In this lecture Neville Goddard presents the idea that each individual is inherently God and that Christ represents a divine plan of redemption within us. He explains the transformative shift from seeing Christ as an external figure to recognizing the ‘Pauline state’ in which one awakens to divine consciousness. Through illustrative mystical experiences—such as a woman receiving spiritual eyes and visions of a child’s skeleton clothed in love—Goddard emphasizes the role of witness in validating spiritual truths. He outlines a singular path of redemption composed of staged mystical experiences leading back to the Father and asserts that giving in the spirit only amplifies love and other divine attributes. Finally, he urges listeners to view Christ not as a historical person but as an ever-present pathway leading from the outer world of limitation into the infinite inner world of God and love.
When this message of reconciliation happens in you, you have entered the state called Paul. Then you, too, will say: “From now on I regard no one from the human point of view. Even though I once regarded Christ from the human point of view I regard him thus no longer.”
As Saul (sleeping Man) Christ is seen as a person, someone separate and on the outside. But as Paul, Man awakens to the knowledge that Christ is God’s plan of salvation and from that moment on will not be seen as human.
God prepared the way for his banished sons to return to himself. Christ is that way. Why should you be disturbed when you hear that Christ is a plan which has a voice when you read of the serpent who spoke to Eve, the asp who conversed with Pharaoh, and Daniel’s experience of the tree becoming man? Everything is personified in scripture. A plan is speaking, telling you: “I am the way, the truth and the light. No one comes to the Father except by me.” This is scripture, which is something entirely different from anything a man might sit down and write.
In this world we are God’s sons which he banished for a purpose. Christ is his plan of redemption which God prepared to reconcile his sons to himself. God sent us out into a world of death, of horror, and despair only after preparing a plan which would bring us back as God himself, for there is only God. “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” There is only one ultimate body, one ultimate Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. In the end all constitute that one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.
Paul was on his way to find those called “the people of the way,” to bind and bring them to Jerusalem, when it happened in him and he was blinded by the truth. Then he defended himself to those who were blind, by saying: “You cannot prove anything against me, for our fathers taught us that God would raise the dead, and scripture has fulfilled itself in me.” I tell you every being, no matter what he is doing, has done or is planning to do is God playing a part, for there is nothing but God in the world.
I know from experience that God is love. He is love which is indescribable. I know what it is like to love a child, my wife, my family, and friends. But I cannot describe the feeling that possessed me when I stood in the presence of infinite love and felt his embrace. At that moment of incorporation I knew myself to be love and although others cannot see it, I wear the body of love. I now share my experiences with you in the hope that you will believe me, and I will go out on the limb and tell you that there are some here who will not depart this world until you know the truth of what I say: that this pathway is a series of mystical experiences in which God reveals himself in action for the salvation of his sons. By this path you are brought back into God as God himself, and God is love. I told you I was incorporated into the body of love. This is true. Whether I am awake or asleep (judged by human standards) that is the body I wear.
Now, when you give something in the spirit you do not lose it, rather it increases in its potency. One night in vision I gave my immortal eyes to one, that she may see the truth of which I speak. Last week she shared this experience with me. She said, “I awoke in my dream hearing heavenly music coming from a room in the house where I lived with my father. I got out of bed, walked to the foyer and looked into an adjacent room where I saw a ball of brilliant light sitting on a stool playing the piano. Within that light was the skeleton of a child, and I said to myself: ‘I must find someone to witness this, for without a witness Neville will never believe me.
Now, this lady was living with her father in her dream. Scripture tells us that when Jesus was accused of testifying of himself and therefore it was not true, he said: “Your law states that when two agree in testimony it is conclusive. My testimony is true for I am not alone. The one who sent me, who is my Father, he witnesses with me.” This lady’s earthly father is but a symbol of her heavenly Father, who is the cause of the phenomena of all life. Desiring to find a witness to her experience, she sees her father getting ready to go to work and questions him saying: “Do you hear what I am hearing?” and he answered: “Yes, I do.” Then she grabbed him by the hand and led him into the room where he, too, saw the brilliant light framing a child’s skeleton, playing the heavenly concerto.
Knowing she had her witness, she wanted to tell me; but when she arrived at my home her father had vanished and standing beside her was her friend Natalie, who knew nothing of her experience. Knowing that my wife was asleep upstairs she entered my living room to discover it was a garden of flowers. I was there, in a body of love so bright I seemed to her to be the prince of light as I walked among the flowers, gathering a bouquet of white flowers for the one l love, who was asleep upstairs. I looked at her as though I didn’t see her, and then she knew that I already knew what she had come to tell me.
I have been enveloped into the body of love and knew the one to whom I gave my eyes would – before I depart this world – see the truth of what I say. The world is a shadow containing symbols. An earthly father is but a symbol of our heavenly Father. One who has experienced God’s path of redemption is sent as a messenger of reconciliation. I have experienced this plan and knew that I will not depart this world until someone testifies to the truth of what I have said. I am now enveloped in love, clothed in the light she saw as a child’s skeleton. All through the centuries the symbol of Christ has been the child. Clothed in love, and having experienced the pathway, I can truly say: “I am the way; I am the truth; I am the light.” Here we see the way of redemption taking on the human form and speaking to man as a man, for the pathway takes man to awaken to and externalise it.
The way to the Father seems to be dead, but as you enter, the way is resurrected. Man is the Living way to the Father, and when Man reaches his destination he is God the Father. Then that individual is entrusted with the message of reconciliation. Those who are more interested in things of this world will deny the message. They are those who desire a diamond, like the one which recently sold for over a million dollars. Millions of those in the world are more interested in hearing about a piece of gay stone than the way I have traveled. But you who are here know the way, for I have told you how, when I entered the way I activated it, and there is only one way back from where we are to where we were.
We were aware of being God the Father before we came into the world. Individualised now, we will leave this world and return to the Father by traveling the way which was fixed before that the world was. Having prepared the way for our return, we fell asleep and now sleep the sleep of death. No diet or worldly position can take us back, for there is only one way and that is by a series of mystical experiences in which God reveals himself in action for our salvation. God brings his banished sons back to himself, making each son aware of being God the Father. This is the destiny of everyone in the world.
Now that one has borne witness to the truth of which I speak, I am satisfied. One lady saw me clothed in power and wisdom, and now I know one has seen me clothed in my perfect garment of love. I am forever in that body, as you too will be when you travel the way, for your destiny is to return to that one indescribable body of love.
In the 82nd Psalm we read the words God spoke to us, his banished sons: “I say, you are gods, Sons of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless you will die like men and fall as one man, O princes.” Although you do not know it yet, you are a prince, destined to awaken as the King of all and the Lord of all, for in the end there is only one God containing all of his sons who know themselves to be the one Lord and Father of all.
I tell you: any spiritual gift, given, is not only retained, but expanded beyond what it was. If love is given, love increases. Even though I cannot conceive of a love greater than that which embraced me – as it seemed infinite – yet in some strange way as all of God’s sons return, love increases, as does wisdom and power. Love is not really infinite; rather it is a forever expanding illumination.
When you think of Christ do not think of a man, but a plan of redemption. When you read: “I am the way; I am the truth; I am the light,” do not picture a man making this claim 2,000 years ago, and worship him, for a prophet’s vision is foreshortened, always seeing as present what is future. The present moment does not recede into the past, but advances into the future. If you believe what I have told you now, its experience is advancing into your future. Scripture, although read as having taken place 2,000 years ago, took place 2,000 years before that, as the plan was shown Abraham in 2,000 BC. That’s 4,000 years ago. Scripture is forever fulfilling itself, for that which is happening now is continually happening, but when it will happen in you, I do not know.
Now, any spiritual gift is never given on this level. When I gave this lady the gift of my eyes, it certainly was not here. If I had the choice of who I would give them to, it would have been my wife or daughter; but from this level I was not in control when I gave my spiritual eyes to a lady I do not know socially. She has received the gift and now her eyes are inwardly open into the world of thought. I, like Blake, will not rest from my great task to open the eternal worlds; to open the immortal eyes of Man inward into the world of thought; into eternity ever expanding in the bosom of God, the Human Imagination. I gave my eyes to her and she will share them spiritually with others, for it was with her spiritual eyes that she saw me clothed in love.
When one wears the body of love he is incapable of doing anything save in love, and therefore everything in his presence is harmless, for perfect love casts out all fear. In this world we fear the wild beasts of the jungle, but when one is clothed in love nothing can harm him.
In her vision this lady saw the skeleton of a child clothed in love. Ezekiel tells of the day when all the dead bones will be lifted up and clothed by love, in love. She heard the harmony of the spheres come into being as a ball of light covering the skeleton of a child played the piano. That child is the plan of redemption, [of] which not one bone shall be broken. Without loss of identity, the body of love will be built on that little bone structure.Even though I am now clothed in a body of flesh, she knew I was Neville. She also knew I was the prince of light and the embodiment of love. And her name, by the way, is Sharon. In the Songs of Solomon he speaks of “the rose of Sharon, my sister and yet my love.” Then he mentions all of the flowers that are blossoming in the world of man. Symbolic of what is taking place in man, they are the fruit that love bears. So when Christ, God’s plan of redemption, is complete in you, you will know yourself to be God who is infinite love.
When you read in the Book of John that God is love, don’t think these are idle words; they are words based upon experience. God is love. Wisdom and power are attributes of God but God is love and when he incorporates you into his body, you – his banished son – have returned as the Father. Can you imagine the thrill when the curtain comes down upon this drama and all the sons have returned clothed as God the Father – who is nothing but love?
The harmony this lady heard in her vision, although beautiful, cannot be compared to the music of that heavenly chorus when they call your name and sing of your redemption. I heard it back in 1946 and its indescribable beauty remains with me today. Although we are one as the Father we are distinct as sons, and no one can take the place of another. I can’t describe this in words – it must be experienced to be understood – but you are forever individualised, and yet together we all form the one Father.
Now, the witness of one is not acceptable, but if two agree in testimony, the evidence is conclusive. In the lady’s vision she lived in a home with her father. He heard what she heard and saw what she saw, so he testified to the truth of what she witnessed. Wanting to tell the man who told her of the path to God, she found a friend. Here is a perfect fulfillment of scripture: “I call you friend and no longer call you slaves.” And the living room she entered, it was not man-made, but God-made. It was a garden of flowers in a lovely greenery. I was watering my garden, giving it light and love, and she knew I was the prince of light as I gathered my blossoms to take them to the one I loved, who was asleep above.
Everyone must awaken, and as they do they will follow the same pathway I have shared with you. There is only one way. There aren’t two ways to God. Today people teach numberless ways, but they are all false. There is only one way, which is made up of a definite series of mystical experiences. The way begins with the resurrection, followed by your birth from above. Five months later David reveals your Fatherhood, then the curtain of the temple (your body) is split and you ascend into heaven. And finally, the dove descends upon you, giving you his stamp of approval, telling you that you are perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect, for you are one with your Father. He is Holy and now you are Holy. Then you are assigned a purpose in life for your remaining years and that is to tell the message of salvation, that God is in Christ reconciling the world to himself. When the way of redemption has been revealed to you, you are assigned the ministry of reconciliation, being ministers of the word by telling all the pathway from the outer world of sin and death to the inner world of God and love.
Don’t despair. You are destined to awaken one day as God, who created and sustains the universe. And when all of His sons have returned, this outer world will come to its end. The universe will not take time to dissolve, it will simply vanish. Let our scientists speculate as to its age, it doesn’t really matter. The world, including the sun and moon, came into being as one grand explosion. They all came together for a purpose, and the only little place that could house God’s grand experiment (which is a stage) is this earth that we are on. All of God’s sons are here and they will all return to the very being out of which they came, which is God the Father.
You are infinitely greater than you can conceive yourself to be. Tonight you may envy or dislike someone. That is because you cannot see behind the mask they wear; but if you could, you would see your brother, he who you loved before you came out from the Father. You are going to go back to that same body, only your capacity to love will be increased by reason of the experience of coming into this world of death.
I am so glad that I am returning with the knowledge that one has seen me clothed in the body of love, for I know that I am. Although the mortal eye cannot see it I feel this body all the time. I sleep in it and wake in it every day, then I put on this mortal body and allow my eyes to grow dim, knowing that the day will come when this mortal body will be taken off for the last time and then I will be clothed in a body of love which is protection beyond measure, for in it all fear is cast out and what you do not fear cannot hurt you.
Look upon Christ, not as a person (although it takes a man to express him). Look upon Christ as the path of salvation that the Father prepared before that the world was. Christ is a pathway leading from this outer world into the inner world, for the kingdom of heaven is within. You were sent out (or below) as they are one, just as above and within are one. When the Risen Christ was made to say: “I am from above,” he was saying: “I am from within.” It’s back to the withinness that I go, back to that which has no circumference, but expands forever and ever. It is only without that is limited.
You are infinitely great and you are moving towards the discovery of this truth. In this lady’s vision, she lived with her father who heard and saw what she did. Then, as she traveled the road towards my home, he vanished and a friend appeared to witness the garden. We came out of a garden and we return to a garden, but when we do we are fully conscious of being love.
Now let us go into the silence.
Neville Goddard’s lecture “Reconciliation” reframes orthodox Christian imagery by insisting that Christ is not merely a historical figure but a living plan of redemption active within each individual. By invoking the Pauline transformation—from Saul’s perception of Christ as external to Paul’s direct union with the divine—Goddard highlights the necessity of inner awakening over external devotion. The concept of God speaking through symbolic forms (serpent, asp, tree) underscores his broader claim that scripture personifies divine ideas, making mystical truths accessible to imagination.
A central element of the lecture is the witness mechanism. Goddard recounts the vision of a woman granted ‘spiritual eyes,’ whose experience is validated first by her symbolic earthly father and then by a friend. This twofold witness not only fulfills biblical criteria for truth but demonstrates the communal aspect of spiritual awakening. By sharing these accounts, Goddard reassures listeners that personal mystical events have tangible confirmation when witnessed, thus bridging inner revelation with shared reality.
The pervasive imagery of love as a ‘body’ forms another analytical core. Goddard describes his own incorporation into the infinite body of love, drawing on childlike symbols—skeleton of a child, rose of Sharon, heavenly music—to depict love’s universal and ever-expanding nature. In this vision, perfection is not static but dynamically increasing, illustrating his thesis that spiritual gifts multiply when given. Such imagery invites practitioners to aspire not merely to belief but to experiential embodiment of divine love.
Finally, Goddard outlines a structured path to reconciliation: resurrection, rebirth from above, revelation of Fatherhood, ascension, and the descent of the dove. This sequence parallels traditional Christian sacraments yet is reinterpreted as inner mystical milestones. By insisting there is only one way back to God and that it unfolds through specific inner experiences, he challenges the proliferation of spiritual methods. His analysis insists on a unified, imagination-centered approach to consciousness that culminates in the ministry of reconciliation—sharing the pathway with others once fully awakened.
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