young people, to admonish them and to remind them of it, that they may
be brought up not only with blows and compulsion, like cattle, but in
the fear and reverence of God. For where this is considered and laid to
heart that these things are not human trifles, but the commandments of
the Divine Majesty, who insists upon them with such earnestness, is
angry with, and punishes those who despise them, and, on the other
hand, abundantly rewards those who keep them, there will be a
spontaneous impulse and a desire gladly to do the will of God.
Therefore it is not in vain that it is commanded in the Old Testament
to write the Ten Commandments on all walls and corners, yes, even on
the garments, not for the sake of merely having them written in these
places and making a show of them, as did the Jews, but that we might
have our eyes constantly fixed upon them, and have them always in our
memory, and that we might practice them in all our actions and ways,
and every one make them his daily exercise in all cases, in every
business and transaction, as though they were written in every place
wherever he would look, yea, wherever he walks or stands. Thus there
would be occasion enough, both at home in our own house and abroad with
our neighbors, to practice the Ten Commandments, that no one need run
far for them.
From this it again appears how highly these Ten Commandments are to be
exalted and extolled above all estates, commandments, and works which
are taught and practiced aside from them. For here we can boast and
say: Let all the wise and saints step forth and produce, if they can, a
[single] work like these commandments, upon which God insists with such
earnestness, and which He enjoins with His greatest wrath and
punishment, and, besides, adds such glorious promises that He will pour
out upon us all good things and blessings. Therefore they should be
taught above all others, and be esteemed precious and dear, as the
highest treasure given by God.
Part Second. OF THE CREED.
Thus far we have heard the first part of Christian doctrine, in which
we have seen all that God wishes us to do or to leave undone. Now,
there properly follows the Creed, which sets forth to us everything
that we must expect and receive from God, and, to state it quite
briefly, teaches us to know Him fully. And this is intended to help us
do that which according to the Ten Commandments we ought to do. For (as
said above) they are set so high that all human ability is far too
feeble and weak to [attain to or] keep them. Therefore it is as
necessary to learn this part as the former in order that we may know
how to attain thereto, whence and whereby to obtain such power. For if
we could by our own powers keep the Ten Commandments as they are to be
kept, we would need nothing further, neither the Creed nor the Lord's
Prayer. But before we explain this advantage and necessity of the
Creed, it is sufficient at first for the simple-minded that they learn
to comprehend and understand the Creed itself.
In the first place, the Creed has hitherto been divided into twelve
articles, although, if all points which are written in the Scriptures
and which belong to the Creed were to be distinctly set forth, there
would be far more articles, nor could they all be clearly expressed in
so few words. But that it may be most easily and clearly understood as
it is to be taught to children, we shall briefly sum up the entire
Creed in three chief articles, according to the three persons in the
Godhead, to whom everything that we believe is related, So that the
First Article, of God the Father, explains Creation, the Second
Article, of the Son, Redemption, and the Third, of the Holy Ghost,
Sanctification. Just as though the Creed were briefly comprehended in
so many words: I believe in God the Father, who has created me; I
believe in God the Son, who has redeemed me; I believe in the Holy
Ghost, who sanctifies me. One God and one faith, but three persons,
therefore also three articles or confessions. Let us briefly run over
the words.
Article I.
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
This portrays and sets forth most briefly what is the essence, will,
activity, and work of God the Father. For since the Ten Commandments
have taught that we are to have not more than one God, the question
might be asked, What kind of a person is God? What does He do? How can
we praise or portray and describe Him, that He may be known? Now, that
is taught in this and in the following article, so that the Creed is
nothing else than the answer and confession of Christians arranged with
respect to the First Commandment. As if you were to ask a little child:
My dear, what sort of a God have you? What do you know of Him? he could
say: This is my God: first, the Father, who has created heaven and
earth; besides this only One I regard nothing else as God; for there is
no one else who could create heaven and earth.
But for the learned, and those who are somewhat advanced [have
acquired some Scriptural knowledge], these three articles may all be
expanded and divided into as many parts as there are words. But now for
young scholars let it suffice to indicate the most necessary points,
namely, as we have said, that this article refers to the Creation: that
we emphasize the words: Creator of heaven and earth But what is the
force of this, or what do you mean by these words: I believe in God the
Father Almighty, Maker, etc.? Answer: This is what I mean and believe,
that I am a creature of God; that is, that He has given and constantly
preserves to me my body, soul, and life, members great and small, all
my senses, reason, and understanding, and so on, food and drink,
clothing and support, wife and children, domestics, house and home,
etc. Besides, He causes all creatures to serve for the uses and
necessities of life -- sun, moon and stars in the firmament, day and
night, air, fire, water, earth, and whatever it bears and produces,
birds and fishes, beasts, grain, and all kinds of produce, and whatever
else there is of bodily and temporal goods, good government, peace,
security. Thus we learn from this article that none of us has of
himself, nor can preserve, his life nor anything that is here
enumerated or can be enumerated, however small and unimportant a thing
it might be, for all is comprehended in the word Creator.
Moreover, we also confess that God the Father has not only given us all
that we have and see before our eyes, but daily preserves and defends
us against all evil and misfortune, averts all sorts of danger and
calamity; and that He does all this out of pure love and goodness,
without our merit, as a benevolent Father, who cares for us that no
evil befall us. But to speak more of this belongs in the other two
parts of this article, where we say: Father Almighty
Now, since: all that we possess, and, moreover, whatever, in addition,
is in heaven and upon the earth, is daily given, preserved, and kept
for us by God, it is readily inferred and concluded that it is our duty
to love, praise, and thank Him for it without ceasing, and, in short,
to serve Him with all these things as He demands and has enjoined in
the Ten Commandments.
Here we could say much if we were to expatiate, how few there are that
believe this article. For we all pass over it, hear it and say it, but
neither see nor consider what the words teach us. For if we believed it
with the heart, we would also act accordingly, and not stalk about
proudly, act defiantly, and boast as though we had life, riches, power,
and honor, etc., of ourselves, so that others must fear and serve us,
as is the practice of the wretched, perverse world, which is drowned in
blindness, and abuses all the good things and gifts of God only for its
own pride, avarice, lust, and luxury, and never once regards God, so
as to thank Him or acknowledge Him as Lord and Creator.
Therefore, this article ought to humble and terrify us all, if we
believed it. For we sin daily with eyes, ears, hands, body and soul,
money and possessions, and with everything we have, especially those
who even fight against the Word of God. Yet Christians have this
advantage, that they acknowledge themselves in duty bound to serve God
for all these things, and to be obedient to Him [which the world knows
not how to do].
We ought, therefore, daily to practice this article, impress it upon
our mind, and to remember it in all that meets our eyes, and in all
good that falls to our lot, and wherever we escape from calamity or
danger, that it is God who gives and does all these things, that
therein we sense and see His paternal heart and His transcendent love
toward us. Thereby the heart would be warmed and kindled to be
thankful, and to employ all such good things to the honor and praise of
God.
Thus we have most briefly presented the meaning of this article, as
much as is at first necessary for the most simple to learn, both as to
what we have and receive from God, and what we owe in return, which is
a most excellent knowledge, but a far greater treasure. For here we see
how the Father has given Himself to us, together with all creatures,
and has most richly provided for us in this life, besides that He has
overwhelmed us with unspeakable, eternal treasures by His Son and the
Holy Ghost, as we shall hear.
Article II.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the
Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was
crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He
rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the
right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to
judge the quick and the dead.
Here we learn to know the Second Person of the Godhead, so that we see
what we have from God over and above the temporal goods
aforementioned; namely, how He has completely poured forth Himself and
withheld nothing from us that He has not given us. Now, this article is
very rich and broad; but in order to expound it also briefly and in a
childlike way, we shall take up one word and sum up in that the entire
article, namely (as we have said), that we may here learn how we have
been redeemed; and we shall base this on these words: In Jesus Christ,
our Lord.
If now you are asked, What do you believe in the Second Article of
Jesus Christ? answer briefly: I believe that Jesus Christ, true Son of
God, has become my Lord. But what is it to become Lord? It is this,
that He has redeemed me from sin, from the devil, from death, and all
evil. For before I had no Lord nor King, but was captive under the
power of the devil, condemned to death, enmeshed in sin and blindness.
For when we had been created by God the Father, and had received from
Him all manner of good, the devil came and led us into disobedience,
sin, death, and all evil, so that we fell under His wrath and
displeasure and were doomed to eternal damnation, as we had merited and
deserved. There was no counsel, help, or comfort until this only and
eternal Son of God in His unfathomable goodness had compassion upon our
misery and wretchedness, and came from heaven to help us. Those tyrants
and jailers, then, are all expelled now, and in their place has come
Jesus Christ, Lord of life, righteousness, every blessing, and
salvation, and has delivered us poor lost men from the jaws of hell,
has won us, made us free, and brought us again into the favor and grace
of the Father, and has taken us as His own property under His shelter
and protection, that He may govern us by His righteousness, wisdom,
power, life, and blessedness.
Let this then, be the sum of this article that the little word Lord
signifies simply as much as Redeemer, i.e., He who has brought us from
Satan to God, from death to life, from sin to righteousness, and who
preserves us in the same. But all the points which follow in order in
this article serve no other end than to explain and express this
redemption, how and whereby it was accomplished, that is, how much it
cost Him, and what He spent and risked that He might win us and bring
us under His dominion, namely, that He became man, conceived and born
without [any stain of] sin, of the Holy Ghost and of the Virgin Mary,
that He might overcome sin; moreover, that He suffered, died and was
buried, that He might make satisfaction for me and pay what I owe, not
with silver nor gold, but with His own precious blood. And all this, in
order to become my Lord; for He did none of these for Himself, nor had
He any need of it. And after that He rose again from the dead,
swallowed up and devoured death, and finally ascended into heaven and
assumed the government at the Father's right hand, so that the devil
and all powers must be subject to Him and lie at His feet, until
finally, at the last day, He will completely part and separate us from
the wicked world, the devil, death, sin, etc.
But to explain all these single points separately belongs not to brief
sermons for children, but rather to the ampler sermons that extend
throughout the entire year, especially at those times which are
appointed for the purpose of treating at length of each article -- of
the birth, sufferings, resurrection, ascension of Christ, etc.
Ay, the entire Gospel which we preach is based on this, that we
properly understand this article as that upon which our salvation and
all our happiness rest, and which is so rich and comprehensive that we
never can learn it fully.
Article III.
I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy Christian Church, the communion
of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and
the life everlasting. Amen.
This article (as I have said) I cannot relate better than to
Sanctification, that through the same the Holy Ghost, with His office,
is declared and depicted, namely, that He makes holy. Therefore we must
take our stand upon the word Holy Ghost, because it is so precise and
comprehensive that we cannot find another. For there are, besides, many
kinds of spirits mentioned in the Holy Scriptures, as, the spirit of
man, heavenly spirits, and evil spirits. But the Spirit of God alone is
called Holy Ghost, that is, He who has sanctified and still sanctifies
us. For as the Father is called Creator, the Son Redeemer, so the Holy
Ghost, from His work, must be called Sanctifier, or One that makes
holy. But how is such sanctifying done? Answer: Just as the Son obtains
dominion, whereby He wins us, through His birth, death, resurrection,
etc., so also the Holy Ghost effects our sanctification by the
following parts, namely, by the communion of saints or the Christian
Church, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the
life everlasting; that is, He first leads us into His holy
congregation, and places us in the bosom of the Church, whereby He
preaches to us and brings us to Christ.
For neither you nor I could ever know anything of Christ, or believe on
Him, and obtain Him for our Lord, unless it were offered to us and
granted to our hearts by the Holy Ghost through the preaching of the
Gospel. The work is done and accomplished; for Christ has acquired and
gained the treasure for us by His suffering, death, resurrection, etc.
But if the work remained concealed so that no one knew of it, then it
would be in vain and lost. That this treasure, therefore, might not lie
buried, but be appropriated and enjoyed, God has caused the Word to go
forth and be proclaimed, in which He gives the Holy Ghost to bring this
treasure home and appropriate it to us. Therefore sanctifying is
nothing else than bringing us to Christ to receive this good, to which
we could not attain of ourselves.
Learn, then, to understand this article most clearly. If you are
asked: What do you mean by the words: I believe in the Holy Ghost? you
can answer: I believe that the Holy Ghost makes me holy, as His name
implies. But whereby does He accomplish this, or what are His method
and means to this end? Answer: By the Christian Church, the forgiveness
of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. For,
in the first place, He has a peculiar congregation in the world, which
is the mother that begets and bears every Christian through the Word of
God, which He reveals and preaches, [and through which] He illumines
and enkindles hearts, that they understand, accept it, cling to it, and
persevere in it.
For where He does not cause it to be preached and made alive in the
heart, so that it is understood, it is lost, as was the case under the
Papacy, where faith was entirely put under the bench, and no one
recognized Christ as his Lord or the Holy Ghost as his Sanctifier, that
is, no one believed that Christ is our Lord in the sense that He has
acquired this treasure for us, without our works and merit, and made us
acceptable to the Father. What, then, was lacking? This, that the Holy
Ghost was not there to reveal it and cause it to be preached; but men
and evil spirits were there, who taught us to obtain grace and be saved
by our works. Therefore it is not a Christian Church either; for where
Christ is not preached, there is no Holy Ghost who creates, calls, and
gathers the Christian Church, without which no one can come to Christ
the Lord. Let this suffice concerning the sum of this article. But
because the parts which are here enumerated are not quite clear to the
simple, we shall run over them also.
The Creed denominates the holy Christian Church, communionem
sanctorum, a communion of saints; for both expressions, taken
together, are identical. But formerly the one [the second] expression
was not there, and it has been poorly and unintelligibly translated
into German eine Gemeinschaft der Heiligen, a communion of saints. If
it is to be rendered plainly, it must be expressed quite differently in
the German idiom; for the word ecclesia properly means in German eine
Versammlung, an assembly. But we are accustomed to the word church, by
which the simple do not understand an assembled multitude, but the
consecrated house or building, although the house ought not to be
called a church, except only for the reason that the multitude
assembles there. For we who assemble there make and choose for
ourselves a particular place, and give a name to the house according to
the assembly.
Thus the word Kirche (church) means really nothing else than a common
assembly and is not German by idiom, but Greek (as is also the word
ecclesia); for in their own language they call it kyria, as in Latin it
is called curia. Therefore in genuine German, in our mother-tongue, it
ought to be called a Christian congregation or assembly (eine
christliche Gemeinde oder Sammlung), or, best of all and most clearly,
holy Christendom (eine heilige Christenheit).
So also the word communio, which is added, ought not to be rendered
communion (Gemeinschaft), but congregation (Gemeinde). And it is
nothing else than an interpretation or explanation by which some one
meant to explain what the Christian Church is. This our people, who
understood neither Latin nor German, have rendered Gemeinschaft der
Heiligen (communion of saints), although no German language speaks
thus, nor understands it thus. But to speak correct German, it ought to
be eine Gemeinde der Heiligen (a congregation of saints), that is, a
congregation made up purely of saints, or, to speak yet more plainly,
eine heilige Gemeinde, a holy congregation. I say this in order that
the words Gemeinschaft der Heiligen (communion of saints) may be
understood, because the expression has become so established by custom
that it cannot well be eradicated, and it is treated almost as heresy
if one should attempt to change a word.
But this is the meaning and substance of this addition: I believe that
there is upon earth a little holy group and congregation of pure
saints, under one head, even Christ, called together by the Holy Ghost
in one faith, one mind, and understanding, with manifold gifts, yet
agreeing in love, without sects or schisms. I am also a part and member
of the same a sharer and joint owner of all the goods it possesses,
brought to it and incorporated into it by the Holy Ghost by having
heard and continuing to hear the Word of God, which is the beginning of
entering it. For formerly, before we had attained to this, we were
altogether of the devil, knowing nothing of God and of Christ. Thus,
until the last day, the Holy Ghost abides with the holy congregation or
Christendom, by means of which He fetches us to Christ and which He
employs to teach and preach to us the Word, whereby He works and
promotes sanctification, causing it [this community] daily to grow and
become strong in the faith and its fruits which He produces.
We further believe that in this Christian Church we have forgiveness of
sin, which is wrought through the holy Sacraments and Absolution,
moreover, through all manner of consolatory promises of the entire
Gospel. Therefore, whatever is to be preached concerning the Sacraments
belongs here, and, in short, the whole Gospel and all the offices of
Christianity, which also must be preached and taught without ceasing.
For although the grace of God is secured through Christ, and
sanctification is wrought by the Holy Ghost through the Word of God in
the unity of the Christian Church, yet on account of our flesh which we
bear about with us we are never without sin.
Everything, therefore, in the Christian Church is ordered to the end
that we shall daily obtain there nothing but the forgiveness of sin
through the Word and signs, to comfort and encourage our consciences as
long as we live here. Thus, although we have sins, the [grace of the]
Holy Ghost does not allow them to injure us, because we are in the
Christian Church, where there is nothing but [continuous,
uninterrupted] forgiveness of sin, both in that God forgives us, and in
that we forgive, bear with, and help each other.
But outside of this Christian Church, where the Gospel is not, there is
no forgiveness, as also there can be no holiness [sanctification].
Therefore all who seek and wish to merit holiness [sanctification], not
through the Gospel and forgiveness of sin, but by their works, have
expelled and severed themselves [from this Church].
Meanwhile, however, while sanctification has begun and is growing
daily, we expect that our flesh will be destroyed and buried with all
its uncleanness, and will come forth gloriously, and arise to entire
and perfect holiness in a new eternal life. For now we are only half
pure and holy, so that the Holy Ghost has ever [some reason why] to
continue His work in us through the Word, and daily to dispense
forgiveness, until we attain to that life where there will be no more
forgiveness, but only perfectly pure and holy people, full of godliness
and righteousness, removed and free from sin, death, and all evil, in a
new, immortal, and glorified body.
Behold, all this is to be the office and work of the Holy Ghost, that
He begin and daily increase holiness upon earth by means of these two
things, the Christian Church and the forgiveness of sin. But in our
dissolution He will accomplish it altogether in an instant, and will
forever preserve us therein by the last two parts.
But the term Auferstehung des Fleisches (resurrection of the flesh)
here employed is not according to good German idiom. For when we
Germans hear the word Fleisch (flesh), we think no farther than of the
shambles. But in good German idiom we would say Auferstehung des
Leibes, or Leichnams (resurrection of the body). However, it is not a
matter of much moment, if we only understand the words aright.
This, now, is the article which must ever be and remain in operation.
For creation we have received; redemption, too, is finished. But the
Holy Ghost carries on His work without ceasing to the last day. And for
that purpose He has appointed a congregation upon earth by which He
speaks and does everything. For He has not yet brought together all His
Christian Church nor dispensed forgiveness. Therefore we believe in Him
who through the Word daily brings us into the fellowship of this
Christian Church, and through the same Word and the forgiveness of sins
bestows, increases, and strengthens faith in order that when He has
accomplished it all, and we abide therein, and die to the world and to
all evil, He may finally make us perfectly and forever holy; which now
we expect in faith through the Word.