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105. (Verse 5) Remember therefore whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works. That this signifies remembrance of former things, and hence that they have departed from the truth, and that the good of life of the church at its beginning may come into mind, is evident from the signification of "remember," as here being remembrance of former things; and from the signification of whence thou art fallen, as being departure therefrom, thus departure from the truth; and from the signification of repent, as being that it should come into mind; and from the signification of do the first works, as being the good of life of the church at its beginning. (That works denote all those things of the life that proceed from love and faith, may be seen above, n. 98; and that the first works, which are those of charity, denote such as belong to the church at its beginning, maybe seen just above, n. 104.) That a life in agreement with knowledges (cognitiones) is the essential of the church, and not knowledges without a life in agreement with them, will be evident to every one who examines the subject; for knowledges, so long as there is not a life in agreement with them, reside only in the memory; and as long as they reside only there, they do not affect the interiors of the man. For a man's memory is a receptacle, from which may be taken those things which are serviceable to his life; and they are serviceable to his life when he wills and does them.
[2] A man's whole spirit is nothing else but his will; therefore when a man becomes a spirit, he cannot resist anything which is not contrary to his will, for the whole man strives after it. That this is, the case is perfectly well known in the spiritual world; and I have also occasionally seen the experiment made, whether a spirit could do anything against his own will from which he exists, and it was found that he could not; it therefore appeared evident, that it is a man's will which forms his spirit, and that the spirit of man, after it leaves the body, is his will. Whether we say the will, or the love, it is the same thing; for what a man loves, this he wills: wherefore, also, whether we say that a man's spirit cannot resist his will, or say that it cannot resist his love, it is the same thing. The knowledges (cognitiones) of good and truth, before they enter the will or love of man, are of no avail for salvation, because they are not in the man, but without him. Still, knowledges are necessary, because without them a man can know nothing concerning spiritual life, and he who knows nothing concerning it cannot become spiritual; for that which a man knows, he can think of, will, and do, but not that which he does not know; but, if knowledges enter no deeper into man than into his memory, and thence into his thought, they have no effect upon him, consequently they do not save him.
[3] It is at this day believed by many in the world, especially by those who make faith alone the essential of the church, that to know doctrinals and from knowledge (scientia) to believe that they are true, saves man, however he may live; but I can assert, that no one is saved by those things alone. I have seen many, even the most learned, cast into hell; but those, on the other hand, who have lived in agreement with the knowledges of truth and good from the Word, I have seen raised up into heaven. It is therefore evident that knowledges alone avail nothing, but a life in agreement with them, and that knowledges only teach man how he ought to live. To live in agreement with the knowledges of truth and good, is to think that a man ought to act in a certain manner, and no other, because it is commanded by the Lord in the Word. When man thinks from the Word, and thence wills and acts, then he becomes spiritual; but it is necessary for those who are within the church, to believe in the Lord, and when they think concerning Him, to think of His Divine in His Human, because from His Divine Human proceeds everything of charity and faith.
105. Verse 5. Be mindful therefore of whence thou hast fallen, and repent, and do the first works, signifies the remembrance of former things, and the remembrance of having deviated from the truth; and this, in order that the good of life of the church at its beginning may come into mind. This is evident from the signification of "be mindful," as being here the remembrance of former things; from the signification of "whence thou hast fallen," as being deviation therefrom, thus deviation from the truth; from the signification of "repent," as being that it may come into mind; and from the signification of "doing the first works," as being the good of life of the church at its beginning. (That "works" mean all those things of life that proceed from love and faith, see n. 98; and that "first works," which are of charity, are those of the church at its beginning, see just above, n. 104.) That a life in accordance with knowledges is the essential of the church, and not knowledges apart from such a life, can be seen by everyone who thinks about it; for knowledges, so long as there is no life according to them, reside in the memory only; and so long as they reside there only they do not affect man's interiors; for memory is given to man to be a receptacle, from which may be taken what will be serviceable to the life; and things are serviceable to the life when a man wills them and does them.
[2] The whole spirit of man is nothing but his will; when, therefore, man becomes a spirit, he is unable to resist anything that is favored by his will, for the whole man strives after it. That this is so is well known in the spiritual world; and I have occasionally seen the trial made, whether a spirit could do anything contrary to his will, from which he exists, and it was found that he could not. From this it was clear that man's will is what gives form to his spirit, and that man's spirit after it has left the body is his will. Whether you say will or love it is the same, for what a man loves he wills; so whether you say that the spirit of man cannot resist his will, or that it cannot resist his love, it is the same. The knowledges of good and truth, before they enter a man's will or love, contribute nothing whatever to his salvation, because they are not within the man: but out of him. But still knowledges are necessary, for without them man can know nothing of spiritual life, and he who knows nothing of spiritual life cannot become spiritual; for that which a man knows he can think, can will, and can do, but not that which he does not know. But yet if knowledges enter no deeper than into the memory and into thought therefrom, they do not affect him, and consequently do not save him.
[3] It is believed by many in the world at this day, especially by those who make faith alone the essential of the church, that to know doctrinals and from mere knowing to believe that they are true, saves man, however he may live; but I can affirm that no one is saved by these alone. I have seen many, even the most learned, cast into hell; but on the other hand, those who have lived according to the knowledges of truth and good from the Word I have seen raised up into heaven. From this it is clear that knowledges are of no avail, but a life according to them; and that knowledges merely teach how man ought to live. To live according to the knowledges of truth and good is to think that one must do thus and not otherwise because it is commanded by the Lord in the Word. When man thus thinks and thus wills and does, he becomes spiritual. Yet it is necessary for those within the church to believe in the Lord, and when they think of Him to think of His Divine in the Human, since from His Divine Human everything of charity and faith proceed.
105. (Vers. 5.) "Memor esto itaque unde excideris, et resipisce, et prima opera fac." - Quod significet recordationem priorum, et in de quod deviaverint a vero, ac ut in animum veniat bonum vitae incohantis ecclesiae, constat ex significatione "memor esse", quod hic sit recordatio priorum; ex significatione "unde excideris", quod sit deviatio inde, ita deviatio a vero; ex significatione "resipiscere", quod sit ut in animum veniat; et ex significatione "prima opera facere", quod sit bonum vitae incohantis ecclesiae.
(Quod "opera" sint omnia illa vitae quae procedunt ex amore et fide, videatur n. 98; et quod "prima opera", quae sunt charitatis, sint quae incohantis ecclesiae, mox supra, n. 104.) Quod vita secundum cognitiones sit essentiale ecclesiae, et non cognitiones absque vita secundum illas, constare potest unicuivis qui expendit: cognitiones enim, quamdiu non vivitur secundum illas, resident solum in memoria; et quamdiu ibi solum resident, non afficiunt interiora hominis; nam memoria homini data est ut sit receptaculum a quo desumantur quae inservitura sunt vitae, et tunc inserviunt vitae quando homo vult illa et facit illa.
[2] Totus spiritus hominis non est nisi quam sua voluntas; quapropter homo, cum fit spiritus, non potest resistere alicui rei quae (non) est contra voluntatem ejus, totus enim nititur in id. Quod ita sit, notissimum est in mundo spirituali; et quoque vidi exploratum aliquoties, num spiritus possit facere contra suam voluntatem, ex qua ille est, et compertum quod non posset: inde patuit, quod hominis voluntas sit quae format spiritum ejus, et quod spiritus hominis, postquam reliquit corpus, sit sua voluntas. Sive dicas voluntatem, sive amorem, idem est, nam quod homo amat hoc vult; quare etiam, sive dicas quod spiritus hominis non resistere possit suae voluntati, seu 1
dicas quod non possit resistere suo amori, idem est. Cognitiones veri et boni, antequam intrant voluntatem seu amorem hominis, nihil prorsus faciunt ad Salutem ejus, ex causa quia non intra hominem sunt, sed extra illum. At usque cognitiones sunt necessariae, quoniam absque illis homo nihil scire potest de vita spirituali; et qui nihil scit de illa, nec fieri potest spiritualis: quod enim homo scit, hoc potest cogitare, potest velle, et potest facere, non autem quod non scit; sed usque si non altius intrant quam in memoriam et inde cogitationem, non afficiunt illum, proinde non salvant.
[3] Creditur a pluribus hodie in mundo, imprimis ab illis qui solam fidem essentiale ecclesiae faciunt, quod scire doctrinalia, et ex scientia credere quod vera sint, salvet hominem utcunque vivit; sed asseverare possum, quod nemo per illa sola salvetur. Vidi plures, etiam doctissimos, in infernum conjectos; at vicissim illos qui vixerunt secundum cognitiones veri et boni ex Verbo, elevatos in caelum. Inde patet quod cognitiones nihil faciant, sed vita secundum illas, et quod cognitiones modo doceant quomodo vivendum est. Vivere secundum cognitiones veri et boni, est cogitare quod ita, non aliter faciendum sit, quia praeceptum est a Domino in Verbo; cum homo inde cogitat, et inde vult et facit, tunc fit ille spiritualis: sed oportet illos, qui intra ecclesiam sunt, credere in Dominum; et cum cogitant de Ipso, cogitare de Divino Ipsius in Humano, quoniam ex Divino Humano Ipsius procedit omne charitatis et fidei.
Footnotes:
1. The editors made a correction or note here.