Chapter 7: “A Lesson on Grace”

^“And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.”  ~ Exodus 3:4-5.

The Recording for This Chapter

Recording 224A, from the 1958 London Closed Class, is the basis for Chapter 7, “A Lesson on Grace,” in I Stand on Holy Ground.  This recording is no longer posted on this website.  If you subscribe to the Joel Goldsmith Streaming Service, you can listen to it there.  To purchase the recording or transcript from The Infinite Way Office, click/tap here.

Optional Study and Practice Suggestions

To download or print these study suggestions, click/tap here. 

Joel’s Study Recommendation

In this class, Joel says, “Go back to the very first reel of the first Halekou class and see how, for two hours, this subject was brought to your attention; how, for two hours without stopping, it was brought to light that God is love—not that by your prayers you are going to make God love you or care for you, but that God already is love.”

In reviewing the Halekou classes, we believe that Joel meant to say “the very first reel of the second Halekou class, since that is the class in which he addresses the topic of God as love.  This “reel” comprises Recordings 193A and 193B, and they were posted for the study period, but are no longer available on this website.  If you subscribe to the Joel Goldsmith Streaming Service, you can listen to them there, or, to purchase the recording or transcript for 193A, click/tap here.  To purchase the recording or transcript for 193B, click/tap here.

Review the Lesson

Joel also said in this class, “It is absolutely necessary that you live with truth, not only until you know it thoroughly with your mind, but until it has become a part of your very consciousness, until it has become so much a part of you that it is instinctive.” This class focused on two aspects of truth that we must live with:  God-power and Grace.

Here are some of the key points that Joel brought out in the class:

• God is not a power to be used by man. You cannot invoke God-power at your will to influence God to do something to your enemy or to your disease. Your prayers will not change God’s will or God’s purpose, God’s activity or God’s laws. When you realize this, you will no longer attempt to reach God for some purpose, regardless of how good that purpose may seem to you. This is the most important lesson you will ever receive on the spiritual path. If you heed it, you will turn from the “Santa Claus” concept of God and seek an understanding of the nature of God as God is.
• Prayer has never succeeded in bringing God down to earth to do man’s will. Today there must be people on earth who are courageous enough to turn away from outworn concepts of God and prayer, and bold enough to explore new paths leading to God-realization.
• In the material or mental sense of life, there are two opposing forces, good and evil, and man is continually reaching for a greater power to overcome another power. In the spiritual consciousness of life, there are not two powers or two laws. God is not a power over other powers. God is. There is no law of God to overcome material forces or powers. The power of God is a spiritual grace that cares spiritually for God’s children. Do not permit your mind to entertain two powers or conflicting forces.
• God’s grace is ever with you, and you can rest and relax in it. You need not seek it, strive for it, or even earn or deserve it. Grace is where you are now. You live and move and have your being in spiritual life and love. Release yourself from the belief of God as power into the awareness of God as love, flowing as grace.
• God is, and that prayer is the way of realization. Prayer is not a way of getting God to do our will. Prayer is a resting in His grace, a silent communion, an attitude of listening through which God speaks to us or reveals His grace in our experience.
• There is no such thing as a destructive power or law, or a devil or Satan. God created all that was made, and all that God made is good. God never created anything empowered to destroy God’s universe. You are God’s universe, children of God, spiritual offspring. How could anything be ordained to destroy you, make you sick, sinful, dead, or poor?
• In your spiritual life, you do not live on effect. You live by every word of truth that you can receive in your consciousness. Problems take from us our reliance on material power, be it money, medicine, or government. We must acknowledge God as our supply, our health, our government. If we have good health and good supply, we will lean on them and have no need of God. Problems make us realize that we need that which is greater than any form.
• In spiritual healing and spiritual living, you learn to relax and ask, “Is there any power apart from God? Is there any power that God must overcome?” Ultimately, you will say, “No. God is ONE, and beside God there is no power, no law, no life, and no love. God does not overcome anything. God governs not by power, not by might, but by his Spirit.” When you overcome the belief that there is something to be overcome, then you are in the realm of grace, where there are no more battles. You rest.  You commune with God, and you understand that you live by His grace. Stand ye still.  Ye need not fight. The battle is not yours.
• Do not fear anything that has form—germs, infection, contagion, fear of lack or limitation, depressions, bombs, or even thoughts. Form is not power, and nothing can come nigh thy dwelling place, since in God-consciousness there are not two powers. There is only one. There is nothing to be overcome, nothing to be destroyed, nothing to be changed. God alone, the Spirit within you, is the all-power, the only power, the divine power, and It is not a power over sin, disease and death. In the presence of the power of God, there is no sin, disease or death. In the presence of God there is only life eternal, God as a divine, eternal, immortal state of grace, acting though grace, loving through grace.
• We cannot demonstrate a life by grace simply because we have learned about it. But we can take this knowledge about grace and use and apply it each day as problems arise. Then little by little, the complete conviction of it dawns in us.

Review Joel’s Closing Meditation

Joel gave a wonderful closing meditation at the end of the class, which is transcribed below. You might find it helpful and inspiring to read and ponder it or listen to it a few times in the next two weeks as we focus on this chapter. On the recording, the meditation begins at 59 minutes, 47 seconds (59:47).

“Ponder the great world in which you live, in which there are no powers external to you, and the only power within you is the grace of God. You need not pray to It for anything. You need not tell It of your needs. It is infinite intelligence. It is divine love. It knoweth your need before you do, and it is Its good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

“Rest in It. Rest in My grace. My grace is thy sufficiency in all things. Be a beholder and watch God’s grace flow as you withdraw from the battle of life, as you withdraw from the struggle to overcome, to destroy, to change; as you settle back in the assurance ‘God’s grace is my sufficiency in all things. I live not by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit of God.’

“Rest back in Me and know that I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. Look unto me, the kingdom of God within you, and be saved. Thou shalt not fear what mortal man can do to you. Thou shalt not fear what mortal condition can do to you. God’s grace is thy sufficiency. If you make your bed in hell, It will be there. If you make mistakes, It will be there.

“To the storm at sea, Jesus only said, ‘Peace, be still.’ He did not fight with the wind or waves. He did not try to overcome them. Peace, my peace give I unto thee, my peace.