In the universes God the Father is, in potential, the overcontroller of matter, mind, and spirit. Only by means of his far-flung personality circuit does God deal directly with the personalities of his vast creation of will creatures, but he is contactable (outside of Paradise) only in the presences of his fragmented entities, the will of God abroad in the universes. This Paradise spirit that indwells the minds of the mortals of time and there fosters the evolution of the immortal soul of the surviving creature is of the nature and divinity of the Universal Father. But the minds of such evolutionary creatures originate in the local universes and must gain divine perfection by achieving those experiential transformations of spiritual attainment which are the inevitable result of a creature’s choosing to do the will of the Father in heaven. 1:3.7
In the inner experience of man, mind is joined to matter. Such material-linked minds cannot survive mortal death. The technique of survival is embraced in those adjustments of the human will and those transformations in the mortal mind whereby such a God-conscious intellect gradually becomes spirit taught and eventually spirit led. This evolution of the human mind from matter association to spirit union results in the transmutation of the potentially spirit phases of the mortal mind into the morontia realities of the immortal soul. Mortal mind subservient to matter is destined to become increasingly material and consequently to suffer eventual personality extinction; mind yielded to spirit is destined to become increasingly spiritual and ultimately to achieve oneness with the surviving and guiding divine spirit and in this way to attain survival and eternity of personality existence. 1:3.8
I come forth from the Eternal, and I have repeatedly returned to the presence of the Universal Father. I know of the actuality and personality of the First Source and Center, the Eternal and Universal Father. I know that, while the great God is absolute, eternal, and infinite, he is also good, divine, and gracious. I know the truth of the great declarations: “God is spirit” and “God is love,” and these two attributes are most completely revealed to the universe in the Eternal Son.
In Urantia Paper 1, Section 3, particularly paragraphs 6 through 8, we are offered a profound and layered understanding of the nature of God as both universal spirit and universal person. God is not simply a cosmic force or distant abstraction; He is both spirit in essence and a personality in experience. “God is a universal spirit; God is the universal person.” These twin truths form the foundation of all meaningful relationship with the Divine.
The text explains that in the finite realm, the supreme expression of personality is spirit. In the absonite realm—that level of reality transcending time and space but not yet absolute—the ultimate reality of personality is also spirit, but of a higher, more refined order. Only on the absolute level, in the realm of infinity, is there a perfect unification of matter, mind, and spirit. In this way, God contains and surpasses all levels of reality, and only at the divine level are these aspects completely harmonized.
God, as the Universal Father, is the overcontroller of matter, mind, and spirit, but He exercises this sovereignty in a way that respects the free will of His creatures. In the universes of time and space, God interacts directly with personal beings through His personality circuit, a divine means of sustaining contact with all will creatures. However, He is personally contactable only through His spirit fragments, known as Thought Adjusters—the “will of God abroad in the universes.” These indwelling spirits are of divine origin and lead mortals toward truth, beauty, and goodness. They guide the soul’s growth, nurturing it through evolutionary experience toward fusion with the divine.
The human mind, originating in the local universes, is material in association but spiritual in potential. To survive death, this mind must become spiritually transformed. This transformation is not automatic; it requires a conscious decision—a persistent effort to do the will of the Father in heaven. This is the essential formula for soul evolution: mind, guided by spirit, choosing God’s will. The result of this cooperation between mortal will and divine guidance is the emergence of the morontia soul—an intermediate and immortal form of personality that survives physical death.
In the human experience, mind is joined to matter, and unless transformed, this material-linked mind does not survive death. Survival requires a God-consciousness that leads to being spirit-taught and ultimately spirit-led. This transformation causes the potentially spiritual aspects of mortal mind to be converted into morontia realities, the building blocks of the immortal soul. If the human mind remains subservient to matter and rejects spirit influence, it becomes increasingly materialistic, leading eventually to personality extinction. But a mind yielded to spirit becomes increasingly spiritual and is destined to achieve eternal unity with the indwelling divine spirit, ensuring the eternal survival of personality.
The section concludes with a personal testimony from the divine author of this paper, who says: “I come forth from the Eternal, and I have repeatedly returned to the presence of the Universal Father.” This is a statement of direct experience with the First Source and Center. This being declares not only the absoluteness and infinity of God but also His goodness, divinity, and graciousness. The affirmation, “God is spirit” and “God is love,” is not only doctrinal—it is a lived, eternal truth. These two divine attributes are most fully revealed in the Eternal Son, the perfect spiritual reflection of the Universal Father.
This passage offers a sublime vision of the human-divine relationship: God, as infinite spirit and universal person, dwells within us, calling us forward into transformation. Through conscious cooperation with the divine will, we can survive, ascend, and eternally grow. The journey begins with the decision to follow the Father—and ends in eternal service, love, and light.
Michael Of Nebadon
United Ministry of the Paradise Sons
