3103. “那人就拿出一个金环” 表神圣良善. 这从 “金环” 的含义清楚可知: “金环” 是指良善, 此处内义上所论述的主题是主, 故它表示神圣良善; 并且由于神圣良善来自理性, 故经上采用了 “人” (man [vir]) 这个术语, 因为 “人” (a man) 表理性 (参看265, 749, 1007节). 古时, 教会的敬拜形式都具有代表性, 并且人们都知道它们表示什么, 当缔结婚姻时, 按照惯例, 要送给新娘一个金环和镯子. 因为新娘代表教会, 环子代表教会的良善, 镯子代表教会的真理. 他们这样做, 是因为人们都知道, 新娘和妻子所具有的婚姻之爱是从主的神圣良善和神圣真理的婚姻降下来的 (2508, 2618, 2727-2729节). 金环要戴在鼻子上, 这也可从后面的经文, 即他 “把环子戴在她鼻子上” (24:47) 明显看出来, 因为 “鼻子” 表良善的生命. 鼻子具有这样的含义是因为, 鼻子是用来呼吸和闻的; 而就内义而言, 呼吸表生命, 闻表爱的快乐, 也就是良善 (96, 97节).

“环子” 是婚姻的良善的标志, 这也可从圣言中的其它经文明显看出来. 如以西结书:

我用妆饰打扮你, 将镯子戴在你手上, 将链子戴在你项上; 将环子戴在你鼻子上. (以西结书 16:11-12)

这论及古教会, 在此由 “耶路撒冷” 来表示的古教会被描述为一个新娘, 镯子, 链子和环子都送给了她. “将镯子戴在手上” 是真理的代表性标志; “将环子戴在鼻子上” 是良善的代表性标志. 以赛亚书:

因为锡安的女子狂傲, 所以主必使她们的头顶光秃, 除掉戒指, 鼻环, 吉服和长袍. (以赛亚书 3:16-18, 21-22)

“锡安的女子狂傲” 表教会中对邪恶的情感 (2362, 3024节). “要除掉的戒指和鼻环” 表良善及其标志. “吉服和长袍” 表真理及其标志. 何西阿书:

我必追讨她素日给诸巴力烧香的罪, 那时她佩带鼻环和妆饰, 随从她所爱的. (何西阿书 2:13)

这论及败坏的教会和它之后的新教会. “鼻环” 在此也表教会良善的标志. 当这些环子戴到耳朵上时, 它们也表示良善, 不过是付诸行动的良善; 在反面意义上表示付诸行动的邪恶 (如创世记 35:4; 出埃及记 32:2, 3).

Father in the Word means what is most interior, and in those things that are following the Lord's order, it means what is good. In the highest sense Father means the Lord Himself, the creator. In the generation of natural children it is the father who provides the soul or the most interior receptacle of life, and an internal heredity, and the mother who provides all of the substance that the soul uses to form its body, plus an external heredity. In this process the soul comes from the Lord through the father, and not from the father, since all life is from the Lord. The wise person calls the Lord his father and the church his mother because his interior loves come from the Lord, but are given form and actuality through the truths taught by the church. Those things thus brought forth are a person's spiritual "children". In the New Testament, when speaking of Jesus and the Father, what is meant is the outward manifestation with the divine itself as the soul inside. Because Jesus was born from a natural mother, He had a natural body and a natural Jewish heredity. Throughout his life as He was tempted by the hells, He slowly put off all he had from His mother and replaced it with what He had from Himself inside, the Father. In doing this he made himself one with the Father that was His inmost so He could truly say, "I and my Father are one".