37. CHAPTER V. THE DIVINE PROCEEDING, CALLED THE HOLY SPIRIT, IS, IN ITS PROPER SENSE, THE WORD, WHEREIN IS THE HOLY OF GOD

1. The Word is the Holy Itself in the Christian Church, on account of the Divine of the Lord that is within it and from it. Therefore the Divine proceeding, called the Holy Spirit, is in its proper sense the Word and the Holy of God.

2. The reason the Lord is the Word, is that it is from the Lord and it is about the Lord, thus it is, in its essence, the Lord Himself.

3. Because the Lord is the Word, He alone is Holy, and He is "the Holy One of Israel" so often mentioned in the Prophets, of whom, moreover, it is there said that He alone is God.

4. It is on this account that the place where the ark was in the tabernacle-because in it was the Law, the beginning of the Word, and above it the mercy seat, and above this the Cherubim, all these things signifying the Lord as the Word-was spoken of as the "Sanctuary" and the "Holy of Holies".

5. It is on this account, too, that the New Jerusalem, the Church that approaches the Lord only and draws truths out of His Word, is spoken of as "holy" and also "the city of holiness", and that the men in whom that Church is are spoken of as "the people of holiness"; also that this Church is "the kingdom of the saints (lit: holy ones), that shall last for ever" ¹ , mentioned in Daniel [Dan. 7:18-27].

6. The Prophets and the Apostles, because the Word was written through them, are spoken of as "holy". [Luke 1:70; Rev. 18:20].

7. The Holy Spirit, with reference to the Holy Word taught by the Lord, is termed "the Spirit of Truth" [John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13], of which the Lord says that He speaks not from Himself but from the Lord [John 16:13-14]; and further that He is that Spirit [John 14:18; 16:14-22].

8. The reason why a man, "who speaks a word against the Holy Spirit is not forgiven" [Matt. 12:32], is because he denies the Divinity of the Lord and the holiness of the Word; for this man is devoid of religion.

9. The reason why one "who speaks a word against the Son of Man" is forgiven [Matt. 12:32] is because he denies that this or that is Divine truth from the Word in the Church, yet he believes that there are Divine truths in and from the Word. "The Son of Man" is Divine truth from the Word in the Church; and this Divine truth cannot be seen by everyone.

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Poznámky pod čarou:

Generally speaking, people who are at lower levels of an organization serve those at higher levels. Bosses boss and their employees serve; coaches devise strategy and players do what the coach tells them to do; engineers design car parts and workers assemble them according to the engineers' instructions. Ideally, of course, it's a two-way street: A good boss knows he is really there to help his employees succeed; a good coach creates strategies based on his players' strengths. Even there, though, the boss and coach are really working in service of a higher goal, seeking organizational success. The same is true in the spiritual sense of the Bible. When someone serves another, they are in a lower state, serving a higher state (or a deeper evil, if they are being enslaved by people who represent evil). This can take many different forms, depending on the circumstances. In many cases, this creates a connection between "service" and intellectual things. This is because who we are is determined by what we love; our loves are the deepest part of us. What we think, our reasoning and intellect and the things we learn about, come from those loves and serve those loves.