A Puritan Connection to the Upcoming Star Trek Film?

Warning: prepare yourself for a strange hybrid of theological and scifi geekery!

If you are a fan of Star Trek, you may have already seen the trailer for the upcoming Star Trek film "Star Trek Into Darkness". In the trailer, we are given a glimpse of the villain, though we are not given his name. There is speculation in may be Khan, the best known foil to Captain Kirk. There is also some buzz that it may be Gary Mitchell, a villain from the original series (he appeared in the episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before"). When I heard that the villain maybe Mitchell, I looked him up.

Here is the article I found: http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Gary_Mitchell 

In that article, the writers state that Mitchell, who develops super-human traits after an encounter with the galactic barrier (I warned you this would get geeky!), should "become oracular, in the sense of Moses or even Cotton Mather."

Well, there you have it. If the villain of the upcoming Star Trek film does indeed turn out to be Gary Mitchell, remember that part of the original inspiration for the character was none other than the Puritan, Cotton Mather himself!

Quote of the Day: William Tyndale

John Foxe describes an argument with a "learned" but "blasphemous" clergyman, who had asserted to William Tyndale that, "We had better be without God's laws than the Pope's." Swelling with emotion, Tyndale responded: "I defy the Pope, and all his laws; and if God spares my life, ere many years, I will cause the boy that driveth the plow to know more of the Scriptures than thou dost!"

From Wikipedia: William Tyndale

The Hunger Games: A Review at Greenbaggins

Over at Greenbaggins, a very brief review of The Hunger Games novels has been posted. It is worth reading the few short paragraphs. I believe he makes some wonderful points about violence as portrayed in the books (which I have not read, for the record), as well as how that applies to violence in our society. Further, the lack of reason for violence or reason why such violence is wrong is completely missing from the novels, per this review. 

All in all, some good food for thought, especially if you or someone you know will be (or already has) read these books.

Apologetics and the Reformed Church: Part 3

It has been quite a while since my last installment of "Apologetics and the Reformed Church" but I wanted to highlight a wonderful apologetic ministry that, while not explicitly Reformed, has a lot of reformed underpinnings to it (not the least of which is their presuppositional approach to apologetics). 

Answers in Genesis exists to "enable Christians to defend their faith and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ effectively." They "focus particularly on providing answers to questions surrounding the book of Genesis, as it is the most-attacked book of the Bible."

 Their website contains a wealth of information and very helpful articles mostly on the subject of the age of the earth and the proper interpretation of  the first few chapter of the book of Genesis, videos, and other educational resources.

Perhaps the biggest venture of Answers in Genesis recently has been their Creation Museum just outside of Cincinnati, OH. I look forward to eventually taking my family back east and visiting the museum.

If you are unsure how to answer the charges brought by those outside (and inside!) the Church when it comes to questions of science and the Bible, I heartily recommend the ministry of Answers in Genesis!

[Do you have a favorite reformed apologetic ministry? Feel free to post it in the comments and I may highlight it in a future post in my "Apologetics and the Reformed Church" series.]

Past Apologetics and the Reformed Church installments:

Apologetics.com

Alpha and Omega Ministries

Notes on Presuppositional Apologetics Stated and Defended by Greg Bahnsen: Chapter 1

I realize I am a couple of years behind, but I was finally able to buy a book I have wanted to read since I first heard of it: Presuppositional Apologetics: Stated and Defended by Greg Bahnsen. The story behind the publication of this book is quite remarkable (the manuscript was lost behind a book case in Dr. Bahnsen's office for years!), but the content of the book is even more amazing.

Having gone to grad school at Biola University, I did not encounter many (or any? Well, maybe one.) presuppositionalists. So, reading Bahnsen's book has been a bit of a breath of fresh air. Bahnsen puts forth an apologetic which is consistently Biblical and Reformed.

I've only read the first chapter, thus far, but what I hope to do is blog my notes on each chapter as I finish them. I hope this encourages those of you who have not read this book to do so, and I also hope to be able to return to my notes in the future to use a reference, since I have a strong feeling I will be referring to this book for a long time to come. (NOTE: I will use the blog label "PASD" on all posts related to Presuppositional Apologetics Stated and Defended to make it easier to find them!)

PRESUPPOSITIONAL APOLOGETICS: STATED AND DEFENDED

Greg Bahnsen

(edited by Joel McDurmon)

NOTES ON

Chapter 1: Introduction: God in the Dock?

Thesis of the Book: "The purpose of this treatise is to exhibit presuppositional apologetics as the only faithful and sound method of contending for the Christian hope and biblical message." (4)

Summary of Chapter 1
 

A Christian Apologetic MUST:

1. Exalt Christ as Lord over all, including argumentation and reasoning (3)
2. Be exercised upon the infallible and presupposed authority of the Word of Christ in Scripture (3)
3. Start with Scripture coordinated with the Holy Spirit's inner testimony to the regenerate heart (5)
1. NOTE: The theme of Scripture + Spirit runs throughout Chapter 1
4. Submit to and adopt a revelational epistemology and scriptural apologetic that are honoring to God and powerful tools against unbelief (5)
5. Be based on God's self-attesting revelation as the firm foundation of all knowledge (5)
6. Call men to covenantal obedience in terms of God's Word and praying for the operation of the Holy Spirit (6)
7. Interpret facts properly--that is as God interprets them--through the foundation of God's special revelation (6)
8. Use reason in its legitimate function as a servant or tool of God's Word rather than its judge (6)
9. Have a view of fulfilling the cultural mandate and being conformed to the image of the Savior by the power of Christ's Spirit (6)
10. Apply the Christian presupposition by
1. Bringing God's truth and commands to bear upon the lives of unbelievers (6-7)
2. Doing an internal critique of the non-Christian's system (7)
11. Partly consist of an aggressive offense (7)
12. Seek the repentance of the sinner (7)
13. Begin with the presupposition of the Bible's truth (10)
14. Answer the question, "What standard should be utilized for guidance, judgment, and argument?" (11)
1. The Holy Spirit speaking in Scripture (WCF 1.10)
2. The inward work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts (WCF 1.5)
15. Have as the final criterion for the Christian in every department of his thinking (theology and philosophy, proclamation and defense) the self-attesting word of God. (12)
16. Endeavor to demonstrate that without Christian presuppositions there is no intelligible use of facts and logic--human knowledge and interpretation fail instantly (14)
17. Argue that the non-Christian's epistmology and corresponding metaphysic not only prevent him from coming to faith in Christ, but they prevent him (if held consistently) from coming to any knowledge whatsover. (15)
18. Appeal to the necessity of Christianity's truth (15)
19. Pit the unbelievers system of belief as a unit against the believer's system of thought as a unit (16) [NOTE: Worldview vs. worldview]
20. Set forth its outlook by stressing the kind of God to whom it is committed, the nature of the world in relation to God, and the nature of man as God's creature (16).
21. Be "Thinking God's thoughts after Him." (16)
22. Work through the nature and implications of the unbeliever's worldview. (17)
23. Make its point of contact the actual state of affairs: man as God's image, the suppressed knowledge of God, the world as totally revelatory of God (19)
24. Show the unbeliever the irresolvable conflict between his espoused principles and ours, and then argue that apart from the self-attesting Christ of Scripture his thinking--based on autonomous presuppositions--loses meaning, coherence, and intelligibility. (20)
25. Call for the unbeliever's unconditional surrender (20)
26. Defend Christianity as a complete worldview (21)
27. Be transcendental in character (21)
28. Show that Christianity is reasonable in virtue of the impossibility of the contrary (21)
29. Apply the truth of God's revelation to the unbeliever by: (21)
1. Setting forth the pervasive, positive evidence provided by God of His veracity
2.  Performing an internal critique of the unbeliever's worldview and presuppositions so as to show that they destroy the possibility of human knowledge

A Christian Apologetic MUST NOT:

1. Take an unattached or neutral stance with respect to his faith in order to win the unbeliever over to Christ's authority (3)
2. Seek to externally verify the Christian presupposition, but apply it (see 10 above) (6) 
3. Seek autonomously to verify God's Word. (9)
4. Settle for the conclusion that Christianity is possibly, perhaps probably, true. (15) 
5. Make its point of contact a "religious neutral" common ground, nor facts and logic as the unbeliever falsely conceives them. (19)
6. Consent that the facts have been properly interpreted unless the certainty of Scripture's truth is our conclusion--not merely its probable truth. (21) 
7. Error to one side or the other, as both Kuyper and Warfield did: (21-22)
1. The antithesis between the natural mind and the regenerated mind, Kuyper saw, would produce opposing theories of knowledge (21)
   
1. Kuyper drew the illegitimate inference that apologetics was virtually useless
2. Apologetics and communication with the unbeliever, according to Kuyper, were seen as hopeless because of the unbeliever's depravity
2. Warfield drew the illegitimate inference that the natural man, using "right reason," could interpret and judge the revelation of God correctly. (22)

Notes on Specific Sections of Chapter 1

Autonomy vs. Revelational Authority (4-7)

• Natural theology that reasons autonomously from logical and/or empirical grounds to God results in an exclusion of revelational necessity and authority. (4)
• Man suppresses the Truth in unrighteousness (4)
• History of the downfall of apologetics (5)
• God's self-attesting revelation must be taken as the firm foundation of all knowledge (5)
• Systems of philosophy to be wary of (6)
• Rationalism and Empiricism (6)
• The only proper starting point for an adequate theology and apologetic is God's special revelation; only upon this necessary, sufficient, authoritative, and clear foundation can any fact receive a proper interpretation--God's interpretation. (6)

Who Shall Judge (7-10)

• We defend a genuine system of authority that cannot be known except by divine revelation; this inscripturated Word from God stands in judgment over all and is itself to be judged by no one. (7-8)
• The submission to this authoritative revelation is caused, not by impudent reasoning, but by the Holy Spirit. (8)
• J. I. Packer, "...transcending reason's power to verify..." (8)
• The fact that God has delivered redemptive special revelation should itself indicate to us that we cannot overture the unregenerate to use principles of logic and science rooted in natural revelation (which he suppresses in unrighteousness) to evaluate the Bible. (8)
• Abraham Kuyper, "The psychiater, who treats the maniac, cannot render his method of treatment dependent upon the judgment of his patient." (8)
• John Murray, "This is just saying that rational demonstration is not he ground of faith...God alone is adequate witness to himself." (9-10)
• NOTE: Hebrews 6:13
• Faith and Reason (10):
• Faith precedes and undergrids any and all genuine understanding by the human intellect. (10)
• Faith is not established upon the groundworkings of reason, but vice versa.
• Human understanding can never be made the verification of faith since without faith there is no proper understanding available to man whereby he might judge.
• Augustine, "I believe in order to understand."
• Scripture is an absolutely necessary presupposition, the assurance of which is produced by the Holy Spirit.

By What Standard? (10-20)

• John Calvin (11):
• Scripture is self-authenticated; hence it is not right to subject it to proof and reasoning.
• The certainty it attains by the testimony of the Spirit
• We seek no proofs, no marks of genuineness upon which our judgment may lean.
• Central question: What standard should be utilized for guidance, judgment, and argument? (11-12)
• The Holy Spirit speaking in Scripture (WCF 1.10)
• The inward work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts (WCF 1.5)
• This self-attesting revelation of God is objectively true and authoritative, even though subjective persuasion about it comes only by the internal testimony of the Holy Spirit (12)
• By the standard of God's self-attesting word. (12)
• The final criterion for the Christian in every department of his thinking (theology and philosophy, proclamation and defense) is the self-attesting word of God. (12)

The Insufficiency of Traditional Methods (13-15)

• All facts and logic must support the truth of Christianity (13)
• Facts are unintelligible and without meaningful interpretation apart from Christianity (13)
• Christianity is the only reasonable outlook available to men (13)
• Fideism says Christianity is not a matter of reason (13)
• Endeavor to demonstrate that without Christian presuppositions there is no intelligible use of facts and logic--human knowledge and interpretation fail instantly (14)
• Unbeliever is not uncommitted and neutral from the outset (14)
• Unbeliever has been begging the question (14)
• Nobody is a disinterested observer (14)
• All men have presuppositional commitments prior to their examination of various hypotheses (14)
• Only within the context of the Christian world view could the unbeliever know anything at all (14)
• We must argue that the non-Christian's epistemology and corresponding metaphysic not only prevent him from coming to faith in Christ, but they prevent him (if held consistently) from coming to any knowledge whatsoever. (15)
• Appeal to the necessity of Christianity's truth (15)

The Necessity of a Presuppositional Apologetic (15-18)

• Neutrality is unattainable (15)
• There are no facts or uses of reason which are available outside of the interpretive system of basic commitments or assumptions which appeals to them (15)
• Thus there can be no direct proof offered for the truth of either perspective (15)
• The argument must pit the unbelievers system of belief as a unit against the believer's system of thought as a unit (16) [NOTE: Worldview vs. worldview]
• When the Christian sets forth his outlook he will stress the kind of God to whom he is committed, the nature of the world in relation to God, and the nature of man as God's creature (16).
• The standard of meaning and truth is always the mind of God (16).
• "Thinking God's thoughts after Him." (16)
• The fall did not take away man's reasoning and moral decision-making; it removed their perfection, giving them a new perverted direction (16)
• All of reality (every aspect thereof) must now be seen correctively through the instruction of Scripture (16).
• Scriptural revelation is necessary for man, authoritative over man, and communicated clearly to man. (16)
• Because everything outside the Bible derives its meaning and intelligibility from what is infallibly taught only in the Bible, nothing outside the Bible is in a position to verify it independently and self-sufficiently (17).
• Facts and logic will not be intelligible and used correctly apart from submission to the truth of Scripture. (17)
• Christ is the necessary starting point for knowledge (17).
• Facts and logic are meaningful and useful to man within the context of Christ's word. (17)
• The apologist must work through the nature and implications of the unbeliever's worldview. (17)
• As a creature he can and does use his mind to know things. (17)
• As fallen he will not--and morally cannot--love God, profess knowledge of Him, or reason in a way that is subject to the authority of God's revelation. (17)
• The unbeliever sees (18):
• The world as contingent
• The standards of logic as abstract
• Himself as autonomous
• The world as religiously neutral
• The unbeliever will consider his thinking and interpretation to be normal and normative (18)
• An insurmountable tension exists between the contingent, diverse, fluctuating, chance character of his experience and history and the necessary, uniform, unchanging, regular character of his reasoning principles. (18)

Christ the Only Foundation for Reasoning (18-20)

• How should the unbeliever decide whether or not to receive the word of God in Scripture as true? In attempting to decide for himself and on his own standards, he will have already  decided against the God who is revealed in Scripture, who makes the unqualified and unchallengeable claim that all thinking must be subordinate to Him. (18)
• The unbeliever will charge Christianity with being unfactual or illogical (19)
• While asserting that no one can know anything for sure, he will claim to know that Christianity must be false! (19)
• We always have a point of contact (19)
• Not a common ground which is religiously neutral, nor is it facts and logic as he falsely conceives them (19)
• The point of contact is the actual state of affairs (19)
• The unbeliever is able to think correctly about our argumentation and is always accessible to the gracious work of God's Spirit (19)
• No fact can be understood, and no reasoning can be meaningful, apart from Christ as the Creator and Redeemer of men. (19)
• Faith in the self-attesting Christ of Scripture is the beginning, not the end result, of wisdom. (20)
• In debating with the unbeliever we will need to show him the irresolvable conflict between his espoused principles and ours, and then argue that apart from the self-attesting Christ of Scripture his thinking--based on autonomous presuppositions--loses meaning, coherence, and intelligibility. (20)

Developing a Faithful Apologetic (20-23)

• Van Til urges us to call for the unbeliever's unconditional surrender (20)
• Van Til renounces the claims of neutrality and will not consent that the facts have been properly interpreted unless the certainty of Scripture's truth is our conclusion--not merely its probable truth. (21)
• The truth of God's Word is the precondition of intelligibility for man's thinking and interpretive efforts (21)
• The Christian apologist wishes to show that Christianity is reasonable in virtue of the impossibility of the contrary (21)
• Van Til applies the truth of that revelation to the unbeliever by: (21)
• 1. Setting forth the pervasive, positive evidence provided by God of His veracity
• 2. Performing an internal critique of the unbeliever's worldview and presuppositions so as to show that they destroy the possibility of human knowledge
• The antithesis between the natural mind and the regenerated mind, Kuyper saw, would produce opposing theories of knowledge (21)
• Kuyper drew the illegitimate inference that apologetics was virtually useless
• Apologetics and communication with the unbeliever, according to Kuyper, were seen as hopeless because of the unbeliever's depravity
• Warfield drew the illegitimate inference that the natural man, using "right reason," could interpret and judge the revelation of God correctly. (22)
• Apologetics is definitely useful, for the unbeliever is still a creature made in God's image and God has made His revelation manifest to all men. (22)
• Other apologetical systems either fail to be genuinely presuppositional, or their presuppositions fail to be genuinely biblical (23)
• They seek a neutral common ground
• They are too concessive to the unbeliever
• They aim to show Christianity as probably true.
• Those who do not utilize the transcendental kind of defense found in Van Til's presuppositionalism treat Christianity  as a viable hypothesis to be considered by the unbeliever and tested according to certain standards: logical coherence, empirical evidence, personal utility, or a combination of them all. (23)

Timeline of Deaconesses in the PCA

Over at Johannes Weslianus, Wes White has put together a very helpful timeline on the issue of deaconesses in the PCA. As an outsider, it has been hard to keep all the resolutions, committees, appeals, and General Assembly decisions straight. This timeline simplifies all that information, and really presents a clear history of the issue.

As I read through the timeline, my opinion of the PCA on this issue actually improved. When the history is laid out in this fashion, it becomes clear that the PCA, as a denomination, has repeatedly rebuffed attempts to allow female ordination to the office of deacon. Have a look for yourself, here:

http://www.weswhite.net/2012/03/the-issue-of-deaconesses-in-the-pca-2007-2011/

ARPTalk Update

For those of you who have recently visited my blog, you may not be aware that I am an elder in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. My denomination has a college and seminary in South Carolina named Erskine College & Seminary. There has been a great deal of conflict between our institutions of higher learning, and our denomination for several years. Another bout has begun by the Erskine Board of Trustees (the same Board oversees both the college and the seminary) rejecting a compromise resolution of the Synod (compromise made with Erskine itself) dealing with the relationship of the Synod to the College. 

Dr. Charles Wilson, a minister in the ARP, has done an outstanding job of bringing to light the anti-ARP stance (I would add, the anti-Confessional stance) of many involved with Erskine and the ARP. He has a website devoted to the discussion of ARP/Erskine issues, which he has just updated. You can read his latest post, here: ARPTalk: Joe, That Ain't Rain.

It appears that Erskine will be a hot topic at Synod this year!

PS- You can see past posts on The Ruling Elder related to the ARP and Erskine by clicking the following blog labels: ARPTalk, Erskine.

Notes from Sunday Afternoon's Sermon (Joel Beeke)

Dr. Joel Beeke in the pulpit of the RPCLA

This past Lord's Day, my family and I, and a friend from Communion Presbyterian Church drove up to Los Angeles to attend an afternoon Psalm sing and worship service at the Reformed Presbyterian Church of L. A. where Dr. Joel Beeke would be preaching (due to traffic, we arrived too late for the Psalm sing, and just as the worship service was beginning--Life in Los Angeles!). It was a blessing to be able to worship with my Covenanting Presbyterian brethren. The sermon by Dr. Beeke was on the topic of "Running the Good Race." His text was Hebrews 11:37-12:3. It was an encouraging word and I appreciated being able to hear a man I respect preach in person. Below are my notes from the sermon, which I hope are useful to you.

I should add that after the service, I was able to meet Dr. Beeke (who graciously signed a couple of books for me) and Rev. Nathan Eshelman, the pastor of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Los Angeles.

Dr. Joel Beeke
RPCNA Los Angeles
February 26, 2012
Hebrews 11:37-12:3

"Keep on keeping on."
"Remaining a Christian is as much a miracle as conversion."

Running The Race:

1. The Mission (what we are to do)
2. The Manner (how we are to do it)
3. The Motives (what is to move us to do it)

Mission:

- Living antithetically
- To continue under pain without flinching

Manner:

- Run the race by not sinning
- Don't desensitize your conscience
- A Christian has NO BUSINESS sinning!
- Sin is a foreign intruder in the home (heart) of the Christian
- Bunyan's example of Mr. Sin knocking at the door.
- (To open the door and see sin, and then slam the door in Sin's face is no sin. To invite Mr. Sin into your home IS sin.)
- Romans 7 struggle
- Set aside the sins that so easily besets us--even if it's not something sinful (Dr. Beeke's example of basketball taking up too much of his time when he was converted).
- Deny those things that hinder our progress in Christ. Deny ourselves.
- Sin is spiritual insanity
- No race is only negative

- The positive of the Christian race is looking to Jesus.
- Jesus is uniquely qualified as our savior, author, finisher alpha, omega, etc.
- Old Christians are beautiful (Dr. Beeke's mother. Dr. Beeke's father--a Ruling Elder for 40 years!)

Motivation (Be motivated by...):

1. What Christ endured (the cross)
2. What Christ rejoiced in (the resurrection/ascension/victory of Christ). Christians have the best of both worlds: joy in this life, true joy in eternity. We will no longer see Jesus through a glass dimly lit but face to face.
3. What He despised (v 2). The shame. What does God think of you? Despise the fear of man! "The smile and frown of God is of more weight than the smile and frown of men." John Brown of Haddington
4. The cloud of witnesses! Hebrews chapter 11. By faith Abel being dead yet speaks! Enoch walked with God. Has Enoch ever motivated you? David in the Psalms. 2000 years of church history!

Words have meaning. And by "words" I mean...

When someone tells me "I believe in ______, just not the way you define it." I feel like saying, "I believe in cars, just not the way you define it. I believe cars have four hooves instead of four tires, a tail instead of a bumper, reins instead of a steering wheel, and instead of making a VROOM noise, they say NAAAAY. But I totally believe in cars."

Words have meaning, folks!

(PS: This first appeared as a status update on The Ruling Elder's Facebook page. If you haven't already done so, you can "Like" The Ruling Elder by clicking on the Like button on the right-hand side of this page.)

ARP Memorial ("Resolution") on the Historicity of Adam and Eve

The Aquila Report is reporting that the Session of Midlane Park ARP in Louisville, KY has adopted a memorial (the ARP term for "resolution") affirming the historicity of Adam and Eve. This is an important issue throughout the Reformed and Presbyterian world right now, as the report points out: two Presbyteries of the PCA have adopted very similar statements and it will come up to the General Assembly of the PCA this year. If the Mississippi Valley Presbytery of the ARP adopts Midlane Park's memorial, then it would be passed up to the Synod of the ARP this summer, as well.

Read the entire story, including the text of the adopted memorial, here. And, well done Midlane Park Session!

Ordination Exam Study Guide

The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church has a helpful study guide posted on their website for men preparing for ordination in the ARP. Although some of the study questions are specifically related to ARP history and distinctives (for example: "Discuss Gairney Bridge in terms of its significance for the Church today."), most of the guide applies to any Reformed denomination. Are you preparing for a Presbytery Exam? Are you training men in your congregation to serve as elders? Would you just like to enrich your knowledge of the Bible, Theology, and Church History? Then have a look at the study guide, here. I think it is a great tool!

Why So Many Denominations? (Radio Show)

The podcast of my recent appearance on the Apologetics.com Radio Show is now posted at their web site. You can download it here. We didn't get to talk about as many denominations as I would have liked, but hopefully the show is still beneficial to some.

About to Go on the Air!

In about 10 minutes, I'll be on the air on the Apologetics.com Radio Show with host Lindsay Brooks to discuss "Denominations". Where do they come from? What makes them all different? You can listen live at KKLA.com!

On the Radio This Friday Night

This Friday night/Saturday morning (Midnight to 2:00am, Pacific Time), I will be on the Apologetics.com Radio Show in Los Angeles to discuss "Denominations" with host Lindsay Brooks. You can tune in to KKLA 99.5 FM if you are in the area, or listen online at http://www.kkla.com. A podcast of the show will also be available at http://www.apologetics.com.

Westminster Confession of Faith Sunday School Class: Chapter 26, Of The Communion of the Saints

Yesterday, at Communion Presbyterian, we had a great talk about the communion of the saints. This is a vitally important doctrine, which is confessed in the most basic creed of the Church, and yet, I believe few people ever stop to consider what it means. Below are my lecture notes, which I adopted from A. A. Hodge's Commentary on the Westminster Confession. You can also access these notes via Google Docs by clicking here.

As always, notes and handouts from previous classes can be accessed by clicking on the Westminster Confession of Faith Sunday School Class tag on the right side of my blog.

WCF Chapter 26 - Of The Communion of the Saints

Lecture Notes

1. All Saints are United to Christ.
1. Foundation of this Union
1. Rests in the Eternal Purpose of the Triune God as expressed in the Decree of Election
1. Eph 1:4, “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,”
2. Eternal Covenant of Grace between the Father and the Son
1. John 17:2, 6, “as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him...I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.”
2. Nature of this Union
1. Federal and Representative
1. Christ acts in all things as our head and representative
2. All His rights, honors, relations are all made ours
2. It is a vital and spiritual union--it’s actuating source is the Spirit of the Head who dwells and works in the members
1. 1 Cor 6:17, “But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.”
2. 1 Cor 12:13, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.”
3. 1 John 3:24, “Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.”
4. 1 John 4:13, “By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. ”
5. Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
3. Our bodies are involved through our souls
1. 1 Cor 6:15, 19, “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not!...Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?”
3. How this Union is Established (“We are united to Christ...”)
1. Through the powerful operation of the Holy Spirit on the elect
1. Eph 2:5, “even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), ”
2. By the actings of faith on their part
1. Eph 3:17, “that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ”
4. Scriptural Illustrations of this Union
1. A foundation and its superstructure
1. 1 Peter 2:4-6, “Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.’”
2. A Tree and its Branches
1. John 15:5, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
3. The Members of the Body and the Head
1. Eph 4:15-16, “but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”
4. A Husband and Wife
1. Eph 5:31-32, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”
5. Adam and his Descedents
1. Romans 5:12-19, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— 13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. 16 And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. 17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) 18 Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. 19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.”
5. This Union is Mystical -- Read Hodges, 323, middle paragraph
1. “This union has been called by theologians a ‘mystical’ union, because, it never could have been known unless revealed by the Lord himself, and because it is so incomparably intimate and excellent that it transcends all other unions of which we have experience. Nevertheless it is not mysterious in the sense of involving any confusion between Christ's personality and ours, nor does it make us in any wise partakers of his Godhead or to be equal with him in any respect. It is a union between persons in which each retains his separate identity, and in which the believer, although immeasurably exalted and blessed, nevertheless is entirely subordinated to and continues dependent upon his Lord.”
2. On the basis of this union a most intimate fellowship or interchange of mutual offices ever continues to be sustained between believers and Christ. They have fellowship with Christ...
1. In all the covenant merits of his active and passive obedience.
1. Forensically they are "complete in him." Col. 2:10
2. His Father, his inheritance, his throne, his crown, are theirs
3. As their mediatorial Head he acts as prophet, priest, and king. In union with him they are also prophets, priests, and kings
1. 1 John 2:27, “But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.”
2. 1 Peter 2:5, “you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ”
3. Rev. 3:21, “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”
4. Rev. 5:10, “And have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.”
2. In the transforming, assimilating power of his life.
1. “Of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace." John 1:16
2. Thus they have the "Spirit," and " the mind" of Christ, and bear his " likeness " or " image."
1. Rom. 8:9, “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.”
2. Phil. 2:5, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, ”
3. 1 John 3:2, “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”
3. This includes the bodies also, making them temples of the Holy Ghost
1. 1 Cor. 6:19, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? ”
2. 1 Cor 15:43, 49, “It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power...And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.”
3. In all their experiences, inward and outward, in their joys and victories, in their labors, sufferings, temptations, and death.
1. Rom. 8:37, “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
2. 2 Cor. 12:9, “And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
3. Gal. 6:17, “From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.”
4. Phil. 3:10, “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,”
5. Heb. 12:3, “For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.”
6. 1 Pet. 4:13, “but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.”
4. Christ has fellowship with them. They belong to him as the purchase of his blood. They are devoted to his service. They are co-workers together with him in building up his kingdom. They bear fruit to his praise, and shine as stars in his crown. Their hearts, their lives, their possessions, are all consecrated to him, and are held by them in trust for him.
1. Prov. 29:17, “He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and He will pay back what he has given.”
2. Rom. 14:8, “For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.”
3. 1 Cor. 6:19-20, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
3. Since all true believers are thus intimately united to Christ as the common Head of the whole body, and the Source of a common life, it follows that they must be intimately united together. If they have but one Head, and are all members of one body, they must have one common life, and be all members one of another.
1. The Romish and Ritualistic view is, that individuals are united to the Church through the sacraments, and through the Church to Christ.
   
   Believer-->Sacraments-->Church-->Christ
    
2. The true view is, that the individual is united to Christ the Head by the Holy Ghost and by faith; and by being united to Christ he is, ipso facto, united to all Christ's members, the Church.
   
   Believer-->Holy Ghost & Faith-->Christ-->Church
    
3. The holy catholic Church is the product of the Holy Ghost. Wherever the Spirit is, there the Church is. The presence of the Spirit is known by his fruits, which are "love, joy, peace," etc. Gal. 5:22, 23
4. All believers receiving the same Spirit are by him baptized into "one body;" and thus they all become, "though many members," but "one body," "the body of Christ " and "members in particular." 1 Cor. 12:13-27.
4. Thus true believers, all being united in one living body, sustain many intimate relations, and discharge many important offices for one another, which are summarily expressed by the general phrase, "The communion of saints."
1. They have a common Head, and common duties with respect to him; a common profession, a common system of faith to maintain, a common gospel to preach, a common worship and service to maintain.
2. They have a common life, and one Holy Ghost dwelling in and binding together in one the whole body. Hence they are involved in the ties of sympathy and identity of interest. One cannot prosper without all prospering with him -- one cannot suffer without all suffering with him.
3. As they constitute one body in the eyes of the world, they have a common reputation, and are all severally and collectively honored or dishonored with each other. Hence all schisms in the body, injurious controversies, malignant representations of Christian by Christian, are self-defaming as well as wicked.
4. The body of saints is like the natural body in this also, that, although one body, each several member is an organ of the Holy Ghost for a special function, and has his own individual difference of qualification, and consequently of duty. Hence, in the economy of the body, each member is to contribute his special function and his special grace or beauty, and has in his turn fellowship in the gifts and complementary graces of all the rest.
1. Eph. 4:11-16, “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”
2. 1 Cor. 12:4-21, “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. 12 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For in fact the body is not one member but many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? 18 But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. 19 And if they were all one member, where would the body be? 20 But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. 21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.””
3. This shall be perfectly realized in heaven.
1. John 10:16, “And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.”
2. John 17:22, “And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:”
5. If all saints are one, and are embraced in this holy "communion," then all who profess to be saints should regard and treat all their fellow-professors on the presumption that they are saints and "heirs together with them of the grace of life."
1. In spite of all controversies and jealousies, one in the eternal electing love of God! -- one in the purchase of Christ's sacrificial blood! -- one in the beatifying indwelling of the Holy Ghost! -- one in the eternal inheritance of glory!
2. Surely we should be also one in all the charities, sympathies, and helpful offices possible
3. But while these mutual relations and offices of the saints sanctify, they are not designed to supersede the fundamental principles of human society, as the rights of property and the family tie.
1. ON THIS POINT, SEE DICKSON, CHAPTER 26, QUESTION 3

DAVID DICKSON, TRUTH’S VICTORY OVER ERROR, CH. 26, QUESTION 3

Doth not the communion of saints, which they have one with another, take away or infringe the title or property, which each man hath in his own goods and possessions?

No; Acts 5:4; Exod. 25:14; Eph. 5:28.

Well then, do not the Anabaptists err, who affirm, that the goods and possessions of the saints ought to be in common?

Yes.

By what reasons are they confuted?

1st, Because in the time of the primitive church, no man was obliged out of necessity to deliver his goods. Neither did believers lose their right and property which they had to them, Acts 5:4.

2nd, Because the eighth command, which is of perpetual use to all men, supposeth a distinction and propriety of goods. For it all goods were common, it were impossible to steal.

3rd, Because there should be no giving of alms, there should be no hospitality, which is contrary to the apostle, Eph. 4:28; Heb. 13:2.