Jesus Christ
Heidelberg Catechism
Heidelberg Catechism Question 29. Why is the Son of God called JESUS, which means SAVIOR? Because he saves us from our sins, and because salvation is to be sought or found in no other.
Heidelberg Catechism Question 30. Do those who seek their salvation and well-being from saints, by their own efforts, or by other means really believe in the only Savior Jesus? No. Rather, by such actions they deny Jesus, the only Savior and Redeemer, even though they boast of belonging to him. It therefore follows that either Jesus is not a perfect Savior, or those who receive this Savior with true faith must possess in him all that is necessary for their salvation.
Heidelberg Catechism Question 31. Why is he called CHRIST, that is, the ANOINTED ONE? Because he is ordained by God the Father and anointed with the Holy Spirit to be our chief Prophet and Teacher, fully revealing to us the secret purpose and will of God concerning our redemption; to be our only High Priest, having redeemed us by the one sacrifice of his body and ever interceding for us with the Father; and to be our eternal King, governing us by his Word and Spirit, and defending and sustaining us in the redemption he has won for us.
Heidelberg Catechism Question 32. But why are you called a Christian? Because through faith I share in Christ and thus in his anointing, so that I may confess his name, offer myself a living sacrifice of gratitude to him, and fight against sin and the devil with a free and good conscience throughout this life and hereafter rule with him in eternity over all creatures.
Study Catechism
Study Catechism Question 36. How did God use the people of Israel to prepare the way for the coming of Jesus? God made a covenant with Israel, promising that God would be their light and their salvation, that they would be God’s people, and that through them all the peoples of the earth would be blessed. Therefore, no matter how often Israel turned away from God, God still cared for them and acted on their behalf. In particular, God sent them prophets, priests and kings. Each of these was “anointed” by God’s Spirit — prophets, to declare God’s word; priests, to make sacrifice for the people’s sins; and kings, to rule justly in the fear of God, upholding the poor and needy, and defending the people from their enemies.
- Gen. 17:3-4 “Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, ‘As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations.’”
- Gen. 12:1-4 “Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’”
- Ex. 6:4-5 “I also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they resided as aliens. I have also heard the groaning of the Israelites whom the Egyptians are holding as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.”
- Gal. 3:14 “In order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”
- Jer. 30:22 “And you shall be my people, and I will be your God.”
- 1 Pet. 2:9-10 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
- Zech. 1:6 “But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your ancestors?”
- Lev. 5:6 “And the priest shall make atonement on your behalf for your sin.”
- Ps. 72:1, 4 “Give your king justice, O God,. . . May he defend the cause of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor.”
Study Catechism Question 37. Was the covenant with Israel an everlasting covenant? Yes. With the coming of Jesus the covenant with Israel was expanded and confirmed. By faith in him Gentiles were welcomed into the covenant. This throwing open of the gates confirmed the promise that through Israel God’s blessing would come to all peoples. Although for the most part Israel has not accepted Jesus as the Messiah, God has not rejected Israel. God still loves Israel, and God is their hope, “for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Rom. 11:29). The God who has reached out to unbelieving Gentiles will not fail to show mercy to Israel as the people of the everlasting covenant.
- Is. 61:8 “I will make an everlasting covenant with them.”
- Jer. 31:3 “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.”
- 2 Sam. 23:5 “For he has made with me [David] an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure.”
- Rom. 11:29 “The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”
Study Catechism Question 38. Why was the title “Christ,” which means “anointed one,” applied to Jesus? Jesus Christ was the definitive prophet, priest and king. All of the Lord’s anointed in Israel anticipated and led finally to him. In assuming these offices Jesus not only transformed them, but also realized the purpose of Israel’s election for the sake of the world.
- 2 Cor. 1:20 “For in him every one of God’s promises is a ‘Yes.’ For this reason it is through him that we say the ‘Amen,’ to the glory of God.”
- Acts 10:37-38 “That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”
- Luke 4:17-19 “[Jesus] stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.’”
Study Catechism Question 39. How did Jesus Christ fulfill the office of prophet? He was God’s Word to a dying and sinful world; he embodied the love he proclaimed. His life, death and resurrection became the great Yes that continues to be spoken despite how often we have said No. When we receive this Word by faith, Christ himself enters our hearts, that he may dwell in us forever, and we in him.
- Acts 3:20, 22 “That he may send the Messiah appointed for you, that is, Jesus …. Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you from your own people a prophet like me. You must listen to whatever he tells you. And it will be that everyone who does not listen to that prophet will be utterly rooted out of the people.’”
- John 1:18 “No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.”
- Eph. 3:17 “And that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.”
Study Catechism Question 40. How did Jesus Christ fulfill the office of priest? He was the Lamb of God that took away the sin of the world; he became our priest and sacrifice in one. Confronted by our hopelessness in sin and death, Christ interceded by offering himself — his entire person and work — in order to reconcile us to God.
- Heb. 4:14 “Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.”
- John 1:29 “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
- Heb. 2:17 “Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people.”
- Eph. 1:7 “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.”
Study Catechism Question 41. How did Jesus Christ fulfill the office of king? He was the Lord who took the form of a servant; he perfected royal power in weakness. With no sword but the sword of righteousness, and no power but the power of love, Christ defeated sin, evil and death by reigning from the cross.
- John 19:19 “Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.’”
- Phil. 2:5-8 “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.”
- 1 Cor. 1:25 “For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.”
- John 12:32 “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
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