By Father John Calvin
Composed in Strasbourg, 1538-1539
Translated by S. Joel Garver

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The First Part
Teacher: My child, are you a Christian in fact as well as in name?
Child: Yes, my father.
Teacher: How is this known to you?
Child: Because I am baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Teacher: What faith and knowledge do you have of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit?
Child: I have that which the principal articles of our religion signify to us, of which we make profession through individual confession.
Teacher: What is this confession?
Child: I believe in God the Father almighty, maker...etc.
Teacher: In how many parts are these articles divided?
Child: In three.
Teacher: What is the first part?
Child: Concerning God the Father.
Teacher: The second?
Child: Concerning God the Son.
Teacher: The third?
Child: Concerning God the Holy Spirit.
Teacher: Recite the first part.
Child: I believe in God the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
Teacher: What do you confess in saying this?
Child: That God is the sovereign and everlasting good, who has created all things, that his power and his action are present in every place.
Teacher: But what benefit do you receive from this faith you have in God?
Child: It teaches me that I must find any consolation only in God, that I must have my hope in him alone, that I must use the creatures that he has created and given to humanity with thanksgiving and in moderation.
Teacher: May the Lord grant you the grace to accomplish this and always take care of your growth in it. Now recite the next part of the Christian confession.
Child: And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; and he descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead and ascended into heaven where he sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he shall come to judge the living and the dead.
Teacher: What do you confess here?
Child: That our Lord Jesus Christ is truly God and truly man and that by his death he delivers me from eternal damnation and that, by his resurrection and ascension to heaven, he assures me of everlasting life. Moreover, his will is that he desires to renew me by restoring my body to me and that he desires to grant me full and whole happiness when the time comes for him to judge the living and the dead.
Teacher: But what does this say for you in the meantime?
Child: I think about the happy rest, which I will enjoy with Christ, awaiting the day he comes.
Teacher: What fruits will be produced in you through this faith?
Child: Those such that I must always regard sin with horror, that I must flee it, that I must claim and win eternal life only by the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that I wholly give myself up as belonging to him who is the King and heavenly prince.
Teacher: What is the third part of this Christian confession?
Child: I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the remission of sins, the resurrection of the dead, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Teacher: What do you confess in saying this?
Child: That the Holy Spirit is he by whom we are regenerated and are placed into the church wherein we acquire pardon of sins and improvement of life and after this life are consoled by the expectation of eternal life.
Teacher: Of what use to you is this faith and profession?
Child: So that I continually request from God the receiving of his Holy Spirit, that I go gladly into the Christian assembly in which I must seek and receive consolation and correction of life, so that therein, with greater certainty, I might await the resurrection and everlasting life.
Teacher: How did you come into this communion of the church?
Child: Through baptism.
Teacher: What is this baptism?
Child: It is the washing of regeneration and cleansing from sin.
Teacher: With what words is baptism administered?
Child: These: “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
Teacher: What is the meaning of these words?
Child: It is this: I wash you so that you would be made sons of God by the command and will of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Teacher: What fruit do you receive from this?
Child: Very great fruit, because it is no small thing if I obtain remission of my sins, if I acquire from Christ my savior a new and everlasting life, if I abstain from every vice, and also if I give myself more and more unto a new and heavenly life.
Teacher: What more is to be found in the church?
Child: The office and administration of the keys.
Teacher: How is this done?
Child: By punishing sinners and reprimanding them by means of a penalty, by expelling those who have no displeasure in their sins and freeing those who have some displeasure by restoring them according to divine mercy.
Teacher: What use is this to you?
Child: That by it I feel I must readily receive the punishment and pains which are ordained for me, that I diligently admonish my neighbor, and that I hold the discipline of the church in high esteem, attending to it readily for my own benefit.
Teacher: Is there more to be found in the church?
Child: Yes, there is the observance of the Lord’s Supper.
Teacher: What is the Lord’s Supper?
Child: It is the true communion of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which are represented to us by the bread and chalice of the Lord.
Teacher: Who are those who must make use of this sacrament?
Child: All those who place their hope in Christ and desire to be his disciples.
Teacher: Do you judge that through this there is any improvement of life?
Child: Yes, and not without cause do I esteem this to be a great thing due to that from which we have been freed through Christ our Lord, to whom we are conjoined and from whose body we take food and growth, all of which I am made certain by this sacrament; in the observance of it his life is poured into me and mine is put in his, and not only do I know this but also I feel the increase of this good in me.
Teacher: What is this life?
Child: It is the truly holy and divine life conjoined with every good deed and a joyful waiting for the future to come.
Teacher: May our Lord grant you these things and take care of your growth in Christ, the defender of our freedom. Amen.
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The Second Part
Teacher: My child, do you know then that prayer is necessary?
Child: Yes.
Teacher: What is prayer?
Child: It is to invoke God with a very great affection in order to obtain aid and pardon of sin.
Teacher: You speak well: but in what manner do you pray?
Child: In the way that we are instructed by our Lord Jesus.
Teacher: Recite this.
Child: Our Father who is in heaven
Hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and glory are yours
Unto ages of ages.
Amen.
Teacher: Why do you call God your “Father in heaven”?
Child: In order that my mind might be more at rest and have fatherly and heavenly assistance.
Teacher: Why do you pray to God?
Child: In order that he might gives us everything that is good and necessary for us and that he might deliver us from all misery and laziness.
Teacher: What good things do you request first?
Child: The heavenly good.
Teacher: What is that?
Child: It is in the love and knowledge of the heavenly Father.
Teacher: And what words do you use to make this request?
Child: Hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Teacher: By what means is the name of God hallowed with regard to humankind?
Child: By the knowledge of God which the Gospel gives us and also by speech which is conjoined with faith and constancy.
Teacher: You have spoken well, for in this is the first fruit of the Gospel. But how does the kingdom of God come to us?
Child: It comes to us when we obey the Gospel and God governs us in the assembly of the faithful by his Word and Spirit.
Teacher: This is so, because the church of Christ is the kingdom of God. But how is it that his will is done on earth as it is in heaven?
Child: When we readily do what he commands and peacefully endure whatever he sends to us.
Teacher: And so by this you learn your need for busying your life all the time in this way. And in so doing you must be spurred on within the church of Christ in order to arrive at perfection. But what more do you request?
Child: Those things which are necessary for us in this present life.
Teacher: By what words?
Child: Give us this day our daily bread.
Teacher: But why do you say “bread,” why “daily,” and why “this day”?
Child: So that I desire nothing except what is necessary for me, that I abstain from all that is not necessary, and that I await what is necessary for me only from God.
Teacher: You have spoken very well. Although his kindness gives us all things, many people still seem to find great trouble in them. What do you request even further?
Child: That he may grant me remission of my sins.
Teacher: By what words?
Child: By these: And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
Teacher: Why do you say, “As we forgive”?
Child: In as much as it is fitting for us really to have forgiven all men when we have requested from God that he be merciful to us.
Teacher: What do you request further?
Child: That our Lord not allow us to be led by the adversary into any despair or other sin.
Teacher: How do you pray this?
Child: And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
Teacher: What do you pray last?
Child: For the kingdom, the power, and glory are yours
Unto ages of ages.
Teacher: What is meant by this saying?
Child: By this saying, I give praise to God, thereby ascribing all dominion and power to him in the hope that he will grant our prayer.
Teacher: How do you conclude?
Child: That these things are true and certain.
Teacher: They will be true and certain, if you hope in them.
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The Third Part
Teacher: Do you know the ten precepts of the Law?
Child: Yes.
Teacher: Recite them.
Child: I am the Lord your God...etc.
Teacher: What is the meaning of this saying: “I am the Lord your God...etc.”?
Child: It tells us that in all things we have the true God as our God and as the author of our salvation and that we await all aid from him.
Teacher: Why does it prohibit having other gods and why does it remove the images, which one has a habit to adore?
Child: Because our nature is depraved and does not wait to be touched by God’s aid and consolation, but in another place and way tries to please God through external things and signs, thus leaving the true faith that one is obligated to place in God.
Teacher: You speak well and for this reason one principally defends these two things: for by the abolition of all gods one also takes away the false worship and service of these gods. For this means that you place in front of your eyes this true God and adore only him in all places with a true and honest spirit. But what says it next?
Child: You shall not swear falsely by the name of the Lord your God.
Teacher: What does this require?
Child: That I put myself in the habit of regarding perjury with horror as well as anything else by which the name of God is dishonored. And on the contrary that I endeavor to serve his holy name by all means in which I am able.
Teacher: This is well said. Moreover, you ought to guard yourself in all things so that you do not speak badly, that you do not speak lightly in matters concerning God and holy things, but in all things praise your God, the author of your salvation. Continue the remainder.
Child: Hold in memory the Sabbath day, so that it is sacred to you.
Teacher: What does this command you to do?
Child: It commands that we should settle into the congregation of Christians and there join ourselves together with all diligence in his Word and sacraments.
Teacher: Devote yourself to this day and remember the Sabbath. Continue to the next.
Child: You shall hold your father and mother in honor and reverence.
Teacher: How much does this commandment expect?
Child: That I honor and serve and obey my parents, as well as the magistrate, my teachers, and all those to whom I am subject.
Teacher: Practice this and you will learn to live well and God will give you a longer and tranquil life. What does it say next?
Child: Commandments of love toward those who are our neighbors.
Teacher: What are they?
Child: You shall not commit murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bring false testimony against your neighbor.
Teacher: What is prohibited in these commandments of the Lord?
Child: They command us not to bring any damage against anyone in thought, in word, in deed, or in neglect of what is pleasing and that I do not bring injury to his body, to his wife, to her child, to her goods, or to their good reputation.
Teacher: By what saying is it prohibited to bring bodily injury?
Child: By this one: You shall not commit murder.
Teacher: By which is it prohibited to injure someone’s wife and child?
Child: You shall not commit adultery.
Teacher: And which prohibits harm to the reputation and estimation of another?
Child: In saying: You shall not bring false testimony against your neighbor.
Teacher: So, if you do not offend your neighbor in anything, neither in his wife, in her child, in his property, or in his reputation, do think you have kept all of these commandments here?
Child: No, but I must also assist him in deed and in counsel as if his were my own affairs.
Teacher: It is so. Through this you love others as yourself. What other command does the Lord add?
Child: You shall not covet the house of your neighbor.
Teacher: What is the meaning of this saying?
Child: That we might not be touched by any desire or thought of evil.
Teacher: Indeed, if you love God in everything and your neighbor as yourself, no desire or thought of evil will overtake you. But are you able to arrive at such great perfection in this present life?
Child: Our nature is corrupt and is without any good, but remission of sin and any righteousness come from Christ.
Teacher: Therefore, make sure all you have is only engaged in him and remains in him who removes from you the condemnation of the Law which you are never able to satisfy. And so take care that your desire and affection towards his Law be enflamed. In all these things take care to give our Lord Jesus Christ every honor and glory. Amen.
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