New Church Life May/June 2015 | Page 50

n e w c h u r c h l i f e : m ay / j u n e 2 0 1 5 Thesis 54: The Lord is this Divine Truth become Human . . . the Word become flesh. Kaage: “It is Christ who has revealed the Father in a way that anyone can understand in thought, and in a way that anyone can be united with in love. This impact upon a person’s ability to understand the Divine nature is the very purpose of the Lord’s Human. This is how Christ can be understood to be the ‘covenant’ itself – the conjunctive means between the Father and the human race.” (p. 91) Silverman: I thought this was beautifully and simply written. “Oh,” I thought, “this is another way of describing the necessity of the Lord’s coming. We cannot worship an invisible God, so in Jesus Christ God is made visible.” I also like the way Mr. Kaage shows how we come to the Father through Christ. This is what is meant by Jesus saying, “No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Thesis 57: There are three fundamental qualities of the One Supreme Being. Kaage: “The Holy Spirit is mentioned that we may know that these forces of Divine Love and Truth pervade the universe and are alive within all things, acting upon them internally. We receive His Holy Spirit within ourselves when we have ordered our mind to receive life from Divine Love and Truth. In the Word this is also referred to as the ‘breath of life.’” (p.100) Silverman: I find Mr. Kaage’s wording quite refreshing. We are accustomed to speak of the Holy Spirit as the “Divine Proceeding,” but Mr. Kaage helps us think of it not only as “proceeding” from the Lord, but also “pervading” everything in creation. Interestingly, although the Writings frequently speak of Divine Love and Divine Wisdom pervading all of creation (True Christian Religion 44), as well as a conjugial atmosphere pervading the universe (Conjugial Love 92), the terms “pervade,” “pervades” and “pervading” are not associated with the Holy Spirit. Mr. Kaage, by simply using this term in relation to the Holy Spirit, has enhanced my understanding of this impo