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Home , Consubstantiation, Ordo salutis

Theology for the Church and City – Christ the King Presbyterian Church – Session 3 – Highlights of the Westminster Confession of

Prayer: Psalm 96

Worship in the Splendor of Holiness

Oh sing to a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth! Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the . Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength! Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts! Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!

Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.”

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the LORD, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness.

Introduction

“Confessional Christianity is marked by two things: an elaborate confession of faith which goes beyond the ten or twelve points necessary for a basic Christian profession of faith; and a church structure which provides for elders, accountability and indeed ongoing pedagogy. Confessional Christians, therefore, are not simply committed to doctrine; they are committed to a particular way of life within the context of the church.” - Carl Trueman, foreword to Confessing the Faith, Chad Van Dixhoorn

WCF available online at http://www.reformed.org/documents/wcf_with_proofs/

I. Of the Holy Scripture a. The Confession begins by explaining why revelation is necessary b. God is pleased to reveal Himself! c. Scripture: the norming norm which is itself not normed; our only rule of faith and practice. d. 2 Peter 1:20-21: “…no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” i. Inspiration is not dictation ii. Neither is it possession iii. The human authors were “carried along by the Holy Spirit” without their humanity being negated. iv. This is critical to our understanding of both canonicity (i.e the unity of Scripture under its divine authorship) and inerrancy (i.e. the trustworthiness of Scripture in all that it affirms). e. Calvin and the two ways of knowing God (Institutes, Book I) i. Nature is sufficient to reveal God’s existence, majesty, and holiness - but to fallen man this will appear as a threat. ii. God’s mercy is made known only in Scripture. f. Is Scripture sufficient or not? i. The Spirit bears witness “by and with the Word in our hearts.” So the Spirit authenticates the Word, but does not do so apart from the Word. John 14:26 – Spirit reminds us of what taught. ii. Scripture provides all that need be known and believed for salvation. iii. There are areas of life in which Scripture doesn’t provide the details – but provides general rules within which reason is free to operate. iv. “Scripture is sufficient in the sense that no further special revelation is needed from God to guide us through life other than the revelation graciously available to us in the Bible.” – Van Dixhoorn, p. 17.

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. - Titus 3:4-7

Today we talk about salvation. Reformed theology has long made use of the ordo salutis, also known as the “golden chain”, which lays out the stages of salvation. The biblical foundation of the ordo is Romans 8:29-30:

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

This has been worked out in various ways in reformed theology; Westminster lays it out like this:

1. (X) 2. (XI) 3. (XII) 4. (XIII) 5. Saving Faith (XIV) 6. Repentance (XV) 7. Perseverance (XVII) 8.

These stages are covered in Chs. X-XVII, preceded by a chapter on Free Will and followed by a chapter on .1 The stages are distinct, but cannot be separated from each other, as though one could be justified without also being sanctified, etc. The ordo is meant to provide a logical and ordered way of understanding the work of God to save sinners.

If you would like to read more about the history of the ordo, Richard Muller has written a pair of essays that provide very thorough analysis and history, with particular emphasis on Calvin and the connection of the ordo with the concept of . A pdf is available on the course website.

Another helpful resource working through these issues is the book by Sinclair Ferguson, The Whole Christ.

XI. Of Justification a. Justification by faith means one’s sins are forgiven and that Christ’s righteousness is counted to the account of those who rest on him and receive his righteousness by faith. It does not mean: a. That righteousness is infused into us; justification is declarative, not substantial change (simul iustus et peccator). Change does take place, but this is sanctification, not justification. b. That faith itself is the righteousness that is imputed to us or saves us. Christ’s righteousness saves us; we receive that righteousness by faith. 2. 11.2: we are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith which is alone. 3. 11.3: penal substitutionary atonement upholds God’s “exact justice and his rich grace.” 4. The rest of the chapter covers three points: a. Justification is both eternal (grounded in God’s eternal decree) and temporal (it depends on history: Christ’s sacrifice, the Spirit’s work of regeneration, and our receiving that work by repentance and faith).

1 Other reformed treatments of the ordo often include regeneration and conversion between calling and justification; regeneration is treated throughout this section of the confession, and conversion is treated in Chs. XIV-XV. Westminster also includes a chapter (XVI) on good works. b. Though the sins of the justified are forgiven, they still have consequences (but even this now falls under the category of “fatherly displeasure”.) c. Old Testament believers were justified by exactly the same faith in Christ.

XIII. Of Sanctification a. “Sanctification is the work of God's free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness.” – WSC A.35 a. The basis of sanctification is “the virtue of Christ’s death and resurrection.” The death is also the basis of justification; sanctification is grounded on both this death and resurrection life. b. Notice that the word cooperation doesn’t appear anywhere (not in the WCF either)! c. Sanctification is a work of grace proper to God; it bears the fruit of good works that are proper to our nature, made alive in Christ. 2. Military language predominates in this chapter, particularly in describing the experience of sanctification. a. “” and “vivification” is the old language. b. The dominion of sin is destroyed and put to death. c. But the war is ongoing and all-pervasive: both sanctification and remaining corruption are present in all parts of our nature. 3. How do we engage this battle? Word and Spirit once again! a. The principal means that God uses for our growth in grace is Scripture. b. Sanctification is the work of the Spirit, who applies Christ’s righteousness to us, enlivens our hearts, illuminates our minds, re-orients our will. c. Our part is to apply ourselves to the Word, to seek God in prayer, to constantly return to the same Savior that is the ground of our justification: a life, not merely a moment, of repentance and faith.

Westminster Larger Catechism Q.77: Wherein do justification and sanctification differ?

A. Although sanctification be inseparably joined with justification, yet they differ, in that God in justification imputeth the righteousness of Christ; in sanctification of his Spirit infuseth grace, and enableth to the exercise thereof; in the former, sin is pardoned; in the other, it is subdued: the one doth equally free all believers from the revenging wrath of God, and that perfectly in this life, that they never fall into condemnation the other is neither equal in all, nor in this life perfect in any, but growing up to perfection.

XIX. Of the Law of God - Deuteronomy 5.6-21; Exodus 20.1-17 a. The covenant of works (also called a covenant of life, WSC 12) i. Broken by (and Eve), kept by Jesus ii. A universal, transcendent moral code, instilled in the conscience. b. Codified in the Ten Commandments (2) c. Three kinds of laws: ceremonial, judicial (or civil), moral (3, 4) i. Ceremonial and judicial no longer in effect ii. Moral law abides (5) d. But not under law (6) i. cannot condemn: forensic function no longer in effect, rather sapiential ii. Three uses: a rule of life, a sign-post to Christ, a restraint for sin 1. Different ordering in Calvin: leads to Christ, civil use, and guide 2. “Third use” disputed by Lutherans iii. HC 86: Q. Since we have been delivered from our misery by grace through Christ without any merit of our own, why then should we do good works? A: Because Christ, having redeemed us by his blood, is also restoring us by his Spirit into his image, so that with our whole lives we may show that we are thankful to God for his benefits, so that he may be praised through us, so that we may be assured of our faith by its fruits, and so that by our godly living our neighbors may be won over to Christ.

XXV. Of the Church A. 25.1: The church catholic, across time and space, and Christ its head B. 25.2: Who is the visible church? All those who profess faith, and their children. C. 25.3: The gifts God has given the church are for the gathering and perfecting of the , and are made effective by his presence and Spirit, according to his promise. D. 25.4-6: No pure church, but Jesus has promised that he will build the church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. E. 25.4: The marks of the church 1. The preaching of the word 2. The administration of the

XXVII. Of the Sacraments A. 27:1: What is a ? “Sealing signs” 1. A holy sign (“represent(s) Christ and his benefits)” and seal (“confirm(s) our interest in him”) – so a sacrament points beyond itself and validates the relationship of the believer to the thing signified. 2. Directly instituted by God 3. A visible mark of the visible church B. 27:2: A spiritual union between the sign and the thing signified 1. Spiritual union is mysterious: it cannot be reduced to the mechanistic account given by mere or mere . 2. But neither should we be confused by biblical language that, at times, treats sign and signified as though they were interchangeable (such as Matt. 26:27-8, which appears to equate the cup and the “blood of the covenant,” or Peter’s assertion that “… saves you” in 1 Pet. 3:21). C. 27:3: How are the sacraments made efficacious? 1. Not by anything in the elements themselves, nor by anything to do with the one who administers them. 2. Rather, by the work of the Holy Spirit and Jesus’ words, recorded in scripture, that authorize, bless, and provide instructions as to their use. D. 27:4: Only two sacraments instituted by Christ, and only to be administered by one set apart to the ministry of word and sacrament. E. 27:5: In substance the same as the OT sacraments – on which more below.

XXVIII. Of Baptism A. A sacrament of admission to the visible church 1. A background in Old Testament water ordeals (1 Peter 3:18-22, 1 Cor. 10:1-5, cf. Isaiah 43) 2. Directly connected to circumcision by Paul in Colossians 2:11 B. 28:1: A five-fold significance with reference to God’s covenant faithfulness: “The enduring importance of baptism rests in what it always says about God and his gospel, and not what it sometimes says about the person who is baptized.” – Van Dixhoorn, 367 1. A sign and seal of the covenant of grace 2. Engrafting into Christ 3. Regeneration 4. of sins 5. Surrender to God through Jesus to walk in newness of life C. 28:2: Water, , and Minister all connect the sacrament back to the word. D. 28.3: Sprinkling is just fine (and, maybe, symbolically richer!); so is immersion. E. 28:4: 1. and household 2. “The promise is for you and your children…” (Acts 2:39) – note that Peter’s Jewish audience would require an explanation if covenant membership suddenly excluded children 3. Colossians 2:11’s indication of continuity between circumcision and baptism 4. Note that baptism is if anything more inclusive than circumcision (women, Gentiles…) F. The “correctives” of 28.5-6 are once again a matter of refusing mechanistic thinking: baptism is not magic, but that doesn’t mean we can neglect it. Or to put it another way, something really is being accomplished in baptism (“the grace promised is not only offered but really exhibited and conferred”) – but by the Holy Spirit, not by us, and that means that what is being done is never under our control, but can only be received with gratitude. G. 28.7’s injunction against re-baptism only makes sense against the background of 28.1-6: it is because baptism depends on the work of the Spirit, by the Word, that we would not say that an earlier Trinitarian water baptism didn’t work and needs to be supplanted by one that will.

XXIX. Of The Lord’s Supper A. 29:1 demonstrates how the full riches of the gospel are on display in the Lord’s Supper: it points to and seals the benefits of Christ’s death to believers 1. Spiritual nourishment and growth 2. Increased commitment to our duties to him (Cf. the language of sanctification) 3. Fellowship with Christ and with one another B. 29:2: Because the Lord’s Supper seals the benefits of Christ’s death to us, it cannot be a recapitulation of that death. C. 29:3-4 offer instructions for how the Lord’s Supper is and is not to be celebrated, warning against superstition D. 29:5-6 offer a guide to what is and is not “going on” in the Supper. Again, the thrust is that the Supper is the work of Christ, by the Word and Spirit, and not subject to human control. E. 29:7 gets very precise, spelling out the reformed doctrine of “real spiritual presence” and explicitly rejecting the Catholic (transubstantiation), Lutheran (consubstantiation), and Zwinglian (memorialism) points of view. F. 29:8: Why “eating and drinking judgment on themselves”? Because to come to the table without faith is to imagine that the sacrament is something magical that can be wielded apart from faith.