Encyclopedia of sacred theology - pagina 299

Chap.

THE FRUIT OF REVELATION

I]

275

when Theology was

still taken theologically, this distinction and eveiy one who, as theolomaintained; was rigorously Theology in its real sense, must return gian, aims again at

with us to

this distinction.

But neither in this discussion of the Revelation of God to the sinner, any more than in the first part of this section in our explanation of the Revelation of God to man, will we describe the content and form of that Revelation itself. For so far as the form of this revelation is in order in Encyclopedia,

it falls

of Theology.

to be treated in the chapter

Since now, however,

on the Princijnum

we have only

to develop the conception of Theology from

we cannot concern

history,

form, but

must

just

its

begun

idea and

ourselves with that content and

confine ourselves here to its general character.

In view of this our fourth proposition reads, that the revelaGod to the sinner remains the same as the revelation of

tion of

Grod

to

man

without

sin,

only tvith this tivofold necessary differ-

formally the disorder in the sinner must be 7ieutralthe hnoivledge of God must he extended so include the hioivledge of God^s relation to the sinner.

ence, that ized,

as to

and materially

In this connection

we need not concern

ourselves with the

fact that it is grace that speaks in the so-called soteriological

Revelation. to

This belongs properly to Dogmatics and not In passing, however, we suggest that

Encyclopedia.

the possibility

is

conceivable, that after

God might have continued

man had become

a

Himself as before. The result of this would not have been, as is commonl}asserted, that the natural knowledge of God alone would have survived; for, as will be shown later on, this natural knowledge of God also is a fruit of grace, and more particularly of common grace.'''' Imagine that all grace had been withdrawn, so that sin would have been able to develop its deepest energies in the sinner all at once, without anj^ check or opposition, nothing would have remained but spiritual darkness, and all "knowledge of God " would have turned siymer,

to reveal

''^

into

its

opposite.

Hence

to obtain a clear insight into the

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