intelligence. The Lord filled them all with his spirit, but they each took a
portion of it that depended on the quality of their perception, and they
each exercised that portion depending on the quality of their own ability.
All the angels in the heavens are filled with the Lord—they are in the
Lord and the Lord is in them. Yet for each of them, the speech and action
depends on the quality of the mind. Some speak and act simply, and
some wisely, with infinite variety. They all speak on their own initiative
on behalf of the Lord.
[ 2 ] The same goes for all ministers in the church—those with false
beliefs as well as those with true beliefs. They each have their own voice
and their own intelligence. They each speak on the basis of their own
mind, meaning the spirit inside them.
Consider the situation of all Protestants, whether they happen to be
called Evangelical or Reformed. Once they have been taught the theo-
logical system handed down by Luther, Melanchthon, or Calvin, it is
not that Luther, Melanchthon, and Calvin, or the theologies them-
selves, speak on their own initiative through the Protestants’ mouths.
Instead, the Protestants speak on their own initiative on behalf of their
church founders.
Every dogma can be explained in a thousand different ways. It is like
a horn of plenty. People take out of the dogma whatever is matched and
suited to their character, and use their particular gifts to explain it.
[ 3 ] This point can also be illustrated by the action of the heart on and
in the lungs, and the lungs’ reaction on their own initiative on behalf of
the heart. These are two distinct things, yet they are reciprocally united.
The lungs breathe on their own initiative on behalf of the heart. The
heart, however, does not breathe through the lungs. If it did they would
both stop functioning.
The same applies to the heart’s action on and in every internal organ
in the body. The heart sends blood out in all directions. The internal
organs draw on that blood. Each organ takes whatever it needs depend-
ing on how vital a service it provides. Its level of service also determines
how it functions; different organs function in different ways.
[ 4 ] The same point can be illustrated by the following parallels as
well. The evil we get from our parents, called hereditary evil, acts on us
and in us. So does goodness from the Lord. Goodness comes from
above or within; evil from below or outside. If evil were to act through
us we could not be reformed, but we would not be responsible either.
By the same token, if goodness from the Lord acted through us we
§154 the holy spirit & divine action 215