On Creation and Predestination

by Johann Gerhard

Publisher:

Concordia Publishing House

, 2013

Overview

Johann Gerhard was the premier Lutheran theologian of the early seventeenth century. Combining his profound understanding of evangelical Lutheran theology with a broad interest in ethics and culture, he produced significant works on biblical, doctrinal, pastoral, and devotional theology. His Loci Theologici are regarded as the standard compendium of Lutheran orthodoxy, with topics ranging from the proper understanding and interpretation of Scripture to eschatology. They interact with the writings of the Church Fathers, Luther and his contemporaries, and the Catholic and Calvinist theologians of his day.

In his Loci, Gerhard addresses the doctrines of the Lutheran faith with skill and precision. His series remains a classic of Lutheran theology and offers contemporary church workers and researchers a wealth of material on the distinctive of Lutheran doctrine.

In this volume, Gerhard addresses creation, anthropology, angels, divine providence, eternal election, and the image of God.

The Theological Commonplaces series is the first-ever English translation of Johann Gerhard’s famous Loci Theologici. The series, which will total 17 volumes, will be among the most thorough and comprehensive presentations of Lutheran theology in the English language.

This volume contains:

• On Creation and Angels
• On Providence
• On Election and Reprobation
• On the Image of God in Man Before the Fall

Key Features

• Presents a Lutheran perspective on issues not commonly addressed by Lutheran theologians
• Unpacks Lutheran biblical interpretation in the context of systematic theology
• Provides a fresh translation for modern readers

Contents

On Creation and Angels

• The meaning of the word “create”
• The efficient cause of creation
• The material of creation
• The order of creating
• Digression on the Angels
• The purpose of creation
• The definition of creation

On Providence

• The term “providence”
• God’s foreknowledge
• The end purpose of providence
• God’s control
• Preservation
• Governance
• The manner of divine providence
• How divine providence concurs with the evil actions of human beings
• God is not the cause of sin
• Refutation of arguments with which providence is attacked
• Chance
• Fate
• The use of this commonplace
• The definition of providence

On Election and Reprobation

• Whether predestination should be discussed in the church
• An explanation of the terms: “chose” and “separated”
• An outline of the entire matter
• The universal mercy of God and His beneficent will toward all
• The creation of all people in Adam according to the image of God
• The universality of Christ’s merit
• The universality of the calling
• Election happened in view of the merit of Christ
• Consideration of faith is involved in election
• Reprobation is not absolute
• The position of the Scholastics and Papists in this article
• The opinion of Origen, of the Predestinated, and of Huber on this article
• Response to some questions in this mystery
• The use of this doctrine and definitions

On the Image of God in Man before the Fall

• Of what the image of God, according to which man was created, consists
• The image of God in man was not a supernatural gift
• The image of God was not the very substance of man
• Immortality, a part of the divine image
• Whether the image of God should be sought also in the human body
• Whether woman also was created after the image of God
• The dwelling place of the first man, Paradise
• The propagation of the soul
• The loss of the divine image through the fall of the first-formed human beings
• The use of this commonplace and the definition of the divine image

Product Details

• Title: On Creation and Predestination
• Author: Johann Gerhard
• Series: Theological Commonplaces
• Publisher: Concordia Publishing House
• Print Publication Date: 2013
• Logos Release Date: 2018
• Pages: 390
• Era: era:reformation
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Church › History of doctrines--17th century; Lutheran Church › Doctrines; Bellarmino, Roberto Francesco Romolo, Saint, 1542-1621
• ISBNs: 9780758610119, 0758610114
• Resource ID: LLS:CREATIONGERHARD
• Resource Type: Systematic Theology
• Metadata Last Updated: 2023-03-06T18:10:52Z

About Johann Gerhard

Johann Gerhard (October 17, 1582 – August 10, 1637) was a Lutheran church leader and Lutheran Scholastic theologian during the period of Orthodoxy.