"And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself. (John 12:32)

A promise from the Lord - He can and will lift us up. He will take our hands and draw us out of the frustrations and pains of selfish life. He will be with us and raise us up into joy and happiness beyond our belief.

That is, of course, as we let Him. For we have genuine freedom. We can forget about Him, relegating formal religion to the nooks and crannies of our life, becoming swamped with the incessant demands of this natural world. But we can also make room for Him, allowing Him to draw us towards Him.

For the Lord's love for us is an infinite constant. And His inmost desire is to have us return His love - to have us become images and likenesses of Himself, to become one with Him. Everything He does, all His providential leading, has this as its purpose - to make us eternally happy with Him. As the Writings note: "He wills to save everyone and by His mighty power to draw all towards heaven, that is, towards Himself" (AC 1038). "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself."

His love has an inherent power of attraction. He does not sit back passively, watching our silly antics, wishing us well but hesitating to intervene. His existence is intervention. Not openly seen, He is a constant force attracting us to what is good. So we are taught: "There is actually a sphere proceeding continually from the Lord and filling the entire spiritual and natural worlds which raises all towards heaven. It is like a strong current in the ocean which unseen draws a vessel. All who believe in the Lord and live according to His precepts enter that sphere or current and are elevated" (True Christian Religion 652:3).

His providence - an expression of His love - flows out to all and draws all to Himself. Silently, surely, His current moves us along. This is the underlying reality. Although ignored, His presence is never avoided. He lifts up our thoughts and affections. Raising whatever of worth we have, we are drawn to His throne. The doctrines declare that "the life which is from the Lord has a power of attracting, because it is from love, since it wills to be conjoined, so as to be a one. When therefore a person is in good, and from good in truth, he is drawn by the Lord, and is conjoined with Him" (Arcana Coelestia 8604:3).

The Lord attracts all to Himself because His love yearns for the closeness, the return, of all good, all truth. Everything of love we have comes from Him. It is His gift to us, for us to enjoy and share. All our happiness comes from this Source. And His love becomes perpetual and increasing in us when it circles back - building upon itself.

How do we feel when we do a favor for someone, and they neither thank us nor seem to appreciate what we have done? Do we help again? Probably not. (Or at least with a little bit more self compulsion!). Our helping hand is drawn back if it does not elicit a good response. Love requires love. It is drawn to it. It is when we help others and they become happy, sharing their joy with us and others, that we are encouraged to continue.

Within all good is an attractive power. For all good, all love, is one. When we receive it His current is a powerful force that lifts us up to the Source of all good, all love. It is why the Lord said He would draw all people to Him. Whatever of love we have raises us to Him, joining us to His life, His way.

A vivid example of this was provided to Emmanuel Swedenborg, revelator for the New Church, when he was allowed to experience the process of resuscitation - being raised from the dead. For perhaps at no other time will we sense the direct intervention and caring of the Lord as when we put off our natural bodies. Swedenborg noted that "especially was I permitted to see and feel that there was an attraction and as it were a drawing forth of the interiors of my mind, thus of my spirit, from the body; and I was told that this is from the Lord, and that the resurrection is thus effected" (Heaven and Hell 449e). The process of awakening in the spiritual world is the actual elevation of our spirits. We are drawn out of our bodies, raised up into eternal life. His love attracts us to Him. "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself."

The attractive power of good can also be seen in our selection of friends and spouse. Why do we form friendships? Certainly there must be common interests which enable friendship to grow. But why it is we can have much in common with some people we find distasteful, and appear to have little in common with others who we feel close to? In the same vein, why is it that we can feel friendly to many of the opposite sex, but love and want to marry only one special person? Why that particular person? There is no way to predict who will be a friend or who we will marry. For what creates both deep friendship and an eternal marriage is the attraction of love. Friends and spouse are selected by similar loves drawing them together like the current of the ocean. We are drawn to find friends and a spouse by spiritual qualities resonating within each other. This is why our close friends seem to be one with us, and to always have been there. It is also why there can be proposal and consent to an everlasting relationship. It is as if one's own loves have found their home, their completion. It is love attracting good together. It is the Lord lifting up all good, all love, to Himself.

This power of attraction that good has is seen in innumerable areas. The Arcana Coelestia states: "what is good and true, just and fair, and also what is honest, have a strong hidden power of attracting minds" (Arcana Coelestia 6655e). Are we not drawn to those who seem to be honest and fair? Are we not repelled by those who appear to be dishonest? The issue of fairness is active from a very early age. Children know what fairness is, and are most upset when they sense injustice or inequality. Even while the varied population of this country disagree about many things, all want the government to be fair and honest. Without fairness, honesty, there can be no trust, no confidence. We are attracted to these things because they are expressions of spiritual good. It is that good which draws us near, encouraging us to come into the sphere of natural justice, fairness, and honesty.

And, perversely, were it not for this power of attraction of good, evil would never be able to succeed (see Arcana Coelestia 5464:2). This sounds strange, contradictory, but it is not. For who would willingly choose evil if he could see the hell of it? Who would become selfish if he could see the result of a devil cut off from others, fearing the plots of fellow devils yet confident that he is more sly than they? Or who would be overly concerned with money if he could see the hells where their only delight is in touching coins, counting bills? If the end result of any evil were openly seen, no one would ever sin, or let hell grow up within.

So why are we drawn to evil? Because it cloaks itself in the appearance of good, and we are drawn to that good. We know the Lord wants us to feel good, so what feels good must be good, right? Revenge is sweet - hellish, but sweet. The Lord wants our natural surroundings to reflect our inner states (as actually occurs in the other world), so we can justify acquiring unlimited amounts of luxuries without thought for others or the Lord. Selfishness can seem good because we are meant to care for ourselves. The positive value of caring for ourselves can be used to justify all manner of self-centeredness.

Evil in itself is horrible and disgusting. We are not drawn to it. But when it puts on the appearance of good, and excuses itself with some half truths, our desire for delight can carry us along, if we allow it.

But that is not the purpose of good, and evil cannot long hide behind it. We will be forced to see some of the hell in evil and make conscious choices. For the attraction of good uplifts us. Hell drags us down. When we sense a conflict we have an opportunity to discover if the attraction is for genuine good or not.

For we do not always find the best choices or allow ourselves to be elevated. While the current is strong, we can grab on to overhanging branches, or paddle furiously against it. The Lord recognizes that we can only take so much at a time. His love is infinite, "but as angels and people on earth are finite they can follow the current of the attraction only according to their measure, although the force of the attraction persists to eternity" (True Christian Religion 350). We alternate between the highs and lows (see Arcana Coelestia 6315, 2119e). When we must concentrate on earthly life, we do not feel especially uplifted. When we are selfish, we are being dragged down. But the Lord never stops reaching out to us so that there might be times when we are raised above selfishness and worldliness.

Whenever we are on the path of regeneration, we are periodically gifted with glorious moments when we feel the Lord's presence and the attraction of His love. Perhaps it's in saying and reflecting upon the Lord's prayer, or holding a tender infant, or singing a favorite tune. Wherever it may be, we sense the Divine and know we are drawn to it.

But it may also be the case that we do not often feel His attraction in this life. We can lead a fundamentally good life, shunning evils as they appear, trying not to get into any trouble, and still not see and feel any special elevation to heaven. The Heavenly Doctrines note that "so long as a person lives in the world he does not know that he is raised up above his proprium, because he does not feel it. And yet there is an elevation or as it were an attraction of the person's interior understanding and interior will towards the Lord, and thus a turning of the person's face as to his spirit towards the Lord. After death this is made clear to a good person, for then there is a constant turning of his face to the Lord, and as it were an attraction to Him as to a common center" (Apocalypse Explained 646:3).

This is what the attraction of good means - placing the Lord in the center of our lives. Perhaps not openly speaking of Him in every sentence, but being certain of His inner presence, and willing Him to grasp our hands and ever lead us to a higher place. For as we acquire a love of what is good we are attracted to Him, and drawn up to His heaven. "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself."

(참조: True Christian Religion 652)

32. 3. The Lord made the human nature divine from the divine nature within himself. There is support for this in many passages in the Word. Here we select passages that support the following points.

a. This happened step by step:

Jesus grew and became strong in spirit and in wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. (Luke 2:40)

Jesus increased in wisdom and age, and in favor with God and humankind. (Luke 2:52)

[2] b. The divine nature worked through the human nature the way a soul works through its body:

The Son cannot do anything on his own unless he sees the Father doing it. (John 5:19)

I do nothing of myself; as my Father taught me I say these things. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone. (John 8:28-29; 5:30)

I have not spoken on my own authority; the Father who sent me has given me a commandment regarding what I should say and what I should speak. (John 12:49-50)

The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own authority; the Father who dwells in me does these works. (John 14:10)

I am not alone, because the Father is with me. (John 16:32)

[3] c. The divine nature and the human nature worked in complete accord:

Whatever the Father does, the Son also does in the same way. (John 5:19)

Just as the Father raises the dead and brings them to life, so also the Son brings to life those whom he wishes to. (John 5:21)

Just as the Father has life in himself, so he has also granted the Son to have life in himself. (John 5:26)

Now they know that all things you have given me are from you. (John 17:7)

[4] d. The divine nature was united to the human nature and the human nature to the divine:

“If you have known me you have also known my Father and have seen him.” When Philip wanted to see the Father, Jesus said, “Have I been with you for so long, and yet you have not known me, Philip? Those who have seen me have seen the Father. Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” (John 14:7-11)

If I am not doing the works of my Father, do not believe me. If I am doing them, believe the works, so that you may know and believe that the Father is in me and I am in the Father. (John 10:37-38)

... so that they all may be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. (John 17:21)

On that day you will know that I am in my Father. (John 14:20)

No one will snatch the sheep from my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one. (John 10:29-30)

The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. (John 3:35)

All things that the Father has are mine. (John 16:15)

All that is mine is yours, and all that is yours is mine. (John 17:10)

You have given the Son power over all flesh. (John 17:2)

All power has been given to me in heaven and on earth. (Matthew 28:18)

[5] e. We should turn to the Divine-Human One, as we can see from the following passages:

... so that all people will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. (John 5:23)

If you had known me, you would also have known my Father. (John 8:19)

Those who see me see the one who sent me. (John 12:45)

If you have known me you have also known my Father, and from now on you know him and have seen him. (John 14:7)

Those who accept me accept the one who sent me. (John 13:20)

This is because no one can see the divinity itself that is called “the Father”; only the Divine-Human One can be seen. The Lord in fact said,

No one has ever seen God. The only-begotten Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, has made him visible. (John 1:18)

No one has seen the Father except the one who is with the Father. He has seen the Father. (John 6:46)

You have never heard the Father’s voice or seen what he looks like. (John 5:37)

[6] f. Since the Lord made his human nature divine from the divine nature within himself, and since we should turn to him and he is the Son of God, we are therefore to believe in the Lord who is both Father and Son, as we can see from the following passages.

Jesus said that as many as accepted him, he gave them power to become children of God and believe in his name. (John 1:12)

... so that all who believe in him will not perish but will have eternal life. (John 3:15)

God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son so that everyone who believes in him would have eternal life. (John 3:16)

Those who believe in the Son are not condemned; but those who do not believe have already been condemned because they have not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God. (John 3:18)

Those who believe in the Son have eternal life. Those who do not believe in the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God abides on them. (John 3:36)

The bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. Those who come to me will not hunger, and those who believe in me will never thirst. (John 6:33, 35)

This is the will of the one who sent me, that all those who see the Son and believe in him will have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day. (John 6:40)

They said to Jesus, “What should we do in order to perform the works of God?” Jesus answered, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one whom he has sent.” (John 6:28-29)

Truly I say to you, those who believe in me have eternal life. (John 6:47)

Jesus cried out, saying, “If any are thirsty, they must come to me and drink. As the Scripture has said, from the bellies of those who believe in me will flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:37-38)

If you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins. (John 8:24)

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Even if they die, those who believe in me will live; and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” (John 11:25-26)

Jesus said, “I have come into the world as a light so that anyone who believes in me will not remain in darkness.” (John 12:46; 8:12)

While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of the light. (John 12:36)

I tell you truly, the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. (John 5:25)

Abide in me, and I [will abide] in you. I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and in whom I abide bear much fruit, because without me you cannot do anything. (John 15:1-5)

They were to abide in the Lord, and the Lord in them. (John 14:20; 17:23)

I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

[7] In these passages and all others, when it mentions “the Father” it means the divine nature that was in the Lord from his conception, which-according to the teaching embraced by the Christian world regarding faith-was like the soul within the body in human beings. The human nature that came from this divine nature is the Son of God.

Now, since this was also made divine, in order to prevent people from turning to the Father alone and thereby separating the Father from the Lord (in whom the Father dwells) in their thought, faith, and worship, the Lord went on to teach that the Father and he are one and that the Father is in him and he is in the Father, and that we are to abide in him; also that no one comes to the Father except through him. He also tells us that we are to believe in him and that we are saved by a faith focused directly on him.

[8] For many Christians, it is impossible to grasp the concept that in the Lord a human nature was made divine, primarily because they think of “human” only in terms of the physical body and not in terms of anything spiritual. Yet all angels, who are spiritual beings, also have a completely human form, and everything divine that emanates from Jehovah God, everything from its first [or innermost] level in heaven to its last [or outermost] level on earth, tends to take on a human form.

On angels as human forms and on everything divine tending toward the human form, see Heaven and Hell 73-77, 453-460. There will also be more on this subject in forthcoming works that will draw on angelic wisdom about the Lord.