So far we have heard the first part of Christian doctrine, and in it we have seen everything that God wants us to do and to leave. Then follows faith, which presents to us all that we must expect and receive from God and, to put it briefly, teaches us to recognize Him completely. This is to enable us to do the same things as we are commanded to do by the Ten Commandments. For they are, as said above, set so high that the ability of all men is far too small and weak to keep them. For this reason it is as necessary to learn this part as that, so that we may know how to do it, from where and by what means such strength is to be obtained. For if we could keep the Ten Commandments by our own efforts, as they are to be kept, we would need nothing more, neither faith nor Our Father. But before we eliminate the benefit and necessity of faith, it is enough for the simple-minded to grasp and understand faith by itself.
In the first place, the faith has hitherto been divided into twelve articles; although, if all the parts which are found in Scripture and belong to the faith were to be taken separately, there would be many more articles, and not all of them could be clearly expressed in so few words. But in order that it may be understood in the easiest and simplest way, as it is to be taught to children, let us recently divide the whole faith into three main articles, according to the three Persons of the Godhead, to whom all that we believe is directed: so that the first article, from God the Father, explains creation; the second, from the Son, salvation; the third, from the Holy Spirit, sanctification. Thus, faith would be fasted into so many words in the most abbreviated way: I believe in God the Father, who created me; I believe in God the Son, who redeemed me; I believe in the Holy Spirit, who sanctifies me; one God and faith, but three persons: therefore also three articles or confession. So let us now recently pass over the words.
The first article.
I believe in God the Father, Almighty Creator of heaven and earth.
This is a very brief description of what God the Father's nature, will, deeds and works are. For since the Ten Commandments have said that one should have no more than one God, one might now ask: What kind of man is God? What does he do? How can he be praised or depicted and described so that he may be known? This is what this and the following articles teach; that faith is nothing other than the answer and confession of Christians to the first commandment. As if one asked a young child, "Dear, what kind of God do you have? What do you know about him? so that he could say, "This is my God: first of all, the Father who created heaven and earth. Apart from this one, I consider nothing to be God, for there is no one else who could create heaven and earth.
For the scholars, however, and for those who are a little more advanced, all three articles can be widely deleted and divided into as many pieces as there are words. But now, for the young students, it is enough to indicate the most necessary, namely, as I said, that this article concerns Creation, that one stands on the word: Creator of heaven and earth. What is it now said or what do you mean by the word: I believe in God the Father, the Almighty Creator etc. ? Answer: This is what I mean and believe, that I am God's creature, that is, that he has given me and sustains me without ceasing body, soul and life, limbs, small and great, all senses, reason and understanding, and so on; food and drink, clothing, nourishment, wife and child, servants, house and yard etc., And all creatures for the use and need of life: sun, moon, and stars of heaven day and night, air, fire, water, earth, and all that it bears and can bear, birds, fish, animals, grain, and all kinds of plants. Item, what more physical and temporal goods are, good regiment,
Peace, security. So that one learns from this article, that our none has the life still everything, which is now told and may be told, from him still can receive, how small and small it is; because it is all seized in the word "creator".
144. We also confess that God the Father has not only given us all these things that we have and see before our eyes, but also daily protects and guards us from all evil and misfortune, averts all kinds of danger and accidents, and all this out of pure love and goodness, through us undeservedly, as a kindly Father who cares for us so that no harm comes to us. But to say more about this belongs to the other two parts of this article, where it is said: Father almighty.
From this it is to be concluded and followed: Because all that we are able to do, in addition to what is in heaven and earth, is given to us daily by God, and is preserved and maintained, we are therefore obligated to love, praise and thank Him without ceasing, and in short, to serve Him completely, as He has demanded and commanded through the Ten Commandments. Now here would be much to say, if one should strike it out, how few there are of them who believe this article. For we pass over it, and hear it, and say it, but see it, and consider not the things which the words speak unto us. For if we believed it from the heart, we would also act accordingly and not walk along so proudly, defy and boast as if we had life, wealth, power and honor etc. We would have to be feared and served, as the wretched, perverse world does, drowning in its blindness, misusing all of God's goods and gifts for the sake of its own hope, avarice, lust, and prosperity, and not even looking to God to thank Him or to recognize Him as a Lord and Creator.
Therefore, this article should humble and frighten all of us who believe it. For we sin daily with our eyes, ears, hands, body and soul, money and goods, and with everything we have; especially those who still fight against God's word. But the Christians have the advantage that they recognize themselves guilty of serving him for this.
and to be obedient, which the world does not do.
Therefore, we should practice this article daily, imagining and remembering everything that comes before us that is good and where we come from hardship or danger, how God gives and does all these things to us, so that we may feel and see His fatherly heart and overflowing love for us; this would warm and inflame the heart to be grateful and to use all such goods for God's honor and praise. Thus, in the shortest terms, we have the opinion of this article, as much as the simple first need to learn, both what we have and receive from God and what we owe in return; which is a great, excellent knowledge, but much more of a treasure. For there we see how the Father has given Himself to us together with all creatures and has provided for us most abundantly in this life, without also showering us with unspeakable eternal goods through His Son and Holy Spirit, as we shall hear.
The second article.
And to Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried, descended into hell, rose from the dead on the third day, ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from whence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
Here we get to know the other person of the Godhead, that we may see what we have of God above the former temporal goods, namely, how he has poured himself out completely and has retained nothing that he has not given to us. Now this article is very rich and wide; but that we may keep it brief and childlike, let us take one word before us, and therein comprehend the whole sum of it, namely, that we may learn from it how we are redeemed, and shall stand upon these words, To Jesus Christ our Lord.
If one asks, "What do you believe about Jesus Christ in the other article?" answer briefly, "I believe that Jesus Christ, truly the Son of God, has become my Lord. Now what is this "becoming a Lord"? It is that he has redeemed me from sin, from the devil, from death and all misfortune. For before I had neither a Lord nor a King, but was a prisoner under the power of the devil, condemned to death, entangled in sin and blindness.
For when we were created and had received all good things from God the Father, the devil came and brought us into disobedience, sin, death and all misfortune, so that we lay in his wrath and disgrace, condemned to eternal damnation, as we had realized and deserved. There was no counsel, help or comfort until this unique and eternal Son of God had mercy on us out of causeless kindness and came from heaven to help us. So now those tyrants and masters of the stocks have all been driven out, and Jesus Christ, Lord of life, righteousness, all good and blessedness, has taken us poor, lost people out of the jaws of hell, won us, set us free and brought us back into the Father's grace and mercy, and taken us as his own under his umbrella and protection, so that he may rule us through his righteousness, wisdom, power, life and blessedness.
151 Let this be the sum of this article, that the word "Lord" is most simply called a Redeemer, that is, one who has brought us from the devil to God, from death to life, from sin to righteousness, and has preserved us in this. The pieces that follow one after the other in this article do nothing else than explain such redemption and express how and by what means it came about; that is, what he confessed and what he did and dared to do so that he might win us and bring us to his dominion; namely, that he became man, was conceived and born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin without all sin, so that he might be Lord of sins; and that he suffered, died, and was buried so that he might be sufficient for me and pay what I have owed,
not with silver nor gold, but with his own precious blood. And all this so that he might become my Lord, for he had neither need nor need of any of these for himself. Then he rose again, devoured death and was eaten. And finally ascended to heaven and took the reign at the right hand of the Father, so that the devil and all authority must be subject to him and lie at his feet until he finally separates us completely on the last day and separates us from the evil world, devil, death, sin etc.
But to set forth all these particular things in detail does not belong to the short sermon for children, but to the great sermons over the whole year, especially at the times appointed to treat each article at length, from the birth, passion, resurrection, ascension of Christ etc. Also, the whole gospel that we preach is based on the fact that this article is to be understood well, as all our salvation and happiness is based on it, and it is so rich and wide that we always have enough to learn from it.
The third article.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, A Holy Christian Church, The Church of the Saints, Forgiveness of Sins, Resurrection of the Flesh, and Eternal Life, Amen.
153 I cannot better express this article than, as I have said, of sanctification, that by it the Holy Spirit with his office is expressed and pictured, namely, that he sanctifies. Therefore we must base ourselves on the word "Holy Spirit," because it is so brief that no other can be used. For there are various other spirits in Scripture, such as the spirit of man, heavenly spirits and evil spirits. But God's Spirit alone is called a Holy Spirit, that is, the one who sanctified us and still sanctifies us. For as the Father is called a Creator, and the Son a Redeemer, so also the Holy Spirit of His work shall be called a Sanctifier. But how do such saints come to be? Answer: Just as the Son takes over the reign, by which he wins us through his birth, death and resurrection, so the Holy Spirit judges us.
The Holy Spirit brings sanctification through the following things, that is, through the congregation of the saints or the Christian church, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the flesh, and eternal life, that is, by first leading us into His holy congregation and placing us in the bosom of the church, thereby preaching to us and bringing us to Christ.
For neither you nor I could ever know anything of Christ, nor believe in him, nor come to the Lord, unless it were offered by the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the holy gospel, and given to us in the bosom; the work is done and accomplished. For Christ has purchased and won the treasure for us through his suffering, death and resurrection etc. But if the work remained hidden, so that no one knew it, it would be in vain and lost. So that such treasure would not remain buried, but would be invested and enjoyed, God sent forth and proclaimed the Word, giving the Holy Spirit to bring home and appropriate such treasure and redemption to us. Therefore, sainthood is nothing else than bringing to the Lord Christ to receive such good, which we could not obtain on our own.
(155) Now learn to understand this article most clearly. If it be asked, What meanest thou by the words, I believe in the Holy Ghost? that thou mayest answer: I believe that the Holy Spirit makes me holy, as his name is. But how does he do this, or what is his way and means? Answer: Through the Christian church, forgiveness of sins, resurrection of the flesh, and eternal life. For first of all, he has a special church in the world, which is the mother that begets and sustains every Christian through the Word of God, which he reveals and drives, enlightening and kindling hearts so that they grasp it, accept it, cling to it, and abide by it.
156 For where he does not let it be preached and awakened in the heart to be grasped, it is lost; as happened under the papacy, where faith was completely put under the bench, and no one recognized Christ as Lord, nor the Holy Spirit as the one who sanctifies, that is, no one recognized the Holy Spirit as the one who sanctifies.
believes that Christ is our Lord, who without our work and merit has won us such treasure and made us pleasing to the Father. What was the lack of? Because the Holy Spirit was not there to reveal and preach these things, but men and evil spirits were there to teach us to be saved and to obtain grace by our works. That is why it is not a Christian church. For where Christ is not preached, there is no Holy Spirit to make, call and gather the Christian church, apart from which no one can come to the Lord Christ. That is enough of the summary of this article. But because the things told in it are not so clear to the simple-minded, we will pass over them.
157 The holy Christian church is called the faith Communionem Sanctorum, a communion of the saints; for both are combined in one, but before times the one piece was not there; is also badly and incomprehensibly translated "a communion of the saints". If one should give it clearly, one would have to speak it in a different German way. For the word ecclesia actually means in German "an assembly". But we are accustomed to the word "church," which the simple understand not of an assembled multitude, but of the consecrated house or building; although the house should not be called a church, if only because the multitude comes together in it. For we who come together make and take a special place, and give a name to the house after the multitude.
So the word "church" actually means nothing else than "a common assembly," and is not German in kind, but Greek, like the word Ecclesia, for they call it Cyria in their language, as it is also called Curiam in Latin. Therefore, in proper German and our mother tongue, it should be called "a Christian congregation" or "assembly", or in the best and clearest way: "a holy Christianity". So also the word Communio, which is attached to it, should not be called "community", but "congregation". And is nothing else, because
The gloss or interpretation, where someone wanted to interpret what the "Christian church" is called; instead, ours, who knew neither Latin nor German, made it "community of the saints," since no German language speaks or understands it that way. But to speak correctly in German, it should be called "a congregation of saints," that is, a congregation in which all are saints, or even more clearly, a holy congregation. I say this so that the words may be understood, because it has become so habitual that it is difficult to tear it out again, and it will soon be heresy to change a word.
This is the opinion and summary of this addition: I believe that there is a holy company and congregation on earth of vain saints, under one head, Christ, called together by the Holy Spirit, in one faith, mind and understanding, with various gifts, but united in love, without divisions and separation. I am also a part and member of it, partaker of all the goods it has, and a fellow member, brought and incorporated by the Holy Spirit through having heard God's word and still hearing it, which is the beginning of coming into it. For before we came in, we were completely of the devil, when we knew nothing of God and of Christ. So the Holy Spirit remains with the holy congregation or Christianity until the last day, by which he teaches us, and needs them to guide and drive the word, by which he makes and increases sanctification, so that it increases daily and becomes strong in faith and its fruits, which he creates.
160] Then we believe that in Christianity we have forgiveness of sins, which comes through the holy sacraments and absolution, along with all the consolations of the whole gospel. Therefore, what is to be preached of the sacraments belongs here, and summa, the whole gospel and all the offices of Christianity; which also is necessary to be done without ceasing. For although God's grace is acquired through Christ, and holiness is made through the Holy Spirit by God's Word in the union of the Christian Church, we are still
never without sin for the sake of our flesh, which we still wear around our necks.
Therefore all things in Christendom are ordained, that the forgiveness of sins by word and sign should be daily obtained, to comfort and lift up our consciences, as long as we live here: so the Holy Ghost maketh it that, though we have sin, yet it cannot hurt us, because we are in Christendom, where is the forgiveness of sin, both that God forgiveth us, and that we forgive, bear, and help one another. But outside of Christianity, since the gospel is not there, neither is there forgiveness, just as there can be no holiness. Therefore all have cast themselves out and separated themselves, who seek and earn holiness not by the gospel and forgiveness of sin, but by their works. 162. But because holiness has begun and is daily increasing, we wait that our flesh may be put to death and covered with all filthiness, but that it may gloriously come forth and be resurrected to entire and complete holiness in a new eternal life. For now we remain half and half pure and holy, so that the Holy Spirit may always work on us through the Word and daily distribute forgiveness until that life, when there will no longer be forgiveness, but completely pure and holy people, full of piety and righteousness, freed and delivered from sin, death and all unhappiness, in a new, immortal and transfigured body. Behold, all these things shall be the office and work of the Holy Ghost, that he may begin on earth holiness, and daily increase it, by the two things, the Christian church, and the remission of sins. But when we decay, he will accomplish it all in a moment and keep us forever through the last two.
But the fact that it says "resurrection of the flesh" is not well spoken in German. For when we Germans hear "flesh," we think no further than the "Scherren" (flesh bank). In proper German, however, we would say "resurrection of the body" or corpse; but there is not much power in this, if one only understands the words correctly.
This is now the article that must go and remain in the work forever; for
the creation we have now away; so the redemption is also aligned. But the Holy. But the Holy Spirit continues his work until the last day, appointing a church on earth, through which he speaks and does everything, because he has not yet gathered all his Christians together, nor has he distributed forgiveness. Therefore we believe in him who brings us daily by the word, and gives faith, increases and strengthens by the same word and forgiveness of sins, so that, when all this is accomplished and we continue in it, he may make us completely and eternally holy, which we now expect by faith through the word.
Behold, you have depicted the entire divine essence, will and work with very short and yet rich words, in which all our wisdom is found, which is above all human wisdom, sense and reason. For all the world, though it has sought with all diligence what God would be and what he would have in mind and do, yet it has never attained any of these. But here you have it all in the most abundant way. For he himself has revealed and opened the deepest abyss of his fatherly heart and his unspeakable love in all three articles. For he created us for this very purpose, that he might redeem and sanctify us. And over and above the fact that he gave us and gave us all things in heaven and on earth, he also gave us his Son and Holy Spirit, through whom he brought us to himself. For we could never come to know the Father's grace and mercy without the Lord Christ, who is a mirror of the Father's heart, apart from which we see nothing but a wrathful and terrible Judge; but of Christ we could know nothing unless it were revealed through the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, these articles of faith separate and distinguish us Christians from all other people on earth. For whatsoever is outside of Christendom, whether Gentiles, Turks, Jews, or false Christians and hypocrites, though they believe and worship only one true God, yet they know not what his mind is toward them, neither can they have any love nor good toward him, wherefore they abide in everlasting wrath and condemnation; because they have not the Lord Christ, neither are they enlightened and graced with any gifts of the Holy Spirit.
From this you see that faith is a much different teaching than the Ten Commandments. For those teach what we should do, but this one says what God should do and give us. The ten commandments are also written in the hearts of all men, but faith cannot be understood by human intelligence and must be taught by the Holy Spirit alone. Therefore this teaching does not yet make a Christian, for God's wrath and displeasure still remain over us, because we cannot keep what God demands of us; but this brings grace, makes us pious and pleasing to God. For through this knowledge we gain a desire and love for all of God's commandments, because here we see how God, with all that He has and is able to do, gives Himself completely to us for help and control to keep the ten commandments: the Father all creatures, Christ all His works, the Holy Spirit all His gifts. Let this be enough of faith, to lay a foundation for the simple, that they be not overcharged; that, when they understand the sum of it, they themselves may pursue it, and draw to it what they learn in the Scriptures, and ever increase and grow in richer understanding. For we have daily, as long as we live here, to preach and to learn.