Responsive Reading: Ephesians 2 : 4-10

4.     God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

5.     Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

6.     And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

7.     That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

8.     For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

9.     Not of works, lest any man should boast.

10.     For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

1. Isaiah 11 : 1-4

1     And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

2     And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;

3     And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:

4     But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

2. John 10 : 23 (Jesus)-33, 36-39

23     Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch.

24     Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.

25     Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.

26     But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.

27     My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

28     And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

29     My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.

30     I and my Father are one.

31     Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.

32     Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?

33     The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.

36     Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?

37     If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.

38     But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.

39     Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand,

3. John 8 : 31 (to Jesus), 37 (to ;), 40, 44, 56-59

31     Then said Jesus

37     I know that ye are Abraham’s seed;

40     But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.

44     Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

56     Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.

57     Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?

58     Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

59     Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

4. Luke 14 : 25-33

25     And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them,

26     If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

27     And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

28     For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

29     Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,

30     Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.

31     Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?

32     Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.

33     So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

5. Luke 4 : 33-36

33     And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice,

34     Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God.

35     And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not.

36     And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.

6. Hebrews 4 : 12

12     For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

1. 583 : 10-11

Christ. The divine manifestation of God, which comes to the flesh to destroy incarnate error.

2. 333 : 16 (The)-31

The advent of Jesus of Nazareth marked the first century of the Christian era, but the Christ is without beginning of years or end of days. Throughout all generations both before and after the Christian era, the Christ, as the spiritual idea, — the reflection of God, — has come with some measure of power and grace to all prepared to receive Christ, Truth. Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and the prophets caught glorious glimpses of the Messiah, or Christ, which baptized these seers in the divine nature, the essence of Love. The divine image, idea, or Christ was, is, and ever will be inseparable from the divine Principle, God. Jesus referred to this unity of his spiritual identity thus: “Before Abraham was, I am;” “I and my Father are one;” “My Father is greater than I.” The one Spirit includes all identities.

3. 334 : 10 (The)-20

The invisible Christ was imperceptible to the so-called personal senses, whereas Jesus appeared as a bodily existence. This dual personality of the unseen and the seen, the spiritual and material, the eternal Christ and the corporeal Jesus manifest in flesh, continued until the Master’s ascension, when the human, material concept, or Jesus, disappeared, while the spiritual self, or Christ, continues to exist in the eternal order of divine Science, taking away the sins of the world, as the Christ has always done, even before the human Jesus was incarnate to mortal eyes.

4. 315 : 29-11

Wearing in part a human form (that is, as it seemed to mortal view), being conceived by a human mother, Jesus was the mediator between Spirit and the flesh, between Truth and error. Explaining and demonstrating the way of divine Science, he became the way of salvation to all who accepted his word. From him mortals may learn how to escape from evil. The real man being linked by Science to his Maker, mortals need only turn from sin and lose sight of mortal

selfhood to find Christ, the real man and his relation to God, and to recognize the divine sonship. Christ, Truth, was demonstrated through Jesus to prove the power of Spirit over the flesh, — to show that Truth is made manifest by its effects upon the human mind and body, healing sickness and destroying sin.

5. 6 : 23-6

Jesus uncovered and rebuked sin before he cast it out. Of a sick woman he said that Satan had bound her, and to Peter he said, “Thou art an offence unto me.” He came teaching and showing men how to destroy sin, sickness, and death. He said of the fruitless tree, “[It] is hewn down.”

It is believed by many that a certain magistrate, who lived in the time of Jesus, left this record: “His rebuke is fearful.” The strong language of our Master confirms this description.

The only civil sentence which he had for error was, “Get thee behind me, Satan.” Still stronger evidence that Jesus’ reproof was pointed and pungent is found in his own words, — showing the necessity for such forcible utterance, when he cast out devils and healed the sick and sinning.

6. 230 : 1-10

If sickness is real, it belongs to immortality; if true, it is a part of Truth. Would you attempt with drugs, or without, to destroy a quality or condition of Truth? But if sickness and sin are illusions, the awakening from this mortal dream, or illusion, will bring us into health, holiness, and immortality. This awakening is the forever coming of Christ, the advanced appearing of Truth, which casts out error and heals the sick. This is the salvation which comes through God, the divine Principle, Love, as demonstrated by Jesus.

7. 41 : 28-32

The truth taught by Jesus, the elders scoffed at. Why? Because it demanded more than they were willing to practise. It was enough for them to believe in a national Deity; but that belief, from their time to ours, has never made a disciple who could cast out evils and heal the sick.

8. 141 : 4-9

Few understand or adhere to Jesus’ divine precepts for living and healing. Why? Because his precepts require the disciple to cut off the right hand and pluck out the right eye, — that is, to set aside even the most cherished beliefs and practices, to leave all for Christ.

9. 26 : 1-11 (to ;), 16-18

While we adore Jesus, and the heart overflows with gratitude for what he did for mortals, — treading alone his loving pathway up to the throne of glory, in speechless agony exploring the way for us, — yet Jesus spares us not one individual experience, if we follow his commands faithfully; and all have the cup of sorrowful effort to drink in proportion to their demonstration of his love, till all are redeemed through divine Love.

The Christ was the Spirit which Jesus implied in his own statements: “I am the way, the truth, and the life;” … His mission was to reveal the Science of celestial being, to prove what God is and what He does for man.

10. 55 : 15-26

Truth’s immortal idea is sweeping down the centuries, gathering beneath its wings the sick and sinning. My weary hope tries to realize that happy day, when man shall recognize the Science of Christ and love his neighbor as himself, — when he shall realize God’s omnipotence and the healing power of the divine Love in what it has done and is doing for mankind. The promises will be fulfilled. The time for the reappearing of the divine healing is throughout all time; and whosoever layeth his earthly all on the altar of divine Science, drinketh of Christ’s cup now, and is endued with the spirit and power of Christian healing.