254. As I also have overcome, and sit with My Father in His throne, signifies comparatively as Divine good is united to Divine truth in heaven. This is evident from the signification of "overcoming," as being in reference to the Lord Himself, to unite Divine good to Divine truth. Because this was effected through temptations and victories, it is said, "as I also have overcome." (That the Lord united Divine good to Divine truth through temptations admitted into His Human, and then through continued victories, see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 201, 293, 302.) "To sit with My Father in His throne" signifies Divine good united to Divine truth in heaven, because "Father," when said by the Lord, means the Divine good that was in Him from conception, and "Son" the Divine truth, both in heaven, "throne" meaning heaven (See above). This Divine of the Lord in the heavens is called Divine truth, but it is Divine good united to Divine truth. (That this is so, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 13, 133, 139-140.)

[2] There is a comparison made between the men of the church and the Lord Himself, in His saying, "He that overcometh I will give to him to sit with Me in My throne, as I also have overcome and sit with My Father in His throne," because the Lord's life in the world was an example according to which the men of the church are to live, as the Lord Himself teaches in John:

I have given unto you an example that ye also should do as I have done to you. If ye know these things, blessed are ye if ye do them (John 13:15, 13:17).

So in other places the Lord compares Himself with others; for example, in John:

Jesus said, Even as the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you; abide ye in My love, as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love (John 15:9-10).

In the same:

They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. As Thou didst send Me into the world, even so sent I them into the world (John 17:16, 17:18).

In the same:

As the Father hath sent Me, even so send I you (John 20:21).

In the same:

The glory which Thou hast given Me I have given unto them; that they may be one even as We are one, I in them, Thou in Me. Father, those whom Thou hast given Me, I will that where I am they also may be with Me, that they may behold My glory which Thou hast given Me. I have made known unto them Thy name, and will make it known that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them (John 17:22-24, 17:26).

The Lord spoke of His conjunction with men in the same way as He spoke of His conjunction with the Father, that is, the conjunction of His Human with the Divine that was in Him, for the reason that the Lord is not conjoined with what is man's own [proprio], but with His own that is with man. The Lord removes what is man's own [proprium], and gives of His own, and dwells in that. That this is so is known in the church, as is clear from the customary prayer and exhortation to those who come to the sacrament of the Supper, in which are these words:

If with a true penitent heart and lively faith we receive that holy sacrament (for then we spiritually eat the flesh of Christ, and drink His blood), then we dwell in Christ, and Christ in us; and we are one with Christ, and Christ with us. (See also John 6:56. But these things may be better understood from what is shown in the work on Heaven and Hell 11-12.) From this it follows that as the Divine of the Lord received by angels and by men makes heaven and the church with them, they are one with the Lord, as He and the Father are one.

[3] That the meaning of these words of the Lord, that "He sitteth with His Father in His throne," may be more clearly seen, it must be known that "God's throne" is heaven (as was shown in the preceding article), and that heaven is heaven from the Divine that proceeds from the Lord, and this Divine is called Divine truth, but is Divine good united to Divine truth (as was said above). The Lord Himself is not in heaven, but is above the heavens, and is seen by those who are in the heavens as a sun. He is seen as a sun because He is Divine love, and Divine love is seen by the angels as solar fire; this is why "sacred fire" in the Word signifies love Divine. From the Lord as a sun light and heat proceed: the light that proceeds, since it is spiritual light, is Divine truth; and the heat, since it is spiritual heat, is Divine good. This, namely, the Divine good, is what is meant by "the Father in the heavens." (That the Lord is the Sun of Heaven, and that the light and heat therefrom are Divine truth united to Divine good, may be seen in the work on Heaven and Hell 116-125, 126-140; and that Heaven is Heaven from the Divine that proceeds from the Lord, n 7-12.) From this what is meant in the Word by "the Father in the heavens" and by "Heavenly Father" can be seen. Thus in Matthew:

Do good to your enemies, that ye may be sons of your Father who is in the heavens (Matthew 5:44, 45).

In the same:

Ye shall be perfect, as your Father in the heavens is perfect (Matthew 5:48).

In the same:

Ye who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children; how much more shall your Father who is in the heavens give good things to them who ask Him (Matthew 7:11).

In the same:

He that doeth the will of the Father who is in the heavens shall enter into the kingdom of the heavens (Matthew 7:21).

In the same:

Every plant which the heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up (Matthew 15:13).

Also in other places (as in Matthew 5:16; 6:1, 6, 8; 12:50; 16:17, 18:14, 19, 35; Mark 11:25, 26; Luke 11:13).

[4] That "Father" means the Divine good can be seen also from this passage in Matthew:

Despise not one of these little ones; for their angels do always behold the face of My Father who is in the heavens (Matthew 18:10);

that "they behold the face of the Father who is in the heavens" signifies that they receive Divine good from the Lord; that they do not see His face is evident from the Lord's words in John:

That no one hath ever seen the Father (John 1:18; 5:37; 6:46).

The same can be seen from this passage in Matthew:

Call no man your Father on the earth, for one is your Father who is in the heavens (Matthew 23:9).

It is plain that no one is forbidden to call his father on the earth "father," nor is this here forbidden by the Lord; but this was said because "Father" means the Divine good, and:

No one is good except the one God (Matthew 19:17).

(The Lord spoke thus because "Father" in the Word of both Testaments means in the spiritual sense good, see Arcana Coelestia 3703[1-23], 5902, 6050, 7833, 7834; and also heaven and the church in respect to good, n. 2691, 2717, 3703, 5581, 8897; and "Father," when said by the Lord, means the Divine good of His Divine love, n. 2803, 3704, 7499, 8328, 8897)

2649. 'On the day when he was to wean Isaac' means a state of separation. This is clear from the meaning of 'day' as state, dealt with in 23, 487, 488, 493, 893, and from the meaning of 'being weaned' as being separated, dealt with in 2647. Verse 1 onwards of this chapter has dealt in the following order with the Lord's Divine Essence united to His Human Essence:

The presence of the Divine within the Human, for the sake of the two being united, verse 1.

The presence of the Human within the Divine, and thus a reciprocal union, dealt with in 2004, verse 2,

From that union the Human was made Divine, verse 3.

This was effected gradually and constantly while the Lord lived in the world, verse 4.

It started to be effected when the rational was in a state to receive, verse 5.

The nature of the state of union is described, together with the arcana of that state, verses 6-7.

Now reference follows, and is continued through to verse 12, to the separation of the human received from the mother. That separation is meant in this present verse by 'the weaning of Isaac', and in those that follow it is represented by Hagar's son being cast out of the house. And because the union of the Lord's Divine with His Human, and of the Human with the Divine, is the marriage itself of Good and Truth, and from this marriage is derived the heavenly marriage, which is the same as the Lord's kingdom, mention is therefore made of 'a great feast which Abraham made when Isaac was weaned', by which is meant the first stage of that marriage or the first union. Unless this 'feast', and also the weaning, had had some hidden meaning, it would never have been mentioned.

[2] Since the subject which follows now is the separation of the first human which the Lord had from the mother and the total casting off of it ultimately, it should be recognized that right to the end of His life when He was glorified the Lord gradually and constantly separated from Himself and cast off that which was merely human. That is to say, He cast off that which He had derived from the mother, until ultimately He was no longer her son but the Son of God not only in conception but also in birth, and so was one with the Father and was Jehovah himself. The truth that He separated from Himself and cast off the whole of the human received from the mother, insomuch that He was her son no longer, is plainly evident from the Lord's own words in John,

When the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to Him, They have no wine. Jesus said to her, O woman, What have you to do with Me? John 2:3-4.

In Matthew,

Someone said, Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside asking to speak to You. But Jesus answering said to the one who had told Him, Who is My mother, and who are My brothers? And stretching out His hand over His disciples He said, Behold My mother and My brothers; for whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven is My brother, and sister, and mother. Matthew 12:47-50; Mark 3:32-35; Luke 11:27-28.

In Luke,

A certain woman lifting up her voice out of the crowd ¹ said to Him, Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts that You sucked. But Jesus said, Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it. Luke 11:27-28.

[3] Here, when the woman referred to His mother, the Lord spoke of those mentioned in the preceding quotation. That is to say, He spoke of 'whoever does the will of My Father is My brother, sister, and mother', which amounts to the same as saying, 'Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it'. In John,

Jesus seeing his mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, said to His mother, O woman, behold your son! Then He said to the disciple, Behold your mother! From that hour therefore the disciple took her to his own home. John 19:26-27.

From these words it is evident that the Lord spoke to her according to what she was thinking when she saw Him on the Cross - though He does not call her mother but woman - and that He gave the name mother instead to those meant by the disciple; hence His words to the disciple, Behold your mother! The matter is plainer still from the Lord's own words in Matthew,

Jesus questioned the Pharisees saying, What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is He? They said to Him, David's. He said to them, How is it then that David in the spirit calls Him Lord, saying, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies Your footstool. If therefore David calls Him Lord, how is He his son? And no one was able to answer Him a word. Matthew 22:41-end; Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:42-44.

Accordingly He was no longer David's son as to the flesh.

[4] As regards the separation and casting off of the human from the mother, it must be added that they have no conception of this who entertain merely bodily ideas about the Lord's Human and think of it as they do of the human of any other. To such people these matters are as a consequence stumbling-blocks. They do not know that as is the life so is the person, and that the Divine Being (Esse) of life, or Jehovah, was the Lord's from conception and that a similar Being (Esse) of life manifested itself within His Human through union.

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