Neville Goddard on John 16:4-6 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read John 16 in context

Scripture Focus

4But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.

5But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?

6But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.

John 16:4-6

Biblical Context

Jesus warns his followers that his departure is coming. Their sorrow fills their hearts because they cling to the outer presence instead of the inner source.

Neville's Inner Vision

John 16:4-6 invites us to see the reported departure as a border between states of consciousness. The disciples' sorrow is the natural reaction when they identify with the apparent end of Jesus' bodily presence. But the true departure is inward: I go to him that sent me signals a return to the I AM, the Father within, where all duration and presence reside. The time shall come you may remember these things, because your inner memory of God’s constant companionship is already planted in you. You are not waiting for a future visitation; you are the one who visits the inner chamber where the Father dwells. To go to the sender is to shift attention from the seen to the unseen, from the external event to the eternal act of creation that you are. Thus sorrow is not removed by circumstantial change but by revising your awareness: you are always in the same state you started from, only more aware of it. The promise stands: God with you in every moment, if you let your awareness travel inward.

Practice This Now

Close your eyes and declare: I go to the Father within; I am the I AM that sent me and returns me to itself. Feel that inward return as the real you, and let sorrow melt into quiet assurance.