Commentary -- Questions from a Clergyman Page 1

COMMENTARY ON SOME QUESTIONS FROM A CLERGYMAN

Q: The Bible tells us Christ--and therefore God--is the same

yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Doesn’t the concept of
progressive revelation mean God changes?
A Christian professes that Christ is the author, object, and completion of her
faith. A Bahá'í also professes this for, to a Bahá'í, there is no point at which Christ
ends and Bahá'u'lláh begins.
Though Jesus of Nazareth and Husayn-Ali-i-Nur'i were two different physical
Lamps or Mirrors, the Light that shone in and through Them--the Light They shed
upon mankind--is the same Light. How can I be so sure? Because I have the
testimony of Christ and of the prophets and the spiritual fruits of the life and
teachings of Bahá'u'lláh to assure me.
God does not change. But we do. If we didn't change, grow, and mature,
there would be no point in God reaching down to us through His Word. Faith is
about transformation and rebirth. As a mother, I sometimes joke about freezing
my children at a particular age and keeping them that way forever, but I know
that's neither possible nor desirable. They must grow to adulthood, to find their
own faith and the maturity to become complete human beings. They must
change. And as they change, I will need to change the way I relate to them and
teach them. I will speak to them more clearly, explain things more directly.
This is in some ways similar to our relationship with God as individuals and as a
species. God doesn't change, but clearly, we do and have. Which is why He
alters the way He speaks to us. There are a number of indications in scripture that
this is so. There is, of course, the very fact that Moses spoke of the appearance of
another Prophet like Him who would be raised up to the Jewish people, the one
Daniel refers to as "The Prince, the Messiah." His name is not Moses, His title is not
the same as Moses. But He is a Prophet like Moses nonetheless.
Jesus not only bore a different name and station, but He also changed some of
the Mosaic laws--something that outraged the Jews. Christ comments (Matt. 10:5)
of Moses’ law of divorce: For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.
He then proceeds to give a different precept on the same subject. Did God’s
feelings about marriage change? No, but our capacity to understand them did, and
so Jesus' teaching on the subject is different than Moses'.
As Jesus indicates He is authorized to teach what Moses could not, He tells His
disciples there is much He cannot reveal because it went even further beyond
their ability to understand. John 16:12 tells us: I have yet many things to say unto
you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come,
he will guide you into all truth... He also speaks of going away so that God will
send "another Counselor." This passage, which is in the book of John, sounds very
much like Moses' statement that God will send "another Prophet."
The book of Hebrews supports this idea: God, who at sundry times and in
divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these
last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by
whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the
express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power...
Hebrews 1:1-3

"This is the Changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future...."
Bahá'u'llah
Commentary -- Questions from a Clergyman Page 2

Bahá'u'lláh writes in this same vein: Jesus, Himself, declared: "I go away and
come again unto you." Consider the sun. Were it to say now, "I am the sun of
yesterday," it would speak the truth. And should it, bearing the sequence of time
in mind, claim to be other than that sun, it still would speak the truth. In like
manner, if it be said that all the days are but one and the same, it is correct and
true. And if it be said, with respect to their particular names and designations, that
they differ, that again is true. For though they are the same, yet one doth
recognize in each a separate designation, a specific attribute, a particular
character. Conceive accordingly the distinction, variation, and unity characteristic
of the various Manifestations of holiness...and discover the answer to thy question
as to why that everlasting Beauty should have, at sundry times, called Himself by
different names and titles.... Gleanings XIII

Even Christ's closest disciples saw, as Paul elegantly put it, through a glass
darkly. And lived in expectation of a time when he would understand all of what
the Lord might have communicated to them had they been able to bear it.
Given the pattern of God's revelation as revealed by the Old and New
Testaments alone, the prophecy in the Revelation of Saint John that speaks of
Christ having "a New Name" should come as no surprise. As a Bahá'í I believe that
Christ has returned, in this "renewal of all things," seated upon His "glorious
throne," and that the New Name is Bahau'llah--the Glory of God. He has a new
name, a new physical vessel, but that Vessel is no more in contention with or in
competition with Jesus of Nazareth than Jesus was in competition with Moses.

"This is the Changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future...."
Bahá'u'llah
Commentary -- Questions from a Clergyman Page 3

Q: If there was a set dispensation for the Faith of Christ,

why do the scriptures command us to "go and make
disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe all
things that Christ commanded?" (Mt. 28:19, 20)
I believe the answer is in the passage itself, when read in its entirety beginning
from verse 16. The author writes: Then the eleven disciples went away into
Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw
him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto
them, saying, ‘All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore,
and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.
Amen.”
First of all, the verse relates that Jesus is speaking to his remaining 11 disciples
and it is them He deputizes to spread His Faith. While one may interpret this as
deputizing every Christian by proxy and in perpetuity, that understanding is
neither explicit, nor even implicit in the verse. Moreover, at the end of the
passage, Jesus adds: Surely, I am with you to the very end of the world (or age).
Here He, Himself, sets a time span for the disciples’ mission and accords it an end.
The question is: "What does He mean: the end of the world/age?" Both
Christians and Bahá'ís would probably answer that He's speaking of His return.
The difference in the two points of view is the interpretation of what that Return
means and when it occurred or will occur.
It is clear to both Christians and Bahá'ís that the Mosaic Age ended when Jesus
came, fulfilling Moses' prophecy that God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from
the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me. (Deuteronomy 18:15) Many of the
Christians I’ve discussed this with are literally of two minds about this prophecy.
While they take this verse to refer to Jesus, they deny that Christ was, indeed, a
Prophet like Moses, notwithstanding His own words on the subject: For had ye
believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me. But if ye believe
not his writings, how shall ye believe my words? (John 5:46, 47)
As a Bahá'í, I believe that the prophecies referring to Christ's Return have been
fulfilled in the advent of Bahá'u'llah. Among the signs of that advent, which Jesus
cautioned the believers to watch for, were that the Gospel would be taught to all
the nations, even as Christ bids His disciples do in the above passage. According
to Christian sources, this was accomplished when the last frontiers of Africa were
opened to Christianity in the mid-1800's. This was one of the contributing factors
to the world-wide expectation during that time that Christ’s return was immanent.
This expectation peaked in the year 1844--the year of the Bab’s proclamation that
He was the Herald of the fulfillment of these prophecies.

"This is the Changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future...."
Bahá'u'llah
Commentary -- Questions from a Clergyman Page 4

Q: Most Christians believe the prophecy of the coming of

the Spirit of Truth fulfilled at Pentecost when the Holy
Spirit was poured out upon the disciples causing even
those of different lands to understand their words. Why
don’t Bahá'ís believe this event fulfilled that prophecy?
The text of the prophecy is as follows: I have yet many things to say unto you,
but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he
will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he
shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall
glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that
the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall
shew it unto you. A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while,
and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father. (John 16:12-16)
There are a number of key points that bear noting in this passage. First, Christ
equates this Spirit of Truth with the Comforter, Counselor, or Paraclete spoken of
in the book of Isaiah 9:6. The text there reads: For unto us a child is born; unto us
a son is given., and the government shall be upon His shoulder. And His name
shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Almighty God, the Everlasting Father, the
Prince of Peace. This is generally taken by Christian theologians as a prophecy of
Christ's second coming, and in this context refers to a Person, not a disembodied
spirit.
This Spirit of Truth is prophesied by Christ to fulfill certain tasks. He will:
a. Guide the believers to all truth
b. Shall speak at God's behalf
c. Show them future events (prophesy)
d. Glorify Christ
e. Show Christ's teachings to the believers, perhaps by explaining
those things He said they could not understand
Does the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost match the above points? The
text of the passage reads:
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind,
and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them
cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled
with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave
them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of
every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude
came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak
in his own language. (Acts 2:2-6)
There is no personification of the Holy Spirit here, but rather a disembodied
manifestation, the result of which is that the disciples can be heard in the various
languages of their listeners. I should note that if this is a manifestation of the Holy
Spirit, then a similar power was granted to Abdu'l-Bahá during His talks in America
and Europe.
If the Spirit of Truth is the Paraclete or Counselor spoken of also in Isaiah,
then He will not be manifest until the second advent of Christ. Clearly the events
of Pentecost did not coincide with that. The manifestation of the Holy Ghost at
Pentecost had nothing to do with governments or kingdoms.
I made earlier reference to a passage in the writings of the Apostle Paul in
which he states that: For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that
which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was

"This is the Changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future...."
Bahá'u'llah
Commentary -- Questions from a Clergyman Page 5

a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I

became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly;
but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am
known. (1 Corinthians 13:9-12) He says this long after the events of Pentecost.
Clearly, Paul did not feel he had been shown all truth, or that he had seen the
things that were to come.
Consider too, the Revelation of Saint John the Divine: This prophetic book is
couched in metaphor and symbolism and is effectively sealed until the "time of the
end." If the outpouring of the Holy Spirit had caused an unsealing of the books and
an understanding of future events at that long ago Pentecost, the Revelation of
Saint John would either not have been necessary or would have been stated in
plain language.

"This is the Changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future...."
Bahá'u'llah
Commentary -- Questions from a Clergyman Page 6

Q: Wasn't the message the disciples delivered to their

audiences about the blood atonement and the
resurrection?
The passage cited above tells us exactly what the disciples taught: i.e. to
observe all things that Christ commanded. It is clear from the Gospel record that
this was not an incomprehensible doctrine, but simply that the new believers must
love God, believe in the One He sent, and observe His commandments--a gospel
so simple a child could understand it.
The record of the missionary work of the early disciples bears this out. In Acts
16:30-32 we are told that when asked how he might be saved, the disciples told
the centurion that he must Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. The verse continues,
And they spake unto him the word of the Lord. Again and again, the scripture tells
us how Christ's disciples taught. Naturally, they told of Jesus' sacrifice and
resurrection. They did this, according to Peter that your faith and hope might be
in God. But note what the salvation of the individual is linked to: Seeing ye have
purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of
the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart, fervently; being born
again...by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. ...The word of the
Lord endureth forever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto
you... As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow
thereby. (1 Peter 1:19-25 & 2:1-3)
The believer has purified his soul in obeying the truth. Further, he is born
again...by the word of God. Then Peter gives a metaphor for the word--it is as milk
to a newborn babe. This is important: a newborn cannot live without its mother’s
milk. This metaphor tells us that the human soul cannot be born again without the
word of God and cannot live without it.

"This is the Changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future...."
Bahá'u'llah
Commentary -- Questions from a Clergyman Page 7

Q: If the agent of our salvation is not the blood of Christ,

what is it?
As I read the above passage, it says that the word of God is the instrument of
our rebirth and that obedience to it purifies our souls. How important is the word
of God? So important that Christ, Himself, is referred to as the Word made flesh.
He is the personification of God’s will and commandment.
It is obedience to the Word that Peter stresses. This is a simple truth. In the
passage in I Peter, cited above, the disciples are faithfully conveying the teaching
of their Lord as He has given it to them. We can know this by comparing it to the
direct teaching of Christ, which is stated most clearly and explicitly in John 15:1-
17:
...ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it
abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the
branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit:
for without me ye can do nothing.
If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and
men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it
shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so
shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you:
continue ye in my love.
If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept
my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken
unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. ...These things I command
you, that ye love one another."
One of the first things Christ Jesus affirms in this passage is that: ... ye are
clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Even though He is
preparing His disciples for His leave taking and absence, He does not speak to
them of His sacrifice, His resurrection, or His blood. He doesn't remind them about
baptism or lecture about the fine points of the Trinity. He speaks instead about
what they must do to be His “friends” and to abide in His love.
His logic is clear: God wishes them to bear fruit. They can only do this if they
remain connected to Him. Christ then lays out clearly and unambiguously what
they must do if they are to remain connected to the True Vine. There are a lot of
"ifs" in that passage: If they would stay connected to the True Vine, they must
abide in His love. If they are to abide in His love and to be His friends, they must
keep His commandments. And if they do not do these things, they will be cut off.
Christ then singles out one commandment that will assure a connection to the
True Vine: that you love one another as I have loved you. He is so adamant about
this that He states it twice in the same short passage. Adding: Ye are my friends,
if ye do whatsoever I command you.
Please note: He singles out no other commandment in this way.
The Apostle Paul speaks to this theme in his first letter to the Corinthians:
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I
am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of
prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all
faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And

"This is the Changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future...."
Bahá'u'llah
Commentary -- Questions from a Clergyman Page 8

though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be
burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Corinthians I 13:1-3 (Note
that more recent translations use “love” in place of “charity.”)
"If," Christ says. These blessings are conditional. If we follow His
commandment to love one another, then we are connected to Him. But, what if
we do not follow this simple commandment? About this, also, He is very clear--the
individual is cut off, as a dead branch, and no longer receives sustenance from the
Vine. (or as Bahá'u'lláh puts it: Love Me that I may love thee. If thou lovest Me not,
My love can in no wise reach thee. -- Arabic Hidden Words vs.5)
In this verse, Christ clearly speaks of love for our fellow man not as a result of
being connected to Him, but as a condition for maintaining that connection. I see
in it a simple, elegant statement of the eternal covenant between God and
mankind: God offers spiritual life, asking in return only our love and obedience.
This to me, is the heart of the Gospel--the heart of the Faith of God.
The verse cited from I Peter also affirms the explicit statements of Christ about
the power of His word: the words that I speak to you, they are spirit, and they are
life (John 6:63) and: heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not
pass away. (Mt. 24:35) Moreover, Christ says: He that rejects Me and does not
receive My words has him who judges him: the word which I have spoken, that
shall judge him in the last day. (John 12:48) I take this as a statement that we
are not judged by our belief in a collection of mysteries, miracles, and doctrines,
but simply by how steadfastly we adhere to the covenant inherent in the words:
Whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life... (John
5:24) and If anyone keeps My word, he will never see death. (John 8:51)

"This is the Changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future...."
Bahá'u'llah
Commentary -- Questions from a Clergyman Page 9

Q: How can you tell someone is saved? And if our “works”

contribute to our salvation, how can we know how
many commandments must be obeyed in order to be
saved?
The question is really, how does one know whose belief is sincere and correct?
I am content to understand that ultimately, God alone, knows the answer for each
and any of us. Whether a man or woman professes to be a Bahá'í and expresses a
belief in the word of God and makes sincere efforts to obey His commandments
and love His creatures or professes to be a Christian, accepts Jesus as Lord and
Savior, and believes in the Trinity, and the grace of God, and Christ’s blood
atonement for our sins, God alone knows whether these professions are correct
and sincere enough to warrant salvation. All any believer can know, in either case,
is that they have faith and are making a sincere effort to be and do what God
would have them be and do. And, of course, they can know whether or not they
truly love God. The rest is dependent on the grace of a God Who, Bahá'u'llah tells
us, is more friend to us than we are to ourselves.

Q: Doesn’t this focus on the Word of God mean Bahá'ís

aren’t looking to the Person of Christ?
The singular thing that gives us the capacity to make the effort active faith
takes is, itself, the purifying Word of God. In other words, it is the grace of God
that gives us the capacity to be receptive to His Word.
Bahá'u'lláh, in His writings, notes that: The vitality of men's belief in God is
dying out in every land; nothing short of His wholesome medicine can ever restore
it...the corrosion of ungodliness is eating into the vitals of human society. We are
in need of a change of heart, one sufficient to cause us to beat our swords into
plowshares and begin living up to Christ's commandment to love one another. The
Word of God alone, Bahá'u'lláh affirms, can claim the distinction of being endowed
with the capacity required for so great and far-reaching a change. (Gleanings
XCIX)
So, in answer to the question above, a Bahá'í would say: if we were not looking
to the Person of Christ, His word would mean nothing to us. While we might
accord Him the respect due a wise human being, we would not take His word as
the word of God, Himself. But we do. It is precisely because we look to the Divine
Person of Christ Jesus, that we place such importance on what He chooses to tell
us about God, Himself, His mission, and our relationship with the Divine. Bahá'ís
consider the word of Christ to be the living, creative Word of God--the cause of
Creation, the impetus behind millennia of evolution. Further, we consider Christ
Jesus, Himself, to be the creative Word of God made flesh.

"This is the Changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future...."
Bahá'u'llah
Commentary -- Questions from a Clergyman Page 10

Q: How do you respond to the accusation that Bahá'u'lláh

is a false prophet?
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how
much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask
him? Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye
even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. Enter ye in at the strait gate:
for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many
there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way,
which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Beware of false prophets,
which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye
shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of
thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree
bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can
a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good
fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know
them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of
heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." Matthew 7:11-
21
Note that this passage, which is part of the Sermon on the Mount, is self-
referencing. The fruits Jesus specifies will serve as a hallmark of a true or false
prophet are referenced earlier in the verse. In view of this, what sort of fruits
would a true prophet be expected to show? The Apostle Paul sheds some light on
this in his dissertation on love in Corinthians:
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I
am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of
prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all
faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
This dissertation places love above faith and above all miracles, and love is,
according the Bahá'í scriptures, the secret of God's most great dispensation. Love
and unity are the core of Bahá'u'lláh's teachings. Further, His life and teachings
reflect the fruits of the spirit as illustrated in the Gospel. Jesus states that good
fruit cannot come from a bad tree and also that Satan will not oppose himself:
And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his
kingdom stand? Jesus asks. Then reiterates that a tree is known by its fruit.
We are enjoyed to test the spirits whether they be of God. (I John :1-3 ) The
criteria is simple--a spirit that confesses Christ came in the flesh is of God.
Bahá'u'lláh not only testifies to the truth of Christ, but glorifies Him.
A final criteria is given in the Book of Deuteronomy, which states that a true
prophet is known by his prophecies. If they come to pass, he is to be trusted
because God only grants this ability to true prophets.

"This is the Changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future...."
Bahá'u'llah
Commentary -- Questions from a Clergyman Page 11

Q: Doesn’t the Bible teach a physical Resurrection?

The Apostle Paul deals with this subject at length in I Corinthians, Chapter 15.
In fact, many theologians use this letter as the foundation of the doctrine that
without physical resurrection, a Christian’s faith is in vain:
Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among
you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of
the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching
vain, and your faith is also vain. I Corinthians 15:12-14
But please note--Paul’s teaching here must be understood in light of what
follows in this same letter. And what follows is a very succinct description of what
“resurrection” means in this context. In I Corinthians I 15:35-55, Paul writes:
But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do
they come? Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:
And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare
grain... There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the
celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of
the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one
star differeth from another star in glory.
So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in
incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it
is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a
natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam
was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but
that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the
earth, earthly: the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earth, such are
they also that are earthly: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are
heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the
image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot
inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be
changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the
trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be
changed. ...then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is
swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy
victory?
In the dissertation above, Paul provides a foil for the argument that the
resurrection is a physical occurrence. He makes it clear that the "body"
resurrected is not the physical body that is "sown” and that what is “natural” (i.e.
the physical body) is followed by what is “spiritual” (which he calls the “spiritual
body”). It is also clear that this spiritual body is nothing like what we know as a
body. He uses the metaphor of grain to tell his audience that the body “that shall
be” is as different from the natural body as mature grain is from bare seed.
He also uses the moon and sun as metaphors to explain these differences.
Since one would assume Paul chose his metaphors for their value in helping us
comprehend an important concept, I think it’s worth considering them. A moon is
essentially dead, inert rock that casts no radiance of its own, but can only reflect
what is shone on it--an apt metaphor when applied to the human condition. A sun
is made of a different substance altogether and possesses its own radiance. So
also is the resurrection of the dead, Paul says. It is sown a natural body; it is
raised a spiritual body.

"This is the Changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future...."
Bahá'u'llah
Commentary -- Questions from a Clergyman Page 12

Christ’s resurrection, of course, is the prototype of the resurrection of the

human soul. His victory over death illustrates the potential of the believer: But
every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's
at his coming. (I Corinthians 15:23). It follows that if Christ’s resurrection is a
spiritual one, then so must ours be. And this is exactly the point that Paul make
when he compares and contrasts the “first Adam” (a “living soul”) with “the last
Adam” (Christ), whom he says is “a quickening spirit.”
Further, Paul states unequivocally that Flesh and blood cannot inherit the
kingdom of God. Here he is quoting the words of Jesus to Nicodemus. Recall the
context for these words originally: Jesus is telling Nicodemus he must be reborn--
not of flesh, but of the spirit.
I think this sheds a light on the “mystery” Paul speaks of in the verses above--
that all shall not “sleep” (that is, die) but shall be changed. If the change is the
spiritual transformation of rebirth, this makes perfect sense, since it is something
that happens to those who are physically alive, but spiritually dead. It is worth
noting in this context, that when the Gospel writers speak of “death” it is not
usually physical death they mean.
Please note: Paul does not preach a physical resurrection here, either for Jesus
or for us, yet this spiritual resurrection is what he calls upon the believers to have
faith in. And he still concludes: Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is
thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

"This is the Changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future...."
Bahá'u'llah
Commentary -- Questions from a Clergyman Page 13

Q: Do Bahá'ís accept Church doctrine as set in the Church

Councils?
When we consider the "church fathers" and the series of councils that shaped
current Christian doctrine, I believe we must look carefully at the pages of history
to see how closely these divines adhered to the covenant Christ established with
His disciples to love one another. The formal doctrine of the Trinity, to cite just
one example, was forged in the fires of hatred and intolerance. Having
established that Christ had both a human and divine nature, the detail of whether
He possessed one will or two was enough to cause untold grief and suffering by
Christians at the hands of Christians.
My personal belief, based on my reading of scripture and history, is that by the
time the disunity and institutionalized hatred between Christian "factions" had
come to this pass, a major branch of Christianity was already severed from the
True Vine. (Refer back to Christ’s words in John Chapter 15 to recall what this
means.)
There is a point beyond which most Protestants cease to accept the word of
the leaders of the Catholic or Orthodox Churches as being doctrinally correct. I
don't know what criteria these organizations use to determine where that
historical cut-off point is--mine is the clear evidence that the Covenant with Christ,
as outlined in the book of John, was broken. Christians had replaced unfeigned
love of the brethren with concern over the interpretation of doctrine (Should a
cross have one bar, two, or three? Was Christ of one will, or essence, or energy
with the Father? Was it faith, or grace, or works or all three that saved a person?)
and had substituted forms of worship such as the Eucharist and baptism for
charity.
If, as Christ says, His words are the criteria by which the believer and in a
broader context, the body of believers is judged, then to which words does He
refer if not the ones in His final message to His beloved disciples? Ye are my
friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. ...These things I command you, that
ye love one another. (John 15:16,17)

"This is the Changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future...."
Bahá'u'llah