3288 The word enlivened by the spirit....

October 11, 1944: Book 43

It is the spirit that gives life.... The word alone is dead if the spirit does not enliven it.... And if you hear the word as a dead word you cannot draw strength from it, for the strength is God's part which only expresses itself through the spirit. Yet the word is spiritually enlivened, that is, if you not only hear it with your ear but also with your heart, which contains the divine spirit, you will feel its strength, the word will speak to you and you will be filled with divine spiritual strength. The word alone only speaks to the intellect, but the spirit in the word speaks to the heart.... the word alone only has earthly value, but the word enlivened by the spirit will last for eternity. For the spirit is from God, and thus the word enlivened by the spirit is God’s word, whereas people certainly also have the word but it is only the product of intellect which passes away as soon as the human being as such passes away on earth. Dead word is everything that only touches the body but leaves the soul unimpressed; the spiritually enlivened word, however, is felt by the soul because it speaks to the spirit in the human being. The divine spirit makes contact with the spiritual spark in the human being and expresses itself to the soul in the word which, however, as spiritually enlivened, has the deepest effect on the human being whose spiritual spark has established contact with the father-spirit. And this word gives life, it awakens to life and can never be considered a dead word because it lets the person become active who listens to this word. God’s word will never be a dead word, only the life in it can remain unrecognized by the human being as long as he makes no effort to look for the spirit in it, for it only reveals itself to the seeking human being who, without any external influence, tries to penetrate the kingdom which is the home of the spirit, thus he unconsciously looks for the divine spirit.... and this spirit reveals itself through the living word.... through the word which the spirit of God conveys to the spiritual spark in the human being with great love, and thus this word must also become effective, for everything that lives is constantly active, and only activity testifies to life. But if the word is permeated by God's spirit then it can never remain without effect, and then its life becomes evident.

The word, which is enlivened by the spirit, therefore carries strength within itself and now remains effective for eternity, but only if it touches the human being's heart when it is received, not just the ear. It can indeed also be received intellectually but then it will not yet penetrate the human being's soul, for the latter only accepts that which is conveyed to it from within, from the spirit. But the word, which reaches the heart, establishes the connection with the spiritual spark in the human being, and thus the soul can then be instructed by it, thus receive the strength which lies in the living word. As long as people don't know the difference between heart and intellect it is incomprehensible to them that the human being receives profound knowledge from within. And therefore the word of God, which is truly blessed with His strength, can be offered countless times and yet it cannot emanate its strength because the human being does not open his heart, because the life of the word, the spirit, does not find access to the spiritual spark in the human being, and then the word, although it is alive, remains without effect and fades away like a dead word in people's ears, just like a word which is spoken without thought, which is not permeated by the life of the spirit. But as soon as a word is spoken in deep love, it is also alive. For love is God's strength which always awakens the spirit in a person. If the word of God, which is pure strength and love from God, is also offered by people who love and try to radiate their love to their fellow human beings, then it must also take effect on them, for the strength of love penetrates the shell of the spirit which is still dormant in the human being and awakens it to life.... The strength of the word now also brings about the activity of the spirit in the human being, for the strength of the word is the spirit of God's spirit which makes contact with the spiritual spark in the human being and then God's emanation can touch the human being's soul unhindered and gives the human being the ability and willingness to be active in God's will. But the heart must always open first, i.e. the human will must be ready for divine activity. And this is the purpose of the word of God, that it stimulates the human being's will by first being offered to the ear and the intellect, so that it then carries the life of the spirit within itself through the human being's will, so that it comes alive and works in and on the human being, so that he shapes himself according to God's will, so that he transforms his initially oppositional nature and shapes himself according to God's image.... so that he becomes love in order to be able to join the eternal love forever....

Amen

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