New Church Foundation

After language developed and before writing was invented, messages from God could be communicated by word of mouth, and these messages could be passed down from generation to generation. Eventually some of these ancient stories took written form, and are preserved in the Bible. The Bible is written in human language and concerns a history of people in a fairly small part of the world. It can still contain the Word of God because of the way God uses images and language that correspond to higher levels of wisdom. This means that all of the Bible is true, but not all is literally true. The truth lies not in the Bible as history, but in the Bible as the wisdom of God wrapped up in human language and human stories. For example the creation story in the beginning of Genesis on a deeper level is talking about the way in which we can be created again, or regenerated.

Readings

In the beginning there was the Word; the Word was in God’s presence, and the Word was God. The Word was present to God from the beginning. Through the Word all things came into being, and apart from the Word nothing came into being that has come into being. In the Word was life, and that life was humanity’s light – a Light that shines in the darkness, a Light that the darkness has never overtaken. (John 1:1-5)

The one God is substance itself and form itself. Angels and people are substances and forms from Him. To the extent that they are in Him and He is in them, to that extent they are images and likenesses of Him. (True Christianity 20)

We all learn within the limits of the comprehension of our love. Anything beyond that is transient. People who are taught by the Lord in the Word learn a few truths in this world, but they learn a great many when they become angels... It does not reduce the immediacy that this happens indirectly, through sermons. The only way the Word can be taught is indirectly, through our parents, teachers, preachers, and books, and especially by our reading it. Still, these are not our teachers; the Lord is, using them as means... We can see from this that we are led and taught by the Lord alone and that this happens directly from Him when it happens from the Word. This is a most treasured secret of angelic wisdom. (Divine Providence 172:5)

The reason why the spiritual sense of the Word has been at this day disclosed by the Lord is that the doctrine of genuine truth has now been revealed; and this doctrine, and no other, is in accord with the spiritual sense of the Word. This sense, moreover, is signified by the appearing of the Lord in the clouds of heaven with glory and power (Matthew 24:30-31). (Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture 25)

Reading the Word – Where to Start?

It is important to spend time reading the Old and New Testaments and the Writings. With so much to read, getting into a routine of reading from the Word can seem daunting. The Word gives us a powerful connection with the Lord. The book of John opens with: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." The Word is the Lord. The Word is a map, an instruction book, God’s letter to you. Read it knowing that your loving Creator wrote it for you. The spiritual power of the messages comes alive when you read and bring these ideas into life. The New Jerusalem, an introductory work by Swedenborg, says: "We cannot be spiritually reborn without some knowledge of the new or spiritual life, of the true ideas that we ought to believe, and the good things that we ought to do...Spiritual knowledge comes only from revelation" (177).

Reflection

Do you currently have a habit of reading the Word? What can you do this week to carve out time to spend reading the Lord's Word?

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