In the Christian Science Bible Lesson September 5, 2011 Issue

Get a grasp on spiritual substance

For the lesson titled "Substance" from September 5–11, 2011

Kathleen Collins

“What is substance?” That’s the question posed and answered by this week’s Bible Lesson, titled “Substance.” The Lesson reveals how finding the true meaning of substance (see Science and Health, p. 468, citation 1) leads to a deeper understanding of the kingdom of heaven (see ibid., p. 590, cit. 26). The relationship of these two concepts is established right from the Golden Text: “Ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance” (Heb. 10:34). 

In everyday life, substance typically relates to physical matter. There’s also the “substance abuse” of drugs and alcohol, and a wealthy person might be identified as “a person of substance.” But in Christian Science, substance is entirely spiritual.

Mary Baker Eddy not only chose “Substance” as a Bible Lesson topic, she also defined it in the chapter titled “Recapitulation” in her book, Science and Health. “Substance is that which is eternal and incapable of discord and decay,” she wrote. “Truth, Life, and Love are substance, as the Scriptures use this word in Hebrews: ‘The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.’ Spirit, the synonym of Mind, Soul, or God, is the only real substance. The spiritual universe, including individual man, is a compound idea, reflecting the divine substance of Spirit” (p. 468, cit. 1). 

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