The Faith We Confess:

An Exposition of the

Thirty-Nine Articles

by Gerald Bray

The Latimer Trust

The Faith We Confess: An Exposition of the Thirty-Nine Articles

© Gerald Bray 2009

ISBN 978-0-946307-84-5

Published by The Latimer Trust, November 2009

Cover photograph: © Stephen Finn—Fotolia.com

The Latimer Trust (formerly Latimer House, Oxford) is a conservative Evangelical research organisation within the Church of England, whose main aim is to promote the history and theology of Anglicanism as understood by those in the Reformed tradition. Interested readers are welcome to consult its website for further details of its many activities.

The Latimer Trust

PO Box 26685, London N14 4XQ UK

Registered Charity: 1084337

Company Number: 4104465

Web: www.latimertrust.org

E-mail: administrator@latimertrust.org

Views expressed in works published by The Latimer Trust are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of The Latimer Trust.

Contents

The historic formularies of the Church of England

Articles as statements of doctrine

The origin of the Thirty-Nine Articles

The revision of the Articles

The structure of the Articles

1. The Catholic doctrines

2. The Protestant doctrines

3. The Anglican doctrines

Bibliography

The Articles

1. Of Faith in the Holy Trinity

2. Of the Word or Son of God, which was made Very Man

3. Of the going down of Christ into Hell

4. The Resurrection of Christ

5. Of the Holy Ghost

6. Of the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation

7. The Old Testament

8. The Three Creeds

9. Of Original, or Birth Sin

10. Of Free Will

11. Of the Justification of Man

12. Of Good Works

13. Of Works before Justification

14. Of Works of Supererogation

15. Of Christ alone without Sin

16. Of Sin after Baptism

17. Of Predestination and Election

18. Of obtaining eternal Salvation, only by the Name of Christ

19. Of the Church

20. Of the Authority of the Church

21. Of the Authority of General Councils

22. Of Purgatory

23. Of ministering in the Congregation

24. Of speaking in the Congregation in such a Tongue as the People understandeth

25. Of the Sacraments

26. Of the Unworthiness of the Ministers, which hinder not the Effect of the Sacraments

27. Of Baptism

28. Of the Lord’s Supper

29. Of the Wicked which do not eat the Body of Christ in the Use of the Lord’s Supper

30. Of both kinds

31. Of the one Oblation of Christ finished upon the Cross

32. Of the Marriage of Priests

33. Of excommunicate Persons, how they are to be avoided

34. Of the Traditions of the Church

35. Of Homilies

36. Of Consecration of Bishops and Ministers

37. Of the Civil Magistrates

38. Of Christian Men’s Goods, which are not common

39. Of a Christian Man’s Oath

Appendix 1: Official declarations about the Articles

Appendix 2: Subscription to the Articles

Index of Scripture References

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About The Faith We Confess: An Exposition of the Thirty-Nine Articles

The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion are one of the three historic ‘formularies’ of the Church of England. Along with the Book of Common Prayer and the Ordinal they gave the church its distinctive identity at the time of the Reformation, an identity which has had a formative influence on worldwide Anglicanism. Many parts of the Anglican Communion some have returned to these sources to satisfy a genuine hunger for both Anglican tradition and sound Christian doctrine; this book seeks to contribute to this dialogue. Although the Articles have had a checkered history, the intention of The Faith We Confess: An Exposition of the 39 Articles is to take them as they now stand and interpret what they mean for us today. Historical circumstances cannot be avoided completely and are mentioned as necessary, but the main emphasis throughout this text is theological. Author Gerald Bray explores this question: “what do the Articles say about what Anglicans believe and how should they be understood and applied today?”

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