8078. 'And all that open it among the asses you shall redeem with a member of the flock' means that merely natural faith must not be ascribed to the Lord, only the truth of innocence present within it. This is clear from the meaning of 'that which opens' as that which is born first in a regenerate person or is the firstborn, namely faith (it has been shown already that 'the firstborn' means faith); from the meaning of 'ass' as the natural, for 'ass' means factual knowledge, 5492, 5741, also subservience, 5958, 6389, and the natural as well (since factual knowledge belongs to the natural, and the natural in relation to the spiritual is subservient), so that '[all] that open it among the asses' here means merely natural faith, dealt with below; from the meaning of 'redeeming' as giving something else instead (the fact that 'redeeming' has this meaning is evident from the full message implied by these words, which is that 'you shall not make over to Jehovah one that opens it among the asses, but you shall redeem it with a member of the flock',

[2] and 'making over to Jehovah' means ascribing to the Lord, just as 'sanctifying' and 'sacrificing' do, see just above in 8074, so that 'not making it over but redeeming it' means not ascribing it but giving something else instead); and from the meaning of 'a member of the flock' as the truth of innocence. 'A member of the flock' means the truth of innocence because the expression is used to mean lamb or kid, and innocence is meant by these, 3519, 3994, 7840, at this point the truth of innocence since neither the word 'lamb' nor the word 'kid' is used, but 'a member of the flock'. From all this it is evident that 'all that open it among the asses you shall redeem with a member of the flock' means that merely natural faith is not to be ascribed to the Lord, but the truth of innocence present within it.

[3] Merely natural faith is faith that is instilled along the outward but not the inward path. One type of it is faith that depends entirely on the senses, which exists when a person believes something to be so because he has seen it with his eye or touched it with his hand. The Lord referred to this kind of faith when He said to Thomas,

Because you have seen, Thomas, you have believed; blessed are those who do not see yet believe. John 20:29

Another type is faith induced by miracles, which exists when a person believes something to be so solely as a result of miracles; regarding this kind of faith see 7290. And another type is authoritarian faith, which exists when a person believes something to be so because another in whom he trusts has declared it.

[4] But spiritual faith is that which is instilled along the inward path at the same time as the outward one. The instilling along the inward path gives rise to belief, and what is instilled at the same time along the outward path serves to corroborate it. The spiritual element of faith is charitable affection, and consequently an affection for truth for the sake of true service and for life's sake. These cause faith to be spiritual. Faith is instilled along the inward path when a person reads the Word and at the same time receives enlightenment from the Lord. This enlightenment is given to him in accordance with his affection, that is, in accordance with the reason he has for wishing to know the truth.

[5] These considerations now show what merely natural faith is, and that because such faith is not spiritual it cannot be ascribed to the Lord, that is, there can be no acknowledgement or belief that comes from the Lord. For the Lord flows in through the affection for truth and good; and faith is an inward affection, see 8034. The truth of innocence which can be present within that merely natural faith and can be accredited to the Lord is anything that a person believes in innocence to be true. From all this one may now see how to understand the explanation that merely natural faith must not be ascribed to the Lord, but the truth of innocence present within it.