Triple Guidance

 

Triple Guidance

194:2.1 (2060.6)Jesus lived on earth and taught a gospel that delivered man from the superstition that he was a child of the devil and elevated him to the dignity of a son of faith of God. The message of Jesus, as he preached and lived it in his time, was an effective means of solving man's spiritual difficulties at the time he expressed it. And now that he has personally left the world, he sends in his place his Spirit of Truth which is intended to dwell in man and, for each new generation, to re-transmit this message of Jesus, so that each new group of mortals appearing on earth will have a new, contemporary version of the gospel, just such personal enlightenment and group guidance, which will prove effective in solving man's ever new, and varied spiritual difficulties.

194:2.2 (2060.7)The first mission of this spirit is, of course, to promote and individualize truth, for the understanding of truth is, after all, the highest form of human freedom. Next, it is the purpose of this spirit to nullify the believer's sense of orphanhood. Since Jesus has been among men, all believers would experience a sense of abandonment if the Spirit of Truth had not come to dwell in the hearts of men.

194:2.3 (2061.1)This bestowal of the Spirit of the Son effectively prepared the consciousness of all normal human beings for the subsequent universe-giving of the Spirit of the Father (the Richter) to all humanity. In a sense, this Spirit of Truth is the spirit of the Universal Father and the Creator-Son both.

194:2.4 (2061.2)Do not make the mistake of expecting to become strongly intellectually aware of the outpoured Spirit of Truth. The spirit never creates an awareness of itself, only an awareness of Michael, the Son. From the beginning, Jesus taught that the spirit would not speak of itself. Therefore, proof of your fellowship with the Spirit of Truth cannot be found in your awareness of this spirit, but rather in your experience of a stronger union with Michael.

194:2.5 (2061.3)The spirit also came to help people remember and understand the Master's words, and likewise to shed light on and reinterpret his life on earth.

194:2.6 (2061.4)Then the Spirit of Truth came to assist the believer in bearing witness to the realities of Jesus' teaching and of life as he led it in the flesh, and as he now leads it anew and from the front in the individual believer of each passing generation of the spirit-filled sons of God.

194:2.7 (2061.5)Thus it appears that the Spirit of Truth truly comes to lead all believers into all truth, into the ever-expanding knowledge of the experience of the living, growing spiritual awareness of the reality of eternal, ascending sonship with God.

194:2.8 (2061.6)Jesus led a life that is a revelation of man subject to the will of the Father, not an example that any human being should seek to literally emulate. This life in the flesh, together with his death on the cross and subsequent resurrection, soon became a new gospel about the ransom price thus paid to buy man free from the clutches of the evil one - from the condemnation of an offended God. But even though the gospel was seriously distorted, the fact remains that this new message about Jesus also carried with it many fundamental truths and teachings of his earlier gospel of the kingdom. And sooner or later these hidden truths of the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man will emerge and effectively transform the civilization of all mankind.

194:2.9 (2061.7)However, these errors of the intellect in no way prevented the believer's great progress in growth in spirit. In less than a month after the bestowal of the Spirit of Truth, the apostles made more individual spiritual progress than during the nearly four years of their personal, loving association with the Master. Nor did this substitution of the fact of Jesus' resurrection for the saving gospel truth of sonship with God constitute an obstacle to the rapid spread of their teaching: on the contrary, this overshadowing of Jesus' message by the new teachings about his person and resurrection, seemed to greatly facilitate the preaching of the good news.

194:2.10 (2061.8)The expression “baptism by the Spirit,” which became so widely in use at that time, meant no more than the conscious acceptance of this gift of the Spirit of Truth and the personal recognition of this new spiritual power as an amplification of all the spiritual influences previously experienced by God-denying souls.

194:2.11 (2061.9)Since the bestowal of the Spirit of Truth, man has been exposed to the teaching and guidance of a threefold mind-gift: the mind of the Father, the Mind-giver; the mind of the Son, the Spirit of Truth; the mind of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit.

194:2.12 (2062.1)To some extent humanity is exposed to the dual influence of the sevenfold appeal of the spirit-influences of the universe. The early evolutionary races of mortals are exposed to the growing contact with the seven assistant consciousness spirits of the Mother-Spirit of the local universe. As man reaches the higher steps of intelligence and spiritual vision, eventually the seven higher spirit influences come to hover above him and dwell within him. And these seven spirits of the advancing worlds are:

194:2.13 (2062.2)1. the bestowed mind of the Universal Father - the Mind Guides;

194:2.14 (2062.3)2. the spirit-presence of the Eternal Son - the spiritual gravity of the universe of universes and the sure channel for all spirit-community;

194:2.15 (2062.4)3. the spirit-representation of the Infinite Spirit - the universal spirit-consciousness of all creation, the spiritual source of the intellectual kinship of all progressive intellectual beings;

194:2.16 (2062.5)4. the spirit of the Universal Father and Creator-Son - the Spirit of Truth, commonly regarded as the spirit of the Universal-Son;

194:2.17 (2062.6)5. the spirit of the Infinite Spirit and the Mother-Spirit of the Universe - the Holy Spirit, commonly regarded as the spirit of the Universe-Spirit;

194:2.18 (2062.7)6. the consciousness spirit of the Mother Spirit of the Universe - the seven assistant consciousness spirits of the local universe;

194:2.19 (2062.8)7. the spirit of the Father, the Sons, and the Spirits - the new-name spirit of the ascending mortals of the realms, after the fusion of the spirit-born soul of the mortal with the Thought Giver from Paradise, and after subsequent divinity and glorification of the status of the Paradise Corps of Perfection has been achieved.

194:2.20 (2062.9)And so the bestowal of the Spirit of Truth to the world and its peoples has brought the final spirit-gift intended to aid in the ascending search for God.

A Thought for Consideration from The Urantia Book

Space and Motion

 

Space and motion

12:4.1 (133.3)All units of cosmic energy are in primary rotation, are engaged in the execution of their mission as they spin along the universal orbit. The universes in space and their constituent systems and worlds are all rotating spheres moving forward along the endless circuits of the space levels of the master universe. There is absolutely nothing stationary in the entire master universe except the very center of Havona, the eternal Island of Paradise, the center of gravity.

12:4.2 (133.4)The Unqualified Absolute is functionally limited to space, yet we are not sure how this Absolute relates to motion. Is motion inherent in it? We do not know. We do know that movement is not inherent in space; even the movements of space are not inherent in it. However, we are not so sure about the relation of the Unqualified to movement. Who, or what, is really responsible for the gigantic activities of the force-energy transmutations currently going on beyond the limits of the present seven superuniverses? With regard to the origin of motion, we hold the following opinions:

12:4.3 (133.5)1. we believe that the Venerable Acting Spirit initiates movement in space;

12:4.4 (133.6)2. if the Enabling Spirit causes the movements of space, we cannot prove it;

12:4.5 (133.7)3. the Universal Absolute does not give the very first impetus to movement, but settles and controls all the tensions created by movement.

12:4.6 (133.8)In outer-space the force organizers are apparently responsible for producing the gigantic universe wheels which are now in stellar evolution, yet that they can function in this way must have been made possible by a modification in the space presence of the Unqualified Absolute.

12:4.7 (133.9)From the human point of view, space is nothing - negative; it exists only in relation to something positive and non-spatial. Space, however, is real. It contains and determines movement. It even moves. Space movements can be broadly classified as follows:

12:4.8 (133.10)1. primary motion - the breathing of space, the motion of space itself;

12:4.9 (133.11)2. secondary motion - the rotations in alternating directions of successive levels of space;

12:4.10 (133.12)3. relative movements - relative in the sense that they are not evaluated with Paradise as the ground point. Primary and secondary movements are absolute; they are movement with respect to Paradise which is immobile;

12:4.11 (133.13)4. Compensatory or correlative motion intended to coordinate all other motions.

12:4.12 (134.1)Although the present relation of your sun to the planets connected with it shows many relative and absolute motions in space, it gives many astronomical observers the impression that you are relatively stationary in space, and that the surrounding star clusters and streams are flying outward at velocities which, according to your calculations, are increasing as they advance further into space. Yet this is not the case. You cannot see that the physical creations throughout penetrated space are now expanding outward uniformly. Your own local creation (Nebadon) participates in this movement of universal expansion outward. All seven superuniverses participate in the two billion year cycles of breathing space, together with the regions of outer space of the master universe.

12:4.13 (134.2)When the universes expand and contract, the material masses in the penetrated space alternately move against the attraction of the gravitational force of Paradise, or go along with it. The labor performed to move the material energy-mass of creation is space labor, but not labor of force-energy.

12:4.14 (134.3)Although your spectroscopic estimates of astronomical velocities are fairly reliable when applied to the star regions belonging to your superuniverse and the superuniverses associated with it, such calculations are entirely unreliable with respect to the regions of outer space. Spectral lines shift from normal to violet by an approaching star; similarly, these lines shift to red by a moving star. Through the intervention of many influences, it appears that the speed at which the outer universes are moving away increases by more than one hundred and sixty kilometers per second for each million light-years by which the distance increases. When you will have perfected more powerful telescopes, according to this method of calculation, it will appear that these distant galaxies are moving away from this part of the universe at the incredible speed of more than forty-eight thousand kilometers per second. But such an apparent speed of removal is not real; it is the result of numerous factors that are incorrect, including angles of observation and other time-spatial distortions.

12:4.15 (134.4)The greatest of all these distortions, however, occurs because the vast universes of outer-space, in the adjacent regions adjacent to the domains of the seven superuniverses, seem to rotate around in a direction opposite to that of the great universe. That is, these tens of thousands of nebulae, as well as the suns and worlds accompanying them, are now rotating clockwise around the central creation. The seven superuniverses orbit Paradise counterclockwise. The second outer universe of galaxies, like the seven superuniverses, appears to be rotating counterclockwise around Paradise. And astronomical observers at Uversa believe they are detecting indications of orbiting motions in a third belt of distant outer space, which are beginning to show signs of moving clockwise.

12:4.16 (134.5)It is likely that these alternating directions of the universes' successive space processes have something to do with the gravitational technique of the Universal Absolute within the master universe, a technique that consists of a coordination of forces and an equalization of space tensions. Both motion and space are complements of, or counterbalances to, gravity.

A Thought for Consideration from The Urantia Book

Living Truth

 Living Truth

176:3.7 (1917.3)Truth is alive; the Spirit of Truth is ever leading the children of light into new realms of spiritual reality and divine service. Truth has not been given to you to solidify it into fixed, secure and honored forms. Your revelation of truth must so deepen through the passing of your personal experience that new beauty and actual spiritual gains will reveal themselves to all who see your spiritual fruits, and as a result come to glorify the Father who is in heaven. Only the faithful servants who thus grow in the knowledge of truth, and thereby develop the capacity for divine appreciation of spiritual realities, can ever hope to “enter fully into the joy of their Lord. What a sad sight successive generations of those who claim to be followers of Jesus provide when, in regard to their stewardship of divine truth, they say, “Behold, Master, here is the truth you entrusted to us a hundred or a thousand years ago. We have lost nothing of it; we have faithfully upheld all that thou hast given us; we have not allowed changes to be made in what thou hast taught us; here is the truth thou hast given us.' But such a plea for spiritual inertia will not justify the steward of the truth that has produced no fruit before the Master. In accordance with the truth given into your hands, the Master of truth will hold you accountable. 176:3.8 (1918.1)In the next world, you will be asked to account for your gifts and your stewardship in this world. Whether your innate talents are few or many, you will face the fact of a just and merciful reckoning. When the gifts have been used only for the pursuit of selfish ends and no attention has been paid to the higher duty of bringing forth a greater harvest of fruits of the spirit, as revealed in an ever-expanding service of man and worship of God, then such selfish stewards must accept the consequences of their deliberate choice.

176:3.9 (1918.2)And how much did not this unfaithful servant with the one talent act like all selfish men, in that he knows his idleness directly to his lord. How strongly is man not inclined, when faced with failure through his own fault, to cast the blame on others, often on those who least deserve it!

176:3.10 (1918.3)That evening, as they went to rest, Jesus still said, “Freely you have received, therefore you must also freely distribute of the truth of heaven, and in giving this truth will multiply and will shine ever more brightly the light of saving grace, just as you are working with it.

A Thought for Consideration from The Urantia Book

Spiritual Fellowship

 

Spiritual fellowship

103:4.1 (1133.1)The characteristic difference between a social gathering and a religious gathering is that the religious gathering, unlike the secular, is permeated by an atmosphere of community. In this way, the association of people creates a sense of brotherhood with the divine, and this constitutes the beginning of group worship of God. Participating in a common meal was the first form of social community, and therefore early religions prescribed that a portion of the ceremonial offering be eaten by those who participated in the ceremony. Even in Christianity, this mode of community is adhered to in the Lord's Supper. The atmosphere of communion provides a refreshing, comforting period of truce in the conflict between the selfish ego and the altruistic impulse of the indwelling spirit-Mentor. And this is the prelude to true worship of God - the practicing of the presence of God that culminates in the emergence of the brotherhood of men.

103:4.2 (1133.2)When primitive man felt that his fellowship with God was interrupted, he resorted to making a sacrifice of one kind or another in order to bring about a reconciliation, to restore the friendly relationship. The hunger and thirst for righteousness leads to the discovery of truth, and truth multiplies ideals, and this creates new problems for the individual religious man, for our ideals tend to grow according to a geometrical series, while our ability to live by them only increases according to an arithmetical series.

103:4.3 (1133.3)Guilt (not being aware of sin) comes from interrupting spiritual communion either from a lowering of one's moral ideals. One can only be delivered from such a difficult situation by the realization that the highest moral ideals one has are not necessarily synonymous with the will of God. Man cannot expect to live according to his highest ideals, but he can remain faithful to his goal of finding God and becoming more and more like him.

103:4.4 (1133.4)Jesus wiped out all the ceremonies of sacrifice and atonement. He destroyed the basis of all this imaginary guilt and sense of isolation in the universe by the firm statement that man is a child of God: he placed the relationship between the creature and the Creator on a child-father basis. God becomes a loving Father to his mortal sons and daughters. All ceremonies that are not a legitimate part of this close family relationship are abolished forever.

103:4.5 (1133.5)God the Father deals with man, his child, not on the basis of his actual virtue or dignity, but according to the motives he recognizes in the child-the intent and purpose of the creature. The relationship is that of intercourse between father and child and is driven by divine love.

A Consideration of The Urantia Book