TCR 596
. . . the internal person is reformed by means of truths,
which enable him to see what is evil and false;
and these truths are still in his external or natural man.
. . . there is dissension between the new will, which is above,
and the old will, which is below.
Since it is dissension between wills,
it is between the pleasures of either,
for it is well known that the flesh opposes the spirit, and the spirit the flesh,
and the flesh with its lusts must be tamed,
before the spirit can act and the person can become a new person.
Following this dissension of the wills,
a struggle, known as spiritual temptation, takes place.
But this temptation or struggle is not between good and evil,
but between the truths that accompany good
and the falsities that accompany evil.
For good is unable to struggle of itself, but does so by means of truths.
Nor can evil struggle of itself, but does so by means of its falsities.
This is like the will being unable to struggle of itself,
but doing so by means of the understanding, which is where its truths are.
A person does not feel this struggle to be anywhere but in himself . . ..
The devil, or hell, attacks the person and calls forth the evil in him,
while the Lord protects him and calls forth the good in him.
But although that struggle takes place in the spiritual world,
at the same time it takes place in the person
between the truths that accompany good
and the falsities that accompany evil present within him.
A person ought therefore to struggle exactly as if of himself,
since he has the free will to act on the Lord's side or on the devil's.
He is on the Lord's side if he holds to truths from good,
on the devil's if he holds to falsities from evil.
TCR 599
By struggles and temptations in the world
the Lord glorified His Human, that is, He made it Divine.
It is likewise now with people individually;
when someone is subject to temptations,
the Lord struggles for him,
overcoming the spirits of hell who assail him;
and after his temptation He glorifies him,
that is, renders him spiritual.
After His universal redemption
the Lord brought everything in heaven and in hell into a state of order.
He does much the same with a person after temptation,
for He brings into a state of order
everything in him relating to heaven and the world.
After the act of redemption the Lord established a new church;
likewise too He establishes in a person what is to do with the church,
and makes him a church at the level of the individual.
After redemption
the Lord granted peace to those who believed in Him; for He said:
I leave peace with you,
my peace I give to you;
not as the world gives do I give it to you.
John 14:27
Likewise He grants to a person after temptation to feel peace,
that is, gladness of mind and consolation.
These facts show that the Lord is the Redeemer for ever.
Monday, May 03, 2010
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