Father in the Word means what is most interior, and in those things that are following the Lord's order, it means what is good. In the highest sense Father means the Lord Himself, the creator. In the generation of natural children it is the father who provides the soul or the most interior receptacle of life, and an internal heredity, and the mother who provides all of the substance that the soul uses to form its body, plus an external heredity. In this process the soul comes from the Lord through the father, and not from the father, since all life is from the Lord. The wise person calls the Lord his father and the church his mother because his interior loves come from the Lord, but are given form and actuality through the truths taught by the church. Those things thus brought forth are a person's spiritual "children". In the New Testament, when speaking of Jesus and the Father, what is meant is the outward manifestation with the divine itself as the soul inside. Because Jesus was born from a natural mother, He had a natural body and a natural Jewish heredity. Throughout his life as He was tempted by the hells, He slowly put off all he had from His mother and replaced it with what He had from Himself inside, the Father. In doing this he made himself one with the Father that was His inmost so He could truly say, "I and my Father are one".

4462. “把我们的妹子给有阳皮的人” 表除非能把教会的真理并良善与代表等同起来, 无视这些所表示的属灵实体. 这从 “阳皮” 的含义清楚可知, “阳皮” 是指外在代表, 标志着他们是教会的成员. 因此, 当区分属教会的人和不属教会的人时, 通常会提到割礼和阳皮. 因为 “割礼” 表示远离污秽的爱欲, 即远离自我之爱和尘世之爱, 还表示接受天上的爱, 也就是对主之爱和对邻之爱, 因而表示接受教会. 正因如此, 这些话表示对他们的宗教表象的接受, 因而表示像他们那样把教会的真理并良善与代表等同起来, 无视这些所表示的内在事物; 否则, 就和他们不一样, 正如下面这句话的意思, 即: “惟有一个条件才可以应允, 若你们和我们一样”. “割礼” 是洁除污秽爱欲的标志 (参看2039, 2632节), 那些陷入这些爱欲的人就被称为 “未受割礼的” (2049, 3412, 3413节).

如今几乎没有人知道割礼的具体含义, 因此必须说明这一点. 两性生殖器表示属于良善与真理的结合的事物; 不仅表示这些事物, 还实际对应于它们. 我在各章的末尾已说明, 人的所有器官和身体部位都与天上的属灵事物相对应, 因此也包括专门用来生育的器官和身体部位. 这些对应于良善与真理的婚姻, 婚姻之爱也是从该婚姻降下来的 (参看2618, 2727-2729, 2803, 3132, 4434节). 由于阳皮包着生殖器, 故在上古教会, 阳皮对应于对良善与真理的遮蔽; 而在古教会, 阳皮则对应于对良善与真理的玷污. 对属上古教会的人来说, 由于他是内在人, 故良善与真理能被遮蔽, 但不能被玷污; 而对属古教会的人来说, 由于他与其前任相比是外在人, 故良善与真理能被玷污, 因为进行玷污的, 是外在事物, 也就是外在的爱. 因此, 那些属上古教会的人对割礼一无所知, 唯有那些属古教会的人才知道.

割礼从古教会传播到许多民族; 它不是强加给亚伯拉罕及其后代的某种新东西, 只是一种被遗弃习俗的恢复; 对他的后代来说, 则成了属于教会的标志. 但这个民族既不知道, 也不想知道这个仪式表示什么, 因为他们唯独将宗教与代表, 即外在等同起来.

因此, 他们将所有未受割礼的人作为一个整体来定罪; 而事实上, 割礼仅仅是表现洁除对自己和世界之爱的一种标志. 那些洁除此爱的人就受了属灵的割礼, 经上说他们是 “给心行割礼”, 如摩西五经:

耶和华你的神必将必给你的心和你种的心行割礼, 好叫你尽心尽性爱耶和华你的神. (申命记 30:6)

又:

你们要给心上的阳皮行割礼, 不可再硬着颈项. (申命记 10:16)

耶利米书:

要开垦你们的荒地, 除去心上的阳皮. (耶利米书 4:3-4).

然而, 凡陷入自我之爱和尘世之爱的人都被称为 “未受割礼的”, 哪怕他们受过割礼; 如耶利米书:

看哪! 日子将到, 我要刑罚一切在阳皮上受过割礼的, 就是埃及, 犹大, 以东, 亚扪人, 摩押人和一切住在旷野剃周围头发的. 因为所有这些民族都没有受割礼, 以色列全家心中也没有受割礼. (耶利米书 9:25-26)

由此也明显可知, 许多其它民族受过割礼, 因为经上说: “我要刑罚一切在阳皮上受过割礼的”; 因此, 如前所述, 割礼并不是什么新鲜事, 或作为一个区分标志而仅限于雅各的后代. 非利士人没有受割礼, 故 “未受割礼的” 通常是指他们 (撒母耳记上 14:6; 17:26, 36; 31:4; 撒母耳记下 1:20等).