8093. 'That God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines' means that the Divine saw to it that they should not pass on to the truth of faith that does not spring from good. This is clear from the meaning of 'God did not lead them by the way' as the Divine saw to it that they should not pass on to, for 'leading', when done by God, means providence, and 'the way' means truth, 627, 2333, in this instance passing on to it; and from the representation of 'the Philistines' as those who have a knowledge of the cognitions of faith but do not lead a life of charity, dealt with in 1197, 1198, 3412, 3413, thus those who possess the truth of faith that does not spring from good. The fact that 'the Philistines' and 'the land of the Philistines' have this meaning may be recognized from places in the Word where they are mentioned, in particular in Jeremiah 47:1-end, where they are described, also in Joel 3:5-6, as well as from the historical accounts in the Word referring to wars between the children of Israel and the Philistines, to the subjection of the children of Israel by the Philistines and then of the Philistines by the children of Israel. By 'the Philistines' in these places those who champion separated faith are represented, that is, people for whom the knowledge of cognitions of faith is all-important but not a life led in accordance with that knowledge, consequently people who teach and believe that a person is saved by faith alone.

[2] This particular belief about faith alone or separated faith is not new or something that belongs solely to the present time. It had come to exist in the ancient Churches, growing ever stronger along with evil in life. It is also described in various places in the Word, but by means of names, by Cain' first, in that he killed his brother Abel, 337, 340, 1179. In the internal representative sense of that story 'Cain' is that kind of faith, while 'Abel' is charity. Such faith is also described by 'Ham', when cursed by his father, 1062, 1063; after that by 'Reuben', in that he went up to his father's bed, 3870, 4601, and by 'Simeon and Levi', in that they killed Hamor and the men of Shechem and were for that reason cursed by their father, 3870, 6352. That faith is also described by 'the Egyptians' and by 'their firstborn', in that the latter were killed, 7766, 7778, and the former drowned in the Sea Suph. It is described too by 'the Philistines', 3412, 3413, and also by 'Tyre and Sidon', in various places in the Prophets; there a knowledge of the cognitions of faith is meant by 'the Philistines', and the cognitions themselves, interior and exterior, by 'Tyre and Sidon'. Lastly such faith is represented by 'Peter' when he denied the Lord three times, 6000, 6073(end). But see what has been shown already regarding this faith, in 36, 379, 389, 916, 1017, 1076, 1077, 1162, 1176, 1798, 1799, 1834, 1844, 2049, 2116, 2228, 2231, 2261, 2343, 2349, 2364, 2383, 2385, 2401, 2435, 2982, 3146, 3242, 3325, 3412, 3413, 3416, 3427, 3773, 4663, 4672, 4673, 4683, 4721, 4730, 4766, 4783, 4925, 5351, 5820, 5826, 6269, 6272, 6273, 6348, 6353, 7039, 7097, 7127, 7317, 7502, 7545, 7623-7627, 7724, 7779, 7790, 7950.

5826. 'You know that my wife bore me two sons' means if spiritual good is what the Church possesses, internal good and truth will exist. This is clear from the representation of Israel, who says these things about himself, as spiritual good from the natural, dealt with immediately above in 5825; from the representation of Rachel, to whom the wife who had borne him two sons refers here, as the affection for interior truth, dealt with in 3758, 3782, 3793, 3819; and from the representation of Joseph and Benjamin,' the two sons she had borne, as internal good and truth, 'Joseph' being internal good and 'Benjamin' internal truth.

[2] What is meant by internal good and truth existing if spiritual good is what the Church possesses is this: Spiritual good, which 'Israel' represents, is the good of truth, that is, truth existing in will and action. This truth or good of truth causes a person to be a Church. When truth has been implanted in his will - something he perceives to have happened from the fact that he feels an affection for truth because his intention is to live according to it - internal good and truth are present in him. When that internal good and truth are present in a person he has the Lord's kingdom within him and he is consequently the Church; and together with those who are very similar to him he constitutes the Church at large. From this it may be recognized that for the Church to be the Church spiritual good, which is the good of truth, must exist and not simply truth by itself. At the present day it is by virtue of truth alone that a Church is called the Church, and it is what marks off one Church from another. Let anyone ask himself whether truth is anything unless it has life in view. What are religious teachings without that end in view? What for example are the Ten Commandments if separated from a life led according to them? For if someone knows them and the full extent of their meaning and yet leads a life contrary to them, what use are they? Surely none at all; indeed do they not serve to condemn some people? The same is so with other religious teachings that are derived from the Word. These too, being spiritual laws, are commandments for leading a Christian life; they likewise have no use at all unless they are made a person's guide to life. Let anyone weigh up what resides with himself and discover whether he has anything there which really is anything other than what enters into the life he leads, or whether life which really is his life resides anywhere else in a person than in his will.

[3] This is the reason why the Lord has declared in the Old Testament and confirmed in the New that all the Law and all the Prophets are founded on love to God and love towards the neighbour, thus on life. They are not founded on faith apart from life, nor thus in any way at all on faith alone, nor consequently on confidence; for without charity towards the neighbour such confidence is impossible. If it seems to exist with the wicked at times when their lives are in danger or death is at hand it is a spurious or false confidence; for among such people in the next life not a trace of this confidence can be seen, however ardently they may have appeared when near to death to profess that they possessed it. But faith, no matter whether you call it confidence or else trust, does nothing for the wicked, as the Lord Himself teaches in John,

As many as received Him, to them He gave power to be sons of God, to those believing in His name, who were born, not of blood, ¹ nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:12-13.

[4] Those born of blood' stands for those who do violence to charity, 374, 1005, also those who render truth profane, 4735. 'Those born of the will of the flesh' stands for those governed by evils that spring from self-love and love of the world, 3813. 'Those born of the will of man' stands for those governed by utterly false notions; for 'man' (vir) means truth and in the contrary sense falsity. 'Those born of God' stands for those who have been regenerated by the Lord and are consequently governed by good. The latter are the ones who receive the Lord; they are the ones who believe in His name; and they, not the former, are the ones to whom He gives power to be sons of God. From all this it is quite evident what contribution faith alone makes to salvation.

[5] To take the matter further, if a person is to undergo regeneration and become a Church he must be led by means of truth into good, which happens when truth becomes truth existing in will and action. This truth is good and is called the good of truth. It constantly brings forth new truths, since then for the first time it is fruitful. The truth that is brought forth or made fruitful from it is what is called internal truth; and the good from which it springs is called internal good. For nothing becomes internal until it has been implanted in the will, the will being the inmost part of a person. As long as good and truth remain outside the will and solely in the understanding they are outside the person; for the understanding is outside, the will inside.

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