Truths of Faith Lead to Good which is of Charity

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
TRUTHS WHICH ARE OF FAITH LEAD TO GOOD WHICH IS OF CHARITY

Who hath wrought and done it , calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD , the first, and with the last; I am he. (Isaiah 41:4)

Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. (Isaiah 44:6)

Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last. (Isaiah 48:12)

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.; I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.; And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: (Revelation 1:8; 11; 17)

And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; (Revelation 2:8)

And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. (Revelation 21:6)

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. (Revelation 22:13)

All things both in general and in particular have relation to an end, and look to it, and those which do not look to an end cannot subsist. For the Lord has created nothing whatever except for the sake of an end; in so much that it may be said that the end is the all in all things that have been created; and all things that have been created are in such an order that as the end from the First through the intermediates looks to the last or ultimate, so the end within the last or ultimate has regard to the end in the First. Hence comes the connection of things.

In its first origin the end itself is nothing but the Divine good of the Divine love; thus it is the Lord Himself. Wherefore also in the Word He is called the "First and the Last," the "Alpha and Omega". This being the case, it is necessary that each and all things which pertain to the life with man should have relation to an end and should look to it.

He who has any rational ability can see that the memory-knowledges with a man look to truths as their end, and that the truths look to goods, and that the goods look to the Lord as the last and the first end; as the last end when they look at Him from truths, and as the first end when they look at Him from good. Such is the case with the truths of the church that they lead to good.

(from Arcana Coelestia 6044)

The Temptations the Lord Sustained

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

The temptations the Lord sustained ... concerning which nothing is related in the Word of the New Testament, except: —

• concerning His temptation in the wilderness or soon after He came out of the wilderness (below)
• concerning His last temptation in Gethsemane and then what then followed—

Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. (Matthew 26:36-39)

Three Prayers Jesus Prayed on the Cross

• Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. (Luke 23:34)

• Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46)

• Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. (Luke 23:46)

That the Lord's life, from His earliest childhood even to the last hour of His life in the world, was continual temptation and continual victory, is evident from many things in the Word of the Old Testament; and that it did not cease with the temptation in the wilderness is evident from what is said in Luke:

And when the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from Him for a season. (Luke 4:13)

as also from the fact that He was tempted even to the death on the cross, and thus to the last hour of His life in the world.

Hence it is evident that the whole of the Lord's life in the world, from His earliest childhood, was continual temptation and continual victory. The last was when He prayed on the cross for His enemies, and thus for all in the whole world.

In the Word of the Lord's life, in the Gospels, none but the last is mentioned, except His temptation in the wilderness. More were not disclosed to the disciples. The things that were disclosed appear in the sense of the letter so slight as to be scarcely anything — for to speak and to answer in this manner is no temptation, when yet His temptation was more grievous than can ever be comprehended and believed by any human mind.

No one can know what temptation is except the one who has been in it.

The temptation that is related in Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13, contains all temptations in a summary; namely, that from love toward the whole human race, the Lord fought against the loves of self and of the world, with which the hells were filled.

All temptation is an assault upon the love in which the man is, and the temptation is in the same degree as is the love. If the love is not assaulted, there is no temptation. To destroy anyone's love is to destroy his very life — for the love is the life.

The Lord's life was love toward the whole human race, and was indeed so great, and of such a quality, as to be nothing but pure love. Against this His life, continual temptations were admitted, as before said, from His earliest childhood to His last hour in the world. The love which was the Lord's veriest life is signified by His "hungering," and by the devil's saying,

If Thou art the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread and by Jesus answering that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God (Luke 4:2-4; Matt. 4:2-4).

That He fought against the love of the world, or all things that are of the love of the world, is signified by:

The devil took Him up into a high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said unto Him, All this power will I give Thee and the glory of them, for it hath been delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will, I give it; if Thou therefore wilt worship before me, all shall be Thine. But Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind Me, Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve (Luke 4:5-8; Matt 4:8-10).

That He fought against the love of self, and all things that are of the love of self, is signified by this:

The devil took Him into the holy city, and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said unto Him, If Thou art the Son of God, cast Thyself down for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning Thee, and upon their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest Thou dash Thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God (Matt. 4:5-7; Luke 4:9-12).

Continual victory is signified by its being said that after the temptations, "angels came and ministered unto Him" (Matt. 4:11; Mark 1:13).

In brief, the Lord from His earliest childhood up to the last hour of His life in the world, was assaulted by all the hells, against which He continually fought, and subjugated and overcame them, and this solely from love toward the whole human race. And because this love was not human but Divine, and because such as is the greatness of the love, such is that of the temptation, it may be seen how grievous the combats were, and how great the ferocity on the part of the hells.

~~~

Evil spirits are those who make the assault.

The Lord never began the combat with any hell, but the hells assaulted Him; as is also the case with every man who is in temptation, or In combat with evil spirits.

In man's case, the angels never make the assault, but always and continually the evil or infernal spirits do so; the angels only ward off and defend. This comes from the Lord, who never desires to bring evil upon anyone, or to thrust him down into hell, even if he were the worst and the most bitter enemy of all; but it is he who brings the evil upon himself, and precipitates himself into hell. This also follows from the nature of evil, and from the nature of good.

It is the nature of evil to desire to maltreat everyone; but that of good to desire to maltreat no one. The evil are in their very life when they are assaulting; for they continually desire to destroy. The good are in their very life when they are assaulting no one, and when they can be of use in defending others from evils.

(from Arcana Coelestia 1683)

~~~

That "the mountain" means the love of self and the love of the world, may be seen from the signification of a "mountain," concerning which presently. All evil and falsity come forth from the love of self and the love of the world; they have no other origin; for the love of self and the love of the world are the opposites of celestial love and spiritual love; and because they are the opposites, they are what are continually endeavoring to destroy the celestial and spiritual things of the kingdom of God. From the love of self and of the world come forth all hatreds; from hatreds, all revenges and cruelties; and from these, all deceits; in short, all the hells..

That in the Word by "mountains" there is signified the love of self and the love of the world, may be seen from the following passages.

In Isaiah:

The proud eyes of man shall be humbled and the loftiness of men shall be brought low. The day of Jehovah Zebaoth is upon all that is proud and lofty, upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, and upon every lofty tower (Isa. 2:11-12, 14-15)

the "high mountains" plainly denote the love of self; and the "hills that are lifted up," the love of the world.

Again:

Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low (Isa. 40:4)

here also "mountain and hill" manifestly denote the love of self and the love of the world.

Again:

I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbage (Isa. 42:15);

where also "mountains" denote the love of self, and "hills" the love of the world. In Ezekiel:

The mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the earth (Ezek. 38:20).

In Jeremiah:

Behold I am against thee, O destroying mountain, which destroyest all the earth; and I will stretch out mine hand against thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a mountain of burning (Jer. 51:25);

where Babel and Chaldea are spoken of, by which is signified the love of self and of the world, as before shown.

In the Song of Moses:

A fire is kindled in Mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall devour the earth and her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains (Deut. 32:22)

"the foundations of the mountains" mean the hells, as is plainly said; these are called the foundations of the mountains, because the love of self and the love of the world reign in them, and are from them.

In Jonah:

The waters compassed me about, even to the soul; the deep was round about me; the seaweed was wrapped about my head; I went down to the cuttings-off of the mountains; the bars of the earth were upon me forever; yet hast Thou brought up my lives from the pit, O Jehovah my God (Jonah 2:5-6)

the Lord's temptations against the hells are thus prophetically described by Jonah, when he was in the belly of the great fish. So likewise in other passages of the Word, especially in David. He who is in temptations is in the hells; place has nothing to do with being in the hells, but state.

As "mountains" and "towers" signify the love of self and of the world, it may be seen what is signified by the Lord's being taken by the devil "upon a high mountain," and "upon a pinnacle of the temple," namely, that He was led into temptation combats, the most extreme of all, against the loves of self and of the world, that is, against the hells. "Mountains" also, in the opposite sense, signify celestial and spiritual love.

~~~

Scarcely anyone can know what temptations, or combats of temptations, effect. They are the means by which evils and falsities are broken up and dispersed, and by which horror of them is induced; and not only is conscience given, but it is also strengthened thereby, and so the man is regenerated, which is the reason why they who are being regenerated are let into combats, and undergo temptations; and they who do not undergo them in the life of the body, do so in the other life, if they are capable of being regenerated, on which account the Lord's church is called militant. But the Lord alone sustained the most cruel combats of temptations by His own strength or His own power; for He was surrounded by all the hells, and continually conquered them.

It is the Lord alone also who fights in the men who are in the combats of temptations, and who overcomes. Man from his own power can effect nothing at all against evil or infernal spirits; for they are so connected with the hells that if one were overcome, another would rush in, and so on forever. They are like the sea which presses upon every part of a dike; and if the dike should be broken through by a cleft or a crack, the sea would never cease to burst through and overflow, until nothing was left standing. So would it be with man unless the Lord alone sustained in him the combats of temptations

(from Arcana Coelestia 1690 - 1692)

Enjoyment on Account of Use

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

With regard to use: those who are in charity, that is, in love to the neighbor (from which is the delight in pleasures that is alive), pay no regard to the enjoyment of pleasures except on account of the use. For there is no charity apart from works of charity; it is in its practice or use that charity consists. He who loves the neighbor as himself perceives no delight in charity except in its exercise, or in use; and therefore a life of charity is a life of uses. Such is the life of the whole heaven; for the kingdom of the Lord, because it is a kingdom of mutual love, is a kingdom of uses. Every pleasure therefore which is from charity, has its delight from use. The more noble the use, the greater the delight. Consequently the angels have happiness from the Lord according to the essence and quality of their use.

And so it is with every pleasure-the more noble its use, the greater its delight. For example, the delight of conjugial love: because this love is the seminary of human society, and thereby of the Lord's kingdom in the heavens, which is the greatest of all uses, it has in it so much delight that it is the very happiness of heaven. It is the same with all other pleasures, but with a difference according to the excellence of the uses, which are so manifold that they can scarcely be classed in genera and species, some having regard more nearly and directly, and some more remotely and indirectly, to the kingdom of the Lord, or to the Lord.

From these things it is further evident that all pleasures are granted to man, but only for the sake of use; and that they thus, with a difference from the use in which they are, partake of heavenly happiness and live from it.

(from Arcana Coelestia 997)

Righteousness and Judgment

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

That "righteousness" has regard to good, and "judgment" to truth, is evident from the signification of "righteousness," and from the signification of "judgment."

In the Word, "righteousness and judgment" are many times named together, but what they signify in the internal sense has not yet been known.

In the proximate sense "righteousness" is predicated of what is righteous or just [justus], and "judgment" of what is right [rectus].

There is what is righteous when anything is judged from good, and this according to conscience; but what is right when anything is judged from the law, and thus from the righteousness of the law, thus also according to conscience, because it has the law for its rule.

But in the internal sense "righteousness" denotes that which is from good, and "judgment" that which is from truth.

Good is all that which belongs to love and charity; truth is all that which belongs to the derivative faith. Truth derives its essence from good, and is called truth from good, just as faith derives its essence from love, and in the same way judgment from righteousness.

That such is the signification of "righteousness and judgment" is evident from the following passages in the Word. In Jeremiah:

Thus saith Jehovah, Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and rescue the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor. Woe to him that buildeth his house in that which is not righteousness and his chambers in that which is not judgment. Did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and righteousness? Then he had that which is good (Jer. 22:3, 13, 15),

where "judgment" denotes the things that are of truth, and "righteousness" the things that are of good. In Ezekiel:

If the wicked shall return from his sin, and do judgment and righteousness, all his sins that he hath sinned shall not be mentioned unto him; he hath done judgment and righteousness: he shall surely live. When the wicked turns himself from his wickedness, and does judgment and righteousness, for these he shall live (Ezek. 33:14, 16, 19),

where in like manner "judgment" denotes truth, which is of faith; and "righteousness" good, which is of charity.

~~~

It is especially said of the Lord that He "does judgment and righteousness," when He creates man anew as in Jeremiah:

Let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am Jehovah that doeth mercy, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I am well pleased (Jer. 9:24),

where mercy, which is of love, is described by "judgment and righteousness."

In the same:

I will raise up unto David a righteous offshoot, and He shall reign as King, and shall act intelligently, and shall do judgement and righteousness in the earth (Jer. 23:5; 33:15).

Hence it is said in John:

If I go away, I will send the Comforter unto you; and when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; of sin, because they believe not on Me; of righteousness, because I go unto My Father, and ye shall see Me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged (John 16:7-11).

"Sin" here denotes all unfaithfulness.

His "reproving in regard to righteousness" means in regard to all that is against good, when yet the Lord united the Human to the Divine to save the world - which is the meaning of "I go unto My Father and ye shall see Me no more."

His "reproving in regard to judgment" means in regard to all that is against truth, when yet evils were cast down into their hells so as no longer to be able to inflict injury - which is meant by the prince of the world being judged.

In general, His "reproving in regard to sin, righteousness, and judgment," means that it was in regard to all unfaithfulness against good and truth; and thus that there was no charity and faith; for in ancient times by righteousness and judgment were understood, as regards the Lord, all mercy and grace; and as regards man, all charity and faith.

(from Arcana Coelestia 2235)

Profanings and Blasphemings of the Truth and Good of Faith

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

THOU SHALT NOT TAKE THE NAME OF JEHOVAH THY GOD IN VAIN

That this signifies profanations and blasphemings of the truth and good of faith, is evident from the signification of "the name of God," as being all in the complex by which the Lord is worshiped, thus all the truth and good of faith; and from the signification of "taking in vain," as being to profane and blaspheme.

By "taking the name of God in vain" is properly signified to turn truth into evil, that is, to believe that it is truth, and nevertheless to live in evil; and it also denotes to turn good into falsity, that is, to live holily, and yet not to believe. Both are profanation, for believing is of the understanding, and living is of the will; and therefore in those who believe otherwise than they live, the thought and will are divided. But as the will continually flows into the understanding, for the understanding is the form of the will; that is, the will manifests itself there in light; therefore it is that when a man believes in one way and lives in another, truth and evil, or good and falsity, are conjoined; thus the things that are of heaven with man are conjoined with those which are of hell. This conjunction cannot be dissolved, and thereby the man be healed, except by a pulling asunder which carries away with it everything of spiritual life; and therefore these persons are sent into a hell the most grievous of all, where they are direfully tormented.

This is what is meant by the words of the Lord in Matthew:

All sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men; but the blasphemy of the spirit shall not be forgiven unto men. If anyone shall say a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but he who shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this age, nor in that which is to come (Matt. 12:31, 32).

Also by these words in Luke:

When the unclean spirit hath gone out of a man, he goeth through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return into my house whence I came out. And if on coming he findeth it swept and garnished, he goeth away and taketh seven other spirits worse than himself: and they enter in and dwell there; and the man's last things become worse than the first (Luke 11:24-26).

By these words is described the profanation of truth from the Lord; by "the unclean spirit when he goeth out" is meant the acknowledgment and faith of truth; by "the house swept" is meant a life contrary to truths; by "his return with seven other spirits" is meant a state of profanation. These are the things which are signified by "taking the name of God in vain." That such a state with man cannot be healed, thus cannot be forgiven, is signified also by the words which immediately follow, namely, "Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain," by which is meant that it cannot be forgiven. 

By "taking the name of God in vain" is also signified blasphemy, which takes place when those things which are of the Word, or of the doctrine of faith, thus which are holy, are held in derision, and are debased to unclean earthly things, and thus are defiled. But by "taking the name of God in vain," relatively to the Israelitish nation, which did not acknowledge any good and truth of faith (which are signified by "the name of God"), is meant the applying of the name of Jehovah, and also of the commandments and statutes which were commanded them, to the worship of idols, as they did in the wilderness to the worship of the golden calf, unto which they not only offered burnt offerings and sacrifices, and ate of the things sanctified thereby, but also called the day of its celebration "a feast to Jehovah," as we read in Moses:

Aaron made of the gold a molten calf, and they said, These be thy gods, Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it, and made proclamation, and said, Tomorrow is a feast to Jehovah. And therefore they rose up in the morning of the next day, and offered burnt-offerings, and brought things eucharistic (Exod. 32:4-6).

That those who thus took the name of Jehovah God in vain could not be forgiven, which is signified by their "not being held guiltless," is evident from the words of Jehovah to Moses at that time concerning them, namely:

And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the LORD; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.

And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin–; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.

And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them. And the LORD plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made. (Exod. 32:30 - 35).

FOR JEHOVAH WILL NOT HOLD HIM GUILTLESS THAT TAKETH HIS NAME IN VAIN.

That this signifies that these things cannot be forgiven, is evident from what has been unfolded

(from Arcana Coelestia 8882, 8883)

THE STATE OF THE WORLD AND OF THE CHURCH HEREAFTER

Selection from Last Judgment and Babylon Destroyed ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
THE STATE OF THE WORLD AND OF THE CHURCH HEREAFTER

The state of the world hereafter will be altogether similar to what it has been heretofore, for the great change which has taken place in the spiritual world, does not induce any change in the natural world as to the external form; so that after this there will be civil affairs as before, there will be peace, treaties, and wars as before, with all other things which belong to societies in general and in particular, The Lord said that:

In the last times there will be wars, and then nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places (Matt. 24:6, 7).

This does not signify that such things will exist in the natural world, but that the things corresponding with them will exist in the spiritual world: for the Word in its prophecies does not treat of the kingdoms on earth, nor of the nations there, thus neither concerning their wars, nor of famines, pestilences, and earthquakes there, but of such things as correspond to them in the spiritual world; what these things are, is explained in the Arcana Coelestia.

But as for the state of the church, this it is which will be dissimilar hereafter; it will be similar indeed as to the external appearance, but dissimilar as to the internal.

As to the external appearance divided churches will exist as heretofore, their doctrines will be taught as heretofore; and the same religions as now will exist among the Gentiles. But henceforth the man of the church will be in a more free state of thinking on matters of faith, thus on the spiritual things which relate to heaven, because spiritual freedom has been restored to him. For all things in the heavens and in the hells are now reduced into order, and all thought concerning Divine things and against the Divine inflows from thence; from the heavens all thought which is in harmony with Divine things, and from the hells all which is against Divine things. But man does not observe this change of state in himself, because he does not reflect upon it, and because he knows nothing of spiritual freedom and of influx; nevertheless it is perceived in heaven, and also by man himself after his death.

Because spiritual freedom has been restored to man, therefore the spiritual sense of the Word has now been disclosed, and by it interior Divine truths have been revealed; for man in his former state would not have understood them, and he who would have understood them, would have profaned them. That man has freedom by means of the equilibrium between heaven and hell, and, that man cannot be reformed except in freedom.

I have had various conversations with angels, concerning the state of the church hereafter. They said that they know not things to come, for the knowledge of things to come belongs to the Lord alone; but they know that the slavery and captivity in which the man of the church was formerly, has been taken away, and that now, from restored freedom, he can better perceive interior truths, if he wills to perceive them; and thus be made more internal, if he wills to become so; but that still they have slender hope of the men of the Christian church, but much of some nation far distant from the Christian world, and therefore removed from infesters, which nation is such that it is capable of receiving spiritual light, and of being made a celestial-spiritual man, and they said, that at this day interior Divine truths are revealed in that nation, and are also received in spiritual faith, that is, in life and heart, and that they adore the Lord.

(from Last Judgment and Babylon Destroyed 73 - 74)

The ONLY Saving Faith

Selection from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Since the Lord's time the Christian Church has passed through the several stages from infancy to extreme old age. Its infancy was in the lifetime of the apostles, when they preached throughout the world repentance and faith in the Lord God the Savior. That this is what they preached is evident from these words in the Acts of the Apostles:

Paul testified, both to the Jews and to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21).

It is a noteworthy fact that some months ago the Lord called together His twelve disciples, now angels, and sent them forth throughout the spiritual world, with the command to preach the gospel there anew, since the church that was established by the Lord through them has at this day become so far consummated that scarcely a remnant of it survives; and this has come to pass, because the Divine trinity has been divided into three persons, each one of whom is God and Lord.

Because of this a sort of frenzy has invaded not only all theology, but also the church that from the Lord's name is called - Christian. It is called a frenzy because men's minds have been made so demented by it as not to know whether there is one God or three. On the lips there is one God; but in the thought of the mind there are three; consequently the mind and lips, that is, the thought and speech, are at variance; and the result of this variance is that there is no God at all. The naturalism that prevails at this day is from no other source. Consider, if you will, with the lips speaking of one and the mind thinking of three, whether one of these statements does not, when they meet within, cancel the other. Consequently when a man thinks about God, if he thinks at all it is nothing more than thought from the mere name God, unaccompanied by any sense of the meaning of the name that involves any knowledge of God.

The idea of God, with all conception of Him, having been thus rent asunder, it is my purpose to treat, in their order, of God the Creator, of the Lord the Redeemer, and of the Holy Spirit the Operator, and lastly of the Divine trinity, [this is done in the work entitled: THE TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION Containing THE UNIVERSAL THEOLOGY Of THE NEW CHURCH FORETOLD BY THE LORD IN DANIEL 7:13, 14; AND IN REVELATION 21:1, 2], to the end that what has been rent asunder may be again made whole; which is done when the reason of man is convinced by the Word and by light therefrom that there is a Divine trinity, and that the trinity is in the Lord God the Savior Jesus Christ, like the soul, the body, and what goes forth from these, in man; and that thus this article in the Athanasian Creed is true: In Christ God and man, or the Divine and the Human, are not two, but are in one person; and as the rational soul and the flesh are one man, so God and man are one Christ.

~~~

SAVING FAITH IS FAITH IN THE LORD GOD THE SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST.

Saving faith is faith in God the Savior, because He is God and Man, and He is in the Father and the Father in Him; thus they are one; therefore those who go to Him, at the same time go to the Father also, thus to the one and only God, and there is no saving faith in any other. That men ought to believe or have faith in the Son of God, the Redeemer and Savior, conceived from Jehovah, born of the virgin Mary, and called Jesus Christ, is evident from the commands so frequently repeated by Him and afterwards by His apostles. That faith in Him was commanded by Himself, is clearly evident from the following passages:

Jesus said, This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that everyone who beholdeth the Son and believeth in Him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day (John 6:40).

He that believeth in the Son hath eternal life but he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him (John 3:36)

That whosoever believeth in the Son should not perish, but have eternal life for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:15, 16).

Jesus said, I am the Resurrection and the Life; he that believeth in Me shall never die (John 11:25, 26).

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth in Me hath eternal life. I am the bread of life (John 6:47, 48).

I am the bread of life; he that cometh to Me shall not hunger, and he that believeth in Me shall never thirst (John 6:35).

Jesus cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink; he that believeth in Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water (John 7:37, 38).

They said to Jesus, What must we do, that we may work the works of God? Jesus answered, This is the work of God, that ye believe in Him whom He hath sent (that is, the Father) (John 6:28, 29).

While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be sons of light (John 12:36).

He that believeth in the Son of God is not judged; but he that believeth not hath been judged already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God (John 3:18).

These things are written that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye may have life in His name (John 20:31).

Unless ye believe that I am, ye shall die in your sins (John 8:24).

Jesus said, When the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will convict the world respecting sin, and righteousness, and judgment; respecting sin, because they believe not in Me (John 16:8, 9).

That the faith of the apostles was no other than a faith the Lord Jesus Christ, is evident from many passages in their Epistles, from which I will present only the following:

I live; yet no longer I, but Christ liveth in me but what I now live in the flesh, I live in faith which is in the Son of God (Gal. 2:20).

Paul testified,

Both to Jews and to Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21).

He who brought Paul out said, What must I do to be saved? And he said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, thus shalt thou be saved, and thy house (Acts 16:30, 31).

He that hath the Son hath the life and he that hath not the Son of God, hath not the life. These things have I written unto you that believe in the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe in the name of the Son of God (1 John 5:12, 13)

We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, yet knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ (Gal. 2:15, 16).

Because theirs was a faith in Jesus Christ, and also because faith is also from Him, they called it the faith of Jesus Christ, as in the passage just quoted (Gal. 2:16), and in the following:

The righteousness of God, through the faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe that He may justify him who is of the faith of Jesus (Rom. 3:22, 26).

Having the righteousness which is from the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith (Phil. 3:9).

He that keepeth the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus (Apoc. 14:12).

Through the faith which is in Christ Jesus (2 Tim. 3:15).

In Jesus Christ is faith working through love (Gal. 5:6).

From all this it can be seen what kind of faith is meant by Paul in the saying now so often quoted in the church:

Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law (Rom. 3:28);

namely, that it is not a faith in God the Father, but in His Son, still less a faith in three Gods in order, in one from whom, in another for the sake of whom, and in a third through whom [comes salvation].

It is believed in the church, that its tripersonal faith is meant by Paul in that saying, for the reason that the church, during fourteen centuries, or ever since the Nicene Council, has acknowledged no other faith, and consequently has known no other, and has therefore believed this to be the one only faith, and that no other is possible. So wherever the word faith occurs in the New Testament that faith is supposed to be meant, and to it everything there has been applied; therefore the only saving faith, which is a faith in God the Savior, has perished; and in consequence so many fallacies and so many paradoxes adverse to sound reason have crept into the doctrines of the church. For every doctrine of the church that will teach and point out the way to heaven or to salvation depends on faith; and so many fallacies and paradoxes having crept into that faith, as before said, it became necessary to proclaim the dogma, that the understanding must be kept in subjection to faith. But since in that saying of Paul (Rom. 3:28) the term faith does not mean faith in God the Father but faith in His Son; and works of the law do not there mean the works of the law of the Decalogue, but the works of the Mosaic law for the Jews (as is plain from subsequent verses there, and also from like passages in the Epistle to the Galatians, 2:14, 15), that foundation stone of the present faith is gone, and with it falls the temple built upon it, like a house sinking into the earth and leaving only the top of its roof above ground.

Men ought to believe, that is, have faith, in God the Savior Jesus Christ, because that is a faith in a visible God within whom is the invisible; and faith in a visible God, who is at once Man and God, enters into a man; for faith in its essence is spiritual but in its form is natural; consequently with man such a faith becomes spiritual-natural. For anything spiritual, in order to be anything with man, must have a recipient in the natural. The naked spiritual does indeed enter into man, but it is not received; it is like the ether, which flows in and out producing no effect, for to produce an effect there must be perception and consequent reception, both of these in his mind; and no such reception is possible with man except in his natural.

But on the other hand merely natural faith, or faith destitute of a spiritual essence, is not faith, but only persuasion or knowledge. In externals persuasion emulates faith; but since there is in its internals no spirituality, neither is there anything saving in it. Such is the faith of all who deny the Divinity of the Lord's Human; such was the Arian faith, and such also is the Socinian faith, because both reject the Lord's Divinity. What is faith without an object toward which it is determined? Is it not like gazing into the universe, where the sight falls, as it were, into vacuity and is lost? It is like a bird flying beyond the atmosphere into the ether, where, as in a vacuum, it ceases to breathe. The abiding of this faith in man's mind may be compared to that of the winds in the wings [halls?] of Aeolus, or of light in a falling star. It rises like a comet with a long tail, and like it passes over and disappears.

In a word, faith in an invisible God is actually blind, since the human mind fails to see its God; and the light of that faith, not being a spiritual-natural faith, is a fatuous light; which light is like that of the glow-worm, or like that seen above marshes or sulphurous glebes at night, or like the phosphorescence of rotten wood. From that light nothing comes except what pertains to fantasy, which creates a belief that the apparent is the real, when yet it is not. Faith in an invisible God shines with no other light than this, especially when God is thought to be a Spirit, and spirit is thought to be like ether. What follows but that man regards God as he does the ether? Consequently he seeks God in the universe; and when he does not find Him there, he believes the nature of the universe to be God. This is the origin of the prevailing naturalism of the day. Did not the Lord say,

That no one ever heard the Father's voice or saw His shape? (John 5:37);

and also,

That no man hath seen God at any time, but that the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father hath revealed Him (John 1:18).

No man hath seen the Father, save He who is with the Father, He hath seen the Father (John 6:46).

Also that no one cometh unto the Father, but through Him (John 14:8).

Furthermore,

That He who sees and knows Him sees and knows the Father (John 14:7-12).

But faith in the Lord God the Savior is different; He, being God and Man, can be approached and be seen in thought. Faith in Him is not indeterminate, but has an object from which and to which it proceeds and when once received is permanent, as when anyone has seen an emperor or king, as often as the fact is recalled the image returns. That faith's sight is like one's seeing a bright cloud, and in the midst of it an angel who invites the man to him, so that he may be raised up into heaven. Thus does the Lord appear to those who have faith in Him; He draws near to every man so far as man recognizes and acknowledges Him, which he does, so far as he knows and keeps the Lord's commandments, which are, to shun evils and do good; and at length the Lord comes into man's house, and together with the Father who is in Him, makes His abode with man, according to these words in John:

Jesus said, He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me; and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him and We will come unto him and make Our abode with him (14:21, 23).

The foregoing was written in the presence of the Lord's twelve apostles, who were sent to me by the Lord while I was writing it.

(True Christian Religion 4; 337-339)