1. BIBLE VERSES FOR SPIRITUAL
MIND TREATMENT AND HEALING
By Rev Dr Ian Ellis-Jones
'Man's mind belongs to a category of being essentially
different from matter and superior to it, however limitless
the dimensions of matter may be.' - Pope Pius XII.
I have had a long and happy association
with the metaphysical churches,
including Unity and Religious Science.
Although I never joined it, I have also
attended many services at Christian
Science churches. As a spiritual
psychologist, I use many of the ideas,
teachings, and practices of these
churches not only in my own life but also
when counselling others. In recent years,
many of these very same ideas,
teachings, and practices have found their
way---or way back---into more mainstream, if Pentecostal, forms
of Christianity, including the Word of Faith movement. I am
thinking of the writings of people such as Charles Capps.
Deep down, though, I am ever the skeptic, always aware of the
dangers of magical thinking. When asked about Christian Science,
in particular, I often joke and say, ‘It works well---when you’re not
sick. It doesn’t work so well when you’re sick.’ I also happen to
think that spiritual mind treatment works better for mental and
psychological conditions than for physical ones, but as the latter
are so often the result of psychological maladjustment there is in
principle no reason why spiritual
mind treatment should not work for
all types of conditions and
dysfunction of both mind and body.
So, I say this---spiritual mind
treatment and healing can work
wonders, especially in assisting you
to stay well, happy, vibrant and alive.
It's much easier to stay healthy and
vibrant than to regain health and
vitality when they are absent. If, at
the end of the day, it all be no more
than ‘mind over matter,’ or no better
than placebo, then we are still
dealing with a formidable power---
and I happen to think that there is a lot more involved than just
mind over matter.
Here are some verses from the Bible which encapsulate some
important metaphysical and psychological principles for spiritual

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mind treatment and healing---ideas and teachings that you can use
for good in your own life.
‘Seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all
these things shall be added unto you’ (Mt 6:33)
The ‘kingdom of God’ is within you (Lk 17:21)---within
your own mind. Jesus used the words 'kingdom' and 'life'
interchangeably. To him, they were one and same. The 'kingdom' is
life---abundant life (cf Jn 10:10)---and life renewed, regenerated,
resurrected, and redeemed.
'The eternal God is your dwelling-place' (Deut 33:27). This is, of
course, metaphorical language. God is the self-existent and self-
sufficient eternal now, the omnipresence of life, and, most
especially, the power of your own mind. ‘It is the Father’s [Divine
Mind] good pleasure to give you the kingdom’ (Lk 12:32). In other
words, it is your divine birthright. You already have within you---
within your mind, that is---everything you will ever need to be
happy, healthy, vital, whole, and alive.
'Righteousness,’ metaphysically interpreted, refers to right-thinking,
and the right use of one’s mind and thoughts. 'We become what we
habitually contemplate,' wrote George Russell. 'The future is your
present thoughts grown up,' wrote Divine Science minister, lecturer,
and author Dr Joseph Murphy. Thought power is always creative---
for better or for worse---according to the nature, emotion, impulse,
and conviction behind the thought. And what is 'thinking'? Well, the
great Plato put it this way: 'Thinking is the talking of the soul with
itself.' I like that.
‘You shall decree a thing, and it shall be established for
you’ (Job 22:28)
‘There is no power but of God’ (Rom 13:1), ‘God’ being the ‘all in all’
(1 Cor 15:28), or the action of Mind (infinite Intelligence) upon Itself.
'I AM God and there is none else beside me' (Is 45:5). Thus, God is
all there is, and thus all that we are. 'God thinks only one Word---
Himself,' wrote the great Catholic archbishop Fulton J Sheen.
'Everything that exists is the realization
and concretion of an idea existing in the
Mind of God from all eternity. ... Every
bird, every flower, every tree, has been
made according to an idea existing in the
Mind of God from all eternity.' Unity co-
founder Charles Fillmore expressed it
this way: 'God is the silent voice that
speaks into visibility all the life there is.'
The power to change your life for the
better lies in your own mind, and in the
proper use of that mind and your
thoughts. ‘Death and life are in the power
of the tongue’ (Prov 18:21). 'For as you

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think in your heart [that is, mind], so are you' (Prov 23:7). Thought
is the real causative force in life. Indeed, everything owes its
existence to an original act of pure, creative thought. Further, that
to which we give our attention grows. 'To think is to create,' wrote
the founder of Religious Science, Dr Ernest Holmes [pictured above
left]. 'Thought is the seed of action,' wrote the great Ralph Waldo
Emerson. 'The ancestor of every action is a thought.'
One theory is that thought creates a 'mold' in the unconscious
mind, into which your thought or idea is 'poured' and then
accepted. Then, certain forces are set in motion in accordance with
your thought or idea. In the Dhammapada, that great collection of
sayings of the historical Buddha, we read this: 'All that we are is the
result of what we have thought.' Then there's this gem, also from
the Buddha: 'The mind is everything; what you think you become.'
The Bible expresses it this way: 'As you sow, so shall you reap' (Gal
6:7). Never forget that.
You would all have heard of the law of cause and effect---that is, all
things ('effects') are caused, and are themselves causes of further
effects. Metaphysically, we are always becoming cause to our own
effects. Also, different kinds of conditions can be expected to have
different effects. Finally, things arise dependent on conditions and
cease when those conditions cease. A single logic applies to all
things, and to how they are related to each other.
Now, although there will always be some things you cannot
‘decree,’ there are many positive things you can ‘decree’ for yourself
and others, and if you are prepared to ‘work’ (mentally and
otherwise) for those things, then they may well be ‘established for
you.’ There are many Bible verses on this theme, including this one:
‘Let the weak say, “I am strong”’ (Joel 3:10). The last mentioned
verse encapsulates the nature and technique of affirmative prayer,
the aim of which is always the same---to lift one's consciousness to
the level of the answer, for the solution is already complete in God-
Mind.
‘But the word is very near to you, in
your mouth and in your heart, that
you may do it’ (Deut 30:14)
Your own ‘word’---spoken and deeply
held thought---is creative. The Bible
says, 'what comes out of the mouth
proceeds from the heart [that is, mind]'
(Mt 15:18). A word is simply a spoken or
articulated thought. Everything---I
mean, every thing---starts with a
thought in the mind. According to the
Bible, God spoke all things into
existence, but first these things began as
thoughts in the eternal Mind of God.
'The world is the outpicturing of human

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thought,' wrote the well-known Divine Science minister, lecturer
and author Dr Emmet Fox. 'Your life is conditioned by your own
thoughts, not by the thoughts of anyone else. ... You can only
express in experience your own true sense of what you really are.'
So, let your word go forth, for it shall not return to you empty (cf Is
55:11).
That is the power of creation in the macrocosm. The rationale
behind all spiritual mind treatment is this---that very same creative
power is also available to each one of us in the microcosm. Why?
Because the macrocosm and the microcosm are, in truth, one.
But where, you may ask, do we 'go' to find and access that power?
In our own individual minds, of course. There is no place else. Many
philosophers postulate that all individual minds are simply an
incarnation, expression, and agent of the One Absolute Mind. This
is what Jesus really meant when he said, 'I and my Father are one'
(Jn 10:30). It is a reference to the indwelling presence known as
'Our Father which art in heaven' (Mt 6:9). Now, even if our
individual minds are not part or agents of one great Mind---I have
an open mind on the matter---the fact remains that thought is
creative according to the nature, emotion, impulse, and conviction
behind the thought. 'All actions, good or bad, start with a thought,'
wrote the much-loved minister and author Dr Norman Vincent
Peale. 'We draw to ourselves exactly what we are.'
So, give voice to your desire, hope, or goal, and then ‘hold’ your
desire, hope, or goal deeply in your mind (‘heart”). Here’s another
relevantly applicable Bible verse: ‘It is true unto me according to the
Word of God’ (Ps 119:25).
‘He sent forth his word and healed them, and delivered them
from their destructions’ (Ps 107:20)
Like Jesus, send forth your word. ‘All power is given unto me [that
means you] in heaven and on earth’ (Mt 28:18). Your word
(‘thought’) must, however, be backed up by both
conviction and feeling. Your creative thought needs to be
emotionalized---that is, both felt and believed---before it can be
accepted by your mind and later come forth as the answer or
solution to your ‘prayer.’ ‘Unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the

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soil and dies, it remains alone’ (Jn 12:24). 'It shall be done unto
you as you believe' (Mt 9:29). 'As you believe, so is it done unto you'
(Mt 8:13). In addition, there must be a state of expectancy in your
mind: 'Whatever you ask in prayer [that refers to your desire or
wish], believe that you receive it, and you will' (Mk 11:24). Dr
Joseph Murphy put it this way: 'Whatever you think, feel and
believe to be true, your subconscious mind will bring to pass---good
or bad.'
One other important thing---your conscious and subconscious
mind need to be in unison for anything positive to happen. That is
the real, inner meaning of the Bible verse, ‘If two of you agree about
anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven’
(Mt 18:19). The reference to ‘two of you’ refer to your conscious and
subconscious mind. When they agree, the creative power (Father ‘in
heaven,’ or ‘within’) is then able to bring your desire to pass.
‘And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto
me’ (Jn 12:32)
Your ‘I’ is your inner centre of
awareness---your core-self.
‘Earth,’ metaphysically
interpreted, refers to your
present, perhaps limited, state of
consciousness, and present lack.
It is the realm of all things
worldly, physical, and temporal.
‘Heaven’ is the realm of perfect
and spiritual ideas (eg perfect
health and vitality, true joy,
peace, serenity, and abundance)--
-a ‘kingdom’ not of this world’ (Jn
18:36).
These spiritual (that is, non-material) ideas---a veritable ‘table of
plenty’---are implanted in your DNA and are part and parcel of your
phylogenetic heritage. For example, you could never be healthy
unless there were the perfect idea (or 'form') of health built into you-
--into every cell, tissue, and organ of your mind and body. It’s as
simple as that. This truth is common to all of the world’s major
religions and religious philosophies. For example, Swami
Vivekananda [pictured above left], whose teachings have greatly
impacted my own life, said, ‘Vedanta not only insists that the ideal
is practical, but that it has been so all the time; and this ideal, this
Reality, is our own nature.’
So, in the words of the great Plato, 'take charge of your thoughts;
you can do what you will with them.' Lift up your ‘I’ from the earth,
that is, from everything that is holding you back in your life. Then,
if you do what is necessary to bring it to pass, you will ‘draw
all men’ [that is, thoughts and aspirations] unto you. Here’s another
important Bible verse: ‘Yet a little while I am with you, and then I go
unto him that send me’ (Jn 7:33). Stay with your condition (the

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mental state of lack, limitation, etc) for only ‘a little while,’ then
ascend in consciousness to the ‘Father within,’ more particularly,
the perfect spiritual image of what you seek to create. Concentrate
upon, and contemplate, whatever it is you seek (eg perfect health,
freedom from the bondage of addiction, etc).
‘He calls those things which are not as though they were’ (Rom
4:17)
This Bible verse encapsulates the essence and
technique of all spiritual mind treatment. You treat
the spiritual man or woman. You see things as you
would like them to be, for, in truth, those things
already exist, in you, as perfect ideas implanted in
your DNA and your phylogenetic heritage. All you
need to do, metaphysically, is to achieve, by
inducing in yourself, a greater capacity to recognize
the present existence of what you seek.
The Christian preacher and teacher Charles Capps
makes this very important point in his little
book God's Creative Power for Healing:
'This is God's method of calling things that are
not as though they were until they are. There are some who
have misunderstood this principle, and they call things
that are, as though they are not. In other words, they deny
what exists. The power is in calling for healing and health by
mixing faith with God's Word.' [Emphasis in the original]
The Bible recognizes that there is, implanted in our DNA, a
blueprint for every part of our body and mind: ‘My substance was
not hid from you, when I was made in secret, and consciously
wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes did see my
substance, yet being imperfect; and in your book all my members
were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet
there was none of them’ (Ps 139:15-16). In other words, the infinite
Intelligence that created you, according to a spiritual ‘blueprint,’
and fashioned all your cells, tissues, and organs, according to the
detail of that blueprint, indwells every part of you, and is therefore
capable of refashioning those cells, tissues, and organs when they
become damaged, injured, or diseased in any way. ‘The Spirit of
God has made you, and the breath of the Almighty gives you life’
(Job 33:4). So, 'attend to my words ... they are life ... and health
[that is, medicine] to all their flesh' (Prov 4:20-22).
Now, whether treating yourself or others, the technique is the same-
--you do not deal with the material or physical man or woman,
rather you say (speak the word) that the spiritual person is perfect,
healthy, and whole. You envision that state of affairs---seeing
yourself as you would like to be---for in truth what is sought and
conceived is always available, and presently existing, in and
through the perfect ‘forms’ that were instantiated in you when you
were in the womb, and through the power of creative

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consciousness. To a very large extent, what you 'see' is what you'll
be. Here's another Bible verse that sets out this wonderful
technique for spiritual mind treatment:
'Every valley [any state of lack, limitation, etc] shall be exalted,
and every mountain and hill [any obstacle] shall be made low,
and the crooked [any entanglement, disorder, or other
difficulty] shall be made straight, and the rough plains
[difficult, hard times] smooth' (Is 40:4).
Again, it's calling things that are not as though they were---until
they are.
'Every plant, which my heavenly Father has not planted, shall
be rooted up' (Mt 15:13)
Spiritual mind treatment proceeds as
follows. As God is life and all there is,
and that life is our life right now, there
is therefore no place for anything unlike
God. Thus, there is no place for
anything that is foreign to God, or in
objective contradiction to God (eg
illness, lack, and limitation of all
kinds).
In spiritual mind treatment we affirm
that everything that contradicts God is
passing from us and at the same time
we reject opposite and fallacious
assertions. We are the 'image of God'
(Gen 1:27), and the activity of God-ness is the activity in each of us-
--right now. Therefore, what is true of God is also true of us---right
now. In short, illness, lack, and limitation are 'plants' that the
'heavenly Father' (Life perceived as an indwelling Presence) has not
planted, so let all such plants be uprooted---right now!
‘Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on
iniquity’ (Hab 1:13). In traditional evangelical Christianity it is said
that Jesus Christ, by his death and resurrection, conquered sin and
bought for us a ‘robe of righteousness,’ such that, although we are
all said to be dead in sins, if we repent and accept Jesus as saviour
and lord, God then sees us clothed in a robe of righteousness. We
wear this robe, and God sees us so robed. Another interpretation of
the foregoing is that when God looks at the person (you or me), God
sees only Christ (God’s Son) in all his perfection, Christ himself
being the robe of God’s own righteousness.
What all this means, metaphysically, is quite simple---we need to
see ourselves as God’s perfect son or daughter, clothed in a robe of
right-thinking, health, and wholeness. The truth is, there are
always two ‘images’ of ourselves. One image is of us as
we presently are, in all our imperfection, and the other image is of
us as we could be, or as we would like to be. Now, if we want to

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change for the better, we need to envision ourselves as we
would like to be---indeed, as we are in Truth. If, for example, we are
sick in some way, or in bondage to some condition or state of
consciousness, we should see ourselves as healthy or as free, as the
case may be, for, in the words of the old Oriental maxim, ‘what we
think upon grows.’
'Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom [table of plenty]
prepared for you from the foundation of the world’ (Mt 25:34).
And so it is.