839. It has been shown already that every man is his love, and that the love and life of man make one and are one. It shall now be shown that a man's faith is such as his love or life is, also that a man's faith is according to his works. It has been shown above that works contain in themselves all things of man's love and life, since works are their products and effects, and are the ultimates in which all things prior coexist. For this reason angels of the third heaven know what the quality of a man is by the tone of his speech, also by his step, by the touch of the hand, by the action of the body, by his exultation, and by many other things, which are acts. That a man is known in the third heaven by such things is not known in the world, because man believes that there is nothing in such things but mere motion; when yet the life of his mind produces these actions by means of the life of his body; and both of these lives, with everything pertaining to them, concur in the production of these acts, from which it follows that they manifest themselves in them. Since, then, a man's life goes forth into works, and manifests itself in them, it follows that his faith does the same; for faith is the acknowledgment that a thing is so, and acknowledgment is of the thought and at the same time of the will; and as will and thought produce action by means of the life of the body, so also faith is manifested in works as to its quality. And yet nothing is acknowledged to be so in thought, will, and work together, except what pertains to man's love and life, for it is his love and life that acknowledge; which shows that as faith is such as man's love and life are, so it is such as his works are.
[2] By works all things are meant that a man does, speaks, and writes, whether great and many or little and few; as whatever an officer does in his office, or whatever a priest does in his, or a merchant in his, or a servant in his; all such works, whether little or great, are good when they are done from the Lord with man, and are evil when they are done by the man himself; thus they are good so far as man shuns evils because they are sins against God, and they are evil so far as he does not shun evils. It is similar with faith; such as his works are such is his faith, for these make one like thought and speech or like will and action. Man supposes that even if he lives wickedly he can still have faith, at least to believe that there is a God, that the Lord is the Savior of the world, that there is a heaven and a hell, and that the Word is holy. But I can affirm that if he does not shun evils because they are sins, and then look to the Lord, he does not at all believe these things; since they are not of his life and love, but only of his memory and knowledge; and they do not come to be of his life and love until he fights against evils and overcomes them. This has been made clear to me by the state of many after death who supposed that they had believed at least that there is a God, and that the Lord is the Savior of the world, and other like things; and yet such as had lived wickedly had not believed.
