14. In the Divine-Human One, reality and its manifestation are both distinguishable and united. Wherever there is reality, there is its manifestation: the one does not occur without the other. In fact, reality exists through its manifestation, and not apart from it. Our rational capacity grasps this when we ponder whether there can be any reality that does not manifest itself, and whether there can be any manifestation except from some reality. Since each occurs with the other and not apart from it, it follows that they are one entity, but "distinguishably one."

They are distinguishably one like love and wisdom. Further, love is reality and wisdom is its manifestation. Love occurs only in wisdom, and wisdom only from love. So love becomes manifest when it is in wisdom. These two are one entity in such a way that although they can be distinguished in thought they cannot be distinguished in fact; and since they can be distinguished in thought and not in fact, we refer to them as "distinguishably one."

Reality and its manifestation are also distinguishably one in the Divine-Human One the way soul and body are. A soul does not occur without its body, nor a body without its soul. The divine soul of the Divine-Human One is what we mean by the divine reality, and the divine body of the Divine-Human One is what we mean by the divine manifestation.

The notion that a soul can exist and think and be wise without a body is an error that stems from deceptive appearances. Every soul is in a spiritual body after it has cast off the material skin that it carried around in this world.

These two Latin words mean literally “to be” and “to exist”.

Swedenborg translators sometimes leave them in Latin, but they have also been translated as “being” and “manifestation”.

We can sort of think of esse and existere separately, but they are always conjoined. If there is something real, you have to be able to attach qualities to it, and if you can find qualities there has to be something to hold them. (This is true in fiction and imagination as well if you think about it.) When thinking about the Lord, His esse or being is the infinite Divine love and His existere or manifestation is the infinite Divine wisdom. Both are reflected throughout creation.

(References: Apocalypse Explained 795; Arcana Coelestia 1432, 3299, 5041, 5272 [2], 6880, 9809; Divine Love and Wisdom 14-17-18-22, 55; The Apocalypse Explained 1069 [2], 1111 [2]; True Christian Religion 18, 21)