Disputation XXXVIII: On Faith

Disputation XXXVIII

On Faith

De Fide

Presiding	Jacobus Arminius
Respondent	Richardus Ianus Neraeus
Date	1605-12-21
Text printed from	Syntagma disputationum theologicarum ... quarto repetitarum (Rotterdam: Joannes Leonardi à Berewout, 1615), pp. 237–245
Witness	Collected 1615 reprint. Stanglin XXXVIII is edited from the separate 1605 quarto (Trinity College Dublin BB.ii.15 no. 24), NOT collated here. The reprint's half-title date (21 Dec. 1605) agrees with the edition's register of respondents. Thesis VIII carries a reading ('Lex namque est ex Fide', with no negative) that must be checked against the quarto before publication.

Headnote

Occasion. The twenty-third disputation of the fourth Leiden cycle, defended 21 December 1605 under Arminius by Richardus Ianus Neraeus, the same student who defended the disputation on the essence of God in 1607. Its preface places it after "some earlier disputations" on Christ, his offices, his humiliation, exaltation and merit; in the Syntagma it is followed by the disputation on justification. It is the first of the corpus's two disputations De Fide; the second (Stanglin XXXIX) is a different text under a different respondent.

Authorship. By the convention of the Leiden faculty the theses are the presiding professor's; the student defended them. Stanglin argues the case for Arminius's authorship of the disputations at length, and it is his argument, not ours.

The doctrinal move. Arminius first sorts fifteen senses of the word faith and fixes the last (I). He then runs faith through the causes: the efficient cause, principal and instrumental (II–VII), the object, common and proper (VIII–X), the subject (XI–XII), the form (XIII) and the end (XIV). He closes with how believers know they have faith (XV) and what is contrary to it (XVI). A corollary affirms that the faith of the fathers was one in substance with ours.

Where it is answered. No answer by Gomarus or in Wesley is identified for this disputation. Its own polemic faces Rome: the margins of Theses X and XIII name Bellarmine, Fisher of Rochester, the Rheims annotators and Báñez.

Preface¶

Latin

Quum disputationibus aliquot superioribus de Christo eiusq; officiis, statu tum humiliationis tum exaltationis et merito actum sit, Ordo postulat ut agamus de Fide quâ ipsius et omnium bonorum illius participes simus.

English

Since some earlier disputations have treated Christ, his offices, his state both of humiliation and of exaltation, and his merit, the order requires that we treat faith, by which we are made partakers of him and of all his benefits.

Thesis I¶

Latin

Fidei vocabulum πολύσημον est: significat enim primò, plenam eorum revelationem quae olim sub ceremoniarum obscuritate latebant a: 2. Articulos Fidei b. 3. Evangelii doctrinam et iustitiae per id annunciatae patefactionem c. 4. Dei erga nos d aut hominum e inter se veritatem aut constantiam tam in dictis quam in factis. 5. Certitudinem potentiae Dei veracis et eius iudiciorum f. 6. Nudam historiae de Deo Christoque et Fiduciae expertem notitiam g. 7. Notitiam et assensum persuasionemque de Dei gratia, sed temporariam et evanidam, ut quae in Christo radices non agat h. 8. Persuasionem de Futuro ailquo effectu miraculoso, ex revelatione, promissione singulari, aut Spiritus sancti motu conceptam i. 9. Pietatis studium l. 10. Ministerii erga pauperes et aegrotos curandos professionem m. 11. Conscientiam per Evangelii doctrinam confirmatam n. 12. Declarationem de Christo omnibus factam o. 13. Doctrinae Evangelicae exactam et Christianae libertatis cognitionem p. 14. Graciosae promissionis et divinae virtutis in Christo ante et post incarnationem patefactae, apprehensionem q. 15. Denique assensum animi à Spiritu S. per Evangelium in peccatoribus et peccata per legem agnoscentibus productum, quo Iesum Christum servatorem sibi à Deo destinatum et datum agnoscunt, ex quo assensu exurgit fiducia in illum et per illum Fides et Fiducia in Deum r. Et ita hic sumitur.

Marg. gloss: Diversa vocis significata impropria et propria.

Marg. a Gal. 3:1‹?›(?) · b Heb. 6:1 · c Gal. 3:15 · d Psal. 33:4 · Esai. 11:3 · Thren. 3:23 · Ose. 2:20 · e Gen. 19:16 · Ierem. 7:28 & 42:5 · Mat. 23:23 · 1 Tim. 2:7 · f Mar. 10:22 · Ose. 5:9 · g Iacob. 2:24 · h Luc. 8:13 · Actor. 8:13 · i Mat. 17:20 & 21:21 · Act. 14:9 · 1 Cor. 1‹2›:9(?) & 13:21(?) · l Luc. 18:8 · 2 Cor. 10:15 · m 1 Tim. 5:12 · n 2 Cor. 1:24 · o Act. 17:31 · p Act. 6:5 & 11:24 · Ro. 14:22, 23 · q Matth. 9:2 & 15:28 · Marc. 2:5 & 5:34 & 10:52 · Hebr. 11:4 & 7 · Iacob. 1:6 · r Halac. 2:6(?) · Math. 8:10 · Act. 3:6(?) · Rom. 1:17 & 4:5, 6, 9 · 11:16 · 1 ‹C›or. 15:14, 17 · Gal. 2:16, 20 · Ephe. 2:8

English

The word faith has many meanings (πολύσημον). For it signifies, first, the full revelation of those things which formerly lay hidden under the obscurity of the ceremonies; 2. the articles of faith; 3. the doctrine of the Gospel, and the manifestation of the righteousness announced through it; 4. the truth or constancy, whether of God toward us or of men among themselves, as much in words as in deeds; 5. the certainty of the power of the truthful God and of his judgments; 6. a bare knowledge of the history concerning God and Christ, devoid of trust; 7. knowledge and assent and persuasion concerning the grace of God, but temporary and fading, as not putting down roots in Christ; 8. a persuasion concerning some future miraculous effect, conceived from revelation, from a singular promise, or from a motion of the Holy Spirit; 9. the pursuit of piety; 10. the profession of a ministry of caring for the poor and the sick; 11. a conscience confirmed through the doctrine of the Gospel; 12. the declaration concerning Christ made to all; 13. an exact cognition of the Gospel doctrine and of Christian liberty; 14. the apprehension of the gracious promise and of the divine power manifested in Christ before and after the incarnation. 15. Lastly, the assent of the mind, produced by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel in sinners who acknowledge their sins through the law, by which they acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Saviour appointed and given to them by God; from which assent there arises trust in him, and through him faith and trust in God. And in this sense it is taken here.

Marg. gloss: "The various meanings of the word, improper and proper."

Thesis II¶

Latin

Causa effic. Fidei est aut principalis aut instrumentalis: illa est Deus Pater in Filio per Spiritum sanctum; / indivisa namq; sunt opera Trinitatis ad extra. Est opus, et donum supernaturale non naturale; Virtus Theologica et à Spiritu infusa, non per ratiocinationem humanam ex principiis secundum naturam notis acquisita; imò superat omnem intellectum, et omnia principia naturalia transcendit. Itaque Fides tum initii tum incrementi confirmationisque ratione est à Deo.

Marg. gloss: Causa effic. principalis Deus.

Marg. Ioan. 6:29 · Act. 16:14 · Rom. 12:3 · Phil. 1:29 · Luc. 24:32, 45 · Hebr. 12:2 · 2 Cor. 4:13

English

The efficient cause of faith is either principal or instrumental. The former is God the Father, in the Son, through the Holy Spirit; for the works of the Trinity toward what is outside are undivided. Faith is a supernatural, not a natural, work and gift; a theological virtue, and one infused by the Spirit, not acquired by human reasoning from principles known according to nature. Indeed it surpasses all understanding and transcends all natural principles. Faith is therefore from God, in respect both of its beginning and of its increase and confirmation.

Marg. gloss: "The principal efficient cause, God."

Thesis III¶

Latin

Spiritum S. huius infusionis auctorem statuimus qui et intus nobis offert Christum et mentem nostram lumine suo illustrat animumque testificatione sua obsignat, ut Christum oblatum videamus, in illumque certa Fide, ut servatorem nostrum credamus.

Marg. gloss: Instrumentalis ordinaria verbum.

English

We establish the Holy Spirit as the author of this infusion, who both offers Christ to us inwardly, and illumines our mind with his light, and seals our soul with his testimony, so that we may see Christ offered, and believe in him with a certain faith as our Saviour.

Marg. gloss: "The ordinary instrumental cause, the word." (The gloss stands beside Thesis III in the print but belongs to Thesis IV.)

Thesis IV¶

Latin

Instrumentalis est ordinaria aut extraordinaria. Ordinaria 1. Est verbum t tum legale tum Evangelicum. Illud, indirectum, sed eius antecedens necessarium: Hoc, directum et immediate producens Fidem, hinc verbum Fidei et vitae semenq; incorruptibile appellatur n. II. Sacramenta Fidem verbo accensam magis excitantia, foventia et confirmantia x.

Marg. t Ro. 10:17 · Ioan. 57:16(?) · Act. 10:44 · Rom. 1:16 · Isa. 53:1 & 54:7 · u(?) Rom. 10:8 · Act. 13:26 · 1 Pet. 1:23 · x 1 Ioan. 3:5(?) · 1 Cor. 10:16 & 11:24

English

The instrumental cause is either ordinary or extraordinary. The ordinary is, 1. the word, both of the law and of the Gospel. The former is indirect, but a necessary antecedent of faith; the latter directly and immediately produces faith, and hence is called the word of faith and of life, and the incorruptible seed. II. The sacraments, which further stir up, cherish, and confirm the faith kindled by the word.

Thesis V¶

Latin

Hanc a. efficit verbum, quando homini in peccatis mortuo, et de salute ne cogitanti quidem, extrinsecus per eius administros annunciatur y. Lex primò litera occidens et occisione sua ad Spititum vivificum et ministerium iustitiae et vitae deducens, cum ostendit peccata et illorum poenam damnationem z, hinc compunctio cordis a et de propriis viribus sancta desperatio. Sed ne hoc quidem facit lex sine spiritu, videlicet servitutis et metus, qui spiritus adoptionis et charitatis Dei praecursor statuitur. Secundò, Evangelium salutem in Christo cum conditione Fidei offerens, exhibens, praestans et obsignans b.

Marg. y Eze. 16:‹6› · Gen. 6:5 · Rom. 8:7 · 2 ‹C›or. 2:14 · Ephes. 2:‹2›(?) · Col. 2:13 · Ioan. 3:3 · Ephe. 2:10 · z Rom. 3:20 & ‹›:20 · Gol. 3:19 · 2 Cor. 3:7 · a Act. 2:37, 38, 39 &c. · b 1 Ioan. 2:27 · Act. 17:14(?) · Psalm. 40:6 · Esai. 54:7

English

The word effects this faith when it is announced outwardly, through its ministers, to a man dead in sins and not so much as thinking of salvation. First, the law, the letter that kills, and by its killing leads to the life-giving Spirit and to the ministry of righteousness and of life, when it shows sins and their punishment, damnation; hence compunction of heart and a holy despair of one's own powers. But not even this does the law do without the spirit, namely the spirit of bondage and of fear, which is established as the forerunner of the spirit of adoption and of the love of God. Secondly, the Gospel, offering, presenting, bestowing, and sealing salvation in Christ under the condition of faith.

Thesis VI¶

Latin

In ortu huius fidei ergo haec omnia concurrere et necessariò requiri dicimus. Notitiam Evangelii per illuminationem Spiritus sancti c. attentam promissionum Evangelicarum ex intimo sensu inopiae suae considerationem d Fidem generalem in illuminatis Evangelio assensum praebentem, quam, si plenior et perfectior sit, vocat Apostolus πληροφορίαν τῆς συνέσεως e; spem veniae et remissionis peccatorum f. Esuriem et vehementem gratiae in Christo oblatae expetitionem g. Accessum h cum humillima peccatorum confessione i et deprecatione pro eorum remissione cum gimitibus inexplicabilib. et cum perseverantia l, ad thronum gratiae, ut apprehenso ibidem Christo inveniatur misericordia apud Deum, Deniq; specialem m persuasionem à Spiritu Sancto per verbum impressam, qua promissiones Evangelicas in Iesu Christo etiam et amen esse firmiter cognoscimus, 1. Cor. 11:2.

Marg. c Esa. 53:11 · d Heb. 4:2 · Math. 11:2‹8›(?) · e Col. 2:2 · Rom. 14:14 · 1 Thess. 1:5 · Luc. 1:1 · f Luc. 15:18, 19 · g Ioan. 6:35 & 7:37 · Apoc. 21:6 · h Heb. 4:16 · i Psal. 32:5 · 2 Sam. 12:13 · Luc. 25:2(?) · l Luc. 15:21 · Act. ‹›:22 · Rom. 8:26 · m Math. 9:‹2› & 15:28

English

In the rise of this faith, therefore, we say that all these things concur and are necessarily required: a knowledge of the Gospel through the illumination of the Holy Spirit; an attentive consideration of the Gospel promises, arising from an inmost sense of one's own need; a general faith, giving assent to the Gospel in those who have been illumined, which, if it be fuller and more perfect, the Apostle calls the full assurance of understanding (πληροφορίαν τῆς συνέσεως); a hope of pardon and remission of sins; a hunger and vehement seeking after the grace offered in Christ; an approach to the throne of grace, with the humblest confession of sins and entreaty for their remission, with groanings that cannot be uttered and with perseverance, so that, Christ being there apprehended, mercy may be found with God. Lastly, a special persuasion impressed by the Holy Spirit through the word, by which we firmly know the Gospel promises to be yea and amen in Jesus Christ, 1 Cor. 11:2.

Thesis VII¶

Latin

Extraordinaria, sunt Miracula, opera Dei praeter et supra naturam facta. Non enim negamus quin absque mediis ordinariis spiritus S. Fidem in cordibus electorum gignere possit: sed ideo dicimus, quia Deo sapienti et bono visum est, nos iis alligare, nostram obedientiam explorare et sese nostrae infirmitati accommodare nobisque συγκαταβαίνειν.

Marg. gloss: Causa instrumentalis extra ordinaria miracula.

English

The extraordinary instrumental causes are miracles, works of God done beyond and above nature. For we do not deny that the Holy Spirit can beget faith in the hearts of the elect without ordinary means; but we say this because it has seemed good to God, who is wise and good, to bind us to those means, to test our obedience, and to accommodate himself to our infirmity and to condescend (συγκαταβαίνειν) to us.

Marg. gloss: "The extraordinary instrumental cause, miracles."

Thesis VIII¶

Latin

Obiectum, Fidei est aut commune et universale aut Speciale et Proprium adaequatumque. Illud est in genere verbum Dei nobis in Scriptura declaratum, ultra hoc se non extendit fides, estque illius fundamentum et fulcrum, à quo si declinat, corruit. Hoc, non est lex ostendens et arguens peccata, aut comminationes continens: in ea enim non potest gratiam aut reconciliationem quaerere fides: nec praecipiens obedientiam et promissionem de remuneratione operum ex debito continens. Lex namque est ex Fide, et sine ea manifestata est iustitia Dei. Est ergo doctrina Evangelii reconciliationem et sanctificationem per et propter Mediatorem Christum offerentis et conferentis.

Marg. gloss: Obiectum Fidei universale verbum. · Adaequatum non est Lex. · Sed Evangelium.

Marg. Rom. 10:17 · Ioa. 10:4, 5, 27 · Gal. 3:12 · Rom. 10:5, 6 · Rom. 3:21(?), 27 · Rom. 3:22 & 2‹5›(?) & 4:24 · Phil. 3:9 · Act. 10:43 · 13:39 · Ioan. 3:15, 16, 18 · 1 Ioan. 4:3(?) & 15 & 5:13

English

The object of faith is either common and universal, or special, proper, and adequate. The former is, in general, the word of God declared to us in Scripture. Faith does not extend itself beyond this, and it is faith's foundation and prop; if faith turns aside from it, it falls. The latter is not the law, which shows and convicts sins, or contains threatenings; for in it faith cannot seek grace or reconciliation. Nor is it the law as commanding obedience and containing a promise of the reward of works as of debt. For the law is of faith [sic], and without it the righteousness of God is manifested. It is therefore the doctrine of the Gospel, which offers and confers reconciliation and sanctification through and on account of Christ the Mediator.

Marg. gloss: "The universal object of faith, the word." · "The adequate object is not the law." · "But the Gospel."

As printed, "Lex namque est ex Fide" says the reverse of the thesis's argument and of the marginal Gal. 3:12 ("the law is not of faith"). A dropped non is the likely explanation, but this reprint is our only witness. The English translates the print and marks it; the 1605 quarto must settle it before publication.

Thesis IX¶

Latin

In hoc haec omnia complectimur; Dei Patris gratiam, Misericordiam, dilectionem, benignitatem, humanitatem, beneplacitum, omniaque beneficia eius; Christum ipsum in incarnatione, cruce, resurrectione, ascensione et sessione ad dextram Patris, gratuitam reconciliationem, remissionem peccatorum, imputationem iustitiae Christi, gratuitam acceptationem coram Deo, adoptionem, liberationem à Lege peccati et mortis, ab execratione legis, propitiationem pro peccatis nostris, salutem, vitam aeternam, communicationem cum Deo, haereditatem vitae, salutis, pacem, gaudium, spemque Dei gloriae. Denique Spiritum S. et omnes illius salutares actiones et immensum gratiarum, virtutum, donorum eius cumulum.

Marg. gloss: Innumera beneficia in se complectens.

English

In this object we embrace all these things: the grace, mercy, love, kindness, humanity, good pleasure, and all the benefits of God the Father; Christ himself in his incarnation, cross, resurrection, ascension, and session at the right hand of the Father; free reconciliation, the remission of sins, the imputation of the righteousness of Christ, free acceptance before God, adoption, liberation from the law of sin and death and from the curse of the law, propitiation for our sins, salvation, eternal life, communion with God, the inheritance of life and of salvation, peace, joy, and the hope of the glory of God. Lastly, the Holy Spirit and all his saving actions, and the immense heap of his graces, virtues, and gifts.

Marg. gloss: "Embracing in itself innumerable benefits."

Thesis X¶

Latin

Fidei ergo obiectum non est omne mandatum Ecclesiae cognitum aut incognitum, explicitum aut inplicitum declaratum iam aut postmodum obtrudendum; et auctoritate alicuius Concilii, Ecclesiae, quae nulla est nisi vocem sponsi audiat et sequatur, ad credendum Fide expressa proponendum, neq; quorundam articulorum, praetermissis aliis, cognitio. Fides namque univocè dicta, est cognitio veritatis, non ignoratio ex Ecclesiae reverentia, sed explicita Dei et propitiae voluntatis ipsius erga nos Christiq; in iustitiam sanctificationem, sapientiam et redemptionem nobis à Patre dati cognitio, quae ex Dei verbo tantum percipitur.

Marg. Bellarm. de Iustificat. lib. 1. Cap. 7. · Roffens. contra Lutherum. · Remenses supra

Corinth. · Melan. tract. 5. Cap. 30. conclus. 12. · Bannes. 2. quaest. 2. art. 7. tribuit hanc opinionem Gulielmo parisiensi et Altisidorensi. · 1 Tim. 2:4 · Tit. 1:1 · Ioan. 3:3(?) · 2 Cor. 2:16(?) · 1 Cor. 1:30

English

The object of faith, therefore, is not every command of the Church, known or unknown, explicit or implicit, declared already or to be imposed hereafter, and to be proposed by the authority of some council, or of the Church (which is no Church unless it hears and follows the voice of the Bridegroom), for belief with express faith; nor is it the cognition of certain articles while others are passed over. For faith, spoken of univocally, is the cognition of the truth, not ignorance out of reverence for the Church, but the explicit cognition of God and of his propitious will toward us, and of Christ, given to us by the Father for righteousness, sanctification, wisdom, and redemption; a cognition which is received from the word of God alone.

Thesis XI¶

Latin

Materiam in qua seu subiectum commune animum humanum et in eo rationales et principales facultates, mentem et voluntatem dicimus. Obiectum namque fidei non solum ut verum; sed etiam ut bonum agnoscere debemus, quapropter non ad intellectum theoreticum tantum, sed practicum etiam seu potius affectivum, quem sensum nobis appellare liceat, pertinere arbitramur.

Marg. gloss: Subiectum commune animus.

Marg. Luc. 24:45 · Ephes. 1:25(?) · Act. 16:14 · Rom. 10:10 · Act. 8:37 · Psal. 28:7 & 112:2(?) · Prov. 3:5

English

The matter in which, or common subject, we say is the human soul, and in it the rational and principal faculties, the mind and the will. For we must acknowledge the object of faith not only as true but also as good; for which reason we judge that faith pertains not to the theoretical understanding only, but also to the practical, or rather the affective, which we may be permitted to call sense.

Marg. gloss: "The common subject, the soul."

Thesis XII¶

Latin

Subiectum cui, est homo peccator animo et corpore constans et peccata agnoscens, Est namq; Fides illa ad salutem necessaria illi cui infunditur. At non est necessaria non peccatori et iusto: unde nemo nisi peccator in Christum credere iubetur: nemo etiam nisi peccatorem se agnoscat, Christum pro servatore suo agnoscere potest: est enim servator tantum peccatorum. Qua de causa Iudaei iustitiam ex lege quaerentes, in lapidem offendiculi impegisse dicuntur.

Marg. Ioan. 8:24 · Matt. 11:28 · Marc. 1:15 · Math. 9:12 · Math. 1:21 · Rom. 9:31, 32 & 10:3

English

The subject to which is sinful man, consisting of soul and body, and acknowledging his sins. For that faith is necessary to salvation for him into whom it is infused; but it is not necessary for one who is not a sinner, and righteous. Hence no one but a sinner is commanded to believe in Christ; nor can anyone acknowledge Christ as his Saviour unless he acknowledges himself a sinner, for he is the Saviour of sinners only. For this reason the Jews, seeking righteousness from the law, are said to have struck against the stone of stumbling.

Thesis XIII¶

Latin

Forma fidei est eius legitima ad obiectum suum proprium et adaequatum, Christum; ordinatio, secundum quam qui credit obiecto isti arctissimè unitur; adeo ut unum cum Christo factus, omnium illius bonorum communionem habeat secundum demensum à Deo ordinatum: Itaq; Charitas non minus fidem comitans quam calor lucem solis, non est magis forma Fidei quam corpus animae per quod operatur, aut effectus causae. Charitas enim de corde puro et conscientia bona est ex fide non ficta, et quidem ut causa charitatis producendae necessaria, sufficiente et efficaci. Ergo merito reiicimus Fidem scholasticorum informem, quam dicunt sine charitate esse posse: utpote quae hominem salvare non possit, Iacob. 2.

Marg. gloss: Forma Fidei est legitima ad Christum ordinatio. · Non Charitas Fidei effectum.

Marg. 1 Tim. 1:5 · Bellarm. lib. 1. de Iusti. cap. 15.

English

The form of faith is its legitimate ordering to its proper and adequate object, Christ; according to which he who believes is most closely united to that object, so that, being made one with Christ, he has communion in all his benefits according to the measure ordained by God. Therefore charity, though it accompanies faith no less than heat accompanies the light of the sun, is no more the form of faith than the body, through which the soul operates, is the form of the soul, or the effect the form of the cause. For charity out of a pure heart and a good conscience is from faith unfeigned, and that as from a cause of producing charity that is necessary, sufficient, and efficacious. We therefore rightly reject the unformed faith of the scholastics, which they say can exist without charity; seeing that such a faith cannot save a man, James 2.

Marg. gloss: "The form of faith is its legitimate ordering to Christ." · "Charity is not [its form]; it is the effect of faith."

Arminius turns the scholastic formula fides caritate formata against itself: charity is faith's effect, not its form, and a faith "unformed" by charity is no saving faith at all. The margin names Bellarmine as the opponent in view.

Thesis XIV¶

Latin

Finis denique est duplex, Summus et Proximus: ille, gloria Dei sive celebratio iustitiae bonitatis et misericordiae divinae: ut à cuius gratia tantum beneficium profluit, ad eius gloriam maximè illustrandam referatur. Hic, salus et vita aeterna, iustitia, pax, reconciliatio, filiatio, redempt‹i›o, accessus cum fiduc‹i›a, et omnis generis benedictiones spirituales: quo fit ut in singulis tam requiratur haec fides ad salutem procurandam, quam ipsa salus est, recessaria, ex aeterno Dei decreto.

Marg. gloss: Finis summus Die gloria. · Proximus animarum salus.

Marg. 1 Pet. 1:9 · Rom. 10:10 & 5:1, 11 · Ioan. 1:12 · Ephes. 1:7 & 3:12 · Rom. 8:15 · Hebr. 11:6 · Gal. 3:9

English

Lastly, the end is twofold, the highest and the proximate. The former is the glory of God, or the celebration of the divine righteousness, goodness, and mercy: so that so great a benefit may be referred to the most signal display of the glory of him from whose grace it flows. The latter is salvation and eternal life, righteousness, peace, reconciliation, sonship, redemption, access with confidence, and spiritual blessings of every kind. Whence it comes about that this faith is required in each person for obtaining salvation, just as salvation itself is necessary, by the eternal decree of God.

Marg. gloss: "The highest end, the glory of God." · "The proximate end, the salvation of souls."

The closing clause ties the requirement of faith to "the eternal decree of God." It is the only appeal to the decree in the disputation, and it makes faith the condition of salvation by that decree. Compare the "condition of faith" in Thesis V.

Thesis XV¶

Latin

Hanc autem Fidem verè fideles habere se sciunt. 1. Ex ipso sensu Fidei, quod docent insignia attributa et nomina, quibus insignitur Fides in Scripturis. Tribuitur enim illi πληροφορία a, παῤῥησία b, πεποίθησις c, dicitur ὑπόστασις d, ἔλεγχος e; quae fidei non competunt, si credens ignoret se credere. 2. Ex Spiritus Sancti in illis habitantis testimonio f, testatur. n. una cum spiritu nostro quod sumus Filii Dei. At Filii Dei non nisi per Fidem in nomen Christi sumus. 3. Ex lucta Fidei cum dubitationibus et spiritus cum carne: Denique ex effectis spei et charitatis erga Deum et proximum, operumque ex illa charitate promanantium.

Marg. a Rom. 4:2‹1› · Col. 2:2 · Hebr. 6:11 & 10:22 · b Ephe. 3:12 · 2 Ioa. 2:28 · Heb. 3:6, 4(?) & 10:35 · c Ephe. 3:12 · Phil. 3:4 · d Heb. 11:1 · 2 Cor. 9:4 & 11:17 · e Heb. 11:1 · f Ephe. 5:17, 18(?) · 1 Ioan. 5:10 · Rom. 8:16 · 1 Cor. 2:12 · 2 Tim. 1:12 · 2 Cor. 4:1(?)

English

Now the truly faithful know that they have this faith: 1. from the very sense of faith, which the signal attributes and names are evidence of, with which faith is marked in the Scriptures. For there are ascribed to it full assurance (πληροφορία), boldness (παῤῥησία), confidence (πεποίθησις); it is called substance (ὑπόστασις) and evidence (ἔλεγχος); which do not belong to faith if the believer does not know that he believes. 2. From the testimony of the Holy Spirit dwelling in them; for he bears witness together with our spirit that we are sons of God. But we are not sons of God except through faith in the name of Christ. 3. From the struggle of faith with doubts, and of the spirit with the flesh. Lastly, from the effects of hope and of charity toward God and our neighbour, and of the works flowing from that charity.

Thesis XVI¶

Latin

Contraria Fidei sunt incredulitas, credendi tarditas, disceptatio de Dei potentia et promissionibus, securitas carnis, confidentia in carne et propriis viribus, operibus, meritis in iustitia et dignitate nostra, brachii carnis fiducia, disputationes et dubitationes academiae de Deo illius voluntate promissionumque eius certitudine, desperatio, diffidentia, haeresis; quae omnia Deus Opt. Max. Fidei dator à nobis avertere dignetur per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum virtute Spiritus sui sancti, Amen.

Marg. Rom. 4

English

The things contrary to faith are unbelief, slowness to believe, disputing about the power and promises of God, carnal security, confidence in the flesh and in our own powers, works, and merits, in our own righteousness and worthiness, trust in the arm of flesh, the disputations and doubts of the Academy concerning God, his will, and the certainty of his promises, despair, distrust, and heresy. May God, best and greatest, the giver of faith, deign to turn all these away from us, through our Lord Jesus Christ, by the power of his Holy Spirit. Amen.

Corollary¶

Latin

COROLLARIUM. An fides Patrum sub pactis promissionis eadem fuerit quod ad substantiam attinet cum nostra sub Novo Testamento. Affir. Nam Iesus Christus heri hodie idem et in secula.

English

COROLLARY. Whether the faith of the fathers under the covenants of promise was the same, as far as its substance is concerned, as ours under the New Testament. Affirmative. For Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and for ever.

FINIS

Transcription notes

Long s (ſ) is silently normalised; u/v and i/j are normalised to modern convention (Euangelium → Evangelium, ejus → eius). & is given as et and æ/ę as ae, as in Disputation XXXVI. Printer's accents (primò, imò, necessariò, Secundò, verè, univocè, maximè, arctissimè, à, quâ) are retained as printed.
Nasal-tilde abbreviations expanded (the edition's practice): sanctũ (II), omnẽ (II), verbũ (V), Esuriẽ (VI), mandatũ, nõ (X), tantũ (XI), obiectũ suũ (XIII), and in the margin to X, cõtra Lutherũ. The -que and other abbreviations are kept as printed: eiusq;, namq;, semenq;, Deniq;, neq;, Christiq;, Itaq;, inexplicabilib., effic., Opt. Max., Affir., and testatur. n. (for enim, XV).
Thesis I, exactam. Printed exactã or exactâ; the mark over the final a cannot be told apart in this copy. It is read as the tilde (exactam … cognitionem), which the syntax requires. Least secure expansion in the chunk.
Footnote sigla. Unlike Disputation XXXVI, this disputation keys its marginal references with italic letters in the text (a–r in I, then t–x, y–b, c–m, and a–f in XV; j, k and s are not used). The sigla are kept in the Latin and the matching letters in the Marg. line, and left out of the English. The siglum in IV prints as n in the text; its margin letter is damaged and is given as u(?).
Marginal glosses. Besides scripture, the margin carries short Latin headings (Causa effic. principalis Deus, etc.). They are given in their own Marg. gloss line and translated under the English. The print sets the gloss for IV beside III.
Greek. I: πολύσημον. VI: πληροφορίαν τῆς συνέσεως, where τῆς is printed as τ with a superscript ligature, expanded here. VII: συγκαταβαίνειν, set in a crowded cursive with the -κατα- ligature partly filled. XV: πληροφορία, παῤῥησία, πεποίθησις, ὑπόστασις (the initial ὑπ- ligature is heavily inked), ἔλεγχος (-ος ligature). Accents given as printed where legible and normalised otherwise.
Printed forms not corrected. ailquo (I, for aliquo); Graciosae (I); Spititum (V); gimitibus (VI, for gemitibus); inplicitum (X); recessaria (XIV, for necessaria); Die in the XIV gloss (for Dei); Halac. and Gol. in the margins. Thesis VI cites 1. Cor. 11.2 in the text for "yea and amen," which is 2 Cor. 1:20; left standing.
Thesis II, "/". A virgule stands before indivisa namq; sunt opera Trinitatis ad extra and is not closed. It may be a damaged opening parenthesis. It is printed as it appears.
Thesis V, Hanc a. The a. after Hanc is printed in roman with a point. It is not a siglum (the V sigla are y, z, a, b) and may stand for autem. It is kept, untranslated.
⭐ Thesis VIII, Lex namque est ex Fide. Printed without non. See the note under the thesis. Needs the 1605 quarto before publication.
Thesis XIV. redempt‹i›o and fiduc‹i›a: a letter is lost in each to speckle. The readings are certain, but the letters are not visible.
Marginal references, as printed, not harmonised. Doubtful readings:
- I: the Gal. verse after siglum a is damaged (3:1 followed by an illegible numeral). 1 Cor. 1‹2›:9 has a damaged second numeral; 13:21 is as printed (1 Cor. 13 has 13 verses). Halac. 2:6 is as printed (probably Habac. 2:4); Act. 3:6 probably 3:16; the book of ‹C›or. 15:14, 17 is damaged.
- IV: Ioan. 57:16 as printed. 1 Ioan. 3:5 as printed.
- V: Eze. 16:‹6› and Ephes. 2:‹2› have damaged final numerals; the chapter of & ‹›:20 after Rom. 3:20 is lost; Act. 17:14 as printed.
- VI: Math. 11:2‹8›, Math. 9:‹2› damaged; Luc. 25:2 as printed (Luke has 24 chapters); the chapter of Act. ‹›:22 is lost.
- VIII: Rom. 3:21 and 3:25 have damaged final numerals; 1 Ioan. 4:3 as printed.
- X: Ioan. 3:3 and 2 Cor. 2:16 partly damaged. Melan. and Bannes. are as printed and not identified or expanded.
- XI: Ephes. 1:25 as printed (Eph. 1 has 23 verses); Psal. 112:2 doubtful.
- XV: Heb 3 6 4 printed without points (perhaps 3:6, 14); Ephe. 5:17, 18 and 2 Cor. 4:1 partly damaged.
Pages and running heads. Printed pp. 237–245 correspond to PDF pp. 265–273. The disputation begins two-thirds of the way down p. 237 (PDF 265), after FINIS of Disputatio XXII. It ends on p. 245 (PDF 273), above the half-title of Disputatio XXIV, De Iustificatione. Page 238 carries the running head Thesis. I. above the first thesis.
Condition. No manuscript underlining or annotation. Heavy inking and speckle from the 1-bit JBIG2 digitisation. ⚠ Symbol substitution risk is highest in the marginal numerals (item 12).
Theses numbered I–XVI with no gaps, plus an unnumbered preface and a Corollarium. No thesis is lost. Thesis VIII needs a second witness before publication; items 3 and 12 would benefit from one.