A Trine In One

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
THE DIVINE IN THE THINGS WHICH PROCEED FROM THE DIVINE HUMAN

Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. (John 14:8-12)

From the Lord's Divine Human itself proceeds Divine truth, which is called the "Holy Spirit"; and because when the Lord was in the world He was Himself the Divine truth, He Himself taught the things that were of love and faith, and at that time not by the Holy Spirit, as He Himself teaches in John:

The Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified (John 7:39).

But after the Lord even as to the Human was made Jehovah, that is, Divine good, which was after the resurrection, then He was no longer Divine truth, but this proceeded from His Divine good. That the "Holy Spirit" is the Divine truth which proceeds from the Lord's Divine Human, and not any spirit or spirits from eternity, is very evident from the Lord's words in the passage above cited, namely, that "the Holy Spirit was not yet"; also that a spirit cannot himself proceed, but the holy of the spirit, that is, the holy which proceeds from the Lord, and which a spirit utters.

That the Holy Spirit, which is also called the "Paraclete," is the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord's Divine Human, and that the holy is predicated of the Divine truth, is evident from the Lord's words in John:

I will ask the Father that He shall give you another Paraclete, that He may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him. The Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and shall remind you of all things which I have said unto you (John 14:16-17, 26).

When the Paraclete is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who goeth out from the Father, He shall testify of Me (John 15:26).

When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He shall lead you into all truth; He shall not speak from Himself, but what things soever He shall hear, He shall speak. He shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine, and shall declare it unto you. All things whatsoever the Father hath are Mine; therefore said I, that He shall take of Mine, and shall declare it unto you (John 16:13-15).

If these passages are collated with many others, it can be understood that the Holy Spirit is the holy which proceeds from the Lord's Divine Human; for the Lord says, "Whom the Father shall send in My name;" also, "Whom I will send unto you from the Father;" and further, "He shall take of Mine and declare it unto you; all things that the Father hath are Mine, therefore said I, that He shall take of Mine, and shall declare it unto you." It is also evident that the holy is predicated of truth, for the Paraclete is called the "Spirit of truth." (from AC 6788)

From all this then it follows that the whole trinity, namely, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is perfect in the Lord, and thus that there is one God, and not three, who being distinct as to persons are said to constitute one Divine. That in the Word mention has been made of "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" was that men might acknowledge the Lord and also the Divine in Him. For man was in such thick darkness, as he also is at this day, that otherwise he would not have acknowledged any Divine in the Lord's Human; for this, being wholly incomprehensible, would have been to him above all belief. And moreover it is a truth that there is a Trine, but in one, namely, in the Lord; and it is also acknowledged in Christian churches that the Trine dwells perfectly in Him. Moreover, the Lord openly taught that He was one with the Father (John 14:9-12); and that the holy, which the Holy Spirit speaks, is not of the Spirit but of the Lord; in John:

The Paraclete, the Spirit of truth, will not speak from Himself, but whatever He hears, He will speak. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine, and announce it to you (John 16:13-14).

That the "Paraclete" is the Holy Spirit is said in John 14:26.

(from Arcana Coelestia 6993)

The Lord, The One And Only God

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

It is said in the church that from the three who are called "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit," there comes forth one Divine, which is also called "one God;" and that from the Father proceeds the Son, and from the Father through the Son proceeds the Holy Spirit; but what this proceeding or going forth means, is as yet unknown. The ideas of the angels on this subject are quite different from those of the men of the church who have thought about it, for the reason that the ideas of the men of the church are founded upon three, but those of the angels upon one. That the ideas of the men of the church are founded upon three, is because they distinguish the Divine into three persons, and attribute to each one special and particular offices. Hence they can indeed say that God is one, but they cannot possibly think otherwise than that there are three, who, by a union which they call mystical, are one. In this way they may indeed be able to think that there is one Divine, but not that there is one God; for in their thought the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. One Divine is one by agreement and thus unanimity; but one God is absolutely one.

The kind of idea or thought a man of the church has about the one God, is clearly manifest in the other life, for everyone carries with him the ideas of his thought. The idea or thought of such people is that there are three gods; yet they dare not say "gods," but "God." A few also make one out of three by union; for they think in one way of the Father, in another way of the Son, and in another way of the Holy Spirit. From this has clearly appeared the nature of the faith the church has about the most essential thing of all, which is the Divine Itself; and as in the other life all are conjoined or separated by the thoughts which are of faith, and the affections which are of love, therefore those who have been born outside the church, and have believed in one God, flee from those who are within the church, saying of them that they do not believe in one God, but in three gods; and that those who do not believe in one God under a human form do not believe in any God, because their thought pours itself forth into the universe, without determination, and thus falls down into nature; which they thus acknowledge in the place of God. When asked what they mean by "proceeding," in saying that the Son proceeds from the Father and that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father through the Son, they answer that "proceeding" is a term of union, and that it wraps up this mystery within it. But their idea of thought about this, when examined, has been found to be that of a mere word, devoid of reality.

But the ideas of the angels about the Divine, the Trinity, and Proceeding, are quite different from the ideas of the men of the church, for the reason, as said above, that the ideas of thought of the angels are founded upon one, whereas the ideas of thought of the men of the church are founded upon three. The angels think (and what they think they believe) that there is one God, and that He is the Lord; that His Human is the Divine Itself in a form; and that the holy proceeding from Him is the Holy Spirit; thus that there is a Trinity, but still it is One.

A notion of this is obtained from the idea that exists about the angels in heaven. An angel appears there in the human form, but still there are three things in him that make a one. There is his internal, which does not appear before the eyes; there is the external, which does appear; and there is the sphere of life of his affections and thoughts, which pours out from him to a distance. These three make one angel. But the angels are finite and created, whereas the Lord is infinite and uncreated. And as no man, or even angel, can have any idea about the Infinite except from things finite, therefore such an example may be given in order to illustrate what the Trinity in One is; and that there is one God; and that He is the Lord, and no other.

(from Arcana Coelestia 9303)

Thinking Rightly About God

Selection from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
— A Memorable Relation —

IN THE NATURAL WORLD MAN'S SPEECH IS TWOFOLD, BECAUSE HIS THOUGHT IS TWOFOLD, EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL; FOR HE CAN SPEAK SIMULTANEOUSLY FROM INTERNAL THOUGHT AND FROM EXTERNAL THOUGHT; AND HE CAN SPEAK FROM EXTERNAL THOUGHT AND NOT FROM INTERNAL THOUGHT, AND EVEN CONTRARY TO INTERNAL THOUGHT; AND THIS IS THE SOURCE OF PRETENSES, FLATTERY, AND HYPOCRISY. BUT THIS TWOFOLD SPEECH MAN DOES NOT HAVE IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD; HIS SPEECH THERE IS SINGLE; HE SPEAKS AS HE THINKS; OR IF NOT, THE TONE OF HIS VOICE IS GRATING AND HURTS THE EAR. NEVERTHELESS, HE CAN BE SILENT AND NOT DIVULGE THE THOUGHTS OF HIS MIND. SO WHEN A HYPOCRITE GETS AMONG WISE MEN HE EITHER LEAVES OR BETAKES HIMSELF TO A CORNER OF THE ROOM AND AVOIDS NOTICE AND KEEPS SILENT.

At one time a large number had assembled in the world of spirits, and were talking together about this matter, saying that to be able to speak only as one thinks is a hardship to such as have not thought rightly about God and the Lord whenever they come into association with the good. In the midst of the assembly were the Reformed and some of their clergy, and next to them the Papists with their monks. The clergy and the monks spoke first, saying, "This is not a hardship; what need is there for anyone to speak otherwise than as he thinks? If perchance he does not think rightly, can he not close his lips and keep silent?" And a clergyman said, "Who does not think rightly about God and about the Lord?"

But some of the assembly said, "Let us try them." And they asked those who had confirmed themselves in a trinity of persons in the Godhead to say from their thought ONE God; and they could not. They twisted and folded their lips in various ways, but were unable to articulate a sound into any words except such as were harmonious with the ideas of their thought, which were of three persons, and consequently of three Gods.

Again, those who had confirmed themselves in faith apart from charity were asked to utter the name Jesus; but they could not; although they could all say Christ, and also God the Father.

They wondered at this, and inquired the cause; and they found it to be that they had prayed to God the Father for the sake of the Son, but had not prayed to the Savior Himself; and Jesus signifies Savior.

Again, from their thought of the Lord's Human they were asked to say Divine Human; but not one of the clergy there present could do so, though some of the laity could; and therefore this fact was made a subject of serious discussion.

• First, the following passages from the Gospels were read to them:

The Father hath given all things into the hand of the Son (John 3:35);

The Father hath given to the Son power over all flesh (John 17:2);

All things are delivered unto Me by the Father (Matt. 11:27);

All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth (Matt. 28:18);

and they were asked to keep in their thought from these passages that Christ, both as to His Divine and as to His Human, is the God of heaven and earth, and then to pronounce the words Divine Human; but still they could not. They said that although from these passages they retained from the understanding some thought about the matter, they still had no acknowledgment of it, and therefore they could not bring it into speech.

• Afterwards there was read to them from Luke (1:32, 34, 35) that the Lord as to His Human was the Son of Jehovah God, and is there called "the God of the Most High," and in many other places, "the Son of God" and also "the Only begotten;" and they were asked to retain this in their thought, as also that the only-begotten Son of God born in the world could not but be God, as the Father is God, and then to utter the words Divine Human. But they said, "We cannot, because our spiritual thought, that is, our more internal thought, does not admit into the thought which lies nearest to speech any other ideas except those that are in harmony with the internal thought; and from this we perceive that we are not now permitted, as we were in the natural world, to divide our thoughts.

• Therefore, the Lord's words to Philip were read to them:

Philip said, Lord, show us the Father. And the Lord said, He that seeth Me seeth the Father. Believest thou not that I am in the Father and the Father in Me? (John 14:8-11)

and also other passages, as:

That the Father and He are one (John 10:30)

and they were asked to retain this in thought and then to say, Divine Human; but because that thought was not rooted in the acknowledgment that the Lord is God even in respect to the Human, they twisted their lips into folds till they grew angry, desiring to force their mouths to speak the words but they did not succeed; and for the reason that with those who are in the spiritual world the ideas of thought which flow from acknowledgment make one with the words of speech; and where these ideas do not exist words cannot be had; for in speaking, ideas become words.

• Still again, there was read to them the following from the doctrine accepted throughout the Christian world:

The Divine and Human in the Lord are not two, but one, even one person, united like soul and body in man.

This is from the Athanasian Creed, and has been recognized by the councils; and it was said to them, "From this certainly you can gain an idea grounded in acknowledgment that the Human of the Lord is Divine, since His soul is Divine; for this statement is from the doctrine of your church which you accepted while in the world; moreover, the soul is the very essence of the man, and the body is the form of this essence; and essence and form make one like esse and existere, or like the effecting cause of the effect and the effect itself." This idea they retained, and from it wished to utter the words Divine Human; but they could not; for their more internal idea of the Human of the Lord banished and erased this new adscititious idea, as they called it.

• Once again, this passage from John was read to them:

The Word was with God, and God was the Word, and the Word became flesh (1:1, 14).

Also this:

Jesus Christ is the true God and eternal life (1 John 5:20).

Also from Paul:

In Jesus Christ dwelleth all the fullness of the Divinity bodily (Col. 2:9)

and they were requested to think accordingly, namely, that God who was the Word became Man, that He was the true God, and that in Him dwelt all the fullness of Divinity bodily. This they did, but only in external thought; and therefore, because of the resistance of internal thought, they were unable to pronounce the words Divine Human; and they said frankly, "We can form no idea of a Divine Human, because God is God, and man is man, and God is a Spirit, and we have always thought of spirit as being wind or ether."

• Finally, it was said to them, You know that the Lord said:

Abide in Me, and I in you. He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit; for without Me ye can do nothing (John 15:4, 5).

And as there were some of the English clergy present, the following from one of their exhortations at the Holy Communion was read to them:

"For when we spiritually eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ, then we dwell in Christ, and Christ in us."

And it was said, "If your thought now is that this is not possible unless the Lord's Human is Divine, pronounce the words Divine Human from acknowledgment in thought." But still they could not, so deeply impressed upon them was the idea that the Divine could not be Human, nor the Human be Divine, and that the Lord's Divine was from the Divine of a Son born from eternity, and His Human like that of any other man. They were asked, "How can you think thus? Can a rational mind ever conceive of a Son born of God from eternity?"

• Then the inquirers turned to the Evangelicals, saying that the Augsburg Confession and Luther taught that the Son of God and the Son of man in Christ is one Person; and that He, even as to His Human nature, is omnipotent and omnipresent, and as to that nature sits at the right hand of God the Father, governs all things in heaven and on earth, fills all things, is present with us, and dwells and operates in us; also that there is no difference of adoration, because the Divinity that is not discerned is worshiped through the nature that is discerned; and that in Christ God is Man, and Man is God. Hearing this they said, "Can this be so?" And they looked around and said presently, "We did not know this before; therefore we are unable to say Divine Human." And first one and then another said, "We have read this, and we have written it; and yet when we thought about it in our minds it was mere words, of which we had no interior idea."

• Finally they turned to the Papists and said, "Perhaps you can say Divine Human, since you believe that Christ is wholly present in the bread and wine of your Eucharist, and in every part of them; and you also worship Him as God most holy when you exhibit and carry about the host; also because you call Mary 'Deipara,' that is, 'Mother of God;' consequently you acknowledge that she gave birth to God, that is, to the Divine Human." Then they wished to pronounce it, but they could not, because a material idea of Christ's body and blood then suggested itself, and also a belief that His Human is separable from the Divine, and with the pope is actually so separated, since to him the human power only, and not the Divine, was transferred. Then one of the monks arose and said that he could conceive of a Divine Human with reference to the most holy virgin Mary, and also with reference to the saint of his monastery. And another monk came forward and said, "From an idea of my thought which I now entertain I am able to say Divine Human, but with reference to his holiness the pope rather than in reference to Christ." But some of the Papists pulled him back, saying, "For shame."

After this heaven was seen open, and tongues like little flames were seen descending and alighting upon some; and they then celebrated the Divine Human of the Lord, saying,

HAVE DONE WITH THE IDEA OF THREE GODS, AND BELIEVE THAT IN THE LORD DWELLS ALL THE FULLNESS OF DIVINITY BODILY, THAT THE FATHER AND HE ARE ONE, AS SOUL AND BODY ARE ONE, AND THAT GOD IS NOT WIND OR ETHER, BUT A MAN, THEN YOU WILL BE CONJOINED WITH HEAVEN, AND FROM THE LORD YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SPEAK THE NAME JESUS, AND TO SAY DIVINE HUMAN.

(True Christian Religion 111)