Doing Goods From Self ~ vs ~ Doing Goods From The Lord

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Those who believe that they merit heaven by the goods which they do, do goods from themselves, and not from the Lord.

None of the goods which men do from themselves are good, because they are done for the sake of self, being done for the sake of reward; thus from these works they have regard in the first place to themselves; but the goods which men do from the Lord are all good, because they are done for the sake of the Lord and for the sake of the neighbor; thus in these goods they have regard in the first place to the Lord and the neighbor.

Therefore those who place merit in works love themselves, and those who love themselves despise the neighbor, and even are angry with God Himself if they do not receive the hoped-for reward, for they do the works for the sake of the reward.

From this it is evident that their works are not from heavenly love, thus not from true faith; for the faith which regards good from self, and not from God, is not true faith. Such cannot receive heaven into themselves, for heaven with man is from heavenly love and true faith.

Those who place merit in works cannot fight against the evils which are from the hells, for no one can do this from himself; but the Lord fights and conquers for those who do not place merit in works.

The Lord alone had merit, because He alone, from Himself, has conquered and subdued the hells. Hence the Lord alone is merit and righteousness.

Moreover, from himself man is nothing but evil; thus to do good from self is to do it from evil.

That good must not be done for the sake of a reward, the Lord Himself teaches in Luke:

If ye love those who love you, what thanks have ye? If ye do well to those who do well to you, what thanks have ye? For sinners do the same. Rather love your enemies, and do well, and lend, hoping for nothing; then shall your reward be great, and ye shall be sons of the Most High (Luke 6:32-35).

That a man cannot from himself do good that is good; but only from the Lord, the Lord also teaches in John:

A man can receive nothing unless it be given him from heaven (John 3:27).

Jesus said, I am the vine, ye are the branches; he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit; for without Me ye can do nothing (John 15:5).

To believe that they will be rewarded if they do what is good, is not hurtful to those who are in innocence, as is the case with little children and with the simple; but to confirm themselves therein when they are grown up is hurtful; for a man is initiated into good by looking for a reward, and he is deterred from evil by looking for a punishment. But insofar as he comes into the good of love and of faith, he is removed from having regard to merit in the goods which he does.

To do good that is good must be from the love of good, thus for the sake of good. They who are in this love abhor merit, for they love to do, and perceive satisfaction from it; and on the other hand, they are saddened if it is believed that it is done for the sake of something of self. The case herein is almost as it is with those who do what is good to friends for the sake of friendship, to a brother for the sake of brotherhood, to wife and children for their own sake, to their country for their country's sake; thus from friendship and from love. They who think well also say and insist that they do not do well for the sake of themselves; but for the sake of those to whom they do it.

The delight itself which is in the love of doing what is good without any end of recompense, is the reward which remains to eternity; for every affection of love remains inscribed on the life. Into this there is insinuated by the Lord heaven and eternal happiness.

(Arcana Coelestia 9974-9984)

The Harvest is Plenteous

Selection from Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

The "harvest" signifies the last state of the church - when the old church has been laid waste, that is, when there is no longer any truth or good left in it that has not been falsified or cast aside.

In Joel:

The husbandmen were ashamed, the vine-dressers howled for the wheat and for the barley, because the harvest of the field hath perished (1:11).

The devastation of the church as to good and truth is here meant by "the harvest of the field hath perished;" "husbandmen" mean those who are in the good of the church, and "vine-dressers" those who are in its truths; "wheat and barley" mean good itself and truth itself; grief on account of devastation is signified by "they were ashamed and howled."

"Harvest" signifies the last state of the church, because "corn," which is the harvest, signifies the good of the church and truth from good, and "field" the church itself. That all things pertaining to natural nourishment, such as wheat, barley, oil, wine, and the like, signify such things as pertain to spiritual nourishment; and the things that pertain to spiritual nourishment have reference in general to good and truth and knowledges of them, thus to doctrine and to a life according to these knowledges.

Therefore it is said in Jeremiah:

A nation from afar shall eat up thy harvest and thy bread, it shall eat up thy sons and thy daughters, it shall eat up thy flock and thy herd, it shall eat up thy vine and thy fig-tree; it shall impoverish thy fortified cities, in which thou dost trust, with the sword (5:17).

"A nation from afar" means the falsity of evil destroying; "from afar" signifying what is far away from good and truth. "Harvest" and "bread" signify nourishing truths and goods of the church; "sons and daughters" goods and truths generating; "flock and herd" goods and truths spiritual and natural, "vine and fig-tree" the internal spiritual church, and the external natural church; the "fortified cities in which they trust" signify doctrinals from self-intelligence; "to be impoverished with the sword" signifies to be destroyed by falsities of evil.

As "harvest" signifies all things that spiritually nourish man, and these have reference to the truths of doctrine and the goods of life, so "harvest" signifies the church in general and in particular; in general, in these words in the Gospels:

Jesus said to His disciples, The harvest is plenteous but the laborers are few; pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest that He send laborers into His harvest (Matt. 9:37, 38; Luke 10:2).

The "harvest" here means all with whom the church was to be established by the Lord, thus also the church in general; and "laborers" mean all who will teach from the Lord.

Likewise in John:

Jesus said to the disciples, Say ye not there are yet four months and then cometh the harvest? Behold I say unto you, Lift up your eyes and look on the fields that they are white already for harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth reward and gathereth fruit unto life eternal. For herein is the saying true, that there is one who soweth and another who reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye have not labored; others have labored, but ye have entered into their labor (4:35-38).

This was said by the Lord of a New Church to be established by Him. That the establishment of that church was then at hand is meant by "Lift up your eyes and look on the fields that they are white already for harvest." To teach those who were to be of that church, or as the Lord says elsewhere, "to collect and gather into the barn," is signified by "reaping." That it is the Lord who teaches, thus who collects and gathers, and not themselves (for it was the Lord, by means of the angels, that is, by means of Divine truths from the Word, who prepared for reception those whom the disciples converted to the church), is meant by "there is one who soweth and another who reapeth; I sent you to reap that whereon ye have not labored; others have labored, but ye have entered into their labor."

The increase of the church with man in particular, and with men in general by the Lord, is also described by "harvest" in Mark:

Jesus said, So is the kingdom of God as if a man should cast seed upon the earth, and should then sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow up he knoweth not how. For the earth beareth fruit of herself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit hath come forth straightway he putteth forth the sickle, because the harvest is ready (4:26-29).

"The kingdom of God" means the church of the Lord in the heavens and on the earth; and the implantation of it with all who receive truths and goods from the Lord, not from self, is described by these words, every particular of which corresponds to spiritual things and signifies them; as that "a man casts seed upon the earth, that he then sleeps, and rises night and day, that the seed springs up and grows up he knows not how;" for "seed" signifies the Divine truth, "to cast seed into the earth" signifies the work of man, "to rise day and night" and finally "to put in the sickle" signifies in every state. The rest signifies the Lord's work; and the "harvest" the implantation of the church in particular and in general.

For it is to be known, that, although the Lord works all things, and man nothing from self, yet He wills that man should work as if from self in all that comes to his perception. For without man's cooperation as if from self there can be no reception of truth and good, thus no implantation and regeneration. For to will is the Lord's gift to man; and because the appearance to man is that this is from self, He gives him to will as if from self.

Such being the signification of "harvest" two feasts were instituted with the sons of Israel, one of which was called the feast of seven weeks, which was that of the harvest of firstfruits; and the other the feast of tabernacles, which was the feast of ingathering of the fruits of the earth. Of these the first signified the implantation of truth in good, and the other the bringing forth of good, thus regeneration. But the feast of unleavened bread, or the Passover, which preceded, signified deliverance from the falsities of evil, which is the first thing of regeneration.

(from Apocalypse Explained 911)

The Collecting, Separation, and Last Judgment

Selection from Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Jesus spake this parable: The kingdom of the heavens is like unto a man that sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept his enemy came and sowed tares, and went away. But when the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. The servants of the father of the family came and said unto him, Lord, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? whence then hath it tares? And he said unto them, An enemy hath done this. But the servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that going we collect them? But he said, Nay, lest haply while ye collect the tares ye root up at the same time the wheat with them. Rather let both grow together until the harvest; and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Collect first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.

And His disciples came unto Him, saying, Explain unto us the parable of the tares of the field. He answering said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world; and the seed are the sons of the kingdom; but the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy that soweth them is the devil; while the harvest is the consummation of the age; and the reapers are angels. As then the tares are collected and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the consummation of the age. The Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall collect out of His kingdom all things that cause stumbling and them that do iniquity, and shall send them into a furnace of fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the just shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of the Father (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43).

This parable teaches:
• that the "sower" means the Lord, who is here called "the Son of man"
• that the "reapers," or "those that reap," mean the angels
• that "the tares shall be cast into a furnace of fire and the good seed gathered into the barn" and that this could not be done until "the consummation of the age" (which signifies the last state of the church), "lest the wheat should be rooted up at the same time with the tares."

As this parable of the Lord contains arcana respecting the separation of the evil from the good, and the Last Judgment, it is important that its particulars should be explained —

• "The kingdom of the heavens" signifies the Lord's church in the heavens and on earth; for the church is in both.
• "The man who sowed good seed in his field" means the Lord as to the Divine truth, which is the Word, in the church
• "the man," who is called in the following verses "the Son of man," is the Lord as to the Word
• "good seed" is Divine truth
• "field" the church where the Word is.
• "While men slept his enemy came and sowed tares, and went away," signifies that while men are living a natural life, or the life of the world, evils from hell secretly, or while they are unconscious of it, introduce and implant falsities, "to sleep" signifying to live a natural life or the life of the world, since such a life is sleep as compared with spiritual life, which is wakefulness.
• The "enemy" signifies evils from hell, which influence that life when it is separated from spiritual life
• "to sow tares" signifies to insinuate and implant falsities
• "went away" signifies that it was done secretly and when they were unconscious of it.
• "But when the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also" signifies that when truth increased and brought forth good, falsities from evil were mingled with it
• "the blade springing up" signifying truth such as it is when it is first received
• "fruit" signifying good
• "tares" falsities from evil, here these mingled with truths.

• "The servants of the father of the family came and said unto him, Lord, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? whence then hath it tares?" signifies those who are in truths from good perceiving that falsities from evil have been mingled with them, and complaining
• "the Lord's servants" signifying those who are in truths from good
• "the father of the family" signifying the Lord as to truths from good ("father" the Lord as to good, and "family" the Lord as to truths)
• the "good seed," the "field," and the "tares," having the same signification as above.
• "And he said unto them, An enemy hath done this," signifies that such falsities were from evil in the natural man.
• "But the servants said to him, Lord, wilt thou then that going we collect the tares?" signifies the separation and casting out of falsities from evil before truths from good are received and increase.
• "But he said, Nay, lest haply while ye collect the tares ye root up at the same time the wheat with them," signifies that thus truth from good and its increase would also perish; for truths are mingled with falsities with the men of the church, and these cannot be separated and the falsities cast out until they are reformed.

• "Rather let both grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Collect first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn," signifies that the separation and casting out of falsities from evil cannot be effected until it is the last state of the church; since it is then that the falsities of evil are separated from the truths of good, and the falsities of evil are delivered up to hell, and the truths of good are conjoined with heaven, or what is the same, the men who are in them. This takes place in the spiritual world, where all who are of the church from its beginning to its end are in this way separated and judged.
• The "harvest" signifies the end or the last state of the church
• "to bind into bundles" signifies to conjoin together particular kinds of falsities from evil
• "to burn" signifies to deliver up to hell
• "to gather into the barn" signifies to conjoin with heaven.

• "He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man" signifies the Divine truth from the Lord.
• "The field is the world" signifies the church everywhere.
• "The seed are the sons of the kingdom" signifies that the Divine truth is with those who are of the church.
• "The tares are the sons of the evil one" signifies falsities with those who are in evil.
• "The enemy that soweth them is the devil" signifies that their falsities are from evil, which is from hell.
• "The harvest is the consummation of the age" signifies the last time and state of the church.
• "The reapers are angels" signifies that the Divine truth from the Lord is what separates.
• "The Son of man shall send forth angels, and they shall collect out of His kingdom all things that cause stumbling," signifies that the Divine truth from the Lord will remove those things that hinder the separation.
• "They that work iniquity" signifies those who live wickedly.
• "And shall send them into a furnace of fire" signifies into the hell where those are who are in love of self and in hatred and revenge.
• "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth" signifies where there is what is direful from evils and falsities.
• "Then shall the just shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of the Father" signifies that those who have done the Lord's commandments shall live in heaven in heavenly loves and their joys; those are called "just" who acknowledge the Lord and do His commandments. Such was to be the state of the angels after the Last Judgment because the superior power which had before been on the side of hell was then restored to heaven, which was a source of joy to the angels with unceasing increase.

It remains to give some explanation of the Lord's words respecting the separation of the evil from the good, namely,—

• "Rather let both grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Collect first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn." This signifies the separation of the evil from the good when the Last Judgment is at hand. Why they were not separated before may be seen in the work on The Last Judgment, to which I will here add —

It is according to Divine order for things that must, in the end, be separated to grow in connection, and that when the end is reached, separation is easily and as it were spontaneously effected.

(from Apocalypse Explained 911)

A Look at Hereditary Evil

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

All the hereditary evil existing at the present day did not come from the first man, as is falsely supposed. For it is the Most Ancient Church that is treated of under the name of "man;" and when it is called "Adam" it signifies that man was from the ground, or that from being non-man he became man by regeneration from the Lord. This is the origin and signification of the name.

But as to hereditary evil, the case is this. Everyone who commits actual sin thereby induces on himself a nature, and the evil from it is implanted in his children and becomes hereditary. It thus descends from every parent, from the father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and their ancestors in succession, and is thus multiplied and augmented in each descending posterity, remaining with each person, and being increased in each by his actual sins, and never being dissipated so as to become harmless except in those who are being regenerated by the Lord. Every attentive observer may see evidence of this truth in the fact that the evil inclinations of parents remain visibly in their children, so that one family, and even an entire race, may be thereby distinguished from every other.

• Only by regeneration can heredity be eradicated —

And Jacob asked and said, Tell I pray thy name. And he said, Wherefore is this that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel; for I have seen God faces to faces, and my soul is delivered. And the sun arose to him as he passed over Penuel, and he halted upon his thigh. Therefore the sons of Israel eat not the nerve of that which was displaced, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, even unto this day, because he touched in the hollow of Jacob's thigh the nerve of that which was displaced.  (Genesis 32:29-32)

• "because he touched in the hollow of Jacob's thigh the nerve of that which was displaced," is signified because they had a heredity which could not be eradicated by regeneration, because they would not allow this.

The signification of the "thigh," as being conjugial love, and consequently every heavenly and spiritual love); and because the "hollow of the thigh" is where there is the conjunction of conjugial love, and also of all heavenly and spiritual love, with natural good. Hence to "touch it," or to injure it so as to occasion halting, is to destroy the good which is of these loves, and as this happened to Jacob, it is signified that this nature passed from him to his posterity, and thus was hereditary. That the "nerve of that which was displaced" signifies falsity, here falsity from hereditary evil. 

It follows from this and from the series, that this heredity could not be eradicated from them by regeneration, because they would not allow this.

That they had such a heredity and that they could not be regenerated, is very evident from all that is related of them in the Word, and particularly from these passages in Moses:

Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Ye have seen all things that Jehovah hath done in your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh and unto all his servants, and unto all his land; and Jehovah hath not given you a heart to know, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, even unto this day (Deut. 29:2, 4).

In the same:

I know the figment of the people which they do at this day, before I bring them into the land which I sware (Deut. 31:21).

And again:

I will hide My faces from them, I will see what is the last of them; for they are a generation of perversities, sons in whom is no truth. I would exterminate them, I would cause their memory to cease from man, were it not that I feared the indignation of the enemy. For they are a nation that perisheth in counsels, and there is no intelligence in them; for their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and their grapes are of the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are hemlock, the clusters are bitter to them. Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel head of asps. Is not this laid up in store with Me, sealed in My treasures? (Deut. 32:20, 26-34)

and in many other places, especially in Jeremiah.

That this was signified by the "touch upon the hollow of Jacob's thigh," and his consequent lameness, is manifest in Hosea:

The controversy of Jehovah with Judah, to visit upon Jacob, according to his ways, and according to his works He will render to him; he supplanted his brother in the womb; in his grief he contended with God, and contended toward the angel, and prevailed; he wept and entreated him (Hos. 12:3-5).

where "to contend with God," in the internal historical sense, is to be urgent that the representative of a church should be with them. From this it is evident that they had such a heredity from Jacob himself, and the same might be shown from many more passages which must be passed over for the present.

As regards heredity specifically, it is believed in the church at this day that all hereditary evil is from the first parent, and that all are therefore condemned in regard thereto. But the case is not so. 

Hereditary evil derives its origin from everyone's parents and parents' parents, or from grandparents and ancestors successively. Every evil which they have acquired by actual life, even so that by frequent use or habit it has become like a nature, is derived into the children, and becomes hereditary to them, together with that which had been implanted in the parents from grandparents and ancestors. The hereditary evil from the father is more inward, and the hereditary evil from the mother is more outward. The former (from the father) cannot be easily rooted out, but the latter (from the mother) can. When man is being regenerated, the hereditary evil inrooted from his nearest parents is plucked up by the roots; but with those who are not being regenerated, or who cannot be regenerated, it remains. This then is hereditary evil. This is also evident to everyone who reflects, and also from the fact that every family has some peculiar evil or good by which it is distinguished from other families; and that this is from parents and ancestors is known. 

It is similar with the Jewish nation remaining at this day, which is evidently distinct from other nations, and is known from them, not only by its peculiar genius, but also by manners, speech, and face.

But what hereditary evil is, few know; it is believed to consist in doing evil; but it consists in willing and hence thinking evil; hereditary evil being in the will itself and in the thought thence derived, and being the very conatus or endeavor that is therein, and which adjoins itself even when the man is doing what is good. It is known by the delight that is felt when evil befalls another. This root lies deeply hidden, for the very inward form that receives from heaven (that is, through heaven from the Lord) what is good and true, is depraved, and so to speak, distorted; so that when good and truth flow in from the Lord, they are either reflected, or perverted, or suffocated. It is from this cause that no perception of good and truth exists at this day, but in place of it, with the regenerate, conscience - which acknowledges as good and true what is learned from parents and masters. 

It is from hereditary evil to love self more than others, to will evil to others if they do not honor us, to perceive delight in revenge, and also to love the world more than heaven; and from the same source come all the derivative cupidities or evil affections. Man is ignorant that such things are in hereditary evil, and still more that they are opposite to heavenly affections; and yet it is manifestly shown in the other life how much of evil from what is hereditary each one has drawn to himself by actual life, and also how far he has removed himself from heaven by evil affections from this source.

That hereditary evil could not be eradicated from the posterity of Jacob by regeneration because they would not allow it, is likewise manifest from the historicals of the Word; for they gave way in all the temptations in the wilderness as recorded by Moses: and also afterwards in the land of Canaan, whenever they did not see miracles; and yet those temptations were outward but not inward or spiritual. In respect to spiritual things, they could not be tempted, because as before shown they knew no internal truths, and had no internal good; and no one can be tempted except as to what he knows and what he has. Temptations are the veriest means of regeneration.

(from AC 313; 4317)

When Faith Becomes A Dead Affair

Selections from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

A church is said to be corrupted when it acknowledges the Word and has a certain worship like that of a true church, but yet separates faith from charity, thus from its essential and from its life, whereby faith becomes a kind of dead affair; the result of which necessarily is that the church is corrupted.

What the men of the church then become, is evident from the consideration that they can have no conscience

Conscience that is really conscience cannot possibly exist except from charity

Charity is what makes conscience, that is, the Lord through charity. What else is conscience than not to do evil to anyone in anyway; that is, to do well to all in every way? Thus conscience belongs to charity, and never to faith separated from charity. If such persons have any conscience, it is a false conscience; and because they are without conscience, they rush into all wickedness, so far as outward bonds are relaxed. They do not even know what charity is, except that it is a word significant of something. And as they are without charity, they do not know what faith is. When questioned, they can only answer that it is a kind of thinking; some, that it is confidence; others, that it is the knowledges of faith; a few, that it is life according to these knowledges, and scarcely any that it is a life of charity or of mutual love. And if this is said to them, and opportunity is given them for reflection, they answer only that all love begins from self, and that he is worse than a heathen who does not take care of himself and his own family. They therefore study nothing but themselves and the world. Hence it comes to pass that they live in their Own.

Those who separate faith from charity and hence make worship consist in externals alone, cannot know what and whence is conscience, needs to be briefly shown.

- The Truths of Faith — The Lord Working in Charity -

Conscience is formed by means of the truths of faith, for that which a man has heard, acknowledged, and believed makes the conscience in him; and afterwards to act contrary to this is to him to act contrary to conscience, as may be sufficiently evident to everyone.

Unless it is the truths of faith that a man hears, acknowledges, and believes, he cannot possibly have a true conscience. For it is through the truths of faith (the Lord working in charity) that man is regenerated, and therefore it is through the truths of faith that he receives conscience — conscience being the new man himself.

From this it is evident that the truths of faith are the means by which this may take place, that is, that the man may live according to what faith teaches, the principal of which is to love the Lord above all things, and the neighbor as himself. If he does not so live, what is his faith but an empty affair, and a mere high-sounding word, or a thing that is separated from heavenly life, and in which when thus separated there is no possible salvation?

For to believe that no matter how a man lives, he may yet be saved provided he has faith, is to say that he may be saved if he has no charity, and no conscience (that is, if he passes his life in hatred, revenge, robbery, adultery, in a word, in all things contrary to charity and conscience) provided only that he has faith, even if it be but at the hour of death. Let such persons consider, when they are in such a false principle, what truth of faith there is that can form their conscience, and whether it be not what is false. If they suppose that they have anything of conscience, it must be only outward bonds - such as fear of the law, of loss of honor, of gain, or of reputation for the sake of these - that make, with them, what they call conscience, and which lead them not to injure the neighbor, but to do him good. But as this is not conscience, because not charity, therefore when these restraints are loosened or taken away, such persons rush into most wicked and obscene things.

Very different is the case with those who, although they have declared that faith alone saves, have still lived a life of charity; for in their faith there has been charity from the Lord.

(from Arcana Coelestia 1076-1077)

Act Precedes, Man's Willing Follows

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Interior conjunction from love - the conjunction of the Divine good of the natural with the truth

As regards the conjunction itself, it is this which effects man's regeneration; for man is regenerated by the fact that the truths in him are being conjoined with good, that is, that the things which belong to faith are being conjoined with those which belong to charity. 

The Lord is indeed the subject treated of how He made His natural Divine, consequently how He united Divine good to the truth in His natural. But as man's regeneration is an image of the Lord's glorification, this regeneration is also treated of at the same time in the internal sense. And as regeneration can fall into man's idea, but not so fully the Lord's glorification, the latter may be illustrated by the former.

The conjunction of good with truths (by which regeneration is effected) progresses more and more interiorly, that is, truths are successively conjoined more interiorly with good. For the end of regeneration is that the internal man may be conjoined with the external, thus the spiritual with the natural through the rational. Without the conjunction of both of these, there is no regeneration. Nor can this conjunction be effected until good has first been conjoined with truths in the natural; for the natural must be the plane, and the things that are in the natural must correspond. This is the reason why when the natural is being regenerated, the conjunction of good with truths becomes successively more interior. For the spiritual conjoins itself first with the things which are inmost in the natural, and then by means of these with those which are more exterior. Nor can man's internal conjoin itself with his external, unless the truth in the external becomes the good of truth, that is, truth in will and act.

From the Scripture:

Where "Jacob" is spoken of, the subject treated of in the internal sense was the acquisition of truth in the natural, which acquisition is made in order that this truth may be conjoined with good, for all truth is for the sake of this end. "Jacob," in the internal sense, is this truth, and "Esau" is the good with which the truth is to be conjoined. Before the conjunction is effected, truth appears to be in the first place; but after the conjunction, good is actually in the first place. This is also what is signified by the prophecy of Isaac to Esau:

"Upon thy sword shalt thou live, and thou shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shall break his yoke from off thy neck" (Gen. 27:40).

And this state is what is described in the present chapter. For this reason Jacob calls Esau his "lord," and himself his "servant" 

Be it known that Jacob here represents the good of truth. But regarded in itself the good of truth is only truth; for so long as truth is in the memory only, it is called truth; but when in the will and thence in act, it is called the good of truth; for to do truth is nothing else. Whatever proceeds from the will is called good, for the essential of the will is love and the derivative affection; and everything that is done from love and its affection is named good. Neither can truth be conjoined with the good that flows in through the internal man and is in its origin Divine (which is here represented by Esau), until the truth is truth in will and act; that is, the good of truth. For the good that flows in through the internal man and is in its origin Divine, flows into the will, and there meets the good of truth that has been instilled through the external man. (AC 4337)

for then for the first time they can be conjoined, inasmuch as the Lord flows in with man through his internal man, and in fact through the good therein. This good can be conjoined with good in the external man, but not good with truth immediately.

From this it may be seen that the truth in man must first become truth in will and act (that is, the good of truth), before the conjunction of the rational with the natural, or the internal man with the external, can take place. But how truth becomes the good of truth, must be evident to everyone who pays attention.

All Divine truth regards these two precepts - to love God above all things, and the neighbor as one's self. It is these precepts from which and for the sake of which truths are, and to which truths tend, more nearly and more remotely. Therefore when truths are put into act, they are instilled successively into their beginning and their end, namely, into charity toward the neighbor, and into love to the Lord; and thereby truth becomes good, which is called the good of truth; and when this takes place, it can then be conjoined with the internal man, which conjunction becomes successively more interior, in proportion as more interior truths are implanted in this good.

Act precedes, man's willing follows; for that which a man does from the understanding, he at last does from the will, and finally puts it on as a habit; and it is then instilled in his rational or internal man.

And when it has been instilled in this, the man no longer does good from truth, but from good; for he then begins to perceive therein somewhat of blessedness, and as it were somewhat of heaven. This remains with him after death, and by means of it he is uplifted into heaven by the Lord.

(from Arcana Coelestia 4353)

What Is Christian Charity?

Selection from Arcana Coelestia Emanuel Swedenborg

Genuine Charity is Devoid of All Claim to Merit

If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury. Exodus 22:25

"a usurer," as being one who does what is good for the sake of self-advantage; for a usurer intrusts money to another for the sake of usury,* and assists another for the sake of recompense. And because genuine charity does not regard profit or recompense as the end, but the good of the neighbor, therefore by "thou shalt not be as a usurer" is signified that it must be done from charity. 

He who does not know what Christian charity is, may believe that it consists not only in giving to the needy and the poor, but also in doing good to a fellow citizen, to our country, and to the church, for any cause whatever, or for any end whatever. But be it known that it is the end that determines the quality of all a man's deeds. If his end or intention is to do good for the sake of reputation or to acquire honors or profit, then the good which he does is not good, because it is done for the sake of himself, and thus also from himself. But if his end is to do good for the sake of a fellow citizen, his country, or the church, thus for the sake of the neighbor, then the good which the man does is good, for it is done for the sake of good itself, which, in general, is the neighbor itself; thus also it is done for the sake of the Lord, for such good is not from man, but from the Lord, and that which is from the Lord is the Lord's. It is this good which is meant by the Lord in Matthew:

As much as ye did to one of the least of these My brethren, ye did to Me (Matt. 25:40).

As it is with good, so also it is with truth. 

Those who do truth for the sake of truth, do it also for the sake of the Lord, because they do it from the Lord. To do truth for the sake of truth, is to do good; for truth becomes good when it passes from the understanding into the will, and from the will goes forth into act.

To do good in this manner is Christian charity.

Sometimes those who do good from Christian charity have regard to reputation from it, for the sake of honor, or for the sake of profit; yet they do so very differently from those who regard these things as the end; for they regard what is good and just as the essential and only thing, thus as being in the highest place; and thereafter they regard profit and honor, and reputation for the sake of these, as being relatively not essential, thus in the lowest place. When persons of such a character have in view what is just and good, they are like those who fight in battle for their country, and who then have no regard for their life, nor for their rank and possessions in the world, which are then relatively of no account. But those who have regard to themselves and the world in the first place, are of such a character that they do not even see what is just and good, because they have in view themselves and their own profit.

From all this it is evident what it is to do good for the sake of self or the world, and what it is to do good for the sake of the Lord or the neighbor, and what is the difference between them. The difference is as great as that between two opposites, thus as great as between heaven and hell. Moreover, those who do good for the sake of the neighbor or the Lord are in heaven; but those who do good for the sake of self and the world are in hell. For those who do good for the sake of the neighbor and the Lord, love the Lord above all things and the neighbor as themselves, in accordance with the chief of all the commandments:

And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. Mark 12:28-31.

But those who do all things for the sake of themselves and the world, love themselves above all things, thus more than God, and not only do they despise the neighbor, but even hold him in hatred if he does not make one with themselves, and be theirs. This is meant by what the Lord teaches in Matthew:

No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Matt. 6:24).

There are those who serve both; but these are they who are called "lukewarm, neither cold nor hot," who are "spewed out" (Rev. 3:15-16). From all this it is now plain what was represented by usurers who took usury, namely, those who do good for the sake of profit. From this it is clear why it is said that one "should not be as a usurer, and should not put usury upon a brother;" as also in other passages in Moses:

Thou shalt not put on thy brother usury of silver, usury of food, usury of anything on which it is put. Upon a foreigner thou mayest put usury; but upon thy brother thou shalt not put usury; that Jehovah thy God may bless thee in all that thou puttest thine hand unto, in the land whither thou goest to possess it (Deut. 23:19, 20; Lev. 25:36-38)

• "to put on a brother the usury of silver" denotes to lend truths, or to instruct, for the sake of profit
• "to put the usury of food on him" denotes to lend the goods of truth for the sake of profit
• for "silver" denotes truth
• "food," the good of truth

That "Jehovah will bless those who do not so, in all that they put their hand unto in the land" is because they are in the affection of good and truth, thus in the happiness the angels have in heaven, for a man has heaven in this affection, that is, in the good of this love.

Foreigners —

The reason why it was allowable to put usury on foreigners, was that by "foreigners" are signified those who do not acknowledge and receive anything of good and truth. Thus they who do good only for the sake of profit are to serve man because they are relatively servants. In David:

He that walketh perfect, and that doeth righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart; He that giveth not his silver to usury, and taketh not a gift against the innocent. He that doeth this shall never be moved (Ps. 15:2, 5)

"to give one's silver into usury" denotes to teach merely for the sake of profit, thus to do good for the sake of the recompense. In like manner in Ezekiel:

A righteous man who doeth judgment and righteousness, giveth not into usury, and taketh not interest (Ezek. 18:5, 8).

He that withholdeth his hand from the needy, that taketh not usury or interest, that doeth My judgments, that walketh in My statutes, living he shall live (Ezek. 18:17).

In thee have they taken a gift to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and interest, and thou hast taken gain of thy companions by violence (Ezek. 22:12).

This is said of the "city of bloods," by which is signified the falsity that destroys truth and good; "taking usury and interest" denotes doing good for the sake of profit and recompense, thus not from charity.

(from Arcana Coelestia 9210)

* Usury is the act of lending money at an interest rate that is considered unreasonably high or that is higher than the rate permitted by law.