Fathers

Two Dissertations · §28

Cap. 3 Obj. 17 (ultima) and Cap. 3 close: Places naming the elect do not cancel the race-wide covenant

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Obj. 17. The last objection is drawn from those places in which Christ’s death is expressly referred to certain particular persons: from which they infer that it does not look to others. The places on which they rely are these: (Matthew 1:21): You shall call his name Jesus: for he himself will save his people from their sins. (John 10:15): I lay down my life for my sheep. (John 11:51–52): Jesus dies, that he might gather into one the children of God who were scattered, and the like.

Sol. From the aforesaid testimonies and others like them it is well concluded that Christ’s death, by the will of God sending the Son and of the Son offering himself, pertains in a certain special manner to that peculiar people known to God alone, that is, to the elect. But that special manner is of this kind: not that he is said to have died for these alone, but that he died for these alone with a certain, eternal, gratuitous purpose of saving them infallibly, through the grace of special mercy flowing from a certain special providence which we call Predestination. But from testimonies of that kind which refer Christ’s death to certain persons, not considered simply, but complicated with the decree of secret predestination, it is wrongly inferred that this death in a certain general manner by no means pertains to all human beings. But this general manner is of such a kind that we acknowledge Christ to have died for the whole human race with the Evangelical covenant, and that most firm one, concerning the expiating of sins and the conferring of eternal life on all and each human beings provided they embrace this Redeemer of the world with true faith. And hence it is that although in the sacred Scriptures some places occur in which Christ is said to have died for the elect or for his peculiar people, yet none occur in which he is denied to have died for any human beings, and very many in which he is affirmed to have died for all. For the Spirit of God willed to intimate to the faithful themselves the special privilege of the elect in Christ’s death, yet he did not will to overwhelm in silence the common right of the human race in that same death of Christ. It is ours therefore to leave to God the decree of his hidden predestination, according to which he has established how far and to whom he wills to apply this death of Christ efficaciously through the gift of special grace; and meanwhile with grateful minds to acknowledge the sum of the revealed Gospel, which proclaims One dead for all, that whoever believes in him should have eternal life. In this sense Ambrose: Although Christ suffered for all, yet he suffered specially for us, because he suffered for the Church (On Luke, book 6, chapter 7). And thus far we have given you our first thesis explained, confirmed, and vindicated from contrary objections. We have lingered longer in treating it, because (as was said) it contains the Caput of the matter, and opens the way to unraveling the rest, in discussing which we shall be much briefer. Let us therefore come to the second thesis.

Latin

Obj. 17. Ultima objectio petitur ex eis locis in quibus mors Christi expresse refertur ad certas quasdam personas: ex quibus inferunt, Ad alias non spectare. Loca quibus nituntur haec sunt, Matth. i. 21. Vocabis nomen ejus Jesum: Ipse enim servabit populum suum a peccatis suis. Johan. x. 15. Ego pono animam meam pro ovibus meis. Johan. xi. 51, 52. Jesus moritur, ut filios Dei dispersos cogeret in unum, et consimilia. Sol. Ex praedictis testimoniis aliisque consimilibus bene concluditur mortem Christi, ex voluntate Dei Filium mittentis, et Filii seipsum offerentis, speciali quodam modo ad populum illum peculiarem Deo soli notum, id est, ad electos, pertinere. Specialis autem ille modus est hujusmodi, ut non pro hisce solis mortuus dicatur, sed pro hisce solis mortuus cum proposito certo, aeterno, gratuito eosdem infallibiliter salvandi, per specialis misericordiae gratiam a speciali quadam providentia, quam Praedestinationem appellamus, dimanantem. Ex testimoniis autem ejusmodi quae mortem Christi referunt ad certas personas, non simpliciter consideratam, sed cum arcanae praedestinationis decreto complicatam, male infertur hanc mortem generali quodam modo ad omnes homines minime pertinere. Generalis autem hic modus est ejusmodi, ut pro toto humano genere agnoscamus Christum fuisse mortuum cum pacto Evangelico, eodemque firmissimo de expiandis peccatis et vita aeterna conferenda omnibus et singulis hominibus modo hunc mundi Redemptorem vera fide amplectantur. Atque hinc est quod licet in sacris Scripturis occurrant loca nonnulla in quibus Christus pro electis sive pro populo suo peculiari mortuus dicatur, nulla tamen occurrunt in quibus pro ullis hominibus mortuus negetur, plurima in quibus pro omnibus mortuus afferatur. Voluit nempe Spiritus Dei speciale privilegium electorum in morte Christi ipsis fidelibus insinuare, noluit tamen commune jus humani generis in eadem Christi morte silentio obruere. Nostrum est igitur relinquere Deo occultae suae praedestinationis decretum, juxta quod statuit quousque et quibus vult hanc mortem Christi per specialis gratiae donationem efficaciter applicare; atque interim gratis animis agnoscere revelati Evangelii summam, quod promulgat Unum pro omnibus mortuum, ut quisquis credat in eum, habeat vitam aeternam. In hanc sententiam Ambrosius, Etsi Christus pro omnibus passus est, specialiter tamen pro nobis passus est, quia pro Ecclesia passus est, In Luc. lib. 6. cap. 7. Atque hactenus primam nostram thesin explicatam vobis dedimus, confirmatam, et a contrariis objectionibus vindicatam. Haesimus diutius in ejus tractatione, quia (ut dictum est) Caput rei continet, et viam aperit ad reliquas enodandas, in quibus disceptandis erimus multo breviores. Ad secundam igitur thesin deveniamus.

About this text

John Davenant — Dissertationes duae from the 1650 Cambridge Latin. Honest partial through De praedestinatione Cap. 1 subject tip; Cap. 1 mid-Thesis and remainder remain; De praedestinatione Cap. 1 Prolegomena IV distinguishing conditions tip; De praedestinatione Cap. II Variae (Pelagian opening) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. II Scholastici / Vasquez Arg. 1 tip; De praedestinatione Cap. II Arg. 2 praescientia tip; De praedestinatione Cap. II Arg. 3 (1 Cor. 2:9) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. II Arg. 4 (2 Tim. 2:21) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. II Arg. 5 (1 Tim. 2:4) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. II Arg. 6 (James 2:5) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. II Arg. 7 (Apoc. 3:11) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 1 (common inefficacious will) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 2 (Vasquez physical vs moral media) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 3 (king/prize / victory foresight) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 4 (optimum modus / crown of justice) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 5 (acceptor personarum) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 6 (misericordia/congruitas) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 7 (equal disposition) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 8 (few saved / major part) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 9 (Stephen / glory from others' sins) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 10 (mere beneplacitum / Predestinati) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III reprobation ratio (foresight of sin) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 12 (efficacious election / free choice) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 13 (hortation/prayer) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 14 (decree/execution conformity) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. IV Arminianorum open tip; De praedestinatione Cap. IV Arg. 1 Sol tip; De praedestinatione Cap. IV Arg. 7 (τρόπος; Rom. 9:22) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. IV Arg. 8 (ordo exsecutionis) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. IV Arg. 9 (Christus fundamentum) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. V Obj. 1 (amor ad salutem) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. V Obj. 2 (actualis vitae datio) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. V Obj. 3 (qualis existens) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. V Obj. 4 (justitiae satisfactio) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. V Obj. 5 (natura vitae aeternae) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. V Obj. 6 (Christus a decreto) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. V Obj. 7 (Evangelium invertitur) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. V Obj. 8 (arcana/revelata) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI (Orthodoxa sententia) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 2 (gratia specialis) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 3 (Scripturae) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 4 (vocatio) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 5 (adjutorium) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 7 (inconveniens) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 8 (perseverantia) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 9 (unica ratio) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 10 (abyssus) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 11 (efficacia) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 12 (segregativum) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 13 (pura gratia) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VII open (reprobatio) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VII Junius trifariam tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VIII open (adversariorum) tip; Cap. VIII peccata-causa tip; Cap. VIII fewer-reprobates tip; Cap. VIII Argentina tip; Cap. VIII dives-misericordia tip; Cap. VIII Corvinus tip into Cap. IX; Cap. IX Ab Adae tip; Cap. IX Ab Adae Christus omnibus+Minor tip; Cap. IX Arg. 3 Sol tip; Cap. IX vocatione Evangelica tip; Cap. IX vocatione Sol cont. tip; Cap. IX Arg. 6 Sol cont. tip.

English follows locked 1650 Cambridge Latin of De morte Christi Cap. 1-6 opening (origin + Thesis 1 + Cap. 2 Rat. 1-ultima + Cap. 3 Satisfit through Obj. 17 + Cap. 4 Thesis 2 tip through Mem. 1 close + Cap. 4 Mem. 2 through Mem. 3 tip + Cap. 4 Mem. 3 possible-faith through Thesis 2 close + Cap. 5 Thesis 3 tip through Mem. 2 Scripture close + Cap. 5 Mem. 2 Rat. 1-4 + Cap. 5 Mem. 2 Fathers tip + Cap. 5 Mem. 2 Huberiana objections tip through Obj. 3 Solut close + Cap. 5 Mem. 2 elect-from-eternity objections tip through Obj. 3 Solut close + Cap. 5 Mem. 2 Scripture elect objections tip through Cap. 5 thesis close + Cap. 6 opening tip through Arg. 1 close before Arg. 2), reconstructed from the Internet Archive PDF (pdftotext + tesseract) of the Roger Daniel folio with DjVu OCR check. The 1683 reprint was not used as copy-text. No modern English was copied.

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