Spirit Duty
1. Except a man be born of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God, for that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit.
2. When the wind blows, you hear the ruffle of the leaves, but you do not see the wind – whence it comes or whither it goes – and so it is with everyone born of the spirit.
3. With the eyes of the flesh you can behold the manifestations of the spirit, but you cannot actually discern the spirit.
4. It becomes, then, the duty of those who know about the realities of the spirit to reveal these things to those who discern only the manifestations of the material world.
5. As a faith-enlightened and spirit-liberated child of the kingdom of heaven, you face a double responsibility of duty to man and duty to God, while you voluntarily assume a third and sacred obligation: service to the brotherhood of God-knowing believers.
6. The Father requires of the children of faith that they bear much spirit fruit; so increasingly must you field the fruits of the spirit as you progress heavenward in the kingdom of God.
7. The fruits of the spirit, your sincere and loving service, are the mighty social lever to uplift the races of darkness; but your light should so shine as not to attract attention to self.
8. The material-minded mortals in darkness will never know of your spiritual light of truth unless you draw very near them that unselfish social service which is the natural outgrowth of the bearing of the fruits of the spirit in the experience of each individual believer.
9. Even one’s vocation can be utilized as an effective “reflector” for the dissemination of this light of life; but spiritual truth is not to be advanced by material wonders.
10. Forewarn all believers regarding the fringe of conflict which must be traversed by all who pass from the life as it is lived in the flesh to the higher life as it is lived in the spirit.
11. The material and temporal must be subordinated to the welfare of the soul and the progress of the spiritual nature in the kingdom of heaven.
12. To those who live quite wholly within either realm, there is little conflict or confusion, but all are doomed to experience more or less uncertainty during the times of transition between the two levels of living.
13. By discretion show yourselves to be expert in ironing out minor disagreements and in adjusting trifling misunderstandings.
14. Be you always as wise as serpents but as harmless as doves; display wisdom and exhibit sagacity in your dealings with unbelieving civil rulers.
15. In every possible way – in everything short of your spiritual allegiance to the rulers of the universe – seek to live peaceable with all human beings.
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