# Lehre und Wehre_St. Louis Missouri_April 1859_S97
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

Lehre und Wehre.
Volume V.    April 1859.    No. 4.

On the Language of the Church.

(Conclusion.)

Johann Gerhard finally himself demonstrates the Church's right to speak her own particular language, in the following words: "To be sure, the Church has no autocratic (arbitrary) power to make new articles of faith, since she is bound, by divine command, to the voice of her Bridegroom, which sounds forth in Scripture alone — Deut. 4:2, 12:32; Isa. 8:20; Matt. 17:5; John 10:27; nevertheless she may indeed explain the articles of faith set forth in Scripture also in other words than those which occur there. This we prove, 1., from necessity. For although the heretics, so far as the Church's doctrines are concerned, teach things different in sense, indeed contrary, they nevertheless imitate the modes of speech of Scripture, 'speaking the same things, but thinking differently,' as Irenaeus says of them in the preface to his first book.*) They are like the hyena, which by night approaches the sheepfolds and imitates the shepherd's voice, and then tears apart and devours those who come out. Hence necessity has compelled the Church, in explaining the mystery of the Trinity, to make use of such words, in order thereby to draw the heretical cunning out of its hiding places, and to make an open distinction between the orthodoxy of the Church and the errors of the heretics. 2. From their usefulness. The usefulness of these words is namely threefold, for they have been employed partly for the sake of richer explanation, partly for better distinction, partly for the sake of a more thorough and more complete refutation. When three Persons of the Godhead are affirmed and their homoousia (identity of essence) is defended, nothing is thereby added to Scripture so far as the matter itself is concerned, since Scripture teaches this very thing, even if not in just as many words, yet in other words meaning the same; nevertheless the Church has this benefit from the use of those words, that she thereby sums up briefly and concisely the sound doctrine of this mystery in such terms

*) [Saying the same things, but meaning different things.]

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