Unity Metaphysics: 04 The Trinity

Unity Metaphysics 1 (Blue Book)
Lesson 04 The Trinity

The Trinity has been meaningful to Christians in one way or another for centuries. To many individuals it signifies a great mystery. To us in Unity, the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit represents the three primary creative aspects of Being, which we interpret metaphysically as Mind, Idea, and Expression.

In the following chapter, we will explore the metaphysical implications of the Trinity so that we may better understand the creative process in God and humankind.

4A METAPHYSICAL TRINITY:

"The Holy Trinity is known as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Metaphysically, we understand the Trinity to refer to mind, idea and expression ..." (Keep a True Lent 14).

Metaphysically interpreted, the Trinity not only describes the reality of God in relationship to humankind, but also represents the reality of the creative process by which a divine idea becomes manifested or formed.

4B THREE IN ONE:

"The Trinity is not three separate gods but one God in three phases of expression. As the divine Creator, God is Father; as the divine Self in man, He is Son; and as spiritual life and power in activity, He is Holy Spirit (Be Ye Transformed 18).

"The Father is Principle, The Son is Principle revealed in a creative plan. The Holy Spirit is the executive power of both Father and Son carrying out the creative plan. Thus we might also say that Father is Being in the absolute, the unlimited, the unrelated. Son is the I AM identity of Being… The Holy Spirit is the law of God in action" (Talks On Truth 134).

The key to the mystery of the Trinity is to remember that the terms Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not separate things, but simply three aspects of our one God.

4C FIRST IN THE TRINITY:

"God is first in the Trinity. God is mind and is everywhere present. God is principle, law, Being, Spirit, All- Good, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, unchangeable, Creator, Father, cause, and source of all that is. God as Spirit is forever accessible" (Keep a True Lent 14).

First in the Trinity is God, the Absolute - the unlimited, unconditional transcendent aspect of God.

4D SECOND IN THE TRINITY

"As the son is to the father, so is the idea to the mind. Mind is one with its ideas, so the Father - God-Mind - is one with its offspring, the idea - the son" (Keep a True Lent 173).

"An idea is the original primary, or unlimited thought of Being: in God-Mind, the eternal Word or Logos" (Keep a True Lent 172).

"The Christ is God's divine idea of man, the embodiment of all divine ideas existing in the mind of Being" (Keep a True Lent 10).

The second aspect of the Trinity is the composite divine idea which we refer to as the Word of God, the Logos, or the Christ Idea. It is the Divine Presence individualized in all of God's creation and contains within it the power of self-expression.

4E THIRD IN THE TRINITY:

"The Holy Spirit is the action or outpouring or activity of the living Word. This activity produces what may be termed the light of Spirit, the breath of God, the 'personality' of Being" (Mysteries of John 19).

"The work of the Holy Spirit is the executive power of Father (mind) and Son (idea), carrying out the creative plan. It is through the help of the Holy Spirit that man overcomes. The Holy Spirit reveals, helps, and directs in this overcoming" (Atom-Smashing Power of Mind 38)

"The Comforter or Holy Spirit is the law of God in action ..." (Mysteries of John 141).

This third aspect of the Trinity refers to the creative activity or the "whole Spirit of God" which enables us to experience and express our divine potential in ever increasing ways.

4F UNDERSTANDING THE TRINITY:

"If you would know the mystery of Being, see yourself in Being. Know yourself as an integral idea in Divine Mind, and all other ideas will recognize you as their fellow worker. Throw yourself out of the Holy Trinity, and you become an onlooker. Throw yourself into the Trinity, and you become its avenue of expression" (Charles Fillmore Christian Healing 20).

We are seeking to relate to the concept of the Trinity in a mystical way. The Trinity is a living reality which we are meant to experience not only intellectually but on every level of our being. Discussion about the Trinity is certainly appropriate as long as it is balanced with prayer and meditation. As our prayer life becomes more consistent, we will find comfort and wisdom as a result of our increased spiritual understanding.

SUMMARY STATEMENTS

IN UNITY WE ACKNOWLEDGE THE THREEFOLD NATURE OF GOD AND INTERPRET THE TRINITY METAPHYSICALLY AS MIND, IDEA AND EXPRESSION. WE REFER TO THIS TRINITY OF GOD AS *THE CREATIVE PROCESS*.

FIRST IN THE TRINITY IS *MIND* - THE ABSOLUTE, TRANSCENDENT ASPECT OF GOD.

SECOND IN THE TRINITY IS THE DIVINE *IDEA* OR "WORD" OF GOD. IT IS THE ASPECT OF GOD WHICH IS THE SPIRITUAL ESSENCE INHERENT IN ALL OF GOD'S CREATION.

THIRD IN THE TRINITY IS *EXPRESSION* - THE CREATIVE ACTIVITY OF GOD, ALSO REFERRED TO AS "THE COMFORTER," "THE HOLY SPIRIT," AND "THE LAW OF GOD IN ACTION." IT IS THROUGH THIS CREATIVE ACTIVITY OF GOD THAT WE EXPERIENCE AND EXPRESS OUR DIVINE POTENTIAL.

WHEN WE SPEAK OF THE TRINITY WE ARE NOT REFERRING TO THREE SEPARATE BEINGS, BUT THREE WAYS OF ACKNOWLEDGING THE ONE BEING - GOD.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO KEEP IN MIND THAT THE TRINITY IS A MYSTICAL CONCEPT AND MUST BE UNDERSTOOD IN THE LIGHT OF PRAYER AND MEDITATION.

TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION

1. What is the purpose of recognizing God as a three-fold Being?
2. How does Unity's interpretation of "Son" differ from that of traditional Christianity? How is it similar?

THOUGHTS FOR REFLECTION AND MEDITATION

"In God I live, move, and have my being. In me God lives, moves, and has expression" (What Are You? 55).

SUPPLEMENTARY READING

1. Fillmore, Charles, *Keep a True Lent*, chapter 2, "The Holy Trinity."
2. Hicks, Mark, Antecedents of New Thought, Fredrich Hegel and Hicks, Mark Why does God, allow evil and suffering? Hegel's dialectic is the transformation of all conditions into a greater good that we do by the 3rd Unity Principle. Jesus, the 2nd person of the Trinity, is the 2nd cause that Ed Rabel describes in 4F Understanding the Trinity. From the standpoint of the Trinity, Jesus Christ heals because he is the 2nd cause.
3. Rabel, Ed, Basic Spiritual Awareness (audio) and Basic Self Knowledge (video). This is the material that Ed refers to in 4F Understanding the Trinity. He acknowledges that his interpretation is not in alignment with the Unity teachings, but says that Unity has granted permission to teach it because of its value in understanding the trinity.

Transcribed by Allen Watson on November 6, 2015.

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