Of Severe Slanders Against the Anabaptists in the Province of Holland, in the Year 1626

In the meantime men did not cease to slander and speak evil of the doctrines of the Anabaptists; especially about the article which they confessed concerning God, as also touching the incarnation of the Son of God, and so on, even as though they put forward the most absurd, indeed ungodly, opinions about it; which was done in order, if possible, to cause a persecution of these people, even in the midst of the Netherlands.

For this happened in such a way that the high magistrates and States of the country were also concerned about it; and they, to get full information about this matter, gave orders to various churches of the Anabaptists to make a uniform confession concerning the aforementioned articles, and to deliver it to their noble High Mightinesses.

To this the aforementioned Anabaptists were not unwilling. For they put these articles in writing, and delivered them, on the 9th of October, in the year 1626, to the deputies of the Court of Holland. The contents were as follows:

Of the only God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

We believe from the heart, and confess here, according to the testimony of the Word of God, that there is one, only, eternal, almighty, merciful and just God (Deuteronomy 6, verse 4; Matthew 19, verse 17; Psalm 90, verse 2; Isaiah 40, verse 28; Romans 16, verse 26; Genesis 17, verse 1; Psalm 103, verse 8; Philippians 2, verse 4; Daniel 9, verse 7), and none other (First Corinthians 8, verses 4 and 5), to whom there is none like (Exodus 8, verse 10; Isaiah 46, verse 9), whose greatness is immeasurable, and His form indescribable, Second Chronicles 6, verse 18; Job 11, verses 8 and 9. Before whom, above whom, and beside whom there is no other, Isaiah 43, verse 11; Deuteronomy 10, verse 17; Deuteronomy 32, verse 39. Who is of Himself that He is, Exodus 3, verse 14. To whom all things that are owe their existence, Genesis 1; Psalm 146, verse 6; Acts 14, verse 15. Who is the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end, Revelation 21, verse 6; Isaiah 41, verse 4. Who knows, sees, and hears all things, Psalm 94, verse 11; First John 3, verse 20; Psalm 33, verse 13; Psalm 94, verse 9. Who alone is good, and the fountain and source of all good, Matthew 19, verse 17; James 1, verse 17. Therefore to Him, blessed be He, belongs and must be given all divine honor, fear, love and obedience (Psalm 29, verse 1; Luke 2, verse 14; Deuteronomy 10, verses 12 and 20; Deuteronomy 6, verse 5; Matthew 22, verse 37; Jeremiah 11, verse 7), which may not be shown to any other, neither to angels, nor to men, nor to any other, whether they are heavenly or earthly creatures, Revelation 19, verse 10; Acts 10, verse 26. For He will not give His glory to another, nor His praise to idols, Isaiah 48, verse 11; Isaiah 42, verse 8. But although God in the manner just described manifests and makes Himself known in general by His Word, yet by that same Word He also shows Himself distinctively and separately, namely: that there are three that bear record in heaven, First John 5, verse 7. Not three gods, but one Father, one Word or Son, and one Holy Ghost, even as this was shown when the Lord Christ was baptized (Matthew 3, verse 16); and is also taught in the words of Christ, where He commands His disciples to baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Matthew 28, verse 19. So that therefore, according to the Word of God, the Father is the true Father of the Son (Matthew 7, verse 21; Matthew 10, verses 32 and 33; Matthew 16, verse 17; Mark 14, verse 36; John 17), from whom the Son proceeded in an incomprehensible manner from eternity, and was born before every creature. Micah 5, verse 2; Colossians 1, verse 15. Hence the Son is also the true Son of the Father (Psalm 2, verses 7 and 12; Matthew 3, verse 17; Matthew 17, verse 5), so that also the Father, as far as He is the Father, is not the Son, John 3, verses 16 and 17; Romans 8, verse 3; Galatians 4, verse 4. That likewise the Son, as far as He is the Son, is not the Father, John 16, verse 28; Romans 5, verse 10. But that in this the Father is another than the Son, and the Son another than the Father, John 5, verses 32 and 37; John 10, verses 25 and 29; John 15, verse 24. That also the Father and the Son, as far as they are Father and Son, are not the Holy Ghost. That also the Holy Ghost, as far as He proceeds or is sent out by the Father, in the name of the Son, is another than the Father or the Son. But as far as the Father is God, eternal, uncreated, but the Creator of all things, with many other divine attributes, in this we believe that the Son and the Holy Ghost are one with the Father, to whom one and the same title of God, in the highest significance, honor, service, and obedience, belongs.

However, the manner, how and in what respect Father, Son and Holy Ghost are three and also one, we do not think that God has so fully revealed to us in His Word; and also that all the knowledge of it is not necessary to salvation, since it is a high or deep mystery, which here in this life can be known only in part, as if seen through a glass darkly, First Corinthians 13, verse 12. The perfect knowledge and true contemplation of this is hoped for by faith in this life, but will only hereafter, in the life eternal, be fully known. First John 3, verse 2. Therefore deep investigation of this matter, beyond or above the Word of God, is more subtlety than Christian simplicity. The terms, of one essence, trinity, three persons, invented in former times by the ancients, we avoid, because they are unknown to the Scriptures, and because it is dangerous, in naming God, to use other words than those of the holy Scriptures. By the words, three beings, or three in one being, used before this by Jaques Outerman, as also by some of our teachers, we understand nothing else than what is contained in this our preceding confession.

Of the incarnation of the Son of God

We believe and confess that God, willing to show His very great love to the human race (who through sin had fallen into death and into much corruption), and to perform in deed His gracious promises made to the fathers (Genesis 3, verse 15; Genesis 12, verse 3; Genesis 22, verse 18; Deuteronomy 18, verse 18), sent for this purpose His only (John 3, verse 16), dear (Luke 9, verse 35), and beloved Son (Matthew 3, verse 17), who was from eternity (Hebrews 1, verse 2), by whom all things were created and made (Colossians 1, verse 16; Hebrews 1), into this world (John 3, verse 17; First John 4, verse 9), who gladly obeyed the will of His Father (Psalm 40, verse 8; Hebrews 10, verse 7), and came from above (John 3, verse 31; John 8, verse 23), from heaven (John 3, verse 13; John 6, verse 62), came forth from His Father (John 16, verse 28), leaving His divine glory (John 17, verse 5), form (Philippians 2, verse 6), and riches (Second Corinthians 8, verse 9), descended (Ephesians 4, verse 9), came into this world (John 16, verse 28), so that the virgin Mary, by the power of the Most High (Luke 1, verse 35), conceived Him (Isaiah 7, verse 14; Matthew 1, verse 23; Luke 2, verse 7), so that also the same, and no other, was born of her (Isaiah 7; Matthew 1, verse 25; Luke 1; Galatians 4, verse 4). For although Mary bore the Son of God in another form than that in which He was with the Father before the foundation of the world, yet it is nevertheless the same, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting, Micah 5, verse 2; Isaiah 9, verse 6. For the Word or Son became flesh. John 1, verse 14. Indeed, He who was like God became like another man. Philippians 2, verse 7. The Son of God appeared in the form of sinful flesh (Romans 8, verse 3), and God was manifested in the flesh (First Timothy 3, verse 16), so that the second man Christ is the Lord Himself from heaven. First Corinthians 15, verse 47. Hence that which the apostles saw in Christ with their eyes, heard with their ears, and handled with their hands, was of the Word of life; so that they saw that eternal life which was with the Father. First John 1. For God brought His first begotten Son into the world, whom all angels and men must worship. Hebrews 1, verse 6; Philippians 2, verse 10. And when we believe this, we have in our favor the testimony of God and of all the righteous, who with one accord unanimously exclaim that this visible man Christ is the Son of God (Matthew 3, verse 17; John 1, verse 2; John 9, verse 37; John 11, verse 27; Matthew 16, verse 16; First John 4, verse 10; First John 5, verse 5), who dwelt among men (John 1, verse 14; Zechariah 2, verse 10; Baruch 3, verse 37), and whom the high priests, because He confessed Himself to be the Son of God, also condemned to death. Mark 14, verse 64; John 18, verse 35. For, not knowing Him, they nailed the Lord of glory, that is, the Lord from heaven, to the cross. First Corinthians 2, verse 8; First Corinthians 15, verse 47. There the Son of the living God suffered (Hebrews 5, verse 8), whom God did not spare (Romans 8, verse 32), but delivered Him up for the life of the world (John 3, verse 16; First John 4, verse 14), to the most shameful death of the cross. Philippians 2, verse 8. There the Son of God shed His precious blood for the forgiveness of our sins (Acts 20, verse 28; Colossians 1, verse 14; First John 1, verse 7; Revelation 1, verse 5); He by whom God made the worlds, by Himself purged our sins. Hebrews 1, verses 2 and 3. He was buried, and on the third day was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father. First Corinthians 15, verse 12; Acts 3, verse 26; Romans 6, verse 4; First Thessalonians 1, verse 10. He ascended up to where He was before. John 3, verse 13; John 6, verse 62; John 16, verse 28; Ephesians 4, verse 8; First Timothy 3, verse 16. He is sitting there at the right hand of the Majesty of His Father (Ephesians 1, verse 20; Hebrews 1, verse 3), from where He shall come in the clouds of heaven, to judge the living and the dead. Matthew 24, verse 30; Acts 10, verse 42; Revelation 1, verse 7.

The final cause of the sending, coming, incarnation, and suffering and death of the only begotten Son of God in this world was to save sinners (First Timothy 1, verse 15; Matthew 18, verse 11), or to reconcile the sinful world to God the Father, John 3, verse 17; First John 2, verse 2; Second Corinthians 5, verse 19. Hence He is also the only foundation (First Corinthians 3, verse 11), the only door to the Father (John 10), the only way to eternal life (John 14, verse 6), and the only meritorious cause of justification (Acts 13, verse 38; Romans 3, verse 24), and of eternal salvation; for there is salvation in no other, as the apostle Peter says, nor is there any other name under heaven given among men by which they must be saved, than in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 4, verse 12. To Him be praise, honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

This was signed by twenty ministers of the Anabaptists (who are all well known), in the name of their churches; such as those of Amsterdam, Haerlem, Leyden, Delft, Rotterdam, Dergoude, Schiedam, Bommel, Blockzijl, and so on.

This confession of faith, concerning the articles about God and the incarnation of the Son of God, and so on, having been delivered to the deputies of the Court of Holland, gave satisfaction to their high excellencies, and hence brought about greater peace and liberty for the Anabaptists in that country, although to the dissatisfaction of those who, out of bitterness, had first tried to disturb their peace, and, if they could have succeeded, to cause an oppression or persecution of them.

NOTE. Just in time two manuscript tracts, in the Swiss language, were sent to us, both of them having been sent before this date, from the Swiss parts, to various churches of our fellow believers, but chiefly to those of Amsterdam, at the request and in the name of some of the oppressed brothers; also in general, of the ministers and elders of the church in the Palatinate and Alsace.

The first was written and completed on the 15th of September, 1645, and bears the signature of Jeremiah Mangold.

The second, in the month of February, 1658, by M. Meyli.

These two tracts, both of them written with one design and purpose, and sent to us, shall aid us in the carrying out of the work we have undertaken; namely, to extend the history of the holy martyrs who suffered for our common Christian faith, to this our present time, and bring it to a completion.

In order to do this in the best manner, and to bring these matters (which in one tract are described very diffusely, and in the other, very briefly, and sometimes abruptly), into a convenient form or shape, we shall not grudge the labor of treating them from their first rise, and of following up the matters in chronological order (though they are described indiscriminately), and of indicating each time, in order that no error be made, which tract we have taken it from.