5. Spiritual Substance
That which is held in mind comes into form. The more that we hold in mind the beauty, the permeating essence, and the infinity of Substance, the more does its perfection come into perfect form for us.
Therefore, it is most important to learn to establish the realisation of the basic divine ideas rather than to use the limited intellectual concepts of manifest man’s habits of thought.
Paul taught us that Substance is Omnipresence. That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him though he be not far from every one of us; For in him we live, move, and have our being…Acts 17:27-28.
In this invisible sea of Substance, man is always near, within and all around him. It must make us aware of our divine nature to realise this Truth.
In the 139th Psalm, we have another lesson on the invisible, limitless Substance, out of which all things are formed. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvellous are thy works; and that your soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest part of the earth.
Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. – Psalms 139; 14-16.
These verses of the Psalm point out the invisible waiting Substance in which the perfect pattern of the One Mind inheres. All is contained in the limitless, spiritual Substance. It is formless and comes into form according to the habitual thinking and feeling and visioning of man.
When we accept the idea of Substance as Omnipresence, we know that there is nothing to fear; that there is no lack, in reality; that we need not be anxious, weak, ill, or poor, or lonely. We know that consistent holding to the ideal brings forth ideal results. Substance is moulded by our thought fingers. However, as we continue our study of Truth principles, we realise more and more that we, as humans, have no right to manipulate people or conditions.
We learn that the quality of creative goodness always responds to our vision of Truth, and so we place our effort on the envisioning of the divine attributes and our oneness with Spirit. Expectancy of good brings the Substance into form as needed. That is the glory and the wonder of the basic creative activity.
Bread is the symbol of Substance. In the Lord’s Prayer, in the feeding of the multitudes when Jesus broke the bread available to have it increase to sufficiency, and in the Last Supper when He asked the disciples to partake of bread naming it “my body”, we are shown the truth that Substance is the reality out of which all things are formed.
Form, however, does not refer to material objects only. We must remember that man is a threefold being, Spirit, soul and body. Each aspects of his being must be nourished and sustained so that he may express and manifest the divine ideal. Therefore, within Substance are the ideas needed for the orderly, subtle qualities of harmony, of envisioning, of power; within Substance, are the qualities of life and strength, of vitality, and beauty; within Substance are the component elements that make for prosperity, for abundance of supply, for achievement, and security.
Man’s soul is fed through his acceptance of Spiritual Substance as the living reality within him, and thus he gives more room to Spirit, the eternal identity of his being. Spirit never changes. It rests with man to expand his consciousness of the Presence, in order to permit more and more of the divine essence to come forth.
And so we understand that we include, in the Divine Attributes, the infinity and the all-ness of God. So we include Omniscience as the all-knowing Wisdom that God is. We include Omnipotence as the only Power, the One Power in the creation, and we understand that Omnipresence is God. There is no place outside of God. God, the One Mind, Spirit, permeates the whole creation as Omnipresence.
Now it rests with the individual to make these attributes living realities through study, quite meditation and prayer. When we give our earnest attention, Spirit fulfils.
End
Source: Faith and Works by Helen Zagat
Therefore, it is most important to learn to establish the realisation of the basic divine ideas rather than to use the limited intellectual concepts of manifest man’s habits of thought.
Paul taught us that Substance is Omnipresence. That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him though he be not far from every one of us; For in him we live, move, and have our being…Acts 17:27-28.
In this invisible sea of Substance, man is always near, within and all around him. It must make us aware of our divine nature to realise this Truth.
In the 139th Psalm, we have another lesson on the invisible, limitless Substance, out of which all things are formed. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvellous are thy works; and that your soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest part of the earth.
Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. – Psalms 139; 14-16.
These verses of the Psalm point out the invisible waiting Substance in which the perfect pattern of the One Mind inheres. All is contained in the limitless, spiritual Substance. It is formless and comes into form according to the habitual thinking and feeling and visioning of man.
When we accept the idea of Substance as Omnipresence, we know that there is nothing to fear; that there is no lack, in reality; that we need not be anxious, weak, ill, or poor, or lonely. We know that consistent holding to the ideal brings forth ideal results. Substance is moulded by our thought fingers. However, as we continue our study of Truth principles, we realise more and more that we, as humans, have no right to manipulate people or conditions.
We learn that the quality of creative goodness always responds to our vision of Truth, and so we place our effort on the envisioning of the divine attributes and our oneness with Spirit. Expectancy of good brings the Substance into form as needed. That is the glory and the wonder of the basic creative activity.
Bread is the symbol of Substance. In the Lord’s Prayer, in the feeding of the multitudes when Jesus broke the bread available to have it increase to sufficiency, and in the Last Supper when He asked the disciples to partake of bread naming it “my body”, we are shown the truth that Substance is the reality out of which all things are formed.
Form, however, does not refer to material objects only. We must remember that man is a threefold being, Spirit, soul and body. Each aspects of his being must be nourished and sustained so that he may express and manifest the divine ideal. Therefore, within Substance are the ideas needed for the orderly, subtle qualities of harmony, of envisioning, of power; within Substance, are the qualities of life and strength, of vitality, and beauty; within Substance are the component elements that make for prosperity, for abundance of supply, for achievement, and security.
Man’s soul is fed through his acceptance of Spiritual Substance as the living reality within him, and thus he gives more room to Spirit, the eternal identity of his being. Spirit never changes. It rests with man to expand his consciousness of the Presence, in order to permit more and more of the divine essence to come forth.
And so we understand that we include, in the Divine Attributes, the infinity and the all-ness of God. So we include Omniscience as the all-knowing Wisdom that God is. We include Omnipotence as the only Power, the One Power in the creation, and we understand that Omnipresence is God. There is no place outside of God. God, the One Mind, Spirit, permeates the whole creation as Omnipresence.
Now it rests with the individual to make these attributes living realities through study, quite meditation and prayer. When we give our earnest attention, Spirit fulfils.
End
Source: Faith and Works by Helen Zagat
