85. 2. Jehovah God came down as the divine truth, which is the Word; but he did not separate the divine goodness from it. Two things constitute the essence of God: divine love and divine wisdom; or, what is the same, divine goodness and divine truth. (Above at 36-48 we showed that these two constitute the essence of God.) The expression "Jehovah God" in the Word means these two qualities. "Jehovah" means divine love or divine goodness; "God" means divine wisdom or divine truth. This is why these names occur in various ways in the Word. At times just Jehovah is named; at other times, just God. When the subject is divine goodness he is called Jehovah. When the subject is divine truth he is called God. When both are involved he is called Jehovah God.

It is clear from John that Jehovah God came down as divine truth, which is the Word:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made by it, and nothing that was made came about without it. And the Word became flesh and lived among us. (John 1:1, 3, 14)

"The Word" in this passage means divine truth because the Word that exists in the church is divine truth itself. The Word was dictated by Jehovah himself, and what Jehovah dictates is pure divine truth - it cannot be anything else.

[2] Nevertheless, because it passed all the way through the heavens into the world, it became adapted to angels in heaven and also to people in the world. As a result, in the Word there is a spiritual meaning in which divine truth is in the light and there is an earthly meaning in which divine truth is in shadow. The divine truth in this Word is what was meant in John.

This is clearer still from the fact that the Lord came into the world to fulfill all the things in the Word. This is why it says many times that this or that happened to him in order to fulfill Scripture [see 262]. Divine truth is precisely what "the Messiah" and "Christ" mean, what "the Son of Humankind" means,and what the Comforter, the Holy Spirit that the Lord sent after his death means. During his transfiguration on the mountain before his three disciples (Matthew 17[:1-13]; Mark 9[:2-13]; Luke 9[:28-36]) and also during his transfiguration before John in Revelation [1:12-16], the Lord represented himself as the Word, as we will see in the chapter below on Sacred Scripture [222].

[3] From the Lord's own words it is clear that he was present in the world as divine truth: "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). This is also clear from these words: "We know that the Son of God came and gave us understanding so that we would know the truth. And we are in the truth in the Son of God, Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life" (1 John 5:20).

This becomes still clearer from the fact that he is called the light, as in these passages:

He was the true light that enlightens everyone who comes into the world. (John 1:9)

Jesus said, "For a brief time the light is still with you. Walk while you have the light so the darkness will not overtake you. While you have the light, believe in the light so that you may become children of the light. " (John 12:35-36)

I am the light of the world. (John 9:5)

Simeon said, "My eyes have seen your salvation, a light of revelation to the nations. " (Luke 2:30, 32)

This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world. Those who do the truth come toward the light. (John 3:19, 21)

There are other such passages as well. "The light" means divine truth.

500. If We Did Lack Free Choice in Spiritual Matters, Then in a Single Day Everyone on the Whole Planet Could Be Induced to Believe in the Lord; but in Fact This Cannot Happen, Because What We Do Not Accept through Our Free Choice Does Not Stay with Us

If free choice in spiritual matters had not been granted to us, then in a single day God could induce everyone on the planet to believe in him; but this is only taken as true when divine omnipotence is not well understood. People who do not understand divine omnipotence are able to reckon either that no divine design exists, or that God can act just as easily against his design as with it. But in fact, without the divine design no creation would have been possible. The first element of the divine design is that we are an image of God, so that we can be perfected in love and wisdom and therefore become more and more of an image [of him]. God continually works toward this within us, but if we had no free choice in spiritual matters that would allow us to turn ourselves toward God and forge a partnership with him, his work would be pointless, because his goal would be impossible to achieve.

There is a design from which and according to which the whole world and each and everything in it was created. And because all creation was brought about from that design and according to it, therefore God is called the divine design itself. Therefore it is the same whether you say "to act against the divine design" or "to act against God. " God could not act against his own divine design, since that would in fact be acting against himself. Therefore he leads every human being in a manner in keeping with his being that design. The wandering and the fallen he leads into that design; the resistant he leads toward it.

[2] If it would have been possible to create the human race without endowing it with free choice in spiritual matters, what then would have been easier for the omnipotent God than to induce everyone on the whole planet to believe in the Lord? Could he not have installed this faith in everyone, either directly or indirectly? He could have done so directly through his own absolute power and his constant, irresistible efforts to save us; or he could have done it indirectly through inflicting torment upon our consciences and devastating convulsions upon our bodies, and threatening us with death if we did not accept. He could have achieved the same result by opening hell to us and surrounding us with devils holding terrifying torches in their hands, or by calling up from hell dead people we once knew who now look like horrible specters. But to these arguments comes a response in the words of Abraham to the rich man in hell: "If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, they are not going to be persuaded even if someone were to rise from the dead" (Luke 16:31).