be known to them, wherefore they who were of the Jewish church are here meant by His own. A. E. 745.

Verses 12-14. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power, &c.-That faith, whether it be called confidence, or trust, has no effect with the evil, the Lord Himself teaches in these words in John, "As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, believing in His name; who were born not of bloods, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God;" where "the born of bloods" denote those who do violence to charity, also who profane truth; "the born of the will of the flesh," denote those who are in evils derived from the love of self and of the

world; "the born of the will of man,' "denote those who are in the persuasions of what is false, for man [vir] signifies truth, and, in the opposite sense, what is false; "the born of God," denote those who are regenerated by the Lord, and are thence in good; these latter are they who receive the Lord, and these latter are they who "believe in His name," and these are they to whom "He gives power to become the sons of God," but not to the former; from which considerations it is evident how little faith alone contributes to salvation. A. C. 5826. See also A. E. 745, 802, and D. Life, 17.

"The will of the flesh" denotes the voluntary proprium, "the will of man" denotes the intellectual proprium, 'the sons of God" denote the regenerate, and they who are regenerated are all vivified from the Lord's proprium, which is the flesh and body of the Lord, and is Divine Good Itself. A. C. 8409.

Man's voluntary proprium is evil, and his intellectual proprium is the false principle derived from that evil. D. P. 298.

Hence it appears what faith is, or what it is to believe on Him, viz. that it is to receive Him, and to believe on Him not by the will of the flesh, nor by the will of man; the will of the flesh is what is contrary to love and charity, and the will of man is what is contrary to faith grounded in love and charity. The will of the flesh and the will of man are what disjoin. A. C. 1608.

Inasmuch as the principle of what is false, which results from the intellectual proprium of man, in the internal sense is bloods, and the principle of evil, which is from his voluntary proprium, is flesh, therefore the Lord thus speaks of the man about to be regenerated, "As many as received Him, to them He gave power to become the sons of God, believing in His name, who were born not of bloods, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God;" hence it is that by

flesh in general is meant every man. 9454, 10,283. D. Lord, 18.

A. C. 3813. See also

To them that believe on His name.- That the Lord " gave to these the power to become the sons of God," signifies that He has given heaven to those who have received from Him Divine Truths in soul and heart, or in faith and life: by "believing in His name" is signified to receive the Lord in faith and life; for by the name of the Lord is signified all by which He is worshiped. A. E. 745.

To become a heir, or to inherit, signifies life eternal in the Lord's kingdom; all who are in the Lord's kingdom are heirs, for they live by virtue of the life of the Lord, which is a life of mutual love, and hence they are called sons; the Lord's sons or heirs are all who are in His life, because their life is from Him, and they are born of Him, that is, regenerated. A. C. 1799.

Because they are born of God, they are called "sons of God," and they are His seed and are in possession of the celestial kingdom. A. C. 1608.

That Divine Truth proceeds from the Divine Human of the Lord, but not from the Divine Itself, is an arcanum hitherto not discovered; the case herein is this, before the Lord came into the world, the Divine Itself flowed-in into the universal heaven, and because heaven at that time consisted for the most part of the celestial, that is, of those who were in the good of love, by that influx from the Divine Omnipotence, was produced the light which is in the heavens, and thence wisdom and intelligence. But after the human race had removed themselves from the good of love and charity, then that light could no longer be produced by [or through] heaven, consequently no wisdom and intelligence could be produced, which might penetrate even to the human race; wherefore the necessity for salvation required that the Lord should come into the world, and make the Human in Himself Divine, to the intent that He Himself, as to the Divine Human, might become Divine Light, and thereby might illuminate the universal heaven, and the universal world. He had been the Light itself from eternity, for that Light is from the Divine Itself by [or through] heaven; and the Divine Itself was what assumed the Human, and made this Divine, and when this was made Divine, then from it He could not only illuminate the celestial heaven itself, but also the spiritual heaven, and likewise the human race, which has received and receives Divine Truth in good, that is, in love to Him, and in charity towards the neighbour, as is evi

dent in John, "As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, believing in His name, who were born not of bloods, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." From what has been now said, it may be manifest what is signified by these words in John, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word," &c. In this passage the Word signifies Divine Truth: but the Lord as to each essence is Divine Good, yet Divine Truth proceeds from Him. A. C.

4180.

They are called "sons of God," and said to be "born of God," who are not in the proprium of their own will, and thence not in the proprium of their own understanding, that is, who are not in evil, and thence in the false, and that these are they who believe in the Lord, He Himself teaches in John, i. 12, 13. The conclusion is, that with man there is not a grain of truth given more than good is given, thus not a grain of faith more than life is given: there is given indeed the thought that it is so in the understanding, but not the acknowledgement which is faith, unless there be given consent in the will. Thus faith and life keep pace together. D. Life, 51, 52.

The "born of God," are they who are principled in love, and thence in faith. A. C. 2531.

In heaven no other nativity or birth is understood than what is called regeneration, which is effected by the truth of faith and the good of charity; by this nativity from sons of men they become sons of the Lord, or those who are said to be "born of God," John i. 13. According to the varieties of good derived from truth, and of truth derived from good in that nativity, are fraternities or consanguinities and affinities in heaven; for in heaven there are perpetual varieties, but the varieties are arranged by the Lord so as to have reference to families, in which are brothers, sisters, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, grandsons, grand-daughters, and so forth; nevertheless in general all are arranged into such a form, that together they make one; like the varieties in the human body, where no member is absolutely like another, nor one part in any member; still however all those various parts are arranged into such a form, that they act as one, and each concurs nearly or remotely to the action of the other. A. C. 5598. See also Exposition, chap. xvi. 21, 22.

Verse 14. And the Word was made flesh.-That the Lord in the world fulfilled all things of the Word, and that by so doing He was made Divine Truth, or the Word even in ulti

mates, is understood by these words in John, "And the Word was made flesh," &c., where, to be "made flesh" denotes to be made the Word in ultimates. What the quality of the Lord was as to the Word in ultimates, He shewed to His disciples when He was transfigured, Matt. xvii. 2, and following verses; and it is there said, that Moses and Elias were seen in glory; for by Moses is meant the Word which was written by him, and in general the historical Word, and by Elias the prophetical Word. The Lord, as the Word in ultimates, was also represented before John in the Apocalypse, i. 13-16, where all things of the description of Him signify the ultimates of Divine Truth or of the Word. The Lord indeed had before been the Word, or Divine Truth, but in first principles, for it is said, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word;" but when the Word "made flesh," then the Lord was made the Word also in ultimates; it is from this circumstance that He is called the First and the Last, Rev. i. 8, 11, 17. T. C. R. 261. See also A. C. 10,182.

was

By this circumstance of the Lord being made the Word in ultimates, the state of the church was altogether changed; for all the churches which were before His coming, were representative churches, which could not see Divine Truth except in the shade; but after the coming of the Lord into the world, a church was established by Him, which saw Divine Truth in the light: the difference is such as between evening and morning; the state of the church before His coming is also called evening, and the state of the church after His coming is called morning. The Lord, before His coming into the world, was indeed present with the men of the church, but mediately by [or through] heaven, but after His coming into the world He is present with the men of the church immediately; for in the world He put on also the Divine Natural in which He is present with men: the glorification of the Lord is the glorification of His Human which He assumed in the world; and the glorified Human of the Lord is the Divine Natural. How the Lord is the Word, is understood by few, for they think that the Lord can indeed enlighten and teach man by the Word, and yet that He cannot hence be called the Word: but let them know, that every man is his own love, and thence his own good and his own truth, man not being a man from any other source, and nothing else appertaining to him being man. From this consideration, that man is his own good and his own truth, angels and spirits are also men; for every good and truth proceeding from the Lord is

in its form a man; but the Lord is Divine Good Itself and Divine Truth Itself; thus He is the Man Himself from whom every man is a man. That every Divine Good and Divine Truth is in its form a man, may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell, 460. S. S. 98, 99, 100. See also T. C. R. 262, 263, 777; and A. E. 850.

That by flesh in a supreme sense is signified the Divine Human of the Lord, is evident from this passage in John, "The Word was made flesh," &c., from this Flesh all flesh is vivified, that is, from the Divine Human of the Lord every man is vivified, by the appropriation of His love, which appropriation is signified by eating the flesh of the Son of Man, John vi. 51-58; and by eating bread in the Holy Supper, for bread is the body or flesh, Matt. xxvi. 26, 27. A. C. 3813. It is said that "the Word was made flesh," that is, a Man, to the intent that THE DIVINE [principle] Itself under a Human Form might actually teach Divine Truth. That the Lord is the Divine [Being or principle] Itself under a Human Form, see 9315. A. C. 9398. See also 9356, 9360.

The Lord came into the world, and assumed the Human that He might put Himself into the ability of subduing the hells, and of reducing all things to order both in the heavens and on the earth. This Human He super-induced over His former Human. The Human which He super-induced in the world, was as the Human of a man in the world, yet each was divine, and hence infinitely transcending the finite human of angels and men. And whereas He fully glorified the natural Human even to its ultimates, therefore He rose again with His whole body, otherwise than any man. By the assumption of this Human He put on the Divine Omnipotence, not only of subduing the hells, and reducing the heavens to order, but also of keeping the hells for ever subdued, and of saving men. His power is meant by His sitting at the "right hand of the power and virtue of God." Forasmuch as the Lord, by the assumption of the natural Human, made Himself Divine Truth in ultimates, therefore He is called the Word, and it is said that "the Word was made flesh," and Divine Truth in ultimates is the Word as to the sense of the letter; this He made Himself by fulfilling all things of the Word concerning Himself in Moses and the prophets. For every man is his own good and his own truth, man being a man from no other source; but the Lord, by the assumption of the natural Human, is Divine Good Itself and Divine Truth, or, what is the same thing, is Divine Love Itself and Divine Wisdom, as well in first principles as in last: hence it is that in the an