Page:The Swedenborg Library Vol 3.djvu/171

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THE LORD ENLIGHTENS.
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ENLIGHTENMENT FROM THE LORD.

It is to be known that all the doctrine of the church must be from the Word, and that doctrine from any other source is not doctrine in which there is anything of the church, and still less anything of heaven. But doctrine is to be collected from the Word; and when it is collecting, a man must be enlightened of the Lord; and he is enlightened when he is in the love of truth for the sake of truth, and not for the sake of self and the world. These are they who are enlightened in the Word when they read it, and who see truth, and thence make to themselves doctrine.

The reason of this is that such persons communicate with heaven, thus with the Lord; and so being enlightened by Him they are led to see the truths of the Word as they are in heaven. For the Lord flows in through heaven into their understandings, for the interior understanding of man is what is enlightened; and the Lord at the same time flows in with faith, by means of the co-operation of the new will, a characteristic of which is to be affected with truth for the sake of truth. From these considerations it may be clearly seen in what manner the doctrine of truth and good is given to man from the Lord.

That this doctrine supports the Word as to its literal or external sense, is evident to every one who considers; for every one in the church who thinks from doctrine, sees truths in the Word from his own doctrine and ac-

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