The Forty Questions of the Soul
12. And this is the true spirit which is born out of the soul, wherein the image of God, with the divine virgin of God's wisdom, consisteth; for all understanding and knowledge heth in this spirit; it hath the senses, and the noble life which uniteth itself with God: this spirit is so subtle that it can and may enter into God.
1 Or source.
2 The outward.
3 The inward.
13. If this spirit resigneth itself up to God, and casteth away the ostentation and 1 cunning of the fire of its own soul, then it attaineth the image of God, the divine body; for it putteth its will into God, and dwelleth in God with power: thus it is clothed with the divine essentiality, and is without this world in the life of God.
14. But seeing this spirit ariseth first out of the centre of nature, that is, out of the life of fire, though it is not the life of the fire, but the spirit of it; and the hfe of the fire standeth originally in the abyss, in the source of God's anger; therefore Christ did not commend this spirit of his to the fiery-life, but into the hands of his Father.
15. His hands are the love-desire, wherewith he embraceth our spirit when we enter into him, and commend ourselves to him.
16. For when his body was to die on the cross, and his soul was to pass through hell, through the anger of God, there the devils waited, and thought with themselves, We will surely keep the soul in our turba in the fire; and then Christ commended the spirit into the love of God.
17. And so the soul of Christ, with the spirit, came into God's hand, being encompassed with the fire of anger and death; and death would have held it there; but death was destroyed and confounded.
4 reason, subtlety, or wit.
18. For death smothered the outward [spirit], viz. the outward Hfe, and then thought, Now surely the soul must remain in the turba: but there was one stronger in the soul, viz. the Word of God, which took death captive, and destroyed the anger, and quenched the wrath, with the love in the Spirit of Christ.
19. It was a poison to hell for the love of God to come into it, and smother it in the soul; also a plague, death and destruction to death; death must now suffer an eternal life to grow up in it.
20. Thus the spirit of Christ took the devil captive, and drave him out of the fire of the soul, and cast him into darkness, and shut him up under darkness, out from the fire of the soul, and out from God's fire, into the wrathful harshness and bitterness in cold: there let him warm himself, lest he freeze with cold.
21. Consider the first four forms of nature, and you will understand what the devil's mansion is; for, before Christ [came] he kept the soul captive in the turba, with the fire; and though he had not the spirit of the soul, yet he had the root of it in the turba: but then he was commanded to cease, and he was thrown out, and driven into darkness; and thus his malice was destroyed by Christ's descending into hell, and Christ became his judge.
22. Thus we have in brief described what the spirit of Christ, and our spirit, is, viz. not the outward spirit, but the spirit of the soul; not the soul itself, but the spirit of its life.
23. As in God the Holy Ternary is distinct, being three Persons in one essence, and yet but one only God: where the Son hath the spirit, viz. the life, proceeding out of his Heart and mouth; and the Heart is the flame of love; and the Father the
1 source of anger, which is allayed by the Son in the love; so that in God there is but one only will and essence.
24. Thus it is also in man, and no otherwise, no, not in the least tittle; whatsoever God in Christ is, that we also are in Christ, in God; his true children: Therefore let us also commend our spirit into his hands, and so we may be able to pass through death into life, with Christ in God.
12. And this is the true spirit which is born out of the soul, wherein the image of God, with the divine virgin of God's wisdom, consists; for all understanding and knowledge heth in this spirit; it has the senses, and the noble life which unites itself with God: this spirit is so subtle that it can and may enter into God.
1 Or source.
2 The outward.
3 The inward.
13. If this spirit resigns itself up to God, and casts away the ostentation and 1 cunning of the fire of its own soul, then it attains the image of God, the divine body; for it putts its will into God, and dwells in God with power: thus it is clothed with the divine essentiality, and is without this world in the life of God.
14. But seeing this spirit arises first out of the centre of nature, that is, out of the life of fire, though it is not the life of the fire, but the spirit of it; and the hfe of the fire stands originally in the abyss, in the source of God's anger; therefore Christ did not commend this spirit of his to the fiery-life, but into the hands of his Father.
15. His hands are the love-desire, wherewith he embracs our spirit when we enter into him, and commend ourselves to him.
16. For when his body was to die on the cross, and his soul was to pass through hell, through the anger of God, there the devils waited, and thought with themselves, We will surely keep the soul in our turba in the fire; and then Christ commended the spirit into the love of God.
17. And so the soul of Christ, with the spirit, came into God's hand, being encompassed with the fire of anger and death; and death would have held it there; but death was destroyed and confounded.
4 reason, subtlety, or wit.
18. For death smothered the outward [spirit], viz. the outward Hfe, and then thought, Now surely the soul must remain in the turba: but there was one stronger in the soul, viz. the Word of God, which took death captive, and destroyed the anger, and quenched the wrath, with the love in the Spirit of Christ.
19. It was a poison to hell for the love of God to come into it, and smother it in the soul; also a plague, death and destruction to death; death must now suffer an eternal life to grow up in it.
20. Thus the spirit of Christ took the devil captive, and drave him out of the fire of the soul, and cast him into darkness, and shut him up under darkness, out from the fire of the soul, and out from God's fire, into the wrathful harshness and bitterness in cold: there let him warm himself, lest he freeze with cold.
21. Consider the first four forms of nature, and you will understand what the devil's mansion is; for, before Christ [came] he kept the soul captive in the turba, with the fire; and though he had not the spirit of the soul, yet he had the root of it in the turba: but then he was commanded to cease, and he was thrown out, and driven into darkness; and thus his malice was destroyed by Christ's descending into hell, and Christ became his judge.
22. Thus we have in brief described what the spirit of Christ, and our spirit, is, viz. not the outward spirit, but the spirit of the soul; not the soul itself, but the spirit of its life.
23. As in God the Holy Ternary is distinct, being three Persons in one essence, and yet but one only God: where the Son has the spirit, viz. the life, proceeding out of his Heart and mouth; and the Heart is the flame of love; and the Father the
1 source of anger, which is allayed by the Son in the love; so that in God there is but one only will and essence.
24. Thus it is also in man, and no otherwise, no, not in the least tittle; whatsoever God in Christ is, that we also are in Christ, in God; his true children: Therefore let us also commend our spirit into his hands, and so we may be able to pass through death into life, with Christ in God.
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