Angelic life consists in use

“Angelic life consists in use,

“Therefore angelic happiness is in use, and from use, and according to use; that is according to the good of love and charity” (A.C. 454).

We frequently read that the Lord’s Kingdom is a Kingdom of uses, and this, for the reason that the Lord Himself is Use itself, for His Divine Love and Wisdom, cannot but go forth in use. Wherefore to be in use is to be in the Lord, Who is use Itself. To be in the Holy Spirit is to be in uses from the Lord. Wherefore we reads

“None can see whether the doctrine of their Church is true, except those who are in the affection of truth for the sake of the uses of life. They who have this end are continually enlightened by the Lord.” (A.C.8521)

“A man who is in the affection of use, from use, that is for the sake of use, is a heaven in the least form.” (Div. Love XII).

“That in proportion as a men is in the love of use, in the same proportion he loves Him, loves the neighbor and is a man. To love the Lord means to do uses to the Church, our country, human society, and our fellow citizen. To be in the Lord means to be a use. And to be a man means to perform uses to the neighbor from the Lord for the sake of the Lord. For uses which are goods, are from the Lord and consequently are Divine; nay they are the Lord Himself with man. He cannot be conjoined in love with any man except through his own Divine things, for man cannot love the Lord from himself; the Lord Himself must draw him…..and therefore to love the Lord as a person, and not to love uses, is to love Him from self which is not to love Him. The celestial angels are not aware that to love the Lord is anything else than to do goods, which are uses; and they say that uses are the Lord with them. By uses they mean, the uses and goods of ministry, of administration, of functions, as well with priests and magistrates as with traders and working men. The good works which do not flow from their occupation they do not call uses; but alms, benefactions, and gratuities. Thus to love the Lord is to do uses, aquo (or from Him as a source;)and to love the neighbor is to do uses adquem (or to them as an object of uses…) and love thus returns to Him from whom it is.

“The Church and Heaven are from the Lord as one man, whose forms are made up of all who love uses by doing them; and the uses themselves are what compose this man, because it is a spiritual man, which does not consist of persons, but of uses with them. Still all who receive from the Lord the love of uses are there; and these are they who do uses, for the sake of the neighbor, for the sake of use, and for the sake of the Lord. It follows that all these are in the Lord. In the spiritual idea man is not a person, but a use.” (Div. Wis. XIII)

From the above the great importance of use and the love of use can be seen. And yet with us is there not a prejudice against emphasizing the importance of use, particularly the importance of natural uses…

Read the full doctrinal class by Theodore Pitcairn