3121. And His truth from my lord. That this signifies an influx of charity therefrom, is evident from the signification of “truth,” as being charity. “Truth” in its proper sense signifies the same as “faith,” and in the Hebrew language faith is expressed by a like word; so that what is called “truth” in the Word of the Old Testament is in various places called “faith” in the Word of the New Testament; and for this reason also it has been so often said in the foregoing pages that truth is of faith and good is of love. And yet that in the internal sense faith is nothing else than charity, may be seen from what has been said and shown above in many places-as that there is no faith except by love (n. 30-38): That no faith is possible except where there is charity (n. 654, 724, 1162, 1176, 2261): That faith is the faith of charity (n. 1608, 2049, 2116, 2343, 2349, 2419): That charity makes the church, not faith separate from charity (n. 809, 916, 1798, 1799, 1834, 1844, 2190, 2228, 2442). From all this it is evident that in the internal sense truth or faith is the same as charity; for all faith is from charity; the faith which is not from charity not being faith; or what is the same, in the internal sense all truth is good; for all truth is from good, and the truth which is not from good is not truth, truth being nothing else than the form of good (n. 3049); its birth is from no other source, and its life is from no other.

809. That was upon the faces of the ground. That this signifies the posterity of the Most Ancient Church, is evident from the signification of “ground” (of which before) as being the church, and therefore what is of the church. Here, as “every substance that was upon the faces of the ground” is said to be “destroyed” the meaning is that they who were of the Most Ancient Church, and were of such a character, were destroyed. Here it is said, “ground” though in the twenty-first verse (Genesis 7:21) it is said, “earth” for the reason that the church is never predicated of things of the understanding, but of things of the will. Religious knowledge and its attendant rational convictions [scientificum et rationale fidei] by no means constitute the church or man of the church, but charity, which is of the will. All that is essential comes from the will; and consequently neither does what is doctrinal make the church, unless both in general and in particular it looks to charity, for then charity becomes the end. From the end it is evident what kind of doctrine it is, and whether it is of the church or not. The church of the Lord, like the kingdom of the Lord in the heavens, consists of nothing but love and charity.