well) is primary. Whatever the primary purpose is, that is the element that
is truly primary because it is of prime importance and is the real firstborn.
Whatever is primary in time is only apparently primary, not truly primary.
So that this may be clearly understood I will illustrate it with analo-
gous situations that occur in constructing a church building or a house,
developing a fruit garden, and preparing a field. Constructing a church
building:From the standpoint of time, the primary thing is to lay the
foundation, raise the walls, put on the roof, and then put in an altar and
build the pulpit. From the standpoint of purpose, however, the primary
thing is to worship God in the building, which is why these other steps
were taken. Constructing a house:From the standpoint of time, the primary
thing is to build the outside of our house and then build inside it the vari-
ous things that we need. From the standpoint of purpose, however, the pri-
mary thing is to have a comfortable place for us and the others in our
household to live. Developing a fruit garden:From the standpoint of time,
the primary thing is to level the ground, prepare the soil, plant the trees,
and sow other plants that will be beneficial. From the standpoint of pur-
pose, however, the primary thing is to use the fruit from the trees. Prepar-
ing a field:From the standpoint of time, the primary thing is to level the
earth, plow it, harrow it, and then plant the seeds. From the standpoint of
purpose, however, the primary thing is the harvest and the use of the crops.
On the basis of these analogies, anyone can conclude what is truly
primary. Whether we are building a church or a house or developing a
fruit garden or working to prepare a field, our primary intention is
always the use of it. This is what we continually keep uppermost in our
minds as we acquire the means of achieving our goal. We can conclude
therefore that from the standpoint of time the primary thing is true
understanding that comes from faith, but from the standpoint of pur-
pose the primary thing is good action that comes from goodwill. Since
the latter is truly primary, it is actually the firstborn in our mind.
[ 3 ] It is important, however, to know what faith and goodwill are,
each in its own essence, and this cannot be known unless each is divided
up point by point—into points about faith and points about goodwill.
The points about faith are the following:
- The faith that saves us is faith in the Lord God our Savior Jesus Christ.
- Briefly put, faith is believing that people who live good lives and
believe the right things are saved by the Lord. - The way we receive faith is by turning to the Lord, learning truths
from the Word, and living by those truths.
§336 faith 403