Deadness in sin
316:24 The spiritual idea of G.o.d, as presented by Jesus, was scourged in person, and its Principle was rejected. That man was accounted a criminal who could 316:27 prove G.o.d"s divine power by healing the sick, casting out evils, spiritualizing materialistic beliefs, and raising the dead, - those dead in trespa.s.ses and 316:30 sins, satisfied with the flesh, resting on the basis of mat- ter, blind to the possibilities of Spirit and its correla- tive truth.
317:1 Jesus uttered things which had been "secret from the foundation of the world," - since material knowledge 317:3 usurped the throne of the creative divine Principle, insisted on the might of matter, the force of falsity, the insignifi- cance of spirit, and proclaimed an anthropomorphic G.o.d.
The cup of Jesus
317:6 Whosoever lives most the life of Jesus in this age and declares best the power of Christian Science, will drink of his Master"s cup. Resistance to 317:9 Truth will haunt his steps, and he will in- cur the hatred of sinners, till "wisdom is justified of her children." These blessed benedictions rest upon 317:12 Jesus" followers: "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you;" "Lo, I am with you alway," - that is, not only in all time, but in _all ways_ 317:15 and conditions.
The individuality of man is no less tangible because it is spiritual and because his life is not at the mercy of 317:18 matter. The understanding of his spiritual individuality makes man more real, more formidable in truth, and en- ables him to conquer sin, disease, and death. Our Lord 317:21 and Master presented himself to his disciples after his resurrection from the grave, as the self-same Jesus whom they had loved before the tragedy on Calvary.
Material skepticism
317:24 To the materialistic Thomas, looking for the ideal Saviour in matter instead of in Spirit and to the testi- mony of the material senses and the body, 317:27 more than to Soul, for an earnest of immor- tality, - to him Jesus furnished the proof that he was unchanged by the crucifixion. To this dull and doubt- 317:30 ing disciple Jesus remained a fleshly reality, so long as the Master remained an inhabitant of the earth. Noth- ing but a display of matter could make existence real 318:1 to Thomas. For him to believe in matter was no task, but for him to conceive of the substantiality of Spirit - 318:3 to know that nothing can efface Mind and immortality, in which Spirit reigns - was more difficult.
What the senses originate
Corporeal senses define diseases as realities; but the 318:6 Scriptures declare that G.o.d made all, even while the cor- poreal senses are saying that matter causes disease and the divine Mind cannot or will 318:9 not heal it. The material senses originate and support all that is material, untrue, selfish, or debased.
They would put soul into soil, life into limbo, and doom 318:12 all things to decay. We must silence this lie of material sense with the truth of spiritual sense. We must cause the error to cease that brought the belief of sin and death 318:15 and would efface the pure sense of omnipotence.
Sickness as discord
Is the sick man sinful above all others? No! but so far as he is discordant, he is not the image of G.o.d.
318:18 Weary of their material beliefs, from which comes so much suffering, invalids grow more spiritual, as the error - or belief that life is in matter - 318:21 yields to the reality of spiritual Life.
The Science of Mind denies the error of sensation in matter, and heals with Truth. Medical science treats 318:24 disease as though disease were real, therefore right, and attempts to heal it with matter. If disease is right it is wrong to heal it. Material methods are temporary, and 318:27 are not adapted to elevate mankind.
The governor is not subjected to the governed. In Science man is governed by G.o.d, divine Principle, as 318:30 numbers are controlled and proved by His laws. Intelli- gence does not originate in numbers, but is manifested through them. The body does not include soul, but man- 319:1 ifests mortality, a false sense of soul. The delusion that there is life in matter has no kinship with the Life supernal.
Unscientific introspection
319:3 Science depicts disease as error, as matter _versus_ Mind, and error reversed as subserving the facts of health. To calculate one"s life-prospects 319:6 from a material basis, would infringe upon spiritual law and misguide human hope. Having faith in the divine Principle of Health and spiritually under- 319:9 standing G.o.d, sustains man under all circ.u.mstances; whereas the lower appeal to the general faith in material means (commonly called nature) must yield to the all- 319:12 might of infinite Spirit.
Throughout the infinite cycles of eternal existence, Spirit and matter neither concur in man nor in the universe.
G.o.d the only Mind
319:15 The varied doctrines and theories which presuppose life and intelligence to exist in matter are so many ancient and modern mythologies. Mystery, miracle, 319:18 sin, and death will disappear when it becomes fairly understood that the divine Mind controls man and man has no Mind but G.o.d.
Scriptures misinterpreted
319:21 The divine Science taught in the original language of the Bible came through inspiration, and needs inspi- ration to be understood. Hence the misappre- 319:24 hension of the spiritual meaning of the Bible, and the misinterpretation of the Word in some instances by uninspired writers, who only wrote 319:27 down what an inspired teacher had said. A misplaced word changes the sense and misstates the Science of the Scriptures, as, for instance, to name Love as merely 319:30 an attribute of G.o.d; but we can by special and proper capitalization speak of the love of Love, meaning by that what the beloved disciple meant in one of his epistles, 320:1 when he said, "G.o.d is love." Likewise we can speak of the truth of Truth and of the life of Life, for Christ plainly 320:3 declared, "I am the way, the truth, and the life."
Interior meaning
Metaphors abound in the Bible, and names are often expressive of spiritual ideas. The most distinguished 320:6 theologians in Europe and America agree that the Scriptures have both a spiritual and lit- eral meaning. In Smith"s Bible Dictionary it is said: 320:9 "The spiritual interpretation of Scripture must rest upon both the literal and moral;" and in the learned article on Noah in the same work, the familiar text, 320:12 Genesis vi. 3, "And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh," is quoted as follows, from the original Hebrew: "And Jehovah 320:15 said, My spirit shall not forever rule [or be humbled] in men, seeing that they are [or, in their error they are]
but flesh." Here the original text declares plainly the 320:18 spiritual fact of being, even man"s eternal and harmo- nious existence as image, idea, instead of matter (how- ever transcendental such a thought appears), and avers 320:21 that this fact is not forever to be humbled by the belief that man is flesh and matter, for according to that error man is mortal.
Job, on the resurrection
320:24 The one important interpretation of Scripture is the spiritual. For example, the text, "In my flesh shall I see G.o.d," gives a profound idea of the di- 320:27 vine power to heal the ills of the flesh, and encourages mortals to hope in Him who healeth all our diseases; whereas this pa.s.sage is continually quoted 320:30 as if Job intended to declare that even if disease and worms destroyed his body, yet in the latter days he should stand in celestial perfection before Elohim, still clad 321:1 in material flesh, - an interpretation which is just the op- posite of the true, as may be seen by studying the book 321:3 of Job. As Paul says, in his first epistle to the Corin- thians, "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of G.o.d."
Fear of the serpent overcome
321:6 The Hebrew Lawgiver, slow of speech, despaired of making the people understand what should be revealed to him. When, led by wisdom to cast down his 321:9 rod, he saw it become a serpent, Moses fled be- fore it; but wisdom bade him come back and handle the serpent, and then Moses" fear departed. In 321:12 this incident was seen the actuality of Science. Matter was shown to be a belief only. The serpent, evil, under wisdom"s bidding, was destroyed through understanding 321:15 divine Science, and this proof was a staff upon which to lean. The illusion of Moses lost its power to alarm him, when he discovered that what he apparently saw was really 321:18 but a phase of mortal belief.
Leprosy healed
It was scientifically demonstrated that leprosy was a creation of mortal mind and not a condition of matter, 321:21 when Moses first put his hand into his bosom and drew it forth white as snow with the dread disease, and presently restored his hand to its natural con- 321:24 dition by the same simple process. G.o.d had lessened Moses" fear by this proof in divine Science, and the in- ward voice became to him the voice of G.o.d, which said: 321:27 "It shall come to pa.s.s, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign." And so it was in the coming 321:30 centuries, when the Science of being was demonstrated by Jesus, who showed his students the power of Mind by changing water into wine, and taught them how to handle 322:1 serpents unharmed, to heal the sick and cast out evils in proof of the supremacy of Mind.
Standpoints changed
322:3 When understanding changes the standpoints of life and intelligence from a material to a spiritual basis, we shall gain the reality of Life, the control of Soul over 322:6 sense, and we shall perceive Christianity, or Truth, in its divine Principle. This must be the climax before harmonious and immortal man is obtained and his 322:9 capabilities revealed. It is highly important - in view of the immense work to be accomplished before this recog- nition of divine Science can come - to turn our thoughts 322:12 towards divine Principle, that finite belief may be pre- pared to relinquish its error.
Saving the inebriate
Man"s wisdom finds no satisfaction in sin, since G.o.d 322:15 has sentenced sin to suffer. The necromancy of yester- day foreshadowed the mesmerism and hypno- tism of to-day. The drunkard thinks he enjoys 322:18 drunkenness, and you cannot make the inebriate leave his besottedness, until his physical sense of pleasure yields to a higher sense. Then he turns from his cups, as 322:21 the startled dreamer who wakens from an incubus in- curred through the pains of distorted sense. A man who likes to do wrong - finding pleasure in it and refraining 322:24 from it only through fear of consequences - is neither a temperate man nor a reliable religionist.
Uses of suffering
The sharp experiences of belief in the supposit.i.tious life 322:27 of matter, as well as our disappointments and ceaseless woes, turn us like tired children to the arms of divine Love. Then we begin to learn Life 322:30 in divine Science. Without this process of weaning, "Canst thou by searching find out G.o.d?" It is easier to desire Truth than to rid one"s self of error. Mortals 323:1 may seek the understanding of Christian Science, but they will not be able to glean from Christian Science the facts 323:3 of being without striving for them. This strife consists in the endeavor to forsake error of every kind and to pos- sess no other consciousness but good.
A bright outlook
323:6 Through the wholesome chastis.e.m.e.nts of Love, we are helped onward in the march towards righteousness, peace, and purity, which are the landmarks 323:9 of Science. Beholding the infinite tasks of truth, we pause, - wait on G.o.d. Then we push onward, until boundless thought walks enraptured, and concep- 323:12 tion unconfined is winged to reach the divine glory.
Need and supply
In order to apprehend more, we must put into prac- tice what we already know. We must recollect that 323:15 Truth is demonstrable when understood, and that good is not understood until demonstrated.
If "faithful over a few things," we shall be made rulers 323:18 over many; but the one unused talent decays and is lost.
When the sick or the sinning awake to realize their need of what they have not, they will be receptive of divine 323:21 Science, which gravitates towards Soul and away from material sense, removes thought from the body, and ele- vates even mortal mind to the contemplation of some- 323:24 thing better than disease or sin. The true idea of G.o.d gives the true understanding of Life and Love, robs the grave of victory, takes away all sin and the delusion that 323:27 there are other minds, and destroys mortality.
Childlike receptivity
The effects of Christian Science are not so much seen as felt. It is the "still, small voice" of Truth 323:30 uttering itself. We are either turning away from this utterance, or we are listening to it and going up higher. Willingness to become as a little child and 324:1 to leave the old for the new, renders thought receptive of the advanced idea. Gladness to leave the false landmarks 324:3 and joy to see them disappear, - this disposition helps to precipitate the ultimate harmony. The purification of sense and self is a proof of progress. "Blessed are the 324:6 pure in heart: for they shall see G.o.d."
Narrow pathway
Unless the harmony and immortality of man are be- coming more apparent, we are not gaining the true idea 324:9 of G.o.d; and the body will reflect what gov- erns it, whether it be Truth or error, understanding or belief, Spirit or matter. Therefore 324:12 "acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace."
Be watchful, sober, and vigilant. The way is straight and narrow, which leads to the understanding that G.o.d 324:15 is the only Life. It is a warfare with the flesh, in which we must conquer sin, sickness, and death, either here or hereafter, - certainly before we can reach the goal 324:18 of Spirit, or life in G.o.d.
Paul"s enlightenment
Paul was not at first a disciple of Jesus but a perse- cutor of Jesus" followers. When the truth first appeared 324:21 to him in Science, Paul was made blind, and his blindness was felt; but spiritual light soon enabled him to follow the example and teach- 324:24 ings of Jesus, healing the sick and preaching Christian- ity throughout Asia Minor, Greece, and even in imperial Rome.
324:27 Paul writes, "If Christ [Truth] be not risen, then is our preaching vain." That is, if the idea of the suprem- acy of Spirit, which is the true conception of being, 324:30 come not to your thought, you cannot be benefited by what I say.
Abiding in Life
Jesus said substantially, "He that believeth in me 325:1 shall not see death." That is, he who perceives the true idea of Life loses his belief in death. He who has 325:3 the true idea of good loses all sense of evil, and by reason of this is being ushered into the undying realities of Spirit. Such a one abideth in Life, - 325:6 life obtained not of the body incapable of supporting life, but of Truth, unfolding its own immortal idea. Jesus gave the true idea of being, which results in infinite bless- 325:9 ings to mortals.