Wednesday Readings for October 19th, 2022

From The Bible

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
(I John 3:1)

¶ And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

... and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
(Genesis 1:26, 27, 28 2nd and)

And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. ...
(Genesis 1:31 (to 1st .))

The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.
(Psalms 16:5, 6)

Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
(I John 3:9)

Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
(James 1:18)

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

For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
(Ephesians 2:10, 18)

There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; ...

One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
(Ephesians 4:4, 6)

The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying, What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel. Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: ...
(Ezekiel 18:1–4 (to :))

And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. ...

Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours. And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him. ...

... ¶ And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem. And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I. And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. ...

... ¶ And it came to pass when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stripped Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. ...

Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.
(Genesis 37:1, 3, 4, 12–14 (to 1st .), 23, 24, 28)

And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither. ...

And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.
(Genesis 39:1, 3, 4)

And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river. ...

And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it. ...

... ¶ And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do. ...

Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt: And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land; And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following; for it shall be very grievous. ...

And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou. ...

And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do. ...

And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands.
(Genesis 41:1, 15, 25, 29–31, 39, 40, 55, 57)

Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another? ...

... ¶ And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt. ...

And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food. And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. ...

... ¶ Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man's money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way: and thus did he unto them.
(Genesis 42:1, 3, 7, 8, 25)

Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. ...

And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
(Genesis 45:1, 4, 5)

But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.
(Genesis 50:20, 21)

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 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. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
(Romans 8:14–17)

And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
(John 9:1–7)

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

I am clean without transgression, I am innocent; neither is there iniquity in me.
(Job 33:4, 9)

SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES by MARY BAKER EDDY

In Science man is the offspring of Spirit. The beautiful, good, and pure constitute his ancestry. His origin is not, like that of mortals, in brute instinct, nor does he pass through material conditions prior to reaching intelligence. Spirit is his primitive and ultimate source of being; God is his Father, and Life is the law of his being.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 63:5)

Man is not the offspring of flesh, but of Spirit, — of Life, not of matter.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 289:31–32)

Man as the offspring of God, as the idea of Spirit, is the immortal evidence that Spirit is harmonious and man eternal.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 29:30–32)

Man is the offspring, not of the lowest, but of the highest qualities of Mind.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 265:1–3)

The offspring of God start not from matter or ephemeral dust.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 267:3–4)

XXIV. God, the divine Principle of man, and man in God's likeness are inseparable, harmonious, and eternal. The Science of being furnishes the rule of perfection, and brings immortality to light. ... God is the parent Mind, and man is God's spiritual offspring.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 336:25–28, 30)

The transmission of disease or of certain idiosyncrasies of mortal mind would be impossible if this great fact of being were learned, — namely, that nothing inharmonious can enter being, for Life is God. ...

The enslavement of man is not legitimate. It will cease when man enters into his heritage of freedom, his God-given dominion over the material senses. Mortals will some day assert their freedom in the name of Almighty God. Then they will control their own bodies through the understanding of divine Science.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 228:3–6, 11–16)

“Let them have dominion.” Man is the family name for all ideas, — the sons and daughters of God. All that God imparts moves in accord with Him, reflecting goodness and power.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 515:21)

Question. — What is man?

... The Scriptures inform us that man is made in the image and likeness of God. Matter is not that likeness. The likeness of Spirit cannot be so unlike Spirit. Man is spiritual and perfect; and because he is spiritual and perfect, he must be so understood in Christian Science. Man is idea, the image, of Love; he is not physique. He is the compound idea of God, including all right ideas; the generic term for all that reflects God's image and likeness; the conscious identity of being as found in Science, in which man is the reflection of God, or Mind, and therefore is eternal; that which has no separate mind from God; that which has not a single quality underived from Deity; that which possesses no life, intelligence, nor creative power of his own, but reflects spiritually all that belongs to his Maker.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 475:5, 7)

In Science, all being is eternal, spiritual, perfect, harmonious in every action. Let the perfect model be present in your thoughts instead of its demoralized opposite. This spiritualization of thought lets in the light, and brings the divine Mind, Life not death, into your consciousness.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 407:22 In)

The real man is spiritual and immortal, but the mortal and imperfect so-called “children of men” are counterfeits from the beginning, to be laid aside for the pure reality. This mortal is put off, and the new man or real man is put on, in proportion as mortals realize the Science of man and seek the true model.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 409:20)

The false evidence of material sense contrasts strikingly with the testimony of Spirit. Material sense lifts its voice with the arrogance of reality and says:

I am wholly dishonest, and no man knoweth it. I can cheat, lie, commit adultery, rob, murder, and I elude detection by smooth-tongued villainy. Animal in propensity, deceitful in sentiment, fraudulent in purpose, I mean to make my short span of life one gala day. What a nice thing is sin! How sin succeeds, where the good purpose waits! ...

Spirit, bearing opposite testimony, saith:

I am Spirit. Man, whose senses are spiritual, is my likeness. He reflects the infinite understanding, for I am Infinity. The beauty of holiness, the perfection of being, imperishable glory, — all are Mine, for I am God.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, pp. 252:15–24, 31–4)

Everything good or worthy, God made. Whatever is valueless or baneful, He did not make, — hence its unreality. In the Science of Genesis we read that He saw everything which He had made, “and, behold, it was very good.”
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 525:20–24)

Christian Science, properly understood, would disabuse the human mind of material beliefs which war against spiritual facts; and these material beliefs must be denied and cast out to make place for truth.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 130:15–19)

In Science, Truth is divine, and the infinite God can have no unlikeness.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 287:10–11)

Keep in mind the verity of being, — that man is the image and likeness of God, in whom all being is painless and permanent. Remember that man's perfection is real and unimpeachable, whereas imperfection is blameworthy, unreal, and is not brought about by divine Love.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 414:26)

The children of God have but one Mind. How can good lapse into evil, when God, the Mind of man, never sins? The standard of perfection was originally God and man. Has God taken down His own standard, and has man fallen?

God is the creator of man, and, the divine Principle of man remaining perfect, the divine idea or reflection, man, remains perfect. Man is the expression of God's being. ...

The relations of God and man, divine Principle and idea, are indestructible in Science; and Science knows no lapse from nor return to harmony, but holds the divine order or spiritual law, in which God and all that He creates are perfect and eternal, to have remained unchanged in its eternal history.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 470:16–24, 32)

Harmony is produced by its Principle, is controlled by it and abides with it. Divine Principle is the Life of man.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 304:16–18)

Man, made in His likeness, possesses and reflects God's dominion over all the earth.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 516:19–21)

XXXI. Since God is All, there is no room for His unlikeness.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 339:7–8)

If goodness and spirituality are real, evil and materiality are unreal and cannot be the outcome of an infinite God, good.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 277:10)

Truth brings the elements of liberty. On its banner is the Soul-inspired motto, “Slavery is abolished.” The power of God brings deliverance to the captive. No power can withstand divine Love. What is this supposed power, which opposes itself to God? Whence cometh it? What is it that binds man with iron shackles to sin, sickness, and death? Whatever enslaves man is opposed to the divine government. Truth makes man free.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 224:28)

Man reflects infinity, and this reflection is the true idea of God.

God expresses in man the infinite idea forever developing itself, broadening and rising higher and higher from a boundless basis. Mind manifests all that exists in the infinitude of Truth. We know no more of man as the true divine image and likeness, than we know of God. ...

... To him belongs eternal Life. Never born and never dying, it were impossible for man, under the government of God in eternal Science, to fall from his high estate.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 258:11–18, 26)

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.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 316:3–7)