he took the ground that the Spirit never operated on the minds of men except through the Word and sacraments ; and, as he held the conversion of sinners to be the greatest of all miracles, he was constrained to attribute divine power to the Word. He was not content to take the ground which the Church in general has taken, that while the Word and sacraments are the ordinary channels of the Spirit's influence, He has left himself free to act with or with- out these or any other means, and when He makes new revela- tions to individuals they are authenticated to others by signs, and miracles, and divers gifts ; and that in all cases, however authen- ticated, they are to be judged by the written Word as the only infallible rule of faith or practice ; so that if an Apostle or an angel from heaven should preach any other gospel than that which we have received, he is to be pronounced accursed. (Gal. i. 8.) " We are of God: " said the Apostle John, " he that knoweth God heareth us ; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error." (1 John iv. 6.) The Scriptures teach that not only the Holy Spirit, but also other spirits good and evil have access to the minds of men, and more or less effectually control their operations. Directions, therefore, are given in the Bible to guide us in discriminating between the true and false.
The power of individual men, who appear in special junctures, over the faith and character of coming generations, is something portentous. Of such "world controllers," at least in modern times, there are none to compare with Martin Luther, Ignatius Loyola, and John Wesley. Though so different from each other, each has left his impress upon millions of men. Our only security from the fallible or perverting influence of man, is in entire, un- questioning submission to the infallible Word of God.
§ 2. The Sacraments. Their Nature.
Usage of the Word Sacrament.
1. In classical usage the word " sacramentum " means, in gen eral, something sacred. In legal proceedings the money depos- ited by contending parties was called " sacramentum," because when forfeited it was applied to sacred purposes. " Ea pecunia, quae in judicium venit in litibus, sacramentum a sacro." " Sac- ramentum aes significat, quod poenae nomine penditur, sive eo quia interrogatur sive contenditur." Then in a secondary sense it meant a judicial process. In military usage it expressed the ob-
486 PART HI. Ch. XX. — the means of grace.
ligation of the soldier to his leader or country ; then the oath by which he was bound ; and generally an oath ; so that in ordinary language " sacramentum dicere " meant to swear. l
2. The ecclesiastical usage of the word was influenced by vari- ous circumstances. From its etymology and signification it was applied to anything sacred or consecrated. Then to anything which had a sacred or hidden meaning. In this sense it was applied to all religious rites and ceremonies. This brought it into connection with the Greek word (jLvarrjpiov, which properly means a secret ; something into the knowledge of which a man must be initiated. Hence in the Vulgate " sacramentum " is used as the translation of (ivo-Trjpiov in Ephesians i. 9, iii. 9, v. 32 ; Colos- sians i. 27 ; 1 Timothy iii. 16 ; Revelation i. 20, xvii. 7. It was therefore used in the wide sense for any sign which had a secret import. Thus Augustine says,2 " Nimis autem longum est, con- venienter disputare de varietate signorum, quae cum ad res divinas pertinent, sacramenta appellantur." And again he says,3 " Ista fratres dicuntur sacramenta, quia in eis aliud videtur, aliud intelli* gitur. Quod videtur speciem habet corporalem, quod intelligitur, fructum habet spiritualem." All religious rites and ceremonies, the sign of the cross, anointing with oil, etc., were therefore called sacraments. Augustine frequently calls the mystical or allegor- ical exposition of Scripture, a sacrament. Jerome 4 says, " Sacra- menta Dei sunt praedicare, benedicere ac confirmare, communionem reddere, visitare infirmos, orare.5 Lombard says, " Sacramentum est sacrae rei signum." 6
The Theological Usage and Definition of the Word.
3. It is evident that the signification of the word " sacrament " is so comprehensive and its usage so lax, that little aid can be de- rived from either of those sources in fixing definitely its meaning in Christian theology. Hence theologians soon began to frame definitions of the word more or less exact, derived from the teach- ings of the New Testament on the subject. The two simplest and most generally accepted of such definitions are the one by Augustine and the other by Peter Lombard. The former says, 7
1 Freund's Lateinische Wdrterbuch.
2 Epistola cxxxviii. (5); Works, edit. Benedictines, Paris, 1836, vol. vii. p. 615, c.
8 Sermo cclxxii. (16); Ibid. vol. v. p. 1614, b, c. * Works, torn. ix. p. 59. (?)
1 See Gerhard, Loci Theologici, xix. i. §§ 6, 9 ; edit. Tubingen, 1768, vol. viii. pp. 204, 205.
• Lombard, Magister Sententiarum, lib. IV. dist. i. B. edit. ( ?) 1472.
1 In Joannis Evangelium Tractatus, Ixxx. 3 ; Works, edit. Benedictines, Paris, 1837, vol. iii. 2290, a.