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Keep A True Lent
Chapter 2
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[Keep A True Lent]
[Charles Fillmore's Works] [Unity on the Web Home Page]
The Holy Trinity
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
Chapter 2
THE HOLY TRINITY is known as the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit. Metaphysically, we understand the Trinity to
refer to mind, idea, and expression, or thinker, thought,
and action.
God is first in the Trinity. God is mind and is everywhere
present. God is principle, law, Being, Spirit, All-Good,
omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, unchangeable, Creator,
Father, cause, and source of all that is. God as Spirit is
forever accessible.
God as principle is the unchangeable life, love, substance,
and intelligence of Being. A parallel may be found in the
principle of mathematics or music. Principle does not
occupy space, nor has it any limitations of time or matter,
but eternally exists as the one underlying cause from which
come forth all true ideas.
In universal God-Mind is a substance that includes the seed
of all visible substance. It is the only real substance,
because it is unchangeable, while visible substance is in
constant transition. God as substance does not mean matter,
because matter is formed; God is formless. The substance
that God is lies back of all matter and all form. It is
that which
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is the basis of all form, yet enters not into any form as
finality. It cannot be seen, tasted, or touched, yet it is
the one and only "substantial" substance.
Second in the Trinity is God's idea of man. It is called
Jehovah in the Old Testament and Christ in the New
Testament. The second in the Trinity is also called the
Word, the Son, the Logos, the anointed One, and the I AM.
The Word of God is the revelation to man of the powers and
possibilities of his own being. The searchlight of His Word
discloses the presence of secret springs and living streams
of energy and life. Man's consciousness is lifted up by the
wisdom of the Word, and he finds himself master of the
powers and privileges of infinity. He says with Jesus, "All
authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth."
To produce works, there must be a working power. This is
exactly what the Word is--the working power of God.
Every known process has a regular sequence from inception
to conclusion, and each step in the sequence is taken
according to recognized principles. The Word of God conveys
to the world the concepts of the Most High.
Persistent meditation on the Truth contained in the Word of
God opens the mind to Spirit. Then all words become
quickening life and nourishing substance in both mind and
body. "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly."
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In the silence go before the altar and lay your problems
before the Lord. The altar is that place in consciousness
where you are willing to let go of the lesser for the
greater, to let go of personality and enter into
individuality of the Christ.
While in this closet of prayer, fix your mind powerfully on
the consummation of a certain idea until the idea nucleates
a certain amount of thought substance. This is followed by
a spiritual quickening, or the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit, third in the Trinity.
The function of the Holy Spirit implies distinct personal
subsistence: He speaks, searches, selects, reveals,
reproves, testifies, leads, comforts, distributes to every
man, "searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God."
In concentration the Holy Spirit works through the divine
substance to bring forth the fruits of Divine Mind. The
Holy Spirit is the teacher. The teacher and the student use
the same principles; but the teacher arouses and inspires
the student to greater achievement. The Holy Spirit today
is urging us to greater spiritual effort.
Another word for the Holy Spirit is "the Comforter," Jesus
said: "Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is expedient
for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter
will not come unto you; but if I go, I will send him unto
you. And he, when he is come, will convict the world in
respect of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment."
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The mission of Jesus was to open the way for the Holy
Spirit to enter into the minds of men. "But when the
Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the
Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the
Father, he shall bear witness of me."
We may understand the relation and office of the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit by analyzing our own mind and
its apparent subdivisions during thought action, because
each person is a perfect image and likeness of this great
universal first cause--God, the Father.
Your word is the power through which you make your belief
manifest. Simple belief in or assent to the truth of a
proposition never gives understanding to anyone. There must
be mental action; changes in the mind are necessary before
the new state of consciousness takes up its abode in you.
Therefore, in answer to that frequently asked question,
"Who is the Holy Spirit, and what relation does it bear to
God and to Christ?" the apostles knew the Holy Spirit as
the third person of the Trinity. The Father is always the
first, the Son or Word second, and the Holy Spirit third.
The terms Father and Son express an eternal, reciprocal
relation. The Holy Spirit is the infinite "breath" of God,
as the Son of His infinite "Word."
God-Mind is located and appears wherever it is recognized
by the mind of man. It thus follows that whoever gives his
attention to Spirit and seals his
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identification with it by his word (the Son) starts a flow
of Spirit life and all the attributes of Spirit in and
through his consciousness. To the extent that he practices
identifying himself with the one and only source of
existence, he becomes Spirit in expression, until finally
the union attains a perfection in which he can say with
Jesus, "I and the Father are one."
In making your demonstrations, work for the conviction in
your own heart that you are a son of God; next, declare it
in word and carry it out in the acts of your daily life.
After declaring it, if you fail in demonstrating yourself
to be a son of God, determine why. "Ask, and it shall be
given you . . . knock, and it shall be opened unto you."
Perhaps you have neglected some of your spiritual powers,
or you may be dissipating your energies on the sense plane.
Be that as it may, when you ask in the silence of Spirit to
be shown why you do not demonstrate the powers that Jesus
of Nazareth demonstrated, the Holy Spirit will in some way
reveal to you your lack. How that revealment will come
about, no one can tell you. But if you are patient and
trustful, you will be guided and directed so that all the
links in the chain of your being will be brought together
and harmoniously joined, and the Son of God will be
revealed in you.
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[Keep A True Lent]
[Charles Fillmore's Works] [Unity on the Web Home Page]
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