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Genesis 13

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1 And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, towards the south.

2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

3 And he went on his journeys from the south as far as Bethel; as far as the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai;

4 to the place of the altar that he had made there at the first. And there Abram called on the name of Jehovah.

5 And Lot also who went with Abram had flocks, and herds, and tents.

6 And the land could not support them, that they might dwell together, for their property was great; and they could not dwell together.

7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's cattle and the herdsmen of Lot's cattle. And the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land.

8 And Abram said to Lot, I pray thee let there be no contention between me and thee, and between my herdsmen and thy herdsmen, for we are brethren.

9 Is not the whole land before thee? Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if to the left, then I will take the right; and if to the right, then I will take the left.

10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of the Jordan that it was thoroughly watered, before Jehovah had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah; as the garden of Jehovah, like the land of Egypt, as one goes to Zoar.

11 And Lot chose for himself all the plain of the Jordan; and Lot went toward the east. And they separated the one from the other:

12 Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan; and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain, and pitched tents as far as Sodom.

13 And the people of Sodom were wicked, and great sinners before Jehovah.

14 And Jehovah said to Abram, after that Lot had separated himself from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, northward and southward and eastward and westward;

15 for all the land that thou seest will I give to thee, and to thy seed for ever.

16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth, so that if any one can number the dust of the earth, thy seed also will be numbered.

17 Arise, walk through the land according to the length of it and according to the breadth of it; for I will give it to thee.

18 Then Abram moved [his] tents, and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron. And he built there an altar to Jehovah.

   

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True Christian Religion # 636

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636. IV. Faith which imputes Christ's merit was unknown to the earlier, Apostolic church, and is nowhere to be understood in the Word.

The church which existed before the Council of Nicaea was called the Apostolic church. This was extensive, having been spread to three continents, Asia, Africa and Europe, as is evident from the Emperor Constantine the Great, whose dominion covered not only a number of European kingdoms that subsequently broke away, but also the nearer parts outside Europe, being a Christian and zealous for his religion. He therefore, as said above, summoned the bishops from Asia, Africa and Europe to his palace in the city of Nicaea in Bithynia, in order to expel from his empire the scandalous teachings of Arius. This took place by the Lord's Divine providence, since if the Lord's divinity is denied, the Christian church dies off, and becomes like a tomb bearing the inscription: HERE LIES...

The church which existed before this time was called Apostolic, and its notable writers were known as the Fathers, and the true Christians beside them as brethren. It is certain from the Creed known after that church as the Apostles', that it did not acknowledge three Divine Persons and thus not a Son of God from eternity either, but only a Son of God born in time. The Creed says:

I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, was born of the Virgin Mary. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic church, the communion of saints.

This makes it plain that they acknowledged no Son of God other than Him who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, certainly not a Son of God born from eternity. This Creed, like the two others, has been acknowledged down to the present day by the whole Christian church as a genuine and catholic creed.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.