor with all honor. How can a man be so deeply anointed with the Spirit of Christ? Yet he was. And God made it clear, as Jesus has lived as me, so He has lived as all who call Him Lord.

The Via Dolorosa. Here are the words of Jesus towards anyone who would speak against these three leaders for their “falseness,” His words to Peter. Having seen him, Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If I desire him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”

Certainly, we teach Truth that is opposed in many ways to what these three men believe and teach. The question is Jesus, does He do what He desires with His own? And do we give our opinion to the One who carries all? Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, and He will lift you up in your time. – Care for your brethren. – Feed My sheep. – Carry one another’s great weight of value.

The path of the Lamb is called the “Via Dolorosa,” the Way of Sorrow, the Way of the One who Values and carries us.

Our Fight. Please understand. When I read of these three great Christian leaders, I find nothing that honors Jesus personally, and much that repulses me, from which I wish to flee. At the same time, we never condone hurting others for self or religious gain. The question is, who is Lord? Me or Jesus? My response towards anyone in leadership in any Church, whether of honor or rebellion, is my response to the Lord Jesus.

We do not fight against flesh and blood. Here is our fight. – The accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down, the one who has accused them in the presence of our God day and night. No heart of rebellion will prevail in this place with us, the Way of the Lamb, the One who carries even you and me.

I Value My Brethren; I Humble Myself. My response towards any Christian, especially towards any Christian leader, including those who appear outwardly to be all wrong, is my response to the Lord Jesus. No one who harbors rebellion will walk with Jesus through the way of sorrow, carrying all inside Himself. I humble myself under the mighty hand of God that I might share with Jesus in carrying all who call upon Him. I place upon each one the Value of the Blood, and I honor all whom God has given some role inside His larger Church. As I value and honor my brethren, especially those I would exclude, so I enter into the well-doing of God.

Establishing Value. The entirety of the JS2 is filled with our care for one another. One would think that’s what the Bible is mostly about! – It is. Yet here we are not talking about a “general care,” but rather that great care found inside of God’s firstfruits, inside of those who would be as Christ Jesus to His Church.

Not one human is outwardly “worthy” of our care, including ourselves. Value is established by the cost one pays for something. Our Value is established by the Blood of the Lamb, and so we Value each one. The measurement of Value is found in every step Abraham took up Mt. Moriah, offering back to God everything in this world that meant anything to him. It is measured by Peter, humbling himself for the sake of the Church.

Making Care Specific. We create the value of our brothers and sisters by sharing with Jesus in His suffering for their sake. Our reward, then, is these same believers in Jesus becoming our Joy forever. As we value others, so we are valued in return. Yet our care is not for gain, but for Father’s sake. The real reward is Father being Himself inside His creation, Father at Home in our hearts.

I want to list a number of specific things in which we care for God’s people, a list that gives place to a large range of things. At the same time, we must also humble ourselves to receive the same care from our brothers and sisters in return. Nothing that does not come from this care for one another inside of committed life together can set creation free.

I Care for My Brethren. I enter into the well-doing of God by placing the value of the Blood upon my Christian brethren, for God is beneath of them, and to be with His doings, I humble myself with Him. Then, the vast extent of acting with God in doing good is found inside the care I express for my brothers and sisters inside of a committed life together. I care for my brethren. Inside of God’s well-doing, I do good things for them, even expressions of love.

I give what I have to meet their material needs; I am a friend when their souls are troubled. I feed them with the Word of Christ richly, that they might know God-with-them. I watch over them inside the Spirit with great care. At the same time, I humble myself towards my brethren that I might receive the same care from them. Inside of this great care for one another is found the flow of the Spirit in expressions of grace, even “miracles.” Yet it is each one whom I VALUE.

The Commitment of Jesus. Inside of our care for one another the gifts and operations of the Spirit flow freely without any need for religious absurdity or exaltation. Here is where “miracles” are found, the thing too many want to call “being like Jesus.” Yet that is not what is important to us, other than the meeting of people’s needs. What is important to us is this PROMISE, that as we care for others, so Jesus cares for us.

As we give ourselves to the Father for His purposes, so Jesus commits Himself absolutely, that He will take care of all that belongs to us. A “rebel” (literally, return to Baal, to worship the Lord of the Flies) trusts no one, especially God, and steals everything. Since we see the world from inside of God our Father, and through His eyes, we know that Jesus takes care of us.

Jesus Cares for Me. Even as I give my all to God my Father for the sake of others, so I know that Jesus cares for me. Jesus commits Himself personally to take care of all that is important to me. Jesus has my back. Jesus is responsible for me and for all that is mine. I cast all my concerns upon Jesus, that I might be free to walk with my Father in all the costliness of His well-doing. I trust Jesus absolutely; this is why I can offer ALL that I am and ALL that I have to God. God and I synergeo together, making all things good, even as Jesus cares for me and mine.

Many Just Like Jesus. I have already outlined the next part of what it is to be like Jesus, that is, the goal of the believer. And so I draw from that to continue writing the box, “Being Made Like Jesus.” The final part of that box is “How We Are Made Like Jesus.”

Understand that John’s vision gives us this profound ASSERTION. That before this age is over, thousands of people alive right now will be made just like and walk just as the Lord Jesus Christ. If Jesus said, “This is My full completion, that you love one another just as I love you,” what other possibility could there be? Every Word of the Gospel must be fulfilled among us. Jesus brings forth much fruit; God brings many sons into glory. How does this fruit happen? How does Jesus do it?

How Does He Do It? Only Jesus makes us to be just like Himself. Our part is best described by one line, “Stand still and SEE the Salvation of God.”

“Do not be afraid,” is just another way to say, “Give thanks inside of and for the sake of all things.” By so doing, we place the Blood of the Lamb as our Way. We SEE what we speak, and we speak out from our hearts. Thus the word of our testimony, speaking Christ made personal as us, causes us to SEE Jesus for real, Jesus as He is.

Yet the deepest HOW, of how Jesus makes us to be just like Himself is causing us to share His Heart, the Heart of God. – And we also are committed to setting forth our souls, even unto death, for the sake of our brothers and sisters.

The Easiest Thing. I will include here only the final portion of the box, the part titled “How We are Made Like Jesus.” To my surprise, as I began to write this part, it went in a different direction than what I had first imagined. It became personal, Jesus to us, and it became the simple gospel path that God has taught us. Of truth, Jesus making us to be just like Himself is the easiest thing in the world. It’s what He is; it’s what He does. It’s the very purpose for which God sent Him into us.

How We Are Made Like Jesus. John's vision asserts profoundly that before this age is over, thousands of people alive right now will be made just like Jesus and will walk as He walks. If Jesus says, "This is my full completion, that you love one another as I love you," what other outcome could there be?

How does Jesus make us to be just like Himself? You see, only Jesus can do that, by His own immediate and personal action, by making His presence visible and known to us. If it isn't Jesus, it isn't real or True.

John the apostle wept in Revelation Chapter 5 because no one believed that Jesus could do such a thing. Everyone is convinced that no such ability exists. So how does Jesus accomplish this incredible task?

The first thing He must do is win our hearts. He does this by giving Himself in trade for us, by coming into union with us first, by carrying all that we are inside Himself all the way into life. Having won our hearts, He then must teach us, through much stumbling and failure, to give thanks inside of and for the sake of all things.

Next, He must teach us to be confident in the absoluteness of His Atonement, that His Blood, His cross, and His resurrection are enough for us, that we might stand upon firm. And He says to us, "Keep your eyes upon Me, see nothing else. Stand still and SEE the Salvation of God."

But our eyes are always drifting onto other things, and we forget. Suddenly, we imagine ourselves to be sinking into the waves. Yet Jesus is always there, lifting us up, arising inside of us with Joy, leading us forward as if nothing had happened.

Then Jesus gives us the most wonderful instruction we have ever heard. He says to us, "Speak what God says you are. Speak My words, as if I am in your mouth (which I am). Make My words personal to yourself." We do that, hesitantly at first, yet filled with joy, for we would know Jesus as He is.

Something happens as we speak Christ alone, Christ Jesus as all that we are. Our eyes line up with what our mouth speaks, even as we speak the Words that are Christ Jesus written all through the pathways of our hearts of flesh. In this wonderful way, our eyes become fixed upon Jesus alone, and we see Him as He is. We see that we are just like Him, even right from the start, for we also can do nothing of ourselves.

It's really, really easy for Jesus to make us to be just like Himself. It's what He is; it's what He does. It's the purpose for which God sent Him into us in the first place.

Yet there is one final thing Jesus must win from us in order to finish His great task inside of glory. "I love you, even so, in the same way, you love your brothers and sisters. Carry your fellow Christians inside your heart all the way into the knowledge of God, just as I carry you."

It is here, inside of my offering of my all to God my Father for the sake of my brethren, that Jesus does what He is. Jesus makes me just like Himself.

My Treasure. And that completes The Jesus Secret II and our present “Studies in Peter.” I have never put more hours of labor into any large task even close to the hours given to writing the JS2, most of five plus years of work. It is a labor of love; it is a labor of joy. Of truth, through this text, the words of the Bible have become what they really are, the Tree of Life, something Jesus can use, as He wishes or not, in offering Himself as Life to many.

It is through the writing of this book that I have come to know the only thing that matters to me, Father at Home in my heart, God my Father sharing every next step with me.

Reading for Next Time. Well, that’s it for “Studies in Peter” and The Jesus Secret II. They are completed and gone out into the world. I am so glad that Peter has taken his rightful place in our understanding of those who have loved Jesus above all. Now we will return to Symmorphy VII: Completion, and whatever else I happen to get excited about. I am happy to say that my excitement for the next adventure with God has not diminished.

The next lesson will be the third in our bridge. It is an odd lesson, but important. I have titled it “An Unacceptable Fantasy.” Indeed, I just made the claim that thousands JUST LIKE Jesus will walk the earth in our day, over the next few years, that Christians will love one another with pure hearts fervently. To most, this is a fantasy they will not believe.

Let’s Pray Together. ““God, our Father, You have brought us into Yourself, and You are causing us to see all things as You see them, at least dimly. We thank You, that You continue to open our eyes, for we would share Your Heart. It is a most extraordinary thing, Oh God, that You place Your own Soul alongside of ours, even as we give ourselves to You without reservation and in all costliness.

“We now know that when Abraham offered Isaac to You, it was not a “test,” but rather, a proof of Love, and the open door to You that You might enter our world. We give ourselves to You, Father, in the same way, inside of Love, Your Love for us and our love in return, that You might be free to show Yourself mighty and True.

“Father, Your Word is written as Jesus upon our hearts. Our eyes see goodness and Life as we speak Christ in harmony with Your own mind. Father, Jesus makes Your desires and ours to be the same, and causes us to share Your emotions. Father, we give ourselves to You, alongside of You as Your counterpart among humans, that Your angels might prevail throughout all the heavens inside Your Church.

“Father, we bring all our Christian brethren with us here inside of Your presence, even those who oppose, even regardless of outward appearance, for You alone know those whom You have given to Jesus in this hour. We give You thanks, Oh God, that You have made our hearts Your open doorway, and that You are entering into Your Church with power, right now. Father, You have answered us.”