Of the Word and Sacraments
I. Sacraments are holy signs and seals of the covenant
of grace,a immediately instituted by God,b to represent Christ and
His benefits; and to confirm our interest in Him:c as also, to put a visible
difference between those that belong unto the Church and the rest of the world;d
and solemnly to engage them to the service of God in Christ, according to His Word.e
a. Rom. 4:11; Gen. 17:7, 10.
b. Matt 28:19; I Cor. 11:23.
c. I Cor. 10:16; 11:25-26; Gal. 3:27; 17.
d. Rom. 15:8; Exod. 12:48; Gen. 34:14.
e. Rom. 6:3-4; I Cor. 10:16, 21.
II. There is, in every sacrament, a spiritual relation,
or sacramental union, between the sign and the thing signified: whence it comes to pass,
that the names and effects of the one are attributed to the other.a
a. Gen. 17:10; Matt. 26:27-28; Tit. 3:5.
III. The grace which is exhibited in or by the
sacraments rightly used, is not conferred by any power in them; neither does the efficacy
of a sacrament depend upon the piety or intention of him that does administer it:a
but upon the work of the Spirit,b and the word of institution, which contains,
together with a precept authorizing the use thereof, a promise of benefit to worthy
receivers.c
a. Rom. 2:28-29; I Pet. 3:21.
b. Matt. 3:11; I Cor. 12:13.
c. Matt. 26:27-28; 28:19-20.
IV. There be only two sacraments ordained by Christ our
Lord in the Gospel; that is to say, Baptism, and the Supper of the Lord: neither of which
may be dispensed by any, but by a minister of the Word lawfully ordained.a
a. Matt. 28:19; I Cor. 11:20, 23; 4:1; Heb. 5:4.
V. The sacraments of the old testament, in regard of the
spiritual things thereby signified and exhibited, were, for substance, the same with those
of the new.a
a. I Cor. 10:1-4.
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