Chapter 11 (part 1)

p. 224 CHAPTER XI. INCARNATION—THE CELESTIAL VIRGIN. The doctrine of the incarnation of Christ, or, to express it in other words, of the awakening of the germ of divine self-knowledge in man, is so grand, that it is impossible to form a conception of it as long as we occupy a narrow-minded, personal, or sectarian point of view. If we desire to feel the power of the universal Redeemer within our heart, we must allow our mind to expand and embrace in our love all that is divine, noble, and ideal in humanity. In considering the contents of the following chapter it will be especially recommendable to keep in mind the great occult maxim, that it is below as it is above, and that everything above has its corresponding part below; so that the great processes taking place in the macrocosm produce corresponding processes on the microcosmic plane, and that which exists eternally in heaven (the spiritual plane) seeks to be embodied and represented in terrestrial forms upon the earth. It is also well to remember that completion is attained only by the reappearance of the third principle in the seventh; that is to say, by the spiritualisation of matter and the acquisition of form. A being or power belonging to an entirely ideal plane cannot produce any direct reaction in the grossly material state of existence, no more than a tree can grow out of the idea of a tree existing within the mind, but it needs a material seed or kernel to serve as a material focus for the attraction and distribution of material principles. For similar reasons it was necessary that the Logos 1 should actually become flesh and enter the human p. 225 state so as to produce a fundamental and radical change in the will of humanity by starting a new activity of light and love in its very centre or heart. This process is beautifully and allegorically described in the New Testament. In the configuration of the person of our Redeemer there are to be distinguished three factors: the eternal generation of the Son of God, His birth as a celestial Man, and, finally, His being incarnated as a terrestrial person. 1 "Christ is greater than any angel in heaven, because He has a celestial human body; He also has the eternal celestial bride, the virgin of divine wisdom, and, finally, the Holy Trinity in His possession. We can truly say of Him that He is an individuality in the Holy Trinity in heaven, a true man in heaven, and an eternal king in this world, a lord of heaven and of the earth." ( Three Principles , xxii. 8 6.) "The Word, or the second person in the Godhead, has been from eternity in the Father, and by becoming p. 226 incarnated in humanity it did not change its nature and become something else, but remained in. the Father, in its centre and seat, as it had been from eternity. The other (second) formation took place in a natural manner at the time of the annunciation by the angel Gabriel, 1 when the virgin said to the angel, 'Let it be done as you say.' The fulfilling of this Word was effected in the celestial element, as was the creation of the first Adam before the fall. The third formation took place simultaneously with the second, and at once, as when a terrestrial seed is sown whereof a child grows." ( Three Principles , xviii. 45.) "The holy Spirit of God formed the celestial, angelic substantiality within the one element by means of the virgin; but the planets and elements of this world formed the external man, providing him with a natural body and soul exactly like that of other human beings, and both in one person.