After offering some thoughts on some changes that had occurred in the development of the Gospel Coalition Documents, I want to take a post for reflection on the Confessional Statement. (You can find copies of the document here and here. You can find multiple posting on it over at Justin Taylor’s blog beginning here.)

[Bias Alert - I love The Westminster Confession of Faith. It is the confession of my faith and what I believe to be the most accurate, confessional document on Biblical theology. Although I've done some study on the 39 Articles and the early creeds of the Church, The Westminster Confession is the Confession by which I judge other Confessions. I also realize that the Gospel Coalition Confessional Statement is by no means intended to supersede the Westminster Confession but rather to be broad enough for those who claim the Westminster Confession to be comfortable with it.]

Structure of the Confessional Statement (with related chapter of the Westminster Confession)

1. The Tri-une God (WCF 2)
2. Revelation (WCF 1)
3. Creation of Humanity (WCF 4, 24)
4. The Fall (WCF 6)
5. The Plan of God (WCF 3, 5, 7)
6. The Gospel (though mentioned 27 times in the Westminster Standards, it is difficult to pin down one section)
7. The Redemption of Christ (WCF 8 )
8. The Justification of Sinners (WCF 11)
9. The Power of the Holy Spirit (WCF 10-1
10. The Kingdom of God (WCF 25)
11. God’s New People (WCF 25, 26)
12. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper (WCF 27-29)
13. The Restoration of All Things (WCF 32, 33)

Some thoughts on the CS…

• Trinity first. This is certainly not a big deal but there is the age old question on how to begin a confession of faith. Do you start with the nature of God or with the Bible?
• The Word. The Bible is verbally inspired, authoritative, inerrant, complete, sufficient, and final.
• Complement, Complement. CS-3 is a clear description of a complementarian view of gender roles rooted in creation and not “sidelined by appeals to cultural developments.”
• The Redemption of Christ. CS-7 is a clear, basic statement of the person and work of Christ. My only quibble is that it mentions Jesus fulfilling the office of Priest and King but has no mention of the prophetic office. That three-fold distinction is so dear to me, especially in my practical theology, that I missed seeing it in the section on The Redemption of Christ.
• Imputation. CS-8 clearly sets forth the perfect obedience of Christ, “credited to all who trust in Christ alone for their acceptance in Christ.” It was good to see that explicit statement included to guard against those who would deny the imputation of Christ’s obedience to the believer.
• The Holy Spirit. One critique of The Westminster Confession is that it does not have a section on the Holy Spirit. The retort is that the divines organized their confession through the grid of Covenant Theology, and therefore the Holy Spirit, though not having a specific chapter, is woven into the unfolding of the covenant of grace, especially through chapters 10-18 of the Confession. CS-9 subsumes the ordo salutis under the title of The Power of the Holy Spirit. Though I like the logic of The Westminster Confession and would not change it, I also like the emphasis placed on the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. You can also note in this section, the lack of anything relating to the charismatic debate.
• Kingdom and Church. I was glad to see separate chapters on the Kingdom of God and the Church (God’s New People). This is an especially crucial distinction to understand in light of the differing views of how to engage culture with the gospel.
• Noticeably Inclusive. The sections on the sacraments and eschatology are noticeably inclusive. If Evangelicalism is going to unite around a common goal, there must be the charity of allowing differing opinions on these subjects.

Those are just a few of my thoughts. Considering the theological minds that went into writing this Confesssional Statement, I realize that my comments are much like the little leaguer critiquing Barry Bonds’ swing. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading and thinking about the document and its focus on our common faith and common Lord.

Feel free to offer thoughts of your own.

Your response: