225. V. THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH SHOULD BE DRAWN FROM THE SENSE OF THE LETTER OF THE WORD, AND CONFIRMED THEREBY.
It was shown in the preceding section that the Word is in its fullness, in its holiness, and in its power in the sense of the letter; and since the Lord is the Word and is "the First and the Last" as He says in the Apocalypse (1:17), it follows that He is fully present in that sense, and that from it He teaches and enlightens man. But this shall be shown in the following order:
(1) Without doctrine the Word is not understood.
(2) Doctrine should be drawn from the sense of the letter of the Word.
(3) But Divine truth, which is of doctrine, can be seen only by those who are in enlightenment from the Lord.
