SS 53, 56 - Doctrine

SS 53

Doctrine must be drawn from the Word’s literal sense
and verified by it.
That is because there and nowhere else
is the Lord present with a person
so as to enlighten him and teach him the church’s truths.
The Lord also never does anything except in fullness,
and the Word is in its fullness in its literal sense . . ..
It is because of this
that doctrine must be drawn from the literal sense.

SS 56

One may believe that a doctrine of genuine truth
can be acquired by means of the Word’s spiritual sense,
which is obtained through
a knowledge of correspondences.
But doctrine is not acquired by means of that sense,
but is only illustrated and corroborated by it.
For . . . no one arrives at the spiritual sense
through correspondences
unless he first possesses genuine truths from doctrine.
If he does not possess genuine truths first,
a person may falsify the Word
by applying some correspondences that he knows
and connecting them and interpreting them
to support something lodged in his mind
from a preconceived premise.

In addition, the spiritual sense
is granted to a person only by the Lord,
and He protects it,
as He protects heaven,
inasmuch as heaven is present in it.