Metaphysical meaning of Philip (mbd)
Philip, phil'-ip (Gk.)--lover of horses.
a One of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ (John 1:43); Philip the evangelist (Acts 6:5; 8:5). b Two other men by this name are also mentioned (Matt. 14:3; Luke 3:1).
Meta. The power faculty in man. It functions through the power center in the body, at the root of the tongue. Through Philip the word is charged with power (John 6:7).
Philip means a lover of horses. We gather from this that he represents the faculty in us that, through love, masters the vital forces; hence we identify Philip as power. Philip exercises his power through the spiritual word, which is outwardly made manifest in speech (Acts 8:4-8); he represents the power of the home missionary movement.
Power is one branch of the great tree named "life" in Genesis. The body of the life tree is the spinal cord, over which the motor system, with branches to every part of the organism, exercises its nervous energy.
The power center in the throat controls all the vibratory energies of the organism. It is the open door between the formless and the formed worlds of vibrations pertaining to the expression of sound. Every word that goes forth receives its specific character from the power faculty. When Jesus said, "The words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and are life," He meant that through the spoken word He conveyed an inner spiritual quickening quality that would enter the mind of the recipient and awaken the inactive spirit and life. When the voice has united with the life of the soul it takes on a sweetness and a depth that one feels and remembers; the voice that lacks this union is unpleasing and superficial. Voice culture may give one tone brilliancy, but there never was a great singer who lacked the soul contact. More attractive still is the voice of one who has made union with Spirit and can say with Jesus, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."
When we understand this power of the word, we have the key to the perpetuity of sacred writings. According to tradition, all the writings of the Hebrew Bible were destroyed; but they were restored by Esdras, who remembered in his heart and rewrote them. Modern discoveries in the realm of mind explain in a measure this mystical statement. We know now that every word that man utters makes an imprint in the astral ethers, and where there is consciousness of God life in the mind of the speaker his words become living identities and are preserved throughout the ages. Any one who develops sufficient spiritual power may enter this book of life within the cosmic mind and read out of its pages.
In the kingdom of God within man's consciousness the power disciple (Philip) plays an important part in controlling the expression of the many emotions, inspirations, and thoughts of the soul. The voice is the most direct avenue of this expression, when man has dominion over the emotions and feelings from which the original impulse has arisen. The power of love makes the voice rich, warm, and mellow. One can set love free in the soul by cultivating a loving attitude toward everybody and everything. One may gain strength by silently speaking words of strength to each of the disciples sitting on the twelve thrones within one. Power swings open all the doors of soul and body. When one feels vital and energetic the voice is strong and vibrant and brilliant. When the soul is sorrowful the body weakens and the voice betrays its lack by its mournful intonation. One can feel the power of unity with the higher self through the vibrations of power in the throat more quickly than in any other way. This reveals that ideas rule the man. Jesus affirmed that all power, or authority, was given to Him in heaven (mind) and on earth (body). When Jesus made this affirmation He undoubtedly realized His innate spiritual dominion. When He consciously attuned His spiritual identity to soul and body He was conscious of an influx of power and His hearers said that He taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.
In the process of regeneration the consciousness of power ebbs and flows, because the old and the new tides of thought act and react in the conscious and the subconscious realms of mind. However, when a disciple realizes his unity with Omnipotence he is but little disturbed by the changes that go on in his mind and his body. He knows that his spiritual dominion is established, and this firm conviction expresses itself in firm words. He realizes,"Men may come and men may go, But I go on forever."
Jesus said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." Here is evidence of spiritual power united with the idea of eternity. This union destroys the thought of years and of declining power; when awakened in those who have believed in age it will transform them.
No great vocalist ever lived but had inner spiritual power as an abiding conviction. This is strikingly illustrated today in the indomitable persistency and power with which a very famous opera star overcame big obstacles. In the early stages of her career she was discouraged by opera managers. They told her that she could never make a success, but she persevered in her unconquerable spirit; she never gave up, and so she finally mastered every defect of her voice. This is a wonderful lesson to those who apparently are meeting discouragements in their ongoing, those who are tempted to succumb to circumstances and conditions in body and environment. Take the words of Paul, "None of these things move me," and make affirmations of your spiritual supremacy mountain high.
Some metaphysical schools warn their students against the development of power because they fear that it will be used in selfish ways. It doubtless is true that the personal ego sometimes lays hold of the power faculty and uses it for selfish aggrandizement, and we can readily see how what is called the Devil had origin. To be successful in the use of the power of Being, one must be obedient in exercising all the ideas that make man. If there is an assumption of personal power, Satan falls "as lightning from heaven," and the adverse or carnal mind goes to and fro in the earth. Casting out these demons of personality formed a large part of the work of Jesus; those who follow Him in the regeneration are confronted with similar states of mind, and find it necessary to cast out the great demon selfishness, which claims to have power but "is a liar, and the father thereof."
No great overcoming work can be done by the disciple without a realization of spiritual power, dominion, mastery. Then do not fear to develop your power and mastery. They are not to be exercised on other people, but on yourself. "He that ruleth his spirit" is more powerful "than he that taketh a city." Alexander the Great cried because there were no more worlds to conquer, yet he had not conquered his own appetite, and died a drunkard at the age of thirty-two. Today men are striving to acquire power through money, legislation, and manmade government, and are falling short at every turn because they have not mastered themselves.
Man is the power of God in action. To man is given the highest power in the universe, the conscious power of thought. There is a universal creative force that urges man forward to the place where he recognizes the creative power of his individual thought. This force is elemental and all its attributes come under the dominion of man. When he cooperates with divine principle man sits on the throne of his authority and the elemental force is subject to him.
The power and the authority that are to rule in the kingdom of heaven are dependent on man's authority and his rule in the earth. Jesus said to Peter, "Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." If man binds or controls the appetites, passions, and emotions in the body (earth) he establishes an ability and power to control the same forces in the realms universal, out of which the heavens are formed. When he attains freedom in the expression of the qualities inherent in soul and body he expands in power and can set free the elements universal and restore equilibrium between heaven and earth, or between Spirit and seeming matter. When enough people have attained this power the "new heaven and . . . new earth," described in the 21st chapter of Revelation, will appear.
Each individual who complies with the law of overcoming may enter into power and sit at the right hand with Jesus on His throne. It should not be overlooked by the elect that the Scripture reads, "He that overcometh shall inherit these things." To overcome and sit with Jesus on His throne means that man shall overcome as He overcame. Jesus overcame the world, the flesh, and the Devil. To overcome the world one must be proof against all its false allurements of riches and honor. To overcome the flesh one must spiritualize the five-sense man until material consciousness is raised to spiritual consciousness in feeling, tasting, seeing, hearing, and smelling. This will result in complete mastery of the body and in its final redemption from death. The Devil is the personal ego that has in its freedom formed a state of consciousness peculiarly its own. When man lives wholly in the consciousness that personality has built up, he is ruled by the "mind of the flesh," which is the Adversary, or Satan. The mystery of the cross is hid in the overcoming of Satan. When the I AM identity that is man becomes so involved in its personal affairs that it ignores God, it lays hold of the body and rules all the bodily functions. When this rule is broken by the power of the Christ there is a crucifixion. It may seem that Jesus is being crucified, but this is seeming, only. Death comes to the Judas consciousness, which has a devil. The body, being closely connected with this usurping mind, passes through suffering and apparent death. This is no more than appearance, because the higher principle, the Christ, resurrects the body and transmutes it to higher spiritual substance, and it enters into harmony, or heaven.
The climax of man's power and dominion is set forth in the resurrection and ascension of the type-man, Jesus.
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Preceding Entry: Philetus
Following Entry: Philippi
