October 22, 2017

Use — The Ends of Creation

Selection from Divine Love and Wisdom ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
All uses, which are ends of creation are in forms, which forms they take from substances and matters such as are in lands.

All things ... as the sun, atmospheres, and lands, are only means to ends. The ends of creation are those things that are produced by the Lord as a sun, through the atmospheres, out of lands; and these ends are called uses.

• In their whole extent these are all things of the vegetable kingdom, all things of the animal kingdom, and finally the human race, and the angelic heaven which is from it. These are called uses, because they are recipients of Divine Love and Divine Wisdom also because they have regard to God the Creator from whom they are, and thereby conjoin Him to His great work; by which conjunction it comes that, as they spring forth from Him, so do they have unceasing existence from Him. They are said to have regard to God the Creator from whom they are, and to conjoin Him to His great work, but this is to speak according to appearance. It is meant that God the Creator causes them to have regard and to conjoin themselves to Him as it were of themselves....

• Divine Love and Divine Wisdom must necessarily have being and form in other things created by themselves

• All things in the created universe are recipients of Divine Love and Divine Wisdom.

• The uses of all created things ascend by degrees to man, and through man to God the Creator from whom they are.

• Who does not see clearly that uses are the ends of creation, when he considers that from God the Creator nothing can have form, and therefore nothing can be created, except use; and that to be use, it must be for the sake of others; and that use for the sake of self is also for the sake of others, since a use for the sake of self looks to one's being in a state to be of use to others? Whoso considers this is also able to see, that use which is use cannot spring from man, but must be in man from that Being from whom everything that comes forth is use, that is, from the Lord.
(Divine Love and Wisdom 307-308)