2982. 'In the land of Canaan' means which was a united whole in the Lord's kingdom. This is clear from the representation of 'the land of Canaan' as the Lord's kingdom, dealt with in 1413, 1437, 1585, 1607. With the Lord's Churches the position is that in ancient times many existed simultaneously. These differed from one another, as Churches do today, on matters of doctrine, but they still made one in that they acknowledged love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour as the chief and most essential thing. And so to them matters of doctrine existed not so much to guide their thought as to direct their lives. And when in every single respect love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour, that is, the good of life, is the essential thing, then no matter how many Churches there are they all make one, and each is a united whole in the Lord's kingdom. The same is also true of heaven. Although there are countless communities there, and each one is distinct and separate from the rest, they nevertheless all constitute one heaven because every one is moved by love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour.

[2] But the situation is altogether different in the case of Churches which say that faith is the essential thing of the Church, for they imagine that if they know this and think it, they are saved irrespective of whatever kind of life they lead. When this is the situation many Churches existing simultaneously do not make one Church; they are not even Churches. The good of faith is what makes the Church, that is, the life of love and charity in accordance with matters of faith make it. It is for the sake of life that matters of doctrine exist. This anyone may know, for why does any doctrine exist if not for some end in view? And what else is that end but life, that is, that a person may become as such doctrine teaches? Those Churches do indeed speak of saving faith as being trust, but that trust cannot possibly exist except within the good of life. Without the latter there is no receptivity, and when there is no receptivity there is no trust, except on occasions when the mind or body is sick and the desires that belong to self-love and love of the world are dormant. But with those who are leading an evil life, when this crisis is over or takes a different turn, that spurious trust disappears altogether; for trust can exist even with those who are evil. But if a person wishes to know what kind of trust he has, let him examine his affections and ends in view, and also the kind of life his actions reveal.

4988. 'That his lord's wife lifted up her eyes towards Joseph' means unspiritual natural truth wedded to natural good, and its perception. This is clear from the meaning of 'wife' as truth wedded to good, dealt with in 1468, 2517, 3236, 4510, 4823, and in this case as unspiritual natural truth wedded to natural good since that kind of truth and this kind of good are described - the good to which that truth is joined being meant here by 'lord', 4973; and from the meaning of 'lifting up the eyes' as thought, attention, and also perception, dealt with in 2789, 2829, 3198, 3202, 4339.

[2] 'Wife' in this instance means natural truth, but not natural truth that is spiritual, while her husband, to whom 'lord' refers here, means natural good, but not natural good that is spiritual. But some explanation is needed to show what is meant by natural good and truth that are not spiritual and what is meant by natural good and truth that are spiritual. With the human being, good has two different origins - one being heredity and consequently that which is adventitious, the other being the doctrine of faith and charity or, in the case of gentiles, their religious belief. Good arising from the first origin is unspiritual natural good, whereas good arising from the second is spiritual natural good. Truth too comes from a like origin, for all good has its own truth wedded to it.

[3] Natural good arising from the first origin, which is hereditary and consequently adventitious, bears many similarities to natural good arising from the second origin, which is the doctrine of faith and charity or some other set of religious beliefs. But those similarities are confined to outward appearances; inwardly the two are completely different. Natural good arising from the first origin may be compared to the good that is also present among living creatures of a gentle nature, whereas natural good arising from the second is peculiar to the human being who uses his reason when he acts, and who consequently knows how to administer what is good in different ways, in keeping with useful purposes that need to be served. These different ways in which good has to be administered are what the doctrine regarding what is right and fair teaches, and in a higher degree what the doctrine regarding faith and charity teaches; and in the case of people who are truly rational, reason also serves in many instances to corroborate what doctrine teaches.

[4] Those whose performance of good arises from the first origin are moved as if by blind instinct in their exercise of charity, whereas those whose performance of good arises from the second origin are moved by an inner sense of duty and so with their eyes so to speak fully open to what they are doing. In short, those whose performance of good arises from the first origin are not led by any conscientious regard for what is right and fair, still less by any such regard for spiritual truth and good; but those whose performance of good arises from the second origin are led by conscience. See what has been stated already on these matters in 3040, 3470, 3471, 3518, and what is said below in 4992. But what is involved in all this cannot possibly be explained intelligibly; for anyone who is not spiritual, that is, not regenerate, sees good from the point of view of the outward form it takes. He does this because he does not know what is meant by charity or by the neighbour; and the reason why he does not know this is that no doctrinal teachings regarding charity exist. Such matters can be seen very clearly in the light of heaven, and they can consequently be seen clearly by spiritual or regenerate persons because they dwell in the light of heaven.