God alone is the Author of true science; and His Word
is the only certain foundation of it for man.
All Christian schools must teach science, which is
knowledge. Being Christian schools, they are to teach divine science,
divine knowledge -- not human science. For Jesus, who is the great Teacher
in every truly Christian school, "brought into His teaching none of the
science of men." "His majesty could not mingle with human science, which
will disconnect from the great Source of all wisdom in a day. The topic of
human science never escaped His hallowed lips."
In every field of thought or instruction there is a
divine science, and there is a human science. And these are contrary the
one to the other, because the constant tendency of human science is to
separate from the Source of true wisdom. Indeed, the very nature of human
science -- which, bear in mind, is but human knowledge -- is enmity
against God.
There are three great root-sciences, -- mental science,
moral science, and physical science. All conceivable phases of science are
but branches of these. And these three are so closely related that neither
is, nor can be, complete without the others.
The first of all the sciences, in importance, and
indeed in nature, is mental science. First, therefore, in every system of
teaching comes naturally the teaching of mental science.
Mental science, or psychology, if any would rather deal
with it as an "ology," is the science of the mind. And as it is the mind
with which every conscious or intelligent thing is done, in the nature of
things the knowledge and training of the mind lie first in all teaching.
Again: the only true object of education "is to restore
the image of God in the soul." And it is with the mind that we serve the
law of God. No greater gift can possibly be bestowed upon any soul than
the service of the law of God. No higher nor more honorable position can
ever be attained by any creature than to serve the law of God; that is, to
be, in his whole being, so completely in harmony with God that every
thought, every motive, and every action will be the perfect reflection of
the will of God. And "with the mind" this service is accomplished. The
mind is the root from which all else in the individual springs: the mind
is the pivot, upon which all else turns. This being so, it is certain
that, in the very nature of things in the existence of the individual, in
all education the knowledge of the mind is first in importance.
As "mental" is mind, mental science is mind science, or
science of the mind. And as "science" is knowledge, science of the mind is
knowledge of the mind.
How then shall true knowledge of the mind be gained?
Investigation of every other subject is made with the mind; knowledge of
every other science is gained with the mind. Through the microscope the
mind can study and know the most intricate complications, the most
infinitesimal bodies, and the most subtle manifestations, in the natural
world. Through the telescope the mind can study the planets in almost
infinite distances, and learn their characteristics. Thus by these and
other like means the mind can explore the whole realm of nature. But how
shall the mind investigate the mind? How shall the mind explore the realm
of the mind? Can the mind itself do all this concerning itself? Can the
mind take a position back of itself, and put itself under a mental
microscope composed of itself, and thus itself, through itself,
investigate itself? Such a thing is not only mentally but physically
impossible.
With the mind we investigate all other things. But in
order to investigate and to know the mind itself we must have another
mind, as really as in order to investigate and to know anything else we
must have the mind itself. The individual mind can not take a position
back of itself, and examine and analyze itself; but the individual mind
can find back of itself another Mind, by which true and certain knowledge
of the individual mind can be attained. That Mind is the original and
ultimate Mind; and so the Source of all knowledge and all true science of
mind. Whosoever would find certain knowledge, the true science of the
mind, let him ask of Him who is the Source of mind. When we find what God
has said of the mind, in that we find the true knowledge of the mind.
He has said that He made man in His own image. Man was
made to represent, to reflect, to manifest God -- not himself. God made
the mind of man that each faculty should be the faculty of the divine
Mind: should be the highest created means of expressing, of re-presenting
the divine Mind.
All created things are but the expression of the
thought of God; for "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and
all the host of them by the breath of His mouth." "For He spake, and it
was." By the Word of God "were all things created, that are in heaven, and
that are in earth, visible and invisible." Word is the expression of
thought, and thought is the product of mind. All created things being the
product of the word of God, are only so many forms of expression of the
thought of God. The creation of man -- the making of mind -- was the
crowning of creation; therefore the mind of man is the highest created
means of reflecting, of re-presenting, of expressing, the thought of God.
Note the divinely-given illustration of this: When God
had made the man alone, He caused to pass before him all the beasts and
the fowls, "to see what he would call them." Not, as many misread it, to
have him give names to them; but in truth "to see what he would call
them." It was a test of the mind of the man. All these created things,
being the product of the word of God, were variant expressions of the
thought of God. As each passed before the man, instantly his intellect
pierced to the very core of its being, his mind read the thought of God
therein expressed, and that thought he reproduced in speaking the word
that defined the essential nature and characteristic of each. For
"whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof."
Whatsoever he called it, that was precisely what it is. This demonstrates
that the mind of man was of such breadth that it compassed creation; that
it was of such perfect versatility that it readily grasped the
characteristics of the vastly varied creation; that it easily moved with
such absolute precision as instantly to detect the essential and
distinctive nature of each created thing, however subtle that distinction
might be; and that his own personality in his own free will was so
perfectly submitted to the divine Will, was so perfectly in harmony with
the divine Mind, that the thought of that Mind, however expressed, was
instantly caught by his mind and became his thought, and he thought the
thoughts of God.
Yet this was not all. It was not only in the word of
God expressed in the visible creation, that the man found and thought the
thoughts of God. The word of God came to the man direct. God spoke
directly to the man; so that the man communed with God in the thoughts of
God directly communicated in the word and by the Spirit of God. This in
the highest possible sense made the mind of man the highest created means
of reflecting the divine Mind, of expressing the thought of God, of
glorifying God. This is the man, this is the mind, as the man was in the
creation of God.
But to the man there came another word, the opposite of
the word of God, conveying the thought and mind of the one who is opposed
to God. The man had the word of God. So long as he received and held that
word, and in that the thought and mind of Him whose word it was, he would
in that have held the mind of God as his guiding mind. One expression of
that word was: "Of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not
eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
This other word that now came to him was: "Ye shall not surely die:for God
doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened,
and ye shall become as gods, knowing good and evil." This other word, the
opposite of the word of God, was listened to, its thought was received,
and in this was received the mind of him whose was the thought and the
word. Then with this opposite mind everything was seen in reverse: the
tree that was not in any sense good for food, nor to be desired to make
one wise, was now seen to be exactly that which it was not. "And when the
woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the
eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit
thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did
eat." Thus when Satan came speaking his words, conveying the thought and
suggestion of his evil mind; and when there was accepted this strange word
with its evil thought and suggestion, in place of the word and thought of
the mind of God; then the evil mind of the enemy, instead of the mind of
God, was received and became the man's guiding mind. That mind being the
mind of Satan is enmity against God, for it is not, and can not be,
subject to the law of God. And this is how it is that the mind of man in
sin, the natural, "the carnal mind is enmity against God," and "is not
subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be."
And now being filled with the evil mind of the enemy,
with its perverse desires and bad ambitions, the man reflected the image
and shame of him who had led him into sin; instead of as before reflecting
the image and glory of Him who had created him in righteousness and true
holiness. Just as certainly as before man sinned he reflected the image
and glory of his Maker unto righteousness, so certainly after he sinned he
reflected the image and shame of his seducer unto sin.*
The truth of this is seen in every line of the man's
conduct immediately after his sinning. The glory had no sooner departed
from him because of the sin, than they "were ashamed" before Him in whose
presence they had formerly only delighted. Now when they heard the voice
of God, instead of being filled with joy, they were afraid, and sought to
hide from Him, and even thought that they could hide, and that they had
kidden, themselves from Him. Such is not the mind that thinks the thoughts
of God. It is instead the very reflection of the mind of Lucifer in
heaven, who, not understanding the Lord's purpose, thought that he could
hide from the Lord his own purposes.
Again: When the Lord asked the man, "Hast thou eaten of
the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?" instead
of answering directly and
honestly, "I have," he answered indirectly and
evasively, and involved in the guilt both the Lord and the woman before
himself. He said, "The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me
of the tree, and I did eat." And when the Lord asked the woman, "What is
this that thou hast done?" instead of answering plainly and frankly, she
also involves another before herself, and shields herself, as had the man.
She said, "The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat."
No such mind as that was ever put into mankind by the
Lord. Yet everybody knows that this very mind is that which is naturally
in all mankind, even to this day. Everybody knows that it is not in the
natural man, openly, frankly, and at once, to confess a fault. The
spontaneous impulse in every human soul is to dodge and shelter self
behind anything or anybody in the world, and seek to clear himself by
involving another. And if by all this he can not fully escape, yet when he
does come into it, it must be with the least possible degree of blame
attaching to himself. Such disposition was never put into mankind by the
Lord. It is not of the Lord. It is of Satan. It is the disposition, it is
the very mind and spirit, of Lucifer, the original leader in the way of
sin.
But the Lord in His love and mercy would not, and did
not, leave mankind enslaved and undone through the possession of such a
mind. "The Lord God said unto the serpent, . . . I will put enmity between
thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her Seed." By this gracious
word, God penetrated and broke up the pall of total darkness that in the
mind of Satan had enveloped mankind. By this word He caused the divine
light to shine into the darkened mind of the enslaved captive sitting
helpless. And this light is "the true Light which enlightens every man on
his coming into the world." For this enmity against Satan, this hatred of
evil, which God by this word puts into the mind of every person who comes
into the world, causes each soul to hate the evil and to desire the good,
and to long for deliverance from the bondage of evil into the glorious
rest and delight of the good. And as this deliverance is found alone in
Christ, that promise to put enmity between Satan and mankind is the
promise of the gift of Christ, "the Desire of all nations."
This is how it is that "the Son of God is come, and
hath given us a mind." This is how it is that ever since the hour when
that gracious word was spoken to sinful man in the garden, the one first
word of God to all mankind is, "Repent:" that is, change your mind. Change
your mind from the guiding mind of Satan to the guiding mind of God; "Let
this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." This is why it is
that men are exhorted by the Word of God, "Be not conformed to this world,
but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind." And this is why it is
and how it is that of all who receive this divine counsel it can be said,
"We have the mind of Christ."
Thus the Ultimate of mind and the Author of the mind of
man has spoken on the subject of the mind; and has plainly revealed that
there are two minds that are bidding for the choice and study of men. And
every man is free to choose which of these two minds he will have to be
his guiding mind and the subject of his study in mental science. Which of
these two is worthy of the choice of men as the field of mental science?
Of the one mind, the mind of man as he is, the natural
mind, the Source of mind has said: "The carnal mind is enmity against
God." That is the truth from Him who is the Fountain of knowledge. It
therefore follows that any human science of the human mind, human
psychology, can be only the science of enmity against God; and the study
of any human science of the human mind, the study of human psychology, can
be only the study of that which is enmity against God.
But what profit is there, what profit can there
possibly be, in the study of enmity against God? Suppose that this mind
which is enmity against God be studied and analyzed and all its phenomena
be marked, by this mind that is enmity against God, what will the student
have by it all? -- Only enmity against God. What does he know? -- Only
enmity against God. And even this he does not know; he thinks that it is
something else. If he really knew that it is enmity against God, surely he
would not study it at all. Surely, then, in no Christian school will any
human science of the mind be studied. To know what that is, to know that
it is enmity against God, is surely enough to know, without wasting time
in any detailed study of it.
Of the other mind, the mind of man as he was, the
original and spiritual mind, the Source of mind has said that it is "the
mind of Christ," who is "God manifest," in whom "dwelleth all the fulness
of the God-head bodily," and who is "God." He has said that it is the mind
of Him who is "merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in
goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and
transgression and sin:" that it is the mind of Him who in a word is
"Love;" and who is the Fountain of wisdom and knowledge -- of philosophy
and science.
Here is a mind that is supremely worthy of the most
devoted application in the most profound study. Here is a mind the
knowledge of which is only a continual inspiration and an eternal
blessing. It is the divine Mind itself. The knowledge of this Mind is in
the nature of things divine knowledge. And this knowledge is freely open
to us. Yea, this very Mind itself is freely given to us. For He has freely
given to us His own eternal Spirit; and it is one of the offices of this
eternal Spirit to make known to us the things of God, to take the things
of God and show them to us, to fathom the infinite depths of the eternal
purpose of God, and to bring forth the treasures of the love, the wisdom,
and the knowledge of God and make them plain to our minds and seal them
upon our understanding. Therefore the divine exhortation, "Be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that
good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." This transformation of
life and character, of body, soul, and spirit, through the renewing of the
mind by faith in Jesus Christ, -- this is a mental science, this is a
psychology, that is a true science, and worthy of the most industrious and
intense application of the powers of teachers and students. And this
science is divine. There is, therefore, a divine science of the mind, -- a
divine psychology open to all the teachers and students in all schools.
Shall not, then, this divine mental science be studied in all Christian
schools?
Knowledge of the mind must consist of a knowledge of
the characteristics, operations, and phenomena of the mind.
Human science of the mind would consist of a
systematized knowledge of the characteristics, operations, and phenomena
of the human mind.
Divine science of the mind would consist of a
systematized knowledge of the characteristics, operations, and phenomena
of the divine mind.
Now which of these fields of mental science -- the
human or the divine presents the fairest prospect for profitable study?
With anybody who believes that there is a divine Mind,
and that it is in anywise accessible to the investigation of man, can
there be any possible ground of comparison between the human and the
divine as a field of profitable study?
Is it not perfectly plain that as certainly as there is
a divine Mind, and that that Mind is in any way accessible to
investigation by man, so certainly the science of that Mind presents a
field as much more promising than does the human, as the divine is above
the human?
When one who believes that there is a divine Mind, and
that it is accessible to investigation by man, makes the human mind the
field of his study in mental science, he thereby puts the human in the
place of the divine, places it practically above the divine, and so shows
that his professed belief in the divine is but a mere assent, having no
weight, and being without effect, in his life.
"But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you."
Heb. 6:9. There is a divine Mind. This divine Mind is open to the study of
man. Man is invited and welcomed to investigate the nature and operations
of this divine Mind.
The operations of mind, whether divine or human, are
solely through thought. And, primarily, thought is expressed in word. The
divine thought is expressed in the divine Word. And in the expression of
the divine thought, as in no other, words are indeed things. For "in the
beginning was the Word" (John 1:1), and "the worlds were framed by the
word of God" (Heb. 11:3); "for He spake, and it was." Ps. 33:9.
It was by the word of the Lord that all things were
made that are. And as word is the expression of thought, it is plain that
all things that are, are but the different forms of the expression of the
thought of God. Even so says the Scripture: "Thou, Lord, hast made me glad
through Thy work; I will triumph in the works of Thy hands. O Lord, how
great are Thy works! and Thy thoughts are very deep." Ps. 92:4, 5.
It therefore follows that the proper method of the
study of all things that are, is to study them as expressions of the
thought of God, and to discover what the thought is that is so expressed.
This is but the study, obtaining the knowledge, of the divine Mind; and
this, in itself, is divine mental science. Thus all creation is a field of
mental science; and all nature-study, properly understood, is the study of
the science of the divine Mind.
Reading the thoughts of God, studying the phenomena of
the divine Mind, in this vast and wonderful field, is the first occupation
in which the newly-created, perfect, and upright man was ever engaged. To
this occupation that man was distinctly called and appointed by the
Creator Himself. And though there was more than this one thing in that
event, this one thing is in itself divine instruction to all mankind that
the first of all occupation that is becoming to man is, under the
conscious and recognized divine guidance, the reading of the thoughts and
the studying of the phenomena of the mind of God in His wonderful field of
creation.
Yet this field of all creation, wonderful as it is, is
not all of this great field of mental science. There is another, even more
wonderful: "The Lord thinketh upon me." Ps. 40:17. And, "I know the
thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and
not of evil." Jer. 29:11. These thoughts are His thoughts of salvation to
sinners, the redemption of the lost, and are expressed in the Word of His
salvation, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. For this gospel is the
revelation of "the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our
Lord."
These two great realms of mental science -- the
thoughts of God in creation and the thoughts of God in redemption -- were
the fields of study of Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived since Adam.
But now, since man has become subject to sin, the field of the thought of
God in redemption takes precedence; because man must be saved from the
darkness and perversion of mind into which he was seduced by Satan, before
he can correctly read the thoughts of God expressed in creation.
Accordingly, though Solomon gave his heart to seek and to search out all
things that are done under heaven, and was supremely successful in this,
yet it was "by wisdom," which is "the fear of the Lord," that he did it.
Accordingly also he exalts wisdom, the fear of the Lord, as the one chief
thing of all things to be desired. Prov. 3:15.
For this reason, with Christ also, the one model Man of
all the ages, and the last Adam, the thought of God in redemption was the
field of transcendent importance for the occupation of the mind of man:
not by any means to the exclusion of the field of creation, but because of
its being the only true way into the light in which the thought of God in
creation can be clearly seen and correctly read.
Nor is it alone to men on the earth and in sin that the
thought of God in the field of redemption, the gospel of Christ, is held
to be of transcendent importance in understanding the depth of meaning in
the other realm of God's thought. It reaches even to unfallen worlds and
to the bright intelligences of heaven itself. The thoughts of God,
involved in His eternal purpose, and expressed in His Word of the gospel,
are the chief science of the heavenly intelligences. For the preaching of
"the unsearchable riches of Christ" is to "make all see what is the
fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been
hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ; to the intent that now
unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by
[through, by means of] the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to
the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord." Eph.
3:8-11.
And when this is preached "with the Holy Ghost sent
down from heaven," "the angels desire," with intense interest, "to look
into" it, that they may behold the manifold wisdom revealed in the
operation of the divine Mind in working out that eternal purpose 1 Peter
1:12.
Here, then, are two infinite realms of the science of
the divine Mind, opened to the investigation of man. And both center in
Jesus Christ; for in both, all the phenomena are the expressions of the
thought of the divine Mind; and as thought is expressed in word, and Jesus
Christ is the Word of God, so, whether in creation or in redemption, Jesus
Christ, being the Word of God, is the expression of the thought of God.
And as Jesus Christ is the expression of the thought of God in these two
wonderful fields of the operation of the divine Mind, it is perfectly
plain that without Him the thoughts expressed in these fields can not be
understood.
In view of these things, is it not perfectly plain, and
easily understood, why "Jesus brought into His teaching none of the
science of men"? why "His majesty could not mingle with human science"?
why "the topic of human science never escaped His hallowed lips"? and why
it is that "human science will disconnect from the great Source of all
wisdom in a day"?