Mary Baker Eddy described her discovery, Christian Science, not only as the “quintessence of Christianity” but as its “crown” (Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, pp. 336 and 252). The second tenet of The Mother Church provides a firm foundation for the Christian basis of its teachings. In just a few lines, the Holy Trinity, one of the most profound doctrines of Christian theology, is revealed in a new light. The tenet also shows the commitment in Christian Science to honoring the fundamental teachings of Christian theology—the belief in one God, in Christ Jesus, and the Holy Ghost—by incorporating them as essential elements for us to understand and to demonstrate. Anyone who wants to understand the Christian basis of the teachings of Christian Science, particularly on the contentious issue of the relationship between God and His Son, Jesus, will find this second tenet an invaluable help.

Revelation of the Holy Trinity

The importance that Mrs. Eddy placed on the trinity was evident from events in her last class on Christian Science in 1898. She called 70 students to Concord, New Hampshire, and gave two lessons on the subject. When she asked them for a definition of the trinity, Emma Shipman, one of her students, wrote in a reminiscence that “it was evident that the answers were not perfect” (We Knew Mary Baker Eddy, p. 142). Eddy then gave them a brief explanation, and a few weeks later she sent each member a written statement on it.

From this account, it is clear that Eddy considered it of paramount importance that her students had a thorough understanding of the trinity. Her inspired thought cut through the dogma of scholasticism and revealed the reality of one triune God. She wrote: “Life, Truth, and Love constitute the triune Person called God,—that is, the triply divine Principle, Love. They represent a trinity in unity, three in one,—the same in essence, though multiform in office: God the Father-Mother; Christ the spiritual idea of sonship; divine Science or the Holy Comforter” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 331).

The phrase “multiform in office” is the key to understanding the difference between the traditional view of the trinity and that which was revealed in Christian Science. Realizing that each aspect of the trinity has a separate and distinct role or office within God’s oneness protects against the belief that the Son and divine Science can be coequal with God. The spiritual idea of sonship and divine Science can never be coequal with God but are coexistent with Him. The second tenet is our authority for acknowledging God’s infinite nature and His intelligent relation to man and the universe, as indicated by the trinity.

We acknowledge and adore one supreme and infinite God

The second tenet begins with a description of the first office of the trinity, which is God, as the “one supreme and infinite God.” It also reveals the depth of love one needs to truly worship Him. The word acknowledge is introduced in this tenet and begins the following three tenets, which indicates its importance as a quality of thought. We are to acknowledge and adore the oneness of God’s supreme and infinite nature, which precludes the possibility of another power or presence.

We cannot leave this introductory sentence of the tenet without addressing the direction to adore God. As we grow in our understanding of God, we become aware of His love for us—but it is imperative that we love Him. Eddy identified love for God as the “El Dorado of Christianity” (Science and Health, p. 9). In other words there is a need to give as well as receive. This is clearly identified in the First Epistle of John, where we read: “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him” (I John 4:16). “We love him, because he first loved us” (verse 19). To me this means we need to be consciously loving God and acknowledging His supreme and infinite nature.

Adoration for God involves more than words; it requires a commitment to reflect Him in all the minutiae of our daily lives. It means being prepared to follow Jesus as the master Christian, and to express unconditional love as he did. To seek to discover only the image of God in those around us. To be ready to put aside our own needs in order to help one another is the Christian requirement for all who profess to love God. Eddy described this power of love as forming the trinity when she wrote: “Truth, Life, and Love are formidable, wherever thought, felt, spoken, or written,—in the pulpit, in the court-room, by the wayside, or in our homes. They are the victors never to be vanquished. Love is the generic term for God. Love formed this trinity, Truth, Life, and Love, the trinity no man can sunder” (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and, Miscellany, p. 185).

We acknowledge His son, one Christ

In this statement the tenet addresses the second office of the trinity: Christ, the spiritual idea of sonship. It’s necessary for us to acknowledge this role or function of the Christ in order to understand the importance of its office within the trinity. The Christ, or divine idea, reveals the indestructible relationship between God and His creation, man and the universe. And Jesus’ understanding of the Christ, his Godlike nature, was crucial to his healing work—just as it is crucial to ours today.

Jesus’ unparalleled ability to heal revealed his inseparable relationship to God and proved his understanding of his sonship. His statement, “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30), does not indicate that he considered himself equal with God; it was an acceptance of their unique relationship. Jesus’ understanding of his spiritual identity also gave him the ability to recognize the divine nature in others, and to bring them into discipleship with him. He said, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31, 32). Eddy recognized this promise as a practical truth for all ages, and made it available to the world as Christian Science. She showed that all of us have the ability to demonstrate, with absolute certainty, our oneness with God. All of us can experience the joy of knowing the inseparable nature of our relationship to God as His precious son or daughter—of knowing that the Christ reveals our true identity, now and forever.

The Holy Ghost or divine Comforter

The office of the Holy Ghost, or divine Comforter, is to establish the power and presence of God speaking to the human consciousness, particularly in moments of need. For instance, we have the account in the Bible of Jesus comforting his disciples, knowing that he would soon be taken from them. He said, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever” (John 14:16). Eddy wrote in Science and Health, “This Comforter I understand to be Divine Science” (p. 55). I love the idea that the Comforter will be abiding with us forever—that the power and presence of divine Science is always operating for the good of humankind. Being the Comforter, it assures us that as children of God we can never be separated for a moment from the Divine.

I discovered the powerful healing effect of the Holy Ghost when I had to travel to give two Christian Science lectures. I had been ill with a severe attack of flu for a couple of weeks and didn’t know how I was going to fulfill my obligations. I had prayed, seeking a deeper understanding of the trinity and to consciously accept that my life was safe within the oneness of God.

A few days before I left, improvement took place, but I was still very concerned about my voice, as I was unable to speak clearly. I had taken an airplane flight and was to lecture the following day. I prayed that I could know only the freedom and goodness of my indestructible relationship with God.

In the morning, as I prepared for the lecture, I decided to practice reading it aloud. I croaked my way though it and became very anxious and afraid. I turned to the definition of the Holy Ghost in Science and Health, which reads: “Holy Ghost. Divine Science; the development of eternal Life, Truth, and Love” (p. 588). I affirmed that the office of the Holy Ghost established the law of Love, and that it was holding me forever in perfect union with God, my loving Father. It also became clear to me that it was the voice of the Holy Ghost that was going to be heard—not mine.

I realized that all that was developing was “eternal Life, Truth, and Love,” and that this would bring freedom. The evil that was trying to make me believe that my voice would give way was a lie, and it had no power to interfere with the power of the Holy Ghost. I continued to pray with these ideas. I was convinced that the Holy Ghost would rest on all those who came, as on the day of Pentecost. As I began the first words of the lecture, ideas flooded into my thought and I found I was expressing myself in a much more direct and powerful way, with a voice that was clear and strong. It was a very humbling experience. The presence of the Holy Ghost was upon us all.

And man in God’s image and likeness

The second tenet of Christian Science is brought to a close with the powerful acknowledgment of our direct relationship to God. Concluding in this way, Eddy brought to the fore one of the most important truths in Christian Science theology and healing: Not only is there one God, but one man—the man and woman made in His image and likeness, which is an affirmation of our perfect, pure, spiritual nature. We can never fall from our high estate, for God’s image can never be less than good. The truth that each of us is that man, the very image of God, is the bedrock of Christian Science practice. It is founded securely on the Scriptures and reaffirms the Christian foundation of Christian Science.