It thus appears that the Reformed distinctly rejected all the errors concerning the person of Christ, condemned in the early Church ; the Arian, the Ebionitic, the Gnostic, the -Apollinarian, the Nestorian, the Eutychian, and the Monothelite, as well as the peculiar Lutheran doctrine introduced at the time of the Reforma- tion. The Reformed taught what the first six general councils taught, and what the Church universal received, — neither more nor less. With this agrees the beautifully clear and precise state- ment of the Westminster Confession : "The Son of God, the second person in the Trinity, being very and eternal God, of one substance, and equal with the Father, did, when the fulness of time was come, take upon Him man's nature, and and all the essential properties and common infirmities thereof, yet without sin : being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the womb of the Virgin Mary, of her substance. So that two whole, perfect, and distinct natures, the Godhead and the manhood, were inseparably joined together in one person, without conversion, composition, or confusion. Which person is very God and very man, yet one Christ, the only mediator between God and man." ^
§ 7. Lutheran Doctrine.
The Lutherans in their symbols adopt all the doctrinal decisions of the early Church respecting the person of Christ. They there- fore hold, (1.) That Christ is very God and very man. (2.) That He has two distinct natures, a human and divine ; that as to the latter He is consubstantial with the Father, and as to the former He is consubstantial with men. (3.) That He is one person. There is one Christ and not two. (4.) That the two natures are intimately united, but without confusion or change. Each nature retains its own peculiar properties. Nevertheless they hold that the attributes of the one nature were communicated to the other. They admit a " communio idiomatum " in the sense that what- ever is true of either nature is true of the person. But beyond this they insist upon a " communicatio naturarum." And by na- ture, in this connection, they mean essence. Li their symbols and writings the formula " natura, seu substantia, seu essentia " is of frequent occurrence. The divine essence is communicated to the human. The one interpenetrates the other. They " are mixed " (^commiscentur^. They do not become one essence, but remain two ; yet where the one is the other is ; what the one does the other does. The human is as truly divine as the eternal essence
1 Chap. viii. § 2.
408 PART III. Ch. in. — the person of CHRIST.
of the Godhead, except that it is not divine ex se, but by commu- nication. (5.) As however it would be derogatory to the divine nature to suppose it to be subject to the limitations and infirmities of humanity, this communication of attributes is said to be confined to the human nature. It receives divine perfections; but the divine receives nothing from the human. (6.) The human nature of Christ, therefore, is almighty, omniscient, and everywhere present both as to soul and body. (7.) As this transfer of divine attributes from the divine to the human nature is the consequence of the incarnation, or rather constitutes it, it began when the incarnation began, and consequently in the womb of the Virgin Mary. (8.) The humiliation of Christ consisted mainly in the hiding or not using the divine perfections of his human nature while here on earth ; and his exaltation in the manifestation of the divine glory of his humanity. On this subject the " Form of Concord "^ says, " Eamque Majestatem, ratione unionis personalis, semper Christus habuit: sed in statu suae humiliationis sese exinanivit; qua de causa revera astate, sapientia et gi'atia apud Deum atque homines profe- cit. Quare majestatem illam non semper, sed quoties ipsi visum fuit, exseruit, donee formam servi, non autem naturam humanam, post resurrectionem plene et prorsus deponeret, ut in plenariam usux-pationem, manifestationem et declarationem divinae majesfa- tis collocaretur, et hoc modo in gloriam suam ingrederetur." (9.) Nevertheless Christ while here on earth, and even when in the womb of the Virgin, was as to his soul and body everywhere present.
The above statement is believed to be a correct exhibition of the doctrine of the Lutheran Church as presented in the eighth chapter of the " Form of Concord." There is, however, no little difficulty in determining what the Lutheran doctrine really is. The Chris- tology of Luther, although very clear and pi-onounced on certain points, was indefinite and doubtful in others. His successors dif- fered seriously among themselves. It was one of the principal objects of the " Form of Concord " to settle the matters in dispute. This was done by compromise. Both parties made concessions, and yet both insisted upon the assertion of their oeculiar views in one part or other of that document. It is, there- fore, difficult, if not impossible, to reconcile some portions of the " Form of Concord " with others. It did not in fact put an end to the divisions which it was designed to heal.
1 VIII. 16; Base, Libri Symbolici, p. 608.