"Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus" Matthew 1:24, 25.

Jesus Christ was not the son of Joseph. The whole Christian religion revolves around the truth that He was born of a virgin, conceived of the Holy Spirit, and therefore He could be called God, the Hero, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Even more so is the New Christian Church founded on this belief, for the rock on which it is built is the teaching that He is the one God of heaven and earth.

Therefore it was said of Joseph that he "took unto him Mary his wife, and knew her not until she had brought forth her firstborn Son." In those days there was not a formal marriage as we know it. There was a ceremony of betrothal, and a period of about a year elapsed before the man took his wife. It was in this interim period that Mary was found with child of the Holy Spirit. By Jewish law that meant that she could be accused of adultery, even though the couple had not come together. Joseph could either denounce her publicly, in which case she would be stoned; or he could quietly send her back to her home in disgrace. Being a just man, he didn't want to take a cruel revenge on her, so he intended to put her away privately; and it was while he was thinking what to do that an angel told him that the child was of the Holy Spirit. He believed, and took her into his home as is wife. Yet, because the marriage was not consummated, she was still his "betrothed wife." "And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem... to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child" (Luke 2:4, 5).

It seems that Joseph's part in the Divine birth is a minor one. Yet he has qualities worth mentioning: justice, obedience, prudence, ability; and his role in this greatest of all stories is worth a second look. The Lord is King of all the earth, and of every house on earth; yet He permitted Himself to be born into the house, and under the worldly protection of Joseph, the just man of Nazareth. The Lord has all power to protect Himself, yet He chose as one means of protection this simple carpenter. Four times Joseph is the instrument through which the miracle of the Lord's Advent is allowed to proceed. When Mary was found with child, he could have had her condemned to death: he chose not to act hastily. He did not need to believe the angel, but he did, and took her to wife, and provided her with protection. When Herod wanted to kill the infant Lord, Joseph woke from a dream in which he had been warned, willingly left home for he knew not how long, to live in Egypt, and used his skills to provide for his family. And when he returned, he took care to find out who was king in Judea, was justly afraid of Archelaus the son of Herod, heeded a final warning, and by-passed Judea to live in Nazareth.

All this is of historic interest. What does it mean today? Why is the story of the Divine birth of perennial import, and what is Joseph's part in the everlasting message of Christmas?

This story is told each year because of its immense impact in the history of human events, but there is a deeper reason why the Lord gives us such delight in its recounting. Within it is the account of His birth in us. What does it mean to say that the Lord has been born in us? It means that charity has come to live in our hearts. The power to love others as much as we love ourselves is something only the Lord can create. When we have such a love, then of it we may say, "This is our God, we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation."

That birth of charity in human hearts is represented in all the stories of His birth on earth. What then does Mary represent? She represents the affection of truth. Mary was in an idealistic state: a virgin, betrothed, longing for marriage with the man she loved. In each of us there is a wonderful, innocent idealism, a longing for what is true and good, a feeling that if we follow it we will be happy. This affection for the truth is built up in us by the Lord from our birth, it is the womb into which He can descend in us.

And Joseph, the man Mary loves? He appears to represent the human understanding. It seemed to Mary that once she married Joseph, she would have a man-child who would be their heir, and they would be a happy family. So it seems to us that if we marry our love of truth to our understanding of the truth, then we will create charity. Our idealism, combined with our understanding will build our happiness.

Were that so, then Jesus could have been the son of Joseph.

Joseph is the human understanding. As a person grows, he receives principles of good behavior, and an understanding of how to put them to work. He tries to live according to these values. He is rather like a carpenter, working with tools of iron, shaping useful pieces of furniture. His strong principles shape his goodness.

The understanding of a person is like the earthly father in whose house we grow, even as Jesus grew in the home of Joseph the carpenter of Nazareth. We need the guidance of our understandings. We are not naturally good. We have to learn values, to correct false principles, to practice the good ones.

That kind of learning is what is represented by Joseph. Note that he is said to have been a just man. He was, by the standards of that time, but how worldly were those standards! If a wife was unfaithful, she was either put to death in a very cruel way, or sent home in disgrace. Joseph's concept of justice was to choose the lesser punishment. He didn't want vengeance. That was good, but he did not as yet know what true understanding and forgiveness was either. This type of justice represents the kind of understanding we have before the Lord's charity in born in us. We are just, but by earthly, rather harsh standards. Joseph was a just man; but compare him with the Child who grew up in his home. Compare the simple quality of his sense of right and wrong with the infinite love and understanding and compassion show by Him who was once called Jesus of Nazareth.

Joseph could not be the father of Jesus. It was the power of Almighty God Himself that fathered this Child, because Jesus was to be the embodiment of all love, of all good, of all true understanding. He was God Himself, showing the way of true love. Joseph could not sire that kind of understanding!

Just as Joseph could not be the father of Jesus, so, when charity is born in us, it doesn't come through hte parentage of the human understanding. Its mother is our innocent love of the truth; but its father is the power of the Lord inflowing into our hearts, and creating something that no other intelligence could conceive. The power to love others unselfishly is not born of this world. No human philosophy can create it. It is born of God. In this process the human understanding is almost a bystander. It notes the wondrous growth of love in our hearts, senses, as if by visions, that it is from God, and works to serve it.

But the understanding has some function, just as Joseph has some role the play in the stories of Christmas. At first Joseph was distressed by the knowledge that Mary was with child, suspicious of that conception, thinking that some other man had loved her. This seems to represent a conflict that takes place within us when we begin to feel the stirring of unselfish love in us. You see, our understanding knows us too well. We know our own weaknesses, we have lived with them a long time. Even if we are trying to do what is right, we are often disillusioned by our ability to act from selfish motives.

Therefore when charity begins to move us, we can be tempted by the hells. They whisper to our understanding, "This is not unselfishness. You can't be truly charitable. This is just selfishness under a new guise." We are easily tempted to believe this. The hells love us to think poorly of ourselves, and they are remarkably successful at making us do so when we should not. Even so Joseph was tempted to think that this holy child was the product of evil.

But an angel came to Joseph in a dream and comforted him. An angel, in a vision of sleep, represents an insight from heaven, although a rather vague one (Arcana Coelestia 1925; 4235; cf.Arcana Coelestia 6831; 9315; 6280). The angel did not appear directly to Joseph, as he did to Zacharias, Mary, and the Shepherds. His coming in a dream represents the fact that we only obscurely sense with our understandings at first that certain motives in us are unselfish, or may be so. "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary, your wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit." What a wonderful message of hope that represents - a sense that perhaps some of our loves might be beautiful, inspired by our Lord.

Joseph listened to the angel, and married Mary, and played his part in the Divine birth. A person who is trying to be good seeks the loves that are now moving him. He refuses to listen to the hells which tell him that he is too selfish to ever have the loves of heaven. He follows instead the message of the word and the insight he now has, that charity can be born in his heart.

When Herod the king threatened the life of Jesus, Joseph woke in the middle of the night and fled because of the angel's warning. Herod represents the false thoughts which rule when the love of self moves us. This represents a much more dangerous attack from hell. How often has some love begun to grow in us, and we have come close to destroying it by our selfish wishes? People who are friends or loved ones get into an argument and feel threatened, and choose to hurt the other person, to damage the love between them rather than admit their own anger or weakness. This human weakness is represented by Herod, the wicked and foolish, yet crafty king of Judea, plotting the death of Him who would bring happiness to the whole world.

At such times we need the power of the human understanding to protect us. We need to use our understanding to flee to the spiritual Egypt, which means a state of instruction. We learn from the Word itself how to control anger and selfishness. We try to understand what the Lord is telling us about destructive human emotions, and how to control them; about charity and forgiveness, about how to humble our own pride for the sake of love and the opportunity to care for others.

And when we have learned these things, we return to the spiritual Nazareth, the realm of useful endeavor. It was in Nazareth that Jesus grew up. In the arena of useful service, when we apply the principles we have learned, the Lord gives us a haven in which our spirits may become strong, and able to face any attacks which may later come. For while we are working, applying our understanding of truth as we see it, charity secretly grows strong within us, and gains the power to influence our world. "And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and the grace of God was upon Him."

So let us not forget Joseph as we listen to the Christmas story, for he represents our understanding, and in his justice and obedience and prudence are mirrored the spirit of the human understanding as it must be if the Lord is to be born in us. We too must first learn justice, even though we may apply it in a very worldly way - perhaps shunning only the most obvious manifestations of vengeance and self-pity and anger. We have to learn the spirit of obedience, the willingness to follow our understanding of what the Lord (the angel) bids us do. We must follow that understanding, even if the path is not fully clear. We must use the talents He has given us to do the best we can.

But even then, that understanding will not be the father of eternal good in us. We can't build our true loves, or fashion our own goodness. Only the inflowing spirit of God can do this, as the miracle of the Lord's birth is repeated, time and again, in that innocent affection of truth which is the virgin Mary.

And finally, notice that it was Joseph who named the infant Lord. "You shall call his name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins." Note that in this verse is the promise that the people will belong to this Child. His name means "Jehovah saves," so when Joseph named the child it represented His faith that the Babe was born of God. So too must our understandings acknowledge the Divine origin of all that is truly good is us, call it by its name - the Lord come down to us. If we can make this acknowledgment whenever happiness touches our hearts, then our understanding will give that happiness a home, and cherish it, that it may grow, and wax strong in spirit, and the grace of God may be upon us.

(Reference: Arcana Coelestia 2795; Matthew 1:18-25, 2:1-12)

3704. 'And the God of Isaac' means the Lord's Divine Human. This is clear from the representation of 'Isaac' as the Lord's Divine Rational; and since it is in the Rational that the Human has its beginnings, 2194, and so is that from which and through which the Human has its being, 'the God of Isaac' therefore means here the Lord's Divine Human. Since every single thing in heaven, every single thing with man, and indeed every single thing in the whole natural order has reference to good and truth the Lord's Divine too is therefore distinguished into Divine Good and Divine Truth - the Lord's Divine Good being called 'the Father', and His Divine Truth 'the Son'. Yet the Lord's Divine is nothing else than Good, indeed it is Good itself; but Divine Truth is the Lord's Divine Good as it presents itself visually in heaven, that is, to angels. In this it is like the sun. Essentially the sun is nothing else than fire; but the light which one sees coming from it is not in the sun but flowing from it. For the Lord as regards Divine Good is represented by the sun, and also in the next life He is the Sun for the whole of heaven, see 1053, 1521, 1529-1531, 2495, 3636, 3643, and the Lord as regards Divine Truth is represented by the light, and also in the next life He is the Light for the whole of heaven, 1053, 1521, 1529, 1530, 2776, 3138, 3195, 3222, 3223, 3339, 3341, 3636, 3643.

[2] So essentially the Lord is nothing else than Divine Good, and this applies to both essentials - to the Divine itself and to the Divine Human. Divine Truth however does not exist within Divine Good but flows from it, for as stated above, Divine Truth is the Divine Good presenting itself visually in heaven. Now because Divine Good presents itself as Divine Truth, therefore the Lord's Divine is distinguished, to enable man to grasp it mentally, into Divine Good and Divine Truth, Divine Good being called in the Word 'the Father' and Divine Truth 'the Son'. This is the arcanum that lies behind the Lord Himself on so many occasions speaking of His Father as though He were separate from and so to speak One other than Himself, and yet at other times speaking of His being one with Himself. The fact that in the internal sense 'father' means good, and in the highest sense the Lord as regards Divine Good, has been shown just above in 3703, and the fact that 'son' means truth while 'the Son of God' and 'the Son of Man' mean the Lord as regards Divine Truth, in 1729, 1733, 2159, 2803, 2813. The matter is also clear from all those places where the Lord uses the name Father and calls Himself the Son.

[3] Not only in the Old Testament Word is the Lord called Jehovah - see 1343, 1736, 2921 - but He is also referred to there as 'Father', as is clear from the following places: In Isaiah,

To us a Boy is born, to us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder, and His name will be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, God, Hero, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6.

From this it is quite evident that 'the Boy born to us and me Son given to us' is the Lord, and so it is He who is called 'the Father of Eternity'. In Jeremiah,

I will be a Father to Israel, and Ephraim will be my firstborn. Jeremiah 31:9.

This refers to the Lord, who, being the God of Israel and me Holy One of Israel, see 3305, is here 'a Father to Israel'. In Malachi,

Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Malachi 2:10.

'Creating' here in the internal sense stands for regenerating, as it also does elsewhere in the Word, see 16, 88, 472. And since me Lord alone is Regenerator and Redeemer it is He who is here called 'Father' and 'God', as also in Isaiah,

You are our Father, for Abraham does not know us and Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O Jehovah, are our Father, our Redeemer; from eternity is Your name. Isaiah 63:16.

[4] In the same prophet,

I will clothe him with your robe and strengthen him with your girdle, and will commit your dominion into his hand, so that he may be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. And I will place the key of the house of David on his shoulder; and he will open and none will shut, and he will shut and none will open. And I will fasten him like a peg in a sure place, so that he may be the throne of his father's glory, and on him they may hang all the glory of his father's house, of sons and grandsons, every small vessel - from the vessels of bowls even to all the vessels of stringed instruments. Isaiah 22:21-24.

From this it is quite evident that it is the Lord who in the internal sense here is represented and meant, and who is called 'a father to me inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah'. For He is the one 'on whose shoulder the key of the house of David is placed, who opens and none shuts, and who shuts and none opens' - see the Preface to Chapter 22. And to Him belongs 'the throne of His Father's glory', and on Him all holy things are based and from Him they are derived. Those holy things are here called 'vessels' celestial ones being called 'vessels of bowls', and spiritual ones 'vessels of stringed instruments'.

[5] Since kings and priests represented the Lord - 'kings' through their kingship representing the Lord as regards Divine Truth, and 'priests' the Lord as regards Divine Good, 3670 - priests were therefore called 'fathers', as may be seen in the Book of Judges,

Micah said to the Levite, Stay with me, and be to me a father and a priest. Judges 17:10.

The children of Dan spoke to the same man in a similar way,

Keep quiet, put your hand over your mouth, and come with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Judges 18:19.

Even kings called them the same, in the second Book of Kings,

The king of Israel said to Elisha, My father, shall I smite them? He said, You shall not smite them. 2 Kings 6:21-22.

And King Joash's words to Elisha when the latter was dying,

King Joash wept before him and said, My father, my father! The chariot of Israel and its riders! 2 Kings 13:14.

Kings called a priest 'father' because 'kings' represented the Lord as regards Divine Truth, 'priests' as regards Divine Good, and also because truth in relationship to good is as son to father, for truth stems from good.

[6] This matter is very well known in the next life, and for this reason those in heaven call no one other than the Lord 'Father', and by 'Father' mentioned in the Gospels they perceive no one other than Him, see 15, 1729. All young children there, when being introduced to the good that flows from love and to the truth partnering that love, are taught to acknowledge the Lord alone as Father. And newcomers to heaven also are taught with utmost care that God is one; and if they have been from within the Church they are taught that the whole of the Trinity resides in the Lord - for almost everybody from the Christian world possesses the idea of three Gods, even though with the lips they used to declare that there is only one God. For once the idea of three has entered in, and each one of these is called God and is also distinguished from the other so far as attributes and functions are concerned, and are even worshipped individually, it is no longer humanly possible to think of one God. Consequently there is in the heart a worship of three Gods but on the lips that of only one.

[7] The truth that the whole of the Trinity resides in the Lord is well known in the Christian world, and yet among Christians in the next life little thought takes place regarding the Lord. Indeed His Humanity is to many people a stumbling-block, for they distinguish the Human from the Divine and do not believe that it is Divine. A person will declare himself to be righteous and so made pure and almost sanctified; but to the idea that the Lord has been glorified, that is, His Human has been made Divine, they do not give any thought. But in fact He was conceived from Jehovah Himself, and in any case nobody can be made righteous, let alone be sanctified, except from the Divine, and especially from the Lord's Divine Human, which is represented and meant in the Holy Supper, where it is explicitly stated that the bread is His body and the wine His blood.

[8] The truth that the Lord is one with the Father and that He has existed from eternity, rules over all, and so is Divine Good itself and Divine Truth itself, is quite clear from the Word:

The Lord is One with the Father In John,

Nobody has ever seen God; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, [He has made Him known.] John 1:18.

In the same gospel,

The Jews sought to kill Jesus because He had called God His Father, making Himself equal to God. Jesus answered and said, Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything by Himself except what He will have seen the Father doing, for that which He does the Son also does likewise. For as the Father raises the dead and quickens them, so also does the Son quicken whom He will. For the Father does not judge anyone, but has given all judgement to the Son, so that all may honour the Son even as they honour the Father. He who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent Him. As the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son also to have life in Himself. The Father who sent Me has Himself borne witness to Me. You have never heard His voice nor seen His shape. Search the Scriptures; it is they that bear witness to Me. John 5:18-39.

'The Father' is used here, as has been stated, to mean the Divine Good and 'the Son' the Divine Truth, both being within the Lord. From Divine Good, which is 'the Father', nothing but what is Divine is able to proceed or come forth, and that which proceeds or comes forth is Divine Truth, which is 'the Son'.

[9] In the same gospel,

Everyone who has heard from the Father and has learned comes to Me. No one has seen the Father except Him who is with the Father, He has seen the Father. John 6:44-48.

In the same gospel,

They said to Him, Where is your Father? Jesus answered, You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me you would know My Father also. John 8:18-19.

In the same gospel,

I and the Father are one. Even though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father. John 10:30, 38.

In the same gospel,

Jesus said, He who believes in Me believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me; and he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. I have come as light into the world in order that everyone who believes in Me may not remain in darkness. John 12:44-46.

'The Father sent Him' means in the internal sense that He proceeds from the Father. This is so in this and other places where the Lord says that the Father sent Him. 'Light' means Divine Truth, see above.

[10] In the same gospel,

I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but by Me. If you know Me you know My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him. Philip said to Him, Lord, show us the Father. Jesus said, Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father. So why do you say, Show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak from Myself, the Father who dwells in Me, He does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. Whatever you ask in My name I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. John 14:6-11, 13.

In the same gospel,

He who has My commandments and does them, he it is who loves Me; but he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him. If anyone loves Me he will keep My word, and My father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. John 14:21, 23.

[11] Those governed by Divine Truth are meant by the ones who 'have His commandments and do them', while those governed by Divine Good are meant by the ones who 'love Him'. This is why it is said that 'he will be loved by the Father', and 'We will come to him and make Our home with him', that is to say, Divine Good and Divine Truth will come and dwell in him. It is also the reason why the following is said in the same chapter,

On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me. John 14:20.

And elsewhere in the same gospel,

Holy Father, keep them in Your name, that they may be one as We are one. John 17:11.

From these places it is clear that the Lord talks of the Father by virtue of the Divine Good that is His, and of the Son by virtue of the Divine Truth which springs from the Divine Good. And so they are not two but one. The Lord spoke in this fashion however in order that the Word might be received both on earth and in heaven, and also because prior to His glorification the Lord was Divine truth that sprang from Divine Good, but once He had been glorified He was as to both Essences Divine Good itself in which all Divine Good and Divine Truth have their origin.

[12] The Lord has existed from Eternity

This becomes clear from the fact that it was the Lord who spoke through the prophets, and that both for this reason and the fact that Divine Truth came from Him He was called the Word, which is spoken of in John,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the Only Begotten from the Father. John 1:1-4, 14.

'The Word' stands for all truth in heaven and on earth which comes from the Divine.

[13] His existence from eternity is explicitly taught by Him elsewhere in John,

John said, This was He who though coming after me was before me, for He was before me. Among you stands one whom you do not know. He it is who is to come after me, who was before me. John 1:15, 26-27, 30.

In the same gospel,

What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? John 6:62.

In the same gospel,

Jesus said, Truly, truly, I say to you, Before Abraham was, I am. John 8:58.

In the same gospel,

He knew that He had come from God and was going to God. John 13:3.

In the same gospel,

The Father Himself loves you because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world; again I am leaving the world and am going to the Father. John 16:27-28.

In the same gospel,

I have glorified You on earth; I have accomplished the work which You gave Me to do. Now therefore, Father, glorify Me in Your Own Self with the glory I had with You before the world was, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me, because You loved Me before the foundation of the world. John 17:4-5, 24.

In Isaiah,

To us a Boy is born, to us a Son is given; and His name will be called Wonderful Counsellor, God, Hero, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6.

[14] The Lord rules over All

This is clear in Matthew,

All things have been delivered to Me by My Father. Matthew 11:27.

In the same gospel, Jesus said to the disciples, All power in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Matthew 28:18.

In John,

The Father has given all things into the hand of the Son. He who believes in the Son has eternal life. John 3:35-36.

The Father does not judge anyone, but has given all judgement to the Son. John 5:22.

In the same gospel,

Jesus knew that the Father had given all things into His hands. John 13:3.

In the same gospel, All that the Father has is Mine. John 16:15.

In the same gospel,

Jesus said, Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him power over all flesh. John 17:1-2.

In the same gospel,

All Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. I am no longer in the world, for I am coming to You. John 17:10-11.

In Luke,

All things have been delivered to Me by My Father. Luke 10:22.

[15] From all these places it is clear that it is Divine Good which is called 'the Father' and Divine Truth 'the Son', and that the Lord governs every single thing in all creation from Divine Good by means of Divine Truth. This being so, manifestly so from the Word, it is astounding that people in the Christian world know and teach that the whole of the Trinity resides in the Lord, and yet they do not, as those in heaven do, acknowledge and adore the Lord alone, and so one God. The truth that the Holy Spirit, who also is worshipped as God distinct and separate from Father and Son, is the holiness of the spirit - or the holiness that proceeds from the Lord through spirits or angels, that is, from His Divine Good through the Divine Truth - will in the Lord's Divine mercy be made plain elsewhere.