Mark Burrows has written an oft cited article: “‘Christus intra nos Vivens’, The Peculiar Genius of Bullinger’s Doctrine of Sanctification”, Zeitschrift für Kirchengeschichte, vol 98 (1987), pp48-69. In this article Burrows concludes that Bullinger sees a very close link between sanctification and justification.
As far as I am aware, there has yet to be a detailed study of the works of Bullinger to either sustain this conclusion or otherwise.
The following quotation from The Decades 3.vi might be a starting point. It occurs in a section where Bullinger discusses circumcision:
“Moreover, circumcision did signify and testify that God Almighty, of his mere grace and goodness, is joined with an indissoluble bond of covenant unto us men, whom his will is first to sanctify, then to justify, and lastly to enrich with all heavenly treasures through Christ our Lord and reconciler.” (Parker Edition p174)
The Latin is:
Deinde significabat, imo et attestabatur circuncisio deum omnipotentem ex mera gratia et bonitate cohaerere indissolubili foederis nexu cum hominibus, quos velit sanctificatos iustificare omnibusque coelestibus donis locupletare per Christum. (Peter Opitz, Sermonum Decades, p348)
The modern German translation is:
Zweitens bedeutete, ja bezeugte di Beschneidung auch, dass der allmächtige Gott aus lauter Gnade und Güte durch ein unzertrennliches Band mit den Menschen verbunden ist. Diese möchte er heiligen, gerecht machen und durch Christus mit allen himmlischen Gaben bereichern. (Heinrich Bullinger Schriften, TVZ 2006, p10)
No comments:
Post a Comment