John William Baier's _Compendium of Positive Theology_ Edited by C. F. W. Walther Published by: St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1877 [Translator's Preface. These are the major loci or topics of John William Baier's _Compendium of Positive Theology_ as edited by Dr. C. F. W. Walther. These should be seen as the broad outline of Baier-Walther's dogmatics, but please don't assume that this is all. Each locus usually includes copious explanatory notes and citations from patristics and other Lutheran dogmaticians.] Prolegomena Chapter Two On the principle of revealed theology, or on sacred Scripture. 1. The principle of learning, or the formal object of revealed theology, is divine revelation, and indeed, in the church's state today, it is the mediated revelation, of which Holy Scripture is a mark available to the senses. 2. However by the words 'Holy Scripture' is understood that complex or volume of books, which not only treat sacred things and direct people to faith and sanctity of life, but also truly are books recorded by a peculiar operation of the Holy Spirit, books which we commonly call the Bible. 3. The principal efficient cause of Holy Scripture is the Triune God; however the Holy Spirit may also be called the efficient cause. 4. The causal principal of the efficient cause is itself "theopnestia," or divine inspiration; that is, such an action by which God not only begins the writing of all these things which conform to the real objects, but also conceives the words themselves and everything by which those things are expressed, and he supernaturally communicated them to the intellect of the writers and excited their will to the act of writing. 5. The internal impulsive cause for the recording of sacred Scripture from the divine will is the goodness of God, the external impulsive cause is the need for the salvation of humans. 6. The lesser efficient cause to the principle of sacred Scripture were holy men, prophets and apostles. 7. The material, from which comes holy Scripture are words, phrases and sentences, in the Old Testament according to Hebrew, in the New Testament according to Greek, recorded in the style itself or choice and structure of words from the different talents, practices, dispositions and characters which the various authors were accustomed to using. 8. The form or formal reason of sacred Scripture are the concepts themselves of the things and the words (the signs of which are the written word), in so far as by the minds of the writers they were divinely inspired. 9. The object of Scripture, generally speaking, is all the sacred things which holy Scripture reminds us of, especially and primarily those things which are arranged through it towards human salvation, and either necessary for believing doctrine, or appropriate for life by aiding in saving men. 10. The goal to which Holy Scriptures are directed is in general indeed all men who are on this side of the state of the church and the secular dividing line, as can be seen that Scriptures proclaim not only Christ's teaching but also his works; especially to those who are or have been the teachers of the church. 11. The goal of which Holy Scriptures teach, and it is the ultimate goal, is eternal salvation. The intermediate goal, in respect to whatever men you speak of, is faith in Christ. In respect of the servants of the church uniquely, the goal of Scripture is the ministerial operations themselves, depending on divine revelation. 12. Among the affects of Holy Scripture his authority or revealed dignity occupies first place, moving the human intellect to assent to his words and providing for the will to submit to his commands. 13. And this authority of Scripture, in itself and absolutely, or as far as it can be seen, comes from the author of Scripture, from God, and especially depends and results from his high and infinite truth and power. 14. However for us, or so that we will agree, Scripture is worthy of being shown faith and submission, and it is proper to know not only the perfections of God, but truly also the dependency of Scripture on God, or inspiration [lit., theopneustian]. 15. The authority of Scripture, in so far as it is seen as allowing assent to his words, is able to be considered doubly: partly precisely in order of causing the assent of believers, through which Scripture has its authority, that is the principle of knowing and the formal object of faith and revealed theology: partly in order for the distinguishing, by speaking the truth, other writings and teachings from that inspired Scripture, which leads to matters of faith and morals; by which reason Scripture has the authority, that is it canonical, or that it is the norm and rule for distinguishing true from false. 16. For the authority of Scripture, in order for the causing of the assent of faith to be seen, a knowledge of two complex principles is required. One is: Whatever Scriptures are recorded by inspiration of God, that is certainly and infallibly true. The other: Holy Scripture is recorded by God's inspiration. The truth about the first principle is completely without doubt. About the second principle in truth it is discerned a little more fully: in so far as either it is about the knowledge of human faith, by which the divine origin of Holy Scripture becomes known, or it is a word of knowledge about the knowledge of divine faith. 17. The arguments which recognize the divine origin of Scripture by human faith, or declare them worthy of belief - some of them are internal, or chosen from the internal nature of Scripture and also by its properties; other are external, or chosen from something else outside of Scripture. 18. Some internal arguments are in part material or by style, others are in part formal or by the sense of inspiration, and they occur of the signified things. 19. To the class of material internal arguments pertains the simplicity of style, joined with a fitting seriousness of the only God, and also because often clearly under the name of God himself things are put forward to be believed and done. 20. To the class of formal internal arguments pertains those which are derived from the properties of some of Scripture, if those parts are destined for humans for the preparing for divine salvation, or they are of such a kind that may be judged by natural reason itself as if by a judge: truth - assertions without added error, holiness - perfect, shutting out all things which are dishonest or disgraceful, the sufficiency of them - those things to be believed or done for the striving toward salvation are put forward by Scripture. 21. The truth of Scripture is shown partly through induction of all dogmas, which are taught in it for the cause of salvation, and either they are able to be known from the light of nature itself, or they exceed the light of nature, in which case none of them are able to be proved false: partly from the consensus of the books of the Old and New Testaments and of all the parts among themselves; partly by the collected prophesyings touching on future things, such as first of all, those things which depend precisely on God and the free will of humans, when the events or the fulfillment of them accurately match. 22. The holiness of Scripture is established through induction of all the parts of true religion, by which a human life is ordered by his law directly to God, then to himself, then to other humans according to the eternal will of God, as otherwise each is taught perfectly in Holy Scripture. 23. The sufficiency of Holy Scripture, having remained in the first state, at least is necessarily admitted, unless it is possible to point out something necessary to be believed or done for human salvation that it not contained in it. Meanwhile truly salvation is able to be known from Scripture; the plan of reconciling human sinners with God, which no other religion or scripture teaches, Holy Scriptures points out so clearly and plainly. 24. Among the external arguments, by which Scriptures are shown to be of divine origin, first happens its antiquity, or that Scripture by reason of the doctrine of faith and morals partly when it begins with the origin of the world, partly a little after this when the first humans are noted, by reason of these written words they truly come before the old books of all the nations. 25. A second argument is able to be chosen from those men, who recorded Holy Scripture, both the knowledge of the things handed down, then sincerely the study of the truth, without any study of parts or affects; from that those who are worthy by faith are easily recognized. 26. A third derived argument is added by the miracles, by which the holy writers putting forth both his mission and the doctrines from him show the divine origin. 27. It is followed fourth by the spread of the church throughout the whole world now indeed from the time of the apostles and harmonious and wholly agreeing are the testimonies about the divine origin of Scripture. 28. Especially fifth is noted the innumerable martyrs of both sexes and various ages and peoples, also the innocence and the praiseworthy sanctity of the most conspicuous martyrs, who put forth in the most serious tortures by their blood and death the seal and testimony about the doctrine of that truth and divine origin, showing a constancy and strength more than human. 29. Sixth that Christian doctrine approaches so happy and sudden a propagation throughout the whole world, and seventh, the admirable preservation of Christian doctrine among so many persecutions. 30. Nor is the eighth testimony to be neglected - the testimony of the rest of the population of the world, that, even though alien from those sacred things, however not knowing the things done by the people of God and their doctrine they bring them forward as a testimony. 31. Finally also the ninth testimony deserves to be enumerated, the manifest and wonderful example of divine vengeance against the persecutors and violators of this doctrine. 32. The doctrine itself of Scripture brought forth, for all time, divine faith, by which the divine origin of Holy Scriptures in part formally (whether of sense or of doctrine) is recognized, in so far as the propositions are read with attention or taught by voice, arranged and by hearing are received, through itself immediately, but also by divine strength, which it has always and indissolubly joined to itself, and more, by a running together and by a thrusting forth of this virtue by God, indeed it illumines the human mind, or, by the lively holy thought and by a fit object, it inclines the mind in assent to the propositions ; truly it draws to itself the will of the reader and moves it, as the assent of the intellect, commanding to itself (the doctrines comprehended in Scripture) as the doctrines are provided by God; and thus it determines the intellect itself to the assenting under the plan of divine redemption. 33. And that argument is indeed one, by which divine faith about the divine origin of the doctrines comprehended in Scripture is implanted in each human; the use of arguments in producing faith is allowed [if] perhaps it doesn't interfere. But however it is revealed, in order to convert others about the common law setting forth those arguments, on the contrary also in the case of temptations by faith itself these arguments are useful to apply to removing certain difficulties, on the contrary, for the reason of their state, to be in a certain way necessary. 34. The authority of Holy Scripture is canonical, or normative, as in part not only the sense, but also the words of those same divinely inspired Scriptures, or the original text, in order equally to the versions, recorded by human studies, and it has both the writings and the investigated doctrine, as in itself and absolutely proved, and the authority is founded in the inspiration of the God of truth, and Scriptures, by reason of the words of the original text, has a dependency on God; thus also in order to us, or that by divine faith we might believe, the books of Scripture under which, by which are shown to us, by the properties, that is by the choice of words in a certain language, by the order and context, to be divinely inspired, and thus to have that normative force, or canonical dignity, and since the testimony of the church alone does not suffice, truly also it is proper to engage this internal testimony of the Holy Spirit, or this operation of the Holy Spirit, which is effective through the same Scriptures. 35. However the Holy Spirit witnesses about certain attributes of the books of Scripture, that as they are acknowledged to be inspired, not having been excluded, by the received testimony of the church, not by any period, but by the primitive church, thus indeed, that the discurus of faith returns almost to this place: By which attributes Holy Scripture was recorded first, by those attributes from God himself who inspired the writing, and thus they were recorded from divine inspiration. Also the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament in that Hebrew, which was received in use up to this time, and the Scriptures of the New Testament by that Greek, which by our use saves, were first written idiomatically. Therefore the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament in that Hebrew, which was received in use up to this time, and the Scriptures of the New Testament by that Greek, which by our use saves, idiomatically inspired from God himself into writing, and thus also it is written from divine inspiration. The major proposition, of which the doctrines themselves comprehended in Scripture are a part, certainly are of divine faith, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, are joined intimately with all of sacred doctrine, moves to the assent of divine faith. The minor proposition, which reflects on some single fact, and that fact perceived by the senses, though distinct from the doctrine itself of Holy Scripture, depends from the proof of the witnesses self-typed [lit., autoptown] and self- heard [lit., autekoon], as another fact in the proofs and as it's accustomed to be done with perceptible things. In conclusion meanwhile the acceptance of the divine origin of Scripture does not cease to be on account of faith, just as not only from the two revealed premises, but also truly it follows clearly from one revealed and the other metaphysically or morally revealed in conclusion and believed by divine faith. 36. And thus the canonical books of the Old Testament, which the ancient Jewish church accepted and are handed down to the Christian church, are the following: the five books of Moses, the book of Joshua, Judges, Ruth, two of Samuel, two of Kings, two of Chronicles, one of Ezra, one of Nehemiah (or Second Ezra), the book of Esther, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, the four books of the major prophets, which are: Isaiah, Jeremiah (with which also was Lamentations), Ezekiel, Daniel, the book of the twelve minor prophets, which are: Hosea, Joel, Amos Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi: which all remain uncorrupted in the church. 37. However besides these there are sometimes provided in the biblical codex of the Old Testament these books: Judith, Wisdom, Tobit, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, two (or three) books of the Maccabees, (third and fourth Ezra), fragments of Esther, additions to Daniel about Susanna, about Bel and the Babylonian dragon, the speech of Azariah, of the three young men and Manasseh, which neither by the old Israelite church, nor by the Christian church which closely followed was it held to be inspired, or that they had canonical authority; but so that they might be discerned from those which are canonical, rightly they are called apocryphal. 38. The canonical books of the New Testament are all those, which are held in the biblical codex; truly not only those, about whose inspiration there was never any doubt, which are: the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the Acts of the Apostles, the letters of Paul, one to the Romans, two to the Corinthians, one to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, to the Philippians, to the Colossians, two to the Thessalonians, two to Timothy, one to Titus, one to Philemon, first Peter and first John: truly also the rest of the writings, about which authors, thus also by divine origin though for some formerly there was doubt, however today no controversy remains: namely the Epistle to the Hebrews, second Peter, second and third John, the Epistle of James, the Epistle of Jude and the Revelation of John: all of which also remain uncorrupted. 39. To the affects of Holy Scripture pertains further its second effect, that it has a force or active power, supernatural and truly divine, for the producing of supernatural effects, namely the converting, regenerating and renovating of the minds of people, from the divine commands themselves, as far as can be seen, also intimately and indissoluably united by the first act of inspiration beyond the use made of it; and which, approaching it by reading, hearing, or meditating, by the second act it stretches itself out, thus that the effect of that supernatural grace, as from God, as the principle cause, and thus from Scripture itself, as by an efficient cause of instrumentality, at the same time and successively, those effects are produced effectively by one undivided power. 40. Further third in the affects of Holy Scriptures is its perfection, or sufficiency, through which it is able to instruct us perfectly and completely about all things which are necessary for the acquiring, believing and doing of human salvation. 41. Finally fourth among the affects of Scripture perspicuity has a place, or that thing, by which those things that are necessary for the believing and doing of people tending towards salvation, by the words and phrases thus clear and by the received use of speech, are put forward in Scripture so that actually being able and directing attention to the words by a moderate understanding, the true sense of the words, as far as they are necessary by decree, it is possible to reach out for and to embrace the main points of doctrine simply by apprehension of the mind; as the intellect of humans, by apprehending the words and the signified things being offered, is led supernaturally through Scripture itself and its light, or through the divine strength joined to it, to the assent of faith. 42. Since however Scripture is able to be considered by men, even if they are unskilled in the holy languages, Hebrew and Greek, and to lead them to the doctrine of faith and a knowledge of morals, therefore it is useful for various versions of Scripture to be visible, and to urge humans to read them. 43. But so that the true sense of the words of Scripture, chiefly the literal sense, which in a particular place is nothing if not one, then truly also the mystical sense, if it is to be found anywhere, might be rightly understood, and not only where by the clear passages an opinion is firmly held against the distortions of the heterodox, but also in the more difficult places of spiritual knowledge to assist in the explaining and understanding where possible, the laws of good interpretation ought to be observed. 44. The laws of interpreting Scripture, as far as the literal sense is concerned, generally comes back to this: I. that the habit and construction of the words and phrases according to the usage of the holy languages are to be diligently considered; II. that from the preceding verses and the following verses, from the occasion, the intended audience, the material and other causes, the intention of the words is to be investigated; about which rules, there also there are other more special rules, which are contained under these two, and which are covered more broadly in the school of exegetical theology. 45. Truly first of all, so that the mystery of faith, taught in Scripture, is rightly known, it is observed, that in the properties and uses of word a meaning persists, until the circumstances of the text are not clear, or the condition of the subject matter, or perhaps another urgent reason compels us to descend to an improper meaning. 46. Finally from Holy Scripture, by clear principles, conclusions of theology, which are also created by divine faith, are rightly deduced, thus in such arguments, also the conclusion of them is pure theology, not only the formal principle of reason without doubt usefully being applied, but also the material principle of reason rightly being used; not only that, but when they are particular or singular, they are attached to the universal theological principal, truly by the universal principle of reason they are not applied to another, other than those which are of absolute necessity, which bring in a clearly opposite contradiction. 47. In the normed doctrine of faith and morals according to Scripture there is no work to be given as private property as by a judge properly and strictly speaking, which bears the opinion for authority and is visible. Nevertheless, so that truth and falseness might be distinguished rightly, partly it is necessary, that a work is put forward and a judging comes, carefully weighing and forming accurately and sincerely the state of the question, partly also the known opinion that this work compares with Scripture, that either by the clear and eloquent words of Scripture, or through the necessary deductions, out of the evident and clear words of Scripture according to the rules of good interpretation by the intellect, also by the observed laws of good deductions, these things are deduced, being established to hold that which is in truth from the Scriptures, or not to hold the Scriptural truth, or to hold the opposite. And this judgment indeed when it agrees with doctors and ministers of the church, when alone, then gathered in a council, thus also by other Christians it is able to exercised in their own way. 48. Holy Scripture is able to be defined, that it is Scripture, inspired by God, recorded idiomatically through the prophets and the apostles, partly by Hebrew, partly by Greeks, to human sinners about all things, which are necessary for believing and doing, equipping, so that they obtain faith in Christ, are reconciled to God, live a sanctified life, and at length obtain eternal life by the gift of God. -------------------------------------------------------------- This text was translated by Rev. Theodore Mayes and is copy- righted material, (c) 1996, but it is free for non-commercial use or distribution, and especially for use on Project Wittenberg. Please direct any comments or suggestions to: Rev. Robert E. Smith of the Walther Library at Concordia Theological Seminary. E-mail: smithre@mail.ctsfw.edu Surface Mail: 66000 N. Clinton St., Ft. Wayne, IN 46825 USA Phone: (260) 452-3149 Fax: (260) 452-2126 --------------------------------------------------------------