To Live in the Lord

From Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Blessed be God Most High. 

In the Ancient Church, Jehovah was called "God Most High" for the reason that "height" represented and therefore signified what is internal, and thus "the Most High" signified what is inmost. Hence the worship of the Ancient Church was upon high places, mountains, and hills. The inmost also has the same relation to the exterior and the outermost, as the highest bears to the lower and the lowest. The Most High or the Inmost is the Celestial of Love, or Love, itself. Jehovah, or the Lord's internal man, was the very Celestial of Love, that is, Love itself, to which no other attributes are fitting than those of pure Love, thus of pure Mercy toward the whole human race which is such that it wills to save all and make them happy to eternity, and to bestow on them all that it has; thus out of pure mercy to draw all who are willing to follow, to heaven, that is, to itself, by the strong force of love. This Love itself is Jehovah.

Of nothing can Am or Is be predicated except of Love. From this Love - because in Love, or of Love itself - is the very Being [Esse] of all life, that is, Life itself; and because Jehovah alone is Being of life, or Life itself, as He alone is Love, each and all things have thence their being and their life; nor can anyone be and live of himself except Jehovah alone, that is, the Lord alone; and as no one can be and live of himself except the Lord alone, it is a fallacy of sense that men seem to themselves to live of themselves. The angels plainly perceive that they do not live of themselves, but from the Lord, since they live in the very being of the Lord's life, because in His love. But yet to them above all others there is given the appearance as of living from themselves, together with ineffable happiness. This therefore is to live in the Lord, which is never possible unless we live in His love, that is, in charity toward the neighbor.

(Arcana Coelestia 1735)

If I do good, do I avoid evil?

Selection from Last Judgment [Posthumous] ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

To do goods and not to fight against evils is to do goods from self and not from the Lord.

It is believed by many that they will be saved because they have done goods, as that they have given to the poor, benefitted their neighbor, acted sincerely and justly in their duty and work, and yet have never fought against the evils opposed to their goods; believing that thus evils are removed. It appears to them, moreover, as if goods removed evils; saying in heart, "If I do good then I shall avoid evil." Nevertheless the case is as follows:

that such a one does good from obedience to the precepts of the Lord, yet not from the Lord but from himself, thus not from any spiritual law except only apparently, but from a moral and civil law actually.

In this case his evils nevertheless remain; for although he does not do them, yet he is not averse to them. Consequently when the love of evil with its delight returns, he does not resist the evil, but either excuses it and does it, or omits doing it on account of himself and the world; moreover, he does not then know that it is evil.

The case is otherwise when he fights against evil from the spiritual law; for, insofar as he does this, he censures evil, and he then loves good and its truth; and in proportion as he does good from the Lord and not from himself, in the same proportion the Lord, by the good and truth in the man, removes his evils.

(Last Judgment Posthumous 349 [342])

The Church - The Home for Love and Wisdom in Use

Selection from Divine Love and Wisdom ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

In the Lord the three degrees of height are infinite and uncreate, but in man the three degrees are finite and created.

In the Lord the three degrees of height are infinite and uncreate, because the Lord is Love itself and Wisdom itself; and because the Lord is Love itself and Wisdom itself, He is also Use itself. For love has use for its end, and brings forth use by means of wisdom; for without use, love and wisdom have no boundary or end, that is, no home of their own, consequently they cannot be said to have being and have form unless there be use in which they may be. These three constitute the three degrees of height in subjects of life.  These three are like first end, middle end which is called cause, and last end which is called effect.

In man there are these three degrees can be seen from the elevation of his mind even to the degrees of love and wisdom in which angels of the second and third heavens are; for all angels were born men; and man, as regards the interiors pertaining to his mind, is a heaven in least form; therefore there are in man, by creation, as many degrees of height as there are heavens. Moreover, man is an image and likeness of God; consequently these three degrees have been inscribed on man, because they are in God-Man, that is, in the Lord. That in the Lord these degrees are infinite and uncreate, and in man finite and created - that the Lord is Love and Wisdom in Himself; and that man is a recipient of love and wisdom from the Lord; also, that of the Lord nothing but what is infinite can be predicated, and of man nothing but what is finite.

These three degrees with the angels are called Celestial, Spiritual, and Natural; and for them the celestial degree is the degree of love, the spiritual the degree of wisdom, and the natural the degree of uses. These degrees are so called because the heavens are divided into two kingdoms, one called the celestial, the other the spiritual, to which is added a third kingdom wherein are men in the world, and this is the natural kingdom. Moreover, the angels of whom the celestial kingdom consists are in love; the angels, of whom the spiritual kingdom consists are in wisdom; while men in the world are in uses; therefore these kingdoms are conjoined.

(Divine Love and Wisdom 230-232)

Five Precepts Doctrinal Ideas of the Faith and Charity of the New Church

From Conjugial Love ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

The doctrinal ideas of the Church which is meant by the 'New Jerusalem' are as follows:

• (1) There is one God, in whom is the Divine Trinity, and He is the Lord Jesus Christ.

• (2) Saving faith is to believe in Him.

• (3) Evils are to be shunned as sins, because they are of the devil and from the devil.

• (4) Goods are to be done, because they are of God and from God.

• (5) They are to be done by a man as of himself; yet he must believe that they are from the Lord with him and through him.

'That there is one God, in whom is the Divine Trinity, and that He is the Lord Jesus Christ' - Is not God one and indivisible? Is there not a Trinity? If God is one and indivisible, is He not one person? If one person, is not the Trinity in that person? That He is the Lord Jesus Christ:-

• He was conceived of God the Father (Luke 1:34, 35);

so that as to the soul He is God, and hence, as He Himself says:-

• The Father and He are one (John 10:30)

• He is in the Father and the Father in Him (John xiv. 10, 11)

• He who sees Him and knows Him, sees and knows the Father (John 14:7, 9)

• No one sees and knows the Father but He who is in the bosom of the Father (John 1:18)

• All things of the Father are His (John 3:35; 16:15)

• He is the way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes to the Father but by Him (John 14:6)

Thus He is from Him because He is in Him; and, according to Paul:-

• In him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9)

Further:

• He has power over all flesh (John 17:2)

• He has all power in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18)

It follows that He is the God of heaven and earth.

'That saving faith is to believe in Him.'

• This is the will of the Father, that every one who believes in the Son shall have everlasting life (John 6:40).

• God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

• He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; but he who believes not the Son shall not see life, but the anger of God abides on him (John 3:36).

'Evils are to be shunned as sins, because they are of the devil and from the devil.'

'Goods are to be done, because they are of God and from God.'

'They are to be done by a man as of himself; yet he must believe that they are from the Lord with him and through him.'

What need is there to prove that 'evils are to be shunned because they are of the devil and from the devil'?  And that 'goods are to be done because they are of God and from God'? And that 'these things ought to be done by man as if of himself, yet that he ought to believe that they are done from the Lord with him and through him'?

Sacred Scripture from beginning to end confirms the truth of these three doctrines. What else does it contain in summary but admonition to shun evils and do goods and to believe in the Lord God?  Without these three, moreover, there is no religion. Is not religion a matter of life?  And what is life but shunning evils and doing goods?  And how can a man do and believe these things except as of himself? Therefore if you take these doctrines away from the Church you take away the Sacred Scriptures from it, and you also take religion away from it, and when that is removed from it, the Church is not a Church.

(Conjugial Love 82)

Man Is Not Life, But A Receptacle Of Life From God

From True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Who does not see, when he is able to think from reason elevated above the sensual things of the body, that life is not creatable? For what is life but the inmost activity of the love and wisdom that are in God and are God, which life, indeed, may be called the essential living force? He who sees this can also see that this life cannot be transferred into any man, except in connection with love and wisdom. Who denies or can deny that every good of love and every truth of wisdom is solely from God, and that so far as man receives these from God he lives from God, and is said to be born of God, that is, regenerated? On the other hand, so far as one does not receive love and wisdom, or what is the same, charity and faith, he does not receive from God the life that is life in itself, but life from hell, and this is no other than inverted life which is called spiritual death.

From the foregoing it can be perceived and concluded that the following things are not creatable, namely:

(1) The infinite is not.

(2) Love and wisdom are not.

(3) Consequently life is not.

(4) Light and heat are not.

(5) Even activity itself viewed in itself is not.

But organs receptive of these are creatable and have been created.
These statements may be illustrated by the following comparisons:

Light is not creatable, but its organ, the eye, is

Sound, which is an activity of the atmosphere, is not creatable, but its organ, the ear

Heat, which is the primary active principle, for the reception of which all things in the three kingdoms of nature have been created, and according to this reception are acted upon, but do not act

It is from the order of creation, that wherever there are actives there are also passives, and that these two should join themselves together as a one. If actives were creatable as passives are there would have been no need of the sun, and heat and light from it, but all created things would have permanent existence without these. But if these should be taken away the created universe would lapse into chaos.

The sun itself of this world consists of created substances, the activity of which produces fire. These things are presented for the sake of illustration. It would be the same with man, if spiritual light, which in its essence is wisdom, and spiritual heat, which in its essence is love, did not flow into man and were not received by him. The entire man is nothing but a form organized to receive light and heat, both from the natural world and from the spiritual world, for these two worlds correspond to each other. If it were denied that man is a form receptive of love and wisdom from God, influx would also be denied, and thus that all good is from God. Conjunction with God would also be denied, and consequently, that man can be an abode and temple of God would be an expression devoid of meaning.

(True Christian Religion 471,472)

Works that Contain Charity in Them

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:  Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.  Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?  Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.     (Matt 25:34-40)

What are your works? That this signifies about services and uses... for these are goods. All the goods which are called goods of charity are nothing but uses, and uses are nothing but works for the neighbor, for our country, for the church, for the Lord's kingdom. Moreover regarded in itself charity itself does not become charity until it comes into act and becomes work. For to love anyone, and not do him good when we have the power, is not to love him; but to do him good when we have the power, and to do it from our hearts, this is to love him; and then all things of charity toward him are contained within the very deed or work; for a man's works are the complex of all things of his charity and faith, and are what are called spiritual goods, and indeed become goods by exercise, that is, by means of uses.

As the angels who are in heaven are in good from the Lord, they long for nothing more than to perform uses. These are the very delights of their life, and it is also according to uses that they enjoy bliss and happiness, which likewise the Lord teaches in Matthew:

The Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then shall He render to everyone according to his works (Matt. 16:27);

by "works" here are not meant works such as they appear in the outward form, but such as they are in their inward form, namely, such as is the charity contained in them; the angels regard works in no other way.

And because a man's works are the complex of all things of his charity and faith, and the life causes charity to be charity and faith to be faith, thus good, therefore the Lord loved John more than the rest of His disciples, and he lay on His breast at supper (John 21:20); for by him were represented the goods or works of charity; for which reason also the Lord said unto him, "Follow Me," and not to Peter, by whom was represented faith. Wherefore faith, which is "Peter," said with indignation, "Lord, what shall this man do? Jesus said unto him, If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou Me" (John 21:21-23). By this was also foretold that faith would despise works, and yet that these are near the Lord, as may also be clearly seen from the Lord's words to the sheep and to the goats (Matt. 25:34-46 above), wherein nothing but works are recounted. And that faith would reject the Lord is evident from the representation by Peter when he denied Him thrice; that he did this at night, signifies the last time of the church, when there is no longer any charity; that he did it thrice signifies that this condition is then complete; that it was before the cock crew, signifies before newness of the church would arise, for the twilight and morning which follow the night signify the first of the church.

(Arcana Coelestia 6073)

Only One Fountain of Life

From Heaven and Hell ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. 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. John 15:4, 5.

... from that one fountain of life, which is the Lord, nothing proceeds except Divine Good and Divine Truth which affect each one in accordance with the reception. Those who receive them in faith and life find heaven in them, but those who reject and suffocate them turn them into hell, for they turn good into evil and truth into falsity, thus life into death. The fact also that everything of life is from the Lord ... all things in the universe have reference to good and truth - the life of a man's will, which is the life of his love, relating to good, and the life of a man's understanding, which is the life of his faith, relating to truth. Therefore, since everything good and true comes from above, it follows that so does everything of life.

This being the belief of the angels, they refuse all thanks for the good that they do and are indignant and withdraw if anyone attributes good to them. They are astonished that anyone believes that he is wise from himself or does good from himself. Doing good for one's own sake they do not call good because it is from self; but doing good for the sake of good, they call good from the Divine, and they say it is this good that makes heaven because this Good is the Lord.

Such spirits as have confirmed themselves during their life in the world in the belief that the good that they do and the truth that they believe are from themselves or are appropriated to them as their own - which is the belief of all who attach merit to good actions and claim righteousness to themselves - are not received into heaven. The angels avoid them, regarding them as stupid and as thieves, stupid because they continually have themselves in view and not the Divine, thieves because they would take away from the Lord that which is His. These are opposed to the faith of heaven that the Divine of the Lord present with the angels makes heaven.

(Heaven and Hell 9-11)