AC 3332 - When the Spiritual Person Is Being Regenerated

AC 3332 [2-3]

. . . he first learns the doctrinal things of truth,
next is affected by them
(which is the good of the doctrinal things),
then that by taking a mental view
of these doctrinal things
he is affected with the truths in them
(which is the good of truth),
and lastly that he wills to live according to them,
which is the good of life.
In this way the spiritual person
when being regenerated
advances from the doctrine of truth to the good of life.
But when he is in the good of life
the order is inverted,
and from this good
he looks to the good of truth,
from this to the good of doctrinal things,
and from this to the doctrinal things of truth.
From this it may be known how a person
from being a sensuous person becomes spiritual,
and of what quality he is when he becomes spiritual.

That these goods, namely,
the good of life,
the good of truth,
and the good of doctrinal things,
are distinct from each other
can be seen by those who carefully consider the matter.
The good of life
is that which flows from the will;
the good of truth
is that which flows from the understanding;
and the good of doctrinal things
is that which flows from memory-knowledge.
The good which is doctrinal
has these other goods within it.