True Christian Religion #2

2. THE FAITH OF THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW CHURCH IS IN UNIVERSAL TERMS AS FOLLOWS. ¹

The Lord from eternity, who is Jehovah, came into the world to subdue the hells and to glorify His Human. Without this no mortal could have been saved, and those are saved who believe in Him.

[2] The expression 'in universal terms' is used because this is a universal point of faith, and a universal point of faith must be contained in all its particulars. It is a universal point of faith that God is one in essence and in person, in whom is the Divine Trinity, and that He is the Lord God the Saviour Jesus Christ. It is a universal point of faith that no mortal could have been saved, if the Lord had not come into the world. It is a universal point of faith that He came into the world to take hell away from men, and He did this by fighting against hell and winning victories over it. In this way He subdued it and reduced it to order, and made it subject to His command. It is a universal point of faith that He came into the world to glorify the Human which He assumed in the world, that is, to unite it with the originating Divinity. By this means He keeps hell for ever in order and subject to His command. Since this could only be achieved by means of temptations experienced in His Human, even to the most extreme, His passion on the cross, He underwent this. These are the universal matters of faith concerning the Lord.

[3] It is a universal point of faith on the part of man to believe in the Lord; for this belief links him to the Lord, and this is the way to salvation. Believing in Him means having confidence that He is the Saviour; and since only those who lead good lives can have such confidence, this too is meant by believing in Him. The Lord says this in John's gospel:

This is the will of the Father, that everyone who believes in the Son should have everlasting life, John 6:40.

and elsewhere:

He who believes in the Son has everlasting life. He who does not believe in the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him, John 3:36.

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