Church of the Holy City

In the Beginning Was the Word

In the Beginning Was the Word
Rev. Dr. David J. Fekete
September 26, 2010

Jeremiah 1:4-10 John 1:1-18 Psalm 119

In our New Testament reading this morning we heard the words, “In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” This Word is the first proceeding of God, or God’s Divine Truth. And it is this Divine Truth, this Word that was in the beginning with God and was God, this Word is our Bible. Swedenborg tells us,
There are two things which proceed from the Lord, Divine Love and Divine Wisdom; or, what is the same, Divine Good and Divine Truth; for Divine Good is of His Divine Love, and Divine Truth is of His Divine Wisdom. The Word in its essence is both of these (Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture 3).
The Bible is entirely holy and of God. It is spiritual in all its parts and as a whole. Swedenborg states that,
The style of the Word is the Divine style itself, with which no other can be compared, however sublime and excellent it may seem. The style of the Word is such that the holiness is in every sentence and in every word, even in some places in the very letters (TCR 191).
This may be evident in parts like the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament, or the two great commandments of the New Testament.
But then there are many parts of the Bible that don’t appear so holy. Swedenborg comments on this.
The Word treats now of Egypt, now of Assyria, now of Edom, of Moab, of the sons of Ammon, of the Philistines, of Tyre and Sidon, and of Gog. He who does not know that by their names are signified things of heaven and the church may be led into the error that the Word treats much of peoples and nations, and but little of heaven and the church (TCR 200).
And there are countless other passages that don’t seem particularly holy. There are the descriptions of the historical wanderings of Abraham and his children; there are the wars of conquest in which the children of Israel come into Canaan; there are those tedious descriptions of the construction of the tabernacle and temple; there are descriptions of geography such as hills, mountains, seas; there are nature descriptions of vines, cedar trees, forests, groves, and gardens; there are descriptions of animals like sheep, goats, oxen, calves, lions, bears and other things. “Where is the holiness in all this?” a person may wonder. “How does this relate to my spiritual life and my relationship with God?”
Swedenborg’s answer is that these apparently worldly things are symbols of spiritual things. He calls them “correspondences.” These are natural objects that contain spiritual realities the way our body contains our soul.
The Word of the Lord is like a body in which is a living soul. The things belonging to the soul do not appear while the mind is so fixed on bodily things that it scarcely believes that there is a soul . . . .So it is with the Word of the Lord: its bodily things are those which are of the sense of the letter, and when the mind is kept in them, the internal things are not seen at all . . . . So likewise the histories of the Word and the particular expressions in the Word are common, natural, and indeed material vessels, in which are things spiritual and heavenly; and these in no way come into view except by the internal sense (AC 1408).
So the story elements in the Bible that appear to be taken from this world are like the Bible’s body that holds spiritual and heavenly realities. The spiritual and heavenly realities are what Swedenborg calls the Bible’s internal sense.
Swedenborg isn’t alone in thinking that the Bible has an internal sense. The Jew Philo of Alexander interpreted the Old testament symbolically. And the Christians Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, Augustine, and Thomas Aquinas also thought that the Bible has an internal sense. And these theologians pointed to the same things I have alluded to. There are too many things in the Bible that don’t appear spiritual, and at the same time, we know that the Bible is God’s Word.
So it is clear that the Bible treats of spiritual matters by means of natural objects. Some of these correspondences are described by Swedenborg,
by Egypt is signified knowledges, by Assyria rationality, by Edom the natural, by Moab adulteration of good, by the sons of Ammon the adulteration of truth, by the Philistines faith without charity, by Tyre and Sidon knowledges of good and truth, and by Gog external worship without internal (TCR 200).
By the tabernacle built by Moses in the wilderness was represented heaven and the church . . . wherefore the form of it was shown by Jehovah on Mount Sinai; consequently all the things which were in the tabernacle–the candlestick, the golden altar for incense, and the table upon which was the bread of presence–represented and signified the holy things of heaven and the church (TCR 220).
But I don’t think that we need to decode the Bible in such a literal way when we read it. The spiritual and heavenly realities that form the internal sense of the Bible come to us as we are reading it. They come to us intuitively. Not as a correlation of this-with-that, but rather as a warming of our heart and an illumination of our mind. If we approach the Bible in a holy manner when we read it, the angels will come near us and still our minds, warm our hearts, and illuminate our minds.
the Word vivifies the affections of the will of a person who reads it in a holy state, and from the light of that life enlightens the thoughts of his understanding (AR 200).
The Bible came from God, through heaven to the prophets on earth. And since that is its origin and descent, all those higher realms open to us when we read the Bible. We are moved by the heavenly presences that come to us when the Bible is read devoutly.
. . . a person who reads the Word in a holy manner, is by such correspondence conjoined closely with heaven, and through heaven with the Lord, . . . The holy itself which is then with a person, is from an influx of celestial and spiritual thoughts and affections such as angels have (AC 3735).
In fact, since the Bible is the Word and was in the beginning with God, and is God, God Himself is present in the devout reading of the Bible.
By means of the Word the Lord is present with a person and is conjoined with him, since the Lord is the Word, and as it were speaks with the person in it; also because the Lord is the Divine Truth itself, and the Word is too. It is manifest from this that the Lord is present with a person, and at the same time is conjoined with him, according to his understanding of the Word; for according to this understanding the person has truth and hence faith, and also love and thence life (Doctrine of the Sacred Scriptures 78).
I am often affected when I read the Bible at home. I notice my breathing slow and become regular. My mind stills and grows peaceful. I feel greater love in my heart. And this happens whatever I seem to be reading. But this doesn’t happen when I read the Bible for the purposes of historical study. This happens to me when I read it as God’s Word and with reverence. I don’t often find answers to my life’s worries and concerns when I read the Bible. Rather, I feel as if I am lifted out of that whole state of mind into a more elevated consciousness. The worries and concerns I came to the Bible with, dissolve and I am at peace with life.
I invite you all to hear the Bible in this manner when I read it during the worship services on Sunday mornings. Many of you have commented to me how much you like my sermons. And I am truly thankful whenever I get positive feedback–I put a lot of work, research, and thought into my sermons. But I think that it is the Bible reading that is the most important part of the worship service. The Bible reading is God’s Word, not human words.
And I commend to you regular reading of the Bible on your own at home. I think we all would benefit for a few moments taken aside from the cares of this life to read a short Bible passage and to breathe with heaven’s respiration as we read. You may find that your life evens out, becomes more orderly and peaceful. You may not know where Moab is, or Edom. But there are passages that you will be able to follow with some clarity. And while you are reading, your spirit will open up to the angels around you, and ultimately bring you into God’s presence. That would be a fine place to begin or end your day.