Inner Baptism of Righteousness

Neville's Inner Vision

In the inner theater of your mind, John is a state of humility—old self, fear of inferiority; Jesus is the higher self, the divine impression, the I AM in action. The scene is not about history but inner law: the baptism is purification of self-concept; John, who says, 'I have need to be baptized by thee' represents the assumption that one must do for others before one does for God; the higher self answers, 'Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.' This is the moment you yield to the order of your own consciousness, allowing the higher self to baptize the lower in the Jordan of awareness. When you consent to this inner rite, you align with universal law; you do not resist the current of righteousness but enter it. The I AM does not violate you; it fulfills you. As you revise your self-concept (not by outward acts but by inner acceptance), you discover you are not separate from the divine plan but its operative principle. The act is a shift of state, not a change of place, and righteousness becomes your living pattern.