Lesson 4 – Fourth Law of Divine Providence
Transcript
In this episode we will discuss the fourth law of Divine Providence.
The fourth law is that for us to be truly free, we must be able to see and recognise evil in order to reject it. This is the challenge of freedom, that the willingness to learn, the development of our understanding and prioritisation of our knowledge in applying it to our lives, must be in our own hands and we must feel as if we are fully in control. In fact though, it is that we are taught and led by the Lord alone, although it may appear that we are acting completely independently.
The fourth law of Divine Providence states: It is a Law of Divine Providence that we should be lead and taught by the Lord, from Heaven, by means of the Word (Divine Truth), and teaching and preaching from the Word, and that this should happen while to all appearance we are acting independently
In many places Swedenborg emphasises that all life comes from God, that his love and wisdom flow into everyone. If God were to withdraw from anyone, even for a moment, that person would simply cease to exist. For example in section 330 of Divine Providence, where we read:
“Further, he can never withdraw from anyone, because everyone’s life comes from him. It does seem as though he withdraws from evil people, but it is the evil who are withdrawing: he is still lovingly leading them.” (DP 330)
And we read in the Scriptures in Matthew too:
“for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matthew 5:45
Even if we choose to be selfish and reject God, we still have God’s presence in our lives, sustaining us.
Firstly, because through our soul, God gives us life and maintains that live. He continues to will us to be and have the freedom to accept what is good and true voluntarily. As we already discussed, coercion is anti-thetical to Love and Freedom, and so God cannot coerce a person to accept what is good and true (and so Him) in their lives, because doing so would go against His own nature, which is impossible. The infinite creator of all, who is all powerful, all knowing and ever present cannot operate in contradiction to His own nature.
Secondly, God never stops trying to lead people to understand the truth of things, to love what is good and true and practice the same. This is the reason for the ‘natural world’ and, as long as we are living in it, we must deal with the appearances of the senses and so have an opportunity to reflect and change our mind. Of course, over time we tend to confirm ourselves in our choices and it becomes harder to change.
Again we read in scripture that this is true in John, chapter 15:
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. (John 15:1-5)
Now I’d like to take a moment here too to elaborate on what it means to be “taught by the Lord, from Heaven, by means of the Word”. Because if we are not careful here, we are at danger of reducing the Word to a number of pages in scripture and condemn the infinite Divine to finality through the literal text.
Let me offer you a passage from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, which fits nicely with this:
“Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Corinthians 3:5-6)
Many Christians, as well as those of other faiths, seem to have a habit of limiting the reach and God’s transformative saving power to a specific belief, a particular religion or doctrine too. Something I also raised in an earlier episode.
However, I put it to you that The Divine reach indeed is universal and that we find The Word wherever we find what is Good and True affirmed! This is because what is good and true comes from Jehovah God and IS God! Regardless of the name you use for the Divine – Allah, Brahma, Jehovah, Lord, God, Divine, Baiame, Abba – etc…
This Swedenborg also teaches this in Divine Providence:
Please listen, though! No matter what religion people are born into, people can all be saved if they believe in God and live by the precepts of the Ten Commandments …
Because these people turn to the Lord (whatever their idea of God is) during their lives and do no harm to their neighbours, they are led by the Lord; and people who are so led are also taught about God and their neighbour according to their religions. This is because people who live this way want to be taught, while people who live otherwise do not. Further, people who want to be taught are taught by angels after death, when they become spirits, and gladly accept the kind of truths we find in the Word. (Divine Providence 253)
So, the Lord teaches everyone according to his/her ability to learn. What comes to my mind are phrases like (“He calls us by name”, “come as you are”, “go to your own house”, “I stand at the door.”), which remind me of this personal support and individual connection we all have.
The Lord is THE teacher, because He IS the source of what is True – He IS The Word and thus reality itself!
This law, therefore is a natural extension of the previous ones that we have freedom and rationality, but still that God is that reality and so the source of all our rational understanding and wisdom.
To put it bluntly – without God – there is no rationality and no wisdom!
And understanding this, brings us to the final Law and episode, which we will discuss in the next and final lesson.