76. The Church Is Formed by the Word, and Its Character Is Such as Its Understanding of the Word

That the church is formed by the Word is not something to be doubted, for the Word is Divine truth itself (see nos. 1-4). The Word is the source of the church’s doctrine (nos. 50-61). And the Word makes possible a conjunction with the Lord (nos. 62-69).

But that it is an understanding of the Word that forms the church — this may be doubted, since there are people who believe they are part of the church because they possess the Word, read it or hear it from a preacher, and know something of its literal sense. But they do not know how this or that in the Word is to be understood, and some people place little value in it.

We must show here, therefore, that it is not the Word that forms the church, but people’s understanding of it, and that the character of the church is such as the understanding of the Word among the people in the church.

Confirmation of this is as follows:

45. Truths in the Word’s literal sense are meant by the precious stones in the Garden of Eden in which the King of Tyre is said in Ezekiel to have been. We read in Ezekiel:

...King of Tyre..., “You seal up (your) measure, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: ruby, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, chrysoprase, and emerald, and gold. (Ezekiel 28:12-13)

Tyre in the Word symbolizes concepts of truth and goodness. A king symbolizes the church’s truth. The Garden of Eden symbolizes wisdom and intelligence gained from the Word. Precious stones symbolize truths made translucent by goodness, the kind of truths found in the Word’s literal sense. And because these truths are symbolized by the precious stones, therefore they are called the king’s covering. That the literal sense covers over the inner constituents of the Word may be seen in the preceding section.