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約翰福音 1

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1 太初有道,道與神同在,道就是神。

2 這道太初與神同在。

3 萬物是藉著他造的;凡被造的,沒有一樣不是藉著他造的。

4 生命在他裡頭,這生命就是人的光。

5 在黑暗裡,黑暗卻不接受光。

6 有一個人,是從神那裡差來的,名叫約翰。

7 這人來,為要作見證,就是為光作見證,叫眾人因他可以信。

8 他不是那光,乃是要為光作見證。

9 那光是真光,照亮一切生在世上的人。

10 他在世界世界也是藉著他造的,世界卻不認識他。

11 他到自己的地方來,自己的人倒不接待他。

12 凡接待他的,就是信他名的人,他就賜他們權柄,作神的兒女。

13 這等人不是從血氣生的,不是從情慾生的,也不是從人意生的,乃是從神生的。

14 道成了肉身,住在我們中間,充充滿滿的有恩典有真理。我們也見過他的榮光,正是父獨生子的榮光。

15 約翰為他作見證,喊著:「這就是我曾:『那在我以後的,反成了在我以前的,因他本在我以前。』」

16 從他豐滿的恩典裡,我們都領受了,而且恩上加恩。

17 律法本是藉著摩西傳的;恩典和真理都是由耶穌基督來的。

18 從來沒有人看見神,只有在父懷裡的獨生子將他表明出來。

19 約翰所作的見證記在下面:猶太人從耶路撒冷差祭司和利未人到約翰那裡,問他說:「你是誰?」

20 他就明,並不隱瞞,明:「我不是基督。」

21 他們又問他:「這樣,你是誰呢?是以利亞嗎?」他:「我不是。」「是那先知嗎?」他回答:「不是。」

22 於是他們:「你到底是誰,叫我們好回覆差我們來的人。你自己,你是誰?」

23 :「我就是那在曠野有人聲喊著:『修直主的道路』,正如先知以賽亞所的。」

24 那些人是法利賽人差來的(或作:那差來的是法利賽人);

25 他們就問他:「你既不是基督,不是以利亞,也不是那先知,為甚麼施洗呢?」

26 約翰回答說:「我是用水施洗,但有一位站在你們中間,是你們不認識的,

27 就是那在我以後的,我給他解鞋帶也不配。」

28 這是在約但河外伯大尼(有古卷:伯大巴喇),約翰施洗的地方作的見證。

29 次日,約翰看見耶穌到他那裡,就:「看哪,神的羔羊,除去(或譯:背負)世人罪孽的!

30 這就是我曾:『有一位在我以後、反成了在我以前的,因他本在我以前。』

31 我先前不認識他,如今我用水施洗,為要叫他顯明給以色列人。」

32 約翰又作見證說:「我曾看見聖靈,彷彿鴿子降下,住在他的身上。

33 我先前不認識他,只是那差我來用水施洗的、對我:『你看見聖靈降下來,住在誰的身上,誰就是用聖靈施洗的。』

34 我看見了,就證明這是神的兒子。」

35 再次日,約翰同兩個門徒站在那裡。

36 他見耶穌行走,就:「看哪,這是神的羔羊!」

37 兩個門徒見他的話,就跟從了耶穌。

38 耶穌過身來,看見他們跟著,就問他們:「你們要甚麼?」他們:「拉比,在哪裡住?」(拉比翻出來就是夫子。)

39 耶穌:「你們看。」他們就去看他在那裡住,這一天便與他同住;那時約有申正了。

40 見約翰的話跟從耶穌的那兩個人,一個是西門彼得的兄弟安得烈。

41 他先找著自己的哥哥西門,對他:「我們遇見彌賽亞了。」(彌賽亞繙出來就是基督。)

42 於是領他去見耶穌。耶穌看著他,:「你是約翰的兒子西門(約翰在馬太16:17稱約拿),你要稱為磯法。」(磯法翻出來就是彼得。)

43 又次日,耶穌想要往加利利去,遇見腓力,就對他:「來跟從我吧。」

44 這腓力是伯賽大人,和安得烈、彼得同城。

45 腓力找著拿但業,對他摩西在律法上所寫的和眾先知所記的那一位,我們遇見了,就是約瑟的兒子拿撒勒人耶穌。」

46 拿但業對他:「拿撒勒還能出甚麼好的嗎?」腓力:「你看!」

47 耶穌看見拿但業,就指著他:「看哪,這是個真以色列人,他心裡是沒有詭詐的。」

48 拿但業對耶穌:「你從哪知道我呢?」耶穌回答:「腓力還沒有招呼你,你在無花果樹底,我就看見你了。」

49 拿但業:「拉比,你是神的兒子,你是以色列的王!」

50 耶穌對他:「因為我『在無花果樹底看見你』,你就信嗎?你將要看見比這更大的事」;

51 :「我實實在在地告訴你們,你們將要看見開了,神的使者上去下來在人子身上。」

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Divine Wisdom #2

  
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2. [70.] II. THE LORD HAS CREATED WITH EVERY ONE A RECEPTACLE FOR LOVE, NAMELY HIS WILL, AFTERWARDS EFFECTING THE FORMATION OF IT WITH HIM, AND ADJOINING TO IT A RECEPTACLE FOR WISDOM, NAMELY HIS UNDERSTANDING

As the two things, Love and Wisdom, are in the Lord and proceed forth from Him, and as man has been created to be a likeness and image of Him - a likeness through love, and an image through wisdom - therefore two receptacles have been created with man, one for love, the other for wisdom. The receptacle for love is what is called "the Will," and the receptacle for wisdom is what is called "the Understanding". A man knows that these two are in him, but he does not know that they are conjoined in the same way as they are conjoined in the Lord, with this difference that in the Lord they are Life, whereas in man they are receptacles of life. What the forms of those receptacles are like cannot be unfolded, those forms being spiritual and spiritual things transcending the things of this world. They are forms within forms up to a third degree, 1 an innumerable quantity of them, distinct from one another, yet in harmony with one another, each one being a receptacle for love and wisdom. The originator forms are in the brains and are the starting-points and heads there of the nerve-fibres, along which their efforts and forces flow down to all the organs in the body, both the more excellent and the less excellent, giving rise to sensation in the sensory organs, to motion in the motor organs, and, in the other organs, to the functions of nutrition, chyle-formation, blood formation, separation, purification and reproduction, thus giving rise in each one to its own use.

These things having been premised, it is now to be seen that

(1) these forms, the receptacles for love and wisdom, first come into existence with man when conceived and being developed in the womb,

(2) from these forms are drawn out and produced in a connected series every part of the body from the head to the soles of the feet,

(3) the production of these is effected in accordance with the laws of Correspondence, and consequently every part of the body, internal and external, is a correspondent.

[2] [71.] (1) That these forms, the receptacles for love and wisdom, first come into existence with man when conceived and being developed in the womb, can be established from practical knowledge and confirmed by reason.

From practical knowledge: From the first stages of the embryo's development in the womb after conception, and also from the first stages of the chick's development in the egg after sitting commences. The first forms themselves are not visible to the eye, but only the parts they first produce, constituting the head. It is well known that the head at first is relatively larger and that from it is put forth the web for every part of the body. It can be seen from this that those forms are the starting points.

By reason: Because all creating is from the Lord as a Sun, He being Divine Love and Divine Wisdom, and it is by the operation of these that the creating of man is effected. The forming of the embryo, and so of a human infant, in the womb is like a creating. It is termed "generation," because it is effected by a bringing across (traductio). Hence it follows that with man specially the first forms are receptacles of love and wisdom, and that the creating of everything else constituting a human being is effected by means of them. Besides, no effect comes forth from itself but from a prior cause, called the effecting cause, and neither does this come forth from itself but from the cause called "end," within which there is, both in effort and in idea, everything that follows-in effort in the Divine Love, in idea in the Divine Wisdom, these being the End of ends. This truth will be more fully established from things that follow.

[2] [3] [72.] (2) That from these forms are drawn out and produced in a connected series every part of the body from the head to the soles of the feet, can also be established from practical knowledge and confirmed by reason.

From practical knowledge: Because from those primitive forms nerve-fibres are drawn out to the sensory organs of the face, the eyes, ears, nose and tongue: also to the motor organs, namely, the muscles, throughout the body: likewise to all parts of the visceral system fulfilling various functions in the body. All these organs are nothing else than structures woven out of the fibres and nerves issuing forth from the two brains and from the spinal marrow. The very blood-vessels, out of which also the structures are formed, are likewise woven out of fibres from the same source. Any one skilled in anatomy can see that there are, round about the cerebrum as well as inside it, and in the cerebellum and in the spinal marrow, small spheres like little particles, termed cortical and cineritious substances and glands; and that every one of the nerve-fibres in the brains, and all the nerves composed of them throughout the body, issue and go forth from those small spheres or substances; these latter are the initial forms from which every part of the body from head to foot is drawn out and produced.

By reason: Because there could be no nerve-fibres without originating sources; and because the organic structures of the body, composed of the fibres variously woven together, are effects, unable to live, feel and move of themselves, but doing so from the sources originating them, through the continuum they together form. This may be illustrated by examples. The eye does not see of itself, but does so from the Understanding, through this continuum: it is the Understanding that sees, by means of the eye: it is the Understanding, too, that moves the eye, directs it to different objects and sharpens the sight. Neither does the ear hear of itself, but does so from the Understanding, through this continuum: it is the Understanding that hears, by means of the ear: it directs it, too, makes it attentive and adjusts it to different sounds. The tongue, again, does not speak of itself, but does so from the Understanding's thought. It is the thought that speaks, by means of the tongue, changing the sounds and heightening their inflexions at will. The same with the muscles: they do not move of themselves: it is the Will together with the Understanding that moves them and sets them in action as it wishes. It is clear from these examples that nothing in the body feels or moves of itself, but does so from the sources originating it, where the Will and Understanding reside, which consequently in man are the receptacles for love and wisdom; it is clear, too, that these are the first forms, the sensory and motor organs being forms derived from them; for influx follows the same course that formation has taken, there being no influx from the organs into the first forms, but from the first forms into the organs. This latter influx is spiritual influx, whereas the other is natural, or, as it is also termed, physical influx.

[3] [4] [73.] (3) The production of these is effected in accordance with the laws of Correspondence, and consequently every part of the body, internal and external, is a correspondent. Hitherto no one in the world has known what "Correspondence" is, because no one has known what the "spiritual" is, and Correspondence exists between what is natural and what is spiritual. Whenever anything derived from what is spiritual as its origin and cause, is made visible and perceptible before the senses, then there is Correspondence between them. Such correspondence exists between the spiritual and natural things in man: the spiritual things are all things of his love and wisdom, consequently all things of his Will and Understanding, and the natural things are all things of his body. These latter, because they have come into existence from the former and continue to draw their existence from them, that is, to subsist therefrom, are correspondents, and in consequence, the two act as one, just as end, cause and effect do. Thus, the face acts as one with the affections of the lower mind (animus), 2 the speech acts as one with the thought, and the actions of every member act as one with the Will; similarly with the rest of the body. The universal law in regard to correspondences is that the spiritual thing conditions itself for the use that is its end in view, and then, by means of heat and light, actuates the use and regulates it, and clothes it with intermediary things provided for that purpose, so that finally a form is created serving the end in view. In that form, what is spiritual occupies the position of "end," the use the position of "cause," and what is natural the position of "effect"; in the spiritual world, however, what is substantial is in place of what is natural. All things in man are forms of this description.

[5] More about Correspondence can be seen in the work HEAVEN AND HELL, Nos. 87-102, 103-115: and about various correspondences in ARCANA CAELESTIA, namely, the correspondence of the face and its expressions with the affections of the mind, Nos. 1568, 2988-2989, 3631, 4796-4797, 4800, 5165, 5168, 5695, 9306: the correspondence of the body in posture and action with intellectual and voluntary things, Nos. 2988, 3632, 4215: the correspondence of the

Senses in general, Nos. 4318-4330;

Eyes and sight, Nos. 4403-4420;

Nose and smell, Nos. 4624-4634;

Ears and hearing, Nos. 4652-4660;

Tongue and taste, Nos. 4791-4805;

Hands, arms, shoulders and feet, Nos. 4931-4953;

Loins and organs of generation, Nos. 5050-5062;

Viscera inside the body, in particular the stomach, the thymus gland, and the receptacle and ducts of the chyle, Nos. 5171-5189;

Spleen, No. 9698;

Peritonaeum, kidneys and bladder, Nos. 5377-5396;

Skin and bones, Nos. 5552-5573;

Xiphoid (or ensiform) cartilage, No. 9236;

Memory of abstract things, No. 6808;

Memory of material things, No. 7253:

The correspondence of heaven with man, Nos. 911, 1900, 1928, 2996, 2998, 3634, 3636-3643, 3741-3745, 3884, 4041, 4279, 4523-4524, 4625, 6013, 6057, 9279, 9632: the knowledge of correspondences with the ancients was the chief of knowledges, specially with the orientals, though it has at the present day become completely lost, Nos. 3021, 3419, 3472-3485, 4280, 4749, 4844, 4964, 4966, 5702, 6004, 6692, 7097, 7729, 7779, 9391, 10252, 10407: without a knowledge of correspondences the Word is not understood, Nos. 2890-2893, 2987-3003, 3213-3227, 3472-3485, 8615, 10687: all things seen in the heavens are correspondents, Nos. 1521, 1532, 1619-1625, 1807-1808, 1971, 1974, 1977, 1980-1981, 2299, 2601, 3213-3226, 3348, 3350, 3475, 3485, 3745, 9481, 9575-9577: all things in the natural world and its three kingdoms correspond to all things in the spiritual world, Nos. 1632, 1881, 2758, 2890-2893, 2987-3003, 3213-3227, 3483, 3624-3649, 4044, 4053, 4116, 4366, 4939, 5116, 5377, 5428, 5477, 8211, 9280.

In addition to the above, the ARCANA CAELESTIA treats of the correspondence of the natural sense of the Word, which is its literal sense, with spiritual things which are the things of love and wisdom in the heavens from the Lord, these things constituting its internal sense: this correspondence, moreover, you may see confirmed in THE DOCTRINE OF THE NEW JERUSALEM CONCERNING THE SACRED SCRIPTURE, Nos. 5-26, and further on in THE DOCTRINE OF THE NEW JERUSALEM CONCERNING THE SACRED SCRIPTURE Nos. 27-69. To form an idea of the correspondence of the Will and Understanding, what has been said above may be consulted, HEAVEN AND HELL 366-367. 3

Footnotes:

1. Translator understands: three degrees, one within the other.

2. Swedenborg uses two Latin terms for "mind," mens and animus. The former is the higher level of the mind in which the Will and Understanding are rationally active; the latter is the lower level in which desires and ideas connected with the body and the world are active.

3. Probably Heaven and Hell.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.