1. The Sacred Scripture, or Word, Is Divine Truth Itself

Everyone says that the Word comes from God, is Divinely inspired, and so is holy. But even so, no one has known before this wherein the Divinity in it lies. For in its letter the Word appears as though written in the ordinary way, in a foreign style, neither as sublime or nor as lucid as writings of the present age seem to be.

As a result, a person who worships nature as God, or in preference to God, and so thinks prompted by self and his own self-interest, and not prompted by heaven in response to the Lord, may easily fall into error regarding the Word, and into scorning it, and when reading it, saying to himself, “What is this? What is that? Is this Divine? Can God, whose wisdom is infinite, speak so? Where is the holiness in it, and what makes it holy, other than some teaching of religion and so conviction?”

54. Doctrine not only makes the Word understandable, but also to shine, so to speak, and that is because the Word is not understood apart from doctrine and is like a lampstand without any light, as we showed above. Doctrine is what makes the Word understandable, therefore, so as to be like a lampstand with its lamp lit. A person then sees much more than he saw before, and also understands what he had not understood before. Dark and conflicting passages he either does not see and passes on by, or sees and explains them so as to be in harmony with the doctrine.

The Word’s being viewed in the light of doctrine, and moreover explained in accordance with it, is something experience in the Christian world attests. For the Protestant Reformed all see the Word in the light of their doctrine and explain the Word in accordance with it. Roman Catholics likewise see the Word in the light of their doctrine and explain it in accordance with that doctrine. Indeed, Jews do the same. Consequently falsities are seen in the light of a false doctrine, and truths in the light of a true doctrine.

It is apparent, therefore, that a true doctrine is like a lamp shining in darkness, and like a signpost pointing the way.

Doctrine, however, must not only be drawn from the Word’s literal sense, but it must also be verified by it. For if not verified by it, doctrinal truth has the appearance of having only man’s intelligence in it, and not the Lord’s Divine wisdom, and in that case doctrine would be like a house in the air and not on the ground, thus one without its foundation.

5. 1. What the spiritual meaning is. The spiritual meaning is not the sense that shines from the literal one when one is studying the Word and interpreting it in order to confirm some dogma of the church. This sense is the Word’s literal sense. Rather its spiritual meaning is one not apparent in the literal one. The spiritual meaning lies within the literal one, like the soul within the body, like thought within the eyes, and affection within the face, which operate in concert, like cause and effect.

That spiritual meaning is what principally causes the Word to be spiritual, not only for people, but also for angels. Consequently that meaning is the means by which the Word communicates with the heavens.