TCR.8, 1.1.2, 'There is a universal influx from God into the souls of men of the truth that there is a God, and that he is one.'

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(2) 하나님으로부터 나와서 사람들의 영혼(souls) 속으로 흘러 들어가는 범우주적인 인플럭스(influx, 入流)라는 게 있는데, 이는 하나님이 계시며, 그분은 한 분이시라는 진리에 관한 것이다. There is a universal influx from God into the souls of men of the truth that there is a God, and that he is one.

 

하나님으로부터 나와서 사람 안으로 들어가는 인플럭스라는 게 있다는 사실은 그 자체로 선하며, 사람 안에 있어 사람에 의해 실행되는 모든 선은 하나님으로부터 말미암는다는 범우주적인 고백을 보면 분명합니다. 모든 체어리티와 신앙 역시 마찬가지인데요, 우리가 말씀에서 다음과 같이 읽기 때문이며, That there is an influx from God into man is evident from the universal confession that all good that is in itself good, and that exists in man and is done by him, is from God; in like manner everything of charity and everything of faith; for we read:

 

요한이 대답하여 이르되 만일 하늘에서 주신 바 아니면 사람이 아무 것도 받을 수 없느니라 (요3:27) A man can take nothing except it be given him from heaven (John 3:27);  

 

주님께서 말씀하시기를,

 

나는 포도나무요 너희는 가지라 그가 내 안에, 내가 그 안에 거하면 사람이 열매를 많이 맺나니 나를 떠나서는 너희가 아무 것도 할 수 없음이라 (요15:5)

 

즉, 체어리티와 신앙에 관한 것들도이기 때문입니다. 이 인플럭스는 일단 사람들의 영혼 속으로 들어갑니다. 영혼은 사람에게 있어 가장 안쪽이고, 가장 높은 영역이기 때문이지요. 하나님으로 말미암는 이 인플럭스는 먼저 그리로 흘러 들어간 후, 거기서 나와 그 아래 있는 것들 안으로 흘러 내려가면서 그 수용 여부에 따라 그것들을 살립니다. 앞으로 믿음을 구성하게 될 진리들이 이 인플럭스를 통해 흘러 들어오며, 사실은 듣기(the hearing)를 통해서이지만, 그리고 그렇게 해서 마음에 심어집니다(implanted). 이 마음은 영혼 아래 있습니다. 그러나 이 진리들에 의해서는 사람은 단순히 영혼을 통해 하나님으로부터 오는 인플럭스 받을 준비만 하는 것입니다. 이런 게 준비이고, 받아들이는 것, 영접(the reception)이며, 자연적 신앙이 영적 신앙으로 변화하는 것입니다. and Jesus said: Without me ye are unable to do anything (John 15:5); that is, anything that pertains to charity and faith. This influx is into the souls of men because the soul is the inmost and highest part of man, and the influx from God enters into that, and descends therefrom into the things that are below, and vivifies them in accordance with reception. The truths that are to constitute belief flow in, it is true, through the hearing, and are thus implanted in the mind, that is, below the soul. But by means of such truths man is simply made ready to receive the influx from God through the soul; and such as this preparation is, such is the reception, and such the transformation of natural faith into spiritual faith.

 

[2] There is such an influx from God into the souls of men of the truth that God is one, because everything Divine, regarded most generally as well as most particularly, is God. And as the entire Divine coheres as one, it cannot fail to inspire in man the idea of one God; and this idea is strengthened daily as man is elevated by God into the light of heaven. For the angels in their light cannot force themselves to utter the word “gods.” Even their speech closes at the end of every sentence in a oneness of cadence; and there is no other cause of this than the influx into their souls of the truth that God is one.

 

[3] In spite of this influx into the souls of men of the truth that God is one, there are many who think that the divinity of God is divided into several possessing the same essence; and the reason of this is that when the influx descends it falls into forms not correspondent, and influx is varied by the form that receives it, as takes place in all the subjects of the three kingdoms of nature. It is the same God who vivifies man and who vivifies every beast; but the recipient form is what causes the beast to be a beast and man to be a man. The same is true of man when he induces on his mind the form of a beast. There is the same influx from the sun into every kind of tree, but the influx differs in accordance with the form of each; that which flows into the vine is the same as that which flows into the thorn; but if a thorn were to be engrafted upon a vine the influx would be inverted and go forth in accordance with the form of the thorn.

 

[4] The same is true of the subjects of the mineral kingdom; the same light flows into limestone and into the diamond; but in the diamond it is transmitted, while in the limestone it is quenched. In human minds these differences are in accordance with the forms of the mind, which become inwardly spiritual in accordance with faith in God, together with life from God, such forms being made translucent and angelic by a faith in one God, and on the contrary, made dark and bestial by a faith in more than one God, which differs but little from a faith in no God.