4278. 'And the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint as he wrestled with him' means that truth did not as yet have the power to join itself completely to good. This is clear from the meaning of 'being out of joint' as a situation in which truths have not yet been arranged into such an order that together with good they could all enter celestial-spiritual good, dealt with in the explanation at verse 31 below. The meaning as a consequence is that truth did not as yet have the power to join itself completely to good, for 'the hollow of the thigh' means the place where different kinds of good are joined together, as stated immediately above in 4277.

'Hollow of the thigh' denotes where there is conjunction of conjugial love. 'And the hollow, of Jacob's thigh was out of joint in his wrestling with him,' as mentioned in Genesis 32:25, signifies that at that moment truth had no ability to conjoin itself together to good, for 'to be out of joint' denotes that truths were not yet arranged in that order, that they together with good could enter celestial spiritual good.

(Odkazy: Arcana Coelestia 4277, 4278)

2891. Those who have become spirits only recently torment themselves very much by trying to grasp the idea that no one is able to do good of himself, or to think what is true of himself, but that he does so from the Lord. For they believe that if that idea is true they would accordingly be like mere machines and have control of nothing at all; and that being so they would let hands hang down and allow themselves to be acted upon. But they are told that they ought by all means to think, to will, and to do good of themselves, and that in no other way could they have a heavenly proprium and heavenly freedom. But they are also told that they ought nevertheless to acknowledge that good and truth do not originate in themselves but in the Lord, and they are informed that such acknowledgement and indeed perception that this is so exists with all angels. And the more keenly they perceive that they are led by the Lord and so abide in Him the more they are in freedom.