Gradual addition and instruction

Meaning

The main allegory contrasts addition all at once with one portion after another at distinct times. It applies that distinction to instruction: after baptismal union with Christ, a person begins to understand one article of faith after another until strengthened in knowledge. The analogy concerns orderly reception and growth.

The English preserves ‘as soon as’ for the beginning of instruction and ‘gradually’ for its development. Baptismal union is not postponed until every article is mastered. Conversely, later learning is not made unnecessary by that union. This is also evidence that the book’s one-matter language does not exclude every later addition; the claim must be read at its own stage.