CHAPTER IX: Of the Promises of Redemption and Salvation by Christ
I. That Christ, the Man from heaven, was promised by grace to save us.
When therefore the first earthly man by his own fault had fallen into so miserable an estate through disobedience, and together with him all his posterity which had sinned in him and were indeed to be conceived in sin, and to be born the children of wrath–we believe that God of His mere grace and favor promised unto Adam and Eve, and in them to all mankind, another Man from heaven (Gen. 3:15; 1 Cor. 15:47-48) that should be the true substance of very woman, but conceived without the seed of man (Matt. 1:20), and so should be born of a virgin (Luke 1:34), without sin, in whom, as in another head of mankind, consisting of a divine and human nature, being the true image of the Father and full of the Holy Spirit, that should be supplied, which in Adam the first head, by his own fault was decayed. That is, that He the second Man in the name of all us which were to be ingrafted into Him by His Spirit (Rom. 6:5; 11:17), and by a spiritual regeneration should become flesh of His flesh and bone of his bone (John 5:6; Eph. 5:29); should most perfectly be obedient unto God (Phil. 2:8), and by his obedience and death should take away sin, should appease the wrath of God, should redeem us, justify us, sanctify us, and govern us by His Spirit; should endow us with true liberty and with power to do good, and lastly should save us and glorify us to eternal life (Rom. 5:19; Eph. 2:13-14).
II. The promise of redemption by Christ was very necessary.
For Adam, not as a private person but as the parent and original of all mankind, as he was endowed with a righteousness which he should have dispersed into all his posterity as hereditary, for which cause it is used also to be called original righteousness–so by his disobedience instead of righteousness, he brought upon all men great iniquity and a spring of all sin; and instead of eternal life, eternal death. Therefore there was need of another head from whom, through His obedience, that true and heavenly righteousness, holiness, and life might be derived into all the members. This same is Christ.
III. To what end that promise was made presently after the transgression.
And we believe that this promise was made immediately after the transgression, even from the beginning of the world, and afterwards ofttimes mentioned to the holy fathers–declared, yea and confirmed and sealed by diverse and sundry means, signs, and sacraments, that not only we which were to be born after the coming of the Messiah, but also all other which from the first creation should believe in this promise and in true faith should embrace the Savior which was to come, might by that faith be made partakers of the following redemption, [and] might be justified and saved.
IV. As many as believed in Christ that was to come, from the first beginning, were saved.
We believe therefore that as many since the making of the world as believed in Christ, promised and to come, they were ingrafted into Him by this faith; made partakers of His following obedience, of His passion, death, and redemption; that they did eat His body that was to come and to be betrayed, and drank His blood that was to be shed. And finally that they were all Christians and endowed with the Spirit of Christ, and saved unto eternal life as well as we.
V. Errors.
Therefore we condemn and abhor all those which say that none were saved that were before the coming of Christ; and that those fathers received no promises concerning eternal salvation, but only concerning things temporal.
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