§ 55. The Second Helvetic Confession, A.D. 1566 (part 1 of 2)

Literature

Confessio Helvetica Posterior. The Latin text, Zurich, 1566, 1568, 1608, 1651, etc.; recent editions by J. P. Kindler, with Preface of Winer, Sulzbach, 1825; by Fritzsche, Turici, 1839; and by Ed. Böhl, Vienna, 1866: also in the Collections of Corpus et Syntag. Confess., Oxford Sylloge, Augusti, and Niemeyer. The German text appeared frequently—Zurich, 1566; Basle, 1654; Berne, 1676, etc., and in the Collections of Beck, Mess, and Böckel. French ed. Geneva, 1566, etc. English translations in Hall's Harmony of Protestant Confessions (not complete); another by Owen Jones: The Church of the Living God; also the Swiss and Belgian Confessions and Expositions of the Faith, translated into the English language in 1862. London (Caryl Book Society), 1865 (complete, but inaccurate), and a third by Prof. Jerem. H. Good (of Tiffin, O.) in Bomberger's Reformed Church Monthly (Ursinus College, Pa.), for Sept. 1872, to Dec. 1873 (good, but made from the German translation).

Joh. Jak. Hottinger: Helvetische Kirchengeschichte, Zurich, 1708, Part III. pp. 894 sqq.

Hagenbach: Kritische Geschichte der Entstehung und Schicksale der ersten Basler Confession. Basel, 1827 (1828), pp. 85 sqq.

Niemeyer: Collect., Prolegomena, pp. lxiii.-lxviii.

L. Thomas: La Confession Helvétique, études historico-dogmatiques sur le xvi^e. siècle. Genève, 1853.

K. Sudhoff: Art. Helvetische Confession, in Herzog's Theol. Encyklop. 2d ed. Vol. V. pp. 749-755.

Carl Pestalozzi: Heinrich Bullinger. Leben und ausgewählte Schriften. Nach handschriftlichen und gleichzeitigen Quellen. Elberfeld, 1858 (5th Part of Väter und Begründer der reform. Kirche), pp. 413-421.

Before we proceed to the Calvinistic Confessions, we anticipate the Second Helvetic Confession, the last and the best of the Zwinglian family.

BULLINGER.

It is the work of Henry Bullinger (1504-1575), the pupil, friend, and successor of Zwingli, to whom he stands related as Beza does to Calvin. He was a learned, pious, wise, and faithful man, and the central figure in the second period of the Reformation in German Switzerland. Born at Bremgarten, in Aargau,⁷⁶⁴ educated in Holland and Cologne, where he studied patristic and scholastic theology, and read with great interest the writings of Luther and the Loci of Melanchthon, he became on his return intimately acquainted with Zwingli, accompanied him to the Conference at Berne (1528), and after laboring for some years at Cappel and Bremgarten, he was chosen his successor as chief pastor (Antistes) at Zurich, Dec. 9, 1531. This was shortly after the catastrophe at Cappel, in the darkest period of the Swiss Reformation.

Bullinger proved to be the right man in the right place. He raised the desponding spirits, preserved and completed the work of his predecessor, and exerted, by his example and writings, a commanding influence throughout the Reformed Church inferior only to that of Calvin. He was in friendly correspondence with Calvin, Bucer, Melanchthon, Laski, Beza, Cranmer, Hooper,⁷⁶⁵ Lady Jane Grey,⁷⁶⁶ and the leading Protestant divines and dignitaries of England. Some of them had found an hospitable refuge in his house and with his friends during the bloody reign of Mary (1553-58), and after their return, when raised to bishoprics and other positions of influence under Queen Elizabeth, they asked his counsel, and kept him informed about the progress of reform in their country. This correspondence is an interesting testimony not only to his personal worth, but also to the fraternal communion which then existed between the Anglican and the Swiss Reformed Churches.⁷⁶⁷ Episcopacy was then not yet deemed the only valid form of the Christian ministry. He opened his house also to Italian Protestants, and treated even the elder Sozino, who died at Zurich, with great kindness and liberality, endeavoring to restrain his heretical tendency. In the latter years of his life he was severely tried by the death of his best friends (Bibliander, Froschauer, Peter Martyr, Pellican, Gessner, Blaarer, Calvin, Hyperius), and by a fearful pestilence which deprived him of his beloved wife and three daughters, and brought him to the brink of the grave. He bore all with Christian resignation, recovered from disease, and continued faithfully to labor for several years longer, until he was called to his reward, after taking affectionate farewell of all the pastors and professors of Zurich, thanking them for their devotion, assuring them of his love, and giving each one of them the hand with his blessing. He assumed the care of the Church of Zurich when it was in a dangerous crisis; he left it firmly and safely established.

COMPOSITION.

Bullinger was one of the principal authors of the First Helvetic Confession, and the sole author of the Second. In the intervening thirty years Calvin had developed his amazing energy, while Romanism had formularized its dogmas in the Council of Trent.

Bullinger composed the Second Helvetic Confession in 1562, in latin, for his own use, as an abiding testimony of the faith in which he had lived and in which he wished to die. He showed it to Peter Martyr, who fully consented to it, shortly before his death (Nov. 12, 1562). Two years afterwards lie elaborated it more fully during the raging of the pestilence, and added it to his will, which was to be delivered to the magistrate of Zurich after his death, which he then expected every day.⁷⁶⁸

PUBLICATION.

But events in Germany gave it a public character. The pious Elector of the Palatinate, Frederick III., being threatened by the Lutherans with exclusion from the treaty of peace on account of his secession to the Reformed Church and publication of the Heidelberg Catechism (1563), requested Bullinger (1565) to prepare a clear and full exposition of the Reformed faith, that he might answer the charges of heresy and dissension so constantly brought against the same. Bullinger sent him a manuscript copy of his Confession. The Elector was so much pleased with it that he desired to have it translated and published in Latin and German before the meeting of the Imperial Diet, which was to assemble at Augsburg in 1566, to act on his alleged apostasy.

In the mean time the Swiss felt the need of such a Confession as a closer bond of union. The First Helvetic Confession was deemed too short, and the Zurich Confession of 1545, the Zurich Consensus of 1549, and the Geneva Consensus of 1552 touched only the articles of the Lord's Supper and predestination. Conferences were held, and Beza came in person to Zurich to take part in the work. Bullinger freely consented to a few changes, and prepared also the German version. Geneva, Berne, Schaffhausen, Biel, the Grisons, St. Gall, and Muhlhausen expressed their agreement. Basle alone, which had its own Confession, declined for a long time, but ultimately acceded.

The new Confession appeared at Zurich, March 12, 1566, in both languages, at public expense, and was forwarded to the Elector and to Philip of Hesse.⁷⁶⁹ A French translation appeared soon afterwards in Geneva under the care of Beza.

In the same month the Elector Frederick made such a manly and noble defense of his faith before the Diet at Augsburg, that even his Lutheran opponents were filled with admiration for his piety, and thought no longer of impeaching him for heresy.

AUTHORITY.

The Helvetic Confession is the most widely adopted, and hence the most authoritative of all the Continental Reformed symbols, with the exception of the Heidelberg Catechism. Besides the Swiss Cantons and the Palatinate, in whose name it was first issued, the Reformed Churches of Neufchatel (1568), Basle, France (at the Synod of La Rochelle, 1571), Hungary (at the Synod of Debreczin, 1567), Poland (1571 and 1578), and Scotland (1566)⁷⁷⁰ gave it their sanction. It was well received also in Holland and England.⁷⁷¹

It was translated not only into German, French, and English, but also into Dutch, Magyar, Polish, Italian, Arabic, and Turkish.⁷⁷²

CHARACTER AND VALUE.

Like most of the Confessions of the sixteenth century, the Helvetic Confession is expanded beyond the limits of a popular creed into a lengthy theological treatise. It is the matured fruit of the preceding symbolical labors of Bullinger and the Swiss Churches. It is in substance a restatement of the First Helvetic Confession, in the same order of topics, but with great improvements in matter and form. It is scriptural and catholic, wise and judicious, full and elaborate, yet simple and clear, uncompromising towards the errors of Rome, moderate in its dissent from the Lutheran dogmas. It proceeds on the conviction that the Reformed faith is in harmony with the true Catholic faith of all ages, especially the ancient Greek and Latin Church.

Hence it is preceded by the Imperial edict of 380 (from the recognized Justinian code), which draws the line between orthodoxy and heresy, and excludes as heresies only the departures from the Apostolic and Nicene faith. It inserts also the brief Trinitarian creed ascribed to the Roman Pope Damasus (from the writings of Jerome), and referred to in said decree as a standard of orthodoxy.⁷⁷³ Harmony in the fundamental doctrines of the ancient Church is declared sufficient, and brotherly union consistent with variety in unessentials, such as in fact always has existed in the Christian Church. As in former Confessions, so also in this, Bullinger distinctly recognizes, in the spirit of Christian liberty and progress, the constant growth in the knowledge of the Word of God, and the consequent right of improvement in symbolical statements of the Christian faith.

Upon the whole, the Second Helvetic Confession, as to theological merit, occupies the first rank among the Reformed Confessions, while in practical usefulness it is surpassed by the Heidelberg and Westminster Shorter Catechisms, and in logical clearness and precision by the Westminster Confession, which is the product of a later age, and of the combined learning and wisdom of English and Scotch Calvinism.⁷⁷⁴

CONTENTS.

In view of the importance of this Confession, I give here a condensed translation of the original.⁷⁷⁵ It consists of thirty chapters, which cover in natural order all the articles of faith and discipline which then challenged the attention of the Church.

Chap. I. The Holy Scriptures.—This chapter lays down the evangelical rule of faith, or the objective principle of Protestantism.

We believe and confess that the Canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the true Word of God, and have sufficient authority in and of themselves, and not from men; since God himself through them still speaks to us, as he did to the Fathers, the Prophets, and Apostles. They contain all that is necessary to a saving faith and a holy life; and hence nothing should be added to or taken from them (Deut. iv. 2; Rev. xxii. 18, 19).

From the Scriptures must be derived all true wisdom and piety, and also the reformation and government of the Churches, the proof of doctrines, and the refutation of errors (2 Tim. iii. 16, 17; 1 Tim. iii. 15; 1 Thess. ii. 13; Matt. x. 20). God may illuminate men directly by the Holy Spirit, without the external ministry; yet he has chosen the Scriptures and the preaching of the Word as the usual method of instruction.

The apocryphal books of the Old Testament, though they may be read for edification, are not to be used as an authority in matters of faith.⁷⁷⁶

We condemn the doctrines of the Gnostics and Manichæans, and all others who reject the Scriptures in whole or in part.

Chap. II. The Interpretation of the Scriptures; the Fathers, Councils, and Traditions.—We acknowledge only that interpretation as true and correct which is fairly derived from the spirit and language of the Scriptures themselves, in accordance with the circumstances, and in harmony with other and plainer passages (2 Pet. i. 20, 21).

We do not despise the interpretation of the Greek and Latin fathers and the teaching of Councils, but subordinate them to the Scriptures; honoring them as far as they agree with the Scriptures, and modestly dissenting from them when they go beyond or against the Scriptures. In matters of faith we can not admit any other judge than God himself, who through his Word tells us what is true and what is false, what is to be followed, and what is to be avoided.

We reject traditions which contradict the Scriptures, though they may claim to be apostolical. For the Apostles and their disciples could not teach one thing by writing, and another by word of mouth. St. Paul preached the same doctrine to all the churches (1 Cor. iv. 17; 2 Cor. i. 13; xii. 18). The Jews likewise had their traditions of the elders, but they were refuted by our Lord as 'making void the Word of God' (Matt. xv. 8, 9; Mark vii. 6, 7).

Chap III. Of God, his Unity and Trinity.—We believe and teach that God is one in essence (Deut. vi. 4; Exod. xx. 2, 3, etc.), and three in persons—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. The Father hath begotten the Son from eternity; the Son is begotten in an unspeakable manner; the Holy Ghost eternally proceeds from both, and is to be worshiped with both as one God. There are not three Gods, but three persons—consubstantial, coeternal, distinct as to person and order, yet without any inequality. The divine essence or nature is the same in the Father, the Son, and the Spirit (Luke i. 35; Matt. iii. 17; xxviii. 19; John i. 32; xiv. 26; xv. 26).

In short, we accept the Apostles' Creed, which delivers to us the true faith.

We therefore condemn the Jews and Mohammedans, and all who blaspheme this holy and adorable Trinity. We also condemn all heretics, who deny the Deity of Christ and the Holy Ghost.

Chap. IV Of Idols, Images of Gods and of Saints.—As God is a spirit, he can not be represented by any image (John iv. 24; Isa. xl. 18; xliv. 9, 10; Jer. xvi. 19; Acts xvii. 29, etc.).

And although Christ assumed man's nature, yet he did so not in order to afford a model for sculptors and painters. He instituted for the instruction of the people the preaching of the Gospel, and the sacraments, but not images. Epiphanius tore down an image of Christ and some saint in a church, because he regarded it contrary to the Scriptures.

Chap. V. The Adoration and Invocation of God through the only Mediator Jesus Christ.—God is the only object of worship (Matt. iv. 10). And he is to be worshiped 'in spirit and in truth' (John iv. 24), and through our only and sufficient Mediator and Advocate Jesus Christ (1 Tim. ii. 5; 1 John ii. 1).

Hence we neither adore nor invoke the departed saints, and give no one else the glory that belongs to God alone (Isa. xlii. 8; Acts iv, 12).

Nevertheless, we neither despise nor undervalue the saints, but honor them as the members of Christ and the friends of God, who have gloriously overcome the flesh and the world; we love them as brethren, and hold them up as examples of faith and virtue, desiring to dwell with them eternally in heaven, and to rejoice with them in Christ.

Much less do we believe that the relics of saints should be worshiped. Nor do we swear by saints, since it is forbidden to swear by the name of strange gods (Exod. xxiii. 13; Deut. x. 20).

Chap. VI. The Providence of God.—We believe that the wise, eternal, and almighty God by his providence preserves and rules all things in heaven and earth (Psa. cxiii. 4-6; cxxxix. 3-4; Acts xvii. 28; Rom. xi. 36).

We therefore condemn the Epicureans, who blasphemously affirm that God neither sees nor cares for men (Psa. xciv. 3-9).

We do not despise as unnecessary the means whereby divine Providence works, but make use of them as far as they are commended to us in the Word of God. We disapprove of the rash words of those who say that our efforts and endeavors are vain.

St. Paul well knew that he was sailing under the providence of God, who had assured him that he must bear witness at Rome (Acts xxiii. 11), and that not a soul should perish (xxvii. 21, 34); nevertheless, when the sailors were seeking flight, he said to the centurion and the soldiers: 'Unless these abide in the ship, ye can not be saved' (ver. 31). For God has appointed the means by which we attain to the end.⁷⁷⁷

Chap. VII. Of the Creation of all Things; of Angels, the Devil, and Man.—This good and almighty God created all things, visible and invisible, by his eternal Word, and preserves them by his coeternal Spirit (Psa. xxxiii. 6; John i. 3). He made all things very good and for the use of man (Gen. i. 31).

We condemn the Manichæans who impiously imagine two coeternal principles, the one good, the other evil, and two antagonistic gods.

Angels and men stand at the head of all creatures. Angels are ministers of God (Psa. civ. 4), and ministering spirits sent for them who shall be heirs of salvation (Heb. i. 14).

The devil was a murderer and liar from the beginning (John viii. 44).

Some angels persevered in obedience, and are ordained unto the faithful service of God and men; but others fell of their own accord and ran into destruction, and have become enemies of God and men.

Man was made in the image and likeness of God, and placed by God in paradise as ruler over the earth (Gen. i. 27, 28; ii. 8). This is celebrated by David in the 8th Psalm. Moreover, God gave him a wife and blessed them (Gen. ii. 22 sqq.).

Man consists of two diverse substances in one person—of an immortal soul, which, when separated from the body neither sleeps nor dies, and of a mortal body, which at the last judgment, shall be raised again from the dead.

We condemn those who deny the immortality, or affirm the sleep of the soul, or teach that it is a part of God.

Chap. VIII. Of Man's Fall, Sin, and the Cause of Sin.—Man was created according to the image of God, in true righteousness and holiness, good and upright. But by the instigation of the serpent, and through his own guilt, he fell from goodness and rectitude, and became, with all his offspring, subject to sin, death, and various calamities.

Sin is that inborn corruption of man, derived and propagated from our first parents, whereby we are immersed in depraved lusts, averse to goodness and prone to all evil, and unable of ourselves to do or think any thing that is good. And as years roll on, we bring forth evil thoughts, words, and deeds, as corrupt trees bring forth corrupt fruits (Matt. xii. 33). Therefore we are all by nature under the wrath of God, and subject to just punishment.

By death we understand not only the dissolution of the body, but also the eternal punishments of sin (Eph. ii. 1, 5; Rom. v. 12).

We therefore acknowledge that there is original sin in all men, and that all other sins, whether mortal or venial, also the unpardonable sin against the Holy Ghost, spring from this same source. We acknowledge also that sins are not equal, but some are more grievous than others (Matt. x. 14, 15; xi. 24; 1 John v. 16, 17).

We condemn the Pelagians, who deny original sin; the Jovinianists, who with the Stoics declare all sins to be equal; and those who make God the author of sin against the express teaching of Scriptures (Psa. v. 5-7; John viii. 44).

When God is said to blind or harden men, or to give them over to a reprobate mind (Exod. vii. 13; John xii. 40), it is to be understood as a righteous judgment. Moreover, God overrules the wickedness of men for good, as he did in the case of the brethren of Joseph.

Chap. IX. Of Free Will and Man's Ability.—The will and moral ability of man must be viewed under a threefold state.

First, before the fall, he had freedom to continue in goodness, or to yield to temptation.

Secondly, after the fall, his understanding was darkened and his will became a slave to sin (1 Cor. ii. 14; 2 Cor. iii. 5; John viii. 34; Rom. viii. 7). But he has not been turned into 'a stone or stock;' nor is his will (voluntas) a non-will (noluntas).⁷⁷⁸ He serves sin willingly, not unwillingly (servit peccato non nolens, sed volens). In external and worldly matters man retains his freedom even after the fall, under the general providence of God.

Thirdly, in the regenerate state, man is free in the true and proper sense of the term. His intellect is enlightened by the Holy Spirit to understand the mysteries and the will of God; and the will is changed by the Spirit and endowed with the power freely to will and to do what is good (Rom. viii. 5, 6; Jer. xxxi. 33; Ezek. xxxvi. 26; John viii. 36; Phil. i. 6, 29; ii. 13).

In regeneration and conversion men are not merely passive, but also active. They are moved by the Spirit of God to do of themselves what they do. But even in the regenerate there remains some infirmity. The flesh strives against the spirit to the end of life (Rom. vii. 14; Gal. v. 17).

We condemn the Manichæans, who deny that evil originated in the free will of man, and the Pelagians, who teach that fallen man has sufficient freedom to keep God's commandments. The former are refuted by Gen. i. 27; Eccles. vii. 29; the latter by John viii. 36.

Chap. X. The Predestination of God and the Election of Saints.—God has from eternity predestinated or freely chosen, of his mere grace, without any respect of men, the saints whom he will save in Christ (Eph. i. 4; 2 Tim. i. 9, 10).

God elected us in Christ and for Christ's sake, so that those who are already implanted in Christ by faith are chosen, but those out of Christ are rejected (2 Cor. xiii. 5).⁷⁷⁹

Although God knows who are his, and a 'small number of the elect' is spoken of, yet we ought to hope well of all, and not rashly count any one among the reprobate (2 Tim. ii. 19; Matt. xx. 16; Phil i. 3 sqq.).

We reject those who seek out of Christ whether they are chosen, and what God has decreed concerning them from eternity. We are to hear the gospel and believe it, and be sure that if we believe and are in Christ, we are chosen. We must listen to the Lord's invitation, 'Come unto me' (Matt. xi. 28), and believe in the unbounded love of God, who gave his own Son for the salvation of the world, and will not that 'one of these little ones should perish' (John iii. 16; Matt. xviii. 14).⁷⁸⁰

Let, therefore, Christ be the mirror in which we behold our predestination. We shall have a sufficiently evident and sure testimony of being written in the book of life if we live in communion with him, and if in true faith he is ours and we his.

And if we are tempted concerning our predestination, let this be our comfort—that God's promises are general to believers, as he himself says: 'Seek, and ye shall find, and whosoever asketh shall receive' (Matt. vii. 8 sq.). We pray with the whole Church, 'Our Father which art in heaven;' by baptism we are ingrafted into the body of Christ, and we are often fed in the Church by his flesh and blood unto life everlasting. Thus strengthened, let us 'work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, for it, is God who worketh in us both to will and to do according to his good pleasure' (Phil. ii. 12, 13).⁷⁸¹

Chap. XI. Jesus Christ true God and Man, and the only Saviour of the World.—We believe and teach that the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, was from eternity predestinated by the Father to be the Saviour of the world; that he was begotten of the Father from all eternity in an ineffable manner (Isa. liii. 8; Micah v. 2; John i. 1). Therefore the Son, according to his Divinity, is coequal and consubstantial with the Father; true God, not merely by name or adoption or by conferring of a dignity, but in essence and nature (1 John v. 20; Phil. ii. 6; Heb. i. 2, 3; John v. 18; xvii. 5).

We abhor the blasphemous doctrine of Arius and Servetus in opposition to the Son of God.

We also believe and teach that the same eternal Son of God became the Son of Man, of the seed of Abraham and David, not through the will of man (Ebionites), but he was conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of the ever-Virgin Mary (ex Maria semper virgine), as taught in the gospel history and the Epistles (Matt. i. 18; Luke i. 34, 35; 1 John iv. 3; Heb. ii. 16). The body of Christ was therefore neither a mere appearance, nor brought down from heaven (the Gnostics, Valentinus and Marcion). Moreover his soul was not without reason (Apollinaris), nor his flesh without a soul (Eunomius); but he had a rational soul, and a flesh with senses capable of true suffering (Matt. xxvi. 36; John xii. 27).

Hence we acknowledge in one and the same Lord Jesus Christ two natures, a divine and a human, which are conjoined and united in one person without absorption or confusion and mixture.

We worship one Lord Christ, not two; one true God-Man, coequal (or of one substance, consubstantialis, homoousios) with the Father as regards his divine nature, and coequal with us men, sin only excepted (Heb. iv. 15), as regards his human nature.

We therefore abominate Nestorianism, which dissolves the unity of person, and Eutychianism, Monothelitism, and Monophysitism, which destroy the proper character of the human nature.

We do not teach that the divine nature of Christ did suffer, nor that the human nature of Christ is every where present. The true body of Christ was not deified so as to put off its properties and to be absorbed into the divine substance. But we believe that our Lord Jesus Christ did truly suffer for us in the flesh (1 Pet. iii. 18; iv. 1), and that the Lord of glory was crucified for us (1 Cor. ii. 8). For we accept believingly and reverently the 'communication of properties,' which is deduced from the Scriptures and employed by the ancient Church in explaining and harmonizing seemingly contradictory passages.⁷⁸²

We believe and teach that Christ, in the same flesh in which he died, rose from the dead (Luke xxiv. 30), and ascended to the right hand of God in the highest heaven (Eph. iv. 10), which signifies his elevation to the divine majesty and power, but also a definite place (John xiv. 2; Acts iii. 21).

The same Christ will come again to judgment, when the wickedness of the world shall have reached the highest point, and Antichrist corrupted the true religion. He will destroy Antichrist, and judge the quick and the dead (2 Thess. ii. 8; Acts xvii. 51, 52; 1 Thess. iv. 17). The believers will enter into the mansions of the blessed; the unbelievers, with the devil and his angels, will be cast into everlasting torment (Matt. xxv. 41; 2 Tim. ii. 11; 2 Pet. iii. 7).

We reject all who deny the real resurrection; who teach the ultimate salvation of all the godless, and even the devil. We also reject the Jewish dream of a millennium, or golden age on earth, before the last judgment.

We believe and teach that Christ is the only Redeemer of the whole world, in whom all are saved that were saved before the law, under the law, and under the gospel, or will yet be saved to the end of the world (John x. 1, 7; Acts iv. 12; xv. 11; 1 Cor. x. 1, 4; Rev. xiii. 8).

We therefore confess and teach with a loud voice: Jesus Christ is the only Saviour of the world, the King and High-priest, the true Messiah, whom all the shadows and types of the Law and the Prophets did prefigure and promise. God did send him to us, and we need not look for another. There remains nothing but that we should give all glory to him, believe in him, and rest in him alone.

And, to say much in a few words, we sincerely believe and loudly confess all that has been determined out of the Holy Scriptures concerning the mystery of the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, and is contained in the creeds and decrees of the first four oecumenical Councils held in Niceæ, Constantinople, Ephesus, and Chalcedon, in the Creed of St. Athanasius, and all similar creeds; and we reject all contrary to the same. In this manner we retain, unchanged and entire, the Christian, orthodox, and catholic faith; knowing that nothing is contained in the aforesaid creeds which does not correspond with the Word of God and aid in setting forth the true faith.⁷⁸³

Chap. XII. The Law of God.—The law of God explains the will of God and the difference between what is good and bad, just and unjust. It is therefore good and holy. It is twofold: the law of nature inscribed on the hearts of men (Rom. ii. 15), and the written law of Moses. The latter we divide for perspicuity's sake into the moral law, comprehended in the two tables of the Decalogue (Exod. xx.; Deut. v.); the ceremonial law, concerning worship and sacred rites; and the judicial, concerning polity and economy.

The law of God is complete, and allows no addition nor subtraction (Deut. iv. 2; Isa. xxx. 21). It is given to us, not that by keeping it we might be justified, but that we may be led to a knowledge of sin and guilt, and, despairing of our own strength, turn by faith to Christ (Rom. iv. 15; iii. 20; viii. 3; Gal. iii. 21-24). Christ is the end of the law, and redeemed us from the curse of the law (Rom. x. 4; Gal. iii. 13). He enables us to fulfill the law, and his righteousness and obedience are imputed to us through faith.

The law is abolished inasmuch as it no more condemns and works wrath in them that believe, who are under grace, and not under the law. Besides, Christ has fulfilled all the types of the law, and put the substance in the place of the shadows; in him we have all fullness. Nevertheless, the law is useful in showing us all virtues and vices, and in regulating the life of new obedience. Christ did not come to destroy, but to fulfill the law (Matt. v. 17).

We therefore condemn old and modern Antinomianism.

Chap. XIII. The Gospel of Jesus Christ.—The law works wrath and announces the curse (Rom. iv. 15; Deut. xxvii. 26); the gospel announces grace and blessing (John i. 17). Nevertheless, those who lived before and under the law were not deprived altogether of the gospel, but had great promises (Gen. iii. 15; xxii. 18; xlix. 10). The promises were partly temporal, partly spiritual and eternal. By the gospel promises the fathers obtained salvation in Christ.

In the strict sense of the term the gospel is the glad tidings of salvation by Christ, in whom we have forgiveness, redemption, and everlasting life. Hence the history of Christ recorded by the four Evangelists is justly called the gospel.

Compared with the legalism of the Pharisees the gospel appeared to be a new doctrine, as it is even now called new by the Papists; but in fact it is the oldest doctrine, for God foreordained from eternity to save the world through Christ, and has revealed this plan in the gospel (2 Tim. i. 9, 10). It is therefore a grave error to call our evangelical faith a recent innovation.

Chap. XIV. Of Repentance and Conversion.—Repentance (metanoia) is a change of heart produced in a sinner by the word of the gospel and the Holy Spirit, and includes a knowledge of native and actual depravity, a godly sorrow and hatred of sin, and a determination to live hereafter in virtue and holiness. True repentance is turning to God and all good, and turning away from the devil and all evil. It is the free gift of God, and not the result of our own strength (2 Tim. ii. 25).

We have examples of true repentance in the woman that was a sinner (Luke vii. 38), in Peter after his fall (xxii. 62), in the prodigal son (xv. 18), and the publican in the temple (xviii. 13).

It is sufficient to confess our sins to God in private and in the public service; it is not necessary to confess to a priest, for this is nowhere commanded in the Scriptures; although we may seek counsel and comfort from a minister of the gospel in time of distress and trial (comp. James v. 16).

The keys of the kingdom of heaven, out of which the Papists forge swords, sceptres, and crowns, are given to all legitimate ministers of the Church in the preaching of the gospel and the maintenance of discipline (Matt. xvi. 19; John xx. 23; Mark xvi. 15; 2 Cor. v. 18, 19). We condemn the profitable popish doctrine of penance and of indulgences, and apply to them Peter's word to Simon Magus: ' Thy money perish with thee' (Acts viii. 20).

Chap. XV. Of True Justification of Believers.—'To justify' means, with the Apostle when treating of this subject, to remit sins, to absolve from guilt and punishment, to receive into grace, and to pronounce just (Rom. viii. 33; Acts xiii. 38; Deut. xxv. 1; Isa. v. 23).

By nature we are all sinners and guilty of death before the tribunal of God, and we can be justified only by the merits of Christ crucified and risen again. For his sake God is reconciled, and imputes to us not our sins, but the righteousness of Christ as our own, so that we are purged and absolved from sin, death and damnation, and heirs of eternal life. Properly speaking, God alone justifies and justifies only for Christ's sake, not imputing to us our sins, but the righteousness of Christ.

We therefore teach and believe, with the Apostle, that the sinner is justified by faith alone in Christ (sola fide in Christum), not by the law, nor by any works (Rom. iii. 28; iv. 2 sqq.; Eph. ii. 8, 9). Righteousness is imputed to faith because it receives Christ as our righteousness and ascribes all to the grace of God, but not because it is our work: it is the gift of God. As we receive food by eating, so faith appropriates Christ.

We do not divide justification by ascribing it partly to the grace of God or to Christ, and partly to our works or merits, but solely and exclusively to the grace of God in Christ through faith. We must first be justified before we can do good works. Love is derived from faith (1 Tim. i. 5; Gal. v. 6).

Therefore we speak here not of a false, dead faith, but of a living and vivifying faith which lives in Christ, our life, and proves its life by living works. Even James (chap. ii.) does not contradict our doctrine, for he speaks of a dead faith which even demons have, and he shows that Abraham proved his living and justifying faith by works.

Chap. XVI. Faith and Good Works, their Reward and the Merit of Man.—Christian faith is not a human opinion and persuasion, but a most firm confidence and clear and steady assent of the mind, a most certain apprehension of the truth of God as laid down in the Scriptures and the Apostles' Creed, and therefore of God himself as the highest good, and especially of the divine promise and of Christ, who is the crown of all promises. Such a faith is a free gift of God, who of his grace grants it to his elect through his Holy Spirit by means of the preaching of the gospel and believing prayer when and in what measure he pleases. This faith has degrees and is subject to growth; hence the prayer of the Apostles: 'Lord, increase our faith' (Luke xvii. 5). [Then follow a number of Scripture proofs: Heb. xi. 1; 2 Cor. i. 20; Phil. i. 29; Rom. xii. 3; 2 Thess. ii. 3; Rom. x. 16; Acts xiii. 48; Gal. v. 6, etc.]

We teach that good works proceed from a living faith, through the Holy Spirit, and are done by believers according to the will and rule of the Word of God (2 Pet. i. 5 sqq.; 1 Thess. iv. 3, 6, 23).

Good works must be done, not to merit thereby eternal life, which is a free gift of God (Rom. vi. 23), nor for ostentation or from selfishness, which the Lord rejects (Matt. vi. 2; xxiii. 5), but for the glory of God, to adorn our calling and to show our gratitude to God, and for the good of our neighbor (Matt. v. 16; Eph. iv. 1; Col. iii. 17; Phil. ii. 4; Tit. iii. 14). Although we teach that man is justified by faith of Christ and not by any works, we do not condemn good works. Man is created and regenerated by faith in order to work unceasingly what is good and useful. 'Every good tree bringeth forth good fruit' (Matt. vii. 17). 'He that abideth in me, the same bringeth forth much fruit' (John xv. 5). 'We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them' (Eph. ii. 10).

We condemn, therefore, all who despise good works or declare them useless; at the same time we do not deem them necessary to salvation, in the sense that without them no one was ever saved; for we are saved by Christ alone; but good works are necessarily born of faith, and improperly salvation may be ascribed to them which properly is ascribed to grace (Rom. xi. 6).

God is well pleased and approves of works which are done by us through faith (Acts x. 35; Col. i. 9, 10). He also richly rewards them (Jer. xxxi. 16; Matt. v. 12; x. 42). But we ascribe this reward not to the merits of man who receives it, but to the goodness and faithfulness of God who promises and grants it, although he owes nothing to his creatures. Even if we have done all, we are unprofitable servants (Luke xvii. 10). We say with Augustine, that God crowns and rewards in us, not our merits, but the gifts of his grace. It is a reward of grace, not of merit. We have nothing but what we have received (comp. 1 Cor. iv. 7).

We therefore condemn those who so defend the merits of men as to set at naught the grace of God.

Chap. XVII. Of the Catholic and Holy Church of God, and of the only Head of the Church.—Since God willed from the beginning that men should be saved and come to the knowledge of truth, it follows of necessity that there always was, and now is, and shall be to the end of time, a Church or an assembly of believers and a communion of saints, called and gathered from the world, who know and worship the true God in Christ our Saviour, and partake by faith of all the benefits freely offered through Christ. They are fellow-citizens of the same household of God (Eph. ii. 19). To this refers the article in the Creed: 'I believe the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints.'

And as there is but one God, one Mediator between God and man, Jesus the Messiah, one pastor of the whole flock, one head of this body, one Spirit, one salvation, one faith, one testament or covenant, there must needs be but one Church, which we call catholic, that is, universal, spread throughout all parts of the world and all ages.

We therefore condemn the Donatists, who confined the Church to some corners of Africa, and also the Roman exclusiveness, which pretends that the Roman Church alone is the catholic Church.

The Church is divided, not in itself, but on account of the diversity of its members. There is a Church militant on earth struggling against the flesh, the world, and the devil, and a Church triumphant in heaven rejoicing in the presence of the Lord; nevertheless there is a communion between the two. The Church militant is again divided into particular Churches. It was differently constituted among the Patriarchs, then under Moses, then under Christ in the gospel dispensation; but there is only one salvation in the one Messiah, in whom all are united as members of one body, partaking of the same spiritual food and drink. We enjoy a greater degree of light and more perfect liberty.

This Church is called the house of the living God (1 Tim. iii. 15), built of lively and spiritual stones (1 Pet. ii. 5), resting on an immovable rock, the only foundation (1 Cor. iii. 11), the ground and pillar of the truth (1 Tim. iii. 15). It can not err as long as it rests on the rock Christ, on the foundation of the Prophets and Apostles; but it errs as often as it departs from him who is the truth.⁷⁸⁴ The Church is also called a virgin, the bride of Christ, the only and beloved (2 Cor. xi. 2), and the body of Christ, because the believers are living members of Christ under him the head (Eph. i. 23, etc.).

The Church can have no other head than Christ. He is the one universal pastor of his flock, and has promised his presence to the end of the world. He needs, therefore, no vicar; for this would imply his absence. [Those who introduce a double headship and government in the Church plainly belong to the errorists condemned by the Apostles (2 Pet. ii.; Acts xx.; 2 Cor. xi.; 2 Thess. ii.).]⁷⁸⁵

But by rejecting the Roman head we do not introduce disorder and confusion into the Church of Christ, since we adhere to the government delivered by the Apostles before there was any Pope. The Roman head preserves the tyranny and corruption in the Church, and opposes and destroys all just reformation.

They object that since our separation from Rome all sorts of controversies and divisions have arisen. As if there had never been any sects and dissensions in the Roman Church, in the pulpits, and among the people! God is indeed a God of order and peace (1 Cor. xiv. 33); nevertheless there were parties and divisions even in the Apostles' Church (Acts xv.; 1 Cor. iii.; Gal. ii.). God overrules these divisions for his glory and for the illustration of truth.

Communion with the true Church of Christ we highly esteem, and deny that those who separate from it can live before God. As there was no salvation out of the ark of Noah, so there is no certain salvation out of Christ, who exhibits himself to the elect in the Church for their nourishment.⁷⁸⁶

But we do not so restrict the Church as to exclude those who from unavoidable necessity and unwillingly do not partake of the sacraments, or who are weak in faith, or still have defects and errors. God had friends even outside of the Jewish people. We know what happened to Peter, and to chosen believers from day to day, and we know that the Apostle censured the Christians in Galatia and Corinth for grave offenses, and yet calls them holy churches of Christ. Yea, God may at times by a righteous judgment allow the Church to be so obscured and shaken as to appear almost annihilated, as in the days of Elijah (1 Kings xix. 18; comp. Rev. vii. 4, 9); but even then he has his true worshipers, even seven thousand and more; for 'the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his' (2 Tim. ii. 19). Hence the Church may be called invisible, not that the men composing it are invisible, but because they are known only to God, while we are often mistaken in our judgment. There are also many hypocrites in the Church, who outwardly conform to all the ordinances, but will ultimately be revealed in their true character and be cut off (1 John ii. 19; Matt. xiii. 24, 47).

The true unity of the Church is not to be sought in ceremonies and rites, but in the truth and in the catholic faith, as laid down in the Scriptures and summed up in the Apostles' Creed. Among the ancients there was a great diversity of rites without dissolving the unity of the Church.

Chap. XVIII. On the Ministers of the Church, their Institution and Offices.—God always used ministers for gathering and governing the Church (Rom. x. 14, 17; John xiii. 20; Acts xvi. 9; 1 Cor. iii. 9, etc.).

God employed the Patriarchs, Moses, and the Prophets as teachers of their age. At last he sent his only-begotten Son, filled with infinite wisdom, to be our infallible guide. Christ chose the Apostles, and these ordained pastors in all the Churches (Acts xiv. 23), whose successors have taught and governed the Church to this day.

The ministers of the New Testament are called Apostles, prophets, evangelists, bishops, presbyters, pastors, and teachers (1 Cor. xii. 28; Eph. iv. 11). In subsequent times other names were introduced, as patriarchs, archbishops, metropolitans, archpresbyters, deacons, and subdeacons, etc. But we are satisfied with the offices instituted by the Apostles for the teaching and governing of the Church.

A minister should be lawfully called and chosen by the Church, and excel in sacred learning, pious eloquence, prudence, and unblemished character (1 Tim. iii. 2; Tit. i. 5). When elected, a minister should be ordained of the elders by public prayer and the laying on of hands. We reject arbitrary intruders and incompetent pastors. But we acknowledge that innocent simplicity may be more useful than haughty learning.

A minister of the New Testament is not a priest, as in the Jewish dispensation, offering sacrifices for the living and the dead. Christ is our eternal High-priest, who fulfilled and abolished typical sacrifices by his one perfect sacrifice on the cross; and all believers are priests offering spiritual sacrifices—namely, thanksgiving and praise to God continually.

All ministers are equal in power and commission. Bishops and presbyters were originally the same in office, and governed the Church by their united services, mindful of the words of the Lord: 'He who will be chief among you, let him be your servant' (Luke xxii. 26). Jerome (Com. on Titus) says: 'Before, by the instigation of the devil, party spirit and sectarianism arose, the churches were governed by the common counsel of the presbyters; but afterwards, when every one thought that those whom he had baptized belonged to him, not to Christ, it was decreed that one of the presbyters should by election be placed over the rest, and be intrusted with the care of the whole Church, and thus the seed of schisms be destroyed.' But Jerome does not present this decree as divine, for he soon adds that presbyters and bishops know that this distinction is based on ecclesiastical custom, and not on divine command. Therefore no one can be lawfully forbidden to return from human custom to the ancient constitution of the Church of Christ.

The chief duties of ministers are the preaching of the gospel, the administration of the sacraments, the care of souls, and the maintenance of discipline. To do this effectually they must live in the fear of God, pray constantly, study the Scriptures diligently, be always watchful, and shine before all by purity of life. In the exercise of discipline, they should remember that the power was given to them for edification and not for destruction (2 Cor. x. 8; comp. Matt. xiii. 29).

We reject the error of the Donatists, who make the efficacy of the preaching and the sacraments to depend on the moral character of the minister. The voice of Christ must be heard and obeyed even out of the mouth of an unworthy servant (Matt. xxiii. 3); and the sacraments are efficacious to the worthy recipient by virtue of their divine appointment and the Word of Christ. On these things St. Augustine has much disputed from the Scriptures against the Donatists.

Nevertheless, proper control and discipline should be exercised over the doctrine and conduct of ministers in synods. False or immoral teachers should not be tolerated, but warned or deposed. We do not disapprove general or oecumenical councils if they are conducted, according to the apostolic example (Acts xv.), for the welfare, and not for the corruption of the Church.