The Subjective Presence of the Father
Greetings and good morning brothers and sisters. This is Dr. James Perry continuing with our series
where we seek to explore the deeper meanings of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Over the years,
the heavenly Father has revealed many revelations of spiritual truth to me, and I want to share them
with you. This morning we seek to understand the meaning of the subjective presence of the Father.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
The Subjective Presence of the Father
Jesus said, "If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will
come unto him, and make our abode with him." John, Chapter 14, Verse 23.
Brothers and sisters, we recognize each other because we share similar characteristics that enable
us to identify each other. There is the general form that we all share in common. Though some forms
may be tall or short, fat or skinny, we still recognize these forms as being human. We recognize each
other by the way we look. We recognize each other by the voice that we hear. We also all speak a
common language that helps us to recognize each other through verbal communication. Our
language gives rise to the expression of emotions within the group. And then there are the various
gestures that we use when interacting with each other that help to further identify us. We have an
objective way of identifying each other, and we all can agree that the person that we identify is the
same one that was pointed out or referred to.
But when we internalize our impressions of these same people, aside from recognizing them as
belonging to the human species, our assessment of what they are like differs with each person. One
person may identify a person by a characteristic, while another may identify him by another. When
we revert to the internal assessment of things, then we move to the realm of the subjective. Why
must we have a subjective point of view when making assessments about the objective world? Being
human, not only must we account for the objective fact itself but also how we feel about the
objective fact. This emotional coloring can change the objective fact, as is demonstrated when you
ask two people to describe an identical event. Very seldom will the event be described identically
in all of its particulars. It is the nature of human beings to be subjective in their inner experiences.
It is only when God is revealed to the outside world through the minds and acts of his children that
He achieves objective reality. Why?
The why is not easy to answer, but we shall try to reason and approach the truth of the question even
if we are not able to answer the fact of it. We are incomplete, imperfect. We are not finished
products. We are in the process of becoming complete, and we are partners with the Father in our
own creation. But we also have free will and the Father does not interfere with our free will
choosing. His spirit is there when and if we should choose it. This spirt of the Father recreates us,
guides and direct us, reveals truth, beauty, and the goodness of his love to us. This spirit acts among
and upon our ideas, ideals, thoughts, and emotions. Since the Father is creating us from the inside,
creating us spiritually, he must be a part of our inner life in order to participate in this creation. And
this makes him a subjective presence, makes it impossible to objectively prove his existence to the
outer world. All of our inner feelings and thoughts, even the things that we wish to express
objectively in the outer world, take origin in the inner world--the subjective experience. Thus,
assessments of meanings and values take place in the subjective inner life.
Thus we see that in order for the Father to create us, he must operate in the subjective part of us
where decisions are made, where creativity and growth takes place. But this creates a problem for
the conscious mind that would like to separate the human self from the divine self since the divine
self has no separate mechanism to either identify himself or express himself to or through us. He
must use our minds, the same mind that we are conscious of, that we identify ourselves and express
ourselves with. So since we cannot use a separate mind or separate personality to identify Him, we
must resort to other methods to identify Him. We must identify Him by the quality of our thoughts
that appear in our minds and by the functions that those thoughts represent.
The quality of divine thoughts are so different from the quality of human thoughts that it is quite easy
to identify them. Divine thoughts are true, beautiful, good, and unselfish while the divine impulses
are of such a nature that they distinguish themselves from the purely selfish impulses of the human
mind. After all, the human mind's primary function is to function on behalf of the self. When the
Father's spirit takes up residence, then there exists a dual role for the material mind. So integrated
are the Father's urges and thoughts--the divine will-that the mind cannot distinguish the one from
the other. It requires the function of faith to grasp the reality of the Father's spirit. Faith is something
the material mind is conscious of. By the use of faith, we are able to recognize the Father's spirit in
our mind. Faith allows us to recognize the divine self from the human self in the mind. That is, faith
instructs the mind that the divine impulse and thoughts are from the Father rather than the self.
As this mind continues to recognize the Father's spirit and executes the mandates of that spirit, it
becomes more and more like the spirit. And as it becomes more like the spirit, it gains faith
knowledge of the Father, though this knowledge remains subjective just as do all other realities
taking place in the mind. When we become spiritually perfect, and stand in his objective presence,
so perfect will our spirits be that the objective assessment will parallel the subjective assessment--
they will be one and then we will understand how God can be objective and subjective at the same
time.
In summary, the subjective presence of the Father in the minds of his children allows for intimate
and continuous contact, co-creation, individualized Fatherly guidance, Fatherly influence, and the
revelation of divine love, while at the same time it allows for the freewill exercise of his children.
This concludes today's message on the meaning of the subjective presence of the Father. We hope
you find something in this message to ponder and pray about as you go about your day. Until next
time, this is Dr. James Perry.
Inspirational Messages
By Dr. James Perry
Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done!
The Subjective Presence of the Father
