There are two aspects to the life of each person. We might call them “heart” and “mind” — a part of us that wants and feels and a part of us that thinks and knows. Swedenborg usually refer to these as the “will” and the “understanding,” and describes them as reflections, and receptacles, of the Lord’s infinite love and infinite wisdom.
Of the two, the “heart” or “will” is ultimately the most important. Who we actually are is, according to Swedenborg, determined by what we love, and the things in our heart ultimately determine our place in heaven (or hell). But the will is beyond our control; we can’t force ourselves to want something good or to not want something bad; we can control our actions, but not our feelings. So the Lord works subtly and carefully in our hearts, in ways we can’t sense. Most of the work and interaction goes on in our minds through the working of what Swedenborg call “divine truth,” which is essentially the Lord’s entire essence expressed in a form that is compatible with our minds.
When the Bible talks about the Lord’s “spirit,” then, Swedenborg says it represents this operation of divine truth in our minds, the way the Lord reaches out and embraces us, and invites us to return the embrace. And when the Bible talks about people having “spirit,” it is talking about our minds when we do embrace divine truth, to learn from and follow the Lord.
Passages from Swedenborg
AC 9818
[2] From all this people may now recognize what should be understood when it is said that Divine Truths have been inscribed upon someone. Many places in the Word use the term ‘spirit’, and when they use it in reference to a person his ‘spirit’ means goodness and truth inscribed on the understanding part of his mind and consequently on the life of that part of it. The reason why ‘spirit’, when attributed to a person, has this meaning is that inwardly a person is a spirit, indeed inwardly is in the company of spirits. See what has already been shown abundantly on this matter in the following places,
Spirits and angels reside with a person, and the person is governed by the Lord through them, 50, 697, 986, 2796, 2886, 2887, 4047, 4048, 5846-5866, 5976-5993.
A person is among spirits and angels such as he himself is like, 4067, 4073, 4077, 4111.
Every person has a spirit through which his body has life, 4622.
[3] From this one may know what ‘spirit’ means when used in reference to the Lord, namely that it is Divine Truth emanating from His Divine Good, and that when this Divine Truth flows in and is received by a person it is the Spirit of truth, Spirit of God, and Holy Spirit; for it flows directly from the Lord, and also indirectly through angels and spirits, see the places referred to in 9682. The fact that the Spirit of truth, Spirit of God, and HolySpirit have this meaning will be seen further on below; for prior to that it must be shown that, when used in the Word in reference to a person, ‘spirit’ means goodness and truth inscribed on the understanding part of a person’s mind and consequently means the life of that part of it. For there is the life of the understanding part, and there is the life of the will part. That of the understanding part consists in knowing, seeing, and understanding that truth is indeed truth and good is indeed good. But the life of the will part consists in willing and loving truth for truth’s sake and good for goodness’ sake. In the Word the life of the will is called ‘heart’, but that of the understanding ‘spirit’.
[4] The following places in the Word show that this is so: In Ezekiel,
Make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? Ezek. 18:31.
And in the same prophet,
I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit will I give in the midst of you. Ezek. 36:26.
‘A new heart’ stands for a new will. and ‘a new spirit’ for a new understanding. In Zechariah,
Jehovah stretches out the heavens, and founds the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him. Zech. 12:1.
‘Stretching out the heavens and founding the earth’ stands for the establishment of a new Church, this Church being meant by ‘heaven and earth’, see 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118 (end), 3355 (end), 4535. ‘Forming the spirit of man within him’ stands for regenerating a person as to his understanding of truth and good.
[5] In David,
Create for me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spiritwithin me. Do not cast me away from before You, and do not take the spirit of Your holiness from me. Bring back to me the joy of Your salvation, and let a generous spirit uphold me. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.** Ps. 51:10-12, 17.
‘A clean heart’ stands for a will that detests evils, which are forms of uncleanness; ‘a steadfast spirit’ stands for an understanding of and belief in truth; ‘a broken spirit’ and ‘a broken heart’ stand for a state of temptation and the consequent humbling of the life in both. The fact that ‘spirit’ means life is evident from every detail in these verses. Divine Truth, from which that life springs, is meant by ‘thespirit of holiness’. In the same author,
A generation that did not make its heart right, nor was its spiritsteadfast with God. Ps. 78:8.
‘Heart that is not right’ stands for a will that is not right, and ‘spiritthat is not steadfast with God’ stands for an understanding of and belief in God’s truth that are not steadfast.
[6] In Moses,
Jehovah God had hardened the spirit of Sihon king of Heshbon and made his heart obstinate. Deut. 2:30.
Here also ‘spirit’ and ‘heart’ stand for the life in both parts, which is said to have been ‘made obstinate’ when the will has no desire to understand truth and good and put them into practice. In Ezekiel,
Every heart will melt, and all hands will hang down, and everyspirit will shrink. Ezek. 21:7.
Here the meaning is similar. In Isaiah,
Jehovah is He who gives soul*** to the people on the earth, andspirit to those who walk on it. Isa. 42:5.
‘Giving soul to the people’ stands for endowing with the life of faith, ‘soul’ meaning the life of faith, see 9050; and ‘giving spirit’ stands for providing with an understanding of truth. In the same prophet,
With my soul I desired You in the night; even with my spiritwithin me I waited for You early. Isa. 26:9.
Here the meaning is similar.
[7] In the same prophet,
Conceive chaff, bring forth stubble; fire will devour your spirit. Isa. 33:11.
‘Spirit’ which fire will devour stands for an understanding of truth, and so for intelligence; ‘fire’ stands for a craving which, because it springs from evil, is destructive.
[8] In Ezekiel,
Woe to the foolish prophets, who go away after their own spirit! Ezek. 13:3.
In the same prophet,
What comes up onto your spirit**** will not ever be brought about. Ezek. 20:32.
In Malachi,
Not one has done so, nor those remaining who had spirit. Why then is there one seeking God’s seed? Therefore take heed through your spirit, to see that it does not act treacherously against the wife of your youth. Mal. 2:15.
In David,
Blessed is the person to whom Jehovah does not impute iniquity; only let there be no guile in his spirit. Ps. 32:2.
In Matthew,
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matt. 5:3.
In the same gospel,
Jesus said to the disciples, Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is eager, but the flesh is weak. Matt. 26:41.
In these places, as is plainly evident, ‘spirit’ is used to mean the actual life in a person. That the life of the understanding, or the life of truth, is meant becomes clear from the consideration that in the natural sense ‘spirit’ is used to mean human life and breath. And drawing breath, which is the work of the lungs, corresponds to the life of truth, which is the life of faith and consequently of the understanding, whereas the beating of the heart corresponds to the life of the will and so of love. For this correspondence of lungs and heart, see 3635, 3883-3896, 9300, 9495. All this makes clear what type of life is meant in the spiritual sense by ‘spirit’. [9] The fact that ‘spirit’ in the ordinary sense means human life and breath is clearly evident in David,
You hide Your face, they are dismayed; You gather up their spirit, they breathe their last. You send forth Your spirit, they are created. Ps. 104:29, 30.
In the same author,
Answer me, O Jehovah. My spirit is consumed. Do not hide Your face from Me. Ps. 143:7.
In Job,
My spirit is consumed, my days are extinguished. Job 17:1.
In Luke,
Jesus took the dead girl’s hand, saying, Girl, arise. Her spirittherefore returned, and she arose at once. Luke 8:54, 55.
In Jeremiah,
Every person has been made stupid by knowledge; his graven image is a lie, and there is no spirit in it. Jer. 10:14; 51:17.
In Ezekiel,
He brought me out in the Spirit of Jehovah and set me down in the midst of the valley. And there the Lord Jehovih said to the dry bones, Behold, I am bringing spirit into you that you may live. Thus said the Lord Jehovih, Come from the four winds, O spirit, and breathe into these killed. And spirit came into them, and they were alive again. Ezek. 37:1, 5, 9, 10.
In the Book of Revelation,
The two witnesses were killed by the beast ascending from the abyss. But after three and a half days the spirit of life from God entered them, so that they stood on their feet. Rev. 11:7, 11.
[10] From these places it is plainly evident that ‘spirit’ is a person’s life. The fact that more specifically it is the life of truth, which is the life of the understanding part of a person’s mind, and is called intelligence, is made plain in John,
The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. God is a Spirit, therefore those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. John 4:23, 24.
In Daniel,
… that there was in him an excellent spirit, both of knowledge and of intelligence. Dan. 5:12, 14.
In Luke,
John grew and became strong in spirit. Luke 1:80.
And regarding the Lord, in the same gospel,
The child Jesus grew and became strong in spirit, and was filled with wisdom. Luke 2:40.
In John,
He whom the Father has sent speaks the words of God, for God has not given Him the spirit by measure.***** John 3:34.
Here ‘the spirit’ stands for intelligence and wisdom; ‘speaking the words of God’ means declaring Divine Truths.
[11] From all this it may now be seen what ‘spirit’ means in John,
Jesus said to Nicodemus, Unless a person has been born from water and the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, but that which has been born from the spirit is spirit. John 3:5, 6.
‘Being born from water’ means [being regenerated] by means of truth, and ‘being born from the spirit’ means life from the Lord which comes as a result of this, called spiritual life. For the meaning of ‘water’ as the truth by means of which regeneration is accomplished, see 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 8568, 9323. ‘Flesh’ however means the human proprium or selfhood, in which there is no spiritual life at all, 3813, 8409.
[12] Something similar is meant by ‘spirit’ and ‘flesh’ in the same gospel,
It is the Spirit which bestows life, the flesh does not profit anything. The words which I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life. John 6:63.
‘The words’ which the Lord spoke are Divine Truths, the life which comes as a result being ‘the spirit’. In Isaiah,
Egypt is man (homo), not God, and his horses are flesh and notspirit. Isa. 31:3.
‘Egypt’ stands for knowledge in general, ‘his horses’ for factual knowledge supplied from the understanding, which is spoken of as ‘flesh and not spirit’ when it does not have any spiritual life at all within it.
‘Egypt’ is knowledge, see the places referred to in 9340, 9391. ‘Horses’ are the power of understanding, 2761, 2762, 3217, 5321. ‘The horses of Egypt’ are known facts supplied from the understanding, 6125, 8146, 8148.
Anyone who does not know what is meant by ‘Egypt’, what is meant by ‘his horses’, and also what is meant by ‘flesh’ and ‘spirit’, cannot possibly know what these words [in Isa. 31:3] imply.
[13] Once people know what ‘spirit’ present in a person means they may know what is meant by ‘spirit’ when this term is used in reference to Jehovah or the Lord. Everything a human being has, such as face, eyes, ears, arms, and hands, also heart and soul, He is said to have. Thus spirit as well is attributed to Him, and in the Word it is called Spirit of God, Spirit of Jehovah, Spirit of His mouth, and Spirit of Holiness or Holy Spirit. The fact that the term is used to mean Divine Truth emanating from the Lord is clear from a large number of places in the Word. The reason why Divine Truth emanating from the Lord is meant by ‘Spirit of God’ is that all of a person’s life comes from there, as does the heavenly life possessed by those who receive that Divine Truth in faith and love. The Lord Himself teaches in John that this is what ‘Spirit of God’ means,
The words which I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life. John 6:63.
‘The words’ which the Lord spoke are Divine Truths.
[14] In the same gospel,
Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, If anyone thirsts let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, Out of his belly will flow rivers of living water. This He said about the Spirit which those believing in Him were to receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:37-39.
‘The Spirit’ which those believing in the Lord were to receive from Him means the life coming from the Lord that is the life of faith and love, as is evident from the specific expressions used in these verses. For ‘thirsting’ and ‘drinking’ means the desire to know and understand truth; and ‘rivers of living water’ which will flow from the belly are God’s truths. From this it is clear that ‘the Spirit’ which believers were to receive, also called ‘the Holy Spirit’, means the life brought by Divine Truth emanating from the Lord. This life, as stated just above, is called the life of faith and love, being the spiritual and heavenly life itself present in a person. The reason why it says ‘the Holy Spirit was not yet because Jesus was not yet glorified’ is that while He was in the world the Lord Himself taught Divine Truth; but when He had been glorified, which was after the Resurrection, He taught it through angels and spirits. That holy influence present with a person, emanating from the Lord through angels and spirits, whether in a discernible manner or an indiscernible one, is the Holy Spirit there. For in the Word Divine Truth emanating from the Lord is called that which is holy, 9680.
[15] This explains why the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of truth and why it is said that He would lead into all truth, that He would not speak on His own [authority], but speak what He hears from the Lord, and that He would receive from the Lord what He was to declare, John 16:13, 14. It also explains why the Lord, when He was going to leave the disciples, breathed into them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit, John 20:21, 22. ‘Breathing’ means the life of faith, 9229, 9281, so that the Lord’s breathing into someone means imparting the ability to understand Divine Truths and thereby receive that life. So it is also that ‘the Spirit’, being a name derived from ‘breathing’, is a derivation also of ‘blowing’ and of ‘wind’; and this is why the spirit is frequently called the wind. Breathing, which is the work of the lungs, corresponds to the life of faith, while the beating of the heart corresponds to the life of love, see 3883-3896, 9300, 9495.
[16] Something similar is meant by ‘breathing into’ in the Book of Genesis,
And Jehovah breathed into man’s nostrils the soul of life. Gen. 2:7.
This is why in Lamentations 4:20 the Lord is called the Spirit of our nostrils; and since Divine Truth consumes and devastates the evil it says in David,
The foundations of the world were revealed at the blast of theSpirit of Your nose. Ps. 18:15.
And in Job,
By the breath of God they perish, and by the Spirit of His nose they are consumed. Job 4:9.
In David,
By the Word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and all their host by the Spirit of His mouth. Ps. 33:6.
‘The Word of Jehovah’ is Divine Truth, as is ‘the Spirit of His mouth’. The fact that the Lord is that Word is clear in John,
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made though Him. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. John 1:1-3, 14.
[17] The fact that Divine Truth, from which heavenly life comes to a person, is the Holy Spirit is further evident from the following places: In Isaiah,
There will come forth a shoot from the trunk of Jesse, and theSpirit of Jehovah will rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and intelligence, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of Jehovah. Isa. 11:1, 2.
These words refer to the Lord, in whom there is Divine Truth. Consequently Divine Wisdom and Intelligence is called ‘the Spiritof Jehovah’, and in these verses ‘the Spirit of wisdom and intelligence, counsel, strength, and knowledge’. In the same prophet,
I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth judgement to the nations. Isa. 42:1.
These words too refer to the Lord. ‘The Spirit of Jehovah’ upon Him is Divine Truth, and consequently Divine Wisdom and Intelligence. Divine Truth is also called ‘judgement’, 2235.
[18] In the same prophet,
He will come like a rushing****** river; the Spirit of Jehovah will place a sign on Him. Isa. 59:19.
In the same prophet,
The Spirit of the Lord Jehovih is upon Me, therefore Jehovah has anointed Me to bring good tidings to the poor. Isa. 61:1.
This too refers to the Lord. Divine Truth, which was in the Lord when He was in the world, and which He was then, is meant by ‘the Spirit of Jehovah’.
[19] The fact that ‘the Spirit of Jehovah’ means Divine Truth and consequently heavenly life that comes to the person who receives that Truth is further evident from the following places: In Isaiah,
… until the Spirit is poured out on us from on high; then the wilderness will become a ploughed field, then judgement will dwell in the wilderness. Isa. 32:15, 16.
The subject here is regeneration. ‘The Spirit from on high’ is life from the Divine; for the promises that ‘the wilderness will become a ploughed field’ and that ‘judgement will dwell in the wilderness’ mean the presence of intelligence where none existed previously, thus new life there.
[20] Something similar occurs in Ezekiel,
… in order that you may know that I will put My Spirit in you, in order that you may live. Ezek. 37:14.
In the same prophet,
I will no longer hide My face from them, because I shall pour out My Spirit on the house of Israel. Ezek. 39:29.
In Joel,
I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; and on men servants and women servants in those days I will pour out My Spirit. Joel 2:28, 29.
In Micah,
I have been filled with strength by******* the Spirit of Jehovah, and with judgement and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin. Micah 3:8.
In Zechariah,
The horses going out into the north land have caused My Spirit to rest on the north land. Zech. 6:8.
In Isaiah,
I will pour out waters upon the thirsty land, and streams upon the dry. I will pour out My Spirit upon your seed. Isa. 44:3.
In these places it is evident that ‘the Spirit of Jehovah’ means Divine Truth and the life of faith and love which come through that Truth. It flows in directly from the Lord, also indirectly from Him through spirits and angels, see 9682 (end).
[21] Something similar occurs elsewhere in Isaiah,
On that day Jehovah Zebaoth will be a crown of adornment and a tiara of beauty for the remnant of His people, and a Spirit of judgement to him who sits in judgement, and strength to those … Isa. 28:5, 6.
‘A crown of adornment’ stands for the wisdom that comes with good, ‘a tiara of beauty’ for the intelligence that comes with truth, and ‘a Spirit of judgement’ for Divine Truth, since ‘judgement’ is spoken of in reference to truth , 2235, 6397, 7206, 8685, 8695, 9260, 9383.
[22] In the same prophet,
The angel of Jehovah’s face******** delivered them; because of His love and His pity He redeemed them. But they rebelled, and exasperated the Spirit of His holiness; consequently He was turned by them into an enemy. He put the Spirit of His holiness in the midst of them. The Spirit of Jehovah led them. Isa. 63:9-11, 14.
‘The Spirit of holiness’ here is the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, thus Divine Truth which comes from the Lord; ‘the angel of His face’ is the Lord in respect of Divine Good, for ‘Jehovah’s face’ is love, mercy, and good. In the Book of Revelation,
The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy. Rev. 19:10.
‘The testimony of Jesus’ is Divine Truth that comes from Him and has regard to Him, 9503.
[23] In David,
Jehovah God makes His angels spirits,********* and [His] ministers flaming fire. Ps. 104:4.
‘Making angels spirits’ stands for making them recipients of Divine Truth; ‘making them flaming fire’ stands for making them recipients of Divine Good or Divine Love. In Matthew,
John said, I baptize you with water for repentance. But He who will come after me will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Matt. 3:11.
‘Baptizing’ means regenerating; ‘with the Holy Spirit’ means doing so through Divine Truth; and ‘with fire’ means springing from the Divine Good of Divine Love. For the meaning of ‘baptizing’ as regenerating, see 5120 (end), 9088; and for that of ‘fire’ as the Divine Good of Divine Love, 4906, 5215, 6314, 6832, 6834, 6849, 7324.
[24] In Luke,
If you, being wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father who is in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? Luke 11:13.
‘Giving the Holy Spirit’ means enlightening with Divine Truth and endowing with life from that Truth, which is the life of intelligence and wisdom. In the Book of Revelation,
The seven lamps of fire burning before the throne are the seven spirits of God. Rev. 4:5.
And in addition,
In the midst of the elders [there was] a Lamb standing, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Rev. 5:6.
It is self-evident that the word ‘spirits’ in these places is not used to mean spirits, since they say that the lamps and the Lamb’s eyes are the spirits of God . For Divine Truths are meant by ‘lamps’, 4638, 7072; the understanding of truth is meant by ‘the eyes’, or Divine Intelligence and Wisdom when the expression refers to the Lord, 2701, 4403-4421, 4523-4534, 9051; and the power of truth derived from good is meant by ‘horns’ 2832, 9081, 9719-9721. From all this it is evident that Divine Truths are meant by ‘the spirits of God’.
[25] When people know therefore that the Holy Spirit is the Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, which is real Holiness, they may know the Divine meaning in the Word wherever the terms ‘Spiritof God’ and ‘Holy Spirit’ are used, as in the following places: In John,
I will ask the Father to give you another Paraclete, to remain with you forever, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, because He remains with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans. The Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and remind you of all that I said to you. John 14:16-18, 26.
And in another place,
When the Paraclete comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes forth from the Father, He will bear witness to Me. And you will bear witness. John 15:26, 27.
And in yet another place,
I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away. If I do not go away the Paraclete will not come to you; but if I go away I will send Him to you. John 16:7.
[26] From these places it is again evident that the Divine Truth which emanates from Divine Good, or from the Father, is the Paraclete and Holy Spirit. This also explains why He is called ‘theSpirit of truth’, and why it is said that He will remain in them, teach them all things, and bear witness to the Lord. In the spiritual sense ‘bearing witness to the Lord’ means teaching about Him. The reason why [in the first of these quotations] it is said that the Paraclete, who is the Holy Spirit, is sent in the Lord’s name from the Father, then [in the second] that the Lord Himself will send Him from the Father, and after this [in the third] that the Lord will send Him, is that ‘the Father’ means the Divine [Being] Himself within the Lord, so that the Father and He are one, as the Lord teaches explicitly in John 10:30; 14:9-11.
[27] In Matthew,
Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy of the Spirit will not be forgiven people. If anyone speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but he who speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the one to come. Matt. 12:31, 32.
‘Speaking a word against the Son of Man’ takes place when a person goes against God’s truth that has not yet been implanted in or inscribed on his life; for ‘the Son of Man’ is Divine Truth, see above in 9807. But ‘speaking a word against the Holy Spirit’ takes place when a person goes against Divine Truth, especially Divine Truth concerning the Lord, that has been implanted in or inscribed on his life. Speaking against or denying that Truth when it has formerly been acknowledged is profanation; and profanation is such that it completely destroys a person interiorly. This is why it says that this sin cannot be forgiven. What profanation is, see 3398, 3898, 4289, 4601, 6348, 6960, 6963, 6971, 8394, 8882, 9298.
[28] And in the same gospel,
Jesus said to the disciples, Go and baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Matt. 28:19.
‘The Father’ is the Divine [Being] Himself, ‘the Son’ is that Divine [Being] Himself in a human form, and ‘the Holy Spirit’ is the emanation from the Divine [Being], so that there is one Divine [Being] yet still a Trinity. The truth that the Lord is the Divine [Being] Himself under human form is His own teaching in John,
From now on you know the Father and have seen Him. He who sees Me sees the Father. I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. John 14:7, 9, 10.
* or from the evil one
** The Latin means God does not despise but the Hebrew means O God, You will not despise
*** or breath
**** i.e. What you have in mind
***** Sw. here follows the Latin version of Sebastian Schmidt. The Greek means He who God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the spirit by measure.
****** lit. narrow
******* lit. with
******** i.e. presence
********* or makes winds His messengers
Apocalypse Explained (Tansley) n. 183
- These things saith he that hath the seven spirits of God. That this signifies the Lord from whom come all the truths of heaven and of the church is evident from the fact that it is the Son of man who says these things, and also those which are addressed to the angels of the other churches; and the Son of man is the Lord as to the Divine Human (as may be seen above, n. 63, 151). By the seven spirits of God are meant all the truths of heaven and of the church, because the Spirit of God in the Word signifies the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord. In many passages in the Word mention is made of spirit, and this, when said of man, signifies Divine truth received in his life, thus his spiritual life; but when said of the Lord it signifies the Divine which proceeds from Him, which in general terms is called Divine truth. But because few at this day know what is meant by spirit in the Word, I desire first to show from quotations, that spirit, when said of man, signifies Divine truth received in the life, thus his spiritual life. Now as these two things, the good of love and the truth of faith, constitute the spiritual life of man, therefore, in several passages in the Word, mention is made of heart and spirit, and also of heart and soul; by heart is signified the good of love, and by spirit the truth of faith; the latter is also signified by soul, for by this term in the Word is meant man’s spirit.
That by spirit, when said of man, is signified truth received in the life, is evident from the following passages. [2] In Ezekiel:
“Make you a new heart and a new spirit; why will ye die, O house of Israel?” (xviii. 31).
In the same:
“A new heart will I give you, and a new spirit will I give in the midst of you” (xxxvi. 26).
In David:
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a firm spirit within me. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart God does not despise” (Ps. li. 10, 17).
In these passages heart signifies the good of love, and spirit the truth of faith, from which man has spiritual life; for there are two things that constitute man’s life, good and truth; these his spiritual life. [3] Because heart signifies good, and spirit truth, when both are received in the life, therefore heart, in the opposite sense, signifies evil, and spirit falsity; for most expressions in the Word have also an opposite sense. Heart and spirit are used in this sense in the following passages in David:
“A generation that sets not their heart aright, and whose spirit is not steadfast with God” (Ps. lxxviii. 8).
In Ezekiel:
“Every heart shall melt, and every spirit shall faint” (xxi. 7).
In Moses:
“Jehovah hath made heavy the spirit of the king of Heshbon, and hath hardened his heart” (Deut. ii. 30).
In Isaiah:
“Conceive chaff, bring forth stubble; fire shall devour your spirit” (xxxiii. 11).
In Ezekiel:
“Woe unto the foolish prophets, who go away after their ownspirit” (xiii. 3).
In the same:
“That which ascendeth upon your spirit shall never come to pass” (xx. 32).
[4] From these considerations it is evident, that the whole of man’s life is meant by heart and spirit; and because his whole life has reference to these two, namely, to good and truth, and, in the spiritual sense, to love and faith, therefore, by heart and spirit those two lives are meant. This is also why heart and spirit signify man’s will and understanding, because these two faculties constitute his life; for a man has no life but in those faculties; the reason is, that the will is the receptacle of good and its love, or of evil and its love, and the understanding is the receptacle of truth and its faith, or of falsity and its faith, and, as has been said, all things in man have reference to good and truth or to evil and falsity, and, in the spiritual sense, to love and faith (see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 28-35). The reason why by spirit, when said of man, is signified truth or falsity, and hence his life from the one or the other is, that by spirit is properly meant the spirit which is in man, and which thinks, and this it does either from truths or from falsities. But, as said above, the two things that constitute man’s life are understanding and will. The life of the understanding is to think from either truths or falsities, and the life of the will is to affect, or inflame with love, those things which the understanding thinks. These two lives of a man’s spirit correspond to the two lives of his body, which are the life of the respiration of the lungs and the life of the pulse of the heart; man’s spirit is united to the body by this correspondence (as may be seen above, n. 167, and in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 446, 447). [5] Because of this correspondence, the spirit is so named from a term which, in the original, and in several other languages, signifies wind; therefore to expire is frequently expressed in the Word by giving up thespirit. Thus in David:
“I have taken away their spirit, he has expired” (Ps. civ. 29).
In Ezekiel:
The Lord Jehovih said to the dry bones, “Behold, I bring spiritinto you, that ye may live: and the Lord Jehovih said, Come from the four winds, O spirit, and breathe into these slain; and the spiritcame into them, and they lived again” (xxxvii. 5, 9, 10).
In the Apocalypse:
“The two witnesses were slain by the beast that came up out of the abyss, but after three days and a half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet” (xi. 7, 11).
In Luke:
Jesus, taking the hand of the dead maid, “cried, saying, Maid, arise; and her spirit came again, and she arose straightway” (viii. 54, 55).
[6] When these passages are understood it will be evident what is signified by spirit when said of man, in numerous places in the Word, from which the following only shall be adduced; as in John:
“Except anyone be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the spirit” (iii. 5, 8).
In the same:
The Lord breathed on the disciples, and said, “Receive ye the HolySpirit” (xx. 21, 22).
In the Book of Genesis:
“Jehovah breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of lives” (ii. 7);
besides other places.
[7] That spirit, in the spiritual sense, signifies truth, and man’s life thence derived, which is intelligence, is quite clear from the following passages. In John:
“The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth” (iv. 23).
In Daniel:
“In him was an excellent spirit of knowledge and understanding. I have heard concerning thee that the spirit of God is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in thee” (v. 12, 14).
In Moses:
“Thou shalt speak unto all the wise in heart, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom” (Exod. xxviii. 3).
In Luke:
John “grew, and waxed strong in spirit” (i. 80).
And concerning the Lord,
Jesus “the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was filled with wisdom” (ii. 40).
[8] When it is known what is signified by the term spirit when used in reference to man, its meaning may be known when said of Jehovah, or the Lord, to whom are attributed all the things which a man has, face, eyes, ears, arms, hands, as also heart and soul, thus also spirit, which in the Word is called the spirit of God, the spiritof Jehovah, the spirit of His nostrils, the spirit of His mouth, thespirit of truth, the spirit of holiness, and the Holy Spirit, by which is meant Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, as is evident from many passages in the Word.
The reason why Divine truth proceeding from the Lord is thespirit of God is, that all the life which men possess is therefrom, as also the heavenly life of those who receive that Divine truth in faith and life. That this is the spirit of God, the Lord himself teaches in John:
“The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (vi. 63).
In Isaiah:
“There shall go forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse: the spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might” (xi. 1, 2).
Again:
“I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the nations” (xlii. 1).
Again:
“When [the enemy] shall come like a river, the spirit of Jehovah shall lift up a standard against him” (lix. 19).
Again:
“The spirit of the Lord Jehovih is upon me, therefore Jehovah hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor” (lxi. 1).
And in John:
“He whom the Father hath sent, speaketh the words of God; for God hath not given the spirit by measure” (iii. 34);
this is said of the Lord. That the Holy Spirit is Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, is evident in John:
“I tell you the truth: it is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. When he, the Spirit of Truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself, he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you” (xvi. 7, 13, 14).
[9] That the Comforter, here mentioned, is Divine truth proceeding from the Lord is quite clear; for it is said the Lord himself spoke “the truth” to them, and declared that, when He should go away, He would send the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, who should guide them into all truth, and that He would not speak from himself but from the Lord. It is here said, he shall receive of mine, because Divine truths proceed from the Lord; and mine is said of what proceeds; for the Lord himself is Divine love, and that which proceeds from Him is Divine truth, thus is His own (see what is said in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 139, 140, and the preceding numbers, and in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 307). That to go forth and to proceed is meant by being sent and sending, may be seen in Arcana Coelestia, n. 2397, 4710, 6831, 10,561; in like manner here by I will send Him unto you.
[10] That the Comforter is the Holy Spirit is evident in John:
“The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, he shall teach you all things ” (xiv. 26).
In the same:
Jesus stood and cried with a loud voice: “Saying, If anyone thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. This spake he of the Spirit which they that believe on him should receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified” (vii. 37-39).
That the Holy Spirit is Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, which flows into man, both immediately from the Lord Himself and mediately by angels and spirits, is clear also from the above words. For the Lord declares that he who believes on Him, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water; and then it is added that He spake this concerning the Spirit which they should receive; for water, in the spiritual sense, signifies truth, and rivers of living water, Divine truth from the Lord in abundance; the same is therefore meant by the Spirit which they should receive. (That water signifies truth, and living water Divine truth, may be seen above, n. 71.) And because Divine truth proceeds from the Lord’s Human glorified, and not immediately from His Divine itself, because this was glorified in itself from eternity, it is therefore here said,
“The Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
(That to glorify is to make Divine, and that the Lord fully glorified His Human, that is, made it Divine by his last temptation and victory on the cross, may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 293-295, 300-306.) [11] In heaven they greatly wonder that those who form the church do not know that the HolySpirit, which is Divine truth, proceeds from the Lord’s Human, and not immediately from His Divine, when, notwithstanding, the doctrine received in the whole Christian world teaches that, – “As is the Father, so also is the Son, uncreate, infinite, eternal, omnipotent, God, Lord; neither of them is first or last, nor greatest or least. Christ is God and man: God from the nature of the Father, and man from the nature of the mother; but although He is God and man, yet nevertheless there are not two, but one Christ; He is one, not by changing the Divinity into the humanity, but by the Divinity receiving to itself the humanity. He is altogether one, not by a commixing of two natures, but one person alone, because as the body and soul are one man, so God and man is one Christ.” This is from the creed of Athanasius.
Now because the Lord’s Divine and Human are not two, but one Person alone, and are united as the soul and body, it can be known that the Divine which is called the Holy Spirit goes forth and proceeds from His Divine by means of the Human, thus from the Divine Human; for nothing whatever can proceed from the body except out of the soul by means of the body, because all the life of the body is from its soul. And because, as is the Father so is the Son, uncreate, infinite, eternal, omnipotent, God and Lord, and neither of them is first or last, nor greatest or least, it follows that the proceeding Divine, which is called the Holy Spirit, proceeds from the Divine itself of the Lord by means of His Human, and not from another Divine which is called the Father; for the Lord teaches that He and the Father are one, and that the Father is in Him and He in the Father (concerning which, see below, n. 200). But the reason why most of those in the Christian world think otherwise in their hearts, and consequently believe otherwise, the angels have said is from the fact that they think of the Human of the Lord as separate from His Divine; which nevertheless is contrary to the doctrine that teaches that the Divine and Human of the Lord are not two persons, but one Person alone, and united as soul and body.
That this is in the doctrine of the whole Christian world was provided by the Lord, because it is the essential of the church, and the essential of the salvation of all. But that they have divided the Divine and Human of the Lord into two natures, and have said that the Lord is God from the nature of the Father, and man from the nature of the mother, was because they did not know that when the Lord fully glorified His Human He put off the Human taken from the mother, and put on that from the Father (according to what is shown in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 295). That this distinction was also made in a certain council, on account of the Pope, by those who were then present, in order that he might be acknowledged as the Lord’s vicar, may be seen in Arcana Coelestia, n. 4738.
[12] That the Spirit of God is Divine truth, and hence spiritual life to the man who receives it, is further evident from the following passages. In Micah:
“I am full of power with the Spirit of Jehovah, and of judgment” (iii. 8).
In Isaiah:
“I will pour out waters upon him that is thirsty, and rivulets upon the dry ground, and my spirit upon thy seed” (xliv. 3).
Again:
“In that day shall Jehovah of hosts be for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them” (xxviii. 5, 6).
In Ezekiel:
“That ye may know that I will put my spirit in you that ye may live” (xxxvii. 14).
In Joel:
“I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and also upon the men-servants, and upon the handmaids” (ii. 28).
In the Apocalypse:
“The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (xix. 10).
Because the Spirit of God signifies Divine truth, it is therefore called
the Spirit of the mouth of Jehovah (Ps. xxxiii. 6)
“the spirit of his lips” (Isa. xi. 4);
“the breath of God,” and “the spirit of his nostrils” (Lam. iv. 20; Ps. xviii. 15; Job. iv. 9).
In Matthew:
John said, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance; but he that cometh after me shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (iii. 11).
To baptize, in the spiritual sense, signifies to regenerate; the HolySpirit is Divine truth, and fire is Divine good. (That to baptize signifies to regenerate, may be see above, n. 71; and that fire is the good of love, n. 68.) [13] From these considerations it is now evident what is meant by the words of the Lord to His disciples:
“Going . . . baptize into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (xxviii. 19).
Here by the Father is meant the Divine itself, by the Son, the Divine Human, and by the Holy Spirit, the proceeding Divine which is Divine truth: thus one Divine, and yet a trinity. That this is the case, the Lord teaches in John:
“From these things ye know” the Father, “and have seen him. He that seeth me seeth the Father. I am in the Father, and the Father in me” (xiv. 7, 9, 10).
[14] Because the proceeding Divine, which is Divine truth, flows into man both immediately and mediately by angels and spirits, it is therefore believed that the Holy Spirit is a third person, distinct from the two called Father and Son; but I can assert that no one in heaven knows any other Holy Divine Spirit but the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord. And because the Divine truth is communicated to men also mediately by means of angels, it is therefore said of Jehovah in David,
“Jehovah God maketh his angels spirits” (Ps. civ. 1, 4).
These things are now adduced to show that by the seven spirits are signified all the truths of heaven and the church from the Lord. That the seven spirits denote all the truths of heaven and the church, becomes more evident from these passages in the Apocalypse:
“The seven lamps of fire burning before the throne are the seven spirits of God” (iv. 5).
And moreover,
“In the midst of the elders stood a lamb, having seven horns, and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth” (v. 6).
That the spirits there mentioned do not mean spirits, is clear from the fact that the lamps, and the eyes of the Lamb are called spirits; for lamps signify Divine truths and eyes the understanding of truth; and when these are said of the Lord, His Divine wisdom and intelligence are meant (concerning which see above, n. 152).
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 5222
- That his spirit was troubled’ means a turmoil. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being troubled in spirit’ as being placed in a turmoil. ‘Spirit’ is used here, as it is several times elsewhere in the Word, to mean a person’s interior affection and thought, which also constitute his spirit. The ancients called these his spirit, but specifically they used spirit to mean the interior man who would go on living after the body died. At the present day however, when people read about the spirit where it has that meaning, they understand by it solely the faculty of thought, without anything else subject to it apart from the body in which it resides.
[2] The reason for this different understanding is that people no longer believe that the interior man is a person’s true self. Rather, they believe that the interior man, which ordinary people call the soul or spirit, is merely the faculty of thought without anything else compatible with and subject to it. Consequently they believe that because that faculty has nothing subject to it in which to reside, it will be dissipated after death in the way something air-like or flame-like is dissipated. This is the kind of meaning spiritpossesses at the present day, as when the expression ‘troubled inspirit’, ‘saddened in spirit’, ‘joyful in spirit’, or ‘exultant in spirit’ is used. But in reality it is the actual interior man that is called thespirit and that is troubled, saddened, joyful, or exultant. And this interior man existing within an entirely human form, though this is unseen by the eyes of the body – is where the faculty of thought resides.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 10240
- Since ‘washing’ also means regeneration something more must be said about it. Anyone who does not know that both in the Prophets and in the Gospels the Lord used correspondences when He spoke, and that consequently the Word has an inner meaning, cannot possibly know what the Lord’s words in John serve to mean,
Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless a person has been born of water and the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, but that which has been born of theSpirit is spirit. The Spirit breathes where it wishes, and you hear its voice; but you do not know where it comes from and where it goes away to. So is everyone who is born from the Spirit. John 3:5, 6, 8.
[2] The meaning of these words is revealed if correspondences are used to explain them; for they contain the arcana of heaven. By virtue of its correspondence ‘water’ means the truth of faith, which is clearly perceptible within the natural. ‘The Spirit’ means Divine Truth which flows in from the Lord by way of a person’s internal into his external or natural, and from that Truth springs the life of faith which the person who is being regenerated possesses. ‘Flesh’ is the person’s proprium or selfhood, which is nothing but evil. ‘The Spirit breathes where it wishes’ means that in His mercy the Lord imparts new life by means of Divine Truth. ‘You hear its voice’ means that this life is perceptible in the external or natural man, ‘voice’ meaning what is declared by the Word. ‘You do not know where it comes from or where it goes away to’ means that a person does not know how his regeneration is accomplished, for the Lord accomplishes it in hidden ways that are countless and beyond description.