A: This does not literally mean that God knows that we have need of an automobile. If God knew that, I am sure our ancestors would have had automobiles, because their need for them was as great as ours. I’m sure that God knows nothing about our need for wireless telegraphy, because if he did, there is no reason why we shouldn’t have had wireless telegraphy centuries ago.
The meaning of “Your heavenly Father knoweth what things ye have need of before you ask them” is this: If you will translate that word “Father” into “the divine consciousness of me, my inner consciousness,” you will understand then, that as the Father—that is, the universal, divine, spiritual consciousness—becomes individualized as my individual consciousness, It is the substance of all form. It is the substance of all form.
Therefore, the substance of all necessary to my life from the cradle to the grave is embodied within my consciousness. And in the realization of this, in “opening out a way for the imprisoned splendor to escape,” this spirit or spiritual consciousness flows into my outer experience, and because of our conditioning, it appears as the form needed at the moment. It is I, Joel, who condition this flowing substance. In other words, if I am standing at the Red Sea and my need is to get across, my very own divine, spiritual consciousness is the substance of all that is necessary to get me across. But it is I who am knowing “This sea must open,” or “I must get on the other side,” and this consciousness flows as that particular form. It is I, perhaps, who know it is meal time, and therefore this substance appears outwardly as cakes baked on the stones, or the ravens bringing food, or the poor widow sharing.
It is not that God knows my need for food or an automobile. It is that God is my consciousness, and my consciousness is the substance of all form. And had I needed transportation in the last century, it would have come forth probably as a horse, or a horse and carriage, or a horse and sleigh. But in this century, it doesn’t come forth that way. It comes forth as an automobile or a seat on an airplane. The consciousness is the same; the form it assumes is the conditioning which I bring to the divine substance.
1 Question quotes Matthew 6:8. This excerpt is from Recording #400, 1961 San Diego Special Class, Side 1: “The Essence of The Infinite Way.” It is posted with kind permission from the Estate of Joel Goldsmith, which holds the copy protection on the recorded classes and the copyright on the transcripts. The full transcript of this recording is available at www.joelgoldsmith.com or by calling 1-800-922-3195.