WCF 5.5-7

Chapter 5 - Of Providence (cont'd)

V. The most wise, righteous, and gracious God doth oftentimes leave, for a season, His own children to manifold temptations, and the corruption of their own hearts, to chastise them for their former sins, or to discover unto them the hidden strength of corruption and deceitfulness of their hearts, that they may be humbled;(19) and, to raise them to a more close and constant dependence for their support upon Himself, and to make them more watchful against all future occasions of sin, and for sundry other just and holy ends.(2o)

V. The most wise, righteous and gracious God allows His own children to experience a variety of temptations and the corruption of their own hearts. This He does to chastise them for their former sins or to reveal to them the hidden strength and deceitfulness of their own hearts in order to humble them.(19) It is also to bring them into a closer and more constant dependence upon Him for all of their needs, that they may be more watchful against all future sins. There are other just and holy ends to be achieved, though they are not always readily apparent.(20)

Mostly just slight rewording. I expanded the ending of the section in a way that, I believe, preserves the intent of the original while also making it more explicit (i.e. clearly expressing the original intent).

VI. As for those wicked and ungodly men whom God, as a righteous Judge, for former sins, doth blind and harden,(21) from them He not only withholdeth His grace whereby they might have been enlightened in their understandings, and wrought upon in their hearts;(22) but sometimes also withdraweth the gifts which they had,(23) and exposeth them to such objects as their corruption make occasion of sin;(24) and, withal, gives them over to their own lusts, the temptations of the world, and the power of Satan,(25) whereby it comes to pass that they harden themselves, even under those means which God useth for the softening of others.(26)

VI. As for those wicked and ungodly men whom God continues to blind and harden,(21) from them He not only withholds His grace by which they might have been saved(22) but also, on occasion, He withdraws the gifts they had.(23) He gives them over to their own lusts,(24) the temptations of the world and to the power of Satan.(25) In time they will harden themselves even under those conditions used by God to soften others.(26)

A fair amount of streamlining in this section, but no substantial changes.

VII. As the providence of God doth, in general, reach to all creatures; so, after a most special manner, it taketh care of His Church, and disposeth all things to the good thereof.(27)

VII. While the providence of God extends over all creation, the Church is given special and particular attention so that all things work for her good.(27)

I restructed and reworded this section to make God's sovereigty a little bit more implicit. I'm sure the Divines would not disagree that God's providence is over all of creation and not just all creatures.

WCF 5.1-4

Chapter 5 - Of Providence

I. God the great Creator of all things doth uphold,(1) direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things,(2) from the greatest even to the least,(3) by His most wise and holy providence,(4) according to His infallible foreknowledge,(5) and the free immutable counsel of His own will,(6) to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy.(7)

I. God, the great Creator of all things, does sustain,(1) direct and govern all creatures, actions and things;(2) from the greatest to the least, nothing is excluded.(3) This He does according to his most wise and holy providence,(4) according to His infallible foreknowledge(5) and the free immutable counsel of His will.(6) He does this to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, goodness and mercy.(7)

Slight modifications here, but nothing substantial.

II. Although, in relation to the foreknowledge and decree of God, the first Cause, all things come to pass immutably, and infallibly;(8) yet, by the same providence, He ordereth them to fall out, according to the nature of second causes, either necessarily, freely, or contingently.(9)

II. Even though God is the first Cause and all things come to pass immutably, infallibly and according to His foreknowledge and decree;(8) yet by this same providence God has designed them to occur according to the nature of second causes, either necessarily, freely or contingently.(9)

Again, little more than some rearranging and contemporizing. This section doesn't make much sense to me, especially sandwiched between the first and third sections. Whether or not things come to pass via second causes seems superfluous if (a) God is sustaining, directing and governing all things (presumably this includes second causes) and (b) God is free to work without, above and against these second causes.

III. God, in His ordinary providence, maketh use of means,(10) yet is free to work without,(11) above, (12) and against them, (13) at His pleasure.

III. God, in His providence, makes use of secondary causes;(10) yet He is free to work without,(11) above, and against them(13) as He sees fit.

Minor changes. I changed "means" to "secondary causes" because that seems to be the indirect implication and the direct application of what the Divines were setting forth. The proof texts of (9) and (10) appear to agree with my change in this regard.

IV. The almighty power, unsearchable wisdom, and infinite goodness of God so far manifest themselves in His providence, that it extendeth itself even to the first fall, and all other sins of angels and men;(14) and that not by a bare permission,(15) but such as hath joined with it a most wise and powerful bounding,(16) and otherwise ordering, and governing of them, in a manifold dispensation, to His own holy ends;(17) yet so, as the sinfulness thereof proceedeth only from the creature, and not from God, who, being most holy and righteous, neither is nor can be the author or approver of sin.(18)

IV. The almighty power, unsearchable wisdom and infinite goodness of God which manifest themselves in His providence, which also extends over the first fall and over all other sins of angels and men.(14) This authority is not merely a permitting(15) of the first fall and all other sins of angels and men, but has joined with them a wise and powerful binding(16) so that they are ordered and governed by God, within redemptive history, to accomplish His own holy purposes.(17) However, the sinfulness of angels and men proceeds from themselves only and not from God, who is most holy and righteous in His being; neither is He, nor can He be, the author of sin and He cannot approve of it.(18)

Some hefty rewording and a little expanding in this section but I don't believe I've changed the content in any substantial way. I added "This authority... over the first fall and all other sins of angels and men" because I think it expresses a little more clearly what is going on in this part of the section, namely that God's providence is an exertion of His authority. I also changed "manifold dispensation" to "within redemptive history" because that's what it refers to and it is easier to understand worded this way.

WCF 4

Chapter 4 - Of Creation

I. It pleased God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,(1) for the manifestation of the glory of His eternal power, wisdom, and goodness,(2) in the beginning, to create, or make of nothing, the world, and all things therein whether visible or invisible, in the space of six days; and all very good.(3)

I. In the beginning, God(1) was pleased, for the manifestation of His eternal power, wisdom and goodness,(2) to create all things visible and invisible from nothing. This He did in the space of six days and declared it all very good.(3)

A little rearranging and shortening. I removed "the Father, Son and Holy Ghost" because the footnote makes it clear all three were present. The Confession has already established the truth of the Trinity so I don't see a need to bog this first sentence down by making them explicit. I think this section could benefit from including a bit about how God created from nothing rather than leaving it simply at that He has created from nothing. I'm also not sure about the benefit of keeping "in the space of six days" given the current debates about the subject. Two spring immediately to mind for me: (1) the semantic range of the Hebrew word for "day" and (2) the literary genre/style of the creation account. There are other ontic and linguistic issues involved but these two generally seem to stand out above the rest. I might render the last sentence in this section this way: "This He did according to His will and declared it all very good." Such a rendering preserves the truth of the section without favoring a particular stance on the ontic and linguistic issues.

II. After God had made all other creatures, He created man, male and female,(4) with reasonable and immortal souls,(5) endued with knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness, after His own image,(6) having the law of God written in their hearts,(7) and power to fulfill it:(8) and yet under a possibility of transgressing, being left to the liberty of their own will, which was subject unto change.(9) Beside this law written in their hearts, they received a command, not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,(10) which while they kept, they were happy in their communion with God, and had dominion over the creatures.(11)

II. After God had made all other creatures He created man, male and female.(4) He created them in His own image(6) giving them reasonable and immortal souls(5) endued with knowledge, righteousness and true holiness. They had the law of God written in their hearts(7) and were endowed with the power to obey.(8) Beside the law written in their hearts, they were given a command: do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.(10) Under this possibility of transgression they were left to the liberty of their own will which was subject to change.(9) While they kept this command they remained happy in their communion with God and had dominion over the rest of creation.(11)

I did a decent amount of moving around in this section as can be seen from incorrect order of the parenthetical numbers. Those numbers, remember, are the footnotes to the Scripture proofs in the original Confession so I have simply moved them along with their respective sentences. I think this ordering makes more sense and is more coherent. I changed "power to fulfill it" to "power to obey" because that's what is really being said and I think it should be made clear. I moved "Beside the law written..." to precede "Under this possibility of transgression..." because it flows better and increases the overall consistency of the section; I do not think this substantially affects the content. I also changed "had dominion over the creatures" to "had dominion over the rest of creation" because it wasn't just the fauna they were given. I have some issues with this section as well (surprise!) but the only one really worth mentioning is my concern over the phrase "giving them reasonable and immortal souls". I don't dispute that reason and the soul are linked but there should be qualifications about the supposed immortality. Since only God is self-sufficient it is, then, a mistake to describe the soul as immortal. However, this criticism only applies if we understand "immortal" to mean "imperishable" or "not subject to death/decay."

WCF 3.5-8

Chapter 3 - Of God's Eternal Decree (cont'd)

V. Those of mankind that are predestined unto life, God, before the foundation of the world was laid, according to His eternal and immutable purpose, and the secret counsel and good pleasure of His will, hath chosen, in Christ, unto everlasting glory,(9) out of His mere free grace and love, without any foresight of faith, or good works, or perseverance in either of them, or any other thing in the creature, as conditions, or causes moving Him thereunto:(10) and all to the praise of His glorious grace.(11)

V. God has chosen, in Christ, those who are predestined to receive eternal life. His choosing was according to His eternal and immutable purpose and according to His good pleasure. Those chosen were predestined to everlasting glory(9) by God's free grace and love, without any foresight of faith, good works, perseverance or any other condition in the creature as motivation for His choosing.(10) All this was done so that the elect might praise His glorious grace.(11)

A little rearranging and a lot of cleaning. I think this arrangement makes more sense, is much easier to read and maintains the substance of the section. I removed "and the secret counsel and good pleasure of His will" and shortened it simply to "according to His good pleasure" because the former is a cumbersome way of stating something that doesn't need stating. The secrecy of the mechanics of predestination are implicit in the doctrine and don't need to be explicitly affirmed.

VI. As God hath appointed the elect unto glory, so hath, by the eternal and most free purpose of His will, foreordained all the mans thereunto.(12) Wherefore, they who are elected, being fallen in Adam, are redeemed by Christ,(13) are effectually called unto faith in Christ by His Spirit working in due season, are justified, adopted, sanctified,(14) and kept by His power, through faith, unto salvation.(15) Neither are any other redeemed by Christ, effectually called, justified, adopted, sanctified, and saved, but the elect only.(16)

VI. By His eternal and most free will, not only has God appointed the elect unto glory, He has also foreordained all the means to this end for them.(12) Those elected, being originally fallen in Adam, are redeemed by Jesus.(13) They are effectually called to faith in Christ by the Holy Spirit working in due season; they are justified, adopted, sanctified(14) and kept by His power, through faith, unto salvation.(15) Only those appointed by God are redeemed by Jesus.(16)

Once again, little more than cleaning. I added "originally" to tie the reason for being fallen in Adam back to his original sin in Eden. I removed the salutis language from the last sentence because it isn't necessary and it clutters up the section.

VII. The rest of mankind God was pleased, according to the unsearchable counsel of His own will, whereby He extendeth or withholdeth mercy, as He pleaseth, for the glory of His sovereign power over His creatures, to pass by; and to ordain them to dishonour and wrath for their sin, to the praise of His glorious justice.(17)

VII. According to His own will, by which He extends or withholds mercy, God was pleased to ordain the rest of mankind to dishonor and wrath for their sin. This He has done for His own glory and to the praise of His justice.(17)

I rearranged and shortened this section a little bit to make it easier to read.

VIII. The doctrine of this high mystery of predestination is to be handled with special prudence and care,(18) that men, attending the will of God revealed in His word, and yielding obedience thereunto, may, from the certainty of their effectual vocation, be assured of their eternal election.(19) So shall this doctrine afford matter of praise, reverence, and admiration of God;(20) and of humility, diligence, and abundant consolation to all that sincerely obey the Gospel.(21)

VIII. The doctrine of the mystery of predestination should be handled with special prudence and care.(18) Those who attend to the will of God, which is revealed in His word, and who yield obedience to it may be assured of their eternal election(19) from the certainty of their effectual calling. This doctrine should foster praise, reverence and admiration for God(20) while instilling humility, diligence and giving abundant consolation to all that sincerely obey the Gospel.(21)

Not much here. I changed "effectual vocation" to "effectual calling" because "vocation" carries the concept of "occupation" in today's culture. In this section it is used, instead, to refer to that particular step of redemption we see above in section VI. This is the only place in the Confession that "vocation" is used so I feel like changing it to "calling" makes it more consistent.

WCF 3.1-4

Chapter 3 - Of God's Eternal Decree

I. God from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass:(1) yet so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin,(2) nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures; nor is liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established.(3)

I. Before creation, God unchangeably ordained, in accordance with the counsel of his most wise and holy will, everything that happens.(1) This was done in such a manner as to ensure that God is not the author of sin,(2) nor is the will of the creature impugned. Furthermore, the contingency of second causes is not taken away in this act, rather it is established.(3)

Pretty straightforward. I changed "from all eternity" to "before creation" because that is the important point; there's no reason to involve the concept of eternity at this point. I also removed "liberty" from the last sentence on second causes because I think it is superfluous within the context of today's culture. On a more personal note, I'm not sure it's ontologically necessary (or even possible) to maintain the notion of God ordaining all things that happen while at the same time maintaining the notion that He is not the author of sin. The relationship between "ordain" and "author" is not clearly defined and I don't think discussions about the definitions and parameters of "cause-and-effect" are going to bring any solid answers. Also, I'm not entirely sold on the importance of preserving the "will of the creature" in this ordaining act of God either. At the very least we find in Scripture that man is either a slave to sin or a slave to righteousness; so what does it mean to refrain from impugning the will of the creature given this setting?

II. Although God knows whatsoever may or can come to pass upon all supposed conditions,(4) yet hath He not decreed any thing because He foresaw it as future, or as that which would come to pass upon such conditions.(5)

II. Even though God is omniscient,(4) He has not decreed anything because He foresaw it as future or because particular conditions were going to be met.(5)

All I have done here is shortened and modernized. I'm really sort of at a loss as to the function if this section. It seems quite illogical that God could foresee something that was not, beforehand, decreed. Thus, how could any decree be based on something foreseen? I'm not sure why this needs to be explicitly stated. An unnecessary confusion between foreknowledge and foresight can be avoided by rewording and simplifying this section even more: "The ordaining of all things that happen is not based on God's foreseeing what will happen, rather it is grounded in His perfect righteousness and in accordance with His will." On the other hand, I do not think this chapter, or the confession as a whole, would suffer any great or lesser loss if this section were removed completely.

III. By the decree of God, for the manifestation of His glory, some men and angels(6) are predestined unto everlasting life; and others foreordained to everlasting death.(7)

III. For the manifestation of His glory, God has decreed that some men and angels(6) be predestined unto everlasting life; and others be predestined to everlasting death.(7)

A bit of rearranging, this section is quite straightforward. I haven't quite nailed down what substantial difference there is between "predestined" and "foreordained." Maybe there isn't a difference at all but then why not use "predestined" in place of "foreordained" in this section? At any rate, I changed "foreordained" to "predestined" for consistency.

IV. These angels and men, thus predestinated, and foreordained, are particularly and unchangeably designed, and their number so certain and definite, that it cannot be either increased or diminished.(8)

IV. These angels and men, being so predestined, are certainly and specifically designated to their particular end, be it eternal life or eternal death. The number of those respectively designated is so definite that it cannot be increased or diminished.(8)

More cosmetics. I, again, have dropped "foreordained" in favor of using only "predestined" for consistency's sake.

Theological Insight in Strange Places

I was reading through an article in a recent issue of Wine Spectator and came across this quote from Thomas Kuhn: "You do not perceive something until you have the right metaphor to receive it." Of course the author doesn't cite a work and I am not familiar enough with his works to place it (though if I had to guess I would say it's from The Structure of Scientific Revolutions); but I thought the quote one of the most insightful sentences I've read in quite some time. My mind raced immediately to the truth of the gospel and how one cannot accept it apart from the gift of faith. I went from there to thinking that the operating metaphor which enables faith is grounded the reality of the incarnation: the word of God manifested in the person of Jesus. Unlike the majority of our conceptual metaphors, this is a metaphor that cannot be acquired via the carnal experience of the created order; nor can flesh and blood reveal it to us. Only through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit is one able to receive the truth of the gospel.

WCF 2.1-3

This chapter needs a serious overhaul. First, I think the title should be changed to "Of God" or to "Of the Holy Trinity" or even to "Of God, the Holy Trinity". I also think the last section should be the first so that the doctrine of the Trinity is established as the context in which the rest of our understanding about God is couched. If it wasn't for the last section this chapter might as well advocate unitarianism. I think a restructuring of this section is necessary if only from a pedagogical standpoint for those new Christians who come to the Confession looking to solidify their understanding of God. The main problem with this chapter is that it attempts to describe and define God seemingly apart from the ontological truth/reality of the Trinity. Much theology has been written on this in recent centuries (some of it very good, from what I understand) since the formulation of the Confession and such work should probably be taken into account now. This chapter grates on my theological nerves and it isn't the content so much as it is the format in which that content is being displayed. This could be done much, much better.



Chapter 2 - Of God, and of the Holy Trinity


I. There is but one only,(1) living, and true God,(2) who is infinite in being and perfection,(3) a most pure spirit,(4) invisible,(5) without body, parts(6) or passions;(7) immutable,(8) immense,(9) eternal,(10) incomprehensible,(11) almighty,(12) most wise,(13) most holy,(14) most free,(15) most absolute;(16) working all things according to the counsel of His own immutable and most righteous will,(17) for His own glory;(18) most loving,(19) gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin;(20) the rewarder of them that dilligently seek Him;(21) and withal, most just, and terrible in His judgments,(22) hating all sin,(23) and who will by no means clear the guilty.(24)

I. There is only one (1) living and true God.(2) He is infinite in being and perfection.(3) He is a spirit.(4) He is immutable,(8) immense (9) and without beginning or end;(10) He cannot be fully or completely comprehended.(11) God is almighty,(12) most wise,(13) most holy,(14) most free (15) and most absolute.(16) He works all things according to the council of His will (17) and for His own glory.(18) He is most loving,(19) gracious and merciful; He is abundant in goodness, truth and forgiveness.(20) He rewards those who dilligently seek Him (21) and He is most just in His judgments.(22) He hates all sin (23) and will not let the guilty go unpunished.(24)

I've left some things completely out and reworded a few others in this section. First thing that I've left out is "invisible, without body, parts or passions". I've removed "invisible" because it's almost redundant following "spirit" and because Paul says that God is clearly "seen" by all men, even if only in and through the created order. I've removed "without body, parts or passions" partly because it is also redundant following "spirit" but also because the section goes on to note several "passions" God does, in fact, have (e.g. love, graciousness, mercy, etc.). I changed "eternal" into "without beginning or end" to accommodate both those who believe God is outside of time and those who believe He is not. I've changed "incomprensible" to "cannot be fully or completely comprehended" because the former seems to create a picture of total ignorance on our part, as if we can have no knowledge of God at all. Everything else is, more or less, intact.

II. God hath all life,(25) glory,(26) goodness,(27) blessedness,(28) in and of Himself; and is alone in and unto Himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creatures which He hath made,(29) nor deriving any glory from them,(30) but only manifesting His own glory in, by, unto, and upon them. He is the alone fountain of all being, of whom, through whom, and to whom are all things (31) and hath most sovereign dominion over them, to do by them, for them, or upon them whatsoever Himself pleaseth.(32) In His sight all things are open and manifested,(33) His knowledge is infinite, infallible, and independent upon the creature,(34) so as nothing is to Him contingent, or uncertain.(35) He is most holy in all His counsels, in all His works, and in all His commands.(36) To Him is due from angels and men, and every other creature, whatsoever worship, service, or obedience He is pleased to require of them.(37)

II. God has all life,(25) glory(26) and goodness(27) in and of Himself. He alone is all-sufficient and is in need of nothing but Himself.(29) Neither does He derive glory from His creation,(30) rather He manifests His own glory in and through it. He is the source of all being and nothing exists apart from His sustaining power.(31) God has complete sovereign dominion over all things so that He does to them that which is according to His will alone.(32) In His sight all things are open and made clear,(33) His knowledge is infinite, infallible and is not dependent upon anything.(34) There is nothing that is contingent or uncertain to God.(35) He is most holy in all His counsels, in all His works, and in all His commands.(36) God alone is to be worshiped and obeyed by men, angels and all of creation in accordance with His stipulations as He sees fit to require.(37)

Here I've done little other than rearrange. I left out "blessedness" because I feel like it clutters more than it helps but everything else is basically the same. I don't like that the Confession, here, says that God does not derive glory from His creation because it seems like the Scriptures speak clearly to the contrary. God does not need to derive glory from us or from His creation, but that is different from saying that He doesn't derive glory from us or it at all. I will readily concede that the glory He receives from us and from creation is His own and not new or additional glory as if He can have more or as if we (or creation) could generate our own apart from Him (here the Confession is right). Even though it is His own glory that He receives from us and creation, it is from us and creation that He receives it and, thus, He does derive glory from us and His creation. In other words (and more simply), I think this is a contradiction that needs to be rectified.

III. In the unity of the Godhead there be three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost:(38) the Father is of none, neither begotten, nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father;(39) the Holy Ghost is eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son. (40)

III. The unity of the Godhead consists of three persons in one substance, power and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.(38) The Father is of none, neither is He an only son, nor does He proceed from anything or anyone. The Son is eternally the only son of the Father.(39) The Holy Spirit is eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son.(40)

I changed "Ghost" to "Spirit" simply because the word "ghost" seems archaic and, somehow, less accurate than "spirit" when describing the third person of the Trinity. Also, the word "begotten" is sort of tricky so I took the meaning of the Greek word monogenes which denotes "only child" in this context.