Johann
Well-known member
Letter 15. The Sacrifice of Christ Vicarious
Beloved Brother Benjamin,
1. In my last letter I noticed two important circumstances respecting the sacrifice of Christ, viz. to whom he offered, and what he offered. I shall now proceed to show,
The design of his sacrifice. That Jesus Christ suffered, is believed by all, and needs therefore no proof; nor does the subject in hand require us to consider, at present, the nature and circumstances of his sufferings; but it is very necessary to show that he suffered and died as an expiatory and vicarious sacrifice, else he would not have answered the character of the promised Messiah; for we have already shown, both from the Old Testament Scriptures, as well as from the testimony of our Rabbins, that Messiah was to die an expiatory and vicarious death. It is not enough to say, as too many who call themselves Christians do, that Christ suffered and died merely that we might be thereby induced to believe the truth of the doctrines he delivered, as he confirmed them by shedding his blood, or that he might give us an example of patience and holy fortitude, under the various evils we are exposed to, either in life or in death.
2. Now with respect to the former, viz. "that Christ died to confirm his doctrine," I would observe, that this is altogether without a warrant from the sacred Scriptures. Nor could his death be an evidence of the truth he taught; for many, doubtless, have laid down their lives to confirm doctrines that were evidently false. It may prove the sincerity of their heart, but it is no proof of the soundness or correctness of their creed. Nor did Jesus want such evidence, for his miracles were abundantly sufficient for that end. And if the latter, viz. of setting us an example of resignation to the will of God, and patience under afflictions, was all that was to be accomplished by the life and death of Jesus, then I ask, what greater obligation are we under to him, than to the "cloud of witnesses," or martyrs that went before him, and those that have followed after him?
What did he more for us than they have done? Nay, dear Benjamin, I declare, without hesitation, that if this be all that Jesus did for poor sinners, I should no longer consider him as "the chief among ten thousand, and altogether lovely." Can his obedience be compared with that of our father Abraham, who, in obedience to the command of God, took his son, his son Isaac, his only son, in whom all the families at the earth were to be blessed, and laid him bound on the altar, to offer him up as a burnt offering?
Did not Isaac know the intention of his father? and was not his will bound with the cords of love and obedience to the sovereign will of God, before his hands and feet were bound, and laid on the altar of burnt offerings?
Hath he given us a specimen of meekness like that of Moses, who, for the space of forty years, bore with our nation, a people stiff-necked and rebellious, and yet spake only once unadvisedly with his lips? Are his sufferings worth naming, whilst we read of the sufferings and patience of Job? "And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of those that were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others, that had trials of cruel mocking and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonments: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword; they wandered about in sheep-skins and goat-skins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented" (Heb 11:32, &c.).
But on the supposition that Christ, the Son of God, died as a vicarious sacrifice, his obedience to the will of his Father, and his sufferings to atone for our sins, eclipse all the excellences of men and angels, as the light of a taper is eclipsed by the splendor of the sun at noon-day. Beside, how inconsistent the sentiment of these men, who strenuously maintain that Christ died for the good of all mankind, in all ages, and yet as strenuously maintain that he died only to bear witness to the truth, and give us an example of humility, patience and submission to the will of God, which certainly could have been of no service to those who were dead before Christ was torn; who neither heard the doctrines he delivered, nor saw the example he set.
3. I will therefore proceed to show that Christ suffered and died as our substitute and surety, not barely for our good, but in our room and stead. This is taught in the sacred Scriptures in a variety of ways.
Our reconciliation is ascribed to the sufferings and death of Christ. "If when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son" (Rom 5:10). "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them" (2 Cor 5:19). "Having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself" (Col 1:19,20).
Again, his sufferings and death are said to be the price of our redemption. "For ye are bought with a price"(1 Cor 6:20). "The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many" (Matt 20:28). "Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things—but with the precious blood of Christ" (1 Peter 1:18,19). Hence, Christ is called a propitiation, "whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood" (Rom 3:25; 1 John 2:2).
Jesus Christ is called a propitiation, which answers to the word Caphporeth, i. e. mercy-seat. And as that covered the ark in which were the tables of the law, so Christ, by his complete righteousness, appeased his Father, and satisfied his law and justice for all our transgressions.
He is also said "to be made a curse for us" (Gal 3:13). As the sins of the children of Israel were laid on the head of the sacrifice, and as the Messiah was to bear the sins and iniquities of his people, so the apostle informs the Hebrews "that Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many" (Heb 9:28). And the apostle Peter evidently refers the 53d chapter of Isaiah to Jesus, saying, "who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24).
The Scriptures assert "that Christ died for our sins" (1 Cor 15:3); "that he gave himself for our sins" (Gal 1:4), and "that he hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust" (1 Peter 3:18). For the same reason, Christ as the antitype of the Levitical sacrifices, is said "to have offered himself without spot to God, when he shed his blood for us, or to have put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, and to have given himself for us, a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling-savor." We have formerly observed that the great end and design of the apostle in his Epistle to the Hebrews, is to exalt the priesthood of Christ above that of Aaron. Now that which only metaphorically possesses any quality, is clearly and evidently less than that which possesses it properly and directly. If Christ be metaphorically only a priest, he is less than Aaron.
It is worthy of remark, that when Jesus Christ entered on his public ministry, at his first appearance, John the Baptist, who was sent to prepare the way of the Lord, pointed him out as a propitiatory sacrifice, saying, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).
The apostle Peter ascribes our redemption to this sacrifice, which he calls "a lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Peter 1:19). St. John describes him as appearing in heaven in the same character, saying, "I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne, and the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a lamb as it had been slain." Again "And they fell down before the Lamb, and they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood" (Rev 5:6,9).
4. I would further observe, that we have already proved, in a former letter, that sacrifices were appointed by God to make a real atonement for sin; and we have also shown that those expiatory sacrifices were typical of the Messiah; this was also predicted as well as typified; hence it followeth, that if Christ did not die an expiatory and vicarious death, he was not the promised Messiah, but a deceiver. May those who profess that Jesus is the Christ, and yet deny his vicarious death, lay this subject to heart, and may God have mercy upon their souls.
5. In addition to what hath already been said, the following remarks shall close this part of our subject. The expressions used in the sacred Scriptures in favor of the atonement or satisfaction of Christ, are so plain, if they do not prove it, no other words can. The natural meaning amongst illiterate people is, the doctrine of a satisfaction.
This doctrine is represented to us in a great variety of lights, and under a multitude of figures, all pointing to the same thing, a satisfaction for sin. This doctrine hath its proofs in every part of the Scriptures; and is so incorporated with every part of it, that it cannot be separated from it without altering the whole. Further, in order to disprove this doctrine, such a force is put upon words and phrases, and they are so distorted from their natural form and meaning, that by such rules of interpretation nothing can be certainly conveyed by writing or speech; and if the sacred writers did not design to convey to us the doctrine of an atonement or satisfaction for sin, their conduct is inexplicable, and writers so obscure and ill-qualified to convey their ideas, and more, likely to lead readers wrong, did never appear. Nor ought we to overlook the remarkable fact, that Christians in all ages, with but few exceptions, have received this doctrine, as one contained in the sacred Scriptures, and of the first importance. Our next inquiry is,
6. For whom did Christ die? I would answer, first, negatively, he could not be a sacrifice for himself. "The Messiah was to be cut off, but not for himself" (Dan 9:26). He needed no sacrifice for himself, as the other high priests, did; they were sinners, he was harmless (Heb 5:2,3).
He was "a lamb without blemish" (1 Peter 1:19), "who knew no sin, nor was guile found in his mouth." As the sacrifices which were types of him could not be for themselves, being not capable of sinning; so the sacrifice of Christ could not be for himself; being "conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost," and "anointed with the same spirit without measure," he was not capable of sinning. He was "holy, harmless, undefiled, and separated from sinners."
In the second place, I would answer positively that the persons for whom and in whose stead Christ offered himself to God, were the whole number of the elect, which were given to him by the Father; and neither more nor less. It must be acknowledged that such is the dignity of the person who is the Redeemer, that he might have offered himself effectually for every individual of the human race as for the elect, had it been the will of Jehovah to make the stipulation of the covenant of redemption thus extensive.
But the Scriptures teach us otherwise, as has already been stated in a former letter. Christ himself has informed us that he laid down his life in obedience to the commandment received of his Father; but he laid down his life for the sheep; but all are not his sheep, and therefore it could not be the will of his Father that he should lay down his life for every individual of the human race. See John, chapter 10th. Nor can it be denied that some benefits in this life, flow, from the death of Christ, to those who are not his sheep. As our fathers who came out of Egypt, though they did not enter the land of promise, yet were benefited by that deliverance, being freed from bondage, and supplied with manna from heaven, and water out of a rock, &c, so the non-elect, though they derive no saving benefits from the death of Christ, yet they enjoy all their temporal blessings as the fruit of that sacrifice. And in this way those seemingly contradictory Scriptures, which speak on the one hand of Christ dying for his sheep, &c. and on the other, that he died for the world, &c. may easily be reconciled. Such, my dear Benjamin, is my undisguised sentiment on this doctrine, which has been the subject of so much controversy, conducted too often with a spirit very unbecoming the followers of the meek and humble Jesus.
7. The following remarks of my venerable tutor, Dr. Bogue, may throw some light on the subject. In speaking on the question, "For whom did Christ make satisfaction?" he observes,
"this question is agitated with considerable heat, more than it deserves. Accurate distinctions will, in a great measure, supersede the necessity of controversy. Sometimes it is said in sacred Scripture, that Christ died for all men, for the world, &c. The natural unforced meaning of the expression, some think, is the whole human race (John 3:16, 6:51,52; 2 Cor 5:14; 1 Tim 2:4-6; Heb 2:9; 1 John 2:2).
In other places it is said Christ died for the church, for the elect, for his people, &c. the natural unforced meaning of these expressions limits the certain benefits of his satisfaction to a part only of the human race
(John 10:15; Eph 1:22, 5:25). The former of these is called universal, and the latter particular redemption, or general and particular atonement. Now, it is not consistent with sacred Scripture to deny either the one or the other, when they are both so plainly revealed; nor does it give the sacred Scripture the honor that is due, to twist and torture these expressions to make them suit a particular system. It is plain from the word of God, that there is a sense in which Christ died for all, and a sense in which he died for his people only. All the expressions in the Bible may, perhaps, be easily reconciled, if we consider the different points of view in which the subject is represented to us.
If we fix our eyes on the divine decrees, Christ died for the elect (Rom 8:29,30). If we take a view of the covenant of redemption, then Christ died for those who were given him by the Father (John 6:37). If we take a view of the sufficiency of Christ's satisfaction, he may be said to die for the world, for all, for the whole world (Isa 45:22). If we consider the invitations of the Gospel, then Christ died for all who hear the Gospel preached; and salvation is offered to them, if they will receive it (Acts 2:30). If we consider the efficacy of Christ's satisfaction, and its saving influence on those that receive it, then Christ died for believers, for his people (John 15:13; 1 Cor 1:30). If we look at the transactions of the day of judgment, then Christ died for all holy souls that persevered in faith, holiness, and obedience, to the end of life, or for a peculiar people, zealous of good works
(Matt 25:44,45)."(91)
In my next letter I will endeavor to point out the effects of Christ's death. Meanwhile, I pray, my dear Benjamin, that both you and I may manifest, by our life and conduct, that we belong to the number of Christ's sheep who hear his voice and follow him; and may the happy time speedily come, when our dear people, the scattered sheep of Israel, shall be gathered into one fold, under one shepherd, Christ Jesus the Lord. Amen. Farewell.
Letter 15. The Sacrifice of Christ Vicarious
Beloved Brother Benjamin,
1. In my last letter I noticed two important circumstances respecting the sacrifice of Christ, viz. to whom he offered, and what he offered. I shall now proceed to show,
The design of his sacrifice. That Jesus Christ suffered, is believed by all, and needs therefore no proof; nor does the subject in hand require us to consider, at present, the nature and circumstances of his sufferings; but it is very necessary to show that he suffered and died as an expiatory and vicarious sacrifice, else he would not have answered the character of the promised Messiah; for we have already shown, both from the Old Testament Scriptures, as well as from the testimony of our Rabbins, that Messiah was to die an expiatory and vicarious death. It is not enough to say, as too many who call themselves Christians do, that Christ suffered and died merely that we might be thereby induced to believe the truth of the doctrines he delivered, as he confirmed them by shedding his blood, or that he might give us an example of patience and holy fortitude, under the various evils we are exposed to, either in life or in death.
2. Now with respect to the former, viz. "that Christ died to confirm his doctrine," I would observe, that this is altogether without a warrant from the sacred Scriptures. Nor could his death be an evidence of the truth he taught; for many, doubtless, have laid down their lives to confirm doctrines that were evidently false. It may prove the sincerity of their heart, but it is no proof of the soundness or correctness of their creed. Nor did Jesus want such evidence, for his miracles were abundantly sufficient for that end. And if the latter, viz. of setting us an example of resignation to the will of God, and patience under afflictions, was all that was to be accomplished by the life and death of Jesus, then I ask, what greater obligation are we under to him, than to the "cloud of witnesses," or martyrs that went before him, and those that have followed after him?
What did he more for us than they have done? Nay, dear Benjamin, I declare, without hesitation, that if this be all that Jesus did for poor sinners, I should no longer consider him as "the chief among ten thousand, and altogether lovely." Can his obedience be compared with that of our father Abraham, who, in obedience to the command of God, took his son, his son Isaac, his only son, in whom all the families at the earth were to be blessed, and laid him bound on the altar, to offer him up as a burnt offering?
Did not Isaac know the intention of his father? and was not his will bound with the cords of love and obedience to the sovereign will of God, before his hands and feet were bound, and laid on the altar of burnt offerings?
Hath he given us a specimen of meekness like that of Moses, who, for the space of forty years, bore with our nation, a people stiff-necked and rebellious, and yet spake only once unadvisedly with his lips? Are his sufferings worth naming, whilst we read of the sufferings and patience of Job? "And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of those that were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others, that had trials of cruel mocking and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonments: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword; they wandered about in sheep-skins and goat-skins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented" (Heb 11:32, &c.).
But on the supposition that Christ, the Son of God, died as a vicarious sacrifice, his obedience to the will of his Father, and his sufferings to atone for our sins, eclipse all the excellences of men and angels, as the light of a taper is eclipsed by the splendor of the sun at noon-day. Beside, how inconsistent the sentiment of these men, who strenuously maintain that Christ died for the good of all mankind, in all ages, and yet as strenuously maintain that he died only to bear witness to the truth, and give us an example of humility, patience and submission to the will of God, which certainly could have been of no service to those who were dead before Christ was torn; who neither heard the doctrines he delivered, nor saw the example he set.
3. I will therefore proceed to show that Christ suffered and died as our substitute and surety, not barely for our good, but in our room and stead. This is taught in the sacred Scriptures in a variety of ways.
Our reconciliation is ascribed to the sufferings and death of Christ. "If when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son" (Rom 5:10). "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them" (2 Cor 5:19). "Having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself" (Col 1:19,20).
Again, his sufferings and death are said to be the price of our redemption. "For ye are bought with a price"(1 Cor 6:20). "The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many" (Matt 20:28). "Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things—but with the precious blood of Christ" (1 Peter 1:18,19). Hence, Christ is called a propitiation, "whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood" (Rom 3:25; 1 John 2:2).
Jesus Christ is called a propitiation, which answers to the word Caphporeth, i. e. mercy-seat. And as that covered the ark in which were the tables of the law, so Christ, by his complete righteousness, appeased his Father, and satisfied his law and justice for all our transgressions.
He is also said "to be made a curse for us" (Gal 3:13). As the sins of the children of Israel were laid on the head of the sacrifice, and as the Messiah was to bear the sins and iniquities of his people, so the apostle informs the Hebrews "that Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many" (Heb 9:28). And the apostle Peter evidently refers the 53d chapter of Isaiah to Jesus, saying, "who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24).
The Scriptures assert "that Christ died for our sins" (1 Cor 15:3); "that he gave himself for our sins" (Gal 1:4), and "that he hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust" (1 Peter 3:18). For the same reason, Christ as the antitype of the Levitical sacrifices, is said "to have offered himself without spot to God, when he shed his blood for us, or to have put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, and to have given himself for us, a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling-savor." We have formerly observed that the great end and design of the apostle in his Epistle to the Hebrews, is to exalt the priesthood of Christ above that of Aaron. Now that which only metaphorically possesses any quality, is clearly and evidently less than that which possesses it properly and directly. If Christ be metaphorically only a priest, he is less than Aaron.
It is worthy of remark, that when Jesus Christ entered on his public ministry, at his first appearance, John the Baptist, who was sent to prepare the way of the Lord, pointed him out as a propitiatory sacrifice, saying, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).
The apostle Peter ascribes our redemption to this sacrifice, which he calls "a lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Peter 1:19). St. John describes him as appearing in heaven in the same character, saying, "I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne, and the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a lamb as it had been slain." Again "And they fell down before the Lamb, and they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood" (Rev 5:6,9).
4. I would further observe, that we have already proved, in a former letter, that sacrifices were appointed by God to make a real atonement for sin; and we have also shown that those expiatory sacrifices were typical of the Messiah; this was also predicted as well as typified; hence it followeth, that if Christ did not die an expiatory and vicarious death, he was not the promised Messiah, but a deceiver. May those who profess that Jesus is the Christ, and yet deny his vicarious death, lay this subject to heart, and may God have mercy upon their souls.
5. In addition to what hath already been said, the following remarks shall close this part of our subject. The expressions used in the sacred Scriptures in favor of the atonement or satisfaction of Christ, are so plain, if they do not prove it, no other words can. The natural meaning amongst illiterate people is, the doctrine of a satisfaction.
This doctrine is represented to us in a great variety of lights, and under a multitude of figures, all pointing to the same thing, a satisfaction for sin. This doctrine hath its proofs in every part of the Scriptures; and is so incorporated with every part of it, that it cannot be separated from it without altering the whole. Further, in order to disprove this doctrine, such a force is put upon words and phrases, and they are so distorted from their natural form and meaning, that by such rules of interpretation nothing can be certainly conveyed by writing or speech; and if the sacred writers did not design to convey to us the doctrine of an atonement or satisfaction for sin, their conduct is inexplicable, and writers so obscure and ill-qualified to convey their ideas, and more, likely to lead readers wrong, did never appear. Nor ought we to overlook the remarkable fact, that Christians in all ages, with but few exceptions, have received this doctrine, as one contained in the sacred Scriptures, and of the first importance. Our next inquiry is,
6. For whom did Christ die? I would answer, first, negatively, he could not be a sacrifice for himself. "The Messiah was to be cut off, but not for himself" (Dan 9:26). He needed no sacrifice for himself, as the other high priests, did; they were sinners, he was harmless (Heb 5:2,3).
He was "a lamb without blemish" (1 Peter 1:19), "who knew no sin, nor was guile found in his mouth." As the sacrifices which were types of him could not be for themselves, being not capable of sinning; so the sacrifice of Christ could not be for himself; being "conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost," and "anointed with the same spirit without measure," he was not capable of sinning. He was "holy, harmless, undefiled, and separated from sinners."
In the second place, I would answer positively that the persons for whom and in whose stead Christ offered himself to God, were the whole number of the elect, which were given to him by the Father; and neither more nor less. It must be acknowledged that such is the dignity of the person who is the Redeemer, that he might have offered himself effectually for every individual of the human race as for the elect, had it been the will of Jehovah to make the stipulation of the covenant of redemption thus extensive.
But the Scriptures teach us otherwise, as has already been stated in a former letter. Christ himself has informed us that he laid down his life in obedience to the commandment received of his Father; but he laid down his life for the sheep; but all are not his sheep, and therefore it could not be the will of his Father that he should lay down his life for every individual of the human race. See John, chapter 10th. Nor can it be denied that some benefits in this life, flow, from the death of Christ, to those who are not his sheep. As our fathers who came out of Egypt, though they did not enter the land of promise, yet were benefited by that deliverance, being freed from bondage, and supplied with manna from heaven, and water out of a rock, &c, so the non-elect, though they derive no saving benefits from the death of Christ, yet they enjoy all their temporal blessings as the fruit of that sacrifice. And in this way those seemingly contradictory Scriptures, which speak on the one hand of Christ dying for his sheep, &c. and on the other, that he died for the world, &c. may easily be reconciled. Such, my dear Benjamin, is my undisguised sentiment on this doctrine, which has been the subject of so much controversy, conducted too often with a spirit very unbecoming the followers of the meek and humble Jesus.
7. The following remarks of my venerable tutor, Dr. Bogue, may throw some light on the subject. In speaking on the question, "For whom did Christ make satisfaction?" he observes,
"this question is agitated with considerable heat, more than it deserves. Accurate distinctions will, in a great measure, supersede the necessity of controversy. Sometimes it is said in sacred Scripture, that Christ died for all men, for the world, &c. The natural unforced meaning of the expression, some think, is the whole human race (John 3:16, 6:51,52; 2 Cor 5:14; 1 Tim 2:4-6; Heb 2:9; 1 John 2:2).
In other places it is said Christ died for the church, for the elect, for his people, &c. the natural unforced meaning of these expressions limits the certain benefits of his satisfaction to a part only of the human race
(John 10:15; Eph 1:22, 5:25). The former of these is called universal, and the latter particular redemption, or general and particular atonement. Now, it is not consistent with sacred Scripture to deny either the one or the other, when they are both so plainly revealed; nor does it give the sacred Scripture the honor that is due, to twist and torture these expressions to make them suit a particular system. It is plain from the word of God, that there is a sense in which Christ died for all, and a sense in which he died for his people only. All the expressions in the Bible may, perhaps, be easily reconciled, if we consider the different points of view in which the subject is represented to us.
If we fix our eyes on the divine decrees, Christ died for the elect (Rom 8:29,30). If we take a view of the covenant of redemption, then Christ died for those who were given him by the Father (John 6:37). If we take a view of the sufficiency of Christ's satisfaction, he may be said to die for the world, for all, for the whole world (Isa 45:22). If we consider the invitations of the Gospel, then Christ died for all who hear the Gospel preached; and salvation is offered to them, if they will receive it (Acts 2:30). If we consider the efficacy of Christ's satisfaction, and its saving influence on those that receive it, then Christ died for believers, for his people (John 15:13; 1 Cor 1:30). If we look at the transactions of the day of judgment, then Christ died for all holy souls that persevered in faith, holiness, and obedience, to the end of life, or for a peculiar people, zealous of good works
(Matt 25:44,45)."(91)
In my next letter I will endeavor to point out the effects of Christ's death. Meanwhile, I pray, my dear Benjamin, that both you and I may manifest, by our life and conduct, that we belong to the number of Christ's sheep who hear his voice and follow him; and may the happy time speedily come, when our dear people, the scattered sheep of Israel, shall be gathered into one fold, under one shepherd, Christ Jesus the Lord. Amen. Farewell.
Letter 15. The Sacrifice of Christ Vicarious
