Salve and Salvation 2

In spiritual perfection, the Christ reveals the nature of Salvation, making manifest the healing described by the Old Testament Prophets. Taking earth from the ground He makes a salve, or paste, in which He contributes His own saliva. Being Himself God, this act serves to illustrate the Divine Nature. Healing is within Him, He offers it to creation, and He is Himself Healing. The Logos taking “earth” from the virgin and uniting it with the Divine is in fact the “Balm of Gilead”, or “the Christ”, “the Chrism” or “An Anointing”.

Having the blind man wash in the Pool of Siloam (meaning “Sent”) anticipated the Pharisees farsightedness on the origin of Divine Healing. “We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.” Here a man was rendered whole, and the Pharisees could not identify the Source of the activity. The man born blind answered with an appropriately Christian response. “Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes!”

Christ’s judgement in verse 41 relates to the spiritual blindness towards this Reality. The Author of Life possesses Healing in His Nature. Those who cannot see this Reality, or those for whom this Reality is clouded, face a type of spiritual blindness. They cannot see the Logos of God in creation, they cannot see the Source of Divine Generosity. These are the ones who will become blind when all creation is “filled with the Knowledge of God”. (Habakkuk 2:14)

In John chapter 9 we experience the fulfillment of the Old Testament scriptures by the Logos making manifest the Divine Nature. As Christ incarnated God, even His Divine Chastisements were infused with Divine Compassion, an overflow of His Nature into all creation. Both the gentleness and the harsh word mimic the effects of salve on a fresh wound. We may feel the sting of hydrogen peroxide, but if we trust the Physician, we make a speedy recovery when He gently removes the dressing.

Salve and Salvation

Salve, or balm, is an ointment promoting healing when applied to the body. Its effects include the generation of healthy cells, such that without the assistance of the ointment, the body could not escape the cycle of death. Salve has the effect of infusing life by healing the functionality of cells. These cells allow sensory apparati to work effectively, connecting the organism to its world, thereby sustaining it.

Salve, or balm, provides a clear illustration for the Prophet (Jeremiah 8:22). The spiritual state of mankind is such that it cannot perceive the Source of All Life, causing a degeneration of spiritual health. Mankind is disconnected from the Unoriginate One, and as a result she fumbles about with her disordered carnal senses.

Mankind’s spiritual sensory apparati has been badly damaged by sins and passions (Psalm 135:17,18) (Psalm 115:5) (Psalm 36:2) (Isaiah 42:18) (Matthew 13:13). Her spiritual “eye” has been darkened (Matthew 6:23). The Logos of God, functioning as Priest, King, Teacher and Prophet in His Incarnation, fully enlightens and reveals this sobering spiritual reality with His teachings and miracles. All who meditate on His words and worship Him as the God-Man receive from Him the Cure, which He also incarnates for us. Christ Himself is the Salve of our Salvation (Isaiah 12:2) (Psalm 118:14). The Word of God is the Medicine of Immortality.

In the gospel of John chapter 9, Christ heals the man born blind. Being the Incarnation of Divine Generosity, His healing acts reveal the nature of Salvation, which springs from God Himself. Christ teaches that “This man was born blind that the works of God might be displayed in Him”. Prophetically and with Divine Compassion, Christ heals the man’s sight. The eternal significance of this act was further clarified in a conversation with the Pharisees in verse 40. For those who can see their blindness, they become enlightened, those who claim they can see, their guilt remains.

A sixth sense

Humans generally have well functioning sensory apparati that include the capacity for taste, touch, smell, sight, and hearing. This material world is made up of synaptic firings and interpretations in the cerebral cortex, allowing each life to perceive and interact with their representation of reality. It is conceivable that every human life is given a sixth sense at birth. This mysterious sense has been called the “nous” or “spiritual eye” in ancient Christianity, and is capable of perceiving an Essence both “imminent” and “other”. According to an ancient wisdom, it is this sixth sense that is drowned out by the others.

“Carnal”, “fleshly”, or “worldly” describes the man who has his material senses turned up so loudly that he hasn’t the faintest perception of the Divine. Being a “sensual man”, what he “knows” , that is, his overwhelming reality, hamstrings his ability to enter into the Unknown, to truly perceive the “Knowledge of the Holy”. It is this secret Knowledge, or Sophia, that is itself the Source of Life for all things visible and invisible. It is only by this supernatural perception remaining clear that human life can return to its orderly creation.

The Lust of the Flesh, the Lust of the Eyes, and the Pride of Life, describe the human tendency to fixate on the material to acquire the Knowledge of God. Deceptive in nature, the sensory world convinces mankind that the temporal is the Eternal, rather than only alluding to it. Many pseudo-christian practices encourage entering into the senses, even indulging in them, to acquire a spiritual experience. This only results in further estrangement from the Holy, as addictive behaviors create a neurological entrenchment, permanently setting the volume of white noise.

The subconscious orientation towards the material is deceptive and occurs over time. It is the ascetic practices of historic Christianity which interrupt this pattern, reorienting man’s state under the Incarnate Word. Spiritual order returns to mankind under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, who cleanses the senses on contact. Mankind is now without excuse precisely because God is “made manifest” or “substantiated” in the Lord Jesus Christ.

As the Essence of God is presented before all of man’s senses in the Lord Jesus Christ, mankind’s “sixth sense” or “God perceiver”, can be awakened and healed. It is precisely this healing that is salvific for the human race, redeeming mankind from spiritual ignorance and the darkness of his spiritual eye. The cause of this darkening is the misuse of the other five senses, the glorification and domination of man’s internal kingdom, the temporal desires. It is by the subjugation of this kingdom, that the Kingdom of God is established in the “heart” or center of man’s existence.

The common and the Divine

While people need consideration and kindness to live in harmony with each other, there exists a grace that proceeds to move mankind farther away from God. A common grace is exercised often and freely, without any real care for another’s soul. This grace originates from the carnal man rather than the Deep Brotherly Love or true “agape” of God. A common grace simply excuses sins, while Divine Grace awakens the soul to God.

The transformative power of Christ’s Incarnation is a Gate of Divine Grace for humanity. When humanity enters into this Grace, a life is touched by the Holy. As a good tree bears good fruit, this Divine Grace results in repentance, a type of “pruning”, that causes more fruitfulness. True Grace always leads to repentance (Romans 2:4) that is continual and directional towards bearing this fruit of authentic brotherly love.

When one cares for his brother as his own soul, his soul is awakened to God, for God is Love (1 John 4:8). Divine Grace is not simply a pardon for a shortcoming, but an experience of God-consciousness, the realization of the Incarnate Christ, that is, God with us. Mercy and Loving Kindness flows with repentance and faith in a river flowing from the Throne of God (Revelation 22:1). Divine Light illumines the eyes and heart of man. He sees with new eyes. He hears with the ears of the heart.

Rather than self-justifying and excusing sins, True Grace is a Divine Power that illuminates the heart to see the negative effects and consequences of sin. Divine Grace converts the heart to agreement with God about sin. True Grace does not simply assure Divine Pardon, but transforms the inner man to godliness, to become unified with the purposes and will of God. Far more than making one feel better about past sins, Divine Grace heals the inner man, restoring him to the Divine Likeness in Genesis 1.