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?”

91. Heresies May Be Seized On from the Word’s Literal Sense, But It Is Harmful to Affirm Them

We showed above that the Word cannot be understood apart from doctrine, and that doctrine serves as a lamp in whose light genuine truths may be seen. And the reason is that the Word was written solely in terms of correspondences. As a result, the Word contains many appearances of truth that are not naked truths, and much was accommodated to the comprehension of natural people, even of sensual people, yet at the same time it was written in such a way that simple people can understand it in simplicity, and wise people wisely.

Now because that is the nature of the Word, the appearances of truth, which are truths clothed, may be seized on as naked truths. And when these are affirmed, they become falsities.

People who do this, however, are people who believe themselves wiser than others, even though they are not wise. For it is the part of wisdom to see whether something is true before affirming it, and not to affirm whatever one pleases. People who do the latter are people who possess a talent for defending their affirmations and are caught up in a conceit in their own intelligence. But those who do the former are people who love truths, who are affected by them because they are true, and who apply them to useful life endeavors. For they are enlightened by the Lord and see truths in the light of those truths, in contrast to the first people who create their own enlightenment and see falsities also in the light of those falsities.

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.