1. 1장. 보편적 성경은 주님을 다루고 있으며 주님은 말씀이시다.

요한복음에는 다음과 같은 말씀이 있다.

태초에 말씀이 계시니라 말씀이 하나님과 함께 계셨으니 하나님은 말씀이시라 말씀이 태초에 하나님과 함께 계셨고 만물이 그로 말미암아 지은바 되었으니 지은 것이 하나도 그가 없이는 된 것이 없느니라 그 안에 생명이 있었으니 이 생명은 사람들의 빛이라 빛이 어두움에 비취되 어두움이 깨닫지 못하더라. (요한복음 1:1-5)

말씀이 육신이 되어 우리 가운데 거하시매 우리가 그 영광을 보니 아버지의 독생자의 영광이요 은혜와 진리가 충만하더라(요한복음 1:14)

빛이 세상에 왔으니 사람들이 자기 행위가 악하므로 빛보다 어두움을 더 사랑한 것이니라(요한복음 3:19)

너희에게 아직 빛이 있을 동안에 빛을 믿으라 그리하면 빛의 아들이 되리라 나는 빛으로 세상에 왔나니 무릇 나를 믿는 자로 어두움에 거하지 않게 하려 함이로다(요한복음 12:36, 46)

이 구절들로부터 주님은 영원 전부터 하나님이신 것과 이 하나님 세상에 오신 주님과 같은 분이라는 것이 분명하다. 말씀이 하나님과 함께 계셨고 하나님은 말씀이셨으며 지은 것이 하나도 그가 없이는 된 것이 없다고 했기 때문이다. 그뿐 아니라 말씀이 육신이 되어 우리가 그를 보았다고 했기 때문이다. 주님을 왜 말씀이라고 하는지 교회 안에서는 거의 모르고 있다. 그것은 말씀이 신적 진리 또는 신적 지혜를 뜻하며 주님은 신적 진리 자체 또는 신적 지혜 자체이시기 때문이다. 이런 이유 때문에 주님을 빛이라 하고 빛이 세상 에 왔다고 한 것이다.

신적 지혜와 신적 사랑은 하나를 이루며 영원부터 주님 안에서 하나였기 때문에 말씀에 이르기를, “그 안에 생명이 있었으니 이 생명은 사람들의 빛이라” 하였다. 생명은 하나님의 사랑이요 빛은 하나님의 지혜이다. “태초에 말씀이 하나님과 함께 계셨으니 하나님은 말씀이시라”고 한 것은 바로 이 하나를 뜻한다.

하나님과 함께라는 것은 하나님 안에 라는 뜻이다. 지혜는 사랑 안에 있으며 사랑은 지혜안에 있기 때문이다. 그래서 요한복음의 다른 곳에서는 이렇게 말했다.

아버지여 창세전에 내가 아버지와 함께 가졌던 영화로써 지금도 아버지와 함께 나를 영화롭게 하옵소서(요한복음 17:5)

나는 아버지 안에 있고 아버지는 내 안에 계신 것을 네가 믿지 아니하느냐 ? 내가 너희에게 이르는 말이 스스로 하는 것이 아니라 아버지께서 내 안에 계셔 그의 일을 하시는 것이라(요한복음 14:10)

나와 아버지는 하나이니라(요한복음 10:30)

“아버지와 함께”는 아버지 안에 있는 것을 뜻한다. 그래서 “하나님 말씀”이라고 한 것이며 다른 곳에서는 주님은 아버지 안에 있고 아버지는 주님 안에 있어 주님과 아버지는 하나라고 한 것이다. 말씀은 신적 사랑에서 비롯한 신적 지혜이기 때문에 말씀은 여호와 하나님 자신이시며 지어진 모든 것을 만드신 주님이시다. 만물은 하나님의 지혜를 수단으로 하나님의 사랑으로부터 창조되었기 때문이다.

786. And his death stroke was healed. That this signifies the discordance apparently removed by means of assumed conjunctions of works with faith, is evident from the signification of a death stroke, as denoting discordance with the Word; for the same is here signified by a death stroke, as that just above by the head wounded unto death. That wounds in the Word signify such things as destroy the church, and the spiritual life of man, may be seen above (n. 584). And because doctrine from the Word constitutes the church, therefore when doctrine is not in accordance with the Word it is no longer a church, but a religious persuasion which counterfeits a church. The same also is evident from the signification of being healed, namely, the wound, as denoting that that disagreement was apparently removed by assumed conjunctions of works with faith. That this is signified by being healed, when by the death stroke is signified discordance with the Word, is evident without further deduction. Nevertheless that stroke is not healed, but only apparently removed. This will be seen in what follows.

First, something shall be said concerning the conjunctions of good works with faith as assumed by those who have believed themselves to be more acute and sagacious than the rest, and at the same time to be endowed with such gifts of intellect, that by reasonings from fallacies they can cause any falsity whatever to appear like truth. In order, however, that these subjects may be investigated, brought down to the apprehension, and afterwards unfolded, the conjunctions of good works with faith shall be here stated. Some of these are believed by the simple, and some invented by the learned, by which it appears as if that discordance with the Word were removed.

[2] 1. The most simple suppose that faith alone consists in believing those things that are in the Word, and which the doctrine of the church thence teaches.

2. The less simple do not know what faith alone is, but only that faith is the same as believing in what is to be done. Few of them make any distinction between believing and doing.

3. Others, indeed, suppose that faith produces good works, but do not think how it produces them.

4. Others think that faith in all cases precedes, and that good works come from it, or that they exist as fruit from a tree.

5. Some believe that the latter takes place from man by co-operation; some, on the contrary, that it is effected without such co-operation.

6. But because the doctrinal teaches that faith alone saves, without good works, therefore some take no account of good works, saying in their hearts, that all things that they do in the sight of God are good, and that evils are not seen by God.

7. But because deeds and works, also doing and working, are frequently mentioned in the Word, therefore, from the necessity of reconciling the Word with that dogma, they devise various modes of conjunction, which, however, are such that faith is kept by itself and works by themselves, in order that salvation may be in faith, and nothing of it in works.

8. Some conjoin faith with the endeavour to do good by those who have reached the last degree of justification; but they do this with an endeavour that derives nothing from man's Voluntary, which, on the contrary, is solely from influx or inspiration, because good from the Voluntary is, in itself, not good.

9. Some conjoin faith with the merit of the Lord, saying that this worketh in everything pertaining to man's life, while at the same time he is ignorant of it.

10. Some conjoin faith with moral good, and with civil good, which are to be done for the sake of life in the world, but not for the sake of eternal life. They also affirm that these goods are meant by the deeds and works, and by the doing and working, mentioned in the Word; and that, for the sake of the uses therein, good works are to be taught and preached before the laity, because they have no knowledge of the mysteries concerning the conjunction of faith and works; and some cannot comprehend them.

11. Many of the learned suppose that the conjunction of all things is in faith alone, that is to say, that in it are contained love to God, love towards the neighbour, the good of life, works, the Lord's merit, and God, besides what a man thinks concerning these things, and wills and does from himself.

12. It must be noted that still many other means of conjunction, in addition to the above, have been devised; and still more by the same persons in the spiritual world; for spiritual thought can range over innumerable things which transcend the power of natural thought.

I saw a certain one in the spiritual world devising more than a hundred methods to produce this conjunction, and in every one there was an advance in meditation from the beginning through the means, even to the end; but when he came to the end, and believed that he now saw the conjunction, he was enlightened, and he observed that the more interiorly he thought upon the subject, the more he separated faith from good works; and he did not conjoin them.

From these considerations it is evident what the methods of conjunction are which the learned, especially, have devised, by which the discordance of this dogma with the Word seems to be removed, and what is meant by the death stroke of the beast being healed.