Chapter 2
GOD
Charles Fillmore
Dynamics For Living
THE starting point in spiritual realization is a right understanding of God.
By describing God with words in our human way we are but stating in the lisping
syllables of the child that which in its maturity the mind still only faintly
grasps. Words never express that which God is. Language is the limitation of
mind. Do not expect the unlimited to leap forth into full expression through the
limited. We must drop the complex and find simplicity before we can know God. We
must become as a child.
Being
God's name represents wholeness. He is holy, perfect. God is Being; the
Creator; the Infinite; the Eternal; the Ruler of the universe. Being is
omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient; it is the fullness of God. God is the
absolute, incomparable, omnipresent All-Good, the principle of divine
benevolence that permeates the universe. Being exists under two phases:
invisible and visible, abstract and concrete. The visible comes forth from the
invisible, and this coming forth is always according to a universal method of
growth. From center to circumference is the plan of procedure throughout the
universe.
Principle
We must relieve our minds of a personal God ruling over us in an arbitrary,
manlike manner. God is not person but Principle. By Principle is meant definite,
exact, unchangeable. It best describes the unchangeableness that is an inherent
law of Being. The fundamental basis of practical Christianity is that God is
Principle.
Divine Principle is fundamental Truth. God as Principle is the unchangeable
life, love, intelligence, and substance of Being. It is the underlying plan by
which God moves in expressing Himself. Principle does not occupy space; neither
has it any limitations of time or matter, but it eternally exists as the
underlying cause out of which come forth all true ideas. Although Principle is
formless, it is that by which all form is produced. God immanent in the universe
is the great underlying Cause of all manifestation; the Source from which form
proceeds.
Law
God as law is Principle in action. Everything has its foundation in a rule of
action, a law. Divine law is the orderly working out of the principles of Being.
Divine law cannot be broken. It places first things first. Divine order is the
first law of the universe. Indeed, there could be no universe unless its various
parts were kept in perfect order.
Reality
God is the one harmonious Principle underlying all being and the Reality out
of which all that is eternal comes. Reality is that which is abiding, eternal,
and unchangeable. The basic principles of mathematics and music are real,
because they are not subject to change.
Spirit
God is Spirit, the Principle of creative life, the moving force in the
universe, the omnipotent, omnipresent essence from which all things proceed. God
is life. God is in the universe as its constant "breath." Life is a principle
that is made manifest in living. Spirit is not matter. Spirit is not person.
Spirit cannot be analyzed by the senses. It is beyond their grasp. In order to
perceive the essence of Being we must drop from mind the belief that God is
circumscribed in any way or has any of the limitations usually ascribed to
persons, things, or anything having form or shape. As the animating life of all
things God is a unit, but as the Mind that drives this life He is diverse.
Spiritual-Science
The only real science is the science of Spirit. It never changes. By science
we mean the systematic and orderly arrangement of knowledge. Orderliness is law,
and is the test of true science. The facts of Spirit are of a spiritual
character and, when understood in their right relation, they are orderly. The
lawful truths of Spirit are more scientific than the constantly shifting
opinions based on intellectual standards.
Mind
By the term Mind, we mean God--the universal Principle, which includes all
principles. In our talk about Mind we are forced to leave the plane of things
formed and enter the realm of pure knowing. God is the original Mind in which
all real ideas exist. The Mind of the universe is composed of archetype ideas:
life, love, wisdom, substance, truth, power, peace, and so forth. The one
original Mind creates by thought. The science of Truth is God thinking out
creation.
Truth
God as Truth is the eternal verity of the universe. He is the underlying,
unchangeable Truth. The absolute Truth is that which accords with God as divine
Principle; that which is, has been, and ever will be; that which eternally is.
The Truth of God is reality. The verities of Being are eternal.
Omnipresence
God as omnipresence is the only presence in the universe. This refers to the
all-pervading presence of God, permeating the universe. God is everywhere
present. There is no place where God is not. He is in all, through all, and
around all.
Omnipotence
God is All-Power, all the power there is. God as omnipotence is infinite
power, the Almighty. All things are possible with God, because He is infinitely
all-mighty, having all power or force to accomplish anything. All the power, all
the force, all the might of the universe are God's. He is, in truth, Almighty
God. Spiritual power is omnipresent.
Omniscience
God as omniscience is all-knowing, all knowledge. God is Mind. God is
omnipresent Mind enfolding and interpenetrating all things. Mind is common to
all, above and below, within and without. God must be in His universe as
everywhere-intelligent power; otherwise it would fall to pieces.
Substance
God is substance. This does not mean matter. Matter is formed while God is
the formless. This substance which God is lies back of all matter and all forms.
Substance is the divine idea of the underlying reality of all things. Substance
is everywhere present, pervades all things. Through substance all the attributes
of Being are expressed. It sustains and enriches any idea that is projected into
it. Divine substance is supply. It is that which 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 only "substantial" substance in the universe. God as substance is
the all-providing law which supplies bountifully out of His own abundance.
Ideas
The real of the universe is held in the Mind of Being as ideas. The firstborn
of everything in the universe is an idea in Divine Mind. In God Mind an idea is
the eternal Word or Logos, the original, primary, or unlimited thought of Being.
Ideas may be combined in a multitude of ways, producing infinite variety in the
realm of forms. There is a right combination which constitutes the divine order.
Love
Love, in Divine Mind, is the idea of universal unity. Of all the attributes
of God, love is undoubtedly the most beautiful. Love is the power that joins and
binds in divine harmony the universe and everything in it. Divine love is
impersonal; it loves for the sake of loving. Love is the great harmonizer.
