At face value, the Ten Commandments can seem intense and unforgiving. But Emanuel Swedenborg’s understanding of the internal sense of the Bible—spiritual meanings that lie beneath the literal words—can give us a new perspective on these familiar rules.

In this episode of their Swedenborg and Life web series, hosts Curtis Childs and Jonathan Rose study the inner meaning of the first commandment.

(Reference: Apocalypse Revealed 950; Arcana Coelestia 8864, 8865, 8868, 8869, 8875, 8878, 8879, 8880, 8881)

1737. 'Who has delivered your enemies into your hand' means victory. This becomes clear without explanation. The joining of the Human Essence to the Divine Essence was brought about and effected by the Lord by means of constant conflicts that constitute temptations, and by victories; and He did all this from His own power. Anyone who conceives the manner of conjunction and union to be different from that is much mistaken. This was the way in which He became Righteousness. The conjunction or union was effected with the celestial element of love, that is, with Love itself, which, as has been stated, is Jehovah. The joining of men to the Lord is also effected by means of temptations and by the implanting of faith in love. Unless faith is implanted in love, that is, unless a person by means of things that belong to faith receives the life of faith, which is charity, conjunction is not possible. This alone is what 'to follow Him' implies, namely to be joined to the Lord, even as the Lord as regards His Human Essence was joined to Jehovah. For the same reason all such people are called sons of God - from the Lord who is the only Son of God - and become images of Him.