3200. In deze beide verzen wordt de staat van het redelijk goede beschreven, wanneer het in de verwachting van het ware is, dat daarmee verbonden moet worden als een bruid met een echtgenoot. In de twee onmiddellijk erna volgende verzen, wordt de staat van het ware beschreven, wanneer het nabij is en het goede waarneemt, waarmee het verbonden moet worden. Maar men moet weten, dat deze staten niet in één keer ontstonden, maar voortdurend, het gehele leven van de Heer in de wereld door, totdat Hij verheerlijkt was.

Bij de wederverwekten is het evenzo gesteld, want zij worden niet opeens, in één keer wederverwekt, maar voortdurend, het gehele leven door, ook in het andere leven; want de mens kan nooit volmaakt worden.

23. [3]. Of those who are in truths, and by them look and tend to good; thus of truths by which there is good.

What man loves, this he wills, and what man loves or wills this he thinks, and confirms in various ways: what man loves or wills, this he calls good, and what man thence thinks and confirms in various ways, this he calls truth (n. 4070). Hence it is, that truth becomes good, when it becomes of the love or will, or when man loves and wills it (n. 5526, 7835, 10367). And because the love or the will is the very life of man, truth does not live with man when he only knows it, and thinks it, but when he loves and wills it, and from love and will does it (n. 5595, 9282). Thence truths receive life, consequently from good (n. 2434, 3111, 3607, 6077). Thence the life of truths is from good, and they have no life without good (n. 1589, 1947, 1997, 3180, 3579, 4070, 4096-4097, 4736, 4757, 4884, 5147, 5928, 9154, 9667, 9841, 10729); illustrated (n. 9154). When truths may be said to have acquired life (n. 1928). Truth when it is conjoined to good, is appropriated to man because it becomes of his life (n. 3108, 3161). That truth may be conjoined to good, there must be consent from the understanding and will; when the will also consents, then there is conjunction (n. 3157-3158, 3161).

When man is regenerated, truths enter with the delight of affection, because he loves to do them, and they are reproduced with the same affection because the two cohere (n. 2474, 2487, 3040, 3066, 3074, 3336, 4018, 5893, 7967). The affection which is of love always adjoins itself to truths according to the uses of life, and that affection is reproduced with the truths, and the truths are reproduced with the affection (n. 3336, 3824, 3849, 4205, 5893, 7967). Good acknowledges nothing else for truth than what agrees with the affection which is of the love (n. 3161). Truths are introduced by delights and pleasantnesses that agree therewith (n. 3502, 3512). All genuine affection of truth is from good, and according to it (n. 4373, 8349, 8356). Thus there is an insinuation and an influx of good into truths, and conjunction (n. 4301). And thus truths have life (n. 7917, 7967).

Because the affection which is of love always adjoins itself to truths according to the uses of life, good acknowledges its own truth, and truth its own good (n. 2429, 3101-3102, 3161, 3179-3180, 4358, 5407, 5835, 9637). Thence is the conjunction of truth and good, concerning which (n. 3834, 4096-4097, 4301, 4345, 4353, 4364, 4368, 5365, 7623-7627, 7752-7762, 8530, 9258, 10555). Truths also acknowledge each other, and are mutually consociated (n. 9079). This is from the influx of heaven (n. 9079).

Good is the esse of life, and truth the existere of life thence; and thus good has its existere of life in truth, and truth its esse of life in good (n. 3049, 3180, 4574, 5002, 9154). Hence every good has its own truth, and every truth its own good, because good without truth does not exist, and truth without good is not (n. 9637). Good has also its form and quality from truths, and that truth is the form and quality of good (n. 3049, 4574, 6916, 9154). And thus truth and good ought to be conjoined that they may be something (n. 10555). Hence good is in the perpetual endeavor and desire of conjoining truths to itself (n. 9206, 9495); illustrated (n. 9207). And truths in like manner with good (n. 9206). The conjunction is reciprocal, of good with truth, and of truth with good (n. 5365, 8516). Good acts, and truth reacts, but from good (n. 3155, 4380, 4757, 5928, 10729). Truths regard their own good, as the beginning and end (n. 4353).

The conjunction of truth with good is as the progression of man's life from infancy, as he first imbibes truths scientifically, then rationally, and at length makes them of his life (n. 3203, 3665, 3690). It is also as with offspring that is conceived, is in the womb, is born, grows up, and becomes wise (n. 3298, 3299, 3308, 3665, 3690). It is also like seeds and soil (n. 3671). And as with water and bread (n. 4976). The first affection of truth is not genuine, but as man is perfected it is purified (n. 3040, 3089). Nevertheless goods and truths, not genuine, serve for introducing goods and truths that are genuine, and afterwards the former are left behind (n. 3665, 3690, 3974, 3982, 3986, 4145).

Moreover man is led to good by truths, and not without truths (n. 10124, 10367). If man does not learn or receive truths, good cannot flow in, thus man cannot become spiritual (n. 3387). The conjunction of good and truth takes place according to the increase of knowledge (n. 3141). Truths are received by everyone according to his capacity (n. 3385).

The truths of the natural man are scientifics (n. 3293, 3309-3310). Scientifics and knowledges are as vessels (n. 6004, 6023, 6052, 6071, 6077). Truths are vessels of good, because they are recipients (n. 1496, 1900, 2063, 2261, 2269, 3318, 3365, 3368).

Good flows into man by an internal way, or that of the soul, but truths by an external way, or that of hearing and sight; and they are conjoined in his interiors by the Lord (n. 3030, 3098). Truths are elevated out of the natural man, and implanted in good in the spiritual man; and thus truths become spiritual (n. 3085-3086). And afterwards they flow thence into the natural man, spiritual good flowing immediately into the good of the natural, but mediately into the truth of the natural (n. 3314, 3573, 4563); illustrated (n. 3314, 3576, 3616, 3969, 3995). In a word, truths are conjoined to good with man, so far and in such manner as man is in good as to life (n. 3834, 3843). Conjunction is effected in one manner with the celestial, and in another with the spiritual (n. 10124). More concerning the conjunction of good and truth, and how it is effected (n. 3090, 3203, 3308, 4096-4097, 4345, 4353, 5365, 7623-7627). And how spiritual good is formed by truths (n. 3470, 3570).

Truth, or what is true, is a way of describing what is ultimately real. On a natural level, truth can be thought of as merely what is accurate while in our spiritual development lives, truth can be the learning of spiritually-based teachings or, better, our receptivity to them as divine truths. But Swedenborg goes even further in his explanation of truth, teaching that truth is the form of love, or how love expresses itself.

In a sense, truth is a delivery system for love and because sharing love is the very purpose of reality, this makes truth vitally important. And while truth can come in the form of dry, cold rules and facts, it is at its most pure a thing of indescribable beauty, something that moves us internally.

The nature of truth originates in the idea that Lord in His essence is love itself, perfect and infinite, and that He loves us beyond our capacity to imagine. And just as we want people we love to love us back, so also the Lord has the deepest desire for us to love Him back; His love wants to reach out to us and inspire love in turn.

Love, however, cannot operate on its own; it needs a medium to work in. Think of it this way: to express love for someone, you need a face to smile with, a voice to speak with, arms to embrace with, or various tools you can use to do good, loving things for the people you love. Without those things it’s just a feeling, stuck inside and rather useless. In a sense, if it can’t be expressed, its existence is not really quite complete.

“Truth,” then, could be defined as “the expression of love” or maybe as “love expressed.” This can be pretty profound and beautiful: the expression on a new mother’s face, seeing her baby for the first time - that is truth, on a level beyond words. The feeling in her is expressed, and we take it in and feel a surge of emotion ourselves. At a higher level yet, we might try to image the expression on the Lord’s face when he looks at us, the love pouring from him; that is truth at its deepest.

But truth comes at lower levels too. Think of the ways we love our children - at times that means laying down some stark, black-and-white rules. “Keep your hands to yourself” and “you need to obey me” don’t sound very loving, and making a child take out the trash does not exactly inspire warm feelings and poetic thoughts. But we are in fact loving them when we teach them lessons that will help them be good people, even if that love doesn’t glow from the surface of what we’re saying. The Lord has to handle us the same way at times, especially in the early stages of our spiritual growth. “Thou shalt not kill” doesn’t sound all that loving, and the order to not covet can seem unrealistic and borderline unfair. If we look at them closely, though, we can see that they are loving, and are leading us to be loving people.

So truth comes at many levels and in many forms, shaped and adapted to various ways we can be led to be good and loving. This is why so many different things in the Bible - stones, water, wine, plants, swords and many others - all represent truth; they all have shades of meaning reflecting the many types of truth the Lord uses to lead us.

At heart, though, all truth is a way of sharing love. If we look to that, we will treasure it properly.

(Ссылки: Apocalypse Explained 434; Arcana Coelestia 1904 [3], 3077, 3207 [1-3], 3295, 3509 [2], 4247, 5912, 6880, 7270 [2-3], 8301 [2], 8456, 9407, Arcana Coelestia 9407 [13], 9806, 10026; Divine Wisdom 9; Divine Providence 10, 36; The Apocalypse Explained 627 [5-6]; The Doctrine of Life for the New Jerusalem 36; The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine 24; True Christian Religion 209 [2-4], 224 [1-2], 379, 398)