Do you identify with Spirit or with matter?
Hopefully with Spirit because that’s where you came from and it is the composition of your being.
Jesus Christ made it clear that Spirit and matter don’t mix. Spirit is Spirit, and the flesh is flesh. Flesh is not partially of Spirit, and Spirit is never in or of the flesh. There is a black and white clear cut distinction to make between the two.
As he emphasized, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” John 3:6, NKJV.
If you were born of the flesh, then you were not born of the Spirit, for there is no flesh in Spirit. And if you were born of Spirit, then you were not born of the flesh, for there is no Spirit in the flesh. The two do not mix or mingle any more than oil and water.
To the human mind it looks like Spirit and matter mingle all the time in the form of a neighbor doing a good deed, a family member expressing love, and so on. But this is just the human mind’s limited understanding of what is happening spiritually. In Truth, the good witnessed in the form of love expressed and intelligence manifest is Spirit in action. Spirit originated the love and the intelligence and caused it to be expressed, not a brain or physique.
Jesus’ three days in the tomb proved that he did not need a functioning brain to stay alive. He understood his life and being in God, and his understanding enabled him to let his physical body go while it lay in the tomb for three days. When he raised it up with his resurrection, he proved the triumph of Spirit. That Spirit had sustained him during those three days and maintained his life and identity.
And the same rule applies to our life and identity. It’s Spirit that sustains us, that gives us shape and form, that makes us intelligent, healthy, beautiful, wise and able, not the flesh.
The human mind is going to outgrow the flesh and leave it behind, but the divine Source, Spirit, is forever.
So, be sure to identify with your source. Reason out from Spirit as to who you are, what defines you and what you’re capable of doing.
There are no limits in Spirit. Spirit can do anything. Spirit is timeless and ageless. Spirit is strong and powerful, able and capable, sound and secure, and pure health.
It’s not muscles and bones, skin, blood, hair, and face features that define you. You are more than flesh. You are of the Spirit! You were created whole and perfect in Spirit long before your human parents knew anything about you.
As Christian Science explains, “Man is not matter; he is not made up of brain, blood, bones, and other material elements. The Scriptures inform us that man is made in the image and likeness of God. Matter is not that likeness…Man is idea, the image, of Love; he is not physique” Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p 475.
Enjoy expressing Spirit today!
Thank you for posting this, and making very clear the distinction between flesh and Spirit. Reading this, I realized just how much I have been identifying myself as a human with a fleshly body, and kind of unconsciously thinking I will be spiritual some day. I know better, and this was a needed reminder and wake up call. Thank you!
Thank you Evan for this clear delineation of our spirituality. Very helpful.
Thank you Evan! This is such an important topic to understand so thanks again for stating the ideas in this blog today so clearly.
I was raised in a family of Christian Scientists, starting attending Christian Science Sunday School at the age of 2, graduated from Sunday School, and then took C.S. class instruction at age 22. But I bet I was in my mid-30’s before it totally dawned on me that I am 100% spiritual…not some spiritual identity temporarily dwelling in matter.
I know people that have been raised in Christian Science families and read the Bible lesson their whole lives and now are almost 90 years old and they still believe they are living in a material body and won’t leave this body and become 100% spiritual until they die out of this material existence. I mention this only to show what an aggressive suggestion the belief in a material existence can be!
I hear Christian Scientists say that have been unable to heal some “physical” ailment and I wonder if it is not because they don’t understand they are 100% spiritual and therefore they are trying to heal “matter” via spiritual means. When we first start practicing Christian Science that type of mentality is not so detrimental to success. but as we grow in our spiritual understanding, eventually the belief that matter is real will prevent us from being able to heal ourselves and others.
One day it dawned on me that Mrs. Eddy made the Scientific Statement of Being from Science and Health (pg 468) part of every church service because understanding “man is not material, he is spiritual” is so important.
Thanks also for explaining the law of “like produces like” (see S&H pg 276 & 551). I love how Mrs. Eddy makes so clear in S&H how Spirit could not create its opposite…matter. Therefore the only conclusion is that matter does not, and never had, any existence. It’s a mistaken concept…or lie.
Well said. Thank you.
Thank you, Evan! Very powerful!! I know the essential point of C.S. is that “Man is not material, he is spiritual.” And yet, that is not an easy concept for the human mind to grasp hold of, esp. since we need to eat, sleep, drive, have money, etc. to live in this human existence. It’s difficult for most people, at this stage of existence, to hold the thought of being spiritual in mind and yet, at the same time, to take care of our material bodily needs. I know Mrs. Eddy says to “emerge gently from matter into Spirit”, and I also know that we can only demonstrate what we truly understand. All I can say is, I’m grateful for the little bit of C.S. I do understand and am grateful that at least I’m “heading in the right direction”!!!
Thank you Evan, most helpful, I particularly found “work out from Spirit” illuminating. I know of the demand upon us to work out from God, but somehow that seems harder to grasp.
Thank you, thank you for this . I ditto Bevi’s comments and found Brian’s comments very helpful. Thank you all.
Hi Evan,
This is a wonderful piece, thank you !
Would you please help me unfold this one point … “… The human mind is going to outgrow the flesh and leave it behind, but the divine Source, Spirit, is forever …” namely, the human mind is going to outgrow the flesh … I’d like to understand this more …
Thank you Evan !
Hi Bonnie,
When you plant a seed in the ground, it sprouts, sends a shoot upward and leaves the shucks of the seed behind. It becomes a whole new entity.
I can not be flesh basing my life on a material BRAIN. Where did the concept of brain as the seat of intelligence and life come from? The human brain doesn’t talk and say “On this side is memory. To the right is emotion. In the middle is where the concept of morality come from. In the back is where invention shows itself. ETC” The proof that material brain has nothing to do with life is held by the lives of Congress Woman Kathy Gifford, Malala Yousefsai, who both got shot in their brain and still lived. Without realizing it they both knew their spiritual origin.
ALL very interesting. I often just don’t get it! Since we are born into this material body why would we ever believe we are really 100 per cent spiritual? I know in science we are taught this but I feel totally unable to really absorb and prove the concept.I have been trying for 78 years and I don’t fully understand.
Hi Patty. If you challenge the premise that “we are born into this material body” then it’s not hard to realize your spiritual nature.
For example, suppose someone were to hypnotize you into believing you were born with only one leg even though you actually have two perfectly functioning legs. Under that hypnotic suggestion you would believe that you could not walk and therefore you would insist on using a wheel chair or crutches to move around. That would be a less desirable life than living a life with two perfectly functioning legs.
Then suppose someone that wasn’t hypnotized the same as you said to you “You have two perfectly functioning legs…if you can just give up the belief that you are missing one of your legs, you will be free and be able to walk”. You might respond “What are you talking about…I’m missing one leg!” and insist the person telling you otherwise is insane when in fact that person is correct and it is you that is simply unable to see what is true because you have been hypnotized by the suggestion that you are missing a leg.
That’s one way I think of the material versus spiritual concept. When I’m believing I’m material it’s like I’m in a hypnotized state that is unaware of my true identity…made in the image and likeness of God, Spirit, and therefore an identity that must be 100% spiritual. Healing is like waking up from that hypnotized state. We don’t half to actually “change matter” to experience healing any more than in the example above you would have to grow a second leg. Those illusions never actually existed. They were just mistaken concepts in our thinking. Healing, therefore, is just the process of realizing something that was previously hidden from consciousness due to our holding to some incorrect idea. When we are able to see the falsity of the suggestion, that suggestion disappears and we call that healing. But in reality, the harmony that we call healing has been there all along.
Also, the nice thing is we can do this process of awakening little by little. Maybe today you can realize why the suggestion of having a cold is untrue (i.e. realize more about God’s nature and know Love would never inflict suffering on His dear child) and wake up from that hypnotic suggestion, even while operating under a number of other beliefs that come from believing in a material existence. So little by little we can free ourselves from the mistaken belief that we are material and awaken to the truth, harmony, of a purely spiritual identity. It all takes place in our thinking.
BRIAN . thank you very much for your wonderful explanation. I really needed that. I awakened at 3am and couldn’t go back to sleep. I picked up my phone to reread this post. I am so grateful for all you shared. I will reread it many times. I feel I’m on the right track now. I love Christian Science but never felt I could heal anything. Hopefully that will change.I so appreciate your taking the time to help me.
Patty
Thanks Patty…and much love to you!
Anyone that has glimpsed even a little of spiritual reality realizes what a cruel taskmaster the belief in a material existence is. So it just seems natural to me to try to help others escape from the bondage of material thinking. I too sure appreciate Evan’s, and everyone that comments, efforts to help me through their contributions to this blog!
Oh, Evan,
Your explanation of the distinction between Spirit and flesh is so clear! This is a real gem!
Many thanks for these daily glimpses of reality which you share.
Thanks Evan. I really needed this today!
Brian, thanks for your clear response to Patty. The total concept of spirit being the all and only and matter absolutely nothing can be difficult to comprehend when the false testimony of the material senses seems so real. But we must remember that the testimony of the material senses is ALWAYS FALSE! Genesis 1 is the absolute truth of creation – no deviation.
Creation in the image and likeness can only be spiritual.
WOW! I absolutely devoured Evan’s explanation of “do we ID with Spirit or matter?” I will print it out; (another keeper) but, to read all the other responses is the icing on the cake! We certainly do seem to struggle to get that material birth/death/matter concept out of thought—to only identify with the spiritual (no matter) of God’s creating. That is the hill we climb, to shed the belief that there is life in matter—- Therein is the demarcation line when error tries to send out warnings, frightening messages, entrapment theories that we are encapsulated, trapped in matter. Oh, how we struggle to tell mortal mind that “YOU ARE NOT TRUE.” But, our loving Father/Mother/God rescues us. That is when the true test of clinging/hanging on to our loving Divine Mind, refusing to bow down to fear, error, demanding that we ARE the beloved, cared-for children of God comes in to play. This is the testing time—we either mentally/prayerfully refuse to bow down to matter, mortal mind, or we continue to rise, rise, rise, (maybe inch by inch) pray, pray and demand our freedom as God’s beloved child. The dear Christ did this continually—what an example he left for us. Did he ever capitulate to any of the “things” that attacked him? He absolutely knew he was God’s child/son. So are we.
Discouragement has no part of this change of thought. Everyone can do it. This wonderful “blog” by Evan is a candle flame in dark thought. It never goes out. The light of God’s love is iridescent, full of understanding, and nothing can obliterate that light.
Reach over(figuratively) and flip on that wall switch that illuminates the room- Where is darkness/fear? Gone. Patty, we all battle this. Matter seems so real. That is the hill we climb, but how grateful we can be that we have the tools to understand that matter is zero, spirituality is the real and eternal. You, we all are that spiritual, glorious image/likeness child of God.
Thanks, Evan, for starting this most interesting discussion today! And here it is at the end of the day and I can tell from a lot of the Comments that various Others, too, struggle with the concept of not being material. All I can say is that it’s a very advanced, spiritual concept that Jesus was able to master and prove and share with others, but most of us here are still in Kindergarten or Pre-School! We need to be very gentle and kind to ourselves in this regard, as most of the world isn’t even in the ballpark, and at least we are trying to understand and practice what Jesus taught re. spiritual healing. I think we all get A+ for even having just a toe on the path!
Yes, you are right! We have much to learn about what it means to be spiritual. But it helps to keep the high goal before one’s thought. You’ll get there a lot faster.
It’s a joy to see all the lively thinking on this subject. I learn much from everyone’s comments.
Great post and great comments. The one phrase of Evan’s that stood out to me was “Reason out from Spirit . . .” That’s the starting point and also the ending point. There is no room for matter as the Scientific Statement powerfully points out. Thanks to all!
Thank you everyone for your wonderful comments. I am so grateful for your help.
I’m glad that I came back and reread the blog. That was a healing!
The participation by the Blog members is most rewarding, Evan thank you for bringing our spiritual awareness so this Love expressed indeed brings us where we need to be.