Article May 4, 1918 Issue

"The redemption of our body"

ALFRED FARLOW

When Paul declared, "There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body," his evident purpose was not to make a plea in behalf of matter or the flesh, which the Master before him had branded as a thing altogether unprofitable, but simply to comfort his hearers with the assurance that they would not lose their individuality on account of the apparent death of the mortal body. His intention, evidently, was to give assurance that in the heavenly estate each would maintain a distinct individuality. The redemption of the body mentioned in the eighth chapter of Romans, points to the scientific sense of man's being.

Adam Clarke in his comment on this text mentions the fact that the Greek word which is translated "body" in the text under consideration signifies "individualized entity." Each idea of infinite Spirit has distinct individuality, not a body of material parts but a distinct and definite identity which is the reflection or manifestation of God, Mind. As this spiritual sense of individuality is gained, the belief that man is a material body is lost. Paul declares, "It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory." Flesh is the inglorious presentation of man, while the spiritual man is the glorified expression or image of Mind, not in outline or organism, but in the harmony manifested. The dishonorable sense of manhood must be overcome in order to attain the glorious manhood. As one realizes the true sense of man he loses the false sense. This change, however, does not consist of a transference from one body to another; it is simply an awakening from a dream of mortal body to the true consciousness, the likeness of God. The death requisite to a loss of the material body means far more than what is commonly referred to as the last enemy. It means the destruction of all error in the consciousness of the human individual by the awakening to true manhood.

We often hear the expression, "Be a man." This injunction should mean much more than is usually intended. It should mean to awake in the likeness of God and thereby rise above everything that is less than man. The term awake, which the psalmist used, implies that the likeness of God is already intact, that the veil of matter, the cloud of false belief, needs to be lifted by the enlightenment of the individual in order that the eternal image of divine Mind may be in evidence. Christian Science clears away the mystery which seems to hover about many Biblical statements, by revealing the spiritual Science of being, the Science of cause and effect, thereby interpreting the Scriptures spiritually.

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