An Invitation to the New Church #23
23. The students of modern orthodoxy object that faith, charity, good works, repentance, remission of sins, etc. , cannot exist with man before he has received the Holy Spirit. But, as has been shown, the Holy Spirit is the Divine which proceeds from the Lord; and the Lord is perpetually present with every man, evil as well as good. Without His presence, no one can live; and the Lord constantly acts, urges and strives to be received; wherefore, the presence of the Holy Spirit is perpetual.
For the sake of confirmation, this was proved in the spiritual world, in the case of a certain devil, by the Lord's presence being removed from him. The devil lay dead, exactly like a corpse. Thousands both of spirits and of the clergy saw this, and were astounded. It is by virtue of the perpetual presence of the Lord that man has the faculty of thinking, understanding and willing. These faculties are due solely to the influx of life from the Lord. Both Luther and Melanchthon were present, and at this were not able to open their mouth.
