All things to me are spiritual.
Eternal Father God of truth,
To whom all things seem as they are.

Behind the outer visible world there is reality which is invisible and eternal. We know this because very often we are in the grip of a sublime sense of something "far more deeply interfused whose dwelling is the light of setting suns," and we exclaim with the poet, "How exquisitely is the mind fitted to the external world, and the external world to the mind." With Paul of old we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; "for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."

We can understand this amazing language only if we recognize that the universe is a process. It is a living thing which is on its way somewhere, so to speak. We cannot imagine the ancient apostle holding to the notion that there was a necessary antagonism between temporal and spiritual. There is no antagonism between them. All we see and hear and sense in our relation to the world around us is but an episode in an eternal program which had its origin in God and which will eventually come to rest in him. We are told that the heavens and the earth shall pass away and as they do a new heaven and a new earth shall replace them. But of his word it is said, "My word shall not pass away," but shall accomplish the end whereunto it was sent.

The men of science confirm this view that the universe is fundamentally spiritual. Matter and light, mass and energy, are but different forms manifesting the same reality. In this connection we quote Sir James Jeans who wrote in his book The Mysterious Universe, "The whole physical universe is composed of waves (radiation). The bottled waves we call matter, and the unbottled waves we call light, so that the whole process of creation may be adequately summarized in the six words in the Book of Genesis, ‘God said, Let there be light.'" How marvelously thus does science support the divine word! "And the light which now shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings; which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God, to fill the immensity of space. The light which is in all things; which giveth life to all tings; which is the law by which all things are governed; even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things."

The light which "proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space," constitutes the governing law which holds the physical universe in its grip, controls its behavior, and determines its spheres of usefulness. Even so, the light of the sun which appears to be the origin of all physical phenomena is itself but a shadow of a greater and far more significant light-the light of the Spirit. Sunlight, in other words, is a phase of the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Spirit and Element

It seems that the day is past when science articulates a materialistic interpretation of the universe. There does not now appear to be such a wide gap between Genesis and geology as there was a hundred years ago. Scientists are more and more reluctant to speculate about ultimate purpose. "Something unknown is doing we don't know what," expresses more or less accurately the present scientific outlook. Truth is one and indivisible, and the search for knowledge and the yearning for holiness follow along converging lines. We must not demand that the truths of science conform to our ideas of religion, but seek that complete interpretation of the universe in which both find their rightful place. There is great wisdom in the slogan "Our creed all truth," for this excludes no field of knowledge. There is no doubt about reality in the physical world. Those who follow the teachings of Mary Baker Eddy, the Christian Scientist, tend to deny that matter has a real and independent existence in its own right. No doubt they seek a spiritual interpretation of life. But an interpretation that denies the reality of things and miscalls them thought is erroneous. There is a mechanical basis in matter for the operation of mind. Without bodily forms there can be no mind so far as we know. Unless there were beings seeking what appears to be good to them (which is mind in action), there certainly could be no spirit to weigh, evaluate and choose between the apparent good and the good felt to be ultimate. Ideals are created in imagination only by organisms which have minds capable of conceiving and recognizing ultimate values, such as truth, beauty, and goodness. As far as we know, the physical world provides the basis in and through which spiritual life can be expressed and enjoyed. Mind is simply the body acting as a whole to its environment. We say "as far as we know" because we do not know the nature of the Divine Mind as a whole. We do not imply that God is limited in his manifestation of himself to the material universe "as far as we know." Spirit is mind controlling and directing environment. This is true even when imagination is exercised. In spiritual beings, such as we certainly are, the physical universe is co-ordinated and invested with that which is beyond it. If we begin with the physical sciences, such as physics and chemistry, we are dealing with the very real world of external things. But the inner world is very real, too. Aesthetics, ethics, and anthropology (as these sciences study human organisms and their behavior) yield up truth no less important than the deliverances which come from the physical sciences. There are independent spheres of reality, and each one is governed by that aspect of the truth which is appropriate to it. Such truth is the law of Christ expressed in that particular field. As the physicist and the biologist, as the artist and moralist study-each in his own particular field-each seeks the mind of Christ, although he may never recognize what he finds for what it truly is.

 Creation and Purpose

Every sphere of creation expresses the genius of the creator to a greater or lesser extent. He is manifest in the ceaseless activity of the whirling atoms. He dwells in the light of setting suns. His word constitutes the singing of the late summer lark, and makes possible the smell of the new-mown hay. God dwells in the course of time, working, reworking, suffering, and striving through all man's endeavor. He desires to make himself known. No human event can be rightly divorced from God's mind and will. If the only way to teach men that selfishness is destructive and sin is death is to let loose an atomic war, then so be it-if men will learn in no other way. In all that man does the eternal Father is committed and involved. The universe is his; he made it for a specific purpose which shall not fail; for this has been shown forth in the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. To deny the real existence of matter involves a view that is perfectly lunatic, but to deny the ultimate spiritual nature of the temporal world is wicked. Spirit and element belong together in one divine continuum.

One might be tempted to apply to the order of creation the dialectical method of Hegel. The material universe is the thesis; the creation and activity of man in his natural state the antithesis; while the synthesis is the man Christ Jesus, who takes both the thesis and the antithesis in his grasp. This he does, because for us men and our world he was made manifest in the meridian of time. Matter is the necessary condition for the emergence of life, because the existence of matter or element is constituted by the indwelling God. Spirit comes into view in company with material organisms, or organisms which have a basis in the material world. But spiritual life is manifested not by ignoring that in which it is conditioned, but by controlling and directing it in harmony with spiritual purpose. If we are to seek a true interpretation of life here, certainly we must do it in terms of spirit and spiritual purpose, and in such spiritual purpose as will include and account for all phases of life as we know it. The universe is a single system. The law of its unity has been believed in and enunciated by men of science for many years, and though it has not yet been found, they still seek a unified field theory. One spirit accounts for the universe. To say that mind, spirit, and matter are three distinct and independent elements in a democracy of reality, each occupying an equal place, is foolishness. Spirit exercises control over all motion, over all men and all ages, and these are intelligible only with reference to the divine will.

 Characteristics of Spirit

What are the characteristics of spirit, as distinguished from, say, life and matter? First, in spirit there is purpose, and purposive striving. This purposive striving is what Bergson described as élan vital, the motive power or persistent energy which thrusts toward a preconceived end. It includes energy and mass, and works through these to provide the body through and in which the purpose is to be worked out. It is more than mere design, for the divine purpose creates and sustains all things and is active in them, moving toward the specific end which is rooted in the divine nature. That end is known to us as the kingdom of God and it endows all else with significance.

Second, spirit controls and regulates all. This may not be apparent at times, and especially when disappointment or disaster comes we are prone to question whether there is a divine spirit at all, and whether there is any pattern or reason to life. At the one point in history, however, when spirit was supremely manifest in the life of Jesus Christ, it was made abundantly clear that the whole creation was under his control. Nature obeyed his command. He remade men in his own image after sin had defaced them. Such was his majestic authority that he took on him the sin of mankind and made it tell forth his nature and purpose. He not only nullified the worst that wicked men could do, but he went much further. He made it, in his cross, the occasion of his glory. In his own body, by the resurrection from the dead, he manifested the ultimate destiny of the material world.

Third, the Divine Spirit creates and extends fellowship among finite spirits and so delivers them from their finiteness. On the great seal of the United Sates is the insignia "E Pluribus Unum"-Out of many, One. So out of the many nations has emerged one nation under God. Likewise, out of the many-which is Adam-the divine purpose moves to make One-a new manhood created in one man Christ Jesus. The truth has an amazing power to promote fellowship. All sorts of societies flourish under the spell of great spirits, and it has been said that any society is but the lengthened shadow of a man. The nobler the man, the deeper the fellowship. Nothing can compare, however, with the fellowship which is generated when people share together in the divine purpose, the purpose which encompasses the eternities. Paul called it the "fellowship of his suffering."

 Supremacy of Divine Spirit

The universe is secure in the grasp of God's purpose, and there will be produced eventually, as a result of his persistent energy, a glorious manhood in community of fellowship, who uses the things of this world "in the manner designed of God." All else will, by the action of that selfsame purpose, be destroyed.

We are told, "In the beginning God" created the heavens and the earth, that his course is "one eternal round." He is the beginning and the end, Alpha and Omega. In a circle, any point in its course is its beginning and its end, no matter where the point is located. Moreover, there is no direction excluded from the circle's circumference. It moves in no specific direction because it moves in all and so covers each. Similarly, at any point in our life's experience, God will be found the author of life, and there is no direction in which we move but what he will be found encompassing our experience. "Whither shall I flee from thy presence?" said the Psalmist long ago. He knew that the "Eternal Round" enveloped all. George Bernard Shaw once remarked of his plays and sometimes he was amazed at what he found his characters doing, whilst he was writing. He had created a plot. He created those who were to take part in the plot. He knew the end from the beginning, and yet he tells of his surprise as these creatures of his own mind did things, apparently, of which beforehand he had no knowledge they would do. He was immanent in the play as he was writing it, and yet was affected by what his characters did. But the outcome of each surprise was sure because he was writing the play, and through every changing circumstance his supreme skill turned that circumstance and made it serve the plot.

From this we may dimly understand something of the divine spirit who, having created us, is immanent in creation. His word fashioned us, and still that word holds us in his grip as the characters in Shaw's play. He is the origin of our life and is immanent in it. What he has constituted carries within it his distinctive purpose so that its journey will not be frivolous, but will accomplish the end to which it has been addressed. To God we shall return, as shall return all that he has created, and not one mote shall be lost, for he says: "it is the workmanship of mine hand." He acts by the utterance of his word, which is his being expressing itself. The word derives its character from him, and the physical world, which is the actualization of that utterance, reveals his character so that in learning more about it we are learning about him. From his creation he seeks ever that response which shall please him because it is like him. Such response was given in its completest sense individually, in Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. So, then, the whole created order is on a pilgrimage back to him who first articulated it, since it bears his image in the person of our Lord. And Jesus Christ leads in this pilgrimage. God is in all and through all, and we ourselves are in the midst of a journey between creation and redemption in which all share. The universe is spiritual in nature.

 Science and the Universe

It is a curious thing that our generation tacitly assumes that the only people qualified to talk about the physical universe are the physicists and astronomers. Of course, in one sense, they are eminently qualified to talk about this. They have ventured deep into the mysteries surrounding the physical world. The universe is undoubtedly mysterious, but not so mysterious as those who write about it. From their studies come forth formulas in mathematical equations, and these are fitted into a frame of reference which the scientists themselves invent. It is out of this frame of reference, not out of the nature of the physical world as a whole, that they tell about the nature of the universe. They make mental models out of the formulas and equations they discover. These modes and frames of references are not static; they change and grow more complex with each new cardinal discovery. Science cannot claim to have the ultimate judgment on the character of the universe because her data is ever incomplete.

One may take a palace to pieces and reduce it to its bricks and stones. Each is then seen as a brick or a stone in its individual significance, but such detached significance is not the whole truth. These bricks might then be taken to build some other kind of dwelling to conform to the model in the mind of the person investigating and rebuilding. Such an endeavor would not endow the bricks and stones with the glory of the palace they had originally. But rebuild the palace and they take on their former significance that is seen only when with reference to the designer and builder of the palace.

The atoms may be analyzed until the ultimate point of analysis is reached, if that is possible. What is then revealed will be like the individual significance in the bricks mentioned above. A universe might then be reconstructed in the mind of the scientist from such analysis: but it will conform to the glory of the Creator, only if the divine frame of reference seen in Jesus Christ dwells in the mind of the scientist, and he, as did the Master, comprehends all things.

It is quite true that the man of science can tell us something about the universe, but his interpretation is limited in two ways. It is limited first by the method of inquiry he uses. Each fresh discovery prompts the question, "Why?" and each answer modifies the previous question. It is limited secondly by the frame of reference into which the results of analysis are fitted. It s one thing to know nature from without-through experiment, analysis, and by "grinding out general laws from observed instances." Such knowledge is tremendously important, and has been extremely helpful in improving man's life on the earth. But it is another thing to know the universe of matter from within by an analysis and an appreciation of the moral law. Both the outer view and the inner consciousness are significant. We are ourselves inside the realm of matter looking out from within, as it were. What goes on inside us is just as significant as that which occurs around us. Augustine of old complained that men compassed sea and land to observe distant wonders but passed themselves, the crowning wonder, by. The same observation may well apply to men in our day.

 Knowledge through Christ

What frame of reference is total? What design can give significance to all our life and experience and make them complete? We must be grateful for the miracles that men of science have given us although there is some question now whether these are not unmixed blessings. But we shall recognize that complete understanding of life and existence is possible only as we approximate the frame of reference into which Jesus fitted his experience. That frame of reference must be his, and it must be given us by his Spirit-it can come to us in no other way. It is by faith that we understand-faith in him-that the worlds were framed by the word of God. For he is the focus of true and complete appreciation of the universe. He is willing to share his mind with us. Of course it is not possible for finite minds such as ours to account for every fact and event in this amazingly intricate world of ours. But we are given the assurance that what we cannot understand now will one day be made plain to us, and the universe will eventually yield up its secrets to the faithful. The faith of the church is a clue to life's meaning. This assurance is phrased in the following: "In that day when the Lord shall come he shall reveal all things; things which have passed, and hidden things which no man knew; things of the earth by which it was made, and the purpose and the end thereof; things most precious; things that are above, and things that are beneath." It is necessary to put forward this point of view if we are to understand spiritual things. No possibility of prophecy exists if the stars have no courses or the universe itself is not informed by spiritual purpose. No one can dream dreams or see visions if there is no light ahead to shine on his pathway. He who is ignorant of the divine purpose cannot have the gift of knowledge in a complete sense. A fool cannot exercise the gift of wisdom because already in his heart he has said "There is no God."

Unless all existence can be made to reveal the eternal God, no specific revelation of him is possible. Unless the whole universe is sacramental, there can be no special sacraments to bestow particular divine power and grace. Unless God calls all men, he cannot choose any. Unless all God's people are called to be prophets there is no sense at all in having any particular person as prophet, seer, and revelator to the church. Point of view, perspective, is here enormously important. The seer does not see different things than others; he sees the same things differently. How extraordinarily revealing is the fact that our Lord Jesus Christ saw the action of God in what we call the "ordinary" things of life. He has taught us the meaning of a sacramental universe. The light of the morning, rain and sunshine, the grass of the fields, weeds in autumn, the doings of men and women, boys and girls-actions of simple folk testified to him of the beauty and nature of the kingdom of his Father.

We need to have our eyes opened as his eyes were open. How different our lives would be if always we sought for testimony of the kingdom in the "ordinary" and in the "simple" things instead of striving always for some mighty manifestation in the extraordinary event. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy, because as he is known so all else is known. He is the microcosm of the whole range of existence, the embodiment of the truth. "Truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come," and "truth abideth and has no end."

The universe is spiritual.