two ideas: it is not the Word but the understanding of it that forms the
church; and the quality of the church is determined by the way people in
it understand the Word.
The church depends on its understanding of the Word because it 244
depends on true perceptions related to faith and good actions related to
goodwill. These true perceptions and good actions are universal charac-
teristics that not only spread out across the entire literal meaning of the
Word but also lie hidden within it like valuables in a safe.
The features of the Word’s literal meaning are apparent to all of us
because they meet our eyes directly. The features that lie hidden in the
spiritual meaning, however, are not apparent to any except those who
love truths because they are true and who do good things because they
are good things to do. The treasures that the literal meaning covers and
guards are revealed to these people. These treasures are the things that
essentially constitute the church.
As everyone knows, the church depends on its body of teaching and 245
its body of teaching is based on the Word. Nevertheless, it is not the
body of teaching itself but its integrity and purity, and therefore an
understanding of the Word, that forms the church. The church in
miniature that is in us as individuals is also formed and established not
by a body of teaching but by our faith and by our living our faith. Like-
wise, what forms and establishes the church in miniature in any of us is
not the Word; it is the faith based on true perceptions and the life based
on good actions that we individually draw from the Word and apply to
ourselves.
The Word is like a mine that has gold and silver deep down in
great abundance; it is like a mine where the farther in we go, the more
precious are the types of stone we find. Our understanding of the Word
is what gives us access to these “mines.” If we did not understand the
Word’s true nature as it is at its heart and in its depth, the Word would
no more form the church in us than mines like these in the Middle East
would make some person in Europe rich. It would be different, of
course, if that person were one of the owners and operators of the mine.
For people who search the Word for truths to believe and good ways
to live, the Word is like the treasures belonging to the ruler of Persia or
the emperors of Mongolia and China, and the people in the church are
like governors under those leaders who are allowed to take whatever they
want for their own use. People who merely own the Word and read it but
§245 sacred scripture 313