9061. He shall let him go free for his eye. That this signifies that it can no longer serve the internal man, is evident from the signification of “letting go free,” as being to dismiss from service; and from the signification of “for his eye,” which he had destroyed in the manservant, as being on account of the truth of faith extinguished in the external or natural man; for “the eye” denotes the intellectual, and consequently the truth of faith (see n. 9058, 9059), “to destroy” denotes to extinguish (n. 9060), and a “manservant” denotes the external or natural man (n. 9058). How the case herein is cannot be known unless it is known how the case is with the internal man relatively to the external man. The internal man cannot live a spiritual life unless the external man is in agreement; and therefore a man cannot be regenerated unless the natural man also is regenerated. From this it follows that if the truth of faith in the natural or external man shall be extinguished, it cannot any longer serve the internal man.

[2] It is the same with the external sight relatively to the internal sight. If the external sight has been injured, it cannot any longer serve the internal sight; for if the external sight distorts objects, the internal cannot see by means of it except with distortion. The case is the same with all the other members which are subject to the will, as with the arms, the hands, the fingers, the feet. If these are distorted, the will cannot act through them except in a distorted way. It is the same in the case of the natural or external man relatively to the internal man: if the memory-truths in the external or natural man are perverted or extinguished, the internal man cannot see truth, thus cannot think and perceive except pervertedly or falsely. From all this it is evident why the natural man must be regenerated in order that the man may be regenerated. (See also what has been shown above on this subject, n. 3286, 3321, 3469, 3493, 3573, 3620, 3623, 3679, 4588, 4618, 4667, 5165, 5168, 5427, 5428, 5477, 6299, 6564, 8742-8747, 9043)

9043. And her births go forth. That this signifies if nevertheless it is confirmed in the natural, is evident from the signification of “going forth,” when said of the formation of good from truths, as being to go from the internal or spiritual man into the external or natural (of which below); and from the signification of “births,” as being goods from truths acknowledged in memory and perception, and thus confirmed; for in the spiritual sense by “bringing forth” is meant to acknowledge in faith and act (n. 3905, 3915, 3919, 6585). The case herein is that the man who is conceived anew, carried as it were in the womb, and born, that is, who is being regenerated, first learns from the doctrine of the church, or from the Word, the things which are of faith and charity, which he then stores up among the memory-knowledges that are in the memory which belongs to the external or natural man. From this they are called forth into the internal man, and are stored up in its memory (that man has two memories see n. 2469-2494). This is the beginning of spiritual life with the man, but he is not yet regenerated. In order to be regenerated, the external or natural man must be in compliance, and consequently in agreement, with his internal man. (That a man has not been regenerated until his external or natural man has also been regenerated, see n. 8742-8747; and that the external man is regenerated through the internal by the Lord, n. 3286, 3321, 3493, 4588, 5651, 6299, 8746; and also that the whole man has been regenerated when his natural has been regenerated, n. 7442, 7443.) Seeing then that the things which belong to regeneration are expressed in the Word by the things which belong to the generation or birth of man from his parents in the world, it can be seen from the process of regeneration above described what is meant or signified in the spiritual sense by “conception,” by “gestation in the womb,” and what by “going forth from the womb,” and by “birth;” namely, that “going forth from the womb” denotes to go from the internal man into the external or natural, and that “birth” denotes spiritual good, that is, the good of charity formed from the truths of faith, going forth from the internal man into the external or natural man. When good is in the natural man, the man is a new man; his life is then from good, and his form is from truths derived from good; and he is like an angel, for the angels have their life from good, and their form from truths, which form is the human form. But to the natural man this is a paradox.