625. Verse 12 And God saw the earth ¹ and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth' 'God saw the earth ¹ ' means God's knowledge of man. 'It was corrupt' means that there was nothing but falsity. 'For all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth ¹ ' means that man's bodily-mindedness destroyed all understanding of truth.

Footnotes:

50. The Church’s Doctrine Must Be Drawn from the Word’s Literal Sense and Verified by It

In the preceding section we showed that in its literal sense the Word is in its fullness, in its holiness, and in its power. And because the Lord embodies the Word — inasmuch as He is the totality of the Word — it follows that the Lord is most present in that sense, and that He teaches and enlightens a person in the light of it.

This, however, needs to be demonstrated according to the following outline:

1. The Word is not understood apart from doctrine.

2. Doctrine must be drawn from the Word’s literal sense.

3. However, Divine truth, of which doctrine ought to consist, is apparent only to people who are enlightened by the Lord.