The Incarnation of Jesus Christ

By Jacob Boehme

1. My dear, seeking, eager mind, that hungers and thirsts for God's kingdom, do give heed to the ground of what is shown you!! It is indeed not so easy a matter to become a child of God as Babel teaches. There consciences are led into histories, they are flattered with Christ's sufferings and death; there the forgiveness of sins is taught historically as in a worldly court of law, there guilt is remitted through favor, though a man remain a hypocrite at heart. Here it is altogether different; God will have no hypocrites. He does not thus take our sins from us while we cling only to science and comfort ourselves with the sufferings of Christ, but in our conscience remain in the abominations. Scripture says: "You must be born again or you will not see the kingdom of God." A man who should flatter himself with Christ's sufferings and death, and appropriate that to himself, but with his will should remain unregenerate in the Adamic man, is like one who comforts himself that his master will bestow his land on him though he be not his son, and though the master have promised to bestow it on the son alone. Thus it is here also - if you will possess your master's land and have it for your own - you must become his true son, for "the son of the maidservant shall not inherit with the son of the free woman." The son of History is a stranger; you must be born of God in Christ that you may become a true son; then you wilt be God's child and an heir to the suffering and death of Christ. Christ's death is your death, his resurrection from the grave is your resurrection, his ascension your ascension, and his eternal kingdom your kingdom. In that you are born a true son of his Flesh and Blood, you are an heir to all his goods. You can not otherwise be the child and heir of Christ.

2. So long as the earthly kingdom remains in your image, you are the earthly son of the corrupt Adam. No dissembling avails. Give fair words before God as you will, you are none-the-less an alien child, and God's goods are not your due until you return with the prodigal son to the father in right true contrition and repentance for your lost heritage. Then you must with your will-spirit go out from this earthly life and break the earthly will; (it hurts to forsake with the mind and will-spirit the treasure once possessed, in which the will-spirit was generated), and you must enter into God's will-spirit. There you will sow your seed in God's kingdom and will be born again in God as a fruit which grows in God's field, for your will receives God's power, Christ's body and the new body in God will grow on you. Then are you God's child and Christ's goods belong to you. His merit is your merit, his suffering, death and resurrection, all are yours, you are a member of his body, his Spirit is your spirit, he will lead you in the right way and all you do, you do to God. You sow in this world and reap in God's heaven; you are God's wonder-work and you reveal his wonders in the earthly life and draw them with your will-spirit into the holy mysterium.

3. Mark this therefore, you covetous, proud, envious, false judges - you wicked men who bring your will and desire into earthly goods, money and possessions, into the sweets of this life and account money and possessions your treasure and set your desire therein, though you want nonetheless to be God's children. You stand and dissemble before God that he may forgive you your sins, but with your image you remain in Adam's skin, in Adam's flesh, you comfort yourselves thus with Christ's suffering and are but dissemblers. You are not God's children, you must be born in God if you will be children, else you deceive yourselves together with your hypocrites who paint deceptive pictures before you. They teach, but are not known of God, nor sent to teach. They do so for the belly's sake and for worldly honor, and they are the great whore in Babel who dissemble to God with their lips, but with their heart and will-spirit serve the dragon in Babel.

4. Dear soul, if you would become God's child, prepare for temptation and tribulation. It is not easy and pleasant to enter into the child-life, especially when reason lies imprisoned in the earthly kingdom. The reason must be broken, and the will go forth from the reason and sow itself in humble obedience in God's kingdom, as a grain is sown in the field. The will must make itself as it were dead in reason and give itself up to God; thus the new fruit grows in God's kingdom.

5. Man therefore stands in a threefold life and all belongs to God; the inner fiery essences of the first principle are incorporated with the new body in Christ, so that they may out of God's will flow into Christ's flesh and blood. Their fire is God's fire out of which burn love, gentleness and meekness, whence goes forth the Holy Spirit and helps them sustain the battle against earthly reason as also against the corrupt flesh and the devil's will. Man's yoke of the earthly will becomes easier to him, but he must in this world remain in the strife. For to the earthly life belongs sustenance; this man must seek though he may not set his will and heart upon it and cleave to it - he must trust in God. His earthly reason continually falls into doubt that he may suffer lack; it desires continually to see God and yet cannot, for God dwells not in the earthly kingdom but in himself.

6. Therefore reason, because it cannot see God, must be driven into hope; and there doubt runs counter against faith and would destroy hope. Then the earnest will must fight with the true image against the earthly reason. That is painful and it often goes sadly, especially when reason considers the course of this world, and recognizes its will-spirit as foolish in respect of the course of this world. Then scripture says: Be sober, watch, fast and pray that you may benumb the earthly reason, and make it as it were dead that God's spirit may find place in you. When it appears it soon overcomes the earthly reason and looks with its love and sweetness at the will in its anguish, and each time a fair little branch is then generated out of the tree of faith. All tribulation and temptation serve God's children for the best. For whenever God ordains for his children that they be brought into anguish and tribulation, they stand each time in the birth of a new branch out of the tree of faith. When the Spirit of God appears again it draws up each time a new growth whereat the noble image greatly rejoices. It is only a question of the first serious onslaught when the earthly tree must be overcome and the noble grain sown in God's field, so that man may learn to know the earthly man. For when the will receives God's light the mirror sees itself in itself, one essence sees the other in the light. Thus the whole man finds himself in himself, and knows what he is, which he cannot know in the earthly reason.

7. Therefore let no one think that the tree of Christian faith may be seen or known in the kingdom of this world. The outer reason knows it not, and although the fair tree stands already in the inner man, although the outer, earthly reason still doubts, for the Spirit of God is to it as foolishness, which it cannot grasp. Although it may happen that the Holy Spirit reveal himself in the outer mirror, so that the outer life greatly rejoices therein and becomes trembling for great joy and thinks: "Now I have won the worthy guest, now I will believe it", yet there is no perfect continuance therein, for the Spirit of God does not remain ever more in the earthly source. He will have a pure vessel, and when he withdraws into his principle, namely the true image, the outer life becomes despondent and timorous. Therefore the noble image must always be in strife against the outer reason-life, and the more it strives, the greater grows that fair tree, for the image cooperates with God. For just as an earthly tree grows in wind, rain, cold and heat, so also the tree of God's image amid suffering and tribulation, in anguish and pain, in scorn and contempt, and buds forth in God's kingdom and brings forth fruit in patience.

8. Seeing then we know this we should apply ourselves thereto, and not let ourselves be held back by any fear or terror, for we shall indeed enjoy and reap to all eternity what we have sown here in anguish and hardship, so that we have comfort eternally.