49. 上帝的全能,全知和全在
我們討論了聖仁和聖智, 並說明了這兩者構成神性的本質。接下來討論上帝的全能,全知和全在。這三個屬性來源於聖仁和聖智, 其方式如同太陽在地上無處不在的能力與顯現來源於太陽的熱和光。實際上, 心靈世界太陽的熱本質上就是聖仁, 那太陽的光本質上就是聖智。於是很清楚, 全能,全知和全在是神性本質的三個屬性。同理, 無限,無垠和永恆是神性根本的屬性。
接下來, 我們按下列觀點逐一討論:
(1)代表聖仁作工的聖智有全能,全知和全在。
(2)我們無法明白上帝的全能,全知和全在, 除非我們知道什麼是聖規, 並且除非我們認可上帝就是聖規; 當上帝創世時就將這些定規放置於宇宙的總體和細微之中。
(3)在宇宙及其萬物中, 上帝的全能遵循並藉著定規的法則來運行。
(4)上帝是全知。祂意識到,看到,知道下至最細微的一切遵循聖規而發生之事物。並且相對的, 還意識到,看到,知道一切違背聖規而發生之事物。
(5)上帝自始至終地全在於祂的定規中。
(6)人按聖規的形式被造。
(7)我們在生活中越遵循聖規, 就越能從上帝的全能獲取抵抗邪惡與偽謬的能力, 越能從上帝的全知獲取有關良善與真理的智慧, 並因上帝的全在而在上帝中。
49. God's Omnipotence, Omniscience,
and Omnipresence
We have discussed divine love and wisdom and have shown that these two qualities make up the divine essence. We turn next to God's omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence because these three attributes come from divine love and divine wisdom much the way the sun's power and presence everywhere on earth come from the sun's heat and light. In fact, the heat of the sun in the spiritual world (the sun that surrounds Jehovah God) is essentially divine love, and its light is essentially divine wisdom. Clearly then, omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence are attributes of the divine essence the way infinity, immensity, and eternity are attributes of the underlying divine reality.
Up until now these three universal attributes of divine essence have not been understood, because it has not been known that they keep to their own pathways, meaning the laws of the divine design. 165
Therefore these attributes need to be elucidated in an examination of the following points:
1. It is divine wisdom, acting on behalf of divine love, that has omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence.
2. We cannot comprehend God's omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence unless we know what the divine design is, and unless we learn that God is the divine design, and that he imposed that design on the universe as a whole and on everything in it as he created it.
3. In the universe and everything in it, God's omnipotence follows and works through the laws of its design.
4. God is omniscient; that is, he is aware of, sees, and knows everything down to the least detail that happens in keeping with the divine design, and by contrast is aware of, sees, and knows what goes against the divine design.
5. God is omnipresent in his design from beginning to end.
6. Human beings were created as forms of the divine design.
7. The more we follow the divine design in the way we live, the more we receive power against evil and falsity from God's omnipotence, receive wisdom about goodness and truth from God's omniscience, and are in God because of God's omnipresence.
These points need to be unfolded one by one.
49. THE OMNIPOTENCE, OMNISCIENCE AND OMNIPRESENCE OF GOD
I have dealt with the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom and shown that these two make up the Divine Essence. I now proceed to the omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence of God, because these three emanate from the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom, much as the power and presence of the sun are felt in every single part of this world by means of its heat and light. The heat from the sun of the spiritual world, in the midst of which is Jehovah God, is in its essence Divine Love, and its light is in its essence Divine Wisdom. Hence it is plain that just as infinity, immensity and eternity are properties of the Divine Being (Esse), so omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence are properties of the Divine Essence. However, these three properties of the Divine Essence have up to now not been understood, through ignorance of the ways in which they proceed, that is, the laws of order. They need therefore to have light shed upon them by the following series of propositions.
(i) Omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence are properties of the Divine Wisdom resulting from the Divine Love.
(ii) The omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence of God cannot be recognised except through a knowledge of order, and these facts about order: that God is order, and that He introduced order into the universe and all its parts simultaneously with its creation.
(iii) God's omnipotence proceeds and works in the universe and all its parts in accordance with the laws of His order.
(iv) God is omniscient, that is, He perceives, sees and knows down to the tiniest detail everything that happens according to order; and from these things also what happens contrary to order.
(v) God is present everywhere from first to last in His order.
(vi) Man was created to be a form for Divine Order.
(vii) Man has from Divine Omnipotence power against evil and falsity, and from Divine Omniscience wisdom about good and truth, and from Divine Omnipresence is in God, to the extent that he lives in accordance with the Divine order.
These propositions must now be discussed one by one.
49. THE OMNIPOTENCE, OMNISCIENCE, AND OMNIPRESENCE OF GOD.
We have treated of the Divine love and wisdom, and have shown that these two are the Divine essence. The omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence of God will now be considered; because these three proceed from the Divine love and Divine wisdom in much the same way as the power and presence of the sun are present in this world and in each and all things thereof, by means of its heat and light. Moreover, heat from the sun of the spiritual world, in the midst of which is Jehovah God, is in its essence Divine love, and the light from it is in its essence Divine wisdom. Evidently, then, as infinity, immensity, and eternity pertain to the Divine Esse, so omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence pertain to the Divine essence. But as these three most general predicates of the Divine essence have hitherto not been understood, because their progression in accordance with their modes, which are the laws of order, has been unknown, they must be elucidated in separate sections, as follows:
(1) Omnipotence, Omniscience, and Omnipresence pertain to the Divine wisdom from the Divine love.
(2) The Omnipotence, Omniscience, and Omnipresence of God can be clearly understood only when it is known what order is, and when it is known that God is order, and that He introduced order, both into the universe and into each and all things of it, at the time of their creation.
(3) God's Omnipotence in the universe and in each and all things of it, proceeds and operates in accordance with the laws of His order.
(4) God is omniscient, that is, He perceives, sees, and knows each thing and all things, even to the most minute, that take place according to order, and from these the things also that take place contrary to order.
(5) God is omnipresent from the firsts to the lasts of His order.
(6) Man was created a form of Divine order.
(7) From the Divine Omnipotence man has power over evil and falsity, and from the Divine Omniscience has wisdom respecting what is good and true, and from the Divine Omnipresence is in God, just to the extent that he lives in accordance with Divine order.
But these propositions shall be unfolded one by one.
49. THE OMNIPOTENCE, OMNISCIENCE, AND OMNIPRESENCE OF GOD
We have treated of the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom, and shown that these two are the Divine Essence. We shall now treat of the omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence of God, because these three proceed from the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom in much the same manner as the power and the presence of the sun are in this world, and in every part of it, by means of its heat and light. Also, the heat from the Sun of the spiritual world, in the midst of which is Jehovah God, is in its essence Divine Love, and the light therefrom is, in its essence, Divine Wisdom. From this it is clear that as infinity, immensity, and eternity pertain to the Divine Being, so omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence pertain to the Divine Essence. But as these three attributes of the Divine Essence have not hitherto been understood, because the method of their activity according to the laws of order was unknown, they will be explained in separate articles as follows:
(1) Omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence are attributes of the Divine Wisdom from the Divine Love.
(2) The omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence of God cannot be understood unless it is known what order is; and unless it is known that God is order, and that at creation He introduced order into the universe and into all its parts.
(3) The Omnipotence of God, in the universe and in all its parts, proceeds and operates according to the laws of His order.
(4) God is Omniscient, that is, He perceives, sees, and knows all things, even to the most minute, that are done according to order, and also from these, whatever is done contrary to order.
(5) God is Omnipresent in all things from first to last of His order.
(6) Man was created a form of Divine order.
(7) A man has power against evil and falsity from the Divine omnipotence, wisdom concerning good and truth from the Divine omniscience, and is in God from the Divine omnipresence, so far as he lives according to the Divine order.
These articles will now be treated separately.
49. DE DEI OMNIPOTENTIA, OMNISCIENTIA, ET OMNIPRAESENTIA.
Actum est de DIVINO AMORE ET DIVINA SAPIENTIA, et ostensum, quod haec duo sint DIVINA ESSENTIA; sequitur nunc de Dei OMNIPOTENTIA, OMNISCIENTIA et OMNIPRAESENTIA, quia haec Tria procedunt ex Divino Amore et Divina Sapientia, vix aliter quam potentia et praesentia Solis in hoc Mundo, ac in omnibus et singulis ejus per calorem et lucem; etiam Calor e Sole Mundi spiritualis, in cujus medio Jehovah Deus est, in essentia sua est Divinus amor, et Lux inde in essentia sua est Divina Sapientia: ex quo patet, quod sicut Infinitas, Immensitas ac Aeternitas pertinent ad DIVINUM ESSE, ita Omnipotentia, Omniscientia, Omnipraesentia ad DIVINAM ESSENTIAM. Sed quia Tres illae Divinae Essentiae Praedicationes universales hactenus non intellectae sunt, quia progressio illarum secundum vias suas, quae sunt leges Ordinis, ignota fuit, oportet illas luce donare per distinctos Articulos, qui erunt, I. Quod Divinae Sapientiae ex Divino Amore sit Omnipotentia, Omniscientia, et Omnipraesentia. II. Quod Dei Omnipotentia, Omniscientia et Omnipraesentia non possint cognosci, nisi sciatur quid Ordo, et nisi sciantur haec ejus, quod Deus sit Ordo, et quod una cum Creatione introduxerit Ordinem tam in Universum, quam in omnia et singula ejus. III. Quod Dei Omnipotentia in Universo ac in omnibus et singulis ejus secundum leges sui Ordinis procedat et operetur. IV. Quod Deus Omniscius sit, hoc est, percipiat, videat, et sciat omnia et singula usque ad minutissima, quae fiunt secundum Ordinem; et ex illis etiam quae fiunt contra Ordinem. V. Quod Deus Omnipraesens sit a primis ad ultima sui Ordinis. VI. Quod Homo creatus sit forma Divini Ordinis. VII. Quod Homo tantum in potentia contra malum et falsum ex Divina Omnipotentia sit, quodque tantum in sapientia de bono et vero ex Divina Omniscientia sit, et quod tantum in Deo ex Divina Omnipraesentia sit, quantum secundum Divinum Ordinem vivit. Sed haec singulatim evoluenda sunt.