Spiritual (Intellectual) Truths
The Continual Development of the Lord Jesus Christ's Human towards Divinity
By Rev. Paul Booth
Lessons: Genesis 12: 14 -29 | Arcana C&œ;lestia 1487
The Continual Development of the Lord Jesus Christ's Human towards Divinity
By Rev. Paul Booth
Lessons: Genesis 12: 14 -29 | Arcana C&œ;lestia 1487
As regards scientifics the case is this. In childhood they are required for no other reason then that of knowing.
(Arcana C&œ;lestia 1487)
And lastly that this may take place, which is to say that, the very life may consist
in use, and be a life of uses (AC 1487).
(Arcana C&œ;lestia 1487)
The two prior sermons we spoke about the life the Lord had as a child on earth. This follows those and speaks about scientifics - those sensual, rational, and intellectual - that enter the memory and to be called upon and used by the internal of man. The Lord had reached the state of learning the knowledges of cognitions. This is expressed in the Old Testament as Abram, who represents Jesus in childhood by "going and journeying into Egypt." Because Jesus was as any other man in childhood, He has to learn through His senses. In this way, like anyone else, that He collected facts and data concerning celestial things - truths and goods of faith - into His mind which enter the memory. In the Third Testament these, are called scientifics and knowledges.
In the Third Testament the words: cognitions, knowledges, and scientifics can be found. All are said to be vessels in which truths can be given to man. Those cognitions given by the Lord to man in both in childhood and adulthood are concepts; they are ideas of celestial things. Knowledges and scientifics are facts and data learned through one's senses. These are gathered or are collected in order that a man can think and form his thoughts so as to cause an effect. The results are that they become of use for man's life. Thus, they are sometimes called memory-knowledges
Now when the Lord assumed the human of mankind and He put on the man's nature, He had the desires and understanding of man on earth. Now, a man's nature is to desire knowledge for himself. This is evidenced by those of the Most Ancient Church wanting to know and, therefore knowledge by and from their own selves, and this can be seen in the story of Adam and Eve eating from the tree of knowledge in the midst of the garden, when they were told not to. They wanted to have knowledge of good and evil of themselves. Thus, you can see why children today love to learn and why they learn for no other reason than for the sake of knowing. And, of course, as has already been shown, there is delight and pleasure associated with knowing.
Of course, one can say the purpose to knowing is to understand. And when one understands he has a concept and forms an idea to which he can acknowledge or accept and act upon according to his will or what he loves, for a man wills what he loves. By Adam and Eve eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, we can see a correspondence between our natural appetite and taste with scientifics, knowledges and the desire for them. Basically, scientifics are what sustain the spirit as food sustains the body. Knowledges are as the appetite and as the tastes of foods. Thus, we can know we are created with both a spiritual and a natural life.
In previous sermons we saw (learned) that cognitions insinuated into the Lord Jesus Christ as a child were celestial essentials, which is that one is to love the Lord and be charitable to the neighbor, and naturally we know that these He has said are the two great commandments - to love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, and strength, or with all one's will and ability and to love the neighbor as one's self. We learned that these essentials were given even before the Lord as a child began learning the knowledge of cognitions and so before one learns as a child. Thus, the Lord had learned the primary precepts of the Word just as does a man who follows the teachings of God's Word. In this way, the Lord received intellectual truths, which became the understanding in His Human from mankind. The Lord was collecting knowledges and scientifics, which were facts about celestial love, which is the love of the Divine for His kingdom. All these were stored in His mind and became vessels for the Divine Itself, and this, then, is the unition of the Divine Human. The Lord was delighted because of receiving understanding or in receiving intellectual truths, which is the truth adjoined to the good and are therefore genuine truths as opposed to intellectual faith in which there is nothing of good from the will and therefore, is a dead faith.
As the results of learning knowledges and scientifics, the Lord had, within His natural Human, formed vessels with which truths could be conjoined. These truths were intellectual or spiritual truths; they were not, in this state, celestial truths. In this state the celestial would have been violated. For, without understanding or intellectual truth as the media, truths with man would be destroyed and the celestial violated. The man in this state, and, so the Lord, who was in man's state, who was not in any regeneration, was under the natural will, which was separated from the Divine.
We can see that knowledges and scientifics are for use. They are to serve the internal man. Here, just recall that the external is just a container or vessel for the spiritual. Thus knowledges and scientifics subordinate the interior or spiritual of man. It can be seen that external things are subordinate to internal things. One cannot know nor have ideas and concepts unless he first has learned the facts about such concepts. It is the scientifics that are the outermost things in which interior or spiritual things end or rest. Thus, they serve the spiritual. You can see, then, that the Lord as a child had to learn scientifics and that He became delighted in such learning as any child does. Thus the Lord had learned scientifics and the knowledge of cognitions. He had accumulated intellectual truths. It is just as if one had learned all the facts about something that he or she wanted to know, and that person would feel a sense of accomplishment and would be delighted.
Now, we had mentioned that these -knowledges and scientifics - were to serve, that is that they were of use. Thus, all the scientifics that the Lord learned were to be destroyed, for their uses were accomplished and thus were no longer needed. Still, you, may wonder, what is the purpose of learning them? Why gather all the facts, all the knowledges and scientifics for one self at all? However, ask yourself, is it just because you love knowledge and scientifics for yourself. You can see that if that were the goal then how selfish and worldly you would be. The Word of our lesson tells us that they had to be destroyed with the Lord. They had served their purpose. The question is, if scientifics were of such use, why must they be destroyed and, can't they be of use again?
First, let us see what their use was. From our text we learned that they are for no other use than that of knowing. "As regards scientifics the case in this: In childhood they are acquired for no other use than that of knowing" (AC 1487). Scientifics are acquired from the Lord, which is from the Divine. Indeed, they are from no other source, even though we must 'as if' of ourselves learn them and they become, seemingly, ours; they are the Lord's with man. They have been received either from the Lord through the Heavens or from hell in which case they have been distorted. The Lord as a child received them into His Human from the Divine, that is, from His Soul. Remember God was the Father of Jesus Christ, the Son, and from the father comes the soul, while from the mother the body. He did so through the natural senses, that is, He received scientifics through His natural senses. Thus, they - scientifics - are earthly, worldly, and corporeal, and were only adjoined with the Divine and were of use and were vessels that may be disposed of when their use is accomplished. One may even begin to see here their use in man's regeneration or salvation.
Let us discover of what use they are. The first use is for a man to think. Next, they are used as a means for forming thought. What this does is give man the effect of life. In this, can be seen the Lord's life, His good and truth flowing into us into vessels - the will and understanding - that were given to us in our creation by the Lord. His good and truth continually flows into us and forms vessels adapting them to receive His good and truth, not just naturally, but spiritually as well. In this way, vessels will have been adapted to receive life from the Lord, thus we will have received true life, which is a life of uses. The quality of such life is determined according to the vessel formed, whether it is formed from truths from the Lord or from falsities from hell. Our lesson in Arcana Coelestia says it this way:
First, to give ability to think; then that those may be of use by means of thought;In the Third Testament the words: cognitions, knowledges, and scientifics can be found. All are said to be vessels in which truths can be given to man. Those cognitions given by the Lord to man in both in childhood and adulthood are concepts; they are ideas of celestial things. Knowledges and scientifics are facts and data learned through one's senses. These are gathered or are collected in order that a man can think and form his thoughts so as to cause an effect. The results are that they become of use for man's life. Thus, they are sometimes called memory-knowledges
Now when the Lord assumed the human of mankind and He put on the man's nature, He had the desires and understanding of man on earth. Now, a man's nature is to desire knowledge for himself. This is evidenced by those of the Most Ancient Church wanting to know and, therefore knowledge by and from their own selves, and this can be seen in the story of Adam and Eve eating from the tree of knowledge in the midst of the garden, when they were told not to. They wanted to have knowledge of good and evil of themselves. Thus, you can see why children today love to learn and why they learn for no other reason than for the sake of knowing. And, of course, as has already been shown, there is delight and pleasure associated with knowing.
Of course, one can say the purpose to knowing is to understand. And when one understands he has a concept and forms an idea to which he can acknowledge or accept and act upon according to his will or what he loves, for a man wills what he loves. By Adam and Eve eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, we can see a correspondence between our natural appetite and taste with scientifics, knowledges and the desire for them. Basically, scientifics are what sustain the spirit as food sustains the body. Knowledges are as the appetite and as the tastes of foods. Thus, we can know we are created with both a spiritual and a natural life.
In previous sermons we saw (learned) that cognitions insinuated into the Lord Jesus Christ as a child were celestial essentials, which is that one is to love the Lord and be charitable to the neighbor, and naturally we know that these He has said are the two great commandments - to love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, and strength, or with all one's will and ability and to love the neighbor as one's self. We learned that these essentials were given even before the Lord as a child began learning the knowledge of cognitions and so before one learns as a child. Thus, the Lord had learned the primary precepts of the Word just as does a man who follows the teachings of God's Word. In this way, the Lord received intellectual truths, which became the understanding in His Human from mankind. The Lord was collecting knowledges and scientifics, which were facts about celestial love, which is the love of the Divine for His kingdom. All these were stored in His mind and became vessels for the Divine Itself, and this, then, is the unition of the Divine Human. The Lord was delighted because of receiving understanding or in receiving intellectual truths, which is the truth adjoined to the good and are therefore genuine truths as opposed to intellectual faith in which there is nothing of good from the will and therefore, is a dead faith.
As the results of learning knowledges and scientifics, the Lord had, within His natural Human, formed vessels with which truths could be conjoined. These truths were intellectual or spiritual truths; they were not, in this state, celestial truths. In this state the celestial would have been violated. For, without understanding or intellectual truth as the media, truths with man would be destroyed and the celestial violated. The man in this state, and, so the Lord, who was in man's state, who was not in any regeneration, was under the natural will, which was separated from the Divine.
We can see that knowledges and scientifics are for use. They are to serve the internal man. Here, just recall that the external is just a container or vessel for the spiritual. Thus knowledges and scientifics subordinate the interior or spiritual of man. It can be seen that external things are subordinate to internal things. One cannot know nor have ideas and concepts unless he first has learned the facts about such concepts. It is the scientifics that are the outermost things in which interior or spiritual things end or rest. Thus, they serve the spiritual. You can see, then, that the Lord as a child had to learn scientifics and that He became delighted in such learning as any child does. Thus the Lord had learned scientifics and the knowledge of cognitions. He had accumulated intellectual truths. It is just as if one had learned all the facts about something that he or she wanted to know, and that person would feel a sense of accomplishment and would be delighted.
Now, we had mentioned that these -knowledges and scientifics - were to serve, that is that they were of use. Thus, all the scientifics that the Lord learned were to be destroyed, for their uses were accomplished and thus were no longer needed. Still, you, may wonder, what is the purpose of learning them? Why gather all the facts, all the knowledges and scientifics for one self at all? However, ask yourself, is it just because you love knowledge and scientifics for yourself. You can see that if that were the goal then how selfish and worldly you would be. The Word of our lesson tells us that they had to be destroyed with the Lord. They had served their purpose. The question is, if scientifics were of such use, why must they be destroyed and, can't they be of use again?
First, let us see what their use was. From our text we learned that they are for no other use than that of knowing. "As regards scientifics the case in this: In childhood they are acquired for no other use than that of knowing" (AC 1487). Scientifics are acquired from the Lord, which is from the Divine. Indeed, they are from no other source, even though we must 'as if' of ourselves learn them and they become, seemingly, ours; they are the Lord's with man. They have been received either from the Lord through the Heavens or from hell in which case they have been distorted. The Lord as a child received them into His Human from the Divine, that is, from His Soul. Remember God was the Father of Jesus Christ, the Son, and from the father comes the soul, while from the mother the body. He did so through the natural senses, that is, He received scientifics through His natural senses. Thus, they - scientifics - are earthly, worldly, and corporeal, and were only adjoined with the Divine and were of use and were vessels that may be disposed of when their use is accomplished. One may even begin to see here their use in man's regeneration or salvation.
Let us discover of what use they are. The first use is for a man to think. Next, they are used as a means for forming thought. What this does is give man the effect of life. In this, can be seen the Lord's life, His good and truth flowing into us into vessels - the will and understanding - that were given to us in our creation by the Lord. His good and truth continually flows into us and forms vessels adapting them to receive His good and truth, not just naturally, but spiritually as well. In this way, vessels will have been adapted to receive life from the Lord, thus we will have received true life, which is a life of uses. The quality of such life is determined according to the vessel formed, whether it is formed from truths from the Lord or from falsities from hell. Our lesson in Arcana Coelestia says it this way:
And lastly that this may take place, which is to say that, the very life may consist
in use, and be a life of uses (AC 1487).
The purpose of knowledges and scientifics can now be seen as a way so that a man can be conjoined to Heaven, and thus with the Lord, which is by man becoming a use. We must think all things from an end of their use and do all things for an end to use, even if we do not openly express or imply an understanding, but by only a tacit and way acquire them through a natural way by doing, for what good is there in knowing what is good, but never doing it? Then the ideas learned will serve their use. Their use is that man may become rational from the Lord or who is one who thinks the good and truth of faith or all the things of love and wisdom are acknowledged from an affection of truth from willing truth.
The Word of the Third Testament says. "Unless the knowledges which in childhood have performed the use of making the man rational , are destroyed, so that they are as nothing, truth can never be conjoined with what is celestial" (AC 1489). Understanding this from the natural doesn't seem right, as one might think that knowledge is what makes a person rational. However, as we have shown, knowledges are but means to becoming celestial and being celestial conjoins us with the Divine, which then means that the Lord, that is His good and truth in us becomes 'as if' our rational from the Lord.
The ideas that are learned from precepts, which are the essentials of faith, are learned through our senses and are worldly, earthy and corporeal. We do not see that within them is what is spiritual and celestial. These worldly and corporeal ideas are attached to truths that concern primary precepts. Such scientifics learned hold one's mind down in the natural state. You can see that unless these scientific things are destroyed the mind cannot be elevated into the spiritual, that is, into the internal things, which are from God. It is in this that scientifics, which we now understand are vessels, must become as nothing. For it is then that they have performed their use. Thus are new vessels continually being formed for other goods and truths to enter our understanding, elevating it to see even heavenly things.
Remember, scientifics were said to be 'food' for the internal man. From the correspondence between natural and spiritual food an illustration will serve to see the need for the destruction of scientifics. Food, when eaten, serves the body. The purpose of food is, of course, to sustain the body, that is, to give it life. In the process the food is destroyed during digestion. Now, likewise, the facts and data, that is, the scientifics and knowledges serve to sustain the internal man, by which is meant our spirit. After their purpose is accomplished and new vessels are formed and new or higher truth received they are destroyed; their use as scientifics is gone. In fact, the person no longer is merely natural, but spiritual and lives spiritually.
New vessels are formed in man as they were in the Lord in order to receive spiritual and later celestial truths; they are called intellectual truths. These can then be of use in order to receive even higher or celestial truths. These intellectual truths are formed into vessels in man who comes into such a state. These are necessary and become adapted by the celestial so that what is celestial can be received by man. These vessels are truths, but truth by itself has no life; truths are vessels just as knowledges and scientifics are. It is life or good conjoined with the truth that cause or make the quality of life with man. Thus, there are Celestial truths, Spiritual truths, Natural truths, and Scientific truths. Man is not to remain in the truths of this world - natural truths - for they will not serve him in the next world. In fact, because natural truths are only adjoined and not conjoined with the Divine they will 'fall off' upon entering the spiritual world.
Now, as we have learned, the Lord had received or learned Scientifics; He had gained a knowledge of cognitions, which was confirmed by reason. Thus, He became Rational. With the Rational are conjoined intellectual (spiritual) truths. He, therefore, had received in His human 'put-on' from mankind an internal perception that it was so or true, that is, truths and goods are the Lord's and not man's. He had received understanding of such things in His human assumed in the world. He was becoming wisdom in His human Essence as He was in the Divine Essence. The Lord was uniting Himself with the Divine, thus He was becoming the Divine Human.
Thus, we can see that the Lord, even while He was but a child was conjoining His Human Essence with His Divine Essence; He was becoming Jehovah in His Human Essence. We, too, must learn the primary precepts from the Word. We must gather the facts about the Lord's love for us and become conjoined with Heaven and the Lord.
May we receive the truth of faith and, thus, come into His Heavenly Kingdom.
Amen.
The Word of the Third Testament says. "Unless the knowledges which in childhood have performed the use of making the man rational , are destroyed, so that they are as nothing, truth can never be conjoined with what is celestial" (AC 1489). Understanding this from the natural doesn't seem right, as one might think that knowledge is what makes a person rational. However, as we have shown, knowledges are but means to becoming celestial and being celestial conjoins us with the Divine, which then means that the Lord, that is His good and truth in us becomes 'as if' our rational from the Lord.
The ideas that are learned from precepts, which are the essentials of faith, are learned through our senses and are worldly, earthy and corporeal. We do not see that within them is what is spiritual and celestial. These worldly and corporeal ideas are attached to truths that concern primary precepts. Such scientifics learned hold one's mind down in the natural state. You can see that unless these scientific things are destroyed the mind cannot be elevated into the spiritual, that is, into the internal things, which are from God. It is in this that scientifics, which we now understand are vessels, must become as nothing. For it is then that they have performed their use. Thus are new vessels continually being formed for other goods and truths to enter our understanding, elevating it to see even heavenly things.
Remember, scientifics were said to be 'food' for the internal man. From the correspondence between natural and spiritual food an illustration will serve to see the need for the destruction of scientifics. Food, when eaten, serves the body. The purpose of food is, of course, to sustain the body, that is, to give it life. In the process the food is destroyed during digestion. Now, likewise, the facts and data, that is, the scientifics and knowledges serve to sustain the internal man, by which is meant our spirit. After their purpose is accomplished and new vessels are formed and new or higher truth received they are destroyed; their use as scientifics is gone. In fact, the person no longer is merely natural, but spiritual and lives spiritually.
New vessels are formed in man as they were in the Lord in order to receive spiritual and later celestial truths; they are called intellectual truths. These can then be of use in order to receive even higher or celestial truths. These intellectual truths are formed into vessels in man who comes into such a state. These are necessary and become adapted by the celestial so that what is celestial can be received by man. These vessels are truths, but truth by itself has no life; truths are vessels just as knowledges and scientifics are. It is life or good conjoined with the truth that cause or make the quality of life with man. Thus, there are Celestial truths, Spiritual truths, Natural truths, and Scientific truths. Man is not to remain in the truths of this world - natural truths - for they will not serve him in the next world. In fact, because natural truths are only adjoined and not conjoined with the Divine they will 'fall off' upon entering the spiritual world.
Now, as we have learned, the Lord had received or learned Scientifics; He had gained a knowledge of cognitions, which was confirmed by reason. Thus, He became Rational. With the Rational are conjoined intellectual (spiritual) truths. He, therefore, had received in His human 'put-on' from mankind an internal perception that it was so or true, that is, truths and goods are the Lord's and not man's. He had received understanding of such things in His human assumed in the world. He was becoming wisdom in His human Essence as He was in the Divine Essence. The Lord was uniting Himself with the Divine, thus He was becoming the Divine Human.
Thus, we can see that the Lord, even while He was but a child was conjoining His Human Essence with His Divine Essence; He was becoming Jehovah in His Human Essence. We, too, must learn the primary precepts from the Word. We must gather the facts about the Lord's love for us and become conjoined with Heaven and the Lord.
May we receive the truth of faith and, thus, come into His Heavenly Kingdom.
Amen.
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