Chapter 14 of Calvin’s Institutes is a marvelous treatise on the Sacraments, which are “another aid to our faith related to the preaching of the gospel.” [1] It is the words that accompany the Sacraments that makes them what they are. [2] “A sacrament is never without a preceding promise but is joined to it as a sort of appendix, with the purpose of confirming and sealing the promise itself, and of making it more evident to us and in a sense ratifying it.” [3]

At this point Calvin seems to be saying, that God conveys grace to his people through the symbiosis of Word and Sacrament. It is not “enough if the priest mumbled the formula of consecration” to himself; rather, the words of institution should be “added to the element and it will become a sacrament.” As such the sacrament “requires preaching to beget faith.” [4]

Sacraments as Seals

Calvin then deals with an objection that apparently was contemporary with him. The objection went something like this. If the word that precedes the sacrament is the true will of God then the sacrament adds nothing to it. If the word that precedes is not the will of God, then the sacrament that is predicated on that word will not teach it.

Calvin replies concisely that the sacraments function much like government seals. If the seals were attached to a blank piece of paper, these seals would be in vain; however, when they are “added to the writing, they do not on that account fail to confirm and seal what is written.” [5]

The sacraments, being signs or tokens of God’s covenant, are therefore, “exercises which make us more certain of the trustworthiness of God’s Word.” As “visible words,” sacraments represent “God’s promises as painted in a picture.” [6] Calvin goes on to say that we are free to call sacraments “the pillars of our faith”:

For as a building stands and rests upon its own foundation but is more surely established by columns placed underneath, so faith rests upon the Word of God as a foundation; but when the sacraments are added, it rests more firmly upon them as upon columns. Or we might call them mirrors in which we may contemplate the riches of God’s grace, which he lavishes upon us. For by them he manifests himself to us (as has already been said) as far as our dullness is given to perceive, and attests his good will and love toward us more expressly than by word. [7]

Conclusion

It seems explicit that for Calvin, to have the word alone, preached or read, is expressly deficient in the attestation of God’s good will and love towards us. That is not to say that the Word is not sufficient for our salvation. Rather it is to say that the Word on its own terms establishes the sacraments as an outward means by which Christ communicates to us Himself and all the benefits of redemption.[8] As such “Christ is the matter or (if you prefer) the substance of all the sacraments; for in him they have all their firmness, and they do not promise anything apart from him.” [9]

I’d welcome your reflections on this. I would expect, but cannot promise, that my wife will have a pretty insightful reflection on this at Per Caritatem.

[1] Jean Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, ed. John Thomas McNeill, trans. Ford Lewis Battles, 2 vols., The Library of Christian Classics ; V. 20-21 (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1960), 4.14.1.

[2] Ibid., 4.14.6.

[3] Ibid., 4.14.3.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid., 4.14.5.

[6] Ibid., 4.14.6.

[7] Ibid. Emphasis added.

[8] This is purposefully Westminster Confession language which I hope will be helpful for Reformed Christian readers of a Presbyterian or Reformed heritage. See specifically questions 85-97 in the Westminster Shorter Catechism.

[9] Calvin, 4.14.16.

For further reading see, Calvin, Participation, and the Gift: The Activity of Believers in Union with Christ (Changing Paradigms in Historical and Systematic Theology)

Uncategorized | No Comments »

I saw a tremendous movie last night that I wanted to put on your radar if you haven’t seen it yet. It’s a story about two boys, friendship, family, courage, forgiveness, and living in the bentness of life.

I have seen the New York Times Bestselling book around but given my general pessimism to literature and film today, I never bothered to find out more. 

Kite Runner’s historical setting was interesting to me on two fronts. First, it incorporated a look into the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, where most of the story takes place. Aside from having an affinity for things Russian, I found the reality presented how war of any kind radically changes people. Second, the Afghan and Islamic culture in which the story is told is rich and fascinating to one who knows very little about either.

The story is extremely well told. That is unequivocally rare these days. The use of symbols like the kite and the pomegranate are powerful. The use of parallelism and perhaps even some sort of chiasm were masterful. Kite Runner shares the same media as movies but has elevated itself to that of film. In terms of awards and recognition, it was nominated for nothing compared to what it should have been. But that’s the world we live in. This movie will move you. It is not intended for mere entertainment.

Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Commentary

[a] δεῖ περισσοτέρως is a sort of emphatic comparative. In other words, based on the superlative position of Jesus Christ that has been argued in chapter 1, the reader is urged to take greater heed or pay greater attention to the tradition that has been circulated about Jesus. This is different than saying listening to everything said about Jesus. “What we have heard” seems to be very specific and related to chapter 1. In the metaphor of “drifting away” it should be noted that it is not Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father that is warned of drifting away from those who hear and are careless with their faith; rather, it is those who hear and are careless that drift from Jesus. It is no semantic game to say that the one who sits at the right hand of the Father, being our telos and celebration, is in fact the means by which we process and progress in life.

[b] The Byzantine Text (BT) and Textus Receptus (TR) has an inverted word order (ἡμᾶς προσέχειν) from the NA27 and UBS4 texts (προσέχειν ἡμᾶς), which does not change translation, but is noted here.

[c] μήποτε after verbs of fearing, being concerned, etc. that. . . not, lest (BAGD, 519).

[d] παραρρέω to flow by, slip away; figuratively: to be washed away, drift away (BAGD, 621). Proverbs 3:21 LXX uses παραρρέω in urging readers to hold fast to good counsel and thought. Υἱέ, μὴ παραρρυῇς, τήρησον δὲ ἐμὴν βουλὴν καὶ ἔννοιαν, ἵνα ζήσῃ ἡ ψυχή σου, καὶ χάρις ἦ περὶ σῷ τραχήλῳ. Son, you should not let these drift away, but guard my counsel and thought, so that your soul will live and grace might be around your neck (author’s translation). There are apparently variant spellings for παραρρέω: NA27/USB4 (παραρυῶμεν), BT/TR (παραρρυῶμεν).

Uncategorized | No Comments »

Saint Gregory of Nazianzus (329 - January 25, 389), also known as Saint Gregory the Theologian or Saint Gregory Nazianzen, was a 4th-century Archbishop of Constantinople. He is widely considered the most accomplished rhetorical stylist of the patristic age. As a classically trained speaker and philosopher he infused Hellenism into the early church, establishing the paradigm of Byzantine theologians and church officials.
St Gregory made a significant impact on the shape of Trinitarian theology among both Greek-speaking and Latin-speaking theologians, and he is remembered as the “Trinitarian Theologian.” Much of his theological work continues to influence modern theologians, especially in regard to the relationship among the three Persons of the Trinity. Along with two brothers, Saint Basil the Great and Saint Gregory of Nyssa, he is known as one of the Cappadocian Fathers.
Gregory is venerated a saint in both Eastern and Western Christianity. In the Roman Catholic Church he is among the Doctors of the Church; in Eastern Orthodoxy and the Eastern Catholic Churches he is revered as one of the Three Holy Hierarchs along with Saint Basil the Great and Saint John Chrysostom.

View the rest of this Wikipedia article.

Uncategorized | No Comments »

For those who enjoy context, our scripture readings this morning at St. John’s were Acts 1:1-14; Psalm 47; 1 Peter 4:12-19; and John 17:1-11. ]

I walked away from worshiping the Resurrected and Ascended Christ this morning with a profound impression that I want to encapsulate here. The Gospel promises eternal life for all who believe in Jesus Christ. Many of us, for manifold reasons, have come to believe that eternal life is something we hope to participate in after we die. It’s out there somewhere beyond time. In a sense that’s true. Eternal Life is beyond time; however, that’s because eternal life is God himself, who is alone alive by no other cause than himself.

It is this God, revealed to us in Scripture, that has not been content to keep eternal life all to himself, to remain a hermit of divine proportions. Rather, God came down, stooping, as it were, to bind himself to us in the person of His Son, Jesus the Christ. This Christ is our life, our eternal life, for he has trampled down sin, death and hell for us by his own death. Now being raised from the dead, Christians celebrate this life now in their lives. It is not something that we will only one day have, but Christ gives himself fully to us now.

This is celebrated in the liturgy every Sunday. Eternal Life, himself, calls us to worship, speaks to us in His Scriptures, hears our confession, forgives us our sins, and bids us to eat his flesh and drink his blood - to partake of Him, who is alone the life of the world. Such is the bond of love that Christ has made to his people. The cold shackles of sin, death and hell have been burst opened by Life, who has said, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Mt 11:29-30 ESV)

Such is the union we see as Life, himself, prays for his Church. We see his longing for unity with us as we demonstrate that bond in love to each other.

__________
HT: Fr. David Houk, Rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church, preached the sermon that spawned this meditation.

Listen now [14 min]:

Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Commentary

[a] Compare Τίνι γὰρ εἶπέν ποτε τῶν ἀγγέλων in v 5 with πρὸς τίνα δὲ τῶν ἀγγέλων εἴρηκέν ποτε here in v 13. This seems to be a sort of formula for appeal. That is, what God said about or to Jesus was never spoken to or about the angels. Alternate translation here in v 13: “To which of the angels has he said.”

[b] Quoting Psalm 109:1 LXX, Εἶπεν ὁ κύριος τῷ κυρίῳ μου Κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν μου, ἕως ἂν θῶ τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν σου. The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” (author’s translation). It is paramount to notice the way that the writer of Hebrews is employing this quotation in the epistle. Here King David’s Lord is Jesus Christ, who is greater than the angels.

[c] ἕως ἂν θῶ Here, because of the subjunctive θῶ, ἕως requires ἂν. As such it denotes “that the commencement of an event is dependent on circumstances.” (BAGD, 334)

[d] Compare with what is written 9 chapters later, “¹²But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.” (Heb 10:12-13 ESV) This passage references the same concepts but with different Greek syntax, ἐκάθισεν ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ θεοῦ, τὸ λοιπὸν ἐκδεχόμενος ἕως τεθῶσιν οἱ ἐχθροὶ αὐτοῦ ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν αὐτοῦ. [Christ] sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet (author’s translation). Hebrews 10:13 emphasizes the passive nature of the “enemies” passing into footstool status. Grammatically, and especially when compared with Hebrews 1:13, we see that 10:13 contains a divine passive. As such it is God who will set the world to rights while Christ actively waits (interceding on our behalf) at the right hand of the Father.

[e] λειτουργικὰ Here, “the angels are λειτουργικὰ πνεύματα εἰς διακονίαν ἀποστελλόμενα διὰ τοὺς μέλλοντας κληρονομεῖν σωτηρίαν. They are ordained to ministry, i.e., the διακονία of believers. Hence the use is not cultic, and is independent of the LXX.” (TDNT, 4:231)

[f] διὰ τοὺς here the use of διὰ + accusative gives a sense of “for the sake of” or “on behalf of.”

[g] μέλλοντας (μέλλω) When used with an infinitive, and most frequently an active infinitive as here, it may be rendered “about to” speaking of the immanent future. However, here it is likely “serves simply as a periphrasis for the future.” (BAGD, 501)

Uncategorized | No Comments »

Commentary

[1] ἑλίξεις (ἑλίσσω) to roll up. Metzger notes two manuscripts (א* D*) read ἀλλάξεις, while all other text times read εἱλίζεις. ἀλλάξεις is what is present in Psalm 101:27 LXX which means to change in the sense of alter.

[2] ὡς ἱμάτιον is not present in Psalm 101:27 LXX and is inserted here to give clarity to the argument the author of Hebrews is making, alerting the reader that the metaphor is the same. Metzger comments, “The absence of the words from most witnesses is the result of conformation to the text of the Septuagint.”

Uncategorized | No Comments »

In exploring trans-tradition hermeneutics, trying to get at where interpretive authority lies in a span of traditions, I did a little reading on the Roman Catholic Church from their own Vatican II documents. So what follows is a concise summary of what I understand the Roman Church to be saying about interpretive authority in their context.

Apostolic Succession through Bishops

The Roman Church has and asserts an unbroken apostolic succession in which “the apostles left bishops as their successors” to whom they gave “‘their own position of teaching authority.’” As such, this tradition of apostolic succession is said to function as a mirror in which the church contemplates God. [1]

A Single Composite Sacred Deposit

The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium) precedes the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (Dei Verbum). This subtle logical priority is worked out practically in Dei Verbum as the tensions represented in the hermeneutical continuum are worked out. “Tradition and scripture make up a single sacred deposit of the word of God, which is entrusted to the church,” appears to capture the practical effect succinctly.[2]

Correlatively, as Roman Christians adhere to this single deposit united to the pastors of the church they are said to continue in the trajectory of the “teaching of the apostles” (τῇ διδαχῇ), the “communion of life” (τῇ κοινωνίᾳ), the “breaking of bread” (τῇ κλάσει τοῦ ἄρτου) and the “prayers” (ταῖς προσευχαῖς) established in Acts 2:42. Consequently, in maintaining such trajectory, a “unique interplay” exists between bishops and the faithful.[3]

Magisterial Interpretation

“Authentic interpretation” of this single sacred deposit has been “entrusted to the living teaching office of the church alone.”[4] Dei Verbum goes on to explain:

This magisterium is not superior to the word of God, but is rather its servant. It teaches only what has been handed on to it [ostensibly from the apostles and prophets]. … It is clear, therefore, that, in the supremely wise arrangement of God, sacred tradition, sacred scripture, and the magisterium of the church are so connected and associated that one of them cannot stand without the others.[5]

Summary

In short, the “single sacred deposit” of the word of God is composed of two component parts: scripture and tradition. This deposit requires interpretation and it is the magisterium alone, composed of bishops, serving the church and the single sacred deposit that gives “authentic interpretation.” In other words, if the reader of scripture wants to know if her interpretation of it is correct she must only see how the Magisterium has interpreted it.

[1] Austin Flannery, “Dei Verbum,” in Vatican II the Basic Sixteen Documents : Constitutions Decrees Declarations (Northport, NY: Costello Pub., 1996), II.7.

[2]Ibid., II.10.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

Uncategorized | No Comments »

I am using the new WordPress 2.5 engine for my blog and really like the new interface in the control panel. One of the bonuses was that I found a post from my Colossians series that should have definitely been public. I lost about 150 sermons and all my seminary papers and notes last summer when my hard drive crashed so I am delighted that some of that work still endures here at Nielsen’s Nook.

Sorry for the anachronistic nature of this Colossians post, but here’s the link to the now public bit from Colossians 2:8-15.

Uncategorized | No Comments »

I know the translation of Hebrews has been slow out of the gate. I am not abandoning it; however, I have a paper due on May 1. The thesis of the paper is to underscore how, generally speaking, the historic/traditional Anglican hermeneutic provides a via media between the hermeneutical (and epistemological) problems of private interpretation in Protestantism and unresolvable parity given to Tradition and Scripture in the Roman Church.

If you have any good articles you might suggest that are engaged with contemporary primary sources ¹ please leave a comment and let me know about them. I appreciate the help.

__________

¹ For example, articles dealing with how Roman Catholics, Protestants or Anglicans deal with Tradition and Scripture today would be helpful. However, articles about Tridentine formulations and polemics are a bit removed for much relevant discussion.

Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

Commentary

[1] κατʼ ἀρχάς is not a direct quote of the Creation account in Genesis 1:1 LXX (Ἐν ἀρχῇ); however, this is clearly what is in view conceptually.

[2] The use of metaphor (foundations) and anthropomorphism (preincarnate hands) underscore the incarnational nature of scripture in which God demonstrates with iterative mercy his love for us in condescending to us. He is not beyond even mythic language to reveal himself to the world. In other words, we don’t believe that God took out a divine trowel, after pouring cosmic concrete, and smoothed out the bottom layer of a flat earth. Scripture is not teaching that. What scripture is teaching is that 1) the Triune God made all  that is, and 2) as such, He (specifically here - the Son) has ultimate authority, lordship, over all things. For an engaging discussion of the nature of God’s loving condescension to us in scripture see, Peter Enns, Inspiration and Incarnation.

Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Commentary

[1] σου ὁ θεὸς See note in Metzger’s Textual Commentary. To summarize, there is early and good support for αὐτοῦ instead of σου (P⁴⁶ א B). However, the great external witness to σου and the internal difficulty that αὐτοῦ presents both syntactically and grammatically left Metzger’s committee and most scholars to believe that σου ὁ θεὸς was the more likely original.

[2] διὰ τοῦτο would seem to indicate that on account of Christ’s love for righteousness and hatred of lawlessness he was exalted in the way that is being discussed by the writer of Hebrews. Righteousness the likeness of God and that likeness is described in the Law of God, namely the Decalogue. Lawlessness (ἀνομία) would then be the antithesis, the unlikeness of God. Human beings, created as the image of God to be the likeness of God, walking in fellowship with him, chose a course that was unlike God and consequently destroyed fellowship with him. The Son has been exalted because he has as the image of God (i.e., a human being) loved the likeness/righteousness of God and hated the willful unlikeness of God and in his exaltation his people are restored to fellowship with God (c.f., Colossians 1:15-21).

[3] παρὰ when used with the accusative of person may be employed in a comparative sense (BAGD, 611). Luke 13:2 gives another scriptural example of this use of παρὰ. καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· δοκεῖτε ὅτι οἱ Γαλιλαῖοι οὗτοι ἁμαρτωλοὶ παρὰ πάντας τοὺς Γαλιλαίους ἐγένοντο, ὅτι ταῦτα πεπόνθασιν; And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were sinners more than all Galileans because they have suffered these things?” (author’s translation)

[4] This is a direct quotation from Psalm 44:7-8 LXX.

Uncategorized | No Comments »

Commentary

[a] οικουμενην the inhabited earth, the world (BAGD, 561).

[b] Paraphrased from Deuteronomy 32:43 LXX, καὶ προσκυνησάτωσαν αὐτῷ πάντες υἱοὶ θεοῦ. And let all God’s sons prostrate themselves before him (author’s translation). υἱοὶ refers conceptually in this context to angels. The NA27, Textus Receptus 1550, and the Byzantine Text all reflect this paraphrastic explanation of υἱοὶ.

[c] λειτουργοὺς (λειτουργός) in this literature, λειτουργός is always used with sacral connotations (BAGD, 471). Hebrews 8:2 in speaking of Jesus’ high priestly office describes him as τῶν ἁγίων λειτουργὸς a minister of holy things/places (ESV) or as the KJV and NRSV put it a minister of the sanctuary.

[d] πυρὸς φλόγα is another parallelism conflating two aspects (flame and fire) into one idea (flame of fire, fiery flame). It is a parallelism that is not merely the preference of the writer of Hebrews but that looks back to significant events in Redemptive History; namely, the burning bush in which the angel of the Lord spoke to Moses. αὐτῷ ἄγγελος κυρίου ἐν φλογὶ πυρὸς ἐκ τοῦ βάτου (Exodus 3:2 LXX).

Uncategorized | No Comments »

Commentary

[1] Directly quoted from Psalm 2:7 LXX.

[2] Directly quoted from 2 Samuel 7:14 LXX.

Uncategorized | No Comments »

Commentary

[1] Hebrews 1:3 continues the sentence begun in v 1 with the present active participle ὢν. As most other English translations do, I begin a new sentence here for readability; however, in doing so this participle is masked as an present active indicative verb. Consequently, the ongoing or continuous aspect of what is attributed to the Son in vv 4-5 is obscured.

[2] ἀπαύγασμα τῆς δόξης is a phrase found in the Deuterocanonical book, Wisdom of Solomon (7:26), speaking of the nature of wisdom. ἀπαύγασμα γάρ ἐστιν φωτὸς ἀιδίου καὶ ἔσοπτρον ἀκηλίδωτον τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ ἐνεργείας καὶ εἰκὼν τῆς ἀγαθότητος αὐτοῦ. For [Wisdom] is the radiance of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God and an image of His goodness (author’s translation). It is worth noting that the Son is the active demonstration of these things, not a mere reflection, but the actively radiant representation of the divine glory.

[3] ὑποστάσεως (ὑπόστα�