In order to understand the doctrine of the Westminster Confession and Catechisms on the sacraments, one needs to get a feel for the overall system of doctrine. Of foundational import to Baptism and the Lord’s Supper is the doctrine of union with Christ.

Union with Christ

The most direct attention is given to the subject of union with Christ in chapter 26 of the Westminster Confession of Faith, "Of the Communion of Saints." Apparently, this communion mainly consists of and is founded upon union with Christ, for the first statement made in the chapter is: "All saints, that are united to Jesus Christ their Head, by His Spirit, and by faith, have fellowship with Him in His grace, sufferings, death, resurrection, and glory." This definition is followed by a colon, after which the communion of the saints with each other is mentioned and the obligations which follow from it. Curiously, nothing is said about the elect in this chapter; rather, the professing saints are discussed.

Other than asserting the supernatural agency of the Holy Spirit, not much else is said about the nature of union with Christ, except that does not mean partaking "of the substance of His Godhead, or to be equal with Christ in any respect: either of which to affirm is impious and blasphemous" (26.3). Of what then do we partake? The question is left unanswered.

From its placement in the Confession and the brevity of the description, the importance of union with Christ does not seem that great. But this is a false impression which is amply corrected by examining the application of redemption as it is set forth in the Catechisms.

Christ, Our Salvation

The elect are saved by the work of Christ only because Christ Himself is united to them and they to Him. "We are made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ by the effectual application of it to us by His Holy Spirit" (SC 29). Redemption is effectually applied, and we are made partakers of that redemption, simply because Christ is applied and we are made partakers of Him. "The Spirit applieth to us the redemption purchased by Christ by . . . uniting us to Christ. . ." (SC 30). Union with Christ results in all that is necessary for salvation: justification, adoption, and sanctification (SC 32). Indeed to be "elect" means to be predestined to union with Christ (3.6). God planned in eternity to save those He had chosen for glory and then He saves them "in time by the Holy Ghost" (LC 57). God’s decision in eternity to elect some to glory does not itself constitute the salvation which He has predestined to give them (for that would confound God’s planning to do something with His actually doing it). For example, in the case of one necessary element of salvation: "God did, from all eternity, decree to justify all the elect, and Christ did, in the fullness of time, die for their sins, and rise for their justification; nevertheless, they are not justified, until the Holy Spirit doth, in due time, actually apply Christ unto them" (11.4).

Christ By Faith

While the Spirit sovereignly gives Christ to whom He wills (and Whom the Father has chosen in eternity), it would be wrong to infer from this that the person is entirely passive in this union. A person in union with Christ is in union with the whole Christ, and this union engages his entire person with Christ. Thus, a person’s will, mind, and heart–his whole being–is involved in union with Christ. The Westminster Divines, following Scriptures, believed the essential necessary response to God, by which union with Christ is effected and maintained, was faith. In giving us Christ the Holy Spirit renews us and gives us faith in Christ. As the Shorter Catechism succinctly puts it: "The Spirit applieth to us the redemption purchased by Christ, by working faith in us, and thereby uniting us to Christ in our effectual calling" (q. 31).

The fact that Christ is the object of faith presents something of a problem because we can only know Christ by the revelation He has given us of Himself by His prophets and apostles, that is, by the Scriptures. In describing the object of our faith, the Divines deal with this possible ambiguity by stating:

By this faith, a Christian believeth to be true whatsoever is revealed in the Word, for the authority of God Himself speaking therein, and acteth differently upon that which each particular passage thereof containeth; yielding obedience to the commands, trembling at the threatenings, and embracing the promises of God for this life, and that which is to come. But the principal acts of saving faith are accepting, receiving, and resting upon Christ alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life, by virtue of the covenant of Grace (14.2; emphasis added).

Notice that in a sense the Bible is an object of faith because it alone is God’s Word. Yet to accuse Christians of "bibliolatry" would be ridiculous, for we do not think a mere book saves, nor even the saving message. Rather it is Christ who saves by His work (the redemption He purchased) and His Spirit (by which He gives us union with Himself). We are saved by the Triune God, not by paper and ink. Yet the Bible is more than paper and ink; it is the Word of the Triune God through which we are, indeed, saved. It is correct to say, "Only God saves," yet it is also correct to say, "The Gospel saves," just as it is correct to say "Faith saves." The terms are used in different senses.

Because faith involves trust in Jesus Christ, it invariably includes the fundamental belief in what God has revealed. For an adult of sound mind this means, as described above, that faith entails believing the message of the Scriptures. However, infants and others, such as severely retarded persons, are also capable of faith, being "regenerated, and saved by Christ, through the Spirit, who worketh when, and where, and how He pleaseth" (8.3).

Christ by Covenant & Church

In the above quote, we see that faith receives Christ "by virtue of the covenant of Grace." What is the Covenant? The covenant is the structured relationship which God has with His people. It is something formal and organized which, in this age, is "administered" (7.5) or "dispensed" by "ordinances" which are "the preaching of the Word, and the administration of the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper" (7.6). One enters into this relationship or covenant by meeting the condition which God has set down as the requirement: faith in Jesus Christ (7.3).

This covenant is closely related to the institutional Church, which "is the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, the house and family of God, out of which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation" (25.2). The Confession describes the Church as having the same "ordinances of God" (25.3) as it associates with the Covenant of Grace.

The Standards often use the terms "inward" and "outward" in their formulations. They go together. One cannot be given union with Christ, without it showing forth to others in a faithful way. A child in a family, not only receives his life from his parents, but enters into a relationship with them involving communication and role expectations. So union with Christ and the institutional Church are both necessary aspects of God’s relationship with His people.

Responding & Continuing in Faith

The question might arise: How can the Confession claim that one must (ordinarily) be a member of the Church in order to be saved if it also declares that salvation is by faith alone? That is a good question. The fact is that the Standards contain several similarly inconsistent sounding statements. For example, the Larger Catechism asks: "What doth God require of us, that we may escape his wrath and curse due to us by reason of the transgression of the law?" The answer:

That we may escape the wrath and curse of God due to us by reason of the transgression of the law, he requireth of us [1] repentance toward God, and [2] faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, and [3] the diligent use of the outward means whereby Christ communicates to us the benefits of his mediation (q. 153).

Now here we have a list of three things required for escaping God’s wrath at the Final Judgment, and faith is only second on the list! Furthermore, the third item itself expands into a host of others ("all his ordinances"-q. 154). There is no doubt, however, that the Catechism is listing requirements for salvation; question 57 includes "redemption" as one of the benefits communicated by these outward means.

The Westminster Divines seem to see no contradiction between the Reformation slogan, sola fide and the Biblical passages which lay out other requirements for entering into and continuing in God’s Covenant of Grace. The point is that one must respond in faith to the Gospel. Whatever the Bible considers to be a necessary part of that response is not contradiction of "faith alone" but rather an elaboration and unfolding of it. If one truly trusts God and believes His Word one will do what He says. In question 153 above, "faith" is used in its narrower sense of "accepting, receiving, and resting upon Christ alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life," whereas repentance and diligent use of the means of grace covers believing

to be true whatsoever is revealed in the Word, for the authority of God Himself speaking therein, and acteth differently upon that which each particular passage thereof containeth; yielding obedience to the commands, trembling at the threatenings, and embracing the promises of God for this life, and that which is to come.

Thus, if one truly believes Jesus, He will do whatever necessary to become part of His Body the Church. There is no opposition between faith and the importance of Church membership. Rather, they support one another.

Coming Next, Part Two: The Reality of the Sacraments.