True Christianity: The Portable New Century Edition, Volume 1

[ 4 ] You can see from this that the power of divine truth is indescrib-
able. Since the Word that the Christian church has is a three-leveled con-
tainer for divine truth, it is obvious that this Word is what is meant in
John 1 : 3 , 10.
The power of the Word is indescribable. I could support this point
with many pieces of evidence I have experienced in the spiritual world;
but since these would stagger belief, I will forgo any listing of them here.
You can see some of them mentioned in § 209 above.
On the basis of the points just made, I will, however, make this asser-
tion: A church that has divine truths from the Lord has power over the
hells. This is the church the Lord was talking about when he said to
Peter, “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not
prevail against it” (Matthew 16 : 18 ). The Lord said these words after Peter
proclaimed that Christ was the Son of the living God (Matthew 16 : 16 ).
The “rock” in this passage means this very truth. In fact, everywhere in
the Word a “rock” means the Lord’s divine truth.

5

The Church’s Body of Teaching

Has to Be Drawn from the Word’s Literal Meaning

and Supported by It

The preceding part of this chapter showed that the Word is complete, 225
holy, and powerful in the literal meaning. Because the Lord is the Word
and is the First and the Last, as he says in Revelation 1 : 17 , it follows that
the Lord is most present in the literal meaning. From it he teaches and
enlightens us. These thoughts need to be put forward in the following
sequence:

1. The Word is not understandable without a body of teaching.


2. A body of teaching has to be drawn from the Word’s literal meaning.


3. Nevertheless, the divine truth needed for a body of teaching becomes
   manifest only to those who have enlightenment from the Lord.


4. The Word is not understandable without a body of teaching,because 226
   the Word’s literal meaning consists entirely of correspondences whose
   function is to allow spiritual and heavenly things to coexist in it and every
   word to be a container and a support for these spiritual and heavenly

§226 sacred scripture 301