Today’s Reading Reflection has been written by Rachel Gernhardt, another active member of the Lutheran Twitter community (@respublicarach), where she is both entertaining and engaging. Today, she weaves the thread of “mystery” through the articles that were covered this week by the Epitome of the Formula of Concord.
Articles VIII through XI offer us deep insight into the plan of salvation, laying forth the truths of who Christ is, what He has done, and how His Church operates on Earth. Article VIII, On the Person of Christ, is the particular gem of this selection, not only unfolding the nature of Christ Himself but further expounding upon the sweet comfort and verity of the Gospel. The broad strokes of Article VIII, namely a mystery of the faith, flow into Article IX, The Descent of Christ to Hell, because the means by which we understand both the two natures in Christ and the miraculous work of God in His descent into Hell are through faith, not by our reason or our strength. A mystery of the faith is an act or feature of God that is true, holy, pure, and right, given for our benefit, yet neither fully explained nor comprehended in its entirety. Such mysteries require simple faith to lay hold and trust that God is and does what He says He does.
The theme of mystery takes a brief pause and turns in Article X, Church Practices: Which are called Adiaphora or Matters of Indifference, through a discussion of which meet, right, and salutary practices ought to enshrine man’s worship of God and observance of His mysteries (the Sacraments in this context). In Article XI, God’s Eternal Foreknowledge and Election, the theme of mystery is turned on its head in exchange for a more explicit revelation of God’s plan of salvation for His people.
Throughout these articles, the juxtaposition of God’s sacred mysteries and His revelation of Himself offers copious points of reflection for those who hear and believe.
Article VIII. On the Person of Christ
This article The Person of Christ is not only an affirmation of Christ’s two natures but a rich reminder of the heritage of doctrine delineated and passed down through the historic, orthodox church, further shedding light on the way and verity of Christ atoning for all our sins. The Affirmative Statements express the doctrine of the hypostatic union, which plainly confesses a sacred mystery of the Christian faith, namely that Christ is fully God and also fully man. The sheer beauty of this teaching is that it is a true mystery, for we humans cannot comprehend how one Person is fully God and fully man but simply must believe that Christ is who the Scriptures proclaim He is and that His two natures are united personally. This portion of the Athanasian Creed perfectly encapsulates the teaching:
Although He is God and man, He is not two, but one Christ:
one, however, not by the conversion of the divinity into flesh but by the assumption of the humanity into God;
one altogether not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person.
This confession is essential for our faith. It is also quite humbling, for we must accept our human limitations of understanding. How can one person be both an Immortal Deity and a mortal at the same time? We cannot explain how Christ is both God and man no more than we can rightly explain how the body and blood of our Lord are present in, with, and under the elements of bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper. These teachings require our submission to the Word of Scripture with childlike faith. While the inquisitive part of our nature—or at least my own—hungers for more understanding, our souls can find peace in knowing that because Christ is both God and man, He was able to deliver the promises that God had given to His people throughout the ages. Christ was perfect, yet also human, and thus capable of atoning for the sins of the world because he was a spotless sacrifice.
Article IX. The Descent of Christ to Hell
Continuing with Christ’s atonement, His descent into hell is another mystery of the faith, for we do not understand the how of Christ’s harrowing of Hell, but we know what He did during that time. The Epitome declares, “We will save our questions (and not curiously investigate) about how this happened until the other world. Then not only this mystery, but others also will be revealed that we simply believe here and cannot grasp with our blind reason,” (paragraph 4). Again, our inquisitive human nature can easily be led astray with wanting to know the specific details of how, when, or in what way Christ dealt with those in Hell, but those facets of His descent are beside the point. The essential truth we Christians must know is that Christ has defeated sin, death, and the Devil. The attempt to speculate too far distracts from what we Christians should dwell on: the verity of Christ’s atonement for His people.
Article X. Church Practices
Stemming from the theology of Christ’s natures and the Atonement, the Church proclaims the Gospel and rightly administers the Sacraments, often incorporating various practices that developed throughout Christian history. While church practices are not in and of themselves mysteries—for they are not divinely instituted for the forgiveness of sins—church practices are human traditions that surround the sacred mysteries of the faith, reflecting the solemnity of the faith through preservation, repetition, and due reverence. These practices enshrine holy acts, namely the worship of God, the proclamation of His Word, and the celebration of the Sacraments (all 3 of which are divinely commanded to be kept by the Church), in the proper context for the proper participation and reception of the people of God. While these traditions need not be uniform in all churches, the truths of the faith clearly proclaimed in Scripture and beheld in the sacred mysteries (Sacraments) ought to be universally retained for the good of all Christians. The heart behind retaining historic practices should not merely be for historicity’s sake but rather for the sake of affirming who God is and what He has done for all mankind.
Article XI. God’s Eternal Foreknowledge and Election
In contrast to Articles VIII-X, Article XI, on God’s Eternal Foreknowledge and Election, departs from mystery and pivots into a more revealed element of the Christian faith, yet it does not entirely depart from its predecessors since this article focuses on the nature of God and the Atonement. Although not all the details of the inner workings of salvation are not explained in this article, the clear and simple truth that God wills that all may be saved is simply and unequivocally declared and defended. The benefits of this outright clarity of God’s plan of salvation for the people He has created should not besmirch the goodness of the mysteries of faith but should offer us something simple and comforting that can strengthen and nourish our faith in Christ. The Gospel is for all people, and there should be no question about that.
Conclusion
Articles XIII through XI span a variety of topics yet still remained unified in their end: to better expound upon the nature of God and His plan of salvation for His people. The delicate balance throughout the selection lies in the heavy theme of sacred mysteries which must be believed by faith with the counterbalance of the simplicity and clarity of the Gospel. We humans may strive to understand the mysteries of faith, but we will always fail without hearing the clear, forthright truths God has laid out for us in Scripture. We ought not to be discouraged from contemplation of the two natures in Christ, of the real presence in the Lord’s Supper, of Christ’s descent into Hell, or of the Atonement, yet we should find our guide and limits within the realm of the truths of the Gospel. The Gospel is clear and simple, not to keep us humans low, but to comfort and restore our souls to the paths of righteousness. The mysteries are given to us as mysteries, not as complex philosophical structures, so that we may best be directed to righteousness through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, primarily through receiving the gifts of those mysteries rather than merely intellectually understanding them. In their own way, the mysteries are a simple gift, the gift of the Gospel, given for you.
Rachel Gernhardt is a Lutheran convert from conservative, Trinitarian Pentecostal theology. She converted to the LCMS 5 years ago at the age of 18. She attended a Roman Catholic institution, the University of Dallas, to pursue a Bachelors of Arts in Classics (classical languages) and Politics (political philosophy). At her time there, she also gained an appreciation for theology and dialogue throughout her own conversion and interpersonal experiences. Rachel currently teaches Latin I to middle school and high school students and occasionally teaches herself German. She also enjoys singing, translating theological texts, attending church, talking to people, and eating.