Westminster Confession and Its Application to Today - Part 1

Ⅰ. Preface

Four standard documents produced by the Westminster Assembly of Divines held at the Westminster Abbey in London, England, from 1643 to 1649: Confession of Confession, Catechism of the Great and Small, Worship Model, Presbyterian Politics (government) can be said to be the most precious standard of faith created by the church throughout church history. In particular, the previous two documents, "Westminster Confession of Faith" and "Westminster Large and Small Catechism," are arguably the most complete creeds and doctrines of education, and today many Protestant churches accept it or use it with some modifications. However, this does not mean that Westminster standards are not perfect or that standards of better faith cannot appear. Just as the Bible was inspired by the historical and author's background, these Westminster standards were also created in a historical, spatiotemporal environment. Therefore, to understand the Westminster Standards correctly, an understanding of the historical background of the holding and process of the General Assembly must be given priority. 

The Presbyterian Church, which accounts for about 80% of Korean churches, adopts the Westminster creed as a doctrine on the joint side, and the constitution and doctrine on the side of the consolidation and instead. Congregational Baptist churches have adopted some of their amendments. The Westminster creed is the most prestigious symbol of the Reformed Church except the Bible and can be seen as the culmination and result of the Reformation that began in the Middle Ages. The members of the Presbyterian Church in Korea often hear about Westminster standards since they first attended church. Nonetheless, the Korean Presbyterian Church today lacks education and understanding of these standards, and lacks understanding of the Westminster General Assembly that created them or the process by which they were created. Therefore, here, the Westminster General Assembly was convened under what circumstances, and how the standard books were created, its meaning and limitations were examined, and the significance, structure, and peculiarities of confession of faith and catechism were examined and applied to the present age. 

Ⅱ. Understanding of historical background 

1. Reformation in England and Scotland 

Understanding Westminster's three creeds requires an understanding of the church and royal unity of England and Scotland, which were independent kingdoms in the early 17th century. As is well known, the Church of England began in 1534 when Henry VIII was not allowed to divorce the Pope. He declared a break with the Roman Catholic Church and became the head of the English Church himself. However, the English national church did not achieve a complete reform. Those who were dissatisfied with the appearance of the English National Assembly and wanted to reform the National Church more fully were Puritans (Puritans). Puritan is a very broad spectrum concept, but it is mainly people who wanted to introduce Presbyterian organization and Calvinist doctrine to England. 

The Church of Scotland, on the other hand, was founded in 1560 when John Knox, who was led by Calvin during Geneva's exile, returned. The Scottish Parliament, led by Knox and Protestant aristocrats, carried out reforms and created the Scottish National Church. This Presbyterian political theory, also called the Two Kingdoms Theory, is central to the fact that the church and the government cannot directly intervene in each other's sphere. However, the church could criticize or warn the government if it does not rule according to the word of God. 

2. The Regal Union of England and Scotland and the Westminster General Assembly

 

In 1603 Queen Elizabeth of England handed over the crown of England to James VI of Scotland. When he went to England and became King James I as a unified king, he gained a strong kingship. In his reign, the Bible was translated into English. It is the very Bible that the Authorized Version calls. It is also called the King James Version after his name. However, he hated the Scottish Presbyterian Church, who refused to rule the king over the church. During his reign, the Scottish Church was contaminated, and some Puritans crossed the United States on the Mayflower for freedom of faith. 

His son, Charles I, was a completely Catholic worshiper. Charles' policy of the Church provoked anger not only by the Scottish Presbyterians and the Puritans in England, but also by the majority of the people who were satisfied with the Church of England. However, the king punished the opposers relentlessly. In 1638, all the people of Scotland made a National Covenant and revolutionized their Presbyterians. The Scottish, who had defeated the king's army twice, gained full religious freedom in 1640, but faced with the king's stubborn opposition between England and the parliamentarians trying to fully reform the British Anglican church to preserve the traditional English congregation. Civil war broke out. In the early days of the civil war, when the charter returned against the parliament, the Puritan leaders in England and the Presbyterian leaders in Scotland signed a “solemn alliance and covenant.” The content of the solemn alliance and covenant was to convene the General Assembly to reform the English parliamentary conference. This summit was called the Westminster General Assembly. 

3. The nature and agenda of the General Assembly of Westminster 

The Westminster Assembly was legally a subordinate to the English Parliament. However, the General Assembly of Scotland sent a total of eight envoys on behalf of the Scottish Church, who were all armed with the Presbyterian theory. And the Scottish General Assembly delegated them full power. During the course of the General Assembly, Scottish envoys played an active role. And one more thing to note is that whenever the four standard documents were made, the Scottish Church held the General Assembly and accepted it as their standard document. This is the concept by which the Scottish Church held the Westminster General Assembly in England (England and Scotland combined). ) It is also clear evidence of acceptance into the General Assembly. As mentioned earlier, the Westminster standard documents are 『Confession of Faith』, “Date and Mind Doctrine”, “Example of Worship”, and “Government of the Presbyterian Church”. The Westminster Assembly's creation of these documents can also be attributed to Scottish influence. The role of the Presbyterian Church in Scotland in the preparation of the Westminster creed was crucial. 

4. Results of the Westminster General Assembly 

Of the four standard documents, the most influential document afterwards is, of course, the Westminster Confession of Faith. There was little conflict between the worship section and the creed issue. 『The Worship Model』 emphasized public worship, which consists of reading the Bible, praying, and preaching, and includes baptism, communion, marriage, funeral, fasting, and thanksgiving. Confessions of faith have been written without difficulty, thanks to the work of many Puritan pastors and Scottish envoys. The Doctrine and Questionnaire was divided into two volumes, ``The Great Catechism for Adults'' and ``The Small Catechism for Children''. Unlike the Catechism of the Great Catechism, the Catechism of the Small Catechism did not follow the order of the confession of faith, which seems to have nothing to do with the fact that Scottish envoys did not participate in the draft process of the Catechism of Catechism in preparation for returning home. 

The Westminster General Assembly, which had a total of 1163 meetings for more than five and a half years, ended on February 22, 1649. Today, almost all Presbyterian churches adopt the results of the Westminster Assembly as a constitution. In particular, the Westminster Confession of Faith provides the standard of Protestant faith in that it provides answers to problems that all existing confession cannot solve. The legacy of the General Assembly can be seen as the result of the sacrifices and efforts of the Presbyterian Church in Scotland. Whenever these presbytery standards were made, the General Assembly of Scotland accepted them as the standards of the Scottish Church in accordance with the covenant with England. For the Church of England, documents written by the English pastors' decisions in the land of England were accepted by the Scottish Church, not the English Church. It was the irony of history and a mystery that God had fulfilled. In 1660, the Church of England, together with the Royal Restoration, discarded Westminster standard documents. However, the Scottish Church embraced them and spread them with the Gospel all over the world. It is a blessing that the Korean church has become a part of this mystery of God. [1]

 

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