Meaning of the Divine Nature

 

In this mediated message, Stephen explains the meaning of the divine nature and shows that only creatures possessing enough of God’s very substance and essence are divine. For related information, go to this page.

 

What Is the Meaning of the Divine Nature Which the Soul of Man Partakes of upon the Transformation of That Soul by the Inflowing and Possession of the Divine Love?

 

I AM HERE. Stephen, the Apostle.

Let me write a few words tonight, as I am one of the spirits whom your wife wrote of last night who would come tonight with the desire to write.

My subject is: “What Is the Meaning of the Divine Nature Which the Soul of Man Partakes of upon the Transformation of That Soul by the Inflowing and Possession of the Divine Love?”

This, as you may perceive, will be somewhat difficult to explain, and principally because men have no very definite conception of what is comprehended by the term “Divine.” Of course, they associate this word with God; and, to them, God is a Being whose Nature and Qualities are above their finite conceptions. And, as a result of their thoughts, God is that which is over and above everything that is called, or supposed to be understood as, natural. To some, God is a Being of Personality, and, to others, a kind of nebulous existence included in, and composing all, the various manifestations which are transcendentally above what they conceive to be the merely natural or human.

I will not attempt to discuss Who or What God is, except as to one of His Qualities or Attributes, and that the greatest. For you must know that all the Qualities of God are not of equal greatness or degree of importance in the working of His Essence or Substance. All, of course, partake of His Divine Being. But, as you might say, there is a difference in the workings and scope of their operations.

You have been told that the divine is that which has in it, to a sufficient degree, the very Substance and Essence of God, Himself, and this is true; for Divinity belongs to God, Alone, and can be possessed by others, spirits or mortals, only when He has transfused into, or bestowed upon, the souls of men a portion of this Divinity and, to the extent thereof, made them a part of Himself. There is nothing in all His Universe that is divine, or partakes of the Divine, except that which is of the soul. For all else is of the material, and this even when it has the form or appearance of the spiritual. And even the soul, as created, is not divine, and cannot become such until it is transformed into the divine by the transfusion into it of that which is Divine in Its very Substance. Many souls in the spirit world, although pure and in exact harmony with their created condition, are not divine and never will become such. And this is only because these souls will not desire to seek to become divine in the only Way provided by the Father.

It is a mistake for men to believe that because God has created this or that object or thing, it is necessarily divine.

For His Creations are no more a part of Himself than are the creations of men a part of themselves. And, thus, you will see that, in all God’s Creation, there is nothing divine except what has been privileged by His Grace to partake of His Divinity. And, hence, the stars and world and trees and animals and rocks and man, himself, as created, are not divine.

Men have claimed that there is a spark of the divine in man—a part of the “Oversoul,” as they say—and that it needs only the proper development to make the soul of man wholly divine. And this theory is based upon the idea that this development can be accomplished by the exercise of the mind or the moral qualities, guided by the conscience, which they assert is, of itself, divine; and especially when dominated by reason, which has been so often worshiped by philosophers, and others to whom the mind is supreme, as divine. And they have attempted to differentiate man and the lower animals, and have attributed to the former the qualities of divinity because he is endowed with reason, and the lower animals are not; and they have substituted degrees in the order and objects of creation in the place of differentiation between the Divine and the non-divine.

God is wholly Divine, and every Part and Attribute of Him is Divine. And while they are Parts of the Whole, yet, they may be separated in their workings and bestowals. And the man or soul that is the recipient of the bestowal of one of these Qualities or Attributes is not necessarily the recipient of the others. Omnipotence and Omniscience are those Attributes of God’s Divinity which He never bestows upon the souls of men or spirits. As to them, He is the exclusive Possessor, although, in all His Attributes, there are Powers and Knowledge, and they accompany the bestowal of all Attributes of which they are Parts. And one of these Divine Attributes may be bestowed upon man, and yet man will not become Deity. There is and can be only one God, although He may give of His Essence and very Substance so that a man can become as He is in that Essence and Substance to the extent that It is bestowed.

As regards man, and his salvation and happiness, the greatest of God’s Qualities or Attributes is His Divine Love, which is the only One that can bring the souls of men into a oneness and nature with the Father, and which has the Quality of Immortality in It. This Love has a transforming Power, and can make that which is of a quality foreign to, and different from, Itself of the same Essence as Itself. And, more than this, It can eliminate from that particular thing those constituents which naturally and necessarily are its components without injuring or destroying the thing itself.

Well, we must stop here. I will finish later. I am

STEPHEN.

 

Mrs. Padgett Affirms That Stephen Wrote on the Meaning of the Divine Nature

 

I AM HERE. Helen.

Well, dear, you have had a very interesting letter tonight upon a very vital and important subject. I am sorry that the writer could not finish his message, but the rapport became very weak and he was compelled to stop. He will come again soon and finish, as he is very anxious to do so. It was Stephen who wrote. He is a most beautiful spirit, possessing this Love to a degree that I cannot conceive of, and a most glorious spirit in his appearance.

I am glad that you were in such good condition, and I hope that you will continue to improve so that more of the messages may be delivered to you every other night. There are so many messages to be written.

Your own true and loving

HELEN.

 

 

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