Chapter 8 - Christ the Mediator

6. The price of redemption was not actually paid by Christ till after his
incarnation. Yet the virtue, efficacy, and benefit of it was imparted to the elect in
every age since the beginning of the world, in and by those promises, types, and
sacrifices that revealed him and pointed to him as the seed that would bruise the
serpent’s head34 and the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.35 He is the
same yesterday and today and forever.36
34 1 Corinthians 4:10; Hebrews 4:2; 1 Peter 1:10, 11.
35 Revelation 13:8.
36 Hebrews 13:8

7. In his work of mediation, Christ acts according to both natures, by each nature
doing what is appropriate to itself. Even so, because of the unity of the person,
that which is appropriate to one nature is sometimes in Scripture attributed to
the person under the designation of the other nature.3719
37John 3:13; Acts 20:28.

8. To all those for whom Christ has obtained eternal redemption, he certainly and
effectually applies and imparts it. He intercedes for them,38 unites them to
himself by his Spirit, and reveals to them in and by his Word the mystery of
salvation. He persuades them to believe and obey39 and governs their hearts by
his Word and Spirit.40 He overcomes all their enemies by his almighty power and
wisdom,41 using methods and ways that are perfectly consistent with his
wonderful and unsearchable governance. All these things are by free and
absolute grace, apart from any condition for obtaining it that is foreseen in
them.42
38 John 6:37; John 10:15, 16; John 17:9; Romans 5:10.
John 5:20.
40 Romans 8:9, 14.
39 John 17:6; Ephesians 1:9; 1
41 Psalms 110:1; 1 Corinthians 15:25, 26.
42 John 3:8; Ephesians 1:8.

9. This office of mediator between God and humanity is appropriate for Christ
alone, who is the prophet, priest, and king of the church of God. This office may
not be transferred from him to anyone else, either in whole or in part.43
43 1 Timothy 2:5.

10. The number and character of these offices is essential. Because we are
ignorant, we need his prophetic office.44 Because we are alienated from God and
imperfect in the best of our service, we need his priestly office to reconcile us
and present us to God as acceptable.45 Because we are hostile and utterly
unable to return to God, and so that we can be rescued and made secure from
our spiritual enemies, we need his kingly office to convince, subdue, draw,
sustain, deliver, and preserve us for his heavenly kingdom.46
44 John 1:18.
45 Colossians 1:21; Galatians 5:17.
46 John 16:8; Psalms 110:3;
 Luke 1:74, 75.

Chapter 8 - Christ the Mediator

1. God was pleased, in his eternal purpose, to choose and ordain the Lord Jesus, his only begotten Son, according to the covenant made between them, to be the mediator between God and humanity.1  God chose him to be prophet,2 priest,3 and king,4 and to be head and savior of the church,5 the heir of all things,6 and judge of the world.7  From all eternity, God gave to the Son a people to be his offspring. In time these people would be redeemed, called, justified, sanctified, and glorified by him.8
1 Isaiah 42:1; 1 Peter 1:19, 20.
2 Acts 3:22.
3 Hebrews 5:5, 6.
4 Psalms 2:6; Luke 1:33.
5 Ephesians 1:22, 23.
6 Hebrews 1:2.
7 Acts 17:31.
8 Isaiah 53:10; John 17:6; Romans 8:30.
 
2. The Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity, is truly and eternally God. He is the brightness of the Father’s glory, the same in substance and equal with him. He made the world and sustains and governs everything he has made. When the fullness of time came, he took upon himself human nature, with all the essential properties and common weaknesses of it9 but without sin.10  He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary. The Holy Spirit came down upon her, and the power of the Most High overshadowed her. Thus, he was born of a woman from the tribe of Judah, a descendant of Abraham and David in fulfillment of the Scriptures.11  Two whole, perfect, and distinct natures were inseparably joined together in one person, without converting one into the other or mixing them together to produce a different or blended nature. This person is truly God and truly man, yet one Christ, the only mediator between God and humanity.12
9 John 1:14; Galatians 4:4.
10 Romans 8:3; Hebrews 2:14, 16, 17; Hebrews 4:15.
11 Matthew 1:22, 23; Luke 1:27, 31, 35.
12 Romans 9:5; 1 Timothy 2:5.
 
3. The Lord Jesus, in his human nature united in this way to the divine in the person of the Son, was sanctified and anointed with the Holy Spirit beyond measure.13  He had in himself all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.14  The Father was pleased to make all fullness dwell in him15 so that—being holy, harmless, undefiled,16 and full of grace and truth17—he was thoroughly qualified to carry out the office of mediator and guarantor.18  He did not take this office upon himself but was called to it by his Father,19 who put all power and judgment in his hand and commanded him to carry them out.20
13 Psalms 45:7; Acts 10:38; John 3:34.
14 Colossians 2:3.
15 Colossians 1:19.
16 Hebrews 7:26.
17 John 1:14.
18 Hebrews 7:22.
19 Hebrews 5:5.
20 John 5:22, 27; Matthew 28:18; Acts 2:36.
 
4. The Lord Jesus most willingly undertook this office.21  To discharge it, he was born under the law22 and perfectly fulfilled it. He also experienced the punishment that we deserved and that we should have endured and suffered.23  He was made sin and a curse for us.24  He  endured extremely heavy sorrows in his soul and extremely painful sufferings in his body.25  He was crucified and died and remained in a state of death, yet his body did not decay.26  On the third day he arose from the dead27 with the same body in which he suffered.28  In this body he also ascended into heaven,29 where he sits at the right hand of his Father, interceding.30  He will return to judge men and angels at the end of the age.31
21 Psalms 40:7, 8; Hebrews 10:5–10; John 10:18.
22 Gal 4:4; Matthew 3:15.
23 Galatians 3:13; Isaiah 53:6; 1 Peter 3:18.
24 2 Corinthians 5:21.
25 Matthew 26:37, 38; Luke 22:44; Matthew 27:46.
26 Acts 13:37.
27 1 Corinthians 15:3, 4.
28 John 20:25, 27.
29 Mark 16:19; Acts 1:9–11.
30 Romans 8:34; Hebrews 9:24.
31 Acts 10:42; Romans 14:9, 10; Acts 1:11; 2 Peter 2:4.
 
5. The Lord Jesus has fully satisfied the justice of God, obtained reconciliation, and purchased an everlasting inheritance in the kingdom of heaven for all those given to him by the Father.32  He has accomplished these things by his perfect obedience and sacrifice of himself, which he once for all offered up to God through the eternal Spirit.33
32 John 17:2; Hebrews 9:15.
33 Hebrews 9:14; Hebrews 10:14; Romans 3:25, 26.

Chapter 7 - God's Covenant

1. Though rational creatures are responsible to obey God as their Creator, the distance between God and these creatures is so great that they could never have attained the reward of life except by God’s voluntary condescension. He has been pleased to express this through a covenant framework.1
1 Luke 17:10; Job 35:7, 8.

2. Since humanity brought itself under the curse of the law by its fall, it pleased the Lord to make a covenant of grace.2 In this covenant he freely offers to sinners life and salvation through Jesus Christ. On their part he requires faith in him, that they may be saved,3 and promises to give his Holy Spirit to all who are ordained to eternal life, to make them willing and able to believe.4
2 Genesis 2:17; Galatians 3:10; Romans 3:20, 21.
3 Romans 8:3; Mark 16:15, 16; John 3:16.
 4 Ezekiel 36:26, 27; John 6:44, 45; Psalms 110:3.

3. This covenant is revealed in the gospel. It was revealed first of all to Adam in the promise of salvation through the seed of the woman.5 After that, it was revealed step by step until the full revelation of it was completed in the New Testament.6 This covenant is based on the eternal covenant transaction between the Father and the Son concerning the redemption of the elect.7 Only through the grace of this covenant have those saved from among the descendants of fallen Adam obtained life and blessed immortality. Humanity is now utterly incapable of being accepted by God on the same terms on which Adam was accepted in his state of innocence.8
5 Genesis 3:15.
6 Hebrews 1:1.
7 2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 1:2;
8 Hebrews 11:6, 13; Romans 4:1, 2ff.; Acts 4:12; John 8:56.

Chapter 6 Paragraphs 4-5

Chapter 6 - The Fall of Mankind, and Sin and Its Punishment

4. All actual transgressions arise from this first corruption.11 By it we are thoroughly biased against, and disabled and antagonistic toward all that is good, and we are completely inclined toward all that is evil.12
11 James 1:14, 15; Matthew 15:19.
12 Romans 8:7; Colossians 1:21.

5. During this life, this corruption of nature remains in those who are regenerated.13 Even though it is pardoned and put to death through Christ, yet both this corruption of nature and all actions arising from it are truly and actually sin.14
13 Romans 7:18,23; Ecclesiastes 7:20; 1 John 1:8.
14 Romans 7:23–25; Galatians 5:17.

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Chapter 6 - The Fall of Mankind, and Sin and Its Punishment

1. God created humanity upright and perfect. He gave them a righteous law that would have led to life if they had kept it but threatened death if they broke it.1 Yet they did not remain for long in this position of honor. Satan used the craftiness of the serpent to seduce Eve, who then seduced Adam. Adam acted without any outside compulsion and deliberately transgressed the law of their creation and the command given to them by eating the forbidden fruit.2 God was pleased, in keeping with his wise and holy counsel, to permit this act, because he had purposed to direct it for his own glory.
1. Genesis 2:16, 17.
2. Genesis 3:12, 13; 2 Corinthians 11:3.

2. By this sin our first parents fell from their original righteousness and communion with God. We fell in them, and through this, death came upon all.3 All became dead in sin4 and completely defiled in all the capabilities and parts of soul and body.5
3. Romans 3:23.
4. Romans 5:12.
5. Titus 1:15; Genesis 6:5; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:10–19.

3. By God’s appointment, they were the root and the representatives of the whole human race. Because of this, the guilt of their sin was accounted, and their corrupt nature passed on, to all their offspring who descended from them by ordinary procreation.6 Their descendants are now conceived in sin7 and are by nature children of wrath,8 the servants of sin, and partakers of death9 and all other miseries—spiritual, temporal, and eternal—unless the Lord Jesus sets them free.10
6. Romans 5:12–19; 1 Corinthians 15:21, 22, 45, 49.
 7. Psalms 51:5; Job 14:4.
8. Ephesians 2:3.
9. Romans 6:20; 5:12.
10. Hebrews 2:14, 15; 1 Thessalonians 1:10.

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Chapter 5 - Divine Providence

4. The almighty power, unsearchable wisdom, and infinite goodness of God are so thoroughly demonstrated in his providence, that his sovereign plan includes even the first fall and every other sinful action both of angels and humans.11 God’s providence over sinful actions does not occur by simple permission. Instead, God most wisely and powerfully limits and in other ways arranges and governs sinful actions.12 Through a complex arrangement of methods he governs sinful actions to accomplish his perfectly holy purposes.13 Yet he does this in such a way that the sinfulness of their acts arises only from the creatures and not from God. Because God is altogether holy and righteous, he can neither originate nor approve of sin.14

11. Romans 11:32–34; 2 Samuel 24:1, 1 Chronicles 21:1.
12. 2 Kings 19:28; Psalms 76:10.
13. Genesis 50:20; Isaiah 10:6, 7, 12.
14. Psalms 50:21; 1 John 2:16.
                       
5. The perfectly wise, righteous, and gracious God often allows his own children for a time to experience a variety of temptations and the sinfulness of their own hearts. He does this to chastise them for their former sins or to make them aware of the hidden strength of the corruption and deceitfulness of their hearts so that they may be humbled. He also does this to lead them to a closer and more constant dependence on him to sustain them, to make them more cautious about all future circumstances that may lead to sin, and for other just and holy purposes.15 So whatever happens to any of his elect happens by his appointment, for his glory, and for their good.16

15. 2 Chronicles 32:25, 26, 31; 2 Corinthians 12:7–9.
16. Romans 8:28.

6. God, as the righteous judge, sometimes blinds and hardens wicked and ungodly people because of their sins.17 He withholds his grace from them, by which they could have been enlightened in their understanding and had their hearts renewed.18 Not only that, but sometimes he also takes away the gifts they already had19 and exposes them to situations that their corrupt natures turn into opportunities for sin.20 Moreover, he gives them over to their own lusts, the temptations of the world, and the power of Satan,21 so that they harden themselves in response to the same influences that God uses to soften others.22

17. Romans 1:24–26, 28; Romans 11:7, 8.
18. Deuteronomy 29:4.
19. Matthew 13:12.
20. Deuteronomy 2:30; 2 Kings 8:12, 13.
21. Psalms 81:11, 12; 2 Thessalonians 2:10–12.
22. Exodus 8:15, 32; Isaiah 6:9, 10; 1 Peter 2:7, 8.

7. The providence of God in a general way includes all creatures, but in a special way it takes care of his church and arranges all things to its good.23
23 1 Timothy 4:10; Amos 9:8, 9; Isaiah 43:3–5.

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Chapter 5 - Divine Providence

1. God the good Creator of all things, in his infinite power and wisdom, upholds, directs, arranges, and governs all creatures and things,1 from the greatest to the least,2 by his perfectly wise and holy providence, to the purpose for which they were created. He governs according to his infallible foreknowledge and the free and unchangeable counsel of his own will. His providence leads to the praise of the glory of his wisdom, power, justice, infinite goodness, and mercy.3

1 Hebrews 1:3; Job 38:11; Isaiah 46:10, 11; Psalms 135:6. 2 Matthew 10:29– 31. 3 Ephesians 1:11.

2. All things come to pass unchangeably and certainly in relation to the foreknowledge and decree of God,4 who is the first cause. Thus, nothing happens to anyone by chance or outside of God’s providence.5 Yet by the same providence God arranges all things to occur according to the nature of second causes, either necessarily, freely, or in response to other causes.6

4 Acts 2:23. 5 Proverbs 16:33. 6 Genesis 8:22.

3. In his ordinary providence, God makes use of means,7 though he is free to
work apart from them,8 beyond them,9 and contrary to them10 at his pleasure.
7 Acts 27:31, 44; Isaiah 55:10, 11. 8 Hosea 1:7. 9 Romans 4:19–21. 10 Daniel 3:27.

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Chapter 4 - Creation
1. In the beginning God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit1 was pleased to create or make the world and all things in it, both visible and invisible, in a six-day period, and all very good.2 He did this to manifest the glory of his eternal power, wisdom, and goodness.3
1 John 1:2, 3; Hebrews 1:2; Job 26:13. 2 Colossians 1:16; Genesis 1:31. 3 Romans 1:20.

2. After God had made all the other creatures, he created humanity. He made them male and female,4 with rational and immortal souls,5 thereby making them suited to that life lived unto God for which they were created. They were made in the image of God, being endowed with knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness.6 They had the law of God written in their hearts7 and the power to fulfill it. Even so, they could still transgress the law, because they were left to the liberty of their own will, which was subject to change.8
4 Genesis 1:27. 5 Genesis 2:7. 6 Ecclesiastes 7:29; Genesis 1:26. 7 Romans 2:14, 15. 8 Genesis 3:6.

3. In addition to the law written in their hearts, they received a command not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.9 As long as they obeyed this command, they were happy in their communion with God and had dominion over the creatures.10
9 Genesis 2:17; 10 Genesis 1:26, 28.

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4. These predestined and foreordained angels and people are individually and unchangeably designated, and their number is so certain and definite that it cannot be either increased or decreased.10

10 2 Timothy 2:19; John 13:18.

5. Those people who are predestined to life were chosen by God before the foundation of the world, according to his eternal and unchangeable purpose and the secret counsel and good pleasure of his will. He chose them in Christ for eternal glory, purely as a result of his free grace and love,11 without anything else about them serving as a condition or cause moving him to do so.12

11 Ephesians 1:4, 9, 11; Romans 8:30; 2 Timothy 1:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:9. 12 Romans 9:13, 16; Ephesians 2:5, 12.

6. Just as God has appointed the elect to glory, so he has by the eternal and completely free purpose of his will foreordained all the means.13 Therefore, those who are elected, being fallen in Adam, are redeemed by Christ14 and effectually called to faith in Christ by his Spirit working at the appropriate time. They are justified, adopted, sanctified,15 and kept by his power through faith to salvation.16 No one but the elect are redeemed by Christ, or effectually called, justified, adopted, sanctified, and saved.17

13 1 Peter 1:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:13. 14 1 Thessalonians 5:9, 10. 15 Romans 8:30; 2 Thessalonians 2:13. 16 1 Peter 1:5. 17 John 10:26; 17:9; 6:64.
                     
7. The doctrine of the high mystery of predestination is to be handled with special prudence and care so that those heeding the will of God revealed in his Word and obeying him may be assured of their eternal election by the certainty of their effectual calling.18 In this way this doctrine will give reasons for
praise,19 reverence, and admiration of God, as well as humility,20 diligence and rich comfort to all who sincerely obey the gospel.21

18 1 Thessalonians 1:4, 5; 2 Peter 1:10. 19 Ephesians 1:6; Romans 11:33. 20 Romans 11:5, 6, 20. 21 Luke 10:20.

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Chapter 3 - God's Decree
1. From all eternity God decreed everything that occurs, without reference to anything outside himself.1  He did this by the perfectly wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely and unchangeably. Yet God did this in such a way that he is neither the author of sin nor has fellowship with any in their sin.2  This decree does not violate the will of the creature or take away the free working or contingency of second causes. On the contrary, these are established by God’s decree.3  In this decree God’s wisdom is displayed in directing all things, and his power and faithfulness are demonstrated in accomplishing his decree.4
1 Isaiah 46:10; Ephesians 1:11; Hebrews 6:17; Romans 9:15, 18. 2 James 1:13; 1 John 1:5. 3 Acts 4:27, 28; John 19:11. 4 Numbers 23:19; Ephesians 1:3–5.
 
2. God knows everything that could happen under any given conditions.5  However, his decree of anything is not based on foreseeing it in the future or foreseeing that it would occur under such conditions.6
5 Acts 15:18. 6 Romans 9:11, 13, 16, 18.

3. By God’s decree, and for the demonstration of his glory, some human beings and angels are predestined (or foreordained) to eternal life through Jesus Christ,7 to the praise of his glorious grace.8  Others are left to live in their sin, leading to their just condemnation, to the praise of his glorious justice.9
7 1 Timothy 5:21; Matthew 25:34. 8 Ephesians 1:5, 6. 9 Romans 9:22, 23; Jude 4.

Chapter 2 Paragraphs 1-3

Chapter 2 - God and the Holy Trinity
1. The Lord our God is one, the only living and true God.1  He is self-existent2 and infinite in being and perfection. His essence cannot be understood by anyone but him.3  He is a perfectly pure spirit.4  He is invisible and has no body, parts, or changeable emotions.a He alone has immortality, dwelling in light that no one can approach.5  He is unchangeable,6 immense,b,7eternal,8 incomprehensible, almighty,9 in every way infinite, absolutely holy,10 perfectly wise, wholly free, completely absolute. He works all things according to the counsel of his own unchangeable and completely righteous will11 for his own glory.12  He is most loving, gracious, merciful, and patient. He overflows with goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. He rewards those who seek him diligently.13  At the same time, he is perfectly just and terrifying in his judgments.14  He hates all sin15 and will certainly not clear the guilty.16

1 1 Corinthians 8:4, 6; Deuteronomy 6:4. 2 Jeremiah 10:10; Isaiah 48:12. 3 Exodus 3:14. 4John 4:24. 5 1 Timothy 1:17; Deuteronomy 4:15, 16. 6 Malachi 3:6. 7 1 Kings 8:27; Jeremiah 23:23. 8 Psalm 90:2. 9 Genesis 17:1. 10 Isaiah 6:3. 11 Psalm 115:3; Isaiah 46:10. 12 Proverbs 16:4; Romans 11:36. 13 Exodus 34:6, 7; Hebrews 11:6. 14 Nehemiah 9:32, 33. 15 Psalm 5:5, 6. 16 Exodus 34:7; Nahum 1:2, 3.

2. God has all life,17 glory,18 goodness,19 and blessedness in and of himself; he alone is all-sufficient in himself. He does not need any creature he has made nor does he derive any glory from them.20  Instead, he demonstrates his own glory in them, by them, to them, and upon them. He alone is the source of all being, and everything is from him, through him, and to him.21  He has absolute sovereign rule over all creatures, to act through them, for them, or upon them as he pleases.22  In his sight everything is open and visible.23  His knowledge is infinite and infallible. It does not depend upon any creature, so for him nothing is contingent or uncertain.24  He is absolutely holy in all his plans, in all his works,25 and in all his commands. Angels and human beings owe to him all the worship,26 service, or obedience that creatures owe to the Creator and whatever else he is pleased to require of them.
17 John 5:26. 18 Psalm 148:13. 19 Psalm 119:68. 20 Job 22:2, 3. 21 Romans 11:34–36. 22 Daniel 4:25, 34, 35. 23 Hebrews 4:13. 24 Ezekiel 11:5; Acts 15:18. 25 Psalm 145:17. 26 Revelation 5:12–14.

3. This divine and infinite Being consists of three real persons, the Father, the Word or Son, and the Holy Spirit.27  These three have the same substance, power, and eternity, each having the whole divine essence without this essence being divided.28  The Father is not derived from anyone, neither begotten nor proceeding. The Son is eternally begotten of the Father.29  The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.30  All three are infinite and without beginning and are therefore only one God, who is not to be divided in nature and being. Yet these three are distinguished by several distinctive characteristics and personal relations. This truth of the Trinity is the foundation of all of our fellowship with God and of our comforting dependence on him.
csubsistences, or individual instances of a given essence
27 1 John 5:7; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14. 28 Exodus 3:14; John 14:11; 1 Corinthians 8:6. 29 John 1:14,18. 30 John 15:26; Galatians 4:6.

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7. Some things in Scripture are clearer than others, and some people understand the teachings more clearly than others.12   However, the things that must be known, believed, and obeyed for salvation are so clearly set forth and explained in one part of Scripture or another that both the educated and uneducated may achieve a sufficient understanding of them by properly using ordinary measures.13
122 Peter 3:16. 13Psalm 19:7; Psalm 119:130.

8. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, the native language of the ancient people of God.14  The New Testament was written in Greek, which at the time it was written was most widely known to the nations. These Testaments were inspired directly by God and by his unique care and providence were kept pure down through the ages. They are therefore true and authoritative, so that in all religious controversies, the church must make their ultimate appeal to them.15 All God’s people have a right to and a claim on the Scriptures and are commanded in the fear of God to read16 and search them.17  Not all of God’s people know these original languages, so the Scriptures are to be translated into the common language of every nation to which they come.18  In this way the Word of God may dwell richly in all, so that they may worship him in an acceptable manner and through patience and the comfort of the Scriptures may have hope.19

14Romans 3:2. 15Isaiah 8:20. 16Acts 15:15. 17John 5:39. 181 Corinthians 14:6, 9, 11, 12, 24, 28. 19Colossians 3:16.

9. The infallible rule for interpreting Scripture is the Scripture itself. Therefore, when there is a question about the true and full meaning of any part of Scripture (and each passage has only one meaning, not many), it must be understood in light of other passages that speak more clearly.20

202 Peter 1:20, 21; Acts 15:15, 16.
10. The supreme judge for deciding all religious controversies and for evaluating all decrees of councils, opinions of ancient writers, human teachings, and individual interpretations, and in whose judgment we are to rest, is nothing but the Holy Scripture delivered by the Spirit. In this Scripture our faith finds its final word.21

21Matthew 22:29, 31, 32; Ephesians 2:20; Acts 28:23.

Chapter 1 Paragraph 4-6

4. The authority of the Holy Scriptures obligates belief in them. This authority does not depend on the testimony of any person or church but on God the author alone, who is truth itself. Therefore, the Scriptures are to be received because they are the Word of God.7

7 2 Peter 1:19–21; 2 Timothy 3:16; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 John 5:9.

5. The testimony of the church of God may stir and persuade us to adopt a high and reverent respect for the Holy Scriptures. Moreover, the heavenliness of the contents, the power of the system of truth, the majesty of the style, the harmony of all the parts, the central focus on giving all glory to God, the full revelation of the only way of salvation, and many other incomparable qualities and complete perfections, all provide abundant evidence that the Scriptures are the Word of God. Even so, our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth and divine authority of the Scriptures comes from the internal work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts.8
8 John 16:13,14; 1 Corinthians 2:10–12; 1 John 2:20, 27.

6. The whole counsel of God concerning everything essential for his own glory and man’s salvation, faith, and life is either explicitly stated or by necessary inference contained in the Holy Scriptures. Nothing is ever to be added to the Scriptures, either by new revelation of the Spirit or by human traditions.9

Nevertheless, we acknowledge that the inward illumination of the Spirit of God is necessary for a saving understanding of what is revealed in the Word.10 We recognize that some circumstances concerning the worship of God and government of the church are common to human actions and organizations and are to be ordered by the light of nature and Christian wisdom, following the general rules of the Word, which must always be observed.11

9 2 Timothy 3:15–17; Galatians 1:8,9. 10John 6:45; 1 Corinthians 2:9–12. 
11 1 Corinthians 11:13, 14; 1 Corinthians 14:26, 40.

Chapter 1 Paragraph 1-3

PARAGRAPH 1
The Holy Scripture is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience,1 although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men inexcusable; yet they are not sufficient to give that knowledge of God and His will which is necessary unto salvation.2 Therefore it pleased the Lord at sundry times and in diversified manners to reveal Himself, and to declare (that) His will unto His church;3 and afterward for the better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan, and of the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing; which makes the Holy Scriptures to be most necessary, those former ways of God's revealing His will unto His people being now completed.4

1 2 Tim. 3:15–17; Is. 8:20; Luke 16:29,31; Eph. 2:20
2 Rom. 1:19-21, 2:14–15; Psalm 19:1-3
3 Heb. 1:1
4 Prov. 22:19-21; Rom. 15:4; 2 Pet. 1:19–20

PARAGRAPH 2
Under the name of Holy Scripture, or the Word of God written, are now contained all the books of the Old and New Testaments, which are these:
—
OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
The Song of Solomon
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
—
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
Acts
Romans
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians
1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Titus
Philemon
Hebrews
James
1 Peter
2 Peter
1 John
2 John
3 John
Jude
Revelation
All of which are given by the inspiration of God, to be the rule of faith and life.5

5 2 Tim. 3:16
 —

PARAGRAPH 3
The books commonly called Apocrypha, not being of divine inspiration, are no part of the canon or rule of the Scripture, and, therefore, are of no authority to the church of God, nor to be any otherwise approved or made use of than other human writings.6

6 Luke 24:27,44; Rom. 3:2