6273. 'For Manasseh was the firstborn' means since good does indeed occupy the first place. This is clear from the representation of 'Manasseh' as good belonging to the will, dealt with before; and from the meaning of 'the birthright' as the prior and higher position, dealt with in 3325, so that 'the firstborn' is the one who occupies the first place. Is anyone incapable of seeing from natural light alone, provided a superior light brightens it a little, that good occupies the first place, as also do the intentions in a person's will, and that truth occupies the second, as also do the thoughts in his mind? Is anyone also incapable of seeing that the intentions in a person's will cause him to think in one particular way and no other, consequently that the good he possesses causes him to think that this or that is true; so that truth occupies the second place and good the first? Think and reflect on whether truth that composes faith can take root anywhere else than in good, or whether faith other than that which has taken root there is faith. From this you will be able to decide which is the primary or essential element for the Church, that is, for the person in whom the Church exists.

4245. 'And I am sending to tell my lord, so as to find favour in your eyes' means information concerning its state, and also deference and self-abasement on the part of truth in the presence of good. This is clear from the meaning of 'sending to tell' as providing information concerning one's state. The consequent deference and self-abasement on the part of truth in the presence of good is self-evident, for Jacob calls Esau his 'lord' and speaks of sending to him 'to find favour in your eyes', which are words of deference and self-abasement. Described at present is the nature of the state when truth and good are turned around, that is to say, when truth is becoming subordinate to good; or what amounts to the same, when people who have had an affection for truth begin to have an affection for good. But the incidence of that turning around and subordination is not recognized by any but the regenerate, yet not by any of the regenerate except those who reflect on the matter.

[2] At the present day those who are being regenerated are few, and those who reflect fewer still. For that reason these things which are stated about truth and good are bound to be obscure and are perhaps of such a nature as not to be acknowledged, especially among people who place the truths of faith in first position and the good which flows from charity in second and who as a result give much thought to matters of doctrine but not to the good deeds of charity, and who consider eternal salvation to be a product of the former, not of the latter. Those who think in this way cannot possibly know, let alone perceive, that the truth of faith is subordinate to the good that flows from charity. The things which are the substance and the basis of a person's thought have an affect on him. If he were to think from the goods of charity he would see plainly that the truths of faith occupied the second position, and he would also see truths themselves so to speak in light. For the good which flows from charity is like a flame which provides light and so illuminates every single thing which he had previously assumed to be true. He would also discern how falsities had intermingled themselves and had taken on the appearance of truths.