Who is God?

The New Church teaches that Jesus Christ is the one God. He is a personal God, interested in our individual trials, joys and successes. And He is the infinite, powerful, wise God who shapes the fate of the universe. There isn't a person separate from Jesus who is "the Father," and another who is "the Holy Spirit."

How could God be more than one Being who is all powerful, all knowing, all loving? There can be only one.

What about the teachings in the Bible about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?

To show you how the New Church understands the teachings about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in Scripture, I'll use an analogy: We all have a soul, a mind, and a body. If I have a conversation with you, I talk to your mind and body, and interact with them. I can't interact with your soul directly. I do that by talking to your mind and body. The New Church teaches that Jesus is like the mind and body of God, and that the Father is like the soul. That's why Jesus said, "No one comes to the Father except through me" (i.e., no one can know what that inner "soul" of God is like except through coming to understand and love Jesus, the visible, comprehensible manifestation of God). It's also why He said, "I and the Father are one," because they are one, just like your soul and your mind and body make up one person.

The Holy Spirit is the effect that God has on us. Have you The Lord is a personal God, interested in our individual trials, joys and successes. And He is the infinite, powerful, wise God who shapes the fate of the universe. ever been in a room where the mood was kind of gloomy, and a cheerful person walked in, and things started to brighten up? Their presence affected people. Maybe you've been with a group of people when things were chaotic, and a talented leader started to get things under control. Almost like magic the whole group could settle down. That person had a "presence" which affected everybody.

God's "presence" with us is much more powerful and deep than these auras of cheerfulness or of authority. But they give you an idea of what it is: It is God acting in our lives, touching us with His love and His insight.

So God is one person who is infinitely loving, perfectly wise, and present with us every moment. In Swedenborg's writings He is called "The Lord." Swedenborg uses this name because it symbolizes all the aspects of God together in one person. It symbolizes a God whom we can respect, honor and worship, as well as a God who understands and empathizes with each of us.