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Spiritual Life and the Word of God
SPIRITUAL LIFE AND THE WORD OF GOD
by
EMANUEL SWEDENBORG (1688-1772)
Extracted from the Apocalypse Explained
Contents
Part First--THE SPIRITUAL LIFE
I. How Spiritual Life is Acquired II. Goods of Charity III. Shunning
Evils IV. Cleansing the Inside V. What Religion Consists In
Part Second--THE COMMANDMENTS
I. The First Commandment II. The Second Commandment III. The Third
Commandment IV. The Fourth Commandment V. The Fifth Commandment VI.
The Sixth Commandment VII. The Seventh Commandment VIII. The Eighth
Commandment IX. The Ninth and Tenth Commandments X. The Commandments
in General
Part Third--PROFANATIONS OF GOOD AND TRUTH
I. Goods and Truths and Their Opposites II. The First Kind of
Profanation III. The Second Kind of Profanation IV. The Third Kind of
Profanation V. The Fourth and Fifth Kinds of Profanation
Part Fourth--THE DIVINE WORD
I. The Holiness of the Word II. The Lord is the Word III. The Lord's
Words Spirit and Life IV. Influx and Correspondence V. The Three
Senses of the Word VI. Conjunction by the Word VII. The Sense of the
Letter
Part First--THE SPIRITUAL LIFE
I. How Spiritual Life is Acquired
Spiritual life is acquired solely by a life according to the
commandments in the Word. These commandments are given in summary in
the Decalogue, namely, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not
steal, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou
shalt not covet the goods of others. These commandments are the
commandments that are to be done, for when a man does these his works
are good and his life is spiritual, and for the reason that so far as
a man shuns evils and hates them so far he wills and loves goods.
For there are two opposite spheres that surround man, one from hell,
the other from heaven; from hell a sphere of evil and falsity
therefrom, from heaven a sphere of good and of truth therefrom; and
these spheres do [not immediately] affect the body, but they affect
the minds of men, for they are spiritual spheres, and thus are
affections that belong to the love. In the midst of these man is set;
therefore so far as he approaches the one, so far he withdraws from
the other. This is why so far as a man shuns evils and hates them, so
far he wills and loves goods and the truths therefrom; for no one can
at the same time serve two masters, for he will hate the one and will
love the other. (Matt. vi. 24).
But let it be noted, that man must do these commandments from
religion, because they are commanded by the Lord; and if he does this
from any other consideration whatever, for instance, from regard
merely to the civil law or the moral law, he remains natural, and does
not become spiritual. For when a man acts from religion, he
acknowledges in heart that there is a God, a heaven and a hell, and a
life after death. But when he acts from regard merely to the civil
and moral law, he may act in the same way, and yet in heart may deny
that there is a God, a heaven and a hell, and a life after death. And
if he shuns evils and does goods, it is merely in the external form,
and not in the internal; thus while he is outwardly in respect to the
life of the body like a Christian, inwardly in respect to the life of
his spirit he is like a devil. All this makes clear that a man can
become spiritual, or receive spiritual life, in no other way than by a
life according to religion from the Lord.
I have had proof that this is true from angels of the third or inmost
heaven, who are in the greatest wisdom and happiness. When asked how
they had become such angels, they said it was because during their
life in the world they had regarded filthy thoughts as abominable, and
these had been to them adulteries; and had regarded in like manner
frauds and unlawful gains, which had been to them thefts; also hatreds
and revenges, which had been to them murder; also lies and
blasphemies, which had been to them false testimonies; and so with
other things. When asked again whether they had done good works, they
said they loved chastity, in which they were because they had regarded
adulteries as abominable; that they loved sincerity and justice, in
which they were because they had regarded frauds and unlawful gains as
abominable; that they loved the neighbor because they had regarded
hatreds and revenges as abominable; that they loved truth because they
had regarded lies and blasphemies as abominable, and so on; and that
they perceived that when these evils have been put away, and they
acted from chastity, sincerity, justice, charity and truth, it was not
done from themselves, but from the Lord, and thus that all things
whatsoever that they had done from these were good works, although
they had done them as if from themselves; and that it was on this
account that they had been raised up by the Lord after death into the
third heaven. Thus it was made clear how spiritual life, which is the
life of the angels of heaven, is acquired.
It shall now be told how that life is destroyed by the faith of the
present day. The faith of this day is that it must be believed that
God the Father sent His Son, who suffered the cross for our sins, and
took away the curse of the law by fulfilling it; and that this faith
apart from good works will save everyone, even in the last hour of
death. By this faith instilled from childhood and afterward confirmed
by preachings, it has come to pass that no one shuns evils from
religion, but only from civil and moral law; thus not because they are
sins but because they are damaging.
Consider, when a man thinks that the Lord suffered for our sins, that
He took away the curse of the law, and that merely to believe these
things, or to have faith in them without good works saves, whether
this is not to regard as of little worth the commandments of the
Decalogue, all the life of religion as prescribed in the Word, and
furthermore all the truths that inculcate charity. Separate these,
therefore, and take them away from man, and is there any religion left
in him? For religion does not consist in merely thinking this or
that, but in willing and doing that which is thought; and there is no
religion when willing and doing are separated from thinking. From
this it follows that the faith of this day destroys spiritual life,
which is the life of the angels of heaven, and is the Christian life
itself.
Consider further, why the ten commandments of the Decalogue were
promulgated from Mount Sinai in so miraculous a way; why they were
engraved on two tables of stone, and why these were placed in the ark,
over which was placed the mercy-seat with cherubs, and the place where
those commandments were was called the Holy of holies, within which
Aaron was permitted to enter only once a year, and this with
sacrifices and incense; and if he had entered without these, he would
have fallen dead; also why so many miracles were afterward performed
by means of that ark. Have not all throughout the whole globe a
knowledge of like commandments? Do not their civil laws prescribe the
same? Who does not know from merely natural lumen, that for the sake
of order in every kingdom, adultery, theft, murder, false witness, and
other things in the Decalogue are forbidden? Why then must those same
precepts have been promulgated by so many miracles, and regarded as so
holy? Can there be any other reason than that everyone might do them
from religion, and thus from God, and not merely from civil and moral
law, and thus from self and for the sake of the world? Such was the
reason for their promulgation from Mount Sinai and their holiness; for
to do these commandments from religion purifies the internal man,
opens heaven, admits the Lord, and makes man as to his spirit an angel
of heaven. And this is why the nations outside the church who do
these commandments from religion are all saved, but not anyone who
does them merely from civil and moral law.
Inquire now whether the faith of this day, which is, that the Lord
suffered for our sins, that he took away the curse of the law by
fulfilling it, and that man is justified and saved by this faith apart
from good works, does not cancel all these commandments. Look about
and discover how many there are at this day in the Christian world who
do not live according to this faith. I know that they will answer
that they are weak and imperfect men, born in sins, and the like. But
who is not able to think from religion? This the Lord gives to
everyone; and in him who thinks these things from religion the Lord
works all things so far as he thinks. And be it known that he who
thinks of these things from religion believes that there is a God, a
heaven, a hell, and a life after death; but he who does not think of
these things from religion does not, I affirm, believe them. (A.E.,
n. 902.)