New Christian Bible Study

Commentary

 

The Big Ideas

By New Christian Bible Study Staff
A girl gazes into a lighted globe, showing the solar system.

Here we are in the 21st century. We know that the universe is an enormous place. We're just bursting with scientific knowledge. But how are we doing with the even-bigger ideas? Our human societies seem to be erasing them, or ignoring them - maybe we think we're too busy for them.

Here on the New Christian Bible Study site, we'll buck the trend. We want to explore the big ideas that give us a framework for living better lives. Here's a start on a list of big ideas from a New Christian perspective. For each idea, there is a footnote that lists some references in Swedenborg's theological works:

1. God exists. Just one God, who created and sustains the entire universe in all its dimensions, spiritual and physical. 1

2. God's essence is love itself. It's the force that drives everything. 2

3. God's essence comes into being, that is, it exists, in and through creation. 3

4. There are levels, or degrees, of creation - ranging from spiritual ones that we can't detect with our physical senses or sensors, to the level of the physical universe where most of our awareness is when we're alive here. 4

5. The created universe emanates from God, and it's sustained by God, but in an important way it is separate from God. He wants it to be separate, so that freedom can exist. 5

6. God operates from love through wisdom - willing good things, and understanding how to bring them about. 6

7. The physical level of creation exists to provide human beings with an opportunity to choose in freedom, with rationality, whether or not to acknowledge and cooperate with God. 7

8. God provides all people everywhere, regardless of their religion, the freedom to choose to live a life of love to God and to the neighbor. 8

9. God loves everyone. He knows that true happiness only comes when we're unselfish; when we're truly motivated by a love of the Lord which is grounded out in a love of the neighbor. He seeks to lead everyone, but will not force us to follow against our will. 9

10. God doesn't judge us. He tells us what's good, and what's evil, and flows into our minds to lead us towards good. However, we're free to reject his leading, and instead opt to love ourselves most. Day by day, we create habits of generosity or of selfishness, and live out a life in accordance with those habits. Those habits become the real "us", our ruling love. 10

11. Our physical bodies die eventually, but the spiritual part of our minds keeps going. It's been operating on a spiritual plane already, but our awareness shifts - so that we become fully aware of spiritual reality. 11

Footnotes:

1. Divine Love and Wisdom 4, 15, 16, 23, 301, Divine Providence 46, True Christian Religion 11, 19.

2. Divine Love and Wisdom 4, 29, 30, Apocalypse Explained 297, Heaven and Hell 13, 545.

3. Divine Love and Wisdom 31, 32, 57, 59, 84, 169-171, 329, 330, Divine Providence 3, 27.

4. Divine Love and Wisdom 65, 179, 180, 213, 230, 363.

5. Divine Love and Wisdom 44, 45, 55.

6. Divine Love and Wisdom 42, 43, 52, 154, Divine Providence 3, 5.

7. Divine Providence 27, 71, 72, 75, 129, True Christian Religion 459, 490.

8. Divine Providence 145, 322, 324, 325, 328, Apocalypse Explained 986, Heaven and Hell 522, True Christian Religion 457.

9. Divine Providence 67, 322, 333, 334, Heaven and Hell 312, 319, 324.

10. Apocalypse Explained 986, Heaven and Hell 479, 481, 525, 598. The True Christian Religion 795.

11. Arcana Coelestia 168, 1854, 3016, 5078, 6008, 8939, Heaven and Hell 445, 461, 493, 498, Divine Love and Wisdom 90, Last Judgment 25.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Divine Love and Wisdom #213

Study this Passage

  
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213. As for love and wisdom, love is the purpose, wisdom the means, and service the result. Further, service is the composite, vessel, and foundation of wisdom and love, such a composite and such a vessel that every bit of love and every bit of wisdom is actively present in it. It is their total presence. We need to be absolutely clear, though, that in keeping with what was presented in 189-194 above, what are present in service are all the elements of love and wisdom that are of the same kind, harmonious.

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

The Bible

 

Exodus 37

Study

   

1 Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood. Its length was two and a half cubits, and its breadth a cubit and a half, and a cubit and a half its height.

2 He overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside, and made a molding of gold for it around it.

3 He cast four rings of gold for it, in its four feet; even two rings on its one side, and two rings on its other side.

4 He made poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold.

5 He put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, to bear the ark.

6 He made a mercy seat of pure gold. Its length was two and a half cubits, and a cubit and a half its breadth.

7 He made two cherubim of gold. He made them of beaten work, at the two ends of the mercy seat;

8 one cherub at the one end, and one cherub at the other end. He made the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat at its two ends.

9 The cherubim spread out their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, with their faces toward one another. The faces of the cherubim were toward the mercy seat.

10 He made the table of acacia wood. Its length was two cubits, and its breadth was a cubit, and its height was a cubit and a half.

11 He overlaid it with pure gold, and made a gold molding around it.

12 He made a border of a handbreadth around it, and made a golden molding on its border around it.

13 He cast four rings of gold for it, and put the rings in the four corners that were on its four feet.

14 The rings were close by the border, the places for the poles to carry the table.

15 He made the poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold, to carry the table.

16 He made the vessels which were on the table, its dishes, its spoons, its bowls, and its pitchers with which to pour out, of pure gold.

17 He made the lampstand of pure gold. He made the lampstand of beaten work. Its base, its shaft, its cups, its buds, and its flowers were of one piece with it.

18 There were six branches going out of its sides: three branches of the lampstand out of its one side, and three branches of the lampstand out of its other side:

19 three cups made like almond blossoms in one branch, a bud and a flower, and three cups made like almond blossoms in the other branch, a bud and a flower: so for the six branches going out of the lampstand.

20 In the lampstand were four cups made like almond blossoms, its buds and its flowers;

21 and a bud under two branches of one piece with it, and a bud under two branches of one piece with it, and a bud under two branches of one piece with it, for the six branches going out of it.

22 Their buds and their branches were of one piece with it. The whole thing was one beaten work of pure gold.

23 He made its seven lamps, and its snuffers, and its snuff dishes, of pure gold.

24 He made it of a talent of pure gold, with all its vessels.

25 He made the altar of incense of acacia wood. It was square: its length was a cubit, and its breadth a cubit. Its height was two cubits. Its horns were of one piece with it.

26 He overlaid it with pure gold, its top, its sides around it, and its horns. He made a gold molding around it.

27 He made two golden rings for it under its molding crown, on its two ribs, on its two sides, for places for poles with which to carry it.

28 He made the poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold.

29 He made the holy anointing oil and the pure incense of sweet spices, after the art of the perfumer.

   

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