From Reformation to Reformation

THESIS XXVII: Hitherto the commanding principium: the executing principium follows, which is the power of God, whereby God is able to...

THESIS XIX: In the Scripture there are various names for the divine will, which nevertheless indicate concepts, diverse to us, of...

THESIS XVIII: The principium commanding action is the will, whereby God wills Himself of Himself, and beyond Himself all things because...

THESIS XIV: Hitherto the divine properties of the first class: Of the second class are those that are applicable to God in such a way...

THESIS XI: Immutability is a property of God, which excludes from God all possibility of mutation: 1. with respect to existence; 2. ...

THESIS VI: The Properties of the divine nature, or essence, are GOD’S essential attributes, whereby the truth and majesty of the divine...

THESIS I: Hitherto the προλεγόμενα/Prolegomena of Christian Theology: now follows the explication of the body of Theology itself by...

Thesis I: The knowledge of God is defined. Thesis II: God is described. Explanation: 1. The description of God is confirmed. 2. The...

John Calvin But there are also among Our Own, those that acknowledge only a hypothetical Necessity of Punishing Sins flowing from the divine Decree, in such a way that God by His absolute Power could have remitted the Punishment due to the sinner. Among these were Calvin himself and Twiss, above all the rest: who in this regard follow too closely the conceptions of the Scholastics concerning the Absolute Power of God; to whom it belonged from this matter to feign an absolute

Faustus Socinus This is to be maintained against the Socinians, who, so that they might be able more easily to deny the Truth of the Satisfaction of Christ, also deny Vindictive Righteousness as Essential to God, and hence the consequent Necessity of Satisfaction to divine Justice. Socinus, at the beginning of book III de Christo Servatore, opera, tome 2, page 186, “I shall never be so injurious to my God, that I would dare to think, even indeed in a dream, that my sins, with

And so it is not at all strange that our Symbolic Formulæ also consider the Punishment of sinners as necessary, not by virtue of the divine Good Pleasure indifferently free, but by the very Righteousness of God requiring this. Thus the Heidelburg Catechism has it, question XI, “Is not God then also merciful? Answer: God is indeed merciful, but in such a way that He is also just; therefore His justice requires, that sin which is committed against the most high Majesty of God,

Now, to the extent that Judiciary Righteousness exerts itself in Punishments, it is wont to be called Vindictive, Avenging, Punishing, etc. This Righteousness is called Punishing from its effects, also Avenging and Vindictive, from Jeremiah 5:9, 29; Romans 12:19. Anthropopathically this is also called God’s Anger, Hatred, Heat, etc.; since it was proven in § 26 that Affections of this sort are not able properly to obtain in God. [And this is Natural to God in such a way that

Johannes a Marck Objection α: God punishes the children because of the sins of their parents, and the just with the unjust, Exodus 20:5; Ezekiel 21:3; John 11:3. Responses: 1. Temporal evils are treated, particularly in Ezekiel 21:3 and John 11:3, which do not befall those Evangelically righteous, except as sinners also, upon whom the matter of Punishment falls, but not in the form of Punishment; and who, having been removed from the land of the living by the temporal Judgmen

Aristotle ARISTOTLE divides Particular Righteousness into Commutative and Distributive. Commutative Righteousness/Justice, which is to be observed in contracts and commerce, does not have a place in God; since, 1. it is posited in the equality of the thing given and the thing received, with the Arithmetical proportion preserved, and, 2. by it ownership is transferred; neither of which is able to be said of God, Romans 11:35; 1 Corinthians 4:7; Genesis 32:10; 1 Chronicles 29:1

But, although this Truth of God implies the Infallibility of the Word revealed by Him; yet it does not likewise imply the Infallibility of Human Reason or Perception. If you should say, Reason is from God. Responses: 1. God is to be contemplated here, not only as Creator, but at the same time as Judge, who in the very creation of the soul inflicts upon the same punishment because of Adam’s sin. 2. Reason, with respect to its act, does not exert itself without the cooperation

Now, Dominical Righteousness denotes the demonstration of this Natural Holiness in all the divine Words and Deeds. To this ought to be referred the Truth of God. Now, Truth, as far as it is comprehended under the Righteousness of God, is understood, not so much as Metaphysical, as Ethical. By the former God is far separated from all Idols, by the latter from all Error and Falsehood. Metaphysical Truth is the Truth of the Divine Essence and Perfections: for, as whatever create

Righteousness is attributed to God in a manifold sense; commonly it is rightly said to be Threefold, Divine, Dominical, and Judiciary: the first is an Absolute Attribute; the remaining two involve a Relation to creatures, about which Divine Righteousness exerts itself and is revealed. According to ARISTOTLE, book V Ethicorum, Righteousness is to be divided into Universal and Particular. Under Universal Reighteousness absolutely all Virtues are comprehended, especially relativ

Finally, the Goodness of God takes the name of Patience, or Forbearance, or Longsuffering, when He does not send the punishment justly to be inflicted immediately upon the misdeed: hence, when the Name of Jehovah is proclaimed, He is also said to be in Exodus 34:6, אֶ֥רֶךְ אַפַּ֖יִם, longsuffering, slow to anger, properly long of nose: now, the nose is the seat of anger, which especially shows itself there in vehement breathing and heat. And so He is long of nose, whose nose

Mercy is also to be referred to Goodness, no less than Grace, from which it hardly differs otherwise than that this includes the Misery of the Object with which it has to do. These two accompany each other; and as Grace exerts itself concerning man as sinner, so that it might grant to him the pardon of sin; so Mercy is exercised concerning man as Miserable because of sin, so that it might relieve his misery. It denotes an Affection of God, yet not to be conceived in God after

Various Divisions of divine Grace are able to be admitted, which all are chiefly referred to Grace gratis datam, freely given. Of course, that is Internal and External, which both concur in the Vocation, Sanctification, and Preservation of the Elect sinner, while External Grace is also granted to many Reprobates in supplying the means of Salvation. Hence Grace is also called Common, which pertains to all those externally Called, but does not have any certain connection with S