"There is no life, substance, or intelligence in matter "is a fundamental statement of Christian Science; and the one that directly follows it in Science and Health, "God is Spirit, and man is His image and likeness, therefore man is spiritual and not material "—is a light shining into the darkness of materiality. The general mortal consciousness is a supposition of life in matter—the blending of matter with mind in some mysterious way—and the belief results, that when this combination is dissolved by the change called death, all consciousness of life is lost. The conclusion is inevitable from the promise.
With the understanding and realization of Life, Principle, as Spirit, Indivisible, Infinite, and Omnipresent, and that man is His image and likeness, comes the consciousness of oneness with this Life; not that we are a part of God, for His Being is One and Indivisible. But we realize our spiritual selves as distinct identities existing in His mind; that one can never be confounded with another, for His thoughts are each perfect and individual—even as He is Individual. The idea of a separate mind or spirit outside of the Infinite Life and Light is then seen to be absurd, inasmuch as this Life, Light, and Love fills immensity, and there is no room for anything else.
In proportion as we realize this vital, fundamental point of Science, we manifest the true Godliness or Christliness, and are able to demonstrate over the supposed ills of the flesh; also, in degrees according to the measure of our understanding, over personality, including the passions, desires, and dispositions that characterize the false sense. Christ was manifested in Jesus that "he might destroy the works of the Devil" (evil); and we, his brethren, as we are possessed by the mind "which was also in him," will be able to do likewise.
