Editor’s Note: The following background information and application ideas for the Christian Science Bible Lesson for this week are offered primarily to help CedarS campers and staff see and demonstrate the great value of daily study of the Christian Science Bible lessons year-round, not just at camp. If more information or the text of this Lesson is desired, please see the Director”s Note at the end. The citations referenced in the “met” (metaphysical application ideas) are taken from the King James Version of the Bible and the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. The Bible and Science and Health are the ordained pastor of the Churches of Christ, Scientist. The Bible Lesson is the sermon read in Christian Science church services throughout the world. (Other reference books are fully noted at the end.)
One with God is a monopoly (treatment), where your real estate is never lost or fallen or even tricked!
Application Ideas for “Adam and Fallen Man”
(Christian Science Quarterly Bible Lesson for Oct. 31-Nov. 6, 2005)
by Julie Ward, C.S. (Westwood, Massachusetts).
Trick or treatment? This lesson gives us a perfect Christian Science treatment, so that we won’t be fooled by the trick of the serpent.
GOLDEN TEXT – Like every good treatment, the lesson begins and ends with grateful acknowledgement that the victory is already ours through Christ. Compare this verse with the last Bible verse in our lesson (B22). Thanks be to God! Do we begin and end our treatments with this gratitude for certain victory? Do we know that it’s revealed to us through Christ?
RESPONSIVE READING – As you read the lesson, watch for phrases like “through Christ Jesus” and “in Christ Jesus.” If the fall of Adam is seen as the claim in this case, then Christ is the counter-fact, the solution. For example, “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand” (not fall!). Where sin claims to separate man from God (as in the story of Adam), grace demonstrates again and again man’s oneness with the Father. “…Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” (Rom. 5:20) One definition of “grace” is “blessing,” so you might say that right where the curse of Adam seems to be, there is God’s infinite blessing.
Here are two definitions of grace from The Student’s Reference Dictionary: “the free, unmerited love and favor of God, the spring and source of all the benefits men receive from him,” and “divine influence, or the influence of the Spirit, in renewing the heart and restraining from sin.”
It’s a wonderful thing for us to consider what it means for us to be “heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ.” (Rom. 8:17) J.B. Phillips paraphrases these last two verses (16 and17) in The New Testament in Modern English: “The Spirit himself endorses our inward conviction that we really are the children of God. Think what that means. If we are his children, then we are God’s heirs, and all that Christ inherits will belong to all of us as well!” All of us!
Section I – Start with the real thing.
Every good treatment begins with the story as God tells it – the only true story. And when God tells the story, these elements will always be present
— Light – Truth, illumination, clarity
— Man made in God’s image – both male and female expressing the full range of His qualities
— Blessing for all
— Fruitfulness and multiplication – efficient, productive, progressive
— Dominion- GOOD!
— Completion – nothing can be added to or taken from it.
This section concludes its Bible section with, “God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all.” (B3) Sometimes it’s good for us to use this as a template for other statements about Him, for example, “God is blessing, and in him there is no cursing at all,” or, “God is good, and in him is no evil at all.” See what other statements come to you as you study this lesson.
I love what Mrs. Eddy tells us (S&H 1) about the phrase “In the beginning…” She states, “The infinite has no beginning. This word beginning is employed to signify the only, – that is, the eternal verity and unity of God and man, including the universe.” It’s good to remember that the spiritual creation is the ONLY creation.
As you read the citations from Science and Health, be alert to the things that the Christ is doing. For example, in (S&H 4), “Christ PRESENTS the indestructible man, whom Spirit creates, constitutes, and governs. ” (And you ARE that man.) Also, “Christ ILLUSTRATES that blending with God, the divine Principle, which gives man dominion over the whole earth.” As you read, be aware of other verbs that tell you what the Christ is doing.
SECTION II – Are we created from the dust or created in His image?
This section presents the story of creation as seen through the mist of misunderstanding and obstructed vision. (The trick.) In this version, man is made of the dust of the ground, and God animates him by breathing life into matter. As you can see, trying to contain the infinite within a finite form defies logic. In this version, man is reproduced by inducing a deep sleep and then borrowing a rib to produce a new version out of spare parts. This version of womanhood as an afterthought reduces woman to a second-class citizen.
The Psalmist’s question is pointed: “Shall the dust praise thee? Shall it declare the truth?” (B 5) What, then, does praise Him and declare His truth? The answer is found in (B6): “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” The pure, exalted conception of the Christ reveals “God with us.”
Notice the three thought-provoking questions posed in (S&H 9). How would you answer them? The third comes with its own answer: “No! God makes and governs all.”
SECTION III – Are our eyes opened or closed?
(“Let there be light…”) Just as the last section contrasted the “mist version” of man born of the dust of the ground with the “light” version of the birth of Jesus, this section shows us how the serpent claims to “open our eyes’ through sin, but the Christ opens our eyes through innocence. Before you read this account of the serpent tempting man, you might find it helpful to read the definition of “serpent” from our textbook. (S&H 594:1) One definition is “the first lie that there is an opposite of Spirit, or good, named matter, or evil.” You can see how that lie operates in the serpent’s claim that “…in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” (B 9) The fact is, the belief that we can know good AND evil CLOSES our eyes to the possibility of infinite good. Remember that the serpent is “more subtil than any beast of the field.” This word in Hebrew means “cunning, crafty, sly.” It doesn’t just come in and announce itself as evil. It claims to be beautiful, helpful, eye-opening. It says, “”I can open your eyes. I can do what God has not done for you.” (S&H 11) It might say, “I can make you beautiful, intelligent, happy, confident, healthy, etc.” But here’s the trick: God HAS already done that for us. The serpent’s attempt is to CLOSE our eyes to what God has already done.
The Christ is the true eye-opener. In (B 12), Jesus heals a man who was blind from birth. The disciples were tricked by the serpent into asking the wrong question : “Who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” They took the bait. They believed that he was blind, and that someone’s sin had caused this. Jesus knew that he could see because he was sinless. His purpose (“that the works of God should be made manifest in him”) could not be darkened. He couldn’t lose sight of the man’s purpose, because he couldn’t lose sight of his own purpose: “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Then, Jesus spat on the ground, as if to express his complete contempt for the false picture of man made from the dust of the ground. He applied the clay that was made to the man’s eyes and then sent him off to the pool of Siloam to wash away that clay (and that claim or trick) once and for all. It’s no accident that the interpretation of Siloam is “sent.” This man had a holy purpose, and nothing could keep him from seeing it. The man washed and came away seeing. We can do the same.
In (S&H 12), Mrs. Eddy tells us that “Physiology is one of the apples from ‘the tree of knowledge.'” The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines physiology as “the biological science of essential and characteristic life processes, activities, and functions.” Have we taken a bite of that apple lately? If we have, we’ve probably discovered that it closes our eyes “to man’s God-given dominion over the earth.” But again the Christ comes to the rescue. The gates of paradise are re-opened “Through discernment of the spiritual opposite of materiality, even the way through Christ, Truth….” (S&H 13) The Christ opens our eyes!
SECTION IV – Are we cursed or blessed?
In the allegorical tale of Adam and Eve, God curses man as a result of his disobedience to the instruction not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (B 13) Both Adam and Eve are cursed with sorrow. The woman is cursed to bring forth children in sorrow. The man is cursed to till the soil (“…Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.”) Do we believe in a God who sets up man to commit a crime, and then curses him for committing it? Can the source of all joy create His image to live in sorrow? As we hear and read more and more about the claim of depression, it’s a good thing to remember that we’ve never been cursed with sorrow. Paul says, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law.” The curse is replaced by the blessing of Abraham “through Jesus Christ .” (B 14) Christ removes the belief of curse and reveals to us our eternal blessedness. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” (B 16)
The false concept of man is cursed to destroy itself, but the true concept of man is forever blessed. “Jesus gave the true idea of being, which results in infinite blessings to mortals.” (S&H 16) When you know who you really are, you know you’re blessed. “Divine Love blesses its own ideas, and causes them to multiply – to manifest His power.” (S&H 20) Only divine Love’s ideas can multiply. There is no multiplication of sorrow – no contagion, no unwanted growth, no over-crowding, no wholesale panic or distress. Joy multiplies, peace multiplies, love multiplies – by infinity!
SECTION V – Is man burdened or uplifted? (Dominion!)
As you read this section, look for the words lift and uplift. The Christ is always acting to lift man out of the dust and into dominion.
Paul uses the analogy of an athlete about to run a race. He has to put aside the things that would weigh him down before he runs the race, and he must keep his eyes on the finish line. In the race of life, we have to put aside the “the sin which doth so easily beset us” and follow Jesus “the author and finisher of our faith.” (B 17) In The Message, Eugene Peterson writes, “Strip down, start running – and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sin. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it…..So don’t sit around on your hands. No more dragging your feet! Clear the path for long-distance runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out. And run for it.” Run for it!
The healing of the woman who “was bowed together and could in no wise lift herself up” is a wonderful example of the Christ lifting off the impositions of helplessness and heaviness. She was LOOSED from her infirmity. Her sense of burden and victimization was replaced by her natural buoyancy and freedom. How? Through grace – “the free, unmerited love and favor of God, the spring and source of all the benefits men receive from Him.” (The Student’s Reference Dictionary )
This woman was shown her true status as the image of God. She was “neither inverted nor subverted, but upright and Godlike.” (S&H 23) God UPLIFTS the race, and never burdens us. There are two important rules for healing in this section (S&H 25), which tell us what to keep in mind and what to remember. You might want to write them down on an index card or a post-it note and see how you can be more obedient to them every day. “Being is holiness, harmony, and immortality. ” (S&H 26) This is your being!
SECTION VI – Be fruitful, and multiply!
The very same God who commanded, “Let there be light!” has shined in our hearts “to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (B 20) Jesus has taught us how to know and understand the glory of God. It’s not just an abstract concept. Do you remember the definition of “multiply” that we had in Section IV (S&H 20)? It is “to manifest His power.” What is truly multiplied? God’s qualities. “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you…” (B 21) Each time we appreciate or express a quality of God in our consciousness, it is multiplied. So the command, “Be fruitful, and multiply” is a perpetual demand. One quality just leads us right on to another. Paul lists the qualities of faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity. What other qualities are multiplying in your experience right now? Whatever they are, you can appreciate them and claim them by acknowledging their infinite source. J. B. Phillips writes in The New Testament in Modern English, “If you have these qualities existing and growing in you then it means that knowing our Lord Jesus Christ has not made your lives either complacent or unproductive….Set your minds, then on endorsing by your conduct the fact that God has called and chosen you.”
Do you remember how the lesson began with gratitude to God for His power and glory, and His irresistible victory? Well, we’ve come to the end, and the treatment ends in the very same way: “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.” (B22) Let’s fill our hearts with thanks to God this week, for this gratitude multiplies the good in our experience.
“Man is the expression of God’s being.” (S&H 29) YOU are the expression of God’s being. “Truth and Love reign in the real man…” – in the real YOU. (S&H 28) And YOU, made in His likeness, possess and reflect “God’s dominion over all the earth.” (S&H 30) You are one with God and can never fall from that high estate.
Reference books used in this met were:
The New Testament in Modern English
by J.B. Phillips
The Student’s Reference Dictionary
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
The Message
by Eugene Peterson
Camp Director’s Note: The above sharing is the latest in a long series of CedarS Bible Lesson “mets” (metaphysical application ideas) contributed weekly by a rotation of CedarS Resident Practitioners and occasionally by other metaphysicians. This document is intended to initiate further study as well as to encourage the application of ideas found in the Weekly Bible Lessons as printed in the Christian Science Quarterly and as available at Christian Science Reading Rooms.* Originally sent JUST to campers, staff and CedarS families who wanted to continue at home and in their home Sunday Schools the same type of focused Lesson study and inspiration they had felt at camp, CedarS lesson “mets” are in no way meant to be definitive or conclusive or in any way a substitute for daily study of the lesson in the books. The thoughts presented are the inspiration of the moment and are offered to give a bit more dimension, background and daily applicability to some of the ideas and passages being studied. The Lesson-Sermon speaks individually through the Christ to everyone, providing unique insights and tailor-made applications for each one. We are glad you requested this metaphysical sharing and hope that you find some of these ideas helpful in your daily spiritual journey, in your deeper digging in the books and in closer bonding with your Comforter and Pastor.)
