The United Methodist Articles of Religion -- Article IV

A further look at the United Methodist Church’s Articles of Religion -- as stated in a previous post:

The United Methodist Church has several sources that historically define its “doctrinal standards.”  These include the church’s Confession of Faith, the General Rules, John Wesley’s Explanatory Notes on the New Testament and Wesley’s Standard Sermons.  Also, in this roster of foundational documents are the church’s Articles of Religion.  In 1784 when the American Church was chartered, John Wesley provided these Articles for the church.  Wesley had composed 24 statements, and the American church added a 25th that was America-specific.  They have always been authoritative in Methodism and the church included them in its Discipline from 1790 on.  The fourth article is:

Article IV — Of the Holy Ghost

The Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son, is of one substance, majesty, and glory with the Father and the Son, very and eternal God.

The first several articles work together to provide a strong Trinitarian affirmation.  This article is a simple restatement of a large section of The Nicene Creed.  The early church controversy that the Council of Nicaea addressed had to do with the nature of the Holy Ghost/Spirit.  The heresy stated that the Spirit was of inferior nature to the Father and the Son, and that the Father issued the Spirit from the Father’s nature alone.  Nicaea affirmed that the Spirit was of like nature of both Father and Son.  It stated that while there are separate persons within the mystery of the Trinity, that the Three were at the same time One.

The Methodist movement affirms and employs the Nicene Creed both as theological statement and as liturgical element.

It is interesting that for some the most troubling part of Article IV is the use of “Ghost.”  The Holy Ghost/Holy Spirit issue is a result of an effort to differentiate between the Third Person of the Trinity in the New Testament and the references to the “spirit of God” in the Old.  Some older translations even print “spirit” in all lower-case letters in the Old Testament and resort to printing “SPIRIT” or “HOLY SPIRIT” in all upper-case type in the New Testament.  These folks offered “Holy Ghost” as a way of differentiating between the two entities in print.

As is often the case, the original reason for such practices got lost to memory.  But, for a group of folks, because some of their old Bibles – and old liturgical practices – used “Ghost,” they stubbornly adhered to this usage.  John Wesley, while fully understanding the nature of the issue kept true to his preference for adhering to ancient practices in the face of the modern.  He also maintained that “Holy Ghost,” as it appears in liturgical pieces, is more poetic.  He cites the Gloria Patri and observes that “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit…” provides a metrical stumbling block.  He didn’t see it as an obstacle to Christian understanding or practice.  And, he further notes, that for Methodist documents to use one term in some places and a second in others does far more damage than an adherence to an established practice.

The Third Article of Religion of The United Methodist Church

A further look at the United Methodist Church’s Articles of Religion -- as stated in a previous post:

The United Methodist Church has several sources that historically define its “doctrinal standards.”  These include the church’s Confession of Faith, the General Rules, John Wesley’s Explanatory Notes on the New Testament and Wesley’s Standard Sermons.  Also, in this roster of foundational documents are the church’s Articles of Religion.  In 1784 when the American Church was chartered, John Wesley provided these Articles for the church.  Wesley had composed 24 statements, and the American church added a 25th that was America-specific.  They have always been authoritative in Methodism and the church included them in its Discipline from 1790 on.  The third article is:

Article III — Of the Resurrection of Christ

Christ did truly rise again from the dead, and took again his body, with all things appertaining to the perfection of man's nature, wherewith he ascended into heaven, and there sitteth until he return to judge all men at the last day.

Given that “Christ did truly rise again from the dead” is piling on a bit, we need to understand that, in Wesley’s day, there was great indifference toward the church and toward the maintenance of what we sometimes call “right doctrine.”  It was a time when philosophies of all sorts proliferated.  While most of these turned out to be but flashes in the pan, their subject matter was of great debate.  The physical resurrection of Jesus had multitudinous detractors.  Critics employed all kinds of theoretical gymnastics in order to dispute or deny the physical resurrection.  Some of what occurred were resurgences of old – even ancient – heresies.  While the historical councils of the church dealt with a lot of these, there were people in the eighteenth century who denied the authority of these ecumenical gatherings.  Others spun fanciful arguments out of new cloth.  As I say, most fell by the wayside.  But the forceful rebuttal of Methodism remains.

It was (and is) an important tenet of Methodist theology that the church understands the resurrected Christ to be perfect in his nature.  Being the melding of mortal and divine, Christ in his resurrection stands with all vestiges of his mortality – including any remainder of original sin or fallenness – removed.  In this perfection he fulfills scripture and stands as a foretaste of what awaits Christian believers in their own resurrection.  After all, “resurrection” does not mean “resuscitation.”  Jesus resuscitated the widow’s son at Nain.  Jesus resuscitated Lazarus.  We can’t go to Israel today and meet these fellows.  Jesus returned their own imperfect, human lives for a season.  But, these alive-again figures eventually died once more, even as they await the rising that is before us all.  “Resurrection” means “to be transformed,” “to be made different from what one was before.”  In that, Jesus becomes perfect in his nature.

The article concludes with a credal affirmation of Jesus’ ascension, his station in the Kingdom of God, and his role as judge of humankind in the last days.

Like so many of the statements in the Articles, much of the third Article seems basic, even mundane.  But, part of the nature of these Articles is that they outline the faith as Methodist people understand it.  There can be no comprehensive treatment of Christian theology that does not say something about Christ’s resurrection.  That a statement is simple in its presentation does not hide the divine truth about which it speaks.  Good Christian teaching does not require complex language.  This Article carries the freight admirably.

The Second Article of Religion of The United Methodist Church

A further look at the United Methodist Church’s Articles of Religion -- as stated in a previous post:

The United Methodist Church has several sources that historically define its “doctrinal standards.”  These include the church’s Confession of Faith, the General Rules, John Wesley’s Explanatory Notes on the New Testament and Wesley’s Standard Sermons.  Also, in this roster of foundational documents are the church’s Articles of Religion.  In 1784 when the American Church was chartered, John Wesley provided these Articles for the church.  Wesley had composed 24 statements, and the American church added a 25th that was America-specific.  They have always been authoritative in Methodism and the church included them in its Discipline from 1790 on.  The second article is:

Article II — Of the Word, or Son of God, Who Was Made Very Man

The Son, who is the Word of the Father, the very and eternal God, of one substance with the Father, took man's nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin; so that two whole and perfect natures, that is to say, the Godhead and Manhood, were joined together in one person, never to be divided; whereof is one Christ, very God and very Man, who truly suffered, was crucified, dead, and buried, to reconcile his Father to us, and to be a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for actual sins of men.

The church packs a lot into this article.  The early portion is an almost painfully careful Trinitarian statement that builds on the first article.  The nature of the Trinity has always been confusing for the church.  The greater church has struggled to find its balancing point in affirming the co-equal essence of all three Persons.  It is frequently the case that other elements in a personal or denominational theology weight one member – Father, Son, Spirit – to the detriment of the other two.  Or, some groups “demote” the role of one – usually the Holy Spirit – and emphasize the Person or function of the other two.  In this article Methodism tries to say all it can say without going in circles.  For John Wesley, faith in the co-equal members of the Trinity as well as in the unified whole was an essential element in Christian belief.

The conclusion of Article Two is a statement of function rather than essence.  It is a reminder of what it is that Jesus accomplished – and continues to accomplish – in his atonement.  The credal elements of “suffered, crucified, dead, buried” take in much of the fulness of the Wesleyan understanding of Jesus’ presence in the world.  We should not let the concluding statement elude us, either.  Jesus’ sacrifice was sufficient to remove “not only original guilt, but also for actual sins.”  That Jesus’ act removed the nature of original sin is again a cornerstone belief for Wesley.  But the statement further reminds us that Christ’s efficacy is ongoing, that Jesus’ death addresses our daily individual sins as well.

Article Two addresses, in a fairly succinct fashion, two foundational ideas for Wesley and the Wesleyan tradition.  One cannot comprehend Wesleyan belief or Methodist doctrine without an understanding of the precepts of this Article.

On Methodism's Articles of Religion

The United Methodist Church has several sources that historically define its “doctrinal standards.”  These include the church’s Confession of Faith, the General Rules, John Wesley’s Explanatory Notes on the New Testament and Wesley’s Standard Sermons.  Also in this roster of foundational documents are the church’s Articles of Religion.  In 1784 when the American Church was chartered, John Wesley provided these Articles for the church.  Wesley had composed 24 statements, and the American church added a 25^th that was America-specific.  They have always been authoritative in Methodism and the church included them in its Discipline from 1790 on.

The first of these statements is:

Article I — Of Faith in the Holy Trinity

There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without body or parts, of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness; the maker and preserver of all things, both visible and invisible. And in unity of this Godhead there are three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

I have referenced this recently, (those comments are here) and I don’t want to repeat myself.  I would make an observation that is not so much on the content as the place of this article in the entire document.  I think it is significant that a roster of statements that includes interpretations of scripture and the sacraments and the church that the initial paragraph addresses the Trinity.  Sure, you have to start somewhere, but isn’t this an interesting place to begin?  The article does not go into a lot of detail, so there is not a great opportunity for dispute.  It is a simple, almost elegant declaration of faith in God and what the church has historically taught about God. 

Wesley wrote (and preached) extensively on the Trinity.  Affirmation of the Trinity is one of the few essentials upon which Wesley was insistent.  So, it is here that Methodism begins.