Commission

—armed with power and strength, nor gifted with cleverness and great reason, nor clothed with honor, dignity, and prestige, nor provided with wealth original: "Reichthumb"; yet chosen by God so that He might set up His tabernacle original: "Hütte"; a reference to the dwelling place of God among humans, as in the biblical Tabernacle or "tent" of meeting. within them, and entrust to them His power, His Holy Spirit, His divine essenceWesenheit; in Böhme’s theology, this refers to the actual spiritual substance or "being-ness" of God that manifests within the soul., His light, His wisdom—yes, even His mysteries—and lay His heart into their hearts, so that they may preserve it, and thereby also be preserved and proven.

It is not necessary to prove this at great length, since the whole of Holy Scripture—with its histories, deeds, and words—testifies enough as to where and in what kind of vessels God is accustomed to placing His treasures: namely, the Word into the flesh, Christ into the cattle stall, the little pearl into the field, the Kingdom of God into the little children, and the mysteries original: "Geheimnußse" into the simple apostles, who could either not read and write at all, or only barely. Concerning this, Christ Himself thanks His Heavenly Father, and His chosen instrument original: "Rüstzeug"; literally "tool" or "equipment," a common term for Paul as the "chosen vessel." Paul chimes in from his own experience when he says: Not many wise according to the flesh, not many powerful, not many noble are called, but what is foolish and