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805. (Verse 8) And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him. That this signifies the necessity of acknowledgment by those who are born within the church, is evident from the signification of worshipping, as denoting to acknowledge and believe that a thing is so, and thence to receive it in doctrine and worship. That these things are signified by worshipping, is evident from what was said above (n. 789, 790), where it was explained what is signified by worshipping the dragon which gave power to the beast, and by worshipping the beast. That they acknowledge from necessity, is evident from what has been said and shown in the preceding article; from the signification of them that dwell upon the earth, as denoting by those who are born within the church; for by the earth is signified the church, and by those who dwell upon it are signified those who are and live there. The reason why those are meant who are born within the church is that the religion of every one, at first, is that of his country. For he is introduced into it by education, and is afterwards confirmed therein from preachings; and principally because there are but few that study the doctrine of the church and the interior meaning of the Word, supposing that such things are beyond their capacity, and also that they are not to be seen and understood, but only to be believed. This is why those who are born within the church are under a necessity of acknowledgment, which is signified by all those who dwell upon the earth shall worship the beast.
[2] That this is the case is especially evident from the accepted faith which alone is called saving, "That God the Father sent His Son into the world, that by the passion of His cross He might effect propitiation, redemption, and salvation." This faith, if understood according to the ideas of those who defend faith separated from life, and according to the preachings from doctrine therefrom, is no faith; as is evident from all the particulars of this faith and which follow from it, which are:
1. That there is propitiation; to wit, the propitiation of God the Father by the passion or by the blood of His Son.
2. That there is the mercy or compassion of God the Father for the sake of His Son.
3. That there was a bearing of our iniquities by the Lord, and thence liberation from them.
4. That there is granted what is imputative; and thus that there is an imputation of the Lord's merit by which we are saved.
5. That there is intercession of the Lord with the Father.
6. That there is redemption and salvation without the means of life and faith, and therefore of immediate mercy.
7. That in such a faith there is no religion, but that it is empty and void.
8. That neither is there in it any faith in the Lord, nor acknowledgment of His Divine in His Human.
9. Consequently that the trust and confidence of that faith, which is at this day accepted as the only saving faith, is an empty sound.
10. That saving faith is altogether different.
But because it is the confession of almost all who belong to the church that the Lord suffered on the cross for our sins, and that He transferred them all to Himself and bare them, and thereby not only reconciled the Father, but also redeemed us from hell; and that by this merit of the Lord we may be saved if we only believe it from trust and confidence it is necessary that, in the first place, examination be made as to whether such things are to be understood according to the general opinion. In the first place, therefore, what is meant by this:
[3] 1. That there is propitiation, to wit, the propitiation of God the Father by the passion or by the blood of His Son. This involves a rejection or alienation of the human race through some kind of anger or vindictiveness which is called vindicative justice, which was laid upon the Son by God the Father, in order that, by the passion of His cross, He might be reconciled to the human race, and so be rendered propitious. But who does not see, that to cast away from Himself the human race, or from justice to revenge their alienation, is contrary to the Divine Essence, which is love itself, mercy itself, and good itself? Indeed such vindictiveness is not possible to any angel, and scarcely to any well-disposed man, much less to God. Who does not also see, that it is hard to think that such vindictiveness was laid upon the Son by His Father, or that He took it upon Himself; and that, from considering and remembering it, God the Father has mercy, and not from the Divine Love itself, which in its essence is infinite, eternal, and immediate to all mankind? I do not know, therefore, how any one can think from God, and with God, that he is rejected of God, and that therefore by the will of the Father the Son became accursed and was thereby made a propitiatory and throne of grace. Besides, justice is a Divine attribute, but not vindictive justice, and still less is it in one for the sake of another. If it is not justice, neither is it according to Divine Order, for one to be saved for the sake of another or by another. Nor can God be reconciled by any other means than by the repentance of man himself. That to be saved through the Lord, and also by the passion of His cross, and so by the Lord, is propitiation and expiation, will be seen in what follows.
[4] 2. That, there is no mercy or compassion of God the Father for the sake of the Son. The customary supplication in the churches, and by the men of the church, at home and abroad, when they are in pious worship, is, That God the Father would have mercy upon them for the sake of the Son, and for the sake of the passion of His cross. This supplication flows from the accepted faith concerning the propitiation or reconciliation of the Father by the Son, as mentioned above; also from the doctrine of the church concerning justification by faith alone without good works. And because the defenders and upholders of that doctrine separate the life of good works from faith, they could not acknowledge any other for saving faith, than that God the Father sent His Son, and that by the passion of His cross He is moved to mercy. Hence this supplication is at this day received by the general body as the only voice that can enter heaven and move God, although a man not earlier than the hour before death, declares it with an acknowledgment of trust. That nevertheless such a supplication possesses nothing of life from truth and good, is evident from what has been said above concerning propitiation and reconciliation; and the Father's mercy originating therein; and also will be evident from what will be said presently concerning the bearing of our iniquities by the Lord, concerning the imputation of His merit, concerning intercession, concerning salvation and redemption apart from the means of life. Here we shall merely observe, that it is never granted to any man of the church to approach God the Father directly, and to entreat Him for the sake of the Son; for it is the Lord who is to be approached and entreated, because no one comes to the Father except by the Lord and in the Lord; and the Lord equally as the Father is God, infinite, eternal, uncreate, omnipotent, and neither of them is first nor last, nor greater nor less, but they are altogether equal. That no one comes to the Father except by the Lord, He Himself teaches in John:
"No one hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath brought him forth to view" (1:18).
Again:
"Ye have never heard the voice of the" Father "nor seen his shape" (5:37).
And in Matthew:
"No one knoweth the Father save the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him" (11:27).
And in John:
"Not any one hath seen the Father, save he who is with God, he hath seen the Father" (6:46).
And again:
"I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one cometh to the Father but by me" (14:6).
The reason why no one cometh to the Father except in the Lord is, that the Father and He are one, as He also teaches in John:
"If ye know me, ye know my Father also; he who seeth me, seeth the Father"; Philip, "believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? believe me, that I am in the Father, and the Father in me" (14:7, 11).
And again:
"I and the Father are one, that ye may know and believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me" (10:30, 38).
Add to this, that the Lord is God of Heaven and earth, as He teaches in John (3:35; 17:2; Matthew 11:27; 28:18); and that so He is to be approached.
It is also to be observed, that unless the Lord is approached, a man cannot think with the angels, because all angelic thought concerning God is concerning God-Man. They cannot think otherwise concerning God, and consequently concerning things Divine, because their thoughts proceed according to the form of heaven; and heaven is a heaven in the form of a man. But on this subject more will be said elsewhere.
[5] 3. That there was a bearing of our iniquities by the Lord, and our consequent deliverance from them, was not according to the common faith. This is that the Lord transferred to Himself the sins of the world, and cast them into hell, and so took them away. This they conclude from the words of John concerning Jesus:
"Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world" (83, 195 at the end, 627 at the end, 655). This is therefore signified by bearing iniquities; and similarly also by the temptations far more grievous than those of others which He sustained. But to transfer the sins of others to Himself, and by admitting sorrows and punishments to take them away, is contrary to the nature of the blotting out of sins. For sins cannot be blotted out except by repentance of the life on the part of him who has sinned. To remove them by taking them upon Himself from another, is a dogma of the Papists in which there is no truth.
[6] 4. That there is not granted what is imputative, and thus that there is no imputation of the Lord's merit. That there can be no such thing as this imputation is evident because salvation by imputation is contrary to the laws of Divine Order described in the Word; which are that a man should learn what the sin is that he is to shun, and what the truth is that he is to do; and that if he is living contrary to truths he must do the work of repentance. These and all the particulars which the doctrine of the churches teach from the Word, would be superfluous, if a man could be saved by uttering certain expressions with the confidence of belief; such as that God would have mercy on him for the sake of His Son, and through the passion of His cross, and so impute to him the merit of the Lord. Were it so, a man might live in evil, commit adulteries, steal and act fraudulently, practice hatred and revenge, slander, and many other things, because he cannot be saved by good works, but by faith alone, which is altogether separated from life. And yet it is blasphemy to say that a man can live wickedly, and yet live from the Lord. It is also a contradiction that a man must shun evils and do goods, and yet be saved only by the faith of an imputed merit.
The merit of the Lord is, that from His own power He subjugated the hells and glorified His Human, and by this means put Himself in the power of saving all who believe in Him, and do what He taught. This merit cannot be attributed or imputed to any one, still less by the Father, because it is the Lord's own merit; and salvation is also from the Lord, thus by the Lord, and not for the Lord's sake. In a word, no one can have attributed to him the merit of another with whom he is not in agreement by his life, according to which every one is either rewarded or punished; but life from the Lord follows as a consequence from His merit. The imputation above mentioned is also contrary to the essence of the Divine Love, which extends to all; for to impute implies to love one and not another except for the sake of another; and it is also contrary to justice, which requires that every one is rewarded in proportion as he lives from the Lord.
[7] 5. That there is intercession of the Lord with the Father. This falls indeed into the ideas of men who are altogether simple, and who think only of the three Persons of the Divinity as of three sitting and discoursing together concerning what is to be done, and one moving the other to be merciful for His sake which is to intercede. But the more learned see that by intercession is meant perpetual remembrance from love; inasmuch as the same essence or substance belongs to one Person as to the other, and the same love, consequently the same mercy; and this is not to be excited or recalled to memory by any kind of entreaty.
[8] 6. That there is redemption and salvation without the means of life and faith, and thence immediate mercy. It is known that truths pertain to faith and therefore goods to life, and that without truths there can be no faith. As for example, without the following truths; that there is a God, that the Lord is the Saviour of the world, that there is a heaven and a hell, that there is a life after death, that the Word is holy, that the things that are in the Word are to be believed and done, that the Holy Supper is the most holy thing of worship, and other things of a like nature; all of which are necessary to faith. Similarly that without goods there cannot be any life of faith; for the Lord says
that he who heareth and doeth not is like a foolish man, who buildeth his house upon the ground without foundation; but he who heareth and doeth is like a prudent man who buildeth his house upon a foundation of rock.
These and similar things besides, so far as they are to be believed, are means, and are said to belong to faith; and, so far as they are to be done, are means, and are said to belong to the life; without which man cannot be saved. But such things would be all vain, if only this one thing which is called faith were substituted for them; that is, that a man is saved by the sole mercy of the Father for the sake of the Son, and by the imputation of His merit. That immediate mercy is not possible, but only mediate; and that yet a man from pure mercy is led by the Lord from infancy to his old age, and afterwards to eternity, may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 521-527. Thus neither is immediate salvation possible. Whence it follows that redemption consists solely in the Lord redeeming those from hell who believe in Him, and who do what He has commanded. Nevertheless without His coming into the world they could not have been saved, because without His coming they could not have believed in Him, nor have done what He has commanded, and so have lived from Him. That these are they who are meant by the redeemed in the Word, will be seen elsewhere.
[9] 7. That in such a faith there is no religion, but that it is empty and void. What is religion unless it be that a man live well, in order that he may come into heaven, and also to know how he must live? To know this is called doctrine; and to believe and live according thereto is called religion. From doctrine man will know not only what things are to be thought, but also what things are to be done; for he ought to think in order to act, but he ought not to think of that which does not involve action. Whereas the faith here referred to consists in thinking without doing, so that it may be called a faith consisting of mere thought, as is the case when a man implores mercy alone, because the Son of God suffered for him, and, by taking upon Him the sins of the world, redeemed and delivered him from hell, he believing at the same time, that the merit of the Son of God is attributed to him. Let any one willing and able to think, consider whether this faith contains anything of the Word, where believing and doing are so often mentioned together; consequently, whether there is anything of the church or of religion in such faith. For in the things here adduced, where are the truths pertaining to faith, and the goods pertaining to life, which can alone constitute genuine doctrine from the Word, and thence theology in the Christian world? And because these things are not in that faith, it follows that it is not only a faith empty and void, but also a belief in what is not true. It is a matter of wonder to many in the spiritual world, and to all in heaven, that the theology of the Christian world is reduced to such emptiness and vacuity, that at length the whole of it consists in utterance of thought only, which also is the case with the evil from the fear of hell in the hour of death. Hence the same theological emptiness prevails among many of the reformed in the Christian world as with the Papists. But let any one consider whether such persons can be among the angels of heaven, whose intelligence is from the truths in the Word, and whose wisdom is from truths in act, which are called goods. This is also what is meant by the words of the Lord:
"When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8).
[10] 8. That in it there is neither any faith in the Lord, nor acknowledgment of the Divine in His Human. For he who prays to the Father to have mercy for the sake of His Son approaches the Father and not the Lord; although the Lord must be approached, for He is the God of heaven and earth. And the Word teaches that the Father cannot be approached except by the Lord and in the Lord, as shown above; also that there must be faith in the Lord; for the Lord says:
"He who believeth in the Son hath eternal life, but he who believeth not in the Son, shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him" (John 3:36).
Also:
"This is the will of the Father who sent me, that every one who seeth the Son, and believeth in him, shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:40).
And again:
"Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, he shall live; but every one who liveth, and believeth in me, shall not die eternally" (11:25, 26).
And elsewhere. To believe in Him and not to approach Him, but to ask the Father for His sake, is not believing in Him; for all faith approaches Him in whom the man believes. Wherefore to approach and see the Father was denied to Philip; and it was told him, that to see the Lord is to see the Father (John 14:7-11). Hence also all were healed of their diseases who asked the Lord to have mercy upon them, and who had faith in Him. And the children of Israel, who looked unto the brazen serpent, were also healed in the wilderness. The serpent represented the Lord as to the ultimate in His Human, which is called the sensual.
Moreover, in the spiritual world all sight and thought from acknowledgment conjoins; but sight directed to the Father conjoins no one; for the Lord says:
"Ye have neither heard the voice of the Father, nor seen his shape" (John 5:37).
[11] Add to this, that he who prays to the Father to have mercy for the sake of the Son, thinks of the Lord as an ordinary man; for he regards Him as inferior to the Father, and as a man born of the mother Mary, who suffered on the cross, and, on that account, procured mercy. Any one who thinks in this way separates the Lord's Divine from His Human, when yet the doctrine of the Nicene Council concerning the Trinity does not separate them;
[12] for this teaches, that the Divine and the Human of the Lord are not two but one Person; and that they are like the soul and body in man. But those who look to the Father, though they acknowledge the Divine of the Lord, do not approach it; for they regard it as being near the Father and above His Human, and so they see His Human without His Divine which, nevertheless, is His soul. This is why many at this day confess the Divine of the Lord with the lips, but why few acknowledge it in heart. And he who does not acknowledge the Divine of the Lord in His Human, and pray to it, cannot have conjunction with heaven.
From these things it follows, that in the belief that the Father shows mercy for the sake of the Son, there is no faith in the Lord, nor any acknowledgment of His Divine in His Human. This also is what the Lord predicted to Peter, that at the end of the church He should no longer be acknowledged.
[13] 9. Consequently, that the trust and confidence of that
faith, which is at this day accepted as the only saving faith, is an empty sound. For the trust reposed in such faith is a natural trust in which there is nothing spiritual, because nothing of the truth and good pertaining to faith and life. If therefore it is confirmed by the learned, the truth of heaven may be destroyed by such confirmation, and a man excluded from heaven as a result. Such is the emptiness of the faith alone accepted in the churches, or the faith separated from the goods of life. This faith, notwithstanding its emptiness, still constitutes the whole theology of the Christian world. This is why the learned of the church, when, after death, they enter the spiritual world, are so filled with falsities as scarcely to know a single genuine truth. But the case is different with those who have not confirmed such falsities in themselves, and have at the same time lived, in some degree, the life of faith, which is charity. These are capable of being instructed in the truths of faith, and when so instructed, they can be received amongst the angels in heaven. For it is one thing to believe such things with a faith confirmed with the heart, and quite another to believe them with a faith not confirmed.
10. That a saving faith is altogether different. This shall be treated of presently in what follows.
805. Verse 8. And all that dwell on the earth shall worship him, signifies the necessity of acknowledgment by those who have been born within the church. This is evident from the signification of "worshipping," as being to acknowledge and believe that a thing is true, and thence to receive it in doctrine and worship. That this is the signification of "worshiping" can be seen from what has been said above (n. 759, 789, 790), where what is signified by "they worshipped the dragon which gave authority unto the beast, and they worshipped the beast" is explained. That they acknowledge from necessity is evident from what has been said and shown in the preceding article. The above is evident also from the signification of "those that dwell on the earth," as being those who have been born within the church; for "the earth" signifies the church, and "those who dwell upon it" signify those who are there and live there. Those that have been born within the church are meant, because everyone adopts the religion of his native land, in the first place because he is educated in it, and is afterwards confirmed in it by preachings, and particularly because there are but few who study the doctrine of the church and the interior meaning of the Word, believing that such things transcend their comprehension, and also that they are not to be seen or understood, but only to be believed. This is the reason for the necessity of acknowledgment by those who have been born within the church, which is signified by "all that dwell on the earth shall worship the beast."
[2] That this is so can be seen, in the first place, from the received faith which is called the only saving faith, "That God the Father sent His Son into the world, that through the passion of His cross He might effect propitiation, redemption, and salvation." This faith if understood according to the ideas of those who defend faith separate from life, and thence according to preachings from their doctrine, is no faith; as is evident from each and every thing that is contained in that faith and that follows as a consequence from it; and these are:
1. That there is propitiation, that is, a propitiation of God the Father by the passion or by the blood of His Son.
2. That there is mercy or compassion of God the Father for the Son's sake.
3. That there was a bearing of our iniquities by the Lord, and a consequent deliverance from them.
4. That there is an imputative principle, and thus an imputation of the Lord's merit, through which we are saved.
5. That there is an intercession of the Lord with the Father.
6. That there is redemption and salvation without the means of life and faith, and thus there is immediate mercy.
7. That in such a faith there is no religion, but it is emptiness and vacuity.
8. That there is in it neither any faith in the Lord, nor any acknowledgment of His Divine in His Human.
9. That consequently the trust and confidence of that faith which at this day is received as the only saving faith is an empty sound.
10. That saving faith is wholly different.
But since it is on the lips of nearly all who are of the church that the Lord endured the cross for our sins, and that He took them upon Himself and bore them, and thereby not only reconciled the Father but also redeemed us from hell, and that by this merit of the Lord we are saved, provided we believe this in trust and confidence-it is necessary to inquire, in the first place, whether these things should be understood according to the common opinion.
1.
[3] In respect to the first proposition, "That there is propitiation, that is, a propitiation of God the Father by the passion or by the blood of His Son." This involves a rejection or alienation of the human race because of some anger or vengeance, that is called vindictive justice, which was laid upon His Son by God the Father, to the end that by the passion of His cross He might be reconciled to the human race, and thus be propitiated. But who does not see that for God the Father to reject from Himself the human race, or from justice to revenge their alienation, is contrary to the Divine essence itself, which is love itself, mercy itself, and goodness itself? Such vengeance, indeed, could not exist in any angel, and scarcely with any well disposed man, much less with God. Who does not also see that it is difficult to think that such vengeance was laid upon the Son by His Father, or that the Son took such vengeance upon Himself, and that God the Father has mercy from seeing or recalling this, and not from the Divine love itself, which in its essence is infinite, eternal, and immediate towards the whole human race? I do not know, therefore, whether anyone can think from God and with God that he has been rejected of God, and therefore that by the will of the Father the Son was condemned, and was thereby made a propitiatory and a throne of grace. Moreover, justice is a Divine attribute, but not vindictive justice, and still less can it be in one on another's account; and if it is not justice neither is it according to Divine order for one to be saved on another's account, though it may be by means of another. Nor can God be reconciled by any other means than by the repentance of the man himself. To be saved by means of the Lord, and also by means of the passion of His cross, thus by the Lord, is propitiation and expiation, as will be seen in what follows.
2.
[4] "There is no mercy or compassion of God the Father for the Son's sake." The customary prayer in the churches, and by the men of the church at home and abroad, when they are in pious worship is, "May God the Father have mercy upon us for the sake of the Son, and for the sake of the passion of His cross." This prayer flows from the accepted belief respecting the propitiation or reconciliation of the Father by the Son, as mentioned just above; likewise from the doctrine of the church respecting justification by faith alone without good works. And as the defenders and vindicators of that doctrine separate the life which is of good works from faith, they could acknowledge nothing else as a saving faith than that God the Father sent His Son, and that He is moved to mercy by the passion of His cross; and for this reason this prayer is at this day accepted by the general body as the only voice that can enter heaven and move God even if man utters it with a confession of trust only at the hour of death. And yet that such a prayer has in it nothing of life from truth and good, can be seen from what has been said just above respecting propitiation and reconciliation, and thence the mercy of the Father; also from what will be said presently respecting the bearing of our iniquities by the Lord, respecting the imputation of His merit, respecting intercession, and respecting redemption and salvation apart from life as a means. Here let it be said merely that it is never granted to any man of the church to approach God the Father immediately, and to pray to Him for the Son's sake; for it is the Lord who must be approached and prayed to, since no one comes to the Father except by the Lord and in the Lord; and the Lord equally as the Father is God, infinite, eternal, uncreate, omnipotent, and neither of them is first nor last, nor greater nor less, but they are altogether equal. That no one comes to the Father except by the Lord He teaches in John:
No one hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath brought Him forth to view (John 1:18).
In the same:
Ye have never heard the Father's voice nor seen His form (John 5:37). In Matthew:
No one knoweth the Father but the Son, and he to whom the Son willeth to reveal Him (Matthew 11:27).
In John:
No one hath seen the Father save He who is with the Father, 1He hath seen the Father (John 6:46).
In the same:
I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one cometh unto the Father but through Me (John 14:6).
No one cometh to the Father except in the Lord, is because the Father and He are one, as He also teaches in John:
If ye know Me ye know My Father also; he that seeth Me seeth the Father. Philip, believest thou not that I am in the Father and the Father in Me? Believe Me, that I am in the Father and the Father in Me (John 14:7, 10, 11).
In the same:
The Father and I are one. That ye may know and believe that I am in the Father and the Father in Me (John 10:30, 38).
Add to this:
That the Lord is the God of heaven and earth, as He Himself teaches (John 3:35; 17:2; Matthew 11:27; 28:18);
and that thus He must be approached. It is also to be known, that unless the Lord is approached man is unable to think with the angels, because all angelic thought about God is about God-Man. Angels are unable to think otherwise about God, and consequently about things Divine, because their thoughts go forth into every part of heaven; and heaven is heaven in the form of a man. But on this more elsewhere.
3.
[5] "There was no bearing of our iniquities by the Lord, and a consequent deliverance from them," as is taught by the common faith, which is, that the Lord took upon Himself the sins of the world and cast them into hell, and thus took them away. This they conclude from the words of John respecting Jesus:
Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world (83, 195, 627, 655). This, therefore, is signified by "bearing iniquities;" and in like manner also by His enduring temptations more grievous than those of all others. And yet to transfer to Himself the sins of others, and to take them away by sorrows and punishments admitted in Himself is contrary to the nature of the annulling of sins. For sins can be annulled only by repentance of life by him who has sinned. To take them away by drawing them from another upon oneself is a dogma of the Papists in which there is no truth.
4.
[6] "There can be no imputation, and thus no imputation of the Lord's merit." This cannot be because salvation by imputation is contrary to the laws of Divine order set forth in the Word; which are that man must learn what the sin is that he must shun, and what the truth is that he must do; and if he lives contrary to truths he must repent. These laws, with each and every thing that the doctrines of the churches teach from the Word, would be more than superfluous if man were saved by declaring with the confidence of faith that God has mercy on him for the sake of His Son and through the passion of His cross; and that thus the merit of the Lord would be imputed to him. For thus man might live wickedly, might commit adulteries, steal, act fraudulently, exercise hatred and revenge, calumniate, and other things, since be could not be saved by good works, but only by a faith that is wholly apart from any life. And yet it is blasphemy to say that a man can live wickedly and yet live from the Lord. It is likewise a contradiction that man must shun evils and do goods, and yet can be saved by mere faith in an imputed merit. The merit of the Lord is that from His own power He subjugated the hells and glorified His Human; by this He acquired for Himself the power to save all who believe in Him and who do what He taught. This merit cannot be attributed or imputed to anyone, still less can this be done by the Father, since it is the Lord's own merit; and salvation also is by the Lord, thus through the Lord, and not for the Lord's sake. In a word, no one's merit can be attributed to another unless he is a sharer with him through his life, according to which everyone is rewarded or punished; but life is from the Lord; this follows from His merit. Moreover, anything imputative is contrary to the essence of Divine love, which extends to all; for to impute means to love one and not another except for the sake of the one; it is also contrary to justice, which requires that everyone should have reward to the extent that he lives from the Lord.
5.
[7] "That there is intercession of the Lord with the Father" falls indeed into the ideas of men who are wholly simple, who think of the three Persons of the Divinity only as three sitting and talking together about what is to be, and that one moves the other to be merciful for His sake, which is to intercede. But the more learned see that intercession means a perpetual remembrance from love, since the one Person has the same essence or substance as the other, and the same love, thus the same mercy; and this cannot be excited or recalled to memory by any entreaty.
6.
[8] "That there is redemption and salvation without the means of life and faith, and thus there is immediate mercy." It is known that truths belong to faith, and goods to the life, and that without truths there can be no faith, as for example, without these truths: that there is a God, that the Lord is the Savior of the world, that there is a heaven and a hell, that there is a life after death, that the Word is holy, that the things that are in the Word must be believed and done, that the Holy Supper is the most holy thing of worship, and other like things; these must constitute faith; likewise that without goods there is no life of faith; for the Lord says:
He that heareth and doeth not is like a foolish man that buildeth his house upon the ground without foundation; but he that heareth and doeth is like a prudent man that buildeth his house upon a foundation from the rock (Heaven and Hell 521-527. Thus neither is there any immediate salvation. From this it follows that redemption consists solely in the Lord's redeeming from hell those who believe in Him, and who do what He has commanded; moreover, these, without His coming into the world, could not have been saved, since without His coming they could not have believed in Him, or have done what He has commanded, and thus have lived from Him. That these are those that are meant in the Word by "the redeemed" will be seen elsewhere.
7.
[9] "That in that faith there is no religion, but it is emptiness and vacuity." What is religion except that man may so live that he may come into heaven, and that he may know how he should live? To know this is called doctrine; and to believe it and live according to it is called religion. From doctrine man will know not only what must be thought but also what must be done; for man must think that he may do, but not think what involves doing nothing. The faith here described consists in thinking without doing, so that it may be called a mere cogitative (or thought) faith, while man implores mercy alone, because the Son of God suffered for him, and took upon Himself the sins of the world, and thus redeemed and delivered him from hell, believing at the same time that the merit of the Son of God is attributed to him. Let anyone who is willing and able consider whether there is in this anything of the Word, in which believing and doing are so often mentioned, consequently whether there is in this faith anything of the church or anything of religion. For in the things presented here, where are the truths that must constitute faith, and the goods that must constitute life, and that must make the genuine doctrine from the Word, and thus the theology of the Christian world? And as these things do not exist in that faith, it follows that it is not only a faith empty and void but also a faith in what is not true. It is a wonder to many in the spiritual world, and to all in heaven, that the theology of the Christian world has been reduced to such emptiness and vacuity that at length the whole of it is comprised in a mere utterance of thought that is possible also to the evil at the hour of death from a fear of hell. Thus the same emptiness that prevails with the Papists is found with very many of the Reformed in the Christian world. But let them consider, if they will, whether such as these can have any lot among the angels of heaven, whose intelligence is from the truths in the Word, and whose wisdom is from truths in act, which are called goods. This is what is meant by the Lord's words:
When the Son of man shall come will He find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:8).
8.
[10] "That there is in them neither any faith in the Lord nor any acknowledgment of the Divine in His Human." For he who prays to the Father to have mercy for the sake of His Son approaches the Father, and does not approach the Lord, when yet the Lord must be approached, for He is the God of heaven and earth; and the Word teaches that the Father cannot be approached except by the Lord and in the Lord, as has been shown above; also that faith must be in the Lord; for the Lord says:
He that believeth in the Son hath eternal life, but he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the anger of God abideth on him (John 3:36).
Likewise:
This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that everyone who seeth the Son and believeth in Him may have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day (John 6:40).
And again:
Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in Me, though he die, yet shall he live; but everyone that liveth and believeth in Me shall not die forever (John 11:25, 26);
and elsewhere. To believe in Him and not to approach Him, but to entreat the Father for His sake, is not to believe in Him; for all faith approaches Him in whom man believes; therefore to approach and see the Father was denied to Philip; and it was said:
That to see the Lord is to see the Father (John 14:7-11).
Thence also all were healed of their diseases who prayed to the Lord to have mercy upon them, and who had faith in Him. And the sons of Israel also were saved in the wilderness who looked upon the brazen serpent, which represented the Lord as to the ultimate in His Human, which is called the sensual. Furthermore, in the spiritual world all sight and thought from acknowledgment conjoins; but sight directed to the Father conjoins no one; for the Lord says:
Ye have never heard the Father's voice nor seen His shape (John 5:37).
[11] Add to this that he who supplicates the Father to have mercy for the sake of the Son has no other idea of the Lord than as of an ordinary man; for he regards Him as beneath the Father, thus as a man from the mother Mary, who suffered the cross, and because of this there is mercy for man; thence the Lord's Divine is separated from His Human, although there is no such separation in the doctrine of the Nicene Council respecting the Trinity; for this teaches that the Divine and the Human of the Lord are not two but one Person, and that they are like the soul and body in man.
[12] But those who look to the Father, although they acknowledge the Lord's Divine yet do not approach it; for they place it near the Father above the Human of the Lord, and thus they see His Human apart from His Divine, although His Divine is His soul. This is why many at this time confess the Divine of the Lord with the mouth, while but few acknowledge it in heart; and he who does not acknowledge the Divine of the Lord in His Human, and does not look to that in his supplications, cannot have any conjunction with heaven. From this it follows that in this faith, namely, that the Father should have mercy for the sake of the Son, there is no faith in the Lord nor any acknowledgment of His Divine in His Human. This, moreover, is what the Lord foretold to Peter, that at the end of the church He would no longer be acknowledged.
9.
[13] "That consequently the trust and confidence of that faith, which is at this day accepted as the only saving faith, is an empty word." For the trust of that faith is a natural trust, in which there is nothing spiritual, since there is nothing in it of truth and good, which belong to faith and life; when, therefore, that faith is confirmed by the learned, the truth of heaven may be destroyed and man shut out of heaven by such confirmation. In such emptiness the faith alone that is accepted in the churches, or faith separated from goods of life, terminates; and yet this faith, although it is empty, fills the entire theology of the Christian world. For this reason the learned of the church, when they come after death into the spiritual world, are in so many falsities as scarcely to know a single genuine truth. But it is otherwise with those who have not confirmed these falsities with themselves, and have lived at the same time in some measure the life of faith, which is charity. These can be instructed in the truths of faith, and when they have been instructed can be received among the angels in heaven. For it is one thing to believe these falsities with a confirmed faith, thus with the heart, and a wholly different thing to believe them with a faith not confirmed.
10. "That saving faith is wholly different" shall be treated of in what next follows.
Footnotes:
1. The Latin has "Father" for "God."
805. [Vers. 8.] "Et adorabunt eam omnes habitantes super terra." Quod significet agnitionis necessitatem ab illis qui intra ecclesiam nati sunt, constat ex significatione "adorare", quod sit agnoscere et credere quod ita sit, et inde id recipere doctrina et cultu; quod haec per "adorare" significentur, constare potest ex illis quae supra (n. 789, 790) dicta sunt, ubi explicatum est quid significatur per quod "adoraverint draconem, qui dedit potestatem bestiae", et quod "adoraverint bestiam"; quod agnoverint ex necessitate, patet ab illis quae in mox praecedente articulo dicta et ostensa sunt: ex significatione "habitantium super terra", quod sit ab illis qui intra ecclesiam nati sunt, per "terram" enim significatur ecclesia, et per "habitantes super illa" significantur qui ibi sunt et vivunt: quod nati ibi intelligantur, est quia cuivis est religio suae patriae, ex causa imprimis quia educatur in illam, et postea confirmatur in illa ex praedicationibus; praecipue quia pauci sunt qui student doctrinae ecclesiae ac interiori Verbi intellectui, credentes quod talia transcendant captum, et quoque quod non videnda seu intelligenda sint, sed modo credenda; inde est, quod agnitionis necessitas sit illis qui intra ecclesiam nati sunt, quae significatur per quod "adorabunt bestiam omnes habitantes super terra."
[2] Quod ita sit, imprimis constare potest ex recepta fide, quam vocant unicam salvantem, Quod Deus Pater miserit Filium suum in Mundum, ut per Passionem Crucis Ipsius fiat Propitiatio, Redemptio et Salvatio; quae fides, si foret secundum ideam defensorum fidei separatae a vita, et inde secundum praedicationes ex doctrina, nulla fides est; ut constare potest ex omnibus et singulis quae fidei isti insunt, et quae ex illa consequuntur, quae sunt,
(1) Quod sit Propitiatio, nempe propitiatio Dei Patris per passionem seu per sanguinem Filii sui.
(2) Quod sit Misericordia seu Miseratio Dei Patris propter Filium.
(3) Quod fuerit Portatio iniquitatum nostrarum a Domino, et inde Liberatio ab illis.
(4) Quod detur Imputativum, et sic quod sit Imputatio meriti Domini per quam salvamur.
(5) Quod sit Intercessio Domini apud Patrem.
(6) Quod sit Redemptio et Salvatio absque mediis vitae et fidei, et inde quod sit immediata Misericordia.
(7) Quod in illa fide sit nulla religio, sed quod sit inanitas et vacuitas.
8. Quod nec in illa sit aliqua fides in Dominum, nec agnitio Divini Ipsius in Humano Ipsius.
(9) Consequenter quod fiducia illius fidei et confidentia, quae hodie pro unica fide salvante recepta est, sit vox inanis.
(10) Quod fides salvans prorsus alia sit.
Sed quia in ore paene omnium est, qui ab ecclesia sunt, quod Dominus passus sit crucem propter nostra peccata, et quod illa in Se transtulerit, ac portaverit, et per id non solum reconciliaverit Patrem, sed etiam nos redemerit ab inferno, ac quod per id meritum Domini salvemur, si modo ex fiducia et ex confidentia id credimus, necessum est ut primum exploretur num talia secundum opinionem communem intelligenda sunt.
[3] (1) Quod itaque primum attinet, Quod sit Propitiatio, nempe propitiatio Dei Patris per passionem seu per sanguinem Filii sui; hoc involvit rejectionem seu abalienationem generis humani ex aliqua ira aut vindicta, quae vocatur justitia vindicativa, quae a Deo Patre imposita Filio suo, ut per passionem crucis Ipsius generi humano reconciliaretur, et sic propitiaretur. Quis non videt quod rejicere a Se genus humanum, aut ex justitia ulcisci abalienationem ejus, sit contra ipsam essentiam Divinam, quae est ipse Amor, ipsa Misericordia, ac ipsum Bonum? Talis vindicatio ne quidem datur apud ullum angelum, ac vix apud hominem probum, minus apud Deum. Quis etiam non videt quod durum sit cogitare quod vindicativum illud Filio a Patre suo impositum sit, aut quod Ille id in se susceperit, ac quod ex intuitione et recordatione ejus Deo Patri misericordia sit, et non ex ipso Divino Amore, qui in essentia sua est infinitus, aeternus et immediatus erga omne genus humanum? Quare non scio an quisquam possit a Deo et cum Deo cogitare, quod rejectus sit a Deo, et quod ideo ex voluntate Patris damnatus sit Filius, ac per id factus propitiatorium ac solium gratiae. Praeterea justitia est attributum Divinum, non autem justitia vindicativa, et adhuc minus in alio propter alium; si non est justitia, nec est ex Divino ordine salvari propter alium, sed per alium; nec potest Deus reconciliari per aliud quam per paenitentiam ipsius hominis. Quod salvari per Dominum, et quoque per passionem crucis Ipsius, et sic a Domino, sit propitiatio et expiatio, videbitur in sequentibus.
[4] (2) Quod non sit Misericordia seu Miseratio Dei Patris propter Filium. Solennis supplicatio in ecclesiis, et ab hominibus ecclesiae domi et foris, quando in pietatis cultu sunt, est, "Ut Deus Pater misereatur nostri propter Filium, ac propter passionem crucis Ipsius." Haec supplicatio fluit ex recepta fide de propitiatione seu reconcilatione Patris per Filium (de qua mox supra); tum ex doctrina ecclesiae de justificatione per solam fidem absque bonis operibus; et quia defensores et vindicatores illius doctrinae separant vitam, quae est bonorum operum, a fide, non aliud pro fide salvante agnoscere potuerunt, quam quod Deus Pater miserit Filium suum, et quod per passionem crucis Ipsius commoveatur ad misericordiam; inde illa supplicatio a communi coetu hodie recepta est sicut unica vox intrans caelum et commovens Deum, tametsi homo, non prius quam in hora ante mortem, cum agnitione fiduciae illam enuntiaret. Quod tamen illa supplicatio nihil vitae ex vero et bono habeat, constare potest ex illis quae de propitiatione et reconciliatione, et inde misericordia Patris, mox supra dicta sunt; tum quae de Portatione iniquitatum nostrarum a Domino, de Imputatione meriti Ipsius, de Intercessione, de Redemptione et Salvatione absque mediis vitae, infra dicentur: hic solum, quod nusquam alicui homini ecclesiae concessum sit immediate adire Deum Patrem, ac Ipsum rogare propter Filium; est enim Dominus qui adeundus est et rogandus, quoniam nemo venit ad Patrem nisi a Domino, et in Domino, ac Dominus aeque ac Pater est Deus, infinitus, aeternus, increatus, omnipotens, ac nemo eorum est primus et ultimus, nec maximus et minimus, sed sunt prorsus aequales. Quod nemo veniat ad Patrem nisi a Domino, docet Ipse apud Johannem,
"Deum nemo vidit unquam; Unigenitus Filius, qui in sinu Patris est, Ille exposuit" (1:18 1
);
apud eundem,
"Non vocem" Patris "audivistis unquam, neque speciem Ipsius vidistis" (5:37);
apud 2
Matthaeum,
"Nemo cognoscit Patrem nisi Filius, et cui Filius vult revelare" (11:27);
apud 3
Johannem,
"Non Patrem vidit quis, nisi qui est apud 4
Deum; [Hic] vidit Patrem" (6:46);
apud eundem,
"Ego sum Via, Veritas et Vita; nemo venit ad Patrem, nisi per Me" (14:6).
Quod nemo veniat ad Patrem nisi in Domino, est quia Pater et Ipse unum sunt, sicut etiam docet apud Johannem,
"Si Me cognoscitis, etiam Patrem meum cognoscitis;.... is qui Me videt, videt Patrem;"...Philippe, "Nonne credis quod Ego in Patre et Pater in Me?.... Credite Mihi, quod Ego in Patre, et Pater in Me" (14:7, [10,] 11);
apud eundem,
"Pater et Ego unum sumus;.... cognoscatis et credatis quod Ego in Patre et Pater in Me" (10:30, 36).
Accedit
Quod Dominus sit Deus caeli et terrae, ut Ipse docet (Johannes 3:35; 17:2; Matthaeus 11:27; cap. 28:18 5
);
et sic quod Ipse adeundus sit. Sciendum etiam est quod, nisi Ipse adeatur, homo non cogitare possit cum angelis, quoniam omnis cogitatio angelica de Deo est de Deo Homine; aliter de Deo, et consequenter de Divinis, non cogitare possunt, quia cogitationes illorum vadunt circum circa per caelum, et caelum est caelum in forma Hominis. Sed de hac re plura alibi.
[5] (3) Quod non fuerit Portatio iniquitatum nostrarum a Domino et inde Liberatio ab illis secundum fidem vulgarem, quae est quod Dominus peccata mundi in se transtulerit, ac illa dejecerit in infernum, et sic sustulerit. Hoc concludunt ex Johannis verbis de Jesu,
"Ecce Agnus Dei qui tollit peccata mundi" (Johannes 1:29);
et ex Esaia, ubi agitur de Domino,
"Morbos nostros Ille tulit, ac dolores, .... et iniquitates" nostras "Ille portavit" (53:4, 11);
sed quid significatur per "iniquitates portare" nondum intellectum est in ecclesiis, quare dicetur. Ex ordine Divino fuit quod prophetae repraesentarent statum suae ecclesiae, ut inde scirent quales essent; ut constare potest ex sequentibus: Quod Esaias jussus sit
Ire nudus et discalceatus tres annos, in signum et prodigium ([Esai.] cap. 20:2, 3):
repraesentabat per id quod non amplius essent aliqua vera in ecclesia; hoc significatur per "ire nudum et discalceatum." Quod Hoscheas jussus sit
Accipere sibi mulierem scortationum, et liberos scortationum, quia scortando scortata est terra ([Hosch.] cap. 1:2, seq.):
per "mulierem scortationum" significabatur ecclesia quae falsificabat vera Verbi. Et quod Ezechiel jussus sit
Sumere sibi laterem et sculpere super eum Hierosolymam, ac obsidere eam, ac cubare super latere suo sinistro dies trecentos et nonaginta, et dein super latere dextro dies quadraginta. Tum etiam quod jussus sit comedere placentam hordeorum cum stercore bovis factam; et dicitur quod "sic carebunt pane et aqua" in Hierosolyma et contabescent propter iniquitatem eorum" ([Ezech.] cap. 4:1 ad fin. ):
per quae significabatur quod ecclesia absque bonis et veris esset, et quod in meris falsis ex malo: ac dicitur quod
Per illud portaret iniquitatem domus Israelis (vers. 4, 5);
per quae usque non sustulit iniquitates illorum, sed modo repraesentavit illas, et hoc quia "propheta" significabat doctrinam ex Verbo, ita ecclesiam quoad doctrinam et inde cultum. Simile etiam intelligitur per "portare iniquitates", ubi de Domino, qui Maximus Propheta fuit; repraesentavit enim Ipse in se quomodo Ecclesia Judaica contumeliose tractaret Divinum Verum, seu Verbum, Ipse enim illud erat; quare quod flagellaverint Ipsum, exspuerint in faciem Ipsius, percusserint Ipsum calamo, imposuerint coronam ex spinis, quod potaverint Ipsum aceto, quod diviserint vestimenta Ipsius, demum quod crucifixerint Ipsum, omnia repraesentativa erant status illius ecclesiae (videatur supra, n. 83, 195 [c] 627 [c] 655 [b]); hoc itaque significatur per "portare iniquitates", pariter etiam per quod tentationes prae aliis gravissimas sustinuerit. At vero in se transferre aliorum peccata, ac per dolores et per punitiones in se admissas, auferre illa, est, contra naturam abolitionis peccatorum; peccata enim non abolentur nisi quam per paenitentiam vitae ejus qui peccavit: auferre illa per derivationem ex alio in se, est dogma Pontificiorum, in quo non verum.
[6] (4) Quod non detur 6
Imputativum, et sic non aliqua Imputatio Meriti Domini. Quod non detur, est quia salvatio per imputationem est contra leges ordinis Divini descriptas in Verbo, quae sunt quod homo discet quid peccatum quod fugiet, et quid verum quod faciet, et quod si vivit contra vera paenitentiam aget. Haec, una cum omnibus et singulis quae doctrinae ecclesiarum ex Verbo docent, supervacanea forent, si homo salvaretur per enuntiatam vocem ex fiducia fidei, ut Deus sui misereatur propter Filium suum, ac per passionem crucis Ipsius, et quod sic imputaretur illi meritum Domini: sic potuisset homo male vivere, committere adulteria, furari, fraudulenter agere, odia et vindictas exercere, calumniari, et plura, quia non per bona opera, sed solum per fidem, quae prorsus abstracta est ab omni vita, salvari: et tamen blasphemia est dicere quod possit homo male vivere, et tamen vivere ex Domino: tum contradictio est, quod homo fugiet mala, et faciet bona, et tamen salvari ex sola fide imputati meriti. Meritum Domini est, quod ex propria potentia subjugaverit inferna, et quod glorificaverit Humanum suum; per id Se misit in potentiam salvandi omnes qui credunt in Ipsum et faciunt quae docuit: hoc meritum non addicari et imputari alicui potest, minus a Patre, quia est meritum Domini proprium, et quoque salvatio a Domino, ita per Dominum, et non propter Dominum. Verbo, non potest addicari meritum alterius, cujus non consors est per suam vitam, secundum quam quisque vel remuneratur vel punitur; sed vita a Domino, haec consequitur ex merito Ipsius. Imputativum etiam est contra essentiam Divini Amoris, qui est erga omnes; at imputare est amare unum, et non alterum, nisi propter illum; et quoque est contra justitiam, quae est, quod cuivis sit merces, quantum vivit ex Domino.
[7] (5) Quod sit Intercessio Domini apud Patrem, cadit quidem in ideas hominum prorsus simplicium, qui de tribus Personis Divinitatis non aliter cogitant quam sicut de tribus una assidentibus et colloquentibus, quod ita erit, et quod unus alterum commoveat ad miserandum propter Se, quod est intercedere: at eruditiores vident quod per intercessionem intelligatur perpetua recordatio ex amore; quia eadem essentia seu substantia est uni Personae quae alteri, ac idem amor, ita eadem misericordia, quae non excitanda, aut in memoriam revocanda per aliquam rogationem.
[8] (6) Quod sit Redemptio et Salvatio absque mediis vitae et fidei, et inde quod sit immediata Misericordia. Notum est quod vera sint fidei, et quod bona sint vitae, et quod absque veris non sit aliqua fides; sicut absque his, quod Deus sit, quod Dominus sit Salvator mundi, quod caelum et infernum sint, quod vita post mortem sit, quod Verbum sanctum sit, quod credenda et facienda sint quae in Verbo, quod Sacra Cena sit sanctissimum cultus, ac plura similia; haec erunt fidei: similiter quod absque bonis non sit aliqua vita fidei; nam dicit Dominus,
Qui audit et non facit, is est sicut stultus homo, qui aedificat domum super humo absque fundamento; at is qui audit et facit, quod sit homo prudens sicut qui aedificat domum super fundamento ex Petra [ (Matthaeus 7:24, 26)] .
Haec et similia, quatenus credenda, sunt media et vocantur fidei, et quatenus facienda, sunt media et vocantur vitae, sine quibus homo non salvari potest: haec vana forent, si pro illis modo unicum hoc, quod vocatur fides, foret, quod homo salvetur per solam misericordiam Patris propter Filium, et per imputationem meriti Ipsius. Quod non detur immediata misericordia, sed mediata, et quod usque homo ex pura misericordia ducatur a Domino ab infantia ad senectam ejus, ac postea in aeternum, videatur in opere De Caelo et Inferno (n. 521-527); ita nec datur immediata salvatio: ex quo sequitur quod redemptio non sit alia quam quod Dominus ex inferno redemerit illos qui credunt in Ipsum, et faciunt quae praecepit; qui tamen absque adventu Ipsius in mundum non salvari potuerunt, quoniam absque adventu Ipsius non credere potuissent in Ipsum, nec facere quae praecepit, et sic vivere ab Ipso. Quod illi sunt qui per "redemptos" in Verbo intelligantur, alibi videbitur.
[9] (7) Quod in illa fide sit nulla religio, sed quod sit inanitas et vacuitas. Quid religio, nisi ut vivat homo, ut in caelum veniat, ac ut sciat quomodo vivendum est? Scire illa vocatur doctrina, ac credere illa et vivere secundum illa vocatur religio. Ex doctrina sciet homo non solum quae cogitanda sunt, sed etiam quae facienda; cogitare debet homo ut faciat, non autem cogitare quod involvit nihil facere; et haec fides est cogitare absque facere, sic ut vocanda sit fides solum cogitativa, dum imploratur sola misericordia, quia Filius Dei passus est pro illo, et peccata mundi assumpsit, ac sic illum ex inferno redemit et liberavit, ac simul tunc quod meritum Filii Dei ipsi addicatur; cogitet qui velit et possit, an aliquid Verbi in illo sit, ubi toties dicitur credere illa et facere illa, proinde num in illa fide sit aliquid ecclesiae aut religionis; nam in illis quae allata sunt, ubi sunt vera quae fidei erunt, et ubi sunt bona quae vitae, quae facient genuinam doctrinam ex Verbo, et quae inde theologiam in Christiano orbe? Et quia haec in illa fide non dantur, sequitur quod non solum sit fides inanis et vacua, sed etiam fides non veri. Mirantur multi in mundo spirituali, et omnes in caelo, quod theologia Christiani orbis redacta sit in talem inanitatem et vacuitatem, ut tandem omnem illam concluserint in enuntiativum cogitationis dabile etiam malis ex timore inferni in hora mortis; inde apud perplures ex Reformatis in Christiano orbe reperta est talis vacuitas qualis apud Pontificios. Expendant, si velint, num aliqua illis sors inter angelos caeli dari possit, quorum intelligentia est ex veris in Verbo, ac sapientia ex veris actu, quae vocantur bona. Hoc quoque est quod intelligitur per Domini verba,
"Filius hominis dum veniet, num inveniet fidem in terra?" (Luca 18:8.)
[10] 8. Quod nec in 7
illa sit aliqua fides in Dominum, nec agnitio Divini in Humano Ipsius; qui enim supplicat Patrem, ut misereatur propter Filium suum, is adit Patrem et non adit Dominum, cum tamen Dominus adeundus est, est enim Ille Deus caeli et terrae; ac Verbum docet quod Pater non possit adiri nisi a Domino, et in Domino (ut supra ostensum est), tum quod fides erit in Dominum; dicit enim Dominus,
"Qui credit in Filium, habet vitam aeternam; qui vero non credit Filio, non videbit vitam, sed ira Dei manet apud illum" (Johannes 3:36);
tum,
"Haec..est voluntas Patris, qui misit Me, ut omnis qui videt Filium, et credit in Ipsum, habeat vitam aeternam, et exsuscitem illum extremo die" (Joh. 6:40 8
);
ut et,
"Jesus..dixit, Ego sum resurrectio et vita; qui credit in Me, etsi 9
moriatur, vivet; omnis vero qui vivit, et credit in Me, non morietur in aeternum" (11 10
et alibi: credere in Ipsum et non adire Ipsum, sed rogare Patrem propter Ipsum, non est credere in Ipsum; nam omnis fides adit Ipsum in quem homo credit: quare adire et videre Patrem negabatur Philippo, et dicebatur
Quod videre Dominum sit videre Patrem (Jonas 14:7-11):
inde quoque omnes a morbis salvati sunt qui supplicaverunt Dominum ut Ipse illorum misereretur, et qui fidem habuerunt in Ipsum: et quoque filii Israelis salvati sunt in deserto qui serpentem aeneum inspexerunt, per quem repraesentabatur Dominus quoad ultimum in Humano suo, quod vocatur sensuale. Praeterea in mundo spirituali omnis visus et cogitatio ex agnitione conjungit; visus autem in Patrem neminem conjungit; Dominus enim dicit,
"Non vocem" Patris "audivistis unquam, neque speciem Ipsius vidistis" (Johannes 5:37).
[11] Accedit, quod qui supplicat Patrem ut misereatur propter Filium, is nec aliam de Domino ideam habeat quam sicut de vulgari homine; nam spectat Ipsum infra Patrem, ita ut hominem ex matre Maria, qui passus crucem, propter quam illi misericordia: inde separat Divinum Ipsius ab Humano Ipsius, quod tamen doctrina concilii Nicaeni de Trinitate non separat; haec enim docet quod Divinum et Humanum Domini non sint duo, sed una Persona, et quod sint sicut anima et corpus in homine.
[12] Qui autem spectant ad Patrem, tametsi agnoscunt Divinum Domini usque hoc non adeunt; ponunt enim id juxta Patrem supra Humanum Ipsius, et sic vident Humanum Ipsius absque suo Divino, quod tamen est anima Ipsius; inde est quod plerique hodie Divinum Domini ore confiteantur, at quod pauci corde agnoscant; et qui non agnoscit Divinum Domini in Humano Ipsius, ac spectat ad illud dum supplicat, non ei conjunctio dari potest cum caelo. Ex his sequitur quod in hac fide, nempe quod misereatur Pater propter Filium, non sit aliqua fides in Dominum, nec agnitio Divini Ipsius in Humano Ipsius. Hoc etiam est quod Dominus praedixit ad Petrum, quod in fine ecclesiae amplius non agnosceretur.
[13] (9) Consequenter, quod fiducia illius fidei et confidentia, quae hodie pro unica fide salvante recepta est, sit vox inanis: est enim fiducia illius fidei fiducia naturalis, in qua nihil spirituale est, quia nihil veri et boni, quae fidei et vitae; quare si confirmatur ab eruditis, per confirmationem potest destrui verum caeli, et sic homo e caelo excludi. In hoc inane desiit sola fides recepta in ecclesiis, seu fides separata a bonis vitae; quae fides, tametsi inanis, usque complet omnem Christiani orbis theologiam. Inde est quod docti ecclesiae, quando post mortem in mundum spiritualem veniunt, in tot falsis sint ut vix unum genuinum verum sciant: aliter vero illi qui non confirmarunt illa apud se, et simul aliquam vitam fidei, quae est charitas, vixerunt; hi possunt instrui in veris fidei, et cum instructi sunt, recipi inter angelos in caelo: nam prorsus aliud est talia credere fide confirmata, et sic corde, ac aliud est credere illa fide non confirmata.
(10) Quod fides salvans prorsus alia sit; de qua in mox sequentibus.
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