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".

8294. “我要拔出剑来” 表邪恶所生虚假那一方的不断争战. 这从 “剑” 和 “拔出” 或 “露出” 它的含义清楚可知: “剑” 是指与虚假和邪恶争战的真理, 在反面意义上与真理和良善争战的虚假 (参看2799, 4499节); “拔出” 或 “露出” 它是指不断争战, 直到仇敌被打垮. 在以下经文中, “出鞘” 或 “拔出” 的 “剑” 也表示不断争战:

我要把你们散在列族中, 我也要拔剑追赶你们. (利未记 26:33)

以西结书:

我必将他所有的部队分散四风, 也要拔剑追赶他们. (以西结书 12:14)

又:

耶和华如此说, 看哪, 我要攻击你, 并要拔剑出鞘, 从你中间将义人和恶人一并剪除. 我的剑要出鞘, 自南至北攻击一切有血气的. 一切有血气的就知道我耶和华已经拔剑出鞘, 剑必不再回鞘. (以西结书 21:3-5)

此处 “出鞘” 或 “拔剑” 表示不停止争战, 直到仇敌被打垮; 因而表示不断争战. 与邪恶和虚假的不断争战也由约书亚在进入迦南地时所看见的耶和华军队元帅拔出鞘的剑 (约书亚记 5:13, 14) 来表示, 以此表示他们要与那里的各民族交战, 并毁灭他们. 那时占据迦南地的各民族表示那些在主降临之前占据天堂区域的人, 这些区域后来被赐给主的属灵国度的成员 (6914, 8054节).