Session Nine
Charity: Its Necessity in our Regeneration our Salvation
Charity is the manifestation of the Lord in our life.
It is the truths and goods living within us
Charity: Its Necessity in our Regeneration our Salvation
Charity is the manifestation of the Lord in our life.
It is the truths and goods living within us
The Lord Jesus Christ along with the disciples had gone to the garden of Gethsemane to pray - to worship. However, as we know the disciples fell asleep. When Jesus had found them asleep He asked Peter "could you not watch with Me one hour?" and then said, "Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation." Then said these words that are often quoted,
"The spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak." (Matthew 26: 40, 41; Mark 14: 37, 38)
We see in this that there are two different principles in man's regeneration - one, his spirit and two, his flesh, or his internal and external. As a Christian, most people understand what are these two - his spirit and his 'flesh' or the natural. Paul talks a lot about these - a man's flesh and his spirit - and, of course, we are aware that the Lord Himself, who is the Divine Truth, the Word, became flesh, that is, that He put on the humanity of mankind upon coming into the world. And, upon leaving this world He had glorified or made Divine His Human, uniting it with the Father within, becoming the Divine Human. The Internal man is known as the man's spirit and his external as the 'flesh'. These two, we have come to see in the Word, are at war with one another. Yet, that was not always so. In the beginning when man was created and had developed through regeneration, he came to live a spiritual and a celestial life as we see in Genesis chapters 1 and 2 where he had the light of Heaven 'as it were' shinning into his mind. This is when God's truths and goods led him. His natural or his external, called 'flesh' was then under the reign or rule of his spiritual entity and he lived a celestial life in paradise, through which Jehovah God led and taught him.
In the prior On-line session 8, we saw that in worship there are things of both charity and faith and that these two must be within the man and that these pertains to his regeneration and his salvation. In that they are signs referring to his looking to the Lord, of shunning evil as sins, and in doing good, they are of use and even are in one's office in his life here on earth. You can see that these spiritual things - good or love and truth or faith - can only become materialized with man in the external things of the body through acts and words. Thus, in external things of the mind - in those of the will and thought - which cohere with the natural things of the body and are the true things of worship and are signs that charity that is done, both in man's love to God and in his love towards the neighbor.
Let us see how this is explained. In a practical sense these external things of the body or of the 'flesh' that are of worship are in a person who attends a place of worship. The act of just attending, if it is done from the heart, that is, if it is in love to God, is of charity. Worship is in listening to sermons, for in them truths are taught that if believed and known lead to doing good. Singing devoutly, saying prayers, kneeling within one's mind and heart 'as it were' in humiliation before the Lord God is speaking with Him and is a sort of opening of one's internal towards God. Also, in singing devoutly one's affections of his love to God produces affection for truth. It is celestial speaking from an affection of love; it is bringing life to speech. And, of course, the partaking of the Sacrament of the supper, when one has appropriated the Lord's truth, brings spiritual life to him. This worship can be seen continued in the home in morning and evening prayers and at dinners and suppers. Such worship is also in talking with others about charity and faith, about God, Heaven, eternal life, and salvation. And, whose worship is in instructing children and those working for you, for it helps and leads them to live a good life. These too, are signs of charity of a man and are what the Lord God uses in the man's regeneration and in his salvation. These are the things of the body, that is, of the 'flesh' that are of worship.
These are the external things of the mind that are of worship: thinking and mediating about God, about Heaven, eternal life, and salvation, when it is not done in any desire to gain in anyway, such as wealth, power, or honor for one's self. In the recalling of one's thoughts and intentions in seeing whether they were good or evil, and in reflecting that evil thought and intention are from the devil, while good thought and intention are from the Lord is also of charity. When there is ungodly talk, obscene, with filthy things that one is averse to, then such are of worship and are signs of charity too. That is why the shunning of evil is the first of charity. In addition to these thoughts are affections that come to a person's sight and feelings. You can realize that all these things of worship are external things of the 'flesh' or body and of the external mind and when they make or become one with the spirit are signs of charity.
Thus, a person may understand that charity is in the internal man and its sign is seen in the external man in his worship. Now, this is what is meant as in war between one's spirit and his 'flesh', for as we well know the flesh wishes to rule, even saying that man is saved by faith alone. It is this fight that the spirit fights against the flesh, and in which the man's charity is done. It is 'as if' it is the man fighting, but it is the Lord with the man who fights. The man has only appropriated the Lord's truth and good as his. Again, it is through the external that the spirit manifests itself. It does this when it is in war with the external and when there is victory. Here, remember that a man's external or natural is evil, for the Lord Himself has said that no good can come from man. Man does this - charity - first, by examining himself, seeing his evils, recognizing them and confessing them, repenting from them and, desisting from them. Basically, he sets about leading a new life. Is not this effort seen as good works? This is, then, what is one's charity. You can see that it is in accordance with the truth taught which becomes one's faith.
The Lord operates in man by means of the internal man reigning over his external. However, as we know, the man's external is evil, man having fallen from grace, and from the celestial and spiritual life that he had with and from the Lord God as is seen in his life when man was in the garden of Eden. Evil resides in the external and so, there takes place a conflict between man's internal and his external. The reason is because spirits from hell are admitted into the man's external as well as the Lord is through good spirits and there takes place a fight - evil against good. Now, if the man fights 'as if' from himself, conquerors, and so far as the devil is overcome, then good from the internal man enters along with their truths in the external man. In truth, it can be said that the Lord comes to dwell or live within the man.
These truths and goods that enter the sight and feeling in the man's external or 'flesh' are those signs of charity within him that are spoken of. Now, from the last session, the eighth, we had learned that those goods and truths in man are there from the Lord mainly coming to man when he was in infancy and in childhood through teachings from his parents and from other teachers and that these are called 'remains'. You can also understand the use that they play in a man's regeneration and in his salvation. You can understand if those truths and goods are used, that it takes the man's involvement. For we know that a man is left in freedom to either reject or accept those truths and to follow them. He can believe or reject the Word, both coming to him through his external mind from without, from the world, and the truths coming from charity from the Lord and angels through his internal or spirit. And he can also accept those coming to him that are falsities and their evils from without, from this world and from within, from the spiritual world. But know that because a man's mind is divided - the will from the understanding, the spiritual from the natural - he may act as though he truly has worship and piety, but he does not, it only appears that he acts so. Such a man has no charity, though he may have external charity, however, without internal charity there is no true charity. Such external charity is what is referred to as the works of man and has no worth, being of evil.
So, by worship being a sign of charity is meant some indication and testification that true charity exists, that it marks and signifies and so indicates and testifies of the man's love and of his obedience to the Lord and of his love towards the neighbor. Thus, charity perishes when there is no evidence, that is, when there is no fighting of the spirit with the external of man, for the flesh 'as if were' becomes stagnate like a fountain of pure water when there is no outlet. It stagnates and the water becomes foul. You can see that truths, as such water, becomes falsities and the good that comes from drinking such water or falsity are the evils that result and there is no charity or faith with such a man from the Lord. These having been distorted and even destroyed and turned into evils and falsities with the man.
Charity is the manifestation of the Lord in our life; it is the Truth living within us; it is the Lord within fighting against the evils, regenerating and saving us and it is our cooperating and accepting Him not self.
End.
"The spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak." (Matthew 26: 40, 41; Mark 14: 37, 38)
We see in this that there are two different principles in man's regeneration - one, his spirit and two, his flesh, or his internal and external. As a Christian, most people understand what are these two - his spirit and his 'flesh' or the natural. Paul talks a lot about these - a man's flesh and his spirit - and, of course, we are aware that the Lord Himself, who is the Divine Truth, the Word, became flesh, that is, that He put on the humanity of mankind upon coming into the world. And, upon leaving this world He had glorified or made Divine His Human, uniting it with the Father within, becoming the Divine Human. The Internal man is known as the man's spirit and his external as the 'flesh'. These two, we have come to see in the Word, are at war with one another. Yet, that was not always so. In the beginning when man was created and had developed through regeneration, he came to live a spiritual and a celestial life as we see in Genesis chapters 1 and 2 where he had the light of Heaven 'as it were' shinning into his mind. This is when God's truths and goods led him. His natural or his external, called 'flesh' was then under the reign or rule of his spiritual entity and he lived a celestial life in paradise, through which Jehovah God led and taught him.
In the prior On-line session 8, we saw that in worship there are things of both charity and faith and that these two must be within the man and that these pertains to his regeneration and his salvation. In that they are signs referring to his looking to the Lord, of shunning evil as sins, and in doing good, they are of use and even are in one's office in his life here on earth. You can see that these spiritual things - good or love and truth or faith - can only become materialized with man in the external things of the body through acts and words. Thus, in external things of the mind - in those of the will and thought - which cohere with the natural things of the body and are the true things of worship and are signs that charity that is done, both in man's love to God and in his love towards the neighbor.
Let us see how this is explained. In a practical sense these external things of the body or of the 'flesh' that are of worship are in a person who attends a place of worship. The act of just attending, if it is done from the heart, that is, if it is in love to God, is of charity. Worship is in listening to sermons, for in them truths are taught that if believed and known lead to doing good. Singing devoutly, saying prayers, kneeling within one's mind and heart 'as it were' in humiliation before the Lord God is speaking with Him and is a sort of opening of one's internal towards God. Also, in singing devoutly one's affections of his love to God produces affection for truth. It is celestial speaking from an affection of love; it is bringing life to speech. And, of course, the partaking of the Sacrament of the supper, when one has appropriated the Lord's truth, brings spiritual life to him. This worship can be seen continued in the home in morning and evening prayers and at dinners and suppers. Such worship is also in talking with others about charity and faith, about God, Heaven, eternal life, and salvation. And, whose worship is in instructing children and those working for you, for it helps and leads them to live a good life. These too, are signs of charity of a man and are what the Lord God uses in the man's regeneration and in his salvation. These are the things of the body, that is, of the 'flesh' that are of worship.
These are the external things of the mind that are of worship: thinking and mediating about God, about Heaven, eternal life, and salvation, when it is not done in any desire to gain in anyway, such as wealth, power, or honor for one's self. In the recalling of one's thoughts and intentions in seeing whether they were good or evil, and in reflecting that evil thought and intention are from the devil, while good thought and intention are from the Lord is also of charity. When there is ungodly talk, obscene, with filthy things that one is averse to, then such are of worship and are signs of charity too. That is why the shunning of evil is the first of charity. In addition to these thoughts are affections that come to a person's sight and feelings. You can realize that all these things of worship are external things of the 'flesh' or body and of the external mind and when they make or become one with the spirit are signs of charity.
Thus, a person may understand that charity is in the internal man and its sign is seen in the external man in his worship. Now, this is what is meant as in war between one's spirit and his 'flesh', for as we well know the flesh wishes to rule, even saying that man is saved by faith alone. It is this fight that the spirit fights against the flesh, and in which the man's charity is done. It is 'as if' it is the man fighting, but it is the Lord with the man who fights. The man has only appropriated the Lord's truth and good as his. Again, it is through the external that the spirit manifests itself. It does this when it is in war with the external and when there is victory. Here, remember that a man's external or natural is evil, for the Lord Himself has said that no good can come from man. Man does this - charity - first, by examining himself, seeing his evils, recognizing them and confessing them, repenting from them and, desisting from them. Basically, he sets about leading a new life. Is not this effort seen as good works? This is, then, what is one's charity. You can see that it is in accordance with the truth taught which becomes one's faith.
The Lord operates in man by means of the internal man reigning over his external. However, as we know, the man's external is evil, man having fallen from grace, and from the celestial and spiritual life that he had with and from the Lord God as is seen in his life when man was in the garden of Eden. Evil resides in the external and so, there takes place a conflict between man's internal and his external. The reason is because spirits from hell are admitted into the man's external as well as the Lord is through good spirits and there takes place a fight - evil against good. Now, if the man fights 'as if' from himself, conquerors, and so far as the devil is overcome, then good from the internal man enters along with their truths in the external man. In truth, it can be said that the Lord comes to dwell or live within the man.
These truths and goods that enter the sight and feeling in the man's external or 'flesh' are those signs of charity within him that are spoken of. Now, from the last session, the eighth, we had learned that those goods and truths in man are there from the Lord mainly coming to man when he was in infancy and in childhood through teachings from his parents and from other teachers and that these are called 'remains'. You can also understand the use that they play in a man's regeneration and in his salvation. You can understand if those truths and goods are used, that it takes the man's involvement. For we know that a man is left in freedom to either reject or accept those truths and to follow them. He can believe or reject the Word, both coming to him through his external mind from without, from the world, and the truths coming from charity from the Lord and angels through his internal or spirit. And he can also accept those coming to him that are falsities and their evils from without, from this world and from within, from the spiritual world. But know that because a man's mind is divided - the will from the understanding, the spiritual from the natural - he may act as though he truly has worship and piety, but he does not, it only appears that he acts so. Such a man has no charity, though he may have external charity, however, without internal charity there is no true charity. Such external charity is what is referred to as the works of man and has no worth, being of evil.
So, by worship being a sign of charity is meant some indication and testification that true charity exists, that it marks and signifies and so indicates and testifies of the man's love and of his obedience to the Lord and of his love towards the neighbor. Thus, charity perishes when there is no evidence, that is, when there is no fighting of the spirit with the external of man, for the flesh 'as if were' becomes stagnate like a fountain of pure water when there is no outlet. It stagnates and the water becomes foul. You can see that truths, as such water, becomes falsities and the good that comes from drinking such water or falsity are the evils that result and there is no charity or faith with such a man from the Lord. These having been distorted and even destroyed and turned into evils and falsities with the man.
Charity is the manifestation of the Lord in our life; it is the Truth living within us; it is the Lord within fighting against the evils, regenerating and saving us and it is our cooperating and accepting Him not self.
End.
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