Reply to Martin Micron: That God the Father Is the True Father of the Whole Christ

Micron writes in some places, “That the son of man had no father, or near father.” He often said so at the time of the discussion too. This is so diametrically opposed to all Scripture that one must be astounded and ashamed at it.

Since he so rashly denies the Father of Christ Jesus according to his humanity, I trust I will show the reader who the Father of Christ is, by a number of scriptural references, and by their power, so that the reader must say, if he is not entirely given up, that Micron and the learned have lamentably deceived him by their writings, and that they have taught nothing but an antichristian foundation.

So the angel of the Most High spoke to Mary, when she wondered how this should be, since she did not know a man: “The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you; therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God,” Luke 1, verse 35.

Micron has darkened this plain Scripture with his hellish smoke, saying, “The angel meant to say to Mary that her child should be not man only (he means of her flesh), but also truly God, and his Son, according to his eternal, divine being.” The angel did not say a single word to that effect, nor did he make such a division in Christ as Micron does. The angel only made it known that she should conceive, that the fruit should be the Son of God, and that God should be the Father of the child. See, so Micron breaks the testimony of the holy angel, which he bore to Mary from high heaven at God’s command: that the holy thing which should be born of her should be the Son of God.

Again, the heavenly Father himself testifies of Christ Jesus, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear him,” Matthew 17, verse 5; Mark 9, verse 7; Luke 9, verse 35. Here the Father proclaims him to be his beloved Son, without any division. And Micron says that he is not.

Again, Christ said to the blind man, “Do you believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said to him, You have both seen him, and it is he who talks with you,” John 9, verse 35. Here the tangible, visible Christ, who according to Micron’s foundation was only the son of man, confesses himself to be the Son of God, without any division; and Micron says that he is not. Again, in another place Christ says, “What if you shall see the son of man (note, he says the son of man) ascend up where he was before?” John 6, verse 62. Here Christ himself confesses that the son of man was from heaven; and Micron says that he was of earth, and that he is called heavenly on account of some virtues, as if Christ were a Christ in name and not a Christ in truth.

Again, when Christ asked his disciples, saying, “Whom do men say that I, the son of man, am?” (note, he asks about the son of man), Peter said, “You are the Christ (without a division), the Son of the living God,” Matthew 16, verse 16, and so on; and Micron says that the son of man was not the Son of God.

Again, John the Baptist says, “He who sent me to baptize with water, the same said to me, Upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And I saw, and bore record that this is the Son of God,” John 1, verse 33. Here John confesses the visible Christ (who according to our opponents’ foundation was only the son of man) to be the Son of God; and Micron writes that he is not.

Again, the centurion on Golgotha said, “Truly this man (note, he says this man) was the Son of God,” Mark 15, verse 39; and Micron says he is not. Paul says, “God sent forth his Son, made of a woman,” Galatians 4, verse 4; and Micron writes, God sent forth his Son, who came of a woman. In another place Paul writes, “He who did not spare his own Son,” Romans 8, verse 32. Note, he says his own Son; and we are reconciled to God by the death of his Son, Romans 5, verse 10. John says, “The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin,” First John 1, verse 7. In another place: “He (God) sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins,” First John 4, verse 10. Yet according to Micron’s false doctrine this reconciliation is not brought about by the blood of the Son of God, as John and Paul teach, but by the blood of the son of man, who according to Micron had no father, as has often been heard.

Kind reader, if you observe closely, you will find more than sixty places in the New Testament where Christ Jesus confesses God the heavenly Father to be his Father, and himself to be his Son. And from the beginning to the end you will not find anything about such a division and union as our opponents teach, neither in Christ’s words nor in those of any of the holy apostles or evangelists.

Micron writes in more than one place, “If God the Father is the Father of the man Christ, then he must also have had flesh and blood.” From this it is clear, first, that he does not allow the crucified Christ a Father. By this he makes the angel of God, the Father and the Son themselves, and also John the Baptist, Peter, John, Paul, Nathaniel, Martha and the whole Scriptures bare-faced liars and false witnesses, Luke 1, verse 31; Matthew 17, verse 5; John 9, verse 36; John 1, verse 33; John 3, verse 16; Matthew 16, verse 16. For they have repeatedly confessed him to be the true Son of the true and living God.

Secondly, it is clear that all such writing is not from the living Fountain of the Holy Spirit, nor from an enlightened, firm, believing heart which, without any wavering, trusts with Joshua and Caleb in the power and true promise of the almighty God; but that it comes solely from human wisdom and an unbelieving, fleshly heart, which cannot judge except according to nature, and yet, through excessive blindness, destroys the ordinances of this same nature which God established in the first creation.

Kind reader, take heed! The almighty power of God, the ineffable miracle of his divine love, and the sure, undeceiving word of his eternal truth should count for more than the blind intellect of our corrupted nature, if we would rightly learn to know Christ, and follow and obey his holy word.

The dead body of Adam, created from the dust, became a living soul by the breath of God, Genesis 1, verse 27; and the water gushed forth from the rock, Exodus 17, verse 6. Yet the earth from which the living Adam was made was no living soul, nor was the rock from which the water flowed for Israel to drink made of the elements of water. If they should now say that this was done by the power of God, by supernatural means, as indeed it was, then I would reply again: so also the miraculous incarnation of Jesus Christ in Mary was brought about by the omnipotence of God, by which he can do anything he pleases, as the angel says, “The power of the Highest shall overshadow you”; for with God nothing is impossible, Luke 1, verse 35. [Note 1]

It is my opinion that all those who believe, in power and in truth, that God was able in the beginning to create heaven, earth and sea, and their fullness, by his mighty word, and now by the same word rules, orders and maintains all this; and who believe that he is able at the end to raise Adam and all his descendants from the dust by the same power, and reclaim them from the lowest parts of the earth and the depths of the sea, and place them before the sight of his majesty, will also believe that this same God had the power to send his ineffable, eternal Word from heaven, and by the power of his Holy Spirit to let it become a true, mortal man, capable of suffering, in Mary, as John says, “The Word was made flesh,” John 1, verse 14. I repeat it: in Mary; for in the Father, or in heaven, before he was conceived, he was not flesh. This I have often confessed in plain language, and thoroughly proved by the Scriptures. Notwithstanding this, he is not ashamed to garble my words as if I had said that the Word was flesh in the Father, or in heaven. I can say with a good conscience that I never thought such a thing in all my life. [Note 2]

I do not see what difference there can be between the spirit of our opponents and the spirit of the Pharisees and of the false prophets. For as they always garbled the words of the pious prophets and of the Lord Christ, and were always intent on bringing them into disrepute, and so, out of mere hatred and envy of the truth, did away with them by violence, falsehood and wrong, so these, out of mere hatred and envy of the truth, deal with me, an old, afflicted man. For, alas, all through their book they have painted me in such colors that I do not see how they could have painted Behemoth and Beelzebub in more unpleasant colors than they have painted me; and that although I have never in my life wished them any harm, much less done them any, but have shown them all Christian faithfulness and discretion by giving them good counsel in their need, as the love which is of God teaches all true Christians to do. Yet they have written this lying, infamous and slanderous falsehood against me, undeservedly, as thanks for my faithfulness, by which they make me ten times more odious in all countries than I was before. And this in fact for no other reason than that we confess Christ Jesus to be the true Son of the true and living God, with the angel Gabriel, with the Father, with Christ himself, with John the Baptist, with Peter and with all the Scriptures; and that we in our weakness would gladly hear and follow his word, commandments, prohibitions, ordinances and blameless example, so that we might be saved by his grace; which our opponents utterly hate and oppose. For they publicly declare that the son of man, whom we confess according to the Scriptures to be the Son of God, was not the Son of God. They contradict his express ordinance of baptism, which he taught and commanded us with his own mouth, by which all the regenerated, believing children of God humbly testify before Christ and his church that they are prepared and willing to follow his holy word and divine will even to death.

Beloved, do observe what abomination and poisonous drink it is which they pour out for you from the Babylonian cup! True and unchangeable remains the testimony of the Father: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,” Matthew 3, verse 17; Matthew 17, verse 5; Mark 1, verse 11; Mark 9, verse 7; Luke 9, verse 35; Second Peter 1, verse 17.

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You have heard that God the Father is a true Father of the whole Christ, and that the whole Christ is the true Son of God, his Father. We will now show you, by the grace of the Lord and by the power of the holy, divine Scriptures, what kind of divine substance, matter, seed or being it was from which this same Son of God and Mary was brought forth, so that you may confess and see the clearness of the human birth of Jesus Christ according to the Scriptures, once the smoke of the bottomless pit has been cleared away by the power of the strong word and scattered by the breeze of the Holy Spirit.

John teaches us this, saying, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” “And the Word (which was in the beginning) was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth,” John, chapter 1.

See, dear reader, here John, as a true witness of the truth, shows us the divine being of the man Christ: the ineffable, eternal Word.

If you want an unchangeable, true and firm foundation of faith, and the true sense of these words of John, and do not want to be deceived by the lying seed of the old serpent, nor be robbed of your Savior by the subtle deceit of antichrist, you must carefully observe and hold to these facts.

First, that the Scriptures confess God the Father to be the true Father of his Son Christ, Matthew 3, verse 17; Matthew 16, verse 16; Matthew 17, verse 5; Luke 1, verse 31; John 1, verse 45; John 3, verse 16; John 5, verse 22.

Secondly, that all the Scriptures confess Christ Jesus to be the true Son of God, his Father, Matthew 3, verse 17; Matthew 14, verse 33; Matthew 16, verse 16; Matthew 17, verse 5; Mark 1, verse 11; Mark 9, verse 7; Mark 15, verse 39; Luke 2, verse 48; John 9, verse 37.

Since it is plain that God the heavenly Father is a true Father of Christ his Son, and that Christ is a true Son of God his Father, as is testified all through the Scriptures, it is therefore sure and clear that we should leave the testimony of John unglossed and unbroken where he says, “The Word was made flesh.” For since Christ is God’s true Son, and God the Father Christ’s true Father, the Father must also have had his ineffable Word, by which all things were made that are made, as was heard.

If our opponents should say, “That the Word was Spirit from the beginning, and could therefore not become flesh,” then you may answer, first: If the Word could not become flesh, as you say, then the power of the Father, by which he can do anything he pleases, is made less, and his arm is shortened; and the angel bore false testimony to Mary when he said that nothing is impossible with God, Luke 1, verse 37.

Secondly, you may answer: If the Word was not made flesh, as you say, then all the Scriptures deceive us, which testify and teach, without any division, union or exception as to natures, sons or persons, that Christ Jesus is God’s Son, and that God is his Father, as was said.

Thirdly, you may answer: If the Word was not made flesh, as you say, then the Holy Scriptures testify falsely that he is of heaven and not of earth, John 3, verse 31; John 8, verse 23; Ephesians 4, verse 10; that he came forth from the Father, John 16, verse 28; that he is the bread and Lord from heaven, John 6, verse 35; First Corinthians 15, verse 47; that he is the Alpha and Omega, Revelation 1, verse 8; Revelation 22, verse 13; and other like Scriptures.

Fourthly, you may answer: If the Word could not become flesh, as you say, then one or the other must be wrong: either you, who say that he could not become flesh, or John, who says that he was made flesh, as was heard.

If they should further say that the Word put on, by generation, of Mary’s seed, as they actually do, you may then answer thus. First: Then we desire you to show us where this is written in the Scriptures; or else we say that it is the flattery and falsehood of the old serpent, and not the Lord’s truth.

Secondly, you answer: By such a taking on you rob the Father of his Son, and the Son of his Father. You divide Christ into two parts, into good and evil, righteous and unrighteous, heavenly and earthly. You point us to a sinful creature and an impure offering. You idolize the earthly and sinful flesh of Adam. You make all the pious witnesses of Christ, such as John the Baptist, Peter and so on, false and lying, and yourselves antichrist; and you make the Scriptures contradict themselves.

Thirdly, you may answer: Becoming is becoming, and putting on is putting on; nor will it be found otherwise in the Scriptures. When Christ became twelve years of age, he did become twelve years of age, counting from the time of his human birth. Christ became a curse, Galatians 3, verse 13; he became such, so as to be hung between two murderers on the cross, Matthew 27, verse 38; Mark 15, verse 27; Luke 23, verse 32. Water was made wine, and it was made wine, John 2, verse 9; Lot’s wife became a pillar of salt, and she did become one, Genesis 19, verse 26. For becoming, I say, is becoming, and cannot be explained in any part of the Scriptures as meaning putting on.

If they would still follow their intellect and say, “If the Word has become flesh, it has lost its first being by the change,” you might answer, first: John has taught us that it was made flesh, and he has not said a word more as to how or to what extent it was changed; something which you curious ones want to know and hear from us, without any Scripture.

Secondly, you might answer: Adam was made a living soul, First Corinthians 15, verse 45; yet he remained dust, for the Lord said to him, “Dust you are, and to dust you shall return,” Genesis 3, verse 19.

Thirdly, you might reply: We ought to believe sincerely, and not comprehend with the intellect. For Paul says that “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen,” Hebrews 11, verse 1.

Fourthly, you might reply: Paul says that he is God, and Christ says that he is a Spirit. Zophar the Naamathite says, “It is as high as heaven; deeper than hell; longer than the earth; and broader than the sea,” Job 11, verses 8 and 9. And the prophet says that he comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, Isaiah 40, verse 12; also, “says the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool,” Isaiah 66, verse 1. There is no man born of Adam so intellectual and wise that he can measure this God and Spirit, or comprehend his being. Therefore it would be well for them to give up their high-soaring intellect that searches such ineffable depths, to bow themselves humbly under the word of the Lord, and to ponder the saying of Solomon, “It is not good to eat much honey; so for men to search their own glory is not glory,” Proverbs 25, verse 27. Read also Ecclesiasticus 3, verse 21.

Kind reader, if intellect were to count in this ineffable, deep matter, and not the Scriptures, then I would ask them an intellectual question concerning their faith, from which they could scarcely free themselves. It would be this: whether or not they believe that the almighty, ineffable Word, of which heaven and earth are full, Wisdom of Solomon 18, verse 15, and which is also the eternal wisdom and power of the almighty, eternal Father, placed itself wholly in such concreto sanguine, as Micron calls it in one place, as his doctrine now is? I presume they will leave the question unanswered. For if they say that it was wholly in it, then they make a Father who has separated his word, wisdom and power from himself, and placed it outside of himself. And if they say that it was not all in it, then they make their own foundation untrue and false; for they say and teach that the Son of God (who is God’s eternal Word, wisdom and power) has put on the son of man, or of Mary, and has united himself with it into one person. [Note 3]

Therefore I repeat that it would be well for them to leave such ineffable depths unsearched, to stay under the clouds, and not to soar above heaven with their earthly, ignorant intellect. For I presume that when they have measured the height of the heavens and the depth of the abyss, have weighed the mountains and counted the drops of rain, then they will give me an intelligent answer and explain how this thing is about which I asked, concerning their faith, foundation and doctrine. And therefore I say that I do not burden my mind at all with this incomprehensible miracle, but bring forward the word of the Lord, by which I am plainly taught that Mary, the Lord’s mother, conceived the almighty, eternal Word of the Father (by which all things were made that are made) by faith, Luke 1, verse 31; and that the same Word, by the great power and working of his almighty, eternal Spirit, became a true, visible, tangible, mortal, pure and holy man, capable of suffering, not of her but in her, above the comprehension of all mankind. And so he who was already the firstborn of every creature, and also, according to his human form, the first and only begotten, true Son of God, was supernaturally born to God his Father of Mary according to the flesh, as Isaac was naturally born to Abraham by Sarah, Solomon to David by Bath-sheba, and John the Baptist to Zacharias by Elisabeth, Genesis, chapter 21; Second Samuel 12, verse 24; Luke 1, verse 12. This first and only begotten, true Son of God also became, according to the promise, a son of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah and David on account of his mother (but in the genealogy of Christ, Joseph’s son, Matthew 1, verse 16; Luke 3, verse 23); he graciously fulfilled for all the descendants of Adam, in perfect righteousness, the spiritual law which no flesh of Adam could fulfill, Romans 8, verse 2; he innocently trod the winepress of bitter death, Isaiah 63, verse 3; Revelation 19, verse 15; to him the law and all the prophets point, and in him all the glorious promises of the inexpressibly great grace and love of God are fulfilled. And so, after he had done the service of his divine love, he ascended again where he was before, John 6, verse 62. He has all power in heaven and on earth, Matthew 28, verse 18, and is, through faith in his blood, our only and eternal Propitiator, Reconciler, High Priest, Mediator, Advocate and Peacemaker with God his Father, Romans 3, verse 25; John 4, verse 25; First Timothy 2, verse 5; First John 2, verse 1.

See, so the most high, most gracious and most merciful God and Father keeps his glory, praise and honor through his blessed, eternal Word and Son, and not through the unclean, sinful flesh of Adam, as our opponents teach and pretend.

Note now, beloved reader, how our opponents are deceived in this matter by their earthly, fleshly intellect, which would explain this miracle not according to the Scriptures but according to the laws of nature; and therefore they do not believe that the almighty God had the power to let his eternal Word become flesh and a true man. For this reason they have painted me in such unbecoming colors, although these poor souls are doubly what they would make us out to be, namely, false teachers and perverse heretics. For they say and teach without any Scripture that the man Christ who died for us was not the Son of God, and that he had no Father; and we say that he is God’s Son, and that God is his Father, according to all Scripture.

They say and teach without any Scripture, “That the Word has put on a whole man of Mary’s flesh and seed”; and we say and teach, according to the plain testimony of John, that the Word was made flesh, not of Mary, but in Mary.

They teach without Scripture, “That there are two different persons and sons, one divine, the other human, in the one Christ”; and we say that there is only one undivided person and Son, according to the Scriptures.

They say and teach without the Scriptures, “That the visible Christ was earthly, of the earth”; and we say and teach that he is heavenly, of heaven, according to the Scriptures.

They say and teach without Scripture, “That he is pure, of impure Adam”; and we say and teach that he is pure, of the pure God, according to the Scriptures.

They point us without Scripture to an “accursed, sinful offering”; and we point to a spotless, innocent offering, according to the Scriptures.

They worship an Adamic flesh, contrary to all Scripture; and we worship the almighty, eternal Word, which became man by the infinite power of God, according to the Scriptures.

In short, they place their whole salvation in the unclean, sinful seed of Adam, that is, in a man who, according to their fabulous writing and contrary to the word and ordinance of God, was begotten from the seed or blood of Mary, without a father; and we place ours in the almighty, eternal Word, which became man in the fullness of time; by which all things are made, ruled, and have their being forever; which was from everlasting the eternal wisdom, power and glory of God his Father; one with God, his eternal Father, and the eternal Holy Spirit, blessed forever. Amen.

Invincible and firm remains the word: “The Word was made flesh,” John 1, verse 14; First John 1, verse 1. O merciful, gracious Lord, enlighten the eyes of all the blind, that they may see your heavenly brightness and rightly confess the majesty of your honor. Amen. Dear Lord, Amen.

Honorable reader, here you have our fundamental explanation and plain reply to the untrue and biased narration and the antichristian, false doctrine of Micron and Herman concerning Jesus Christ the Son of God; and with it I am now and at all times willing and ready to appear before God and his angels, before friend and foe, and before the whole world, even to water, fire and sword, and before the coming judgment.

I would pray you all, reasonable readers, through Jesus, as before God, to reflect earnestly what kind of spirits and people they are who have written the “Narration” and its appendix and articles concerning us. For they have kept quite silent about the kindness so faithfully shown them in their need; they have said nothing about the distinct confessions which they made, as stated above, by which they had already lost the whole point in discussion, nor that they were frequently so puzzled that they did not know what to say; they have not written a single discreet word about me in their whole book; and from the beginning of the discussion to the end of their writing they have only studied and aimed at how they might most skillfully defame me, and so make our doctrine, which is the pure doctrine of Christ, a stench to many.

In several instances they have lamentably garbled and misinterpreted my words, have added to them or taken from them, and changed the meaning to their own. They have changed the order of the discussion, made many unscriptural glosses, adulterated the Holy Scriptures, and made false witnesses of the Father himself and his blessed Son, of the angel of the Lord, of John the Baptist, of all the evangelists and apostles, and of all the Scriptures, as may be seen.

However, they fill up the measure of their predecessors, the false prophets, who from the beginning have praised and taught falsehood by hypocrisy, have hated the truth, and have upbraided and defamed the faithful servants of God; who have taken the faithful service of their love amiss, accused them before lords and princes, hindered them in doctrine and true religion, and at last taken their lives and confiscated their goods. It means little to me that they have trampled on me in this way and made me a stench to many; for I know that I am unworthy of honor, since I am born of Adam, of impure seed, an unworthy sinner, as all those have lamented from the beginning who were rightly overshadowed by the glory of the Lord. But the Lord forbid that I should be such an unsteady falsifier and artful rogue as I am painted by our opponents, through the infamous, false, indiscreet and bitter spirit of envy. Many pious people of both the Old and the New Testament had to hear this same thing, as I do. Christ promises us a great reward in heaven, for it is done for his name’s sake, Matthew 5, verse 11; Luke 6, verse 22. But it pierces my soul night and day that they so lamentably blaspheme the Son of God, adulterate the Scriptures, and so falsely console the poor, unenlightened souls by such open falsehood, and so encourage them and keep them in their accursed blindness. For this reason I was urged to write this reply, to the praise of the Lord and for your service.

I would, therefore, that you earnestly consider what a pure, clear and unadulterated foundation of truth we have pointed out to you and to all the world concerning Christ; and, on the other hand, how plainly and convincingly we have uncovered and made known to you and all reasonable readers the antichristian foundation and doctrine of our opponents. Whoever has but half his sight may see where the deceit is hidden.

We now and at all times willingly offer this: if they can prove to us by the unbroken and unadulterated Scriptures that Adam had two kinds of seed, of which one was pure and the other impure; or that the Scriptures anywhere call holy, pure and heavenly what is in itself unholy, impure and earthly; or that two sons can be one Son; or that the Scriptures anywhere mention such a union as our opponents falsely pretend; or that anyone was ever the true son of another without being begotten of his substance or seed; or that God is a God of falsehood, so that he would call the man Christ his Son without his actually being so; then we will gratefully and diligently reconsider the matter, in all love. See, before God, it is the truth that I write. And if they cannot do so (which they surely never can), then our opponents, if they are reasonable men, should acknowledge that they have the impure, deceitful doctrine of antichrist, and we the wholesome doctrine of Christ, even though we must hear and suffer so exceedingly much.

Dear reader, if we consider the writings of John the evangelist, we clearly find that the spirit and doctrine of our opponents already existed in his time. For at that time they denied that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and that he was made flesh; something which these also often did in their writings and in the spoken discussion which they had with us. From this it is clear that it is the roguery and deceit of the old serpent.

I would therefore humbly beseech all the godly, pious hearts who sincerely and diligently seek Christ and eternal life, for the Lord’s sake, first, to pray for all our opponents, both of high and low station in life, learned or unlearned, rich or poor, who ignorantly err and who are encouraged and consoled in their impenitent, reckless life by such false teachers and writers as our opponents are, that the merciful, gracious Lord may give them eyes to see his glorious, exalted origin, and rightly confess his truth, so that what they were so dearly bought with may not be lost.

And secondly, to pray that the Lord may grant me and all our fellow laborers of the house of God, together with the whole church, the Spirit of his wisdom; grant that we by his grace may remain sound in doctrine, steady in faith, ardent in love, lively in hope, unremitting in the work of the Lord, blameless in life, and patient in all oppression and tribulation, of which, alas, we experience not a little through the infamous crying and writing of our opponents; that we may set a living example to the world, so that many may see our new, Christian walk in the truth, examine it, repent, and so be eternally saved.

In the same way I beseech you not to leave these writings of ours idle and hidden, but to send them east, west, north and south, into the hands of all men, and to let many read them, so that the bright sun of righteousness, which, alas, has been darkened for so many centuries by the smoke of the bottomless pit of the antichristian, false doctrine, may shine forth with the power of truth, and that our glorious and holy Savior, the first and only begotten, true Son of the almighty, living God, the ever blessed Jesus Christ, may be rightly confessed by many in his glory.

To this only and eternal Savior, together with his heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit, be the praise forever. Amen.

MENNO SIMON.

October 5.