Paper 16 Overview: The Seven Master Spirits

The Seven Master Spirits are primary personalities created by the Infinite Spirit and represent the seven possible combinations of the three persons of Deity: the Universal Father, the Eternal Son, and the Infinite Spirit, both individually and in their various pairings. These Spirits collectively and individually represent vital functions of the Paradise Trinity to the grand universe, supervising the seven superuniverses and influencing the administrative, physical, intellectual, and spiritual activities throughout creation. Their existence explains why the universe operates in seven grand divisions, as this sevenfold pattern reflects the inherent nature of Deity expression.

The individuality and diversity of these Spirits directly influence the unique character of each superuniverse, shaping both the cosmic environment and the beings who inhabit these realms. Through their collective administration, they serve as channels for the physical power, cosmic mind, and spiritual presence of the triune Deity throughout all evolutionary universes. Their varied natures create discernible differences in each segment of the grand universe, and their legacy is stamped upon every creature of will dignity outside of Paradise-Havona, including mortals whose personality traits subtly reflect their superuniverse of origin.

The Seven Master Spirits of Paradise represent the primary personalities that emerged from the Infinite Spirit's creative act of self-duplication. This sevenfold creative act exhausted all possible associative combinations mathematically inherent in the three persons of Deity. The number seven is therefore fundamentally important in the organization and administration of the universe, as it reflects these seven basic associative possibilities.

Each Master Spirit derives individual characteristics from the seven possible Deity combinations: the Universal Father alone, the Eternal Son alone, the Infinite Spirit alone, the Father and Son together, the Father and Spirit together, the Son and Spirit together, and finally, the Father, Son, and Spirit combined. Though these Seven Spirits are identical in their spiritual character, they are distinctly different in all other aspects of identity, creating noticeable diversity among the seven segments of the grand universe. They maintain enormous force-focal headquarters circling Paradise and provide central supervision for the seven superuniverses, with each Spirit maintaining specialized power control over its respective superuniverse.

The Infinite Spirit, as the Conjoint Creator, completes the triune personalization of undivided Deity. This threefold Deity personalization inherently contains sevenfold possibilities for expression, which necessitated the personalization of the Seven Master Spirits when plans were made to create inhabited universes. While the threefold personalization of Deity is considered an absolute inevitability, the appearance of the Seven Master Spirits represents a subabsolute inevitability in the divine order.

Although the Seven Master Spirits may not fully express the threefold Deity, they eternally portray sevenfold Deity through which the Universal Father, the Eternal Son, and the Infinite Spirit can function separately or in combinations. When the Father, Son, and Spirit act together, they work through Master Spirit Number Seven, though not as the Trinity. Uniquely, Master Spirit Number Seven cannot function personally with the Paradise Trinity, which is precisely why he can function personally for the Supreme Being. When these Spirits assemble together before the Paradise Deities, they collectively represent the functional power, wisdom, and authority of undivided Deity—the Trinity—though they generally function in the finite domain rather than the absolute.

Just as the Eternal Son reveals himself through his constantly increasing number of divine Sons, the Infinite Spirit manifests through the Seven Master Spirits and their associated spirit groups. At the center of centers, the Infinite Spirit can be approached directly, though not all who reach Paradise can immediately discern his personality and differentiated presence. However, new arrivals to the central universe can immediately communicate with one of the Seven Master Spirits—the one who presides over their native superuniverse.

Outside of Paradise and Havona, the Infinite Spirit speaks only through the voices of the Seven Master Spirits. The superuniverse spirit presence of the Third Source and Center is experienced through the unique nature of the supervising Master Spirit for that segment of creation. Each Master Spirit individually possesses a portion of the supreme-ultimate attributes of the Third Source and Center, but only collectively do they manifest omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. While any name of the Infinite Spirit could properly apply to all seven collectively, individually they have distinct identities and functions that determine their differential superuniverse operations.

The Seven Master Spirits are indescribable beings who remain distinctly and definitely personal. Though they have actual names, they are typically introduced by number for convenience. As primary expressions of the seven possible combinations of triune Deity, they exhibit essential diversity in nature, which directly influences the differential character of the superuniverses they oversee. Each Master Spirit distinctly embodies and represents a unique combination of the divine qualities of the Paradise Deities.

Master Spirit Number One specifically represents the Universal Father and presides over the first superuniverse. Master Spirit Number Two portrays the matchless nature of the Eternal Son and directs the second superuniverse. Master Spirit Number Three resembles the Infinite Spirit and directs many high personalities originated by the Third Source and Center. Master Spirit Number Four blends the natures of the Father and Son, while Master Spirit Number Five combines the Father and Infinite Spirit. Master Spirit Number Six portrays the Son and Spirit together, and Master Spirit Number Seven uniquely represents the combined qualities of all three Deities—the Father, Son, and Spirit—making this Spirit especially important in fostering the evolutionary progress of ascending creatures.

The Seven Master Spirits provide full representation of the Infinite Spirit to the evolutionary universes, representing the Third Source and Center in relationships involving energy, mind, and spirit. They function as coordinating administrators of the Conjoint Actor's universal control, though they originated through the creative acts of all the Paradise Deities. They constitute the personalized physical power, cosmic mind, and spiritual presence of the triune Deity throughout the far-flung universes.

These versatile beings operate efficiently on all universe levels except the absolute, making them perfect supervisors for all phases of administrative affairs. They created the Universe Power Directors and assist Creator Sons in organizing local universes. However, their energy manifestations are directed from the periphery of Paradise and don't appear directly associated with the Unqualified Absolute. One of their most remarkable achievements is creating morontia substance and morontia mind—blending material and spiritual energies into a previously nonexistent phase of universe reality. While they contribute greatly to the plan of Paradise ascension, much of their activity remains hidden from human understanding because it doesn't directly relate to the mortal ascension problem.

Each segment of the grand universe benefits from the united counsel and wisdom of all Seven Master Spirits but receives the personal touch and influence of only one. The personal nature of each Master Spirit pervades and uniquely conditions its assigned superuniverse, imparting characteristic qualities to all intelligent beings within that domain. Every creature outside Paradise and Havona bears the distinctive stamp indicating the ancestral nature of one of these Seven Paradise Spirits.

The Master Spirits do not directly influence the material minds of individual creatures on evolutionary worlds. Mortals of Urantia do not experience the personal presence of the mind-spirit influence of the Master Spirit of Orvonton directly. Any contact the Master Spirit makes with individual mortal minds occurs through the ministry of the local universe Creative Spirit, who is similar in nature to the Master Spirit of the seventh superuniverse. Nevertheless, the physical stamp of a Master Spirit becomes part of a mortal's material origin and continues to influence the personality throughout the morontia career. These characteristic traits are never fully eradicated, even in Paradise, and finaliters continue to exhibit identifiable traits of their superuniverse origin.

The Master Spirits serve as the sevenfold source of the cosmic mind, which constitutes the intellectual potential of the grand universe. This cosmic mind represents a subabsolute manifestation of the Third Source and Center's mind and functionally relates to the evolving Supreme Being's mind. The cosmic mind dominates the basic reactions of all creature intelligence because the Master Spirits are the actual sources of the intellectual and spiritual potentials specialized in the local universes.

On Urantia, humans do not encounter the direct influence of the Seven Master Spirits in everyday affairs, living instead under the immediate influence of the Creative Spirit of Nebadon. The fact of cosmic mind explains the kinship between various types of human and superhuman minds, as kindred minds naturally cooperate with one another. The cosmic mind manifests a quality called "reality response," which saves will creatures from becoming victims of the presuppositions of science, philosophy, and religion. This cosmic mind consistently recognizes three levels of universe reality: causation (scientific logic), duty (moral philosophy), and worship (spiritual experience). These cosmic intuitions constitute the self-consciousness of reflective thinking.

Intelligence alone cannot explain the moral nature inherent in human personality. Morality, virtue, and the realization of duty represent components of human mind endowment associated with scientific curiosity and spiritual insight—qualities that distinguish humans from the animal world. Humans possess the ability to exercise scientific, moral, and spiritual insight prior to experience, unlike animals who learn primarily through trial and error.

Only personalities can know what they are doing before they act, enabling them to learn from both observation and experience. A moral being can discriminate between both means and ends, unlike intelligence alone which can only distinguish the best means to achieve indiscriminate ends. Virtue represents conformity with the cosmos and is realized through the consistent choosing of good over evil. This moral choice-making capacity is influenced by factors including knowledge, maturity, and one's sense of proportion. Supreme virtue consists in wholeheartedly choosing to do the Father's will in heaven, demonstrating the highest intelligence in selecting superior ends and moral means.

The Universal Father bestows personality upon numerous orders of beings functioning across diverse levels of universe reality. Urantia humans receive finite-mortal personality that operates on the level of ascending sons of God. Personality represents a unique endowment whose existence precedes and is independent of the Thought Adjuster's bestowal, though the Adjuster's presence enhances personality manifestation. While Thought Adjusters are identical in nature, personalities are diverse, original, and exclusive.

Personality constitutes that feature which enables us to recognize and positively identify an individual regardless of changes in form, mind, or spirit status. Human self-consciousness is distinguished by two characteristic phenomena: self-awareness and relative free will. The relative free will that characterizes human self-consciousness involves moral decision-making, spiritual choice, unselfish love, purposeful cooperation, cosmic insight, personality dedication to the Father's will, and worship. Through these endowments, humans can recognize the mathematical logic of physical causation, the obligation of moral conduct, and the faith-grasp of Deity worship. This represents the beginning realization of kinship with God.

The cosmic-mind-endowed, Adjuster-indwelt personal creature innately recognizes energy reality, mind reality, and spirit reality. The will creature is equipped to discern the fact, law, and love of God. Apart from these three inalienable elements of human consciousness, all human experience is subjective, gaining validity only through the unification of these universe reality responses.

God-discerning mortals can sense the unification value of these three cosmic qualities in the evolution of the surviving soul, which represents humanity's supreme undertaking in the physical realm. When the moral mind collaborates with the indwelling divine spirit, it dualizes the immortal soul. Even if a mortal fails to survive natural death, their real spiritual values continue as part of the Thought Adjuster's experience. Human self-consciousness implies recognizing other selves and requires mutual awareness. However, social consciousness is not inalienable like God-consciousness; it requires development through the contributions of science, morality, and religion—the cosmic gifts that constitute civilization. Jesus revealed God to humanity and made a new revelation of humans to themselves, showing humankind at its best through a life with so much of God in it.