Frederick on Baptism
Last week, someone on a mailing list asked about The Confession of Elector Frederick III of the Palatinate (1577). Schaff mentions it in The Creeds of Christendom as one of the minor German Reformed confessions. It was the last will and testament of Elector Frederick III, the man who was responsible for having Ursinus and Olevianus write the Heidelberg Catechism, and Schaff says that “It may be regarded as an explanatory appendix to the Heidelberg Catechism” (I.563).
The only English edition is from 1577 and, of course, is not in print. Nor is it available online yet.  Joel Garver tracked a copy down for me. Here’s part of the section on the sacraments, including the whole section on baptism. I’ve modernized the spelling and some of the punctuation, but for the most part I’ve left the capitalization (or lack thereof) the way it is in the original.
But to speak of the use of the Sacraments, we believe and confess that the holy Sacraments of the new Testament, as the holy Baptism and Supper of the Lord, were ordained of Christ himself to that end, that Christians should use them, hold them in great reverence, and not despise them, for that they are not only marks whereby we are known to be Christians, and of the open profession before God and man of the covenant and grace of God, but also especially & principally are true and assured tokens and witnesses of God’s grace towards us: for which cause when we shall have young children borne into this world we should not as some do suffer them to be 8, 9, or 10 years old, till they be of some reasonable discretion, and then first baptize them: But rather much more comfort ourselves with that which our Lord Christ said to his disciples, Mark 10, Let little children come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. If then the kingdom of heaven belong unto young children (as it is undoubtedly true) why should we then doubt that they are also comprehended and concluded in the covenant which God made with Abraham and the believing fathers heretofore? And for that cause we ought not by any means seclude or forclose them from the holy baptism.
Of the efficacy and working of the holy Baptism, we believe, that our children, seeing (as is before declared) that they be comprehended in the covenant, when they shall be baptized according to the article of our true, old and universal faith, and also afterwards be brought up in the same, they are also made partakers in the bloody death of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and all his benefits which he hath purchased unto us by his said death, in such sort that they not only receive the outward seal of the holy Sacrament, which is the elemental water upon their outward bodies, but likewise inwardly are baptized in their souls by Christ himself with his blood which was shed, and also through the working of the holy Ghost regenerated and born again to be new creatures. For as the elemental water of the holy Sacrament in baptism is not Christ’s blood, nor the holy Ghost itself, so also the holy Ghost or blood of Christ is not in the sacrament of the elemental water. And although the elemental water according to his property and nature can do no more than outwardly cleanse the body, and reacheth not so far as unto the soul, yet the blood of Christ cleanseth the soul inwardly to everlasting life. And as the minister doth the one, so doth Christ the other, as Saint John the Baptist witnesseth in the third chapter of Saint Matthew’s Gospel: I baptize you with water to repentance or amendment of life, but he that cometh after me is stronger than I am, whose shoes I am not worthy to carry, he shall baptize you with the holy Ghost and with fire. And like unto this is the saying of Saint Paul in the tenth Chapter of his first epistle to the Corinthians, that after the same sort the Israelites were baptized with the clouds and sea, as also they were fed with manna, and drank the water which proceeded out of the rock, etc.
And then, toward the end of the section on the Lord’s Supper:
And lastly if the communion of CHRIST and of all his gifts and benefits[,] righteousness and life everlasting, was not purchased unto us, than by his death on the cross, and otherwise cannot be obtained of us, but through true faith which the holy ghost worketh in our hearts, then it is certain that neither the use of the holy Sacraments nor yet any other inward or outward work ex opere operato, that is, by virtue of a work done: can make us partakers of Christ and his benefits. But the holy Sacraments are godly tokens and seals, by which our faith is strengthened. And they do direct and lead us to the only offering of Christ which hath been once made upon the cross for us. And there cannot come unto us any such communion and fellowship with Christ when we only hear outwardly the visible word or promise of the Sacraments, as when inwardly we believe the word of the Gospel, which shall be heard and preached unto us. And therefore although the visible signs may be abused by the ungodly and wicked to their condemnation, yet the invisible heavenly gifts and benefits which we apprehend only by our faith, must only be and remain proper to the faithful.
Helpful background for understanding the baptismal theology of the early Reformers, and of the Heidelberg Catechism in particular, in its historical context.
November 27th, 2006 at 3:54 pm
BOQ when they shall be baptized according to the article of our true, old and universal faith, and also afterwards be brought up in the same, they are also made partakers in the bloody death of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and all his benefits which he hath purchased unto us by his said death, in such sort that they not only receive the outward seal of the holy Sacrament, which is the elemental water upon their outward bodies, but likewise inwardly are baptized in their souls by Christ himself with his blood which was shed, and also through the working of the holy Ghost regenerated and born again to be new creatures. EOQ
Interesting to note the qualifications at the beginning of this quote for the thing signified to be atrributed to the child. “And also afterwards to be brought up in the same” surely implies that the regeneration could happen at any time during that raising up.
November 28th, 2006 at 7:40 am
I don’t see this implication, Lane. The quote you cite simply states that the child is to be baptized according to the articles of the faith and then brought up in that same faith. This does not imply anything about subsequent regeneration, rather it is an admonishment to continue discipling the child in the faith that he has just begun. If anything, the very course of discipleship assumes that there is spiritual life to work with!
Kind regards,
~Jason
November 28th, 2006 at 9:01 am
I’m not sure that’s the right way to understand what Freddy’s saying here, Lane. It sounds to me as if he’s saying that when (i.e., in the case that) a child is baptized in the faith and is later going to be brought up in that faith, then they not only get the water externally but also get the work of Christ internally and are regenerated by the Spirit. When? The context would suggest that it’s at the same time as they receive the outward washing with water.
That appears also to be the way the Westminster divine Cornelius Burges understood this passage when he cited it in his book on the baptismal regeneration of elect infants.
Of course, one might also ask what Frederick means by “regeneration,” given that at the time he was writing the term was used in a variety of ways.
November 29th, 2006 at 2:04 pm
I wish you or Mr. Garver would transcribe and post the confession of Frederick. Perhaps one can appeal to a sense of historical duty. I would be very interested in it, and I know I would not be alone.
However, I do wonder about your claim that it could be used to help understand the Heidelberg Catechism. Frederick may have authorized the catechism, but he by no means wrote it.
November 29th, 2006 at 2:38 pm
Lee, I’d be glad to see someone edit the 1577 translation of Frederick’s confession into modern English and post it on the web. I worked on this section of it in response to someone’s request on a mailing list, but I just don’t have the time to do the rest of it right now.
You asked about my claim that this confession can be used to help understand the Heidelberg Catechism. I believe what I said is that this document provides helpful background for a study of the Catechism.
What I meant is that, given that Frederick sponsored and approved of the Heidelberg Catechism, it’s likely that he saw his confession as being in line with it. His confession gives us some idea of how the Heidelberg Catechism was understood and applied by one of the men involved in its production.
Of course, it’s a later document and nothing in it is determinative for understanding the HC nor is Frederick’s understanding of things binding on anyone who subscribes to the HC (just as David Paraeus’s notes of Ursinus’ lectures or the books by Olevianus aren’t binding).
Still, these things do help to fill out our picture of what the early Reformed people thought and how the Heidelberg Catechism was understood at the time it was written.
November 29th, 2006 at 2:40 pm
To put it another way, some people today might find Frederick’s comments about baptism a bit strong. If someone said today what Fred said then, he might be accused of being outside the bounds of the confessions.
But the same Frederick who approved the HC said these things and that helps us see that, to the original authors of the HC and the churches that adopted it, the kinds of things Frederick said WEREN’T regarded as outside confessional bounds.