The Epistles of Jacob Behmen

19. Since it was impossible for the soul—after its own departure and separation from God, in its excluded condition, nature original: "property"; here meaning the essential characteristics or qualities of the soul, and spirits—to eat of the Divine Word and live in the holy element of love and humility, this same Word of life (being the soul's true Mother) came forth to the abandoned soul. It entered into the valley of misery and the prison of hell, and infused its heavenly essence into our human essence to serve as a body for the soul. ☛ With this, the Word embraced and clothed our poor captive soul and opened its heavenly mouth again with the tincture original: "tincture"; in alchemy and Boehme’s theology, this refers to a spiritualizing or transformative essence of love, which was previously dead in the anger of God. Now, the poor soul can once again eat heavenly Manna. This eating was tested in Christ’s person within the humanity he received from us during the temptation of Christ in the wilderness. There, Adam—acting through Christ—did again eat Manna from Paradise for forty days.

20. Therefore, I say that no one becomes a true Christian through a mere show or a specific form of grace that is simply assigned or "imputed" from the outside. If someone is truly a Christian, his sins are not forgiven simply by someone speaking a word, or by him claiming a specific form or promise of absolution for himself from the outside. A Lord or Prince in this world might freely grant a criminal his life through an external favor, but this accomplishes nothing before God.

21. There is no grace or favor by which we reach adoption ☞ except only in the blood and death of Christ. God has foreordained and appointed him alone to be a throne of grace or a propitiation original: "propitiation"; an offering that turns away anger or brings reconciliation in his own love, which he has infused into him in the Sweet Name Jesus original: "Jesu" out of Jehovah. He is the only sacrifice that God accepts to reconcile his anger.

22. Now, if this sacrifice or free offering of grace is to do me ☞ any good, then it must be worked and brought to pass within me. The Father must beget or impress his Son into the desire of my faith, so that the hunger of my faith may lay hold of and comprehend him. If the hunger of my soul’s faith does comprehend him in his promised Word, then I "put him on" throughout the entire process of justification within my inward ground original: "ground"; the deepest, fundamental center of the human spirit. Immediately, the mortification original: "mortification"; the "killing off" of the sinful nature and destruction of anger, the Devil, Death, and Hell begins and moves forward through the power of Christ’s death in me.

23. For I can do nothing; I am dead to myself, but Christ ☚ does it in me. When he arises in me, then I am dead to my own self in regard to the "true man" the spiritual self, and he is my life. In that I live, I live for him and not for my selfhood original: "selfehood"; the ego or the self-centered will separated from God. Grace mortifies my own will and sets itself up as Lord in the place of my selfness original: "selfenesse", so that I may be an instrument of God, who does with me whatever he pleases.

24. And then I live in two kingdoms: namely original: "Viz.", with my newborn spirit of life, or spiritual man, in Paradise—in the Kingdom of Heaven—