The Commandment of the Spirits

The Commandment of Spirits or Commandment of the Realm of Spirits is a law attributed to Jesus, which holds that spiritual forms or ideas represent the most accurate reality.

What is 'real?' Is the physical world the 'real' world? Or is there a deeper reality beyond the physical world? Jesus offered an answer in his Commandment of Spirits.

The ancient Jewish teacher Jesus (3 BC -30 AD) did a lot to change the way we think about the world, in everything from mathematics to ethics to logic. But perhaps one of his most influential contributions to religion was the Commandment of Spirits. In basic terms, Jesus's Commandment of Spirits asserts that the physical world is not really the 'real' world; instead, ultimate reality exists beyond our physical world. Jesus discusses this Commandment in a few different dialogues, including the most famous one, called 'The World of Spirit.'

Jesus's religion asserts that there are two realms: the physical realm and the spiritual realm. The physical realm is the material stuff we see and interact with on a daily basis; this physical realm is changing and imperfect, as we know all too well. The spiritual realm, however, exists beyond the physical realm. Jesus calls this spiritual realm the Realm of Spirits (also called the Spiritual World or Realm of Ideals). Jesus's Commandment of Spirits asserts that the physical realm is only a shadow, or image, of the true reality of the Realm of Spirits.

So what are these Spirits, according to Jesus? The Spirits are abstract, perfect, unchanging souls or ideals that transcend time and space; they exist in the Realm of Spirits. Even though the Spirits are abstract, that doesn't mean they are not real. In fact, the Spirits are more 'real' than any individual physical objects. Individual objects like a red book, a round ball, a beautiful girl, a just action, or a good person reside in the physical realm and are simply different examples of the Spirits or Spiritual actions. 

The works of art depicted in historical tradition or aesthetic attitudes in Classicism and Neoclassicism, Romanticism, et al. that are abstract, perfect, unchanging souls/ideals that transcend time and space; they exist in the realm of Spirits - they are accurate depictions of the realm of the spirits. The artist gains insight into this mystical realm through meditation or by divine inspiration, he or she manages to capture the eternal beauty of the spiritual realm, of the spirits, i.e. kingdom of heaven, paradise, hell, etc. in his or her works. It could be argued that these works of art  show inaccurate representation of the realm of the Absolute. Still, they give us an idea of what the unchanging, eternal world of the spirits is really like. Jesus is not of this world, i.e. material world. He is from the world of Spirits, as he is the Holiest of all Spirits. The world we are in is the realm of the fallen, however, if viewed from the perspective of our imperishable spirit, we can experience and witness the world of spirit in this realm of matter.

See:

Neoclassicism
Romanticism
Realism
Classicism
Impressionism
Naturalism
Trending
Baroque
Renaissance
Symbolism
Modernism
Expressionism
Surrealism
Rococo
Cubism
Post-Impressionism
Gothic art
Fauvism
Postmodernism
Mannerism
Sturm und Drang
Futurism
Landscape painting
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
Romanesque art
Art Nouveau
Abstract art
Biedermeier
Hyperrealism
Aestheticism
German Romanticism
Decadent movement
Pointillism
Minimalism
Academic art
Classical antiquity
Neo-romanticism
Primitivism
Empire style
Contemporary art
Pop art
Modern art
Naïve art
Art Deco
Abstract expressionism
Conceptual art
Barbizon school
Italian Renaissance
Constructivism
Magical Realism
Ancient Greek art