Chapter II
The Development of Faith
FAITH has an abiding place in man's consciousness. This place of abiding is described in the Scriptures as the "house of Simon and Andrew." A house is a structure that some person has built for a home. A man's house is his castle. Perhaps generation after generation is born and reared in the same house. The house where a great genius was born is preserved with care, and it is visited year after year by those who are devotees of the one who expressed some great thought, art, or discovery. If the barn cave at Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, were found, it would become the most famous shrine in the world. The importance that we give to the places where great men and women were born is founded on the centralizing power of thought. All structures are thought concentrations. Constructive thinking ultimates in the construction of places of abode. Savages do not build houses or cities, because they do not think constructively.
In the time of David the Children of Israel were nomads. The consciousness of indwelling Spirit had not been born in their minds, and could not, in consequence, be formed in their bodies. That the time was ripe for a more constructive state of mind is set forth in these words of Jehovah, in II Samuel 7:5, 6:
Shalt thou build me a house for me to dwell in? for I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle.
After receiving this message, David, the drawing power of love, began gathering material for Solomon's Temple. Jehovah told David that he could not build the Temple because he was a man of war. The temple of God is man's body ("Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit"), but if man has not complied with the law of permanent body building, he is like the nomadic Children of Israel; he goes from body to body and from tabernacle to tabernacle.
Except Jehovah build the house. They labor in vain that build it.
The tents and the tabernacles that the Children of Israel built for Jehovah represent the transitory bodies of flesh. The Lord has merely "walked" in these flimsy temples; they have not afforded an abiding place for Spirit, because of their unsubstantial character. The underlying weakness of the tent body was its lack of faith in the inhabiting soul. A new consciousness of the indwelling spiritual substance and life was necessary, and a man was chosen to bring it forth. This man, named Abraham, represents obedience and faith. His original name was Abram, which means "exalted father." The name is identified with the highest cosmic principle, the all-pervading, self-existent spiritual substance, which is the primary source of the universe.
Abraham was tested again and again, to the end that he might be strong in faith. His great test of faith was his willingness to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac in the mountain of the Lord. "And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of Jehovah it shall be provided."
This incident is intended to show the necessity of a man's giving up that which he considers his dearest possession before he can realize the divine providence. The incident takes place in the mount of the Lord; that is, in a high spiritual understanding.
The law of giving and receiving pertains to the realm of ideas; one must give up personal attachments before one can receive the universal. If a parent idealizes a child, loves it so dearly that its pleasure is first in his consciousness, the spiritual development of the parent is impeded. Then, before the love of God (which is the supreme thing) can fill the heart, there must be a sacrifice of human love. If like Abraham one is faithful and obedient and willing to give to the Lord his most precious possession, there is always a receiving or providing equivalent.
When Abraham was willing to sacrifice his beloved Isaac, the Lord stayed his hand; his attention was directed to a ram in a thicket nearby, and he was directed to sacrifice the animal upon the altar, in place of the child. Here is illustrated an often misunderstood law of sacrifice or renunciation. We do not have to give up our cherished things, if they are real, but the error that prevents their full expression must be destroyed. The ram (which represents the resistance and opposition of personality to the complete expression of Truth) must be sacrificed.
"Give, and it shall be given unto you" is the statement of a law that operates in every thought and act of man. This law is the foundation of all barter and financial exchange. Men scheme to get something for nothing; but the law, in one of its many forms, overtakes them in the end. Even metaphysicians, who above all people should understand the law, often act as if they expected God to provide abundantly for them before they have earned abundance. It is an error to think that God gives anybody anything that has not been earned. The Holy Spirit comes upon those who pray in the "upper room." The "upper room" corresponds to the "mount of Jehovah." It is the high place in consciousness where man realizes the presence of Divine Mind. The greatest work that one can do is to strive to know God and to keep His law. God pays liberally for this service and the reward is sure. Faith is built up in consciousness under this law.
"Faith is assurance of things hoped for." When there has been an aspiration and a reaching out for the spiritual life, the faith faculty becomes active in consciousness. The prayer of supplication is impotent--the prayer of affirmation is immediately effective.
Intellectual faith admits doubt, and hope of fulfillment in the future; spiritual faith includes unfailing assurance and immediate response. These two attitudes of faith are often observed acting and reacting upon each other. Peter started to walk on the water in spiritual faith, but when he saw the effects of the wind he was afraid, and began to sink. Then the I AM (Jesus) gave its hand of spiritual power, the wind ceased, and there was no longer any doubt of faith's ability to rise above the negative consciousness.
The first and greatest disciple of Jesus was Peter, who has been universally accepted by the followers of Jesus the Christ as a type representing faith. Before he met Jesus, Peter was called Simon. Simon means "hearing," which represents receptivity. We understand from this that listening to Truth in a receptive state of mind opens the way for receiving the next degree in the divine order, which is faith. Jesus gave Peter his new name and also its meaning: "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church."
Faith in the reality of the invisible builds a real, abiding substance in mind and in body. All kinds of ideas grow quickly when planted in this rich substance of the mind. Jesus also called this substance of faith the "earth," and He said to Peter, "Whatsoever thou shalt bind [affirm] on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose [deny] on earth shall be loosed in heaven." In all His teaching Jesus emphasized that the ruling forces of both heaven and earth are in man. "The kingdom of God is within you." "All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth." "Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?" When we understand the omnipresence of Spirit (God) we quickly see how simple and true this beautiful doctrine of Jesus is.
There is but one real faith; the avenue of expression determines the character and power of faith. Trust is a cheaper brand of faith, but trust is better than mistrust. As a rule, people who merely trust in the Lord do not understand all the law. If they had understanding they would affirm the presence and power of God until the very substance of Spirit would appear in consciousness--and this is faith established on a rock.
Faith words should be expressed both silently and audibly. The power of the spoken word is but slightly understood, because the law of the Word is not rightly observed. The Word is the creative idea in Divine Mind, which may be expressed by man when he has fulfilled the law of expression. All words are formative but not all words are creative. The creative word lays hold of Spirit substance and power. Physical science hints at this inner substance and energy, in its description of the almost inconceivable power inherent in the universal ether. We are told that the manifest forces, such as heat, light, and electricity,