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Twelve Powers of Man
Chapter 2
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[Twelve Powers of Man]
[Charles Fillmore's Works] [Unity on the Web Home Page]
The Development of Faith
FAITH has an abiding place in man's consciousness. This
place of abiding is described in the Scriptures as the
"house of Simon and Andrew." A house is a structure that
some person has built for a home. A man's house is his
castle. Perhaps generation after generation is born and
reared in the same house. The house where a great genius
was born is preserved with care, and it is visited year
after year by those who are devotees of the one who
expressed some great thought, art, or discovery. If the
barn cave at Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, were found,
it would become the most famous shrine in the world. The
importance that we give to the places where great men and
women were born is founded on the centralizing power of
thought. All structures are thought concentrations.
Constructive thinking ultimates in the construction of
places of abode. Savages do not build houses or cities,
because they do not think constructively.
In the time of David the Children of Israel were nomads.
The consciousness of indwelling Spirit had not been born in
their minds, and could not, in consequence, be formed in
their bodies. That the time was ripe for a more
constructive state of mind is set forth in these words of
Jehovah, in II Samuel 7:5, 6:
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Shalt thou build me a house for me to dwell in? for I have
not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up the
children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have
walked in a tent and in a tabernacle.
After receiving this message, David, the drawing power of
love, began gathering material for Solomon's Temple.
Jehovah told David that he could not build the Temple
because he was a man of war. The temple of God is man's
body ("Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit"), but if
man has not complied with the law of permanent body
building, he is like the nomadic Children of Israel; he
goes from body to body and from tabernacle to tabernacle.
Except Jehovah build the house,
They labor in vain that build it.
The tents and the tabernacles that the Children of Israel
built for Jehovah represent the transitory bodies of flesh.
The Lord has merely "walked" in these flimsy temples; they
have not afforded an abiding place for Spirit, because of
their unsubstantial character. The underlying weakness of
the tent body was its lack of faith in the inhabiting soul.
A new consciousness of the indwelling spiritual substance
and life was necessary, and a man was chosen to bring it
forth. This man, named Abraham, represents obedience and
faith. His original name was Abram, which means "exalted
father." The name is identified with the highest cosmic
principle, the all-pervading, self-existent spiritual
substance, which is the primary source of the universe.
Abraham was tested again and again, to the end
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that he might be strong in faith. His great test of faith
was his willingness to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac in
the mountain of the Lord. "And Abraham called the name of
that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the
mount of Jehovah it shall be provided."
This incident is intended to show the necessity of a man's
giving up that which he considers his dearest possession
before he can realize the divine providence. The incident
takes place in the mount of the Lord; that is, in a high
spiritual understanding.
The law of giving and receiving pertains to the realm of
ideas; one must give up personal attachments before one can
receive the universal. If a parent idealizes a child, loves
it so dearly that its pleasure is first in his
consciousness, the spiritual development of the parent is
impeded. Then, before the love of God (which is the supreme
thing) can fill the heart, there must be a sacrifice of
human love. If like Abraham one is faithful and obedient
and willing to give to the Lord his most precious
possession, there is always a receiving or providing
equivalent.
When Abraham was willing to sacrifice his beloved Isaac,
the Lord stayed his hand; his attention was directed to a
ram in a thicket nearby, and he was directed to sacrifice
the animal upon the altar, in place of the child. Here is
illustrated an often misunderstood law of sacrifice or
renunciation. We do not have to give up our cherished
things, if they are
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real, but the error that prevents their full expression
must be destroyed. The ram (which represents the resistance
and opposition of personality to the complete expression of
Truth) must be sacrificed.
"Give, and it shall be given unto you" is the statement of
a law that operates in every thought and act of man. This
law is the foundation of all barter and financial exchange.
Men scheme to get something for nothing; but the law, in
one of its many forms, overtakes them in the end. Even
metaphysicians, who above all people should understand the
law, often act as if they expected God to provide
abundantly for them before they have earned abundance. It
is an error to think that God gives anybody anything that
has not been earned. The Holy Spirit comes upon those who
pray in the "upper room." The "upper room" corresponds to
the "mount of Jehovah." It is the high place in
consciousness where man realizes the presence of Divine
Mind. The greatest work that one can do is to strive to
know God and to keep His law. God pays liberally for this
service and the reward is sure. Faith is built up in
consciousness under this law.
"Faith is assurance of things hoped for." When there has
been an aspiration and a reaching out for the spiritual
life, the faith faculty becomes active in consciousness.
The prayer of supplication is impotent--the prayer of
affirmation is immediately effective.
Intellectual faith admits doubt, and hope of fulfillment in
the future; spiritual faith includes unfailing
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assurance and immediate response. These two attitudes of
faith are often observed acting and reacting upon each
other. Peter started to walk on the water in spiritual
faith, but when he saw the effects of the wind he was
afraid, and began to sink. Then the I AM (Jesus) gave its
hand of spiritual power, the wind ceased, and there was no
longer any doubt of faith's ability to rise above the
negative consciousness.
The first and greatest disciple of Jesus was Peter, who has
been universally accepted by the followers of Jesus the
Christ as a type representing faith. Before he met Jesus,
Peter was called Simon. Simon means "hearing," which
represents receptivity. We understand from this that
listening to Truth in a receptive state of mind opens the
way for receiving the next degree in the divine order,
which is faith. Jesus gave Peter his new name and also its
meaning: "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build
my church."
Faith in the reality of the invisible builds a real,
abiding substance in mind and in body. All kinds of ideas
grow quickly when planted in this rich substance of the
mind. Jesus also called this substance of faith the
"earth," and He said to Peter, "Whatsoever thou shalt bind
[affirm] on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever
thou shalt loose [deny] on earth shall be loosed in
heaven." In all His teaching Jesus emphasized that the
ruling forces of both heaven and earth are in man. "The
kingdom of God is within you." "All authority hath been
given unto me in heaven and on earth." "Is it not
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written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?" When we
understand the omnipresence of Spirit (God) we quickly see
how simple and true this beautiful doctrine of Jesus is.
There is but one real faith; the avenue of expression
determines the character and power of faith. Trust is a
cheaper brand of faith, but trust is better than mistrust.
As a rule, people who merely trust in the Lord do not
understand all the law. If they had understanding they
would affirm the presence and power of God until the very
substance of Spirit would appear in consciousness--and this
is faith established on a rock.
Faith words should be expressed both silently and audibly.
The power of the spoken word is but slightly understood,
because the law of the Word is not rightly observed. The
Word is the creative idea in Divine Mind, which may be
expressed by man when he has fulfilled the law of
expression. All words are formative but not all words are
creative. The creative word lays hold of Spirit substance
and power. Physical science hints at this inner substance
and energy, in its description of the almost inconceivable
power inherent in the universal ether. We are told that the
manifest forces, such as heat, light, and electricity, are
but faint manifestations of an omnipresent element which is
thousands of times greater than these weak expressions.
Radio is opening up a new field of activity in the use of
the spoken word. A newspaper article on the wireless
telephone says:
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Do you happen to know that a single word spoken in Lower
Broadway, New York, among the skyscrapers, could break
every pane of glass in adjacent buildings and create a
disturbance that would be felt for a mile in every
direction?
The human voice, transformed into electrical energy for
wireless transmission, develops 270 horse power. The power
of ten men is equal to one horse power. The human voice
electrified for wireless purposes is equivalent to the
power of 2,700 men. In the various processes that step up a
voice for radio transmission across the Atlantic ocean, it
becomes 135,000 times more powerful than when uttered by
the person sending the message.
Thus, starting with an initial energy of 1/1,000 of an
electric watt, the voice is boosted by a powerful station
until it is intensified 100 million times.
If the spoken word can be mechanically intensified a
hundred million times, how much greater will be its power
when energized by Spirit! When Jesus said with a loud voice
to Lazarus, "Come forth," He must have made contact with
the creative word referred to in the 1st chapter of John,
because the results showed its life-giving character. When
He healed the centurion's servant by His word sent forth on
invisible currents, He said that the work was done through
faith. So faith must boost the spoken word even more than a
hundred million times, as evidenced by its marvelous
results. That the word of faith has an inner force, and
that this force rushes forth and produces remarkable
transformations in the phenomenal world, is the testimony
of thousands who have witnessed its results.
Jesus said: "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard
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seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to
yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be
impossible unto you." He knew about the great spiritual
machinery that the word of faith sets into action. He
illustrated how man spiritually developed could by faith
control the elements, quell storms, walk on water, retard
or increase the growth of life and substance in grains,
trees, animals, and men.
The ponderous dynamos that generate electricity to light a
city are set going by a touch on a button. There is a
button in the mind of man that connects him, through faith,
with almighty energy. When the word of faith is spoken to
large tumors and they melt away, is not the transformation
equal to the removal of mountains? When a paralyzed limb,
or a lifeless organ, is quickened and restored to natural
functioning, is not that quickening a raising of the dead?
It is not necessary that the one who touches the button of
faith shall understand all the intricate machinery with
which he makes contact; he knows, like one who turns the
electric switch, that the light or power will spring forth.
The faith center, the pineal gland, opens the mind of man
to spiritual faith. Merely affirming the activity of this
superpower will quicken it in consciousness. Jesus said, "I
speak not from myself: but the Father [faith] abiding in me
doeth his works."
The transformers of electricity are paralleled by the
transforming power of mind. That if a man
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sanely believes he can do a thing he will eventually find a
way to do it is an accepted axiom of psychology. The mind
generates an energy that contacts the universal energy, and
causes circumstances and events to fall into line for the
attainment of the latent ideal. John came crying in the
wilderness of mortal thought, "Repent ye"; that is, change
your mind. Paul discerned a like necessity, hence his call:
"Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind."
When people see the possibilities that follow a right
change of mind, they will crowd the halls of metaphysical
teachers as they now crowd moving-picture shows. When it is
clearly understood that doubt, fear, poverty, disease, and
death--every thought, good or bad, that men have
expressed--have existence through mind we shall see a
shifting of consciousness and a radical change in thought
and word by everybody of sane mind. Then we shall ask for
the true source and find it, as did Paul, who said: "Have
this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." It was
not Jesus but the mind in Jesus that did the great works.
He was the center of faith that transformed the mighty
creative forces of Being (which are active in the universe
through the mind and brain of man) into a form of force
usable in His environment. Tap this inner reservoir of
faith, and you can do what Jesus did. That was His promise;
its fulfillment is the test of a true follower.
"By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death
. . . By faith Noah . . . prepared an
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ark to the saving of his house . . . By faith Abraham,
being tried, offered up Isaac . . . By faith Moses, when he
was born, was hid three months by his parents . . . By
faith the walls of Jericho fell down . . . And what shall I
more say? for the time will fail me if I tell of Gideon,
Barak, Samson, Jephthah; of David and Samuel and the
prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought
righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of
lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the
sword, from weakness were made strong, waxed mighty in war,
turned to flight armies of aliens. Women received their
dead by a resurrection."
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[Twelve Powers of Man]
[Charles Fillmore's Works] [Unity on the Web Home Page]
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