16. And of His fulness have we all received, and grace for grace. 17. For the law was given by Moses, grace and truth was by JESUS CHRIST. 18. No one hath seen GOD at any time; the Only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath brought Him forth [to view].. 19. And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent from Jerusalem priests and Levites to ask Him, Who art thou? 20. And he confessed, and denied not, and confessed, I am not the Christ. 21. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered, No. 22, Then they said to him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them who sent us: What sayeth thou of thyself? 23. He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the LORD, as said Esaias the prophet. 24. And they who were sent were of the Pharisees. 25. And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou art not the Christ, nor Elias, nor the prophet? 26. John answered them, saying, I baptize in water, but from Him, and that He came into the world to open those interior things of His Word, for the benefit of mankind, v. 15, 16, 17. They acknowledge also, that no right apprehension can be had of the invisible JEHOVAH, but by or through the visible humanity, which He assumed and glorified for that purpose, v. 18. Thus they testify concerning themselves, to those of the perverted church who are inquisitive about them, that they possess no truth or good of themselves, but only from the WORD, and that from the WORD all in the vastated church are admonished to prepare themselves to receive the LORD in His DIVINE HUMANITY, v. 19, 20, 21, 22, 23. They testify further, that they can teach only external truth, but that the truth itself is the LORD as to His divine humanity, who is yet unacknowledged, although He is the very central life of all truths, v. 24, 25, 26. there standeth one in the midst of you, whom ye know not. 27. He it is who, coming after me, was before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. 28. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. 29. On the morrow John seeth JESUS coming to him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of GOD who taketh away the sin of the world. 30. He it is of whom I said, After me cometh a Man, who was before me; for He was prior to me, [or the first of me]. 31. And I knew Him not, but that He should be made manifest to Israel, on which account I am come baptizing in water. 32. And John bare witness, saying, I saw the Spirit descending as a dove from heaven, and it abode upon Him. 33. And I knew Him not, but He who sent me to baptize in water said unto me, On whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and abiding upon Him, He it is who baptizeth in the Holy Spirit. S4. And I saw and bare And hath thus pre-eminence over all, since the lowest order of internal truth is above the highest of what is external, v. 27. Such is the testimony of external truth, derived from the letter of the Word, which testimony presently conducts to a view of internal truth as it is in connection with the LORD'S divine humanity, by virtue of which internal truth confession is made that the LORD in His divine humanity is the purest innocence, and that human disorder can never be removed, only so far as that innocence is implanted in human minds, v. 28, 29. Confession is further made from internal truth, that the LORD, in his divine humanity, is the ETERNAL GOD, and that all good and truth are from Him, and that he is to be made known to the church by the teaching of external truth from the Word, v. 30, 31. Which truth testifies, that all the good and truth of faith, thus all purification and regeneration, are from the divine humanity of the LORD, and that consequently all internal truth is from the same source, v. 32, 33, 34, 35. witness that He is the Son of GOD. 35. Again on the morrow, John stood and twoof his dis ciples. 36. And looking upon JESUS as He walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God. 37. And the two disciples heard him speaking, and they followed JESUS. 38. But JESUS turning, and seeing them following, saith to them, What seek ye? They said to Him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master), where abidest thou? 39. He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where He abode, and remained with Him that day, and it was about the tenth hour. 40. Andrew the brother of Simon Peter was one of the two disciples who heard from John, and followed him. 41. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith to him, We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the CHRIST. 42. And he led him to JESUS, and JESUS looking on him, said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: Thou shalt be called Cephas, which is, being interpreted, Peter. 43. On the morrow, JESUS willed to go forth into Galilee, and he finds Philip, and saith to him, Follow me. That they, who are principled in charity, and in the faith of charity, have their spiritual sight opened to behold and to confess the LORD in his divine humanity, whom therefore they immediately acknowledge and obey as the only God, v. 35, 36, 37. And being led by an internal dictate in their own minds to explore and examine the end of all truth, or knowledge, they are led further to enquire after the good of love and charity, to which all truth and knowledge point, and thus attain conjunction with the LORD in that good, v. 38, 39. That they who are principled in the good of charity instruct those, who are principled in the good of faith, concerning the LORD in His divine humanity, and thus conduct them to the INCARNATE GOD, by whom they are taught that they, who are principled in truth derived from good, ought to attach themselves to divine truth, or to truth proceeding from and in conjunction with the LORD's divine humanity, v. 40, 41, 42.. That they of the church, who are principled in intelligence, are next instructed to acknowledge all intelligence to 44. But Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. 45. Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, JESUS the son of Joseph of Nazareth. 46. And Nathanael said unto him, Can any good thing be from Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. 47. JESUS saw Nathanael coming to Him, and saith of him, Behold truly an Israelite, in whom is no guile. 48. Nathanael saith unto Him, Whence knowest thou me? JESUS answered, and said to him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee. 49. Nathanael answered, and saith to Him, Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel. 50. JESUS answered, and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig-tree, believest thou? Thou shalt see greater things than these. 51. And He saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, henceforth ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of GOD ascending and descend ing upon the Son of Man, be derived from the LORD'S divine humanity, and that when they are so instructed, they again instruct those, who are principled in charity and its faith, that the LORD is manifested in his divine humanity, as was predicted, v. 43, 44, 45. Which instruction is received with doubt, until conviction is wrought of the divine wisdom of that HUMANITY, by the distinction which it makes between spiritual good and natural good, and by setting the former above the latter, v. 46, 47, 48, 49. That this distinction howe. ver doth not produce a conviction equal to that which arises in the course of regeneration, when the internal man is opened to see the several orders of truth in their connection with their divine source, by virtue of which man's ascent to GoD is first effected, and afterwards the descent of God to man, v. 50, 51 CHAPTER I. ·Extracts from the Theological Writings OF THE HON. EMANUEL SWEDENBORG. VERSE 1. In the beginning. The beginning is called the most ancient time; by the prophets throughout, the day of antiquity, and also the day of eternity. The beginning also involves the first time, when man is regenerating, for on this occasion he is born anew, and receives life; regeneration itself is hence called the new creation of man. A. C. n: 16. Every state, before man is instructed, is a beginning [initium], and when he begins to be instructed, is a beginning [principium]. A. C. 1560. In the beginning was the Word, &c. to verse 14.-Few know what is here meant by the Word; that the Lord is meant, is manifest from singular the expressions here used: But the internal sense teaches, that the Lord as to the divine buman [principle] is meant by the Word; for it is said, that the Word was made flesh, and dwelt in us, and we saw His glory: And inasmuch as the divine human is meant by the Word, every truth is also meant which is concerning Him, and from Him, in His kingdom in the heavens, and in His church in the earths; hence it is said, that in Him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shineth in darkness: And since truth is meant by the Word, by the Word is meant all revelation, thus likewise the Word itself, or holy Scripture. A. C. n. 2894. Divine truth is called the Word, and the Word is the Lord, by reason that the Lord was divine truth itself when He was in the world, and afterwards, when He was glorified, He was made divine good, in which case all divine truth proceedeth from Him: This divine truth is light to the angels, which light also it is that enlightens our internal sight, which is the understanding; this sight, inasmuch as it doth not see natural things but spiritual, hath for its objects truths, in the understanding spiritual truths, which are called the truths of faith, but in the natural principle it hath for its objects truths of civil |