# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1886_S5
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

of the Ev. Luth. Synodical Conference of North America. 1886. 5

Doctrinal Proceedings.

In five sessions the *Synodalconferenz* [Synodical Conference] dealt with the following

Theses on the Divinity of Holy Scripture.

I.

The doctrine that Holy Scripture of the Old and New Testament is of divine origin in content and in expression is a doctrine the surrender of which means giving up the foundation of the Christian faith.

II.

The doctrine of the divinity of Holy Scripture is itself an article of faith and can therefore be recognized only from Scripture itself and, by its power, accepted or believed with full confidence.

III.

The doctrine of the divine origin of Holy Scripture is clearly and plainly revealed in Scripture in more than one way.

A. Scripture teaches that the holy writers were not the actual authors of this Scripture, but wrote as instruments of the Holy Spirit.

B. Scripture teaches that everything written in it is a work of the Holy Spirit, not only in content but also in expression.

C. Holy Scripture claims such authority and demands such an attitude toward itself as only a Holy Scripture originating from God himself, in content and expression, can claim and demand.

The essayist, Prof. A. L. Gräbner of Milwaukee, Wis., first substantiated the first thesis as follows:

When the holy Apostle Paul, in Eph. 2:19–22, calls out to the Christians at Ephesus that they are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ being the cornerstone, these words rest on an image that is repeatedly used in Holy Scripture to represent the holy Christian Church. So in 1 Cor. 3:9, where Christians are called God's building, and in 1 Cor. 3:16 and 2 Cor. 6:16, where they are called God's temple. And in 1 Pet. 2:5 the Apostle exhorts Christians to build themselves up into a spiritual house. Of these true Christians Paul now says above: they are built upon the foundation of the apostles