Reflections on Esaias Stiefel's Booklet: On the Threefold State of Man and His New Birth

flesh and bones. For God gave Adam a name and called him Man; He called Adam Man. The highest tongue understands this quite well in the language of nature, that the name Adam originates from the second principle, as from the kingdom of God, out of divine essence, and the name Man from the limo earth/clay from which the outer body was created.

81. For every thing receives its right name from its essence, according to its spirit. Just as the highly precious name Jesus Christ gives us a twofold understanding: as in the name Jesus, in the highest tongue, is understood the movement of the divine center, as an outgoing desire, the lowliness in humility, leading up in the outgoing kingdom of joy, in the majesty.

82. And in the name Christ, is understood an entering of love into wrath, a breaking or killing of the grimmess, and a whole transmutation transformation, with the leading out of the kingdom of joy. In which we then understand that God has Himself resisted His own wrath, as the first principle, with the second, as with His love, and has Himself broken the grim death. Which only the soul-spirit understands when it reaches the heavenly mysterium.

83. Therefore, we should watch closely and not misuse the highly precious name of God and call only him a Christian who is a Christian, as the inner man from Christ. The outer sinful man rightly keeps the name from his mother, in which he lives, because God gave Adam an outer name according to the outer man, and the inner also according to the inner man. How then do we wish to travel higher than we are in the foundation?

84. Now, if the author says of himself: I, the living word of God in these my holy flesh and bones, say this or do this; then the precious name of God is misused. For when the spirit of man is chosen as the prophet and mouth of God, he only says: Thus says the Lord, as all the prophets have spoken. He does not do it out of himself, out of his flesh and bones, but the Lord reveals His will through him; he is only a tool for it.

85. He is not the Lord in flesh and bones, but a fruitful, humble little branch in the life of Christ, who himself wills nor does nothing, also desires nothing, than his mother’s