GOD THE ONLY CAUSE AND CREATOR

Transcription

1 Christian Science Quarterly June GOD THE ONLY CAUSE AND CREATOR Golden Text Psalms 104:24 (to!), 30 (to :) In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after SUBJECT his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. O Lord, how manifold are thy works!... Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: Responsive Reading Genesis 1:1, 9, 12, 16, 20, 24, 26 (to :), 27, 31 (to 1 st.); 2:1; Psalms 145:10 24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. 1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 10 All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee. ONE: God, Spirit, is the only cause and creator. Page 2 TWO: The divine creation is spiritual and good. Page 3 THREE: Evil has no cause and is unreal. Page 4 FOUR: Jesus s birth showed Spirit to be the true cause. Page 5 FIVE: As Jesus proved, divine causation is the healing power. Page 6 SIX: Spiritual causation is a firm foundation. Page 7 SEVEN: The way in Christian Science is glorious. Page 8 God the Only Cause and Creator

2 I 1 1 John 1:1, 3 n the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 2 Isaiah 61:11 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. 3 Psalms 33:8 2 nd let, 9, 13, 15 (to ;) let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. 9 For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast. 13 The Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. 15 He fashioneth their hearts alike; 4 Romans 1:20 the (to ;) the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; 1 331: God is individual, incorporeal. He is divine Principle, Love, the universal cause, the only creator, and there is no other self-existence. He is all- 21 inclusive, and is reflected by all that is real and eternal and by nothing else. The universal cause 2 502:28 The universe reflects God. There is but one creator and one creation. This crea- 1 tion consists of the unfolding of spiritual ideas and their identities, which are embraced in the infinite Mind and 3 forever reflected. These ideas range from the infinitesimal to infinity, and the highest ideas are the sons and daughters of God :7 10, Mortals must look beyond fading, finite forms, if they would gain the true sense of things. 9 Where shall the gaze rest but in the unsearchable realm of Mind? As mortals gain more correct views of God and man, multitudinous objects of creation, which before were 15 invisible, will become visible. When we Selfcompleteness realize that Life is Spirit, never in nor of matter, this understanding will expand into self-com- 18 pleteness, finding all in God, good, and needing no other consciousness. Spirit and its formations are the only realities of being. What is righteousness, and why is it important? Ever since God created the world, his invisible qualities, both his eternal power and his divine nature, have been clearly seen; they are perceived in the things that God has made.... Romans 1:20 (in part) Good News Translation Arctic regions, 3 sunny tropics, giant hills, winged winds, mighty billows, verdant vales, festive flowers, 4 240:2 6 Some lessons from nature and glorious heavens, all point to Mind, the spiritual 6 intelligence they reflect. We re off to see how different parts of nature reflect the spiritual intelligence of divine Mind s creation! How do you reflect infinite Mind in your daily life in conversations, school, or even chores? UPLIFTING THOUGHTS from this section: Godhead: divine nature; divinity universal: of or referring to the universe; all-inclusive; unlimited; existing everywhere infinitesimal: infinitely or indefinitely small festive: bright and colorful, appropriate for a feast or festival; joyous God the Only Cause and Creator 2

3 2 5 P 5 Psalms 148:1, 3, 5 for 583:20 raise ye the Lord. Praise ye the Lord from the heavens: praise him in the heights. 3 Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light. 5 for he commanded, and they were created. 6 Psalms 107:8 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 John 3:6 2 nd that 8 Ephesians 5:9 the the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth; Hallelujah! Praise GOD from heaven, praise him from the mountaintops... Psalms 148:1 The Message MODEL USED FOR ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES CREATOR. Spirit; Mind; intelligence; the animating 21 divine Principle of all that is real and good; self-existent Life, Truth, and Love; that which is perfect and eternal; the opposite of matter and evil, which have no Prin- 24 ciple; God, who made all that was made and could not create an atom or an element the opposite of Himself :8 Spirit never created matter. There is nothing in 9 Spirit out of which matter could be made, for, as the Bible declares, without the Logos, the Æon or Word of God, was not anything made 12 that was made. Spirit is the only substance, the invisible and indivisible infinite God. Things spiritual and eternal are substantial. Things material and temporal 15 are insubstantial. The only substance 7 109:32 The three great verities of Spirit, omnipotence, omni- 1 presence, omniscience, Spirit possessing all power, filling all space, constituting all Science, contradict 3 forever the belief that matter can be actual. These eternal verities reveal primeval existence as the radiant reality of God s creation, 6 in which all that He has made is pronounced by His wisdom good. God s allness learned temporal: secular, as distinguished from sacred or eternal; earthly; temporary verities: truths; facts; realities primeval: original; primitive radiant: emitting; proceeding from a center; shining; brilliant abode: abiding place; dwelling; home FROM THE HEIGHTS of spiritual inspiration, this is how I see God s creation: From Love and from the light and harmony which are the abode of Spirit, only reflections 6 of good can come :4 6 The things of God are beautiful Knowing that God, Mind, is the only cause and creator brings healing. Read what Mary Baker Eddy wrote to Annie Robertson about this fact in the book Mary Baker Eddy: Christian Healer, Amplified Edition by Yvonne Caché von Fettweis and Robert Townsend Warneck (p. 225). God is awesome! Wahooo! Do you think this counts as praising God from the heavens? MODELS USED FOR ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES God the Only Cause and Creator 3

4 3 9 Habakkuk 1:12 (to?), 13 (to :) A 9 140:25 27 The Christian Science God is universal, eternal, divine Love, which changeth not and caus- 27 eth no evil, disease, nor death. rt thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God, mine Holy One? 13 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: 10 James 1:13, 14, 16, 17 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 16 Do not err, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. 11 Philippians 4:8 whatsoever whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Also in the book Mary Baker Eddy: Christian Healer, Amplified Edition, read what Eddy said to student Clara Shannon about error having no cause at all (pp ).... Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely, and dwell on the fine, good things in others. Think about all you can praise God for and be glad about. This arctic region is so pure and clear! The water and ice are all just different shapes and forms of the same pure idea! Philippians 4:8 The Living Bible :8 10 God, Spirit, alone created all, and called it 9 good. Therefore evil, being contrary to good, is unreal, and cannot be the product of God. Evil not produced by God :20 23 There is but one primal cause. Therefore there can 21 be no effect from any other cause, and there can be no reality in aught which does not proceed from this great and only cause. One primal cause :27 27 The five material senses testify to truth and error as united in a mind both good and evil. Their false evidence will finally 30 yield to Truth, to the recognition of Spirit and of the spiritual creation :24 4 All 24 All reality is in God and His creation, harmonious and eternal. That which He creates is good, and He makes all that is made. Therefore Unrealities that seem real 27 the only reality of sin, sickness, or death is the awful fact that unrealities seem real to human, erring belief, until God strips off their disguise. They are not 30 true, because they are not of God. We learn in Christian 1 Science that all inharmony of mortal mind or body is illusion, possessing neither reality nor identity though seeming 3 to be real and identical. The Science of Mind disposes of all evil. How do you see the false evidence of the material senses yielding to Truth today? lust: sensual or longing desire; craving enticed: tempted; lured err: wander; stray; mistake; misjudge primal: first; original God the Only Cause and Creator 4

5 4 14 t 12 Isaiah 7:14 the 332:23 29 he Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin Jesus was the son of a virgin. He was appointed shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name 24 to speak God s word and to appear to mortals in such Immanuel. a form of humanity as they could understand 13 Matthew 1:18, 22, 23 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. 22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. 14 Luke 2:40 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. 15 Acts 17:24, 25, 28 in (to ;) God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; 25 Neither is worshipped with men s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; 28 in him we live, and move, and have our being; What is the Science of creation and why was it evident in Jesus s birth? Which version of creation does this best relate to Genesis 1 or Genesis 2? Christ Jesus as well as perceive. Mary s conception of 27 him was spiritual, for only purity could reflect Truth and Love, which were plainly incarnate in the good and pure Christ Jesus :30 Scientific offspring 30 The Science of creation, so conspicuous in the birth of Jesus, inspired his wisest and least-understood sayings, and was the basis of his 1 marvellous demonstrations. Christ is the offspring of Spirit, and spiritual existence shows that Spirit creates 3 neither a wicked nor a mortal man, lapsing into sin, sickness, and death :27 28 (to 2 nd.), The foundation of mortal discord is a false sense of man s origin. To begin rightly is to end rightly. Mind the only cause 30 Divine Mind is the only cause or Principle of existence. Cause does not exist in matter, in mortal mind, or in physical forms :5 In Science man is the offspring of Spirit. The beauti- 6 ful, good, and pure constitute his ancestry. His origin is not, like that of mortals, in brute instinct, nor does he pass through material conditions prior 9 to reaching intelligence. Spirit is his primitive and ultimate source of being; God is his Father, and Life is the law of his being. Spiritual origin It makes me think of the amazingness of God s creation. What does it mean to begin rightly? Why is this so important? Look! These mountains are so tall, there are clouds in them! espoused: promised in marriage; engaged waxed: became; grew incarnate: embodied; seen in bodily form lapsing: falling; slipping ancestry: heritage; lineage brute: not possessing reason; irrational; unthinking God the Only Cause and Creator 5

6 5 16 Psalms 67:1 (to 2 nd ;), 2 God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; 2 That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations. 17 Psalms 145:10, 11 All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee. 11 They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; A 18 Matthew 4:23 nd Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. Jesus illustrated the divine Principle and the 15 power of immortal Mind by healing sickness and sin and destroying the foundations of death. 12 Physical causation was put aside from first to last by this original man, Jesus. He knew that the divine Principle, Love, creates and governs all that 15 is real :14 A closed question : :3 Sure reward of righteousness 3 In the Science of Christianity, Mind omnipotence has all-power, assigns sure rewards to righteousness, and shows that matter can 6 neither heal nor make sick, create nor destroy. 19 John 14:8 12 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? 10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works sake. 12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father :29 32 Reasoning from cause to effect in the Science of Mind, 30 we begin with Mind, which must be understood through the idea which expresses it and cannot be learned from its opposite, matter. Sinlessness of Mind, Soul 22 14: Become conscious for a single moment that Life and intelligence are purely spiritual, neither in nor of matter, and the body will then utter no 15 complaints. If suffering from a belief in sickness, you will find yourself suddenly well. Sorrow is turned into joy when the body is controlled by spir- 18 itual Life, Truth, and Love. Hence the hope of the promise Jesus bestows: He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also;... because I 21 go unto my Father, [because the Ego is absent from the body, and present with Truth and Love.] Spiritualized consciousness So much life and beauty! What can you accomplish, knowing that your life and intelligence are spiritual, having only one divine source? sufficeth: satisfies; is enough for verily: truly assigns: designates; attributes; applies righteousness: rightness with God; moral rightness; uprightness; virtuousness God the Only Cause and Creator 6

7 6 20 Acts 2:43 many, 47 And the many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. 47 And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. T 21 Acts 8:5 8 hen Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. 6 And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. 8 And there was great joy in that city. 22 II Corinthians 2:14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. The hills of Samaria :1 6 1 Jesus established his church and maintained his mission on a spiritual foundation of Christ-healing. He taught 3 his followers that his religion had a divine Principle, which would cast out error and heal both the sick and the sinning. He claimed no intelli- 6 gence, action, nor life separate from God. The Christ-mission :19 There are various methods of treating disease, which are not included in the commonly accepted systems; but 21 there is only one which should be presented The one divine method to the whole world, and that is the Christian Science which Jesus preached and practised and left to us 24 as his rich legacy :23 27 Christian Science explains all cause and effect as men- 24 tal, not physical. It lifts the veil of mystery from Soul and body. It shows the scientific relation of man to God, disentangles the interlaced ambiguities 27 of being, and sets free the imprisoned thought. Causation mental :6 6 The real jurisdiction of the world is in Mind, controlling every effect and recognizing all causation as vested in divine Mind. How can understanding Mind s governing help you pray for the world? FAVORITE VIEWPOINTS brought out in this section: Look! My Swiss cousins! Looks like they can teach us a few things about lying down in green pastures. savour: cause; flavor; quality; character legacy: gift given by will or last testament; something left by an individual at the end of a career jurisdiction: authority of a sovereign power; authority to make laws and govern vested: clothed; established; fixed God the Only Cause and Creator 7

8 7 23 Psalms 104:24 (to :), 30, 31 O :22 24 Spiritual causation is the one question to be considered, for more than all others spiritual causation relates to 24 human progress. Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: 30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth. 31 The glory of the Lord shall endure for ever: the Lord shall rejoice in his works. 24 Psalms 119:18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law :24 25, Infinite Mind creates and governs all, from the mental molecule to infinity. Creation is ever appearing, and must ever continue to appear from the nature of its inexhaustible source :28 When we learn the way in Christian Science and recognize man s spiritual being, we shall behold and under- 30 stand God s creation, all the glories of earth and heaven and man. What are you seeing as you learn the way in Christian Science? What are these glories? Only beauty to see here! manifold: many; diverse; numerous inexhaustible: can t be used up; infinite; boundless glories: evidences of God; beauties; wonders ASCENDING THOUGHTS that will strengthen me today: God the Only Cause and Creator 8

9 Afew years ago, I had a healing that deepened my understanding of God s creation and my place in this creation. I had observed many warts growing on my hands but wasn t aware of what they were or that I could pray to find healing. When I showed them to my parents, we talked, and they let me know I had the option of handling the situation through medicine or prayer, but that it wouldn t be right to ignore the problem. I decided I would choose prayer because it had been effective for me before. I started praying by thinking about God s entire creation. I struggled with the question of why God would create a wart, Bright ideas By COURTNEY something ugly and so unlike the good His creation is supposed to be. Did He actually create something ugly? The answer came in an epiphany that, like in so many other healings, reintroduced an idea I already knew, but in a fresh way. I remembered a healing of altitude sickness I d had the year before. The healing had occurred at a camp for Christian Scientists located in the heart of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. I was feeling dizzy as our group was ascending a massive 14,000-foot peak. In praying then, I d looked at the vast forest, mountains, and clouds surrounding me. A statement came to me from the first chapter of Genesis: And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good (verse 31). That was the key! God made everything and He made it all good. He made me and my fellow campers. He made nature and man to live in peace, not harm one another. He would never create two things to war with each other. Therefore, the battle with the altitude wasn t from God. God s universe is united and whole, not divided and battling. Soon the dizziness These bright ideas of Truth were angel messages from God. subsided and I felt energized and ready to continue hiking. I thought about this past healing as I began to pray about the warts. And I began to see that God hadn t created the warts at all. I turned to the weekly Christian Science Bible Lesson for inspiration and found some ideas about God and good. Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, states on page 286 of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, In the Saxon and twenty other tongues good is the term for God. The Scriptures declare all that He made to be good, like Himself, good in Principle and in idea. Therefore the spiritual universe is good, and reflects God as He is. God s goodness runs so deep, and includes those of all cultures and nations. God, good, could never create illnesses or physical defects, like altitude sickness or warts, to harm the good in His universe. These bright ideas of Truth were angel messages from God, and I received many more. I continued to pray with the idea of freedom from limitation and physical deformity. Hymn 412 provided some inspiration: O dreamer, leave thy dreams for joyful waking, O captive, rise and sing, for thou art free; The Christ is here, all dreams of error breaking, Unloosing bonds of all captivity. (Rosa M. Turner) I thought of myself as the dreamer or captive in the hymn. I ve had many experiences of waking up from bad dreams and discovering their nothingness. This freedom from the nothingness of dreams was totally relatable. I just had to wake up from the dream that there were warts covering my fingers and be awake to the presence of God s goodness, awake to healing. These warts had no identity and were definitely not mine. They were not part of God s creation either. Once I recognized and accepted these truths, the warts began to painlessly disappear. Within two weeks, the healing was complete. No remnants of scarring existed on my hands. It was as if the warts had never been there. They haven t reappeared. I am grateful for God s healing goodness and the united and free nature of His kingdom. This article was originally published in the August 26, 2013 issue of the Christian Science Sentinel. You can find this piece (and thousands more!) at jsh.christianscience.com. we have hidden an image of a pearl [ ] somewhere in the pages of mybiblelesson. happy pearl hunting! PHOTO ATTRIBUTIONS: COVER: Comstock/Stockbyte/Thinkstock: hot air balloons Page 2: Medioimages/Photodisc/Photodisc/Thinkstock: sunflowers Photos.com/Photos.com/Thinkstock: hot air balloon festival, mod. Page 3: Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Thinkstock: climber atop ridge Digital Vision/Digital Vision/Thinkstock: skydiving, mod. Page 4: Thinkstock/Stockbyte/Thinkstock: hot air balloon flying at dusk Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Thinkstock: aerial view of iceberg, mod. Page 5: Digital Vision/Photodisc/Thinkstock: Himalayas, Tibet, mod. Page 6: Creatas Images/Creatas/Thinkstock: Peter Island, British Isle of Columbia, mod. Page 7: Hemera Technologies/Photos.com/Thinkstock: hills in Samaria, Israel Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Thinkstock: aerial view of cows, mod. Page 8: Hemera Technologies/AbleStock.com/Thinkstock: hot air balloon, mod. Medioimages/Photodisc/Photodisc/Thinkstock: poppies, mod. Tom Brakefield/Stockbyte/Thinkstock: Iguazu Falls from Brazil side into Argentina Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Thinkstock: moon above waves Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Thinkstock: elephants in river Page 9: Courtesy photo All nonattributed graphics, photos, and digitally modified images by mbl staff. Pearl Hint: Nature teaches grand lessons. God the Only Cause and Creator 9

10 mybiblelesson INFO PAGE we d love to hear from you! mybiblelesson is for you! So send us your feedback on how it s helping you get more out of the Bible Lesson when you study. We want to know what s working... and what s not! We also love to publish your photos and artwork whenever they work well with the lesson ideas. If you d like to contribute, contact us at staff@mybiblelesson.com for details. BIBLE INFO: TRANSLATIONS: All Scriptural quotations used in the text of mybiblelesson are taken from the King James Version of The Holy Bible, unless otherwise indicated. MAWUENA DAVIES The following are verbally equivalent translations used for In Other Words. These translations tend to use the oldest available and most recently discovered manuscripts to translate the literal meaning of the text word-for-word. Amplified Bible: Scriptural quotations marked Amplified Bible are taken from the Amplified Bible, Copyright 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. 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