“Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter ...” (Matthew 7:21)

“Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)

What does Jesus mean by 'Lord, Lord'?

This is a very critical statement of Jesus clarifies what Jesus wants from his followers.

In this statement, Jesus is clarifying the difference between those who proclaim allegiance to Jesus and those who actually follow his instructions.

“Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord” clearly indicates that proclaiming allegiance to Jesus is not enough. And isn't this what we see among the many sectarian institutions that claim to follow Jesus today? Yes. We see the focus being on proclaiming allegiance to Jesus.

Yet Jesus is clearly stating that this is not the same as being a follower of Jesus. He is stating that one must follow his instructions and his teachings.

One might compare this to a child who goes to school and sits in the classroom and enthusiastically praises the teacher but doesn't listen to what the teacher is teaching and never does the homework. Will the teacher be pleased? The child's praising of the teacher is worthless unless the child is learning.

In the same way, Jesus is emphasizing following his teachings here. Proclaiming allegiance to Jesus is not enough. So what does it mean to follow Jesus' teachings? Jesus states it clearly.

What is Jesus recommending?

Jesus is emphasizing that in order to enter into the kingdom of heaven we must do the will of the Supreme Being:

"... but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."

What does it mean to do someone else's will?

It means to do what pleases them.

Jesus is instructing his followers to do what is pleasing to the Supreme Being.

It is a very simple concept, and it says volumes about the spiritual realm and those who live there.

Jesus is indicating that the spiritual realm - the kingdom of heaven - is that place where its citizens are the loving servants of the Supreme Being.

A loving servant is one who willingly and lovingly acts in a way that is pleasing to the one they love.

In other words, it is not slavery. We can see that the Supreme Being is not employing slaves because each of us has the freedom to serve God or not. We each have the freedom to place our love upon the Supreme Being or place our love upon ourselves - which translates to materialism.

Loving ourselves and acting only in self-interest is called self-centeredness. It is precisely the opposite of loving the Supreme Being and acting in a manner that is pleasing to the Supreme Being.

And acting in a manner that is pleasing to the Supreme Being is the essence of Jesus' teachings. Why? Because this is why we were created. We were created to be the Supreme Being's loving servants and playmates.

But love requires freedom. We cannot be forced to love. For this reason, the Supreme Being gave each of us the freedom to love Him or not.

And those who chose not to love Him were sent to the physical world to take on a temporary physical body. So we could effectively be away from the Supreme Being, and act out our self-centeredness without His interference.

This is love. The Supreme Being loves each of us. So He not only gave us the freedom to love Him or not, but for those of us who chose not to love Him, He gave us a way to escape Him and ignore Him.

But He doesn't forget us. He knows that we will never be happy without Him. He knows that we will never be fulfilled as we seek happiness away from Him.

Why did God send Jesus?

This is why He sent Jesus to teach us that we will only be fulfilled when we return to our natural position as one of His loving servants and playmates.

We can also see clearly from this statement that Jesus is the representative of God. He came to give us the message that if we give our lives and our love to God, and we do God's will rather than our will, we will return to the spiritual realm.

This statement should also clarify that while Jesus represents God, he himself is not God. This is revealed simply by his phrase, “my Father who is in heaven.” Note that Jesus was standing in front of the people he was speaking to. By stating that his Father was in heaven, he is separating himself from the Supreme Being.

Jesus also confirms his disgust with those who worship Jesus as God, as he clarifies that “only” those who do Jesus' Father’s will enter the Kingdom.

The reason for this is that the Kingdom of God is that place where doing God’s will is the status quo. Everyone in the spiritual realm is loving and serving the Supreme Being as their all and all.

We can choose God’s will or our will at any particular moment. Every day and every moment of the day He gives us the choice. We are constantly being given two roads to travel: One that pleases us, and the other that pleases Him.

What does Jesus recommend to do God's will?

Reaching out to Him is pleasing. A prayer or a simple offering to the Supreme Being - both are pleasing to the Supreme Being because He enjoys the exchange of relationships.

To offer something to God is to extend our desire to reconnect with Him. Every relationship involves an offering - an exchange of a gift. This is the rationale behind the custom of offering to God in the temple, as Jesus taught his disciples to do:

"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift." (Matt. 5:23-24)

Offerings were also taught by all the prophets as well. By offering something to the Supreme Being we are reaching out to Him. As Jesus states, it is a gift - an offering is a gift to the Supreme Being.

Our offerings and prayers to the Supreme Being increase our remembrance of Him. By remembering Him through the day, remembering His beauty, love and mercy upon us, we will be offering Him the greatest gift we can offer - our focus and attention. It is for this reason that Moses said, “…be careful that you do not forget the Lord…” (Deut. 6:12). Moses also instructed to “…serve Him only…”(Deut 6:13)

Jesus also teaches that praising the Supreme Being and glorifying His Holy Names is pleasing to God:

“This is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your Name.” (Matt. 6:9)

“I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth..." (Matt. 11:25)

And his most important instruction - the foundation of Jesus' teachings and the key to pleasing the Supreme Being - is to love the Supreme Being:

" 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38)

In fact, it is his love for the Supreme Being that creates the "oneness" between Jesus and God as Jesus stated "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30).

This is the stuff of relationships. When someone is acting and living within a loving relationship, and doing the will of the one they love, there is a oneness between them. This oneness is the oneness of love. There are two individuals, but they are united by the love between them.

“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. ..." (Matthew 10:16-20)

“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. But be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you." (Matthew 10:16-20)

Why is Jesus warning them?

Jesus is instructing his disciples on how to go out and preach the gospel of love for God. Jesus warns them to be careful as they preach:

“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves."

This is consistent with how Jesus’ also taught. He guarded against those Pharisees and Sadducees that were trying to trick him into saying things that they could arrest him for. As is the case today among many sectarian institutions that claim to follow Jesus, they did not like anyone who was teaching anything but their interpretations of the scripture. Why is this?

Certainly, those synagogues were supposed to be places of worship in the spirit of the teachings of Moses, Abraham, Jacob, David and other great Prophets.

Why were they 'wolves'?

What had gone wrong to have Jesus warn his disciples against them being trapped and tortured by these people? Why were these men "wolves"?

It is due to envy and power. Many in paid positions of authority amongst organized religious sects are there because they desire positions of authority. They want to have others respect and worship them.

As a result, their teachings become tainted by their desires to gain and maintain a position of authority. They end up utilizing the teachings of Jesus and the Prophets for their own power and prestige instead of passing on the wisdom of these great teachers.

In other words, they are doing their will, not God's. Why else would they be so fearful of someone speaking something different than their teachings?

Why didn't Jesus take a temple priest position?

We notice that Jesus did not take a paid temple position appointed by councils of men. We find that he did speak at the Temple in various locations. But he did not accept an appointment or position with any of them.

Neither did Jesus' teacher, John the Baptist. John was very critical of the two groups of Temple officials:

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.  And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. (Matthew 3:7-9)

Like John, Jesus didn't want his disciples to accept such official positions either. Both of them railed against the temple officials.

Jesus further warned that because his teachings are the Truth, those who were envious and set against doing the will of the Supreme Being will find reasons to hurt them. 

Jesus is now warning his disciples that the persecution that he will face they will also face. What will happen to him and what happened to his teacher John the Baptist, may also happen to his disciples.

And surely it did. Practically every apostle of Jesus was persecuted, as were many other followers of Jesus.

Jesus is clearly warning his disciples so they could possibly prevent being persecuted. Yet at the same time, he is clear that they need to speak for the Supreme Being, and not worry about what they say. Jesus is clearly telling his disciples to speak the Truth and represent God. What may happen to them will be out of their control. But he is preparing them for the possible outcomes.

How will the 'Spirit of your Father' speak through them?

Then Jesus says:

"But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you."

This last sentence is critical, as it defines the relationship between Jesus and God. It defines how Jesus could make statements regarding his proximity to God and the oneness between himself and God.

Jesus is instructing his students to "not worry about what to say" because he wants them to allow the Supreme Being to speak through them. This is the very definition of oneness.

Jesus wants them to take refuge in God and allow the Supreme Being to speak through them. As the “Spirit of your Father” speaks through them, Jesus clarifies, “it will not be you speaking.”

And what does Jesus mean by the "Spirit of your Father" here? This same statement was recorded slightly differently in Luke:

"When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say." (Luke 12:11)

Thus we can see that Jesus is speaking of the Holy Spirit - the Supreme Being's expansion who dwells next to each of us within these physical bodies.

Jesus is explaining the process of preaching on behalf of the Supreme Being, and this also clearly explains precisely what Jesus himself did.

Did God speak through Jesus?

Through his intimate loving relationship with the Supreme Being, Jesus allowed God to speak through him. As this happens, we can say that there is a oneness between Jesus and God because they have the same will and the same words.

But this doesn't mean that Jesus is the Supreme Being. When one person speaks for another we might be listening to one person, but there are still two persons involved - the one being spoken for and the one speaking.

For example, if a country's ambassador goes to a meeting with a foreign president to carry a message from their government, the foreign head of state hears the message as if it is coming from the head of the ambassador's government. The foreign president does not think the ambassador is voicing his own personal opinion.

Yet the foreign president also doesn’t confuse the ambassador with the government or government leader they represent either. He knows the ambassador is an individual, a separate person from the president of that country. At the same time, the foreign president extends the same respect to the ambassador as he would to the president, because the ambassador is representing the president. This creates a oneness between them, but they are still two individuals.

In the same way, we can understand that the messenger of God is not the Supreme Being. We can see that there are two individuals here, just as the ambassador is not the president.

At the same time, however, we can know that the words of Jesus are the words of God because Jesus is representing God. Therefore we can respect and honor Jesus as God’s representative, knowing that he is speaking for the Supreme Being - yet is not personally the Supreme Being himself.

This is also why we find Jesus praying to God, saying:

"Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will. Let the cup pass from me." (Mark 14:36)

It is obvious from this prayer that Jesus is an individual and not the Supreme Being - "Abba, Father" -capable of having his own will.

This position of being the messenger and representative of God was Jesus' role, but we also now know that Jesus taught that this would also be the role of Jesus' disciples should they also allow God to speak through them.

This confirms that the ultimate authority is coming from the Supreme Being.

This subtle yet glorious understanding regarding Jesus’ position is clear from Jesus’ other teachings:

"For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of Him who sent me." (John 6:38)

“I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth because You have hidden ...” (Matthew 11:25-26)

“I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was Your good pleasure.” (Matthew 11:25-26)

Is Jesus praying to himself?

Those who claim that Jesus is God must not have read this verse, where Jesus prays to God. If Jesus were God then he would be essentially praying to himself. That would make every word of this prayer ridiculous.

This open prayer of Jesus to God illustrates Jesus' loving relationship with the Supreme Being.

"I praise You" is the statement of a devoted lover of the Supreme Being. We see throughout the Scriptures evidence that praising the Supreme Being is an act of devotion pleasing to the Supreme Being.

We also can see from this statement that Jesus enjoys an loving relationship with the Supreme Being. He is understanding that the Supreme Being is in complete control. This is confirmed by his reference to God as:

"Lord of heaven and earth."

This illustrates clearly there are two individuals involved in this statement: Jesus, who is praising the Supreme Being, and the Supreme Being, who is being praised. They are not one and the same as purported by so many ecclesiastical teachers and their institutions.

Rather, it is clear from this that Jesus enjoys a confidential loving relationship with the Supreme Being - one "hidden" from those who think they are "wise and learned." A subservient relationship - confirmed by Jesus' praising the Supreme Being as "Lord of heaven and earth."

Does a relationship require two individuals?

In order to have a relationship, there must be two separate personalities, each making a choice to relate to each other. In fact, this relationship between Jesus and the Supreme Being is a relationship that creates the very oneness that Jesus spoke of - which has confused "wise and learned" teachers and their followers for centuries.

When there is love and devotion between two persons, each will act in a way that pleases the other. This creates a virtual oneness between them - a oneness of purpose and mission: A oneness of objective.

This is the type of oneness Jesus communicated when he said:

"I and the Father are one." (John 17:30)

Many have interpreted this statement by Jesus to say that Jesus is the Supreme Being. Yet they excluded the first part of this statement:

"My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one." (John 17:29-30)

So we can see clearly that Jesus is not saying he is the Supreme Being, as he says, "My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all." In order for one to give to another, there must be the giver and the receiver: Two individuals.

Jesus makes other statements that affirm his individuality, yet communicate the oneness of purpose between the Supreme Being and Jesus:

“My teaching is not my own. It comes from the One who sent me." (John 7:16)

Thus we see the relationship more clearly. The Supreme Being "sent" Jesus - and Jesus is passing on the teachings given to him by the Supreme Being. This creates a oneness between them.

In the statement above, Jesus is praising the Supreme Being for His design of how He hides certain things from those who pride themselves for their wisdom:

"You have hidden these things from the wise and learned"

We might ask ourselves; why would this be? Why would God want to hide the Truth from certain people? Jesus specifies who He hides the Truth from: “the wise and learned.”

What does 'wise and learned' mean?

Now since we can accept that Jesus is referring to wisdom here and the fact that wisdom is being withheld, then Jesus must be referring to those who think they are wise and learned. In other words, those who are proud of their supposed wisdom are not being given the wisdom that Jesus is referring to.

This makes the operator of this statement pride - being proud of our supposed learning. Jesus is referring to the teachers of the temple institution who were essentially envious of him. This is why they criticized Jesus.

Jesus clarifies that while the Supreme Being has hidden certain Truths from those who are proud of their learning, the Supreme Being reveals the wisdom to “little children.”

Now, who are these little children? Are we talking about literal children, who may have young bodies of two or three years old? Children who don't know how to speak yet? Or children who are playing in the playground?

No. Jesus is referring to “little children” metaphorically - as those who are not proud: Those who are feeling humble and respectful, as little children do (theoretically, at least in those times, children were typically more obedient and respectful of their elders) when they are just learning about life and are humble and attached to their parents.

This is the attitude that allows for learning. In this attitude - feeling oneself to be unknowing - we can hear the teachings of Jesus and the other representatives of God and gain wisdom from those teachings. This is the attitude that allows us to come to know God. Those who are proud of being “wise and learned” are not being granted this wisdom because they feeling too full of themselves.

Like a cup that is already full, they are not ready to learn.

Remember that in most of Jesus’ statements, including about himself, he refers to all of us as God’s children. Since we are all God’s children, we are all given an opportunity to hear from God's representative. Some hear and some do not. Those who are humble are being referred to here as “little.” In other words, God’s humble children are able to understand these truths because of their humility and lack of pride.

Who does Jesus want to please?

Jesus wants to please the Supreme Being:

"Yes, Father, for this was Your good pleasure.”

Why is Jesus saying this? While many think of God as some kind of vague force, Jesus clarifies that the Supreme Being is a Person: God can be pleased and experience pleasure.

Jesus is stating that the Supreme Being enjoys revealing Himself to those who humbly want to know Him. This gives Him pleasure. Why? Because being introduced to someone is part of relationships. The Supreme Being enjoys exchanging relationships. Just as we all do. 

Each of us enjoys having a friend or relative that we share confidential information with. When we can bear our soul to our friend and they can bear their soul to us, we both experience a sense of relationship exchange.

This exchange of relationship is what gives the Supreme Being pleasure. Our desire for relationships originates from the Supreme Being's enjoyment of relationships.

And this is the very reason for our existence: To exchange a unique loving service relationship with the Supreme Being. This is why we exist, and the only thing that will truly give us fulfillment.