PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
Systematic Theology — Volume 3
Hodge, Charles, 1797–1878 · 407,138 words · 462 reading sections
§11.] BAPTISM. WHOSE CHILDREN TO BE BAPTIZED? 567
This is also the theory which was known in New England as the " Half -Way Covenant. " Many were recognized as entitled to present their children for baptism, who were not prepared for admission to the Lord's Supper. The controversy on this subject began in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1654, 1655. Several councils were cal…
822 wordsSECTION 302§11.] BAPTISM. WHOSE CHILDREN TO BE BAPTIZED? 569
went on increasing from generation to generation ; and the Half- way Covenant, as it was opprobriously called, came to be ap- proved by the general practice of the Congregational churches of New England." 1 Such, also, it is believed, although on some- what different principles, was the general practice of the Presby- …
851 wordsSECTION 303§11.] BAPTISM. WHOSE CHILDREN TO BE BAPTIZED? 571
This was one of the charges brought against his scheme which he earnestly resists. In reply to this objection1 he quotes the following passage from his work on " Religious Affections : " " In order to persons' making a proper profession of Christianity, such as the Scripture directs to, and such as the followers of Chr…
953 wordsSECTION 304§11.] BAPTISM. WHOSE CHILDREN TO BE BAPTIZED? 573
Doctrine and Usage of the Reformed Churches. The language of the Reformed Churches as the proper sub- jects of infant baptism is perfectly uniform. In the " Second Helvetic Confession " it is said,1 " Damnamus Anabaptistas, qui negant baptisandos esse infantulos recens natos a fidelibus. Nam juxta doctrinam evangelica…
822 wordsSECTION 305§ 11.] BAPTISM. WHOSE CHILDREN TO BE BAPTIZED ? 575
tution, in Deuteronomy, of swearing into the name of the Lord, or visibly and explicitly uniting themselves to Him in covenant, was not prescribed as an extraordinary duty, or a duty to be per- formed on a return from a general apostasy, and some other ex- traordinary occasions : but is evidently mentioned in the insti…
942 wordsSECTION 306§11.] BAPTISM. WHOSE CHILDREN TO BE BAPTIZED? 577
This Edwards insists upon, yet he does not venture to assert that all Jews admitted to circumcision and the passover, were, in the judgment of charity, truly regenerate persons. 2. The New Testament contains no command to the Church to assume the prerogative in question. There is the command often repeated to recogniz…
898 wordsSECTION 307§12.] BAPTISM. ITS EFFICACY. 579
Those, therefore, who, having been themselves baptized, and still professing their faith in the true religion, having competent knowledge, and being free from scandal, should not only be per- mitted but urged and enjoined to present their children for bap- tism, that they may belong to the Church, and be brought up und…
848 wordsSECTION 308§ 12.] BAPTISM. ITS EFFICACY. 581
gether with his spiritual gifts ; and so those who before had been made partakers of Christ, continue and renew that participation." In articles immediately following it is taught that regard is to be had, not to the naked signs, but to the promises annexed to them ; that the signs without Christ are " inanes larvas ; …
874 wordsSECTION 309§12.] BAPTISM. ITS EFFICACY. 583
sacraments hold a place much below that of the truth. Whereas in all churches in a state of decay the reverse is the fact. The Jewish Church in the time of Christ, had become completely rit- ualistic. Rites and ceremonies had usurped the place of truth and holy living. A man might be proud, avaricious, unjust, and as o…
934 wordsSECTION 310§12. J BAPTISM. ITS EFFICACY. 585
As our Lord intended not only to save men by the renewing of the Holy Ghost, and thus to bring them into membership in his mystical body, but also to constitute a visible church to consist of all those who confessed Him to be their God and Saviour, He ap- pointed an outward visible sign by which they should be known an…
964 wordsSECTION 311§ 12.] BAPTISM. ITS EFFICACY. 587
conduct, and to the faith of the Church universal. It is not good for a man to have the people of God of all ages against him. 4. The duty of baptism may be argued from its manifold ad- vantages. In the first place, it is a great honour and distinction. If among men it is a coveted distinction to wear the badge of the…
975 wordsSECTION 312§12.] BAPTISM. ITS EFFICACY. 589
by the blood of Christ and by the renewing of the Holy Ghost, he appointed baptism to be, not only the sign, but also the seal and pledge of those exceeding great and precious promises. No believer in the Bible can look on the rainbow without having his faith strengthened in the promise that a deluge shall never again …
977 wordsSECTION 313§12.] BAPTISM. ITS EFFICACY. 591
Baptismal Regeneration. Different meanings are attached to the words baptismal regen- eration. It has been already stated, in a preceding chapter, that by regeneration is sometimes meant an external change, — transla- tion from the world, as the kingdom of darkness, into the Church, as the kingdom of light. In this se…
916 wordsSECTION 314§12.] BAPTISM. ITS EFFICACY. 593
3. There is no necessity for assuming that there is any refer- ence in John iii. 5, to external baptism. The passage may be ex- plained after the analogy suggested by what is said in Matthew iii. 11. There it is said that Chris b would baptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire. No one understands this of literal fire. …
1,044 wordsSECTION 315§12.] BAPTISM. ITS EFFICACY. 595
water and being born of the Spirit are one and the same thing, the one expression being figurative, and the other literal, precisely as in Matthew iii. 11, where the baptism of the Holy Ghost and of fire are spoken of. Again, if " born of water " means baptism, and " born of the Spirit," spiritual regeneration, then t…
904 wordsSECTION 316§12.] BAPTISM. ITS EFFICACY. 597
by the former clause. The Apostle would then be made to say, We are saved by the washing of regeneration, and also by the renewing of the Holy Ghost. Which amounts to saying, We are saved by regeneration and by regeneration. This argument can only be met by making regeneration mean the commencement, and the renewing of…
1,471 wordsSECTION 317Part 317
It would thus appear that every theory of baptism, whether Romanist or Protestant, High Church or Low Church, Evangelical or Ritual, can find support in this treatise. If the clear-headed Bishop Ellicott has a clew through this labyrinth, he would do well to im- part it to the public. The great characteristic of a larg…
120 wordsSECTION 318§12.] BAPTISM. ITS EFFICACY. 599
such ablution can be effected in no other way, then we should be forced to admit that Paul's sins had not been remitted until he was baptized. But as this would contradict the plainest teach- ings of Scripture ; as Paul himself says that God called him by his grace, and made him a true Christian by revealing his Son in…
967 wordsSECTION 319§12.] BAPTISM. ITS EFFICACY. 601
eternal life. It does not follow from this that faith stands alone ; that obedience is not necessary. But obedience is the fruit of faith. He that does not obey, does not believe. For any one, therefore, to say that although a man truly believes the record God has given of his Son, yet that he is not a Christian, unles…
934 wordsSECTION 320§12.J BAPTISM. ITS EFFICACY. 603
souls of men. It excludes from the hope of heaven men who truly believe, repent, and lead a holy life ; and it assures those of their title to eternal life, who are unrenewed and unsanctified. 4. A fourth argument against the doctrine under consideration, is derived from the analogy between the Word and sacraments eve…
884 wordsSECTION 321§13.] BAPTISM. LUTHERAN DOCTRINE. 605
voidable circumstances, the want of baptism is not fatal. Thus Gerhard,1 says Docemus, " baptismum esse quidem ordinarium initiationis sacramentum et regenerationis medium omnibus om- nino etiam fidelium liberis ad regenerationem et salutem neces- sarium ; interim tamen in casu privationis sive impossibilitatis salvari…
961 wordsSECTION 322§13.] BAPTISM. LUTHERAN DOCTRINE. 607
Dei est baptismus, hoc est, salutaris aqua gratiae et vitse, et lava- crum regenerationis in Spiritu Sancto, sicut Paulus ait ad Tit. iii. 5." 1 These ideas are expanded in the Larger Catechism. Among other things it is there said, " Ad nunc modum ita dis- cerne, longe aliam rem esse baptismum, atque omnes alias aquas …
886 wordsSECTION 323§ 14.] BAPTISM. DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH OF ROME. 609
The Word and Sacraments per se break up the absoluteness of the natural bondage ; they bring an instant possibility of salva- tion. Grace is in them so far prevenient that he who has them may be saved, and if he be lost, is lost by his own fault alone." 1 § 14. Doctrine of the Church of Rome. The Canons of the Counci…
1,530 wordsSECTION 324Part 324
Apart from matters of doubtful interpretation, these passages plainly teach, First, that the Lord's Supper is a divine institution of perpetual obligation. Second, that the material elements to be used in the celebration, are bread and wine. Third, that the im- portant constituent parts of the service are, (1.) The con…
277 wordsSECTION 325§ 15.] THE LORD'S SUPPER. ITS PERPETUAL OBLIGATION. 613
served in his Church until his second advent is plain, (1.) From his express command given in Luke xxii. 19, and repeated by the Apostle in 1 Corinthians xi. 24. (2.) The design of the ordinance which is declared to be the commemoration of Christ ; the con- stantly repeated proclamation of his expiatory death in the ea…
925 wordsSECTION 326§15.] THE LORD'S SUPPER. THE ELEMENTS. 615
The Elements to be used in the LoroVs Stepper, The word element, in this connection, is used in the same sense as the Latin word " elementum," and the Greek word orotxcia, for the component parts of anything; the simple materials or rudiments. Bread and wine are the elements employed in the celebration of the Lord's Su…
1,440 wordsSECTION 327Part 327
happens that the prayers offered on such occasions are long and rambling. Petitions are offered for all classes of men; for the young and old; for the sick and afflicted; for Sunday-schools; for missions, and all the other objects usually embraced in the long prayer before the sermon. The consequence is, that the minds…
471 wordsSECTION 328§15.] THE LORD'S SUPPER SACRAMENTAL ACTIONS. 619
he speaks of " the cup of blessing," i. e., the cup which has been blessed, or consecrated by prayer to a sacred use ; as is explained by the following words, " which we bless." Breaking the Bread. This is the second of the prescribed sacramental actions. It is an important, because it is a significant, part of the s…
903 wordsSECTION 329§15.] THE LORD'S SUPPER. ITS DESIGN. 621
anathema sit." The comment of Perrone on these words is as follows : " Haec porro Veritas est corollarium dogmatis de tran- substantione ; panis enim et vinum per consecrationem convertuntur in illud Christi corpus et sanguinem, qui in coelis est, et in eodem statu glorioso ; jam vero corpus illud inseparabile est a sa…
944 wordsSECTION 330§15.] QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE LORD'S SUPPER. 623
municated to his people so that they become one body fitly joined together. (Eph. iv. 16.) By one Spirit they are all baptized into one body. (1 Cor. xii. 13.) This union between Christ and his people is also illustrated by the union between the vine and its branches. The life of the vine and of its branches is one. (J…
948 wordsSECTION 331§15.] QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE LORD'S SUPPER. 625
believe the fact of their miraculous deliverance out of Egypt ; that they should be duly grateful to God for that great mercy ; and that they should have faith in the promise of that still greater redemption through Him of whom their paschal lamb was the divinely appointed type. All this was implied in an intelli- gent…
463 wordsSECTION 332PART HI. Cn. XX. — THE MEANS OF GKACE.
of the efficacy attributed to it, they have been already sufficiently considered when teaching of the sacraments in general. There are, however, certain points in reference to this sacrament in par- ticular, which are so important that they have determined the course of ecclesiastical history. Those points are all inti…
413 wordsSECTION 333§ 16.] THE LORD'S SUPPER. THE REFORMED CHURCH. 627
ordinance as a memorial of Himself. When a man commits him- self to the sufferings and redemption of Christ he is saved. Of this He has left us a certain visible sign of his flesh and blood, both of which He has commanded us to eat and drink in remem- brance of Him." This is said in a document presented to the council …
1,008 wordsSECTION 334§ 16.] THE LORD'S SUPPER. THE REFORMED CHURCH. 629
blood of Christ, just as our corporal life is preserved by bread and wine. For the analogy of the signs would not hold, if our souls did not find their aliment in Christ, which, however, cannot be the case, unless Christ truly coalesce into one with us, and support us through the use of his flesh and blood. It may seem…
987 wordsSECTION 335§ 16.] THE LORD'S SUPPER. THE REFORMED CHURCH. 629
blood of Christ, just as our corporal life is preserved by bread and wine. For the analogy of the signs would not hold, if our souls did not find their aliment in Christ, which, however, cannot be the case, unless Christ truly coalesce into one with us, and support us through the use of his flesh and blood. It may seem…
1,029 wordsSECTION 336§ 16.J THE LORD'S SUPPER. THE REFORMED CHURCH. 631
ficantur, nempe corpus et sanguinem Jesu Christi, non minus esse cibum ac potum animae, quam panis et vinum sunt corporis cibus." In the Scotch Confession of 1560, it is said, " We confess that believers in the right use of the Lord's Supper thus eat the body and drink the blood of Jesus Christ, and we firmly believe …
845 wordsSECTION 337§16.] THE LORD'S SUPPER. THE REFORMED CHURCH. 633
other errors. " Hoc modo non tantum refutatur Papistarum commentum de transubstantione, sed crassa omnia figmenta atque futiles argutiae, quaB vel coelesti ejus gloriae detrahunt vel veritati humanae naturae minus sunt consentaneae. Neque enim minus absurdum judicamus, Christus sub pane locare vel cum pane copulare, qu…
850 wordsSECTION 338§16.] THE LORD'S SUPPER. THE REFORMED CHURCH. 637
Scripture : " To those who receive it worthily and with faith, the bread which we break is the communion of the body of Christ." The second clause rejects transubstantiation. The third is di- rected against the Lutheran doctrine, and asserts that as Christ is in heaven ; " non debet quisquam fidelium carnis ejus et san…
445 wordsSECTION 339PART III. Ch. XX. — THE MEANS OF GRACE.
bus) when it affects the senses. A spiritual object is present when it is intellectually apprehended and when it acts upon the mind. It is said of the wicked, " God is not in all their thoughts." They are without God. They are " far off." On the other hand, God is present with his people when He controls their thoughts…
535 wordsSECTION 340§16] THE LORD'S SUPPER. THE REFORMED CHURCH. 639
prayers and hymns of the Church addressed to Christ all assume that He has human sympathies and affections which make his re- lation to us entirely different from what it is to any other order of beings in the universe. If any one asks, How the humanity of Christ, his body and soul in heaven, can sympathize with his pe…
963 wordsSECTION 341§ 16.] THE LORD'S SUPPER. THE REFORMED CHURCH. 641
received through the Word, but they deny that believers receive anything in the eucharist that was not granted and communicated to the saints under the Old Testament. This of course is decisive. Under the old dispensation it was only the sacrificial efficacy of his broken body and shed blood that could be enjoyed. He d…
433 wordsSECTION 342VOL,. III. 41
642 PART III. Ch. XX. — THE MEANS OF GRACE. faith as broken and shed for our salvation, and exert upon us their proper effect.1 " The body of Christ is in heaven at the right hand of God," says the Helvetic Confession. " Yet the Lord is not absent from his Church when celebrating his supper. The sun is absent from us …
536 wordsSECTION 343§ 16.] THE LORD'S SUPPER THE REFORMED CHURCH. 643
There is, therefore, a presence of Christ's body in the Lord's Supper; not local, but spiritual ; not to the senses, but to the mind and to faith; and not of nearness, but of efficacy. If the presence is in the promise, then the body of Christ is present, offered to and received by the believer whenever and wherever he…
1,026 wordsSECTION 344§16.] THE LORD'S SUPPER. THE REFORMED CHURCH. 645
propriation. This is a distinction without a difference. It con- cerns simply the extent given to the meaning of the word faith. If faith be merely knowledge and assent, then there is a difference between believing and eating, or appropriating. But if by faith we not merely receive as with the hand, but appropriate and…
976 wordsSECTION 345§ 16.] THE LORD'S SUPPER. THE REFORMED CHURCH. 647
rendus est ; " and again, " Quod autem carnis suae esu et sangui- nis potione, quae hie figurantur, Christus animas nostras per fidem Spiritus sancti virtute pascit, id non perinde accipiendum, quasi fiat aliqua substantiae vel commixtio yel transf usio : sed quoniam ex carne semel in sacrificium oblata et sanguine in …
1,037 wordsSECTION 346§ 16.] THE LORD'S SUPPER. THE REFORMED CHURCH. 649
from^ the glorified body of Christ in heaven, nor to the communica- tion of the theanthropic nature of Christ, but only to " the bless- ing of Christ, and the working of his Spirit in them that receive " the sacrament of his body and blood. By some of the early fathers the resurrection of the body was regarded as a sp…
1,090 wordsSECTION 347§17.] THE LORD'S SUPPER. MODERN VIEWS. 651
in connection with a given corporeal organization. On neither view is there any real dualism between God and the world, or God and man except as occasioned by sin. The oneness of God and man is affirmed by both classes, by Cousin and Ullman for ex- ample, with equal earnestness. This is a oneness which admits of divers…
966 wordsSECTION 348§17.] THE LORD'S SUPPER. MODERN VIEWS. 653
assumed generic humanity into personal union with Himself, in- cludes in a still higher sense a world of other personalities. " He was Himself the race." He has assumed generic humanity into personal union with Himself and thereby rendered it divine ; it is indeed a true human life, but it is nevertheless divine. It is…
994 wordsSECTION 349§17.] THE LORD'S SUPPER. MODERN VIEWS. 656
actualized, only in the way of process or gradual historical develop- ment. All that belongs, then, to the new life of the Christian, con- ceived as complete at the last day, must be allowed to be in- volved in it as principle and process from the beginning. In every stage of its progress it is a true human life answer…
1,154 wordsSECTION 350§17.] THE LORD'S SUPPER. MODERN VIEWS. 657
flesh and blood disjoined from his Spirit; but of the one life which is the union of both — Spirit in such connections seems to stand not for the Holy Spirit, but for the divine nature of Christ, for the life of Christ is not the union of the Holy Spirit with his humanity — and in virtue of which the presence of the on…
483 wordsSECTION 351VOL. TTT. 42
658 PART IH. Ch. XX. — the means of grace. law which gives rise to a new development. This new law, or principle of life is the substance of Christ. Herein consists the mystical union. " This union is a central, that is, an organic union between the soul-centre, (seelischen Centrum) of the exalted In- carnate one and …
507 wordsSECTION 352§ 17.] THE LORD'S SUPPER. MODERN VIEWS. 659
modern German theories. They are unintelligible to the majority of educated men, and as to the poor, for whom the gospel is es- pecially designed, they are absolutely meaningless. Remarks. As the theory above referred to, in its main features has been repeatedly brought under review in these pages, there is the less n…
943 wordsSECTION 353§18.] THE LORD'S SUPPER. THE LUTHERAN DOCTRINE. 661
(/cev^) empty; void of truth, weightless and worthless. It is moreover, a deceit ; it disappoints and misleads. This is not said of natural philosophy, which concerns itself with the facts and laws of nature ; nor of moral philosophy, which treats of the phenomena and laws of our moral nature; nor of intellectual philo…
1,232 wordsSECTION 354§ 18.] THE LORD'S SUPPER. THE LUTHERAN DOCTRINE. 663
sumed it necessarily led to a statement of what is meant by the body and blood of Christ ; in what sense the bread is his body and the wine his blood ; how they are given and received ; and what are the effects of such reception. On all these points the surest sources of information on the real doctrine of the Lutheran…
948 wordsSECTION 355§ 18.] THE LORD'S SUPPER. THE LUTHERAN DOCTRINE. 665
itatis suae," being truly and actually at the right hand of God is, as to his humanity, everywhere present. (3.) " Quod verbum Dei non est falsum, aut mendax." (4.) That God knows, and has in his power various modes of presence, and is not bound to that particular mode which philosophers are accustomed to call local or…
915 wordsSECTION 356§18.] THE LORD'S SUPPER. THE LUTHERAN DOCTRINE. 667
influence emanating from his glorified body in heaven, and con- veyed to the believer by the power of the Holy Ghost. Accord- ing to the Reformed generally, it is not this supernatural power of the glorified body of Christ that is present and received, but the sacrificial efficacy of his body broken and his blood shed …
961 wordsSECTION 357§18.] THE LORD'S SUPPER. THE LUTHERAN DOCTRINE. 669
is the Spirit that quickeneth ; the flesh profiteth nothing ; the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." It was not his literal flesh that He was to give us to eat, for that would profit nothing. His words, on that subject, were to be un- derstood in a spiritual sense.1 But although the Luth…
1,046 wordsSECTION 358§18.] THE LORD'S SUPPER. THE LUTHERAN DOCTRINE. 671
the word " local " in a sense in which it characterizes the presence of a body which is present exclusively, t. e., both in the sense of excluding all other bodies from the same portion of space, being bounded by it, and of being nowhere else. The Reformed say that it is contrary to the nature of such a body as that wh…
926 wordsSECTION 359§ 18.] THE LORD'S SUPPER. THE LUTHERAN DOCTRINE 673
mus, manducemus ac bibamus. Breviter non airowriav absentiam, non ivovaiav inexistentiam, non a-wovcrCav consubstantionem, non /xcrovo-tav transubstantionem, sed irapowiav corporis et sanguinis Christi in sacra coena statuimus." The whole doctrine of the Lutheran Church on the Lord's Supper is briefly and authoritativ…
865 wordsSECTION 360§ 18.] THE LORD'S SUPPER. THE LUTHERAN DOCTRINE. 675
institution] connected with them." To this he adds : " Quin etiam illud pro certo constat, Christi corpus et sanguinem nequaquam rem otiosam et infrugiferam esse posse, quae nihil fructus aut utilitatis afferat." a Luther's Catechisms have symbolical au- thority, having been adopted by the whole Lutheran Church. The sa…
1,108 wordsSource & rights
Public-domain historical edition (1872). Text from OCR of an original Internet Archive scan; OCR may contain recognition errors.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.