# Another Letter From Jacob Van Den Wege, To His Wife, And His Brethren And Sisters.

16th century (source section) · Historical source

Source: Martyrs’ Mirror. Original heading: ANOTHER LETTER FROM JACOB VAN DEN WEGE, TO HIS WIFE, AND HIS BRETHREN AND SISTERS.

Century of containing source section; exact event date not assigned

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace,
good will toward men. Luke 2:14.

I, Jacob van den Wege, imprisoned for the invincible
truth, wish my dear in God beloved wife
and sister in the Lord, and my three innocent little
children; and further all brethren and sisters, and
all my dear friends in the Lord, grace, peace, mercy,
much true Christian wisdom and prudence, an understanding
heart, a steadfast mind in the truth,
a strong faith, a living hope, a good, peaceful conscience
toward God and man, and an unblamable,
holy conversation in all humility, meekness, kindness
and unity, and all this in the true fear of God
bound with the bond of love. This I wish you all
from God the heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ
his eternal, only, true Son, our Lord, together with
the mighty power of the Holy Ghost, as a cordial
and affectionate greeting. Amen.

After my simple, cordial salutation, my beloved
wife, and all brethren and sisters, and further all my
friends in the Lord, let me please inform you, that
it is still well with me, and I am unchanged in the
faith and knowledge of God, even as I was when
I bowed my knees before the Most High, so I am
minded; and still stand through the grace of God,
and the power of Christ, which strengthens me, to
live or die with Christ in this same faith and truth.
The almighty Lord, who is able so to strengthen
and confirm him that is miserable, weak, and without
strength here in this conflict, to him be praise,
thanks, glory, and honor forever and ever, and this
for all his great benefits which he has so abundantly
shown me. So I trust that it is also very well with
you, on which account I rejoiced, and thank God
the Most High, for all his great goodness that he
has shown you, and all this through his great mercy
and love; and I pray the same almighty Lord and
God of grace, to bless you all, and to fill you with
all knowledge and spiritual wisdom and understanding,
that you may walk worthily and fruitfully all
the days of your life in holiness and righteousness,
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and receive the end of your faith, even the salvation
of your souls.

Let me further, please, tell my dear friends the
reason why I have been so backward in writing,
when you have so many times requested of me,
that I should write to you. Hence I tell you, that
I hardly dare write anything, and this because
it is such a perilous time, so that people sometimes
understand and construe a letter as they will, and
not as the writer has meant it. Even as I have only
too much known this to be the case, and it has even
happened to me, in my simple writing. Not that
I mean that I am above criticism; God forbid! but
I say that some people find fault not only with the
letters of simple prisoners, but sometimes also with
the holy Scriptures; and since I also know myself
far too simple and ignorant, to write anything profitable
for your exhortation, therefore I have always
refused them that requested it of me, and have thus
far put it off. And were it not for my innocent little
children, who to-day understand neither good nor
evil, I should not have written much yet; but they
constrain me to write now, in order that when they
come to the years of understanding through the
grace of God, and I shall then have been taken from
them, the same might then teach them of my faith,
and instruct them in righteousness and the knowledge
of God, in the fear of the Lord, and in all
obedience. And since I must walk the way, and
obey the vocation in which I am called, and I can
then not admonish them with my lips, I write and
leave them this much for a treasure and testament;
for gold or silver I cannot give them, but such as
God has given me, which is little, but yet more than
I am worthy of; this I leave them for an exhortation,
that they may also know most assuredly and
certainly by my own writing, in what doctrine and
faith I died, and that I did not suffer for any misdeed
or wickedness, or heresy, as one that follows
his own mind and purpose (though I am called a
heretic by this evil generation, who imagine that
they are pure, and are yet not washed from their
filth; but their railing is no proof, and their calumny
is untruth); for I well know and am sure that all
who follow their own mind and purpose do not
keep God’s commandments; for the Scriptures
teach us, that we must be spiritually minded, as
Jesus Christ was, that we must be obedient and
deny ourselves, yea, utterly and completely renounce
our own will, and bow ourselves under the
word and the mighty hand of God, which word is
like a fire, and like a hammer that breaketh the
rock in pieces, yea, as a two-edged sword, which
shall judge men in the last day. Rom. 8:6; Philippians
2:5; Matt. 16:24; 6:10; 1 Pet. 5:6; Jeremiah
23:29; Rev. 1:16; John 12:48. Hence I say
that I have submitted myself, to obey the same with
all my power and ability, to suffer myself to be instructed
by it, to believe what the Scriptures say;
for I believe all that is written in the law and the
prophets, both in the Old and the New Testaments;
and have hope toward God, for which the prophets
themselves waited, namely, that there shall be a
resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust;
and herein do I exercise myself, always to
have a conscience void of offense toward God and
toward men (Acts 24:14–16); thus my faith, which
God has given me, is as the word of God, and like
the Scriptures, as here briefly follows:

In the first place, I believe and confess one only,
eternal, almighty God the Father, of whom are all
things. Him I confess to be a living God, who created
and made heaven, earth, the sea, and all that
in them is, even as both the Old and New Testaments
highly extol and worship him in his worthiness;
as an invisible and immortal God, a God of
gods, a Lord above all lords, a great God, mighty
and most terrible, who sits upon his throne, a Lord
unto whom there is none like, for he is higher than
the heavens, deeper than hell, longer than the earth,
and wider than the sea, as he himself by the prophet
says: “The heaven is my throne, and the earth is
my footstool.” Rightly has Jeremiah said: “Thou
great and mighty God, the Lord of hosts, is thy
name; great in counsel, and mighty in work. For
behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens can not
contain him.” Hence I also say, that a creature
can not comprehend the Creator, but I confess him
to be a holy, true, gracious, merciful, but also a severe,
righteous and just God, before whom alone
we must tremble and fear, fall down and worship,
and love and obey him; who shall render unto every
one according to his works, whether they be good
or bad, either salvation or damnation. Mark 12:29;
Is. 40:28; Gen. 17:1; 1 Cor. 8:6; Gen. 1; John
1:18; 1 Tim. 6:16; Deut. 10:17; Ps. 139:8. Is. 66:1;
Jer. 32:19; 1 Kings 8:27; Lev. 19:2; Ps. 7:11;
Matt. 4:10; 2 Cor. 5:10.

In the second place, I confess and believe in Jesus
Christ, God’s only, own, true Son, our Lord, who
was with the Father from the beginning and from
everlasting, whom the Father has imbued with his
real essence, and expressly set forth the same in
him, as is everywhere fundamentally contained and
declared in the Scriptures; so that he is the image
of the eternal light, the immaculate reflection of
the divine glory, and the likeness or image of his
being. So that when he was in the form of God, he
was glorified as God, yea, the wisdom and word of
God himself, in whom alone was life, the firstborn
of every creature, invisible, impassable, and immortal,
through whom all things were created and
made; he is before all, and all is in him, so that he
is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending,
the first and the last, who is, and who was, and who
is to come; even thus do I confess the Son of God
in his divinity as the eternal true Son of God, true
God with the Father, equal with him in glory,
brightness, power, will, and providence. John 3:16;
Rom. 8:32; Mic. 5:2; Col. 1:15; 2 Cor. 4:4;
Philip. 2:6; John 1:4; Col. 1:15; Rev. 1:8,17;
John 17:21.

But when the man Adam, by transgressing the
commandment, had sinned, and through sin, because
of God’s strict justice, was, with all his posterity,
under the sentence of eternal death, God,
kindled with compassion and fervent love, comforted
the miserable, sorrowful Adam and promised to man
his only Son, or eternal Word, by which all things
were made, yea, Adam himself having first been created
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after his own likeness; he promised him, that he
should be redeemed and saved by that same Word.
This promise God also made for consolation, to
many ancient fathers, as patriarchs, prophets and
servants of God, by beautiful figures and shadows,
for a Redeemer and Savior of the world, especially
of those that believe. When the time and all promises
were fulfilled, God sent his Son, born of a
woman named Mary, who was espoused to a man
named Joseph, of the house of David. This virgin
conceived of the Holy Ghost, even as God had
foreordained, and spoken by Isaiah saying: “Behold,
a virgin shall conceive, and bare a son.”
Yes, she conceived of the Holy Ghost, and through
the power of the Most High it became flesh in her,
that is man, like unto us in all things, sin excepted.
Namely, he that was previously invisible, became
visible; he that was immortal, became mortal; and
he that enjoyed great riches of glory, was glorified
as God, yea, was himself true God, the same forsook
his riches, glory and brightness for a little
while, and became like unto other men, and was
found in fashion as a man: so that he was both true
God and man, and was put under the law to redeem
them that were under the law. Gen. 3; Romans
5–18; Jer. 33:14; Deut. 18:15; 1 Tim. 4:10;
Gal. 4:4; Matt. 1:25,20; Is. 7:14; John 1:14;
Heb. 2:17; 5:2; John 17:5; Philip. 2:7,8; Gal. 4:5.

Thus I confess with the apostle, that the eternal
Word of the Father, in whom alone was the light
and the life of men, became flesh, and dwelt upon
the earth, and they beheld his glory, the glory as
of the only begotten Son of the Father, full of grace
and truth. Even as John testifies and says: That
which was from the beginning, which we have heard,
which we have seen with our eyes, which we have
looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the
Word of life; (for the life was manifested, and we
have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you
that eternal life, which was with the Father, and
was manifested unto us;) that which we have seen
and heard declare we unto you. And their testimony
is true. Hence I confess from these words,
and other Scriptures, that Jesus Christ is come in
the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever.
Yea, God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the
Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles,
believed on in the world, received up into glory.
John 1:4,14; 1 John 1:1–3; John 17:3; 1 John 4:2;
Rom. 9:5; 1 Tim. 3:16.

Thus I believe that the true Messias did come,
whom God had promised to the believing fathers;
for Abraham received the true promised seed of
Christ, in whom he and all the nations upon earth
are blessed. And this beautiful Morning Star rose
out of Jacob, and hath shined in our hearts, to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in
the face of Jesus Christ. Judah received his Shiloh
or Deliverer, and Moses his Prophet. He was born
in the city and of the lineage of David, and called
the Son of the Highest, yea, Israel and Judah beheld
themselves their Lord, King, Savior, and God,
and the arm of the Lord reigned with power and he
taught men, not only as a true messenger, but also
as a lover of life, and a faithful steward, the word
of his Father, which he himself had first heard and
seen from his Father, and which he proved and confirmed
with very many mighty signs, and ultimately
sealed with his precious blood, when he took upon
him our sin and transgression, and had to restore
that which he had not taken away; who did no sin,
neither was guile found in his mouth. Of him Isaiah
says: “He hath borne our griefs, and carried our
sorrows, and he was wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement
of our peace was upon him; and with his
stripes we are healed.” And he died for us an ignominious
death on the tree of the cross, when we
were yet enemies. He was buried, and raised again
the third day according to the Scriptures, for our
justification, and after his resurrection, as an almighty,
victorious prince and potentate in heaven
and earth, he again taught his apostles, to observe
all things whatsoever he had commanded them.
He then ascended up on high, and sat down at the
right hand of his Father in heaven, far above all
principality, and power, and might, and dominion,
and every name that is named, not only in this
world, but also in that which is to come. And he is
our Mediator, Intercessor, Advocate, Mercy-seat,
Reconciler and High Priest, to make reconciliation
for the sins of the people; for in that he himself
hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor
them that are tempted, and can have compassion
on our weakness, wherefore he is able also to save
them evermore that come unto God by him. John
4:25; Gen. 22:18; Gal. 3:16; Num. 24:17; 2 Corinthians
4:6; Gen. 49:10; Deut. 18:15; Luke 2:4;
John 12:49; Heb. 9; 1 Pet. 2:24; Ps. 69:4; 1 Peter
2:22; Is. 53:4,5; Rom. 5:10; 1 Cor. 15:4; Romans
4:25; Matt. 28:18,20; Eph. 1:20,21; Romans
8:34; Heb. 2:17,18; 5:2; 7:25.

In short, I believe and confess that Jesus Christ
was sent by God, and that God testified of him,
that he is his Son. Now, he that believeth on the
Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth
not God hath made him a liar; because he
believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
And this is the record, that God hath given to us
eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath
the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of
God hath not the life, but the wrath of God abideth
on him. But I confess with John, that the Son of
God is come, and hath given us an understanding,
that we may know him that is true, and we are in
him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This
is the true God, and eternal life. This is the first and
the last, which was dead, and is alive, and liveth
now for evermore. Little children, keep yourselves
from idols, especially Adamitic creatures that are
highly esteemed by the world. Amen. Matt. 3:17;
1 John 5:10–12; John 3:36; 1 John 5:20; Rev.
1:11,18; 1 John 5:21.

In the third place, I believe in the Holy Ghost,
who is an eternal Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth,
which Spirit I confess to belong to both the Father
and the Son, proceeding from the Father through
the Son. This Spirit God by the prophets promised
to pour out upon all flesh, which promise he effectually
fulfilled in the apostles, and in their time, and
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the same is still poured out, and will be poured out,
upon all believing, regenerate children of God, for
the consolation of their consciences sorrowing after
a godly manner and to seal them unto the day of
reconciliation, to distribute unto every one spiritual
gifts, according to his good pleasure. By the same
we cry, Abba Father; for the same Spirit beareth
witness with our spirit that we are the children of
God, even as Paul says, which is the earnest of our
inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased
possession, unto the praise of his glory; by which
Spirit also the prophets spake from the beginning of
the world, and prophesied in a mystery the treasures
of wisdom and the knowledge of God, but now
made manifest by the appearing of our Savior, Jesus
Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath
brought life and immortality to light through the
Gospel, whereunto Paul was appointed a preacher,
and apostle, and teacher of the Gentiles, and all this
according to the commandment of the everlasting
God, made known to all nations for the obedience
of faith. All these things Paul and all holy men did
and spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
I therefore believe and confess the Father as the
Creator of all things, through his Son or Word;
and Jesus Christ as the Son of God, who redeemed
us, and bought us with his precious blood; and the
Holy Ghost as a mighty operation of the Most
High, in all truly regenerated and believing children
of God. These three I confess to be one only,
eternal, almighty, living God, who have one purpose,
one counsel, one will, one work together in
all eternity. As John writes, that there are three
that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word,
and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. To
this only, eternal, almighty, living God, who is incomprehensible,
unsearchable, and indescribable,
alone be praise, honor, wisdom, thanks, glory,
power, and strength, forever and ever. Amen.
John 14:17; Is. 44:3; Joel 2:28; Acts 2:3; Ephesians
1:13; Tit. 3:5; Gal. 3:26; 2 Cor. 7:9; Ephesians
4:30; Rom. 8:15,16; 2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:14;
2 Pet. 1:21; 2 Tim. 1:10,11; 1 Tim. 2:7; Romans
16:25; Gen. 1:1; John 1:3,12; Mark 12:29; 1 John
5:7; Rom. 11:33.

In the fourth place, I also believe all that this
only God spake by his holy prophets and apostles,
and he himself declared and taught with his own
mouth; and confess from this same teaching of the
Gospel, a holy Christian church, which is the communion
of the saints, and congregation of the believers,
new creatures, and children of God, which
children are bound together in unity and peace with
the bond of love, and baptized into one Spirit and
body, as Paul says; for they confess one Lord, one
faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who
is above all, and through all, and in us all. They
have the mind which was in Jesus Christ, and look
not at the things which are seen, but at the things
which are not seen, for their conversation is in
heaven; hence they are also the temple of the living
God, in which God dwells with his Holy Spirit,
which Spirit assures them; that they are the children
of God, and are justified by faith, and wait for
all the promises of God. These have the forgiveness
of sins, and redemption through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen. Acts 24:14; 1 Cor. 12:13;
2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 4:5,6; Phil. 2:5; 2 Cor. 4:18;
Phil. 3:20; 2 Cor. 6:16; Rom. 8:16; Eph. 1:7.

In the fifth place, I further confess from the holy
Scriptures, or word of God, a baptism, both inward
and outward. Inwardly, as Christ says, with the
Holy Ghost and with fire; and outwardly, with water,
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Ghost, in token of all that has taken
place within, as Paul says, that it is a burial of sin,
and also a washing of regeneration. If it then be a
burial of sin, and a washing of regeneration, as it
also is, it is a vain baptism which is used on infants,
for infants, though they are born of sinful seed, have
never practiced sin, and do not know it, since they
understand neither good nor evil; and if they have
never committed nor known sin, baptism, which is
a burial of sin, can not rightly be used on them.
And so they can also not be regenerated, since they
are pure through Christ and still in their first birth;
hence, too, baptism does not belong to them, since
it is a washing of regeneration: but I say that they
are cleansed and redeemed through Christ, as Christ
himself says: “Suffer little children, and forbid them
not, to come unto me; for of such is the kingdom
of heaven.” Acts 1:5; Matt. 3:11; 28:19; Romans
6:4; Ps. 51:5; Deut. 1:39; Rev. 1:5; 1 John 1:7;
Col. 1:14; Matt. 19:14.

But when men grow up, and have attained their
years, the heart, as Jeremiah says, is deceitful above
all things, and desperately wicked. Hence there
dwells no good thing in the flesh, but it departs
from the Lord in every respect, since through evil
lusts and desires the flesh is impelled to all wickedness
and sin, whereby they often go astray and sin,
because they have little or no right instruction;
hence they lose Christ’s death and merits, under
which grace they were when they were first born.
Men must therefore, according to the Scriptures,
through the power of the divine word, be taught to
know sin; that sin and all unrighteousness are sin;
and they must be exhorted to repentance and
amendment, that denying ungodliness and worldly
lusts, they should live soberly, righteously, and
godly, in this present world; and to become new
creatures, and regenerated children of God by faith,
for we cannot see, nor enter into, the kingdom of
God, except we be renewed and born again of water
and of the Spirit. Which Spirit in the Scriptures is
called water as well as Spirit, even as God spake by
the prophet Joel, saying: “I will pour out my Spirit
upon all flesh, that is, upon all generations or nations,
namely that have become lowly in spirit and
contrite in heart, and believe in God.” Which faith,
as Paul says, cometh by hearing the word of God.
Hence I confess, that men must first be taught, that
they bring forth genuine fruits of repentance, believe
in Christ, and then be baptized upon their faith, as
Christ himself ordained this, and commanded his
apostles, saying: “Go ye therefore, and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded
you.” And in the sixteenth chapter of
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Mark, he says: Go and preach the Gospel to every
creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be
saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
And the apostles did as they were commanded, as
we may read in the Acts of the Apostles, and in
their epistles: they first taught, and then baptized
all the god-fearing with water, in the name of the
Lord, they that hearkened to their words and believed
in the Son of God received baptism, and this
for a burial of sin and washing of regeneration, for
a fulfillment of all righteousness and the answer of a
good conscience toward God, for a covenant to live
in holiness and righteousness, and for an entrance
into and uniting with the body of Christ, which is
the church of God; for by one Spirit we are all baptized
into one body, as Paul says: “Ye are all the
children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as
many of you as have been baptized into Christ have
put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek,
there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male
nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Jer. 17:9; Rom. 7:18; Gal. 5:17; 2 Tim. 3:16;
1 John 3:4; Tit. 2:12; 2 Cor. 5:17; 1 Pet. 1:23;
Gal. 3:26; John 3:3,5; Is. 44:3; Joel 2:28; Isaiah
57:15; Acts 16:34; Rom. 10:17; Acts 2:38; 16:31;
Matt. 28:19,20; Mark 16:15,16; Acts 2; 16:14;
2:41; 8:12; Matt. 3:15; 1 Peter 3:21; Luke 1:75;
1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:26–28.

In the sixth place, I further confess from the word
of God, a true Supper, with bread and wine, by
which we are to shew Christ’s sufferings, and his
death, and also to remember the new covenant, or
testament, which he made with his people, and
sealed and confirmed with his blood. Even as
Christ himself instituted the same, and observed it
with his apostles, as is written: “That Christ the
same night in which he was betrayed, took bread:
and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and
said, Take, eat; this is my body, which is broken
for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the
same manner also he took the cup, when he had
supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in
my blood, which is shed for many: this do in remembrance
of me.” But all that are to eat this external
bread, and to drink the wine, truly in remembrance
of him, must first be renewed and changed
by the word of God, so that they must be lowly of
spirit and contrite in heart, and truly confess Christ
Jesus by faith, that he alone is their Redeemer and
Savior; and they must have love, unity and peace
with one another, and must be sanctified through
the Holy Spirit, and assured in their conscience by
faith, that they are the children of God, and heirs,
who through grace shall be partakers of Christ’s
great benefits, as, his merits, death and blood, for
his suffering is our rejoicing, and his death is our
life, as Paul says: “That he has reconciled us in the
body of his flesh through death, to present us holy
and unblamable and unreprovable; and made peace
through the blood of his cross, by himself.” And
hence they are to examine themselves, as Paul says,
and so eat of the bread, and drink of the cup; for
he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and
drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the
Lord’s body. Hence Paul says: The cup of blessing
which we bless, is it not the communion of the
blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it
not the communion of the body of Christ? For we
being many are one bread, and one body: for we
are all partakers of that one bread. Behold Israel
after the flesh: are not they which eat of the sacrifices
partakers of the altar? Thus the communion
of the body and the blood of Christ must be in us,
and he that so examines himself, and through the
Holy Spirit finds in his conscience, that he is an
heir of the great benefits of Christ, and a member
of his body, he may indeed use the memorials of
bread and wine with regard to it, as Christ says:
“This do in remembrance of me,” and Paul says:
“As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup,
ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. Matthew
26:26; 1 Cor. 11:23; Heb. 9:12; Luke 22:19;
Matt. 11:29; Col. 1:14; Matt. 1:21; Rom. 8:16,17;
Col. 1:20–22; Eph. 2:13; 1 Cor. 11:28,29; 10:16–18;
Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 11:26.

In the seventh place, I further confess a true
Christian excommunication, which is an excluding
or binding of the disobedient sinner, and a releasing
or loosing of the obedient penitent, even as Christ
wisely instituted and effectually taught the same,
and his apostles thoroughly expounded, used and
also taught it, as Christ spake to the apostle, saying:
“I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom
of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth
shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou
shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
And he also says: “If thy hand offend thee, cut it
off, and cast it from thee: it is better to have only
one hand, and enter into life eternal, than having
two hands to be cast into everlasting fire. And the
same he also says in regard to the foot and the eye.
Matt. 18:18; 16:19; 5:30; 18:8.

But though Christ taught his apostles all this, we
do not find it written, that the ordinance was used in
Christ’s time by any disciple, with regard to those
who having transgressed or apostatized, caused
offenses; and this because of the law, which came
to an end in the death of Christ, and because the
body was not yet perfect, and the temple of the
Lord not yet complete, since they were yet very ignorant,
and in many matters not fully instructed, as
Christ says to them: I have yet many things to say
unto you, but you cannot bear them now. Howbeit
when he, the Spirit of truth is come he will guide you
into all truth. Which spirit they must receive, before
they could bind or release any one with the
key (which is the word and Spirit of God), as Christ
also indicates with these words, when he breathed
on them, and said: “Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto
them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are
retained.” Not that Christ gave the apostles authority,
to forgive or to retain any one’s sins contrary
to his word, and thus to govern the church
according to their will: No; God forbid! They had
to act without respect to persons, even though it
had been their right hand—retain the sins of those
who according to the word of God were under the
wrath of God, and proclaim grace and peace to the
penitent, who according to the same word were under
926
the grace of God; and thus Christ appointed
unto them the kingdom as his Father had appointed
it unto him. Rom. 10:4; John 16:12,13;
20:22,23; Luke 22:29.

But I repeat it, though Christ had so appointed
and taught it to them, yet, according to my view,
they had then neither a command nor authority to
use the same, as already said, before Christ had
ascended up to heaven, having sent them forth, to
preach the Gospel in all the world, to every creature,
teaching to observe whatsoever he had commanded
them. They also had to tarry in Jerusalem,
until they were endued with power from on
high, and had received the promise of the Father,
which was the Holy Ghost, who was their teacher
and power, whereby they proceeded in this practice.
And when the body was perfect, and the temple
of the living God complete, in which God dwelt
with his Spirit, the apostle effectually taught Christ’s
institution and ordinance of excommunication, and
also used it, as we may read, how the apostle delivered
Hymeneus and Alexander unto Satan, that
they might learn not to blaspheme. And so he
also punished the Corinthian fornicator, concerning
whom he had determined, when they were gathered
together, and his spirit, with the power of Christ, to
deliver him unto Satan, for the destruction of the
flesh, that the spirit might be saved. Since the
Corinthian church was very slack in regard to using
this excommunication in the case of him that had
done that deed, therefore he reproved them with
severe words, as we may read in the second epistle
to the Corinthians, chapters 12 and 13. As he also
wrote to them, that a little leaven leaveneth the
whole lump, therefore he says: “Purge out the
old leaven, that ye may be a new lump.” And thus
Paul used excommunication, and also would have it
used, even as he writes to the Thessalonians, saying:
We command you, brethren, in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from
every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after
the tradition which he received of us. For in this
epistle he had written to the Corinthians, not to
company with fornicators, and since they did not
observe it, or perhaps not well understand it, he
explained it to them more fully, and said: “Yet
not altogether with the fornicators of this world,
or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters;
for then must we needs go out of the world.
But now I have written unto you not to keep company,
if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator,
or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a
drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one no not
to eat.” And thus I confess that such carnal men,
who thus sin against God, are, according to the ordinance
of Christ, with the word of God, as Paul has
explained this thus, to be excommunicated and excluded
from the church, and that we are also not to
company with them, as the apostle says: “If any
man obey not our word, signify that man by an
epistle, and have no company with him, that he
may be ashamed” or think with himself, that for
his presumptuousness and transgression he is delivered
unto Satan (whom he obediently served according
to his will, and also hearkened to for the
sake of sin,) for the destruction of the flesh, which
before the fall lived and desired to live in sin; that
he may be ashamed, may humble himself, repent
truly, and thus die unto sin, and the spirit be saved
in the day of our Lord. For as the word of God
has power to excommunicate the presumptuous
transgressor, so it has also power to teach and to
avoid the excommunicated person, since excommunication
is ineffectual without avoidance. And as
excommunication and avoidance are thoroughly
taught in the Scriptures, I confess both, since also
Paul excommunicated, and also taught, to put away
him that doeth evil, and says: “Keep not company
with them; with such (as he there specifies)
ye shall not eat. Even as he also says concerning
a man that is a heretic: When ye have once or
twice admonished him, reject him, knowing that he
that is such, is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned
of himself. For such cause contention and
offenses, and their words eat as doth a canker;
hence the church is to avoid them, lest she be leavened
or corrupted by them. Matt. 28:20; Luke
24:49; Acts 1:8; 1 Tim. 1:20; 1 Cor. 5; Gal. 5:9;
2 Thess. 3:6,14; Tit. 3:10,11; Rom. 16:17; 1 Timothy
2:17.

Let the reader be informed that Jacob van den
Wege, the writer of the preceding letter, owing to
want of opportunity did not further carry out or
write down the articles of faith, though he was sufficiently
informed in all, and continued therein
steadfastly unto death.





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