The Bible

 

Matthew 7

Study

   

1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.

2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?

10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?

11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:

29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

   

Commentary

 

Good

  
To Charity, by João Zeferino da Costa

It seems rather circular to say that “good” in the Bible represents good, but in a general sense it's true! The case is this: The Lord is love itself given form and expression as wisdom itself, and that Divine Love and Divine Wisdom flow down into us, into the world and into the Bible in an unending stream with endless variety. Divine Love gives rise to our loves, our affections, our desires for good and the joy we can feel; Divine Wisdom gives rise to facts, knowledge, intelligence, understanding and human wisdom. And the more we can bring those two aspects of our lives into harmony, the more elevated we can become -- which will in turn make us happier, more useful, and ultimately more angelic.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #8328

Study this Passage

  
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8328. 'The place for You to dwell in' means where the Lord is. This is clear from the meaning of 'the place' as a state, dealt with just above in 8325, at this point a state of good originating in the Divine since it is used to mean heaven; and from the meaning of 'Jehovah's dwelling-place' or 'for You to dwell in' as where the Lord is. For 'dwelling in' has reference to good, see 2712, 3613; 'Jehovah's dwelling-place' means good and consequently heaven, 8269, 8309; and 'Jehovah' in the Word means the Lord, see above in 8261. The Lord refers many times to 'the Father who is in the heavens', and when He does so the Divine within heaven is meant, and so the good from which heaven exists. Considered by Himself the Divine is above the heavens; but the Divine within the heavens is the Good present within the Truth that emanates from the Divine. This is what 'Father in the heavens' is used to mean, in Matthew,

... so that you may be sons of the Father who is in the heavens.... so that you may be perfect, as your Father who is in the heavens is perfect. Matthew 5:44, 48; 6:1.

Our Father who is in the heavens, may Your name be kept holy. Matthew 6:9. ... he who does the will of the Father who is in the heavens. Matthew 7:21.

And in addition, Matthew 10:32-33; 16:17; 18:10, 14, 19.

[2] The Divine within the heavens is Good within Divine Truth which emanates from the Lord; but the Divine above the heavens is Divine Good itself. 'The place for You to dwell in' means heaven where Divine Truth emanating from the Lord resides; for this Truth composes heaven and is meant by 'Father in the heavens', and it exists there as the good which constitutes the life of those who are in heaven. Light may be shed on this, on how Divine Truth which emanates from the Lord becomes good in heaven, by comparison with the sun and the light radiating from it. Inwardly the sun is fire, but the radiation from the sun is light. This light holds within itself heat which causes gardens to grow and become paradise-like. The actual fire of the sun does not pass over to the planet, for it would scorch and burn everything up; rather, light in which heat is present flows from the fire of the sun. In the spiritual sense that light is Divine Truth, its heat is the good within Truth springing from Divine Good, and the paradise it produces is heaven.

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