# Lehre und Wehre_St. Louis Missouri_Juli 1862_S212
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

212 The Articles of the Christian Faith.

for us, one must know that he did something that we men
ought to have done — namely, that he is man; and in order to know that what
he did has sufficient worth, it is necessary to know that he
is God. Both articles thus describe the innermost essence of Christ,
the personal foundation of faith.

Without describing the inner essence of the real foundation, Christ, there still appears as a necessary basis for these articles, for example,
the article of the Trinity of God: for one must know the Father
in order to know who it is that offers such great grace to the
human race. If one knows God the Father, one must
also know God the Son, for whoever does not have the Son does not have
the Father either. (1 John 2:23; 4:15; John 14:9.) The same
necessity by which the knowledge of the Father requires the knowledge of the Son
likewise requires the knowledge of the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the
Father and is sent by the Son. (John 15:26.) — Here, of course,
there is no question yet of the mystery of the Holy Trinity
and the characteristic distinction of the persons among themselves. —

Here belongs, further, the article of the good and gracious
will of God to save all men. The gracious will of God
is the inwardly impelling cause (causa impulsiva interna) that brings about
forgiveness of sins for man; most intimately joined with it is
the merit of Jesus Christ as the outwardly impelling cause
(causa impulsiva externa); but knowledge of the latter is useless
if knowledge of the former is lacking; for if God had not
so loved the world that he gave it his only-begotten Son, then
there would be no reason why God should accept Christ's
alien merit on man's behalf as his own.

Here belongs, further, the article of sin, which stands in the closest
connection with the article of Christ's satisfaction for it. For if someone did not know that men are sinners,
and in particular that he himself had sinned, no saving
faith would be possible. How could anyone believe that he needed a mediator
between himself and God, if he did not know that he had offended God!

Antithesis.

An error, accordingly, by which a primary fundamental article is
abolished, or a false and contradictory one is set up in its place, whether out of malice
or ignorance, is one that overturns the foundation and abolishes the whole
foundation of faith. 1 John 4:3; Acts 4:12; John 8:24; 1 Cor.
15:14; Acts 15:1; Gal. 5:2, 4.

VIII.
Secondary fundamental articles are those parts of the
Christian doctrine of the faith which one may indeed, without injury to the faith,