ALL students of Science and Health are familiar with Mrs. Eddy's definition of "church," which reads as follows: "The structure of Truth and Love; whatever rests upon and proceeds from divine Principle" (Science and Health, p. 583). This is the first half of her definition, and it certainly indicates that the real church is a state of spiritual thought. God is awakening in human consciousness today thoughts of Truth and Love with ever increasing recognition and acceptance on the part of humanity. His law, His covenant with the house of Israel, is, "I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. . . . They shall all know me [Truth], from the least of them unto the greatest of them." This law is now finding expression in the revelations of Christian Science, and because this law is divinely ordained, it is irrevocable; therefore nothing can hinder or stop or limit the unfoldment of Truth's idea as the church, in consciousness.
The idea of Truth and of Love is divinely upheld or sustained. Truth and Love, being divine, need nothing, lack nothing, cannot be impoverished, divided, or destroyed, therefore the church as the manifestation of Truth and Love is always perfectly maintained, sustained, equipped, directed, and upheld. The real church becomes too big for human words, and our concept of it must increase as the understanding of God increases, and just as the new understanding of the spiritual reality of man heals us, so the understanding of the spiritual reality of church, as given in the first half of Mrs. Eddy's definition, results in the demonstration in our present experience of the church as defined in the second half, namely, "that institution, which affords proof of its utility and is found elevating the race, rousing the dormant understanding from material beliefs to the apprehension of spiritual ideas and the demonstration of divine Science, thereby casting out devils, or error, and healing the sick." There is no other Christian Science church than this so wonderfully defined by our Leader. There is no other way to establish and maintain a Christian Science church than by the method here indicated, and this has been proved true in so many cases that the subject is beyond question.
This is such a wonderfully illuminating and inspiring definition of the church's activity that all men are drawn to it. God, good, omnipotent and unlimited, is maintaining it and blessing it. The "gates of hell" cannot prevail against it, although hell, or erroneous belief, would constantly suggest the material sense of church, with its dissensions, divisions, lack of funds, of thought, of love; in a word, its lack of Christianity. The real church, however, which is working out its demonstration in the manner indicated in Science and Health, must in accordance with the law of God grow and bless not only the individual and the community, but the nation and the world. It cannot lack any good thing, either money, equipment, officers, or healing. This church will be supported with rejoicing. It is only where some element of the real church, a vital sense of Truth and Love, seems to be lacking, that there can be any expression of deficiency in all that is necessary to carry on the activities of the church, and the first duty of the members, in such cases, is to be willing to see the truth and meet its just demand.
