What is meant by "the Godhead"?
9. The Godhead is another term for the Holy Trinity. It is the threefold nature of God, spoken of in religious terms as: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit (or Holy Ghost). Metaphysically explained, the terms used are: Mind, Idea, and Expression.
In the current Annotations for Lesson Eleven, Lessons in Truth, the three phases of the Godhead (or Holy Trinity) are outlined both religiously and metaphysically, but it is well to repeat and enlarge on that explanation: (See also How I Used Truth Lesson 5 Annotation 4 on "Holy Spirit).
1st phase of the
Godhead, or Holy Trinity 2d phase of the Godhead, or Holy Trinity 3d phase of the Godhead, or Holy Trinity
God the Father God the Son God the Holy Spirit
This is God as Creator, Principle, First Cause, Origin, Source, Divine Mind, I AM THAT I AM. This is the perfect created offspring of God the Father; God's own image-likeness called by the names: Christ, I AM, Word of God, Logos, Seed of God, spiritual man, the Idea of Divine Mind. This is "God in movement" (Lessons in Truth 11:24); the Breath of God, breathing all the ideas of Mind into expression. This is why in the metaphysical explanation we say the Holy Spirit is Expression.
When we use the statement, "The nature of God is absolute good," we are describing the essence of the Godhead. When we say, "There is but one Presence and one Power," we are stating that the Godhead is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, unchangeable, unlimited.
The first chapter of Genesis opens with the words, "In the beginning God." This is God as Mind, as the Principle of all creation. The second verse states that "the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." Here we find Mind expressing as the Holy Spirit, moving into action. Charles Fillmore gives a very simple definition of this phase of the Godhead or Holy Trinity when he states in Jesus Christ Heals (Jesus Christ Heals 182) "the Holy Spirit is . . . the whole Spirit of God in action".
The second phase, "God the Son," is the Idea of Mind, into which the Holy Spirit breathes or expresses all that the Father-Mind is. As the Son is the Idea of Mind, so every form of creation is an idea of that same Mind moving into expression and manifestation by the creative power of God. Spiritual man is the image of God, the Christ, I AM. He has inherent within him all of the God nature and the power to release this essence through his being.
The Godhead or the fullness of the God nature is inherent in every human being. Manifest man's business is to discover and express this inner spiritual nature (spiritual man), and the ideas or qualities of which it is composed.
What occurs when an idea is "born" in our mind illustrates in some degree the activity of the Holy Trinity, or Godhead. Our mind (consciousness) with its capacity for thought conceives an idea. Before this idea can come forth into manifestation in some form, there has to be a "pressing-out" or expression of it. This usually takes more than just our thought-power. Often actual physical effort is required if we are to continue with an idea until it is a mental picture clear enough to be formed in the outer. This applies to all new inventions, to discoveries in science, and to all phases of progress in the human family.
The expression of the idea in all its details is comparable to the movement of the Holy Spirit in us. No idea of our mind could possibly come to fruition until we had, as it were, "breathed" into it the breath of life. In fact, for an idea to be made manifest all of our nature has to be put into it. We could say that the expression is our whole nature in action to bring forth the idea. Sometimes we forget that if we do not interpret an idea correctly, but form a wrong concept or belief about it, we still "put ourselves" into it and it manifests—but not in the type of conditions we desire.
The "whole Spirit of God," or Holy Spirit, moves the whole nature of God into action through the Idea (Son) and brings forth only perfection. We can see why Paul could say of Jesus Christ, "in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2:9). As the Holy Spirit moved through Jesus Christ there was nothing in Him to prevent its perfect expression, so He was the actual manifestation of the God nature. Paul tells us that Jesus was tempted but He was "yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15). From this we conclude that Jesus, being aware of His place in the Holy Trinity as the Son, allowed the Holy Spirit to move through Him without interference. Jesus was able to say, "Not my will, but thine, be done" (Luke 22:42).
The Godhead or Holy Trinity is not some mysterious entity set apart from our lives. Right understanding reveals our place in the Godhead. Charles Fillmore refers to the Holy Trinity and our part in it as follows:
"If you would know the mystery of Being, see yourself in Being. . . . Throw yourself out of the Holy Trinity, and you become an onlooker. Throw yourself into the Trinity, and you become its avenue of expression. The Trinity is known commonly as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; metaphysically it is known as mind, idea, expression. These three are one. Each sees itself as including the other two, yet in creation separate. Jesus, the type man, placed Himself in the Godhead, and said: 'He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.' But, recognizing the supremacy of spiritual Principle, which He was demonstrating, He said: 'The Father is greater than I'"
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