書物の中の「教会」という概念は、主の性質とその結果としての人間の性質についての教えと結びつき、複雑で美しく有機的なものである。

書物によると、主は、その本質、すなわち実際の実体において、完全で無限の愛であり、創造に力を与えた愛であり、現実の究極の源であり、現実を絶えず維持しているのです。その愛は、創造に形を与え、現実に形を与える完全で無限の知恵として形で表現されています。

深い！それについての詳細は他の場所で読むことができますが、ここで重要なのは、最小の要素から宇宙全体に至るまで、すべての創造物が、それは、太陽の熱（愛）と光（知恵）によって動力を与えられた自然そのものに存在しています。それは生命の本質的な形態に存在していて、植物（根を張っている、ほとんど変化しない、感じない、光によって動力を与えられている）と知恵の要素を表し、動物（暖かい、感じ、移動式、常に変化する、熱によって動力を与えられる）と愛の形態を表します。それは、植物や動物の男性（知恵）と女性（愛）の側面にほぼ普遍的に分かれています。

その構造は、私たち一人一人の中にもあります。一般的な言葉では、これらを私たちの心と心、つまり私たちが望むものと私たちが考えるものと呼ぶかもしれません。聖書では一般的に、善（愛；私たちが心の中で望んでいること）と真理（知恵；私たちが心の中で知っていること）、あるいは意志（心）と理解（心）として語られています。これらの要素はわたしたちを定義するだけでなく、わたしたちの霊的な運命を決める鍵となります。私たちはこれらの要素を使って、主の愛を受け入れ、人生の善に入り、最終的には天国に行くことができます。また、主の愛を拒否して、地獄へと駆け落ちするためにも、これらの要素を使うことができます。

そして、そこにはさらに層がある。書物によれば、すべての人間社会は人間の形をしており、人間の体に似た機能を持っています。これは、家族のような小さなグループから大企業、国家全体、そして最終的には現世の全人類と来世の天国の全体の両方に当てはまります。

人間社会の中で最も重要なものは、当然ながら教会です。しかし、「教会」という概念は人間の形に基づいているので、『書物』で言うところの「教会」には様々な形があります。一方では、正しい善悪の考えを持ち、それに基づいて生活している人が教会であり、もう一方では、正しい善悪の考えを持ち、それに基づいて生活している人が教会である。もう一方では、隣人愛を信じて行動する全世界の人々が一つの教会を構成しています。

この両極端の間には他にも多くの種類がありますが，『書物』の中で「教会」と書かれているのは，御言葉を持ち，主を知り，主の戒めに従う人々の共同体を意味しています。これらの人々は，主の性質と主がわたしたちに何を望んでおられるかについて，可能な限り最高の真理と深い理解を得ることができます。

そのような教会は重要な役割を果たしています。主はそのような教会を通して、人々の心の中に善であるという考えと善でありたいという願望が入り込み、その教会だけではなく、世界中のすべての人に届くように働きかけてくださいます。実際、『聖典』は、本質的には主と教会の間には結婚があり、教会は花嫁と妻の役割を果たし、妻が子供を産み出すように、真の考えと良い願望を産み出していると述べています。

この機能を守るために、主は歴史の中で（そして少し先史時代の良いところで）常にこの役割を満たす教会があることを確認しています。

これらのうちの最初のものは、アダムに代表される最古代の教会で、主への愛に触発されたものでした。第二はノアに代表される古代の教会で、隣人への愛と主への知識に触発されました。第三は、イスラエルの教会で、善に対する内面的な愛はありませんでしたが、主の考えが保存されていました。第四は原始キリスト教会で、主の教えに基づいた新しい、より直接的な理解を持っていました。第五は、『書物』によると、『書物』とその聖書の説明を通して提供されたより深い理解に基づくものである。

まだまだ言いたいことはたくさんありますが、もう一点だけ強調しておきます。

私たちは個人として、私たちが知っていることではなく、私たちが愛していることに基づいています。私たちが天国に行くか地獄に行くかは、私たちが知っていることではなく、私たちが愛していることに基づいています。知ること、考えること、真理を求めることは重要なことですが、それらの目的は私たちの愛を形作り、導き、奉仕することです。聖書は、教会も同じであることを豊富に、繰り返し明らかにしています。教会は最終的には知識ではなく、愛に基づいており、隣人に仕えるという決意に基づいており、外面的な礼拝の形ではありません。もし教会が隣人に奉仕するという共通の目的を共有しているならば、教会は本質的に一つのものであり、教義の違いはほとんど意味を持ちません。

(რეკომენდაციები: 啓示による黙示録解説533; 天界の秘義407, 768, 1799 [3-4], 2048, 2853 [2-3], 2910, 2982, 3310, 3773, 3963 [2], 4292, 4672, 4723, 5826 [2-3], 6637, 6648, 8152, 9256 [4-5], 9276 [2]; 結婚愛116; 天界と地獄57; 経験による主のみことば8; 聖書の教義99, 104)

4672. 「かれは少年で」とは、最初（第一）を意味します。新しい教会を修飾するとき用いる「少年」は、最初、すなわち本人の最初の状態を指します。教会もまた、人が年齢を重ねるように、幼児期、少年期、壮年期、そしてついには老年期になります。教会も、人間一般として、そのように呼ばれます。

教会にも、年齢的には「少年」と言われ、すぐさま通過していくときがありますが、そのような教会で、主は最初現存されます。そこで教えたり、学んだりする人々とともにおられ、やがて、かれらから離れていきます。ヨセフが兄弟たちから穴に投げ込まれ、売られたことは、そのことを表象しています。

② 教会は、すべて信仰から始まる教会と、仁愛から始まる教会があります。信仰依存の教会では、理性だけが基準です。理性は、人の遺伝的なものとして、自己愛と世間愛にかかわります。自己愛と世間愛は、〈みことば〉からの確認が得られるように、理性を説きつけます。しかも解釈するために、確認をとるのではありません。

それにたいし、仁愛に始まる教会は違います。善を基準にし、善のうちにいます主を基準にします。すなわち主と信仰との間に、仁愛と愛に属する善を仲介にたてます。この仲介なくしては、霊的交流はありません。中間的なものがなかったら、流入もありません。善の代わりに、悪が存在すれば、主を追い出して、主にかんするものを全部拒否し、倒錯してしまいます。その結果、信仰にかんすることもすべて放逐します。信仰は、善を通して、主から与えられるものだからです。

9256. 'You shall surely bring it back to him' means teaching and correcting. This is clear from the meaning of 'bringing back', when it refers to those outside the Church who are governed by unauthentic good and truth, as teaching and correcting; for this is how they are 'brought back'. Doing good to those outside the Church is also meant by the Lord's words in Matthew,

You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say to you, Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? And if you salute only your brothers, what more are you doing [than others]? Matthew 5:43-47.

Here also 'enemies' and 'those who hate' in the spiritual sense mean those who have a different idea of what forms of good and the truths of faith are, in general those who are outside the Church, since the Jewish nation considered them to be adversaries whom they were allowed to consign to slaughter and to kill with impunity. It is evident that they are meant in the spiritual sense by 'enemies', since it says, 'If you salute only your brothers, what more are you doing [than others]?' For all were called brothers who were born of Jacob, thus who were within the Church.

[2] To enlarge on the subject of those outside the Church, called the gentiles, they are indeed subject to falsities in doctrine, which however is due to lack of knowledge because they do not possess the Word. Nevertheless when they have received instruction they have a clearer perception and consequently a more internal perception of what heavenly life means for a person than Christians have. The reason for this is that they have not set themselves firmly against the truths of faith as very many Christians have done. Consequently their internal man is not closed but is as it is with young children, open to and receptive of truth. For those who have set themselves firmly against the truths and forms of the good of faith, as all who lead an evil life do, close their internal man above and open it below.

[3] As a result of this the attention of the internal man is focused solely on things below, that is, on the external or natural man, and through this on things that exist in the world, round about their body, and on this planet. And when this is so, they look downwards, that is, towards hell. With people like this the internal man cannot be opened towards heaven unless the negative rejections of truth or positive acceptances of falsity which have closed it are banished; and these must be banished while they are in the world. This cannot be accomplished except by a complete turning around of their life, thus over a number of years. For falsities line up in rows, make a continuous chain from one to another, and form the actual natural mind and the way it sees things that belong to the Church and to heaven. Consequently all matters of faith and charity, that is, everything taught by the Church or contained in the Word, in general everything heavenly and Divine is thick darkness to those people, and conversely everything worldly and earthly is light. From this it is evident that destroying falsities with such people means destroying the life they have, and that if they are to possess a new kind of life falsities must be gradually rooted out and truths and forms of good implanted instead. And these must in a similar way form a continuous chain from one to another and be lined up in rows. This is what is meant by a complete turning around of their life that cannot take place except over a number of years. Therefore anyone who imagines that a person can be made new in an instant is much mistaken.

[4] But those who have not set themselves firmly against the forms of good and the truths of faith - those for instance who are outside the Church and yet have lived in some kind of faith and charity in accord with their religion - have not been able to close their internal man through negative rejections of truth and positive acceptances of falsity that are contrary to the truth of faith founded on the Word. Therefore also - if not in the world, nevertheless in the next life - their internal can be opened above, that is, in the direction of heaven and of the Lord. And at the same time all the earthly and worldly ideas they have brought with them from their life in the world are raised up, in order that they may all look upwards together. These then bring them into a condition to receive the truths of faith from the Lord and forms of the good of charity, to have intelligence and wisdom conferred on them, and so to be endowed with eternal happiness. Such is the condition of all who lead a good life in accord with their religion. For this reason the Lord's Church is spread throughout the whole world. But the Lord's Church on earth is like the Grand Man in heaven, whose heart and lungs are where the Word exists, and the remaining members and internal organs, which depend for their life on the heart and lungs, are where the Word does not exist.

[5] All this also goes to show why it is that a new Church is always established among gentile nations who are outside the Church, 2986, 4747, which takes place when the old Church has closed heaven to itself, as stated above. So it is that the Church was transferred from the Jewish people to gentile nations, and also that the Church at the present day is now being transferred to gentiles.

[6] The fact that the Church is transferred to gentile nations who acknowledge the Lord is clear from very many places in the Word, such as the following: In Isaiah,

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; those dwelling in the land of the shadow of death, upon them has the light shone out. You have multiplied the nation; for them You have made joy great. Isaiah 9:2-3.

In the same prophet,

It will happen on that day, that the nations will seek the root of Jesse, which is standing as an ensign of the peoples; and His rest will be glory. Isaiah 11:10.

In the same prophet,

I Jehovah have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand, because I will guard You, and give You to be a covenant of the people, ¹ a light of the nations, to open the blind eyes, to bring the bound out of prison, out of the dungeon-house those who sit in darkness. Isaiah 42:6-7.

In the same prophet,

Lo, I have given Him as a witness to the peoples, a Prince and Lawgiver to the peoples. ² Lo, You will call a nation You do not know, and a nation that did not know You will run to You, on account of Jehovah Your God, and because of the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 55:4-5.

In the same prophet,

Nations will walk to Your light, and kings to the brightness of Your rising. Lift up Your eyes round about; they all gather together and they come towards You. Your sons come from far, and Your daughters are carried at the side by nurses. Then You will see and abound, and Your heart will be astounded and enlarge itself because the abundance of the sea will be turned to You, the armies of the nations will come to You. Isaiah 60:3-5.

In Simeon's prophecy regarding the Lord after His birth, in Luke,

My eyes have seen Your ³ salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light for revelation to the gentiles. ⁴ Luke 2:30-32.

[7] All these places, in which the Lord is the subject, declare that gentile nations will come to Him. They come to Him when they acknowledge Him as their God; and what is amazing, such nations worship the one and only God manifested in human form. When therefore they learn about the Lord they receive and acknowledge Him; and a new Church cannot be established among any others. The fact that the Church is established among such nations is further evident from the following words that are the Lord's, in Matthew,

Have you not read in the Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected has become the corner-stone? ⁵ Therefore I say to you, The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits [of it]. Matthew 21:42-43.

'The stone' is the Lord, 6426, 'the builders' are those who belong to the Church. And the fact that these will be last and the gentile nations first is evident from His words in Luke,

They will come from the east and the west, and from the north and the south, reclining in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last. Luke 13:29-30.

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