by the Rev. H. C. G. Moule, M.A., Principal of Ridley Hall, and
formerly Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge.
below.)
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<v> PREFACE.
The present short treatise was at first planned in the form of a Commentary upon the Thirty-Nine Articles. As the work proceeded the author was led to think that a sketch of the main doctrines of the Faith might be more generally useful, which, while always keeping in view the great historic Confession of the Church of which he thanks God he is a son and presbyter, should omit some topics contained in it and deal with others in a way somewhat different from that of a commentary.
The work makes not the least pretension either to originality or to fulness. It will have well served its purpose if in any degree it can stimulate its readers to personal study, and suggest lines for work and thought.
The author humbly trusts that what he has written has been written "at the foot of the Cross." Certainly, he has never willingly forgotten the presence of Him "whom truly to know is <v/vi> everlasting life." Before Him he desires ever to prostrate himself, and ever to recollect more fully that, as regards the depth and height of His Revelation, "we know in part, and prophesy in part."
Writing on the Day of the Annunciation, he reverently takes up as his own, in view of the holy truths he has here attempted to discuss, the words of its Collect, now thirteen centuries old:
We beseech Thee, O Lord, pour Thy grace into our hearts; that as we have known the Incarnation of Thy Son Jesus Christ by the message of an Angel, so by His Cross and Passion we may be brought to the glory of His Resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Cambridge, March 25th, 1889.<vi>
CONTENTS.
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CHAPTER 1.
introductory: (1) natural and revealed religion, (2) the holy scriptures.
Certain data assumed, 1; Revelation, its possibility, 3 ; The Holy Scriptures, their characteristics, 4; Testimony of Christ to them, 5; their authority, spiritually ultimate, 7; Grades of authority, 7; Relation of Scripture to theology, 8.
CHAPTER II.
the doctrine of god: (1) theism, (2) the holy trinity.
Brief conspectus of the main lines of natural testimony to God, 10; Intuitions, 11; Order, 11; Consciousness, and its mode of witness, 12; Relation of these evidences to Revelation, 13; Polytheism, its error and its element of truth, 14 ; Pantheism, Brahmanism an instance of it, 14 ; Its error, and element of truth, 15; Atheism, rarely now held as a definite creed; why, 15; Agnosticism, its error and its,element of truth, 16; Deism, 16; Christianity an element in theistic evidence, 17; Physical evidence for the being of God akin to that for the being of man, 18; Traces of divine handiwork not altogether like traces of ours, 18; Importance of Scripture doctrine of Creation, 19, Divine creative sovereignty 19; The Holy <vii/viii> Trinity, a truth altogether of Revelation, 19; "Unitarianism" of Scripture, all-important to the enquiry, 20; Claim of God upon the creature, 20; Trinitarian evidence, 21; Statement of the doctrine, 23; Old Testament evidence, 24; Immanent and Economical Trinity, 24; Illustrations of the doctrine of the Trinity, 25; History of the doctrine, 26; Gnosticism, 26; Manicheism, 26; Monarchianism, 27; Arianism, 28; Point of contact between the above systems, an assumption of Unipersonality, 28; Modern alien theories—Unitarianism, Swedenborgianism, 29; The word Trinity, 30.
CHAPTER III.
the doctrine of the father.
Best studied in the light of the doctrines of the Other Persons, 31; Creation by the Father, 31; Yet He is not Father of the Universe, 32; Redemption by the Father, 32; The Father loves the world, loves man, 33 ; Is He therefore, in the proper sense, the Father of every man? 34; The Father "gives" the redeeming Son, 35; And lays our sins on Him, 35; Justifies, 36; Adopts, 36; Gives the regenerating Spirit, 36; Calls, 36; Keeps, sanctifies, glorifies, 36; Elects, 36; Mystery of election, 37; Necessary in such a subject of thought, 37; Scripture evidence, 37; Relation of the Father to the Son in the work of salvation, 38; All salvation is "in" the Son of the Father, 39; The Covenant between the Father and the Son, 40; Its matter, 41; Symmetry of the eternal purpose and method, 42; Election taught in Scripture in relation to other truth, 42; No force upon the will, 43; Moral purposes of the doctrine, 43; Other sides of truth equally true and important, 44; Sincerity of divine love and invitation, 44; Apparent contradictions of the highest truths, 44: ; A "Calvinist on his knees, an Arminian on his feet," 45; Scope of the Atonement, 45; Its double aspect, 45; Perseverance of the saints, 46; Loss of grace, 47; Need of constant <viii/ix> personal communion with God, to study and to use truth aright, 47; Varying theories of Election, 48; National, 48 ; Ecclesiastical, 48; Conditional, 49; Election within election, 50; History of opinion on election, 51; Centuries ii.-iv., 51; Autexousion, 51; Centuries iv., v., 51; St Augustine and Pelagius, 51; Centuries v.-xvii., 52; Views on freedom of the will, 52; The Scholastics, 53; Trent, 53; The Jansenists, 53; The Reformers, 53; Calvin, 53; Luther, 54; Melanchthon, 54; Hooker, 54; Arminius, 54; Synod of Dort, 55; Baxter, 55; Century xviii., 55; Wesley and his English contemporaries, 55; Edwards, 55.
CHAPTER IV.
the doctrine of the son.
(1) The Person of Christ:—Article II., 57; Scripture evidence for His Godhead, 57; and His Sonship, 58; The eternal Generation, 59; "The Word," 59; The Homöousion, 60; The Incarnation, 60; One Person, 61; Two Natures, 61; The Manhood perfect, 61; The Manhood never independently personal, 61; "Divine-human Personality," 62; Reality of Christ’s human experience, 62; His sinlessness, 62; His Godhead and Manhood always, in Incarnation, present together, 63; Perfection of His knowledge, 63; The title "Son of God," 64; "Son of Man," 64; "Second Man," 64; History of the Doctrine of the Person of Christ, 65; Centuries i.-iii., 65; Centuries iv., v., Arianism, 66; Apollinarianism, 66; Nestorianism; theotokos, 67; Eutychianism, 67; Definition of Chalcedon, 67; Monothelite controversy, 69; Importance of ancient controversies, 69.
CHAPTER V.
the doctrine of the son (continued).
(2) The Work of Christ:—In Creation, 70; Theory of pre-existence of Creation in the Son, 70; Is the Pre-existent Christ Primal Man? 72; Was the Incarnation irrespective of the Fall? 72; Difficulties, 73; The Atonement, 75; It <ix/x> is central truth, 75; Scripture evidence, 75; Necessity of deep views of sin, 76; Reasons for present neglect of certain aspects of doctrine of Atonement, 76; Elements necessary to a true theory, 77; Scripture metaphors, 78; The word "at-one-ment," 78; What it does not imply, 79; Awful greatness of the problem of sin, 80; Godward aspect of the Atonement, 81; Its relation to other aspects, 81; Detached remarks, Purchase, 82; Equivalence, 83; Lama sabachthani, 83; Relation of Christ’s life to His death, 83; hyper, anti, etc., 84; "The blood of Christ," bearing of the phrase, 85; Penal suffering, 86; History of doctrine of Atonement, centuries i.-iv.; Clement of Rome, Ep. to Diognetus, Irenæus, Justin, Origen, 88; Athanasius, Augustine, 89; Was a price paid to the Evil One? 89; Centuries xi.-xvi.; Anselm, Bernard, Lombard, 90; Aquinas, the Mystics, 91; Age of Reformation, 91; Later currents of opinion, 91; The "Descent into Hell," 92; Hades, 93; 1 Pet. iii., 94 (and 95); Cautions, 94; History of belief about the "Descent," 95; Creeds, 95; Irenæus, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, 96; Apocryphal literature, 96; Supposed scope and nature of the Descent, 96; Reserve of Scripture, 96; Purgatory, 97; Prayer for the dead, 97; Scripture doctrine of the Intermediate State, 97.
CHAPTER VI.
the work of christ (continued).
Resurrection, Session, Ascension, Return, 99; Purposes of the Resurrection, 99; Conditions, 99; The Second Adam, 100; Ascension; ubiquity, 101; Head of the Church, 101; Mediation, Suretyship, Covenant, 102; Intercession, 103; High Priesthood, 103; The Priest enthroned, 104; Is there an altar in heaven? 104; Does the Victim-state continue? 105; Kingship of Christ, 105; In what sense terminable, 106; The Lord’s Return, why treated here with reserve, 106; Scripture evidence in various directions, 107; The future of Israel, 109; History of opinion about the Return, New Testament, 109; Justin, Iren- <x/xi> æus, Origen, Dionysius, Augustine, 110; Middle Ages, 110; Later times, 111; Interpretation of the Revelation, 111; The Millennium, 111; The pre-millennial Return, 112; Considerations on both sides, 112; The Judgment committed to the Son, 115; Mystery of its conditions, 115; The Church judged, 116; And judging, 117; The Judgment an event, 117.
CHAPTER VII.
the doctrine of the holy spirit.
The Spirit divine, 119; Personal, 120; John xiv.-xvi. and other Scripture evidence, 120; "Unitarianism" of Scripture, 121; Old Testament evidence, 122; Significance of the term "The Spirit," 123; The Nexus between the Other Persons, 123; Spiritual importance of the truth of the Personality, 124; The Procession, 124; The Dual Procession, 125; Its spiritual importance, 126; Work of the Spirit, in nature, 126; In mankind, 126; The universal Effusion, its meaning, 127; Does He work in the intermediate state? 128; His work in the Church, 129; Aspects of the Church, 129; Work in the individual, 130; Its order, 130; Conviction, 130; Its importance, 131; Union with Christ, 132; How it is "by the Spirit," 133; Work of the Spirit in the Incarnate Lord, 135; And in us in relation to it, 135; Christ our Life, the Spirit our Life-giver, 136; Illumination by the Spirit; His witness to Christ, 136 ; Freedom of the Spirit’s work, 137; He maintains the life given, 138; How, 139 ; The Spirit is the true Author of Scripture, 139; Recognition of this by the earliest Fathers; Clement, 139; Justin, Theophilus, Irenæus, Tertullian, Cyprian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, 140; Inferences from this doctrine, 141; The Spirit’s work for the Community of the true Church, 141; Relation of member and body in view of this, 141; "Spiritual gifts," 142; "Grace," 143; Work of the Spirit in the Old Testament saints, 144; Difference of the New Testament period, 145; History of the doctrine of the Spirit, 146; Clement, <xi/xii> Ignatius, The Shepherd, Second Ep. of Cement, Justin, Irenæus, Tertullian, Origen, 147; Athanasius, the Gregories, Basil, 148; The Dual Procession, 149; Augustine, Charlemagne, the Great Schism, 149; Council of Florence, 150; Modem views, Christian consciousness, 150; History of doctrine of the Spirit’s work; Montanism, 150; Augustine, Bernard, the Mystics, the Reformation, 151; Present deepening of the sense of the supreme importance of the Spirit’s work, 151.
CHAPTER VIII.
the doctrine of man.
Nature of Scripture anthropology, 152; Creation of man, Gen. i., ii., 152; How far are the narratives to be understood "literally"? 153; The evolutionary philosophy, 154; Man a new departure, 154; Physical observation and philosophic theory, 155; The word "evolution," its ambiguity, 155; Antiquity of man, 156; Unity of mankind, 157; The Image of God, 157; Personality, 158; The individual, 158; Immortality, 159; The body, 160; Its relation to judgment, 160; To the Incarnation, 161; Soul and spirit, 161; Is man tripartite or bipartite? 162; Was his "spirit" lost in the Fall? 162; Body and soul, 163; Man essentially one, 163; The "heart," 163; The "inner man," 164; The "mind," conscience, free-will, 164; Its relation to the will of God, 164; Traducianism and Creationism, 165; Man’s original state according to Scripture, 165; Other views, 165; The Roman Catholic doctrine of original man, 166; Greatness of human nature, 166; Sin unnatural, 167; Primal man a "son of God," how, 167; Adam the head of mankind, 168; Mystery of this, 168; The Fall, 169; At once fact and mystery, 169; The Temptation, and its sequel 169; Knowledge of good and evil, 170; Was it " a fall upward"? 170; Absolute origin of evil, unrevealed, 170; But evil is a fact, 171; Hateful to God, 171; Spiritual importance of full recognition of this, 171; Nature of man’s bondage in the Fall, 172; "Depravity," 172, Testimony of doctrine <xii/xiii> of regeneration to it, 173; Original Sin, 173; Mozley on it, 73; Coleridge, 174; The individual "totally" fallen, 174; Yet not under a binding fate, 175; Inherited sinfulness and guilt, 175; Mystery and mercy of the revelation, 176; Man restored, 177; Much of this subject anticipated, 177; "Antinomies" inherent in the subject, 177; Two Ways and Two Ends, 178; Is a universal hope possible? 178; Sin an unknown cause, 179; Attempt to indicate the eternal "plan," 179; Under what conditions this may be done, 180; The spirit proper to those who hold the view indicated, 180; Need of the Gospel in order to man’s actual restoration, 181; Infants, 181; The normal process of individual restoration, 182; Regeneration and Conversion, 182; Repentance, 183; Union with Christ, 183; Justification, 183; Its revealed method, 184; Testimony of perversions to its real nature, 184; Meaning of "works," 184; Of "faith," 185; Bishop Bull, 185; St James’ teaching, 186; First and second justification, 186; Hooker’s dying words, 187; Essential importance and significance of the doctrine of Justification by Faith, 187; Imputed righteousness, 188; Is justification due to the divine foreview of glorified perfection? 189; Union with Christ and its relation to justification, 189; The justified still under discipline, 189; Sanctification; its relations to justification, 190; Absoluteness of sanctification in idea and purpose, 191; The work of faith in sanctification, 191; Eph. iii. 14-19, 192; The Indwelling, 192; Illustration from Old Testament, 192; Christ the Fountain of the holy life, 193; Faith the mode of derivation, 193; Yet the life so lived calls for full exercise of will, 193; Is the man thus living entitled to claim freedom in all respects from sin? 194; Promises, 194; Cautions, 194; Antitheses of Scripture on this subject, 195; The power and the presence of sin, 195; The flesh, 195; Crucifixion, 196; Rom. vii. 7-25 considered, 196; Does the life of sanctified deliverance begin with a crisis? 198; The Fulness of the Spirit, 199; Summary of the position and condition of man actually restored, in life, 200; In death, and eternity, 201. <xiii>
CHAPTER IX.
the doctrine of the church.
Hooker on the two aspects of the idea of the Church, 202; The word Ecelesia, 204; Necessity of distinctions, 205; Illustrated by Rom. ii. 25-9, 206; Testimony of St Augustine, 207; Ridley, 207 ; Sacred claims of the visible Church, 208; Corporate re-union, 209; What is the most dangerous sort of schism? 210; The rule of order and its exceptions, 210; "Notes" of the Church, 210; Earliest exposition of Art. XIX., 211; Hooker, Field, Pearson, 211; Is Episcopacy a "note"? 212; The word "Catholic," 212; Ignatius, Athanasius, 212; Claims of the Roman Catholic Church, 213; Need of caution in reasoning from patristic language about the Church, 213; One cause of separation, 214; Desirableness of temperate uniformity, 214; Authority of the Church; its nature, and limits, 214; Councils, 215; Art. XX., Church authority as regards order of worship, 216; Art. XX., XXXIV.; Prefaces to Prayer Book, 216.
CHAPTER X.
the doctrine of the ministry.
Art. XXIII., 217; New Testament evidence, 217; Apostles, Deacons, Elders, "Bishops," 218; SS. James, Timothy, Titus, 218; Did the Community create its ministry? 218; Exceptions to primitive ministerial rule, 219; Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, Clement, Ignatius, 219; Peculiarity of the Apostolate, 219; How far it was, and was not, transmissible, 220; Succession, 220; Its rightness and benefits, 220; Yet not of the first order of truths, 221; Sacerdotalism, 221; Medium and Mediator, 222; The word hiereus not used of the Cbristian minister in the New Testament, 223; Bishop Lightfoot on origin of Sacerdotalism, 223; Confession and Absolution, 223; New Testament evidence, 224; The Roman system 224; Contrition, Attrition, 224; In what sense the minister truly has an absolving authority, 225; History of the <xiv/xv> Confessional, 226; Our Visitation Service, 227; Grace of Orders, 227; Episcopacy, 228; New Testament use of the word Episcopus, 228; Ignatius, Irenæus, 228; Asia Minor and St John, 229; St Jerome’s view of relations between presbyterate and episcopate, 229; Non-episcopal churches, 230; Anglican opinion, Jewel, 230; Whitgift, Bancroft, Hall, Andrewes, 231; Ussher, Cosin, 232; Two opposite tendencies to be avoided, 232; The Ministry not meant to absorb the energies of the Church, 233.
CHAPTER XI.
the doctrine of the sacraments.
Art. XXV.; The word Sacramentum, 234; The Seven Sacraments of the Roman Church, 234; Roman theory of grace and of sacramental conveyance, 235; New Testament evidence, 236; Special aspects of the "Body" and the "Blood" in the Eucharist, 237; Bulk of New Testament teaching on Sacraments, its lesson, 238; Old Testament Sacraments, 239; The sacramental idea, 239; Place of Sacraments under the Gospel, 239; Sacraments are covenanting rites, 240; Bullinger’s Decades, 241; Special blessing of Sacraments, 241; St Bernard, 242; Aquinas, 243; The Sacrament described in terms of the Thing 243; Patristic idea of regeneration, 244; Baptism at Easter and Whitsuntide, 244; Lombard, 244; Vogan, 244; Waterland on the work of Sacraments, 245; High language of older Anglicans on Sacraments, yet "evangelical" language on grace, 245; Hall, Ussher, Beveridge, Taylor, 246; Hooker, Augustine, 247; Two opposite opinions to be avoided, 248; Definition of a Sacrament in the Catechism, 248; "A means and a pledge," 248; "Necessary to salvation," 249; Language of ceremony and of related fact, 249; On the word "in," 250 ; Extension of the Incarnation, 251; It is by the Spirit alone, 251; Baptism; Art. XXVII., 252; Theories of the work of Baptism; the Germ, 252; Bp Browne’s view, 253; Difficulties, 253; Change of status, 253; Ussher’s view, 254; Characteristics of language of covenant, 254; Re- <xv/xvi> mission of original sin in baptism, 254; Joh. iii. 1-8, 255; Ecclesiastical regeneration, 255; Church and Church, etc., 255; Confirmation, 255; Infant baptism, 256; Children and the seal of the covenant, 256; Circumcision, 256; Monnica, 257; Temperate language of our Article, 257; Wall’s liberal statements, 257; Sponsors, 257; The infant viewed as a catechumen, 258; Baptism to be studied first in the adult, not the infant, 258; Sprinkling or immersion, 258; The Holy Communion, 259; Articles XXVIII., XXIX., XXXI., 259; What is the true meaning of "The Body and Blood of Christ"? 260; Words of the Lord at institution, 260; Importance of their full form, 260; And of the separateness of the Elements, 261; Transubstantiation, 261; Consubstantiation, 261; Teaching now current in the English Church, 261; Bearing of the words of institution on these views, 262; Waterland, 263; What we "feed on" directly, in the Eucharist, 263; And on what indirectly but really, 263; The word "is," 263; Cannot be taken without explanation, 263; "Do this in remembrance of Me," 264; The hour of Communion, 265; Attitude at the Holy Communion, 266; Realis Præsentia, 266; Non-communicating Attendance, 266; Conclusion.
Addenda, 268, 269.
indexes, 270—288.
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The writer has to thank his friend and colleague, the Rev. G. A. S. Schneider, M.A., formerly Professor of Divinity in Trinity College, Toronto, for very kind and valuable help in preparing the account of the History of the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit.
In preparing a Second Edition (July, 1889) the writer has received much help from his friend the Rev. Andrew Wood, M.A., Rector of Great Ponton, Grantham. Mr Wood has kindly revised with great care the whole text of the First Edition, including the references to Scripture and Fathers, and has made many important suggestions on points of detail.
In a Third Edition (Feb., 1890) Indexes have been added, and some corrections and alterations made. The writer is much indebted to his critics for indications of omission or error.<xvi>