CHAPTER VII. THE SUMMARY OF THE CREED. 1. WE have seen that the Creed falls into three paragraphs, dealing with the Three Persons of the Trinity. There are two points of view from which we can think of the Trinity. i. We may think of the Trinity as the one self-existent Being, and we may draw out, so far as they are revealed to us, the character and mutual relations of the Three Persons, without any reference to their connection with the world or with man. ii. We may regard the Trinity in relation to man. We may distinguish the Persons not so much as they are in themselves, as by the varied connection they have with man in the work of creation and redemption. The second of these is clearly much the more important from the point of view of elementary instruction. Our object is to make each child realise its personal relationship to God, and the obligations which flow from that relationship. Accordingly, in the summary the connection of the Trinity with the individual and the world is forcibly brought out, and we are told that these things are what we chiefly learn in the Creed. 2. It is important to observe carefully how not only is the child brought into direct personal contact with the Triune God, but in each clause is regarded as part of a whole, that whole being in each case the sphere of the special action of one of the Persons. 3. After what has been said in the preceding chapters on the Creed, it is not necessary to do more than make one or two remarks on the special phrases introduced in the Summary. i. Redeemed me and all mankind. a. The original meaning of the word redeem (Latin, redimo) is 'to buy back,' especially in the sense of ransoming prisoners. When we turn from earthly affairs to the work of Christ, we cannot expect our human language to be applicable in all its associations : it is sufficient if it suggests truly the main point, and we must not allow ourselves to be led away by side issues or false analogies. In this particular case, when we speak of Christ's redeeming men, we must not wander aside into the discussions that have been raised as to the person to whom the ransom was paid. The root idea is that Christ's death delivered man from the bondage of Satan, whose slave, apart from that death, he was.1 Cf. 6 And ye are not your own; for ye are bought with a price: glorify God therefore in your body' (1 Cor. vi. 19, 20). 'Who [i.e. Jesus Christ] gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto Himself a people for His own possession, zealous of good works' (Titus ii. 14). 'Knowing that ye were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers: but with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, even the blood of Christ' (1 Peter i. 18, 19). 'And they sing a new song, saying, Worthy art Thou to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and didst purchase unto God with Thy blood men of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation' (Apoc. v. 9). b. The redemption wrought by Christ is not restricted to a few, but extends to all mankind. Cf. 'Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world' (John i. 29). 'And we have beheld and bear witness that the Father hath sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world' (1 John iv. 14). In these passages the world is clearly at least as wide-reaching as all mankind. How far Christ's redeeming work extends to all creation is a question we need not discuss. It is enough for every child to know that it extends in its completeness to him. ii. Sanctifieth me and all the elect people of God. a. The first thing to note in this clause is the change of tense. The work of creation was complete when God rested on the seventh day; the work of redemption was complete when 1 With this idea cf. the following passages referring to the deliverance of the people from the bondage in Egypt : Thou in Thy mercy hast led the people which Thou hast redeemed: Thou hast guided them in Thy strength to Thy holy habitation' (Ex. xv. 13). 'But because the Lord loveth you, and because He would keep the oath which He sware unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt' (Deut. vii. 8). Christ died upon the cross; the work of sanctification continues day by day. b. We have seen above that the Catholic Church is the sphere of the Spirit's working. Here the Church is described as all the elect people of God. That all the baptized, including of course the individual child, may fairly be described as 'the elect people of God'-i.e. those chosen by God to a position of spiritual privilege is very evident from what we have said above in discussing baptism. Cf. also the following passages: 'Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sake, that they may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory' (2 Tim. ii. 10). 'But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light' (1 Pet. ii. 9). c. The work of sanctification carried on by the Spirit consists in uniting the Christian to Christ, and in making that union a living reality.1 At the Incarnation manhood and Godhead were for ever united in one. This union is brought home to each individual by the work of the Spirit acting through the Sacraments. The new birth in Baptism is the starting point of this realised union : the communication of the glorified body of the ascended Saviour in the Eucharist is its continual ratification. Both these things are the work of the Spirit. Again, it is the Spirit's work to lead men into all the truth (John xvi. 13); but this is done not by revealing new facts, but by recalling to men's minds and setting forth in their true light the teaching and the acts of Christ. Cf. 'But the Comforter, even the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you' (John xiv. 26). 'He shall glorify me: for He shall take of mine, and shall declare it unto you' (John xvi. 14). 1 On this subject see Gore: The Incarnation of the Son of God, pp. 218, 272. |