At face value, the Ten Commandments can seem intense and unforgiving. But Emanuel Swedenborg’s understanding of the internal sense of the Bible—spiritual meanings that lie beneath the literal words—can give us a new perspective on these familiar rules.

In this episode of their Swedenborg and Life web series, hosts Curtis Childs and Jonathan Rose study the inner meaning of the first commandment.

(Notae: Apocalypse Revealed 950; Arcana Coelestia 8864, 8865, 8868, 8869, 8875, 8878, 8879, 8880, 8881)

6478. When an angel does good to somebody else he also communicates to that person the goodness, blessedness, and bliss he himself has received; and he does this in a spirit of wishing to give the other everything and hold nothing back. When that spirit of communication is present in him, he receives far more goodness flowing in with blessedness and bliss than he imparts; and this goes on unceasingly with increasing returns. But as soon as any thought enters in of wishing to communicate what he has to the end that he may gain that influx of blessedness and bliss into himself, the influx is nullified, especially if some thought occurs to him of repayment from the one to whom he communicates the goodness he himself has received. This I have been led to know about from a considerable amount of experience. From this too it may be seen that the Lord is present in specific details; for the Lord's nature is such that He wishes to give Himself to all, and in that way to increase the blessedness and bliss existing with those who are images and likenesses of Himself.