Lesson 4

Question 1

Explain the phrase “not by bare permission” as it relates to God’s providence extending to the sins of angels and men (WCF4).

Answer 1

5. WCF 5.4. Is God guilty of sin and man not? Even though God is still involved providentially in the sin (“not by a bare permission”); God is not morally responsible for the sin. No explanation is given to explain how this is true except that the Bible says so.

Question 2

According to the WS, what is “original sin”?

Answer 2

“Original corruption” (WCF 6.4). (This is designated as “original sin” [WLC 25, 26, WSC
18].
“original” in the WS refers to only to Original corruption.

Question 3

Explain how WLC 31 relates to what some call the Covenant of Redemption. (WCF 31, “The covenant
of grace was made with Christ as the second Adam, and in him with all the elect as his seed.”)

Answer 3

Q. 31. With whom was the covenant of grace made?
A. The covenant of grace was made with Christ as the second
Adam, and in him with all the elect as his seed.

Covenant of Grace has two aspects in the WS.
a. (1) An inter-Trinity covenant/agreement made in eternity past (WLC 31). Within RT, options include
i. (a) between God/Trinity as represented by the Father and X,
ii. (b) between Father and Son, and
iii. (c) between Father, Son, and HS.
o In all options, X is representing elect men. He is a party to this aspect.

• Some in RT call this inter-Trinitarian covenant the Covenant of Redemption and make a sharper distinction between this and the subsequent Covenant w/ men. Many at Assembly were pro-Covenant of Redemption as a separate Covenant.

b. (2) A covenant made by God w/ men post-Fall. X is a mediator of this aspect (WLC 32).

Question 4

Which of the ten documents in the “Book of Concord” begins with “Controversies have arisen among the divines of the Augsburg Confession”?

Answer 4

VIII. OF THE PERSON OF CHRIST.

Question 5

In what sense does the Formula of Concord’s view of original sin related to man as the image of God go beyond RT?

Answer 5

a. Solid Declaration uses the expression “the lost image of God.” Art 1. Affirmative 1 metaphorically calls corrupted man “the work of the devil.”
b. Lutheranism equates the image of God w/ original righteousness; hence, the image of God is lost in the Fall.
i. RT has the image of God in a broad (not lost in Fall, Gen 5:1, Jas 3:9) and narrow sense (lost in Fall).
ii. RT better maintains creation/redemption scheme and common grace and does not degenerate into a nature/grace dichotomy as compared to Lutheranism.