Belgic Confession
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Introduction
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Article 1 – The Only God
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Article 2 – The Means by Which We Know God
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Article 3 – The Written Word of God
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Article 4 – The Canonical Books
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Article 5 – The Authority of Scripture
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Article 6 – The Difference Between Canonical and Apocryphal Books
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Article 7 – The Sufficiency of Scripture
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Article 8 – The Trinity
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Article 9 – The Scriptural Witness on the Trinity
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Article 10 – The Deity of Christ
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Article 11 – The Deity of the Holy Spirit
Introduction
Confession of Faith
The oldest of the Doctrinal Standards of the Christian Reformed Church is the Confession of Faith. It is usually called the Belgic Confession because it originated in the Southern Netherlands, now known as
Belgium. Its chief author was Guido de Brès, a preacher of the Reformed Churches of the Netherlands, who died a martyr to the faith in the year 1567. During the sixteenth century the churches in this country
were exposed to the most terrible persecution by the Roman Catholic government. To protest against this cruel oppression, and to prove to the persecutors that the adherents of the Reformed faith were no rebels, as was laid to their charge, but law-abiding citizens who professed the true Christian doctrine according to the Holy Scriptures, de Brès prepared this Confession in the year 1561. In the following year a copy was sent to king Philip II, together with an address in which the petitioners declared that they were ready to obey the government in all lawful things, but that they would “offer their backs to stripes, their tongues to knives, their mouths to gags, and their whole bodies to fire,” rather than deny the truth expressed in this Confession.
Although the immediate purpose of securing freedom from persecution was not attained, and de Brès himself fell as one of the many thousands who sealed their faith with their lives, his work has endured and
will continue to endure for ages. In its composition the author availed himself to some extent of a Confession of the Reformed Churches in France, written chiefly by John Calvin and published two years
earlier. The work of de Brès, however, is not a mere revision of Calvin’s work, but an independent composition. In the Netherlands it was at once gladly received by the churches, and adopted by the
National Synods, held during the last three decades of the sixteenth century. After a careful revision, not of the contents but of the text, the great Synod of Dort in 1618-19 adopted this Confession as one of the
Doctrinal Standards of the Reformed Churches, to which all office-bearers of the churches were required to subscribe. Its excellence as one of the best symbolical statements of Reformed doctrine has been
generally recognized.
Article 1 – The Only God
We all believe in our hearts
and confess with our mouths
that there is a single
and simple
spiritual being,
whom we call God—
eternal,
incomprehensible,
invisible,
unchangeable,
infinite,
almighty;
completely wise,
just,
and good,
and the overflowing source
of all good.
Article 2 – The Means by Which We Know God
We know God by two means:
First, by the creation, preservation, and government
of the universe,
since that universe is before our eyes
like a beautiful book
in which all creatures,
great and small,
are as letters
to make us ponder
the invisible things of God:
God’s eternal power and divinity,
as the apostle Paul says in Romans 1:20.
All these things are enough to convict humans
and to leave them without excuse.
Second, God makes himself known to us more clearly
by his holy and divine Word,
as much as we need in this life,
for God’s glory
and for our salvation.
Article 3 – The Written Word of God
We confess that this Word of God
was not sent nor delivered “by human will,”
but that “men and women moved by the Holy Spirit
spoke from God,”
as Peter says.1
Afterward our God—
with special care
for us and our salvation—
commanded his servants, the prophets and apostles,
to commit this revealed Word to writing.
God, with his own finger,
wrote the two tables of the law.
Therefore we call such writings
holy and divine Scriptures.
Article 4 – The Canonical Books
We include in the Holy Scripture the two volumes of the Old and New Testaments. They are canonical books with which there can be no quarrel at all.
In the church of God the list is as follows:
In the Old Testament,
the five books of Moses—
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy;
the books of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth;
the two books of Samuel, and two of Kings;
the two books of Chronicles, called Paralipomenon;
the first book of Ezra; Nehemiah, Esther, Job;
the Psalms of David;
the three books of Solomon—
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song;
the four major prophets—
Isaiah, Jeremiah*, Ezekiel, Daniel;
and then the other twelve minor prophets—
Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah,
Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk,
Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.
In the New Testament,
the four gospels—
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John;
the Acts of the Apostles;
the fourteen letters of Paul—
to the Romans;
the two letters to the Corinthians;
to the Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians;
the two letters to the Thessalonians;
the two letters to Timothy;
to Titus, Philemon, and to the Hebrews;
the seven letters of the other apostles—
one of James;
two of Peter;
three of John;
one of Jude;
and the Revelation of the apostle John.
* “Jeremiah” here includes the Book of Lamentations as well as the Book of Jeremiah.
Article 5 – The Authority of Scripture
We receive all these books
and these only
as holy and canonical,
for the regulating, founding, and establishing
of our faith.
And we believe
without a doubt
all things contained in them—
not so much because the church
receives and approves them as such
but above all because the Holy Spirit
testifies in our hearts
that they are from God,
and also because they
prove themselves
to be from God.
For even the blind themselves are able to see
that the things predicted in them
do happen.
Article 6 – The Difference Between Canonical and Apocryphal Books
We distinguish between these holy books
and the apocryphal ones,
which are the third and fourth books of Esdras;
the books of Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Jesus Sirach, Baruch;
what was added to the Story of Esther;
the Song of the Three Children in the Furnace;
the Story of Susannah;
the Story of Bel and the Dragon;
the Prayer of Manasseh;
and the two books of Maccabees.
The church may certainly read these books
and learn from them
as far as they agree with the canonical books.
But they do not have such power and virtue
that one could confirm
from their testimony
any point of faith or of the Christian religion.
Much less can they detract
from the authority
of the other holy books.
Article 7 – The Sufficiency of Scripture
We believe
that this Holy Scripture contains
the will of God completely
and that everything one must believe
to be saved
is sufficiently taught in it.
For since the entire manner of service
which God requires of us
is described in it at great length,
no one—
even an apostle
or an angel from heaven,
as Paul says—2
ought to teach other than
what the Holy Scriptures have
already taught us.
For since it is forbidden
to add to the Word of God,
or take anything away from it,3
it is plainly demonstrated
that the teaching is perfect
and complete in all respects.
Therefore we must not consider human writings—
no matter how holy their authors may have been—
equal to the divine writings;
nor may we put custom,
nor the majority,
nor age,
nor the passage of times or persons,
nor councils, decrees, or official decisions
above the truth of God,
for truth is above everything else.
For all human beings are liars by nature
and more vain than vanity itself.
Therefore we reject with all our hearts
everything that does not agree
with this infallible rule,
as we are taught to do by the apostles
when they say,
“Test the spirits
to see whether they are from God,”4
and also,
“Do not receive into the house
or welcome anyone
who comes to you
and does not bring this teaching.”5
2Gal. 1:8
3Deut. 12:32; Rev. 22:18-19
41 John 4:1
52 John 10
Article 8 – The Trinity
In keeping with this truth and Word of God
we believe in one God,
who is one single essence,
in whom there are three persons,
really, truly, and eternally distinct
according to their incommunicable properties—
namely,
Father,
Son,
and Holy Spirit.
The Father
is the cause,
origin,
and source of all things,
visible as well as invisible.
The Son
is the Word,
the Wisdom,
and the image
of the Father.
The Holy Spirit
is the eternal power
and might,
proceeding from the Father and the Son.
Nevertheless,
this distinction does not divide God into three,
since Scripture teaches us
that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
each has a distinct subsistence
distinguished by characteristics—
yet in such a way
that these three persons are
only one God.
It is evident then
that the Father is not the Son
and that the Son is not the Father,
and that likewise the Holy Spirit is
neither the Father nor the Son.
Nevertheless,
these persons,
thus distinct,
are neither divided
nor fused or mixed together.
For the Father did not take on flesh,
nor did the Spirit,
but only the Son.
The Father was never
without the Son,
nor without the Holy Spirit,
since all these are equal from eternity,
in one and the same essence.
There is neither a first nor a last,
for all three are one
in truth and power,
in goodness and mercy.
Article 9 – The Scriptural Witness on the Trinity
All these things we know
from the testimonies of Holy Scripture
as well as from the effects of the persons,
especially from those we feel within ourselves.
The testimonies of the Holy Scriptures,
which teach us to believe in this Holy Trinity,
are written in many places of the Old Testament,
which need not be enumerated
but only chosen with discretion.
In the book of Genesis God says,
“Let us make humankind in our image,
according to our likeness.”
So “God created humankind in his image”—
indeed, “male and female he created them.”6
“See, the man has become like one of us.”7
It appears from this
that there is a plurality of persons
within the Deity,
when God says,
“Let us make humankind in our image”—
and afterward God indicates the unity
in saying,
“God created.”
It is true that God does not say here
how many persons there are—
but what is somewhat obscure to us
in the Old Testament
is very clear in the New.
For when our Lord was baptized in the Jordan,
the voice of the Father was heard saying,
“This is my Son, the Beloved;”8
the Son was seen in the water;
and the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove.
So, in the baptism of all believers
this form was prescribed by Christ:
Baptize all people “in the name
of the Father
and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit.”9
In the Gospel according to Luke
the angel Gabriel says to Mary,
the mother of our Lord:
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;
therefore the child to be born will be holy;
he will be called Son of God.”10
And in another place it says:
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with all of you.”11
[“There are three that testify in heaven,
the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit,
and these three are one.”]12
In all these passages we are fully taught
that there are three persons
in the one and only divine essence.
And although this doctrine surpasses human understanding,
we nevertheless believe it now,
through the Word,
waiting to know and enjoy it fully
in heaven.
Furthermore,
we must note the particular works and activities
of these three persons in relation to us.
The Father is called our Creator,
by reason of his power.
The Son is our Savior and Redeemer,
by his blood.
The Holy Spirit is our Sanctifier,
by living in our hearts.
This doctrine of the holy Trinity
has always been maintained in the true church,
from the time of the apostles until the present,
against Jews, Muslims,
and certain false Christians and heretics,
such as Marcion, Mani,
Praxeas, Sabellius, Paul of Samosata, Arius,
and others like them,
who were rightly condemned by the holy fathers.
And so,
in this matter we willingly accept
the three ecumenical creeds—
the Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian—
as well as what the ancient fathers decided
in agreement with them.
6Gen. 1:26-27
7Gen. 3:22
8Matt. 3:17
9Matt. 28:19
10Luke 1:35
112 Cor. 13:14
121 John 5:7—following the better Greek texts, the NRSV and other modern translations place this verse in a footnote
Article 10 – The Deity of Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ, according to his divine nature, is the only Son of God—
eternally begotten, not made or created, for then he would be a creature.
He is one in essence with the Father; coeternal; the exact image of the person of the Father and the “reflection of God’s glory,”13 being like the Father in all things.
Jesus Christ is the Son of God not only from the time he assumed our nature but from all eternity, as the following testimonies teach us when they are taken together.
Moses says that God created the world;14 and John says that all things were created through the Word,15 which he calls God.
The apostle says that God created the world through the Son.16 He also says that God created all things through Jesus Christ.17
And so it must follow that the one who is called God, the Word, the Son, and Jesus Christ already existed before creating all things. Therefore the prophet Micah says
that Christ’s origin is “from ancient days.”18 And the apostle says that the Son has “neither beginning of days nor end of life.”19
So then, he is the true eternal God, the Almighty, whom we invoke, worship, and serve.
13Col. 1:15; Heb. 1:3
14Gen. 1:1
15John 1:3
16Heb. 1:2
17Col. 1:16
18Mic. 5:2
19Heb. 7:3
Article 11 – The Deity of the Holy Spirit
We believe and confess also that the Holy Spirit proceeds eternally from the Father and the Son—
neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but only proceeding from the two of them.
In regard to order, the Spirit is the third person of the Trinity—
of one and the same essence, and majesty, and glory, with the Father and the Son, being true and eternal God,
as the Holy Scriptures teach us.