In Accordance with the Laws of Order

Selection from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

The Divine omnipotence is in order, and that its government, which is called Providence, is in accordance with order, and that it acts continually and to eternity in accordance with the laws of its order; nor can it act against them or change them one iota, because order, with all its laws, is Himself.

The omnipotent God created the world from the order within Him, that is, into the order in which He is, and in accordance with which He rules. He impressed upon the universe and each and all things of it its own order, upon man his order, upon the beast its order, upon bird and fish and worm, and every tree and even every blade of grass, upon each its own order. But to illustrate by examples, I will mention briefly the following

• The laws of order enjoined upon man are, that he should acquire for himself truths from the Word, and reflect upon them naturally, and as far as he can, rationally, and thus acquire for himself a natural faith.

• The laws of order on the part of God then are, that He will draw near and fill these truths with His Divine light, and thus fill the man's natural faith (which is mere knowledge and persuasion) with a Divine essence. In this and in no other way can faith become saving. It is the same with charity.

But some particulars shall be briefly mentioned.

• God, in accordance with His laws, is able to remit sins to any man only so far as the man, in accordance with his laws, refrains from them.

• God able to regenerate a man spiritually only so far as the man, accordance with his laws, regenerates himself naturally.

God is in an unceasing endeavor to regenerate man, and thus save him, but this He is unable to accomplish except as man prepares himself as a receptacle, and thus levels the way and opens the door for God. A bridegroom cannot enter the chamber of a virgin till she becomes his bride; for she shuts the door and keeps the key to herself within, but when the virgin has become a bride she gives the key to the bridegroom.

God could not by His omnipotence have redeemed men unless He had become Man. Neither could He have made His Human Divine unless that Human had first been like the human of a babe, and then like that of a boy, and unless afterwards the Human had formed itself into a receptacle and habitation, into which its Father might enter, which was done by His fulfilling all things in the Word, that is, all the laws of order therein - so far as He accomplished this, He united Himself to the Father, and the Father united Himself to Him.

(from True Christian Religion 73)

The Destructive Nature of the Love of Self

Selections from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

They who are in the loves of self and of the world cannot possibly believe that they are in things so filthy and unclean as they actually are in, for there is a certain pleasure and delight that soothes, favors, and allures, and causes them to love that life, to prefer it to all other life, and thereby to suppose that there is nothing of evil in it.

Whatever favors anyone's love and the life thence derived is believed to be good.

Hence also the rational consents, and suggests falsities which confirm and cause such blindness that they see nothing of the nature of heavenly love; and if they were to see it they would say in their hearts that it is a wretched affair, or a thing of naught, or something of the nature of a phantasy that takes hold of the mind, as in sickness.

But that the life of the love of self and of the world, together with its pleasures and delights, is filthy and unclean, may be seen by everyone who is willing to think from the rational faculty with which he is gifted. The love of self is the source of all the evils that destroy civic society. From it, as from an unclean pit, spring all hatreds, all revenges, all cruelties, nay, all adulteries. For anyone who loves himself either holds in contempt or reviles or hates everybody else who does not serve him or who does not further his interests or who fails to show him favour; and when he hates, he breathes nothing but revenges and cruelties, and this in proportion to the degree in which he loves himself, so that this love is destructive of society and of the human race. That in the other life the love of self is most filthy, and that it is diametrically opposite to the mutual love in which heaven consists.

And as the love of self is the source of hatreds, revenges, cruelties, and adulteries, it is the source of all things that are called sins, wickednesses, abominations, and profanations, and therefore when this love is in the rational part of man, and is in the cupidities and phantasies of his external man, the influx of heavenly love from the Lord is continually repelled, perverted, and contaminated. It is like foul excrement, which dissipates, nay, defiles, all sweet odor; it is like an object that turns the continually inflowing rays of light into dark and repulsive colors. It is like a tiger, or a serpent, which repels all fondling, and kills with bite and poison those who offer it food; or like a vicious man who turns even the best intentions of others, and their very kindnesses, into what is blameworthy and malicious. (from Arcana Coelestia 2045)

Those within the church who are in falsity, and at the same time are in the love of self, are most especially those who profane holy things; but they who are in any other love whatever not so much, for the love of self is the most foul of all, because it is destructive of society, and thus of the human race. That it is also diametrically opposed to mutual love, in which heaven consists, and thus is destructive of heavenly order itself, may be seen from the evil spirits and genii in the other life; and also from the hells, in which nothing reigns but the love of self; and because the love of self reigns there, so do all kinds of hatreds, revenges, and cruelties, because these are derived from it.

Mutual love in heaven consists in the fact that they love the neighbor more than themselves, the effect of which is that the whole heaven represents as it were one man; for by means of mutual love all are so consociated by the Lord, and hence it is that the happinesses of all are communicated to each one, and those of each one to all. Consequently the heavenly form is such that everyone is as it were a kind of center, thus a center of communications, and consequently of happinesses, from all; and this in accordance with all the differences of mutual love, which are innumerable. And because those who are in that love perceive the highest happiness in being able to communicate to others that which flows into them, and this from the heart, the communication becomes perpetual and eternal; and on this account, as the Lord's kingdom increases, so the happiness of each angel increases. As the angels are in distinct societies and abodes, they do not think of this; but the Lord thus disposes all things both in general and in particular. Such is the kingdom of the Lord in the heavens.

Nothing else endeavors to destroy this form and this order than the love of self, and therefore all in the other life who are in the love of self are more deeply infernal than others, for the love of self communicates nothing to others, but extinguishes and suffocates their delights and happinesses. Whatever delight flows into them from others, they receive to themselves, concentrate it within themselves, turn it into the filthiness of self, prevent its going any further, and thus destroy all that tends to unanimity and consociation. From this comes disunion, and consequently destruction. And as every such person desires to be served, courted, and adored by others, and loves no one but himself, hence comes dissociation, which is determined and puts itself forth into lamentable states, so that they perceive nothing to be more delightful than to torture others, in direful modes and by phantasies, from hatred, revenge, and cruelty. When such persons come to any society where mutual love resides, they are cast down of their own accord, like impure and dead weights in a pure and living aura, because all the influent delight is terminated in themselves; and because they exhale a foul idea of self, their delight is there turned into a cadaverous stench, by which they are made sensible of the hell of self, besides being seized with terrible anguish.

From this we can see that it is the nature of the love of self to be destructive not only of the human race, but also of heavenly order; and thus that there is nothing in it but impurity, filthiness, profaneness, and hell itself - however little this may appear to those who are in it. They are in the love of self who despise others in comparison with themselves, and hate those who do not favor, serve, and pay a kind of worship to them; and who find a cruel delight in revenge, and in depriving others of honor, reputation, wealth, and life. They who are in the love of self are in these evils; and they who are in these evils may know that they are in the love of self. (from Arcana Coelestia 2057)

The Supreme Among the Doctrinal Things of the Church

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

The Most Ancient Church, which was celestial, and which above all others was called Man, adored the Infinite Being, and the derivative Infinite Coming-forth; and because, from the things which could be perceived in their internal man and those which could be felt in their external, and from the visible things in the world, the men of that church could have no perception of the Infinite Being, but could have some perception of the derivative Infinite Coming-forth, they therefore adored the Infinite Coming forth in which is the infinite being. The Infinite Coming-forth in which is the Infinite Being they perceived as a Divine Man, because they knew that the Infinite Coming-forth was brought forth through heaven from the Infinite Being; and as heaven is the Grand Man, corresponding to each and all things that are in man, they therefore could have no other idea of perception concerning the Infinite Coming-forth from the Infinite Being, than as of a Divine Man; for whatever from the Infinite Being passes through heaven as the Grand Man is attended with an image thereof in each and all things. When that celestial church began to fall away, they foresaw that the Infinite Coming-forth could no longer have influx into the minds of men, and that so the human race would perish; therefore it was revealed to them that One should be born who would make the Human in Himself Divine, and in this way become the same Infinite Coming-forth as had been before, and would at last become one with the Infinite Being as also it had been before. From this came their prophecy in Genesis concerning the Lord (Gen. 3:15).

This is described in John in these words:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us; and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:1-4, 14);

the "Word" is the Divine truth, which in its essence is the Infinite Coming-forth from the Infinite Being, and is the Lord Himself as to His Human. This very Human it is from which truth Divine now proceeds and flows into heaven, and through heaven into the minds of men; consequently which rules and governs the universe, as it has ruled and governed it from eternity; for it is one and the same with the Infinite Being, because He conjoined the Human with the Divine, which was done by this, that He made the Human in Himself also Divine. From this it is now evident that the supreme of truth Divine is the Lord's Divine Human, and hence that the supreme among the doctrinal things of the church is that His Human is Divine. (Arcana Coelestia 4687)

There are two essentials which constitute the church, and hence two principal things of doctrine - one, that the Lord's Human is Divine; the other, that love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor make the church, and not faith separate from love and charity. (Arcana Coelestia 4723)

All the Divine truth in the whole heaven proceeds from no other source than the Lord's Divine Human. That which is from the Divine Itself cannot flow in immediately with any angel, because it is Infinite; but only mediately through the Lord's Divine Human, as is also meant by these words of the Lord, "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath set Him forth" (John 1:18). For this reason also the Lord as to the Divine Human is called Mediator.

This also was from eternity, for the Divine being, without flowing through heaven and becoming thence the Divine coming-forth, could not be communicated to any angel, still less to any spirit, and less still to any man. That the Lord as to the Divine Itself is the Divine being, and as to the Divine Human is the Divine Coming-forth. Neither could the Lord's Human itself have received any influx from the Divine Being, unless in Him the Human had been made Divine; for that which receives the Divine being must also be Divine. From these few things it may be seen that Divine truth does not proceed immediately from the Divine Itself, but from the Lord's Divine Human.

This also do they extinguish in themselves who battle for faith alone and do not live a life of faith; for they believe that the Lord's Human is purely human, not unlike the human of another man; and hence many of them deny the Divine of the Lord, however they may profess Him with the lips. But those who live a life of faith, on bended knees and with humble hearts adore the Lord as God the Savior, and do not then at all think from doctrine of the distinction between the Divine and the human nature; and they do the same in the Holy Supper. Hence it is plain that with them the Lord's Divine Human is in their hearts.

(from Arcana Coelestia 4724)