Lessons In Truth - Lesson 12 - Annotation 1
What is meant by "unity of the Spirit"? Why is the idea of oneness or unity of the Spirit important?
1. "Unity of the Spirit" means oneness, sameness, at-one-ment.
"I therefore, beseech you to walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called ... giving diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Eph. 4:1,3).
This is why we sometimes say. "We are all one in Spirit." The "unity of the Spirit" in each one of us assures us of unity in Spirit; assures us of our oneness with Absolute Good. There is no separate self; there are only individual expressions of the one Spirit. We do not all do the same things or like the same things, but we are all expressing, through our personality, the one Spirit that is in each of us, according to our level of soul unfoldment. To have true freedom we must come to know our fellow men and our fellow creatures as one with us in Spirit, since all of us are manifestations of God as Spirit.
"There is one body, and one Spirit, even as also ye were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith., one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all" (Eph. 4:4-6).
This "unity of the Spirit," which is the only reality, has to be made an actuality in our experiences as we raise our consciousness to that which Jesus attained when He knew Himself to be the Son of God. Jesus made this claim:
"I and the Father are one" (John 10:30).
We too, must make the same claim by consciously identifying ourselves with God, through the indwelling Christ, or the I AM; then we are to proceed to show this relationship in our thinking, feeling, speaking, acting, and reacting.
The idea of oneness with God, with All-Good, with all life, is the most vital thing we can learn in our journey along the path in search of God as Truth. Only through our consciousness can we lay hold of spiritual gifts. Realization of oneness is only possible as we know that we are never separated from life or any of the other qualities of God that make up our divine inheritance. This being true, we are always one with health, with prosperity, with peace of mind, with joy, with success, with harmony, with protection. This realization shows us why affirmations bring effective results. By the use of affirmations we are making claim to that which is already ours by divine right; we are not attempting to bring into our life something that we do not already have.
"The realization of divine unity is the highest that we can attain. This is true glory, the blending and merging of the whole being into Divine Mind. 'I in them, and thou in me, that they may be perfected into one.' This merging of God and man does not mean the total obliteration of man's consciousness but its glorification or expansion into that of the divine" (Mysteries of John 151).
When we are truly aware of the "unity of the Spirit" we no longer use our formative power of thought to produce that which is not in accord with spiritual principles. We become keenly aware of the Holy Spirit, speaking as intuition, guiding even the simplest of our tasks of every day. This awareness prevents our feeling self-sufficient, for in coming to know our oneness with God as Principle, we also come to know Him as our loving Father-Mother on whom we are ever dependent.
"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves, to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God" (II Cor, 3:5).
All that we say of "unity of the Spirit" as well as "unity in the Spirit" can be summed up in what is known as Unity's fundamental statement. This can be used as a prayer for our individual lives, and for our world:
There is but one Presence and one Power, in the universe (in my life) God, the Good, Omnipotent.
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Preceding Entry: Should we measure our work by what others have done?
Following Entry: What reason have we for never being discouraged?
