I recognize that any theologian attempting to explain the doctrine of the Trinity faces the risk of overemphasizing either the unity of the persons or their distinction, favoring oneness or threeness to the detriment of the other. I am quite aware of of this risk, so under advisement from Gregory of Nazianzus, I have adopted a strategy to mitigate this danger. Gregory writes, “No sooner do I conceive of the One than I am illumined by the splendor of the Three; no sooner do I distinguish them than I am carried back to the One.” Therefore, chapters will alternate between emphasis on divine unity and divine threeness.

D. GLENN BUTNER JR., TRINITARIAN DOGMATICS, 11.

As endorsed at the Fourth Lateran Council (1215), the doctrine of analogy insists that God is different from the world that he has created but recognizes that creation bears some relation to it’s Creator. This similarity amid greater difference allows us to use human words and concepts of God yet requires that we always explain how their meaning differs when they are used of God rather than created realities. As Katherine Sonderegger remarks, Lateran IV’s insistence on a “movement frome likeness to unlikeness” is “the scholastic expression of Divine Holiness, the Lordy Act of setting Himself apart.”

D. Glenn Butner Jr., Trinitarian Dogmatics, 8.

Much of this book, then, will be concerned with the exegetical foundations of the doctrine of the Trinity and with an accurate historical analysis of concepts that have become fundamental to any dogmatic account of the Trinity.

D. Glenn Butner Jr., Trinitarian Dogmatics, 2.

43. Is it then a matter of indifference to what church we belong?

No; it is our solemn duty to understand the character and signs of a true church of Christ — and to adhere to that church which is found most consonant to the scriptures, in its doctrines, its ordinances, and its constitution.

Thomas Smyth, An Ecclesiastical Catechism of the Presbyterian Church; For the Use of Families, Bible-Classes, and Private Members, 26.

42. May we expect to find any church on earth perfectly free from error?

The purest churches under heaven, are subject both to mixture and error, and therefore we must not expect in them absolute perfection.

Thomas Smyth, An Ecclesiastical Catechism of the Presbyterian Church; For the Use of Families, Bible-Classes, and Private Members, 26.

20. Why is the church of Christ called catholic, or universal?

Because it is not confined to one nation, as it was under the Jewish economy, but consists of all those in every part of the world who believe in Christ; because its privileges are conferred equally upon all classes of men; and because it will yet embrace within it all nations and kindreds of the earth.

Thomas Smyth, An Ecclesiastical Catechism of the Presbyterian Church; For the Use of Families, Bible-Classes, and Private Members, 14.

The necessity for some such work as the present, has been long felt by many. Great detriment has accrued to the Presbyterian Church, from the want of that indoctrination in the principles of her worship and polity, which it is surely her duty to provide for all who commit themselves, and their children, to her teaching and guidance. Her members and children, have been thus attached to her, not so much by those ties of principle and conviction, which prove firm and enduring; as by merely local and personal considerations, which form, in times of difficulty, but a feeble bond of attachment. Other churches are diligent in their efforts, to imbue the young mind with the knowledge of all their doctrinal peculiarities, and if this is done in a spirit of charity and christian brotherhood, will it not promote, rather than prevent, that perfect christian union for which we hope? . . .

In the fervent hope that this little work, may lead some of the rising generation to ask for the old paths, that they may walk therein, it is committed to the blessing of the Head of the Church . . .

Preface by Thomas Smyth in An Ecclesiastical Catechism of the Presbyterian Church; For the Use of Families, Bible-Classes, and Private Members.

The Lord says in this passage that when the priest says this, then the Lord will bless them. The jussive then is an oracle, not a wish or a prayer. It is a declaration of what the Lord imparts. It is as binding and sure as a patriarchal blessing which once said officially could not be taken back. The priest here is then pronouncing the word of the Lord, declaring to the congregation the outcome of the atonement.

NET Bible Notes for Numbers 6:24-26

At the Westminster Assembly, the English Puritans, with the help of Presbyterians from Scotland, set out to achieve a great reformation of public worship in the Church of England. Note the use of the word directory rather than liturgy. The preface states that “long and sad experience hath made it manifest, that the Liturgy used in the Church of England, (notwithstanding all the pains of religious intentions of the Compilers of it,) hath proved an offence, not only to many of the godly at home, but also to the reformed Churches abroad.”

Living for God’s Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism by Joel R. Beeke, Sinclair B. Ferguson, James Grier, Michael A. G. Haykin, Nelson Kloosterman, Ray Lanning, Robert Oliver, Ray Pennings, Derek W. H. Thomas, Loc. 3081.

In the family we get to know the secret of life, the secret, namely, that not selfishness but self-denial and self-sacrifice, dedication and love, constitute the rich content of human living.

Herman Bavinck, The Christian Family, 134.