An Explanation of Luther's Small Catechism Part 20

He is

TRUE G.o.d, BEGOTTEN OF THE FATHER FROM ETERNITY. Christ is true G.o.d, [Rom. 9:5+] just as the Father is G.o.d. [John 5:23+, John 20:28+, John 8:58+, Mat. 16:16] He is the Son of G.o.d, not as a good or great man who has been received or adopted as G.o.d's son, but He is in His very nature the Son of G.o.d, _begotten by His Father_ [John 3:16+] _from all eternity_. [John 1:1, John 17:5] He is "G.o.d of G.o.d, Light of Light, Very G.o.d of Very G.o.d, Begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father." [John 10:30+] The Scriptures show this by ascribing to Him divine names, attributes, power, honor, and works. At His baptism and at His transfiguration the Father spoke from heaven, and said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." [Matt. 3:17, Matt. 17:5] His divine nature is proved by His teaching, His miracles, His holy life, and especially by His resurrection from the dead.

ALSO TRUE MAN, BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY. Christ was in all respects a human being such as we are, except that He was without sin. [I Pet.

2:22+] He was "conceived by the Holy Ghost," and thus had G.o.d alone for His Father. [Luke 1:35] But He was "born of the Virgin Mary," [Luke 2:7]

with a human body [Heb. 2:14] and soul. [Matt. 26:38] He grew, increased in wisdom and stature, [Luke 2:52] and reached the age of manhood. He suffered our human wants, [Matt. 4:2, John 4:6-7] such as hunger, thirst, weariness, and pain. He was moved by human emotions, [Luke 10:21, Matt. 26:38, Matt. 21:12] such as joy, sorrow, and indignation.

He wept, [John 11:35] prayed, [Matt. 26:39] suffered, and died. [I Pet.

2:23-24] He could not have done these things if He had not been true man.

Christ is therefore both G.o.d and man in one Person. [Rom. 1:3-4, John 1:14+] Consequently He is the _G.o.d-Man._ It was necessary that the Redeemer should be both G.o.d and man. [I Tim. 1:15+] If He had not been G.o.d, but only man, He could not have paid a sufficient ransom for our deliverance from sin, nor have acquired any merit to bestow upon us.

Even a sinless man could have saved no one but himself. On the other hand, if Christ had not become man, but remained G.o.d only, He could not have put Himself in our place under the law, nor have suffered and died in our stead. But as the _G.o.d-man_, Christ was able to accomplish, and did perfectly accomplish, our redemption. [Rom. 3:24+] Thus He became and

IS MY LORD, WHO HAS REDEEMED ME, and in whom I trust for salvation.

[Rom. 8:38-39, Rom. 5:1+]

QUESTIONS.--1. Of what does the Second Article treat? 2. How did G.o.d plan to save man? 3. a.n.a.lyze the Second Article and its Explanation. 4.

Give the meaning of the names of our Lord. 5. What was Christ's threefold office? 6. What is to be said about the person and nature of Christ? 7. In what sense is Christ the Son of G.o.d, and how do we know it? 8. How do you know that Christ was true man? 9. Why was it necessary that the Redeemer should be both G.o.d and man? 10. What name do we give to Christ in view of His two-fold nature?

SCRIPTURE VERSES.--John 3:16. For G.o.d so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

I Tim. 1:15. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

Rom. 9:5. Christ came, who is over all, G.o.d blessed for ever.

John 5:23. That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.

John 20:28. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my G.o.d.

John 8:58. Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

John 10:30. I and my Father are one.

I Pet. 2:22. Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.

John 1:14. And 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.

Rom. 3:24. Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Rom. 5:1. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with G.o.d through our Lord Jesus Christ.

READING.--The Birth of Jesus, Luke 2:1-20; or, The Eternal Word, John 1:1-18.

CHAPTER XVIII.

OUR LORD.

III. HIS LIFE.

The Saviour's life includes two states; namely, His Humiliation and His Exaltation.

HIS HUMILIATION.

Christ's state of humiliation comprises His life on earth, during which He laid aside the full use of His divine glory and was content to appear among men in the form of a servant. He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, [Phil. 2:8+] in order that He might redeem us. He gave men glimpses of His divine glory: in the authority with which He taught, [Matt. 7:28-29] in the holy life which He led, [John 8:46] and in the miracles which He performed. [John 2:11] But in general He appeared like other men.

This state of humiliation includes five stages:--He was

1. CONCEIVED BY THE HOLY GHOST, BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY. Christ might have appeared among men in the full splendor of His divine glory and majesty. But, in order to redeem us, He was content to be born in poverty, [Luke 2:7, II Cor. 8:9+, Matt. 8:20+] to grow up in obscurity, [Matt. 2:23] and to appear to most men as if He were simply a man.

2. SUFFERED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE. The whole life of Jesus on earth was a life of suffering endured for our sakes. He bore all the trials and hards.h.i.+ps which have come upon our race as a result of its sinfulness.

He also suffered constant persecution at the hands of his enemies. [Heb.

12:3; John 1:11] But His greatest sufferings came at the end of His life, in the agony of Gethsemane, [Matt. 26:36-46] in the mock-trial before the Jewish Council, [Matt. 26:57-75] and in His sufferings under Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. [Matt. 27:1-30] He was mocked, spitefully entreated, spitted on, crowned with thorns, and scourged; and then He

3. WAS CRUCIFIED. [Luke 23:33] Though innocent and holy, He was treated as though He were a malefactor, and was put to a cruel and shameful death. He was nailed to a cross, and left suspended there till He died.

So great was His agony, that He cried out, "My G.o.d, my G.o.d, why hast Thou forsaken me?" [Mark 15:34]

4. DEAD. After unspeakable sufferings, Jesus died on the cross. [Mark 15:37] He was really, and not seemingly, dead. [John 19:33-34] He voluntarily gave up His life for ours. [John 10:18-19+] His death was _vicarious_. He suffered the penalty for our sins. [I Pet. 3:18, Isa.

53:5+]

5. BURIED. His body was laid away in the grave, where our bodies shall decay. But since Christ was "the Holy One of G.o.d," His body could not "see corruption." [Ps. 16:10]

HIS EXALTATION.

After the work of redemption was completed, Christ a.s.sumed the full use of the glory and majesty which had belonged to Him as the Son of G.o.d from eternity; His human nature was exalted to a full share in the glory of His divine nature. [Phil. 2:9-11+] He had humbled Himself as a man; and He was exalted as a man. His divine nature, being unchangeable, can neither be humbled nor exalted. [Heb. 13:8]

Christ's exaltation, like His humiliation, includes five stages:--

1. HE DESCENDED INTO h.e.l.l. Immediately before His resurrection He descended into the place of the departed spirits and proclaimed His victory. [I Pet. 3:19]

2. THE THIRD DAY HE ROSE AGAIN FROM THE DEAD. Having paid in full the penalty for our sins, He rose again from the dead, triumphant, on the third day (Easter). He had power to lay down His life, and power to take it again. [John 10:19] As His death had been a real death, so His resurrection was a real resurrection. He re-appeared to His disciples, not as a spirit, but with the same body that was crucified, the prints of the nails and of the spear being plain in His hands and side. [Luke 24:36-40] But His body was a transformed and glorified body, with new properties and powers. [John 20:19]

_The Resurrection a Fact_. The reality of the resurrection is established beyond all doubt. The strongest proof of its reality is found in the fact that the disciples themselves were so unwilling to believe it, but were obliged to do so by the evidence of their own senses. Even the doubting Thomas exclaimed, "My Lord, and my G.o.d." [John 20:28] During the forty days between His resurrection and His ascension the Lord gave His disciples so many proofs of His resurrection that all their doubts were removed. [Acts 1:3] The women on Easter morn found the grave empty and were told by an angel that He had risen. [Mark 16:6] He was seen by Mary in the Garden, [John 20:14-16] by Peter, [Luke 24:34]

by the two disciples at Emmaus, [Luke 24:15] twice by the eleven as they were gathered together, [John 20:19-29] by seven disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, [John 21:1] by more than five hundred brethren at once, [I Cor. 15:6] by James, [I Cor. 15:7] and by the eleven when He accompanied them to Mount Olivet and ascended before their eyes to heaven. [Acts 1:9-12] The wonderful change which took place in the apostles when the risen and ascended Christ had sent the Holy Spirit upon them, [Acts 2]

and the wonderful change which took place in Paul, [Acts 9:1-29] are further proofs of the reality of the resurrection of Christ.

_The Resurrection proves_ 1. That Jesus is the Son of G.o.d. [John 20:28, Rom. 1:4+, Acts 2:36] 2. That the sacrifice which He made for sin was sufficient and accepted. [Rom. 8:34, I Thess. 1:10] 3. That we also shall rise from the dead. [Rom. 4:25+, I Cor. 15:19-20+, I Cor. 6:14]

3. HE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN from Mount Olivet forty days after His resurrection. [Acts 1:9] Having finished His work on earth, He returned to the heaven from which He had come. He has gone to prepare a place for us. [Acts 14:2]

4. AND SITTETH ON THE RIGHT HAND OF G.o.d THE FATHER ALMIGHTY; that is, on the right hand of G.o.d's power. As the G.o.d-man He now wields all power in heaven and earth. [Matt. 28:18+, Eph. 1:20-22+] He rules over all creatures in the realm of Power; over the believers in the realm of Grace (the Church on earth); and over angels and saints in the realm of Glory in heaven. He continues His office of High-priest, and intercedes for us with the Father. [Rom. 8:34+, Heb. 4:14-16]

5. FROM THENCE HE SHALL COME TO JUDGE THE QUICK AND THE DEAD. At the end of the world Christ will come again visibly, [Mark 13:26+] suddenly, and unexpectedly, [Matt. 24:36-42, Luke 21:27] with power and great glory, to judge both the quick (living) and the dead. [II Cor. 5:10+, Matt.

25:31-46] He will separate the believing from the unbelieving; receive the believers unto Himself; and cast the impenitent and unbelieving into outer darkness and torment. His coming will fill the believers with joy, [Luke 21:28] and the unbelievers with dismay. [Rev. 6:15-17] No one knows or can compute the exact time of His coming. We should be always ready. [Matt. 24:42, 44+] His coming will be preceded by signs. [Luke 21:25-26] The present order of the world shall pa.s.s away; [II Pet. 5:10]

and there shall be new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. [II Pet. 3:13+]