Scripture & Revelation

For it is not, as I said, an earthly discovery which was given to them, nor do they take such pains to guard some mortal invention, nor have they been entrusted with the dispensation of human…

For before he came what man had any knowledge at all of what God is? Or do you accept the vain and foolish statements of those pretentious philosophers, of whom some said that God is fire (they give…

Then is the fear of the Law sung, and the grace of the Prophets known, the faith of the Gospels is established, and the tradition of apostles is guarded, and the grace of the Church exults. And if you…

If you consider and listen with zeal to these truths you will know what things God bestows on those that love him rightly, who are become “a Paradise of delight,” raising up in themselves a fertile…

And Trypho answered, “We shall remember this your exposition, if you strengthen [your solution of] this difficulty by other arguments: but now resume the discourse, and show us that the Spirit of…

“Moreover, the prophecy, ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,’ was uttered respecting Him. For if He to whom Isaiah referred was not to be begotten of a virgin, of whom did the Holy…

“Unless, therefore, a man by God’s great grace receives the power to understand what has been said and done by the prophets, the appearance of being able to repeat the words or the deeds will not…

And all the Jews even now teach that the nameless God spake to Moses; whence the Spirit of prophecy, accusing them by Isaiah the prophet mentioned above, said “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass…

If, however, we cannot discover explanations of all those things in Scripture which are made the subject of investigation, yet let us not on that account seek after any other God besides Him who…

It is not possible that the Gospels can be either more or fewer in number than they are. For, since there are four zones of the world in which we live, and four principal winds, while the Church is…

Therefore did the Lord also say to His disciples after the resurrection, “O thoughtless ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not Christ to have suffered these…

Now this being is the Creator (Demiurgus), who is, in respect of His love, the Father; but in respect of His power, He is Lord; and in respect of His wisdom, our Maker and Fashioner; by transgressing…

“For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, and the way of the ungodly shall perish.” “Follow, therefore, O son, the good way which I shall describe, lending to me attentive ears.” “And I will…

But in proof that the Greek word means nothing else than beginning, and that beginning admits of no other sense than the initial one, we have that (Being) even acknowledging such a beginning, who…

But this circumstance, too, will be caught at, that Scripture meant to indicate of the heaven only, and this earth of yours, that God made it in the beginning, while nothing of the kind is said of the…

But although Hermogenes finds it amongst his own colourable pretences (for it was not in his power to discover it in the Scriptures of God), it is enough for us, both that it is certain that all…

As for us, although we must still seek, and that always, yet where ought our search to be made? Amongst the heretics, where all things are foreign and opposed to our own verity, and to whom we are…

Now, with regard to this rule of faith—that we may from this point acknowledge what it is which we defend—it is, you must know, that which prescribes the belief that there is one only God, and that He…

So long, however, as its form exists in its proper order, you may seek and discuss as much as you please, and give full rein to your curiosity, in whatever seems to you to hang in doubt, or to be…

Our appeal, therefore, must not be made to the Scriptures; nor must controversy be admitted on points in which victory will either be impossible, or uncertain, or not certain enough. But even if a…

But inasmuch as the proof is so near at hand, that if it were at once produced there would be nothing left to be dealt with, let us give way for a while to the opposite side, if they think that they…

He further expounds the Catholic idea of marriage, and rescues, from heretical adulteration, the precept of Moses (Ex. xix. 15); introducing a lucid parallel, with the Apostolic command, “Come out…

The soul is not then sent down from heaven to what is worse. For God works all things up to what is better. But the soul which has chosen the best life—the life that is from God and…

And they say that he was followed by some that used divinations, and some that had been long vexed by sore diseases. They plainly, then, believed in the performance of cures, and signs and wonders,…

But on the Scriptures being opened up, and declaring the truth to those who have ears, they proclaim the very suffering endured by the flesh, which the Lord assumed, to be “the power and wisdom of…

And so the flesh shall rise again, wholly in every man, in its own identity, in its absolute integrity. Wherever it may be, it is in safe keeping in God’s presence, through that most faithful…

In the course of time, then, the Father forsooth was born, and the Father suffered, God Himself, the Lord Almighty, whom in their preaching they declare to be Jesus Christ. We, however, as we indeed…

This power and disposition of the Divine Intelligence is set forth also in the Scriptures under the name of Σοφία, Wisdom; for what can be better entitled to the name of Wisdom than the Reason or the…

Bear always in mind that this is the rule of faith which I profess; by it I testify that the Father, and the Son, and the Spirit are inseparable from each other, and so will you know in what sense…

It will be your duty, however, to adduce your proofs out of the Scriptures as plainly as we do, when we prove that He made His Word a Son to Himself. For if He calls Him Son, and if the Son is none…

Moreover, there comes to our aid, when we insist upon the Father and the Son as being Two, that regulating principle which has determined God to be invisible. When Moses in Egypt desired to see the…

They more readily supposed that the Father acted in the Son’s name, than that the Son acted in the Father’s; although the Lord says Himself, “I am come in my Father’s name;” and even to the Father He…

But what hinders them from readily perceiving this community of the Father’s titles in the Son, is the statement of Scripture, whenever it determines God to be but One; as if the selfsame Scripture…

But I must take some further pains to rebut their arguments, when they make selections from the Scriptures in support of their opinion, and refuse to consider the other points, which obviously…

3. For Jews in their incredulity may be refuted from the Scriptures, which even themselves read; for this text and that, and, in a word, the whole inspired Scripture, cries aloud concerning these…

Nor is even His death passed over in silence: on the contrary, it is referred to in the divine Scriptures, even exceeding clearly. For to the end that none should err for want of instruction in the…

7. But all Scripture teems with refutations of the disbelief of the Jews. For which of the righteous men and holy prophets, and patriarchs, recorded in the divine Scriptures, ever had his corporal…

3. For as long as Jerusalem stood there was war without respite betwixt them, and they all fought with Israel; the Assyrians oppressed them, the Egyptians persecuted them, the Babylonians fell upon…

3. Who then is he of whom the Divine Scriptures say this? Or who is so great that even the prophets predict of him such great things? None else, now, is found in the Scriptures but the common Saviour…

2. Who, then, one might say to the Jews, is he that was made manifest? For if it is the prophet, let them say when he was hid, afterward to appear again. And what manner of prophet is this, that was…

But perhaps, being unable, even they, to fight continually against plain facts, they will, without denying what is written, maintain that they are looking for these things, and that the Word of God is…

5. But if the Gentiles are honouring the same God that gave the law to Moses and made the promise to Abraham, and Whose word the Jews dishonoured,—why are they ignorant, or rather why do they choose…

Let this, then, Christ-loving man, be our offering to you, just for a rudimentary sketch and outline, in a short compass, of the faith of Christ and of His Divine appearing to usward. But you, taking…

But for the searching of the Scriptures and true knowledge of them, an honourable life is needed, and a pure soul, and that virtue which is according to Christ; so that the intellect guiding its path…

7. From this, however, being led to prefer the Catholic doctrine, I felt that it was with more moderation and honesty that it commanded things to be believed that were not demonstrated (whether it was…

IV. It must be maintained, as I have before asserted, that we are not established in the belief of the doctrine till we are indubitably persuaded that God is its Author. The principal proof,…

X. With regard to what they object from the history of the Maccabees, to diminish the credit of the Scripture, nothing could be conceived more adapted to establish it. But first let us divest it of…

Persons who, abandoning the Scripture, imagine to themselves some other way of approaching to God, must be considered as not so much misled by error as actuated by frenzy. For there have lately arisen…

IV. But, since it could not have been a trivial offence, but must have been a detestable crime, that was so severely punished by God, we must consider the nature of Adam’s sin, which kindled the…

From the deduction we have made, it may easily be inferred, that the law was superadded about four hundred years after the death of Abraham, not to draw away the attention of the chosen people from…

XXIII. Now, the two remaining points, that the fathers had Christ as the pledge of their covenant, and that they reposed in him all their confidence of the blessing, being less controvertible and more…

IV. But when we say that grace is procured for us by the merit of Christ, we intend, that we have been purified by his blood, and that his death was an expiation for sins. “The blood of Jesus Christ…

VI. This, then, is the true knowledge of Christ—to receive him as he is offered by the Father, that is, invested with his gospel; for, as he is appointed to be the object of our faith, so we cannot…

We have said that the end of regeneration is, that the life of believers may exhibit a symmetry and agreement between the righteousness of God and their obedience; and that thus they may confirm the…

III. The pretensions of the Romanists, therefore, in the present day, are no other than those which appear to have been formerly set up by the Jews, when they were reproved by the prophets of the Lord…

Hitherto we have treated of the mode of government in the Church, as it has been delivered to us by the pure word of God, and of the offices in it, as they were instituted by Christ. Now, that all…

II. All the right of the people to choose has been entirely taken away. Their suffrages, assent, subscriptions, and every thing of this kind, have disappeared. All the power is transferred to the…

II. Let us now come to the subject itself. If it be inquired what is the authority of councils according to the Scriptures, there is no promise more ample or explicit than this declaration of Christ:…

XXXI. Though I am sorry to burden my readers with such an accumulation of reveries, yet it will be worth while to refute the specious arguments adduced in this controversy by Servetus, one of the most…

III. If they wish to press us with the authority of the ancient Church, I assert that this is a groundless pretence. For the number of seven sacraments can nowhere be found in the ecclesiastical…

We know Him by two means: first, by the creation, preservation, and government of the universe; which is before our eyes as a most elegant book, wherein all creatures, great and small, are as so many…

We confess that this Word of God was not sent nor delivered by the will of man, but that men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit, as the apostle Peter says (2 Pet 1:21); and that afterwards…

We believe that the Holy Scriptures are contained in two books, namely, the Old and New Testaments, which are canonical, against which nothing can be alleged. These are named as follows: the books of…

We receive all these books, and these only, as holy and canonical, for the regulation, foundation, and confirmation of our faith; believing without any doubt all things contained in them, not so much…

We distinguish these sacred books from the apocryphal, viz.: the third and fourth book of Esdras, the books of Tobias, Judith, Wisdom, Jesus Sirach, Baruch, the appendix to the book of Esther, the

We believe that those Holy Scriptures fully contain the will of God, and that whatsoever man ought to believe unto salvation is sufficiently taught therein. For since the whole manner of worship which…

Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an…

The Old Testament is not contrary to the New: for both in the Old and New Testament everlasting life is offered to Mankind by Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and Man, being both God and…

The cause. The proximate and immediate efficient cause of our theology is the WORD OF GOD; which therefore is also its principle. For the first principle into which all theological dogmas are resolved…

beginnings of the Church. Nay rather, that word is the immortal seed from which the Church is born. Therefore the Church could not exist unless the word of God had first been delivered. Wherefore Holy…

First. If from the testimony of Holy Scripture alone it is known with certainty and without doubt that Jesus of Nazareth truly was sent by God, then from the testimony of the same Scripture it will…

This is the first argument, from which it is clear that the calling, sending, and divine inspiration of the Prophets and Apostles existed. The second is this: If the frontispieces and other parts of…

The SECOND GROUND (ratio) is taken from the effects of the Prophetic and Apostolic Scripture. Whatever powerfully effects those things which can be effected only by divine power, that must certainly…

THE THIRD REASON is drawn from the subject of Scripture. Whatever teaches about divine things without any error and defect in a divine manner, that is truly divine. But Sacred Scripture teaches about…

Objection III. Even unbelievers have read and magnified Sacred Scripture. Therefore they have not hated it nor wished it destroyed. The antecedent is proved: for Plato in the Phaedo confesses that he…

Thus far for the fourth ground: the fifth now follows, from dissenting considerations. Whatever Scripture has not proceeded from men as men, nor is it subject to the authority of any creature (so that…

The sixth ground is taken from arguments by comparison. Whatever Scripture is identical with the preached Word of God, and far surpasses philosophy and all other doctrines and disciplines, whose…

Up to this point, we have received divine testimonies and most solid reasons drawn from Sacred Scripture, from which it is certain to every believer that Sacred Scripture is truly divine, that is, the…

consistent with the Gospels of the Apostles, but is different from them. Those, therefore, who rely on the testimony of the Church alone in this matter show that they have not yet sensed or understood…

John 5:39: “Search the Scriptures.” 1 Tim. 4:13: “Attend to the reading,” etc. Hence it is evident that the Church is bound to Holy Scripture. St. Augustine subscribes, book eleven Against Faustus the…

Nineteenth: From whatever the authority of Holy Scripture as to us depends, that necessarily and perpetually brings it about that Holy Scripture obtains authentic authority among us. But the Church…

I answer: There is a fallacy from something said in a qualified sense to something said simply in the minor proposition. The Church’s testimony is the voice of God, not simply, but insofar as the…

It is objected: Those who do not admit the testimony of the Church as the chief, most luminous, and most certain, those persons despise the Church and reject its testimony. But the Evangelicals do…

those hard to believe say that we Christians composed those writings, so that along with the Gospel which we preach we forged Prophets, by whom what we preach would seem to have been foretold, from…

The minor is clear from these testimonies: Luc. 16. vers. 29. “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.” Esai. 8. v. 20. “To the law and to the testimony.” Josu. 1. v. 7, 8. “Only be…

of Esther; Job, the Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs; Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah,…

The Epistle to the Hebrews was formerly not received by the Latin Church, as Jerome testifies in his Commentaries on the sixth chapter of Isaiah, although he himself says it is Paul’s. For he says:…

Fourth. Whatever books have been publicly received in the churches are univocally and properly canonical. But these books have been publicly received in the churches. Therefore, etc. Answer. The major…

The assumption is proved by this prosyllogism: No book that has been amassed and polished by human judgment and human labor and much study is divinely inspired. All these books have been amassed and…

And indeed by a necessity both of writing and of perpetual existence. By the necessity of writing we understand that incumbent upon the Prophets and Apostles to write out Scripture and to leave it…

The authentic edition of Sacred Scripture is that which has from itself faith and authority, is sufficient for itself, commends, supports, and proves itself, without the aid of any other edition, for…

Thus far our opinion concerning the authentic edition of the Scriptures; there follows a refutation of the adversaries who assail it. Some deny that the Hebrew edition is authentic; others deny that…

Proof of the third member, concerning the Gospel of Mark. That it was written at the beginning in Latin by Mark is taught by Adrianus Finus, book 6 of the Scourge of the Jews, chapter 80, and book 8,…

Affections, p. 81 of the Commelin edition; and Augustine in the second book of On Christian Doctrine, chapter five. 5. because this serves to show the excellence of Holy Scripture: as Theodoret in the…

Thus far the arguments have been refuted by which the Papists vainly try to prove the authenticity of the Latin Vulgate version. But that it is not divinely authentic, we confirm by the following…

happen per accidens, it is not the fault of Scripture but the vice and rashness of certain men, who snatch only a part of Scripture: are the people to be forbidden from its reading or hearing because…

assuredly in every single head of Christian doctrine necessary for faith and the worship of God: or, to use the words of St. Augustine, which are extant in Book 2 On Christian Doctrine, chapter 9: In…

The means to be employed in the meditation of Scripture itself are these: I. Constant reading and examination of Scripture, and especially a skillful and diligent investigation and observation of…

Third: Whatever is divinely inspired and useful for doctrine, for refutation, for correction, for instruction, in order that the man of God may be perfect, equipped for every good work - that…

commandments which the Apostle wrote were all of one and the same author, namely of the Lord; but some were immediate, others mediate: the former the Lord himself, dwelling bodily on earth in his own…

The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God, the only rule of faith and obedience.

The Word of God is to preached only by such as are sufficiently gifted, and also duly approved and called to that office.

Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.

The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him.

The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man.

Some understand this not only of the Babylonish captivity, but refer it to the time of Christ, and the false doctrine of men’s own righteousness in opposition to the righteousness of God;…

The Old Testament in Hebrew (which was the native language of the people of God of old), and the New Testament in Greek (which at the time of the writing of it was most generally known to the…

We affirm the divine inspiration, truthfulness and authority of both Old and New Testament Scriptures in their entirety as the only written word of God, without error in all that it affirms, and the…