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John 8:30-47 : Jesus Debates the Pharisees

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30 Da han talte dette, troede mange på ham.

31 Jesus sagde da til de Jøder, som vare komne til Tro på ham: "Dersom I blive i mit Ord, ere I sandelig mine Disciple,

32 og I skulle erkende Sandheden, og Sandheden skal frigøre eder."

33 De svarede ham: "Vi ere Abrahams Sæd og have aldrig været nogens Trælle; hvorledes siger du da: I skulle vorde frie?"

34 Jesus svarede dem: "Sandelig, sandelig, siger jeg eder, hver den, som gør Synden, er Syndens Træl.

35 Men Trællen bliver ikke i Huset til evig Tid, Sønnen bliver der til evig Tid.

36 Dersom da Sønnen får frigjort eder, skulle I være virkelig frie.

37 Jeg ved, at I ere Abrahams Sæd; men I søge at slå mig ihjel, fordi min Tale ikke finder um hos eder.

38 Jeg taler det, som jeg har set hos min Fader; så gøre også I det, som I have hørt af eders Fader."

39 De svarede og sagde til ham: "Vor Fader er Abraham." Jesus sagde til dem: "Dersom I vare Abrahams Børn, gjorde I Abrahams Gerninger.

40 Men nu søge I at slå mig ihjel, et Menneske, der har sagt eder Sandheden, som jeg har hørt af Gud; dette gjorde Abraham ikke.

41 I gøre eders Faders Gerninger." De sagde til ham: "Vi ere ikke avlede i Hor; vi have een Fader, Gud."

42 Jesus sagde til dem: "Dersom Gud var eders Fader, da elskede I mig; thi jeg er udgået og kommen fra Gud; thi jeg er heller ikke kommen af mig selv, men han har udsendt mig.

43 Hvorfor forstå I ikke min Tale? fordi I ikke kunne høre mit Ord.

44 I ere af den Fader Djævelen, og eders Faders Begæringer ville I gøre. Han var en Manddraber fra Begyndelsen af, og han står ikke i Sandheden; thi Sandhed er ikke i ham. Når han taler Løgn, taler han af sit eget; thi han er en Løgner og Løgnens Fader.

45 Men mig tro I ikke, fordi jeg siger Sandheden.

46 Hvem af eder kan overbevise mig om nogen Synd? Siger jeg Sandhed, hvorfor tro I mig da ikke?

47 Den, som er af Gud, hører Guds Ord; derfor høre I ikke, fordi I ere ikke af Gud."


The Project Gutenberg Association at Carnegie Mellon University

Commentary

 

Living Gratefully Series, Part 2 of 7 – Freedom & Rationality

By Todd Beiswenger


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Something we don't often give much thought to is the fact that God has given us the freedom to make our own choices in life, and also given us the ability to think rationally about those choices. Our freedom and rationality are gifts from God, and He gives them freely to all of us. What are you doing with these gifts?

(References: Arcana Coelestia 5850; Divine Providence 71-79; Exodus 3:7-10; Isaiah 61; John 8:31-34)

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Divine Providence #71

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71. It Is a Law of Divine Providence That We Should Act in Freedom and in Accord with Reason

It is generally recognized that we have a freedom to think and intend whatever we wish but not a freedom to say whatever we think or to do whatever we wish. The freedom under discussion here, then, is freedom on the spiritual level and not freedom on the earthly level, except to the extent that the two coincide. Thinking and intending are spiritual, while speaking and acting are earthly.

There is a clear distinction between these kinds of freedom in us, since we can think things that we do not express and intend things that we do not act out; so we can see that the spiritual and the earthly in us are differentiated. As a result, we cannot cross the line from one to the other except by making a decision, a decision that can be compared to a door that has first to be unlocked and opened.

This door stands open, though, in people who think and intend rationally, in accord with the civil laws of the state and the moral laws of society. People like this say what they think and do what they wish. In contrast, the door is closed, so to speak, for people who think and intend things that are contrary to those laws. If we pay close attention to our intentions and the deeds they prompt, we will notice that there is this kind of decision between them, sometimes several times in a single conversation or a single undertaking.

I mention this at the outset so that the reader may know that "acting from freedom and in accord with reason" means thinking and intending freely, and then freely saying and doing what is in accord with reason.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for the permission to use this translation.