From Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
The Human That Appertained To The Lord
Before It Was Made Divine Was Merely A Servant
Before It Was Made Divine Was Merely A Servant
Until He had put it off and made it Divine, the human that appertained to the Lord was merely a servant. The human that appertained to Him was from the mother, thus was infirm, having with it from the mother an hereditary which by means of the combats of temptations He overcame and utterly expelled, insomuch that nothing was left of that which was infirm and hereditary from the mother, nay, at last there remained not anything whatever from the mother. Thus He entirely put off all that was from the mother, and therefore was no longer her son, as also He himself says in Mark:
They said unto Him, Behold Thy mother and Thy brethren without seek for Thee: and He answered them, saying, Who is My mother, or My brethren? And looking round on them that sat about Him, He said, Behold My mother and My brethren; for whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is My brother, and My sister, and My mother (Mark 3:32-35; Matt. 12:46-49; Luke 8:20, 21).And when He had put off this human, He put on the Divine Human, from which He called Himself the "Son of man," as we find many times in the Word of the New Testament; and also the "Son of God;" and by the "Son of man" He meant the truth itself, and by the "Son of God" the good itself, which belonged to His Human Essence when this was made Divine. The former state was that of the Lord's humiliation, but the latter that of His glorification.
In the former state, namely, that of humiliation, when as yet He had appertaining to Him an infirm human, He adored Jehovah as one other than Himself, and indeed like a servant; for relatively to the Divine the human is nothing else, on which account in the Word the term "servant" is predicated of that human, as in Isaiah:
I will defend this city to save it, for Mine own sake, and for My servant David's sake (Isa. 37:35)where the Assyrians are treated of, in whose camp a hundred and eighty-five thousand were smitten by an angel. "David" denotes the Lord, who, as He was to come, in respect to the human is called a "servant." (in the Word "David" denotes the Lord)
In the same Prophet:
Behold My servant upon whom I will lean; My chosen, My soul is well pleased. I have put My spirit upon him; he shall bring forth judgment unto the nations (Isa. 42:1),manifestly concerning the Lord, of whom, when He was in the human, the terms "servant" and "chosen" are predicated.
Again:
Who is blind but My servant? and deaf, as the angel I will send? who is blind as the perfect one, and blind as the servant of Jehovah? (Isa. 42:19)where also the Lord is spoken of; and of whom in like manner the terms "servant" and "angel" are predicated when He was in the human.
Again:
Ye are My witnesses, saith Jehovah, and My servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He (Isa. 43:10).Again:
Said Jehovah, My Former from the womb to be His servant; to bring Jacob again unto Him, and that Israel be gathered unto Him; and He said, Thou art a slight thing that thou shouldest be My servant, to set up the tribes of Jacob I have given thee for a light of the nations to be My salvation unto the extremity of the earth (Isa. 49:5, 6)where also the Lord and His human are manifestly treated of before He was made the "light of the nations," and "salvation unto the extremity of the earth."
Again:
Who is among you that feareth Jehovah, that heareth the voice of His servant, who walketh in darkness, and hath no brightness? let him trust in the name of Jehovah, and lean upon His God (Isa. 50:10)."Servant" here also denotes the human that appertained to the Lord; and that He was in this human and taught the way of truth, is the "voice of the servant of Jehovah."
Again:
Jehovah goeth before you, and the God of Israel gathereth you. Behold, My servant shall act prudently, he shall be lifted up, and shall be exalted, and shall be raised up exceedingly (Isa. 52:12, 13).It is evident that "servant" is here predicated of the Lord when He was in the human; for it is said of Him that He "shall be lifted up, exalted, and raised up."
Again:
He hath no form and no honor; we saw him, but there was no appearance; He was despised, a man of sorrows, acquainted with disease. Jehovah willed to bruise him; He made him infirm; if he shall make his soul guilt, he shall see seed, he shall prolong days, and the will of Jehovah shall prosper by his hand; he shall see of the labor of his soul, he shall be satisfied; by his knowledge shall My righteous servant justify many; and he himself hath carried their iniquities (Isa;. 53:2, 3, 10, 11).Here, as in the whole of this chapter, the Lord's state of humiliation is openly treated of; and it is also said that He was then in an infirm human, namely, that He was a "man of sorrows, acquainted with disease, infirm, was in the labor of His soul," besides a number of other statements, in which state He is called "servant."
(Arcana Coelestia 2159)