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LECTURE "BEGIMING THE ETERUAL BODY"
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MR. CHARLES FILLMORE -at-
UII TI AUDITORIUM 913 Tracy Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri SUIDAY MORMUG-, 00 TO HER 9, 1913. --------------o-------
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The subject of our lesson is the "First beginning of the Eternal Life". This will be a lesson of application. That means that we shall begin the demonstration of the lesson.
Low, to do that, we take into our perception of the truth the realization in Substance. You know there are two phases of consciousness:	One, the unrelated, the formless, or, as we say,
the Spiritual; and the other the manifestation of that. Now, we should be not only acquainted with the Formless, or the Word, but the expression of the Word - "The ’word becomes flesh and dwells among us", and we see its grace and beauty in the perfect man.
How, this perfect man is the ideal man, the Christ man; and it is to be made manifest through our word, or our thought.
The thought and the word are virtually the same.
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So, every lesson should begin with, a central thought.
You may call it prayer, hut it is a realization of the indwelling spirit and its manifestation.
We will take for our central thought this: "The substance of my life and my body is spiritual, and eternal, and I now claim this Substance in its wholeness". In taking this prayer, see with your mind a forming Substance in your body. You can't see it with your eyes, but you can feel it, if you feel with your mind, your real spiritual mind. How, let us all feel that Substance forming in us. That is the real body. How, this is the thought that will lead up to that:	The	Substance	of	my	life	and	my body is spiritual
and eternal, and I now claim this Substance in its wholeness". Everybody get still and hold that thought: "The substance of my
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life and my body is spiritual and eternal, and I now claim this Substance in its wholeness".
(Silence)
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This morning I overheard the recitation of the infant class downstairs. The lesson was one of the Metaphysical dissertations of Paul, and the little people were reading it over a verse at a time. I heard one little boy say, "Well, I don’t like this", he said, "I don't understand it". And another one said, "ITo, I would rather rea.d a story, a storj* about a fairy, or Bug-a-boc (Buffalo) Bill". And they all spoke of it, and said, "Can't we have a story, and do away with this old book?" The teacher said, "Oh no, this is a good book. This isn't a bad book". And it occurred to me that that is about the way we have read this book. We thought we had to read it, because it vas God's book. We didn't understand it, and most of us would rather read a fairy story or a novel, or something that we understand. But if we knew that this book
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was a representative in its apparent dry Metaphysics, or its history of what is taking place in our souls and in our minds and in our bodies, why, it would take on a new interest. We would become interested from every viewpoint, and that is just what it is.
When we read of the Children of Israel in the wilderness, under the direction of Moses, preparing to make a meeting place, a tabernacle. That has special reference to this soul within us.
It has a lesson for us. And the book becomes interesting when we know this; when we know that each one of these symbols given as part of the furnishings of that tabernacle refer to the different thoughts and organs, even, of this body. That it is the beginning in us of a new and more permanent body-consciousness. I say, when this is outlined in its right and true relation., the Scripture is
a new book, and we are glad tor ead it. We are glad to study it.
how, the Children of Israel, according to the history, had up to this time had no permanent meeting place. And the lord revealed to Moses that there should he a tent, or, as is given here, the tabernacle of the tent of the meeting - the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. how, the word "tabernacle" there means the inner, and the tent the outer. These two are two phases of consciousness in man, as to his body, because the body is the temple of the Living God. The body is the place where we worship God, remember that. We have thought that these church buildings were -the place where we went to worship God, but the teaching of all Scripture is that we worship God in our inner consciousness of spiritual Suostance. God is Spirit, and we must gat into 'this spiritual con-
sciousness "before we can worship God.
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Now man, iniis "beginnings, is a wanderer. He has no permanent abiding place. The history of this planet shows that we, as a race, have "been wandering up ana down the land for five hundred millions of years. "Oh", you say, "that is our ancestors".
We are our own ancestors, remember that. People that I am talking to right now are the cave dwellers. We have simply learned some new lessons. We know how to build houses now, where before we lived in caves; and we build some of our houses so tight and secure that we cut out a good deal of God's fresh air. So some of us are trying to get back to nature again. We are seeking to demonstrate that we can live as we did in the very beginning, without any clothing, without any of the wonderful inventions of
modern civilization
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Joseph Knowles took the test upon himself here not long ago, and lived sixty days in the wilderness of Maine, unprovided for - didn't have anything to start with. And, by the way, he says that the most comforting thing, the most valuable thing that he had was fire, and he made the fire by rubbing two sticks together. how, fire is Life. It is a form of Life. And here is a hint for us. The most valuable thing, the most comforting thing that you have is Life. "What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and lose his own life"? That is the modern translation of it - in the old, it says "soul"; but it is Life. So, Jesus said "I come that he might have Life, abundant Life, and continuous Life.
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ITow, we will never be satisfied; we will never fulfill the goal which we are all running for, until we can lay hold
of Eternal Life. And, in order to lay hold of Eternal Life, you
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must have Eternal Substance as an accompanying element. You must
have that as an abiding part of your consciousness. <50, at a cer-
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tain stage of our unfoldment, we find it necessary to build a permanent abiding state of Substance; in other words, this transitory idea of the evanescence of Substance, the passing away of the flesh man, must give place to another consciousness, which is eternal Substance, accompanying the idea of Eternal Life.
Eow, that is the first erection of a place of worship by man, in the wilderness of sense; and that is the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. How, this tabernacle of the tent of meet rig is
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made up first of ideas - that is, I mean you must have a concei^t of this Truth of the Omnipresence of Substance and Life and Intelligence inherent in Being, and you must rid your mind of your material ideas. We are told that when Moses called the Children of Israel to build this tabernacle, he required that they should bring the gold and the silver, their jewels - everything that they considered precious, and put them into the furnishings of the tabernacle.
how this means that we must give up; we must surrender something; we must get rid of the old, not only in thought, but sometimes in things, in order that we may enter into the new.
how, the new state of consciousness is coming to the race to-day, as it never has come before. We are finding new ways of
doing things, and we are finding new ideas; and that is the real valuable thing - getting hold of ideas; ideas of the relation of Substance; ideas of the relation of food to the Substance. And as we bring these old values into the tabernacle and surrender them, then we get the new spiritual.	We change	things about,	Instead of
living in a material world, we	find	that	we are living	in a world
where ideas become substantial.	And	when	we have given	up the old
and brought all the so-called values	to the one central	focal idea
in mind, that God is here as a formed Substance, and that that formed Substance is His Temple, and that that Temple or that body which we are now discerning, was formed in the mind of God for us in the beginning. But it must be brought into consciousness.
So now you start with that proposition that God in creat-
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ing man gave him a perfect "body-idea, and that perfect "oody idea is accompanied by a perfect Substance idea and an Eternal Life idea, and that those are to be brought into consciousness - they are to be expressed. And this lesson shows all the little details.
why, we might spend years in the study of this lesson, showing how the Holy of Holies, the Veil between tine inner and the outer was established; what the lavers were for, where the water was; and read the lesson over in that Fortieth Chapter of Exodus, and if you ash for the Spirit of Discernment, it will show you that those all refer to ideas, and then those ideas in their relation to the body. But all we can do i s to touch here and there upon fundamental truths, that the body is existing, or not existing, "tut that it is in Being, in the consciousness of everyone who
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expresses this so-callecl material body, and that it is to be brought
through the tabernacle process.
how, the tent is the outer flesh, but within are these
Life Issues, the Wells of Life within you, the Fountain of Life within you. Do you really know anything about them? Very little, very little. But if you take up the spiritual consciousness; if you will apply the lesson as we started with it uhis morning; think about these inner forces, there will gradually come to you the consciousness of the Life and the Substance and the Intelligence, and you will, step by step, see how you build in to your Substance and your Life this tabernacle of God; and as you go on ana on, there will gradually be formed the permanent structure, which is
Solomon's Temple.
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Here, as I say, is but the beginning; but in this beginning are the Eternal patterns. You remember Moses was told to go up into the mountains and there he would receive the patterns wnich were to be put into the tabernacle. Well, that means that in the high states of consciousness , this great Consciousness of ohe Law, the Eternal Law of Being there receives ideas that are built inoo
the body.
Now, we put away the history, in order that we my get the lesson. We will bring it right home to every-day practical Life. How, in putting on this tabernacle, we are told that it was to begin on the first day of the month. Well, that means the place right where you are - whatever it may be. That is the beginning, the first. It doesn't refer to time.
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How the Ark of the Testimony is the consciousness in us of all these promises, or the fulfillment of our ideals. God has implanted in man a certain set of hopes, aspirations and desires. How, that is the Ark of the Testimony existing in every one of us, and that Ark of the Testimony is to he realized v/here? Right here and now. How is the time of realization, and that realization must he put to the test hy your acknowledgment of that truth, that there is a fulfillment here and now for every desire, for all your aspirations. If you have looked forward to a heaven, a beautiful place where you will he perfectly happy throughout the years of eternity, turn about and accept that statement of Jesus Christ, that the Kingdom of hleaven is within you, and that here and now you can enter into that heaven; that you can have here and now the
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fulfillment of all those desires. That is the beginning of the worship of God in the tabernacle. You may not outwardly realize all this, but possess your souls in peace and in patience. It takes a long time to build the soul, if we count years. A soul is the most precious thing in existence. The fact is that we are all seeking this permanent tabernacle of the Lord. In other words, we are seeking our own soul. You know that the whole object of life is to make a soul? To perpetuate your soul? Why, we are merely cl nimals until we build our souls.
How, there was to be an inherent heritance of Faith. Y/e all know that Faith is the Substance piled up of these hopes that we have. The more of Faith you have in things so called invisible, the more Substance you gather of that character, and it becomes
an inherited state of consciousness.
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We are reaping to-day in our quick spiritual perception what we gathered up as a matter of jBaith in past study, it may he thousands of years ago. As we listen to Truth, we say, "'Why, I know that. That is not new to me. Somewhere I learned that lesson". Well, where? Why, in your previous experiences.	17 ow it flashes into expression. This is the result
of a faithful following of your highest.
Then trust your ideals, trust your spiritual perception, and you will build them into your Temple and your Tabernacle.
Wow an important point in that tabernacle was the lavenders, with the water at the entrance, after the manner of the holy water which you will find at the entrance of Catholic churches. That is handed down from this symbol, and it means the cleansing
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before we can put on this temple of fire, - because that is what it is. When your body becomes an abiding eternal form of spirit, it is a body of fire. It consumes, through its own inherent flame, all dross, all impurity. So Jesus Christ said 1 came to scatter fire”. So he did. Your God within you is the Temple of Fire, and if, through your disregard of this law you destroy that Temple, you literally burn up, you burn up your body.
ITow, there is a water of Life here in the body which cleanses and cools and purifies the whole temple. You can, if you wish, make the sign of the cross, which means the crossing out of sin, the doing away with the personality. This is in the mind.
And when your mind crosses out its mortal limitations, you go just another step into the Temple. You can enter that tabernacle.
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You will find out when you cross out your mortal limitations, your personality, set aside the personal man, say "hot my will, hut God’s he done”, you can enter a little farther behind the veil, and see a little more of the Spirit. But if you let your personality stand up and say, "Well, I want to know the why and ’wherefore of all of this; I want to know just as I know these outer things; I want it all explained to me” - if you take that attitude, you don't get into the temple; you don't U3e the holy water. One must be obedient, receptive, must give up something in order to get the great things of the Kingdom.
So, you must give up your temporal body. How, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on that cross meant something. It meant that the body of flesh must be wiped out. It has no existence in
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God, because it is a transitory corruptible tiling. But within it are the issues ox life. You can kill the outer, but that inner resurrects and transfoms. those ideas and comes forth in a body that has transcendent power; and it walks with the disciples on their journey to Emmaus; it passes through the closed doors; it appears on the sea-shore and prepares the honey comb and the fishes. There did Jesus get this body. He always had it. But through his discipline, as he said, he can take it up or lay it down. He refined that material idea of a body, and the universal Eternal Purity-substance became part of his consciousness. He knew that Life was eternal; he knew it way deep in his being, and he demonstrated.
That is what the death on the cross means. It doesn't mean death at all. It means the doing away with death. And when we have this
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realization and make it practical, why the personal man is gradually done away with. "I die daily". Every day we are to take up this lesson and apply it, make it ours, he willing to deny, to wash away all that seems to he real, and enter into the real, which is Spiritual, Eternal.
Then say to yourself every day, "I am willing to give up my ideas of the Substance and Life which appears so real, and enter into the real substance and life. I enter into my eternal imperishable body here and now. I enter into the body of the Substance of the Lord Jesus Christ. I accept the eating and the drinking of that body here and now; and I purify myself with the pure ideas of the Eternal Good. I enter in to spiritual purity through
the power of God, the indwelling power of God, and the spirit of God.