Series 2 - Lesson 3 - Annotation 20
To whom do we refer when we say: "Son of God"; "Son of man"; "son of man"?
20. The "Son of God" is Jehovah God, Christ, I AM, the composite Idea of God, the image of God, the Word of God, spiritual man, the ideal pattern of man in the Mind of God. This ideal is inherent in every man as his spiritual nature.
The "Son of man" is the human being or manifest man quickened in awareness to the divinity of himself. He is becoming conscious of himself as a "Son of God," and is gradually expressing and manifesting his real nature. This state of becoming conscious of himself as a "Son of God" is metaphorically referred to as the "new birth," "rebirth," being "born again," being "born anew."
The "son of man" is the human being, the manifest man not yet fully awakened to his spiritual nature. It is man often binding himself by human limitations rather than freeing himself by spiritual possibilities. The "son of man" conceives of himself as a species, as an object in nature, without adequate understanding of the latent inner power and character of the species to lift it to increasingly greater expression. He may be very moral in his actions, yet still he holds a belief in God as apart from himself.
The "son of man" becomes the "Son of man" when he is "renewed in the spirit" (Eph. 4:23) of his mind and puts on the "new nature, created after the likeness of God" (Eph. 4:24). That is, he comes to realize who he is and begins manifesting the Truth in mind, body, and affairs.
Awareness, awakening, glimpsing the spiritual possibilities of himself in his evolutionary progress, is not by itself enough to lift the "son of man" to new levels of expression, although this insight is a fundamental step. The insight necessarily is to be carried into fulfillment by active pursuit of the spiritual ideal envisioned. A characteristic of God is movement. Consider the attributes equated with God, those of life, love, intelligence, power—all are suggestive of activity. A concept of the ideal of love without loving, of life without expanded living, of intelligence and power without exercising them, makes these attributes only abstract principles and not actual experiences. The "son of man" must awaken to his true relationship to God and begin to use the life, love, intelligence, and power that are his divine heritage; then he is "Son of man," having acknowledged the Son of God as his true source and guide.
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Preceding Entry: What is Christ? Explain fully how Christ is man's salvation. (See Col. 1:27.)
Following Entry: What is thinking? What is a structure, and what builds all structures?
