Part 10
Indeed, one may see how all the things stated above agree perfectly together, provided that we are willing to consider so great a mystery with the reverence due to its greatness.
But there is nothing that furious and deranged minds will not disturb. They seize upon what belongs properly to the humanity of Jesus Christ in order to destroy his divinity; upon what belongs to his divinity in order to destroy his humanity; and upon what is said of both natures together in order to overthrow them both.
But what is this except to argue that Christ is not man because he is God, that he is not God because he is man, and that he is neither God nor man because he contains both natures within himself?
We therefore conclude that Christ, insofar as he is God and man, composed of two natures united but not confused, is our Lord and the true Son of God, even according to his humanity, although not simply by reason of his humanity.
For we must abhor the heresy of Nestorius, who, dividing rather than distinguishing the natures of Jesus Christ, thereby imagined a double Christ. On the contrary, we see how Scripture proclaims loudly and clearly that the one born of the Virgin Mary shall be called the Son of God:
"The holy one who shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God." —Luke 1:35
It also declares that this Virgin is the mother of our Lord:
"Why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" —Luke 1:43
We therefore confess that he was born of the Virgin Mary so that he might be acknowledged as the true Son of Abraham and David who had been promised through the Law and the Prophets. From this faith receives a twofold benefit.
First, it sees that the Son of God, by assuming our flesh, was prepared to accomplish the salvation of men, since by this means he called us into fellowship and communion with himself and all his blessings. Desiring to overcome the devil and death, he assumed our condition, in which he willed to conquer and triumph, so that the victory and triumph might be ours.
The second benefit is that, by tracing the lineage of Jesus Christ back to David and Abraham, we possess greater certainty that our Redeemer is the one whom God had foretold so long before.
It is then said that he was conceived by the Holy Spirit because it was not fitting that the one sent to purify others should himself possess an impure and contaminated origin. Nor was it fitting that the human body taken by the divine essence as its dwelling place should be polluted by the universal corruption of mankind.
The Holy Spirit therefore worked here and, by his marvelous and incomprehensible power, overcame the ordinary law of nature. He caused Jesus Christ to be stained by no spot or fleshly pollution, but to be born in perfect holiness and purity.
Faith is therefore taught to seek all holiness confidently in Jesus Christ and in him alone, because he alone was exempted in his conception from human corruption.
It follows afterward how he accomplished our redemption, for which purpose he had become mortal man. For because God had been provoked to wrath by man's disobedience, Christ made satisfaction through his obedience, subjecting himself to the Father even unto death.
Therefore, in the restoration of our salvation, his obedience must be held in the highest esteem, as Saint Paul says:
"Just as by the transgression of one all were constituted sinners, so by the obedience of one many are accounted righteous." —Romans 5:19
In this, therefore, lies the sum of our salvation: that the Son of God, having been given to us, set aside his own will and not only dedicated his life to the good pleasure of his Father, but also did not refuse to suffer the horror of death when the Father commanded him to do so, in order to appease his majesty, which had been provoked by our rebellion.
Thus, by the merit of this obedience, the heavenly Father was reconciled to the human race, which he had previously hated entirely.
For by his death Christ offered to the Father a sacrifice of sweet fragrance, satisfying his righteous judgment and obtaining eternal sanctification for his believers. He shed his sacred blood as the price of our redemption, in order to extinguish the fury of God that had been kindled against us and to purge away our iniquity.
Therefore, when we seek assurance of salvation, we must come to this redemption, by which God was made gracious toward us, heaven was opened to us, and righteousness was obtained for us.
For Scripture teaches nothing more frequently than this: that Christ, by the power of his sacrifice, merited for us the goodwill of the Father, in which lies the principal pledge and confidence of our life; and that the filth and stains of our sins, by which God's will was turned and alienated from us, were washed and cleansed by his blood, according to Saint John's declaration:
"The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from every sin." —1 John 1:7
Here, then, is the sum of our redemption: being delivered through Christ's satisfaction from the bonds of sin, we are thereby restored to righteousness and holiness and reconciled to God, who hates nothing in us except our iniquity.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate and was crucified.
Here both the name of the judge by whom he was condemned and the kind of death he suffered are expressed—not only to confirm the truth of the history, but because both belonged to the mystery of our redemption.
For since sins had to be blotted out by the death of Christ and the condemnation resulting from them had to be removed, it would not have been sufficient for him to suffer just any kind of death. To fulfill properly every part of our redemption, a particular kind had to be
chosen by which, transferring our condemnation and the penalty due to God's wrath upon himself, he might deliver us from both.
First, therefore, he suffered under the governor of the province and was condemned by a judicial sentence, so that he might deliver us from condemnation before the judgment seat of the supreme Judge.
If robbers had cut his throat, or if he had been murdered during a riot by private individuals, there would have been no appearance of satisfaction in such a death. But when he is brought before the court to be accused, convicted by testimony, and condemned by the mouth of the judge, we see that he assumed the place of a criminal.
Here we must consider two things that had been foretold by the Prophets and bring singular consolation to our faith.
When we hear that Christ was led from the judgment hall to death and hung between criminals, we see the fulfillment of the prophecy cited by the Evangelist:
"He was numbered among the transgressors." —Isaiah 53:12
Why was this? It was so that he might discharge the penalty owed by sinners and take their place, for he suffered death not on account of righteousness but on account of sin.
On the other hand, when we hear that he was acquitted by the very mouth that condemned him—for Pilate was compelled repeatedly to bear public testimony to his innocence—we should remember what was said by another Prophet:
"I restored what I did not take away." —Psalm 69:4
Thus, in Jesus Christ we shall behold the person of a sinner and criminal represented, while from his innocence we shall know that he was burdened with the sin of others and not with his own.
He therefore suffered under Pontius Pilate, being condemned as a criminal by the judicial sentence of the governor of the land. Nevertheless, he was not condemned without also being pronounced righteous, for Pilate declared that he found no cause against him.
Moreover, the manner of his death is not without mystery. The cross was accursed, not only according to human opinion but by the decree of God's law:
"He who is hanged upon a tree is accursed of God." —Deuteronomy 21:23
Therefore, when Christ was fastened to the cross, he subjected himself to the curse. It had to be done in this way: the curse owed to us and prepared for our iniquities had to be transferred to him so that we might be delivered from it.
This had previously been prefigured in the law. For the sacrificial victims offered for sins were themselves called sin. By this name the Holy Spirit intended to signify that they received the entire curse due to sin.
What was therefore represented figuratively in the Mosaic sacrifices was truly fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who is the substance of those
figures. Thus, to accomplish our redemption, he made his soul an offering for sin, as the Prophet says:
"You shall make his soul an offering for sin." —Isaiah 53:10
In this way, the whole curse owed to us as sinners was laid upon him so that it might no longer be imputed to us.
The Apostle declares this more openly when he says:
"The Father made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might obtain righteousness before God." —2 Corinthians 5:21
For the Son of God, being pure and free from every fault, took upon himself and was clothed with the disgrace and shame of our iniquities, while covering us with his purity.
This is also demonstrated in another passage of Saint Paul, where it is said that sin was condemned for sin in the flesh of Jesus Christ:
"God, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh." —Romans 8:3
For the heavenly Father abolished the power of sin when its curse was transferred to the flesh of Jesus Christ.
It is now evident what the Prophet's declaration means:
"The Lord laid upon him all our iniquities." —Isaiah 53:6
It means that, desiring to blot out their stains, Christ first received them upon his own person so that they might be imputed to him.
The cross, therefore, was a sign of this. Being fastened to it, Jesus Christ delivered us from the curse of the law, as the Apostle says, by becoming a curse for us:
"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs upon a tree,' so that the blessing promised to Abraham might be poured out upon all peoples." —Galatians 3:13–14
Nevertheless, we must not understand that he received our curse in such a way as to be covered and overwhelmed by it. On the contrary, by receiving it he crushed, broke, and dispersed it.
Faith therefore apprehends absolution in Christ's condemnation and blessing in his curse.
Died and was buried.
Here we may perceive how, from beginning to end, he submitted himself to fulfill our obligation and pay the price of our redemption. Death had bound us beneath its yoke; he delivered himself into its power in order to rescue us from it.
This is what the Apostle means when he says:
"He tasted death for everyone." —Hebrews 2:9
For by dying, he caused us not to die—or, what amounts to the same thing, by his death he obtained life for us.
He differed from us in this: he permitted himself to be given over to death as though to be swallowed by it, yet not to be entirely devoured, but rather to devour death so that it might no longer possess the power over us that it formerly had.
He permitted himself to be, as it were, subdued by death—not to be oppressed and overthrown by it, but rather to overthrow the dominion it exercised over us.
Finally, he died so that through death he might destroy the one who possesses the dominion of death—that is, the devil—and deliver those who throughout their lives were held in bondage by the fear of death:
"Through death he destroyed the one who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and delivered those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." —Hebrews 2:14–15
This is the first fruit his death brings us.
The second is that, by its power, his death mortifies our earthly members so that they no longer perform their former works, and puts to death the old man within us so that he no longer possesses his former strength or bears fruit from himself.
The burial of Jesus Christ tends toward this same end: that, having fellowship in it, we may be buried to sin. For when the Apostle says that we are planted together with Christ in the likeness of his death:
"We have been planted together in the likeness of his death," —Romans 6:5
that we are buried with him into the death of sin:
"We were buried with him through baptism into death," —Romans 6:4
that through his cross the world is crucified to us and we to the world:
"The world is crucified to me, and I to the world," —Galatians 6:14
and that we have died with him:
"You are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God," —Colossians 3:3
he not only exhorts us to imitate the example of Christ's death but also demonstrates that an efficacy resides within it which must appear in all Christians, unless they wish to render the death of their Redeemer useless and unfruitful.
A twofold grace is therefore presented to us in the death and burial of Jesus Christ: deliverance from death and the mortification of our flesh.
He descended into hell.
Although it appears from the books of the ancient teachers who explained the Creed that this clause was not universally established among the churches, I nevertheless judge that it must not be omitted, because it contains a great and excellent mystery.
There are also some among the ancients who do not omit it. From this we may conjecture that it was added shortly after the time of the Apostles, but came into general use only gradually. However that may be, it is beyond dispute that it was drawn from what all true believers ought to hold and believe.
For there is none of the ancient Fathers who does not mention the descent of Jesus Christ into hell, although they understand it in different senses. It is not a matter of great importance to know by whom or at what time this statement was inserted into the Creed. Rather, we must see that we possess here a full and complete summary of our faith, in which nothing is lacking and nothing is proposed that has not been drawn from the word of God.
As to this article, it will soon become evident that it is of such importance to the accomplishment of our salvation that it must by no means be omitted.
Its interpretation varies. Some think that nothing new is stated here, but that what was previously said concerning Christ's burial is merely repeated in different words, since the word hell is frequently used to mean the grave.
As to what they maintain concerning the meaning of the word, I grant that it is true: the word hell is often used for the grave. But two reasons oppose their opinion, and these seem to me sufficient to refute it.
First, it would have been an exceedingly idle thing, after stating clearly and in familiar words a matter containing no difficulty in itself, to repeat it in words far more obscure. For when two expressions are joined together to signify the same thing, the second ought to serve as an explanation of the first. But what kind of explanation would it be to say that the burial of Jesus Christ means that he descended into hell?
Moreover, it is not likely that, in this summary where the principal articles of our faith are briefly comprehended in a few words, the ancient Church intended to include something so superfluous and irrelevant that it would have had no place even in a much longer treatise. I do not doubt that those who examine the matter closely will agree with me.
Others understand by the word hell some place beneath the earth to which they give the name Limbo. There, they imagine, the Fathers who lived under the Old Testament were confined as in a prison. They say that Christ descended there to deliver them, just as he broke the gates of bronze and the bars of iron.
Although this fable has distinguished authorities behind it and is still defended as truth today, it nevertheless remains nothing but a fable.
The passages they allege from Zechariah and Saint Peter do nothing to support their position. For when the Prophet says:
"By the blood of your covenant with Zion, you have delivered the prisoners from the pit in which there was no water," —Zechariah 9:11
he is not speaking of the dead or of Limbo. By the waterless pit he means the gulf and abyss of misery in which all sinners lie, and by the prisoners he means the people held captive in extreme calamity and anguish.
When Saint Peter says that Jesus Christ came and preached in spirit to the spirits who were in prison:
"He went and preached to the spirits in prison." —1 Peter 3:19
he means nothing other than that the power of the redemption accomplished by Jesus Christ was made known to the spirits of those who had died beforehand.
For the believers who had always hoped for salvation in him then knew his visitation and presence fully and, as it were, with their own eyes. The reprobates, on the contrary, seeing that he alone was the salvation of the whole world and that they were excluded from it, were more clearly assured that no hope remained for them.
When Saint Peter places both the righteous and the unbelieving in prison without distinction, this must not be understood as though the righteous had been confined in some narrow captivity before Jesus Christ came. Rather, because they beheld their redemption
from afar and as in a dim shadow, their expectation—since it could not be entirely free from anxiety—is compared to a prison.
We must therefore seek a more certain interpretation of this article. The word of God supplies one that is not only sound and holy but also filled with great consolation.
It would have been nothing if Jesus Christ had merely discharged the obligation of bodily death. He also had to experience the severity of God's judgment, so that by interceding and, as it were, placing himself in the way, he might prevent God's wrath from falling upon us by satisfying it himself.
To accomplish this, it was necessary for him to fight, as it were, hand to hand against the powers of hell and the horror of eternal death. The Prophet says:
"The chastisement required for our peace was laid upon him; he was wounded for our transgressions and afflicted for our iniquities." —Isaiah 53:5
By this he signifies that Christ was substituted in the place of sinners as their representative and surety—or rather, as the principal debtor —to receive the punishments that ought to have been imposed upon them. The only difference is that he could not be held and overcome by the pains of death:
"It was impossible for him to be held by death." —Acts 2:24
It is therefore no wonder that he is said to have descended into hell, since he endured the death imposed by God's wrath upon evildoers.
To understand this more easily, is it not a terrible and miserable abyss to feel oneself forsaken and abandoned by God, to receive no help when calling upon him, and to expect nothing except that he has conspired to destroy us?
Yet we see that Jesus Christ came to such a point that, pressed by anguish, he was compelled to cry:
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" —Matthew 27:46
Some interpret this as though he spoke according to the opinion of others rather than from his own inward feeling. But that is not credible, since it is evident that these words proceeded from the profound bitterness of his heart.
Nevertheless, we do not infer from this that God was ever hostile toward or angry with his Christ. For how could the Father be angry with his beloved Son, in whom he declared that he took all his pleasure? Or how could Christ, by his intercession, appease the Father toward men if he had provoked the Father against himself?
Rather, we say that Christ sustained the weight of God's vengeance, in that he was struck and afflicted by God's hand and experienced all the signs God displays toward sinners when he is angry with them and punishes them.
Saint Hilary therefore says that through the death of Jesus Christ we have obtained this blessing: that death is now abolished. In other passages he speaks in a manner closely corresponding to our doctrine, as when he says, "The cross, death, and hell are our life." Again, "The Son of God is in hell, but man is exalted to heaven."
In short, Jesus Christ fought against the power of the devil, the horror of death, and the pains of hell, obtaining victory over them and triumphing over them, so that in death we might no longer fear those things that our Prince has abolished and brought to nothing.
On the third day he rose from the dead.
Since nothing but weakness appears in the cross, death, and burial of Christ, faith must pass beyond them in order to be fully strengthened.
Although in his death we possess the complete accomplishment of salvation—since by it we are reconciled to God, his righteous judgment has been satisfied, the curse has been abolished, and we have been acquitted of all the penalties we owed—nevertheless, Scripture does not say that we were raised to the hope of life through his death, but through his resurrection:
"He has begotten us again unto a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." —1 Peter 1:3
For just as Christ, by rising again, showed himself victorious over death, so the victory over our death consists in his resurrection.
The words of Saint Paul will show more clearly what this means:
"He was delivered for our sins and raised for our justification." —Romans 4:25
It is as though he said that by Christ's death sin was taken away, and by his resurrection righteousness was restored. For how could he have delivered us from death by dying if he had succumbed to it? How could he have obtained victory for us if he had failed in the conflict?
We therefore divide the substance of our salvation between Christ's death and resurrection in this manner: through his death, sin was destroyed and death abolished; through his resurrection, righteousness was established and life restored to supremacy. Yet this occurred in such a way that it is through the resurrection that his death possesses its efficacy.
Moreover, just as we explained above that the mortification of our flesh depends upon communion with the cross of Christ, so we must understand that another corresponding fruit proceeds from his resurrection.
For, as the Apostle says, we are planted together in the likeness of his death so that, being made partakers of his resurrection, we may walk in newness of life:
"We have been planted together in the likeness of his death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead, we also
might walk in newness of life." —Romans 6:4–5
Therefore, in another place, just as he argues from the fact that we have died with Christ that we must mortify our members upon the earth:
"You are dead. Mortify, therefore, your members that are upon the earth," —Colossians 3:3, 5
so from the fact that we have risen with Christ, he infers that we must seek heavenly things:
"If you have risen with Christ, seek the things that are above." —Colossians 3:1
By these words he not only exhorts us to newness of life after the example of the risen Christ, but also teaches that it is by Christ's power that we are regenerated unto righteousness.
We receive a third benefit from this resurrection. Possessing it as the pledge of our resurrection, we are thereby rendered more certain of our own, since Christ's resurrection is its foundation and substance:
"Christ has risen from the dead and become the firstfruits of those who sleep." —1 Corinthians 15:20
We should also note in passing that he is said to have risen from the dead. By this the reality of both his death and resurrection is
signified. It is as though the Creed said that he suffered the same death as other men and received immortality in the same flesh he had assumed as mortal.
He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
Although Christ began at his resurrection to manifest his glory and power, having laid aside the lowliness of his mortal nature and the shame of the cross, he truly exalted his kingdom when he ascended into heaven. The Apostle shows this when he says:
"He ascended above all the heavens so that he might fulfill all things." —Ephesians 4:10
For we see how much more abundantly he then poured out the graces of his Spirit, how greatly he enlarged his majesty, and how much more fully he displayed his power, both in assisting his own people and overthrowing his enemies.
Therefore, when he was received into heaven, he removed the presence of his body from our sight, but not so that he might cease assisting believers who must still journey upon earth. Rather, he did so to govern the world by a power more present than before.
Indeed, the promise that he would remain with us until the end of the age was fulfilled through this ascension:
"Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." —Matthew 28:20
For just as his body was raised above all the heavens, so his power and efficacy were extended beyond every boundary of heaven and earth.
It is therefore immediately added that he is seated at the right hand of the Father. This comparison is drawn from kings, whose appointed governors are seated beside them after being entrusted with the administration of their kingdoms.
Thus Christ, whom the Father willed to exalt and through whose hand he willed to exercise his dominion, is said to be seated at the Father's right hand. By this expression we must understand that he was appointed Lord of heaven and earth and solemnly took possession of his dominion—not only taking it once, but maintaining it until he descends on the day of judgment.
For so the Apostle explains it when he says:
"The Father seated him at his right hand, above every principality, power, might, dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. He subjected all things beneath his feet and appointed him Head over all things to the Church." —Ephesians 1:20–22
We see, then, what is meant by saying that Jesus Christ is seated: that all creatures, both heavenly and earthly, honor his majesty, are governed by his hand, obey his pleasure, and are subject to his power.
The Apostles mean nothing else when they so frequently mention this except that all things have been placed under his command. Therefore, those who think this word signifies only the blessedness into which Jesus Christ was received are mistaken.
Nor does it matter that Saint Stephen testifies in Acts that he saw him standing:
"I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." —Acts 7:56
For the question here concerns not the posture of his body but the majesty of his dominion. Thus, to be seated signifies nothing other than to preside upon the heavenly throne.
From this several benefits come to our faith. First, we understand that by his ascension into heaven the Lord Jesus opened to us the way that had been closed by Adam. For since he entered there in our flesh and, as it were, in our name, it follows, as the Apostle says, that we are already in some measure seated with him in the heavenly places:
"God has raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Jesus Christ." —Ephesians 2:6
For we possess not merely a bare hope of heaven, but already possess it in our Head.
Moreover, we acknowledge that it is greatly for our benefit that he dwells with the Father. Having entered the sanctuary not made by human hands, he continually appears there as our Advocate and Intercessor:
"Christ entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us." —Hebrews 9:24
He so turns the Father's eyes toward his righteousness that he turns them away from the sight of our sins. He so reconciles the Father's heart toward us that through his intercession he gives us access to his throne, preparing grace and clemency for us and causing that throne not to be dreadful to us, as it must be to all sinners.
Third, in this article we apprehend the power of Jesus Christ, in which are situated our strength and might, our help, and our triumph over hell. For when he ascended into heaven, he led his enemies captive and, having despoiled them, enriched his people and continues daily to enrich them with spiritual graces:
"Ascending on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men." —Ephesians 4:8
He is therefore seated on high so that from there, pouring out his power upon us, he may give us spiritual life and sanctify us by his Spirit; adorn his Church with many precious gifts; preserve it by his protection against every injury; restrain and confound by his power all the enemies of his cross and of our salvation; and, finally, exercise all power in heaven and on earth until he has conquered and
destroyed all his enemies, who are also ours, and perfected his Church.
From there he shall come to judge the living and the dead.
Even now the servants of Jesus Christ possess sufficient signs to recognize the presence of his power. But because his kingdom is still obscured and hidden beneath the lowliness of the flesh, faith is here directed toward his visible presence, which he will manifest on the last day.
For he will descend visibly, just as he was seen ascending:
"This same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven shall come in the same manner as you saw him go into heaven." —Acts 1:11
He will appear to everyone with the inexpressible majesty of his kingdom, the splendor of immortality, the infinite power of his divinity, and the company of his angels.
We are therefore commanded to await our Redeemer from heaven on the day when he will separate the lambs from the goats and the elect from the reprobate. No one, whether living or dead, will be able to escape his judgment.
The sound of the trumpet will be heard from every end of the world, summoning all men to appear before his judgment seat, both those then living and those who have died beforehand:
"The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with the trumpet of God." —1 Thessalonians 4:16
Some understand the living and the dead to mean the good and the wicked. Indeed, we see that some of the ancients were uncertain how these words should be interpreted. But the first meaning is much more appropriate because it is simpler, less forced, and drawn from Scripture's customary manner of speaking.
Nor does this contradict the Apostle's declaration:
"It is appointed for all men once to die." —Hebrews 9:27
For although those who are still living in mortal life when judgment comes will not die according to the natural order, the transformation they will undergo bears so great a resemblance to death that it is rightly called death.
It is certain that not all will remain for long in what Scripture calls sleep, but all will be transformed and changed:
"We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye." —1 Corinthians 15:51–52
What does this mean? Their mortal life will be abolished in a moment and transformed into a new nature. No one can deny that such an abolition of the flesh is death.
Nevertheless, it remains true that the living and the dead will be summoned to judgment. For the dead who are in Christ will rise first, and afterward those who remain alive will meet the Lord in the air, as Saint Paul says:
"The dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air." —1 Thessalonians 4:16–17
Indeed, it is likely that this article was taken from Saint Peter's preaching in Acts 10:
"He is the one appointed by God to be Judge of the living and the dead," —Acts 10:42
and from Saint Paul's solemn charge to Timothy:
"I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the living and the dead." —2 Timothy 4:1
From this comes a singular consolation: we hear that the authority to judge has been given to the one who has appointed us to share in his honor by exercising judgment. So far is he from ascending his throne to condemn us.
For how could so gracious a Prince destroy his people? How could the Head scatter his own members? How could the Advocate condemn those whose defense he has undertaken?
If the Apostle dares to glory that no one can condemn when Jesus Christ intercedes for us:
"Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, who also rose again, who is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us." —Romans 8:34
it is still more certain that Christ, being our Intercessor, will not condemn us, since he has undertaken our cause and promised to sustain us.
It is no small assurance to know that we shall appear before no judgment seat other than that of our Redeemer, from whom we expect salvation.
Moreover, we learn here that the one who now promises us eternal blessedness through his Gospel will then ratify his promise by rendering judgment. The Father has therefore honored his Son by attributing to him the authority to judge in such a way that he has also provided consolation for the consciences of his servants, which might otherwise tremble at the horror of judgment if they possessed no certain hope there.
Since we see that the whole sum and every part of our salvation are comprehended in Jesus Christ, we must beware of transferring even the smallest portion of it elsewhere.
If we seek salvation, the name of Jesus alone teaches us that it is found in him. If we desire the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we shall find them in his anointing. If we seek strength, it is found in his lordship.
If we need purity, it is presented to us in his conception. If we desire tenderness and kindness, his birth presents them to us, for through it he was made like us so that he might learn compassion.
If we ask for redemption, his suffering grants it to us. In his condemnation we possess our absolution. If we desire deliverance from the curse, we obtain that blessing through his cross. We have satisfaction in his sacrifice, cleansing in his blood, and reconciliation through his descent into hell.
The mortification of our flesh lies in his burial, and newness of life in his resurrection, in which we also possess the hope of immortality. If we seek the heavenly inheritance, it is assured to us by his ascension. If we seek help, comfort, and an abundance of every good thing, we possess them in his reign. If we desire to await judgment in safety, we possess this blessing also in the fact that he is our Judge.
In short, since the treasures of every good thing are found in him, we must draw from him and nowhere else.
For those who, not content with Christ, waver here and there among various hopes do not keep to the right path, even if they chiefly look to him, because they turn some portion of their thoughts elsewhere.
Yet such distrust cannot enter our understanding once we have rightly known his riches.
THE THIRD PART
I believe in the Holy Spirit.
Faith in the Holy Spirit now follows, and it is necessary for the accomplishment of our salvation. For what has been said—that we must seek our cleansing and sanctification in Jesus Christ—cannot be obtained unless it is communicated to us by the Holy Spirit.
The Apostle signifies this when he says:
"You were washed and sanctified in the name of Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." —1 Corinthians 6:11
It is as though he said that the graces of Jesus Christ are impressed upon our consciences by the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, after faith in the Father and the Son, faith in the Holy Spirit is rightly added, for through him the fruit of divine mercy and of the grace obtained by Jesus Christ is conferred upon us.
When we hear the name Spirit, we must call to mind all the offices Scripture attributes to him and expect from him the blessings that proceed from them according to its testimony.
For Scripture teaches that every grace of God is the work of his Spirit, because through him the Father performs all things in his Son. Through him he creates, sustains, gives life to, and preserves all his works. Through him he calls and draws all his believers to himself, justifies them, and sanctifies them unto newness of life. He enriches them with various kinds of grace and strengthens them by his heavenly power until they have reached their goal.
Therefore, when the Holy Spirit dwells within us in this manner, it is he who enlightens us with his light so that we may understand what abundant gifts of God's goodness we possess in Jesus Christ. Thus, he may rightly be called the key by which the treasures of the heavenly kingdom are opened to us, and his illumination the eye of our understanding by which we behold them.
For this reason he is sometimes called a pledge and a seal, because he seals within our hearts the certainty of God's promises. At other times he is called the Teacher of truth, the Author of light, and the Fountain of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.
It is he who, cleansing us from every defilement, consecrates us as holy temples to God. He so adorns us with his holiness that we are made dwelling places of God.
It is he who, by watering us, makes us fruitful so that we produce the fruits of righteousness. For this reason he is frequently called water, as in these passages from the Prophet:
"All you who thirst, come to the waters." —Isaiah 55:1
Again:
"I will pour water upon the barren ground and rivers upon the dry land." —Isaiah 44:3
To this corresponds Christ's declaration inviting all who thirst to draw living water:
"If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink." —John 7:37
At other times he is called water because of his power to purge and cleanse, as in Ezekiel, where the Lord promises pure water to cleanse his people:
"I will sprinkle pure water upon you, and you shall be clean." —Ezekiel 36:25
It is he who, refreshing us with his moisture, instills within us the vigor of life. For this reason he is called oil and anointing.
It is he who, burning and consuming the vices of our sinful desires, inflames our hearts with love. Because of this power, he is called fire.
It is he who breathes divine life into us so that we no longer live from ourselves but follow his movement and guidance.
Therefore, if there is any good within us, all of it is produced by his grace and power. On the contrary, what we possess from ourselves is nothing but blindness of mind and perversity of heart.
It is now evident how profitable and necessary it is that our faith be directed toward the Holy Spirit, since in him we find the illumination of our souls, our regeneration, the communication of every grace, and even the efficacy of all the blessings that come to us from Jesus Christ.
THE FOURTH PART
I believe the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints.
We shall speak more fully of the Church elsewhere. For the present, we shall touch upon those things that faith must contemplate in order to receive consolation from it.
First, it is not without reason that we say, "I believe the Church," rather than, "I believe in the Church." I know that the second expression is more customary today, that it was used in ancient times, and that even the Nicene Creed, as recited in ecclesiastical history, says, "I believe in the Church."
Nevertheless, it is also evident from the writings of the ancient Fathers that they readily accepted the expression "I believe the Church," rather than "in the Church." For Saint Cyprian and Saint Augustine not only speak in this manner but expressly teach that the expression would be improper if the preposition in were added.
They confirm their opinion with a reason that is not frivolous. We testify that we believe in God because our heart relies upon him as true and our confidence rests in him. This would be no more appropriate to the Church than to the forgiveness of sins or the resurrection of the flesh.
Therefore, although I do not wish to contend over words, I prefer to follow the expression that properly clarifies the matter rather than affect forms of speech that introduce needless obscurity.
We must now recall what we previously observed: thus far, the substance, foundation, and cause of our salvation have been demonstrated to us; now the effect follows.
For the person who understands the power of God and his fatherly goodness, the righteousness of Christ, and the efficacy of the Holy Spirit possesses the cause of his salvation. But he does not yet see how salvation is accomplished in men unless he proceeds to the Church, the forgiveness of sins, and eternal life.
Therefore, after being taught that God is the author of life, we proceed in good order from this to acknowledge the work he performs within us.
First, the Church is here presented to us as an article of faith, so that we may believe that the whole multitude of Christians is joined together by the bond of faith and assembled into one people, whose Prince and Captain is the Lord Jesus. Indeed, it is united as one body whose Head is Christ:
"The Church is his body, the fullness of him who fills all things." —Ephesians 1:22–23
For God eternally chose all his people in Christ so that he might assemble and gather them into his kingdom.
How necessary it is for us to believe the Church is evident from this: in order to be regenerated unto immortal life, the Church must conceive us as a mother conceives her children; and in order to be preserved, she must maintain and nourish us within her bosom.
For she is the mother of us all:
"Jerusalem which is above is free, and she is the mother of us all." —Galatians 4:26
Our Lord has entrusted to her all the treasures of his grace so that she may guard them and distribute them through her ministry.
Therefore, if we desire entrance into the kingdom of God, we must acknowledge the Church by faith. This means not merely conceiving in our understanding the number of the elect, but acknowledging such a unity of the Church that we do not doubt that we have been incorporated into it.
For we can possess no hope of the heavenly inheritance unless we first adhere to Jesus Christ our Head through this communion with all his members, since Scripture declares that there is no salvation outside this unity of the Church.
For in this sense we must understand the prophecies declaring that salvation will be found in Zion and Jerusalem:
"In Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance." —Joel 2:32
Therefore, when the Lord wills to pronounce eternal death upon certain persons, he says:
"They shall not be in the assembly of my people, nor shall they be enrolled among the children of Israel." —Ezekiel 13:9
Moreover, this fellowship is called catholic, or universal, because there are not two or three churches. On the contrary, all God's elect are so united and bound together in Christ that, just as they depend upon one Head, they are incorporated into one body, supporting one another as true members.
Indeed, they are all made one because they live by the same Spirit of God in one faith, hope, and love, and are called not only to the same inheritance but also to the same fellowship with God and Jesus Christ.
The Church is also called holy. For all whom God's providence has chosen to be incorporated into it are sanctified by God through spiritual regeneration.
Saint Paul therefore sets forth this order of God's mercy:
"Those whom he predestined, he also called; those whom he called, he also justified; and those whom he justified, he also glorified." —Romans 8:30
Thus, our calling and justification are nothing other than a testimony of divine election, since the Lord brings into the fellowship of his Church those whom he had predestined before they were born.
For this reason, Scripture frequently regards as belonging to the Church only those in whom the Lord has thus demonstrated his election. For it is fitting that the children of God should be described to us according to what our understanding can comprehend: namely, that they are led by the Spirit of God.
Nevertheless, we must carefully consider what kind of holiness exists in the Church. For if we refused to acknowledge any Church unless it were perfect from beginning to end, we would find none.
What Saint Paul says is indeed true:
"Jesus Christ gave himself for the Church, that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water through the word of life, so that he might present it to himself as a glorious bride, having neither spot nor wrinkle." —Ephesians 5:25–27
But this statement is no less true: the Lord works day by day to remove her wrinkles and cleanse her stains. It follows that her holiness is not yet perfect.
The Church, therefore, is holy in such a way that she advances daily but has not yet attained perfection. Each day she moves forward but has not yet reached the goal of holiness, as will be explained more fully elsewhere.
Therefore, when the Prophets foretell that Jerusalem shall be holy, that strangers shall no longer pass through her, and that God's temple shall be holy so that no unclean person shall enter it, we must not understand this as though no stain remained upon the members of the Church.
Rather, because believers sincerely aspire from their hearts toward complete holiness and purity, the perfection they do not yet possess is attributed to them through the goodness of God.
Although it often happens that no great signs of this sanctification are visible among men, we must nevertheless remain firmly persuaded that there has been no age since the beginning of the world in which the Lord did not possess his Church, and that there never will be an age in which he does not possess it.
For although the whole human race has been corrupted and perverted by Adam's sin from the beginning of the world, God has never ceased to sanctify from this corrupt mass vessels for honor, so that no age has failed to experience his mercy.
This he has testified through certain promises, as when he says:
"I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant: I will preserve your seed forever and establish your throne through all generations." —Psalm 89:3–4
Again:
"The Lord has chosen Zion; he has chosen it for his dwelling place. This is my rest forever." —Psalm 132:13–14
Again:
"Thus says the Lord, who causes the sun to shine by day and the moon by night: When this established order fails, then shall the seed of Israel cease—and not before." —Jeremiah 31:35–36
The article that follows concerning the communion of saints was commonly omitted by the ancients. Nevertheless, it must not be despised. For just as it is necessary for us to believe the Church, it is not superfluous to know what we believe the Church to be.
I therefore judge this clause to be an explanation of the Church, showing us its nature and proper character: namely, that the union in which Jesus Christ joins his believers is of such importance that they share together in every good thing.
Nevertheless, by this expression we must not understand that each person does not possess different graces, since Saint Paul says:
"There are different gifts, but the same Spirit." —1 Corinthians 12:4
Nor must we suppose that civil order, by which each person possesses his property separately, ought to be overthrown. For during this mortal life, it is necessary that rights and possessions should remain individually distinguished in order to preserve peace and tranquility among men.
Rather, we understand a communion compatible with this distribution of possessions and graces. For whatever anyone has received from the hand of God, he must make others partakers of it, although it was given particularly to him and not to them.
Among the members of one body there are various faculties and different offices, yet there is such unity that each member serves the others. For, as Saint Paul teaches the Corinthians and Ephesians, whatever grace each person has received must be directed and
contributed toward the common benefit of the Church, because our Lord wills that it should be administered in this manner.
Likewise, elsewhere he argues that callings are diverse because the communion we possess with one another must be ordered according to the diversity of graces.
Now, since we believe the holy Church through its communion, and since through the faith we possess in Christ we have confidence that we are members of it, we should consider what fruit comes to us from this.
It is no small thing to recognize that we are called into the unity of the Church, which the Lord God has chosen and set apart to be the body and fullness of Christ:
"The Church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all things." —Ephesians 1:22–23
It is also:
"The pillar and foundation of the truth," —1 Timothy 3:15
and the perpetual dwelling place of his divine majesty.
When we possess this assurance, our salvation is supported by so firm a foundation that even if the entire structure of the world were shaken, it would remain firm and immovable.
First, it is founded upon God's election and cannot fail unless his eternal providence is overthrown.
Moreover, our salvation is confirmed because Christ must remain whole, and he will no more permit his believers to be torn away from himself than he will allow his members to be ripped apart.
Furthermore, we are certain that so long as we remain within the bosom of the Church, the truth remains with us.
Finally, we understand that the promises declaring that God will dwell forever in Jerusalem and never depart from her midst belong to us:
"God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved." —Psalm 46:5
Such is the power of the Church's unity that it can preserve us in fellowship with God.
Likewise, the word communion can bring us great consolation. For since all the graces our Lord has conferred upon his members, who are also our fellow members, belong to us, our hope is strengthened by all the blessings they possess.
Moreover, to remain within the unity of this Church, it is not necessary for us to see a Church with our eyes or touch it with our hands. Rather, the fact that we must believe the Church signifies that we must acknowledge it no less when it is invisible to us than if we saw it plainly.
Nor is our faith in any way diminished because it acknowledges a Church our understanding cannot comprehend. For we are not commanded to distinguish the elect from the reprobate—a task belonging to God alone and not to us—but to possess this certainty in our hearts: that all who, through the clemency of God the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit, have come to participate in Christ are set apart as God's own inheritance. And since we are numbered among them, we are heirs of this grace.
It is now time to speak of the visible Church, which we can apprehend with our senses, and to show what judgment we ought to form concerning it.
For the Lord has marked his Church with certain signs and emblems insofar as it is necessary for us to recognize it. It is true that the privilege of knowing precisely who belongs to him rests with him alone, as Saint Paul says:
"The Lord knows those who are his." —2 Timothy 2:19
Indeed, to prevent human presumption from advancing so far, he has made good provision by warning us daily through experience how greatly his secret judgments surpass our understanding.
On the one hand, those who appeared entirely lost and were regarded as beyond hope are restored to the right path. On the other hand, those who seemed firmly established stumble. God alone sees who will persevere to the end, which is the principal matter in our salvation.
Nevertheless, because the Lord saw that it was necessary for us to know whom we should regard as his children, he accommodated himself in this respect to our capacity. Since certainty of faith was not required in judging others, he substituted the judgment of love. According to this judgment, we ought to acknowledge as members of the Church all who, by their confession of faith, godly example of life, and participation in the sacraments, profess the same God and the same Christ with us.
From this we can readily discern where the Church is. Wherever we see the word of God purely preached and heard, and the sacraments administered according to Christ's institution, there we must not doubt that a Church exists, because the promise he has given us cannot fail:
"Where two or three are gathered together in my name, I will be in the midst of them." —Matthew 18:20
But to understand the substance of this matter properly, we must proceed through the following steps.
The universal Church is the whole multitude that agrees with the truth of God and the doctrine of his word, whatever diversity of nations or distance between regions may exist, because it is united by the bond of religion.
Under this universal Church are comprehended the churches distributed throughout every city and village. Each of these possesses the title and authority of a Church.
The persons acknowledged as belonging to a particular church by their profession of faith, although they may not truly belong to the Church, are nevertheless regarded as belonging to it until they have been rejected by public judgment.
Although churches and particular persons must be judged differently. For it may happen that we must treat as brothers and regard as believers those whom we do not personally consider worthy of that number, because the common judgment of the Church still tolerates and endures them within the body of Christ.
We will not, therefore, approve such persons as members of the Church according to our private judgment. Nevertheless, we will leave them the place they hold among the people of God until it is taken from them by lawful means.
With respect to a congregation, however, we must proceed differently. If it possesses the ministry of the word and honors it, and if it retains the administration of the sacraments, it must undoubtedly be acknowledged as a Church, because it is certain that the word and sacraments cannot remain without fruit.
In this manner we shall preserve the unity of the universal Church, which devilish spirits have always endeavored to scatter, and we shall not take away the authority belonging to the ecclesiastical assemblies established in every place for the needs of men.
We have identified the preaching of God's word and the administration of the sacraments as the marks of the Church. For these two things cannot exist without bearing fruit and prospering through God's blessing.
I do not say that wherever there is preaching, its fruit immediately appears. Rather, I mean that wherever the word is received and given a settled dwelling place, it always produces some effect.
However that may be, wherever the preaching of the Gospel is reverently heard and the sacraments are not neglected, there appears, at least for that time, a definite form of the Church that cannot be doubted. It is not lawful to despise its authority, disregard its admonitions, reject its counsel, or mock its discipline. Much less is it permissible to separate from it or break its unity.
For God esteems the communion of his Church so highly that he regards as a traitor to Christianity anyone who withdraws from a Christian fellowship in which the ministry of his word and sacraments is present. He holds its authority in such esteem that when it is violated, he declares his own authority to be violated.
We must therefore carefully retain the marks set forth above and esteem them according to God's judgment.
For there is nothing Satan schemes more earnestly to accomplish than one of these two things: either, by abolishing or obscuring the true marks by which we may discern the Church, to deprive us of every true means of distinguishing it; or to induce us to despise those marks so that he may separate us and cause us to revolt from the communion of the Church.
Through his cunning, the pure preaching of the Gospel was hidden for many years. Now, through the same malice, he endeavors to overthrow the ministry that Jesus Christ so established in his Church that, if it is destroyed, the edification of the Church perishes.
How dangerous—or rather, how pernicious—a temptation it is when the thought enters a person's heart to separate from a congregation in which appear the marks by which our Lord considered his Church sufficiently identified.
We see how necessary it is to guard ourselves on both sides. So that we may not be deceived under the name of the Church, we must test every congregation claiming that name by the standard God has given us, just as gold is tested by a touchstone.
If it possesses the order our Lord established in his word and sacraments, it will not deceive us, and we may safely render to it the honor belonging to the Church.
On the contrary, if it wishes to be acknowledged as the Church without the word of God and his sacraments, we must guard no less carefully against deception in this case than against rashness in the other.
When we say that the pure ministry of the word and the proper administration of the sacraments are a sufficient pledge and guarantee that a Church exists in every fellowship where we see both, this must carry such weight that we should reject no assembly preserving them, although it may be subject to many faults.
Indeed, there may be some defect either in doctrine or in the administration of the sacraments that ought not entirely to alienate us from communion with a Church. For all the articles of divine doctrine are not of equal importance.
Some are so necessary to know that no one should doubt them, any more than the settled principles of Christianity: for example, that there is one God; that Jesus Christ is God and the Son of God; that our salvation rests in his mercy alone; and other similar truths.
There are other matters disputed among the churches that nevertheless do not break their unity. To give an example, suppose one Church held that souls, when separated from the body, are immediately taken into heaven, while another, without daring to determine their location, simply believed that they live in God. If this difference existed without contention or obstinacy, why should those churches separate from one another?
These are the Apostle's words:
"Let those of us who are mature possess the same mind; and if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this also to you." —Philippians 3:15
Does he not thereby show that if Christians disagree concerning matters that are not greatly necessary, this ought not to cause disturbance or division among them?
It is true that complete agreement in everything is best. But since there is no one who is not enveloped in some ignorance, we must either abandon every Church or pardon ignorance in those who err concerning matters that may be unknown without endangering salvation or violating religion.
I do not intend here to defend any errors, even the smallest, nor would I wish them to be encouraged by concealing or indulging them. But I say that we must not lightly abandon through dissension a Church in which the principal doctrine of our salvation is preserved intact and the sacraments are administered as our Lord ordained.
Meanwhile, if we endeavor to correct whatever displeases us within it, we are only performing our duty. Saint Paul's declaration leads us to this:
"If something is revealed to another who is sitting by, let the first be silent." —1 Corinthians 14:30
From this it is evident that every member of the Church is charged with edifying the others according to the measure of grace given to him, provided that it is done decently and in order. That is, we must neither renounce the communion of the Church nor, while remaining within it, disturb its government and discipline.
As to imperfection of conduct, we must exercise far greater patience. For it is easy to stumble in this matter, and the devil possesses astonishing devices by which to seduce us.
There have always been some who persuaded themselves that they possessed perfect holiness and, as though they were angels of Paradise, despised every human fellowship in which they perceived any human weakness. Such were those anciently called Cathars, meaning "the pure," and also the Donatists, who approached the madness of the former.
Today there are similar Anabaptists—those who wish to appear the most enlightened and imagine that they have advanced beyond everyone else.
Others err more from an inconsiderate zeal for righteousness than from such presumption. When they see that among those to whom the Gospel is proclaimed the fruit does not correspond to the doctrine, they immediately judge that no Church exists there.
Their offense is entirely justified. Indeed, we give them far too much cause for it and cannot in any way excuse our accursed indolence, which God will not leave unpunished, as he is already beginning to chastise it with dreadful rods.
Woe, therefore, to us who, through our disorderly conduct, cause weak consciences to be wounded and scandalized by us.
Nevertheless, the persons of whom we speak also err by exceeding proper measure. Where our Lord requires them to exercise clemency, they set it aside and devote themselves entirely to rigor and severity.
Because they judge that no Church exists unless they see perfect purity and holiness of life, under the pretext of hating vice they depart from the Church of God, imagining that they are withdrawing from the fellowship of the wicked.
They allege that the Church of Jesus Christ is holy. But they must listen to what Christ himself says concerning it: that it is mingled with good and evil.
For the parable is true in which he compares it to a net that gathers every kind of fish, which are not separated until they reach the shore:
"The kingdom of heaven is like a net cast into the sea, which gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, they drew it to shore and separated the good from the bad." —Matthew 13:47–48
Let them also hear what he says in another parable: it is like a field that, after being sown with good wheat, is also corrupted by tares, from which the good harvest cannot be cleansed until it is brought into the barn:
"The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, but his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat. Let both grow together until the harvest." —Matthew 13:24–30
Since the Lord declares that his Church will remain subject to this misery until the day of judgment—always burdened with wicked men —it is vain for them to seek a Church altogether pure and spotless.
But they say it is intolerable that vices should reign everywhere in this manner. I grant that a different condition is greatly to be desired, but in answer I set before them the teaching of Saint Paul.
Among the Corinthians, it was not merely a small number who had fallen; almost the whole body was corrupted. Nor was there only one kind of evil, but many. Their faults were not minor, but great and enormous transgressions. The corruption existed not only in their conduct but also in their doctrine.
What did the holy Apostle do—the chosen instrument of the Holy Spirit upon whose testimony the Church is founded? Did he seek to separate from them? Did he cast them out of Christ's kingdom? Did he pronounce a final curse upon them and exterminate them altogether?
Not only did he do none of these things, but he acknowledged them as the Church of God and the fellowship of saints and confessed them to be such.
If the Church remained among the Corinthians while contentions, factions, and envy reigned among them; while lawsuits and quarrels abounded; while malice flourished; while wickedness that ought to have been abhorrent even among the Gentiles was publicly tolerated; while Saint Paul, whom they ought to have honored as their father, was slandered; while some mocked the resurrection of the dead, without which the whole Gospel is overthrown; while God's gifts served ambition rather than love; and while many things were done dishonorably and without order—if the Church nevertheless remained among them because they retained the preaching of the word and the sacraments, who will dare deny the name of Church to those against whom not even a tenth part of such faults can be alleged?
I ask those who judge the present churches with such severity: What would they have done with the Galatians, who had almost revolted from the Gospel? Yet Saint Paul still acknowledged a Church among them.
Believers must arm themselves with such considerations, lest, by wishing to appear excessively zealous for righteousness, they
separate themselves from the kingdom of heaven, which is the one kingdom of that righteousness.
For since our Lord has willed that we preserve the communion of his Church by remaining in the public assemblies where we possess his word and sacraments, whoever separates from such a fellowship because of hatred for the wicked enters upon a path from which it is very easy to depart from the communion of saints.
Let them therefore consider that within a great multitude there are many who are truly good and upright before God, although they cannot discern them with their eyes.
Let them also consider that among those who are morally corrupt, many do not delight in or flatter themselves concerning their vices,, but, frequently touched by the fear of God, endeavor to return to a better path.
Let them consider that a man must not be judged by one, two, or three actions, since even the holiest sometimes fall grievously.
Let them judge that the word of God and his holy sacraments possess greater power and importance to preserve a Church than the vices of some corrupt members possess to destroy it.
Finally, let them consider that God's judgment ought to possess greater authority than human opinion in determining where the Church exists and where it does not.
Nevertheless, if churches are properly governed, they will not harbor wicked persons within their bosom when they recognize that such
persons are so intoxicated with their vices that they delight in them.
For the Lord has provided a good remedy to prevent such corrupt members from spreading their corruption throughout the whole body of the Church. Excommunications were ordained for this purpose. Through them, those who falsely profess the faith of Christ while scandalizing his name by a dishonorable and wicked life must be removed and expelled from among the people of God, since they are unworthy to glory in the name of Christ.
Therefore, when the Church excludes from its fellowship all manifest adulterers, fornicators, thieves, swindlers, robbers, extortioners, murderers, the seditious, brawlers, quarrelers, false witnesses, wrongdoers, drunkards, gluttons, squanderers of property, perjurers, blasphemers, and other such persons—when they refuse to be corrected by admonitions—she undertakes nothing unreasonable. She merely exercises the jurisdiction God has given her.
And so that no one should despise such a judgment of the Church or regard it as a small matter to be condemned by the sentence of believers, the Lord has testified that this is nothing other than the declaration of his own sentence and that what they pronounce on earth will be ratified in heaven:
"Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." —Matthew 18:18
For they possess the word of God by which to condemn the perverse, and they possess the same word by which to receive with mercy all who truly repent.
Those who think that churches can long endure without being bound and united by this discipline are greatly mistaken, since there can be no doubt that we cannot dispense with a remedy the Lord foresaw to be necessary for us.
Indeed, the benefits arising from this discipline demonstrate still more clearly how necessary it is.
The first is that persons of dissolute conduct should not, to God's great dishonor, be numbered among Christians, as though the Church were a refuge for the wicked and those who live evil lives.
For since the Church is the body of Christ, she cannot be contaminated by corrupt members without some portion of their shame falling upon the Head. Therefore, so that nothing may remain in the Church by which God's name might be dishonored, all who by their shameful conduct disgrace and dishonor Christianity must be expelled from it.
The second benefit is that the good should not be corrupted by association with the wicked, as frequently occurs. For because we are inclined to go astray, nothing is easier for us than to follow an evil example.