Words of Spirit and Life: The Spiritual Meaning of the Sermon on

Throughout the centuries, Christians have often had conflicting views on how to understand many of the sayings of Jesus as recorded in the Gospels, especially His extended discourse that has come to be known as the Sermon on the Mount. From the time of the early Church Fathers, it was recognized that there is a much more profound spiritual meaning in these statements beyond the literal sense, like the soul within the body. Emanuel Swedenborg's theological writings disclose this meaning in a way that speaks to both the heart and the mind, so that what Jesus said can truly become for every person "words of spirit and life."