In the "Historical Sketch" from the Manual of The Mother Church by Mrs. Eddy, we read (p. 19,) "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass., is designed to be built on the Rock, Christ; even the understanding and demonstration of divine Truth, Life, and Love, healing and saving the world from sin and death; thus to reflect in some degree the Church Universal and Triumphant." Thousands of members of The Mother Church and its branches throughout the world constitute the Church of Christ, Scientist, and they are responsible for the fulfilling of the mission of the church.
The Christ, the spirit of God, is necessary in the church. Some people erroneously think that the main purpose of Christian Science is to heal the sick. This is part of its mission, but its higher purpose is to destroy sin. The Science of Christ offers a full salvation. The Christ, Truth, destroys all error. It is our duty, then, to make the Christ manifested in the church, or rather to let the Christ fulfill its mission in the church.
We see some elements of the Christ in all the great Bible characters. They caught only glimpses of the Christ; but these glimpses were sufficient to meet emergencies, and its influence on the individual and the nation was felt. Jesus more than glimpsed the Christ. He expressed the Christ without measure. This enabled him to found Christianity, a religion which for nearly two thousand years has continued to grow. The full revelation of the Christ, Truth, to this age came to Mrs. Eddy. It enabled her to reinstate the works of the Master and to show others how to follow them.
