# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1872_S44
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

— 44 —

tigt, the world is reconciled with God; which latter expression one also would not be allowed to use if the former were not true. Our old dogmaticians would themselves have used the expression more often, since they believed and taught the matter, if shortly before Gerhard's time Huber had not taught that God had not only already justified all men but also elected them to eternal life; in order to avoid the appearance of agreement with this false doctrine, they used the manner of speaking only rarely. Already in the year 1593 the Württemberg theologians (Heerbrand, Gerlach, Hafenreffer, Osiander, Bidembach and others) had conceded to Huber, with regard to the doctrine of justification, that he seemed indeed to depart from them in it "in phrasi tamen magis ac loquendi modo, quam reipsa" [yet more in the phrasing and manner of speaking than in the thing itself], that is, "more, however, in the expression and the manner of speaking than in the matter itself." (Löscher's Unschuldige Nachrr. 1730. p. 567.) The Wittenberg theologians (Gesner, Leyser, Hunnius and others) wished not to tolerate Huber's expression: "Christus contulit proprie redemtionem toti generi humano" [Christ has properly imparted redemption to the whole human race], that is, "Christ imparted redemption to the whole human race in the proper sense," because the proper imparting, "as it is understood in the theological schools," pertains to the appropriation. (See Wittenbergische Consilien I, 642 ff.) None the less we find not a few unsuspected theologians who speak of a universal justification or absolution. Joh. Quistorp (died 1648 as professor at Rostock) writes in his annotations on 2 Cor. 5:19: "The word justification and reconciliation is used in two ways, 1. with regard to the merit obtained, 2. with regard to the merit appropriated. Thus all are justified, and some are justified. All, in respect of the merit obtained; some, in respect of the merit appropriated." Johann Gerhard, after Luther and Chemnitz without doubt the greatest theologian of our Church (died 1637 as professor at Jena), says in his commentary on Rom. 4:25: "As God punished our sins in Christ, since they were laid upon Him and imputed to Him as our surety, so He, in like manner, by raising Him from the dead, has by this very act absolved Him from our sins, which were imputed to Him, and thus has absolved us also in Him." Gottfried Olearius (died 1715 as professor at Leipzig) says in a treatise on Christ's resurrection that Christ has paid what He undertook to pay, and that His payment was sufficient, this His resurrection has proved, in that it shows that our surety has been released, because the obligation assumed by Him has been discharged by His satisfaction, and thus we together with Him are justified in the judgment of God. Hence is written the word of faith: Who shall condemn? Christ is here, who died, yea rather, who is risen again. Johann Jakob Rambach writes on Rom. 4:25: "Christ was in His resur-