The Four Cs of Doctrinal History – Part 12: The Westminster Confession

John Knox of Scotland (1514-1572) was the founder of the Church in Scotland, also known as the Presbyterian church based on its form of church polity.¹ Knox was heavily influenced by John Calvin, making Calvinism key in the theological roots of Presbyterian church.

Prior to the time of Knox, Catholicism and Anglicanism ruled the religious landscape in England and Scotland (with Catholicism at times embattled, depending on who was in charge).

There were two nations (Scotland & England), ruled by two rulers until 1603 when Elizabeth I of England died. Her cousin, King James VI of Scotland, became King James I in England in “The Union of the Crowns.” The two nations came under one monarch, eventually the two nations would become one politically in 1707. James sought to “Anglicanize” the Church of Scotland, but faced stiff opposition. He is also famous for authorizing a new English translation of the Bible (King James Version of 1611). However, though there was a political union between Scotland and England, there was no religious unity.

The Church of England dominated England, but within its ranks, the Puritan movement gained greater influence. The Puritans within the Anglican church, desired the reformation in England to proceed further than it had. While the Anglican church had made some efforts to distinguish itself from Catholicism, Puritans wanted further reforms. For instance, they wanted more congregational rule, rather than the rule of bishops; they wanted preaching to be emphasized rather than the Table and the rituals; and they wanted the emphasis to be in Christ as the head of the church, rather than the King.

Religious strife grew between the more presbyterian persuasion in Scotland to the north, the Anglican persuasions in the south, and also the Puritan persuasion in the south.

This was the political and religious context in which the Westminster Assembly was called, which Schaff calls, “the most important chapter in the ecclesiastical history of England during the seventeenth century.”²

On June 12, 1643, Parliament called for an assembly in Westminster, in London, to begin meeting in July. The purpose was “to effect a more perfect reformation of the Church of England in its liturgy, discipline, and government on the basis of the Word of God, and thus to bring it into nearer agreement with the Church of Scotland and the Reformed Churches on the Continent.”³ In other words, this assembly was called to try to bring unity between the religious groups dominating Great Britain.

The assembly consisted of 151 members from the various parts of the Kingdom persuasions, but it was the Presbyterians who were more numerous and maintained more control over things in the meeting.

The meeting opened on July 1, 1643, in Westminster Abbey (during the final turbulent years of James’ son, Charles I). The Assembly was called by and under the control of the English Parliament, not controlled by the king. It held no fewer than 1163 sessions, meeting five days a week for over 5 years, before completing its tasks.

After making some revisions to the 39 Articles from the Anglican church, the focus shifted to drafting a Confession of Faith that would seek to unify England, Scotland, and Ireland. That undertaking took two years and three months.

The resulting work called “The Westminster Confession of Faith” was printed first in December 1646. With some editing and minor revisions, its main authorized version appeared in May of 1647. Over the course of the next year, the English House of Commons reviewed it and made some alterations to it, specifically regarding church government, before finally endorsing it. In Scotland, the Confession was taken to the General Assembly in Edinburgh and adopted in full in August of the same year.

Along with the Confession, two forms of a Catechism were also produced— The Westminster Shorter Catechism and The Westminster Longer Catechism.

The Confession ended up being fully adopted and supported by the Scottish church and not so much by the English, though they did use the Shorter Catechism.

General Observations about the Westminster Confession:

• One, the confession is clearly and strongly Calvinistic in nature.
• Two, the confession clearly articulates its disagreements with and opposition to Anabaptism, Roman Catholicism, and Lutheranism.
• Three, the confession is very helpful when it comes to articulating many points such as the doctrines of God, of Jesus Christ, of Creation, of Marriage, etc.
• Four, the confession influenced other future Confessions of faith, such as the Second London Baptist Confession, produced about forty years later.

The Westminster Confession, along with the shorter and longer catechisms, the Directory of Public Worship, and Form of Church Government were all produced by the Westminster Assembly. These documents collectively are referred to as the Westminster Standards and became the foundational standards of Scottish Presbyterianism. The Westminster Confession is embraced today by Presbyterians and Reformed people around the world.

Here in America, there are various Presbyterian denominations:

The Orthodox Presbyterian Church holds to the Westminster Standards as its secondary standards. The Scripture is ultimately authoritative.

The Presbyterian Church of America espouses the Standards as well, as does also the Free Presbyterian Church of North America.

We are thankful for our Presbyterian brothers and sisters and for their efforts to produce this document. Even if one is not “reformed” or strongly Calvinistic, this Confession still holds value with well-formed articulations of theological truth.

Previously in this series:

•  Introducing the Four “C’s” of Doctrinal History
• The Origins, Division, and Authority of the Four C’s of Doctrinal History
• The Four C’s Part 3 – The Apostles’ Creed
• The Four C’s of Doctrinal History: Part 4 – The Nicene Creed
• The Four C’s of Doctrinal History: Part 5 – The Chalcedonian Definition
• The Four C’s of Doctrinal History Part 6 – The Athanasian Creed
• The Four C’s of Doctrinal History – Part 7: Luther and His Catechism
• The Four C’s of Doctrinal History – Part 8: The Lutheran Augsburg Confession
• The Four C’s of Doctrinal History – Part 9: Early Protestant National Confessions
• The Four C’s of Doctrinal History – Part 10: Anglicanism and the 39 Articles of Religion
• The Four Cs of Doctrinal History: Part 11 – Anabaptists and the Dordrecht Confession

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Taigen Joos is the pastor of Heritage Baptist Church in Dover, NH.

1. Note: Some Presbyterians trace their roots to English Dissenters and others rather than directly to the Church of Scotland. [↩]
2. Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom (Baker Books: Grand Rapids, MI, 1993), I:728. [↩]
3. Schaff, 730. [↩]