Inner Baptism, Outer Ministry

Neville's Inner Vision

Viewed through the I AM, this verse reveals that the power to cleanse and set a soul free does not rely on one outer agent, but on inner arrangement. Jesus symbolizes the Word within, while the disciples represent the faculties of consciousness that carry out a divine action when stirred by a higher idea. The statement 'though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples' speaks to delegated ministry: authority is given to the awakened parts of your mind to enact purification. The outer act is but a sign; the real baptism occurs when you admit and feel the truth of your unity with God. When you imagine yourself as already cleansed, when faith, hope, and obedience operate as your inner ministers, you see the form of cleansing manifesting as a change of state. The condition of your life reflects your inner belief. Therefore the scene is not about external ceremony but about the readiness of consciousness to be washed by the living I AM.