Making the Human Divine

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
THE STATE OF GLORIFICATION OF THE RATIONAL

The rational was glorified when it was made Divine in respect to both — good and truth.

That the Lord as to the human was made new, that is, glorified (or what is the same, was made Divine), no one can possibly conceive (thus neither believe) who is in worldly and corporeal loves; for he is altogether ignorant what the spiritual and celestial is, nor indeed is he willing to know. But he who is not in worldly and corporeal loves, is capable of perceiving this, for he believes that the Lord is one with the Father, and that from Him proceeds all that is holy; consequently that He is Divine even as to the Human; and whoever believes, perceives in his own way.

The state of the Lord's glorification may in some manner be conceived from the state of the regeneration of man, for the regeneration of man is an image of the glorification of the Lord.

Freedom is predicated of the natural man, but not in the same way of the rational; for good flows through the rational into the natural in heavenly freedom from the Lord. The natural man is that which is to receive this good; and in order that it may receive it, and may thus be conjoined with the heavenly freedom which flows in through the rational, the natural is left in freedom. For freedom is of love or affection; and unless the natural man receives the affection of truth from the inflowing affection of good, it cannot possibly be conjoined with the rational. Such is the case with man; and that he is reformed of the Lord through freedom.

In regard to the Lord, He likewise left the natural in freedom when He made His rational Divine as to truth; that is, when He adjoined Divine truth to the Divine good of the rational; for it was His will to make His Human Divine in the usual manner, that is, in the way in which man is reformed and regenerated. The reformation and regeneration of man is therefore itself a kind of image; by reformation and regeneration also a man is made new, and hence is said to be born anew and created new; and insofar as he is reformed, insofar he has as it were what is Divine in him. But there is this difference, that the Lord made Himself Divine from His own power, while man cannot do the least thing from his own power, but only from the Lord. It is said "as it were what is Divine," because man is but a recipient of life; whereas the Lord as to each essence is life itself (from AC 3043)

THE PREPARATION AND ENLIGHTENMENT
OF THE NATURAL MAN
IN ORDER THAT THE TRUTH
MIGHT BE CALLED FORTH THENCE
WHICH WAS TO BE CONJOINED WITH GOOD
IN THE RATIONAL

With preparation and enlightenment the case is as follows: —

There are two lights which form the intellectual things of man — the light of heaven, and the light of the world; the light of heaven is from the Lord, who to angels in the other life is a Sun and Moon; the light of the world is from the sun and moon which appear before the bodily sight. The internal man has its sight and its understanding from the light of heaven; but the external man has its sight and its understanding from the light of the world. The influx of the light of heaven into the things which are of the world's light, effects enlightenment and at the same time observance; an observance of truth if there is correspondence, and an observance of falsity instead of truth if there is not correspondence. But enlightenment and observance are impossible unless there is affection or love, which is spiritual heat, and which gives life to the things that are enlightened by the light; comparatively as the sun's light does not give life to the things of the vegetable kingdom, but the heat that is in the light, as is evident from the seasons of the year.

. . . the light of heaven which is the Lord's Divine light inflowed into the things that were of the light of the world in His natural man, in order that He might bring out thence the truth which was to be conjoined with good in the rational; thus by the ordinary way. And therefore in order that the Lord might make the human Divine by the ordinary way, He came into the world; that is, it was His will to be born as a man, and to be instructed as a man, and to be reborn as a man; but with the difference that man is reborn of the Lord, whereas the Lord not only regenerated Himself, but also glorified Himself, that is, made Himself Divine; and further, that a man is made new by an influx of charity and faith, but the Lord, by the Divine love which was in Him and which was His. Hence it may be seen that the regeneration of man is an image of the glorification of the Lord; or what is the same, that in the process of the regeneration of man may be seen as in an image, although remotely, the process of the Lord's glorification. (from AC 3138).

When man is being regenerated, he is then becoming altogether another, and is being made new; therefore also when he has been regenerated, he is called "born again," and "created anew." Then, although he has a similar face and a similar speech, yet his mind is not similar; his mind, when he is regenerate, is open toward heaven, and there dwells therein love to the Lord and charity toward his neighbor, together with faith. It is the mind that makes a man another, and a new man. This change of state cannot be perceived in the body of man, but in his spirit, the body being merely the covering of his spirit; and when it is put off, then his spirit appears, and this (provided he has been regenerated) in altogether another form, for it then has the form of love and charity in beauty inexpressible, instead of its pristine form, which was that of hatred and cruelty with a deformity also inexpressible. This shows what a regenerate person is, or one who is born again, or created anew; namely, that he is altogether another, and is a new man.

From this image it may in some measure be conceived what the glorification of the Lord is. He was not regenerated as a man is; but became Divine, and this from the very Divine Love itself, for He was made the Divine Love itself. What His form then was, was made apparent to Peter, James, and John when it was given them to see Him, not with the eyes of the body but with the eyes of the spirit, namely — that His countenance shone like the sun (Matt. 17:2); and that this was His Divine Human is evident from the voice which then came out of the cloud, saying, "This is my beloved Son" (verse 5). That the "Son" is the Divine Human, may be seen —

Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him. (Genesis 21:3) That this signifies the quality of the rational as being Divine, is evident from the representation of Abraham, as being the Lord as to the Divine celestial, or the Divine Good, treated of many times before; and from the signification of "calling a name," as being the quality; and from the signification of his "son," as being the rational; and also from the signification of his being "born unto him," as being to come forth from the Divine. Hence it is evident that "Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him," signifies the quality of the rational as being Divine.

From these few words three arcana shine forth for those who are in the internal sense:

First, that the Lord's Divine Human came forth [exstiterit] from the Divine Itself; which is further treated of in this verse.

Second, that the Lord's Divine Human was not only conceived, but also born, of Jehovah, and hence the Lord as to His Divine Human is called the "Son of God," and the "Only-begotten" (John 1:14, 18, 50; 3:16, 18, 35-36; 5:19-27; 6:69; 9:35; 10:36; 11:27; 14:13-14; 17:1; 20:31; and in like manner in the other Evangelists).

Third, that the Lord's Divine Human is the "name" of Jehovah, that is, His quality (see John 12:28) (from AC 2628)

(Article based from Arcana Coelestia 3712)