Metaphysical meaning of God (rw)
God--The almighty One; the Creator; the ruler of the universe; the Infinite; the Eternal. God is not person but Principle. He is the underlying, unchangeable Truth "with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning" (James 1:17). God as principle is absolute good expressed in all creation. When men know God and worship Him "in spirit and truth" (John 4:24), they recognize Him as this great goodness, omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent. "Blessed be . . . God . . . the Father of mercies and God of all comfort" (II Cor. 1:3)
A Paradox is an assertion that seems contradictory or opposed to common sense but is nevertheless true. Paradox is not contradiction nor inconsistency. Paradox is part of the wholeness of God's creation, and we can easily adjust to paradox as well as we adjust to facts. God may be realized as unfailing Principle, and God may be experienced as a warm and loving Presence. This is one example of the divine paradox. Ed Rabel - Metaphysics 1, The Divine Paradox, Principle/Personal
- Ed Rabel
God is personal to us when we recognize Him within us as our indwelling life, intelligence, love, and power. There is a difference between a personal God and God personal to us. Since the word personal sometimes leads to misunderstanding, it would probably be better to speak of God individualized in man rather than of God personal to man.
When we identify ourselves with Him as our indwelling Father, He seems to us to be personal; however, it is not in a personal sense, but in the universal identification of ourselves with Him that we come into the God consciousness. The personal is limited. The universal, or God consciousness, is unlimited.
God is that from which all love springs. His character is taught in the name Father, representing the love, protection, and providing care of God for man, His offspring. He is life and love and wisdom and power and strength and substance.
We do not see God with our physical eyes except as He manifests Himself through His works. His attributes are, therefore, brought into expression by man, who is His son and who is like Him in essence. If we would make of ourselves channels through which He can come forth into expression and manifestation, we must endeavor to raise our thought and feeling to God's level.
God, accessibility of--God is approachable, available, and usable to all who draw nigh unto Him. God is Spirit, the principle of intelligence and life, everywhere present at all times. He is, forever, as accessible as a principle of mathematics or music. "The Father abiding in me" (John 14:10).
God as health--God is absolute wholeness and perfection. Man's recognition of his oneness with this perfect wholeness through Christ brings him into the consciousness of his indwelling life and health. "I in them, and thou in me, that they may be perfected into one" (John 17:23).
God as law--Principle in action.
God as lawgiver--The law of God in action is the Holy Spirit; in that action He appears as having individuality. When prophets and mystics come into conscious mental touch with this executive lawgiver, He uses them as mouthpieces by which He guides and directs His people.
God as life--God as life is made manifest in the living. Life cannot be analyzed by the senses. It is beyond their grasp; hence, it must be cognized by the higher consciousness.
God as Mind is omnipresent intelligence. Our minds are not Divine Mind, but they are connected to Divine Mind. The Absolute is limitless, and God is THE ONLY Absolute. All things that exist have limitations. Our minds are CONNECTED WITH the unlimited Divine Mind, and can receive all knowledge and inspiration from that connection. Ed Rabel - Metaphysics 1, What Is God?, God As Mind
- Ed Rabel
God as mind--The connecting link between God and man. God-Mind embraces all knowledge, wisdom, and understanding and is the source of every manifestation of true knowledge and intelligence. God as principle cannot be comprehended by any of the senses. But the mind of man is limitless, and through it he may come into touch with Divine Mind. The one Mind is a unit and cannot be divided. The individual mind is a state of consciousness in the one Mind.
God as principle--The unchangeable life, love, substance, and intelligence of Being. Principle does not occupy space; neither has it any limitations of time or matter, but it eternally exists as the one underlying cause out of which come forth all true ideas.
God as Spirit--God is Spirit, and Spirit is located and appears wherever it is recognized by an intelligent entity. It thus follows that whoever gives his attention to Spirit and seals his identification with it by His word, starts a flow of Spirit life and all the attributes of Spirit in and through his consciousness. To the extent that man practices identifying himself with the one and only source of existence, he becomes Spirit, until finally the union attains a perfection in which he can say with Jesus, "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30).
God as substance--This does not mean matter, because matter is formed while God is the formless. The substance that God is lies back of all matter and all forms. It is that which is the basis of all form yet enters not into any form as finality. It cannot be seen, tasted, or touched. Yet it is the only enduring substance in the universe.
God as Truth--The eternal verity of the universe and man.
God, centered in--To have the attention focused on spiritual ideas and ideals.
God, creative process of--Christianity describes God as Spirit, creating by a process comparable to the mental processes, with which we are all familiar. First, mind, then the idea (word) in mind of what the act shall be, then the act itself. God planned man and the universe, and through the expression of His word projected them into creation, as ideal principles and imminent energies acting behind and within all visibility. The creative processes of Divine Mind are continuously operative; creation is going on all the time, but the over-all plan, the design in Divine Mind, is finished.
God's creations are always spiritual. This includes spiritual man (God-man) through whom all things, including personal man (Adam man) are brought into manifestation. Spiritual man is the acme or pinnacle of God's creation--the image and likeness of God. "Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I am well pleased" (Mark 1:11).
God, demonstrating--To demonstrate God means to make His Spirit manifest in one's life.
Omnipresence has to be immanent/transcendent. That is the very meaning of the word. Jesus did say, "The kingdom of God is within you," and many persons jump to the conclusion that Jesus meant that the kingdom of God is ONLY within them. This view tends to overlook the transcendency of God. Only God can be the immanent/transcendent presence. A very important statement is contained within Mr. Fillmore's paragraph from The Revealing Word: "GOD IS MORE THAN HIS UNIVERSE." Ed Rabel - Metaphysics 1, The Divine Paradox, Immanent/Transcendent
- Ed Rabel
God immanent--This refers to the all-pervading and indwelling presence of God, the life and intelligence permeating the universe. Jesus lovingly revealed that the Father is within man, forever resident in the invisible side of man's nature. Paul also set forth this truth when he wrote of "one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all" (Eph. 4:6).
God, jealous--God is not jealous as men count jealousy, but He is jealous of principle, from which no lapses are tolerated. Man's failure to observe divine law causes it to react on him.
God-man--The man that God created in His image and likeness, and present within all men.
God manifest--God manifest is really greater than God principle; the man who has demonstrated the God character is greater than the untried man. Jesus proclaimed, "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30). He had all the possibilities of Principle and, in addition, He demonstrated a large degree of its possibilities. In this respect, Jesus is the great Way-Shower and helper for all men.
God presence, unity with--To make oneself conscious of the presence of God, one must consistently affirm oneness with this presence. Say: "I have faith in God; I have faith in Spirit; I have faith in things invisible. I am one with God."
God, reconciliation with--To be reconciled with God means to be willing that His will be done; that is, that limitations, personality, ignorance shall give way so that the perfection and righteousness of Divine Mind may be expressed. Reconciliation takes place by man's surrender of an adverse will and an acceptance of that "mind . . . which was also in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 2:5).
God, responsibility to--Truth is implanted in us by divine intelligence. To the degree that we awaken to the consciousness of the inherent wisdom, to this degree are we responsible to the Father and required to render unto Him the fruitage of our wisdom. Each of us unfolds according to understanding and realization. Whether our understanding is little or great, we must demonstrate the Truth we know. If our understanding is much, much is required of us.
"God said"--The same as "Mind thought," by which all things were brought forth. (see 1st chapter of Genesis)
God transcendent--This suggests God as above and beyond His creation. That God is remote from the practical affairs of man or from man's own experience is a false belief. God (perfection) is not out of reach of His offspring; neither is He something beyond and above man. Tennyson tells us that "closer is He than breathing, and nearer than hands and feet."
God, will of--God's will is always perfection and all good for all His children; perfect health in mind and body; abundance of every good thing including joy, peace, wisdom, and eternal life. He does not will suffering or imperfection in any form.
The belief that God wills both good and evil is false; the truth is that God is all good and only good can come to man from Him. If man experiences error and inharmony, he brings them upon himself by his failure to harmonize his thoughts, words, and acts with the Lord, or divine law.
God's name--God's name represents wholeness. It is holy, perfect. God is everywhere present. When we think of God as being anything less than that which is perfect and whole, we are taking His name in vain. "Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain" (Exod. 20:7).
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