A Doctrinal Class - The doctrine of Genuine Truth Explained
By Rev. Paul Booth
By Rev. Paul Booth
HOW THE LORD HAS MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR MAN TO BECOME SONS OF GOD: Changing Apparent Goods and Truths into Genuine Goods and Truths
"The doctrine of genuine truth has now been revealed". That statement was made in the little treatise the Word of the Lord from experience or de Verbo. There in number 21 it is said that this doctrine of genuine truth is partly contained in New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine, and in the small works The Four Leading Doctrines of the Lord, Faith, Life, and Sacred Scripture. The reason given why this is the genuine doctrine of truth is because it agrees with the spiritual sense of the Word and that the spiritual sense and the science of correspondences have now been revealed to man. From the point of view of those who have come to accept the religious writings of Emanuel Swedenborg as the Truth or as the Word this is seen as literal proof that those writings are the Word of God just as he accepts the Old and the New Testaments as the Word.
Can a man receive the doctrine of genuine truth into his mind, that is, into his will and understanding? First, we will look at the Lord and His Church and we see that in the Word one sees the Lord as the Bridegroom and Husband and the church as the bride and wife. We understand this as a marriage between the Lord and the Church and, because there is this marriage there is conjunction of good and truth with everyone, both in Heaven and those who are in the church on earth in whom the church is. It is obvious that angels and such men on earth who receive and have good and truth from the Lord have received it from the Word and so, conjunction with the Lord is effected and that conjunction is called the Heavenly Marriage in the Word.
Next, because there is also a marriage in the Word between goods and truths and which may be revealed to us when we study its internal or spiritual sense and see there revealed two expressions, one referring to good or to the Lord and another to truth or to the Church. To be sure, the Word's primary focus and revelation is the Lord Himself and, next it is the Church Itself. This can be seen and known by the knowledge of the science of correspondences, which are revealed in the books mentioned above, and we come to see some words (correspondences) correspond to good and some to truth. Again, it becomes obvious that there is a spiritual sense and a celestial sense in the Word. These correspond to the spiritual and celestial Heavens and, also, to the truths and goods of the Word.
What is strange to people who have not come to accept this new Word or the Latin Word that is called by some the Third Testament or the Word of the Divine Human is that when the Word is read with reverence, truths are perceived according to correspondences by spiritual angels and goods by celestial angels with the man who so reads. This fact shows that there is a marriage of the Lord with the Church, for such marriage exists by means of the Word and shows that it is both in Heaven with angels and on earth with men.
Now, let us consider those who do not read the Word in reverence, but read it for other reasons. We see in de Verbo, number 9, that such men, who have, for their end, honors, wealth, gain, and fame of learning cannot see anything of genuine truth in the Word. These men could not learn genuine truth from the Word, but only what is in the sense of the letter, thus only apparent truths. And, we see this stated here: (such men) "do not see and do not find anything of genuine truth in the Word" and nothing of genuine truth which might serve interiorly for doctrine. They, of course, can form a doctrine, but it is obvious that such doctrine, at best, is of apparent truths, not of genuine truths and therefore is not the genuine doctrine of truth.
From this we may come to understand that whatever the ends are determine whether or not the marriage of good and truth or genuine doctrine of truth can become conjoined within man from the Lord. It is the Lord and Heaven that are to be the ends, and not wealth, gain, honor. Because of their ends all things of self love and of love of the world, those thing which are contra to the Lord and Heaven, there is the proprium of a man, which is mere evil and falsity. These know nothing except the words of the sense of the letter and have no interior understanding. The only knowledge they receive comes through their natural senses and thus, through the world and self, - their proprium - distort it, and then cannot be elevated into the light of Heaven when any influx from the Lord is received.
Here, we understand this to mean that such influx of genuine truth is through the man's interiors from angels in the spiritual Heaven that are conjoined with him in truths as he reads the Word in reverence and through these spiritual angels with celestial angels, and therein is the marriage of good and truth according to correspondences with the man. Thus, there is a conjunction and a communication with Heaven initiated through a man's natural senses when the end is to know and to love the Lord and the neighbor. "All these because they love truth receive an influx from the Lord, and see and find genuine truths in the Word; for they are enlightened as to the understanding, and perceive truths in enlightenment as from themselves, though they are not from themselves; and . . . are taken up into Heaven . . . and become spiritual and angels" (de Verbo Section 9, para. 24).
With those whose end is that of 'self' or what is one's own, instead of the influx of genuine truths from the Lord, there are only apparent truths, which are adjoined with falsity and evil.
It is thus; that the genuine doctrine of truth is revealed to mankind in the literal sense of the Word as reveled in the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Jerusalem and throughout the Third Testament and, that a man, because of his love of self, still cannot receive and have genuine truths. Therefore, the Divine Word or Truth was written by correspondences that men may receive God's revelation, and that such revelation comes to both angels in Heaven and men on earth, not immediately as when the people of the first Church - Adam and Eve - was on earth, but mediately or indirectly through the natural sense. The Word is in the highest Heaven, the celestial, and in both the middle, the spiritual Heaven and lowest Heavens, the celestial / spiritual natural angels, and in the world below the Heavens. Therefore, wisdom is in all these degrees through correspondences available to both angels in Heaven and men on earth. Now, these degrees are discrete degrees, that is, are separate one from the other and yet we have said the celestial and the spiritual sense of the Word is in the letter of the Word, which is the Ultimate sense.
One can read about this in De Verbo, Section 11, number 27. But, as an illustration, think of the natural or literal sense of the Word as the ultimate border in which divine truths that are within are celestial truth and they within spiritual truth and spiritual truth within truths called celestial and spiritual natural truth and these all are held within the natural as the ultimate border 'as it were'. The outer or ultimate border - the natural sense of the letter of the Word - supports all the inner senses that are contained within it. From this we see our Word on earth in the sense of the letter, while within it there are the divine, celestial and spiritual wisdom or truths contained. Now, when man reads the Word in reverence, its interiors are unbound and unfolded 'as it were', and spiritual angels draws their own Divine spiritual wisdom, the celestial angels draw their own Divine celestial wisdom and they each have their own wisdom as do men have theirs. In order to understand this let it be known that the Word is heard and declared from Heaven from the Lord; certainly it is not from man. And, is not the Divine within us bringing us and giving us life? From this we see the Divine let down by the Lord into the world through the Heavens in their order. And, for the Word to exist in the world does not the Divine need to return in like order to the Lord again from which is came? The Word is not separate from the Lord, though it appears it is, especially in this world.
Now how is the genuine doctrine of truths known by a man? We have said that when a man reverently reads the Word it is opened or unfolded in Heaven and angels there receive their wisdom, but what of man on earth, how does he receive his wisdom and, thus have the genuine doctrine of truth and not apparent truths that have with them attached falsities? Earlier, we stated that a man who has as his end love to the Lord and love towards the neighbor that the spiritual truths inflow into him from the Lord. And as such, the man is enlightened, for he has a spiritual affection of truth, that is, he loves truth itself because it is truth. The man who read the Word from a mere natural affection for truth has just a desire to know. And, because his love determines what is understood, he sees nothing there except what agrees with his love.
The fault, of course, is the man's proprium and so, he cannot be led away from his proprium by the Lord nor is he elevated into the light of Heaven and he cannot receive influx from the Lord through Heaven. The reason is because of his love of self and the world. It is otherwise for those whose end is to love God and the neighbor. These "receive influx from the Lord, and see and find genuine truths in the Word; for they are enlightened as to the understanding, and perceive truths in enlightenment as from themselves" (de Verbo 24). Though such truth is from the Lord and when they come into Heaven then truth is seen in its own light.
Some may still ask that if man can only understand by way of his natural senses and thus, understands truths in the Word as only apparent truths, how, then, can they be genuine? It seems as if truth to be genuine are only in the Lord, and thus, divine truths which in man are only apparent. To this a question may be asked: Did not the Lord create man's mind as a vessel into which the light of Heaven enters? Where not the men of the Most Ancient Church capable of receiving such Heavenly light? Does not man have an interior mind into which Heavenly light can shine? Of course, we would say, yes, because we can read in Genesis that man was made so. It was into this mind that man had received divine truths. Of course, that interior mind became closed to man when he fell 'as it were' from Paradise and lived only from his natural mind. We can see, then, that man can have a genuine affection of truth for the sake of truth. In fact today we are asked in the Word to love truth for the sake of truth and not for the sake of our self. Let us ask another question: Can a man act in genuine charity? In truth a man can be in genuine charity, for the Word teaches that "genuine charity consists in acting prudently, and to the end that good may result" (Arcana Coelestia 8120).
It was said earlier that the genuine doctrine truth was revealed in The New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine. In the chapter of Love towards the neighbor or charity, we are explained what is meant by the neighbor who is to be loved or Charity. Here, is it revealed that "Charity consists of acting with prudence, and for the sake of the end that may result in it" (NJHD 100). We also learn that charity is an internal affection, from which man wills to do good, without recompense and delights in doing it. So, we see that a man can have genuine charity and a genuine affection of truth.
To these let us add genuine perception. We know that those of the Most Ancient Church had perception or immediate revelation from God. We also know that a person can have revelation that is not from perception, but is from a living voice within 'as it were', as from angels from the Lord or as when in a dream or vision. Now, wasn't this received by certain prophets and others, even Emanuel Swedenborg? This is what is called external revelation. The former - perception - is internal revelation. The external revelation, which is through the written Word that man, now has, is without perception and he does not know what is signified. However, because the Word of the Divine Human - the Third Testament - has now revealed the spiritual sense through the science of correspondences, a man's intellect can be affected spiritually and he can understand as the matter really is and, in fact, there is induced an internal assent.
It can be seen that revelation through the written Word, when its spiritual or internal sense is seen and understood, and that genuine charity and genuine affection of truth comes from influx from the Lord. It is in the internal of a man, that is, in a man's very soul that the Lord stores up goods and truths and is from where the man has true - eternal life. The proceeding goods and truths are from the Lord within the man's internal proceeding into the man's interior, which is the rational of a man and from there proceeds through into his exterior, from which a man thinks and is a man. This influx is both celestial and spiritual, thus, both goods or truths. Celestial things or goods flow into only a regenerate man - one who has been endowed with a conscience. We can see that this is with one who has love to the Lord and towards the neighbor, while spiritual things or truths flow into every man, not just a regenerate man, otherwise a man could not think or even speak at all. However, once a man becomes reformed, once he repents and shuns evils as sins against the Lord and acts in charity to the neighbor, he is a then a regenerate man, that is, he is in regeneration and, then, good flows in through his conscience. He, thus, is able to know that he naturally thinks from self, not the Lord and, sees that his natural mind or will and understanding is captive of evils, and any truths that he has are only apparent truths, not genuine truths. Cannot he 'as if' himself fight against the evils as the Lord did if he wills to?
Since the Lord has defeated the evils and holds them captive in hell, a man can be saved when he turns to the Lord in love. Does not the Lord "now flow in and reduce all things to order, and liberated it from the things which infested it, and thus purified it, that is to say, so that goods and truths were not apparent but genuine goods and truths, and were thus conjoined with the internal or Divine man'"(AC 1707:4e). We can understand that this is written of the Lord in His combats of temptations and continual victories by His own Power, and that His interior as to celestial was Divine and was adjoined to His internal even in His birth. That is why His internal is called His 'Father'. So, we can understand that His combats of temptations and victories were over falsities, though not over good, for He was, as said, adjoined to Good, that is, to the Father or Internal. It is the spiritual things, truths that were adjoined with His external. It is in this state that He, like mankind, possessed apparent good and truth and had to appropriate genuine truths, even as we are to learn the truth and to follow or to do, for man's regeneration as the :Lord had to for His glorification.
We know a man's celestial, because of his fall, is closed to him. Yet, there is a way for spiritual influx to enter or for an influx of truths to enter him and that is through the written Word. In this you can see the spiritual truths appropriate the interior or the rational as its own. And, likewise, is the exterior of man appropriated by the spiritual as its own through the interior. In this appropriation the interior or the rational of a man does not become one with the internal; they remain separate or discrete and, so too, does the exterior remain separate, but there is a correspondence between them. However, in this appropriation there is perception, that is, a man can perceive the state in which he is and sees that he is held captive by evils and has only apparent truths and goods, Example: The Lord, that is, the Truth and Good within us reigns or rules us, and so, He leads our interior - our rational - and through it our exterior, thus our life in the natural is lived from the Lord within. The result is that the internal flows in into our natural and reduces all things to order, liberating it.
The Lord has accomplished all this by His own Power and, if we, from His Word, appropriate truths or spiritual things because they are truths and 'as if' live accordingly, then the Lord comes to live and dwell in us from which genuine goods come into us. This, the Lord accomplished by degrees as He adjoined His Human Essence with His Divine Essence through combats of temptations and victories. Thus, also, are goods made genuine within us where within us the Lord, that is, His genuine goods and truths live and reign. One can read in John, chapter 1, verse 12, "But as many as receive Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name." By believing on His Name is to believe the Lord's Love and Wisdom, that is, Good and Truth and to act there from. The Lord made the goods and truths in His external, His Human genuine and, He is now in His Divine Human, and from where we appropriate the doctrine of genuine truth that is now revealed and become the sons of God. End.
Can a man receive the doctrine of genuine truth into his mind, that is, into his will and understanding? First, we will look at the Lord and His Church and we see that in the Word one sees the Lord as the Bridegroom and Husband and the church as the bride and wife. We understand this as a marriage between the Lord and the Church and, because there is this marriage there is conjunction of good and truth with everyone, both in Heaven and those who are in the church on earth in whom the church is. It is obvious that angels and such men on earth who receive and have good and truth from the Lord have received it from the Word and so, conjunction with the Lord is effected and that conjunction is called the Heavenly Marriage in the Word.
Next, because there is also a marriage in the Word between goods and truths and which may be revealed to us when we study its internal or spiritual sense and see there revealed two expressions, one referring to good or to the Lord and another to truth or to the Church. To be sure, the Word's primary focus and revelation is the Lord Himself and, next it is the Church Itself. This can be seen and known by the knowledge of the science of correspondences, which are revealed in the books mentioned above, and we come to see some words (correspondences) correspond to good and some to truth. Again, it becomes obvious that there is a spiritual sense and a celestial sense in the Word. These correspond to the spiritual and celestial Heavens and, also, to the truths and goods of the Word.
What is strange to people who have not come to accept this new Word or the Latin Word that is called by some the Third Testament or the Word of the Divine Human is that when the Word is read with reverence, truths are perceived according to correspondences by spiritual angels and goods by celestial angels with the man who so reads. This fact shows that there is a marriage of the Lord with the Church, for such marriage exists by means of the Word and shows that it is both in Heaven with angels and on earth with men.
Now, let us consider those who do not read the Word in reverence, but read it for other reasons. We see in de Verbo, number 9, that such men, who have, for their end, honors, wealth, gain, and fame of learning cannot see anything of genuine truth in the Word. These men could not learn genuine truth from the Word, but only what is in the sense of the letter, thus only apparent truths. And, we see this stated here: (such men) "do not see and do not find anything of genuine truth in the Word" and nothing of genuine truth which might serve interiorly for doctrine. They, of course, can form a doctrine, but it is obvious that such doctrine, at best, is of apparent truths, not of genuine truths and therefore is not the genuine doctrine of truth.
From this we may come to understand that whatever the ends are determine whether or not the marriage of good and truth or genuine doctrine of truth can become conjoined within man from the Lord. It is the Lord and Heaven that are to be the ends, and not wealth, gain, honor. Because of their ends all things of self love and of love of the world, those thing which are contra to the Lord and Heaven, there is the proprium of a man, which is mere evil and falsity. These know nothing except the words of the sense of the letter and have no interior understanding. The only knowledge they receive comes through their natural senses and thus, through the world and self, - their proprium - distort it, and then cannot be elevated into the light of Heaven when any influx from the Lord is received.
Here, we understand this to mean that such influx of genuine truth is through the man's interiors from angels in the spiritual Heaven that are conjoined with him in truths as he reads the Word in reverence and through these spiritual angels with celestial angels, and therein is the marriage of good and truth according to correspondences with the man. Thus, there is a conjunction and a communication with Heaven initiated through a man's natural senses when the end is to know and to love the Lord and the neighbor. "All these because they love truth receive an influx from the Lord, and see and find genuine truths in the Word; for they are enlightened as to the understanding, and perceive truths in enlightenment as from themselves, though they are not from themselves; and . . . are taken up into Heaven . . . and become spiritual and angels" (de Verbo Section 9, para. 24).
With those whose end is that of 'self' or what is one's own, instead of the influx of genuine truths from the Lord, there are only apparent truths, which are adjoined with falsity and evil.
It is thus; that the genuine doctrine of truth is revealed to mankind in the literal sense of the Word as reveled in the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Jerusalem and throughout the Third Testament and, that a man, because of his love of self, still cannot receive and have genuine truths. Therefore, the Divine Word or Truth was written by correspondences that men may receive God's revelation, and that such revelation comes to both angels in Heaven and men on earth, not immediately as when the people of the first Church - Adam and Eve - was on earth, but mediately or indirectly through the natural sense. The Word is in the highest Heaven, the celestial, and in both the middle, the spiritual Heaven and lowest Heavens, the celestial / spiritual natural angels, and in the world below the Heavens. Therefore, wisdom is in all these degrees through correspondences available to both angels in Heaven and men on earth. Now, these degrees are discrete degrees, that is, are separate one from the other and yet we have said the celestial and the spiritual sense of the Word is in the letter of the Word, which is the Ultimate sense.
One can read about this in De Verbo, Section 11, number 27. But, as an illustration, think of the natural or literal sense of the Word as the ultimate border in which divine truths that are within are celestial truth and they within spiritual truth and spiritual truth within truths called celestial and spiritual natural truth and these all are held within the natural as the ultimate border 'as it were'. The outer or ultimate border - the natural sense of the letter of the Word - supports all the inner senses that are contained within it. From this we see our Word on earth in the sense of the letter, while within it there are the divine, celestial and spiritual wisdom or truths contained. Now, when man reads the Word in reverence, its interiors are unbound and unfolded 'as it were', and spiritual angels draws their own Divine spiritual wisdom, the celestial angels draw their own Divine celestial wisdom and they each have their own wisdom as do men have theirs. In order to understand this let it be known that the Word is heard and declared from Heaven from the Lord; certainly it is not from man. And, is not the Divine within us bringing us and giving us life? From this we see the Divine let down by the Lord into the world through the Heavens in their order. And, for the Word to exist in the world does not the Divine need to return in like order to the Lord again from which is came? The Word is not separate from the Lord, though it appears it is, especially in this world.
Now how is the genuine doctrine of truths known by a man? We have said that when a man reverently reads the Word it is opened or unfolded in Heaven and angels there receive their wisdom, but what of man on earth, how does he receive his wisdom and, thus have the genuine doctrine of truth and not apparent truths that have with them attached falsities? Earlier, we stated that a man who has as his end love to the Lord and love towards the neighbor that the spiritual truths inflow into him from the Lord. And as such, the man is enlightened, for he has a spiritual affection of truth, that is, he loves truth itself because it is truth. The man who read the Word from a mere natural affection for truth has just a desire to know. And, because his love determines what is understood, he sees nothing there except what agrees with his love.
The fault, of course, is the man's proprium and so, he cannot be led away from his proprium by the Lord nor is he elevated into the light of Heaven and he cannot receive influx from the Lord through Heaven. The reason is because of his love of self and the world. It is otherwise for those whose end is to love God and the neighbor. These "receive influx from the Lord, and see and find genuine truths in the Word; for they are enlightened as to the understanding, and perceive truths in enlightenment as from themselves" (de Verbo 24). Though such truth is from the Lord and when they come into Heaven then truth is seen in its own light.
Some may still ask that if man can only understand by way of his natural senses and thus, understands truths in the Word as only apparent truths, how, then, can they be genuine? It seems as if truth to be genuine are only in the Lord, and thus, divine truths which in man are only apparent. To this a question may be asked: Did not the Lord create man's mind as a vessel into which the light of Heaven enters? Where not the men of the Most Ancient Church capable of receiving such Heavenly light? Does not man have an interior mind into which Heavenly light can shine? Of course, we would say, yes, because we can read in Genesis that man was made so. It was into this mind that man had received divine truths. Of course, that interior mind became closed to man when he fell 'as it were' from Paradise and lived only from his natural mind. We can see, then, that man can have a genuine affection of truth for the sake of truth. In fact today we are asked in the Word to love truth for the sake of truth and not for the sake of our self. Let us ask another question: Can a man act in genuine charity? In truth a man can be in genuine charity, for the Word teaches that "genuine charity consists in acting prudently, and to the end that good may result" (Arcana Coelestia 8120).
It was said earlier that the genuine doctrine truth was revealed in The New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine. In the chapter of Love towards the neighbor or charity, we are explained what is meant by the neighbor who is to be loved or Charity. Here, is it revealed that "Charity consists of acting with prudence, and for the sake of the end that may result in it" (NJHD 100). We also learn that charity is an internal affection, from which man wills to do good, without recompense and delights in doing it. So, we see that a man can have genuine charity and a genuine affection of truth.
To these let us add genuine perception. We know that those of the Most Ancient Church had perception or immediate revelation from God. We also know that a person can have revelation that is not from perception, but is from a living voice within 'as it were', as from angels from the Lord or as when in a dream or vision. Now, wasn't this received by certain prophets and others, even Emanuel Swedenborg? This is what is called external revelation. The former - perception - is internal revelation. The external revelation, which is through the written Word that man, now has, is without perception and he does not know what is signified. However, because the Word of the Divine Human - the Third Testament - has now revealed the spiritual sense through the science of correspondences, a man's intellect can be affected spiritually and he can understand as the matter really is and, in fact, there is induced an internal assent.
It can be seen that revelation through the written Word, when its spiritual or internal sense is seen and understood, and that genuine charity and genuine affection of truth comes from influx from the Lord. It is in the internal of a man, that is, in a man's very soul that the Lord stores up goods and truths and is from where the man has true - eternal life. The proceeding goods and truths are from the Lord within the man's internal proceeding into the man's interior, which is the rational of a man and from there proceeds through into his exterior, from which a man thinks and is a man. This influx is both celestial and spiritual, thus, both goods or truths. Celestial things or goods flow into only a regenerate man - one who has been endowed with a conscience. We can see that this is with one who has love to the Lord and towards the neighbor, while spiritual things or truths flow into every man, not just a regenerate man, otherwise a man could not think or even speak at all. However, once a man becomes reformed, once he repents and shuns evils as sins against the Lord and acts in charity to the neighbor, he is a then a regenerate man, that is, he is in regeneration and, then, good flows in through his conscience. He, thus, is able to know that he naturally thinks from self, not the Lord and, sees that his natural mind or will and understanding is captive of evils, and any truths that he has are only apparent truths, not genuine truths. Cannot he 'as if' himself fight against the evils as the Lord did if he wills to?
Since the Lord has defeated the evils and holds them captive in hell, a man can be saved when he turns to the Lord in love. Does not the Lord "now flow in and reduce all things to order, and liberated it from the things which infested it, and thus purified it, that is to say, so that goods and truths were not apparent but genuine goods and truths, and were thus conjoined with the internal or Divine man'"(AC 1707:4e). We can understand that this is written of the Lord in His combats of temptations and continual victories by His own Power, and that His interior as to celestial was Divine and was adjoined to His internal even in His birth. That is why His internal is called His 'Father'. So, we can understand that His combats of temptations and victories were over falsities, though not over good, for He was, as said, adjoined to Good, that is, to the Father or Internal. It is the spiritual things, truths that were adjoined with His external. It is in this state that He, like mankind, possessed apparent good and truth and had to appropriate genuine truths, even as we are to learn the truth and to follow or to do, for man's regeneration as the :Lord had to for His glorification.
We know a man's celestial, because of his fall, is closed to him. Yet, there is a way for spiritual influx to enter or for an influx of truths to enter him and that is through the written Word. In this you can see the spiritual truths appropriate the interior or the rational as its own. And, likewise, is the exterior of man appropriated by the spiritual as its own through the interior. In this appropriation the interior or the rational of a man does not become one with the internal; they remain separate or discrete and, so too, does the exterior remain separate, but there is a correspondence between them. However, in this appropriation there is perception, that is, a man can perceive the state in which he is and sees that he is held captive by evils and has only apparent truths and goods, Example: The Lord, that is, the Truth and Good within us reigns or rules us, and so, He leads our interior - our rational - and through it our exterior, thus our life in the natural is lived from the Lord within. The result is that the internal flows in into our natural and reduces all things to order, liberating it.
The Lord has accomplished all this by His own Power and, if we, from His Word, appropriate truths or spiritual things because they are truths and 'as if' live accordingly, then the Lord comes to live and dwell in us from which genuine goods come into us. This, the Lord accomplished by degrees as He adjoined His Human Essence with His Divine Essence through combats of temptations and victories. Thus, also, are goods made genuine within us where within us the Lord, that is, His genuine goods and truths live and reign. One can read in John, chapter 1, verse 12, "But as many as receive Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name." By believing on His Name is to believe the Lord's Love and Wisdom, that is, Good and Truth and to act there from. The Lord made the goods and truths in His external, His Human genuine and, He is now in His Divine Human, and from where we appropriate the doctrine of genuine truth that is now revealed and become the sons of God. End.
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