The phrase of "as of self" in Swedenborgian theology refers to the idea that though we as human beings are recipients of life from the Divine, our life must seem to us to be our very own so that we can have freedom and use reason in order to live as of ourselves. The freedom and reason we have isn't fully implanted in us, but it is continually joined to us. In power, origin, and inspiration it is Divine, but it is human in use. We exercise this ability when we act in all areas of life entirely as of ourselves, yet at the same time we should acknowledge that our life, as well as any truth we apply or good that results, is from the Lord.

The Lord gives us this "as of self" ability, so that we may have freedom, and thus have the chance to freely return His love. It keeps us from being robots, or slaves. We can receive and use the Lord's power, feeling that it is ours - making it real. At the same time, we can - in fact we need to - acknowedge that it isn't actually coming from us. This acknowledgment is critical; without it, a person will forget the idea of God, and depend only on self, which leads to pride, arrogance, and, eventually, hell.

The "as of self" doctrine is important. It shows how people can be spiritually free, and responsible for their regeneration, even though they can’t do any good from themselves.

(References: A Brief Explanation of the Teachings of the New Church 69; Apocalypse Revealed 224; Arcana Coelestia 1712 [2], [3]; Conjugial Love 134, 135; Divine Love and Wisdom 115; Divine Providence 42, 79; The Doctrine of Life for the New Jerusalem 101)

69. That man, in his conversion, is like a stock, is acknowledged by the faith of the present Church as its own offspring in these definite words. Man is altogether impotent in spiritual things,15(a, b, c). In conversion, man is like a stock, stone or statue, and he cannot so much as accommodate and apply himself to receive grace, but is like something that has not the use of any of the senses,15(c, d). Man has only the power of motion whereby he is capable of going to church to hear the Word and the Gospel,15(e); yet a person who is regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit does co-operate to a certain extent by means of the new powers and gifts which he has received,15(k); besides many other statements. This description of man in his conversion, and during his repentance from evil works, is also an offspring produced from the aforesaid egg or womb; that is, from justification by faith alone; to the intent that man's works may be totally abolished and may not unite themselves with faith by the least contact.

[2] But because these notions are repugnant to the common perception of all men concerning man's conversion and repentance, this statement has been added: "There is a wide difference between persons baptized and persons unbaptized; for it is the doctrine of Paul that all who are baptized have put on Christ, and are truly reborn. They are then endowed with freedom of will whereby they not only hear the Word of God, but can also truly assent to the same, and embrace it by faith,"15(m); also in the Formula Concordiae, p. 675, I appeal to the wise to consider whether this passage is at all consistent with the preceding ones, and whether it is not a contradiction to say that any Christian in a state of conversion is like a stock or a stone, so that he is not able so much as to accommodate himself to the reception of grace, when yet every Christian has been baptized, and by baptism has the power of not only hearing the Word of God but also of assenting to it and embracing it in faith. Wherefore, the comparison of a Christian to a stock or a stone should be banished from all Christian churches, and dispersed as a phantom appearing to a man is dispersed when he awakens from sleep; for what is more repugnant to reason than this idea?

[3] But, in order to elucidate what the New Church teaches concerning man's conversion, I will transcribe the following passage from one of the memorable experiences in the THE APOCALYPSE REVEALED ¹ .

Who does not see that every man has liberty to think about God, or not to think about Him; thus, that every man has the same liberty in spiritual matters as he has in civil and moral affairs? The Lord gives this liberty continually to everyone, wherefore man becomes a culprit and is guilty according to the way he thinks. Man is man by virtue of this ability, whereas a beast is a beast from lack of it. Wherefore, man is able to reform and regenerate himself as of himself, provided only that he acknowledges in his heart that it is done from the Lord. Everyone who does the work of repentance is reformed and regenerated. Man must accomplish each of these works as of himself, but this 'as of himself' is also from the Lord because the Lord gives both the will and the ability, never taking them away from anyone. It is true that man cannot contribute anything thereto; nevertheless, he is not created a statue, but a man who is to do the work of repentance from the Lord as of himself. This is the only return of love and faith, and of conjunction thereby, which the Lord constantly wills to be made to Himself by man. In a word, act from yourselves and believe that it is from the Lord, for in this way you act as if of yourselves.

But, in truth, to act thus was not imparted to man by creation, because to act of oneself belongs to the Lord alone; but it is given to man continually. And then, in so far as man does good and learns truth as of himself, he is an angel of heaven; but in so far as he does evil and confirms falsity, which also is done as of himself, to that extent he is a spirit of hell. That this latter conduct is also 'as of himself' is evident from his prayers that he may be preserved from the devil, lest he should seduce him and bring his own evils upon him. Everyone, however, who believes that he does either good or evil of himself incurs guilt; but he is not guilty who believes that he acts as of himself. For whatever a man believes he does of himself, he appropriates to himself; if he does good from this belief, he appropriates it to himself and makes it his own, when yet it is of God and from God; if it is evil that he does under this belief, he appropriates this to himself and makes it his own, when yet it is of the devil and from the devil.

I refrain from demonstrating in this epitome that there are many other false tenets, especially concerning the sacraments of baptism and the holy supper as to the principles of reason drawn from the doctrine of justification by faith alone respecting the benefits they confer, also as regards the Person of Christ; and that heresies from the first period of the Christian Church down to the present day, have flowed from the doctrine founded on the notion of three Gods. These points will be brought forward and demonstrated in the major work.

Footnotes:

135. After this they took the piece of paper and read the third topic for discussion, namely, what the tree of life symbolizes, what the tree of the knowledge of good and evil symbolizes, and what eating from them means. And they all asked the people on the east to explain this mystery, because it required a deeper understanding, and people who come from the east have a flaming light, that is to say, a wisdom that comes of love, which is the wisdom meant by the garden in Eden in which the two trees were placed.

The people on the east, then, replied, "We will speak. But because no one acquires anything from himself but from the Lord, we will speak from Him, though it will still seem to come from us as though it originated with us."

Then they said, "A tree symbolizes a person; and its fruit, goodness of life. The tree of life therefore symbolizes a person living from God, or God living in the person. And because love and wisdom and charity and faith or good and truth constitute the life of God in a person, the tree of life symbolizes these qualities, from which a person has eternal life. The tree of life which people will be given to eat from, in the book of Revelation, has a similar symbolism (Revelation 2:7, 22:2,14).

[2] "The tree of the knowledge of good and evil symbolizes a person believing that he lives on his own and not from God, thus that the love and wisdom, charity and faith, or good and truth in the person are his and not God's - believing this because he thinks and wills, and speaks and acts, in all likeness and appearance as if on his own. Because a person with this belief comes into the persuasion that God has introduced Himself or infused His Divinity into him, therefore the serpent said:

...God knows that in the day you eat (of the fruit of the tree) your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. (Genesis 3:5)

[3] "Eating from the two trees symbolizes acquisition and assimilation. Eating from the tree of life symbolizes acquisition of eternal life, and eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil symbolizes acquisition of damnation. Therefore Adam and his wife were both cursed along with the serpent. The serpent means the devil in respect to self-love and pride in its own intelligence. This love takes possession of the tree, and people who are caught up in pride as a result of that love are the trees it possesses.

"People fall into an enormous error, therefore, who believe that Adam was wise and did good from his own nature, and that this was his state of integrity, when Adam himself was cursed for precisely that belief. For this is what is symbolized by his eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That was why he then fell from his state of integrity, which he had had as a result of his believing that he was wise and did good from God and not from himself, for that is what is meant by his eating from the tree of life.

"The Lord alone, when He was in the world, was wise of Himself and did good of Himself, because the Divine itself was in Him and was His from birth. Consequently He also became Redeemer and Savior by His own power."

[4] On the basis of these remarks and explanations, the people formed the following conclusion:

"The tree of life, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and eating from them," they said, "symbolize that the source of life for man is to have God in him, and that he then gains heaven and eternal life. On the other hand, the source of death for man is the persuasion and belief that the source of life for man is not God but himself, on which account he gains hell and eternal death, which is damnation."