Spirit's Characterization REV. IRVING C. TOMLINSON, MA, CSB          A noteworthy contribution which Christian Science has made in behalf of the spiritualization of mankind, is the work it has accomplished in fixing our gaze, not upon corporeality, but upon spiritual being. "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mrs. Eddy, teaches that matter does not make up man's identity, but rather that he is born of Spirit, and that spiritual being constitutes its allness. A striking instance of this clear recognition of the all-power of Spirit is found on page 76 of this textbook, where man is spoken of as "an individual consciousness, characterized by the divine Spirit as idea, not matter." In the first place, this scientific statement sets forth the fact that man is individual, since each person has his own individuality, separate from all others, as the unit one is distinct from every other number. In the next place, it states that man's individuality is not in matter; it does not exist in masculinity or femininity, neither in the height, form, features, nor in any outward likeness by which one is known to his fellows, but rather in the true individuality characterized by Spirit, not by matter, as idea, an expression of Mind.          The characteristics, then, which constitute the real man are the spiritual qualities that he reflects. He is the offspring of Spirit, and is not of material parentage. Christ Jesus said, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh;" and it can never be anything but flesh, despite its pretensions. Man's true being is identical with Truth, and therefore is at one with divine intelligence, and he is a constant reflector of divine Love. His substance is spiritual, and his being is the manifestation of infinite Principle. God never changes; hence the character of God's image never changes, but is ever perfect and complete, and the false human belief needs to be transformed to an understanding of this fact.          Man, being spiritual and not material, is subject only to the laws of Spirit and no material law has power over him. Controlled by the one law of life and health, it is natural for him to manifest strength and peace. Governed solely by the ever-present law of Mind, the actions and movements of the entire body are harmonious and normal. Being wholly subject to the law of God, God's idea is possessed of such dominion as brings peace, joy, and life eternal, finding in Mind what can never be found in matter. Shakespeare's counsel is therefore pertinent when he says, "If you were born to honor, show it now; if put upon you, make the judgment good that thought you worthy of it."          When one takes a seed in his hand, he knows that the development of that seed will be characterized by the individuality of the tree or plant from which it came. Plant an acorn in the ground, and you understand of a surety just what tree it will produce; you know the character of the trunk, the sort of fiber in the wood, the shape of the leaves. The entire offspring of that acorn is foreordained because of the very nature of the source from which it sprang. So Christian Science teaches its students (to recall the sentence already quoted) that man is "characterized by the divine Spirit as idea, not matter." Therefore, remembering his origin, he is to think of himself as the possessor of spiritual substance, the inheritor of eternal life, the copartner of the Christ that is without beginning and without end. All this we realize when, and only when, we demonstrate the truth of the great Teacher's words: "This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." One comes to know God by knowing Christ Jesus who manifested Him. The Master said, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father."          A remarkable passage in the first chapter of Hebrews bears directly upon this point, for the author speaks of Christ Jesus as "the brightness of his [God's] glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power." As Mrs. Eddy interprets this thought, Jesus was "'the express [expressed] image of His person [infinite Mind]'" (Science and Health, p. 313); she also calls attention to the fact that "the phrase 'express image' in the common version is, in the Greek Testament, character." The true man, therefore, is always "the expressed image" of "infinite Mind," manifesting the very "character" of the "most High." To know that there is but one embodiment, one manifestation, and that it is spiritual, the reflection of Life, Truth, and Love, gives to us a consciousness of that dominion which was man's heritage "before the world was."   "Spirit's Characterization" by Rev. Irving C. Tomlinson, MA, CSB Christian Science Sentinel, December 20, 1913

 

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