The Belgic Confession

We all believe in our hearts
and confess with our mouths
that there is a single
and simple
spiritual being,
whom we call God—

  eternal,
  incomprehensible,
  invisible,
  unchangeable,
  infinite,
  almighty;

  completely wise,
  just,
  and good,
  and the overflowing source
    of all good.

We know him by two means:

First, by the creation, preservation, and government
of the universe,
since that universe is before our eyes
like a beautiful book
  in which all creatures,
  great and small,
  are as letters
  to make us ponder
  the invisible things of God:
    his eternal power
    and his divinity,
    as the apostle Paul says in Romans 1:20.

  All these things are enough to convict men
  and to leave them without excuse.

Second, he makes himself known to us more openly
by his holy and divine Word,
as much as we need in this life,
  for his glory
  and for the salvation of his own.

We confess that this Word of God
was not sent nor delivered by the will of men,
but that holy men of God spoke,
being moved by the Holy Spirit,
  as Peter says.1

Afterwards our God—
  because of the special care he has
  for us and our salvation—
commanded his servants,
the prophets and apostles,
to commit this revealed Word to writing.
He himself wrote
with his own finger
the two tables of the law.

Therefore we call such writings
holy and divine Scriptures.

We include in the Holy Scripture the two volumes
of the Old and New Testaments.
They are canonical books
with which there can be no quarrel at all.

In the church of God the list is as follows:
In the Old Testament,
  the five books of Moses—
  Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy;
  the books of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth;
  the two books of Samuel, and two of Kings;
  the two books of Chronicles, called Paralipomenon;
  the first book of Ezra; Nehemiah, Esther, Job;
  the Psalms of David;
  the three books of Solomon—
  Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song;
the four major prophets—
  Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel;
and then the other twelve minor prophets—
  Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah,
  Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk,
  Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.

In the New Testament,
  the four gospels—
  Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John;
  the Acts of the Apostles;
  the fourteen letters of Paul—
  to the Romans;
  the two letters to the Corinthians;
  to the Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians;
  the two letters to the Thessalonians;
  the two letters to Timothy;
  to Titus, Philemon, and to the Hebrews;
  the seven letters of the other apostles—
  one of James;
  two of Peter;
  three of John;
  one of Jude;
  and the Revelation of the apostle John.

We receive all these books
and these only
as holy and canonical,
for the regulating, founding, and establishing
of our faith.

And we believe
without a doubt
all things contained in them—
  not so much because the church
  receives and approves them as such
  but above all because the Holy Spirit
  testifies in our hearts
  that they are from God,
  and also because they
  prove themselves
  to be from God.

  For even the blind themselves are able to see
  that the things predicted in them
  do happen.

We distinguish between these holy books
and the apocryphal ones,
  which are the third and fourth books of Esdras;
  the books of Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Jesus Sirach, Baruch;
  what was added to the Story of Esther;
  the Song of the Three Children in the Furnace;
  the Story of Susannah;
  the Story of Bell and the Dragon;
  the Prayer of Manasseh;
  and the two books of Maccabees.

The church may certainly read these books
and learn from them
as far as they agree with the canonical books.
But they do not have such power and virtue
that one could confirm
from their testimony
any point of faith or of the Christian religion.
Much less can they detract
from the authority
of the other holy books.

We believe
that this Holy Scripture contains
the will of God completely
and that everything one must believe
to be saved
is sufficiently taught in it.
For since the entire manner of service
which God requires of us
is described in it at great length,
no one—
  even an apostle
  or an angel from heaven,
  as Paul says—2
ought to teach other than
what the Holy Scriptures have
already taught us.
For since it is forbidden
to add to or subtract from the Word of God,3
this plainly demonstrates
that the teaching is perfect
and complete in all respects.

Therefore we must not consider human writings—
  no matter how holy their authors may have been—
  equal to the divine writings;
  nor may we put custom,
  nor the majority,
  nor age,
  nor the passage of time or persons,
  nor councils, decrees, or official decisions
  above the truth of God,
  for truth is above everything else.

  For all human beings are liars by nature
  and more vain than vanity itself.

  Therefore we reject with all our hearts
  everything that does not agree
  with this infallible rule,
  as we are taught to do by the apostles
  when they say,
  "Test the spirits
  to see if they are of God,"4
  and also,
    "If anyone comes to you
    and does not bring this teaching,
    do not receive him
    into your house."5

In keeping with this truth and Word of God
we believe in one God,
who is one single essence,
in whom there are three persons,
really, truly, and eternally distinct
according to their incommunicable properties—
  namely,
    Father,
    Son,
    and Holy Spirit.
The Father
  is the cause,
  origin,
  and source of all things,
    visible as well as invisible.

The Son
  is the Word,
  the Wisdom,
  and the image
    of the Father.

The Holy Spirit
  is the eternal power
  and might,
    proceeding from the Father and the Son.

Nevertheless,
this distinction does not divide God into three,
  since Scripture teaches us
  that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
  each has his own subsistence
  distinguished by characteristics—
  yet in such a way
  that these three persons are
  only one God.

It is evident then
that the Father is not the Son
and that the Son is not the Father,
and that likewise the Holy Spirit is
neither the Father nor the Son.

Nevertheless,
these persons,
thus distinct,
are neither divided
nor fused or mixed together.

  For the Father did not take on flesh,
  nor did the Spirit,
  but only the Son.
  The Father was never
  without his Son,
  nor without his Holy Spirit,
  since all these are equal from eternity,
  in one and the same essence.

There is neither a first nor a last,
for all three are one
in truth and power,
in goodness and mercy.