The Bible

 

Matthew 7:1

Study

       

1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.

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 #6050

Study this Passage

  
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6050. 'Both we and our fathers' means that this was so from when the earliest forms of good existed. This is clear from the meaning of 'fathers' as forms of good, dealt with in 2803, 3703, 3704, 5581, 5902. Consequently the fact that they were keepers of livestock as their fathers had been means from when the earliest forms of good existed. There are in addition many other places in the Word where 'fathers' is not used in the internal sense to mean Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but members of the Ancient Church, who were governed by good.

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