“The Church is... where the Lord is acknowledged, and where the Word is.” - The New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine §242
Kempton New Church

Fourth Law
Day 1

    Listen:

The Laws of the Divine Providence
Led by the Word, as if by himself

Readings

WHEN MAN IS LED AND TAUGHT BY THE WORD, HE IS LED AND TAUGHT BY THE LORD HIMSELF.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.... In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. John 1:1-4

AC 10321. As the Word is a revelation from the Divine, it is Divine in general and in particular, for that which is from the Divine cannot be otherwise.

DP 172:2. The Lord is the Word because it is from Him and treats of Him.... That the Word is from the Lord is not denied by anyone in the Church; but that the Word treats of the Lord alone is not indeed denied, neither is it known.... Now since the Word is from the Lord alone and treats of the Lord alone, it follows that when a man is taught from the Word he is taught from the Lord, for the Word is Divine. Who can communicate the Divine and implant it in the heart except the Divine Himself from whom it is derived and of whom it treats? ...From beginning to end... all things of the Word have communication with heaven; and as the Lord is heaven, this means that all things of the Word have communication with the Lord Himself.

DP 172:3-4. Every man is a man not from his face and body but from the good of his love and the truths of his wisdom; and because a man is a man from these, every man is also his own truth and his own good, or his own love and his own wisdom; and without these he is not a man. But the Lord is Good itself and Truth itself, or, what is the same, Love itself and Wisdom itself; and these are the Word which in the beginning was with God and which was God, and which was made flesh.

DP 172:5. To be taught from the Word is to be taught by the Lord Himself because it is to be taught from Good itself and from Truth itself, or from Love itself and from Wisdom itself, which are the Word.... Everyone is taught according to the understanding appropriate to his own love; what is taught beyond this does not remain. All those who are taught by the Lord in the Word are instructed in a few truths while in the world, but in many when they become angels.

AC 128. He who would be wise from the Lord, and not from the world, says in his heart that the Lord must be believed, that is, the things which the Lord has spoken in the Word, because they are truths; and according to this principle he regulates his thoughts. He confirms himself by things of reason, of knowledge, of the senses, and of nature and those which are not confirmatory he casts aside.

DP 154:1-2. The appearance is that man is led and taught of himself; but the truth is that he is led and taught by the Lord alone. Those who confirm in themselves the appearance and not at the same time the truth, are unable to remove from themselves evils as sins; but those who confirm in themselves the appearance and at the same time the truth, are able to do so... and they become worshipers of the Lord; for the Lord raises them up from their proprium which is in the appearance, and brings them into the light in which is truth and which is truth; and He enables them to perceive interiorly that they are not led and taught of themselves, but by Him.

Questions and Comments

  1. We get to know others by what they say and do. Can you apply this comparison to getting to know the Lord?
  2. How does prayer help us get to know the Lord and His Word?
  3. “To those who are in a life of love and charity it is given from the Lord what they are to ask; therefore they ask nothing but what is good, and that is done for them” (AE 325:8). When you pray how does the Word determine what you pray for?
  4. “Without the Lord, by means of the Word, there is no salvation” (LJ 55). Can this thought help when you are tired and just reading words? What other thoughts help?
  5. “The beginning of wisdom is the fear of Jehovah” (Psalm 111:10). How does this apply to reading the Word?
  6. Since the Word is the Lord, should we handle it differently from other books?
  7. If we read and study the Word in digital form how should we set it apart?
  8. What are some natural knowledges and reasons that confirm and support your beliefs?
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