THIS DIVINE TRUTH IS MEANT BY "THE WORD" WHICH BECAME FLESH " [John i.]*

1. "Word" in Sacred Scripture signifies various things; for instance, it signifies "a thing that really comes into existence", then "the mind's thought", and thence "speech". 2. First of all it signifies everything that comes into existence from the mouth of God, and goes forth, thus the Divine Truth; then derivatively it signifies Sacred Scripture, for therein Divine Truth is in its essence and form. It is because of this that the Divine Truth is termed in a single expression "the Word". 3. The "ten words" of the Decalogue signify all Divine truths in the aggregate. 4. "The Word" in consequence signifies the Lord, the Redeemer and Saviour; for all things therein are from Him, thus Himself. 5. It can be seen from these things that by "the Word that in the beginning was with God" and that "was God" and that was "with God before the world was" is meant the Divine Truth, which before creation was in Jehovah, and after creation was from Jehovah, and finally was the Divine Human which Jehovah took to Himself in time; for it is said that "the Word became flesh", that is became Man. 6. The hypostatic Word is nothing else than the Divine Truth. * Marginal Note:

"The Hypostatic Word The Son would not have been able to call Himself God, thus call Himself the Father. No Son of God from eternity could descend in accordance with the declaration of the doctrine of the present Church, inasmuch as:

1. He would not have been able to call Him His Father; 2. Nor would He have been able to say that all things of the Father were His. 3. Nor that He who sees Him sees the Father;

4. At the Baptism and the Transfiguration God the Father would not have been able to say:

This is My beloved Son. [Matt. iii 17; xvii 5.] besides a number of passages from the Old Testament Word about the Coming of the Lord, brought together in THE DOCTRINE OF THE NEW JERUSALEM CONCERNING THE LORD, no. 6, and in them, that Jehovah would come." In Sk. this note follows in the text as number 8 of chapter ii.