Seed and Good Ground - by Rev. Paul Booth
Lessons: Psalm 122
Matthew 13: 3-9; 18-23
Nova Hierosolyma and Its Heavenly Doctrine 243
Matthew 13: 3-9; 18-23
Nova Hierosolyma and Its Heavenly Doctrine 243
But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the Word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, &…; (Matthew 13: 23)
From the beginning to today, there has always been a Church present on earth. If this were not so, then there would be no communication between the Lord, Heaven and the human race. The Church has always had the Word of God, even before there was a written Word, thus there was communication from God, for with communication the Church has its life. Isn't God our very life? The question that arises is: What constitutes a Church? First, what is the proper definition of a true Church? We find from a merely academic study that the Greek word 'Ekklesia' found in the New Testament and the Epistles means 'that which is called out', and sometimes an 'assembly' of people, such as the word 'ekklesia' refers in the free cities of Greece. Further, in the Latin, the word 'Ecclesia' means 'a religious assembly of Christians' or a 'Christian congregation', thus today it came to mean a Church - a body of believers. However, we wish to go deeper or into the internal or the spiritual sense of the word 'Church' where there is spiritual substance and from where there is life. We need to do this because a natural or an external Church without an internal or without a spiritual is only a covering without substance and, therefore, is not a true Church. Nothing exists without an internal. All things have existence from the internal or from the spiritual and, therefore, from the Lord. The internal or the spiritual is the intermediate cause, the Lord being the immediate Cause and the Source.
In other words, what is an 'assembly' or 'those 'called out' which are called Christians? What causes them to be 'called out' and to assemble for religious purposes? If the Church are those who have the Word of God and who believe the truths that are taught there, then let us confirm this from the Word. In the Church are those who have things or truths of faith, that is, they have received internal or spiritual things or truths according to the state of their faith, which is the degree of the good of life that they live. What this means is that the doctrines they have formed from the Word, are with respect to the good of life of the person, for these truths are implanted into 'good' within the person. Thus it is, that in the Word by 'ground' or 'field', and in a good sense 'earth' signifies the Church. This is taught by the Lord in the parable of the sower in Matthew 13: 3-6. Quote:
Behold, a sower went forth to sow; and when he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside, &…; some fell on stony places, &…; some fell among thorns, &…; But others fell into good ground &…;.
In this parable, we find four kinds of 'ground' or 'earth' in the 'field' which is called the Church into which seeds or truths are implanted. That truth becomes known as the man's faith and the 'good ground' or 'earth' is the 'good' which is the charity, in which the truth is planted; this truth then becomes the man's faith and produces fruit, that is, good will in man. Here, it may be seen that the Church is the 'good' in a man who receives this truth. This may be illustrated by a man, who had received truths and has received the doctrine of love and charity from the Word, whereby he knows who the Lord is, and consequently, what 'good' is. As such, this man has an affection for the truth. This is seen in the Word as a man of the 'field', that is, of the Church, who can understand these truths. Such a man we read about in Genesis 25: 27: and Esau was &…; a man of the field. Such a man does good from the doctrines that he learns, but when he is regenerated, when he receives a new understanding and will, he does good from love and charity, for then he is in good itself, and is called a man who has intelligence and wisdom from the Word, that is, from the Lord. Let us learn this doctrinal teaching from an example. A person is inclined to sin because of the evils from hell. The commandments teach us to shun evils as sins against the Lord. From these a person can learn that he is to abstain from doing evil. Why, what is the cause that changes the man from his normal inclination? He has become affected by the commandments, because he is afraid of hell. So he learns how he is to direct his life. The results: he does good from the commandments. After, when he is in good, he turns away from the evils that he before was inclined to do. Now, in this new state, he no longer does good from the commandments, but from 'good' itself, which is within him from the Lord, Formerly, the person learns good from the truths; in the later state, he teaches truths from good. This process continues from the natural state on into the spiritual state and into eternity. From this, one can see that the true Church develops within a man, that it is far more than any natural assembly or congregation that has been 'called out' as believers of the Word, we can understand that it has an internal and that internal is derived from the Lord through the celestial and spiritual Heavens and is, now, the Word proceeding to man and within man. Let it be clear to us that the doctrine itself does not make the Church with us, but it is the understanding of the doctrine that makes the Church with and within us. Thus, it is according to the doctrine that a Church understands that determines the quality and state of the Church. When this state or quality has come from falsities and fallacies he has learned and believes to be true, then the Church's end comes as was seen in the case of the Jewish Church and was then fulfilled, when the Lord came on earth. In such a case, because the truths of the Word have become falsified, the Lord is not acknowledged and so, good is not done, and the man does not accept the Lord's love - love which is good and is charity. This is the 'good ground' or the 'earth' in which the truths called 'seeds' of faith can grow and so, establish a Church with man.
From the illustration and the explanation just heard, we see that the Church does not really exist with man before the truths implanted in his or her life and, there, are formed into good which is of charity. We also learn here that a Church is not formed only from charity, but it is first celestial and spiritual before it can become manifested in the natural. Another thing that we learn is that the life and doctrine are conjoined in man and form or make the Church with and in him. However, it is the life which conjoins, not the doctrine, for doctrine, if it is false, does not conjoin, but separates one from the Lord and so, what is then formed is not the true Church, but is a false Church, or is no Church at all. One more thing, when there is no faith, because there is no charity, then that Church on earth ends and a new Church is again established with others from the interior things of the Word as they become manifested and implanted within man. Doctrine and Life that comes from the Word of the Lord serves this new Church.
It is here that we need to ask the question: has the Church come to its end? Was there a time or a state in the Church in which there was no faith, because there was not charity? To answer this, let me ask: "Why did the Lord come into the world?" Wasn't it because the Church, then on earth, those who had the Word of God, the Jewish Church, had turned away from the truth that was with them. Truth from the Lord had become of no effect and charity was non-existent? They had reached the state where they rejected all spiritual truths, thus they rejected the Lord. These new truths of the New Testament were to serve the Church for its doctrine and life as we have previously shown.
At the First Advent, the Lord unfolded interior truths which revealed many spiritual things about the Lord and His true Church, but the Jewish Church did not accept them and rejected Him. However, these truths were to serve the new Church that He had established with His disciples when He was on earth and was to become the new Christian Church's doctrine and life. Still, we learn from ecclesiastical history that these truths were not immediately received by this new Church which was to develop and become the true Christian Church. The reason this truth was not developed in doctrine and life was, because the spiritual world had not yet been put into order. Now, this needs to be explained. The spiritual world is conjoined to the natural world by people and the people coming in to the spiritual world from the natural world when their life on earth ended were in evils. The Word of the Lord was not only rejected by most people on earth, but with the Old Christian Church falsities were accepted as true. Thus, those coming into the spiritual world prevented a man on earth from receiving the good or love of the Lord and the truths of the doctrine of charity from being accepted and formed within. The true Christian Church, after the Lord's ascension, was to be established on earth, though it took a long period of time until the Lord came again to bring order to the spiritual world. For, as we have learned, all things in the Church are derived from its internal; this is from the spiritual world. In other words, before the Church on earth could reach the state or the quality where it could receive these interior or spiritual truth that the Lord taught it took many years.
It is then that the Lord came into the spiritual world to effect the 'Last Judgement' upon all who had come into the spiritual world - those between the Lord's first coming and His return to establish His true Christian Church with man. At this judgement, the hells were subjugated under the Lord's rule and order was restored, both in the world of spirits and in Heaven, thus allowing these internal truths to be taught here on earth by the Lord through the Heavens and the spiritual world. These truths are seen in a new understanding coming from the Lord. These truths, now, form a new Church again on earth. All this is taught in the Word written in the book of Revelation where a new earth and Heaven are seen by John and where the Holy city, called 'New Jerusalem" is seen coming down from God out of Heaven. By the 'New Jerusalem" in the Word is meant the Truths from which doctrine comes, and when lived, forms the New Church on earth accordingly. This new Word is the Word of the Divine Human, the Lord Jesus Christ glorified. It was written by Emanuel Swedenborg much like the Word of the Old and New Testaments were written by the Prophets and others.
Today, all who receive this new Word and who appropriate the truth for themselves are taught and, who develop doctrine from them and, who live from that doctrine, come into this New Church that the Lord is now establishing. Not only do they come into the New Church, but the Church is formed within them as a new understanding and will, thus they are born again.
Basically, the faith of the Lord's New Church consists: First, that Love and Wisdom Itself is Jehovah God; He is both Good and Truth Itself, and is the One Divine Truth which was God with God that had descended to man and assumed the Human. He did this so that He might reduce all things into order in Heaven and hell and in the Church. He did this because the powers of hell then prevailed over the power of Heaven, and evil over good on earth; as such, a total damnation threatened the doors of Heaven and the Church on earth. This damnation, Jehovah God took away through His Human, the Divine Truth and redeemed both angels and men. He united the Divine Truth to the Divine Good, or the Divine Wisdom to the Divine Love and then returned in His Divine from eternity in His Glorified Human. If He had not done so, no one could be saved. Now, it is similar today, unless the Lord comes again to men in the world in the Divine Truth which is the Word, neither can anyone be saved.
In the Word there are stated the things of Truth in a general or common way. In these generals are particulars, and within the particulars are details or the singular things of faith. Before the Lord made His Human Divine and became the Divine Human these truths remained hidden within the spiritual sense of the Word. They could not have been acknowledged nor believed by the Church then on earth until the hells were subjugated. Thus when the hells were subjugated it allowed spiritual truths to enter into man when he is not being led away by evils and falsities as was prior to hell's subjugation, unless, of course, he so chooses not to learn and obey them. For a man is now in religious freedom, for the Lord maintains an equilibrium between Heaven and hell.
In the general or in the universal form, these truths are: That the Lord from Eternity, Who is Jehovah, came into the world in order to subjugate the hells, and glorify His Human. Unless He did, no one could have been saved, thus they who are saved believe in Him. This general or universal idea of faith is that God is One in Person and Essence and the Trinity is in Him, and that the Lord is that God. No mortal could be saved unless the Lord came into the world. He came into the world to remove hell from man, and this was by combats which He fought and by victories over it while in the Human, thus He subjugated the hells by removing hell from His Human, and brought order back under His discipline. He came into the world to glorify the Human He had assumed in the world, which is to unite it to the Divine from which it came. So, He keeps hell subjugated and under His discipline to eternity. The only way these things could happen is through temptations admitted into Him, even to the utmost and so, the Lord suffered the passion on the cross.
From these universal truths there are two things from which all things of faith come. First, the Lord united His Divine with His Human, thus He is the Divine Human, and second, man is conjoined to the Lord from the Lord and not from himself. So, it is by the Divine Human that men are conjoined again with the Lord and with Heaven. Thus, it is that a New Church now exists with and within men on earth today. Still, it is through the details or the singulars of the universals or generals of faith that the Lord governs His Kingdom, both here and in Heaven. Therefore, the Lord's New Church is governed by the Lord through singular things of faith.
Our faith is that we believe in the Lord, for by believing in Him there is conjunction with Him, through which there is salvation. This means we must have confidence that He will save, but in order to have confidence we must live well, that is, live a good life according to the Word as it is said in John: This is the will of the Father, that everyone who believeth in the Son may have eternal life. (John 6: 40) and, He that believeth in the Son hath eternal life, but he that believeth not the Son, shall not see life, but the wrath of God remaineth upon him (John 3: 36). Thus our faith is in One God, in Whom is the Trinity and that He is the Lord God the Saviour Jesus Christ. Saving Faith is to believe in Him. We believe that evils must not be done for they are the devils and from the devil. We believe we are to do good, because Good is from God and is God. We are to do good 'as if' from ourselves, still we are to believe it is from God with us and in us. Thus, it is that faith and charity conjoined within and, so, the Lord is conjoined with us and we are led by Him.
From the beginning to today, there has always been a Church present on earth. If this were not so, then there would be no communication between the Lord, Heaven and the human race. The Church has always had the Word of God, even before there was a written Word, thus there was communication from God, for with communication the Church has its life. Isn't God our very life? The question that arises is: What constitutes a Church? First, what is the proper definition of a true Church? We find from a merely academic study that the Greek word 'Ekklesia' found in the New Testament and the Epistles means 'that which is called out', and sometimes an 'assembly' of people, such as the word 'ekklesia' refers in the free cities of Greece. Further, in the Latin, the word 'Ecclesia' means 'a religious assembly of Christians' or a 'Christian congregation', thus today it came to mean a Church - a body of believers. However, we wish to go deeper or into the internal or the spiritual sense of the word 'Church' where there is spiritual substance and from where there is life. We need to do this because a natural or an external Church without an internal or without a spiritual is only a covering without substance and, therefore, is not a true Church. Nothing exists without an internal. All things have existence from the internal or from the spiritual and, therefore, from the Lord. The internal or the spiritual is the intermediate cause, the Lord being the immediate Cause and the Source.
In other words, what is an 'assembly' or 'those 'called out' which are called Christians? What causes them to be 'called out' and to assemble for religious purposes? If the Church are those who have the Word of God and who believe the truths that are taught there, then let us confirm this from the Word. In the Church are those who have things or truths of faith, that is, they have received internal or spiritual things or truths according to the state of their faith, which is the degree of the good of life that they live. What this means is that the doctrines they have formed from the Word, are with respect to the good of life of the person, for these truths are implanted into 'good' within the person. Thus it is, that in the Word by 'ground' or 'field', and in a good sense 'earth' signifies the Church. This is taught by the Lord in the parable of the sower in Matthew 13: 3-6. Quote:
Behold, a sower went forth to sow; and when he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside, &…; some fell on stony places, &…; some fell among thorns, &…; But others fell into good ground &…;.
In this parable, we find four kinds of 'ground' or 'earth' in the 'field' which is called the Church into which seeds or truths are implanted. That truth becomes known as the man's faith and the 'good ground' or 'earth' is the 'good' which is the charity, in which the truth is planted; this truth then becomes the man's faith and produces fruit, that is, good will in man. Here, it may be seen that the Church is the 'good' in a man who receives this truth. This may be illustrated by a man, who had received truths and has received the doctrine of love and charity from the Word, whereby he knows who the Lord is, and consequently, what 'good' is. As such, this man has an affection for the truth. This is seen in the Word as a man of the 'field', that is, of the Church, who can understand these truths. Such a man we read about in Genesis 25: 27: and Esau was &…; a man of the field. Such a man does good from the doctrines that he learns, but when he is regenerated, when he receives a new understanding and will, he does good from love and charity, for then he is in good itself, and is called a man who has intelligence and wisdom from the Word, that is, from the Lord. Let us learn this doctrinal teaching from an example. A person is inclined to sin because of the evils from hell. The commandments teach us to shun evils as sins against the Lord. From these a person can learn that he is to abstain from doing evil. Why, what is the cause that changes the man from his normal inclination? He has become affected by the commandments, because he is afraid of hell. So he learns how he is to direct his life. The results: he does good from the commandments. After, when he is in good, he turns away from the evils that he before was inclined to do. Now, in this new state, he no longer does good from the commandments, but from 'good' itself, which is within him from the Lord, Formerly, the person learns good from the truths; in the later state, he teaches truths from good. This process continues from the natural state on into the spiritual state and into eternity. From this, one can see that the true Church develops within a man, that it is far more than any natural assembly or congregation that has been 'called out' as believers of the Word, we can understand that it has an internal and that internal is derived from the Lord through the celestial and spiritual Heavens and is, now, the Word proceeding to man and within man. Let it be clear to us that the doctrine itself does not make the Church with us, but it is the understanding of the doctrine that makes the Church with and within us. Thus, it is according to the doctrine that a Church understands that determines the quality and state of the Church. When this state or quality has come from falsities and fallacies he has learned and believes to be true, then the Church's end comes as was seen in the case of the Jewish Church and was then fulfilled, when the Lord came on earth. In such a case, because the truths of the Word have become falsified, the Lord is not acknowledged and so, good is not done, and the man does not accept the Lord's love - love which is good and is charity. This is the 'good ground' or the 'earth' in which the truths called 'seeds' of faith can grow and so, establish a Church with man.
From the illustration and the explanation just heard, we see that the Church does not really exist with man before the truths implanted in his or her life and, there, are formed into good which is of charity. We also learn here that a Church is not formed only from charity, but it is first celestial and spiritual before it can become manifested in the natural. Another thing that we learn is that the life and doctrine are conjoined in man and form or make the Church with and in him. However, it is the life which conjoins, not the doctrine, for doctrine, if it is false, does not conjoin, but separates one from the Lord and so, what is then formed is not the true Church, but is a false Church, or is no Church at all. One more thing, when there is no faith, because there is no charity, then that Church on earth ends and a new Church is again established with others from the interior things of the Word as they become manifested and implanted within man. Doctrine and Life that comes from the Word of the Lord serves this new Church.
It is here that we need to ask the question: has the Church come to its end? Was there a time or a state in the Church in which there was no faith, because there was not charity? To answer this, let me ask: "Why did the Lord come into the world?" Wasn't it because the Church, then on earth, those who had the Word of God, the Jewish Church, had turned away from the truth that was with them. Truth from the Lord had become of no effect and charity was non-existent? They had reached the state where they rejected all spiritual truths, thus they rejected the Lord. These new truths of the New Testament were to serve the Church for its doctrine and life as we have previously shown.
At the First Advent, the Lord unfolded interior truths which revealed many spiritual things about the Lord and His true Church, but the Jewish Church did not accept them and rejected Him. However, these truths were to serve the new Church that He had established with His disciples when He was on earth and was to become the new Christian Church's doctrine and life. Still, we learn from ecclesiastical history that these truths were not immediately received by this new Church which was to develop and become the true Christian Church. The reason this truth was not developed in doctrine and life was, because the spiritual world had not yet been put into order. Now, this needs to be explained. The spiritual world is conjoined to the natural world by people and the people coming in to the spiritual world from the natural world when their life on earth ended were in evils. The Word of the Lord was not only rejected by most people on earth, but with the Old Christian Church falsities were accepted as true. Thus, those coming into the spiritual world prevented a man on earth from receiving the good or love of the Lord and the truths of the doctrine of charity from being accepted and formed within. The true Christian Church, after the Lord's ascension, was to be established on earth, though it took a long period of time until the Lord came again to bring order to the spiritual world. For, as we have learned, all things in the Church are derived from its internal; this is from the spiritual world. In other words, before the Church on earth could reach the state or the quality where it could receive these interior or spiritual truth that the Lord taught it took many years.
It is then that the Lord came into the spiritual world to effect the 'Last Judgement' upon all who had come into the spiritual world - those between the Lord's first coming and His return to establish His true Christian Church with man. At this judgement, the hells were subjugated under the Lord's rule and order was restored, both in the world of spirits and in Heaven, thus allowing these internal truths to be taught here on earth by the Lord through the Heavens and the spiritual world. These truths are seen in a new understanding coming from the Lord. These truths, now, form a new Church again on earth. All this is taught in the Word written in the book of Revelation where a new earth and Heaven are seen by John and where the Holy city, called 'New Jerusalem" is seen coming down from God out of Heaven. By the 'New Jerusalem" in the Word is meant the Truths from which doctrine comes, and when lived, forms the New Church on earth accordingly. This new Word is the Word of the Divine Human, the Lord Jesus Christ glorified. It was written by Emanuel Swedenborg much like the Word of the Old and New Testaments were written by the Prophets and others.
Today, all who receive this new Word and who appropriate the truth for themselves are taught and, who develop doctrine from them and, who live from that doctrine, come into this New Church that the Lord is now establishing. Not only do they come into the New Church, but the Church is formed within them as a new understanding and will, thus they are born again.
Basically, the faith of the Lord's New Church consists: First, that Love and Wisdom Itself is Jehovah God; He is both Good and Truth Itself, and is the One Divine Truth which was God with God that had descended to man and assumed the Human. He did this so that He might reduce all things into order in Heaven and hell and in the Church. He did this because the powers of hell then prevailed over the power of Heaven, and evil over good on earth; as such, a total damnation threatened the doors of Heaven and the Church on earth. This damnation, Jehovah God took away through His Human, the Divine Truth and redeemed both angels and men. He united the Divine Truth to the Divine Good, or the Divine Wisdom to the Divine Love and then returned in His Divine from eternity in His Glorified Human. If He had not done so, no one could be saved. Now, it is similar today, unless the Lord comes again to men in the world in the Divine Truth which is the Word, neither can anyone be saved.
In the Word there are stated the things of Truth in a general or common way. In these generals are particulars, and within the particulars are details or the singular things of faith. Before the Lord made His Human Divine and became the Divine Human these truths remained hidden within the spiritual sense of the Word. They could not have been acknowledged nor believed by the Church then on earth until the hells were subjugated. Thus when the hells were subjugated it allowed spiritual truths to enter into man when he is not being led away by evils and falsities as was prior to hell's subjugation, unless, of course, he so chooses not to learn and obey them. For a man is now in religious freedom, for the Lord maintains an equilibrium between Heaven and hell.
In the general or in the universal form, these truths are: That the Lord from Eternity, Who is Jehovah, came into the world in order to subjugate the hells, and glorify His Human. Unless He did, no one could have been saved, thus they who are saved believe in Him. This general or universal idea of faith is that God is One in Person and Essence and the Trinity is in Him, and that the Lord is that God. No mortal could be saved unless the Lord came into the world. He came into the world to remove hell from man, and this was by combats which He fought and by victories over it while in the Human, thus He subjugated the hells by removing hell from His Human, and brought order back under His discipline. He came into the world to glorify the Human He had assumed in the world, which is to unite it to the Divine from which it came. So, He keeps hell subjugated and under His discipline to eternity. The only way these things could happen is through temptations admitted into Him, even to the utmost and so, the Lord suffered the passion on the cross.
From these universal truths there are two things from which all things of faith come. First, the Lord united His Divine with His Human, thus He is the Divine Human, and second, man is conjoined to the Lord from the Lord and not from himself. So, it is by the Divine Human that men are conjoined again with the Lord and with Heaven. Thus, it is that a New Church now exists with and within men on earth today. Still, it is through the details or the singulars of the universals or generals of faith that the Lord governs His Kingdom, both here and in Heaven. Therefore, the Lord's New Church is governed by the Lord through singular things of faith.
Our faith is that we believe in the Lord, for by believing in Him there is conjunction with Him, through which there is salvation. This means we must have confidence that He will save, but in order to have confidence we must live well, that is, live a good life according to the Word as it is said in John: This is the will of the Father, that everyone who believeth in the Son may have eternal life. (John 6: 40) and, He that believeth in the Son hath eternal life, but he that believeth not the Son, shall not see life, but the wrath of God remaineth upon him (John 3: 36). Thus our faith is in One God, in Whom is the Trinity and that He is the Lord God the Saviour Jesus Christ. Saving Faith is to believe in Him. We believe that evils must not be done for they are the devils and from the devil. We believe we are to do good, because Good is from God and is God. We are to do good 'as if' from ourselves, still we are to believe it is from God with us and in us. Thus, it is that faith and charity conjoined within and, so, the Lord is conjoined with us and we are led by Him.
Amen.
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