[Tractationes theologicae; (Geneva, 1570)]
Theodore Beza, born on June 24, 1519, in Vézelay, France, was a distinguished theologian, scholar, and reformer of the Protestant Reformation. Educated under the humanist Melchior Wolmar, Beza initially pursued law but later embraced the Reformed faith, leading to his exile from France. In 1548, he settled in Geneva, where he became a close associate of John Calvin. Beza's contributions were manifold. He served as a professor of Greek at the Academy of Lausanne and later at the Geneva Academy, where he succeeded Calvin as the chair of theology. His leadership extended to the Company of Pastors in Geneva, where he played a pivotal role in shaping Reformed theology and church governance. A prolific writer, Beza authored several significant works. His De jure magistratuum (1574) defended the rights of magistrates against tyranny, and his editions of the Greek New Testament were instrumental in biblical scholarship. Beza also penned a biography of Calvin and contributed to the Genevan Psalter, enhancing the liturgical life of the Reformed churches. Throughout his life, Beza was actively involved in theological debates, notably defending the doctrine of predestination and engaging in dialogues with Lutheran theologians. His efforts were crucial in consolidating the Reformed tradition during a period of religious upheaval. Beza passed away on October 13, 1605, in Geneva, leaving behind a legacy as a steadfast guardian of Reformed orthodoxy and a key figure in the Protestant Reformation.
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IN CHRIST our only Mediator we chiefly behold four things: the Person of Christ; likewise His Office; the Gifts which we draw from Him; and finally, How we are made partakers of those gifts.
We teach that CHRIST consisteth of two natures, one Divine, the other human, both natures constituting one person, yet with the properties both divine and human being preserved distinct.
We confess therefore the human Nature of Christ to be glorified, and indeed in the highest degree of glorification, but through which the weakness of nature is removed, not however the nature itself changed. But this condition whereby all human bodies are finite and circumscribed, and therefore cannot be contained except in place, is not of weakness, but of nature.
As therefore the body of Christ, while He sojourned on earth, was absent from heaven, according to the property of human nature: so now that same body after the ascension we believe to be absent from earth, and lifted above the heavens to be contained there, and partaker of supreme power.
Yet we do not dismember Christ. For we teach that the Divine nature which is everywhere, is everywhere hypostatically joined with the flesh, and therefore we confess the whole Christ to be everywhere, not according to the property of the flesh, but according to the unity of the person. Neither doth it follow from hence, that wheresoever Christ is, as God, there also He is as man. For that which is everywhere, is necessarily God, since it is infinite. But God is not changed into man, but joined to man, that God and man might be one person.
Therefore we distinguish the article of the Lord's ascension, with all Scripture and all ancient orthodox writers, from His session. For ascension declareth a change of situation, but session, the glory of the body which ascended into heaven.
We say the Office of Christ is to confer upon the elect all things which are required unto salvation, just as we in turn must draw all those things from Him.
Among the gifts which the elect receive from Christ, we place in the first position Christ Himself, with whom we must first become one no less truly and closely than members are joined to the body: but in that manner which we shall describe. Nor are we satisfied with those who refer this union of ours with Christ to His incarnation. For this communion of His with our nature is universal. But here we treat of the particular or peculiar conjunction, whereby it cometh to pass that His Church groweth together with Him: and this conjunction we say is the fountain of all benefits which afterward flow from Christ to us. For since the Father resteth in Him alone, we must become truly one with Him, that in Him we may please the Father. Hence therefore followeth the second kind of gifts, namely of those which are conferred upon us in Christ who is given to us.
First, the imputation of the holiness, righteousness, and obedience of Christ, that in Him we might be the righteousness of God, through the remission of sins.