WCF Flashcards
WCF Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture: “…those former ways of God’s revealing his will unto his people being now ceased.”
Throughout redemptive history God revealed himself to his people by means of theophany, miracles, and prophecy (speech revelation). These means of revealing himself have been perfectly fulfilled by the revelation of Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God.
Hebrews 1:1-2 makes this clear. “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” This means that prophecy has ceased. God’s self-disclosed revelation is finished. This doctrine is vitally important for shaping the spiritual life of the believer. We don’t seek God’s will for our lives through a still small voice in our head, or through a dream or vision, but we seek God’s will for our lives in the written Word of God.
WCF Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture: “The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture, is the Scripture itself;”
2 Peter 1:20-21 - “knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
When we seek to understand the meaning of a specific passage of Scripture, we ought to use other passages of Scripture to help us in our search for the meaning of it. We don’t look to modern science to help us interpret the creation in Genesis 1-2. We use Scripture. We ought to use the more clear passages of Scripture to help us interpret the less clear passages of Scripture. Therefore, in my preaching I would use relevant Scripture references to show my congregation that what I am teaching about a specific passage of Scripture is supported in other places of Scripture.
WCF Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture: “…The authority of Scripture…” (Make reference to the nature and sufficiency of Scripture in your discussion.)
Scripture is authoritative for all things. It is not merely authoritative for matters of faith and things pertaining to the church, but it is authoritative in all that it teaches. The Scriptures are sufficient. 2 Timothy 3:15, Paul writes to Timothy that the Scriptures are “able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”
Application - I would use this doctrine to severely warn believers to not go searching for answers to life’s problems outside of Scripture. This does not mean we cannot use modern science, or history to inform our studies. However, most people use these tools because they do not believe in the sufficiency of Scripture.
WCF Chapter 2 - Of God, and the Holy Trinity: “In the unity of the Godhead there be three persons of one substance”
God is one (Deut. 6:4). It is clear from the Bible that there is only one true and living God. However, it is also clear from the Bible that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. And that these 3 are distinct from one other in personhood. Therefore, I affirm what the Scriptures teach. That there is one God, one divine substance, but there are three distinct persons in that Godhead.
Application - It is important to teach people the biblical and historic view of the Trinity in order to avoid heresy. But I believe it is equally important to develop in people a trinitarian piety. One of the best ways to do this is to explain to them our salvation by examining the work of God. God the Father who chose us before the foundation of the world, the Son who purchased us by his blood, and the Spirit who seals our salvation (Ephesians 1).
WCF Chapter 3 - Of God’s Eternal Decrees: “God from all eternity did by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass.”
God is the cause of all things. He did not decree all things by any sort of external pressure, but only because of his most wise and holy counsel of his own will. He was free in that regard. He ordained even the sinful things to take place. He decreed the fall of man into sin. Man acts freely in his choices, but God has ordained them to happen. Romans 9:15 God says, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
Application - I believe the decrees of God can provide people with a lot of comfort when they are suffering. Romans 8:28 says that God works all things together for good to those who love Him.That means even the death of a small child, a sudden diagnosis of cancer, God has planned from all eternity, for our good. We might know the hidden will of God as to why it is for our good, but we can rest in the fact that God has decreed it for our good.
WCF Chapter 3 - Of God’s Eternal Decrees: List the parts of the Reformed ordo salutis. How does this order differ from a non-Reformed order? Is the ordo salutis a valid concept? How does it relate to the historia salutis? (Answer each part in one sentence, if possible).
Election - Ephesians 1:3-4
Calling - Romans 10:14-15
Regeneration - John 3:3-8
Conversion - 1 Peter 1:23
Justification - Romans 5:1-10
Adoption - Romans 8:15
Sanctification - 1 Thess 5:23-24
Perseverance - John 10:28
Glorification - 2 Corinthians 4:17-18
WCF Chapter 4 - Of Creation: “It pleased God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost…in the beginning, to create or make of nothing the world and all things therein…in the space of six days” What is your view of the extent of the days? Are you willing to allow room for other views?
- First the use of the word “yom” day in the Hebrew. The default meaning is either daylight period or a twenty-four hour day. Of the 2304 appearances; the great majority either daylight or normal 24 hour day.
- Second The non-literal uses of the Hebrew word “yom” are always demanded by the context and grammar.
- Third the use of “day” with the ordinal number demands a sequential reading. An ordinal number is a number that reflects order “First, second, third, etc.” Though the number “one” in verse 5 is not an ordinal (In a list, the cardinal number “one” is at times used for “first” cf. 2:11.), the numbers “second” through “seventh” are. When an ordinal number is used with “yom” not one example of non-sequence can be found. In the Pentateuch, Moses uses ordinal numbers with the word “yom” 119 times. Each usage indicates a literal day
- Fourth The Jews marked days from evening to evening (Lev. 23:32). Moses uses the phrase to show the relationship between the days. It is a hinge. The text presents literal days: evening closing the daylight; morning closing the darkness (Exodus 10:13). 6 24-hour day work week modeled after creation (Exodus 34:21 - “Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest.”
- This is the clear, straight forward reading of Gen. 1:1-2:3; nothing in the grammar or vocabulary to support any other interpretation.
WCF Chapter 5 - Of Providence: “The first covenant made with man was a covenant of works”
The covenant of works was made between God and Adam, as the covenant representative for all mankind. God promised Adam eternal life upon the condition of perfect and perpetual obedience. God threatened punishment of eternal death if Adam broke the stipulations of the covenant. Romans 5:12 says, “just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” I would use this doctrine to teach people we are either united to Adam or united to Christ. Therefore, I would encourage them to ask themselves, which are they united to?
WCF Chapter 6 - Of the Fall of Man, Sin, and Punishment - “By this sin they fell from their original righteousness and communion with God and so became dead in sin and wholly defiled in all the faculties and parts of soul and body.”
Their sin was eating the forbidden fruit. Upon eating the forbidden fruit, they fell from their original state that God created them in. First, their eyes were open and they recognized they were naked. They lost their original righteousness. They covered themselves with leaves because they were no longer righteous, but sinful. They tried to hide from God because their fellowship with Him was broken because of their sin. They became totally dead in their sin so that their natures became completely corrupt, unable to do good. Genesis 6 says that “every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” This is one of the most important doctrines when presenting the gospel. Without a proper understanding of the fallen condition of man, how can we expect to share the gospel properly? I would use this to show where sin came from and why they are slaves to their sin.
WCF Chapter 7 - Of God’s Covenant with Man - “…the covenant of grace” (What does God offer under this covenant and with whom did He make this covenant?)
In the covenant of grace God offers salvation (forgiveness of sins and eternal life) by a redeemer. The covenant of grace was made between God the Father and God the Son, as the covenant representative for His chosen people. In the covenant of grace, Jesus Christ fully satisfied the punishment from the covenant of works, and positively satisfied God’s perfect requirements from the covenant of works. Genesis 3:15 is the first reference to the covenant of grace after the fall. God promised a savior from the seed of the woman to crush the head of the serpent. If you are not in union with Christ and under his federal headship in the covenant of grace, you are still under the just punishment of the covenant of works, which is eternal death. This provides both comfort to the believer and a warning to the unbeliever.
WCF Chapter 7 - Of God’s Covenant with Man - “This covenant (the covenant of grace) was differently administered I the time of the law and in the time of the gospel.” (Explain concisely the primary differences between covenantal theology from dispensationalism on this point.)
Covenant theology affirms the absolute unity of Scripture. From Genesis 3:15 to Revelation 22:21, there is only one covenant of grace whereby God’s people can be saved. In the Old Covenant, the same covenant of grace was administered through various signs (circumcision and Passover), sacrifices, and types and shadows, that all pointed forward to the fulfillment of the covenant of grace by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. Dispensationalism on the other hand does not view these administrations as being unified under one covenant, rather, these different eras or epochs are so fundamentally different that they lack any real unity between them. God offered salvation differently through the history of these administrations. Salvation was offered differently to Abraham than to Moses or to David. Covenant theology believes in only one way of salvation: faith in the only mediator between God and man, the Lord Jesus Christ. Covenant theology believes in only one people of God. However, the dispensationalist believes in different salvations and separates the people of God into ethnic Israel and Christians.
WCF Chapter 8 - Of Christ the Mediator - “The Lord Jesus, by his perfect obedience and sacrifice of himself, which he through the eternal Spirit once offered up unto God, hath fully satisfied the justice of his Father…”
ADD SCRIPTURE. God’s righteous requirements of perfect and perpetual obedience cannot change. God is holy and no amount of sin can dwell in his presence. Jesus’ perfect obedience satisfied the righteous requirement of God’s law. On the cross, the offered himself as a substitute for his people. On the cross, Jesus endured the wrath and curse of God on behalf of the sins of his people. And his righteousness is imputed to his people, by faith. It is only through the righteousness of Christ and his sacrifice that we can be saved.
WCF Chapter 9 - Of Free Will - “Man, by his fall into a state of sin, hath wholly lost…” Explain what we lost and its effects.
We have lost communion with God. Our fellowship with God has been broken because of sin. Therefore, we are all enemies of God and deserve his wrath and curse. We have also lost our ability to do any good. We have lost the ability to seek God or do anything pleasing in his sight. Our wills are corrupted and bent towards all evil. We are unable, in our fallen condition, to do anything to change our own wills. “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands, no one seeks for God” (Romans 3:11). This means we need an inward work of the Holy Spirit to regenerate us and remove our hearts of stone and give us a heart of flesh so that we can have saving faith.
WCF Chapter 11 - Of Justification - “…he freely justifieth; not by…” Explain how we are not justified. Explain how we are.
We are not justified by anything in ourselves or by anything we have done. All our works of righteousness are like filthy rags to God. Instead, we are justified by the work of Christ, his perfection and righteousness. Romans 3:24-25 says that we “are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.” This should be used first of all to humble the proud who thinks, like the Pharisees, they are justified by their own good deeds. Second, should be used to comfort the believer that his justification does not rest on anything in himself or in anything he has done, but solely in the work of Jesus Christ.
WCF Chapter 14 - Of Saving Faith - “The grace of faith, whereby the elect are enabled to believe…” What are the ordinary means through which this is accomplished?
ADD SCRIPTURE. The ordinary means through which the elect are enabled to believe are the word, sacraments and prayer. The reading of the Word, but especially the preaching of the Word are a means to convert sinners and build them up in holiness and comfort.
