The French Confession of 1559
General Assembly Action
Full text of the French Confession of 1559
Full text of the liturgical version of the French Confession of 1559
Shortened liturgical version
Brief introduction to the French Confession
Text of the General Assembly Action regarding The French Confession of 1559
The 209th General Assembly (1997) voted:
that it instruct the General Assembly Mission Council, through its Office of Theology and Worship, to develop means to introduce The French Confession of 1559 throughout the church; that it instruct the Office of Theology and Worship to report annually to the General Assembly regarding its efforts; and that it request the Office of Theology and Worship to recommend to the General Assembly Mission Council that it refer to the 211th General Assembly (1999) that it consider constitutional procedures for including the French Confession of 1559 in The Book of Confessions.
IT WAS VOTED to recommend that the General Assembly Mission Council authorize the Office of Theology and Worship to continue its efforts to introduce the French Confession of 1559 to the church; that the Office of Theology and Worship report annually to the General Assembly regarding its efforts; and that the General Assembly Mission Council refer the matter of adding the Confession to the Book of Confessions to the 214th General Assembly (2002), rather than the 211th General Assembly as previously stated.
Confession of Faith
Fashioned in common accord by the churches dispersed in France [The French Confession, 1559]
I We believe and confess that there is only one God, who is one indivisible essence: spiritual, eternal, invisible, immutable, infinite, incomprehensible, and ineffable. God, who can do all things, is all-wise, all-good, all-just, and all-merciful.
II God reveals himself to humankind. First, God reveals himself through his works, in creation and through its preservation and guidance. Second, and more clearly, God reveals himself through his Word, first revealed through the spoken word, and later committed to writing in the books we call Holy Scripture.
III Holy Scripture is composed of the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments: the five books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy; then Joshua, Judges, Ruth, the first and second books of Samuel, the first and second books of the Kings, the first and second books of the Chronicles (also called Paralipomenon), the first book of Ezra; then Nehemiah, the book of Esther, Job, the Psalms of David, the Proverbs or Maxims of Solomon, the book of Ecclesiastes (called "the Preacher"), the Song of Solomon; then Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi; then the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, according to St. Mark, according to St. Luke, and according to St. John; then the second book of St. Luke, otherwise called the Acts of the Apostles; then the Epistles of St. Paul: one to the Romans, two to the Corinthians, one to the Galatians, one to the Ephesians, one to the Philippians, one to the Colossians, two to the Thessalonians, two to Timothy, one to Titus, one to Philemon; then the Epistle to the Hebrews, the Epistle of St. James, the first and second Epistles of St. Peter, the first, second and third Epistles of St. John, the Epistle of St. Jude; and then the Apocalypse, or Revelation of St. John.
IV We acknowledge these books as canonical, the most certain rule of our faith. Our recognition comes less from the common agreement and consent of the church than through the witness and inner persuasion of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit leads us to distinguish the books of Scripture from other ecclesiastical books that may be useful, but upon which no article of faith can be based.
V We believe that the word contained in the books of Scripture has come from God, receiving its authority from God alone and not from humans. As such, this word is the rule of all truth, containing everything necessary for the service of God and for our salvation. Thus, neither humans nor angels are permitted to add to it, subtract from it, or change it in any way. It follows that no authority may be set above Holy Scripture: not antiquity, or tradition, or majority opinion, or human wisdom; not judgments, or pronouncements, or edicts, or decrees, or councils; not visions or signs. On the contrary, everything must be examined, measured, and reformed according to Scripture. It is because they conform to the Word of God that we confess the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed.
VI Holy Scripture teaches us that in this one indivisible divine essence whom we confess, there are three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father is the first cause, the principle and origin of all things. The Son is God's eternal Word and Wisdom. The Holy Spirit is God's mighty and efficacious power. The Son is eternally begotten from the Father; the Holy Spirit proceeds eternally from both. The three Persons are not confused, but distinct; they are not divided, but of the same essence, eternity, power and equality. Thus, we profess what the ancient councils determined, and we despise all sects and heresies that were rejected by holy doctors such as Hilary, Athanasius, Ambrose, and Cyril.
VII We believe that God, in three co-working Persons, created all things by his incomprehensible power, wisdom, and goodness: heaven, earth, and everything in them, as well as invisible spirits, some of whom have stumbled and fallen into perdition, while others have remained obedient. The former, corrupted in evil, are enemies of all goodness and thus enemies of the whole church. The latter, preserved by the grace of God, are servants who glorify God's name and minister to the salvation of the elect.
VIII We believe that God has created all things, and that God also governs and guides all things, disposing and ordering everything that happens in the world according to his will. Yet God is not the author of evil, nor can blame for evil be attributed to God. Rather, God's will is the sovereign and infallible measure of all justice and equity. Even so, God has marvelous means for making use of devils and evil doers, transforming into good the evil they do and for which they remain guilty. Thus, confessing that nothing happens outside the providence of God, we remain humble before the secrets that are hidden from us, not questioning what is beyond our understanding. Instead, we avail ourselves of what is shown to us in Holy Scripture for our peace and security: that God, who is almighty over all things, watches over us with such parental care that not a hair will fall from our head apart from his will. Thus, God restrains the devils and all our enemies so that they can cause us no injury without God's permission.
IX We believe that humankind was created pure and whole, conformed to the image of God. By its own fault humankind fell from the grace it had received, and thus is alienated from God who is the fountain of justice and all goodness. Human nature is wholly corrupted. Blind in spirit and depraved in heart, humankind has lost all integrity; not a trace remains. Humanity retains some capacity to distinguish between good and evil, but in seeking God even this light is turned to darkness. Therefore people cannot approach God by their own intelligence and reason. The human will may inspire people to a range of actions, but it remains utterly captive to sin, so that humankind has no freedom except that which God gives.
X We believe that Adam's posterity is infected with the contagion of original sin. It is an inherited evil and not just a matter of imitation as the detestable Pelagians erroneously claim. It is not necessary to inquire how sin passes from generation to generation; it is enough to acknowledge that what God gave Adam was not for Adam alone, but for all his posterity. Thus, stripped of all good in Adam we stagger in utter misery and are accursed.
XI We believe that this evil is truly sin, that God regards it as such, and that it is sufficient to condemn the whole human race, including infants newborn from their mothers' wombs. Guilt for sin endures after baptism, even though condemnation for sin is abolished for the children of God by God's goodness, freely bestowed. Furthermore, we affirm that perversity continues to produce fruits of malice and rebellion throughout life, so that even the holiest people who resist sin with all their strength are not immune to the stain of weaknesses and faults.
XII We believe that from the general corruption and condemnation into which all are plunged, God rescues those who are elect in our Lord Jesus Christ according to God's eternal and unchanging counsel. All this is by God's goodness and mercy alone, without regard to anyone's works, that the riches of God's mercy shine forth in them. Others, however, are left in corruption and condemnation in order to demonstrate God's justice in them. In reality, those who are rescued are no better than those who are left in corruption and condemnation. God distinguishes between them according to his eternal counsel, determined in Jesus Christ before the creation of the world. We cannot attain such a benefit by our virtue, for by nature we do not have a single good impulse, affection, or thought, unless God has first acted to incline us to it.
XIII We believe that everything required for our salvation has been offered and communicated to us in Jesus Christ. He is given to us for our salvation, becoming for us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption [1 Cor. 1:30], so that if we refuse Christ, we renounce the mercy of the Father in whom we have our only refuge.
XIV We believe that Jesus Christ, the wisdom of God and God's eternal Son, clothed himself in our flesh, so that he is both God and human in one person. He is like us in every way, suffering in body and in soul, except that he remained pure from all stain of sin. As to his humanity, he was truly the seed of Abraham and David, although he was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thus we abhor the heresies that have troubled the church from antiquity, most notably the diabolical imaginations of Servetus, who attributed to Jesus Christ a phantom divinity and conceived Christ as the ideal and pattern of all things. He mixed and destroyed both divine and human natures by calling Christ the merely figurative Son of God and imagining that Christ's body was composed of three uncreated elements.
XV We believe that the two natures are truly and inseparably conjoined and united in one person, Jesus Christ, with each nature retaining its distinct character. Thus, in this union the divine nature retained its character, remaining uncreated and infinite, filling all things. So also, the human nature remained finite, having material form and character. Even though Jesus Christ gave immortality to his body in rising from the dead, he did not take away the truth of its human nature. Thus we think of the divinity of Jesus Christ in such a way that we do not strip him of his humanity.
XVI We believe that in sending the Son, God's sole intention was to show us love and immeasurable goodness. And we believe that in giving the Son to die and raising him from the dead, God's sole intention was to accomplish all righteousness and secure eternal life for us.
XVII We believe that we are reconciled to God through the unique sacrifice offered by the Lord Jesus on the cross. By that sacrifice we are justified before God, for we cannot be acceptable to God or receive adoption unless God pardons our sins and covers them over. So we confess that Jesus Christ is our full and perfect cleansing. In his death we are fully justified, acquitted of the offenses and iniquities of which we are guilty. We can be delivered by this remedy only.
XVIII We believe that the foundation of our justification is the remission of our sins. (In this, says David, we find our only happiness.) This is why we reject all other means of seeking justification before God. Rather than presuming our own virtue or merit, we rely solely on the obedience of Jesus Christ, which is ascribed to us for the covering over of our sins as well as for granting us favor before God. Furthermore, we know that if we were to refuse this foundation, even partially, we would find no peace, but would always be anxious and troubled. We will never have peace with God unless we resolve to be loved in Jesus Christ, for of ourselves we deserve only to be hated.
XIX We believe that by our justification in Christ we have both the freedom and the privilege to call upon God, trusting that God will show himself to be our Father. Since we have no access to the Father except through this Mediator, our prayers in the name of Jesus Christ will be heard as we receive life from the one who is our sovereign.
XX We believe that we are justified by faith alone, for it is written that Christ suffered in order to gain our salvation, so that whoever believes in him will not perish. All the promises of life, given to us in Jesus Christ, are accommodated to our need. We experience their fulfillment when we accept them, and, since we are assured by the mouth of God, we certainly are not deceived. Therefore, our justification through faith depends wholly upon the free promises through which God declares and affirms that he loves us.
XXI We believe that we are illuminated in faith by the unfathomable grace of the Holy Spirit. Because God imparts this gracious and distinctive gift to whomever he chooses, the faithful have no cause to glorify themselves. Instead, the faithful are doubly indebted that they have been chosen rather than others. Moreover, faith is not given to the elect merely to introduce them to the way of righteousness, but to enable them to persevere in faith to the end. God begins the way, and God brings it to completion.
XXII We believe that we are reborn to new life by faith, for we are slaves to sin by nature. By faith we receive grace to live holy lives in awe and reverence for God, for we receive what the gospel promises when God gives us his Holy Spirit. So faith does not cool our desire for good and holy living, but rather engenders and excites it in us, leading naturally to good works. It is God who regenerates us in order to accomplish our salvation, reforming us to do good through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Therefore we confess that our good works cannot be displayed as credits for our justification or qualifications for our adoption as God's children. We would always be adrift in doubt and anxiety if our consciences were not anchored in the satisfaction by which Jesus Christ has acquitted us.
XXIII We believe that the ceremonies of the law ended at the coming of Jesus Christ, but although the rites are no longer in use, the substance and truth of the law endure in the one who has fulfilled the law. Moreover, we need the law and the prophets for the ordering of our lives as well as for our confirmation in the gospel's promises.
XXIV We believe that Jesus Christ has been given to us as our only advocate, and that he commands us to pray to the Father in his name. Because we must not pray differently from God's teaching through the word, everything that people have imagined about the intercession of the saints is nothing more than abuse and deception from Satan, designed to lead persons from the form of true worship. We also reject all the various means by which people presume to be redeemed before God, disparaging the sacrificial suffering and death of Jesus Christ. Finally, we consider purgatory to be an illusion found in the same marketplace as monastic vows, pilgrimages, prohibition of marriage and eating of meat, ceremonial days, private confession, indulgences, and everything else that people imagine will merit grace and salvation. We reject these things not only because of their false understanding of merit, but also because these are human inventions that burden consciences.
XXV Since we enjoy Jesus Christ only through the gospel, we believe that the order of the church, established by Christ's authority, should be sacred and inviolable. Therefore, the church cannot exist without pastors, who are charged with teaching. When they are properly called and faithfully exercise their office, we should honor them and listen to them respectfully. Even though God does not need the aid of such subordinate means, it pleases God to sustain us in this way. Thus we detest all fanatics who wish to wipe out, as much as they can, the ministry, the preaching of the word of God, and the sacraments.
XXVI We believe that no one should withdraw from the church, satisfied to be solitary. The whole community must preserve and sustain the unity of the church, submitting to common instruction and to the yoke of Christ. This should happen wherever Christ has established a true church order, even if the civil authority and its laws are hostile. All who do not participate in the church, or who separate themselves from it, deny the order established by God.
XXVII At the same time we believe that it is appropriate to discern, carefully and prudently, what is the true church, for this designation has been abused too often. Following the word of God then, we say that the faithful community covenants to follow the word of God and the pure religion which derives from it, benefiting from this throughout its life. The faithful community advances constantly, growing and being confirmed in reverent awe of God. As the community strives to remain faithful, all within it are constantly in need of the remission of sins. Although we do not deny that some hypocrites and reprobates are found among the faithful, their malice cannot remove the title "Church."
XXVIII In this conviction we declare that where the word of God is not received and its authority is not acknowledged, and where there is no use of the sacraments, we can conclude that there is no church, properly speaking. Thus we condemn the assemblies of the papacy where the pure truth of God is banished, where the sacraments are corrupted, bastardized, falsified, or annihilated altogether, and where idolatries and superstitions hold sway. We hold that all who engage in these acts by taking communion there separate and cut themselves off from the body of Jesus Christ. Yet because some small trace of the church continues in the papacy, and because the substance of baptism remains there (for the efficacy of baptism does not depend on the one who administers the sacrament), we confess that those who have been baptized have no need of a second baptism. However, because of corruptions, people cannot present children in those assemblies without polluting themselves.
XXIX As for the true church, we believe that it ought to be governed in accordance with the order established by our Lord Jesus Christ, having pastors, elders, and deacons. In this way, pure doctrine can be maintained, vices can be corrected and suppressed, the poor and afflicted can be helped in their need, assemblies can be gathered in the name of God, and both great and small can be edified.
XXX We believe that all true pastors, wherever they may be, have equal power and authority in the exercise of their office under one head, the only sovereign and universal bishop, Jesus Christ. For the same reason, no church should presume to claim authority or sovereignty over another.
XXXI We believe that no persons should presume to govern the church on their own authority, for church officers should be chosen by election whenever possible and as God permits. We add one exception: from time to time, even in our own time, the state of the church has been so broken that God has raised leaders in an extraordinary fashion in order to rebuild a ruined and desolate church. Nevertheless, we believe that this rule should bind us: all pastors, elders, and deacons should be called to their offices.
XXXII We believe that it is good and useful for all who are elected church officers to determine together the form of governance for the whole body, although they must not depart from anything ordained by our Lord Jesus Christ. This does not rule out distinctive local regulations required by particular circumstances.
XXXIII However, we rule out all human innovations and all laws that bind consciences under the pretext of service to God. We welcome only what nourishes concord, holding everyone in obedience, from the greatest to the least. Thus we must heed what our Lord has declared concerning excommunication and its consequences, approving it and affirming its necessity.
XXXIV We believe that the sacraments are joined to the Word so that it may be more fully confirmed. The sacraments are pledges to us and seals of God's grace, giving needed aid and comfort to our faith because of our weakness and immaturity. We believe that the sacraments are outward signs through which God works in the truth of his Spirit, and we know that what they signify is not in vain. At the same time we hold that their substance and power are in Jesus Christ alone; apart from him, they are nothing more than shadow and smoke.
XXXV We acknowledge only two sacraments, common to the whole church. The first, Baptism, is given to us as the pledge of our adoption. In Baptism we are grafted into the body of Christ, washed and cleansed by his blood, and renewed in holiness of life by his Spirit. Although we are baptized only once, the benefit it signifies lasts through life and death, so that we have an enduring testimony that Jesus Christ will be our justification and sanctification forever. Baptism is a sacrament of faith and repentance, yet because God receives little children into his church together with their parents, we declare under the authority of Jesus Christ that little children born of the faithful ought to be baptized.
XXXVI We confess that the holy Supper of the Lord is a testimony of our unity with Jesus Christ. He died only once and was raised for our sake, yet we are truly fed and are nourished by his flesh and blood. Thus we are made one with him and his life is communicated to us. Although he is in heaven until he comes to judge the world, we believe that he gives us life and nourishes us with the substance of his body and his blood. This takes place in the unfathomable and incomprehensible power of his Spirit. We maintain that this is done spiritually, which does not mean that we substitute imagination or fantasy for reality and truth, but that the greatness of this mystery exceeds the capacities of our minds and the order of nature. In short, because it is heavenly, it can only be apprehended by faith.
XXXVII We believe that God truly and effectively gives us what is represented in the Lord's Supper and in Baptism, and that the signs are united with the true possession and benefit of all they present. Thus, all who bring the receptacle of pure faith to the sacred table of Christ truly receive what the signs signify. The body and blood of Jesus Christ are food and drink for the soul just as bread and wine are nourishment for the body.
XXXVIII We maintain that even though water is an ordinary substance, it testifies truly to the inner cleansing of our souls by the blood of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. We maintain that the bread and the wine given to us in the Lord's Supper serve truly as spiritual nourishment for us, for they show visibly that the flesh of Jesus Christ is our food and his blood our drink. Thus we spurn the fanatics and sacramentarians who will not receive these signs and seals even though Jesus Christ said, "This is my body and this cup is my blood."
XXXIX We believe that God wills the world to be governed by laws and policies that provide restraints on disordered worldly appetites. Therefore, God has established kingdoms and republics and all other sorts of principalities, hereditary or otherwise, as well as everything pertaining to the state of justice. Because God wills to be recognized as their author he has placed the sword in the hands of the civil authorities to suppress sins committed against the first table of the Law as well as the second. For God's sake, then, we must not only submit to the authority of superiors but also respect and honor them as God's deputies and officials, commissioned to exercise a legitimate and holy charge. XL We hold, then, that we must obey laws and statutes; pay customs, taxes and other duties; and submit to authority willingly and freely, even if the rulers are infidels, provided that the sovereign rule of God is preserved. Therefore, we despise those who reject authority, set up communes, hold goods in common, and overturn the order of justice.
Translation: Dr. Ellen Babinsky, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
and Dr. Joseph D. Small, Office of Theology and Worship, PC(USA)
Confession of Faith
adapted from the French Confession of 1559
We believe and confess only one God,
one indivisible essence,
spiritual, eternal,
invisible, immutable, infinite,
incomprehensible, and ineffable.
God, who can do all things,
is all-wise, all-good,
all just, and all-merciful.
We believe that everything required for our salvation
has been offered and communicated to us in Jesus Christ,
the wisdom of God and God’s eternal Son.
Jesus Christ clothed himself in our flesh:
God and human in one person.
Through the unique sacrifice
offered by the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross,
we are reconciled to God—
God’s sole intention was to accomplish all righteousness
and secure eternal life for us.
We believe that we are illuminated in faith
by the unfathomable grace of the Holy Spirit.
God imparts this gracious gift.
By faith we receive grace
to live holy lives in awe and reverence for God,
for we receive what the gospel promises
when God gives us the Holy Spirit.
Faith does not cool our desire for good and holy living,
but rather engenders and excites it in us,
leading naturally to good works.
We believe that the sacraments are joined to the Word
in order that the Word may be more fully confirmed.
The sacraments are pledges to us and seals of God’s grace,
giving needed aid and comfort to our faith.
Baptism is given to us as the pledge of our adoption.
In Baptism we are grafted into the body of Christ,
and renewed in holiness of life by his Spirit.
Although we are baptized only once,
the benefit it signifies lasts through life and death.
The holy Supper of our Lord is a testimony of our unity with Jesus Christ,
who died only once and was raised for our sake.
The body and blood of Jesus Christ are food and drink for the soul
just as bread and wine are nourishment for the body.
We believe that God truly and effectively gives us
what is represented in the Lord's Supper and in Baptism,
that the signs are united with the true possession
and benefit of all they present.
As for the true Church
we believe that it ought to be governed
in accordance with the order established by our Lord Jesus Christ.
No one should withdraw from the church,
satisfied to be solitary.
In this way, pure doctrine can be maintained,
the poor and afflicted can be helped in their need,
assemblies can be gathered in the name of God,
and both great and small can be edified.
Prepared by the Office of Theology and Worship, Presbyterian Church(U.S.A.), based on a translation of the original text by Dr. Ellen Babinsky, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and Dr. Joseph D. Small, Office of Theology and Worship, PC(USA).
Confession of Faith (short version)
adapted from the French Confession of 1559
We believe and confess only one God
who can do all things,
is all-wise, all-good,
all just, and all-merciful.
We believe that everything required for our salvation
has been offered and communicated to us in Jesus Christ,
the wisdom of God and God’s eternal Son.
Jesus Christ clothed himself in our flesh:
God and human in one person.
We believe that we are illuminated in faith
by the unfathomable grace of the Holy Spirit.
God imparts this gracious gift.
By faith we receive grace
to live holy lives in awe and reverence for God,
for we receive what the gospel promises
when God gives us the Holy Spirit.
Faith does not cool our desire for good and holy living,
but rather engenders and excites it in us,
leading naturally to good works.
We believe that the sacraments are joined to the Word
in order that the Word may be more fully confirmed.
Baptism is given to us as the pledge of our adoption,
in which we are grafted into the body of Christ,
and renewed in holiness of life by his Spirit.
The holy Supper of our Lord is a testimony of our unity with Jesus Christ,
who died only once and was raised for our sake.
The body and blood of Jesus Christ are food and drink for the soul
just as bread and wine are nourishment for the body.
As for the true Church
we believe that it ought to be governed
in accordance with the order established by our Lord Jesus Christ.
In this way, pure doctrine can be maintained,
the poor and afflicted can be helped in their need,
assemblies can be gathered in the name of God,
and both great and small can be edified
Prepared by the Office of Theology and Worship, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), based on a translation of the original text by Dr. Ellen Babinsky, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and Dr. Joseph D. Small, Office of Theology and Worship, PC(USA).
Brief Introduction to the French Confession of 1559
byCharles Wiley
[Note: this is the text of presentation done before a presbytery introducing the French Confession of 1559. Feel free to use it in introducing the French Confession in churches, presbyteries and synods.]
Outline
- Contextual Introduction: the story of the French Protestants, their persecution, the appeal for a confession, Calvin’s response, and the adaptation of the Confession.
- Why the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is considering the French Confession, its status, where we are, the role of the Office of Theology and Worship
- An overview of the catholicity of the confession
- A brief discussion of paragraphs XXVI and XXXVI
- The particular contributions of the confession
- Conclusion: how the French Confession can inform the contemporary church
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Contextual Introduction
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After the Placard scandal in Paris in 1534, when Calvin fled France, for the next 30 years (starting in about 1535) the French Protestant church managed to avoid giving scandal. Calvin, however, was devoted to the church of his home country and began to intervene, encouraging the French Protestants to model themselves after Geneva. Finally in 1555 the first true French Protestant Church was established. Calvin had directed that they not celebrate the sacraments until they had the means to establish an authentic church order— for Calvin that included the calling and of a pastor and the establishment of a consistory for church discipline. The first church set up on the Genevan model was in Paris, set up because a man wanted to baptize his child in a Protestant church. Once the proverbial dam broke, French churches began to be rapidly organized, and Geneva sent 88 pastors to France between 1555-1562.
Paris was a particularly dangerous place during this time of a somewhat emboldened Protestant minority and a reactive political majority. There was an edict in July 1557 that, at least in one region, inflicted the death penalty for profession of heresy, public or private. Thus the French Protestant gatherings, though now sometimes constituted as full churches, continued to meet in secrecy, often strewing playing cards and dice around the room so as to appear to be playing games of chance if observed. In fact, some French Protestants started to bring weapons with them to meetings in order to escape if detected.
It was a particular persecution that began the process that led to the French Confession of 1559. In September of 1557 a group of 400 Protestants met in a home in Paris. They were besieged by a crowd for hours: "The Lutherans were gathered at night-time to indulge their promiscuous lusts with the lights out, that infants were being massacred, and other unmentionable things persecuted." Many were able to escape through the crowd, but about 130, mostly women, could not make it out and were arrested—7 were put to death. These Reformed Christians sent letters to Geneva, asking their French brethren to intercede with the French authorities. Along with these letters was a statement of belief.
In May 1559 the situation had gotten a little calmer and the French Protestant Church held its first national Synod in Paris, in order to produce a Confession of Faith and a Discipline to guide them. Calvin was not too pleased when he heard that they planned on cementing this statement of belief. After all, didn’t the French already have some solid statements of belief, most notably the Catechism that Calvin had written for Geneva? What were they going to improve upon?
Calvin finally relented and sent to the Synod a new Confession, written by Calvin and two others that built upon the confession sent from France two years earlier. The copy that Calvin sent was most notable for a long and detailed first paragraph on the nature and authority of Scripture.
Interestingly enough, the French did not especially like this opening paragraph, and replaced it with what is now the first 5 articles. These five articles have some wonderful sections ( "God, who can do all things, is all-wise, all-good, all-just, and all-merciful"). It also contains a line that Calvin may have found close to heretical in paragraph two where the revelation of God in nature is lifted up as being only less clear than the revelation of God in scripture.
Why PC(USA), Why Now
We are studying and considering the French Confession of 1559 for the Book of Confessions because of an action begun by the Special Committee to Write a New Presbyterian Catechism. In their initial charge, they were asked to consider recommending the aforementioned Genevan Catechism to the Book of Confessions. They decided against for a number of reasons, including the its length and the confusion of introducing two very different catechisms to the church within a short time period. However, in the process of this consideration, the Special Committee took note that no document in the Book of Confessions represents the Genevan reformation. In a church where Calvin is our most significant theological influence, our constitution is devoid of statements reflecting his mature theology!
This is an especially important issue in relation to theology of the sacraments. Over the past few decades there has been a significant revival of the sacramental theology of Calvin. In many places quarterly communion has given way in many places to monthly communion. And some churches are even flirting with the possibility of weekly communion. This revival of Calvin’s sacramental theology, seen in both more common observance and more attention to Christ’s presence to us in the Lord’s Supper, has thin support in the Book of Confessions.
Thus we are now in a period of study of the French Confession, a period of study that will last until the 213th General Assembly in 2001. At that point the General Assembly may decide to send to the presbyteries a vote on including the French Confession of 1559 in the Book of Confessions.
The Office of Theology and Worship has been given the task of introducing the French Confession to the church. We are doing so in a variety of means: a book that includes the text, a historical introduction, and study and discussion guides. An easily reproduced version of just the text itself as you have before you. Two liturgical versions, the shorter of which we will use as our confession of faith in the worship service this morning.
My Office is not mandated with the task of lobbying for placing the French Confession in the Book of Confessions. The issues of such a constitutional amendment are complex. It is my joyous obligation, however, to help people study this superb document.
The Catholicity of the French Confession
Any Church confession worth its salt is clearly catholic, that is, it is a statement of the faith of the whole church, not just the peculiar faith of a particular group of people. The French Confession is a faithful explication of the faith catholic. Paragraph XVIII explicates that our righteousness comes through the forgiveness of sins through God’s reckoning to us the obedience of Christ. There is a remarkably strong Christological content, one that stretches through 25 articles: "We believe that everything required for our salvation has been offered and communicated to us in Jesus Christ."
We read that God reveals God’s own self through Scripture, not simply revealed in the past tense. Scriptural authority comes from God alone — giving scripture alone that has final authority—in fact, we confess the historic creeds only because they conform to Scripture.
The Confession discusses the Trinity, Jesus Christ, scripture, the sacraments and the church reflecting a truly catholic theology.
Discussion
Since each of you has a copy of the French Confession, I would like to take 5 minutes to give you a brief chance to discuss it yourself. I want you to read paragraphs XXVI and XXXVI and discuss how you understand them and the degree to which they sound familiar or unfamiliar in the PC(U.S.A.)—just get with 1 or 2 others around you to do this—this will be a very short discussion.
Particular Contributions of the French Confession of 1559
There are features of the French Confession of 1559 that stand out.
First is the emphasis on living lives in holy obedience to God: "By faith we receive grace to live holy lives in awe and reverence for God, for we receive what the gospel promises when God gives us the Holy Spirit. So faith does not cool our desire for good and holy living, but rather engenders and excites it in us, leading naturally to good works."
The second is a strong section on the church. You read one article dealing with it. In article XXIX it states that when the church is ordered correctly, "pure doctrine can be maintained, vices can be corrected and suppressed, the poor and afflicted can be helped in their need, assemblies can be gathered in the name of God, and both great and small can be edified."
However, as I noted earlier, the most striking aspect of the French Confession for contemporary Presbyterians is the strong sacramental emphasis. The language for Baptism is powerful, but still familiar to most of us. It is in the description of the Lord’s Supper that we may be brought up short. The Confession states that "we are truly fed and nourished by his flesh and blood. Thus we are made one with him and his life is communicated to us." This is a far distance from the celebration we often practice in the church, where we speak almost exclusively of our remembering of the death of Christ. This, instead, describes the meal of fellowship with the Risen Lord, where Jesus Christ is present to us as he was in the breaking of the Bread with those two disciples in Emmaus.
Concluding Thoughts
Whether the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) adopts the French Confession of 1559 or not, we have much to learn from this minority church living in the shadow of real persecution. Unlike the French Protestant church, we are a church that has enjoyed the privileges of being "mainline" in a country with an informal establishment of Protestantism. However, those days are past, and we are only beginning to comprehend what it means to live as a "stranger in a strange land." The French Confession of 1559 represents not the abstract reflections of a comfortable community, but the real life confession of faith of a flesh and blood community facing adversity. As we learn to confess our faith in a hostile environment, perhaps the faith of these who have gone before us can provide light for our way.
