PAPER NO. 45
THE LOGOS THESES
In the beginning was the Logos
The Logos is the eternal Word of God who makes God known.
And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us
- That the life of the Logos is in all men as light and that light is reason, the light of nature, by which we understand creation and providence.
- That the basic things about God and man and good and evil are clear to reason; that one has to neglect, avoid, resist and deny reason to not see what is clear.
- That the good for a being is according to the nature of that being; that the good for man as a rational being is the knowledge of God through the work of dominion; that through the work of dominion the earth shall be full of the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea.
- That the clarity of general revelation is necessary for the inexcusability of unbelief of all of mankind; that there is no inexcusability without clarity.
- That all fruit sin is due to the root sin of all; that the root sin of all consists in not seeking and not understanding what is clear about God; that meaninglessness, boredom and guilt/spiritual death is inherent in not seeking and not understanding; that the gospel calls men everywhere to repent of root sin.
- That foundation, the first principles of the faith, are necessary for spiritual maturity, fruitfulness, unity and fullness in Christ; that only in the full work of Christ is there fullness of redemption.
- That Christ sent the Holy Spirit to lead the Church into all truth, through the pastor-teachers, which truth is cumulatively stated in the Church’s Confessions and Creeds, and is the Historic Christian Faith.
- That the Historic Christian Faith is the basis of the unity of the faith for all believers; that to depart from this faith is to divide the body of Christ.
- That the Church is the pillar and ground of the Truth; that the unity of the faith is necessary for making disciples of all nations; that the Church must be one that the world might believe that God has sent Jesus Christ.
- That the Logos is Truth in its fullness, and alone makes God fully known; that the Logos is in all men as reason, is in the creation as general revelation, is in redemptive history as Scripture, is incarnate only in Jesus Christ, is in the Church, by the Holy Spirit, as the Historic Christian Faith, is restored in all believers by regeneration, and grows in all believers by sanctification.
- That only the biblical worldview of creation–fall–redemption is consistent with and required by the clarity of general revelation; that only the Bible is the Word of God written.
- That the Church is for worship and discipleship; that believers everywhere must worship God in spirit and in truth; that only the book of Psalms for singing preserves pure and entire the biblical worldview of creation–fall–redemption; that believers everywhere must seek out a church where they can both worship God in spirit and truth and be discipled to know the Truth.
- That believers are to demolish arguments and every pretension that is raised up against the knowledge of God and to take every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ.
- That Christ is now reigning, being seated at the right hand of God; that his reign must continue until all his enemies are subdued to him; that at the coming of Christ there will be a resurrection of all who have died, and a transformation of all who are still alive.
- That after the resurrection of the dead, there will be the Last Judgment in which all men will be rewarded according to their work; that believers will inherit the kingdom of God that grows through history to its fullness and is the City of God.