六、尼西亚、亚他那修两套三一论败坏全基督教会
177# 由尼西亚三一，同时也由亚他那修三一，产生了一种信仰，而这种信仰败坏了整个基督教会。尼西亚三一，同时也是亚他那修三一，乃是三位上帝的三一；这一点已由前文第172节所引他们的信经显示出来。由此产生了今日教会的信仰，即信父上帝、子上帝和圣灵上帝：信父上帝，是要祂归算祂儿子救主的义，并把这义记在人的名下；信子上帝，是要祂代求并作保；信圣灵，是要祂实际把子所归算的义写入人里面，并将已确立的义加以印证，借着称义、成圣和重生人而成就。这就是今日的信仰；唯有这种信仰本身能够证明，人们所承认并敬拜的，乃是三位上帝的三一。
【2】一个教会的信仰，会衍生出其全部崇拜礼仪与教义体系，信仰为本，教义为果。由此可知，这种信仰既是对三位上帝的信仰，就败坏了教会的一切；因为信仰是原则，教义是由原则而来的事物，而由原则而来的事物从原则取得自己的本质。
若逐条审视各项核心教义 —— 关乎上帝、基督位格、仁义、悔改、重生、自由意志、拣选、圣礼功用、洗礼与圣餐的教导，便能清晰看见三位上帝的三一观渗透其间；即便文字未曾明说，各项教义也都从这一源头衍生而来。限于篇幅此处无法逐条辨析，然此番辨析极有必要，使人拨开迷雾，故本书末尾特设附录，详细论证此理。
教会对上帝的信仰，如同身体的灵魂，而教义如同这身体的肢体；此外，对上帝的信仰又如一国之君，各类教义条文如同朝中臣属，臣属全然遵从君主的号令，教义也全然依附信仰的定调。单凭一套信仰，便能窥见该教会解读圣言的根本方式：信仰会截取圣言中一切可依附自身的内容，强行牵引、归为己用。倘若信仰本为虚妄，便会扭曲圣言所有真理，牵引真理偏向谬误一侧，使人在属灵事上陷入迷狂；倘若信仰纯正，全本圣言便与之彼此印证，圣言的上帝 —— 主上帝，这位拯救者，会赐下属天亮光，以祂神性的认可浇灌人心，使人得着真智慧。
177# （6）从尼西亚的三位一体和亚他那修的三位一体中产生了一种扭曲整个基督教会的信仰。如前面（TCR 172节）从《尼西亚信经》和《亚他那修信经》所说明的，尼西亚和亚他那修的三位一体都是三神的三位一体。从它们那里产生了当今教会的信仰，这信仰是对圣父神、圣子神和圣灵神的信仰，即相信圣父神归算祂儿子救主的公义，并将它归于人；相信圣子神代求和调解，相信圣灵神实际上把圣子归算的公义铭刻在人身上，在通过使他称义、成圣和重生时加以密封。这就是当今的信仰；仅凭这一点就足以证明，三神的三位一体就是那被承认和敬拜的。
每个教会的一切敬拜和教义都是从它的信仰中流出的；因此，可以说，教会的信仰如何，它的教义就如何。由此可知，由于当今教会的信仰是对三神的信仰，所以它已经扭曲了属于教会的一切，因为信仰是第一原则，教义是衍生物；衍生物从第一原则中获得它们的本质。如果有人逐一检查这些教义，如与神、基督位格、仁爱、悔改、重生、自由意志、拣选、洗礼和圣餐这两项圣礼的功用有关的教义，他就会清楚地看到，三神的三位一体进入其中的每个教义；即便它实际上没有出现在每个教义中，它们仍都从它那里，如同从它们的源头中流出来。但此处不能进行这种检查；然而，为了让人的眼睛可以打开，非常值得给本书添加一个附录，这一点将在这个附录中得到说明。
教会关于神的信仰就像身体里的灵魂，而教义就像身体的各个部位。此外，对神的信仰就像一个女王，教义就像她的宫廷官员；正如这些官员都取决于女王的每句话或权威，教义也取决于信仰的话语。仅从一个教会的信仰，或这个信仰的性质就可以看出这个教会是如何理解圣言的。因为信仰好像用绳索从内在使凡它能从圣言中所得到的东西都适应并拖向它自己。如果信仰是虚假的，那么它就会对圣言中的每个真理都犯下奸淫罪，对它作出错误的解释，并歪曲它，在属灵事物上使人变得疯狂。然而，如果信仰是真实的，那么整部圣言都会与它和谐一致；圣言的神，即主神救主，会将光倾倒在它上面，并将祂的神性同意吹在它上面，使人变得智慧。
如在附录中将看到的，当今信仰在其内在形式上是对三神的信仰，在其外在形式上是对一神的信仰；它已经熄灭了圣言中的光，将主从教会中移除，从而将它的早晨变成黑夜。这就是尼西亚议会之前的异端所做的事，以及尼西亚议会所产生的异端和尼西亚议会之后的异端进一步所做的事。但对不从门进入羊圈，而是从别处爬进去（如主在约翰福音10:1，9中所说的）的议会来说，我们应该给予多少信靠呢？在这些议会上的辨论与瞎子在白天行走，或没有瞎眼的人在黑夜里行走没有什么不同，他们都看不到面前的沟渠，直到跌入其中。例如，对建立教皇职位、死人封圣、对死人作为神明的祈求和对他们形像的敬拜、赎罪券的权威、圣餐划分等等的议会来说，我们应该给予多少信靠吗？此外，对一个确立可憎的预定论教义，把它当成宗教偶像挂在教会建筑前的议会，我们应该给予多少信靠呢？但我的朋友，请靠近圣言的神，从而靠近圣言本身，因此从门进入羊圈，即进入教会，你会被光照。然后，你会如同从山顶上那样亲自看到在下面的黑暗森林中早期的足迹和流浪或错误的转弯，不仅能看到其他许多人的，还能看到自己的。
177. 6. The Nicene and Athanasian views of the Trinity led to a faith that has perverted the whole Christian church. On the Nicene and Athanasian Trinity being a trinity of gods, see the evidence from those creeds given above at 172. Those creeds gave rise to the faith in the modern-day church, which is a faith in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The faith in God the Father is that he assigns and ascribes to us the justice of his Son the Savior. The faith in God the Son is that he intercedes and bargains for us. The faith in the Holy Spirit is that he actually instills the justice of the Son that has been assigned to us and seals it as an established fact by justifying us, sanctifying us, and regenerating us. This is the modern faith, which is enough evidence all by itself to prove that the church acknowledges and worships a trinity of gods.
[2] In any church, not only all its worship but also all its dogma ultimately go back to that church's faith. You could say, then, that the nature of a church's faith determines the nature of its teachings. It follows that the faith in question, because it is a faith in three gods, has perverted every aspect of the church. Faith is an origin; teachings are derived from it. What is derived receives its essence from its origin.
If you carefully examine the church's individual teachings - for example, on God, the person of Christ, goodwill, repentance, regeneration, free choice, the selection of the chosen people, the purpose of the sacraments of baptism and the Holy Supper - you will clearly see that there is a trinity of gods in each one of them. If some teaching does not make the Trinity completely apparent, it still flows from the Trinity the way water flows from a spring.
I cannot present an examination of this kind here, but it would be worth presenting at some point, to open people's eyes to the relationship between teachings and faith. Therefore I will show this relationship in an appendix to this work.
[3] The church's faith in God is like a body's soul. The church's teachings are like the body's limbs.
Faith in God is also like a queen, and dogmatic teachings are like her court officials. Just as the officials hang on the queen's every word, so dogmatic teachings depend on the stated faith.
One can judge solely from its faith how a given church understands the Word. A faith adapts the Word to itself. As if the faith had ropes, it pulls whatever it can get from the Word in its own direction.
If a faith is false, it commits prostitution with every truth in the Word, dragging that truth into perversion and falsifying it. A false faith drives us spiritually insane. If a faith is true, it agrees with the whole Word. The God of the Word, who is the Lord God the Savior, then pours light into that faith, blesses it with his divine assent, and makes us wise.
[4] The modern-day faith (which in its inner form is a faith in three gods, although in its outer form it is a faith in one God) has extinguished the light in the Word and has removed the Lord from the church. It has quickly turned the church's morning into night. (This point too will be seen in the appendix.) The changes in the faith were made by heretics before the Council of Nicaea as well as heretics at the council and after it.
How much trust should we put in councils when they do not use the door to enter the sheepfold? Instead they "climb up some other way," as the Lord says in John 10:1, 9. The debating at those councils was like the walking of a blind person by day or a sighted person by night, each of whom fails to see a great pit before falling into it.
For example, how much trust should we put in councils when they have established the notions of viewing the pope as Christ's representative, deifying dead people, calling on them as supernatural powers, venerating their images, authorizing indulgences, splitting the Eucharist, and more? How much trust should we put in the council that established the horrendous idea of predestination and erected it as a religious icon in front of all church buildings?
Instead, my friend, as you approach the Word, go to the God of the Word and enter the sheepfold of the church through the Door. Then you will be enlightened. Then, as if you were on a mountain top, you will see the earlier tracks and mistaken turns in the dark forest at the foot of the mountain - not only those of many other people, but also your own.
177. (vi) THE TRINITY AS DEFINED BY THE COUNCIL OF NICAEA AND BY ATHANASIUS CAUSED A FAITH TO ARISE WHICH HAS PERVERTED THE WHOLE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
It was shown above (172) from the Creeds that both the Nicene and the Athanasian definitions of the Trinity were of a Trinity of Gods.
This was the source of the faith of the present-day church, in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. It is in God the Father, so that He may impute the righteousness of His Son the Saviour and ascribe it to man; in God the Son, so that He may intercede and add His authority; in the Holy Spirit, so that He may realise the imputed righteousness of the Son by inscribing it, and when it is established sealing it, making man justified, sanctified and regenerated. This is the present-day faith, which by itself is evidence enough that it is a Trinity of Gods which is acknowledged and worshipped.
[2] The faith of any church is not only the source from which its worship flows, but all its theology. Hence it can be said that such as its faith is, such is its doctrine. It follows from this that the present faith, being faith in three Gods, has subverted everything in the church; for faith is the principle, and matters of doctrine are derivatives, and derivatives get their essence from their principle. If anyone puts to the test any points of doctrine, such as their belief about God, the person of Christ, charity, repentance, regeneration, free will, election, the use of the sacraments of baptism and the Holy Supper, he will see plainly that they each contain the idea of a Trinity of Gods. And even if this does not in fact appear to be contained in them, it is still the source from which they gush forth. Since such a testing cannot be undertaken here, useful though it would be to open people's eyes, I shall add an Appendix to this book, in which this will be proved.
[3] A church's belief about God is like the soul in relation to the body; and its doctrines are like the members of the body. Again, faith in God is like a queen, and its dogmas are like the officials of her court. just as they hang upon the queen's lips, so the dogmas depend upon the statement of faith. At least one can see from that faith how the Word is understood in that church; for faith grapples and hauls in to itself as it were by ropes whatever it can. If it is a false faith, it commits adultery with every truth in it, leading it astray and falsifying it, so that people become of unsound mind in spiritual matters. If, however, it is a true faith, then it enjoys the favour of the whole Word, and the God of the Word, who is the Lord God the Saviour, pours in light, and breathes His Divine assent upon it, so that people become wise.
[4] It will also be seen in the Appendix that the present-day faith, which in inward form is faith in three Gods, though the outward form speaks of one God, has put out the light in the Word, and banished the Lord from the church, thus chasing its morning headlong into night. This is what was done by the heretics before the Council of Nicaea, and then by the heretics in it and after it. But what reliance can be placed on Councils which do not enter the sheep-fold through the door, but climb up another way, as the Lord said in John 10:1, 9? Their debates are not far different from a blind man walking about by day, or a man with sight walking by night, neither of whom see the pitfall before falling into it. For example, what reliance can be placed in Councils which have established the position of the Pope as God's vicar, the canonisation of the dead, their invocation as if they were divine powers, the veneration of their images, the authority to grant indulgences, and the division of the Eucharist, not to mention many more things? What reliance can be placed in the Council which established the unspeakable heresy of predestination, and hung this out as an ensign in front of the churches of their sect? Rather, my friend, approach the God of the Word, and so the Word, and enter by this gate into the sheep-fold, that is, into the church, and you will be given enlightenment. Then you will see, as if you stood on a mountain, not only the way most people have gone, but also your own previous steps and wanderings in the dark wood lying below the mountain.
177. (6) From the Nicene Trinity and the Athanasian Trinity together a faith arose by which the whole Christian church has been perverted. That both the Nicene and Athanasian trinities are a trinity of Gods can be seen from the creeds above quoted (n. 172). From these the faith of the present church has arisen, which is a faith in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, in God the Father that He will impute the righteousness of His Son the Savior and ascribe it to man, in God the Son that He will intercede and covenant, and in the Holy Spirit that He will in reality inscribe upon man the Son's imputed righteousness, and confirm it with a seal, by justifying, sanctifying, and regenerating him. This is the faith of the present day; and it is sufficient evidence that a trinity of Gods is what is acknowledged and worshiped.
[2] From the faith of any church flow forth not only all its worship but also all its dogmas; thus it may be said that such as its faith is such is its doctrine. From this it follows that inasmuch as the faith of the present church is a faith in three Gods, it has perverted all things belonging to the church, for faith is the first principle and doctrinals are derivatives; and derivatives derive their essence from the first principle. If anyone will put these doctrinals one by one under examination, as the doctrine of God, of the person of Christ, of charity, repentance, regeneration, freewill, election, and the use of the sacraments, baptism and the Holy Supper, he will see plainly that there is a trinity of Gods within each one; and even if it does not actually appear within each, they all flow from it as from their fountain. But as such an examination cannot here be made (and yet in order that man's eyes may be opened it is well worth making), an Appendix shall be added to this work in which this will be shown.
[3] The faith of the church respecting God is like the soul in the body, and doctrinals are like the members of the body. Or again, faith in God is like a queen, and dogmas like the officers of her court; and as these all hang upon the word of the queen, so do dogmas upon the utterance of faith. Solely from the faith of a church it can be seen how the Word is understood in that church; for a faith inwardly adapts and draws to itself, as if by cords, whatever things it can. If the faith is false it plays the harlot with every truth therein, and perverts and falsifies it, and in the spiritual things makes man insane. But if the faith is true the whole Word sustains it; and the God of the Word, who is the Lord God the Savior, pours light upon it and breathes upon it His Divine assent and makes man wise.
[4] It will also be seen in the Appendix that the faith of the present day (which in its inward form is a faith in three Gods, but in its outward form a faith in one God) has quenched the light in the Word and taken away the Lord from the church, and has thus changed its morning into night. This was done by heresies before the council of Nice, and further by heresies arising from that council and after it. But what confidence is to be placed in councils which "Enter not through the door into the sheepfold but climb up some other way." (according to the Lord's words in John 10:1, 9)?
Their deliberation is not unlike the walking of a blind man in the daytime or of a man not blind at night, neither of whom sees a ditch until he has tumbled into it. What confidence, for example, can be placed in councils that established the vicarship of the pope, the canonization of the dead, the invocation of the dead as deities, the worship of their images, the granting of indulgences, the division of the Eucharist, and other things? Or what confidence is to be placed in a council that established the unspeakable doctrine of predestination, and hung it up before its church buildings as the palladium of religion? But, my friend, go to the God of the Word, and thus to the Word itself, and so enter through the door into the sheepfold, that is, into the church, and you will be enlightened; and then as from a mountain top you will see for yourself the goings and wanderings, not only of the many but your own also previously in the gloomy forest below.
177. (6) FROM THE NICENE AND ALSO FROM THE ATHANASIAN DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE TRINITY HAS ARISEN A FAITH WHICH HAS PERVERTED THE WHOLE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
As was shown above in 172 from the Nicene and Athanasian Creeds 1 the trinity, according to them, is a trinity of gods. From them arose the faith of the present Church, which is a belief in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit: in God the Father, as imputing the righteousness of His Son, the Savior, and ascribing it to man; in God the Son, as interceding and mediating; and in the Holy Spirit, as actually inscribing on man the imputed righteousness of the Son, and sealing it when confirmed by justifying, sanctifying and regenerating him. This is the faith of the present day, which alone is sufficient to prove that a trinity of gods is acknowledged and worshiped.
[2] From the faith of every Church is derived all its worship and doctrine: and it can therefore be said that such as its faith is, such is its doctrine. Hence it follows that this faith in three gods has perverted everything pertaining to the Church, for faith is the first principle and doctrinal teachings are derivatives, and derivatives take their essence from their first principle. If any one examines the particulars of this doctrine in relation to God, the Person of Christ, charity, repentance, regeneration, free will, election, and the use of the sacraments of Baptism and the Holy Supper, he will clearly see that a trinity of gods enters into every one of them; and if it does not actually appear to be in them, yet it is the source from which they flow. It is not possible, however, at this point to undertake such an examination; but since it is expedient to do so for the sake of opening men's eyes, an Appendix will therefore be added to this work in which this point will be demonstrated.
[3] The faith of the Church respecting God is like the soul in the body, and particulars of doctrine are like its members. Moreover, faith in God is like a queen, and doctrinal tenets are like the officers of her court; and as these depend on the authority of the queen, so doctrinal tenets depend on the declarations of faith. From the nature of this faith may be seen how the Word is understood in the Church, for faith bends and attracts to itself whatever it can, as it were with cords. If it is a false faith, it plays the harlot with every truth in the Word; it puts a wrong interpretation upon it, and falsifies it, and renders a man insane in regard to spiritual matters. If however it is a true faith, then the whole Word is in harmony with it, and the God of the Word, who is the Lord God the Savior, sheds light and breathes upon it His Divine assent, and makes a man wise.
[4] The faith of the present day, which in its internal form is a faith of three gods but is its external form is a faith of one God, has extinguished the light in the Word, and removed the Lord from the Church, and has thus turned its morning into night, as will also be seen in the Appendix. This was done by heretics before the Council of Nice, and then by the heretics of that Council and those who followed.
But what confidence ought to be placed in Councils which do not enter "by the door into the sheepfold, but climb up some other way," according to the words of the Lord in John 10:1, 9?
Their deliberations are not unlike the steps of a blind man by day, or those of a man who has the use of his eyes by night, neither of whom sees the ditch before he falls into it. For example, what confidence ought to be placed in Councils which have established the Pope's vicarship, the canonization of the dead, the invocation of them as deities and the worship of their images, the authority of indulgences, the division of the Eucharist, 2 and so on? Moreover, what confidence ought to be placed in a Council which established the abominable doctrine of predestination, and hung this up before the temples of their Church as the palladium of their religion? But do you, my friend, go to the God of the Word, and so to the Word, and in this way enter by the door into the sheepfold, that is, the Church, and you will be enlightened. You will then see for yourself as from a mountain top not only the errors of many others, but also the tracks of your own former wanderings in the dark forest at the foot of the mountain.
Footnotes:
1. Athanasian Symbol or Creed. Although bearing the name of Athanasius, it was probably composed by Hilary, in the century after the formulation of the Nicene Creed, A.D. 325. The name was given to it about the year A.D. 670 as an excellent system of the doctrines of Athansius concerning the Trinity and the Incarnation, principally in opposition to the Arians. It is received by the Romish Church and also by the Reformed.
2. Eucharist, Holy Supper, thanksgiving.
177. VI. QUOD EX TRINITATE NICAENA ET SIMUL ATHANASIANA EXORTA SIT FIDES, QUAE TOTAM ECCLESIAM CHRISTIANAM PERVERTERAT. Quod Trinitas Nicaena et simul Athanasiana sit Trinitas Deorum, ex Symbolis illorum supra 172, ostensum videatur; inde exorta est Fides hodiernae Ecclesiae, 1 quae est in Deum Patrem, Deum Filium, et Deum Spiritum Sanctum; in Deum Patrem, ut imputet justitiam Salvatoris Filii sui, ac illam adscribat homini; in Deum Filium ut intercedat et constipuletur; in Spiritum Sanctum, ut actualiter justitiam Filii imputatam inscribat, et constabilitam sigillet, hominem justificando, sanctificando et regenerando; haec est Fides hodierna, quae sola testari potest, quod Trinitas Deorum sit, quae agnoscitur et colitur.
[2] Ex fide cujusvis Ecclesiae redundat non modo omnis Cultus ejus, sed etiam omne dogmaticum ejus, quare dici potest, quod qualis fides est, talis sit doctrina ejus; quod illa Fides, quia est fides in tres Deos, perverterit omnia Ecclesiae, inde sequitur, nam Fides est principium, et doctrinalia 2 sunt principiata, et principiata a principio trahunt suam essentiam. Si quis sub examen mittit singula doctrinalia, sicut id quod de Deo, de Persona Christi, de Charitate, de Poenitentia, de Regeneratione, de Libero 3 Arbitrio, de Electione, de usu Sacramentorum, Baptismi et Sanctae Coenae, manifeste videbit, quod Trinitas Deorum singulis insit, et si non actualiter apparet inesse, usque ex illa sicut ex suo fonte scaturiat: sed quia tale examen hic non fieri potest, et tamen operae pretium est ad aperiendum oculos ut fiat, ideo huic operi adjungetur Appendix, in qua hoc demonstrabitur.
[3] Fides Ecclesiae de Deo, est sicut Anima corporis, et doctrinalia sunt sicut membra hujus; et insuper Fides in Deum est sicut Regina, et dogmatica sunt sicut officiarii 4 aulae ejus, et sicut hi pendent ex ore Reginae, ita dogmatica ab effato fidei; ex illa fide duntaxat videri potest, quomodo intelligitur Verbum in ejus Ecclesia, fides enim inapplicat sibi, et trahit sicut per funes ad se quaecunque potest; si fides falsa est, meretricatur illa cum omni vero ibi, ac trahit ad sinistrum et falsificat illud, et facit hominem in spiritualibus insanire; si autem Fides vera est, tunc favet totum Verbum, et Deus Verbi, qui est Dominus Deus Salvator, infundit lucem, et aspirat Divino suo assensu, et facit hominem sapere.
[4] Quod hodierna Fides, quae in interna forma est trium Deorum, in externa autem unius Dei, exstinxerit lucem in Verbo, et removerit Dominum ab Ecclesia, et sic mane ejus praecipitaverit in noctem, in Appendice etiam videbitur; hoc factum est ab haereticis ante Concilium Nicaenum, ac deinde ab haereticis ex illo et post illud: sed quid fidendum est Conciliis, quae non per Januam intrant in Ovile, sed ASCENDUNT ALIUNDE, secundum Domini verba apud Johannem 10:1, 9; est illorum deliberatio non absimilis ambulationi caeci in die, aut oculati in nocte, quorum uterque non videt foveam, priusquam in illam illapsi sunt. Quid pro exemplo fidendum est Conciliis, quae constabiliverunt Vicariatum Papae, Apotheosin mortuorum, et horum sicut Numinum invocationem, eorundem imaginum venerationem, indulgentiarum auctoritatem, et Eucharistiae divisionem, praeter plura. Tum quid fidendum est Concilio, quod constabilivit infandam Praedestinationem, et hanc ut Palladium religionis ante templa Ecclesiae suae appenderunt. Sed, mi amice! adi Deum Verbi, et sic Verbum, ac ita 5 intra per Januam in Ovile, hoc est, in Ecclesiam, et illustraberis, et tunc ipse visurus es sicut e monte, non modo plurium, sed etiam priores tuos gressus et errores in sylva opaca sub monte.
Footnotes:
1. Prima editio: Ecelesiae.
2. Prima editio: dostrinalia.
3. Prima editio: Liberio.
4. Prima editio: officiciarii.
5. Prima editio: ta.