The Apostles Creed: "...I believe in Jesus Christ...":
Lord's Day 11 (Heidelberg Catechism)
Marissa Namirr: "Gospel Gal"
The Creed:
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 Spirit,
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 again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit;
a holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints;
the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body;
and the life everlasting. Amen.
"I believe in Jesus Christ." As we consider this phrase from the Apostles Creed our gaze is drawn to our Lord, our Savior, our Mediator Who grants us access to the divine Majesty. There is no higher thought that can grace our minds than Christ. Who He is, what He has accomplished, and what He will do on our behalf inspire awe and wonder. So, let's focus on the Son of God, who alone holds the power to redeem and reconcile us to God, "keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2). Who is this Jesus Christ and what's in a name?
Listen to the words of the Heidelberg Catechism.
Lord's Day 11: Heidelberg Catechism 29. Q. Why is the Son of God called Jesus, that is, Saviour?
A. Because he saves us from all our sins,
and because salvation is not to be sought or found
in anyone else.
In this regard, Ursinus explains:
"I believe in Jesus Christ. The words, I believe,
are to be repeated,
because as we believe in God, the Father, so
we also believe in the Son of God, according to what is written:
“You believe in God, believe also in me.” “Believe me that I am in
the Father, and the Father in me.” “I and my Father are one.”
“This is the word of God that you believe on him whom he has
sent.” “He that believeth on the Son has everlasting life.” “That
all men should honor the Son as they honor the Father.” ...This is a sure and well-grounded argument in support of the true Divinity of the Son;
for faith under this form is worship due to God alone. ...The word Jesus...signifies a Savior,
or the author of salvation, which God himself ascribes to the
mediator in the New Testament... ) The Son of God is, therefore, called Jesus, the Savior
in respect to his office, because he is our mediator, and saves
and delivers us from the evil both of guilt and punishment; and
that truly, because he is an only and perfect Savior. The salvation
which he offers is righteousness and eternal life. This is inferred
from the name itself, because he has not the name without the
thing, but on account of the office... Now, therefore, what is the meaning of this article, I believe in
Jesus? It means, 1. I believe that there is a certain Savior of the
human race. 2. I believe that this person, Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary, is this Savior, of whom the Father declared from
Heaven, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased;
hear him.”...God therefore will have him to be worshipped and honored: “He that honors not the Son, honors not
the Father which has sent him.”...
Next, the writers of the Heidelberg question the readers, simultaneously exposing false professors:
Heidelberg Catechism 30.
Q. Do those who seek their salvation or well-being in saints, in themselves, or anywhere else, also believe in the only Saviour Jesus?
A. No. Though they boast of him in words,
they in fact deny the only Saviour Jesus.
For one of two things must be true:
either Jesus is not a complete Saviour,
or those who by true faith accept this Saviour
must find in him all that is necessary
for their salvation.
Ursinus clarifies further:
"This question is proposed on account of those who glory in the
name of Jesus, and yet, at the same time, seek their salvation,
either wholly or in part in some other place without him... It is answered, that they do not believe
in him, but that in very deed they deny him, however much they
may boast of him in words... Hence we
justly conclude that all those who seek their salvation wholly or
in part somewhere else, in reality deny him to be an only and
perfect Savior. Or, we may put it in this form: those who seek salvation elsewhere than in Christ, whether in the saints, or in
themselves, etc., do not believe in Jesus as an only Savior...
But we know and confess:
1 Timothy 2:5 "For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus"
As I receive this teaching from the writers, the Belgic Confession comes to mind:
"...for any to assert, that Christ is not sufficient, but that something more is required besides him, would be too gross a blasphemy: for hence it would follow, that Christ was but half a Savior."...
"Of Faith in Jesus Christ.
...the Holy Ghost kindleth in our hearts an upright faith, which embraces Jesus Christ, with all his merits, appropriates him, and seeks nothing more besides him. For it must needs follow, either that all things, which are requisite to our salvation, are not in Jesus Christ, or if all things are in him, that then those who possess Jesus Christ through faith, have complete salvation in him. Therefore, for any to assert, that Christ is not sufficient, but that something more is required besides him, would be too gross a blasphemy: for hence it would follow, that Christ was but half a Savior. Therefore we justly say with Paul, that we are justified by faith alone, or by faith without works. However, to speak more clearly, we do not mean, that faith itself justifies us, for it is only an instrument with which we embrace Christ our Righteousness. But Jesus Christ, imputing to us all his merits and so many holy works which he has done for us, and in our stead, is our Righteousness. And faith is an instrument that keeps us in communion with him in all his benefits, which, when become ours, are more than sufficient to acquit us of our sins. ~Belgic Confession
But we believe and confess, "...he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. ~Hebrews 7:25
In closing, let us rejoice that we know no half-Savior, but a Whole Christ and Mediator. Pause to meditate on Luther's direction to us concerning this Mediator: "This sly serpent really knows how to present Jesus Christ, our Mediator and Savior, as a lawgiver, judge, and condemner...Against this temptation we must use these words of Paul in which he gives this very good and true definition of Christ: “Christ is the Son of God and of the Virgin; He was delivered and put to death for our sins.” If the devil cites any other definition of Christ, you must say: “The definition and the subject are false; therefore, I refuse to accept the definition.” I am not speaking vainly here, for I know why I define Christ so strictly from the words of Paul. For Christ is not a cruel master; He is the Propitiator for the sins of the whole world. If you are a sinner, therefore – as indeed we all are – do not put Christ on a rainbow as the Judge; for then you will be terrified and will despair of His mercy. No, grasp the true definition of Him, namely, that Christ, the Son of God and of the Virgin, is not One who terrifies, troubles, condemns us sinners or calls us to account for our evil past but One who has taken away the sins of the whole world, nailing them to the cross...and driving them all the way out by Himself.
Take heart Brothers and Sisters, Christ our Mediatator is for us and always will be.
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Here are a few thoughts from Michael Horton in his book, We Believe: Recovering the Essentials of the Apostles' Creed on Christ our Mediator. Joy found these particularly helpful:
“Christ is key to knowing God. Apart from him, there would be no world, no human speech, no relationship with God. In fact, apart from the Son there would be no God at all, since the only God who really exists is the Trinity: one in essence, three in person. This is why Scripture describes God by revealing Christ in promise and fulfillment from Genesis to Revelation. We know God by seeing him in action, and the whole biblical story is about his action in Christ, foreshadowed in promise and accomplished in fulfillment. It is not “God” but this God – Yahweh – who is the object of our worship. It is not by personal experiences or by speculating or spinning a web of reasonable opinions about God that we come to know the true Creator and Redeemer, by locating divine action in history” - What we Believe – pg. 51 Michael Horton
“At various times in Israel’s history, the temptation was great to follow the nations in both their religions and their cultural habits. The nations kept their gods up close. They could touch and see them. Why did Israel have to worship a God who was invisible and could not be touched? “You cannot see My face” God told Moses “No one can see Me and live” (Exodus 33:20). But the promise was that one day God himself would become flesh, and in that day his servants would touch him with their hands, see him with their eyes, and hear him with their ears. And now a carpenter from Nazareth was announcing “He who has seen Me has seen My Father… most assuredly I say to you, before Abraham was I AM” John 8:58..He was God incarnate” Michael Horton – pg. 49
“We believe that we have no access to God except through the one and only Mediator and Intercessor: Jesus Christ the Righteous. He therefore was made man, uniting together the divine and human natures, so that human beings might to have access to the divine Majesty. Otherwise we would have no access.
Listen to Meditation Monday with Gospel Gal on this topic here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F2W3x7utY8&ab_channel=Marissa .
Sourced Material: 3. Know the Creeds and Councils (KNOW Series): Justin S. Holcomb
4. We Believe: Recovering the Essentials of the Apostles' Creed: Michael Horton
