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FOS SERIES 1E - Word of God

In this paragraph, Baha'u'llah takes us deeply into the meaning and mystery of the Word of God. There is a lifetime of learning bound up in this concise description from the Pen of the Blessed Beauty.

FOS S1E – Word of God

“An entity far removed above all that hath been and shall be”

 

“Know thou, moreover, that the Word of God—exalted be His glory—is higher and far superior to that which the senses can perceive, for it is sanctified from any property or substance. It transcendeth the limitations of known elements and is exalted above all the essential and recognized substances. It became manifest without any syllable or sound and is none but the Command of God which pervadeth all created things. It hath never been withheld from the world of being. It is God’s all-pervasive grace, from which all grace doth emanate. It is an entity far removed above all that hath been and shall be.”

 

Below are important definitions that will help deepen comprehension.

 

  1. Study and discuss each. Make note of anything that surprised you in each definition. 

  2. Find each of the defined words in the above paragraph and read them in context.

    1. Explain how the definition helps your understanding.

  3. In this paragraph, Baha’u’llah describes 13 qualities and attributes of the Word of God. The first is: the Word of God is higher and far superior to that which the senses can perceive.

    1. Identify each of the 13 qualities and attributes that complete the sentence beginning with, “The Word of God is…”

(If you are completing this in a group, compile the list together.)​​

  1. Spend some time discussing the last of these qualities describing the Word of God as an entity. How does this change your understanding?

  2. Reread the paragraph aloud.

  3. ADVANCED CHALLENGE - One of the names ascribed to the Manifestations of God is the Word of God. Explore the implications of this, considering that the Holy Manifestations are divine Entities.

  4. ADVANCED CHALLENGE - In the Long Obligatory Prayer it says, "He Who hath been manifested is the Hidden Mystery, the Treasured Symbol through Whom the letters B and E (Be) have been joined and knit together." How might this passage be related to Baha'u'llah's description of the Word of God?

 

property

1a: a quality or trait belonging and especially peculiar to 

an individual or thing

b: an effect that an object has on another object or on the 

     senses

 

substance

1a: essential nature : ESSENCE

b: a fundamental or characteristic part or quality

2a: ultimate reality that underlies all outward 

manifestations and change

3a: physical material from which something is 

made or which has discrete existence

b: matter of particular or definite chemical constitution 

 

transcend

1a: to rise above or go beyond the limits of

  b: to triumph over the negative or restrictive aspects 

       of : OVERCOME

  c: to be prior to, beyond, and above (the universe or 

      material existence)

2: to outstrip or outdo in some attribute, quality, or power

 

pervade

1: to become diffused throughout every part of

 

grace

 (Entry 1 of 2)

1a: unmerited divine assistance given to humans for 

their regeneration or sanctification

  1. b: a virtue coming from God 

 

entity

1a: BEING, EXISTENCE, Eespecially: independent, separate, or self-contained existence

  b: the existence of a thing as contrasted with its attributes

2: something that has separate and distinct existence and objective or conceptual reality

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