Theological Term of the Week: Belgic Confession
Wednesday, June 10, 2026 at 3:30AM 
The oldest of the doctrinal standards of the Reformed Churches of the Netherlands, written mainly by Guido de Bres, a preacher of the Reformed churches of the Netherlands, in 1561.
- From the Belgic Confession:
Article XIX. The Union and Distinction of the Two Natures in the Person of Christ
We believe that by this conception the person of the Son is inseparably united and connected with the human nature; so that there are not two Sons of God, nor two persons, but two natures united in one single person; yet each nature retains its own distinct properties. As, then, the divine nature has always remained uncreated, without beginning of days or end of life, filling heaven and earth, so also has the human nature not lost its properties but remained a creature, having beginning of days, being a finite nature, and retaining all the properties of a real body. And though He has by His resurrection given immortality to the same, nevertheless He has not changed the reality of His human nature; forasmuch as our salvation and resurrection also depend on the reality of His body. But these two natures are so closely united in one person that they were not separated even by His death. Therefore that which He, when dying, commended into the hands of His Father, was a real human spirit, departing from His body. But in the meantime the divine nature always remained united with the human, even when He lay in the grave; and the Godhead did not cease to be in Him, any more than it did when He was an infant, though it did not so clearly manifest itself for a while. Wherefore we confess that He is very God and very man: very God by His power to conquer death; and very man that He might die for us according to the infirmity of His flesh.
- From Living for God’s Glory by Joel Beeke, page 21:
The Belgic Confession’s chief author was Guido de Bres (1522-1567), an itenerant Reformed pastor. During the sixteenth century, the Reformed churches in the Netherlands experienced severe persecution at the hands of King Philip II of Spain, an ally of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1561, de Bres, likely assisted by fellow pastors, wrote the confession to prove that the adherents of the Reformed faith were not rebels but law-abiding citizens who professed biblical doctrines.
The year after it was written, a copy of the confession was sent to Philip II, along with a statement that the petitioners were ready to obey the government in all things lawful, but would “offer their backs to stripes, their tongues to knives, their mouths to gags, and their whole bodies to the fire, well knowing that those who follow Christ must take up His cross and deny themselves” rather than deny the truth expressed in the confession. Neither the confession nor the petition persuaded Spanish authorities to be more tolerant of the Protestants, however. In 1567, de Bres became one martyr among hundreds who sealed their faith with blood. Nevertheless, his work has endured as a convincing statement of Reformed doctrine.
Learn more:
- Got Questions: What is the Belgic Confession?
- The Gospel Coalition: The Belgic Confession
- Cornelius Venema: The Belgic Confession
- Joel Beeke: The Belgic Confession of Faith and the Canons of Dordt
- Kim Riddlebarger: A Commentary on the Belgic Confession
- Kevin DeYoung: The Belgic Confession and the Hero No One Remembers
Related terms:
Filed under Creeds and Confessions
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