Universal Prime Energy, Give and Take Action,
and the Four Position Foundation
Universal Prime Energy
God, the Creator of all things, is the absolute reality, eternal, self-existent and transcendent of time and space. The fundamental energy of God's being is also eternal, self-existent and absolute. It is the origin of all energies and forces that allow created beings to exist. We call this fundamental energy universal prime energy.
Give and Take Action
Through the agency of universal prime energy, the subject and object elements of every entity form a
common base and enter into interaction. This interaction, in turn, generates all the forces the entity needs for existence, multiplication and action. The interaction generating these forces through this process is
called give and take action. Universal prime energy and the forces generated by give and take action are in a reciprocal relationship of cause and result, internal and external, and subject partner and object partner. Universal prime energy is a vertical force, while the forces generated by give and take action are horizontal forces.
Let us examine in detail God and His creation in terms of universal prime energy and give and take action. God's universal prime energy directs His eternal dual characteristics to form a common base for their mutual relationship. They then engage in give and take action. Based on the forces generated by this give and take action, the dual characteristics construct a foundation for their eternal reciprocation. This is the foundation for God's existence, upon which God eternally exists and generates all forces needed to create and sustain the universe.
In the created universe, the dual characteristics that make up each being are empowered by universal prime energy to establish a common base. They then engage in give and take action. Based on the forces generated by this give and take action, the dual characteristics construct a foundation for their continued reciprocation. This becomes the foundation for the existence of each individual being, upon which the being becomes an object partner to God and is able to generate all forces necessary for its continued existence.
For example, atoms come into existence when electrons assemble about a nucleus and engage in electromagnetic interaction, which is a type of give and take action. When positive ions and negative ions perform give and take action, they form molecules and produce chemical reactions. The give and take action between positive and negative electrical charges underlies all electrical phenomena.
The circulation of nutrients between xylem and phloem is one of the give and take actions in plants that sustain their life functions and promote their growth. The give and take action between stamen and pistil is the dominant means for the reproduction of plant life. Animals multiply and maintain their species through the give and take action between male and female. Animal and plant life co-exist through such give and take actions as the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide and the cooperation between bees and flowers.
With respect to the heavenly bodies, the solar system exists based on the give and take action between the sun and the planets. Their various movements give structure to the universe. The earth and the moon also maintain their rotations and their revolution in a set orbit through their give and take action.
The human body maintains its life through the give and take actions between arteries and veins, inhalation and exhalation, sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves, and so forth. The give and take action between mind and body enables an individual to carry out activities which further the purpose of life. The give and take actions between husband and wife in a family, among people in a society, between the government and citizens in a nation, and among the nations of the world are essential for them to live together in harmony and peace.
However evil a person may be, the force of his conscience, which impels him toward a virtuous life, is always active within his inner self. This is true for all people of all ages and places. No one can quell the force of conscience, which is powerfully at work even without one's conscious awareness. The minute a person commits an evil act, he immediately feels pangs of conscience. If the function of the conscience were absent in fallen people, God's providence of restoration would be impossible. How is this force of conscience generated? Since all forces are produced by give and take action, the conscience cannot generate the force needed for its operation all by itself. That is to say, the conscience can operate only when it forms a common base with some subject partner and engages in give and take action with it. The ultimate subject partner of our conscience is God.
The human Fall, in essence, severed our relationship with God. Rather than attaining oneness with God, our ancestors joined in a reciprocal relationship with Satan, thereby becoming one with him. Jesus was the only begotten Son of God; he attained oneness with God through perfect give and take action. When we unite with Jesus in a perfect reciprocal relationship, we can recover our original God-given nature. We can cultivate a give and take relationship with God and become one with Him. This is how Jesus serves as the mediator for fallen people; he is our way, truth and life. Jesus came with love and sacrifice to give all that he had to humankind, even offering his life. If we turn to him in faith, we will "not perish but have eternal life."10(John 3:16)RS|KJ|NI
Christianity is a religion of love. It strives through love and sacrifice to open the path to restore the horizontal relationships of give and take between people in the love of Christ. On this horizontal foundation of love, the way is opened to restore our vertical relationship of give and take with God. In truth, this was the main purpose of all the teachings and deeds of Jesus. For example, Jesus said:
Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.
-Matt. 7:1-2RS|KJ|NI
So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.
-Matt. 7:12RS|KJ|NI
So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven.
-Matt. 10:32RS|KJ|NI
He who receives a prophet because he is a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward, and he who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.
-Matt. 10:41RS|KJ|NI
And whoever gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.
-Matt. 10:42RS|KJ|NI
The Four Position Foundation Which Realizes the Three Object Purpose through Origin-Division-Union Action
Origin-Division-Union Action
The process of God's creation begins when the dual characteristics within God form a common base through the prompting of His universal prime energy. As they engage in give and take action, they generate a force which engenders multiplication. This force projects the dual characteristics into discrete substantial object partners, each relating to God as its center. These object partners to God then assume the position of subject partner and object partner to each other as they are prompted by the universal prime energy to form a common base and engage in give and take action. They then join together in one harmonious union to form a new object partner to God. This whole process - in which out of God, the Origin, two entities are separately manifested and reunited in oneness - is called origin-division-union action.
The Three Object Purpose
As a result of origin-division-union action, four positions are formed: the origin at the center, the subject partner and the object partner (distinct substantial object partners to the origin in the pattern of its dual characteristics), and their union. Any one of the four positions may assume the position of subject partner and engage the other three as its object partners, forming a communion of three object partners. When each of the four then acts as the subject partner and enters into give and take with the other three revolving around it, they fulfill the
three object purpose.
The Four Position Foundation
When through origin-division-union action, the origin, the subject partner and object partner projected from the origin, and their union all fulfill the three object purpose, the
four position foundation is established.
The four position foundation is the root of the number four. It is also the root of the number three, because it is the fulfillment of the three object purpose. The four position foundation is realized by God, husband and wife, and children; they complete the three stages of origin-division-union action. Hence, the four position foundation is the root of the principle of three stages. Furthermore, each of the four positions in the four position foundation takes on three object partners in fulfilling the three object purpose. In total there are twelve object partners; hence, it is the root of the number twelve. The four position foundation is the fundamental foundation of goodness. It is the realization of God's purpose of creation. It is the fundamental foundation for the life of all beings, providing all the forces necessary for their existence and enabling God to abide in them. Therefore, the four position foundation is God's eternal purpose of creation.
The Mode of Existence of the Four Position Foundation
All beings which have completed the four position foundation by fulfilling the three object purpose through origin-division-union action move in circular (elliptical) or spherical paths. As a result, they exist in three dimensions. Let us now investigate the reason for this.
Through origin-division-union action, the dual characteristics of God are projected to form two distinct and substantial object partners, which interact with each other as subject partner and object partner. The object partner responds to the subject partner to form a common base and begins give and take action around the subject partner. As they are held in balance by the force of giving (centrifugal) and the force of receiving (centripetal), the object partner revolves around the subject partner in a circular motion, and thus they become harmonious and unified. In the same manner, the subject partner becomes an object partner to God, revolving around God and thus attaining oneness with Him. When the object partner becomes completely one with its subject partner, their union can stand before God as a new object partner resembling His dual characteristics. Moreover, the way for any object partner to stand as an object partner before God is by making oneness with its subject partner.
In this union of subject partner and object partner, the subject partner and object partner are themselves composed of dual characteristics; these, by the same principle of give and take action, carry on their own circular motions. Thus, we see circular motions of give and take action within both the subject partner and object partner, which are simultaneously engaged in the greater circular motion within their union. Although there are moments when the two levels of circular motion among subject partners and object partners may happen to have orbits on the same plane, in general, because the angle of revolution around the subject partner is constantly changing, this circular movement becomes a spherical movement. In short, all beings which have completed the four position foundation carry on circular and spherical movement, and hence their mode of existence always becomes three-dimensional.
Let us take the solar system as an example. The planets, standing as object partners to the sun, each form a common base and engage in give and take action with the sun through centripetal and centrifugal forces. Revolving around the sun in elliptical orbits, the sun and planets attain harmony and oneness and form the solar system. At the same time the planet Earth, as a composite body of dual characteristics, rotates on its own axis. This is also true of the sun and the rest of the planets; they are in continuous rotation on their own axes, because they too are composite bodies of dual characteristics. The orbits caused by give and take action in the solar system do not occupy exactly the same plane. Rather, due to the varied angles of their orbits and rotations, the solar system exhibits spherical motion in three dimensions. Likewise, all heavenly bodies exist in three dimensions by virtue of their circular and spherical movements. When the countless heavenly bodies carry on give and take action with each other, they form one body and thereby give structure to the universe. The universe exists in three dimensions as, governed by the same principle, its elements engage in spherical movements.
When an electron forms a common base with a proton and engages in give and take action, it revolves around the proton in a circular motion. Thus, they unite and form an atom (Hydrogen). The electron and the proton are themselves composed of dual characteristics that cause them to spin in continuous rotation. Therefore, the circular motion arising from the give and take action between the proton and electron is not limited to an orbit on one plane but, by continuously altering its angle of revolution, creates a spherical movement. Through spherical movement the atom thus exists in three dimensions. By the same token, the magnetic force between positive and negative poles causes electrically charged particles to precess in spherical movement.
Let us consider the example of human beings. As the object partner to the mind, the body establishes a common base with the mind and engages in give and take action with it. Figuratively speaking, the body then revolves about the mind and attains complete oneness with it. If and when the mind stands as an object partner before God and revolves around Him, resonating in oneness with Him, and when the body becomes one with this mind, the individual will resemble God's dual characteristics and thus stand as God's embodied object partner. Thereupon, the person fulfills the purpose of creation. The mind and body are also each composed of dual characteristics, so they carry on continuous movement within themselves. Thus, the circular movement produced through the give and take dynamic between mind and body ceaselessly alters the angle of revolution around God and becomes spherical. People who have realized the purpose of creation exist as three-dimensional beings who always lead their lives in spherical relationships centered on God. This is how they can attain mastery even over the incorporeal world.
When the circular movement of the subject partner and the object partner on a single plane becomes a spherical movement in a three-dimensional orbit, the dynamism and creativity of the universe unfolds. Variations in each orbit's distance, shape, state, direction, angle, force and velocity are manifest as the beauty of creation in its infinite variety.
Just as all beings have internal nature and external form, there is a type of spherical motion that corresponds to internal nature and a type that corresponds to external form. Likewise, there is a center of motion that corresponds to internal nature and a center that corresponds to external form. These two centers have the same relationship as that between internal nature and external form.
What is the ultimate center of all these spherical movements? Human beings are the center of all created things, which are embodied object partners to God's dual characteristics in symbol. God is the center of human beings, who are created as His embodied object partners in image. Consequently, the ultimate center of all spherical movements in the universe is God.
Let us consider this further. Every object partner to God contains a subject partner and an object partner within itself. The center of their relationship is the subject partner, so the center of the union between subject partner and object partner is also the subject partner. Since God is the center of the subject partner, He is also the ultimate center of the union. As discussed above, the three substantial object partners to God (subject partner, object partner, union) also form common bases with each other. As each of the three takes the central position, and becomes one with the others through give and take action with God as their ultimate center, they fulfill the three object purpose and establish the four position foundation. Accordingly, the ultimate center of the four position foundation is God.
All things that have established four position foundations in this manner are individual embodiments of truth. As mentioned before, individual embodiments of truth are divided broadly into individual embodiments of truth in image (human beings) and individual embodiments of truth in symbol (the rest of the creation). The universe is composed of countless individual embodiments of truth, mutually related to each other in good order from those of the lowest level to those of the highest level. Among them all, human beings occupy the highest level.
Individual embodiments of truth revolve spherically around each other, with those of a lower level acting as object partners to those of a higher level. Thus, the center of any spherical movement is an individual embodiment of truth of a higher level which acts as the subject partner. The centers of the countless symbolic individual embodiments of truth are interconnected from the lowest to the highest. The highest centers are human beings, who are individual embodiments of truth in image.
Let us examine the centrality of human beings. Science holds that elementary particles are the most basic building blocks of matter and explains that they are composed of energy. Considering the purpose of existence of the individual embodiments of truth that make up the material universe at different levels, we can surmise: energy exists in order to form particles, particles exist to form atoms, atoms to form molecules, molecules to form matter, and matter exists for the creation of all the individual entities in the universe. Likewise, the activity of energy is for the purpose of forming particles, the activity of particles is for atoms, the activity of atoms is for molecules, the activity of molecules is for matter, and the activity of matter is for the purpose of constructing the universe.
What is the purpose of the universe? What is its center? The answer to both questions is none other than human beings. This is why God, after creating human beings, commanded them to have dominion over the universe.12(Gen. 1:28)RS|KJ|NIIf there were no people to appreciate the universe, then it could be likened to a museum without any visitors. The articles on display in a museum attain their true value and are cherished as historical relics only when there are people who appreciate, love and take delight in them. Their relationship with human beings gives value to their existence. If there were no one to appreciate them, then what meaning would their existence have? The same holds true for the universe, whose lords are human beings.
The diverse things in creation enter into mutual relationships with a common purpose when human beings discover the source and nature of matter, and when they identify and classify plants and animals of the water, land and air, and all the stars in the sky. Their common purpose is realized when they are assimilated into the human body as elements essential for people to maintain their physiological functions, and when they participate in the construction of a comfortable living environment for people. In these and other ways, human beings stand as the center of the created universe in terms of its external form.
In addition, people relate to the universe from their position as the internal center. While the relationships discussed above are physical relationships, here we consider mental or spiritual relationships. The human body, though consisting of matter, fully responds physiologically to the emotion, intellect and will of the human mind. This demonstrates that matter has within itself elements which resonate with emotion, intellect and will - elements which constitute the internal nature of matter. This is the reason all things in the universe respond to human emotion, intellect and will, albeit to different degrees. We become intoxicated with the beauty of the natural world and experience the rapture of mystical union. We experience this because we are the center of the internal natures of all things in the natural world. Human beings are thus created as the center of the universe, and the place where God and human beings become completely one is the center of the cosmos.
Let us discuss from another viewpoint how human beings are the center of the cosmos, which is composed of both the spirit world and the physical world. Every human being embodies all the elements in the cosmos. Yet, as we discussed earlier, everything in the cosmos can be divided broadly into subject partners and object partners. Had Adam, the first human ancestor, reached perfection, he would have embodied all the subject elements in the things of creation. Had Eve attained perfection, she would have embodied all the object elements in the things of creation. God created Adam and Eve to have dominion over the natural world. Growing together toward perfection, Adam was to become the king of all the subject elements in creation and Eve was to become the queen of all the object elements. If they had then become one as husband and wife, they would have become the center that could rule the entire universe consisting of subject partners and object partners.
Human beings are created to be the center of harmony of the whole cosmos. If Adam and Eve had attained perfection and united as husband and wife, it would have meant the joining into oneness of the two centers of the dual characteristics of all beings. Had Adam and Eve moved together in harmony and attained oneness, the whole cosmos with its dual characteristics would have danced in harmony. The place where Adam and Eve become perfectly one in heart and body as husband and wife is also the place where God, the subject partner giving love, and human beings, the object partners returning beauty, become united. This is the center of goodness where the purpose of creation is fulfilled. Here God, our Parent, draws near and abides within His perfected children and rests peacefully for eternity. This center of goodness is the object partner to God's eternal love, where God can be stimulated with joy for eternity. This is the place where the Word of God is incarnated and brought to fulfillment. It is the center of truth and the center of the original mind which guides us to pursue the purpose of creation.
Consequently, the entire universe will perform a spherical movement with a unified purpose when it is founded on the four position foundation established by a perfected man and woman who join as husband and wife centered on God. Tragically, the universe lost its center when human beings fell. This is why St. Paul wrote that the creation has been groaning in travail while longing for the children of God.13(Rom. 8:19-22)RS|KJ|NICreation awaits the people who have restored their original nature to appear and become its center.
The Omnipresence of God
We have learned that the four position foundation, built upon the three object purpose through the origin-division-union action, proceeds in spherical movement around God and becomes one with God. This is the fundamental foundation for all beings to receive God's governance and be provided with all the powers necessary for life. In a world where God's purpose of creation has been fulfilled, all individual beings embody God's original internal nature and original external form and initiate spherical movements to build the foundation for God's governance. God is thus omnipresent.
The Multiplication of Life
For living things to propagate their kind they must reproduce, and this multiplication takes place through origin-division-union action which is built upon good interactions. For example, in plants, seeds develop into flowers with stamens and pistils; through pollination they produce their seed and propagate their kind. Male and female animals mature, engage in courtship, mate and bear offspring. All cells in animals and plants divide through give and take action.
When the body acts according to the will of the mind, and the mind and body thus engage in give and take action, the individual will live a purposeful life. This individual will then attract like-minded people. As these companions work together productively, their group will grow. It may be said that the universe is formed by the multiplication of myriad substantial manifestations of God's original internal nature and original external form through their give and take action in the pursuit of the purpose of creation.
The Reason All Beings Are Composed of Dual Characteristics
For any being to exist, energy is required, and energy can be produced only through give and take action. However, nothing can reciprocate without a partner. To generate the forces necessary for existence, a being must contain dual characteristics, a subject partner and an object partner, which can engage in give and take action.
A movement in a straight line cannot be sustained forever. For anything to have an eternal nature it must move in a circle; give and take action between a subject partner and an object partner is necessary for any circular motion. This is true even for God; having dual characteristics allows Him to live eternally. In order for God's creation to resemble His eternal nature and be His eternal object partner, it likewise must be composed of dual characteristics. Similarly, time maintains its perpetuity through its periodic cycles.
The Purpose of Creation
The Purpose of the Creation of the Universe
It is recorded in the Bible that after God completed each day of creation, He saw that it was good.14(Gen. 1:4-31)RS|KJ|NIThis suggests that God wanted His creations to be object partners embodying goodness that He might take delight in them. How can the creation give God the greatest joy?
God created human beings as the final step in creating the universe. He created them in His image, in the likeness of His internal nature and external form, and gave them sensibility to all feelings and emotions because it was His intention to share joy with them. After their creation, God blessed Adam and Eve:
Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.
-Gen. 1:28RS|KJ|NI
These are the three great blessings: to be fruitful (mature and ready to bear fruit), multiply and have dominion over the creation. Had Adam and Eve obeyed this divine mandate and built the Kingdom of Heaven, there is no doubt that God would have felt the greatest joy as His sons and daughters rejoiced in the world of His ideal.
How can God's three great blessings be fulfilled? They can be realized only when the four position foundation, which is the fundamental foundation of creation, has been established. The three great blessings are fulfilled when the whole creation, including human beings, completes the four position foundation with God as the center. This is the Kingdom of Heaven, where ultimate goodness is realized and God feels the greatest joy. This is, in fact, the very purpose for which God created the universe.
The ultimate purpose of the universe, with human beings at its center, is to return joy to God. All entities have dual purposes. As was explained earlier, every entity has dual centers of movement, one of internal nature and another of external form. These centers pursue corresponding purposes - for the sake of the whole and for the sake of the individual - whose relationship is the same as that between internal nature and external form. These dual purposes relate to each other as cause and result, internal and external, subject partner and object partner. In God's ideal, there cannot be any individual purpose which does not support the whole purpose, nor can there be any whole purpose that does not guarantee the interests of the individual. The infinite variety of beings in the universe form one vast organic body interwoven by these dual purposes.
Good Object Partners for the Joy of God
To understand more precisely the issues concerning God's purpose of creation, let us first examine how joy is produced. Joy is not produced by an individual alone. Joy arises when we have an object partner in which our internal nature and external form are reflected and developed. Our object partner helps us to feel our own internal nature and external form through the stimulation it gives. This object partner may be intangible or it may be substantial. For example, an artist's object partner may be an idea in his mind, or the finished painting or sculpture which substantiates that idea. When he visualizes his idea or beholds his work, he is stimulated to feel his own internal nature and external form reflected in it and feels joy and satisfaction. When his idea alone is the object partner, it is not as stimulating, nor is the joy that it brings as profound, as that from a finished work. This nature of human beings originates in God's nature. In like manner, God feels the fullness of joy when He is stimulated by His substantial object partners to feel His original internal nature and original external form through them.
It was explained earlier that when the Kingdom of Heaven is realized - through the fulfillment of the three great blessings and the establishment of the four position foundation - it becomes the good object partner that gives joy to God. Let us investigate how the Kingdom becomes God's good object partner.
The key to God's first blessing is the perfection of individual character. An individual's mind and body are discrete projections and object partners of God's dual characteristics. In order for an individual to perfect his character, he must form a four position foundation within himself whereby his mind and body become one through give and take action with God as their center. Such individuals become the temples of God,15(I Cor. 3:16)RS|KJ|NIachieve complete oneness with Him,16(John 14:20)RS|KJ|NI and acquire a divine nature. They experience the Heart of God as if it were their own. Hence, they understand His Will and live fully attuned to it. When a person abides in the state of individual perfection, he lives as the substantial object partner to his mind. Because the center of his mind is God, he also lives as the substantial object partner to God. Both the mind and God rejoice as they experience their internal nature and external form through the stimulation which their object partners give them. Accordingly, when people realize God's first blessing, they become God's beloved who inspire Him with joy. Sharing all the feelings of God as their own, they would never commit any sinful acts that would cause God grief. This means they would never fall.
God's second blessing was to be fulfilled by Adam and Eve after they had achieved individual perfection as object partners to God, each manifesting an aspect of God's dual characteristics. In order to construct the four position foundation in their family, Adam and Eve should have joined in loving oneness as husband and wife and raised children. This would have been the fulfillment of the second blessing. A family or society that has formed the four position foundation in line with God's ideal is patterned after the image of a perfect individual. It thus becomes the substantial object partner to the individual who lives in oneness with God, and consequently, it also becomes the substantial object partner to God. The individual feels joy, and likewise God feels joy, when each perceives in this family or community the manifestation of his own internal nature and external form. When God's second blessing is fulfilled, this family or community also becomes a good object partner giving joy to God.
Before we examine how a person upon attaining the third blessing establishes a good object partner giving joy to God, we must first investigate the relationship between human beings and the creation from the viewpoint of internal nature and external form.
Prior to creating human beings, God created the natural world by expressing partial reflections of the internal nature and external form He had conceived for human beings. Consequently, a human being contains within himself the sum total of the essences of all things. This is the reason he is called the microcosm of the cosmos.
When God created living things, He began with creatures of a lower order. Over the course of time, He created animals of a higher order with more complex biological functions, culminating with human beings at the highest level. Therefore, human beings contain all the elements, structures and qualities found in animals. For example, human vocal cords are so versatile that they can imitate virtually any animal sound. Because the human body contains all the beautiful curves and lines of the creation, an artist hones his skills by drawing nude models.
Although human beings and plants have different structures and functions, they are similar in that they both are composed of cells. All the elements, structures and characteristics of plants can be found in human beings. For example, a plant's leaf corresponds to the human lung in appearance and function. As leaves absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the human lung absorbs oxygen. Branches and stems of plants correspond to the human circulatory system, which distributes nourishment to the entire body; the xylem and phloem correspond to human arteries and veins. The roots of a plant correspond to the human stomach and intestines, which absorb nutrients.
Human beings were fashioned from clay, water and air; consequently they contain elements of the mineral kingdom. Moreover, the earth displays a similarity to the structure of the human body: the earth's crust is covered with plants, its underground waterways exist inside the substrata, and beneath it all lies a molten core surrounded by a rocky mantle. This resembles the structure of the human body, which has skin covered with hair, blood vessels running inside the musculature, and marrow lying deeper still within the bones.
The meaning of God's third blessing is the perfection of a human being's dominion over the natural world. To fulfill this blessing, the four position foundation of dominion must be established centered on God. Human beings and the natural world, which are the substantial object partners of God at the level of image and symbol respectively, must share love and beauty to become completely one.
The natural world is an object partner which exhibits human internal nature and external form in diverse ways. Hence, ideal human beings receive stimulation from the world of nature. Sensing their own internal nature and external form displayed throughout the creation, they feel immense joy. God also delights when He experiences the stimulation of His original internal nature and original external form from the universe; this is possible when it becomes His third object partner through the harmonious union of human beings and the natural world. Therefore, when human beings realize God's third blessing, the entire universe becomes yet another good object partner giving joy to God. Had God's purpose of creation been realized in this way, an ideal world without even a trace of sin would have been established on the earth. We call this world the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. When life in the Kingdom of Heaven on earth comes to a close, people are to enter the spirit world and naturally enjoy eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven there.
Based on the discussion thus far, we can understand that the Kingdom of Heaven resembles a person who has achieved individual perfection, taking after God's original internal nature and external form. In an individual, the mind's command is transmitted to the whole body through the central nervous system, causing the body to act with one purpose. Likewise, in the Kingdom of Heaven, God's direction will be conveyed to all His children through the True Parents of humankind, guiding everyone to live as one.
Original Value
The Process and Standard for the Determination of Original Value
How is a being's original created value determined? The value of an entity may be determined by the relationship between its purpose of existence and the desire that a human being has for it. To be more precise, the value of an entity intended at its creation is not fixed as an inherent attribute. Rather, it is established through the mutual relationship between the purpose of the entity according to God's ideal of creation, and people's original desire to treasure it and bring out its true worth. It finds its true value when it participates as an object partner in a God-centered four position foundation by relating with a person through give and take action and by their union becoming the third object partner to God.
What sets the standard by which the original value of an entity is determined? Since its original value is determined when it participates in a four position foundation, and since the center of this four position foundation is God, it is God who sets the standard for its value. Since God is absolute, the original value of an object partner determined in relation to this standard set by God must also be absolute.
Consider a rose; how is its original beauty determined? It is determined when the purpose for which God created the flower and the divinely given human desire to appreciate and bring out its beauty are fulfilled together. To put it another way, an ideal person feels the fullness of joy when his desire to pursue beauty is satisfied by the emotional stimulation that the flower gives him. At that moment, the flower manifests its original beauty. The flower's beauty becomes absolute when it achieves its inherent purpose, which is to give complete joy to its subject partner. The human desire to appreciate the beauty of the flower is an instance of the desire to feel aspects of one's own internal nature and external form through an object partner. The moment the flower's purpose for which it was created and the human desire to bring out its value are fulfilled, the subject partner and the object partner enter a state of harmonious oneness.
An entity attains its true value when it and a human being, its subject partner, enter a state of harmonious oneness and form the third object partner to God in the four position foundation. Through this process, the true values of all things are determined absolutely, based on their relationship with the absolute standard of value set by God. Until now, no object partner's value could become absolute; it has remained relative because its relationship with fallen people was not based on God's ideal of creation but was based on satanic purpose and desire.
Original Emotion, Intellect and Will;
and Original Beauty, Truth and Goodness
The human mind has three faculties: emotion, intellect and will. The human body acts in response to the commands of the mind. When the body responds to the mind's emotion, intellect and will, its actions pursue the values of beauty, truth and goodness respectively. God is the subject partner to the human mind; hence, He is also the subject partner to human emotion, intellect and will. Desiring to realize his original value, a person responds to the perfect emotion, perfect intellect and perfect will of God through his mind, and acts accordingly through his body. Thus, he manifests the values of original beauty, original truth and original goodness.
Love and Beauty, Good and Evil,
Righteousness and Unrighteousness
Love and Beauty
When two entities, discrete manifestations of God's dual characteristics, form a common base and seek to unite as the third object partner to God and establish a four position foundation, they will engage in give and take action. In accomplishing this, the emotional force that the subject partner gives to the object partner is called
love, and the emotional force that the object partner returns to the subject partner is called
beauty. The force of love is active, and the stimulation of beauty is passive.
In the relationship between God and human beings, God gives love as the subject partner and human beings return beauty as object partners. In the relationship between a man and a woman, the man is the subject partner, giving love, while the woman is the object partner, returning beauty. In the universe, people are the subject partners who give love to the natural world, and the natural world returns beauty as an object partner. However, when the subject partner and object partner become completely one in harmony, love is found within beauty and beauty is found within love. This is because when a subject partner and object partner become one in a circular movement, the subject partner sometimes acts as an object partner, and the object partner sometimes acts as a subject partner.
In interpersonal relationships, the beauty that a subordinate returns in response to the love of a superior is called
loyalty, and the beauty that children return in response to the love of their parents is called
filial piety. The beauty that a wife returns in response to the love of her husband is called
fidelity. The purpose of love and beauty is to enable two wholesome beings, springing forth from God, to establish the four position foundation and realize the purpose of creation. By sharing love and beauty with each other, they join in harmonious oneness, becoming the third object partner to God.
Next, let us investigate the nature of God's love. Had Adam and Eve attained perfection, each becoming a substantial object partner to God resembling one of His dual characteristics, they would have joined as husband and wife and raised children in a godly family. In so doing, they would have experienced three kinds of original love with their three object partners: parental love, conjugal love and children's love. (The love of the first object partner, the love of the second object partner, and the love of the third object partner.) Only then would they complete the three object purpose and form the four position foundation. This would be the fulfillment of their purpose of creation.
God's love is the subject to the various kinds of love flowing through the four position foundation. Therefore, God's love is manifested through the various loves of the three object partners. God's love is the underlying force which breathes life into the four position foundation. Accordingly, the four position foundation is the vessel of perfect beauty through which we can receive and enjoy the fullness of God's love. It is also the home of perfect joy and the wellspring of goodness. Upon this ground, the purpose of creation is complete.
Good and Evil
An act or the result of an act is considered good when it fulfills God's purpose of creation. This takes place when a subject partner and object partner unite through the harmonious and spirited give and take of love and beauty, become the third object partner to God, and form the four position foundation. On the other hand, an act or its result is called evil when it violates God's purpose of creation by forming a four position foundation under the dominion of Satan.
For example, when an individual realizes God's first blessing and fulfills his true purpose, the actions to this end are good and the individual is good. These actions involve the free-flowing give and take of love and beauty between the mind and the body so that they unite in the way of God and form the individual four position foundation. When Adam and Eve achieve the second blessing by building a family that realizes God's purpose, their actions to this end are good and the family they form is good. These actions include joining as a couple in the way of God through the harmonious and passionate sharing of love and beauty, bearing and raising children, and thus establishing the family four position foundation. Moreover, when a perfect individual achieves the third blessing, the actions to this end are good and all things that he nurtures are good. By relating with the natural world as his second self and by becoming completely one with it, a union is formed which becomes the third object partner to God, thus constructing the four position foundation of dominion. Conversely, when a person forms a four position foundation under the bondage of Satan and realizes a purpose contrary to God's three blessings, this act or its result is called evil.
Righteousness and Unrighteousness
Righteousness refers to that quality in a person which leads him to pursue goodness and further its purpose. Unrighteousness refers to that quality in a person which leads him to pursue evil and further its satanic purpose. A righteous life is absolutely necessary for the attainment of goodness.
Excerpt from:
Exposition of the Divine Principle
The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of
World Christianity
4 West 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036
Copyright © H.S.A.-U.W.C., 1996
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