From Swedenborg's Works

 

Marriage #0

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DE CONJUGIO

ON MARRIAGE I

I. A human being, both male and female, is born to be an image and a likeness of God,1-5.

From the Word,1.

The image of God is love and wisdom, and the likeness of God is the form of each, which is the human form or a human being,2-4.

All parts of the body, which are to be enumerated, and all parts of the mind together make up the human form, and nothing must be lacking from them; they are the form of love and wisdom,2.

In order that there may be a form of love and wisdom nothing must be lacking,3 and God is in that form, because he is Divine Love and Wisdom,4.

A person's will is an organ for the reception of love and everything connected with it, and his understanding is an organ for the reception of wisdom and everything connected with it,5.

II. Woman is created to be an image of love, and man is created to be an image of wisdom,6-13

Every individual is an image of both love and wisdom, but is as he or she is as the result of the predominance [of one characteristic],6.

Love and wisdom, good and truth, affection and thought, and will and understanding are all the same,7.

Such is the difference between woman and man,8.

This is unknown in the world; why;9.

Woman is described as being an image of love or affection for good,10.

Man is described as being an image of wisdom or understanding of truth,11.

A confirmation from experience in a street where there were boys and girls,12.that it is so.

III. The marriage of love and wisdom, that is, good and truth is the actual origin of marriage between man and wife, that is, in an and woman,14.

It is called a marriage of good and truth from which marriages proceed, because good and truth are very general words,14.

They are called husband and wife, and man and woman, because by husband and wife is meant the wisdom of love and the love of wisdom; and by man is meant the truth of good, by woman the good of truth.

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

Commentary

 

Marriage

  

When the Bible talks about marriage, marrying, and weddings, it is also talking on a deeper level about the spiritual marriage of good and truth, which is the basis of human regeneration. This marriage of good and truth can be thought of as the union between our desire for good and our understanding of how to be good. From childhood, we are all engaged in a struggle in our hearts and our minds, between the relatively selfish things we want and the more noble things we know are right. The more we do what we know is right, the more the Lord will slowly be able to start changing our hearts, removing the selfishness bit by bit so real love can come through. This is a lifelong process, but ultimately we can reach a state where we truly love doing what's right, and our hearts and minds can be "married" so that they can work as a united whole. Like many spiritual concepts, this marriage of good and truth can be seen on many different levels of society. It can be found inside each person individually. It can also exist between a husband and a wife, since women have gifts for receiving the desire for good and men have gifts for receiving the understanding of truth. It can be forged by a group of people as a church. And ultimately it can exist between the Lord as the bridegroom and the church as a bride.

(References: Arcana Coelestia 2466; Conjugial Love 44 [6])


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