296.人若承认并敬拜除主救主，耶稣基督，即取了人样式的耶和华神自己外的别神，就犯下了违反第一条诫命的大罪。那些确信永恒的三个神性位格真实存在之人，也犯下了违反它的大罪。随着这些人日益认同这个错误，他们会变得越来越属世和物质化，最终不能从内领悟任何神性真理。即便聆听并接受它，他们也会以谬误玷污并掩盖之。因此，他们好比那些住在房子底层或地下室的人，听不到住在二楼或三楼的人在说什么，因为他们头顶的楼板阻挡了声音的传播。
人的心智类似一幢三层建筑，那些确信永恒的三位神之人居于最底层，那些承认并相信具有可见人形的一位神，且祂就是主神救主之人居于第二和第三层。人若依赖感官、沉浸于肉体，成为纯属世的，那么就其自身而言，他就成了十足的动物。唯一不同的是，他能说话和推理。他就像生活在有各种野兽的动物园里的人，在那里时而扮狮子，时而扮熊，时而扮老虎，时而扮豹或狼；事实他还能扮绵羊，不过，扮绵羊时他心里会发笑。
纯属世人若不通过世俗的观念，就无法对神性真理形成任何概念，而世俗观念皆出于感官谬误，因为他无法将其心智提升到感官层面之上。结果，其信之教义好比糠秕做成的粥，他却视之为美味；还好比先知以西结受命将小麦、大麦、豆子、扁豆、粗麦与人粪或牛粪混在一起，用以为自己作面包和饼，从而象征教会在以色列民族中的境况（以西结书4:9）。基于和建立在永恒的三个神性位格，其中每一个都单独为神的信仰之上的教会教义，也是同样的情形。
谁都不难看出，若这样的信仰被涂上真实的颜色，呈现为可见的图像，它将何等怪诞。这就像是三个人站成一排：第一个头戴皇冠、手持权杖，很是威严；第二个右手托着一本书（圣言），左手拿着一个血迹斑斑的金十字架；第三个则长有双翅，单腿站立，好像就要离开，开始行动。这幅图像上面还有一行题词：这三个位格（persons）或三个神是一个神。倘若看到它，任何一个智者都会对自己说：“哦，天哪，这是什么幻觉！”但是，若他看到的图像是一位神性位格，头上环绕天堂的光线，上有题词：这是我们的神，祂集创造者、救赎主、再造者于一身，因此是救主，那他的说法截然不同。这位智者岂不会亲吻这个图像，将其揣在怀里带回家，并且一看见它，他自己及其妻儿佣仆无不欢欣鼓舞。
296. 人若承認並敬拜除了主拯救者耶穌基督(祂是耶和華上帝自己取了人的樣式)以外的神明, 就是違反這條誡命。同樣, 那些自我確信從永遠就事實存在三個神性位格的, 也是違反這條誡命。當這些人在此錯誤上越是自行尋求支援, 他們越是變得屬世, 越是愚笨。他們再也無法從內心來認知任何神性的真理。如果他們去聽去接受神性的真理, 他們仍會玷污真理並將其以錯誤觀念來包裹。因為如此, 他們就好比一些人住在房子的底層或地下室, 他們聽不到住在二樓或三樓的人在說什麼, 因為他們頭頂的天花板擋住了聲音的傳播。
[2]人的思想就像一幢三層樓的房子, 底層的人自己確信從永遠就有三位上帝, 而二樓和三樓的人接受並相信一位以人形顯現的可見的上帝——就是主上帝拯救者。
人若只是依賴於感官,專注於肉體, 就完全屬世了, 就其自身而言, 成了地道的動物。與動物不同之處僅在於他們能說話, 能用推理來製造偽謬。他們就像某人生活在動物園, 那裡有各樣的野獸, 他今天扮獅子, 明天扮熊, 次日再扮老虎, 接下來扮豹或狼; 這人還能扮演綿羊, 只是心裡會偷笑。
[3]當人僅以屬世的方式來思想神性真理時, 他們只會以物質世界的現象和他們錯誤的感官為基礎。他們的思想無法超越這個水準。結果, 他們關於信仰的教導就好比糠秕所做的湯, 他們卻視之為美味。或者說他們所教導的就像先知以西結領命取小麥,大麥,豆子,紅豆,小米,粗麥混在一起, 用人糞或牛糞烤餅, 這些喻指教會在以色列民族中的光景(以西結書4:9及接下來內容)。同樣, 一間教會的教導建立在從永遠就有三個神性位格,且每位獨自是上帝的基礎之上, 其光景就如同以西結所烤之餅。
[4]描繪一下吧, 每個人都能看出這樣的信仰是何等可怕的偽謬。這就好比一幅圖畫, 其中有三個人並排挨個站立:第一個人的不同之處在于頭戴皇冠, 手持權杖; 第二個人右手拿一本稱為"道"的書卷, 左手持一個濺了血的金十字架; 第三個有翅膀, 單腿站立, 好像隨時待命, 準備飛出去執行任務。這三個人之上有題詞:此三位是一上帝。任何智者看見此畫定會覺得荒謬。
當我們看到另一幅畫的景象則完全不同:一位神聖之人四周散發天國的光芒, 上有題詞:這是我們的上帝, 祂集創造者,救贖者,更新者於一身, 是我們的拯救者。看見之人會親吻此畫, 並放入袋並帶回懸掛家中, 與妻兒家人一同觀賞, 無不振奮。
296. All people who acknowledge and worship another god besides the Lord the Savior Jesus Christ, who is Jehovah God himself in human form, sin against this first commandment. So do all those who convince themselves that there are three actually existing divine persons from eternity. As these people reinforce themselves in this mistake, they become more and more earthly and mindless. They cannot inwardly comprehend any divine truth. If they hear and accept divine truth, they nonetheless pollute it and wrap it in mistaken ideas. For this reason they can be compared to people who live on the lowest or underground level of a house - they do not hear any of the conversation of people on the second or third floors, because the ceiling over their heads stops the sound from getting through.
[2] The human mind is like a three-story house that contains people on the bottom floor who have convinced themselves that there have been three gods from eternity, while on the second and third floors there are people who acknowledge and believe in one God in a human form that can be seen - the Lord God the Savior.
People who are mindlessly physical and utterly earthly are actually complete animals; the only thing that differentiates them from true brute animals is their ability to speak and to make false inferences. They are like someone who lives at a zoo where there are wild animals of every kind, who plays the lion one day, the bear the next, the tiger the next, the leopard or the wolf the next, and could play a sheep but would be laughing inside.
[3] People who are merely earthly think about divine truths only on the basis of worldly phenomena and the mistaken impressions of their own senses. They cannot lift their minds above them. As a result, their body of religious teaching could be compared to a soup made of chaff that they eat as if it were the finest cuisine. Or their body of teaching could be compared to the loaf of bread and the cakes that Ezekiel the prophet was commanded to mix from wheat, barley, beans, lentils, spelt, and human excrement or cow dung in order to represent what the church was like in the Israelite nation (Ezekiel 4:9 and following). It is the same with the body of teaching of a church that is founded and built on the idea of three divine persons from eternity, each of whom is individually god.
[4] By picturing it mentally as it truly is, anyone can see the hideous wrongness of this faith. It is like three people standing next to each other in a row: the first person is distinguished by a crown and a scepter; the second person's right hand is holding a book, which is the Word, while his left hand holds a golden cross spattered in blood; and the third person has wings strapped on and stands on one foot in an effort to fly off and take action. Over the three there is an inscription: These three people, each of whom is a god, are one God. Any wise man would see this picture and say to himself, "That's ridiculously unrealistic!"
He would say something very different if he saw a picture of one divine person whose head was surrounded with rays of heavenly light, with the inscription: This is our God - our Creator, Redeemer, and Regenerator in one, and therefore our Savior. He would kiss this picture and take it home next to his heart, and when he and his wife and their children and servants would look at it they would feel uplifted.
296. Everyone sins against this first commandment if he acknowledges and worships any God other than the Lord, the Saviour, Jesus Christ, who is Jehovah God Himself in human form. In much the same way do those too who convince themselves of the actual existence from eternity of three Divine persons. The more these people convince themselves of that erroneous belief, the more do they become natural and immersed in the body, until they are unable to grasp inwardly any Divine truth, and even if they do hear one and accept it, they besmirch it and smother it in fallacies. They can, therefore, be compared to those who live on the bottom floor or in the basement of a building, and so cannot hear anything of the conversation of those who live on the second or third floors, since the ceilings overhead prevent the sound penetrating.
[2] The human mind resembles a building with three floors; the lowest is occupied by those who have convinced themselves of three Gods from eternity, the second and third floors by those who acknowledge and believe in one God in visible human form, and in Him as the Lord God the Saviour. The person who relies on the senses and is immersed in the body, being purely natural, is, regarded in himself, a mere animal, differing from other animals only in being able to talk and reason. So he is like someone living in a zoo containing wild animals of every sort, and there he sometimes acts the part of a lion, sometimes a bear, sometimes a tiger, leopard or wolf; indeed, he can even act the part of a sheep, but if he does so, he is at heart laughing.
[3] A purely natural person cannot form any concept of Divine truths except from worldly ideas, which are subject to the fallacies of the senses, since he cannot lift his mind above that level. His doctrine of faith then may be compared to a porridge made of bran, which he eats as if it were a delicacy. It is also like the command given to the prophet Ezekiel, to mix together wheat, barley, beans, lentils, and spelt with human or cow-dung, and to make himself bread and cakes, so as to represent the church as it was in the case of the Israelite nation (Ezekiel 4:9ff). So it is with the doctrine of a church which is founded and built upon a belief in three Divine persons from eternity, each of whom is separately God.
[4] Could anyone fail to see how monstrous this faith is, if it were presented to the eye in its true colours in a picture? If, for instance, the three persons stood in a row, the first dignified with a crown and sceptre, the second holding in his right hand a book (the Word), and in his left a blood-stained cross made of gold; and the third equipped with wings, and standing on one foot as if about to take off and go into action; and a label written over the picture 'These three persons or three gods are one God.' Any wise person seeing this picture would say to himself 'Oh dear, what a delusion!' But he would say something very different, if he saw a picture of one Divine person with rays of heavenly light around his head, with the label: 'This is our God, at once Creator, Redeemer and Regenerator, and so Saviour.' Would not a wise man kiss such a picture and take it home in his pocket, so that his own mind, and those of his wife, children and household, might take pleasure in looking at it?
296. All who acknowledge and worship any other God than the Lord the Savior, Jesus Christ, who is Jehovah God Himself in human form, sin against this first commandment. Those also sin against it who persuade themselves of the actual existence of three Divine persons from eternity. For as they confirm themselves in that error, they become more and more natural and corporeal, and at length are unable to comprehend interiorly any Divine truth; and if they listen to it and accept it, they still defile it and cover it up with fallacies. They may therefore be compared to those who dwell in the lowest story or the cellar of a house, and in consequence hear nothing of the conversation of those who are in the second and third stories, because the floor above their heads keeps the sound from penetrating to them.
[2] The human mind is like a house of three stories, in the lowest of which are those who have confirmed themselves in favor of three Gods from eternity, while in the second and third stories are those who acknowledge and believe in one God under a visible human form, and that the Lord God the Savior is He. As the sensual and corporeal man is merely natural, and viewed in himself is wholly animal, and differs from a brute animal only in being able to talk and reason, so he is like one living in a menagerie, where there are all kinds of wild beasts, and there he now acts the lion, now the bear, now the tiger, the leopard, or the wolf; and he may even act the lamb, but then in heart he laughs.
[3] The merely natural man thinks of Divine truths only from the things of the world, and thus from the fallacies of the senses, for he is unable to raise his mind above these. Therefore the doctrine that he believes may be compared to a pottage made of chaff, which he eats as a dainty. Or it is like the bread and cakes that Ezekiel the prophet was commanded to make by mixing wheat, barley, beans, lentils, and fitches, with cow's or human excrement, thus representing the church as it was with the Israelitish nation (Ezekiel 4:9.). So is it with the doctrine of a church that is founded and reared upon a belief in three Divine persons from eternity, each one of whom singly is God.
[4] Who would not see the monstrosity of that faith if it were presented as it is in itself in a picture before his eyes? For example, if the three were to stand in order beside each other, the first distinguished by a scepter and crown; the second holding a book, which is the Word, in his right hand, and in his left a golden cross spattered with blood; the third, encircled with wings, standing upon one foot, ready to fly forth and do his work, and above the three the inscription-these three persons, being so many Gods, are one God. What wise man seeing the picture would not say to himself, "Alas, what hallucination!" But he would say otherwise if he were to see a picture of one Divine Person with rays of heavenly light about His Head and with the inscription over it, This is our God, at once Creator, Redeemer, and Regenerator, and therefore the Savior. Would not that wise man kiss this picture, carry it home in his bosom, and by the sight of it gladden his own mind, and the minds of his wife and his children and servants?
296. All those who acknowledge and worship any other God but the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who is Jehovah God Himself in human form, sin against this first commandment; so also do those who persuade themselves of the actual existence of three divine persons from eternity. As they confirm themselves in this error, they become more and more natural and corporeal, until they cannot inwardly comprehend any Divine truth; and if they hear and accept it, still they corrupt and obscure it with errors. They may, therefore, be compared to those who dwell in the lowest or basement storey of a house, and who on this account hear nothing of the conversation carried on by those in the second or third storey, because the ceilings overhead prevent the sound from reaching them.
[2] The human mind is like a house of three storeys: in the lowest are those who have confirmed their belief in three gods from eternity, while in the second and third storeys are those who acknowledge and believe in one God in a visible human form, who is the Lord God the Savior. The sensual and corporeal man, since he is merely natural, is, regarded in himself, nothing but an animal, and differs from the brute beast only in being able to speak and reason. He is, therefore, like one living in a menagerie where there are wild beasts of every kind, where now he plays the lion, now the bear, now the tiger, the leopard or the wolf. He may even play the part of the sheep; but he then laughs in his heart.
[3] The merely natural man thinks of Divine truths only in terms of worldly things, and thus from the fallacies of the senses, above which he cannot raise his mind. Therefore the doctrine of his faith may be compared to pottage made of chaff, on which he feeds as a dainty; or to the bread and cakes which Ezekiel the Prophet was commanded to make of wheat, barley, beans, lentils, and fitches, mixed with the dung of a man or of an ox, in order that he might represent the Church as it was among the Israelitish nation, Ezekiel 4:9 and following verses.
It is similar with the doctrine of the Church which is founded and built upon three divine persons from eternity, each of whom singly is God.
[4] One might see the extraordinary nature of this faith if it were presented to the eye as it really is. For example, picture the three persons standing in order beside one another, the first distinguished by a sceptre and crown, the second holding in his right hand a Book, which is the Word, and in his left a cross of gold sprinkled with blood, and the third furnished with wings, standing on one foot ready to fly forth and act; and above them the inscription, "These three persons, being so many gods, are one God." What wise man, on seeing such a picture, would not say in his heart, "Alas, what a delusion!" Different indeed would his words be if he were to see a picture of one Divine Person, with rays of heavenly light about His head, with the superscription. "This is our God, at once the Creator, Redeemer, and Regenerator, and thus the Savior." Would not that wise man prize such a picture as this, carry it to his home in adoration, and with the sight of it bring joy to his own mind and that of his wife, and to the minds of his children and servants?
296. Omnes, qui alium Deum, quam Dominum Salvatorem Jesum Christum, qui est ipse Jehovah Deus in Humana forma, agnoscunt et colunt, contra Primum hoc Praeceptum peccant; consimiliter etiam illi, qui Tres Personas Divinas ab aeterno actualiter existentes, sibi persuadent; hi sicut se confirmant in illo errore, fiunt plus et plus naturales et corporei, et tunc non possunt aliquod Divinum Verum interius comprehendere, et si audiunt et recipiunt illud, usque fallaciis inquinant et obvolvunt illud: quapropter hi comparari possunt illis, qui in infima aut subterranea mansione domus habitant, 1 et ideo non audiunt quicquam quod illi, qui in secunda et tertia mansione sunt, inter se loquuntur, quia tecta supra caput arcent, ne sonus penetret:
[2] Mens humana est sicut trium mansionum Domus, in cujus infima sunt illi, qui pro tribus Diis ab aeterno se confirmaverunt, in secunda et tertia sunt illi, qui Deum unum sub visibili Humana forma, et Dominum Deum Salvatorem esse Illum, agnoscunt et credunt: Sensualis et corporeus homo, quia est mere naturalis, in se spectatus est prorsus animalis, nec plus differt ab Animali bruto, quam quod loqui et ratiocinari possit, quare est sicut degens in Bestiario, ubi ferae omnis generis, et ibi nunc agit leonem, nunc ursum, nunc tigridem, pardum aut lupum; imo etiam potest agere ovem, sed tunc corde suo ridet.
[3] Homo mere naturalis de Divinis veris non cogitat nisi ex mundanis, ita ex sensuum fallaciis, non enim super illas potest elevare mentem, quare ejus fidei Doctrina potest comparari pulti ex paleis, quam comedit ut lautitias; aut sicut mandatum est Ezechieli Prophetae, quod commisceret tritica, hordea, fabas, lentes, Zeas, cum stercore hominis aut bovis, et faceret sibi panem et placentas, et sic repraesentaret Ecclesiam, qualis erat apud Gentem Israeliticam, Cap. 4:9, seq., simile est cum Doctrina Ecclesiae, quae fundata et aedificata est super tres Divinas Personas ab aeterno, quarum unaquaevis singulatim est Deus:
[4] quis non videret enormitatem istius fidei, si illa sisteretur qualis est in se, in pictura coram oculis, ut si tres in ordine juxta se starent, Primus insignitus sceptro et corona; Secundus tenens dextra manu Librum, qui est Verbum, et in sinistra Crucem ex auro sparsam sanguine, 2 et Tertius incinctus alis stans super uno pede in conatu volandi et operandi, quibus super scriptum est, HAE TRES PERSONAE TOTIDEM DII, SUNT UNUS DEUS; quis sapiens hanc picturam videns secum non diceret, heu quae phantasia: aliter vero dicturus esset, si videret picturam unius Personae Divinae cum radiis lucis coelestis circum caput, cum superscripto, HIC EST NOSTER DEUS, SIMUL CREATOR, REDEMPTOR ET REGENERATOR, ITA SALVATOR; annon Sapiens ille hanc picturam oscularetur, 3 et in sinu portaret domum, et per ejus aspectum laetificaret animum et suum, et uxoris, et liberorum et famulorum.
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