Así como el alimento natural alimenta el cuerpo natural, el alimento espiritual alimenta el cuerpo espiritual. Y como nuestro cuerpo espiritual es la expresión de lo que amamos, entonces el alimento espiritual es lo que alimenta nuestro estado de amor: Es el deseo del bien, el deleite de ser bueno, la comprensión de lo que es ser bueno y el conocimiento de todo lo que es verdadero y conduce a lo que es bueno. Así que cuando se habla de alimentos en la Biblia, eso es lo que significa, y la enorme variedad de formas que pueden adoptar los alimentos representan la enorme variedad de bien que podemos buscar en la vida y la enorme variedad de pensamientos que podemos tener para llegar a él.

(Referenties: Arcana Coelestia 680, 1695, 4792, 5147, 5293, 5576, 9003)

4792. Because food and nourishment correspond to spiritual food and nourishment, taste consequently corresponds to a perception of and an affection for this food. Spiritual food consists in knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom. These are what quicken and also sustain spirits and angels, who desire them and have an appetite for them as men desire and have an appetite for food when they are very hungry. Therefore appetite corresponds to that desire for them. And what is amazing, spirits and angels also grow to maturity on that spiritual food, for those who die as young children do not in the next life look like any but young children, and they are young children too as far as their understanding goes. But as they grow in intelligence and wisdom they cease to look like young children. They now look like those who are coming of age, and at length like adults. I have talked to some who died when they were young children and who looked to me like youths, for by then they had grown in understanding. From this one may see what spiritual food and nourishment are.