Note. This Catechism
is fully based on the Scriptures. The references to Scripture are indicated in
parentheses with a letter. For example, the letter (a) points to the texts (a)
placed after the answer. All Scripture
quotations are from the English Standard Version (ESV). To download a Word doc click here.
1. Lord's Day
Question 1.
What is your
only comfort in life and death?
Answer.
That I with body
and soul, both in life and death, (a)
am not my own,
(b)
but belong unto
my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ; (c)
who, with his
precious blood, has fully satisfied for all my sins, (d)
and delivered me
from all the power of the devil; (e)
and so preserves
me (f)
that without the
will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head; (g)
yes, that all
things must be subservient to my salvation, (h)
and therefore,
by his Holy Spirit, He also assures me
of eternal life, (i)
and makes me
sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto him. (j)
(a)
Rom.14:7,8. (b) 1 Cor.6:19. (c) 1 Cor.3:23; Tit.2:14. (d) 1
Pet.1:18,19;
1 John 1:7; 1 John 2:2,12. (e) Heb.2:14; 1 John 3:8; John
8:34-36.
(f) John 6:39; John 10:28; 2 Thess.3:3; 1 Pet.1:5. (g)
Matt.10:29-31;
Luke 21:18. (h) Rom.8:28. (i) 2 Cor.1:20-22; 2 Cor.5:5;
Eph.1:13,14;
Rom.8:16. (j) Rom.8:14; 1 John 3:3.
Q. 2.
How many things
are necessary for you to know, that you, enjoying this comfort, may live and
die happily?
A.
Three; (a)
the first, how
great my sins and miseries are; (b)
the second, how
I may be delivered from all my sins and miseries; (c)
the third, how I
shall express my gratitude to God for such
deliverance. (d)
(a)
Matt.11:28-30; Luke 24:46-48; 1 Cor.6:11; Tit.3:3-7. (b) John
9:41;
John 15:22. (c) John 17:3; Acts 4:12; Acts 10:43. (d) Eph.5:8-
11;
1 Pet.2:9,10; Rom.6:1,2,12,13.
Q. 3.
How do you know
your misery?
A.
Out of the law
of God. (a)
(a) Rom.3:20.
Q. 4.
What does the
law of God require of us?
A.
Christ teaches
us that briefly, Matt. 22:37-40, "You shall love the Lord your God with
all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great
and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as
yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." (a)
(a)
Deut.6:5; Lev.19:18; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27.
Q. 5.
Can you keep all
these things perfectly?
A.
In no way; (a)
for I am prone
by nature to hate God and my neighbor.(b)
(a)
Rom.3:10,20,23; 1 John 1:8,10. (b) Rom.8:7; Eph.2:3; Tit.3:3;
Gen.6:5;
Gen.8:21; Jer.17:9; Rom.7:23.
Q. 6.
Did God create
man so wicked and perverse?
A.
By no means;
but God created
man good, (a)
and after his
own image, (b)
in true
righteousness and holiness, that he might rightly know God his Creator,
heartily love him and live with him in eternal happiness to glorify and praise
him. (c)
(a)
Gen.1:31. (b) Gen.1:26,27. (c) Col.3:9,10; Eph.4:23,24; 2
Cor.3:18.
Q. 7.
From where does
this depravity of human nature come?
A.
From the fall
and disobedience of our first parents,
Adam and Eve, in
Paradise; (a)
hence our nature
is become so corrupt, that we are all
conceived and born in sin. (b)
(a)
Gen.3; Rom.5:12,18,19. (b) Ps.51:5; Gen.5:3.
Q. 8.
Are we then so
corrupt that we are wholly incapable of doing any good, and inclined to all
wickedness?
A.
Indeed we are;
(a)
except we are
regenerated by the Spirit of God. (b)
(a)
Gen.8:21; John 3:6; Gen.6:5; Job 14:4; Job 15:14,16,36; Isa.53:6.
(b)
John 3:3,5; 1 Cor.12:3; 2 Cor.3:5.
Q. 9.
Does not God
then do injustice to man, by requiring from him in his law, that which he
cannot perform?
A.
Not at all; (a)
for God made man
capable of performing it;
but man, by the
instigation of the devil, (b)
and his own willful
disobedience, (c)
deprived himself
and all his posterity of those divine gifts.
(a)
Eph.4:24; Eccl.7:29. (b) John 8:44; 2 Cor.11:3; Gen.3:4. (c)
Gen.3:6;
Rom.5:12; Gen.3:13; 1 Tim.2:13,14.
Q. 10.
Will God allow
such disobedience and rebellion to go unpunished?
A.
By no means;
but is terribly
displeased (a)
with our original
as well as actual sins; and will punish them in his just judgment temporally
and eternally, (b)
as he has
declared, "Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in
the Book of the Law, and do them." (c)
(a)
Gen.2:17; Rom.5:12. (b) Ps.5:5; Ps.50:21; Nah.1:2; Exod.20:5;
Exod.34:7;
Rom.1:18; Eph.5:6; Heb.9:27. (c) Deut.27:26; Gal.3:10.
Q. 11.
Is not God then
also merciful?
A.
God is indeed
merciful, (a)
but also just;
(b)
therefore his
justice requires, that sin which is committed against the most high majesty of
God, be also punished with extreme, that is, with everlasting punishment of
body and soul.
(a)
Exod.34:6,7; Exod.20:6. (b) Ps.7:9; Exod.20:5; Exod.23:7;
Exod.34:7;
Ps.5:5,6; Nah.1:2,3.
Q. 12.
Since according
to the righteous judgment of God, we deserve temporal and eternal punishment,
is there no way by which we may escape that punishment, and be again received
into favor?
A.
God will have
his justice satisfied: (a)
and therefore we
must make this full satisfaction, either by ourselves, or by another. (b)
(a)
Gen.2:17; Exod.20:5; Exod.23:7; Ezek.18:4; Matt.5:26; 2 Thess.1:6;
Luke
16:2. (b) Rom.8:3,4.
Q. 13.
Can we ourselves
then make this satisfaction?
A.
By no means;
but on the
contrary we daily increase our debt. (a)
(a).
Job 9:2,3; Job 15:15,16; Job 4:18,19; Ps.130:3; Matt.6:12;
Matt.18:25;
Matt.16:26.
Q. 14.
Can there be
found anywhere a mere creature able to make satisfaction for us?
A.
None; for,
first, God will not punish any other creature for the sin which man has
committed; (a)
and further, no
mere creature can sustain the burden of God's eternal wrath against sin, so as
to deliver others from it. (b)
(a)
Ezek.18:4; Gen.3:17; Heb.2:14-17. (b) Nah.1:6; Ps.130:3.
Q. 15.
For what kind of
a mediator and deliverer then must we seek?
A.
For one who is
very man, and perfectly (a)
righteous; (b)
and yet more
powerful than all creatures; that is, one who is also very God. (c)
(a)
1 Cor.15:21; Jer.33:16; Isa.53:9; 2 Cor.5:21. (b) Heb.7:16,26. (c)
Isa.7:14;
Isa.9:6; Rom.9:5; Jer.23:5,6; Jer.23:6; Luke 11:22.
Q. 16.
Why must he be
very man, and also perfectly righteous?
A.
Because the
justice of God requires that the same human nature
which has
sinned, should also make satisfaction for sin; (a)
and one, who is
himself a sinner, cannot satisfy for others. (b)
(a)
Ezek.18:4,20; Rom.5:12,15,18; 1 Cor.15:21; Heb.2:14-16; 1
Pet.3:18;
Isa.53:3-5,10,11. (b) Heb.7:26,27; Ps.49:7,8; 1 Pet.3:18.
Q. 17.
Why must he in
one person be also very God?
A.
That he might,
by the power of
his Godhead (a)
sustain in his
human nature, (b)
the burden of
God's wrath; (c)
and might obtain
for, and restore to us, righteousness and life. (d)
(a)
Isa.9:6; Isa.63:3. (b) Isa.53:4,11. (c) Deut.4:24; Nah.1:6;
Ps.130:3.
(d) Isa.53:5,11; Acts 2:24; 1 Pet.3:18; John 3:16; Acts
20:28;
John 1:4.
Q. 18.
Who then is that
Mediator, who is in one person both very God, (a)
and a real (b)
righteous man?
(c)
A.
Our Lord Jesus
Christ: (d)
“whom God made our
wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption.”(e)
(a)
1 John 5:20; Rom.9:5; Rom.8:3; Gal.4:4; Isa.9:6; Jer.23:6;
Mal.3:1.
(b) Luke 1:42; Luke 2:6,7; Rom.1:3; Rom.9:5; Philip.2:7;
Heb.2:14,16,17;
Heb.4:15. (c) Isa.53:9,11; Jer.23:5; Luke 1:35; John
8:46;
Heb.4:15; Heb.7:26; 1 Pet.1:19; 1 Pet.2:22; 1 Pet.3:18. (d)
1
Tim.2:5; Heb.2:9; Matt.1:23; 1 Tim.3:16; Luke 2:11. (e) 1 Cor.1:30.
Q. 19.
How do you know
this?
A.
From the holy
gospel, which God himself first revealed in Paradise; (a)
and afterwards made
known by the patriarchs (b)
and prophets,
(c)
and represented
by the sacrifices and other ceremonies of the law; (d)
and lastly, has
fulfilled it by his only begotten Son. (e)
(a)
Gen.3:15. (b) Gen.22:18; Gen.12:3; Gen.49:10,11. (c) Isa.53;
Isa.42:1-4;
Isa.43:25; Isa.49:5,6,22,23; Jer.23:5,6; Jer.31:32,33;
Jer.32:39-41;
Mic.7:18-20; Acts 10:43; Rom.1:2; Heb.1:1; Acts 3:22-24;
Acts
10:43; John 5:46. (d) Heb.10:1,7; Col.2:7; John 5:46. (e)
Rom.10:4;
Gal.4:4,5; Gal.3:24; Col.2:17.
Q. 20.
Are all men
then, as they perished in Adam, saved by Christ?
A.
No; (a)
only those who
are engrafted into him, and, receive all his benefits, by a true faith. (b)
(a)
Matt.7:14; Matt.22:14. (b) Mark 16:16; John 1:12; John 3:16,18,36;
Isa.53:11;
Ps.2:12; Rom.11:17,19,20; Rom.3:22; Heb.4:2,3; Heb.5:9;
Heb.10:39;
Heb.11:6.
Q. 21.
What is true
faith?
A.
True faith is
not only a certain knowledge, by which I hold for truth all that God has
revealed to us in his word, (a)
but also an
assured confidence, (b)
which the Holy Spirit
(c)
works by the
gospel in my heart; (d)
that not only to
others, but to me also, remission of sin, everlasting righteousness and
salvation, (e)
are freely given
by God, merely of grace, only for the sake of Christ's merits. (f)
(a)
James 2:19. (b) 2 Cor.4:13; Eph.2:7-9; Eph.3:12; Gal.2:16;
Heb.11:1,7-10;
Heb.4:16; James 1:6; Matt.16:17; Philip.1:19;
Rom.4:16-21;
Rom.5:1; Rom.1:16; Rom.10:10,17; Rom.3:24.25. (c)
Gal.5:22;
Matt.16:17; 2 Cor.4:13; John 6:29; Eph.2:8; Philip.1:19;
Acts
16:14. (d) Rom.1:16; Rom.10:17; 1 Cor.1:21; Acts 10:44; Acts
16:14.
(e) Rom.1:17; Gal.3:11; Heb.10:10,38; Gal.2:16. (f) Eph.2:8;
Rom.3:24;
Rom.5:19; Luke 1:77,78.
Q. 22.
What is
necessary for a Christian to believe?
A.
All things
promised us in the gospel, (a)
which the articles
of our common undoubted Christian faith briefly teach us.
(a)
John 20:31; Matt.28:19; Mark 1:15.
Q. 23.
What are these
articles?
A.
I believe in God
the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:
And in Jesus
Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord:
Who was
conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary:
Suffered
under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead, and buried: He descended into hell:
The third day he
rose again from the dead:
He ascended into heaven, and sits at the
right hand of God the Father Almighty:
From there he
shall come to judge the quick and the dead:
I believe in the
Holy Spirit:
I believe a holy
catholic church: the communion of saints:
The forgiveness
of sins:
The resurrection
of the body:
And the life
everlasting.
Q. 24.
How are these
articles divided?
A.
Into three
parts;
the first is of
God the Father, and our creation;
the second of
God the Son, and our redemption;
the third of God
the Holy Ghost, and our sanctification.
Q. 25.
Since there is
but one only divine essence, (a)
why do you speak
of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost?
A.
Because God has
so revealed himself in his word, (b)
that these three
distinct persons are the one only true and eternal God.
(a)
Deut.6:4; Eph.4:6; Isa.44:6; Isa.45:5; 1 Cor.8:4,6. (b) Isa.61:1;
Luke
4:18; Gen.1:2,3; Ps.33:6; Isa.48:16; Ps.110:1; Matt.3:16,17;
Matt.28:19;
1 John 5:7; Isa.6:1,3; John 14:26; John 15:26; 2
Cor.13:13;
Gal.4:6; Eph.2:18; Tit.3:5,6.
Q. 26.
What do you
believe when you say, "I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of
heaven and earth"?
A.
That the eternal
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (who of nothing made heaven and earth, with all
that is in them; (a)
who also upholds
and governs the same by his eternal counsel and providence) (b)
is for the sake
of Christ his Son, my God and my Father; (c)
on whom I rely
so entirely, that I have no doubt, but he will provide me with all things
necessary for soul and body (d)
and further,
that he will make whatever evils he sends upon me, in this valley of tears turn
out to my advantage; (e)
for he is able
to do it, being Almighty God, (f)
and willing,
being a faithful Father. (g)
(a)
Gen.1,2; Job 33:4; Job 38,39; Ps.33:6; Acts 4:24; Acts 14:15;
Isa.45:7.
(b) Matt.10:29; Heb.1:3; Ps.104:27-30; Ps.115:3; Matt.10:29;
Eph.1:11.
(c) John 1:12; Rom.8:15; Gal.4:5-7; Eph.1:5. (d) Ps.55:23;
Matt.6:25,26;
Luke 12:22. (e) Rom.8:28. (f) Rom.10:12; Luke 12:22;
Rom.8:23;
Isa.46:4; Rom.10:12. (g) Matt.6:25-34; Matt.7:9-11.
Q. 27.
What do you mean
by the providence of God?
A.
The almighty and
everywhere present power of God; (a)
By which, as it
were by his hand, he upholds and governs (b)
heaven, earth,
and all creatures; so that herbs and grass, rain and drought, (c)
fruitful and
barren years, meat and drink, health and sickness, (d)
riches and
poverty, (e)
yes, and all
things come, not by chance, but be his fatherly hand. (f)
(a) Acts 17:25-28; Jer.23:23,24; Isa.29:15,16;
Ezek.8:12. (b)
Heb.1:3.
(c) Jer.5:24; Acts 14:17. (d) John 9:3. (e) Prov.22:2. (f)
Matt.10:20;
Prov.16:33.
Q. 28.
What advantage
is it to us to know that God has created, and by his providence still upholds
all things?
A.
That we may be
patient in adversity; (a)
thankful in prosperity; (b)
and that in all
things, which may hereafter befall us, we place our firm trust in our faithful
God and Father, (c)
that nothing
shall separate us from his love; (d)
since all
creatures are so in his hand, that without his will they cannot so much as
move. (e)
(a)
Rom.5:3; James 1:3; Ps.39:9; Job 1:21,22. (b) Deut.8:10;
1
Thess.5:18. (c) Ps.55:22; Rom.5:4. (d) Rom.8:38,39. (e) Job 1:12;
Job
2:6; Acts 17:25,28; Prov.21:1.
Q. 29.
Why is the Son
of God called "Jesus", that is a Savior?
A.
Because he saves
us,
and delivers us
from our sins; (a)
and likewise,
because we ought not to seek, neither can find salvation in any other. (b)
(a)
Matt.1:21; Heb.7:24,25. (b) Acts 4:12; John 15:4,5; 1 Tim.2:5;
Isa.43:11;
1 John 5:11.
Q. 30.
Do those who
believe in Jesus the only Savior seek their salvation and welfare of saints, of
themselves, or anywhere else?
A.
They do not;
for though they
boast of him in words, yet in deeds they deny Jesus the only deliverer and Savior;
(a)
for one of these
two things must be true, that either Jesus is not a complete Savior; or that
they, who by a true faith receive this Savior, must find all things in him
necessary to their salvation. (b)
(a)
1 Cor.1:13,30,31; Gal.5:4. (b) Heb.12:2; Isa.9:6; Col.1:19,20;
Col.2:10;
1 John 1:7,16.
Q. 31.
Why is he called
"Christ", that is anointed?
A.
Because he is
ordained of God the Father, and anointed with the Holy Spirit, (a)
to be our chief
Prophet and Teacher, (b)
who has fully
revealed to us the secret counsel and will of God concerning our redemption;
(c)
and to be our
only High Priest, (d)
who by the one
sacrifice of his body, has redeemed us, (e)
and makes
continual intercession with the Father for us; (f)
and also to be
our eternal King, who governs us by his word and Spirit, and who defends and
preserves us in that salvation, he has purchased for us. (g)
(a)
Heb.1:9; Ps.45:8; Isa.61:1; Luke 4:18. (b) Deut.18:15; Acts 3:22;
Acts
7:37; Isa.55:4. (c) John 1:18; John 15:15. (d) Ps.110:4. (e)
Heb.10:12,14;
Heb.9:12,14,28. (f) Rom.8:34; Heb.9:24; 1 John 2:1;
Rom.5:9,10.
(g) Ps.2:6; Zech.9:9; Matt.21:5; Luke 1:33; Matt.28:18;
John
10:28; Rev.12:10,11.
Q. 32.
But why are you
called a Christian? (a)
A.
Because I am a
member of Christ by faith, (b)
and so am a partaker
of his anointing; (c)
that so I may
confess his name, (d)
and present
myself a living sacrifice of thankfulness to him: (e)
and also that
with a free and good conscience I may fight against sin and Satan in this life
(f)
and afterwards I
reign with him eternally, over all creatures. (g)
(a)
Acts 11:26. (b) 1 Cor.6:15. (c) 1 John 2:27; Acts 2:17. (d)
Matt.10:32;
Rom.10:10; Mark 8:38. (e) Rom.12:1; 1 Pet.2:5,9;
Rev.5:8,10;
Rev.1:6. (f) 1 Pet.2:11; Rom.6:12,13; Gal.5:16,17;
Eph.6:11;
1 Tim.1:18,19. (g) 2 Tim.2:12; Matt.24:34.
Q. 33.
Why is Christ
called the "only begotten Son" of God, since we are also the children
of God?
A.
Because Christ
alone is the eternal and natural Son of God; (a)
but we are
children adopted of God, by grace, for his sake. (b)
(a)
John 1:1-3,14,18; Heb.1:1,2; John 3:16; 1 John 4:9; Rom.8:32. (b)
Rom.8:15-17;
John 1:12; Gal.4:6; Eph.1:5,6.
Q. 34.
Why do you call
him "our Lord"?
A.
Because he has
redeemed us, both soul and body, from all our sins,
not with silver
or gold, but with his precious blood, and has delivered us from all the power
of the devil; and so has made us his own property. (a)
(a)
1 Pet.1:18,19; 1 Pet.2:9; 1 Cor.6:20; 1 Cor.7:23; 1 Tim.2:6; John
Q. 35.
What is the
meaning of these words "He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the
virgin Mary"?
A.
That God's
eternal Son, who is, and continues (a)
true and eternal
God, (b)
took upon him
the very nature of man, of the flesh and blood of the virgin Mary, (c)
by the operation
of the Holy Ghost; (d)
that he might
also be the true seed of David, (e)
like his
brethren in all things, (f)
but without sin.
(g)
(a)
Rom.1:4; Rom.9:5. (b) 1 John 5:20; John 1:1; John 17:3; Rom.1:3;
Col.1:15.
(c) Gal.4:4; Luke 1:31,42,43. (d) John 1:14; Matt.1:18,20;
Luke
1:32,35. (e) Ps.132:11; Rom.1:3; 2 Sam.7:12; Acts 2:30. (f)
Philip.2:7;
Heb.2:14,17. (g) Heb.4:15.
Q. 36.
What profit do you
receive by Christ's holy conception and birth?
A.
That he is our
Mediator; (a)
and with His
innocence and perfect holiness, covers in the sight of God, my sins, in which I
was conceived and brought forth. (b)
(a)
Heb.7:26,27; Heb.2:17. (b) 1 Pet.1:18,19; 1 Pet.3:18; 1
Cor.1:30,31;
Rom.8:3,4; Isa.53:11; Ps.32:1.
Q. 37.
What do you
understand by the words, "He suffered"?
A.
That he, all the
time that he lived on earth, but especially at the end of his life, sustained
in body and soul, the wrath of God against the sins of all mankind: (a)
that so by his suffering
and death, as the only propitiatory sacrifice, (b)
he might redeem
our body and soul from everlasting damnation, (c)
and obtain for
us the favor of God, righteousness and eternal life. (d)
(a)
Isa.53:4; 1 Pet.2:24; 1 Pet.3:18; 1 Tim.2:6. (b) Isa.53:10,12;
Eph.5:2;
1 Cor.5:7; 1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:10; Rom.3:25; Heb.9:28;
Heb.10:14.
(c) Gal.3:13; Col.1:13; Heb.9:12; 1 Pet.1:18,19. (d)
Rom.3:25;
2 Cor.5:21; John 3:16; John 6:51; Heb.9:15; Heb.10:19.
Q. 38.
Why did he
suffer "under Pontius Pilate, as judge"?
A.
That he, being innocent,
and yet condemned by an earthly judge, (a)
might thereby
free us from the severe judgment of God to which we were exposed. (b)
(a)
John 18:38; Matt.27:24; Acts 4:27,28; Luke 23:14,15; John 19:4.
(b)
Ps.69:4; Isa.53:4,5; 2 Cor.5:21; Gal.3:13.
Q. 39.
Is there
anything more in his being "crucified", than if he had died some
other death?
A.
Yes there is;
for by it I am assured, that he took on him the curse which lay upon me; (a)
for the death of
the cross was accursed of God. (b)
(a)
Gal.3:13. (b) Deut.21:23.
Q. 40.
Why was it
necessary for Christ to humble himself even "unto death"?
A.
Because with
respect to the justice and truth of God, (a)
satisfaction for
our sins could be made no other way, than by the death of the Son of God. (b)
(a)
Gen.2:17. (b) Rom.8:3,4; Heb.2:9,14,15.
Q. 41.
Why was he also
"buried"?
A.
In order to
prove that he was really dead. (a)
(a)
Matt.27:59,60; Luke 23:52,53; John 19:38-42; Acts 13:29.
Q. 42.
Since then
Christ died for us, why must we also die?
A.
Our death is not
a satisfaction for our sins, (a)
but only an
abolishing of sin, and a passage into eternal life. (b)
(a)
Mark 8:37; Ps.49:7. (b) John 5:24; Philip.1:23; Rom.7:24.
Q. 43.
What further
benefit do we receive from the sacrifice and death of Christ on the cross?
A.
That by virtue of
it, our old man is crucified, dead and buried with him; (a)
that so the
corrupt inclinations of the flesh may no more reign in us; (b)
but that we may
offer ourselves unto him a sacrifice of thanksgiving. (c)
(a)
Rom.6:6. (b) Rom.6:6-8,11,12; Col.2:12. (c) Rom.12:1.
Q. 44.
Why is there
added, "he descended into hell"?
A.
That in my
greatest temptations, I may be assured, and wholly comfort myself in this, that
my Lord Jesus Christ, by his inexpressible anguish, pains, terrors, and hellish
agonies, in which he was plunged during all his sufferings, (a)
but especially
on the cross, has delivered me from the anguish and torments of hell. (b)
(a)
Ps.18:5,6; Ps.116:3; Matt.26:38; Heb.5:7; Isa.53:10; Matt.27:46.
(b)
Isa.53:5.
Q. 45.
What does the
"resurrection" of Christ profit us?
A.
First, by his
resurrection he has overcome death, that he might make us partakers of that
righteousness which he had purchased for us by his death; (a)
secondly, we are
also by his power raised up to a new life; (b)
and lastly, the
resurrection of Christ is a sure pledge of our blessed resurrection. (c)
(a)
1 Cor.15:16; Rom.4:25; 1 Pet.1:3. (b) Rom.6:4; Col.3:1,3;
Eph.2:5,6.
(c) 1 Cor.15:12,20,21; Rom.8:11.
Q. 46.
How do you
understand these words, "he ascended into heaven"?
A.
That Christ, in
sight of his disciples, was taken up from earth into heaven; (a)
and that he
continues there for our interest, (b)
until he comes again
to judge the living and the dead. (c)
(a)
Acts 1:9; Matt.26:64; Mark 16:19; Luke 24:51. (b) Heb.7:25;
Heb.4:14;
Heb.9:24; Rom.8:34; Eph.4:10; Col.3:1. (c) Acts 1:11;
Matt.24:30.
Q. 47.
Is not Christ
then with us even to the end of the world, as he has promised? (a)
A.
Christ is very
man and very God; with respect to his human nature, he is no more on earth; (b)
but with respect
to his Godhead, majesty, grace and spirit, he is at no time absent from us. (c)
(a)
Matt.28:20. (b) Heb.8:4; Matt.26:11; John 16:28; John 17:11; Acts
3:21.
(c) John 14:17-19; John 16:13; Matt.28:20; Eph.4:8,12.
Q. 48.
But if his human
nature is not present, wherever his Godhead is, are not then these two natures
in Christ separated from one another?
A.
Not as all, for
since the Godhead is infinite and omnipresent, (a)
it must
necessarily follow that the same is beyond the limits of the human nature he
assumed, (b)
and yet is
nevertheless in this human nature, and remains personally united to it.
(a)
Acts 7:49; Jer.23:24. (b) Col.2:9; John 3:13; John 11:15;
Matt.28:6.
Q. 49.
What advantage
to us is Christ's ascension into heaven?
A.
First, that he
is our advocate in the presence of his Father in heaven; (a)
secondly, that
we have our flesh in heaven as a sure pledge that he, as the head, will also
take up to himself, us, his members; (b)
thirdly, that he
sends us his Spirit as an guarantee, (c)
by whose power
we “seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand
of God.” (d)
(a)
1 John 2:1; Rom.8:34. (b) John 14:2; John 17:24; John 20:17;
Eph.2:6.
(c) John 14:16,7; Acts 2:1-4,33; 2 Cor.1:22; 2 Cor.5:5. (d)
Col.3:1;
Philip.3:14.
Q. 50.
Why is it added,"and
sits at the right hand of God"?
A.
Because Christ
has ascended into heaven for this end, that he might appear as head of his
church, (a)
by whom the
Father governs all things. (b)
(a)
Eph.1:20,21,23; Col.1:18. (b) Matt.28:18; John 5:22.
Q. 51.
What profit is
this glory of Christ, our head, to us?
A.
First, that by
his Holy Spirit he pours out heavenly graces upon us his members; (a)
and then that by
his power he defends and preserves us against all enemies. (b)
(a)
Acts 2:33; Eph.4:8. (b) Ps.2:9; Ps.110:1,2; John 10:28; Eph.4:8.
Q. 52.
What comfort is
it to you that "Christ shall come again to judge the living and the
dead"?
A.
That in all my
sorrows and persecutions, with uplifted head I look for the very same person,
who before offered himself for my sake, to the tribunal of God, and has removed
all curse from me, to come as judge from heaven: (a)
who shall cast
all his and my enemies into everlasting condemnation, (b)
but shall take
me with all his chosen ones to himself, into heavenly joys and glory. (c)
(a)
Luke 21:28; Rom.8:23; Philip.3:20; Tit.2:13; 1 Thess.4:16. (b) 2
Thess.1:6,8-10;
Matt.25:41-43. (c) Matt.25:34; 2 Thess.1:7.
Q. 53.
What do you
believe concerning the Holy Spirit?
A.
First, that he
is true and coeternal God with the Father and the Son; (a)
secondly, that
he is also given me, (b)
to make me by a
true faith a partaker of Christ and all his benefits, (c)
that he may
comfort me (d)
and abide with
me forever. (e)
(a)
1 John 5:7; Gen.1:2; Isa.48:16; 1 Cor.3:16; 1 Cor.6:19; Acts
5:3,4.
(b) Gal.4:6; Matt.28:19,20; 2 Cor.1:21,22; Eph.1:13. (c)
Gal.3:14;
1 Pet.1:2; 1 Cor.6:17. (d) Acts 9:31; John 15:26. (e) John
14:16;
1 Pet.4:14.
Q. 54.
What do you
believe concerning the "holy catholic church" of Christ?
A.
That the Son of
God (a)
from the
beginning to the end of the world, (b)
gathers, defends,
and preserves (c)
to himself by
his Spirit and word, (d)
out of the whole
human race, (e)
a church chosen
to everlasting life, (f)
agreeing in true
faith; (g)
and that I am
and forever shall remain, (h)
a living member of
it. (i)
(a)
Eph.5:26; John 10:11; Acts 20:28; Eph.4:11-13. (b) Ps.71:17,18;
Isa.59:21;
1 Cor.11:26. (c) Matt.16:18; John 10:28-30; Ps.129:1-5. (d)
Isa.59:21;
Rom.1:16; Rom.10:14-17; Eph.5:26. (e) Gen.26:4; Rev.5:9.
(f)
Rom.8:29,30; Eph.1:10-13. (g) Acts 2:46; Eph.4:3-6. (h) Ps.23:6; 1
Cor.1:8,9;
John 10:28; 1 John 2:19; 1 Pet.1:5. (i) 1 John 3:14,19-21;
2
Cor.13:5; Rom.8:10.
Q. 55.
What do you
understand by "the communion of saints"?
A.
First, that all
and every one, who believes, being members of Christ, are in common, partakers
of him, and of all his riches and gifts; (a)
secondly, that
every one must know it to be his duty to readily and cheerfully to employ his
gifts for the advantage and salvation of other members. (b)
(a) 1 John 1:3;
1 Cor.1:9; Rom.8:32; 1 Cor.12:12,13; 1 Cor.6:17. (b) 1Cor.12:21; 1 Cor.13:1,5;
Philip.2:4-8.
Q. 56.
What do you
believe concerning "the forgiveness of sins"?
A.
That God, for
the sake of Christ's satisfaction, will no more remember my sins, neither my
corrupt nature, against which I have to struggle all my life long; (a)
but will
graciously impute to me the righteousness of Christ, (b)
that I may never
be condemned before the tribunal of God. (c)
(a)
1 John 2:2; 1 John 1:7; 2 Cor.5:19,21. (b) Jer.31:34; Ps.103:3,4;
Ps.103:10,12;
Mic.7:19,23-25. (c) Rom.8:1-4; John 3:18; John 5:24.
Q. 57.
What comfort
does the "resurrection of the body" afford you?
A.
That not only my
soul after this life shall be immediately taken up to Christ its head; (a)
but also, that
this my body, being raised by the power of Christ, shall be reunited with my
soul, and made like unto the glorious body of Christ. (b)
(a)
Luke 16:22; Luke 23:43; Philip.1:21,23. (b) 1 Cor.15:53,54; Job
19:25,26;
1 John 3:2; Philip.3:21.
Q. 58.
What comfort do
you take from the article of "life everlasting"?
A.
That since I now
feel in my heart the beginning of eternal joy, (a)
after this life,
I shall inherit perfect salvation, which
"What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love
him"—
to conceive, and that to praise God therein
forever. (b)
(a)
2 Cor.5:2,3. (b) 1 Cor.2:9; John 17:3.