SS 79
. . . it is through the Word
that the Lord is present with a person
and is conjoined with him,
for the Lord is the Word,
and as it were
speaks with the person in it.
The Lord is also Divine truth itself,
as likewise is the Word.
From this it is evident
that the Lord is present with a person
and is at the same time conjoined with him,
according to his understanding of the Word,
for according to this the person has truth
and the derivative faith,
and also love
and the derivative life.
The Lord is indeed present with a person
through the reading of the Word,
but He is conjoined with him
through the understanding of truth from the Word . . .
and in proportion as the Lord has been conjoined with a person,
in the same proportion the church is in him.
The church is within person;
the church that is outside of him
is the church with a number of people
who have the church within them.
This is meant by the Lord's words to the Pharisees
who asked when the kingdom of God would come:
The kingdom of God is within you.
(Luke 17:21)
Here the "kingdom of God" means the Lord,
and from Him, the church.
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