John Tauler · 107 of 121

The third way of a poor, perfect life, when you contemplate God internally, is, that a man do not fly from what may kill him in spiritual things. · 94.

This divine birth in the soul is, however, twofold, an internal and external. It is the internal, when the soul embraced by the divine light penetrateth into the divine heart, its heart and all its powers become a nutriment of the divine heart, so that it loseth at once its heart and its powers, and hath nothing more of them. But in return God giveth to the soul His heart and His powers, and the heart of the soul now is a godlike heart, and no more a human heart. Thus the heart liveth always in an ardour of the divine fire, is penetrated by it, so that it becometh faint through love, for human power faileth, so that all the members fall into weakness. And must needs be that this come to pass, for where the divine power shall work human power must become lost, as this is only inclined to error and sin. If this defective power is no more at hand God can pour out His power into the soul without hindrance. Therefore God sendeth the fire of His love into the heart that all evil may be consumed, all disorderly powers may be ordered, all defects may be healed, and an unlikeness removed. Then all things lose their proper form, and are transformed into godlike forms, as also Jesus said, “Behold I make all things new.” This taketh place also when God dwelleth in the soul, for thus He ordereth everything as He will have it, and maketh new that which is old. Therefore St. Paul admonisheth us, “Put off the old man and put on the new man, which is shapen after God, in holiness, justice, and truth.” This old man is put off and a new man put on when God the Father begetteth His Son in the soul. By this birth He reneweth all that was fallen, and all cometh back again to its first nobility. Thus, then, man is created after God in holiness, justice, and truth, and is called a new man. Christ saith also, “If ye do not become as little children ye cannot enter the kingdom of God;” that is, unless a man be born again as a child of God he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. And as he is newly born internally so it cometh to pass also outwardly; the external man is transformed, so that he is deiform, or like in form unto God. As he had before offered hie members instruments of luxury, so now he devoteth them to the service of God in holiness and justice. As everything is new inwardly so it becometh also outwardly; as this divine fire inflameth the heart and consumeth inwardly all unlikeness, ordaining the powers for the best, so also the divine fire passeth over to the body, consumeth all sinful leaning, driveth it on to virtue and to all good works, and thus it arriveth at its original justice; he is called a new man who is created in righteousness after the likeness of God.