In Unity, we use the phrase: "I behold the Christ in you," or, "I behold the Christ you are." Does this give you the image of a little tiny Jesus inside of you? Do you think Christ was Jesus' last name?
In response to the volumes of questions Eric Butterworth received about Jesus, he shares with us his second book, Discover the Power Within You (I will refer to as DPWY). In this popular best-seller, he gives a thorough response to this frequently asked question: "What is the difference between Jesus and the Christ?," while using an approach to exploring the teachings of Jesus as a way of life that is you-centered.
The awareness of the Christ within is not new to Unity. It can be found in Paul's Letter to the Colossians 1:27, where he states: "Christ in you, the hope of glory." According to EB: "Paul is not referring to Jesus, but to the divine potential within every person that Jesus discovered in himself." (DPWY p. vi) This book presents a further expansion of EB's Christology as stated in UQT, Chapter 2.
Most likely none of you believe there is a tiny Jesus in you, but do you believe that you can do the works that Jesus did and greater? (John 14:12) This is the "power within you." EB states that it is not enough to believe the things about Jesus, we must believe for ourselves what Jesus believed about himself, and apply these teachings to our lives. (p. ix)
EB reveals his thesis statement on page 12: "'Christ' is not a person. It is not Jesus. Christ is a degree of stature that Jesus attained, but a degree of potential stature that dwells in every man."
Jesus discovered the divinity in man: "Now He knew Himself to be an expression of God, or the activity of God-life and intelligence pressing itself into visibility. Now He knew that the Kingdom of God, the wealth of the Universe, was within the depth-potential within Him." (p. 7)
This "depth-potential" is the Christ consciousness, as EB quoted from Charles Fillmore: "The unfoldment of this consciousness by Jesus made Him God incarnate, because Christ is the Mind of God individualized." (p. 9) So, you see, the "Christ in you" is your potential perfection in your consciousness, it is "your spiritual unity with the Infinite, the key to health and success." (p. 45) This is our Divine Nature.
EB's view of God and Jesus in DPWY is in line with Unity's metaphysical teachings: God is the Mind which is the infinite Source of Divine Ideas. Man is the expression of the Ideas. Jesus dropped his personal consciousness and was one with pure Being. We all have this potential within us. EB references Meister Eckhart to support his claim: "...God never begot but one Son, but the eternal is forever begetting the only begotten." (p. 11)
If you are still wondering about Jesus' last name, EB shares that people back then did not use last names. The word Christ "is simply the Greek version of the Hebrew word meaning messiah or savior." (p. vii)
Since I was a ministerial student, Jeanmarie, I've wondered if the apostle Paul had an awareness of Christ that went beyond Jesus to include the Christ we all are. The Colossians 1:27 reference is a tempting one, but there's strong disagreement over whether Paul actually wrote Colossians. At one time I was certain that Paul did not understand Christ in anything like the way we do. Now I'm not so sure.
ReplyDeleteThat image of the "little Jesus" inside of each of us will stay with me. I'm surprised more people in traditional religions movements don't ask that question out loud. Certainly they must be thinking it!