AC 1316 - Being One

AC 1316 [1, 2]

Behold, the people are one, and they all have one lip.
(Genesis 11:6)

The people is said to be "one," and their "lip one,"
when all have as their end the common good of society,
the common good of the church,
and the kingdom of the Lord;
for when this is the case the Lord is in the end,
and all are a one from Him.
But the Lord cannot possibly be present with a person
whose end is his own good;
the proprium itself of a person estranges the Lord,
because thereby the person twists and turns
the common good of society,
and that of the church itself,
and even the kingdom of the Lord, to himself,
insomuch that it is as if it existed for him.

But when the people is one, and the lip one,
that is, when the common good of all is regarded,
one person never appropriates to himself
another's delight,
or destroys another's freedom,
but insofar as he can
he promotes and increases it.
This is the reason why
the heavenly societies are as a one,
and this solely through mutual love from the Lord;
and the case is the same in the church.