Chapter 3: The Nature of Man

The relationship between God’s grace and man’s free‑will has been the subject of much controversy, and is still widely debated. Some, like the Pelagians, believe that the human will can do what is right without prevenient grace; others, like John Calvin, believe that God’s grace cannot be resisted by man’s will. The Article takes an intermediate position between these two extremes. A little consideration will show that man’s will cannot be completely free without grace,^[1] but neither does grace take such control of man’s will as to deprive him of free choice. The true relationship has been summed up in the saying, ‘Man without God cannot; God without man will not’. Man cannot save himself without God’s grace, but neither does God save any man against his own will. Our salvation depends on our voluntary co‑operation with the grace of God.

Article XV

OF CHRIST ALONE WITHOUT SIN^[2]

Christ in the truth of our nature was made like unto us in all things, sin only except, from which He was clearly void, both in His flesh and in His spirit. He came to be the Lamb without spot, Who by sacrifice or Himself once made, should take away the sins of the world, and sin, as St. John saith, was not in Him. But all we the rest, although baptized, and born again in Christ, yet offend in many things; and if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

During the 16th century the Pelagian view reappeared among some sects that the ideal of Christian perfection was attainable; indeed, a state of sinlessness was to them not merely a possibility, but an actuality. Against this doctrine the Article asserts that the sole instance of human perfection is Christ; ‘all we the rest, although baptized, and born again in Christ, yet offend in many things’; alleged sinlessness is untruthful self‑deception. A feature of the Article is the number of phrases taken from the New Testament, chiefly from the Epistle to the Hebrews: ‘made like unto us in all things, sin only except’;^[3] ‘Lamb without spot’;^[4] ‘by sacrifice of Himself once made’;^[5] ‘all we . . . offend in many things',^[6] and the last clause is a quotation of 1 John 1:8.

^[1]St. Paul had the will to do good, but was unable to do so (Rom. 7:15).

^[2]Composed by the English Reformers in 1552 and, except for minor verbal changes, still in its original form. The original title was ‘No one is without sin but Christ alone.’

^[3]Heb. 2:17, 4:15.

^[4]1 Pet. 1:19; cf. Heb. 9:14.

^[5]Heb. 9:26, 7:27.

^[6]Jas. 3:2.


	The Nature of Man
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Title Contents Preface Introduction Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Appendix A Appendix B Appendix C Site Search: powered by FreeFind Copyright & Credit	The relationship between God’s grace and man’s free‑will has been the subject of much controversy, and is still widely debated. Some, like the Pelagians, believe that the human will can do what is right without prevenient grace; others, like John Calvin, believe that God’s grace cannot be resisted by man’s will. The Article takes an intermediate position between these two extremes. A little consideration will show that man’s will cannot be completely free without grace,^[1] but neither does grace take such control of man’s will as to deprive him of free choice. The true relationship has been summed up in the saying, ‘Man without God cannot; God without man will not’. Man cannot save himself without God’s grace, but neither does God save any man against his own will. Our salvation depends on our voluntary co‑operation with the grace of God. Article XV OF CHRIST ALONE WITHOUT SIN^[2] Christ in the truth of our nature was made like unto us in all things, sin only except, from which He was clearly void, both in His flesh and in His spirit. He came to be the Lamb without spot, Who by sacrifice or Himself once made, should take away the sins of the world, and sin, as St. John saith, was not in Him. But all we the rest, although baptized, and born again in Christ, yet offend in many things; and if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. During the 16th century the Pelagian view reappeared among some sects that the ideal of Christian perfection was attainable; indeed, a state of sinlessness was to them not merely a possibility, but an actuality. Against this doctrine the Article asserts that the sole instance of human perfection is Christ; ‘all we the rest, although baptized, and born again in Christ, yet offend in many things’; alleged sinlessness is untruthful self‑deception. A feature of the Article is the number of phrases taken from the New Testament, chiefly from the Epistle to the Hebrews: ‘made like unto us in all things, sin only except’;^[3] ‘Lamb without spot’;^[4] ‘by sacrifice of Himself once made’;^[5] ‘all we . . . offend in many things',^[6] and the last clause is a quotation of 1 John 1:8. ^[1]St. Paul had the will to do good, but was unable to do so (Rom. 7:15). ^[2]Composed by the English Reformers in 1552 and, except for minor verbal changes, still in its original form. The original title was ‘No one is without sin but Christ alone.’ ^[3]Heb. 2:17, 4:15. ^[4]1 Pet. 1:19; cf. Heb. 9:14. ^[5]Heb. 9:26, 7:27. ^[6]Jas. 3:2.
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