Authentic Christianity
{An Exposition of The Theology and Ethics of The Westminster Larger Catechism}
Joseph C. Morecraft III
A Review
I have been blessed with a copy of this reprint commentary on the Larger Catechism. I am currently on page 143, “E. The Biblical Hermeneutics of the Westminster Standards” ; Chapter 2, volume 1 of this 3,800-page 8 volume set. My purpose for beginning this commentary was for proofreading, but I have also begun to enjoy the thorough explanation of the catechism, the confession of faith, and what the circumstances where in England and Scotland when these documents were drafted. Joseph C. Morecraft III has masterfully crafted a work that I pray is used to glorify our God for the education of the saints.
Morecraft gives the following as to the need for the Bible:
2. The Need for Special Revelation
God was under no compulsion to give the human race special revelation in addition to general revelation, nor can any such revelation be forced out of Him (Rom. 11:33–34). Any revelation from God flows out of His sheer and sovereign mercy. “Jesus said, ‘I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son, except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him” (Matt. 11:25–27). However, a special written revelation from God is necessary for human beings if we are ever to know God, His will, and His ways.
This is true for three reasons:
First, we need a special and written revelation from God because of our created limitations and the complexity of revealed truth. Our memory, imagination, and rationality are too limited and the truth of God too vast, intricate, and above us (Isa. 55:8–9). We need a written revelation of the mind of God in words and sentences that accurately reveal the mind of God and that, at the same time, are meaningful to us.
Second, we need a special and written revelation from God because of the incompleteness of the revelation in creation. General revelation is insufficient to give the knowledge of God that is necessary for salvation: “For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. …we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, …which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but just as it is written, ‘Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.’ For to us God revealed them through the Spirit” (1 Cor. 1:21; 2:7–10).
Creation reveals a Creator but not a Redeemer. Even unfallen Adam needed additional special revelation to interpret what he saw in creation around him (Gen. 1:28). Mankind was created to live by the word of God from the very beginning to the very end (Deut. 8:3). To say that general revelation is not a complete revelation of God is not in any way to imply that there is any defect in general revelation. When we speak of the insufficiency of general revelation we do not wish to suggest that this revelation is as such insufficient for its purpose. It has been noted how all creation, including man’s own psychological constitution, is inherently revelatory of God. This revelation was so clear and unavoidable that man was always confronted with the face of God. But in sinning, man, as it were, took out his own eyes, so that he could no longer see God in his general revelation. Moreover, through this act of self-immolation, man not only made himself helpless but also guilty and polluted before God. It is therefore to the condition of man as a sinner, not to man as finite, that the idea of the necessity of a special or saving revelation must be attached.
Third, we need a special and written revelation from God because of the darkness and perversion of the human mind caused by sin (Gen. 6:5; Rom. 8:6–7; John 3:19, 20; Rom. 3:9; Eph. 2:1–2). The twisting, distorting, and polluting effects of sin greatly influence the human mind along with all other aspects of human experience (2 Cor. 4:3–4). The mind’s reasoning and perceiving abilities are not reliable guides to truth and knowledge apart from the Biblical revelation and Spiritual illumination. Man’s condition after the entrance of sin is, therefore, not that of a poor innocent man, but that of a criminal who has committed high treason. Thus the necessity for a special revelation lies primarily in the subjective rebellion of man. The special revelation that must be given to man, if he is to be saved, must consist not only of the “objective” work of Christ in his death and resurrection, but also result in a subjective change from this state of rebellion to a state of obedience. The work of the Holy Spirit in granting regeneration to God’s people is therefore implied in the work of Christ.[i]
Morecraft gives these reasons for the catechism:
What is the value of the Larger Catechism for the church today? [I]t contains some outstanding summaries of Biblical Doctrine,…it gives a rich and full exposition of the Ten Commandments. No other such exposition gives us a more helpful and detailed treatment of the ethical and social teachings of the Bible…it gives a full-orbed doctrine of the church, …it is a full, balanced, edifying summary of the Christian Faith, a useful aid to the Christian growing in the knowledge of the Word of God…[ii]
When I first obtained this commentary, I was almost intimidated by its size. As I have moved further and further into it, I have come to enjoy the ease of navigation (the whole of volume 8 is a navigation tool, including a complete table of contents and scripture index; among three other indices, and a bibliography) and this commentary’s easy readability. I use this commentary as a tool to do my “…best to present [my]self to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” 2 Timothy 2:15.
[i] Morecraft III, Joseph C., Authentic Christianity (Four Falls Press, 2019), 125-128.
[ii] Ibid., 60, 61.