Nicolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf

Introduction

Zinzendorf was born on May 26, 1700. According to his mother’s account:

The Zinzendorfs were of Austrian nobility. Count Zinzendorf’s father, a high Saxon official, died when Zinzendorf was an infant of only six weeks. In his early years, he was put under the care of his maternal grandmother and later his aunt. His grandmother raised him from early boyhood and was a very strong influence in his life. She read the Scriptures in Hebrew as well as in Greek. She was a strong supporter of the Pietist cause and often invited the Pietists into her home, including Spener and Francke, leaders of the Pietist movement.

Conversion

At six years of age, Zinzendorf was moved by the Lord to consecrate himself. He wrote:

"During my stay with my revered grandmother two circumstances occurred which decided my whole career. When I was six years old, my [tutor], Herr Christian Ludwig Edeling, after a service [in the family] of three years, took leave of me. In doing so he spoke a few words to me about the Savior and His merits; and in what sense I belonged to Him and to Him only. These words made so deep and lively an impression on me that I fell into a long [series] of tears, during which I firmly resolved to live for Him alone, who had laid down His life for me. My very dear Aunt Henrietta endeavored to keep me in this frame of mind by often speaking to me loving and evangelical words. I opened all my heart to [her], and we then spread my case before the Lord in prayer…. I freely told her all about myself, both bad and good. My open and candid [fellowship] with her was of so great benefit to me that I could never forget it. This confidential interchange of thought and feeling prompted all my endeavors in later years to establish bands or societies for mutual conference and edification."

"It was my happiness,"says he,"early to experience a heartfelt impression of the Saviour: after this, all my wishes and desires were directed towards the Bridegroom of my soul, that I might live unto him who atoned for me. The Saviour fulfilled my wish, when I began to love him, though but a child. I heard his voice repeatedly in my heart, and saw him with the eyes of faith." In an address, given at Geneva, he says, "My little children, I will tell you how I acted, when I was still very little ; and, if you like it, you can do so likewise."

I was told concerning my Creator, that he became a man. This affected me deeply. I thought within myself, "Though the Lord should be esteemed by no one else, yet will I cleave to him, and live and die with him." In this manner I filially conversed with him for many years, spoke for hours together to him, like one friend to another, and many times paced up and down the room absorbed in meditation. I felt happy in conversing with him, and grateful for his having remembered me for good in his incarnation. But I did not wholly understand the greatness and sufficiency of his meritorious sufferings nor was my own wretchedness and inability sufficiently obvious to me. I did also what I could in order to be saved, until one extraordinary day, when I was so much affected by that which my Creator had suffered for me, that I shed an abundance of tears, and attached and joined myself still more closely and tenderly to him. I continued to converse with him when I was quite alone, and believed sincerely that he was very near me.

I was well acquainted with many texts, which expressed truths of this nature. I also thought, 'He is God, and can understand me, although I may not be able properly to explain myself. He is conscious of what I wish to say to him,' I often thought, that if he only heard me once, it would suffice to make me happy during my whole life. Thus, for more than fifty years, I have conversed as it were personally with the Saviour, and feel happier every day in doing so."

He elsewhere relates, that, in his seventh and eighth years, he was strongly assailed by inward temptations, which urged him to earnest prayer and humble converse with God. These were occasionally so violent as to disturb his repose; but he always turned away from them with disgust, for his heart loved the Saviour. Although the precise nature of these temptations is not known, yet the experience of them in his youth taught him, by divine grace, the best means of resisting similar attacks. A heart filled with love to Jesus Christ, depending upon the divine word, and taking refuge with Christ, when falling into temptation, shall never be put to shame.

Ecce Homo

The Ecce Homo by Domenico FetiDuring his Grand Tour (a rite of passage for young aristocrats) Nicolas visited an art museum in Dusseldorf where he saw a Domenico Feti painting titled Ecce Homo, "Behold the Man" It portrayed the crucified Christ with the legend, "This have I done for you - Now what will you do for me?" The young count as profoundly moved and appears to have had an almost mystical experience while looking at the painting, feeling as if Christ himself was speaking those words to his heart. He vowed that day to dedicate his life to service to Christ.

Sometimes when he had pen, ink, and paper before him, he wrote a little note to his beloved Saviour, told him in it how his heart felt towards him, and threw it out of the window, in the hopes that he would find it. His covenant with the Saviour was, "Be thou mine, dear Saviour, and I will be thine!" and this he often renewed. During the whole of his life, every place in the mansion at Hennersdorf, where the Lord in his loving-kindness had made himself known to him, and let him taste his goodness, continued always dear to him; and even in his sixtieth year, he was able minutely to remember all that he had there experienced.

If he went to church when the sacrament was to be administered, his thoughts were entirely directed to it; and he always felt a reverence for those whom he had seen approaching the table of the Lord; since he firmly believed, that by partaking of the body and blood of Jesus, such individuals became united with God himself. He was also very attentive to the prayers which were read after the sermon, and knew them so well as to be able to repeat them at home. He was as fond of speaking as of hearing of his dear Saviour; and when he was alone, or left to himself, he even spoke of him to the chairs, which in his playfulness he had collected together: with that of which his heart was full, his lips overflowed.

Nothing was more gratifying to him than to do any one a kindness. The money which was given him for the first time, in his sixth year, perhaps by way of putting him to the test, he gave to the first person who came in his way. This peculiar fondness of doing good to others continued with him all his life, and it pained him deeply if unable to help others in their necessities. Nothing was of value to him, when he thought another needed it more than himself; and when he did good to any one, it was done in such a pleasing manner, as to render it still more welcome and agreeable. The smallest service rendered him at an appropriate time, made an abiding impression upon him; and when opportunity presented itself of showing his gratitude, he knew no bounds. He took such delight in doing good, that his beneficence often exceeded his ability. Far from being expensive with reference to himself, he felt impelled to restrict himself, in order to give the more bountifully to others. In short, from his very childhood, his soul was full of love and compassion towards every one, however mean; and he was passionately attached to those who gave themselves much trouble about him.

Birth and Early Years

Count Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf was born in Dresden on 26 May 1700. He was the son of a Saxon minister of state of Austrian noble descent. His early upbringing was closely supervised by his aristocratic maternal grandmother, Henrietta von Gersdorf, a devout Pietist and friend of a major Pietist theologian, Philip Jacob Spener. As early as at age four, Zinzendorf had a remarkable grasp of Christian teaching. At age six, he made the firm decision to live for Christ alone. As John R. Weinlick points out, the union of piety and nobility were the main features of Zinzendorf's character and the main key in his career. "His name carried prestige and gained him entry where his zeal drove him."

Zinzendorf's schooling at Francke's Paedagogium in Halle (1710-16) confirmed his determination to follow Jesus Christ and at the same time provided opportunities for Christian initiative. At Halle with other schoolchildren, he formed the Order of the Grain of Mustard Seed, which was a kind of spiritual knighthood. All members vowed to love their Savior in word and deed and to labor for the salvation and fellowship of all men. After the graduation from Halle, being pressured by his family, Zinzendorf went to Wittenberg to study law and to prepare himself for a diplomatic career. It was at Wittenberg that Zinzendorf discovered that Pietists and orthodox Lutherans shared a common ground. "This became the fundamental conception in Zinzendorf's world-view of religion; it was to possess him all his life and drive on to his life's task of 'reuniting the Christianities.'"

A Revelation

Ecce Homo by Domenico FetiDuring his Grand Tour (a rite of passage for young aristocrats) Nicolas visited an art museum in Dusseldorf where he saw a Domenico Feti painting titled Ecce Homo, "Behold the Man" It portrayed the crucified Christ with the legend, "This have I done for you - Now what will you do for me?" The young count as profoundly moved and appears to have had an almost mystical experience while looking at the painting, feeling as if Christ himself was speaking those words to his heart. He vowed that day to dedicate his life to service to Christ.

Establishment of Herrnhut

After his return to Dresden in 1721, Zinzendorf took up a post in the Saxon court, and a year later, he married Erdmuthe Dorothea von Reuss, who shared her husband's passion for the Lord. His government service was short-lived; having inherited part of his grandmother's estate of Berthelsdorf, he became increasingly engrossed in the affairs of his tenants. They were refugees from Bohemia and Moravia, remnants of the persecuted Church Unitas Fratrum. New settlement was named Herrnhut ("Under the Lords Watch") with the hope to grow into the community that will be "on the watch for the Lord." The name proved to be prophetic. A few years later, a twenty-four hour prayer watch was established and it continued without a stop more than one hundred years. At Herrnhut, the old Unitas Fratrum was renewed into Moravian Church.

Herrnhut became a haven for persecuted Christians from different denominations. Under the leadership of Zinzendorf, the community managed to overcome discord and theological differences. In August 13, 1727 congregation at Herrnhut experienced its own Pentecost. This authentic experience not only intensified the sense of unity among the Herrnhuters, but also became a cornerstone for launching out of foreign missions.

First Missionaries

Zinzendorf monument in Herrnhut, Germany In 1731, while attending the coronation of Christian VI in Copenhagen, the young Count met a converted slave from the West Indies, Anthony Ulrich. Anthony's tale of his people's plight moved Zinzendorf, who brought him back to Herrnhut. As a result, two young men, Leonard Dober and David Nitchmann, were sent to St. Thomas to live among the slaves and preach the Gospel. This was the first organized Protestant mission work, and grew rapidly to Africa, America, Russia, and other parts of the world. By the end of Zinzendorf's life there were active missions from Greenland to South Africa, literally from one end of the earth to the other. Though the Baptist missionary Wliam Carey is often refered to as the "Father of Modern Missions," he himself would credit Zinzendorf with that role, for he often refered to the model of the earlier Moravians in his journal.

Zinzendorf came to know John and Charles Wesley, who had been converted through their contact with the Moravians. Here is an excerpt of John Wesley's own account of his salvation - "About a quarter before nine, while the leader was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death." This experience is identified as a turning point in his spiritual growth, a time in which the faith he preached so boldly became real for him.

Zinzendorf himself visited St. Thomas and later visited America. There he sought to unify the German Protestants of Pennsylvania, even proposing a sort of "council of churches" where all would preserve their unique denominational practices, but would work in cooperation rather than competition. He founded the town of Bethlehem, where his daughter Benigna organized the school which would become Moravian College. His overwhelming interest in the colonies involved evangelising the native Americans, and he travelled into the wilderness with Indian agent Conrad Weiser to meet with the chieftains of several tribes and clans. As far as we have been able to identify, he is the only European noble to have gone out to meet the native American leaders in this manner.

His strategy and large vision kept the pulse of the missions beating. Zinzendorf was like a general, who sent his warriors into the battlefield and kept them there by his vigilant prayers and his constant encouragement. There were days when as many as 150 letters lay on his desk awaiting a speedy reply. On the other hand, Zinzendorf was not only organizer of this whole endeavor but also an active warrior himself. He was a rich noble, but he made long itineraries on foot, traveling and living with no special favors for himself. After his banishment in 1736, he roamed not only all over the Europe, but also across America. Zinzendorf, like many of his Moravian brothers, knew what it meant to suffer for the Lord. On his way to St. Petersburg, where he intended to persuade Empress Elizabeth to recall the banishment against Moravians in Livonia, Zinzendorf was arrested and imprisoned in Riga and spent their 20 days. There is no wonder why missionaries loved him as their father and called him "Papa." He was indeed. His wife bore him twelve children, from whom only three outlived their parents. Count Zinzendorf died on May 9, 1760, with some of his last words being, "I only asked for first-fruits among the heathen, and thousands have been given me . . . I am ready."