# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1851 04 01_S122
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

122

Christianity, in godliness. May the dear reader not follow his darkened reason and his perverted heart, but consider that the doctrine of the Holy Trinity is the highest treasure of our religion, the fundamental doctrine in the special revelation which God out of eternal compassion has let come to us fallen men, and a fountain from which the mightiest streams of divine knowledge and divine life well forth. The more thoughtfully the reader weighs all the words of the following testimony, the more glorious disclosures it will give him, and the more it will refresh his soul like pure fresh water and strengthen it like wholesome, sturdy bread.

The testimony which we communicate is taken from one of the last writings of Luther, in which he reveals just as much a specially admirable depth of knowledge as liveliness and childlike simplicity of faith, namely from the writing: "Exposition of the Last Words of David, 2 Sam. 23, 1-7," which Luther published in the year 1543. The renowned Seckendorf passes the following judgment on this writing in his great work "History of Lutheranism": "Of this no one will be in doubt who has read this exposition, that it shines with so great a light of the Holy Spirit that, if I have any judgment, the clearest testimony for the orthodox theology of Luther, and indeed for his 'acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness,' Tit. 1, 1, may be taken from this little book precisely." (Lib. III. pag. 463.)

We now let Luther's words follow from the writing named:

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Now let us first work through these words of David, in which he finely confesses the two highest articles, that in God there are three distinct persons, and that the one, the Son, should become man, and receive the kingdom and honor from the Father over all things; and that the Holy Spirit should write this in the hearts of men through faith, who has also proclaimed it beforehand through the bodily mouth and tongue of the prophets. Which also are nothing but pure works of the divine majesty, for it is not the work of men or angels to promise such things beforehand and afterward to create faith in the hearts of men. It is the gift of God (says St. Paul, Eph. 2, 8) such faith, which the Holy Spirit works and gives. It is also not every man's part, in Scripture and Psalter, to note and read the divine three persons distinctly in this way; for where a fleshly understanding comes upon these words, it reads them one after another just as they stand there: "The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, the God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, he that ruleth over men must be just," etc. (2 Sam. 23, 2. 3.) and thinks nothing else than that it is all spoken by God, as by One Person, with many superfluous words. .

A Christian here must well note that he, as Athanasius sings in his Creed, neither confound the persons into One Person, nor divide or sever the one divine essence into three persons. For if I give to each person outwardly, in the creature, a special work, in which the other two should have no part, then I have severed the one Godhead and made three gods or creators; that is false. Again, if I give to each person inwardly, in the Godhead, or beyond and above the creature, no special distinction which does not belong to the other two, then I have mingled the persons into One Person; that is also false. Here belongs the rule of St. Augustine: Opera Trinitatis ad extra sunt indivisa: the works which are made by God outside the Godhead are not to be divided, that is, one shall not divide the persons in the works, ascribing to each person from without his own distinct work; but one shall distinguish the persons inwardly in the Godhead, and yet ascribe to all three outwardly each work without distinction.

As, to give an example: The Father is my God and your God and Creator, who made me and you; the very same work, that I and you are, the Son has also made, and is just as much my God and your God and Creator as the Father; likewise the Holy Spirit has made the very same work, that I and you are, and is my God and your God and Creator, just as much as the Father and the Son. Yet they are not three gods or creators, but one only God and Creator of us all together. Here, with this faith, I guard myself against the heresy of Arius and his like, so that I do not sever the one divine essence into three gods or creators, but retain in the right Christian faith no more than the one God and Creator of all creatures.

Again, when I now go beyond and outside the creation or creature, into the inward, incomprehensible essence of the divine nature, I find, as the Scripture teaches me (for reason is nothing here), that the Father is another, distinct person from the Son, in the one undivided eternal Godhead: his distinction is that he is Father, and has the Godhead neither from the Son nor from anyone. The Son is a distinct person from the Father, in the same one paternal Godhead: his distinction is that he is Son, and has the Godhead not from himself, nor from anyone, but only from the Father, as eternally begotten of the Father. The Holy Spirit is a distinct person from the Father and the Son, in the same one Godhead: his distinction is that he is the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and the Son together eternally, and has the Godhead not from himself, nor from anyone, but from both the Father and the Son together; and all this from eternity to eternity. Here, with this faith, I guard myself against the heresy of Sabellius, and his like, against Jews, Mohammed, and whoever else there are who are wiser than God himself, and confound the persons into one single person; but retain in the right Christian faith three distinct persons, in the one, divine, eternal essence, who yet, all three, toward us and the creatures are one God, Creator and Worker of all things.

All this is perhaps hard for us Germans [illegible] or subtle, and should more properly remain in the schools [illegible]. But because the Devil is wagging his tail [illegible] in these last times, as if he would gladly awaken all manner of heresy again, and the world [illegible] having become itching and mad already, to hear something new [illegible], and weary of the wholesome doctrine [illegible] (as St. Paul prophesies, 2 Tim. 4, 3,) [illegible] with the Devil the doors have been thrown open [illegible] in, to lead in what he will; so it is useful an[illegible] needful that at least some, both laymen and scholars [illegible] especially pastors, preachers and schoolmasters, learn from such needful articles of our faith also to think, and to speak in German [illegible] But whoever finds it too hard, let him remain with the children at the Catechism, and pray against the Devil and his heresy, against Jews and Mohammed, that he be not led into temptation. Therefore, since we are come to this [illegible] we will give those who like it more of a [illegible] likeness concerning the article, that the one Godhead be not severed, nor the persons be mingled one with another, to strengthen our faith [illegible] and to confess it.

At Jordan, when St. John baptized the H[illegible], the heaven opened, and [illegible] the Holy Ghost descended bodily, in a dove's [illegible] shape, and the Father's voice was heard [illegible] This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, Luke 3, 22. Here the dove is a [illegible] creature, which not only the Holy Ghost [illegible] made, but also the Father and So[illegible], as said, that Opera Trinitatis adextra s[illegible] indivisa: whatever is creature, that God Father [illegible], Son and Holy Ghost have made together, as one only God; yet the dove is not called alone [illegible] the Holy Ghost, or, as Luke says, is [illegible] the Holy Ghost descended in the dove's shape, and the Christian faith would in no way endure that you should say [illegible] of the dove, that is God the Father, or, that [illegible] God the Son; but must say, that [illegible] God the Holy Ghost: although God the Fa[illegible] Son and Holy Ghost are one only God [illegible] that you say quite rightly, of the dove, th[illegible] God, and there is no other God; and [illegible] wrongly you say, that is God the Father, or G[illegible] the Son; but must say, that is G[illegible] the Holy Ghost.

So also there is the voice that says: [illegible] is my beloved Son, etc. a creature, which [illegible] alone the Father has created, but also [illegible] Son and Holy Ghost, as said, Opera Trinitatis, that outside the Godhead all creat[illegible] are created together by all three persons, as [illegible] one only God, and toward [illegible] creature all three persons are one only God [illegible] And again, the creature toward the three persons, works are of one kind and not of three kinds, [illegible] is called and is the same voice alone of the Fa[illegible] and you cannot, as a Christian, here of the voi[illegible] say: that is God the Holy Ghost, [illegible] that is God the Son; but must sa[illegible] that is God the Father; although God the H[illegible] Ghost, and God the Son, and God the [illegible] is one only God; that you say quite rightly [illegible] the voice: that is God, and there is no other [illegible] God; but wrongly you say: that is [illegible] the Son, or God the Holy Ghost; bu[illegible] must say: that is God the Father.

Likewise is to be spoken of the Mens[illegible]