Article September 21, 1918 Issue

The Activity of the Christ

ALFRED F. GOODMAN

Accepting the truth, as taught in Christian Science, that the Christ-idea is not limited to a material, finite form or to a limited period of time, but continues to exist throughout all eternity, we come at length to consider the activity of this Christ-principle or spiritual understanding. In rising above the belief that the Christ must be a human savior, and realizing that the savior of the world is the divine Truth which is ever present, we are freed from the limitations which so long prevailed while mankind believed that the Christ has not been present since Jesus walked the earth, and that this Christ will not be present again until the second appearing of the man Jesus. This limiting belief removed, we can begin to look over the pages of Bible history and trace the activity of the Christ-principle long before the advent of Jesus of Nazareth.

We can thus see that from the beginning of mortal history every prophet who discerned something of the spiritual facts of being, prepared the way, to the extent of his discernment of Truth, for those who followed him; and that the work of each in turn was made possible by the efforts of those who had gone before him. It was because "Noah was a just man" and "walked with God" that he was enabled to save his household, consisting of all those who had, like him, been receptive of the Christ-idea and allowed the activity of the Christ, Truth, to govern them. It was the activity of the Christ which caused Abraham to go forth from Ur of the Chaldees and look for that city whose builder or cause is God; it might be further said that it was the complete understanding of the Christ which Abraham sought. It was the activity of the Christ which caused Moses to perceive in the burning bush that, although oppressed on every hand and seemingly being consumed, yet the children of Israel were not destroyed; and the activity of the Christ-idea, as manifested by Moses, brought the children of Israel safely out of the land of bondage. It was the activity of the Christ-idea which enabled Elisha to perform his many so-called miracles, among which was the first recorded case of the dead being brought to life.

It was the recognition of the Christ-idea which enabled the prophets of old to give voice and pen to their prophecies, telling of things to come and helping those who were in distress. It was the activity of the Christ in her consciousness which enabled Mary to be the mother of Jesus, and so to realize the spiritual origin of man and the fatherhood of God. It was the activity of the Christ which enabled Jesus to be so filled with the knowledge of the allness of Spirit, God, and the nothingness of matter, that he could completely overcome every false law of the carnal mind and realize more fully than any man either before or after him, the ever present power of God. Mrs. Eddy says of him (Science and Health, p. 313), "Jesus of Nazareth was the most scientific man that ever trod the globe." Of Moses she says (p. 200), "Moses advanced a nation to the worship of God in Spirit instead of matter." Is it not clear that the work of Moses many years before the advent of Jesus, had been of inestimable value in preparing the thought of the world for the more complete and spiritual teachings of the Master? Thus throughout all the ages error has been wearing itself away, being destroyed in human consciousness by the truth revealed through the activity of the Christ.

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