The Lord's Divine Providence Is Universal

From Divine Providence ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

• The Lord in no wise acts upon any particular thing in man singly without acting simultaneously upon all things

• The Lord acts from inmosts and from outmosts simultaneously.

The Lord in no wise acts upon any particular thing in man singly without acting simultaneously upon all things of man, for the reason that all things of man are in such connection, and through this connection in such a form that they do not act as many but as a one. It is acknowledged that in respect to his body man is in such a connection, and through this connection in such a form. The human mind also is in a like form from a connection of all things in it; for the human mind is the spiritual man, and is actually the man. From this it is that man's spirit, which is his mind in his body, is in its entire form a man; consequently man after death is just as much a man as he was in the world, with this difference only, that he has cast off the coverings that formed his body in the world.

Since, then, the human form is such that all the parts make a general whole, which acts as one, it follows that one part cannot be moved out of its place and changed in state except with the consent of the rest; for if one were removed from its place and changed in state, the form which acts as one would suffer. This makes clear that the Lord in no wise acts upon any particular thing without acting simultaneously upon all. Thus does the Lord act upon the entire angelic heaven, since the entire angelic heaven in the Lord's sight is as one man. Thus, too, does He act upon each angel, because each angel is a heaven in the least form. Thus also does He act upon each man, primarily upon all things of his mind, and through these upon all things of his body; for the mind of man is his spirit, and in the measure of its conjunction with the Lord is an angel, while the body is obedience.

But it should be clearly understood that the Lord also acts upon every particular in man singly, and even most singly, but simultaneously through all things of his form; and yet He does not change the state of any part or of any particular thing except harmoniously with the whole form. ... the Lord's Divine providence is universal because it is in particulars, and that it is particular because it is universal.

The Lord acts from inmosts and from outmosts simultaneously. This is true for the reason that in this and in no other way can all things and each thing be held together in connection; for intermediates are connected in unbroken series from inmosts even to outmosts, and in outmosts they are together; for in the outmost there is a simultaneous presence of all things from the first, ... It was for this reason also that the Lord from eternity, or Jehovah, came into the world, and there put on and assumed Humanity in outmosts, that He might be from firsts and in outmosts together; and thus from firsts through outmosts might rule the whole world and thereby save the men whom He is able to save in accordance with the laws of His Divine providence, which are also the laws of His Divine wisdom. And thus it is, as acknowledged in the Christian world, that no mortal could have been saved unless the Lord had come into the world.  And this is why the Lord is called "The First and the Last."

(Divine Providence 124)