6272. He put forth his hands crosswise. That this signifies, thus not according to order, is evident from the signification of “putting forth the hands crosswise,” as being not according to order; for thereby he makes the younger the firstborn, and the reverse; consequently the truth of faith prior and higher; and the good of charity posterior and lower; for “birthright” denotes priority and superiority (see n. 3325). It is evident how much evil this introduces into the church; for thereby its people get into such obscurity that they do not know what good is, thus neither what truth is; for good is like flame, and truth like the light from it: if you take away the flame, the light also perishes; and if any light appears, it is like a deceptive light that is not from flame. Hence it is that churches are at variance with one another, and dispute about truth, and one congregation asserts a thing to be true, which another asserts to be false. And what is still worse, when once they have set faith in the prior place in the assemblage of the church, they next begin to separate faith from charity, and to make the latter of comparatively no account, and thus to care nothing for the life, a thing to which man naturally inclines. Hence the church perishes, for it is the life which makes the church with man, but not doctrine without life; thus not confidence, which is eminent faith; for genuine confidence is possible with those only who are in charity, from which is the life of confidence. (Moreover, that the good of charity is actually the firstborn, that is, in the prior place, and that the truth of faith appears to be so, may be seen above, n. 3324-3539, 3548, 3556, 3563, 3570, 3576, 3603, 3701, 4243, 4244, 4247, 4337, 4925, 4926, 4928, 4930, 4977.)

4977. And he set him over his house. That this signifies that good applied itself thereto, is evident from the signification of the “lord,” who set him over, as being good (see n. 4973); and from the signification of “setting him over his house,” as being to apply itself thereto, namely, to memory-knowledge or natural truth. That this is the meaning is plain from the words that follow, where it is said that “all that he had he gave into his hand,” by which is signified that all that belonged to it was as it were in its power. For good is lord, and truth is minister; and when it is said of a lord that he “set a minister over,” or of good that it “set truth over,” in the internal sense it is not signified that it ceded the dominion thereto, but that it applied itself. For in the internal sense a thing is perceived as it is in itself; but in the sense of the letter it is set forth according to the appearance; for good always has the dominion, but applies itself in order that truth may be conjoined with it. When man is in truth, as is the case before he has been regenerated, he knows scarcely anything about good; for truth flows in by an external or sensuous way, but good by an internal way. Man is sensible of that which flows in by an external way, but not, until he has been regenerated, of that which flows in by an internal way; so that unless in the prior state a sort of dominion were given to truth, or unless good so applied itself, truth would never be made good’s own. This is the same as what has already been often shown-that while man is being regenerated truth is apparently in the first place, or as it were the lord; but that good is manifestly in the first place and lord when he has been regenerated (see n. 3539, 3548, 3556, 3563, 3570, 3576, 3603, 3701, 4925, 4926, 4928, 4930).