243. 8. The Church Is Based on the Word; the Nature of the Church in Individuals Depends on Their Understanding of the Word

The church is unquestionably based on the Word - I have shown above that the Word is divine truth (189-192); that the church's body of teaching is based on the Word (225-233); and that we are connected to the Lord through the Word (234-239). The idea that the understanding of the Word shapes the church is something that could be called into question, however, since there are people who believe they are part of the church because they have the Word, because they read it or hear it from a preacher, and because they know something of its literal meaning, although they do not know how to understand this or that saying in the Word and some of them do not care. Therefore I will present support for two ideas: it is not the Word but the understanding of it that forms the church; and the quality of the church is determined by the way people in it understand the Word.

465. These then are the precepts, dogmas, and tenets of the church of today regarding human free choice in spiritual and earthly matters and regarding original sin. The reason I have presented these here is so that the precepts, dogmas, and tenets of the new church on these topics may appear more clearly. Truth appears in the light when two forms are set side by side like this, just as sometimes in paintings a misshapen face is placed next to an attractive one; since we can see the faces at the same time, the beauty of the one and the ugliness of the other stand out clearly before the eye. The tenets of the new church are as follows.