The Scriptural Witness on the Trinity
All these things we know
from the testimonies of Holy Scripture
as well as from the effects of the persons,
especially from those we feel within ourselves.
The testimonies of the Holy Scriptures,
which teach us to believe in this Holy Trinity,
are written in many places of the Old Testament,
which need not be enumerated
but only chosen with discretion.
In the book of Genesis God says,
"Let us make man
in our image,
according to our
likeness."
So "God created man in his own image"—
indeed, "male and
female he created them."^6
"Behold, man has
become like one of us."^7
It appears from this
that there is a plurality of persons
within the Deity,
when he says,
"Let us make man in our image"—
and afterwards he indicates the unity
when he says,
"God created."
It is true that he does not say here
how many persons there are—
but what is somewhat obscure to us
in the Old Testament
is very clear in the New.
For when our Lord was baptized in the Jordan,
the voice of the Father was heard saying,
"This is my dear Son";^8
the Son was seen in the water;
and the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove.
So, in the baptism of all believers
this form was prescribed by Christ:
"Baptize all people in the name
of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit."^9
In the Gospel according to Luke
the angel Gabriel says to Mary,
the mother of our Lord:
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow
you;
and therefore that holy one to be born of you
shall be called the Son of God."^10
And in another place it says:
"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with you."^11
"There are three who bear witness in heaven—
the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit—
and these three are one."^12
In all these passages we are fully taught
that there are three persons
in the one and only divine essence.
And although this doctrine surpasses human understanding,
we nevertheless believe it now,
through the Word,
waiting to know and enjoy it fully
in heaven.
Furthermore,
we must note the particular works and activities
of these three persons in relation to us.
The Father is called our Creator,
by reason of his
power.
The Son is our Savior and Redeemer,
by his blood.
The Holy Spirit is our Sanctifier,
by his living in
our hearts.
This doctrine of the holy Trinity
has always been maintained in the true church,
from the time of the apostles until the present,
against Jews, Muslims, and certain false Christians
and heretics,
such as Marcion,
Mani,
Praxeas, Sabellius,
Paul of Samosata, Arius,
and others like
them,
who were rightly
condemned by the holy fathers.
And so,
in this matter we willingly accept
the three ecumenical creeds—
the Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian—
as well as what the ancient fathers decided
in agreement with them.
^6 Gen. 1:26-27
^7 Gen. 3:22
^8 Matt. 3:17
^9 Matt. 28:19
^10 Luke 1:35
^11 2 Cor. 13:14
^12 1 John 5:7 (KJV)
The Deity of Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ,
according to his divine nature,
is the only Son of God—
eternally begotten,
not made nor created,
for then he would
be a creature.
He is one in essence with the Father;
coeternal;
the exact image of the person of the Father
and the "reflection of his glory,"^13
being in all things like him.
He is the Son of God
not only from the time he assumed our nature
but from all eternity,
as the following testimonies teach us
when they are taken together.
Moses says that God "created the world";^14
and John says that "all things were created by the Word,"^15
which he calls God.
The apostle says that "God made the world by his
Son."^16
He also says that "God created all things by Jesus Christ."^17
And so it must follow
that he who is called God, the Word, the Son, and Jesus Christ
already existed when all things were created by him.
Therefore the prophet Micah says
that his origin is "from ancient times,
from eternity."^18
And the apostle says
that he has "neither beginning of days
nor end of life."^19
So then,
he is the true eternal God,
the Almighty,
whom we invoke,
worship,
and serve.
^13 Col. 1:15; Heb. 1:3
^14 Gen. 1:1
^15 John 1:3
^16 Heb. 1:2
^17 Col. 1:16
^18 Mic. 5:2
^19 Heb. 7:3
The Deity of the Holy Spirit
We believe and confess also
that the Holy Spirit proceeds eternally
from the Father and the Son—
neither made,
nor created,
nor begotten,
but only proceeding
from the two of them.
In regard to order,
he is the third person of the Trinity—
of one and the same essence,
and majesty,
and glory,
with the Father and the Son.
He is true and eternal God,
as the Holy Scriptures teach us.
Article 12
The Creation of All Things
We believe that the Father
created heaven and earth and all other creatures
from nothing,
when it seemed good to him,
by his Word—
that is to say,
by his Son.
He has given all creatures
their being, form, and appearance,
and their various functions
for serving their Creator.
Even now
he also sustains and governs them all,
according to his eternal providence,
and by his infinite power,
that they may serve man,
in order that man may serve God.
He has also created the angels good,
that they might be his messengers
and serve his elect.
Some of them have fallen
from the excellence
in which God created them
into eternal perdition;
and the others have persisted and remained
in their orginal
state,
by the grace of
God.
The devils and evil spirits are so corrupt
that they are enemies of God
and of everything good.
They lie in wait for the church
and every member of it
like thieves,
with all their power,
to destroy and spoil everything
by their deceptions.
So then,
by their own wickedness
they are condemned to everlasting damnation,
daily awaiting their
torments.
For that reason
we detest the error of the Sadducees,
who deny that there are spirits and angels,
and also the error of the Manicheans,
who say that the devils originated by themselves,
being evil by nature,
without having been
corrupted.
The Doctrine of God's Providence
We believe that this good God,
after he created all things,
did not abandon them to chance or fortune
but leads and governs them
according to his holy will,
in such a way that nothing happens in this world
without his orderly arrangement.
Yet God is not the author of,
nor can he be charged with,
the sin that occurs.
For his power and goodness
are so great and incomprehensible
that he arranges and does his work very well and justly
even when the devils and wicked men act unjustly.
We do not wish to inquire
with undue curiosity
into what he does that surpasses human understanding
and is beyond our ability to comprehend.
But in all humility and reverence
we adore the just judgments of God,
which are hidden from us,
being content to be Christ's disciples,
so as to learn only what he shows us in his Word,
without going beyond
those limits.
This doctrine gives us unspeakable comfort
since it teaches us
that nothing can happen to us by chance
but only by the arrangement of our gracious
heavenly Father.
He watches over us with fatherly care,
keeping all creatures under his control,
so that not one of the hairs on our heads
(for they are all numbered)
nor even a little bird
can fall to the ground^20
without the will of our Father.
In this thought we rest,
knowing that he holds in check
the devils and all our enemies,
who cannot hurt us
without his permission and will.
For that reason we reject
the damnable error of the Epicureans,
who say that God involves himself in nothing
and leaves everything to chance.
^20 Matt. 10:29-30
The Creation and Fall of Man
We believe
that God created man from the dust of the earth
and made and formed him in his image and likeness—
good, just, and holy;
able by his own will to conform
in all things
to the will of God.
But when he was in honor
he did not understand it^21
and did not recognize his excellence.
But he subjected himself willingly to sin
and consequently to death and the curse,
lending his ear to the word of the devil.
For he transgressed the commandment of life,
which he had received,
and by his sin he separated himself from God,
who was his true life,
having corrupted his entire nature.
So he made himself guilty
and subject to physical and spiritual death,
having become wicked,
perverse,
and corrupt in all his ways.
He lost all his excellent gifts
which he had received from God,
and he retained none of them
except for small traces
which are enough to make him
inexcusable.
Moreover, all the light in us is turned to darkness,
as the Scripture teaches us:
"The light shone in the darkness,
and the darkness did not receive it."^22
Here John calls men "darkness."
Therefore we reject everything taught to the contrary
concerning man's free will,
since man is nothing but the slave of sin
and cannot do a thing
unless it is "given him from heaven."^23
For who can boast of being able
to do anything good by himself,
since Christ says,
"No one can come to me
unless my Father who sent me
draws him"?^24
Who can glory in his own will
when he understands that "the mind of the flesh
is enmity against God"?^25
Who can speak of his own knowledge
in view of the fact that "the natural man
does not understand the things of the Spirit of
God"?^26
In short,
who can produce a single thought,
since he knows that we are "not able to think
a thing"
about ourselves,
by ourselves,
but that "our ability is from God"?^27
And therefore,
what the apostle says
ought rightly to stand fixed and firm:
"God works within us both to will and to do
according to his good pleasure."^28
For there is no understanding nor will
conforming to God's understanding and will
apart from Christ's involvement,
as he teaches us when he says,
"Without me you can do nothing."^29
^21 Ps. 49:20
^22 John 1:5
^23 John 3:27
^24 John 6:44
^25 Rom. 8:7
^26 1 Cor. 2:14
^27 2 Cor. 3:5
^28 Phil. 2:13
^29 John 15:5
The Doctrine of Original Sin
We believe
that by the disobedience of Adam
original sin has been spread
through the whole human race.
It is a corruption of all nature—
an inherited depravity which even infects small infants
in their mother's womb,
and the root which produces in man
every sort of sin.
It is therefore so vile and enormous in God's sight
that it is enough to condemn the human race,
and it is not abolished
or wholly uprooted
even by baptism,
seeing that sin
constantly boils forth
as though from a
contaminated spring.
Nevertheless,
it is not imputed to God's children
for their condemnation
but is forgiven
by his grace and mercy—
not to put them to sleep
but so that the awareness of this corruption
might often make believers groan
as they long to be set free
from the "body of this death."^30
Therefore we reject the error of the Pelagians
who say that this sin is nothing else than a matter of imitation.
^30 Rom. 7:24
The Doctrine of Election
We believe that—
all Adam's descendants having thus fallen
into perdition and ruin
by the sin of the first man—
God showed himself to be as he is:
merciful and just.
He is merciful
in withdrawing and saving from this perdition those whom he,
in his eternal and unchangeable counsel,
has elected and chosen in Jesus Christ our Lord
by his pure goodness,
without any consideration of their works.
He is just
in leaving the others in their ruin and fall
into which they plunged themselves.
