1. Date of Lesson

2. Subject, Golden Text, and Responsive Reading

3. Lesson Sermon — The Bible

4. Lesson Sermon — Science and Health

5. The Daily Duties

6. About the preparation of this lesson

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Subject — Spirit

GOLDEN TEXT: John 4 : 24

“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

RESPONSIVE READING: II Corinthians 3 : 4-6, 17, 18

4.     And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:

5.     Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;

6.     Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

17.     Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

18.     But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Lesson Sermon

The Bible

1. Job 33 : 4

4     The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.

2. Romans 8 : 12-17 (to 2nd ;)

12     Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.

13     For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

14     For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

15     For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

16     The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

17     And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ;

3. Matthew 3 : 1, 2, 13-17

1     In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judæa,

2     And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

13     Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.

14     But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?

15     And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.

16     And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

17     And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

4. Matthew 4 : 1-4, 11

1     Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

2     And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

3     And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

4     But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

11     Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

5. Mark 5 : 25-34

25     And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,

26     And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,

27     When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.

28     For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.

29     And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.

30     And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?

31     And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?

32     And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.

33     But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.

34     And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.

6. I Corinthians 2 : 9 (as)-12

9     …as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

10     But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

11     For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

12     Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

7. Romans 8 : 1-9 (to 1st .)

1     There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

2     For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

3     For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

4     That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

5     For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

6     For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

7     Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

8     So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

9     But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.

8. Galatians 5 : 1, 13, 16, 22 (the fruit), 23

1     Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

13     For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

16     This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

22     …the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

23     Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

9. II Corinthians 4 : 6

6     For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Science and Health

1. 124 : 25-26 (to 1st .)

Spirit is the life, substance, and continuity of all things.

2. 331 : 11 (The)-17

The Scriptures imply that God is All-in-all. From this it follows that nothing possesses reality nor existence except the divine Mind and His ideas. The Scriptures also declare that God is Spirit. Therefore in Spirit all is harmony, and there can be no discord; all is Life, and there is no death. Everything in God's universe expresses Him.

3. 335 : 12-14

Spirit is the only substance, the invisible and indivisible infinite God. Things spiritual and eternal are substantial.

4. 481 : 2-9

Man is tributary to God, Spirit, and to nothing else. God's being is infinity, freedom, harmony, and boundless bliss. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." Like the archpriests of yore, man is free "to enter into the holiest," — the realm of God.

Material sense never helps mortals to understand Spirit, God. Through spiritual sense only, man comprehends and loves Deity.

5. 209 : 31-10

Spiritual sense is a conscious, constant capacity to understand God. It shows the superiority of faith by works over faith in words. Its ideas are expressed only in "new tongues;" and these are interpreted by the translation of the spiritual original into the language which human thought can comprehend.

The Principle and proof of Christianity are discerned by spiritual sense. They are set forth in Jesus' demonstrations, which show — by his healing the sick, casting out evils, and destroying death, "the last enemy that shall be destroyed," — his disregard of matter and its so-called laws.

6. 284 : 28-3

According to Christian Science, the only real senses of man are spiritual, emanating from divine Mind. Thought passes from God to man, but neither sensation nor report goes from material body to Mind. The intercommunication is always from God to His idea, man. Matter is not sentient and cannot be cognizant of good or of evil, of pleasure or of pain. Man's individuality is not material.

7. 298 : 2-18, 20-24

Life, Truth, and Love are the realities of divine Science. They dawn in faith and glow full-orbed in spiritual understanding. As a cloud hides the sun it cannot extinguish, so false belief silences for a while the voice of immutable harmony, but false belief cannot destroy Science armed with faith, hope, and fruition.

What is termed material sense can report only a mortal temporary sense of things, whereas spiritual sense can bear witness only to Truth. To material sense, the unreal is the real until this sense is corrected by Christian Science.

Spiritual sense, contradicting the material senses, involves intuition, hope, faith, understanding, fruition, reality. Material sense expresses the belief that mind is in matter. This human belief, alternating between a sense of pleasure and pain, hope and fear, life and death, never reaches beyond the boundary of the mortal or the unreal. … Spiritual ideas, like numbers and notes, start from Principle, and admit no materialistic beliefs. Spiritual ideas lead up to their divine origin, God, and to the spiritual sense of being.

8. 95 : 5-18

Paul said, "To be spiritually minded is life." We approach God, or Life, in proportion to our spirituality, our fidelity to Truth and Love; and in that ratio we know all human need and are able to discern the thought of the sick and the sinning for the purpose of healing them. Error of any kind cannot hide from the law of God.

Whoever reaches this point of moral culture and goodness cannot injure others, and must do them good. The greater or lesser ability of a Christian Scientist to discern thought scientifically, depends upon his genuine spirituality. This kind of mind-reading is not clairvoyance, but it is important to success in healing, and is one of the special characteristics thereof.

9. 86 : 1-10

Jesus once asked, "Who touched me?" Supposing this inquiry to be occasioned by physical contact alone, his disciples answered, "The multitude throng thee." Jesus knew, as others did not, that it was not matter, but mortal mind, whose touch called for aid. Repeating his inquiry, he was answered by the faith of a sick woman. His quick apprehension of this mental call illustrated his spirituality. The disciples' misconception of it uncovered their materiality. Jesus possessed more spiritual susceptibility than the disciples.

10. 356 : 4-5, 8-16

So-called material existence affords no evidence of spiritual existence and immortality. … Matter is not the vestibule of Spirit.

Jesus reasoned on this subject practically, and controlled sickness, sin, and death on the basis of his spirituality. Understanding the nothingness of material things, he spoke of flesh and Spirit as the two opposites, — as error and Truth, not contributing in any way to each other's happiness and existence. Jesus knew, "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing."

11. 468 : 8-15

Question. — What is the scientific statement of being?

Answer. — There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter. All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all. Spirit is immortal Truth; matter is mortal error. Spirit is the real and eternal; matter is the unreal and temporal. Spirit is God, and man is His image and likeness. Therefore man is not material; he is spiritual.

12. 458 : 32-3

Christianity causes men to turn naturally from matter to Spirit, as the flower turns from darkness to light. Man then appropriates those things which "eye hath not seen nor ear heard."

13. 428 : 8-14

To divest thought of false trusts and material evidences in order that the spiritual facts of being may appear, — this is the great attainment by means of which we shall sweep away the false and give place to the true. Thus we may establish in truth the temple, or body, "whose builder and maker is God."

The Daily Duties

by Mary Baker Eddy

Daily Prayer

It shall be the duty of every member of this Church to pray each day: "Thy kingdom come;" let the reign of divine Truth, Life, and Love be established in me, and rule out of me all sin; and may Thy Word enrich the affections of all mankind, and govern them!

Church Manual, Article VIII, Sect. 4

A Rule for Motives and Acts

Neither animosity nor mere personal attachment should impel the motives or acts of the members of The Mother Church. In Science, divine Love alone governs man; and a Christian Scientist reflects the sweet amenities of Love, in rebuking sin, in true brotherliness, charitableness, and forgiveness. The members of this Church should daily watch and pray to be delivered from all evil, from prophesying, judging, condemning, counseling, influencing or being influenced erroneously.

Church Manual, Article VIII, Sect. 1

Alertness to Duty

It shall be the duty of every member of this Church to defend himself daily against aggressive mental suggestion, and not be made to forget nor to neglect his duty to God, to his Leader, and to mankind. By his works he shall be judged, — and justified or condemned.

Church Manual, Article VIII, Sect. 6

Take Notice

To Christian Scientists: — See Science and Health, page 442, line 30, and give daily attention thereto.

from Miscellany, by Mary Baker Eddy, page 237

“Christian Scientists, be a law to yourselves that mental malpractice cannot harm you either when asleep or when awake.”

Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, page 422

This Bible Lesson was prepared by Plainfield Christian Science Church, Independent. It is composed of Scriptural Quotations from the King James Bible and Correlative Passages from the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, 1910 Edition, by Mary Baker Eddy.

Copyright 2023 Plainfield Christian Science Church, Independent

Table of Contents

Sunday, August 6th, 2023 — Subject: Spirit

Date of Lesson

Subject, Golden Text, and Responsive Reading

Lesson Sermon — The Bible

Lesson Sermon — Science and Health

The Daily Duties

About the preparation of this lesson