Von der Beschaffenheit des Christenthums
The Three Stages of Christian Life
The author introduces a threefold pattern for the Christian life: wanting, becoming, and being.
All good things come in threes. A Christian must study three little words day and night. They are: want, become, and be.1 What do you want? To be a Christian. What will you become? A Christian. What are you? A Christian.
The Difficulty of Spiritual Growth
The author explains the challenges of moving from mere resolution to the reality of spiritual maturity.
Willing belongs to beginners, becoming to those who are growing, and being to the perfect; willing is hard, for a good resolution has many enemies. Becoming is even harder. As you climb a mountain, you often fall back down; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Being is the hardest of all, and no one reaches it in this mortal life. I cannot say, "I am a Christian," for I still feel sin in the flesh (Rom.2 This is against Christ.3 Gladly wanting to be a Christian doesn't do it by itself either.4 How many people would gladly be rich, yet make no effort to get there?
From Wanting to Becoming
True Christian life requires that our desires translate into active growth and transformation.
When wanting turns into becoming, then I praise it. I’d gladly be a good Christian—and I’m becoming one, too: day by day I grow more devout and better, more humble and gentler. But very few people think about becoming. Most deceive themselves and are content with mere wanting.5 "After all, God accepts the will for the deed," they say. Quite right!6 —but only when the will works hard to pass into action and to further the becoming. If I cannot be who I ought to be, I still want, through God's grace, to become who I am meant to become; and if I cannot become who I ought to become, I would still gladly want to become it; and it hurts me that I can't bring it about.7
A Prayer for Obedience
The chapter concludes with a prayer for God to complete the work of willing and doing in the believer.
I know that will please my God, too. After all, it doesn't say: the servant who knows his master's will and does not do it; but rather: the one who knows it and hasn't prepared himself to act accordingly will have to suffer many blows.8 12:47. Ah, Lord, I am ready; I gladly do your will, my God. 40:9. You who have worked the willing, also create in me the doing, according to your good pleasure. 2:13.
Read the original Latin
Aller guten Dinge sind drei.
Auf drei Wörtlein muß ein Christ Tag und Nacht studiren. Sie heißen wollen werden sein. Was willst du? ein Christ sein. Was wirst du? ein Christ. Was bist du? ein Christ.
Das wollen ist der anfangenden, werden der wachsenden, sein der vollkommenen: Wollen ist schwer, denn ein guter Vorsatz hat viel Feinde. Werden noch schwerer. Indem man einen Berg hinan klettert, fällt man oft herab; der Geist ist willig, das Fleisch ist schwach. Sein das allerschwerste, und wird von niemand in dieser Sterblichkeit erreicht. Ich kann nicht sagen: Ich bin ein Christ, denn ich fühle noch im Fleisch die Sünde (Röm. 7) die wider Christum ist. Gern wollen ein Christ sein, thuts auch nicht allein. Wie mancher wollte gern reich sein, und bemüht sich doch nicht drum?
Wann das wollen ins werden geht, so lobe ichs. Ich wollte gern ein guter Christ sein, und werde es auch, ich werde von Tag zu Tag frömmer und besser, demüthiger und sanftmüthiger. Aber die wenigsten denken aufs werden. Die meisten heucheln ihnen selbst und sind zufrieden mit dem wollen. Nimmt doch Gott den Willen für das Werk, sprechen sie. Recht so! aber wenn der Wille sich bemüht ins Werk zu gehn und das werden zu befördern. Kann ich nicht sein, der ich sein sollte, will ich doch durch Gottes Gnade werden, der ich werden soll; kann ich aber nicht werden der ich werden sollte, wollte ichs doch gerne werden; und thut mir weh, daß ichs nicht dazu bringe.
Ich weiß das wird meinem Gott auch gefallen. Es heißt ja nicht: der Knecht, der seines Herrn Willen weiß und thut ihn nicht; sondern der ihn weiß und hat sich nicht bereitet, daß er darnach thäte - wird viel Streiche leiden müssen Luc. 12, 47. Ach HErr ich bin bereit; deinen Willen mein Gott thu ich gern Ps. 40, 9. Der du hast das wollen gewirkt, schaffe auch in mir das thun nach deinem Wolgefallen Phil. 2, 13.
Notes
- 1 ↩German wollen/werden/sein names the three stages of Christian life (desire, growth, identity). Rendered as bare English lemmas to match the source's terse list; next section unpacks them as beginner, growing, and perfect.
- 2 ↩Source sentence is cut mid-citation at '(Röm.'; the reference continues in the next sentence as '7)'.
- 3 ↩Continues the Romans citation begun in s5; 'die' refers to 'die Sünde' (the sin).
- 4 ↩Elliptical Early Modern German: 'thuts' = 'tut es'; mere eager willing is not sufficient alone.
- 5 ↩heucheln ihnen selbst: self-deception / hypocrisy toward oneself; rendered as 'deceive themselves' rather than theatrical hypocrisy toward others.
- 6 ↩Recht so! is concessive agreement that is immediately qualified by s7: the maxim holds only when the will actually strives toward the deed.
- 7 ↩Preserves the chapter's three-tier contrast: sein (be), werden (become), wollen (want). 'soll' / 'sollte' both rendered with obligation ('ought' / 'meant to') without collapsing them into one tense.
- 8 ↩The German draws a contrast (nicht…sondern) between mere knowing-and-not-doing and knowing without preparing oneself to act; this tracks Luther's wording of Luke 12:47, which stresses both failure to prepare and failure to do.
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