1. God is Divine Mind, which teems with ideas. Faith is an idea in Mind. Faith is one of man's twelve spiritual powers, one of his twelve mental faculties. Faith is man's spiritual eye. "Faith is the perceiving power of the mind, linked with a power to shape substance" (Prosperity, page 43). This "perceiving power," functioning as a faculty in man's consciousness, "sees" and "hears" the possibility, the potential, when there is no visible evidence of it in the manifest realm.

2. "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen. ... . By faith we understand that the worlds have been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen hath not been made out of things which appear" (Hebrews 11:1, 3).

3. This statement clearly shows us that faith is not something that has to do merely with what is considered religious, although it has come to be associated with and limited to religion. Neither is the action of faith confined to spiritual realities. Faith operates in different degrees in all states of man's being, physical, mental, moral, and spiritual. It sets a law into operation for man that brings into actuality that upon which man has fixed his expectations. Ferrar Fenton's translation reads:

4. "But we shall not recoil with loss, but keep our lives by Faith; for Faith is that standing-ground of the hopeful, the conviction of unseen facts; and our fathers proved it."

5. Anything hoped for may become a definite substance, that is, it may become the pattern or mold that substance fills in order to satisfy the human need. Men live every day by faith; but it makes a great difference whether faith is centered in something external or in the omnipotent indwelling God. Faith has no opposite. That which men call "fear" is not the opposite of faith; it is simply the power of faith placed in evil, or in that which is not good. Jesus said to His disciples, "Have faith in God" (Mark 11:22). In using the word faith, we need to be specific in stating what we are placing our faith in. Faith as a faculty of man's mind, like all other faculties, must be redeemed and trained to do its true spiritual work. (See Annotations for Lesson Six of Lessons in Truth.)

6. Faith lays hold on the good of which it is assured and brings it into manifestation. Faith is both vision and the power to manifest the vision. Faith is the faculty of mind "standing under" formed substance and is the formative as well as the sustaining element in all organized life. Faith gives men the endurance that makes them successful.

7. In the first day's creation light was brought into expression. On the second day the firmament was made. Faith is the "firmament." There must be a firm place, a starting point, a mental perception established in consciousness. Originally firmament meant a prop; support; strengthening; literally, something solid, a foundation. After man has spoken "light"—conscious intelligence—into expression, his next step is to have faith in what he desires. What is perceived in the first movement of mind as an idea must be given substance in the second movement; it must become a firm or fixed pattern of thought, else there will be that wavering state which James likens to the "surge of the sea driven by the wind and tossed" (Jas. 1:6). Our desire is the nucleus around which substance gathers. As we form a thought or a desire, the invisible "feelers" of faith are sent out into the omnipresent substance to contact just the elements or ideas necessary to materialize the desire—it is like attracting like and drawing it to itself. It is somewhat like the way the rootlets of a tree or plant reach out into the earth to draw sustenance that the plant needs for growth.

8. The office of faith is to give substance, body, or form to abstract ideas. Ideas remain abstract and formless until they become concrete through our faith. The greatest work of faith is to establish spiritual realities as concrete truths in man's consciousness and in his world by the use of the faith faculty. It is possible to have a reality and yet neither touch it, nor smell it, nor taste it, nor see it, nor in any way come into awareness of it in the outer realms. Faith is the wonderful faculty of mind that through use arouses and builds these eternally real, substantial, enduring spiritual qualities or ideas into the consciousness of man so that he really knows their source, feels their activity in and through him, and expresses and manifests them in all his thinking, feeling, speaking, acting, and reacting, in every phase of his daily life.

9. When the power of man's faith is centered in God as life, he feels healthy, he feels renewed in mind and body, he is energetic, enthusiastic, vitally alive and alert, he radiates health and wholeness. When his faith is centered In God as love, all inharmony in mind, body, and affairs is dissolved. The mighty magnetic power of love becomes active in him and draws to him all that is needed to satisfy every need. Peace and prosperity are established in his consciousness and he is blessed in every department of his life. To release and express the qualities of which our spiritual nature is composed, we must first have faith in them, we must have faith in our godly nature that we have inherited from the Father. "For he that cometh to God must believe that he Is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek after him" (Heb. 11:6).

10. Peter represents faith in its development in man's consciousness. At first Peter was changeable. We have learned that faith is the perceiving faculty of the mind, the "single eye." Peter was the first to perceive Jesus Christ to be the Son of God and later to understand Christ in all men as the Son of God. The true character of faith was not yet formed in Peter's consciousness when he tried to walk on the water. Peter was impulsive; he started out on a blind use of faith. He had an instinctive trust In Jesus and a love for what Jesus taught and the example that He set the disciples. But Peter had not as yet established faith in God in himself as a concrete idea. Peter could perceive the possibility of his walking on the water; he had the expanding vision. But the expanding vision of the idea had not yet been given substance, body or form; it was not yet established in his own consciousness. He sank in the waves of doubt because his dependence for dominion and authority over the water was on the man, Jesus, on something outside of his own being. All power is vested in the Page 3 mind and heart of each individual, and man must have faith in his indwelling Christ before he can make use of it and prove his spiritual faculties. Men have experiences similar to Peter's when because of doubt they sink in the sea of limited thought.

11. A consciousness of faith in God is developed by use, and there no reason for neglecting this talent even though at first it may seem very small, perhaps only an impulse. Mighty works may be done through even a small realization of faith. "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you" (Matt. 17:20). This use of faith must be unwavering, rooted in divine substance; it must be strong enough to build a consciousness of the one Presence and one Power, God, the good omnipotent.

12. If even a little faith in God is put to work, it will grow; everything that could hinder its perfect expression would be removed. Paul gave to the Galatians a wonderful secret of demonstration when he told them of "faith working through love" (Gal. 5:6). Faith and love are ideas in Divine Mind. They are "brothers"—a team that working together perceive and attract the good. The use of the faculty of faith is developed more from the feeling or love side of man's nature than it is from the intellectual or reasoning side. One of the greatest obstacles with which man has to contend in his unfoldment is placing the power of his faith in evil, or what is commonly called fear. Fear has been built into the race consciousness; thus, it is also inculcated early in the youthful mind. Too often man lets this emotion of fear rule his life: fear of lack, fear of disease, fear of old age, fear of death, and the like.

13. In an emergency this inherited fear or faith placed in evil may again and again prove stronger than man's faith in God, or good, which he had hoped might sustain him. In any case where faith in the good cannot be put into action readily, there should be strong affirmations of divine love. "Perfect love casteth out fear" (I John 4:18), There should be a letting go of every belief or fear of evil, enmity, condemnation, resistance, and other adverse thoughts, and a belief in the goodness of God and the goodness of all God's offspring should be affirmed and established in consciousness. If a person's awareness of faith is weak and wavering, he should frequently remember God's love for each and every child of His; remember that with God all things are possible; that God's purpose for man is that he should express the perfect love that God is. Then faith will work, for "love never faileth" (I Cor. 13:8).

14. Jesus laid great emphasis on faith. In all His ministry He declared faith to be the means of healing: "According to your faith be it done unto you" (Matt. 9:29). "Thy faith hath made thee whole" (Matt. 9:22). "Great is thy faith: be it done unto thee even as thou wilt" (Matt. 15:28).

15. All who study faith from the standpoint of God as Divine Mind know that "According to your faith be It done unto you" is a law of mind action. Faith, as one of man's mental faculties, is his ability to make substance active in his consciousness. The more active that substance is in his mind, the greater and the more abundant are its manifestations. Those who believe in disease as a reality receive according to their faith, for they have lowered their consciousness from the spiritual realm to the mental, where the law of mind is operative as cause and effect; that is, "like begets like."

16. We live by faith. Manifestations in our life are produced by our manner of thought, according to whether we center our faith in material things, in other persons, in external means, or in the life, love, intelligence, and substance of God. A large part of the human family has not yet heeded the call, "Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine upon thee" (Eph. 5:14). This part of the race regards material things as the source of supply, disease as a reality, death as a certainty, and regulates life after this plan. We let go of our faith in Christ when we allow our attention to be fixed on negative appearances. Our use of faith is thus perverted from its true center and cannot then do its perfect work. It is Peter declaring, "I know not this man" (Matt. 26:74), thus denying the Christ. Even as Peter had to be redeemed and to declare his love for the Master and accept the commission "Tend my sheep" (John 21:16), so must our use of the faculty of faith be redeemed and trained to do its true spiritual work.

17. If a person is bound in the race belief in evil, he is set free and healed only as he changes his faith to "There is but one Presence and one Power in the universe, God, the good omnipotent." Man must be rooted in the idea that God is good. Faith in the good, based on the understanding that only the good is true, will place one in that harmonious mental state where he can direct and order his affairs and establish them in righteousness. The good that we desire is ours only when we lay hold of it by faith. "All things whatsoever the Father hath are mine" (John 16:15), is always true, but it must be brought into expression and manifestation through faith. If we are willing to accept Jesus' teaching on faith, we can get results even though we have not yet proved or gone through all the steps that lead to knowledge. If a child will accept the statement that three times three are nine, he can go ahead and work arithmetical problems to a correct conclusion without its being necessary for him each time to prove that this is so. An untrained person can press the button connected with the electric current and get just as much light or power by so doing as can the skilled electrician. He does not 'know all the steps that lead up to the getting of light or power, but he can investigate that later; in the meantime, he has the light or the power to use.

18. Jesus said to His disciples, "Have faith in God" (Mark 11:22), or according to some translators, "Have the faith of God." This means more than mere belief, more than just a mental acceptance. It is the very substance of that which is believed. It is not sufficient just to believe: one must act on one's belief, one must think, feel, act, and react according to one's belief. This belief then expands into faith. One's awareness of faith grows by living words of Truth that are received into consciousness, where like seed in good soil they germinate, grow, and bear much fruit. Or like the leaven placed in a mass of dough, they enliven and enlighten the whole of man's consciousness. This is why affirmations are used. By affirming Truth and holding steadfastly to the statement, the word or seed idea is received into the human consciousness, which acts as soil in which the see idea may germinate.

19. Jesus said:

“If you abide in me, and my words in ask what-so-ever you will and it shall be done unto your” (John 15:7)

20. Jesus understood the power of affirmative thinking. John's Gospel gives Jesus’ doctrine or teaching, and a study of it will show how Jesus constantly and positively identified Himself with His Source. Many persons are of the opinion that when they affirm something to be true, they make it so by their affirming. Such is not the case. Affirming is for the purpose of training man's mind into right habits of thought. We do not affirm in order to be made strong, healthy, or prosperous, but rather to let these qualities that we already have in Truth come into visibility in the external. Unless we have faith in our affirmations, we can expect small results from them. If we cannot have full faith in them at first, we can say them in the assurance that because they are true of us as spiritual beings, Spirit will quicken our faith as we continue to use them.

21. Our consciousness of faith (or use of the faculty of faith) is strengthened by words that are based on Truth, and through this faith our prayers are answered. Our faith that a statement is absolute Truth starts it into operation for us. Often what is declared in a statement of Truth is not completely believed by the affirmer. Anyone can repeat words in a parrotlike manner, but that does not produce the desired results. The affirmer must be certain that the words are true, that they are true of him as a spiritual being, in which case he will not only think the Truth but will also feel, speak, act and react in accord with what he affirms. "Faith is the result of many affirmations. Each affirmation helps to build up a substantial, firms unwavering state of mind, because it establishes Truth in consciousness" (Keep A True Lent, page 143). Man must affirm and reaffirm until the word or statement has been firmly established in the mind, both consciously and subconsciously, thus becoming a part of himself. Not before Truth is thus established in man does it become an activity of faith; and when it is thus a part of his consciousness, nothing can prevent what he has declared from coming into manifestation.

22. In modern usage the words belief and faith differ chiefly in that belief suggests little more than intellectual assent. Faith goes beyond intellectual assent in that It involves a positive agreement between the mind and the heart, the thinking and the feeling action of man's mind.

23. One may believe with the intellect and yet not have effective faith. This intellectual assent is what is referred to in the story of the child that Jesus healed of the evil spirits. When asked if he believed that the healing could be accomplished, the father replied, "I believe; help thou mine unbelief" (Mark 9:24), that is, "Make my belief into an active, working faith." "Faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself" (Jas. 2:17). One may believe intellectually yet be prey to doubts and fears. Faith is believing to the point of action. One may accept intellectually the truth that God is good and that good is all there Is; yet if he thinks and talks of evil as if it were a reality and acts as if that were so, he is not made perfect in faith.

24. "Simple belief in or assent to the truth of a proposition never gave understanding to anyone. There must be mental action; organic changes in the mind are necessary before the new state of consciousness takes up its abode in you" (Talks on Truth, pp. 143-144).

25. When Peter said to Jesus, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matt. 16:16), Jesus replied saying, "And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church (Matt. 16:18). The perceiving power in Peter recognized that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God, and Jesus responded by saying that He also recognized that same Christ, the Son of the living God in Peter. This revelation of Truth direct from the Spirit within us that we are sons of the living God, that we are also the Christ, is the rock, the firm place in consciousness, from which we begin our conscious, spiritual growth and unfoldment. Peter, representing faith, opened the door of his consciousness for this revealment of Truth.

26. "It was this same Spirit of truth in Peter that perceived the Christ ... This revealment of Truth direct from Spirit is the rock upon which the one and only church of Jesus Christ is built. All other authorities are spurious" (Talks on Truth, p. 103).

27. Faith, active in us, opens the door for such a revelation of Truth in us. "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hears my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him" (Rev. 3:20).

28. Peter is often pictured as carrying the keys to heaven. "I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matt. 16:19). In other words, faith in God opens the door for the revealing of the Christ in us, our true nature, the rock, or the foundation upon which our spiritual consciousness is built. Our expanding consciousness of our true nature Is heaven. Faith in God holds the keys to this consciousness. Faith is the faculty of mind that is the deciding factor that binds us to the formed realm (the earth) or it looses us into the unformed, the limitless good (heaven). Faith enables us to put all the powers of our mind and body in the right relation to one another so that there may be a harmonious working of all powers. Faith is the "inner eye" that enables us to look through conditions and see the Christ shining through. Faith holds the key that unlocks that which is bound in mind and restores body and affairs to a perfectly coordinated whole.

29. The writers of Scripture closely associated patience with faith, and the experience of all demonstrators of Truth proves that these two qualities belong together. There are many who confuse resignation with patience. However, patience is not a negative, surrendering state of mind. It Is poise, a positive, restful trust in God—a quiet waiting for what is expected in the continuation of what has been begun. Patience is born of, or has its foundation in, faith. "In your patience ye shall win your souls" (Luke 21:19). That Is, through steadfast faith in your indwelling Christ you shall be victorious in unfolding the fullness of God. "In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength" (Isa. 30:15). True patience is nonresistance; it is having faith in the love of God instead of fighting for our rights. It is the outcome of knowing that divine justice cannot be defeated, and that no human power can keep from us that which is truly ours. "Let patience have its perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire" (Jas. 1:4), is just another way of saying, "Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalms 46:10). It is the quieting of the person- will.

30. Faith sees all things as already fulfilled and accepts them as desire calls. The attunement of the consciousness of man to the Chi I Spirit through which man receives enlightenment may be called intuition* Intuition gives forth the inner instruction or illumination that reaches the human consciousness as faith. Intuition awakens and makes the faith faculty active, and faith is always active in the now. "So faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10:17 A.V.K Faith comes by living so close to the indwelling Christ that we listen to the inner voice and are obedient to its promptings, the Word. Affirmation is the act of mentally claiming that which has been perceived and rightly desired. Affirmation is the constant repetition of Truth to the human consciousness until it becomes alive or takes hold of the feeling nature and becomes a habitual activity in consciousness. When man has perceived what is his by virtue of his divine heritage, he should strengthen his vision by affirming until he has built a solid foundation on which his consciousness may rest and be sustained. Faith in God as his strength and support is the measure of man’s capacity to receive ideas from God substance. The more of his consciousness a person puts into his affirmations—that is, the more he feels their truth—the more fully does he experience their quickening power.

31. In the King James Version of the Bible, Peter writes about the "trial of your faith" (I Pet. 1:7), and this has been interpreted in such a way as to give a feeling of dread. This feeling of dread has been eliminated in the American Standard Version by the use of the word proof instead of the word trial. "Trial" might be feared, but "proof" carries *an altogether different suggestion. "This is the victory that hath overcome the world, even our faith" (I John 5:4). Earnest, sincere persons often wonder why they do not demonstrate Truth. It is because they have perception and a certain intellectual understanding of Truth which have not as yet been transformed into faith. Not just mental perception but faith overcomes the "world." What is seen and believed, that is, what we perceive and give intellectual assent' to, must become living substance. It must become a firm state of mind in us, an organic realization, part of the feeling nature. What we need is an understanding faith, faith based on knowledge of and obedience to the laws of Being (God), the spiritual laws that are known as living principles in our consciousness, and not merely faith as a religious term.

32. Indefinite or, as some would say, blind use of faith produces varying results. While it perceives, to some extent, it does not have clear vision—it gropes its Way. Faith in God as a general proposition is all right, but it is lacking in conviction, because it is regarded as a power that is outside of the consciousness, and faith is then more of an instinctive trust in a generalized God living somewhere, who is asked to bring the good from somewhere to the one asking. Man must have faith in God within himself or his faith in God Is not complete. In solving a problem, man may stumble onto the correct answer without knowing how he did it. This may satisfy for the occasion, but It is of no practical value, as the person is not _ able to duplicate the process in solving another problem that arises. A use of faith that does not include the key to the law of mind action cannot solve all problems and thus it is not a substantial faith. It is an instinctive faith that needs to be supported and sustained by its very necessary partner, understanding.

33. Understanding faith, as a working power, is the acceptance of, and belief in unchanging, never-failing Principle in man. Man must have faith in God as his Father, the source of all his good. Then he must have faith in his own spiritual integrity as the offspring of God. This latter is a very important requirement. Without this perception, this vision of himself as a son of God, there would be no foundation upon which to build a consciousness of his true nature. Without this consciousness nothing of spiritual value can be manifested. Understanding faith appreciates the nature and value of each and all of the underlying principles of Being (God), and all the ideas of Divine Mind. Understanding faith knows the action or the laws that govern the use of these principles or ideas. It understands that "like begets like," and that only good can be produced by God. Understanding faith does not depend on instinctive trust for accomplishing results. This faith embraces conscious acceptance as well as an instinctive acceptance of good only because it partakes of reasoning as well as of feeling.

34. Man does not develop understanding faith quickly. It is attained through study, knowledge gained step by step, observation of and experience with the law, thus proving all that we have accepted. A consciousness of understanding faith is developed through much prayer, affirmation, and meditation. The more intelligent a grasp we have of creative law and how it works; the better understanding we have of the value and nature of the underlying principles of Being (God), the greater is our power to demonstrate. The full knowledge of any principle and an understanding of the laws that govern Its use inevitably open the way for the increase of Its fruits. Use is the law of increase, and as man uses divine principles (ideas) he becomes so familiar with the working of ideas that so-called problems hold no terror for him. They are welcomed as opportunities to prove the law of God. "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them" (John 13:17).

35. Man as the offspring of God is a composite idea of all that God is. Spiritually he is the creative law of God in action. A person must have a consciousness of his spiritual identity, a certain integrity to hold him firm and steady amid the winds and waves of negative thought. This Is illustrated in the case of a person who is misunderstood, as Jesus was. When condemnation comes upon anyone from without, he is apt to be beaten down in humiliation and grief unless he has a strong consciousness of his own spiritual integrity. If this consciousness is very strong, if he has great faith in his righteousness—not the righteousness of the limited personal man, but of the Christ indwelling—he can go safely through such an experience, often unmoved by it. This is a very practical demonstration of faith.

36. Paul wrote much about "the righteousness of God through faith" (Rom. 3:22), and a whole lesson might profitably be devoted to this phase of faith's activity. "As through one trespass the judgment came unto all men to condemnation; even so through one act of righteousness the free gift came unto all men to justification of life" (Rom. 5:18). To justify Is to vindicate; to maintain or defend as conformable to love. The law of God is the orderly working out of the principles of Being (God) or the sum of divine ideas. In man, we call this law the Christ, the Word.

37. Righteousness denotes the understanding and right use of the essential principles of Being (God) that may conform man's life to spiritual law or exhibit his likeness to God. In the story of creation as told in the first chapter of Genesis, it is stated that God pronounced His creation "good" and "very good." In Divine Mind all ideas of man and the universe are perfect spiritual patterns, and partake of the nature of God; therefore man and the universe are in essence perfect. To man, the composite idea, was entrusted the expression and manifestation of God's ideas. As man was created in the image of God, he has the power to make images, power to set into operation mental laws of cause and effect that may limit him if he lacks understanding. The mental causes that he sets into operation produce "after their kind," good or bad. When these causes are bad much inharmony and lack of coordination appear in man's world.

38. Righteousness as applied to the Christ principle or law of God means Justice, faithfulness, and wholeness equally for all parts of His Being. Righteousness as applied to man signifies the purity, holiness (wholeness) that man must attain in his consciousness if he is to manifest what God ideated him to be. In the Old Testament the word translated holiness has reference to a state of purity or righteousness. In the New Testament the word righteousness has reference to a right attitude of mind, one that is poised and centered in Christ for the perfect working out of spiritual principles. Spiritual law does not necessarily mean moral law. 'Spiritual law includes but goes beyond moral law, even as the teaching of the New Testament includes but goes beyond the doctrines of the Old Testament.

39. Before Moses projected the moral law, the patriarchs lived by faith. We read that Abraham's faith was counted to him for righteousness, and he was called "the friend of God." So, our faith in God will also be counted to us for righteousness until such time as we understand spiritual laws sufficiently to work them out perfectly. Man can dispel all disharmonies that he has brought about by denial and by having faith in his Christ righteousness. Then he must conform all his thoughts, feelings, words, and deeds to that standard. Through prayer man builds a consciousness of eternal life. Through the Christ Spirit he sets into operation for himself "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8:2). Man must be thoroughly conscious of I AM or spiritual law in order that eternal life may be manifest in him.' Jesus said, "Whosoever liveth and believeth on me [I AM] shall-never die" (John 11:26).

40. The epistle to the Romans is a forcible, logical argument for the "Christ righteousness." The teaching is that through Jesus Christ a new race has to come that shall bring forth the fruits of righteousness. There is no way to. bring our own "Christ righteousness" into expression and manifestation but by having faith in It, no matter what appearances may be. This is one of the most important teachings of the Scriptures because the good that we so much desire to manifest depends upon realization of our indwelling righteousness. Life never ceases; man simply loses his conscious hold on it by losing faith in it.

41. When man's consciousness is filled with the realization that within him is the individualized Christ life—life eternal—-he permits it to flow freely through his body and to function in every part of his organism. When we fail to exercise our ability to perceive the good that God has for us, the plan of which our very nature Is composed; when we begin to contemplate decline in life activity, we reverse the machinery of our being. The law of our being is growth. f unfoldment, fulfillment in perfection, not decline and decay. When we fall into the habit of thinking only on the good of the past, failing to see the present and future good that is ours as sons of God, we are letting go of faith in God indwelling. We are not exercising our ability to perceive the good, and the idea of eternal life has no substance in which to become rooted in our consciousness. "He that hath the Son hath the life; he that hath not the Son of God hath not the life" (I John 5:12). As man's awareness of faith in the Christ life indwelling grows, man is freed from disharmonies in his physical body. Faith in the Christ life causes the subconscious functioning of the body to become sensitive to the divine, to become less carnal in its appetites, and to show a steady progress toward a final demonstration of eternal life. Through faith man becomes eternally alive in God.

42. There should be faith in the spiritual integrity of every man, based on the understanding that all men are the offspring of God. No man who has true faith in his own indwelling Christ can fail to have faith in the Christ in every man. After all, the Christ within every man is but an individualization of the one cosmic Christ of the universe—the expressed life of God. Just as the blood circulates throughout all parts of the physical body, so does the life of God circulate throughout the entire body of humanity as the Christ Spirit. To have this faith is to rest securely in the faith that we are all one great heavenly family, and that eventually we shall all arrive at that estate now held by Jesus Christ, "the firstborn among many brethren" (Rom. 8:29).

43. The eleventh chapter of Hebrews is a rich study of faith. Commencing with the definition of faith in the first verse, the writer takes his readers from the very beginning of the history of man to his own times and shows how faith works its wonders in every age. As the writer of Hebrews said, so can we say today that time fails us to tell all that applied faith is accomplishing in our everyday life.

1. Faith is an idea in Divine Mind; a spiritual principle; one of the twelve powers; a faculty in man's mind; an idea that combines and embodies belief, trust, and expectancy in a firm state of consciousness. Faith is the divinely ordained, eternally established God quality of assurance inherent in each soul. Faith is an attitude of mind, a confidence of heart, a joyousness of spirit.

"Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen." — Heb. 11:1.

"Faith is the perceiving power of the mind, linked with a power to shape substance." — Charles Fillmore Prosperity 43.

Faith is an assurance, a conviction, a knowing that a desire for something will be fulfilled at the right time, without a person having anything visible to the five senses as to how and from where the fulfillment is to come. It is in reality possessing the thing in consciousness before there is any sign of it in the outer or manifest world. It is that faculty of mind that knows, and knows that it knows. It is not something that is confined to religion because man often has faith in and brings to himself many things that he considers "not good" after he has them.

Faith is unwavering confidence, free from doubt. The essential part of anything hoped for is confidence in its actual manifestation at the time expected; it is the innate proof or testimony that though there is no visible sign of the thing desired or hoped for, there is nevertheless an intuitive knowing, a faith, a confidence that dispels every doubt, and we expectantly await the fulfillment of that desire. Faith is the direct road to manifestation, the wedge that pries open the door of promise.

2. Faith should be centered in the indwelling presence of God, the all-powerful Spirit or Mind. Faith ever abides in our consciousness waiting to be called into action. When our faith is established in our indwelling Lord we have no fear that anything in the external can affect us. Faith in Omnipotence overpowers all belief in any opposing power, and we finally arrive at the place in our unfoldment where we are conscious that there can be nothing in which to have faith except in the good, God within, and its power to accomplish like unto itself.

3. On the second day of God's creation He said, "Let there be a firmament." — Gen. 1:6. First, the "light" was spoken into existence. This light is God's presence within us and throughout the universe. When we attain the consciousness that God is within us, we have found the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. After our illumination we must have a firm place established in consciousness. Faith is the firmament of mind; it is the reality, the substance; it is that faculty of mind which stands under formed aubstance and is the forming as well as the sustaining element in all organized life.

4. Peter's walking upon the water represents the human consciousness when it takes its eyes off its spiritual center and forgets the Christ power within each one and perfection through looking at the effect, the appearance. We begin to doubt when we do not keep our eyes steadily on the cause; we are lost in the winds and waves of appearances.

5. A consciousness of faith in God, the good, is developed through use. Man learns to use his faith rightly by disciplining his thoughts, feelings, words, and actions to express such faith. Our consciousness of faith is stimulated through reading of the demonstrations of others. However we must expand our faith in God, the good, by releasing our false beliefs about God, about ourselves and our fellowmen and conditions as they appear to be. As one thinks on Truth and prays, uses denials and affirmations, meditates, lives, and acts in the consciousness of his oneness with God, the only Presence and Power, he is well on his way to developing and establishing a consciousness of faith in God upon which to base his life and living in all his human experiences. This process is a constant activity, making faith in God, the good, a living reality.

6. It is unwise to wait for a great consciousness of faith before using faith at all, because our faith is expanded and strengthened as we use it, in all departments of our thinking and doing. We attain a greater consciousness of faith as we use the faith that we are aware of at the moment we need to exercise it. Since faith is one of man's twelve mental faculties or spiritual powers, he has all the faith that he can possibly need or use, but his consciousness of it needs to be expanded and strengthened. It is through our vision and our use that our consciousness of faith growe into a great expression of faith.

All through the Bible we find records of the great things done by the men of God, and always we find that they used what they had in hand and thanked God for it and it was increased. The Bible is full of God's promises, but there is always something for man to do in order to receive the blessings mentioned in the promises. God must work through man, the man must develop the consciousness through which this work can be done, and he does this with his thinking and feeling, through prayer, affirmation and denial, meditation, and right living. Keeping his mind stayed on God, man uses the God-powers which are his divine heritage.

One cannot gain a great consciousness of faith unless he begins to use the small faith that he seems to be expressing at the beginning of his awakening. We know that a grain of mustard seed is very small, but it is also very prolific, and it can bring forth abundantly when planted under right conditions in rich soil, because it has within it all the elements, the God-ideas, it needs for its fulfillment.

As we recognize, accept, and begin to use the God-qualities, the spiritual powers, the divine ideas that are ours, our consciousness of faith grows. Our praise, our interest, and our attention, given to them, attract the substance that causes them to become active in us, because we are using the power that we have to bring them forth in abundant manifestation and measure.

As an example, we can think of what an athlete has to do to his muscles, in order for him to remain a fine, strong, capable athlete. In the same way, we have to use our faculty of faith positively and constructively, because it is in the constant use that our consciousness of faith grows and grows and grows. Praise God!

7. When man uses faith and love together, he obtains notable results in prayer, in life, in living. As he realizes the power of divine love active in him, freedom from fear is often immediately apparent, because we are told that "There is no fear in love: but perfect love casteth our fear." — I John 4:18. A consciousness of faith in God or good grows in man; his emotions, his attitudes, his thoughts, his actions change for the better. He abides in peace, knowing inwardly that "Only good can come to me."

Peter and John were the two disciples very close to Jesus Christ. Peter represents faith, and John represents love. It takes both faith and love to accomplish anything worthwhile.

Love is the great attracting power of the universe, and when faith is coupled with love, that which we have faith in is drawn to us. If faith would produce works, it must have love, because the nature of love is to attract, unify, equalize, harmonize, bind, heal, and prosper us.

Faith works through love. The love nature is the feeling nature or emotional nature of your being. When you feel deeply, when your feelings run high, you liberate an enormous amount of energy which in the Absolute is God substance. Combine deep feeling with a cheerful, faith-filled attitude of mind and you will be invincible in producing that which is positive, joyous, and constructive in your human experience.

Love is that great quality, that unifying idea that gives you faith, that inspires you. You have faith in that which you love. Then love your body temple, your business, your mission in life, your work, humanity, every living creature.

Faith in an ideal and love of that ideal keep one unswervingly loyal to that ideal. Faith in and love of a course of action keep one sustained in that action, however prolonged it may be. Faith in and love of a spiritual principle bring forth in tangible form the idea encompassed by that principle, the reality embodied in that principle.

Faith is the intangible but very real divine power that perceives ideas, lays hold of them, puts them into action, and brings them into expression and visible manifestation, on whatever plane the faith is centered. Faith and love working together will accomplish wonders, determining what your future will be, because they glorify and increase your consciousness of substance.

8. "According to your faith be it; done unto you" — Matt. 9:29 — is the great law of the universe. The Hebrews were told that they might have "Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, to you have I given it." — Josh. 1:3. All that man can have faith in is his. Man is a free will agent, cannot be forced by Spirit against his will, cannot be given anything except he lays hold of it through faith. All that the Father has is man's, and still he starves because he does not believe that it belongs to him, does not lay hold of his divine inheritance through faith.

9. Belief is a degree of light revealing to the mind a measure of evidence that it can accept and on which it can assume the truth of a statement. It might be called the childhood of faith. Faith is maturity, the child grown to manhood. What we believe may be true or it may not; genuine mature faith is an inner knowledge. Through progress, development, revelation and experience we acquire an understanding that can proceed with certainty. This is real faith. It knows of the existence and operation of the undeviating law through which all things are possible and is able to hold steady though appearances are against it. Hope and trust are good, but knowledge and realization are better.

10. Faith has to perceive wholeness of body because it knows the principles of life, and that by its nature of direction, it must be included in the healing ministry in order to draw the attention of the one seeking healing to the LIFE IDEA.

The healing principle always responds to the act of faith in the divine completeness already within. If we would be the means of helping others we must be conscious at all times of the Presence within ourselves and in the one needing help. Jesus had great faith in the ability of the Father within Himself and referred often to the works of His indwelling Father.

11. Patience is that phase of faith that has had its companion power of strength added to it, for strength is endurance because it knows why it is steadfast.

Patience is not a negative acceptance of evil conditions as is sometimes supposed. It is a positive quality, a self-control that springs from an inner consciousness of oneness with God, the source of good. One who has spiritual patience does not waste his energy in quarreling with other persons or with conditions that seem all wrong. Rather he holds his peace and works to make things right as directed by Spirit.

Patience is born of faith. One could hardly endure certain conditions that appear unless one had faith in the presence and power of Spirit and knew that by working with the spiritual law the seeming evil could be eradicated.

12. Affirmation is mentally taking that which is desired. Faith intuitively perceives all things as ours in Spirit to be taken when desired. So an affirmation is the taking of things desired through the faith we have that all good is now ours in Spirit.

13. Through faith we intuitively discern the essence of the truths that we seek, but this discernment takes place before we are able to bring it into the fullness of expression. Faith encourages us to make trial or to prove what we have seen intuitively as a possibility. In time we see the reason for the faith that is in us, having proved what we foresaw. We now have a better understanding of the law and conditions.

14. To have faith in God is to have unshakable faith in the perfect outcome of every situation in life, to have faith in the ultimate good regardless of appearances. It is to have the faith of God, to know the loving Father by bringing His attributes into manifestation in the outer. If we would exercise our unlimited powers, we must have unwavering faith in the Presence and Power within us until the very substance of Spirit appears in consciousness as a living reality.

15. Man should have faith in himself because he is the offspring of God and he is learning that he is the living expression of God, the Father. The very Spirit of God expresses through man as life, substance, and intelligence and all the other God qualities, attributes, powers, faculties, or ideas.

Without faith in himself man could never have accomplished the wonderful things that have already been brought into manifestation. Back of everything that has been done by man has been the assurance, the firm conviction, that he had the power and ability to do it. Man would not produce along any line of endeavor unless he had faith in himself.

16. The foundation principle for man and all creation is that there is but one Presence and one Power, God, Absolute Good, in man and in all the universe. In man this Absolute Good is the image of God, the Christ.

The basis for man's faith in himself is his divine origin. Man is made in the image and after the likeness of God, and God has placed His Spirit within man and given him dominion and the power and ability to express that dominion, in order that he might consciously be God's highest expression in all creation, the Christ, the Son, the Divine Idea, I AM, the Word.

As man realizes who and what he is, a spiritual being having the same character and nature as God, Absolute Good, by divine inheritance, he establishes in his consciousness a firm foundation (understanding faith) through which he is able to do all things.

17. The Christ righteousness is the immanent quality of divinity that man inherits as a Son of God, it is man's true nature inherited from his divine Father. The Christ righteousness is "inwrought righteousness." This means that all the qualities of the Father — light, life, love, peace, joy, plenty, purity, holiness, goodness, and so forth, are involved in the Son, man, as his divine right, and are nothing for which he has to "work" to attain, except that he must attain in his consciousness the purity and holiness of this indwelling Christ if he is to become in manifestation what God ideated him to be.

18. The Christ righteousness is established in man's consciousness by his right use of spiritual ideas in every thought, feeling, word and action. Being made in the image and after the likeness of the Father, the Son is of the same character, Absolute Good, and is essentially of the same substance, Mind Essence. Therefore the Son, in order to establish the Christ righteousness in his consciousness must pray in faith and understanding, must live in love, peace, and harmony, must act in joy and with Godliness of Spirit, must abide in Christ and let the Word or Christ dwell or abide in him. Man must have faith in the purity and perfection of the indwelling Christ and realize his oneness with that perfection. The ideal or perfect man was imaged by the Father, and that perfect man is His Son, the Christ. So man in turn must image his own perfection in order to bring it into expression, in the conscious and subconscious phases of his mind, and into manifestation in his body temple. The Christ righteousness or right use of all the qualities, attributes, or ideas of God is the creative law of God in action in man. In attaining the Christ righteousness, man recognizes this great truth, accepts it and lets it have full sway in his mind and heart, thoughts and feelings, body and affairs. This is what spiritually awakened man is learning — HOW to use these IDEAS of God-Mind in right relation in his own consciousness. Prayer, denial, and affirmation play their part.

Paul also tells us how to let the Christ righteousness be established in consciousness:

"Put on therefore, as God's elect, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, long-suffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving each other, if any man have a complaint against any; even as the lord forgave you, so also do ye: and above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to the which also ye were called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts unto God. And whatsoever ye do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. — Col. 3:12-17.

19. Jesus Christ established a new consciousness in the earth through His demonstration of eternal life. By faith we can lay hold of this consciousness, this direct knowing and make it ours. Faith is counted to us as righteousness while our own righteousness is being worked out in us, or until we are lifted up out of adverse conditions into the perfect Christ Mind, or the consciousness of the fullness of life and righteousness in Christ.

20. To have faith in others is to have faith in the spiritual self of each one. Every person at some time feels the desire to help others. One may do things for another in an outer personal way, but the real and lasting help cornea through one's helping another to find the center of his being. This help cannot be given until one has a living faith in the Christ within every one.