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The Revealing Word
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[The Revealing Word]
[Charles Fillmore's Works] [Unity on the Web Home Page]
calf of gold--Represents the tendency of man to form images
after the pattern that he sees with the eye rather than
from the ideals that rise in the silent meditations of the
mind.
Calvary--(see Golgotha)
camel--In individual consciousness the camel is a symbol of
power, endurance, strength, and patient perseverance.
candlestick--The candlestick of the Temple represents the
intelligence in man. The "seven golden candlesticks" of
Rev. 1:12 are receptacles of spiritual light.
capacity, spiritual--Transcending intellectual knowledge.
Nearly everyone has at some time touched this hidden wisdom
and been more or less astonished at its revelations.
cause and effect--The law of sequence; the balance wheel of
the universe. This law, like all other divine laws, inheres
in Being and is good. "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall
he also reap" (Gal. 6:7). Man lives in two worlds, the
world of cause (the within) and the world of effect (the
without).
causes, primal--Primal causes are complete, finished,
absolute. All that man manifests has its origin in a cause
that we name Divine Mind. The one Mind is absolute, and
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all its manifestations or effects are in essence like
itself. This being true in logic, it is not a difficult
matter to arrive at the conclusion that the effect proves
the character of the cause.
cells of the body--Structural and functional units of
organism made up of atoms composed of electrons and
protons, which, in reality, have their origin in the
supermind.
These cells are adjusted one to the other through
associated ideas. When divine love enters into man's
thought process every cell is poised and balanced in right
order. Law and order rule in the cells of the body with the
exactness that characterizes their action in the worlds of
a planetary system.
center in consciousness--A faculty through which a mind
quality is expressed. When a center loses its power it
should be baptized by the word of Spirit. This cleanses all
material thought; impotence is vitalized with new life, and
the whole subconsciousness is awakened and quickened.
chaos--Disorder; confusion; discord. Chaos in body and
affairs results from chaos in mind, a product of the sense
man.
character, spiritual--The true estimate of man's qualities.
Character building is ever from within outward. Spiritual
discernment of the reality of man's origin and being in God
is the only enduring foundation of character.
cheerfulness--A steady, quiet, beautiful expression of the
joy of God. It is conducive to good health because it frees
one from tension.
chemicalization--A condition in the mind that is brought
about by the conflict that takes place when a high
spiritual realization contacts an old error state of
consciousness.
The mind of man is constantly at work, and this work
results in the production of thought forms. These thought
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forms assume individual definiteness; they take on
personality, which works out into the body. Whenever a new
spiritual idea is introduced into the mind, some negative
belief is disturbed. It resists. With this resistance comes
more or less commotion in the consciousness. This is called
chemicalization. This can be greatly modified or eliminated
by putting the mind in divine order through denial.
If the cleansing baptism of denial does not precede the
Holy Spirit's descent, there is conflict in the
consciousness--the old error thoughts contend for their
place, refuse to go out, and a veritable war is the result.
When the conscious mind has been put in order, the Holy
Spirit descends with peace like a dove.
cherubim--Protection; sacred life. The inner, spiritual
life is protected from the outer, coarser consciousness.
The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the Ark
and covered it. Also in the Scriptures cherubim are
symbolic figures representing the attributes and majesty of
God.
childlike--(see meek)
Children of Israel--The thoughts of reality or the true
ideas about Being that have to be brought out in every part
of man's consciousness. These thoughts are brought down
from the land of Canaan into Egypt (the flesh
consciousness) and, for a season, are submerged in the
fleshly realm, or thoughts in form.
Heaven, according to Jesus, is within man; and with this
understanding we see that the escape of the Israelites from
Egypt is paralleled by the escape of man from ignorance and
materiality.
chosen of God--God has chosen each of us as a medium for
the expression of Himself as love, life, wisdom, abundance,
health, and so forth. "Ye did not choose me, but I chose
you, and appointed you, that ye should go and bear fruit"
(John 15:16).
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chosen people--The "royal priesthood" making up the Christ
body; by overcoming, they have incorporated into their
consciousness the attributes of God. They are the living
expression of His righteousness and glory.
Christ--The incarnating principle of the God-man; the
perfect Word or idea of God, which unfolds into the true
man and is blessed with eternal life by measuring up to the
divine standard, thus fulfilling the law of righteousness.
"Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I am well pleased" (Mark
1:11).
Christ is the divine man. Jesus is the name that represents
an individual expression of the Christ idea. Christ existed
long before Jesus. It was the Christ Mind in Jesus that
exclaimed, "And now, Father, glorify thou me with thine own
self with the glory which I had with thee before the world
was" (John 17:5).
Christ abides in each person as his potential perfection.
Jesus Christ, the embodiment of all divine ideas, exists
eternally in the Mind of Being as the only begotten Son of
God, the "Messiah" or "anointed one," and is the living
Principle working in man.
Christ and Jehovah--Jehovah of the Old Testament is the I
AM, or Christ of God invisible; the Messiah is the promise
of the visible manifestation of that I AM, or Christ, and
Jesus Christ is the fulfillment in man of that original
spiritual I AM, or Jehovah.
Christ, abide in--To dwell continually in the consciousness
of Christ to the point of realization of unity with the
Father and Son. To abide in Christ is to live in the
perfection of God-Mind, the thought of God, the living
Christ.
Christ, birth of--Man is the bringing forth (the birth) of
God's idea of man, the Christ of God. This is done through
the quickening power of the word of Truth. The birth of
Christ is the beginning in the inner realms of
consciousness of a higher set of faculties, which, when
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grown to full stature, will save the whole man from
ignorance, sickness, and death.
Christ, first coming of--The dawning in mind that spiritual
man is the real Son of God.
Christ, formation of--When man appropriates words of Truth
he partakes of that which forms the spiritual soul,
substance, and life of Spirit and which manifests as Christ
in the perfect body. Every student of Truth is letting
"Christ be formed" (Gal. 4:19) in him when he constantly
abides in the Christ Mind through daily meditating on words
of Truth.
Christ, indwelling--The Son of God or spiritual nucleus
within each person. All our thoughts must harmonize with
this spiritual center before we can bring into expression
the divine consciousness. Each man has within himself the
Christ idea, just as Jesus had. Man must look to the
indwelling Christ in order to recognize his sonship, his
divine origin and birth, even as did the Saviour. This real
self is "closer . . . than breathing, and nearer than hands
and feet." It is the kingdom of God in each person.
"Neither shall they say, Lo, here! or, There! for lo, the
kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21).
Christ in you--The true light, which guides every man
coming into the world, is, and ever has been, in man. Even
the outer man was formed and came into existence through
it. This is "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27).
Christ, joint heirs with--We are joint heirs with Christ to
all that the Father has. This truth alone--the belief that
in the regenerate state we are to be like Jesus, who became
Christ manifested--leads us to a desire and an effort to
attain our inheritance of eternal life here and now,
because we know that there is no other thing in the
universe worth striving for.
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Christ, second coming of--The awakening and the
regeneration of the subconscious mind through the
superconscious or Christ Mind.
Christ body, work of the--The work of the Christ body is
the "restoration of all things, whereof God spake by the
mouth of his holy prophets that have been from of old"
(Acts 3:21). (see body of Christ)
Christian conversion--A letting go of sin; a moral
cleansing. This type of conversion is good as far as it
goes, but it is far from complete. (see conversion)
Christianity--The science of eternal life. It is governed
by scientific principles of mind action, which are really
the foundation of all the various sciences.
Christianity began with Jesus and was carried on by His
apostles. He commanded them to cast out demons, to heal the
sick, to make the blind to see, even to raise the dead.
Whenever Truth is declared in the name of Jesus Christ, the
demons of fear and disease are cast out.
Christianity, esoteric--Christianity that deals with the
deep metaphysical truths that Jesus taught. "The letter
killeth, but the spirit giveth life" (II Cor. 3:6).
Christianity, exoteric--Christianity that deals with the
letter or surface meaning of the teachings of Jesus.
Christianity, practical--The teachings of Jesus practically
applied to the everyday life of man. Practical Christianity
is not a term applied to an arbitrary theory of human
origin; neither is it a revelation to humanity from some
prophet whose word alone must be taken unquestionably as
authority. It is, in this respect, different from most
religious systems of the world. Its students are not asked
to believe anything that they cannot logically demonstrate
to be true. Thus, it is the only system of religion before
the people today that, because of its universal appeal to
the pure reason in man, can be accepted and applied by
every nation under the sun.
Christian, or Gentile--In the New Testament symbology
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Christian typifies the spiritual and Gentile the material.
church--The word church is derived from a Greek word
meaning "the Lord's house." The individual's consciousness
is his "Lord's house," and assembled within it are groups
or aggregations of ideas (thought centers). The
spiritualized will carries to the different "churches"
(thought centers) the word of Truth and builds them up into
a knowledge of their perfection and divinity by training
them in spiritual thinking.
church of Christ--Spiritual consciousness, first
individual, then collective. In the general usage the word
church applies to persons who have been "born anew" (John
3:3) through the quickening power of the word, gathered
together in one body, their union being typified by the
human body.
Jesus never organized a church on earth; neither did He
authorize anyone else to do so. He said to Peter, "Upon
this rock I will build my church" (Matt. 16:18). He did not
tell Peter that he was to be the head of the church, with a
line of popes to follow. He said, "I will build my church"
(ecclesia, assembly, or called-out ones). Jesus is still
the head of His "assembly," and its only organization is in
Spirit. He gave but one guide, one source from which His
followers should receive their inspiration: "The Holy
Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall
teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all
that I said unto you" (John 14:26).
circulation, spiritual--The inner stream of life,
substance, and intelligence flowing freely through the
entire being.
circumcision--Symbolical of the cutting off of mortal
tendencies; indicative of purification and cleanliness
under divine law. Circumcision is fulfilled in its
spiritual meaning by the freeing of the individual from the
law of sin and
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death. "Circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit
not in the letter" (Rom. 2:29).
clairvoyance--"The power of discerning objects not present
to the senses but regarded as having objective reality"
(Webster). Intuitive perception; clear vision. Everything
that takes place in the world of manifestation first takes
place in the realm of thought. If one is spiritually
quickened to the measure that he can discern the thought
movements, he can gain a foreknowledge of what is about to
occur.
coats of skins--The body of flesh. Man was connected
originally with the spiritual-body idea, but when he took
on personal consciousness he was given "coats of skins,"
which, under divine law, corresponded with the quality of
his thought world. When spiritual thought becomes supreme
in consciousness, the coats of skins will give way to the
manifestation of the spiritual body, which is the immortal
body that was spoken of by Paul.
coat without seam--The "coat . . . without seam," which the
soldiers did not separate, represents the great unified
doctrine of Truth that Jesus left (John 19:23).
cocreator, man with God--"My Father worketh even until now,
and I work" (John 5:17). God creates in the ideal, and man
carries out in the manifest world what God has idealized.
Jesus treats this relation between the Father and the Son
in the 5th chapter of The Gospel According to John: "The
Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father
doing: for what things soever he doeth, the Son also doeth
in like manner" (John 5:19).
Comforter, the--The Holy Spirit, the only authorized
interpreter of the gospel of Jesus; He who gives comfort
and cheer and reveals the Truth of God to us.
commandments--Having to do with the law or the orderly
working out of divine principles. Moses represents the
"Thou shalt not" phase of law; Jesus represents the "Thou
shalt" phase of law.
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commandments, to keep His--This is to command, to control,
and to direct every thought according to the harmonious law
of love one to another.
communion--Sharing the deep aspirations of our heart with
the indwelling Father and hearing His "still small voice"
(I Kings 19:12).
communion, kept secret--There are times when it is to our
own spiritual benefit and to God's glory to keep things
concealed and, like Mary, to ponder them in our heart until
due time for expression. There are joys of the Spirit that
are secret between a man and his Lord. One feels a sense of
condemnation and depletion if he talks too freely about his
communion with the Lord.
companionship--Association of those who are in divine
harmony. This perfect fellowship is best found by those who
practice quiet communion with God.
compass, points of the--In scriptural symbology east means
the within, which is spiritual; west, the without, which is
expression; north, the above, or intellect; south, the
below, or physical.
compassion, divine--In the heart of God exists an eternal
tenderness and mercy for His children. "Jehovah is
gracious, and merciful" (Psalms 145:8).
compassion, human--A characteristic of love and mercy
prompted by an understanding heart. A compassionate mind
sees the error, but does not condemn. "Neither do I condemn
thee: go thy way; from henceforth sin no more" (John 8:11).
compensation, law of--The order under which one receives
just remuneration. The law of compensation is universal and
not subject to personal demands. If the mind is turned
toward man as one's recompense, it is turned away from
divine law.
concentration--A thought center; a nucleus of faith or
spiritual confidence. The centering of the attention on a
particular idea. Concentration forms a mental loadstone in
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the mind to which thought substance rushes like iron
filings to a magnet, bringing the forces, whether mental or
physical, to a common purpose.
conception--Power of forming ideas in substance; the
embodiment of an idea.
condemnation, dangerous--According to Webster, condemn
means "to pronounce to be wrong." There is always a cause
for every mental tangent, and that which would kill the
sense man, root and branch, has its point of departure from
the line of harmony in the thought of condemnation. In John
the Baptist it seemed a virtue, in that he condemned his
own errors, but this led to his condemnation of Herod,
through which action he lost his life. We are to learn from
this that condemnation is a dangerous practice.
conditions, evil--In Divine Mind there is no recognition of
evil conditions. Such conditions have no basis of reality.
To rid ourselves of any appearance of evil, let us change
our thought at once and begin to build a consciousness that
knows nothing but good. Let us affirm: "I am a child of the
Absolute. God is good, and I am His perfect child.
Everything that comes into my life is good."
conqueror--Metaphysically, one who attains mastery over
sense consciousness. "We are more than conquerors through
him that loved us" (Rom. 8:37).
conscience--There is a divine goodness at the root of all
existence. It is not necessary to give in detail the place
of abode of each sentient part of this central goodness,
for it is there, wherever you look, and whenever you look.
No man is so lowly but that at the touch of its secret
spring this divine goodness may be brought to light in him.
This goodness sleeps in the recesses of every mind and
comes forth when least expected. Many stifle it for years,
maybe for ages, but eventually its day comes, and there is
a day of reckoning. This is the law of universal
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balance--the equilibrium of Being. It cannot be put aside
with transcendental philosophies or metaphysical denials
any more than it can be smothered in the forces of the
blind passions.
Whoever has felt the prick of conscience has been spoken to
by the Holy Spirit. Whoever has sat at the feet of his own
inner convictions has been aware of God's presence.
conscience, accusing--A state of mind that refuses to remit
past sins and keeps one in a state of self-condemnation and
remorse.
conscious mind--The mind that makes one know of one's
mental operations and states of consciousness; that phase
of mind in which one is actively aware of one's thoughts.
The mind through which man establishes his identity.
consciousness--The sense of awareness, of knowing. The
knowledge or realization of any idea, object, or condition.
The sum total of all ideas accumulated in and affecting
man's present being. The composite of ideas, thoughts,
emotions, sensation, and knowledge that makes up the
conscious, subconscious, and superconscious phases of mind.
It includes all that man is aware of--spirit, soul, and
body.
It is very important to understand the importance of our
consciousness in spiritual growth. Divine ideas must be
incorporated into our consciousness before they can mean
anything to us. An intellectual concept does not suffice.
To be satisfied with an intellectual understanding leaves
us subject to sin, sickness, poverty, and death. To assure
continuity of spirit, soul, and body as a whole, we must
ever seek to incorporate divine ideas into our mind. A
consciousness of eternal life places one in the stream of
life that never fails.
consciousness, ascend in--Rise to the spiritual realms of
mind.
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consciousness, body--The subconscious mind in its work in
the body--repairing, renewing, and conducting the functions
of the body in harmony and health if right ideas are given
to it, or disintegrating the organism and producing
inharmonious action of the functions if untrue thoughts are
sown in the mind.
consciousness, centers of--The subconscious realm in man
has twelve great centers of action. Each of these twelve
centers has control of a certain function in mind and body.
The twelve centers are: faith, strength, judgment, love,
power, imagination, understanding, will, order, zeal,
renunciation (or elimination), and life.
consciousness, Christ--Consciousness built in accordance
with the Christ ideal, or in absolute relationship to the
Father. The perfect mind that was in Christ Jesus.
consciousness, illumined--A mind purified by the light of
Truth.
consciousness, inner--The realm of the supermind as
contrasted with the outer or conscious mind.
consciousness, material--A state of mind based on belief in
the reality of materiality, or things as they appear. It is
carnal mind expressing its unbelief in the omnipresence of
God.
consciousness, negative--A mind filled with un-God-like
thoughts, such as fear, hate, greed, lust, resentments,
discouragement, sickness, and poverty.
consciousness, positive--A mind filled with God's thoughts,
such as power, strength, generosity, purity, and optimism.
consciousness, sense--A mental state that believes in and
acts through the senses. To rise out of sense
consciousness, we determine to return to conscious oneness
with God. "I will arise and go to my Father" (Luke 15:18).
consciousness, Son of God--A state of mind that is
conscious of God's ideal man.
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consciousness, spiritual--(see Christ consciousness)
consciousness, total--Conscious, subconscious, and
superconscious phases of mind working as a whole, as a unit.
consecration--The dedication of one's everyday thought to
God; a complete surrender of oneself to God. The entire
mind is brought under the control of the Christ
consciousness with whole-souled devotion to spiritual
ideas. It is the one way to perfect peace of mind.
Consecration also means the application of all one's tact,
skill, and inspiration to bringing other men into the
Christ light. Thus, the whole world is to be brought into
the Christ fold and transformed by Truth. "Who then
offereth willingly to consecrate himself this day unto
Jehovah" (I Chron. 29:5).
contemplation--A form of meditation; a thought of becoming
a child of God.
convalescence--That period during which pure life from on
high is cleansing the consciousness, and the waters of
negation are receding. The body does not always at a single
bound regain its natural condition, but there is a gradual
recovery.
conversion--"The experience associated with and involving a
definite and decisive adoption of religion, especially a
Christian religion" (Webster). Conversion is a change of
heart and is a real experience, but it is merely
introductory to the new life in Christ. When a person
arrives at a certain exalted consciousness through the
exercise of his mind in thinking about God and His laws, he
is lifted above the thoughts of the world into a heavenly
realm. This is the beginning of his entry into the kingdom
of heaven. When man attains this high place in
consciousness he is baptized by the Spirit; that is, his
mind and even his body are suffused with spiritual
essences, and he begins the process of becoming a new
creature in Christ Jesus.
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conviction--The state of being convinced. Metaphysically,
it is the divine assurance that comes to one when he is
fully satisfied of the worth of Truth. Conviction refuses
to be influenced by the senses because it is founded in
spiritual thought.
cords, scourge of--The specific statement of denial.
General denial cleanses the consciousness, but secret sins
may yet lurk in the inner parts. Small definite statements
that cut into them like whipcords will erase these specific
transgressions. "And he made a scourge of cords, and cast
all out of the temple, both the sheep and the oxen" (John
2:15).
corruptible--The corruptible body is that which is subject
to decay. When it is transformed into the spiritual body,
it becomes incorruptible and is forever enduring. "This
corruptible must put on incorruption" (I Cor. 15: 53).
cosmos--Order; system; harmony; the opposite of chaos. The
universe is a cosmos because it expresses Divine Mind, the
essence of all harmony and order.
country, far--A state of consciousness in which man has
separated himself from an intimate spiritual association
with the Father and thereby does not have the benefit of
divine wisdom in his affairs.
courage--A spiritual quality that enables one to remain
poised and centered in God amidst great difficulties and
danger. The realization that the almighty God of the
universe is a spiritual presence which is constantly
striving to express in and through us fills us with new
courage and a fearlessness that is beyond description. "Be
strong, and let your heart take courage" (Psalms 31:24).
covenant--A solemn agreement or compact between two or more
parties. "My covenant shall stand fast with him" (Psalms
89:28).
covenant, new--Jesus established a new and higher
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consciousness for man and taught and practiced the truth of
the inner kingdom. This teaching is known as the "new
covenant" (Heb. 12:24). The new covenant is to be written
in the heart of each person.
Covenant, Ark of the--(see Ark of the Covenant)
covetousness--Insatiable desire to possess that which
belongs to another. Covetousness has no wisdom. When a man
gives up to its demands he does foolish things to gain
possession of the coveted object. "Thou shalt not covet"
(Exod. 20:17). (see acquisitiveness)
creation--The original plan of an idea in Spirit. Back of
the visible universe are both the original creative ideas
and those that are brought forth as earthly things. In the
creative process Divine Mind first ideates itself. In the
Scriptures this idea is named Jehovah, meaning I AM the
ever living--He who is eternal. The creation is carried
forward through the activity of the Holy Spirit.
The order of creation is from the formless to the formed,
from the invisible to the visible. This goes on
perpetually, and there is never a beginning or an ending to
the process. The ideal is continually pouring itself into
its creation and lifting it higher and yet higher. Apart
from mind nothing can be done. Man, in his forming and
bringing things into manifestation, uses the same creative
process in mind that God uses. First is mind; then the idea
in mind; then the materialization of the idea.
creation, described in Genesis--The 1st chapter of Genesis
describes the creative action of universal Mind in the
realm of ideas and does not pertain to the manifest world.
This truth is substantiated in the 2d chapter, where it is
stated that there was not a man to till the soil. This
proves conclusively that the first creation described is in
the realm of ideas.
(The account of creation rendered by Ferrar Fenton gives an
enlightening translation from the Hebrew: "By periods God
created that which produced the Suns; then
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that which produced the Earth" [Gen. 1:1]. This is in line
with Truth.)
creative force in man--Spirit-mind is the creative force
constantly working in man and all other creation. Those who
fail to recognize Spirit-mind shining within them dwell in
a continuous state of darkness and ignorance. To them the
almighty Christ is nonexistent. "And the light shineth in
the darkness; and the darkness apprehended it not" (John
1:5).
creative intelligence--Mind of God forever upbuilding His
universe.
creative Principle--God as the cause and moving force in
and through all creation.
Cross--The Cross represents that state of consciousness
termed "mortal mind." This is the "carnal mind" of Paul
also, and it burdens the body with its various erroneous
beliefs. "He went out, bearing the cross for himself" (John
19:17). The center of action of this "carnal mind" is in
the brain, and it is here that it has to be met in the
final overcoming that the I AM undertakes. "The place
called The place of a skull" (John 19:17).
The Cross is not a burden as commonly understood, but a
symbol of the forces in man adjusted in their right
relation.
crown--That which imparts honor or splendor. Highest state
or quality. The crown of eternal life is the prize to all
who overcome carnal mind.
crucifixion--The crossing out in consciousness of errors
that have become fixed states of mind; the surrender or
death of the whole personality in order that the Christ
Mind may be expressed in all its fullness.
The crucifixion of Jesus represents the wiping of
personality out of consciousness. We deny the human self so
that we may unite with the selfless. We give up the mortal
so that we may attain the immortal. We dissolve the
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thought of the physical body so that we may realize the
spiritual body.
cup--The consciousness of eternal life. This must be
attained by an utter crossing out of the personal self.
This is "the cup which the Father hath given me" (John
18:11).
curse--To affirm evil for or on something or someone.
Cursing has a variety of meanings as used in the
Scriptures. The whole human family is pictured as under the
curse of God for not bringing forth spiritual good, because
of disobedience and failure to observe divine law. "If ye
will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give
glory unto my name, saith Jehovah of hosts, then will I
send the curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings;
yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it
to heart" (Mal. 2:2).
God is love, and God's law of love cannot be broken. Man
brings evil on himself by not obeying the law. Jesus
redeemed mankind from the ancient curse of Jehovah, but men
are themselves responsible for avoiding transgression of
the law. "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law"
(Gal. 3:13).
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