Formula Concordiæ (part 4 of 4)

et possidere, sed quod is, quicquid omnino facultatum habeat, id totum in commune conferre [in die Gemein zu geben] debeat. any property, but that whatever means he may possess, he is bound to bestow them all as common good. II. Quod homo Christianus illæsa conscientia neque cauponariam, neque mercaturam exercere, aut arma conficere possit [kein Gastgeber, Kaufmann oder Messerschmidt sein könne]. II. That a Christian man can not with a safe conscience either keep an inn, or carry on trade, or forge weapons. III. Quod conjugibus, propter diversam religionem, divortium facere, et cum alia persona, quæ in religione non dissentiat, matrimonium contrahere liceat. III. That it is permitted married people who think differently in religion to divorce themselves, and to contract matrimony with some other persons who agree with them in religion. Errores Schwencofeldianorum. Errors of the Schwenkfeldians. I. Quod omnes illi, qui Christum, secundum carnem, creaturam esse dicunt, non habeant veram regnantis cælestis Regis agnitionem. I. That all those who affirm Christ, according to the flesh, to be a creature, have no true knowledge of the heavenly king and his reign. II. Quod caro Christi per exaltationem eo modo omnes proprietates divinas acceperet, ut Christus, quatenus homo est, potentia, virtute, majestate, gloria, Patri et to Logo, per omnia, in gradu et statu essentiæ, omnino æqualis sit, ita, ut jam utriusque in Christo naturæ una sit essentia, eædem proprietates, eadem voluntas eademque gloria; et quod caro Christi ad Sacrosanctæ Trinitatis essentiam pertineat. II. That the flesh of Christ through its exaltation has in such wise received all the divine attributes, that Christ, as he is man, is altogether like to the Father and to the Word [Logos] in power, might, majesty, in all things, in grade and state of essence, so that henceforth there is one essence of both natures in Christ, and the same attributes, the same will, and the same glory; and that the flesh of Christ pertains to the essence of the Blessed Trinity.

III. Quod ministerium verbi, prædicatum et auditu perceptum verbum, non sit instrumentum illud, per quod Deus Spiritus Sanctus homines doceat, salutaremque Christi agnitionem largiatur, et conversionem, veram poenitentiam, fidem et novam obedientiam in ipsis efficiat. III. That the ministry of the Word, the Word preached and heard, is not that instrument whereby God the Holy Ghost teaches men, and bestows the salutary knowledge of Christ, and effects conversion, true repentance, faith, and new obedience in them. IV. Quod aqua Baptismi non sit medium, per quod Dominus adoptionem in filiis Dei obsignet, et regenerationem efficiat. IV. That the water of baptism is not a means whereby the Lord seals adoption in the children of God and effects regeneration. V. Quod panis et vinum in Sacra Coena non sint organa, per quæ et cum quibus Christus corpus et sanguinem suum distribuat. V. That the bread and wine in the Holy Supper are not organs by which and with which Christ dispenses his body and blood. VI. Quod homo pius, vere per Spiritum Dei regeneratus, legem Dei in hac vita perfecte servare et implere valeat. VI. That a godly man, truly regenerated by the Spirit of God, has power perfectly to keep and fulfill the law of God in this life. VII. Quod non sit vera Ecclesia Christi, in qua non vigeat publica excommunicatio, et solennis aliquis excommunicationis modus, seu, ut vulgo dicitur, processus ordinarius. VII. That that is no true Church of Christ in which there is not in full force public excommunication, and some formal mode, or, as is commonly said, ordinary process of excommunication. VIII. Quod is Ecclesiæ minister alios homines cum fructu docere, aut vera Sacramenta dispensare non possit, qui ipse non sit vere renovatus, renatus et vere justus. VIII. That a minister of the Church who is not truly renewed, regenerate, and truly righteous, can not fruitfully teach men, or dispense true sacraments. Error Novorum Arianorum. Error of the New Arians. Quod Christies non sit verus, substantialis, naturalis Deus That Christ is not true, substantial, natural God, of the same essence

[wahrhaftiger, wesentlicher, natürlicher Gott], ejusdem cum Patre et Spiritu Sancto essentiæ; sed divina tantum majestate ita cum Patre ornatus, ut Patre sit inferior. with the Father and the Holy Ghost; but that he has merely been in such-wise adorned with divine majesty with the Father, as that he is nevertheless inferior to the Father. Error Antitrinitariorum. Error of the Antitrinitarians. Hæc prorsus nova est hæresis, quæ antehac Ecclesiis Christi ignota fuit, eorum videlicet, qui opinantur, docent et profitentur, non esse unicam tantum divinam et æternam Patris, Filii, et Spiritus Sancti essentiam: sed quemadmodum Pater, Filius, et Spiritus Sanctus tres sunt distinctæ persona, ita unamquamque personam habere distinctam, et a reliquis personis Divinitatis separatam essentiam. Et horum alii sentiunt, quod singulæ personæ in singulis essentiis æquali sint potestate, sapientia, majestate, et gloria: sicut alias tres numero differentes homines, ratione essentiæ suæ, sunt a se invicem disjuncti et separati. Alii sentiunt tres illas personas et essentias ita inæquales esse, ratione essentiæ et proprietatum, ut solus Deus Pater verus sit Deus. This is a heresy entirely new, which hitherto has been unknown to the churches of Christ—the heresy, namely, of such as imagine, teach, and profess that there is not one sole divine and eternal essence only of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; but as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are three distinct persons, so each person has a distinct essence, separate from the other persons of the Godhead. And some of these may think that the separate persons, in their separate essences, are of equal power, wisdom, majesty, and glory, as, for instance, three men, differing numerically in respect of their essence, are mutually separate and disjoined. Others think that these three persons and essences are so unequal in respect of essence and attributes, as that God the Father alone is true God. Hos, atque his similes errores omnes, ut eos etiam, qui ab his dependent, et ex his consequuntur, rejicimus atque damnamus: All these errors, and the errors like to these, and also those which depend on these and follow from them, we reject and condemn as

utpote, qui falsi sint atque hæretici [als unrecht, falsch, ketzerisch], et qui Verbo Dei, tribus approbatis Symbolis [den dreien Symbolis],⁶¹ Augustanæ Confessioni, ejusdem Apologiæ, Smalcaldicis Articulis, et Catechismis Lutheri repugnent: quos etiam errores omnes pii summi atqueinfimi cavere et vitare debent, nisi æternæ suæ salutis jacturam facere velint [so lieb ihnen ihrer Seelen Heil und Seligkeit ist]. being false and heretical, and as being inconsistent with the Word of God, with the three approved Symbols,⁶² the Augsburg Confession, with the Apology of the same, the Smalcald Articles, and the Catechisms of Luther; which errors also all the godly, high and low alike, ought to beware of and avoid, unless they wish to hazard their own eternal salvation. Quod autem hæc sit omnium nostrum fides, doctrina et confessio (de qua in novissimo illo die Judici Domino nostro Jesu Christo rationem reddere parati sumus), et quod contra hanc doctrinam nihil vel occulte vel aperte dicere aut scribere, sed per gratiam Dei in ea constanter perseverare velimus: in ejus rei fidem, re bene meditata, in vero Dei timore et invocatione nominis ejus [wohlbedächtig in wahrer Furcht und Anrufung Gottes] hanc epitomen propriis manibus subscripsimus.⁶³ Now that this is the faith, doctrine, and confession of us all (concerning which we are prepared to render account at the last day to our Lord Jesus Christ the Judge), and that against this doctrine we are minded to speak or. write nothing either hiddenly or openly, but by the grace of God steadfastly to persevere therein: in attestation of this thing, having well advised of the matter, in the true fear ofGod and calling upon his name, we have with our own hands subscribed this Epitome.⁶⁴