AC 5353 - To Be Born Again; AC 5355 - The Multiplication of Good and Truth

AC 5353 [1-2] - To Be Born Again

But what it is to be born again is known only to few,
for the reason that few know what good and evil are,
and this because they do not know
what charity toward the neighbor is;
if they knew this,
they would also know what good is,
and from good what evil is;
for all that is good
comes from genuine charity toward the neighbor.

But no one can be in this good from himself,
because it is the celestial itself
which flows in from the Lord.
This celestial flows in continually,
but evils and falsities
stand in the way of its being received;
and therefore in order that it may be received
it is necessary for a person to remove evils,
and as far as he is able falsities also,
and thus dispose himself to receive the influx.
When after evils have been removed
the person receives the influx,
he at the same time receives
a new will and a new understanding;
and from the new will he feels delight
in doing good to the neighbor from no selfish end,
and from the new understanding
he perceives delight in learning what is good and true
for its own sake and for the sake of the life.
Inasmuch as this new understanding and new will
come into existence through influx from the Lord,
the person who has been regenerated
acknowledges and believes that the good and truth
with which he is affected
are not from himself but from the Lord,
and also that whatever is from himself, or of his own,
is nothing but evil.

AC 5355 - The Multiplication of Good and Truth

When person is in good,
that is, in love toward the neighbor,
he is also in the love of truth;
consequently insofar as he is in this good,
so far he is affected by truth,
for good is in truth as the soul in its body.
As therefore good multiplies truth,
so it propagates itself;
and if it is the good of genuine charity,
it propagates itself in truth and by truth indefinitely;
for there is no limit to good or to truth.
The Infinite is in all things in general and in particular,
because they are all from the Infinite;
but still the indefinite
can never in any way reach the Infinite,
because there is no ratio
between the finite and the Infinite.
In the church today
there is rarely any multiplication of truth,
for the reason that at this day
there is no good of genuine charity.
It is believed to be sufficient
to know the dogmas of faith of the church
in which the person is born,
and to confirm them by various means.
But one who is in the good of genuine charity,
and from that in the affection of truth,
is not content with this,
but desires to be enlightened from the Word
as to what truth is,
and to see the truth before he confirms it.
Moreover, he sees it from good,
because the perception of truth is from good;
for the Lord is in good,
and gives the perception.
When a person receives truth in this way,
it increases indefinitely.
In this respect it is like a little seed,
which grows into a tree,
and produces other little seeds,
which in turn produce a garden, and so on.