John William Baier's
_Compendium of Positive Theology_
Edited by C. F. W. Walther
Published by:
St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1877
[Translator's Preface. These are the major loci or topics of
John William Baier's _Compendium of Positive Theology_ as ed-
ited by Dr. C. F. W. Walther. These should be seen as the
broad outline of Baier-Walther's dogmatics, but please don't
assume that this is all. Each locus usually includes copious
explanatory notes and citations from patristics and other
Lutheran dogmaticians.]
Part Three
Chapter One
On the grace of God towards fallen humans, the first principle of
our salvation.
1. Among the principals and causes of human salvation, which are
the subjects revealed theology has in its care, the grace of God
holds the first place, by which God does not wish to let the human
race go into a common destruction, which they brought on themselves
in Adam and through original sin, and he intends more from there to
demolish that sin and to lead humans to eternal blessedness.
2. Therefore by the words 'divine grace' is understood in this
place the kind good-will of God towards sinners, by which God,
having received our mode of life, is moved, so that he wishes to
apply to their salvation the sacrificing, which is his. It is
otherwise called the pity, love, kindness of God, etc.
3. The object of this grace are humans one and all, even if
corrupted by sin.
4. Likewise this grace of God is not a certain indifferent
complacency of God, limited to the salvation of all, if it happens
to deal with that salvation, but with him it causes an inclination
of God for applying on his part that which is done for the
procuring of the salvation of all, so that it, as much as it is
from God's part, it is restored to all possible people as a
covering.
5. And when in God besides goodness also punishing justice has been
known, it is certain, that goodness thus inclines toward human
salvation, but it does not make justice depart; and therefore the
same goodness of God moves God to procure a medium which might
satisfy the divine justice for sinners.
6. Therefore it is ascribed to divine grace that God wanted to give
the mediator Christ to humans, who are not able by themselves to
make satisfaction for sins, and he gave Christ, who fulfilled the
law for all sinners and vicariously he discharged the penalties of
the violations.
7. However it is also divine grace, looking at our salvation, to
move God, so that , that which is his, he wishes to apply and he
applies to that salvation, so that by an alien satisfaction of the
mediator we are able to have the benefit of all things.
8. The end, for the cause of obtaining which God is moved to the
procuring of human salvation, is itself the glory of divine
goodness.
9. It is possible to describe the grace of God in this locus, that
it is an act of divine goodness, by which God, having seen human
misery contracted through sin, is moved, so as to free all those
and to extend salvation and therefore he seriously wished to
procure the mediator, and those things of his which are necessary
for his use, to the good of all, by which things they are brought
to light from that ruin and they are brought along to eternal
salvation, for the cause of celebrating the glory of divine
goodness.
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This text was translated by Rev. Theodore Mayes and is copyrighted
material, (c)1996, but is free for non-commercial use or distribu-
tion, and especially for use on Project Wittenberg. Please direct
any comments or suggestions to: Rev. Robert E. Smith of the Walther
Library at Concordia Theological Seminary.
E-mail: smithre@mail.ctsfw.edu
Surface Mail: 66000 N. Clinton St., Ft. Wayne, IN 46825 USA
Phone: (260) 452-2123 Fax: (260) 452-2126
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file: /pub/resources/text/wittenberg/baier: cpt-3-01.txt
.