A core truth of Christianity is that when Jesus gave up His physical body on the cross, He showed us the path to let go of ours as well. Humanity’s sinfulness stems from the desires of the flesh; therefore, without rejecting the flesh, salvation becomes meaningless, if not impossible. Many people misunderstand His sacrifice as being for the sake of a comfortable life on earth, with prosperity teachings among the most misleading doctrines.
The human body is inherently animalistic. Its instincts mirror those of the animal kingdom, where the survival of the fittest dominates. Survival in this world follows the same cycle of birth, growth, and death, often at the expense of others. Yet humans—though physical—are made in God’s image and carry within them the gift of eternal life. It is this eternal life that Jesus came to restore, freeing us from the limitations of our animal nature.
Human beings, shaped by the cycle of birth, growth, and death, often struggle to appreciate anything beyond it. This is why the Jews rejected Jesus: His words made no sense to them because their understanding was confined to that earthly cycle. Yet as beings created in God’s image, humans share the attribute of eternity, just as God is eternal. Jesus, though born of a woman, came to lead humanity out of the limitations of birth, growth, and death. This is why He declared Himself the way, the truth, and the life: through Him, anyone can break free from that earthly cycle.
Physical life exists only as a privilege that allows a person to discover his or her true identity as God’s child and to seek guidance from Him rather than from earthly principles. The Book of Genesis holds the key to understanding humanity. Even His disciples struggled with faith, failing to grasp the significance of humanity’s creation. In truth, nothing about it is hidden except what disbelief or lack of faith obscures.
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in his image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them (Genesis 1:26–27 NIV).
Scripture does not reveal what happened after humanity’s creation, but it does show that God’s identity is plural in nature. God is one, yet composed of the Heavenly Hosts. Jesus declared Himself to be God, making it reasonable to describe God as a system—yet, as Jesus stated, God is Spirit (John 4:24). When we reconnect with God, we become His children and one with Him.
This challenges the idea that becoming God’s children means being different from Him in His kingdom. In the earthly kingdoms under Satan, there are many competing and opposing realms. The worldly system is sustained by a principle that strives to be greater than others and relies on competition rather than cooperation. None of these kingdoms lasts forever.
In the beginning, humanity was united with God, but that bond was broken after the incident in the Garden of Eden. The Jewish faith was built on statutory laws and the teachings of the prophets, maintaining a clear separation between God and humanity. When Jesus, also called Emanuel, came, He provided a path for humanity to reconnect with God.
However, the Jews did not accept Him as the Messiah. They saw Him as just another man of their time, even though He demonstrated greater knowledge than they did. His background and credentials failed to match their expectations of the Messiah they had long awaited.
Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” “We are not stoning you for any of these,” replied the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”
Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are gods’? If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and the Scripture cannot be broken—what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp (John 10:31–39 NIV).
Their main argument was that Jesus claimed a position equal to God’s. However, Jesus also hinted that there is nothing peculiar about humanity being divine, citing Psalm 82:6. This Scripture prophetically referred to people as “gods.” Still, they accused Him of calling Himself God’s Son. They correctly understood that the term “Son of God” implied being God. Jesus clearly affirmed this to His disciples after Philip asked Him to show them the Father.
Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or at least believe in the evidence of the miracles themselves” (John 14:8–11 NIV).
Though Jesus was human, those who knew Him recognized that the Father was in Him and He was in the Father, making them inseparable. If I, Andrew Masuku, were to speak the same words Jesus did, wouldn’t I be accused of blasphemy? If God dwelled in Jesus, enabling Him to call Himself God, how would that differ from anyone else in whom God dwells?
“Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him” (John 14:19–21 NIV).
The disciples had not yet received the Holy Spirit and therefore could not fully understand the mystery. God would live in them, just as Jesus would also be within them. So anyone who saw them would see both God and Christ. This did not mean the disciples would be honored by people—any more than those who claim to love Jesus but do not even know what He looks like.
If God resides in Andrew Masuku, performing many miracles through him, why would people fail to recognize God? We live in a world ruled by God’s adversary, where the focus is on self-exaltation rather than honoring others. This creates confusion when Jesus arrives in humility, instead of the self-glorification that drives the world. It is not surprising—it is the same reason the guardians of the Law picked up stones to attack Him. They did not believe they were confronting God; to them, Jesus was just an ordinary man, undeserving of divine honor.
“Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates me hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father” (John 15:20–24 NIV).
If someone sent by God—whether Andrew Masuku or anyone else—performs miracles but people remain stubborn, it is not the messenger they reject; according to Jesus, they reject both Him and the Father. God is inseparable from His children, and separation only happens when people claim to know Him but are actually ignorant, just like those who killed Jesus.
Jesus was the first human to testify to knowing God. As the way, the truth, and the life, everything He said is true, and anyone who denies it is a charlatan. Those who refuse to believe His teachings align themselves with those who rejected Him. Recognizing that Jesus came to reveal the Father means sincere believers have no trouble accepting Him.
God is not confined to some distant place in heaven but dwells among those known by Him and by Jesus. His true children can easily recognize those He uses. God’s identity cannot be compared to anything in this world (Exodus 20:3), yet theologians often miss this, imagining Him through worldly concepts. The so-called portrait of Jesus is both false and idolatrous. Many claim to love Jesus and the God they have never seen, yet harbor deep hatred toward those in whom God lives.
“No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is made complete in us. We know that we live in him and he in us because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him, and he is in God.
“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the Day of Judgment because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
“We love because he first loved us. If anyone says ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 John 4:12–21 NIV).
The true test of knowing who is sent by God lies in whether their words align with Jesus. John’s message in 1 John 4 reflects this consistency. One cannot separate God from those made in His image. The physical appearance of Jesus was not God’s image, which explains why many failed to recognize Him, and why people today struggle to identify God’s children.
If Jesus came to save the physical body, He would not have allowed it to be harmed by sinful people. The physical body undergoes birth, growth, and death, but that is not what He came to save. His mission was to redeem humanity from that state into godliness. It is not blasphemy for someone to say, “Anyone who has seen me has seen God,” provided God dwells within them. If a person hesitates to say this, it likely means God is not dwelling in them. There is only one condition for receiving God’s Spirit and becoming His child.
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31–32 NIV).
Simply saying you love Jesus without believing His words is not enough. James noted that even demons believe and tremble before Him (James 2:19). Many Jews who claimed faith in Him could not accept Him as God’s Son and instead sought to kill Him. Nothing has changed—Jesus remains the same yesterday, today, and forever, and He is no different from those who later receive God’s Spirit, becoming God’s children in the process.
“And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
“For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him, we cry ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings so that we may also share in his glory” (Romans 8:11–17 NIV).
Being co-heirs with Christ is as certain as the sun rising tomorrow. While many await Jesus’ second coming, they often overlook other lords, even though He is called King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Many of His brothers will share His likeness when He returns, identifying with Him through their deeds and knowledge. What truly defines their connection to Him is the willingness to sacrifice everything, even their bodies, just as Jesus did.
Counterfeits of Jesus can be recognized by their unwillingness to give up everything, using His name only to gain worldly blessings. Two spirits seem to oppose each other, yet the Spirit of God does not compete; instead, it lets individuals decide for themselves, guided by their understanding of Scripture. The god of this world offers physical blessings, while the true God seeks to diminish them in favor of spiritual blessings.
The key is to always listen to the voice of Jesus, whom John described as the Word. He works through His servants, giving each person the chance to choose whether to accept God’s call. Through parables, He makes it harder for those uninterested in God to take His Word seriously, focusing instead on enticing them to the physical blessings. The mysteries of God are never handed out randomly, but are given for a specific purpose to those in His service.
Andrew Masuku is the author of Dimensions of a New Civilisation, which lays out standards for lifting Zimbabwe out of its current economic depression and into a model for other nations worldwide. A decaying tree provides an opportunity for a blossoming sprout. Written from a Christian perspective, the book is a product of inspiration, offering relief to those who have witnessed the strings of unworkable solutions leading to the current economic and social decay. Most Zimbabweans should find the book to be a long-awaited providential oasis of hope, in a simple conversational tone.
The Print copy is now available at Amazon.com for $13.99
Also available as an e-copy at Lulu.com for $6.99