Confession of Faith, According to the Holy Word of God.

And, as the food which the Israelites ate in the wilderness, is called, bread from heaven or heavenly bread, because the substance of the bread was no fruit of this earth, but had come from heaven, though the same, was in this world, prepared in the form of bread; so also Christ himself calls his flesh the true bread which came down from heaven; and says that the Son of man should ascend up where he was before, because his flesh or body became flesh, not of Mary or of any created substance, but only of the Word of life which had come down from heaven.

He it was who spake with Moses on the mount and in the wilderness; and him the fathers tempted in the wilderness, and resisted his Spirit. This is the same who was from the beginning. Him the apostles touched with their hands, and beheld with their eyes; herein the life was manifested, that they saw and proclaimed to men, that which was with the Father, and was manifested unto them, and was even the same Word which spake with them.

And though it is true that the eternal Son of the living God forsook his divine glory, and, for a brief time, was made lower than the angels, and appeared in the visible form of a servant; yet he did not thereby lose his eternal Sonship and Godhead with his Father; but when God the Father brought this his first and only begotten Son into the world, he prepared him a body, not of any created substance, but only of the Word of life, which became flesh, and which by all the angels of God is honored and worshiped as the true God.

Likewise, Christ glorified himself before his apostles, on mount Tabor, that his face shone as the bright sun, and he was confessed by his Father from heaven as his beloved Son. Thus have also the highly enlightened apostles of Christ, and all true believers, confessed, pronounced, honored and worshiped this visible and palpable Christ Jesus as the true God, and Son of God. Hence all true believers, according to these testimonies of holy Scripture, and the examples of all the saints of God, must necessarily, unto salvation, follow, believe, and confess, that the whole crucified Christ Jesus, visible and invisible, mortal and immortal, is the true God, and the Son of God, God and man in one undivided person. To him be praise forever and ever, Amen.

Of these promises concerning the Savior, read, how God the Lord, in the beginning promised fallen Adam and Eve, to put him as enmity between Satan and the woman, and between their seed. “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Gen. 3:15; Col. 1:19; 3:15; Eph. 2:15.

“The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like 374 unto me; unto him ye shall hearken.” Deut. 18:15; Acts 7:37; Read also: Acts 3:25; Gal. 3:8; Genesis 49:10; Num. 24:17; Matt. 2:2; Jer. 23:5; 33:15; Is. 9:6; 11:1; Acts 10:43.

And that this Savior of the world originally did not spring from the fathers, Mary, or any creature, but was sent and came only from God, and was conceived and brought forth by Mary, read: “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son.” Matt. 1:23; Is. 7:14; Luke 2:21; Gal. 4:4. “When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.” And further: “Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.” Matt. 1:18,20.

The angel of God said unto Mary: “Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” Luke 1:30–35.

Read in this connection St. John, who also gives thorough information regarding this matter: “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. And the Word 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 1:1,2,14; Bar. 3:37; Zach. 2:10.