explain the above examples one by one, because the explanation would fill
many volumes.372 (d) This reciprocal partnership between the Lord and us comes about
through goodwill and faith.Today people know that the church consti-
tutes the body of Christ. People also know that everyone who has the
church inside is in some part of that body, as Paul says (Ephesians 1 : 23 ;
1 Corinthians 12 : 27 ; Romans 12 : 4 , 5 ). Is the body of Christ anything
except divine goodness and divine truth? This is what the Lord’s words
in John mean: “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood live in me
and I in them” (John 6 : 56 ). “The Lord’s flesh” means divine goodness,
as does “bread.” “The Lord’s blood” means divine truth, as does “wine.”
Below in the chapter on the Holy Supper you will see that these are
their true meanings [§§ 702 – 709 ].
It follows that the more involved we are in acts of goodwill and in
truths that relate to faith, the more we are in the Lord and the Lord is in us.
Our partnership with the Lord is a spiritual partnership, and spiritual part-
nerships take place only through goodwill and faith.
I have shown in the chapter on Sacred Scripture that a partnership
between the Lord and the church and thus a partnership between good-
ness and truth exists in every detail of the Word, §§ 248 – 253. Because
goodwill is goodness and faith is truth, there is also a partnership
between goodwill and faith throughout the Word.
From all this it now follows that the Lord is goodwill and faith
within us, and we are goodwill and faith within the Lord.The Lord is
spiritual goodwill and faith in our earthly goodwill and faith; and we
are earthly goodwill and faith from the Lord’s spiritual goodwill and
faith. As the two types of goodwill and faith forge a partnership, they
become a goodwill and a faith that are spiritual-and-earthly.
8
Goodwill and Faith Come Together in Good Actions373 Every action that we take contains our whole self with the full measure
and quality of our mind or our essential nature. Our “mind” means our
love and our desire and the thoughts that come from them. These form
our nature and our life in general. If we look at a person’s actions in this
way, they are like mirrors of the person.