How I Used Truth - Lesson 9 - Annotation 3
Read John I and relate it to God's spoken word, "Let there be," in Genesis I. To what particular phase of the creative process does each chapter refer?
3. Both John I and Genesis I refer to the creative process or creative action of God, Divine Mind, in two different aspects. Genesis I has reference to God's spoken word, "Let there be," sometimes referred to as the Divine fiat. John I is related to the decree, "Let there be," in the sense that it shows the result of this divine command.
Genesis I is the ideating of the plan of creation. Genesis means origin, beginning, coming into being. Charles Fillmore says in the Foreword to Mysteries of Genesis: "God creates the ideas that form the things. On page 12 of the same book we read,
"In the 1st chapter of Genesis it is the great creative Mind that is at work. The record portrays just how divine ideas were brought into expression. As man must have an idea before he can bring an idea into manifestation, so it is with the creations of God. . . . The 1st chapter of Genesis describes the ideal creation" (Mysteries of Genesis 12).
The "Let there be" of Genesis I describes the creative action. This shows the process by which God, as Creative Mind, involves His own nature and power in creation, culminating with the I AM or spiritual man. This chapter covers the involution or ideation of the ideal plan of creation. Webster's dictionary gives as one meaning of the word let "to cause to be made." This explains clearly the decree "Let there be," especially if we substitute the words create or ideate for the word made.
John I represents what follows the decree "Let there be," namely the "and it was so" of the first chapter of Genesis. The first chapter of John covers the evolution of the divine plan in expression and in manifestation. The evolution (or evolving) of the plan of spiritual man is fully expressed in Jesus Christ -- "And the Word, became flesh, and dwelt among us . . . full of grace and truth" (John l:l4).
Webster's dictionary uses one word to define involution that is very enlightening, namely the word infolding. The dictionary gives two words for evolution that make this clear for our purpose, namely the words unrolling and unfolding. John I, then, is the unrolling or the unfolding into visibility of the ideal plan involved or ideated in God-Mind. There is really nothing mysterious about this. In every seed is involved or infolded the pattern of the species, with the intelligence to come forth under right growing conditions. The evolution of the seed is the unfolding (unrolling) of this pattern in visible form as plant or tree. It is the same with man as with the rest of creation.
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Preceding Entry: Name the days or steps (giving the metaphysical meaning of each) in the creative process as given in Genesis I, and the first three verses of Genesis II, culminating in the seventh day (step) or Sabbath. What follows these seven days or steps?
Following Entry: What is meant by "being" and what is meant by "existence" from a metaphysical standpoint?
