GORDON-CONWELL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

STATEMENT OF FAITH

SUBMITTED TO PROFESSOR PETER ANDERS IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF TH607 - SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY 3

BY LARRY HACKMAN BOX 182-B JULY 27 2012

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Introduction Besides a few years at an Assemblies of God church, I grew up in non-denominational churches where the norm was non-stop glossolalia during services and healing services every Sunday. Though none of that really stuck with me, I became a confessing believer at the age of 17 and started parsing out what my understanding of God was. I came away with some Wesleyan Holiness (and perhaps even Pelagian) notions of striving towards a perfected state through discipline. By the age of 21 I was struggling with mountains of guilt and sin and my spiritual focus began to change from my efforts to that of Gods grace. Through the ensuing years I began to learn and develop a theology that was essentially Calvinistic (without knowing this was the case). When I married at 25, I began attending a Presbyterian church and, not surprisingly, found the doctrine and ecclesiology to be appealing. Now, on the precipice of entering the vocation of the pastorate, I am being called by my denomination to affirm the Westminster Confession of Faith. This statement of faith will interact with that confession, along with anything else my few years of education and experience God has used to teach me about himself and his works. Holy Scripture Who is God? What is he like? Where can I find him? These kinds of questions are part and parcel of the human experience, and many through the ages have claimed to have the answers. For Christians, and for me, the answers lie in the words of the Bible, the authoritative basis upon which this Statement derives its claims. The Bible, ultimately, points us to Jesus Christ, the true Witness and Image of God self-revealed to us.1 God uses Holy Scripture to reveal himself to the individual. It is his Word spoken to us to draw us to him.2

1 Cf. John 1:17, 2 Corinthians 4:4. 2 Cf. Romans 10:17, 1 Thessalonians 2:13.

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The Bible, specifically, is the 66 books of the Old and New Testament as outlined in the Protestant canon. These books are God-breathed and are, for the believer, the chief authority on how to live life and relate to God.3 The words of Scripture itself attest to its divine origin and authority, and originating from God they need no other attestation than God himself, who is the ultimate authority on truth.4 The primary purpose of the Bible is to lead those God has called to a saving knowledge in his son, Jesus Christ. In other words, the central message of Scripture is the Gospel. This message is not only cognitively comprehended, but must be spiritually comprehended by the work of the Holy Spirit.5 Scripture is sufficient and perspicuous for this purpose, both through the form of its letters and words and through the work of the Holy Spirit to make clear the Gospel in the hearts of men and women.6 Doctrine of God What, then, does Scripture tell us about God? First, it should be pointed out that we cannot know God unless he first reveals himself to us. God is so essentially beyond human understanding that he must, by necessity, make himself known to us or we would not know him. As Irenaeus put it so well, God cannot be known without God.7 The Bible says that his understanding is unsearchable,8 his ways inscrutable,9 and he himself is invisible, hidden, and unapproachable.10 As this God who is so wholly other, Scripture affirms some of his essential qualities. Scripture describes God as infinite in his being, the source of life, glory, goodness, and completely self3 2 Timothy 3:16, authors translation. Cf. Constitution: Volume 2: Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms (Livonia, Michigan: Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 2010), 4. 4 Cf. 2 Peter 1:20,21, 2 Timothy 3:16, Psalm 119:160. 5 Cf. 2 Corinthians 4:3-7. 6 Cf. 2 Timothy 3:16, Luke 16:29-31, Hebrews 2:1-3. 7 Rambaut, William, Alexander Roberts, trans. Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1885), http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103406.htm (accessed July 15, 2012). 8 Isaiah 40:28, ESV. 9 Romans 11:33, ESV. 10 1 Timothy 1:17, Isaiah 45:15, and 1 Timothy 6:16 respectively.

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sufficient in and of himself outside and apart from his creation.11 From these essential qualities we can also describe God as eternal, omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent.12 However, God not only is, but he is for us. God is God in relation to us and thus we can say that he is a loving, gracious and long-suffering God, yet who is completely just and will punish the guilty.13 In this relationship to us, God has revealed himself as three persons, yet one God. The witness of scripture describes the three persons of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as all being God, but of one substance.14 Using the language of the Nicene creed, Jesus is eternally begotten of the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified.15 Each of the persons of the Trinity has eternally co-existed in a coherent, mutually penetrating relationship that can be described as a kind of dance of parity (perichoresis).16 This doctrine of the Trinity is crucial to understanding Gods interaction with this world, especially as concerns the incarnation and the work of the Holy Spirit. Creation God, the Three-In-One, is a God of relationship, and long ago created all that we know. He did this so that his glory, revealed through the wisdom, power, and goodness of creation, would be manifested to mankind.17 God was not lonely, nor did he need to create for any reason, but he created all that is for his own good pleasure.18

11 Cf. Job 11:7-9, 22:2, 26:14, Psalms 50:12, 119:68, 147:5, John 5:26, Acts 17:24-25, Westminster Confession, 6. 12 Cf. Psalm 90:2, 139:7-10, Isaiah 40:14, and Daniel 4:35 respectively. 13 Cf. Exodus 34:6,7. 14 Cf. 1 Peter 1:2, John 1:1, Deuteronomy 6:4. 15 Joseph Wilhelm, "The Nicene Creed," The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 11, (New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911), http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11049a.htm (accessed July 15, 2012). 16 Cf. John 17:21. 17 Cf. Romans 1:20, Jeremiah 10:12, Psalm 104:24, Westminster Confession, 10. 18 Cf. Revelation 4:11.

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God made all that is out of nothing, or ex nihilo.19 Necessarily, nothing existed before God, nor is there anything that exists that God did not make.20 Everything God has made, he has declared to be good.21 God is immanent and active in creation, but he is also transcendent above creation as the sustainer and judge of all.22 Because of this it is clear that God is in control of all that exists and demands our worship above and in exclusion to all else.23 Anthropology As the Westminster Shorter Catechism states, mans chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.24 Human beings are the crown and focal point of Gods creation, being made in his image and thus more fully able to give glory to God.25 Man was invested with moral freedom and responsibility, the ability to chose Gods way or their own.26 Man was made good but, prompted by Satan, they rebelled and sought after their own schemes, beginning with the eating of the fruit in the Garden of Eden.27 Thus choosing themselves over God, they fatally severed their fellowship with him and immediately condemned themselves to death and corruption.28 We have inherited this corrupted nature from our forebears, which makes us completely disinclined and incapacitated toward doing good, but at the same time inclines us toward doing evil.29 In this state, we are guilty before God as sinners subject to his just wrath and the consequences of sin which reverberate through time and existence.30 It is a sad state for mankind,

19 Cf. Hebrews 11:3. 20 Cf. Colossians 1:16. 21 Cf. Genesis 1. 22 Cf. Jeremiah 23:24, Job 34:14,15, Psalm 113:5-6. 23 Cf. Exodus 20:3,4. 24 Westminster Confession, 59. Cf. Romans 11:36, John 17:21-24. 25 Cf. Genesis 1:27, Isaiah 43:7. 26 Cf. Deuteronomy 30:15, John 14:15. 27 Cf. Genesis 1:31, Ecclesiastes 7:29, Genesis 3. 28 Cf. Romans 3:23, Ephesians 2:1-3, Genesis 2:17, 6:5. 29 Cf. Psalm 51:5, James 1:14-15. Matthew 15:19, Westminster Confession, 13. 30 Cf. Ephesians 2:3, 4:18, Lamentations 3:39, 2 Thessalonians 1:9, Ibid.

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with no way of escape by his own power. Wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death?31 There is need for a savior. Jesus Christ So it was that when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son, born of woman,32 and in the likeness of man33 God walked among us as a servant. He was fully human and fully divine, distinct yet perfectly united in these two natures.34 As man, he walked fully in the human experience, able to sympathize with our weaknesses35 and as God he was holy and without sin, full of grace and truth.36 This dual nature was in order that his work as our Savior would be fully effective, entering fully into our humanity with all the power of the Godhead. Being called by the Father, Jesus came to be the mediator and guarantor of a new covenant.37 This covenant meant reconciliation and reversal of the curse for those who believed and acknowledged Jesus as Lord.38 This was accomplished by Christs death on the cross and subsequent resurrection through which he conquered death and sin once and for all.39 Christs death satisfied Gods holiness, his requirement for justice which had condemned mankind, and demonstrated Gods love in giving himself as substitute for humankind.40 Through his atonement Christ has accomplished not only our reconciliation, but also eternal life for those whom the Father has given to him.41 Holy Spirit

31 Romans 7:24, ESV. 32 Galatians 4:4, ESV. 33 Philippians 2:7, ESV. 34 Cf. Luke 1:35, Colossians 2:9, Hebrews 2:14. 35 Hebrews 4:15, ESV. 36 John 1:14, ESV. Cf. Hebrews 7:26, Westminster Confession, 16. 37 Cf. Hebrews 5:4,5, 12:24, 7:22. 38 Cf. Jeremiah 31:31-34, 2 Corinthians 5:18, Romans 8:21, 10:9. 39 Cf. 1 Peter 3:18, Hebrews 7:27. 40 Cf. Romans 3:23-26, 5:9, 1 John 4:10. 41 Cf. Hebrews 9:12,15, John 17:2, Westminster Confession, 17.

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When the Son of God walked the earth, he promised to his followers a Helper who would be in you.42 This Helper is a person, not a force, the third person of the Trinity who is now present and working in and through the Church, namely, the Holy Spirit.43 He proceeds from the Father and the Son, of the same substance and equal in power and glory.44 The Spirit, then, is God present with us and in us, working in his people to direct them to Jesus Christ.45 As the Holy Spirit works in and through believers he effects change in them, transforming them into the image of God.46 Christians in step with the Spirit evidence fruit of the Spirit, characteristics of God that are worked out in the believers life as he is transforming them from one degree of glory to another.47 The Spirit also calls and equips his people with a variety of gifts as he wills.48 These gifts are given so that the Church may be built up and edified and so that, ultimately, God may be glorified.49 Salvation Scripture speaks of Gods people as those who are called by him.50 This calling is one that does not depend on the actions of the person being called as, indeed, all are corrupt in their ways anyway.51 Nor does it depend on what God seeing what the person might do, as though they could earn their privilege after the fact.52 Instead, God has chosen his people from before the foundation of the world, and predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ.53 It is only by the pleasure of Gods good will that anyone is brought into saving union with him, and no one is bought into his
42 John 14:16,17, ESV. 43 Cf. 1 Corinthians 3:16, Ephesians 4:30. 44 Westminster Confession, 54. Cf. Matthew 28:19, John 16:7. 45 Cf. John 14:17, 16:12-15. 46 Cf. 2 Corinthians 3:17. 47 Galatians 5:22,25, 2 Corinthians 3:18, ESV. 48 1 Corinthians 12:4,11, ESV. 49 Cf. 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4:11,12, 1 Peter 4:11. 50 Cf. 1 Corinthians 1:9. 1 Peter 5:10. 51 Cf. Ephesians 2:8,9, Romans 3:23, 9:16. 52 Cf. 2 Timothy 1:9, Romans 9:11. 53 Ephesians 1:4,5, ESV.

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eternal graces except through his own power and preordaining.54 In light of the depth of mans rebellion, great is Gods grace that he should save anyone at all!55 And just are his judgements that he should choose some to spend eternity outside of his fellowship.56 As the ones God calls are born blind and dead, the Holy Spirit must first do a regenerative work.57 The dead do not feel the prick of a pin. Thus it is work of the Holy Spirit to minister conviction, bring sin to the light, reveal the depth of Gods judgement, and ultimately point to righteousness and truth.58 Our naturally defiled conscience cannot discover these things on its own, it must be made alive, regenerated.59 Once the will has been quickened in this way, it is truly free to respond to Gods call.60 The visible sign of this response is repentance, as the believer recognizes their lostness and pledges their self to the ways of God.61 How is God able to forgive the wickedness of those he calls? By the work of Jesus Christ, who has lived a life of obedience and perfect righteousness that is credited to the adopted of God and has, furthermore, taken on the punishment due them.62 When the Father looks at his adopted children, he sees the righteousness of his Son instead of the marks of sin.63 In this way, believers are unified with Christ, he is in us and we are in him.64 It is through this union that we are also conformed into the image of Christ, as God works out our glorification, now in part, but when we see him our transformation will be in full.65 Therefore sin no longer has power over the body, even while the desires of sin (the old self) are weakened and mortified day by day.66
54 Cf. Philippians 2:13, 2 Timothy 2:19-20, Romans 9:15. 55 Cf. Ephesians 1:6-8, 5:8. 56 Cf. Deuteronomy 32:4, Romans 9:20. 57 Cf. Isaiah 42:6, Colossians 2:13. 58 Cf. John 16:8-11. 59 Cf. Titus 1:15, 3:3-5, 1 Corinthians 2:14. 60 Cf. John 8:36, 61 Cf. Zechariah 12:10, 62 Cf. Titus 3:7, 1 Corinthians 1:30,31, Romans 5:17-19, 1 Peter 2:24. 63 Cf. Romans 8:15, 4:2-6, 64 Cf. John 14:20. 65 Cf. Romans 8:29, Philippians 3:21, 1 John 3:2,3, Philippians 1:6. 66 Cf. Galatians 5:24, Romans 6:6, 8:13, Colossians 3:5, Luke 9:23, Westminster Confession, 24.

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The Church The context in which believers work out this sanctification is the body of Christ, Gods living witness to a dead world pointing to the Kingdom of God, the Church.67 The Church is the place where the Holy Spirit resides, in those who are called, gathered together as one body under Christ, who is the head.68 Through word and sacrament, the Church functions as a modern-day John the Baptist, pointing to Christ and saying, He must increase, I must decrease.69 Christ is the head of the Church and has ordained overseers and various kinds of leaders to care for her.70 Scripture specifically describes the appointing of elders and deacons to serve and lead the Church.71 While there are a variety of forms this governance can take, it seems to me that the Presbyterian polity comes with its own strengths and benefits that recommend it especially. In particular, the Presbyterian model has authority flowing up from the congregation and down from the denomination, thus preventing power from being concentrated but also promoting a spirit of unity and cooperation. Jesus clearly ordained the sacrament of baptism, which is a sign and seal of the covenant of grace, of the believers engrafting into Christ, of rebirth, of remission of sins, and of the believers yielding to God through Jesus Christ to walk in newness of life.72 As it is a sign and seal of the covenant, a covenant actualized by God and not by the individual, infants of believing parents may be baptized.73 Though baptism is not required for salvation, it was ordained by God and is a means of grace for the assurance of faith.74

67 Cf. Philippians 2:12, Ephesians 1:22,23, Isaiah 43:10, Acts 1:6-8. 68 Cf. 2 Corinthians 6:16, Colossians 1:18, Westminster Confession, 44. 69 John 3:30. Cf. Matthew 28:18-20. 70 Cf. Acts 20:28, Hebrews 13:7.17. 71 Cf. Numbers 11:17, Acts 6:2,3,1 Timothy 3:1-13, Titus 1:5. 72 Westminster Confession, 47. Cf. Matthew 28:19, Colossians 2:11,12, Galatians 3:27,29, Titus 3:5, Acts 2:38, Romans 6:3,4. 73 Cf. Genesis 17:7,9,10, Galatians 3:9,14, Acts 2:38,39, 16:14,15,33. 74 Cf. 1 Peter 3:21, Hebrews 10:22.

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Another means of grace that Jesus has ordained for the Church is the sacrament of the Lords Supper.75 The Lords Supper, in Christs own words, is a remembrance of his sacrifice and not an actual, physical, ingestion of Christ.76 Having said that, it is nothing less than a participation in the body and blood of Christ, which are actually (not merely symbolically) spiritually present to believers. Because of this participation, some may eat in an unworthy manner and be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord bringing judgement upon themselves, instead of the grace that Christs death signifies for believers.77 This is not transubstantiation or consubstatiation, as Christs physical body is not present in or under the bread and wine. It is, instead, our spiritual participation in Christs work through the physical means of communion. Last Things There awaits, for believers, a day when our immortal souls shall finally be raised in glory and our bodies will be transformed to be like [Christs] glorious body, both we who are alive and those who have already died in Christ.78 Those who have rejected Gods rule will be cast out of his presence forever.79 This will happen on a great day of Judgement, when the Lord will return again and judge the living and the dead.80 When God has thus separated the sheep from the goats, he will destroy this corrupted creation and bring about an entirely new created order.81 So it will be that Gods purposes for this age will be complete, and we will glory in him forever.82

75 Cf. 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, 76 Cf. Luke 22:19, 24:6, 1 Corinthians 11:26. 77 1 Corinthians 11:27, ESV. Cf. 1 Corinthians 10:16, 11:27-32, John 6:53-58, Westminster Confession, 49. 78 1 Corinthians 15:42, Philippians 3:21, ESV. Cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:14,15. 79 Cf. Matthew 25:12, 30, 41. 80 Cf. 2 Timothy 4:1. 81 Cf. Matthew 25:31-46, Revelation 21:1, Isaiah 65:17, 2 Peter 3:13. 82 Cf. Ephesians 3:11, John 17:24.

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Bibliography Constitution: Volume 2: Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms. Livonia, Michigan: Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 2010. Rambaut, William, Alexander Roberts, trans. Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1885. http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/ 0103406.htm (accessed July 15, 2012). Wilhelm, Joseph. "The Nicene Creed." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11049a.htm (accessed July 15, 2012).