What Makes the Spiritual Life of Man

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

How the truth of the literal sense of the Word serves spiritual truth, shall be briefly told.

The man of the church first learns truth from the literal sense of the Word, which is general truth accommodated to the apprehension of the external man, who is in natural light. This truth is received by an external way, that is, by hearing, and is stored up in the memory of the external man, where are also various memory-knowledges derived from the world (See AC 2469-2494 concerning the two memories - internal and external). Afterward the things stored up in this memory are subjected to the sight or view of the internal man, who sees from the light of heaven. The internal man calls forth therefrom by selection the truths which agree with the good which flows in from the Lord by the way of the soul, and which the man had received. There the Lord conjoins these truths with good. The truths which are thus conjoined in the internal man are called "spiritual truths," and the good with which the truths are conjoined is called "spiritual good." This good, formed by means of truths, is what makes the spiritual life of man. The truths themselves there are called "the truths of faith," and the good is called "the good of charity." The good in which truths have thus been implanted is the church with man.

From this it is plain in what manner the truths of the literal sense of the Word serve for the formation of spiritual truths, in general for the formation of faith and of charity, which make the spiritual life; which life consists in being affected with truths for the sake of good, and in being affected with good from truths, and finally in being affected with truths from good.

§§§

... the truths of the literal sense of the Word, stored up in the natural memory of man, form there as it were a field for the view of the internal man, into which light from heaven flows. From this field, as before said, the internal man selects such things as agree with the good in him, comparatively as the eye selects from the field of a garden such things as conduce to the uses of its life.

(from Arcana Coelestia 9034:3,4 - 9035)

The Formation of Faith

Selection from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

As to the formation of faith: it is effected by man's going to the Lord, learning truths from the Word, and living according to them.

First: Faith is formed by man's going to the Lord, because faith that is faith, or that is a saving faith, is from the Lord and in the Lord. That it is from the Lord is evident from His words to His disciples:

Abide in Me, and I in you for apart from Me, ye can do nothing (John 15:4, 5).

That it is faith in the Lord, is evident from the passages presented in abundance (n. 337, 338), to the effect that men ought to believe in the Son. Since then faith is from the Lord and in the Lord, it may be said that the Lord is faith itself, for its life and essence are in Him, and thus from Him.

Secondly: Faith is formed by man's learning truths from the Word, because faith in its essence is truth; for all things that enter into faith are truths; consequently faith is nothing but a complex of truths shining in the mind of man; for truths teach not only that man ought to believe, but also in whom he ought to believe, and what he ought to believe. Truths ought to be taken from the Word, because all truths that conduce to salvation are in the Word, and there is efficacy in them because they are given by the Lord, and are therefore inscribed on the whole angelic heaven; consequently when man learns truths from the Word, he comes into communion and consociation with angels beyond what he knows. Faith destitute of truths like grain without inner substance, which when ground yields nothing but bran; while faith from truths is like useful grain, which when ground yields flour. In a word, the essentials of faith are truths; and if truths do not reside in and constitute the faith, it is only like the shrill sound of a whistle; but when they do reside in and constitute it, faith is like a voice of glad tidings.

Thirdly: Faith is formed by man's living according to truths, because spiritual life is life according to truths, and truths do not actually live until they are in deeds. Truths abstracted from deeds are merely matters of thought, and unless they become of the will also, are only in the entrance to the man, and thus are not inwardly in him; for the will is the man himself, and the thought is so far the man, in quantity and quality, as it adjoins the will to itself. He who learns truths and does not practice them, is like one who sows seed in a field and does not harrow it in; and consequently the seed becomes swollen by the rain and is spoiled. But he who learns truths and practises them, is like one who sows the seed and covers it, and the rain causes it to grow to a crop and to be of use for food. The Lord says:

If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them (John 13:17)

And again:

He that was sown upon the good ground, this is he that heareth the Word and giveth heed; who also beareth fruit and bringeth forth (Matt. 13:23);

also:

Everyone that heareth these My words, and doth them, I will liken him unto a prudent man, who built his house upon a rock. And everyone that heareth these My words and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand (Matt. 7:24, 26).

All words of the Lord are truths.

From the foregoing it is clear that there are three things by which faith is formed in man:

• First by going to the Lord

• Secondly, by learning truths from the Word

• Thirdly, by living according to them.

Now as these are three things, and one not the same as another, it follows that they can be separated; for a man may go to the Lord, and not know any but historical truths respecting God and the Lord; also a man may know truths from the Word in abundance, and yet not live according to them. But in the man in whom these three things are separated, that is, in whom one is apart from the other, there is no saving faith. Saving faith arises when the three are conjoined, and becomes such as the conjunction is.

Where these three things are separated, faith is like a sterile seed, which when dropped in the earth moulders into dust. But where the three are conjoined, faith is like a seed in the ground which grows up to a tree, and the fruit of it is according to their conjunction.

Where these three things are separated, faith is like an egg which contains no prolific principle; but where they are conjoined, faith is like an egg that can produce a beautiful bird.

The faith of those in whom these three things are separated, may be likened to the eye of a fish or of a crab when cooked; but the faith of those in whom the three are conjoined, may be likened to an eye translucent from the crystalline humor even to and through the uvea of the iris.

Separated faith is like a picture drawn in dark colors on a black stone; but conjoined faith is like a picture drawn in beautiful colors on a transparent crystal.

The light of a separated faith may be compared to that of a firebrand in the hand of a traveller at night; while the light of a conjoined faith may be compared to that of a blazing torch which when waved about shows plainly each step of the way.

Faith without truths is like a vine bearing wild grapes; but faith from truths is like a vine bearing clusters full of noble wine.

Faith in the Lord destitute of truths may be compared to a new star appearing in the expanse of heaven, which in time grows dim; but faith in the Lord together with truths may be compared to a fixed star, which remains constant.

Truth is the essence of faith; therefore, as the truth is, such is the faith; without truths it is a wandering faith, but with them it is fixed.

Moreover, faith from truths shines in heaven like a star.

(True Christian Religion 347-348)

The Chief Doctrine of the New Church

Selection from Doctrine of the Lord ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
— The doctrine of the Athanasian Creed agrees with the truth provided
that by the trinity of persons is understood the trinity of person which is the Lord. —

Christians acknowledge three Divine Persons, and thus, as it were, three Gods because there is in the Lord a Trine, one of which is called the Father, another the Son, and the third the Holy Spirit; and because this Trine is mentioned in the Word under distinct names, just as the soul, and the body, and what proceeds from these are named separately, when yet they are one. Moreover, the Word in the sense of the Letter is such that it distinguishes things which are one, as if they were not one. Hence it is that it names Jehovah who is the Lord from eternity, sometimes Jehovah Zebaoth, sometimes God, and sometimes Lord; and at the same time Creator, Saviour, Redeemer and Maker, and also Shaddai. The Word also gives to His Human, which He assumed in the world, the names Jesus, Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, the Son of Man; and in the Word of the Old Testament, God, the Holy One of Israel, the Anointed of Jehovah, King, Prince, Counsellor, Angel, and David.

Now, since the Word is such in the sense of the Letter that it names several who yet are one, therefore Christians, who in the beginning were simple men and understood every thing according to the literal sense of the words, distinguished the Divinity into three Persons. This was permitted on account of their simple nature; yet they did so in such a way that they also believed the Son to be Infinite, Uncreate, Almighty, God, and Lord, in all respects equal to the Father; and further, they believed that they were not two, or three, but One essence, majesty and glory, and thus in Divinity.

Those who believe these things in simplicity according to the doctrine and do not confirm themselves in the idea of three Gods, but who consider the three as One, are after death instructed by the Lord through angels that He is that One, and that Trine. This faith is received by all who enter heaven; for no one can be admitted there who has three Gods in his thoughts, however he may say with his lips that they are one. For the life of all heaven and the wisdom of all the angels are founded on the acknowledgment and consequent confession of one God, and on the faith that this one God is also Man; and that He is the Lord, who is at once both God and Man.

From this it is manifest that it was of Divine permission that Christians in the beginning should receive the doctrine concerning three Persons, provided they also accompanied it with the belief that the Lord is the infinite God, the Almighty, and Jehovah. For if they had not received this, the Church would have perished, since the Church is a Church from the Lord, and since from Him, and from no other, is the eternal life of all.

That the Church is a Church from the Lord may appear from this single fact that the whole Word from beginning to end treats of the Lord alone, ... and also from the declaration that we must believe on Him, and that those who do not believe on Him have not eternal life; indeed, that the wrath of God abideth on them, John 3:36.

Since every one sees for himself that, if God is One, He is One in Person and in Essence (for no one does or can think otherwise, while he thinks that God is One), I will now quote the whole of the Creed which takes its name from Athanasius, and then show that all its contents are true, provided, instead of a Trinity of Persons, we understand a Trinity of Person.

The Creed is as follows:

He who would be saved must keep this Catholic (or, as some authorities say, Christian) Faith. If any one does not keep this faith whole and entire, without doubt he shall perish for ever. This Catholic (or, Christian) Faith is: We worship One God in the Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the Persons nor dividing the substance (or, essence). For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit; but the Divinity of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is one and the same, the glory equal, and the majesty co-eternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit. The Father is uncreate, the Son is uncreate, and the Holy Spirit is uncreate. The Father is infinite, the Son is infinite, and the Holy Spirit is infinite. The Father is eternal, the Son is eternal, and the Holy Spirit is eternal; and yet there are not three eternals, but one eternal; and there are not three infinites, nor three uncreates, but one uncreate, and one infinite. As likewise the Father is Almighty, so is the Son Almighty, and the Holy Spirit is Almighty; and yet there are not three Almighties, but One Almighty.

As the Father is God, so the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God; and yet there are not three Gods, but one God. Although the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, and the Holy Spirit is Lord; yet there are not three Lords, but one Lord. For as by the Christian verity we are obliged to acknowledge each Person by Himself as God and Lord, yet still we are forbidden by the Catholic religion to say there are three Gods or three Lords (or, still we cannot, according to the Christian faith, name three Gods or Lords). The Father was made of none, neither created nor born; the Son is of the Father alone, not made nor created, but born; the Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son, neither made, nor created, nor born, but proceeding.

Thus there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits. And in this Trinity there is no first and last, and there is no greatest and least; but all the three Persons are co-eternal, and are altogether equal. So it is just as was said above, that the Unity in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity, is to be worshipped (or, that three Persons in one Godhead, and one God in three Persons, is to be worshipped), He therefore who would be saved, must think thus of the Trinity.

Moreover, it is also necessary to salvation that he believe rightly the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ (or, that he firmly believe that our Lord is very Man). For the true faith is: that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man; God of the substance (that is, essence, or, nature) of the Father, born before the world; and Man of the substance (or, nature) of the mother, born in the world; perfect God and perfect Man, consisting of a rational soul and a human body, equal to the Father as to the Divine, and inferior to (or, less than) the Father as to the Human. Although He is God and Man, yet He is not two, but one Christ; one, not by conversion of the Divine Essence into a body, but by the assumption of the Human into God (or, He is one, yet not so that the Divine was transmuted into the Human; but the Divine took up to itself the Human). He is altogether One, not by the fusion (or, mingling) of substance, but by unity of Person (or, He is altogether One, yet not so that the two natures are mingled; but He is One Person).

As the rational soul and the body is one man, so God and Man is one Christ. He suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, and rose again the third day from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father, [God] Almighty, whence He will come to judge the quick and the dead; at whose Coming all men shall rise again with their bodies; and those who have done good shall enter into life eternal, and those who have done evil, into eternal fire.

All the particulars of this Creed, as it is verbally set forth, are true if, instead of a Trinity of Persons, we understand a Trinity of Person. This may appear if we transcribe it again, with this Trinity of Person substituted for the other.

The Trinity of Person is this:

THE DIVINE OF THE LORD IS THE FATHER, THE DIVINE HUMAN THE SON, AND THE DIVINE PROCEEDING THE HOLY SPIRIT.

When this Trinity is understood, a man can then think of One God, and can also say One God. Who does not see that otherwise, a man must think of three Gods? This was evident to Athanasius, and for this reason be inserted in his Creed these words: —

As by the Christian verity we are obliged to acknowledge each Person by Himself as God and Lord, yet still we cannot, according to the Catholic religion or the Christian faith, say, or name, three Gods or three Lords

which amounts to this: "Although it is allowable by the Christian verity to acknowledge, or think of, three Gods and Lords, yet it is not allowable by the Christian faith to say or to name more than one God and one Lord." And yet it is acknowledgment and thought that conjoin man with the Lord and with heaven, and not words alone. Besides, no one comprehends how the Divine, which is one, can be divided into three Persons, each one of whom is God. For the Divine is not divisible; and to make three one by essence or substance does not take away the idea of three Gods, but only conveys the idea of unanmity between them.

All the particulars of this Creed, as it is verbally set forth, are true if, instead of a Trinity of Persons, we understand a Trinity of Person. This may appear if we transcribe it again, as follows:

He who would be saved must keep this Christian faith. This Christian faith is: We worship One God in the Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity, neither mingling the Trine of the Person, nor dividing the Essence. The Trine of the one Person is what is called the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is one and the same, the glory and the majesty equal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit. The Father is uncreate, the Son is uncreate, and the Holy Spirit is uncreate. The Father is infinite, the Son is infinite, and the Holy Spirit is infinite; and yet there are not three infinites, nor three uncreates, but one Uncreate, and one Infinite. Similarly, as the Father is Almighty, so the Son is Almighty, and the Holy Spirit is Almighty; and yet there are not three Almighties, but one Almighty.

As the Father is God, so the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God; and yet there are not three Gods, but one God. Although the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, and the Holy Spirit is Lord; yet there are not three Lords, but one Lord. Now, as by the Christian verity we acknowledge a Trine in one Person, who is God and Lord, so by the Christian faith we can say one God and one Lord. The Father was made of none, neither created nor born; the Son is of the Father alone, not made nor created, but born; the Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son, neither made, nor created, nor born, but proceeding.

Thus there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits. And in this Trinity none is greatest, or least, but they are altogether equal. So that it is just as was said above, that the Unity in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped.

This is what is said in the Creed concerning the Trinity and the Unity of God. There follows next what relates to the Assumption of the Human by the Lord in the world, which is called the Incarnation; and those particulars as they are verbally set forth in the Creed are true, if we understand the Human from the mother, in which the Lord was when in the state of humiliation or exinanition and when He suffered temptations and the cross, to be distinct from the Human derived from the Father, in which He was when in the state of glorification or union. For the Lord assumed in the world a Human conceived of Jehovah, who is the Lord from eternity, and born of the Virgin Mary. Hence He had both a Divine and a Human, a Divine from His Divine from eternity, and a Human from the mother Mary in time. This latter, however, He put off, and put on a Human which was Divine. This is what is called the Divine Human, and what is meant in the Word by the Son of God. When therefore the particulars which come first in the Creed concerning the Incarnation are understood as relating to the maternal Human in which He was when in the state of humiliation, and those particulars which follow are understood as relating to the Divine Human in which He was when in the state of glorification, then all the particulars agree with the truth.

The following passages, which come first in the Creed, relate to the maternal Human in which He was when in the state of Humiliation:

Jesus Christ was God and Man, God of the substance of the Father, and Man of the substance of the mother, born in the world; perfect God and perfect Man, consisting of a rational soul and a human body; equal to the Father as to the Divine, but less than the Father as to the Human.

Also:

This Human was not converted into the Divine, nor mingled with it; but it was put off, and the Divine Human was assumed in its place.

The following passages, which come after in the Creed, relate to the Divine Human in which He was when in the state of glorification:

Although our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man, yet there are not two, but one Christ; indeed, He is altogether one, for He is one Person; for as the soul and body make one man, so God and Man are one Christ.

God and Man in the Lord, according to the Creed, are not two but one Person, and altogether one as soul and body are one. This appears clearly from many things which the Lord Himself said; as, that the Father and He are one; that all things of the Father are His, and all His the Father's that He is in the Father, and the Father in Him that all things are given into His hand; that He has all power; that He is the God of heaven and earth; that whosoever believeth on Him hath eternal life. Further, it is said that both the Divine and the Human were taken up into heaven, and that, as to both, He sitteth at the right hand of God; which means that He is Almighty. There are many more passages from the Word copiously quoted above concerning His Divine Human, all testifying that GOD IS ONE BOTH IN PERSON AND IN ESSENCE, IN WHOM IS THE TRINITY AND THAT THE LORD IS THAT GOD.

These truths relating to the Lord are now for the first time made known, because it is foretold in Revelation 21 and 22 that a New Church, in which this doctrine will hold the chief place, is to be instituted by the Lord at the end of the former Church. This Church is what is there meant by the New Jerusalem, into which none can enter but they who acknowledge the Lord alone as the God of heaven and earth. Moreover, I am enabled to declare that the universal heaven acknowledges the Lord alone, and that whosoever does not acknowledge Him is not admitted into heaven: for heaven is heaven from the Lord. This acknowledgment itself, from love and faith, causes those in heaven to be in the Lord and the Lord in them, as the Lord Himself teaches in John:

At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. John 14:20.

Also in the same:

Abide in me, and I in you ... I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth . . . John 15: 4, 5, 6; 17: 22, 23

This was not seen from the Word before, because if it had been seen before, still it would not have been received. For the Last Judgment had not yet been accomplished; and prior to that the power of hell prevailed over the power of heaven. Now man is in the midst between heaven and hell; and therefore if this (doctrine concerning the Lord) had been seen before, the devil, that is, hell, would have plucked it out of the hearts of men, and would, moreover, have profaned it. This state of power of hell was completely broken by the Last Judgment, which has now been accomplished. After that Judgment, that is, now, every man who desires may become enlightened and attain wisdom.

(Doctrine of the Lord 55-61)