Article February 16, 1935 Issue

The Old Man and the New

ALBERT F. GILMORE

The admonition contained in Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus contains a valuable lesson for the student of Christian Science seeking to gain and retain a clear concept of his true selfhood, that is, of the real man. The words are these: "That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." Thus did Paul set forth in striking contrast the great gulf between the man of flesh, the counterfeit, and the real man, God's likeness, the man "created in righteousness and true holiness."

Mrs. Eddy makes it very clear that the old man—old, that is, because of the age-old acceptance of the material counterfeit as the real man—is but an illusion, the offspring of material, sinful sense, which has no existence apart from false belief. Who can doubt the wisdom or desirability of getting rid of this false sense of man in order that the true concept may appear? Manifestly, we cannot hold to the false and the true at the same time; we cannot gain the truth about anything while holding to a lie about it.

Paul accurately described the real man as created "after God." This God-created man, the full manifestation of Mind, God's representative, is the real selfhood which the Christian Scientist is striving to establish in his consciousness. This is the perfect man, whom Jesus scientifically beheld; and this concept when gained today, as of old heals the material sense of man of the beliefs of sickness and sin. This is the work in which we, as Christian Scientists, are engaged. We, too, in the spirit of Christian ministry, through the understanding revealed in Christian Science of the nature and attributes of God and of the character of man, God's expression, are striving to gain that spiritual concept of the perfect man which destroys all falsity attaching to the fleshly concept of man. This process, it seems, entails a struggle, sometimes prolonged because of the tenacity of false beliefs regarding the old man. Mankind has so long believed in materiality as constituting man that the spiritual transformation of human consciousness seems to require patience and persistence. The seeking, often prolonged, is, however, accompanied by priceless rewards to the struggling student as each step Spiritward is taken. The way grows constantly brighter as we advance, so that the reward is exactly in proportion to the persistence, fidelity, and intelligence of the effort. Furthermore, every glimpse of spiritual truth gained and applied lessens in some degree the burden of material existence for all mankind.

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