6273. 'For Manasseh was the firstborn' means since good does indeed occupy the first place. This is clear from the representation of 'Manasseh' as good belonging to the will, dealt with before; and from the meaning of 'the birthright' as the prior and higher position, dealt with in 3325, so that 'the firstborn' is the one who occupies the first place. Is anyone incapable of seeing from natural light alone, provided a superior light brightens it a little, that good occupies the first place, as also do the intentions in a person's will, and that truth occupies the second, as also do the thoughts in his mind? Is anyone also incapable of seeing that the intentions in a person's will cause him to think in one particular way and no other, consequently that the good he possesses causes him to think that this or that is true; so that truth occupies the second place and good the first? Think and reflect on whether truth that composes faith can take root anywhere else than in good, or whether faith other than that which has taken root there is faith. From this you will be able to decide which is the primary or essential element for the Church, that is, for the person in whom the Church exists.

8701. 'You are not able to do it yourself alone' means without any truth from good flowing in from another source. This is clear from the meaning of 'doing it alone' - when said of God's truth, represented by 'Moses' - as the influx of truth from it alone, and not at the same time from any other source. The situation here may be recognized from what has been stated above in 8685 about the direct influx of God's truth, and the direct and at the same time indirect influx of it. There it is shown that direct influx of God's truth occurs in a person's first state when he is being regenerated, but that influx direct and indirect occurs in the second state, that is to say, when he has been regenerated. When the influx is direct the Lord flows in indeed with good and truth, but the good is not perceived then, only the truth. During this time therefore he is led by truth, and not so much by good. But when the influx is at the same time indirect, the good is perceived; for indirect influx reaches down into a person's outward, sensory level of awareness. So it is that then the Lord leads the person through good.

[2] In general it should be recognized that not until his actions spring from an affection for good has a person been regenerated, for then his will desires what is good, and he finds delight and bliss in doing it. When he attains this state his life is a life of good, and he is in heaven since good reigns throughout heaven. Truth however that composes faith leads a person towards good, and so towards heaven; but it does not place him in heaven. The reason for this is that in the next life all are formed into different communities according to the life of the will, not according to the life of the understanding; for where the will is, there the understanding is, but not vice versa. This is so in heaven, and it is so in hell. Those who are evil are not sent to hell until the evil of their life takes control of them; for when this takes control of them, so too does the falsity accompanying their evil, even as those who are governed by good are also governed there by the truth accompanying their good. All in the next life are brought at last into a state in which their mind is single, that is to say, the intentions of their will are in tune with their thoughts and not at variance with them. The situation is different in the world. There what a person thinks, indeed sees in his understanding, can be at variance with his intentions. But this enables him to be reformed; that is to say, he can understand what good is even though he intends evil, and so can be led by means of his understanding to intend what is good. But in the next life each person is led in accordance with the intentions he acquired when in the world.