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".

10286. “人若作与此相似的膏油” 表由人的狡猾所制造的神性事物的仿品. 这从 “作与此相似的” 和 “膏油” 的含义清楚可知: “作与此相似的” 是指模仿它; “膏油” 是指唯独属于主, 唯独来自主的神性真理 (参看10264节). 之所以表示由人的狡猾所制造的仿品, 是因为人对神性事物的一切模仿都是狡猾的产物. 此处的情形从前面的阐述和说明可以看出来 (10284节). 不过, 这一切可通过存在于灵人当中的一些事物来进一步说明. 他们当中那些将一切都归于运气和他们自己的精明, 丝毫不归于神性, 和在世时一样的人都知道如何利用各种方法去模仿神性事物. 因为他们能制造宫殿, 几乎和天堂里的宫殿一模一样; 还能制造林木种植园和田野乡村, 几乎与主为善灵所提供观看的一模一样; 他们能用华丽, 闪亮的衣裳来装饰自己; 事实上, 塞壬能使自己看上去几乎像天使一样美丽. 但这一切都一种涉及使用错觉或幻想的狡猾的产物. 然而, 他们所作能制造的这一切事物无论外表看上去多么相似, 内在仍是肮脏, 可憎的. 主也立刻将这一切显明给善灵, 因为若不显明, 他们就会被引入歧途. 外表会被除去, 当外表被除去时, 魔鬼般的内层就暴露出来. 它被天堂所发出的光除走, 这光驱散了伴随错觉或幻想的弱光, 这些灵人倚靠这弱光来制造这类仿品或效果. 由此可见人的狡猾所制造的神性事物的仿品是何性质. 但倚靠主所行的事内在是天堂的; 并且它们越内在, 就越是天堂的; 因为神性事物在完美性上朝内层增长, 直到最终它们具有无法形容的完美和美丽.

在那些生活邪恶的人当中, 良善和真理的仿品也是这种情况. 他们当中那些知道如何伪装良善情感, 以及某种对邻之仁和对神之爱的形式, 同时出于这些情感谈论并似乎发自内心宣讲信之真理的人住在同样微弱而虚幻的光中. 因此, 当伪装内在事物的外表被除去时, 隐藏在里面的地狱性质 (这地狱性质无非是邪恶和邪恶的虚假) 就会显露出来. 同时, 这种邪恶构成他们的爱, 这邪恶的虚假构成他们的信这一事实以同样的方式呈现于视野. 由此再次明显可知何为通过人的努力模仿神性事物, 如前所述 (10284节).