Sacred Dissertations on the Apostles' Creed, 2 Vols. (Witsius)

In this two volume set, Witsius exemplifies his own principle, that ‘he alone is a true Theologian, who adds the practical to the theoretical part of Religion.’ A marriage of extraordinary intellect and spiritual passion, this phrase-by-phrase exposition of the Creed seeks always to apply Scripture to life. In both tone and substance Witsius draws the reader into a deeper understanding of and love for the truths most central to the Christian faith.

Table of Contents:

1. On the Authors, and the Authority of the Apostles’ Creed
2. On Fundamental Articles
3. On Saving Faith
4. On the Faith of the Existence of God
5. On Faith in God
6. On Faith in a Three-One God
7. On Faith in God the Father
8. On the Creation
9. On the name Jesus
10. On the name Christ
11. On the name Christians
12. On Jesus Christ, the Only-Begotten Son of God
13. On Jesus Christ, our Lord
14. On Jesus Christ, Conceived of the Holy Ghost, and Born of the Virgin Mary
15. On Christ’s Suffering under Pontius Pilate
16. On the Crucifixion and Death of Christ
17. On the Burial of Christ
18. On Christ’s Descent into Hell
19. On the Resurrection of Christ
20. On Christ’s Ascension into Heaven
21. On Christ’s Sitting at the Right Hand of God the Father
22. On Christ’s Coming again to Judgment
23. On the Holy Ghost
24. On the Church, and the Communion of Saints, and the Operation of our Faith with regard to both
25. On the Forgiveness of Sins
26. On the Resurrection of the Body, and the Life Everlasting

Author 

Herman Witsius (1636-1708) was Professor of Divinity in the Universities of Franeker, Utrecht, and Leyden. A brilliant and devout student, he was fluent in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew by the age of fifteen, when he entered the University of Utrecht. He was ordained at twenty-one and served in several pastorates, filling both the pulpit and the academic chair over the course of his life.

Endorsments 

“Witsius on the Apostles’ Creed is a great treasure. I, for one, am excited that it should be in the hands of Christian people today.” —Sinclair B. Ferguson, Senior Minister of first Presbyterian Church in Columbia, South Carolina

 “Herman Witsius was one of the most prominent Reformed theologians of the second half of the seventeenth century. As a covenant theologian and a foremost representative of the Dutch Further Reformation, he was a theologian of synthesis. Based on Scripture and Reformed confessional standards, he sought reconciliation between the followers of Gisbertus Voetius and Johannes Cocceius. Witsius’s influence extended beyond the borders of the Netherlands into English and especially Scottish theology. As in most of Witsius’s works, Sacred Dissertations on the Apostles’ Creed combines the practice of piety with sound theological method. The reprint of this work will contribute to a better understanding of one of the founding fathers of Reformed orthodoxy and it will encourage a living Reformed theology today.” — Willem J. van Asselt, Assistant Professor of Church History and the History of Reformed Theology at Utrecht University, and adjunct professor of Historical Theology at the Evangelical Theological Faculty, Leuven