Part 10
1. What has Christ done for our salvation? 2. In what manner did He gain for us the grace of God, forgiveness of sins, and life everlasting? 3. What is now the one thing necessary for our salvation? 4. What happens if we do not accept all that Christ offers us for our salvation? 5. How do we come to Christ and accept in true faith what He has gained for us? 6. What does it mean to believe in Christ? 7. In what respect may we compare our faith with a hand? 8. Which is the only way to heaven? 9. What do we confess in the Third Article about our coming to Christ and believing in Him? 10. Why are we not able to come to Christ by our own reason? 11. How do we always try to save ourselves? 12. Why do we not have strength to come to Jesus and believe in Him? 13. What does the apostle say 1 Cor. 12,3? 14. Who alone can bring us to Christ and work faith in us? 15. What moves the Holy Ghost to perform this work in us?
LESSON 32.
The Third Article.
The Holy Ghost Has Called Me.
Which is the Third Article?
_I believe in the Holy Ghost._
What does this mean?
_I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him, but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel._
1. We cannot by our own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, our Lord, or come to Him. The Holy Ghost alone is able to bring us to Christ, our Savior. How does He bring us to Christ? We confess as children of God that _the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel._ By calling me through the Gospel, the Holy Ghost has brought me to Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. Let us see what this means.
2. Our Lord, in a parable, once spoke of a certain rich man who made a great supper for his guests. And he sent out his servants at supper-time to say to those who were bidden: _"Come, for all things are now ready."_ Luke 14,16.17. The meal was prepared, and the rich man invited his guests to come and partake of it. At dinner-time, when your mother has prepared dinner for the family, she calls to you, "Dinner is ready. Now come and eat! It is prepared for you too." In a similar manner the _Holy Ghost calls us and invites us to come to Christ and accept His salvation._ Christ, our Savior, has prepared all things; He has prepared forgiveness of all our sins, life, and salvation. All things necessary for our salvation are ready in Christ. All is finished. And now the Holy Ghost brings us these glad tidings: All things are now ready, all things needed for your salvation. Come, whosoever you are, come to your Savior! Come and take and enjoy what He in His great love has prepared for you. _We come to Jesus only by faith._ The Holy Ghost calls us and invites us, Come, _believe_ in your Savior, and You will be saved.
3. You do not see the Holy Ghost when He calls you. _The Holy Ghost calls you by the Gospel._ The Gospel, as you have learned (Lesson 14), _is the glad tidings of the grace of God for all men,_ the tidings of what Christ has done for us to save us. As the rich man in the parable, so the Holy Ghost sends His _servants._ These servants are all those who tell you the Gospel of Christ, your minister, your teacher, your parents, etc. When you hear the Gospel or read it, the Holy Ghost comes to you and calls you. In the Gospel He says to you: All things have been prepared by Christ; they are ready for you, for your salvation. In Christ you have forgiveness of your sins and salvation. _Come now, you lost and condemned sinner, and take what your Lord freely offers you. Believe in Christ, and you will be saved._ That is the call of the Holy Ghost by the Gospel. _"He called you by our Gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."_ 2 Thess. 2,14.
4. When your mother calls you to dinner, you must come by your own will and strength, and you have the strength to do so. We sinners have neither the will nor the strength to come to Jesus. The Holy Ghost knows that we cannot by our own strength come to our Savior. _By calling us He gives us the strength to hear and to follow His call._ By His call He brings us to Christ and works in us faith in our Lord, so that we willingly come to Him. The call of the Holy Ghost is God's call, full of power. This work of the Holy Ghost we also call _conversion._ The Holy Ghost alone converts us, that is, He turns us from our sins to Christ. "Turn Thou me, and I shall be turned; for Thou art the Lord, my God." Jer. 31,18.
5. Remember that the Holy Ghost brings you to Christ _by the Gospel._ Only through the Gospel does He work in the hearts of men. The Gospel is the means by which we obtain the grace of God and salvation. _If we do not read or hear the Word of God, the Gospel, the Holy Ghost cannot perform His work in us._ Therefore you should _diligently_ read and hear the Word of God, the Gospel. _"It is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth."_ Rom. 1,16.
REMEMBER:--
1. _Christ has prepared your whole salvation. All is ready, ready for you. The Holy Ghost calls and invites you to come and partake freely of what Jesus has gained for you._
2. _By His call the Holy Ghost gives you strength to follow His call, to come to your Lord. He Himself works by His call in your heart the true faith in your Savior and so brings you to Christ. This work of the Holy Ghost is also called conversion. Conversion is the work of the Holy Ghost alone. Our salvation is a free gift of God._
3. _The Holy Ghost calls us by the Gospel of Christ. Diligently read and hear God's saving Word._
MEMORIZE:--
_Come, for all things are now ready._ Luke 14,17.
_Turn Thou me, and I shall be turned; for Thou art the Lord, my God._ Jer. 31,18.
_By grace are ye saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast._ Eph. 2,8.9.
_I am not ashame of the Gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth._ Rom. 1,16.
QUESTIONS.
1. What do we confess in the Third Article concerning ourselves? 2. Whose work is it that we come to Christ? 3. Who has prepared all things necessary for our salvation? 4. Who calls us to come and partake of all that Christ has gained? 5. What do we mean when we say that the Holy Ghost calls us? 6. By what means does the Holy Ghost call us to Jesus? 7. What is the Gospel? 8. Who are the servants the Holy Ghost sends to us with the Gospel message? 9. What the Holy Ghost do when you hear or read the Gospel? 10. What are we not able to do of ourselves when the Holy Ghost calls us? 11. What does the Holy Ghost give us when He calls us? 12. What does He work in us by His call? 13. What other name have we for this work of the Holy Ghost? 14. Whose work alone is our conversion? 15. To whom does the Holy Ghost tun us when He converts us? 16. The Holy Ghost converts us by the Gospel; what should we therefore diligently do?
LESSON 33.
The Third Article.
The Holy Ghost Has Enlightened, Sanctified, And Kept Me In The True Faith.
Which is the Third Article?
_I believe in the Holy Ghost._
What does this mean?
_I believe that the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith._
1. The Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, and in doing so _He has also enlightened me with His gifts._ By calling me, He has kindled true faith in Christ in me, so that I know Christ and acknowledge Him to be my Savior, I believe and trust, rejoice and find comfort in Him alone for life and death. These are gifts of the Holy Ghost with which He enlightens every child of God: _true knowledge of Christ as his Redeemer, true faith in Him, peace with God, his Father, joy and comfort in all distress._ What wonderful gifts! How rich does the Holy Ghost make a child of God! _Do not forget to thank Him daily for the precious gifts He bestows upon you._
2. _"The Holy Ghost has sanctified me,"_ that is, _He has made me holy, and He does this every day, more and more._ He sanctifies me _"in the true faith."_ By His call the Holy Ghost has called forth in us true faith in our Lord. Through faith you have forgiveness of sins and are a child of God, with whom God, for Christ's sake, is well pleased. _But it is God's will that His children lead a holy life,_ flee and shun all sin, and live according to His commandments. _"This is the will of God, even your sanctification."_ 1 Thess. 4,3. Of ourselves we cannot do this, but the Holy Ghost comes to our aid. _He sanctifies us, He makes us holy._ Through faith He comes into our heart and dwells in us. _"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?"_ 1 Cor. 3,16. And the Holy Ghost _works_ in us, the children of God. In His strength we begin _to hate the sins_ that we formerly loved, and to flee them. In His strength we begin _to fear and love God above all things, and to trust in Him._ We no longer serve the devil and our sins, but begin to serve our Lord who has redeemed us, and our Father in heaven.
3. True, we are not _perfectly holy,_ nor do we become so as long as we live here on earth. True children of God also must confess _that they daily sin much and deserve nothing but punishment._ But they are heartily sorry for this. They daily ask God's forgiveness for Christ's sake. And the Holy Ghost _daily_ gives them _new strength and power_ to fight and struggle against all temptations of the devil and the world and their own evil lusts. He daily gives them new strength to walk in godliness, to love God and their neighbor. Let us abide in Him, and we shall more and more overcome the devil, the world, and our sins, become more and more holy as our Lord and God is holy. _"He that abideth in Me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without Me ye can do nothing."_ John 15,5.
4. _"The Holy Ghost has kept me in the true faith,"_ so a child of God confesses. The Holy Ghost has already called and enlightened us and begun to sanctify us _in Holy Baptism._ There already He has brought us to Christ and has bestowed His precious gifts upon us. And to-day we still have the true faith; we believe in our Savior, and in Him we are children of God. _That is not our own merit, it is the work of the Holy Ghost in us._ He has worked in us by the Gospel, through our parents, through the Christian school and the church, and by the Gospel. He has kept us in the true faith. _"Ye are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation."_ 1 Pet. 1,5.--And He has promised in His Word _that He will keep us in this faith until our end. "He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."_ Phil. 1,6.
5. This is the work of the Holy Ghost in all true believers, and _He is willing to perform this work in every one who hears the Gospel._ God earnestly desires to save all men. _"God will have all men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth."_ 1 Tim. 2,4. Christ died for all men; He redeemed all lost and condemned sinners. The Gospel is a power of God unto salvation to all who read and hear it.--_And yet not all men are saved; most men are lost._ What is the cause of this? They are lost _by their own fault._ Most men will not be saved. They obstinately resist the Holy Ghost and the saving Gospel, and so they do not come to Christ, but are condemned. _"O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself, but in Me is thine help."_ Hos. 13,9.
REMEMBER:--
1. _The Holy Ghost has enlightened me and bestowed on me His precious gifts, the right knowledge of Christ, true faith in Him._
2. _He sanctifies me and makes me holy. He daily gives me strength to struggle against Satan, world, and sin, to overcome them and to lead a godly life, to love God and my neighbor._
3. _He has, by the Gospel, kept me in the true faith until this day, and He has promised me that He will do so until the end._
4. _This work the Holy Ghost desires to perform in all that hear the Gospel. Whosoever is lost is lost by his own fault._
MEMORIZE:--
_This is the will of God, even your sanctification._ 1 Thess. 4,3.
_Ye are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation._ 1 Pet. 1,5.
_He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ._ Phil. 1,6.
_God will have all men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth._ 1 Tim. 2,4.
QUESTIONS.
1. Which is the second work of the Holy Ghost mentioned in our Catechism? 2. With what does the Holy Ghost enlighten us? 3. What are His gifts? 4. What has the Holy Ghost by His call kindled in us? 5. Whose children are we through faith? 6. What is God's will regarding His children? (1 Cor. 3,16.) 7. What does the word "sanctify" mean? 8. Who performs this work in us? 9. What do we, by the grace of the Holy Ghost, begin to hate? 10. Whom do we begin to love? 11. What must even true believers confess? 12. What do we therefore daily ask of God? 13. And what does the Holy Ghost daily grant us? 14. Which is the last work which the Holy Ghost performs in us? 15. Since when has He kept us in the true faith? 16. How long has He promised to keep us in the faith? 17. In whom will the Holy Ghost perform this work He has begun in us? 18. What is the gracious will of God toward all men? 19. What is the reason that not all men are saved? 20. Whose fault is it that they are lost? 21. By whose work alone are we saved?
LESSON 34.
The Third Article.
REVIEW LESSON.
1. In the Third Article of our Creed we learn about the Holy Ghost, about His person and His work. We confess that we believe in the Holy Ghost. In whom alone should we believe? What do we therefore confess of the Holy Ghost when we say that we believe in Him? How can we prove from Holy Scripture that the Holy Ghost is true God? 1 Cor. 3,16. Which divine work is ascribed to the Holy Ghost?
2. In whom do we believe according to the First Article? In whom according to the Second Article? And in whom according to the Third Article? In how many Persons of the Godhead do we believe, according to our Creed? There are three distinct Persons in whom we believe. We believe in them; what, therefore, are they? All these three persons are the true God. In whose name have we been baptized? On what occasion did these three divine Persons reveal themselves to us? How did they reveal themselves at the baptism of Christ? The Father is God, the Son is God, and tho Holy Ghost is God; how many Gods are there? In how many Persons did the one true God reveal Himself? Who, therefore, is the one true God? What do we call God because He is one and has revealed Himself in three Persons?--Why is the third Person of God called the Holy Ghost? The Holy Ghost makes us holy; what do we call this work of the Holy Spirit?
3. What has Christ done for our salvation? What has He gained for us in order to save us? What is now the one thing necessary for our salvation? What becomes of us if we do not come to Jesus and accept what He has merited for us? How do we come to Jesus and accept all that He offers us?--Believe in Jesus Christ, your Savior; that is the only way to heaven. But what must we confess concerning our believing and coming to Christ? Why can we not by our own reason and strength believe in Christ or come to Him? What do we read Eph. 2,1? We are dead in trespasses and sins. A dead person cannot do anything to raise himself from death to a new life. As far as we are concerned, we are lost and condemned creatures. Who took pity on us? Whom did God send to raise us from the death of our sins? To whom does the Holy Ghost bring us? Do we and can we help Him to perform this work in us? Whose work alone is it? By what is the Holy Ghost moved to bring us to Christ, our Lord, and thus to save us?
4. The Holy Ghost alone can bring us to Christ. Our Catechism tells us how the Spirit of God performs this work in us. What do we confess in the Third Article about this work of the Holy Ghost? The Holy Ghost has called me. In which parable does Christ Himself explain what this means? As this rich man had prepared a supper for His guests, so Christ has prepared, as it were, a supper for us, for all men. What is this supper which Christ has prepared for all men? In what manner did He prepare everything for our salvation? Who now calls us to the salvation Christ has prepared? What does the Holy Ghost say to us in this call? We come to our Lord and to the meal He has prepared for us by believing in Him. The Holy Ghost calls and invites us to believe in Jesus Christ, our Lord, and be saved.--By what means does the Holy Ghost call and invite us to Christ, to faith in Him? Who, generally, are the servants He sends out to call us to Christ by the Gospel? But who is it that really calls us when we hear the Gospel?--The Holy Ghost calls us by the Gospel. He says to us, Come to your Lord and be saved. What are we not able to do by our own strength when the Holy Ghost calls us? What does the Holy Ghost give us in calling us? What does He call forth in us by His call? What do we call this work of the Spirit? Who alone performs conversion in us? The Holy Ghost brings us to Christ, or converts us, only through the Gospel. When can the Holy Ghost not perform this work in us? What should we therefore diligently do?
5. What is the second work of the Holy Ghost? With what does the Holy Ghost enlighten us? What are His gifts?--The Holy Ghost sanctifies me; what does that mean? The Holy Ghost sanctifies us in the true faith. Whose children are we through faith? What is God's will toward His children? 1 Thess. 4,3. Who performs this work in us? The Holy Ghost dwells in our heart, and renews and sanctifies it. What do we hate now by the power He has granted us? Whom do we begin to love?--Our sanctification in this life is never perfect. What must also the children of God confess? What do they therefore ask of their Lord every day? But what does the Holy Ghost daily give them? Against whom do the children of God daily struggle and fight? In whose strength do they more and more overcome the devil, the world, and their own sins?--Which is the last work performed in us by the Holy Ghost? Since when has the Holy Ghost kept us in the true faith? How long has He promised to keep us with Christ?--In whom is the Holy Ghost willing to perform His work to the end in order to save them? What is God's gracious will towards all men? What additional proof can you give for the fact that God desires all men to be saved? How is it that not all men are saved? Whose fault is it that those are lost who are condemned? By whose grace and work alone are we saved?
LESSON 35.
The Third Article.
The Holy Christian Church.
Which is the Third Article?
_I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints._
What does this mean?
_I believe that ... the Holy Ghost has called me, ... even as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith._
1. God the Holy Ghost has called me to Christ, sanctified me, and kept me in the true faith. The Holy Ghost, however, has performed this work of His grace _not only on me._ Besides me He has called, and still calls, many poor lost sinners to Christ, enlightens them with His precious gifts, with faith in their Savior. All these the Holy Ghost also _"gathers,"_ as our Catechism states. The Holy Ghost does not suffer those who have been converted by the Gospel to _be separate,_ but adds them to His disciples, as on that first Pentecost all those were added to the congregation of the disciples who had been converted by Peter's sermon. Acts 2,41. All true believers are Christ's own; through faith in Him they are closely united as brethren and sisters in the one Lord. _All true believers, taken together are the holy Christian Church on earth, which the Holy Ghost sanctifies and keeps in the one true faith._
2. The Third Article calls the Christian Church _the communion of saints._ It is a communion, a congregation, of _saints,_ that is, of _holy people._ They are not holy in themselves, but the Holy Ghost has sanctified them, or made them holy, through faith in Christ. In Christ they have _forgiveness of all their sins_ and are holy in the eyes of God. _Only true believers in Christ therefore belong to the Christian Church; only they, but all of them._ Instead of the communion of saints we might also say _the communion of true believers._--The Church is the communion of saints. All believers in Christ are a _communion,_ a _congregation;_ they form, as it were, one _body._ They do not all live together at one place, in one city, or in the same country,--we find them scattered over all the earth,--but they are _closely bound together by one and the same faith in Christ._ They belong to one family, of which Christ is the Head and Master, and all are members. _The Church is the communion of saints; for believers only, but all believers, are members of it._
3. We _believe_ that the holy Christian Church is here on earth, but we do not _see_ it; it is invisible. Only true believers belong to the Church, and no man can look into another's heart and see his _faith._ Only One really knows who the members of the Church are. _"The Lord knoweth them that are His."_ 2 Tim. 2,19. We cannot see the Church, but _we believe that it is here on earth;_ for holy Scripture assures us that the Holy Ghost by the Gospel at all times calls men to Christ and keeps them in the true faith to the end of the world. Our Lord says: _"Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."_ Matt. 16,18.--The Church is _holy_ because all its members are _holy by faith in Christ_ and in the strength of the Holy Ghost _lead a godly life_ and serve their Lord in His kingdom in righteousness.--It is called the _Christian_ Church because it is built on _Christ. "Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ."_ 1 Cor. 3,11. And He is not only its Foundation, but also _the Head and King of the Church._
4. We do not see the Church, _but we know where it is, where we can find it._ The Holy Ghost calls and keeps the Church only _by the Gospel._ God has promised us that, where His Gospel is preached, it shall not remain _without fruit;_ some of those who hear it will come to Christ and believe in Him. _Wherever the Word of God is preached, and only where it is in use, the holy Christian Church is to be found._
5. Scripture also speaks of a _visible_ Church, of visible congregations of Christians. A visible Church is the number of all those who call themselves Christians, who _profess their faith in Christ and are gathered about God's Word._ In these visible congregations there are not only true believers, but also _hypocrites,_ who indeed confess the Christian faith, but do not believe in their Savior. Among the visible churches there are _many false churches and one true visible Church._ The true visible Church teaches and confesses the Word of God _in all its purity, without false doctrines. This true visible Church is the Evangelical Lutheran Church._ To this Church we ought to belong, and to no other; for our Lord says: _"If ye continue in My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed, and ye shall know the truth; and the truth shall make you free."_ John 8, 31.32. _"Beware of false prophets!"_ Matt. 7,15.
REMEMBER:--
1. _Let it be your earnest concern to be and remain a member of the invisible Church of Christ; remain steadfast in the true faith. He that believes, and He only, shall be saved._
2. _Let it also be your earnest concern to belong to the true visible Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church. In this Church the pure Word is preached, the Gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation. Avoid all false churches. "Beware of false prophets!"_