98. XI
THE LORD CAME INTO THE WORLD TO FULFILL ALL THINGS OF THE WORD, AND THEREBY TO BECOME DIVINE TRUTH OR THE WORD EVEN AS TO ULTIMATES
That the Lord came into the world to fulfill all things of the Word, may be seen in Doctrine of the Lord (n. 8-11). And that he thereby became Divine truth or the Word even in ultimates is meant by these words in John:
The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).
To "become flesh" is to become the Word in ultimates. What the Lord was as the Word in ultimates He showed His disciples when He was transfigured (Matt. 17:2, etc.; Mark 9:2, etc.; Luke 9:28, etc.); and it is there said that Moses and Elias were seen in glory. By "Moses and Elias" is meant the Word, as may be seen above (n. 48). The Lord, as the Word in ultimates, is also described by John in Rev. 1:13-16, where all things in the description of him signify ultimate things of Divine truth or of the Word. The Lord had indeed been the Word before, but only in first principles, for it is said:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word; the same was in the beginning with God (John 1:1, 2);
but when the Word became flesh, then the Lord became the Word in ultimates also. It is from this that He is called,
The First and the Last (Rev. 1:8, 11, 17; 2:8; 21:6; 22:13).
