Maclear and Williams on Article XVII: Of Predestination and Election

As the godly consyderation of pre- destination, and our election in Christe, is full of sweete, pleasaunt, and vn- speakeable comfort to godly persons, and such as feele in themselues the working of the spirite of Christe, mortifying the workes of the fleshe, and their earthlye members, and draw- ing vp their mynde to hygh and heauenly thinges, aswell because it doth greatly establyshe and confirme their fayth of eternal saluation to be enioycd through Christ, as because it doth feruently kindle their loue to- wardes God: So, for curious and carnal persons, lacking the spirite of

sentenliam, perniciosissimum est prae- cipitium, unde illos Diabolus pro- trudit, uel in desperationem, uel in aeque perniciosam impurissimse vitse securitatem.

Deinde promissiones diuinas sic amplecti oportet, ut nobis in sacris Uteris generaliter propositi sunt : et Dei voluntas in nostris actionibus ea sequenda est, quam in uerbo Dei habemus diserte reuelatam.

Christe, to haue continually before their eyes the sentence of Gods pre- destination, is a most daungerou? downefall, whereby the deuyll doth thrust them either into desperation, or into rechelesnesse of most vncleane liuing, no lesse perilous then despera- tion.

Furthermore, we must receaue Gods promises in such wyse, as they be generally set foorth to vs in holy scripture ; and in our doynges, that wyl of God is to be folowed, which we haue expreslye declared vnto vs in the worde of God.

i. Connection. The Seventeenth Article naturally follows the last, which dealt in its concluding clauses with the doctrines of Indefectible Grace and Final Perseverance. In the original draft of 1553 it was preceded by an Article, treating of blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. This was withdrawn in 15631.

ii. Source. The general wording of the Article is deemed to bear some resemblance to Luther’s Preface to his Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans”. The concluding paragraph, however, in which it is stated that “we must receive God’s promises in such wise as they are generally set forth to us in holy Sc/ipture,” is thought to be more clearly traceable to the language of Melanchthon3.

iii. Object. Its intention was to allay the angry and heated discussions respecting the doctrine of Predestination alike in the reforming bodies and in Scholastic and Ana- baptist circles4. And while it commends in general terms

Fox and Strype alike record “that violent disputes on the subject of pre- destination took place between the Protest ant prisoners, (particularly those in the King’s Bench) during the per- secution of Mary.” For the precise opinions of the Moderate party as then

one view of Predestination, it is careful at the same time to guard against Fatalism, into which “curious and carnal persons” were in danger of being betrayed by taking a one-sided view on this mysterious subject.

iv. The Doctrine of Predestination has excited keen dispute at various epochs in the history of the Church. Men found themselves unable to reconcile the perfect power and knowledge of God with the freedom of the human will. The Grace of God, it was acknowledged, was universal. All souls were dear to Him, and He willeth that all men should be saved, and come to a full knowledge of the truth1 (i Tim. ii. 4). Yet it is manifest that all men do not attain to salvation. Some are placed in favourable, some in most unfavourable circumstances. Some have many privileges, some have none. How is this to be accounted for? If it is God’s good pleasure to give men the kingdom, why do some succeed and some fail in attaining to everlasting salvation2? The question was diversely answered.

v. The Answer of S. Augustine. In the early ages of the Church the question did not excite much con- troversy. It was generally felt that man must be assisted by Divine Grace3, if he is to do anything pleasing to God, and to attain to final salvation, and the idea that this Grace was not bestowed equally on all led to the further idea of an eternal decree regulating its bestowal. But the concep- tion was as yet kept within moderate limits, and the Divine decree was not regarded as unconditional. Later

expressed, see the Appendix to with yvums, knowledge, falsely so

Laurence, Bainpton Lectures, pp. 389 called. See 2 Tim. ii. 25 ; iii. 7 ;

—393. Titus i. 1.

[…]

‘E7r/7>‘aj<7is = a clear hmuledge of the 3 See Hermas, Pastor, Sim. viii. 6;

truth, a knowledge much insisted on Justin Martyr, Dial. c. Tryph., 141 ;

in the Pastoral Epistles as contrasted Minucius Felix, c. 36.

on S. Augustine of Hippo, pondering over the earlier experience of a time when the mercy of God “pursued him through his wild youth and restless manhood until it conquered him ’ under the fig-tree at Milan,’ ” and awed by the contemplation of the Love1, which had rescued him from the path of sin, came to connect the Grace of God with an inscrutable and irresistible decree. This led to the conception of an Absolute Will, which out of the mass2 of souls, all alike deserving perdition, selected a minority to become vessels of Divine Mercy (vasa misericordice), and abandoned the majority as vessels of Divine Wrath (vasa ires) without regard, in either case, to foreseen moral character3. The views of this great Saint and eminent teacher met with a varied reception and drew forth consider- able controversy, which was not settled till nearly a century after his death. Then Csesarius, Archbishop of Aries, held a Council at Orange within his province in A.D. 529, which laid it down amongst other Articles, that according to the Catholic Faith, “all the baptized are capable, by Christ’s aid and cooperation, if they choose to work faith- fully, of fulfilling the conditions of eternal salvation.” But the Council did not admit a predestination to evil. Those, it held, who do evil do it of their own free will4.

vi. The Answer of the Mediaeval Divines. The

controversy then for a time slumbered, till it was revived by Gottschalk, a monk of Orbais in the diocese of Soissons5.

1 Confess, viii. 5, 28; Bright’s Attfi- 4 See Blight’s Anti- Pelagian Trea-

Pelagian Treatises of S. Augustine., Uses, Introd., p. lxvi ; Cheetham’s

Introd. pp. 1, li. Six Centuries, p. 326. “Gregory the

’ Massa was borrowed from the Great transmitted to subsequent ages

Latin Version (retained by Jerome) of the milder form of the Augustinian

Rom. ix. 2 1 ; see Aug. De Peee. Orig. doctrine in its relations to practical

s. 36 ; Ep. 186, s. 19. Christianity rather than to specula-

3 In the case of souls elected to tion.” Hagen bach ‘s Hist. Doct.,. 433.

salvation Augustine held that Grace 5 See Robertson, Hist. Ch., iii.

was irresistible and indefectible, De 350 ff. ; Hardwick, Hist. Mid. Age,

Corr. et Grat. s. 31, s. 14. pp. 162 — 164.

2\6

Going far beyond even his favourite author S. Augustine, he maintained the most rigorous opinions on the subject of Predestination and propounded a twofold system of decrees, which consigned the good and bad, elect and reprobate alike, quite irrespectively of their own conduct in the present life, to eternal happiness or misery. His opinions called forth the decisive opposition of the leading doctors of the age1, and led to the publication by John Scotus Erigena of his famous treatise De Prcedestinxtione in A.D. 851. In the age of Scholasticism, the Augustinian doctrine of Predestination had the ascendency, but a de- parture from it was gradually prepared by Alexander of Hales, and more allowance was made for the operation of man’s free-will2. S. Thomas Aquinas, however, and others put forth the doctrine without running into the extravagances, which were so injurious to true religion. They regarded Predestination, not as preceding the Divine prescience, but as resulting from it. They grounded election upon foreknowledge ; they contemplated it, not as an arbitrary principle, separating one individual from another, under the influence of a blind chance, or an irrational caprice, but as the orderly arrangement of One, who willeth that all men should be saved, and has regulated His predetermination by the quality of the soil through which His Grace passes3. Moreover they held an election to Grace distinct from an election to Glory, and affirmed that “predestination to eternal happiness solely depends on final perseverance in well doing4.”

[…]

Archbishop of Rheims, who flung exigit diversitatem natures in divina

Gottschalk into prison, where he died cognitione.et facit diversitatem gratia-,

[…]

Age, p. 162, and p. 165 n. facit.” S. Thom. Aquin. Sum. i. 41,

2 Neander, Hist, of Christian Doct., Quaest. i. Art. 1.

ii. p. 568. 4 Laurence, Bampton Lectures, p.

3 “Dicendum quod electio divina 162. “Sic igitur et ordo prtedesti-

2)7

vii. The Answer of Calvin. At the period of the Reformation, the School of Calvin, reviving the extreme forms of the Augustinian doctrine, held that there could be no limitation to the power of God. Seeing, then, that all men are not saved, it could not be the purpose of God that all men should be saved1. They held like Gottschalk that He imparts His renewing Grace to such only as He chooses in His eternal counsel and purpose to save. All others, for whom this Grace is not designed, are ap- pointed to eternal misery, and this is utterly irrespective of anything, good or bad, in them2. This election proceeds entirely from the absolute, unconditional, and irresistible determination of the Divine Will3.

viii. The Answer of Arminius. Another school, that of Arminius4, held that God willed the salvation of all men, and proffered His renewing Grace to all men without distinction. But while He left men’s will free, He vouch- safed His final salvation as the reward of those good deeds,

nationis est certus, et […] non /ollitur, ex qua con/ingen- to-provenit pra;destinationis effectus.” S. Thom. Aquin. Sum. i. 24, Art. 3.

1 Born at Noyon, in Picardy, A. D. 1509, Calvin, on being forced to quit France, settled at Geneva, and there his system was widely disseminated, and gained a vast number of ad- herents. His “Institutes” were pub- lished in 1536. The great discussion, however, respecting Predestination at Geneva, and the publication of Cal- vin’s book De Prsdes/inatione did not take place till 1552, the very year in which the Articles were put forth. Calvin died A.D. 1564.

[…]

3 In Calvin’s own time Melanchthon attacked the arbitrariness of this theory

[…]

4 James Harmensen was a native of Holland, and was bornatOudewaterin A.D. 1 560. After studyingattheUniver- sity of Leyden he went to Geneva, and under the teaching of Beza embraced the doctrine of Predestination in its most rigid form. Returning to Am- sterdam in 1588, and being appointed pastor of the Reformed congregation, he was led to a more careful examina- tion of the subject, and considerably modified his views. In 1604 he was made professor in the University of Leyden, and gained many converts to his opinions, which led to bitter con- troversy between him and his followers and their Calvinislic opponents. He died in 1609.

which He foresaw that men would do. Thus while the Arminian system softened the more rigid features of Calvinism, it regarded the number of the elect as de- pendent on God’s foreknowledge of a right use of gifts imparted

ix. The Teaching of the Primitive Fathers. Going back to the earliest times of the Church we find that the Primitive Fathers, taking a practical view of the subject, identify the elect with the baptized2, and hold that Pre- destination and Election are to Baptismal privileges, while the question whether a person is elected to life eternal and final glory can be known only to God Himself. They hold that as the Jews of old were all the chosen people of God, so now every baptized member of the Christian Church is one of God’s elect Thus : —

(a) Clement of Rome begins his Epistle to the Corinthians, ” The Church of God which so- journeth in Rome to the Church of God which sojourneth in Corinth, to them which are called and sanctified by the will of God through our Lord Jesus Christ3;” (/J) Again Ignatius writes to the Church in Tralles as ” elect and worthy of God, having peace in flesh and spirit through the Passion of Jesus Christ4;”

the ninth century, while they would preach Him in holiness of soul… loving

not commit themselves to the extreme our gentle and compassionate Father,

position of Gottschalk affirmed that Who made us an elect portion unto

the Predestination of the wicked is not Himself,” &-yTts rbv jncuoj <coi

[…]

result from the voluntary act of Adam. cap. 29.

Hardwick, Middle Age, p. 163. 4 ‘Ek(kt^ koI d£io0^, djpyrcuojm

[…]

(7) So also Justin Martyr speaking of the Christian Church in opposition to the Jewish, says, ” We are by no means a despicable people, nor a barbarous nation, like the Phrygians and the Carians, but God hath elected us, and hath manifested Himself to those who asked not for Him1;”

(5) So also Irenaeus writes, ” the same God, who formerly elected the patriarchs, hath now elected usa;”

(e) Similarly Clement of Alexandria in the third century says, ” I call the Church the general assembly of the elect3,” and he holds the Church to be an Assembly ” which collects together by the will of God those already ordained, whom God hath predestinated4.”

These quotations sufficiently show that the Primitive Fathers taking a practical view of the subject identified the elect with the baptized, and regarded the election to privilege as the one matter of practical concern.

x. The Analogy of the Jewish Church confirms this view. The whole Jewish nation were once the object of God’s election. But for what purpose were they elected ? Was it to an unfailing and infallible possession even of the Promised Land? Nay, of those who were delivered from Egyptian bondage, all but two perished before they ever reached it, and their carcases lay bleaching in the desert.

[…]

Just. Mart. Dial, cum Tryph. § 119.

’ Ireiueus, Adv. J/wr. iv. 70, ” Quo- niam et patriarchas qui elegit et 110s, idem est Verbum Dei.”

[…]

They were elected to great and glorious privileges. They were chosen to be a special people unto the Lord Himself, above all peoples that were upon the face of the earth (Deut. vii. 6)1. He could say to them by the mouth of Isaiah, Thou, Israel, My servant, facob whom I have chosen, t/ie seed of Abraham My friend ; thou whom I have taken hold of from tfie ends of the earth, and called thee from the corners thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art My servant, I have chosen thee and not cast thee away (Isai. xli. 8, 9). But why had God elected them? They were called to fulfil a high and solemn purpose in the Divine counsels, to preserve the doctrine of the Unity of God, to be the guardians of His Law, to keep alive the hope of the Messiah, and to set the example of a pattern people living in righteousness and true holiness. If there were any further election, as far as the Old Testament is concerned, it was one of the secret things hidden under the shadow of God’s throne.

xi. Election in the New Testament. The Apostles apply to the members of the Christian Church precisely the same language as is used by Moses and the prophets respecting the Jewish nation. S. Paul scarcely begins any Epistle without addressing not a few but all the members of the Church to which he is writing, as ” holy,” or ” called,” or ” elect.” Knowing, brethren beloved of God, your election, he writes to the Thessalonians2. To all that are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace3, he writes to the Romans (Rom. i. 7). He addresses, without particularising any special persons the saints at Corinth, at Ephesus, at Philippi, at Colossse*. Similarly S. Peter calls the members of the Church of the

1 Compare Deut. xxvi. 18, 19.

[…]

4 Comp. 1 Cor. i. 19 ; Eph. i. 1 ; Phil. i. 1 ; Col. i. 2.

Dispersion, elect. . .according to the foreknowledge of God tlu Father a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession1 (i Pet i. 1, 2, ii. 9). Thus just as the prophets addressed the Jews so the Apostles address the members of the different Churches to whom they wrote. They speak of them as the chosen people of God ; they impress upon them the privileges and blessings of their election ; they urge upon them the realisation of their true position as members of Christ, and children of God, and inheritors of the kingdom of heaven. But they do not speak of them or to them as elected to an infallible salvation, to an absolutely certain crown. They speak of them as having a conflict to maintain, and a race to run ; they exhort them to quench not the Spirit Who is aiding them ; to grieve Him not (1 Thess. v. I9> lest He wing His everlasting flight ; they warn them to be steadfast and to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. ii. 12) ; they urge them to be sober unto prayer- (1 Pet. iv. 7).

xii. The Teaching of the Article. In keeping with this calm and balanced language, the Article preserves a judicious moderation. It neither attempts to solve the

1 Aad? ds xeptTcx7)<7U’ = literally a express those who are finally selected

people for a purchasing, or acquisition to partake of the joys of heaven. Be-

{peculium). and specially for the pur- fore that blessing can be theirs, they

chase effected by the Precious Blood must, with faithful endeavour ’ make

of Christ. “The peculiar people, or their calling and election sure’ (2

people for the purchase is the Univer- Pet. i. 10). The thing to which they

sal Church, which God has purchased have been elected, ‘according to the

for Himself by the precious Blood of foreknowledge of God,’ is described by

His dear Son.” Bp C. Wordsworth S. Peter as ‘obedience and sprinkling

in loc. of the Blood of Jesus Christ ’ ( 1 Pet. L

1 See Bp Browne On the Articles, 1) : that is to say, they are Christians,

p. 427. “According to the general This is already theirs; and if it be

usage of the New Testament, all who rightly used, it is a pledge and an

are admitted into the Church are the earnest of eternal salvation.” Mason’s

elect. The term (except in a few Faith of the Gospel, pp. 347, 348, ed.

passages of the Gospels, where the con- 1SS9. text makes its meaning clear) does not

problem of reconciling the foreknowledge of God with the free will of man, nor does it touch on the doctrine of reprobation, nor does it pronounce judgment on those, who have not been brought within the scope of the Gospel

message.

(i) Keeping close to the words of Holy Scripture, and especially to the teaching of S. Paul, it simply states the fact of Predestination in the Divine Mind, whereby God chose us in Christ before the foitndation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before Him in love : having foreordained us tmto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will (Eph. i. 4, 5)1;

(ii) Similarly, in strict keeping with the Epistle to the Romans, it affirms that whom God fore- knew-, He also foreordainedz to be conformed

1 One of the best comments on this passage is supplied by the introduc- tory address of S. Ignatius in his Epistle to this same Church of Ephe- sus : ” Ignatius, who is alsoTheopho- rus, unto her which hath been blessed in greatness through the plenitude of God the Father ; which hath been foreordained before the ages to be for ever unto abiding and unchangeable glory, united and elect in a true pas- sion (y\vui}xivy] koX cVXeXey^eVj; h Tr&dei d\v0t»v), by the will of the Father and of Jesus Christ our God ; even unto the Church which is in Ephesus [in Asia], worthy of all felicitation : abundant greeting in Christ Jesus and in blameless joy.” Ignat. ad Eph. i. It is evident that this early Father here applies the words Election and Pre- destination— and that he supposed S. Paul to apply them — to the whole visible Church of God at Ephesus ; to all those who were joined in the body of Christ by the Apostolic symbol of “one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism”

(Eph. iv. 5). See Bp C. Wordsworth Comm. in loc.

[…]

to the image of His Son that He might be the firstborn among many brethren : and whom He foreordained, them He also called: and whom He called*, them He also justified : and whom He justified, them He also glorified (Rom. viii.

29, 30) ;

(iii) It then goes on to state, still in Biblical language, how the Grace of God leads those whom He calls by His Spirit2, to obey His calling; how He justifies them freely3, and adopts them as His sons ; how He makes them to do good works, and at length leads them to everlasting felicity.

(iv) After laying down these careful statements, the Article guards men against any abuse of the doctrine : for it says that

(a) While on the one hand the doctrine tends to comfort4 “godly persons, and such as feel in themselves the working of the Spirit of

this foreordaining does not interfere with man’s free will.

1 Called, (KaXecre = summoned, in- vited to an actual participation in the blessings of the Gospel. This as a thing done already on God’s part, and the consequent assurance to us that lie will never fail to continue to do all that is requisite on His side for the salvation of every believer, is strongly expressed by S. Paul’s use of the past tenses, He foreknew, He foreordained, He justified, He glorified. See Bp C. Wordsworth in loc.

2 ” Spiritu ejus opportuno tempore operante ; by his Spirit operating, not irresistibly at pleasure, without regard to time and circumstances, but con- formably with the established consti- tution of human nature,nt aseasonable period, when the mind is indisposed

to resistance, or, as in infancy, in- capable of it.” Abp Laurence, Bamp- ton Lectures, p. 171.

Christ,” while it establishes and confirms “their faith of eternal Salvation to be enjoyed through Christ1,” “and fervently kindles their love towards God ;”

(/3) So on the other it tempts “curious2 and carnal persons, lacking the Spirit of Christ,” to ” a most dangerous downfall3, whereby the Devil doth thrust them either into despera- tion, or into wretchlessness4 of most unclean living5, no less perilous than desperation.”

(v) The Article concludes with two important Canons of interpretation of Holy Scripture in reference to this mysterious subject :

(a) ” We must receive God’s promises in such

3 Praecipitium in Classical Latin denotes sometimes (1) a steep place, the actual precipice, from which a man falls, ” in praecipitium propel- lere,” Suet. Aug. lxxix., sometimes (2) the act of falling, “dum aliorum praecipitium vident,” Lact. ii. 3.

[…]

to regard. M.S. rekken, A.-S. re’ean, to care. Formed from a substantive with base roc, care, which exists in the cognate M.H.G. ruoch, whence the M.H.G. ruochen. Der. reck-less, A.-S. rece-leds; Dutch roekeloos, reck- less. Skeat’s Elym. Dictionary.

wise as they be generally1,” or universally, ” set forth in holy Scripture ; ”

(/3) ” In our doings that Will of God is to be followed, which we have expressly declared to us in the Word of God.”

xiii. The Universality of Redemption. In opposi- tion to the Calvinistic doctrine of reprobation2, which they tacitly ignore, the Articles hold with great clearness and certainty the universality of redemption through Christ. They lay it down in Article ii. that Christ “truly suffered… to be a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for all actual sins of men ; ” in Article vii. that ” everlasting life is offered to Mankind by Christ3;” in Article xv. that Christ ” came to be the Lamb without spot, who, by sacrifice of himself once made, should take away the sins of the world*”; in Article xxxi. that the offering of Christ is “that perfect redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction for all the sins of the whole world, both original and actual6.” Similarly in the Baptismal Service it is asserted that the goodwill of our heavenly Father flows forth towards all, who are brought to His holy Baptism, that He favourably receives them, and embraces them with the arms of His mercy, gives unto them the blessing of eternal

1 ” Generaliter propositse.” Gener- able, approvable (1 Cor. xi. 19; 2 Cor. aliter, from genus, denotes “for the x. 18; Rom. xiv. 18), and (ii) its

race,” “universally.” Comp. Quint v. 10, 42 sq., “tempus generaliter e specialiter accipitur.” Hence the ex pressions in the Prayer-Book “Gene ral Confession,” “General Thanks giving,” “generally necessary to sal vation.” Comp. also Hooker, Eccl. Pol. v. lv. 1, “God in Christ is gene rally the medicine, which doth cure proposita.” the world.” 4 ” Mundi peccata.”

2 From the verb dtxoftat, I accept, 5 ” Pro omnibus peccatistotiusmun- comes (i) the adjective S&k^os, accept- di, tamoriginalibus, quam actualibus.”

M. 15

opposite, adoKifios, unacceptable, un- approvable, rejected on trial (1 Cor. ix. 2752 Tim. iii. 8 ; Heb. vi. 8). The reprobate are those, who after trial are found to be unworthy of the privileges and promises of the Gos- pel, and therefore are rejected.

3 “Sterna vita humano generi est

life, and makes them partakers of His everlasting kingdom1. Moreover the baptized are said to be ” received into the number of the children of God, and made heirs of everlasting life2,” and the child is taught in the Church Catechism to say that in Baptism it was made “a member of Christ, the child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven’.’ Again in answer to the question respecting the Articles of its Belief, it is instructed to answer, ” I learn to believe… in God the Holy Ghost, who sanctifieth me, and all the elect people of God!’

xiv. The Canons of Interpretation which close the Article are designed to guard men against erroneous views on the subject of personal and individual election. They state that

(a) ” We must receive God’s promises in such wise, as they be generally3 set forth to us in holy Scripture.” This clause was preceded in 1553 by the words, “although the Decrees of pre- destination are unknown unto us4.” The secret

1 See the Office of Public and Private Baptism. In the prayer after Public Baptism we say respecting every child, ” We yield thee hearty thanks, most merciful Father, that it hath pleased thee to regenerate this infant with thy Holy Spirit, to receive him for thine own Child by adop- tion, and to incorporate him into thy holy Church.”

2 In the Office of Private Baptism. Every baptized Christian has been chosen out of the world to be placed in the Church, in order that he may be brought by Christ to everlasting salvation, as a vessel made to honour. He may forfeit the blessing after- wards, but it has been freely bestowed upon him. “Salvation, if attained, will be wholly due to the grace of God, which fust chooses the elect soul to the blessings of the Baptismal covenant,

and afterwards endues it with power to live the life of faith.” Bp Browne On the Articles, p. 433.

• “Licet proedestinationis decreta sunt nobis ignota,” to which one MS.

22J

decrees of God respecting the ultimate destiny of individuals are and must be hidden from us1. But His promises are to be received2 as they apply to all men, not to particular persons8. Expressions, which, according to their original intention, apply to all men generally, are not to be narrowed down to certain favourites pre- viously ordained to bliss, but are to be regarded as applicable to all who have been baptized into the Church. And again men are not to indulge every evil propensity of their nature, under pretence of being overruled by a secret will of Heaven which they can neither promote nor resist4 ;

” In our doings, that Will of God is to be followed, which we have expressly declared to us in the Word of God.” His revealed will is that all men shall be saved, and come unto a full knowledge of the truth (i Tim. ii. 4); that who- soever believeth on the Son of God should not perish, but have everlasting life (John iii. 16) ;

adds “quantum homines de homini- bus judicare possunt.”

[…]

• Archbishop Laurence paraphrases the clause in the Article thus : ” ’ We must receive ’ (embrace, amplectt) ‘the promises of God, in such wise as they are generally set forth to us in holy

Scripture,’ or as they are proposed to us all in Scripture, because all, as Christians, are predestined to salva- tion.” Bamplon Lectures, Appendix, P- 375-

group in.

that the Gospel skoicld be preached to every creature (Mk. xvi. 15). This is His Will as “expressly declared to us.” This we have to follow. And instead of regarding man’s ulti- mate destiny as arbitrarily fixed by an un- alterable decree, we are to extend the privileges, of which we have been made partakers, to as many as we can reach. For the elect people of God in this Dispensation, as well as in that which preceded it, are not elected only for their own advantage, but for the advantage of all the members of the human family1.

1 “The Gospel is to be regarded as a trust, deposited with us in behalf of others, in behalf of mankind, as well as for our own improvement.” Bishop Butler’s Sermon before the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, 1738-9. ” The Church was intended as, and ever has been, the instrument by which God makes known His holy Will and marvellous love to all the people on the face of the earth. If there is one

thing taught in the history of the Church more than another, it is that the Lord intends her to preach the Gospel to the whole of mankind. He has provided the Church for this work, and it is plain that He will not provide any other means by which it can be done.” Address by the Bishop of London to the Clergy at Sion College, Jan. 23, 1893.

Notes

• See Hard wick, Hist. Articles, p.
• See Bishop Short’s History of the Church, pp. 323, 324.
• Laurence, Bampton Lectures, p. if on,
• Hard wick, Hist. Articles, p. 101.
• Similarly Prudentius, Bishop of 3 Clem. Rom. Ep. I ad Cor. cap. i. Troyes, and Ratramnus, of Corbey, in He also writes ” Let us, therefore, ap-
• Upoeyvo). The idea that God knows beforehand ’, that He possesses prascientia, prescience, is inseparable from our conception of Him as the “Everlasting Now.” But the fact that He foreknows, that His mind rests beforehand upon a person with ap- proval (Exod. xxxiii. 12, LXX., and Psalm i. 6), does not interfere with man’s free agency. That God fore- knows what we shall do no mor< destroys our free agency than oui foreknowing, with accuracy proper- tionate to the reliability of our charac- ters, how we shall act in any given case. Comp. Mill, Logic, ii. p. 422, ed. 1879.
• Freely, gratis, i.e. ” without any expiation or satisfaction for sin on their part, Christ himself being the meri- torious cause of it.” Ibid. p. 173.
• “When we follow the teaching of S. Peter and S. Paul, and recognise that all the baptized are elect and predestinate, then, although the final result is not yet assured to us, we receive unspeakable comfort and hope. The weakest Christian may believe that he is no intruder within the sacred precincts, brought in by his own presumption or the mistaken kindness of friends. He is where God Himself has placed him, and had eternally determined to place Him.” Mason’s Faith of the Gospel, p. 351, ed. 1889.
• Fidem nostram de aeterna salute consequenda per Christum, i.e. ” our confidence in Christian salvation gener- ally, and not theirs particularly, a change of the pronoun adopted in the Latin not without design.” Laurence, Bampton Lectures, pp. 174 sq.
• Curious. Curiosus in Latin de- notes one who is over-curious, in- quisitive. Hence its application to those who dealt with magical arts. Here it means those who continually pry into mysteries, which must ever remain mysteries, who ” begyn fyrst from on highe, to seeke the bottomles secretes of Gods predestinacyon, whether they be predestinat or not.” Gardiner quoted byHardwick,^4r^V/«, p. 405, ed. 1890.
• This is the English rendering of the Latin “perniciosam impurissimae vita? securitatem. ” Securitas (sine, cura) denotes (i) freedom from cart, composure = the Greek arapa^la. Comp. Cic. de Off. i. xx. 69, “Va- candum est omni animi perturbatione, ut tranquillitas animi et securitas assit, quae affert quum constantiam turn etiam dignitatem” ; (ii) complete unconcern, and indifference, reckless- ness. Comp. Quintil. iv. 1. 55, “odit judex litigantis securitatem,” and Tac. Hist. iii. 83. For the sentiment ex- pressed in the clause compare the words of Luther Postill. Domesi. p. 58, ” E contra ii, qui sentiunt Dei voluntatem non esse, ut omnes salven- tur, aut in despei ationem aut in securis- simam impiitatcm dissolvantur.”
• On the word “generally,” see above, p. 225, and compare the words of Latimer, ” The promises of Christ our Saviour are general ; they per- tain to all mankind. He made a general proclamation, saying, ‘Who- soever believeth in Me hath everlasting life !’… Also consider what Christ saith with His own mouth ; ‘Come to Me, all ye that labour, and are laden, and I will ease you.’ Mark here He saith, ‘Come all ye’; wherefore then should any man despair to shut himself from these promises of Christ, which be general, and pertain to the whole world?” Serm., p. 182, Ed.
• ” The Christian sees, represented in the concrete fact of his Baptism, the eternal and unchangeable attitude of God towards him. His own personality, now passing through the vicissitudes of an earthly discipline, is linked to the stability of the life of God.” Mason’s Faith of the Gospel, pp. 332 sq., ed. 1888; comp. Bp Forbes On the Articles, p. 254.
• See Laurence, Bampton Lectures, p. 128.