2. The Faith of the New Heaven and the New Church, in its General Form, is this: The Lord from eternity, who is Jehovah, came into the world that He might subdue the hells and glorify His Human; without this no man could have been saved; and those are saved who believe on Him. 1
[2] This is said to be the general form of the faith, and faith in its general form enters into all its particulars. It is a general article of faith that God is one in Essence and in Person, in whom is the Divine Trinity, and that He is the Lord God the Savior Jesus Christ. It is a general article of faith that no man could have been saved unless the Lord had come into the world. It is a general article of faith that He came into the world in order to remove hell from man, which He accomplished by victory in combats against it. He thus subdued it, and reduced it to a state of order and obedience to Himself. It is a general article of faith that He came into the world to glorify His Human, which He assumed in the world; that is, to unite it with the Divine, from whom it came. By this means He keeps hell in order and under obedience to Himself for ever. Since this could not have been done unless He had permitted temptations to assail His Human, even the most extreme - the passion of the Cross, therefore that also He endured. These are the general articles of faith concerning the Lord.
[3] The general form of faith on the part of man is that the should believe on the Lord; for belief on Him brings about conjunction with Him, and consequently salvation. To believe on Him is to have confidence that he saves; and since no one can have this confidence except the man who lives a good life, therefore this also is understood by believing on Him. This the Lord says in John:
"This is the will of the Father, that every one that believeth on the Son may have eternal life" 6:40.
And in another place:
"He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life; but he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him"3:36.
Footnotes:
1. English convention would not allow the apparently indiscriminate use of capitals by Swedenborg to be followed in translation. Their use is followed only in those cases which would appear to conform to English practice:
1. Proper names; also the Demonstrative Pronoun He, His, Him; and the Reflexive and Emphatic Himself, when used of God.
2. Terms used to designate subjects for consideration.
3. Terms forming headings to chapters and sections.
4. Capitals are used to distinguish between attributes, qualities and activities Divine and human. The initial capital is used when the reference of the term Human is to the Lord, but not when the reference is to man.
