9167. '[To see] whether or not its owner has put his hand into his companion's property and taken it' means being joined together under [the influence of] good. This is clear from the meaning of 'whether or not he has put a hand into his companion's property' - when said in reference to truth and good, exterior and interior - as whether these have entered into it, dealt with above in 9155, thus whether those things have been joined together under [the influence of] good (as regards being joined together under [the influence of] good, see 9154); and from the meaning of 'owner' or 'master' as good, dealt with in 9154, so that 'whether or not its owner has taken it' means whether good has made those things its own by being joined to them. The reason why 'owner' means good is that with a spiritual person good occupies the first place and truth the second; and that which occupies first place is the owner. Furthermore the character of the good determines the way in which all the truths present with a person are arranged, as a house by the owner or 'lord'. ¹

[2] This explains why 'lord' in the Word is used to mean the Lord in respect of Divine Good, and 'god', 'king', and 'master' to mean the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, as in Moses,

Jehovah your God, He is God of gods, and Lord of lords. Deuteronomy 10:17.

In John,

The Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings. Revelation 17:14.

In the same book,

He has on His robe and on His thigh the name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. Revelation 19:16.

The fact that the Lord is called 'God' in respect of Divine Truth, see 2586, 2769, 2807, 2822, 4402, 7268, 8988, and also that He is called 'King' in respect of Divine Truth, 2015 (end), 3009, 3670, 4581, 4966, 5068, 6148. And from this it is evident that the Lord is called 'Lord' in respect of Divine Good; for when truth is referred to in the Word, good as well is referred to, 683, 793, 801, 2516, 2618, 2712, 2803, 3004, 4138 (end), 5138, 5502, 6343, 8339 (end). In John,

You call Me Master and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. I your Lord and Master have washed your feet. John 13:13-14.

Here again the Lord is called 'Lord' by virtue of Divine Good, and 'Master' by virtue of Divine Truth. In Malachi,

Suddenly there will come to His temple the Lord whom you are seeking, and the angel of the covenant in whom you delight. Malachi 3:1.

In these words which refer to the Lord's Coming He is called 'the Lord' by virtue of Divine Good, and 'the angel' by virtue of Divine Truth, 1925, 2821, 3039, 4085, 4295, 6280.

[3] This explains why in the Old Testament when people entreat the Lord they very often say Lord Jehovih, by which 'O Good Jehovah' is meant, 1793, 2921, and why in the New Testament the name Lord is used instead of Jehovah, 2921. From all this one can also see what the following words in Matthew are used to mean,

No one can serve two lords, for either he will hate the one and love the other ... Matthew 6:24.

'Two lords' are good and evil. For a person must be governed by good or else by evil; he cannot be governed by both simultaneously. Many truths can reside with him, but they are truths arranged under the influence of one good. Good constitutes heaven with a person, whereas evil constitutes hell. He must have heaven within himself or hell, not both, or something half-way in between. All this now shows what 'lord' or 'owner' is used to mean in the Word.

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2661. 'Because of his son' means for the reason that He delighted in it, that is, in the first rational. This is clear from the meaning of 'son', that is to say, the son of the servant-girl, as the merely human or first rational, dealt with already. The reason for the grief is not actually mentioned here but it is nevertheless evident from what follows. Love is plainly the reason for that grief, for it is said [that Abraham was distressed] 'because of his son', and this son is the subject in verses 13-21 which follow. But so that it may be known why this grief existed, that is, why it is said that 'the matter was deeply distressing to Abraham because of his son', let the following few comments serve by way of illustration.

[2] The Lord did not come into the world to save those who are celestial, but to save those who are spiritual. The Most Ancient Church, which was called Man, was celestial, and if this Church had remained uncorrupted there would have been no need for the Lord to be born a human being. But as soon as it began to decline the Lord foresaw that the celestial Church would cease to exist altogether in the world, and therefore a prophecy was given there and then about the Lord's Coming into the world, Genesis 3:15. After the era of that Church there was no longer a celestial Church but a spiritual Church. The Ancient Church, which came after the Flood, was this spiritual Church, referred to many times in Volume One. This Church, or the people who belonged to the spiritual Church, could not have been saved unless the Lord had come into the world. This is what the Lord's words in Matthew are used to mean,

Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Matthew 9:12-13.

And the following in John are used with the same meaning,

And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd. John 10:16.

And the same is also meant in the parable about the hundred sheep, in Matthew 18:11-13.

[3] Now seeing that 'Isaac', representing the Lord's Divine Rational, also means those that are celestial, who are called 'heirs', while 'Ishmael', representing the Lord's merely human rational, also means those that are spiritual, who are referred to as 'sons' - as may also be evident from what has been stated above in 2658 - the words used in the present verse therefore mean that because of His Divine Love the Lord suffered grief. This is also the meaning of what follows in verses 13-21, where Hagar's son and she his mother represent the spiritual Church, and where the subject is the state of that Church, that is, of those who are members of that Church, 2612. Any further declaration regarding these arcana is not as yet possible. All that can be stated here is that with the Lord when in the world all states of the Church were represented, and also the way in which those who belonged to it were to be saved through Him. Consequently the same states of the Church are also meant by those same names.