The Will and the Understanding
By Rev. Paul Booth
By Rev. Paul Booth
Good and Truth has been shown to be God's love and wisdom proceeding forth, from the Sun of Heaven, which is the first proceeding of the Lord, making all things of the natural universe as well as the spiritual and celestial world; man was formed as to become a likeness and an image of the Lord that man be an angel in Heaven. The material or substance of this universe is called the 'ultimate[s]' and in which is formed mankind and into which the natural life exists and, thus, man is said to be a microcosm of this world. Nonetheless, man is also spiritual and so, as a spiritual man, is said to be a microcosm of the spiritual world being also made of the spiritual substances there of. However, true Life in man is the Lord in man and comes from, that is, proceeds as Divine Love and Wisdom from the Lord who is Divine Itself and proceeds from the Divine in order to form first the celestial of life and then the spiritual of life and on into the making the natural of life. These two qualities of the Lord we had shown were His Love and Wisdom, but they are one in the Lord and proceeding from the Lord as one and, in fact, when they are united in man they become the 'Heavenly marriage' of good and truth and are the angels. What is the celestial life of man is of the Lord's Love; what is the spiritual life of man is of the Lord's Wisdom, and what is the natural life of man is these two attributes united and so become of use, which is to make man in an image and make him after the Lord God's likeness.
Our text says in New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine that will and understanding are faculties which constitute man's life, for from them man lives and has power 'as it were' to act, becoming that image and likeness. However, man has these qualities only from the Lord as they are the receptacles of the will and the understanding formed by the Lord for His Life - His goodness and His truths - to be with him. We see that they are two distinct attributes - the ability to know what is good and the ability to will what is good and thus, to act and so, live. And, it is in one's acting and living that we can see if man has these - a true will and a understanding - united in him as to give him a mind and of what quality that mind is - whether a true mind made in the will of the Lord or an evil mind made after the will or love of 'self'. As a result, they are the human mind when they have within them the Lord's good and His truth united, for anyone knows that we are human beings or are becoming human beings from the Lord who is the only true Human. One can see from this that if the goods and the truths have been distorted by our love of self and those qualities become evils and falsities that that man is no more a human and has lust and mere knowledge instead of will and understanding, though he may be called human by society.
In the a person who has distorted God's goods and His truths we see Divine order is no longer adhered and the relation of good and the will and of truth and the understanding has become destroyed and are no longer the receptacles of good and truth. They, in fact, are no longer their subjects, and so, the man has rejected the Lord and in doing so, has distorted that life coming from the Lord. Basically, the will and the understanding are into which the Lord's good and truth are and constitute or make the spirit of man. They make a natural man's love or charity and His faith, for love belongs to good and faith to truths.
Nevertheless, in the natural man, because of his hereditary tendency to sin in having fallen from his celestial and spiritual life, his will and understanding are no longer one, but are separated and the goods and truths from the Lord are not united as in a marriage. From this we see that it is the will that is man's Esse or Life and the understanding the Existere or existence of his life from that Esse or Essence, because he was then called dead. It is only in our understanding that we can see the good that is of the will. To help us understand this we must acknowledge that our life is of the Lord and is the Lord's and that we have shown that His Love is the very Esse or Being. Thus, our spiritual sight is called the understanding and in it we see that Life in us and that is our existence, thus what is willed in accordance with the Lord's Love is exhibited in our understanding.
This, of course, is speaking of a man who lives in accordance with the Lord's goods and truths. It is otherwise with the man who does not so live; he has instead of a will lust and for an understanding knowledge as we have pointed out. So, even though it is said all men have a will and understanding they do not but they have the potential of, for good, although enters a man it is distorted and truth that enters is falsified. As such they have a love for their 'self' and for the world, thus is formed in him lust and only knowledge which is of evil. Love or will, which is of good and understanding and knowledge, which are truths are opposites and opposites destroy each other.
When a man is in evils and falsities then from them he is not rational, and he does not speak from good thought nor act from good will. He is neither intelligent nor wise, thus he is neither spiritual nor celestial and his natural is distorted. If a man has understanding then he has a rational from the Lord. If he has intelligence, he has spiritual understanding and if wisdom he has a love of good. These are called his interior (mind). The evil man also has an interior mind; however the will and the understanding are closed to him. Such a man says he has a will and understanding, but their willing is only coveting, and their understanding is only knowledge, and often times that knowledge is in his memory from which he draws upon making it appear to others that he is intelligent, however, all intelligence comes from the light of Heaven, which as was said is from the Sun there and is the Proceeding first of the Lord God.
It is the will and understanding of man that makes him different from the beasts and this because he can be elevated into Heaven by the Lord to see Divine truths and perceive Divine goods. These two faculties conjoin the man with the Lord. Thus man cannot die as to his spirit.
From the understanding man has truth and therefore develops a faith; from the will man has good, and therefore love, for what man calls true he believes and what man loves he calls good. It is through the understanding that man receives faith, and he receives love through the will. In fact, it can be said that in the will and the understanding man has life and there they conjoin the man with the Lord through faith and love.
The love that a man receives in this world is in the spiritual world conjoined with it. The love of the Lord can be seen in mutual love, that is, in one's love of others in the fact that all in the world are from good and truth from the Lord the Creator. The love of self can be seen in one's self love. As has been shown these two are oppose to each other and if not for laws protecting us that love from its evil desire to own, rule, and dominate us the world would be destroyed. Thus, it is that in the spiritual world those who are in mutual love are separated there from those who only have the love of self, and, thus, it is that there is a Heaven and a hell and that the two are not commingled, but kept separate and that in the spiritual world those who had a love of self while in this world are conjoined with evil and come into hell.
From this we understand that man's chief life is of his will and that the life of his understanding proceeds from his will, since a man may know something, but unless he loves it, he does not will it. In other words, as shown, he has only knowledge, but is not intelligent, let alone wise.
In order to make the truths man's a man must appropriate them as his own. And, here, when the truth enters a man understanding and he does not will it, then he has not appropriated it and it is not the man's. The things a man appropriates becomes of his life. And if things are not of his life, then when he comes into the spiritual world these things fall away or vanish because they are not part of his spirit. Lastly, it needs to be said that a man can comprehend with his understanding even though he does not will it because it is in his opposition to his love. This is so that a man may be reformed. A man cannot be regenerated unless his natural life is changed and if that is not, then when he comes into the spiritual world, he is not conjoined with the Lord's love and wisdom and with His good and truth. On the other hand, when he appropriates the good that results in following the truths he can understand, and he allows the Lord to flow into him in love.
What may appear to you, here, is that in the natural state that man lives in, his understanding appears to take the leading role and as we know it is ruled by his will and his will is what he lusts after and is from a love for himself. However, in being able to comprehend the scientifics of the Word, that is, the truths of the Word, he can learn that happiness is from love to the Lord and a love to the neighbor because Divine love is in them. He must therefore, come into some humiliation in order that he receive or appropriate for himself that love and this is in him willing what is taught in the Word, in other words, he comes to have affection for the Lord and towards others. When this happens there is a reversal in the order that truths are received; good takes the leading role and his will lead him and truths follow.
A man has a willing of good and his understanding of truth from the Lord. However, in his present state - the natural state - when his love is a love of self. His willing, as has been shown, is only for himself and his understanding from those self and worldly desires. Therefore, his understanding of truth is separate from the willing of good. Unless this was so he could not be enlightened by the Lord and would only see and understand truths from his love of self. We have said man has a love for self and does not know what good is. Though, he has desire to understand, albeit, for him self, thus, first truths are sensual. And, because of the Commandments of the Decalogue, he learns his evils are of hell and begins to direct his life away from such evils and learns how he is to direct his life. In such a case, we see that when he does good, he does it from the commandments. In doing good he begins to turn away from evils and begins to do good from good itself. However, these goods are natural goods and are of sensual truth. Next, there are scientific truths which the man comes into from his desire to more know and understand these truths - the truths of the commandments. And, as we have shown there are interior or spiritual truths and goods that a man on earth can come to know and these enlighten him. These lead in man's regeneration, while the natural lead his reformation. It is his understanding that is enlightened and that the man sees and understands truth. In that enlightenment a man sees from the Light of Heaven and this is Divine Truth.
What has been shown is that in this enlightenment a man receives truth from good, for as we said, when a man does good, he first does it from the commandments; late he does it from affection for that good, which is natural good. Then, if he in his desire to know more interior truths he learns first what is called scientific truths - things about the Lord and life - and then comes into interior truths, which is seen in his enlightenment and which is from the Lord. What takes place is that he is then receiving truth with the will which is the will of the Lord and is no longer of his will of self love.
End.
Our text says in New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine that will and understanding are faculties which constitute man's life, for from them man lives and has power 'as it were' to act, becoming that image and likeness. However, man has these qualities only from the Lord as they are the receptacles of the will and the understanding formed by the Lord for His Life - His goodness and His truths - to be with him. We see that they are two distinct attributes - the ability to know what is good and the ability to will what is good and thus, to act and so, live. And, it is in one's acting and living that we can see if man has these - a true will and a understanding - united in him as to give him a mind and of what quality that mind is - whether a true mind made in the will of the Lord or an evil mind made after the will or love of 'self'. As a result, they are the human mind when they have within them the Lord's good and His truth united, for anyone knows that we are human beings or are becoming human beings from the Lord who is the only true Human. One can see from this that if the goods and the truths have been distorted by our love of self and those qualities become evils and falsities that that man is no more a human and has lust and mere knowledge instead of will and understanding, though he may be called human by society.
In the a person who has distorted God's goods and His truths we see Divine order is no longer adhered and the relation of good and the will and of truth and the understanding has become destroyed and are no longer the receptacles of good and truth. They, in fact, are no longer their subjects, and so, the man has rejected the Lord and in doing so, has distorted that life coming from the Lord. Basically, the will and the understanding are into which the Lord's good and truth are and constitute or make the spirit of man. They make a natural man's love or charity and His faith, for love belongs to good and faith to truths.
Nevertheless, in the natural man, because of his hereditary tendency to sin in having fallen from his celestial and spiritual life, his will and understanding are no longer one, but are separated and the goods and truths from the Lord are not united as in a marriage. From this we see that it is the will that is man's Esse or Life and the understanding the Existere or existence of his life from that Esse or Essence, because he was then called dead. It is only in our understanding that we can see the good that is of the will. To help us understand this we must acknowledge that our life is of the Lord and is the Lord's and that we have shown that His Love is the very Esse or Being. Thus, our spiritual sight is called the understanding and in it we see that Life in us and that is our existence, thus what is willed in accordance with the Lord's Love is exhibited in our understanding.
This, of course, is speaking of a man who lives in accordance with the Lord's goods and truths. It is otherwise with the man who does not so live; he has instead of a will lust and for an understanding knowledge as we have pointed out. So, even though it is said all men have a will and understanding they do not but they have the potential of, for good, although enters a man it is distorted and truth that enters is falsified. As such they have a love for their 'self' and for the world, thus is formed in him lust and only knowledge which is of evil. Love or will, which is of good and understanding and knowledge, which are truths are opposites and opposites destroy each other.
When a man is in evils and falsities then from them he is not rational, and he does not speak from good thought nor act from good will. He is neither intelligent nor wise, thus he is neither spiritual nor celestial and his natural is distorted. If a man has understanding then he has a rational from the Lord. If he has intelligence, he has spiritual understanding and if wisdom he has a love of good. These are called his interior (mind). The evil man also has an interior mind; however the will and the understanding are closed to him. Such a man says he has a will and understanding, but their willing is only coveting, and their understanding is only knowledge, and often times that knowledge is in his memory from which he draws upon making it appear to others that he is intelligent, however, all intelligence comes from the light of Heaven, which as was said is from the Sun there and is the Proceeding first of the Lord God.
It is the will and understanding of man that makes him different from the beasts and this because he can be elevated into Heaven by the Lord to see Divine truths and perceive Divine goods. These two faculties conjoin the man with the Lord. Thus man cannot die as to his spirit.
From the understanding man has truth and therefore develops a faith; from the will man has good, and therefore love, for what man calls true he believes and what man loves he calls good. It is through the understanding that man receives faith, and he receives love through the will. In fact, it can be said that in the will and the understanding man has life and there they conjoin the man with the Lord through faith and love.
The love that a man receives in this world is in the spiritual world conjoined with it. The love of the Lord can be seen in mutual love, that is, in one's love of others in the fact that all in the world are from good and truth from the Lord the Creator. The love of self can be seen in one's self love. As has been shown these two are oppose to each other and if not for laws protecting us that love from its evil desire to own, rule, and dominate us the world would be destroyed. Thus, it is that in the spiritual world those who are in mutual love are separated there from those who only have the love of self, and, thus, it is that there is a Heaven and a hell and that the two are not commingled, but kept separate and that in the spiritual world those who had a love of self while in this world are conjoined with evil and come into hell.
From this we understand that man's chief life is of his will and that the life of his understanding proceeds from his will, since a man may know something, but unless he loves it, he does not will it. In other words, as shown, he has only knowledge, but is not intelligent, let alone wise.
In order to make the truths man's a man must appropriate them as his own. And, here, when the truth enters a man understanding and he does not will it, then he has not appropriated it and it is not the man's. The things a man appropriates becomes of his life. And if things are not of his life, then when he comes into the spiritual world these things fall away or vanish because they are not part of his spirit. Lastly, it needs to be said that a man can comprehend with his understanding even though he does not will it because it is in his opposition to his love. This is so that a man may be reformed. A man cannot be regenerated unless his natural life is changed and if that is not, then when he comes into the spiritual world, he is not conjoined with the Lord's love and wisdom and with His good and truth. On the other hand, when he appropriates the good that results in following the truths he can understand, and he allows the Lord to flow into him in love.
What may appear to you, here, is that in the natural state that man lives in, his understanding appears to take the leading role and as we know it is ruled by his will and his will is what he lusts after and is from a love for himself. However, in being able to comprehend the scientifics of the Word, that is, the truths of the Word, he can learn that happiness is from love to the Lord and a love to the neighbor because Divine love is in them. He must therefore, come into some humiliation in order that he receive or appropriate for himself that love and this is in him willing what is taught in the Word, in other words, he comes to have affection for the Lord and towards others. When this happens there is a reversal in the order that truths are received; good takes the leading role and his will lead him and truths follow.
A man has a willing of good and his understanding of truth from the Lord. However, in his present state - the natural state - when his love is a love of self. His willing, as has been shown, is only for himself and his understanding from those self and worldly desires. Therefore, his understanding of truth is separate from the willing of good. Unless this was so he could not be enlightened by the Lord and would only see and understand truths from his love of self. We have said man has a love for self and does not know what good is. Though, he has desire to understand, albeit, for him self, thus, first truths are sensual. And, because of the Commandments of the Decalogue, he learns his evils are of hell and begins to direct his life away from such evils and learns how he is to direct his life. In such a case, we see that when he does good, he does it from the commandments. In doing good he begins to turn away from evils and begins to do good from good itself. However, these goods are natural goods and are of sensual truth. Next, there are scientific truths which the man comes into from his desire to more know and understand these truths - the truths of the commandments. And, as we have shown there are interior or spiritual truths and goods that a man on earth can come to know and these enlighten him. These lead in man's regeneration, while the natural lead his reformation. It is his understanding that is enlightened and that the man sees and understands truth. In that enlightenment a man sees from the Light of Heaven and this is Divine Truth.
What has been shown is that in this enlightenment a man receives truth from good, for as we said, when a man does good, he first does it from the commandments; late he does it from affection for that good, which is natural good. Then, if he in his desire to know more interior truths he learns first what is called scientific truths - things about the Lord and life - and then comes into interior truths, which is seen in his enlightenment and which is from the Lord. What takes place is that he is then receiving truth with the will which is the will of the Lord and is no longer of his will of self love.
End.
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