37. In the Word’s Literal Sense, Divine Truth Is Present in Its Fullness, in Its Holiness, and in Its Power

In its literal sense the Word is in its fullness, in its holiness, and in its power, because, as we said in no. 28 above, the two prior or interior senses, called spiritual and celestial, are present at the same time in the natural sense, which is the literal sense. But how they are present at the same time — this we must now briefly explain.

74. The wisdom of celestial angels surpasses the wisdom of spiritual angels, almost as the wisdom of spiritual angels surpasses the wisdom of people, and this for the reason that celestial angels are prompted by the goodness of love received from the Lord, while spiritual angels are prompted by truths of wisdom received from the Lord. And wherever the goodness of love is found, wisdom resides there as well. On the other hand, where truths are found, no more wisdom resides there than the goodness of love accompanying them.

This is why the Word in the celestial kingdom is written differently than the Word in the spiritual kingdom. For the expressions in the Word in the celestial kingdom express goods of love, and the marks are affections, whereas the expressions in the Word in the spiritual kingdom express truths of wisdom, and the marks are perceptions.