The Government of the Church in Man
By Rev. Paul Booth
By Rev. Paul Booth
- There are two [classes of] things which ought to be in order among men; namely the things which belong to Heaven, and those which belong to the world. The things that belong to Heaven are called ecclesiastical, and the things which belong to the world are called civil.
(New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine 311)
It is good and truth that proceeds from the Lord from His Divine Love and Wisdom; these are the Holy Spirit proceeding to man, developing doctrine and forming the Church in him, establishing His Church among men on earth and in angels in Heaven. In God there is order, (God is Order) therefore the Proceeding Good and Truth is that Divine influence that flows 'as it were' into, first the celestial and spiritual in the Heavens or angels and in man. From the spiritual of man good and truth from the Lord flows into his spiritual internal forming in him a rational, from which he, according to good thought, acts from good will and, thus from faith. The end is in man's natural in which are scientific and sensual things and from where good and truth are reciprocated to the Lord, thus there is a 'circle of life', conjoining man and the Lord and so, bringing order to the Church, which had strayed away 'as it were' from that conjunction. In this, one can now understand that the affections and the thoughts in man flowing from the Divine Good and Truth are conjoined; for if not, then, they are separated and the Church has no order. Not only is there no order, but there is no true Church in man, and that which a man thinks is his Church is formed from his natural internal, which is closed to Heaven, and man is 'as if' without an internal. Such is the church made from man not the Lord, for a man's natural is separated from his spiritual because of sin and, so, from the Lord.
On the other hand, when there is order in man then intelligence and wisdom is acquired. Hence, it is in this way, that one understands that a man of the Church in whom there is an internal is an angel, for with angels there is the internal Church. However, as was pointed out, the Lord's good and His truth proceeds not only to the Heavens, the celestial and spiritual of man, but into man's natural and there, when goods and truths are conjoined, the Church is within him and is the Church among men on earth, before this Church was a representative Church. It is the affiliation of such persons in which the Church is in that is called the Church on earth among men and is an external Church. Nonetheless, the Church is one; it has an internal and an external; it is spiritual and natural. One sees here that all things of the internal, are within the external or the spiritual within the natural and, as such, are conjoined and make one Church, for the Word in man on earth is understood naturally and the natural sense of the Word is the foundation and contains the spiritual sense and this makes the Word holy and thus enlivens man with the Lord's good with His truths (life) in man and the Church in man becomes a spiritual Church, that natural being 'as it were' receptive for life. So, all things of the internal Church or the celestial and spiritual Church are within the natural or the external Church and, as such, when conjoined, make one Church, even as Jehovah God is one Lord.
So, the spiritual things of love to the Lord and of charity towards the neighbor flow from the Divine Itself to the Divine in man and there the Church is formed. The celestial and spiritual within man makes him an angel; he then becomes a Heavenly angel when he becomes separated from his earthly body. Both an angel of Heaven and a man of the Church on earth receive good, though with man it is within his internal spiritual and from there man forms an affection for truths and goods and these become his new interiors. Thus, Heavenly things are conjoined or are joined together within the man of the Church on earth, within his internal and external mind. Thus, it is that the internal and the external of man constitute the Church with him and all things which are called ecclesiastical and civil are in a man who is in the Lord's New Church on earth. The ecclesiastical or the Heavenly things of the Church, which are internal or spiritual, refer to or signify the good, which acts upon the things of the external or natural of the Church with man, which are signified the civil things or the truths. As such, the internal descends 'as it were' into the external and, thus, the Lord's New Church is established on earth by the Lord; its internal is spiritual and its external is natural. This is why the Lord taught us to pray that His will be done on earth as in the Heavens so that the Church on earth becomes one even as the Lord is one in Person.
Ecclesiastical things of the Church, which are of the Lord, are good with angels and men, are to rule over the external things of the Church. These external things are the truths with angles and men. The authority in the Church is the Divine's; it is called the Word and the Law, the Commandments, and these were revealed here on earth through the Word of the Lord, and is the means of conjunction with Heaven since man no longer has immediate perception. In the external Church - the Church on earth - the authority is administered by the clergy, that is, by the priesthood and, as such, priests represent the Lord. That is why priests are ordained to serve by teaching the truths of the Word and are to lead from them to the good of life. The Divine commands us to love the Lord's Good in us or His Charity, that is, we are to love His work of salvation, and thus, to love the Word or His Truth, and when believed and followed it brings us to receive a new life. Such life is derived from the Lord through the celestial and spiritual Heavens and is to be conjoined in a man. As such, there are the things of the world, natural civil things in man in whom the Church is as there are also spiritual or ecclesiastical things in man, though often are not seen. That is, also, why in Heaven there are ecclesiastical affairs as there are here on earth and even economical and civil affairs.
As was said, these things of the Church which are internal or are Heavenly are called ecclesiastical things with man. However, a man in whom the Church is has also a natural or external. Man has an external in which those things of the internal or spiritual are in and that correspond to the natural or external things of the Church and they make the life of the Church in man. Thus, a true man of the Church now on earth knows the Divine's commandments and laws, lives them, and when he does he is called a civil and moral man from his spiritual affections. Here, we begin to understand that charity or the good of love proceeds into a person and the person becomes a civil and moral person, that is, the civil life of the Church in him is imbued from a life of charity received from the Lord. With the man that has not the Church in him, if he lives according to these laws it is from his natural affection. In this way, you can see that the external of the Church, which is called civil and moral in the Word, is signified by the 'world', and the internal of the Church in man which is ecclesiastical is called 'Heaven'. Thus, they, the internal and the external, are not separated from one another, but are one in the true man of the Church which is called the Lord's New Church, though the natural man does not recognize he has an internal. In others, except they become conjoined spiritually, though they may appear to be of the Church, are not.
Therefore, when man acts from good, from what is celestial and the Lord's, he becomes a civil and moral man. His rational is, then, opened through learning and following or obeying the commandments, that is, in doing truth from a spiritual affection and not from a natural affection from himself. This is why the Lord's New Church is a spiritual Church and is not a representative Church whose external is separate from its internal like that of the Israelitish and Jewish Church and of the (first) Christian Church.
In the man of the Church, by civil good is meant the neighbor and is the ultimate of the Church, for it is the civil man that receives corresponding spiritual things through his affection whereby he lives according to the laws of the Lord's Kingdom, whether here on earth or in Heaven and regards them as Divine. Therefore, the Church on earth must be in civil order that a man of the Church lives according to their (the Word's) natural sense; these are the commandments and the precepts, and in general they are the Word with man. In their natural sense they are below the spiritual sense and as said are called civil and moral things and are the things of religion that are taught to the man of the external Church.
So, although there are two things among angels in Heaven and among men on earth of the Church - ecclesiastical and civil - they are not separated, though they appear separate to the man not of the Church. They are the two functions of the one Church and are not divided; there is, therefore, order in the man who has the Church within and who is in the Church among men on earth. In the Church are placed governors called priests. Outside the Church there are also governors called magistrates (administrators). In the Church, in man, the Lord as the Divine Good governs, for good from the Lord flows into man through the celestial and spiritual Heavens with ecclesiastical things, and into his or her internal or spiritual, and continuing into his or her external or natural mind as civil things. Thus, in the Church on earth, priests (or goods) were ordained to govern both ecclesiastical and civil things of man, for the Lord are both Priest and King over His Church. However, with men of the world, who are not in the Church and the Church is not in them, a priest is not the governor over them in either civil or ecclesiastical affairs. It is in this way that the Lord has set magistrates over the general world to administer the law, for the world is not within the Lord's Church. Therefore, there are kings or presidents who have magistrates under them to administrate the various world's natural civil and moral laws. Such people who do not have the Church within do not recognize these laws as Divine or that they are from the Lord. Such laws they believe are from man and appear as the truth. Therefore, it is that they live and are judged by the truth. It is otherwise with the man of the Church; he lives according to the good.
The proceeding good and truth, the Holy Spirit, is not received by man of the world whom the Church is not within; instead of good and truth such a person receives evils and falsities, they being distorted, and from them forms their doctrines, thus, making the Church 'as it were' in them a false Church or no Church at all. The truths that the person receives are distorted because of his or her love for self and for the things of the world. Thus, the Lord has set over them magistrates to administer the laws and, so, those who live according to order, are not punished and those who don't are. If this were not done, then, as the Word teaches, mankind would perish. The same is true of the Church. If its members do not live according to order, then the governors or priests who administer the laws are to punish those who cause a disturbance. If this were not, then the Church with them will perish. This is obvious, for unless those evils and falsities that disturb the life of the Church in man are removed, then the Church will perish.
It is in this way that it can be understood that from Good the Lord is seen as the Priest and from Truth He is seen as the King; that priests or clergy are represented as governors over the Church and that authority in the Church is the Lord's Word or the Divine commands administered by them. Though it can be seen that in each person, who has the Church within, it is Good and Truth that administers. The Lord, as the Divine Truth is the King who governs through the priests or the clergy, and they are those who administer the laws, both ecclesiastical and civil in the Church. The ecclesiastical laws are spiritual laws and the civil laws are natural laws. The priests administer these laws by teaching the commandments, both their spiritual and natural sense. In the spiritual sense, truths signify the kings conjoined with good, which the priests represent in the Church that they govern.
Such a government of the Church is therefore not divided and is a spiritual government, where the government of a country or a nation is a natural government and has no spiritual. The Lord is not divided into two persons, nor is His Church divided, one here on earth and natural and the other in Heaven and spiritual, for the Lord's New Church, as said, is a spiritual Church. The government of a country or nation is natural and is not spiritual and those in it are natural only, their spiritual is infested with evil and is called the man's natural internal. They are governed by magistrates who administer natural laws to its citizens. The Lord allows such magistrates to govern, for unless there were laws for man, mankind would perish. In the Church it is the priests whom the Lord has chosen to administer the laws, which laws are spiritual and their natural correspondences. Though, the man of the world, who is not in the Church, accepts these laws only in their natural sense not knowing that they are Divine laws. Still, they can know if they read and accept the Word, that is, the Truth, and that it is from the Lord and in Divine and are also spiritual laws, for anyone with a little thought knows laws like 'thou shall not kill, bear false witness' have within a spiritual or internal meaning that if obeyed from an affection of truth and good that not only would he be a 'good' citizen of this world, but of Heaven too.
Another way to looks at this is that both good and truth governs mankind. A man, who has the Church within and is in the Church, is governed by the Lord represented by priests or clergy through, as said, by teaching truths and goods and leading to the good of life. You can see the person who appropriates such truths that it is the Lord who governs, not the priests themselves, for in good and truth a man is in spiritual freedom and willingly follows. The organized Church is administered by priests who teach that the law is spiritual and has a natural sense so that it is accommodated to mankind. A man, who does not have the Church within, although he may claim to be in the Church, is governed by magistrates who administer only civil and moral natural laws. Here, one can understand that the truth condemns when disobeyed. On the other hand, priests administer both good and truth, which relate to man's spiritual as well as his natural understanding. In this way, the Lord governs both the Church in man and the man who is not in the Church; though the latter thinks he governs himself.
Here, one can understand that the truth taught to a man of the Church does not condemn, but regenerates him, while the truth taught to the person who is not in the Church nor the Church in him is condemned, for he or she is separated from the Lord and Heaven, that is, good of the Lord has been closed or shut off from him. If not he would have profaned it. If the good and the truth, the ecclesiastical and civil laws, the Heavenly and worldly laws are taught and, if a person is lead by them, then a new Church from the Lord is developed and formed within. This person lives according to the laws of God and is a citizen of Heaven. As such, the laws of this world - the civil and moral laws - are followed though not from fear of punishment as those who are not in the Church, but from a love to the Lord and towards the neighbor.
Thus, a Church is to be governed and led by priests alone and not by a government of laity together with priests, not by laity alone. For, if a Church's government is from or by the people, it would be contrary to Divine order, for Divine order is when good, as the agent and influent, is over truth, which receives and suffers or allows itself to be moved so that the rational of man causes one to act in love to the Lord and with charity towards the neighbor from the Lord. The priests as governors or leaders are to teach truths and as magistrates are to administer Divine laws which are to lead the laity to the good of life. For to lead to the good of life comes from the will, thus in doing good and in willing good or willing well a man receives the good of life and also has the truths of faith. This man is a man of the Church and also an angel of Heaven.
End.
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