In On the Church, Gerhard presents a robust ecclesiology centered on the doctrine of the visible and invisible church. Brick and mortar communities represent the visible church, which includes both faithful and faithless members. Gerhard calls the true church "invisible" because the faith of its members isn't outwardly discernable. As marks of the church, Gerhard simply proposes the pure preaching of the Word of God and the proper administration of the sacraments. He also extensively refutes the "exclusive" marks of the church proposed by his Roman Jesuit opponent Robert Bellarmine. The discussed marks include the name "catholic", antiquity, long duration, historical consensus, unity, holiness of confession, efficacy of conversion, holiness of life, miracles, prophesy, death of enemies, temporal felicity, and the acknowledgment of the church's truths by her enemies.

About This Series

The Theological Commonplaces series is the first-ever English translation of Gerhard's monumental Loci Theologici. Gerhard was the premier Lutheran theologian of the early seventeenth century. Combining his profound understanding of evangelical Lutheran theology with a broad interest in ethics and culture, he produced significant works on biblical, doctrinal, pastoral, and devotional theology. Gerhard interacts with the writings of the church fathers, Luther and his contemporaries, and the Catholic and Calvinist theologians of his day. His 17-volume Loci is regarded as the standard compendium of Lutheran orthodoxy, with topics ranging from the proper understanding and interpretation of Scripture to eschatology.

Useful for research on Lutheran doctrine, Gerhard's accessible style makes this a must-have on the bookshelf of pastors and professional church workers.

Each embossed hardback volume includes

the translation of Gerhard's Loci (originally published from 1610 to 1625)
- a glossary of key theological, rhetorical, and philosophical terms
- a name index
- a Scripture index
- a carefully researched works cited list that presents guidance for deciphering the numerous abbreviations of the other titles from which Gerhard quotes.

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