6 comments

1. Is displayed an accurate modern synonym for exhibited or would you suggest some other word?

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   • Yes, I think so.

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     • I’ve only just come across this but it is saying that displayed is not an accurate modern synonym for exhibited. It is from J.A. Voss’ Commentary on the Westminster Larger Catechism. He is commenting on question 162 that asks: “What is a Sacrament?” He references A.A. Hodges’s commentary on the Westminster Confession to support his assertion.

       We would naturally suppose that the word exhibit here means “to show forth” or to “display,” but that is not the meaning intended in the catechism or in the Confession of Faith. Writing of the same word in the Confession of Faith (27.3; 28:6), Dr. A. A. Hodge says: “The old English word ‘exhibit,’ there used, does not mean to show forth; but in the Latin exhibere, from which it is derived, to administer, to apply” (Commentary on the Confession of Faith, 451) In support of the explanation, Dr. Hodge points our that while the Larger Catechism says, “to signify, seal, and exhibit,” the Shorter Catechism in the corresponding place (question 92) says “represented, sealed, and applied.” Thus “exhibit” must be understood in the sense of “apply.” Here again we must realize that, as in the case of the verb seal, this “applying” must be understood to exist only when there is a right us of the sacraments, with true faith. Apart from real faith in Christ, the sacraments do not apply any spiritual benefits to those who receive them.

       Source: Johannes Geerhardus Vos and G. I. Williamson, The Westminster Larger Catechism: A Commentary (Phillipsburg, N.J: P & R Pub, 2002). p.466

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       • MJ,

         The standard (now older but still reliable) classical Latin dictionary (which, unlike the modern version, gives some biblical ecclesiastical uses & senses), Lewis and Short gives two major senses of exhibeo, ere:

         1) to hold forth, to tender, to present, to give up, to produce;
         2) to show, to exhibit, to employ

         As a short hand, the English word “exhibit” works, depending on the context.

         The English-language Reformed regularly used the English word exhibit as a synonym for exhibere. I’ve translated a fair bit of Latin and I think exhibere can, depending on context, signal what Vos claimed it can also carry the 2nd sense given by Lewis & Short.

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2. So appreciative of Dr. Clark defining the word “interest” from WCF 27.1 at the seven minute mark. I wish he and other teachers would do a lot more of this. At the ten minute mark he focuses on the word “exhibited” but does not give us a modern synonym. I’ve only ever heard the word “exhibit” and it’s always in association with a museum or art gallery. So I assume exhibit means displayed but I could be making the wrong association. Again, at the eighteen minute and fifty second mark, Dr. Clark provides a synonym for the archaic word “contemn” in WCF 28.5. saying he understand it to mean condemn.This is so helpful!

   There are so many words and phrases in the Reformed Confessions that are difficult for the modern reader to understand. I wish he would have explained exactly what sacraments being a “seal” means. What would be the best modern synonym for the sacrament as seal? What contemporary analogies are there to explain the sacrament as seal? I also wish he would have explained what the words “of age” mean in WCF 28.6.

   There are so many of these unclear words or phrases in the Reformed Confessions and their is no definitive list of definitions (that I am aware) to turn to.

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   • Hi MJ,

     Here are some resources on sacraments and seals:

     What Do We Mean By Sacrament And Seal?

     Heidelberg 67: The Sacraments Are True Signs And Seals Of Christ And His Gospel (1)

     Heidelberg 67: The Sacraments Are True Signs And Seals Of Christ And His Gospel (1)

     Heidelberg 67: The Sacraments Are True Signs And Seals Of Christ And His Gospel (2)

     Calvin: A Sacrament Is An Outward Sign And Seal Of God’s Promises

     Heidelberg 69: How Is Baptism A Sign And Seal?

     A seal is a validation, a confirmation, a promise, and even a guarantee to the believer that what the sacrament signifies (Christ and his benefits) is really true for the believer. What does it mean when a school puts a raised seal on a diploma? It means that diploma is genuine and not a fake. A seal on an official document signals that document is genuine. When a corporation puts its raised seal on a document, it becomes an official document.

     WCF 28.6 says, “6. The efficacy of baptism is not tied to that moment of time wherein it is administered; yet, notwithstanding, by the right use of this ordinance, the grace promised is not only offered, but really exhibited, and conferred, by the Holy Ghost, to such (whether of age or infants) as that grace belongeth unto, according to the counsel of God’s own will, in his appointed time.”

     The divines were simultaneously denying baptismal regeneration and affirming that baptism is a real sacrament and not just an empty sign. The favor of Christ is offered and displayed by the Holy Spirit to all the elect (to whom God’s favor belongs) but it is through the external administration of the visible church that God’s grace comes to us. God brings his elect to new life and true faith in his own time. Sometimes he brings us to faith as infants and we never know a day of unbelief. What a blessing! Sometimes he brings us to faith when we are “of age,” i.e., more mature and able to remember it.

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