Divine Essence: Holy Love and Holy Wisdom
Understanding God as Love Itself and Wisdom Itself
Holy Love and Holy Wisdom
The Divine Essence is Holy Love, meaning that God is Love Itself. The Divine Essence is also Holy Wisdom, meaning that God is Wisdom Itself. Many passages in the Bible make this manifest:
Jehovah is good. (Psalm 136:1)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. (John 1:1-4)
Everything that proceeds from Love is called Good, and when felt, it is the delight of love. Everything that proceeds from Wisdom is called Truth, and when seen, it is the illumination of truth. Therefore, Love embraces all varieties of Good, and Wisdom embraces all varieties of Truth, and both proceed from God. The Divine Essence is Divine Love, or Good Itself; and the Divine Essence is also Divine Wisdom, or Truth Itself.
Correspondingly, the church has two major essentials: Love and Faith. Love includes all the Good of the church; Faith includes all the Truth of the church.
Man was created into the image of God and the likeness of God. The related passages in Genesis are:
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;… So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:26-27)
In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. (Genesis 5:1)
Since God’s essence is Love and Wisdom, what specifically are His image and likeness?
The image of God is Wisdom, is the “Word” in the beginning, and is Truth, and is Light.
The likeness of God is Love, is Good, and is Life.
When a person walks in Truth, it is said that he is bathing in light and possesses wisdom, thereby having the image of God.
When a person walks in Love, it is said that his state of life is good, thereby having the likeness of God.
We can gain some revelation regarding the relationship between Love and Wisdom from the relationship between the heat and light of the sun. The sun’s light shines upon the earth and transmits heat to the earth. When the heat increases, the temperature rises in the spring, the seeds begin to sprout, the plants break through the ground, then branch out, and finally flower and bear fruit—a scene of lush prosperity everywhere. Conversely, when the heat declines, such as with the coming of autumn and winter, the temperature drops, and these plants gradually lose signs of life, wither, and perish. The sun’s light shines upon the earth regardless of spring, summer, autumn, or winter; the four seasons occur because of the difference in heat. It is the quantity of heat that determines the life direction of the plants: whether it is vibrant and flourishing, or withered and decayed. For life on earth, the sun’s heat is the more essential element.
If Love is likened to a flame, then Wisdom is the light proceeding from that flame. Light proceeds from the flame, so Wisdom proceeds from Love. Love is equivalent to the sun’s heat, and Wisdom is equivalent to the sun’s light. Therefore, relative to Wisdom, Love is the more essential and primary element, just as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians:
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have no love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have no love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have no love, it profits me nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)
This is also why, when the Lord Jesus was asked which commandment was the greatest, the Lord Jesus said:
‘You shall love Jehovah your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 22:37-40)
The Expression of Love and Wisdom in Nature
Every created thing in the natural world is a recipient of God, capable of receiving God’s Love and Wisdom according to its own level, and thereby expressing that Love and Wisdom.
The water of the natural world continually washes over the earth’s surfaces, dissolving many elements that are then carried into rivers, poured into the oceans, and deposited on the seafloor, where beautiful minerals are compounded. In the earth’s depths, molten lava flows slowly underground, constantly collecting various elements. As it cools slowly, brilliant crystals precipitate and precious ores are generated. It seems as if a certain joy and power are being silently expressed, even though they lack consciousness and sensation.
A seed lies dormant in the soft soil. Sunlight shines upon it, warming its small body and awakening the life within it. With the passage of time, this seed slowly begins to crack open, and a tender shoot emerges from the soil, reaching toward the sun. The days are filled with sunshine, and soon this shoot grows into a graceful tree, whose branches are covered with beautiful flowers, dancing merrily in every passing breeze. After a while, these flowers turn into delicious fruits, hanging heavy on the branches. The joy of life fills the entire tree, starting from the tiny seed!
A doe wanders freely in its habitat, its eyes shining, curiously exploring the area, sniffing the plants as it walks, and sampling the leaves with its long tongue. Soon, it discovers something delicious among the leaves—juicy berries. This provides it with a sweetness unlike anything else. Beyond foraging, it moves together with the other deer in its herd. They live together, bound by a strong tie of fellowship . Towards the end of summer, when the green branches are flourishing, she mates with a buck in the herd. The following spring, lovely little fawns are born, small and exquisite, with brown fur dotted with white spots. The doe teaches the fawns to adapt to their surroundings, leads them to find food, and watches them happily play with other fawns in the habitat.
Throughout the universe, every kind of rock, mineral, plant, tree, insect, bird, fish, and animal experiences a certain delight and satisfaction as it expresses its nature and passes through its life cycle. All of this is the expression of God’s essence—Love. The Love of God imparts to them happiness and delight. Therefore, God created all things in the universe to enable them to express happiness and delight on their respective levels. The higher the created thing, the greater the happiness and delight.
On the other hand, all things in the natural world strive to be in use to express Love and Wisdom. This very activity is also their expression of Love.
We often call the earth Mother Earth. Why do we use this name? The reason is that she tenderly embraces and nourishes everything on Earth, just like a mother. Take the case of an herb: when a seed falls into her embrace, she uses warm love to care for and protect this small life, and provides it with sufficient nutrition and water. Until one day, the seed breaks through its hard shell and sends up a shoot, expanding in all directions to become a strong sapling. Mother Earth continues to care for this sapling meticulously. Deep underground, the sapling’s roots spread wider and grow longer, and the soil exerts its utmost effort to provide abundant nourishment and water to enable the plant to grow. Exerting its utmost effort to be in use is precisely the Love and Wisdom that the earth expresses.
Relative to rocks, minerals, and soil, plants are a higher created form. Plants strive to be in use to serve the animals and the humans. In addition to providing daily food for herbivores, they also provide food for humans—all kinds of vegetables and fruits, rice, wheat, and grain. Not only that, but they are also able to produce oxygen through photosynthesis, providing the indispensable breathing necessities for our life. At the same time, plants help to anchor the soil, prevent sand erosion, and improve the ecological environment. Most wonderfully, the beautiful flowers and leaves of plants bring us visual enjoyment and make us joyful.
Similarly, animals are humanity’s best friends; they are devoted to serving humans. Animals provide us with food and other necessities, and offer us various uses. When we are lonely, small animals and pets can be our best companions, bringing joy to a monotonous life. In ancient times, horses, cattle, and other animals helped people transport goods and were important means of travel. Animals also provide people with sustenance, such as eggs, milk, and meats. Furthermore, many people enjoy observing wild animals in their natural environment, such as birds, elephants, and lions etc., appreciating their unique beauty.
The Five States of Human Life
Man is also a created vessel of the Divine, but man as a vessel is different from others. Because man has free will, he can distort the influx of Divine Life: he can turn Love into hatred; Good into Evil; Wisdom into foolishness; and Truth into Falsity.
Man consists of two parts: one part is the Will, which is the recipient of Love, concerning man’s affections, intentions, desires, etc., and receives the influx of Love from the Divine. The other part is the Understanding, which is the recipient of Wisdom, concerning man’s thought, comprehension, perception, etc., and receives the influx of Wisdom from the Divine. The Will and Understanding function as a pair, making one, directing external actions and speech, and man thus becomes a living being. The spiritual state of man determines his inherent selfhood.
When man receives the influx of Love and Wisdom from the Divine:
If it appears as Love and Good, he is a Celestial Man.
If it appears as Truth and Wisdom, he is a Spiritual Man.
If he transforms Love into hatred, manifesting as self-centeredness and hatred of others, he is the Self-Loving Man.
If he transforms Wisdom into foolishness, manifesting as a delight in worldly things and absorption in material wealth, he is the World-Loving Man.
The natural Man is intermediate between these. It is clear that the Self-Loving Man and the Celestial Man are mutually opposed, and the World-Loving Man and the Spiritual Man are mutually opposed.
Below is the classification of these five types of people:
Self-Loving Man: Centered on himself, arrogantly self-exalting, loving only himself and not others; his delight is solely in the delight of self-love. He desires good for himself alone, not for others, unless it is for the sake of his own benefit. Even when he helps others, it is only for the sake of his own advantage, such as reputation, status, wealth, and glory. Those who fall into self-love despise others, are envious, and hold hatred toward all who do not support them. The intention of the Self-Loving Man is that all should serve him, and not he serve them, because he places himself above all others. The life state of the Self-Loving Man is filled with various forms of hatred, revenge, cunning, deception, mercilessness, and cruelty. The Self-Loving Man is deeply enslaved by evil and foolishness. naturally, they not only despise Divine things but are angry at them.
The extreme craving for power in the Self-Loving Man can be seen in dictators and ancient monarchs. The Self-Loving Man not only schemes to dominate all people, but if there were new lands to conquer on other planets, their lust for power would immediately extend there. This extreme lust for power can also be seen in certain clergy who believe they hold the keys to heaven, thinking the power of entry to heaven resides in them, not the Lord. If unrestrained, their Self-love would ascend to the point of desiring to rule the entirety of heaven. Strong Self-Love can also be clearly seen in certain modern politicians. It can also be seen in domestic abusers, who place themselves above their spouses and family and, if their will is crossed, behave arbitrarily, physically assaulting their partners and family.
Anyone who has fallen into self-love loves himself only. His life is the life of the self-hood. The life of the self-hood is the life that stems from man’s own selfhood, and man’s own selfhood, viewed in itself, is nothing but evil. Generally speaking, the Self-Loving Man loves himself, and is filled with contempt and hatred toward the Lord and the neighbor.
The World-Loving Man: The cognition of the World-Loving Man remains at the material level; they deny the existence of any spiritual things outside of material matter, and are incapable of elevating their cognition even slightly above the material level. Because their cognition is limited only to the material, the World-Loving Man naturally indulges in the wealth of this world, focuses his mind on material things, and strives by all means to accumulate wealth for himself. The World-Loving Man’s love for material things has various manifestations: some love wealth to gain promotion and high position, because they enjoy the ascent, simply savoring the various excitements brought by the process of advancement; some love wealth for the various worldly material pleasures and delights that wealth provides; and some love wealth purely for the sake of wealth itself, greedily enjoying the delight of counting money every day, and so forth. This world is so attractive to him that he is indifferent to and uninterested in others—that is, he knows nothing of Love to the Lord and the neighbor, and is even uninterested in or weary of hearing the truths taught by the church regarding celestial and spiritual things.
The World-Loving Man’s spiritual state is somewhat better than that of the Self-Loving Man. His attitude toward those around him, including family, has less hatred and contempt, and more coldness and indifference. His entire mind and body are captivated by the material things of this world, from which he finds it difficult to withdraw.
The natural Man: The natural Man is free from the extremes of self-love and world-love for material things, and is the type of person we most commonly encounter. He is benevolent toward others and is willing to help them within his capability. He likes to ascribe good deeds and merits to himself, believing that he is good, and is therefore capable of performing good actions. He often succumbs to the dominion of evil and falsity when meeting temptations. The natural Man is willing to hear the teaching to do good, but secretly calculates his own actions, delighting in the merits he accumulates, believing them to be credentials for entry into the other world. The natural Man is constrained more by the laws, morality, social customs, and worldly prudence of this world.
The Spiritual Man: The Spiritual Man’s Love is Love to the Neighbor (Charity), and this love is based upon Truth. The actions of the Spiritual Man are primarily guided by Faith and Truth, not primarily by Love. The Spiritual Man is mindful of eternal life and is consequently mindful of the Lord. However, with respect to his physical body, he is still interested in sensory stimuli, which causes conflict. The Spiritual Man also encounters temptations, but is usually able to overcome them. The restraint upon him is the internal Conscience, which is the “law written on the heart.” The Spiritual Man is the main subject of the next book, The Silver Age—Noah’s Ark—The Second Church: The Ancient Church. There, the process by which the “law of conscience” is written on the heart of the Spiritual Man will be explained in detail.
The Celestial Man: The Celestial Man’s Love is Love to the Lord; he only acknowledges the Faith that is based on Love and acts from Love. The Celestial Man is mindful of the Lord, and consequently mindful of heaven and eternal life. The Celestial Man possesses Innocence and enjoys the peace from the Lord, not being troubled by temptations. The Celestial Man appears to be free from any constraint and acts spontaneously. In reality, the restraint upon him is the “law of Love” inscribed on his heart. The Celestial Man of the Most Ancient Church is the main subject of this book.
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