Part 7
1. We confess that Jesus Christ is the only Son of God, begotten of the Father from eternity and therefore true God. We also confess _that He is born of the Virgin Mary and therefore is a true man,_ with a human soul and a human body. Holy Scripture expressly calls our Lord a man. _"There is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."_ 1 Tim. 2,5. Our Lord is indeed true man. While He was visibly dwelling here on earth, He lived as a man among men. He was born in Bethlehem as a little child. In the house of His mother and His foster-father Joseph He grew up like other children. He became hungry and thirsty, He ate and drank, He grew tired and slept, and lastly, He died.
2. Christ, our Lord, is _true_ man, man in the true sense of the word. He is our Brother. But there is _one great difference_ between Him and all other men. We confess in the Second Article that He was _conceived by the Holy Ghost._ Though our Lord was born of a human mother, He did not have a human father. He was conceived by the power of God the Holy Ghost without sin. _"The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee_ [the Virgin Mary], _and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore also that Holy Thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God."_ Luke 1,35. Christ, our Lord, was born _holy, without sin,_ and during His life He never committed any sin, but always fulfilled the will of God, His Father.
3. Christ, our Lord, is true God and true man. There are not two Christs, one who is God, and another who is man, but _only one Christ, who is God and man at the same time, God and man in one person, the God-man._ He is _Emmanuel,_ that is, God with us, God in our flesh and blood. Matt. 1,23. How this is possible we cannot understand, but we firmly believe it because God Himself has revealed it to us in His Word. The Son of God, the true God, became a true man, born of a woman. _"The Word_ [the Son of God] _was made flesh_ [man], _and dwelt among us."_ John 1,14.
4. The Son of God, the true God, became man, but more than that. _He also humbled Himself._ He did not, as a rule, show forth His divine glory nor use His divine powers, but was like any other man. He did not come to us as a great prince, in kingly splendor, but though He is our God and King, He came to us _as a low, poor man._ From Bible History you know the life of the God-man, how He was _born_ a little child in Bethlehem, of the Virgin Mary, a lowly maid in Israel, though she came from the royal house of the great King David. And after He was born, He _suffered._ His whole life was a constant suffering. He was despised by His people, persecuted by the priests and Pharisees. He was so poor that He did not have where to lay His head. Remember how He suffered that unspeakable agony in the Garden of Gethsemane and in the courts of His enemies, where they passed that cruel sentence of death upon Him who had never committed a sin. And _under Pontius Pilate,_ the governor of Judea, He was _crucified,_ nailed to a cross. And on the cross He _died,_ died the death of a criminal. And after His death His friends _buried_ His body, just as they would have buried that of any other man. Verily, the Son of God, our Lord, _deeply humbled Himself;_ He humbled Himself unto death, even the death of the cross.
5. _Why did our Lord do all this?_ Why did the Son of God become man? Why did our Lord humble Himself so deeply? He did it for our sake, for the sake of all men, for those who are His enemies. _He did it for me that He might become my Lord and Savior._ Therefore our Lord was called _Jesus._ This name means helper, savior. It was given to our Lord by the will of God; for He had an angel tell Joseph: _"She_ [the Virgin Mary] _shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins."_ Matt. 1,21. Jesus is our Savior.--Our Lord is also called _Christ._ Christ means the _Messiah._ Our Lord is the Messiah whom God had promised to His people in the Old Testament. All the prophecies regarding the Messiah in the Old Testament have been fulfilled in Jesus Christ, our Lord.--Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Savior, and He is our _only_ Savior. _"Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved."_ Acts 4,12.
REMEMBER:--
1. _Our Lord Jesus Christ is true God, born of the Father from eternity; but He is also true man, born in time of the Virgin Mary. He is like unto other men, except that He is holy and without sin._
2. _Christ, our Lord, is true God and true man in one person--the God-man. As such He is my Savior._
3. _The Son of God did not only become man, He also humbled Himself, suffering and dying, dying on the cross._
4. _Christ, our Lord, has done all this to be Jesus, the Savior of all men, to be Christ, the promised Messiah. He has done all this for me that He might become my Lord._
MEMORIZE:--
_There is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus._ 1 Tim. 2,5.
_The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth._ John 1,14.
_She shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins._ Matt. 7,21.
_Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved._ Acts 4,12.
QUESTIONS.
1. What do we confess regarding our Lord? 2. What do we also confess? 3. Recite the passage of Scripture where Christ is expressly called man. 4. How did our Lord show in His life here on earth that He was truly a man? 5. By whom was Christ conceived? 6. How was He, therefore, when He was born? 7. What, therefore, is the difference between Him and all other men? 8. We confess that Christ is God and man, What do we mean by this? 9. What did the Son of God become? 10. How do we read John 1,14? 11. Our Lord became true man; what did He also do? 12. What did He, as a rule, not show and use while He was here on earth? 13. What kind of man did our Lord become? 14. How was He born? 15. What was His whole life here on earth? 16. How poor did He become? 17. How did He die? 18. Why did Christ do all this? 19. For whose sake also did He humble Himself? 20. Why is my Lord called Jesus? 21. Why is He called the Christ?
LESSON 22.
The Second Article.
My Lord Has Redeemed Me, A Lost And Condemned Creature.
Which is the Second Article?
_I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord._
What does this mean?
_I believe that Jesus Christ is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil._
1. We have learned that our Lord is true God and true man. We have heard that the Son of God became man and humbled Himself even unto death for our sake to become our Lord and Savior. Our Catechism furthermore tells us _by what means Jesus Christ, true God and true man, became my Lord and Savior._ That is the great work of our Lord: He came into this world to save, to redeem us. His work is our _redemption._ Let us diligently and prayerfully consider this great work of our Lord--our redemption.
2. _Christ has redeemed me,_ so I confess. We were in great need of such a Lord and of the redemption which He was to bring. For without such a Lord _we are lost and condemned creatures._ We are _lost_ creatures. What does this mean? Remember the beautiful story of the _Prodigal Son._ The father in this story said of his son after his return that he had been lost. Wilfully and sinfully the son had left his home and his father and gone into a far country, where he spent all his goods with riotous living. He was now far away from his father, separated from him and his home. He was lost in that far-away country, where great misery and distress soon overtook him. Without his father he would have _perished_ with hunger. Thus we are lost without Christ. We have sinned against our heavenly Father, we have transgressed His commandments. By committing sins we have left our Father and are separated from Him. We are in a far-away country, in this sinful world, where misery and distress surround us. We are without God and without hope in the world. Without our Lord we must perish, suffer eternal death. _Without Christ we are indeed lost._ Every one of us must confess: I am a lost creature. _"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way."_ Is. 53,6.
3. I confess also that I am a _condemned_ creature. God, as you have learned, is a righteous and jealous God. He _threatens to punish_ all that transgress His commandments. When Adam and Eye transgressed God's command, the threatened punishment came over them. _"In the day that thou eatest thereof,"_ God had told Adam, _"thou shalt surely die."_ Gen. 2,17. _Death_ is the punishment of all sinners, not only death here on earth, but _eternal death,_ that is, _eternal damnation._ That is the sentence which God passed upon all that have sinned, that they should be separated from Him in eternity, from Him in whom alone we find life and true happiness.--It was the _devil_ that tempted Adam and Eve to sin. They heard and obeyed his voice instead of the voice of their Father. He became their Lord and master. _"He that committeth sin is of the devil."_ 1 John 3,8. Because we have sinned, we are under the power of the devil, we belong to his kingdom. Without Christ we are all lost and condemned creatures, that is, _we are separated from God, our Father; we are under God's judgment of damnation; we are under the powers of sin, death, and the devil. They are our masters. "We were by nature the children of wrath."_ Eph. 2,3.
4. I am a lost and condemned creature; I am in the power of sin, death, and the devil. _Who can help me in this misery and redeem and save me?_ Surely not I myself. How could I deliver myself from these mighty enemies? I have nothing with which I might atone for my sins or remove God's wrath and curse. Neither can any other man help me, powerful and wise though he may be. _All_ men are lost and condemned creatures, just as helpless as I am. _There is only One who is able to help and redeem us, Jesus Christ, our Lord._ He is the _God-man._ He could conquer these fearful enemies, sin, death, and the devil. He is the _almighty God._ He alone among men is without sin, and therefore not in the power of the devil. He can redeem me, _and He has redeemed me._ In order to redeem the world, the Son of God became man, humbled Himself, and suffered and died. Thankfully I confess _that Christ has redeemed me, that He is my Lord._
5. I confess that Christ, my Lord, has redeemed me. But not only me did He redeem, but _all men,_ from Adam up to the last man that will be born before the Day of Judgment. God loved the _world,_ all _mankind,_ and He so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son to redeem and save the world. All men are lost and condemned creatures, all are under God's wrath and in the power of sin, and our Savior Himself said: _"The Son of Man is come to save that which was lost."_ Matt. 18,11. John the Baptist pointed to Him and said: _"Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."_ John 1,29. _"He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."_ 1 John 2,2. Christ, my Lord, has redeemed all mankind, and therefore I know that it is most certainly true: _He has redeemed also me._
REMEMBER:--
1. _Without Christ, my Lord, I am a lost and condemned creature. I am without God and hope in this world, separated from God and under the sentence of damnation._
2. _By nature I am in the power of sin, death, and the devil. I belong to Satan's kingdom. Sin, death, and the devil were my masters._
3. _In this dreadful distress no man was able to help me. Only Christ could redeem me, for He is the God-man; and He has redeemed me and all the world._
MEMORIZE:--
_He that committeth sin is of the devil._ 1 John 3,8.
_The Son of Man is come to save that which was lost._ Matt. 18,11.
_Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world._ John 1,29.
_He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world._ 1 John 2,2.
QUESTIONS.
1. What do we call the great work which Christ has done for us and all men? 2. What do I confess in the Second Article concerning myself? 3. From which parable of our Lord do we learn what it means to be lost? 4. Why was the Prodigal Son called lost? 5. How did he become separated from his father? 6. What happened to him in that far-away country? 7. How did we become separated from our heavenly Father? 8. What always separates us from God? 9. What do we furthermore confess concerning ourselves? 10. Why are we condemned creatures? 11. What does God threaten to those who transgress His commandments? 12. In what does the punishment of sin consist? 13. What death is meant? 14. Who tempted Adam and Eve to sin? 15. Of whom is he who commits sin? 16. Under whose power are we because we have sinned? 17. Who alone is able to help us in our misery? 18. Why can Jesus Christ surely help and save us? 19. Whom did Christ redeem? 20. How can you prove from Scripture that Christ has redeemed all men?
LESSON 23.
The Second Article.
Christ, My Lord, Has Redeemed Me With His Holy, Precious Blood.
Which is the Second Article?
_I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord._
What does this mean?
_I believe that Jesus Christ is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death._
1. Christ has redeemed and _purchased us,_ that is, He bought us. Our Lord had to pay a price, a very high price for our redemption. He has purchased or bought me not with _gold_ or _silver. "Ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold."_ 1 Pet 1,18. Gold and silver are, indeed, highly prized among men. Much can be accomplished, much can be bought with gold and silver for the support of our life and for our comfort here in this world. But all the gold and silver, all the treasures in the world, cannot buy our redemption. Gold and silver cannot redeem one lost and condemned sinner from sin, death, and the powers of the devil, from hell and damnation. A much higher price was necessary. Our Lord has paid this price.
2. Christ redeemed and purchased us with His _blood._ He shed His blood for us. He gave His _life_ for our redemption. Consider the great love of our Lord. He gave His life not for His friends, but for us, who were His enemies. We call this blood a _holy_ blood. _It is the blood of a holy man._ Our Savior was born without sin, and He never committed a sin in His life. We have been redeemed, not with gold or silver, _"but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."_ 1 Pet. 1,19. We call the blood of Christ a _precious_ blood. This blood is the most precious thing in heaven and earth. It is the _blood of the Son of God,_ shed for our sins. _"The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin."_ 1 John 1,7.
3. Christ purchased us with His blood _and with His suffering and death._ Suffering and dying our Lord shed His blood for us. We say it was an _innocent_ suffering and death, because He did not deserve this. He was without sin, He never did any wrong. He did not suffer and die because of any guilt of His own. He suffered and died _on account of my guilt and the guilt of the whole world._ During His whole sinless life He fulfilled God's commandments. _We_ ought to have kept the commandments, but we could not do it because we were born in sins. Christ, our Lord, has fulfilled the Law of God _for us, in our stead._ He came into this world and was made under the Law that He might redeem us, who were under the Law. _We_ had transgressed the commandments, therefore the wrath of God was upon us, and we deserved His punishment. _We_ ought to have suffered death, eternal death. _Christ_ was _innocent,_ without sin, and still He suffered death on the cross. _He did all this for us, in our stead. "Surely He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.... He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed."_ Is. 53,4.5.--It was a high price that Jesus paid for our salvation. He gave Himself for us. How thankful we ought to be to our dear Savior, who lived and died for us that we may be saved! How thankful we ought to be to our heavenly Father, who _"so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life"!_ John 3,16.
4. Christ paid a high price for me. He gave Himself a ransom for my salvation. But before His death on the cross my Savior cried out: _"It is finished."_ His great work is finished indeed. My Lord _has_ purchased and redeemed me and all mankind. Because Christ shed His precious blood, and suffered and died for us in our stead, we are redeemed and free from _our sins._ By leading a sinless life Christ has fulfilled all commandments of God for us; _in Him we have fulfilled them._ We are free from the curse of the Law. _"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us."_ Gal. 3,13. All the punishments for our sins were suffered by Christ. _In Him God has punished us,_ and therefore we no longer need to suffer punishment for our sins.--We have been redeemed from _all_ sins. There is not a single sin, either great or small, from which Christ, our Lord, has not redeemed us. _He has earned forgiveness of all sins for us._
5. The penalty of sin is _death,_ eternal death and damnation. Christ, our Lord, has taken away our sins, He has earned forgiveness for us; therefore _we have been redeemed from death._ He has suffered death for us and therefore we are free from death. Eternal death has no power over us; for _"Christ hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light."_ 2 Tim. 1,10. We no longer need to fear death. In death our Lord gives us everlasting life.
6. Since Christ has suffered and died for us, _we have also been redeemed from the power of the devil._ Through sin the devil has power over us. Our sins are forgiven; by His death the Lord _destroyed the works of the devil._ Satan has lost his power over me. He cannot force me to sin nor keep me in his kingdom. _"Through death He destroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the devil."_ Heb. 2,14. We thank the Lord for having redeemed us from all sin, from death, and from the power of the devil.
REMEMBER:--
1. _I have been bought with a price. My Lord has purchased me, not with treasures of this world, but with His own precious blood, with His innocent suffering and death._
2. _In my stead Christ fulfilled all the commandments of God. In my stead He suffered and died for my sins. With His stripes I am healed._
3. _Now I am redeemed and free from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil. In Christ I have forgiveness of all my sins._
MEMORIZE:--
_Ye know that ye ware not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot._ 1 Pet. 1,18.19.
_The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sins._ 1 John 1,7.
_Surely He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.... He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed._ Is. 53,4.5.
_Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us._ Gal. 3,13.
_Christ hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light._ 2 Tim. 1,10.
QUESTIONS.
1. What does it mean when we say that the Lord purchased us? 2. Wherein did the price which He paid for us not consist? 3. With what did our Lord redeem us? 4. Why do we call His blood a holy blood? 5. Why do we call it a precious blood? 6. What do we read 1 John 1,7? 7. Why do we call the suffering and death of our Lord an innocent suffering and death? 8. Why did our Lord not deserve suffering and death? 9. For whom did He suffer and die? 10. What did Christ during His whole life fulfil? 11. For whom did He do this? 12. What did we deserve for our sins? 13. Who suffered the punishment we had deserved in our stead? 14. What does the prophet say Is. 53,4.5? 15. What do we know regarding this great work of our Lord? 16. From what have we been redeemed? 17. What did Christ earn for us with regard to our sins? 18. From what have we also been redeemed? 19. What need we no longer fear? 20. In what respect are we redeemed also from the power of the devil?
LESSON 24.
The Second Article.
My Lord Has Won Me That I May Be His Own.
Which is the Second Article?
_I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord._
What does this mean?
_I believe that Jesus Christ is my Lord, who has won me, that I may be His own, and live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness._
1. Christ, my Lord, has redeemed and purchased me, and we add: _He has won me._ He has won me after a hard fight with sin, death, and the devil. In the first prophecy of the promised Messiah, God said to the serpent, to Satan: _"I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her Seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel."_ Gen. 3,15. This prophecy has been fulfilled in the coming of Christ, our Lord. He is the _Seed of the woman._ The serpent, Satan, indeed, bruised His heel. Christ had to suffer and die for us. But through His death on the cross our Lord has gained the victory He has bruised the serpent's head and destroyed his works. He has delivered us out of the hand of our enemies. Sin, death, and the devil no longer have any power over us. Christ has won us for Himself. _He has become my Lord. I now am His own,_ I belong to Him, to Him alone, who has bought me and won me. _Christ has won me in order that He may be my Lord and I His own._
2. Christ, my Lord, has won me that I may _live in His kingdom._ Without Christ we are all in Satan's kingdom, living under him. He is our evil master, who rules over us But Christ has delivered us out of the hand of our enemies that we should live in His kingdom.--_Our Lord has a kingdom here on earth._ For the purpose of founding this His kingdom, He came into the world and humbled Himself, and suffered and died for us. Our Lord, truly, is a King. He Himself told us so. When Pontius Pilate asked Him, _"Art Thou a king, then?"_ He answered: _"Thou sayest that I am a King."_ To His kingdom all those belong who believe and trust in Him and accept Him as their Lord and King. For this purpose my Lord redeemed and won me, that I, too, may belong to His kingdom and live under Him.
3. The kingdom of our Lord and King is a _most glorious kingdom._ The Lord Himself reigns and rules in His kingdom with His grace and love. In His kingdom we live _under Him._ He rules and governs my whole life. Under His rule and care I shall not want. I live under Him, under His protection. He protects me from the temptations of sin, the godless world, and the devil. My Lord and King is always with me. Under His care and protection I am _safe;_ for my King is _the almighty God, whom nothing can withstand._ All power is given unto Him in heaven and in earth. Matt. 28,18. _This kingdom of our Lord we call the Kingdom of Grace;_ for with grace and love our King governs all who accept Him as their Lord and King.