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Westminster Larger Catechism

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Christ

Question 37: How did Christ, being the Son of God, become man?

Answer:  Christ the Son of God became man, by taking to himself a true body, and a reasonable soul1, being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost in the womb of the virgin Mary, of her substance, and born of her2, yet without sin3.

1.  John 1:14; Matt. 26:38
2.  Luke 1:27, 31, 35, 42; Gal. 4:4
3.  Heb. 4:15; 7:26

Question 38: Why was it requisite that the Mediator should be God?

Answer:  It was requisite that the Mediator should be God, that he might sustain and keep the human nature from sinking under the infinite wrath of God, and the power of death1; give worth and efficacy to his sufferings, obedience, and intercession2; and to satisfy God’s justice3, procure his favor4, purchase a peculiar people5, give his Spirit to them6, conquer all their enemies7, and bring them to everlasting salvation8.

1.  Acts. 2:24-25; Rom. 1:4; 4:25; Heb. 9:14
2.  Acts 20:28; Heb. 7:25-28; 9:14
3.  Rom. 3:24-26
4.  Eph. 1:6; Matt. 3:17
5.  Titus. 2:13-14
6.  Gal. 4:6
7.  Luke 1:68-69, 71, 74
8.  Heb. 5:8-9; 9:11-15

Question 39: Why was it requisite that the Mediator should be man?

Answer:  It was requisite that the Mediator should be man, that he might advance our nature1, perform obedience to the law2, suffer and make intercession for us in our nature3, have a fellow feeling of our infirmities4; that we might receive the adoption of sons5, and have comfort and access with boldness unto the throne of grace6.

1.  Heb. 2:16
2.  Gal. 4:4
3.  Heb. 2:14; 7:24-25
4.  Heb. 4:15
5.  Gal. 4:5
6.  Heb. 4:16

Question 40: Why was it requisite that the Mediator should be God and man in one person?

Answer:  It was requisite that the Mediator, who was to reconcile God and man, should himself be both God and man, and this in one person, that the proper works of each nature might be accepted of God for us1, and relied on by us, as the works of the whole person2.

1.  Matt. 1:21, 23; 3:17; Heb. 9:14
2.  1Peter 2:6

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Question 41: Why was our Mediator called Jesus?

Answer:  Our Mediator was called Jesus, because he saves his people from their sins.

Matt. 1:21

Question 42: Why was our Mediator called Christ?

Answer:  Our Mediator was called Christ, because he was anointed with the Holy Ghost above measure1; and so set apart, and fully furnished with all authority and ability2, to execute the offices of prophet3, priest4, and king of his church5, in the estate both of his humiliation and exaltation.

1.  John 3:34; Ps. 45:7
2.  John 6:27; Matt. 28:18-20
3.  Acts 3:21-22; Luke 4:18, 21
4.  Heb. 4:14-15; 5:5-7
5.  Ps. 2:6; Matt. 21:5; Isa. 9:6-7; Phil. 2:8-11

Question 43: How does Christ execute the office of a prophet?

Answer:  Christ executes the office of a prophet, in his revealing to the church1, in all ages, by his Spirit and Word2, in divers ways of administration3, the whole will of God4, in all things concerning their edification and salvation5.

1.  John 1:18
2.  1Peter 1:10-12
3.  Heb. 1:1-2
4.  John 15:15
5.  Acts 20:32; Eph. 4:11-13; John 20:31

Question 44: How does Christ execute the office of a priest?

Answer:  Christ executes the office of a priest, in his once offering himself a sacrifice without spot to God1, to be a reconciliation for the sins of his people2; and in making continual intercession for them3.

1.  Heb. 9:14, 28
2.  Heb. 2:17
3.  Heb. 7:25

Question 45: How does Christ execute the office of a king?

Answer:  Christ executes the office of a king, in calling out of the world a people to himself1, and giving them officers2, laws3, and censures, by which he visibly governs them4; in bestowing saving grace upon his elect5, rewarding their obedience6, and correcting them for their sins7, preserving and supporting them under all their temptations and sufferings8, restraining and overcoming all their enemies9, and powerfully ordering all things for his own glory10, and their good11; and also in taking vengeance on the rest, who know not God, and obey not the gospel12.

1.  Acts 15;14-16; Isa. 4:4-5; Gen. 49:10; Ps. 110:3
2.  Eph. 4:11-12; 1Cor. 12:28
3.  Isa. 33:22
4.  Matt. 18:17-18; 1Cor. 5:4-5
5.  Acts 5:31
6.  Rev. 2:10; 22:12
7.  Rev. 3:19
8.  Isa. 63:9
9.  1Cor. 15:25; Ps. 110:1-2
10.  Rom. 14:10-11
11.  Rom. 8:28
12.  2Thess. 1:8-9; Ps. 2:8-9

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Question 46: What was the estate of Christ’s humiliation?

Answer:  The estate of Christ’s humiliation was that low condition, wherein he for our sakes, emptying himself of his glory, took upon him the form of a servant, in his conception and birth, life, death, and after his death, until his resurrection.

Phil. 2:6-8; Luke 1:31; 2Cor. 8:9; Acts 2:24

Question 47: How did Christ humble himself in his conception and birth?

Answer:  Christ humbled himself in his conception and birth, in that, being from all eternity the Son of God, in the bosom of the Father, he was pleased in the fullness of time to become the son of man, made of a woman of low estate, and to be born of her; with divers circumstances of more than ordinary abasement.

John 1:14, 18; Gal. 4:4; Luke 2:7

Question 48: How did Christ humble himself in his life?

Answer:  Christ humbled himself in his life, by subjecting himself to the law1, which he perfectly fulfilled2; and by conflicting with the indignities of the world3, temptations of Satan4, and infirmities in his flesh, whether common to the nature of man, or particularly accompanying that his low condition5.

1.  Gal. 4:4
2.  Matt. 5:17; Rom. 5:19
3.  Ps. 22:6; Heb. 12:2-3
4.  Matt. 4:1-12; Luke 4:13
5.  Heb. 2:17-18; 4:15; Isa. 52:13-14

Question 49: How did Christ humble himself in his death?

Answer:  Christ humbled himself in his death, in that having been betrayed by Judas1, forsaken by his disciples2, scorned and rejected by the world3, condemned by Pilate, and tormented by his persecutors4; having also conflicted with the terrors of death, and the powers of darkness, felt and borne the weight of God’s wrath5, he laid down his life an offering for sin6, enduring the painful, shameful, and cursed death of the cross7.

1.  Matt. 27:4
2.  Matt. 26:56
3.  Isa. 53:2-3
4.  Matt. 27:26-50; John 19:34
5.  Luke 22:44; Matt. 27:46
6.  Isa. 53:10
7.  Phil. 2:8; Heb. 12:2; Gal. 3:13

Question 50: Wherein consisted Christ’s humiliation after his death?

Answer:  Christ’s humiliation after his death consisted in his being buried1, and continuing in the state of the dead, and under the power of death till the third day2; which has been otherwise expressed in these words, he descended into hell.

1.  1Cor. 15:3-4
2.  Ps. 16:10; Acts 2:24-27, 31; Rom. 6:9; Matt. 12:40

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Question 51: What was the estate of Christ’s exaltation?

Answer:  The estate of Christ’s exaltation comprehends his resurrection1, ascension2, sitting at the right hand of the Father3, and his coming again to judge the world4.

1.  1Cor. 15:4
2.  Mark 16:19
3.  Eph. 1:20
4.  Acts 1:11; 17:31

Question 52: How was Christ exalted in his resurrection?

Answer:  Christ was exalted in his resurrection, in that, not having seen corruption in death (of which it was not possible for him to be held)1, and having the very same body in which he suffered, with the essential properties thereof2 (but without mortality, and other common infirmities belonging to this life), really united to his soul3, he rose again from the dead the third day by his own power4; whereby he declared himself to be the Son of God5, to have satisfied divine justice6, to have vanquished death, and him that had the power of it7, and to be Lord of quick and dead8: all which he did as a public person9, the head of his church10, for their justification11, quickening in grace12, support against enemies13, and to assure them of their resurrection from the dead at the last day14.

1.  Acts 2:24, 27
2.  Luke 14:39
3.  Rom. 6:9; Rev. 1:18
4.  John 10:18
5.  Rom. 1:4
6.  Rom. 8:34
7.  Heb. 2:14
8.  Rom. 14:9
9.  1Cor. 15:21-22
10.  Eph. 1:20, 22-23; Col. 1:18
11.  Rom. 4:25
12.  Eph. 2:1, 5-6; Col. 2:12
13.  1Cor. 15:25-27
14.  1Cor. 15:20

Question 53: How was Christ exalted in his ascension?

Answer:  Christ was exalted in his ascension, in that having after his resurrection often appeared unto and conversed with his apostles, speaking to them of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God1, and giving them commission to preach the gospel to all nations2, forty days after his resurrection, he, in our nature, and as our head3, triumphing over enemies4, visibly went up into the highest heavens, there to receive gifts for men,5 to raise up our affections thither6, and to prepare a place for us7, where himself is, and shall continue till his second coming at the end of the world8.

1.  Acts 1:2-3
2.  Matt. 28:19-20
3.  Heb. 6:20
4.  Eph. 4:8
5.  Acts 1:9-11; Eph. 4:10; Ps. 68:18
6.  Col. 3:1-2
7.  John 14:3
8.  Acts 3:21

Question 54: How is Christ exalted in his sitting at the right hand of God?

Answer:  Christ is exalted in his sitting at the right hand of God, in that as God-man he is advanced to the highest favor with God the Father1, with all fullness of joy2, glory3, and power over all things in heaven and earth4; and does gather and defend his church, and subdue their enemies; furnishes his ministers and people with gifts and graces5, and makes intercession for them6.

1.  Phil. 2:9
2.  Acts 2:28; Ps. 16:11
3.  John 17:5
4.  Eph. 1:22; 1Peter 3:22
5.  Eph. 4:10-12; Ps. 110:1
6.  Rom. 8:34

Question 55: How does Christ make intercession?

Answer:  Christ makes intercession, by his appearing in our nature continually before the Father in heaven1, in the merit of his obedience and sacrifice on earth2, declaring his will to have it applied to all believers3;
Answering all accusations against them4, and procuring for them quiet of conscience, notwithstanding daily failings5, access with boldness to the throne of grace6, and acceptance of their persons7 and services8.

1.  Heb. 9:12, 24
2.  Heb. 1:3
3.  John 3:16; 17:9, 20, 24
4.  Rom. 8:33-34
5.  Rom. 5:1-2; 1John 2:1-2
6.  Heb. 4:16
7.  Eph. 1:6
8.  1Peter 2:5

Question 56: How is Christ to be exalted in his coming again to judge the world?

Answer:  Christ is to be exalted in his coming again to judge the world, in that he, who was unjustly judged and condemned by wicked men1, shall come again at the last day in great power2, and in the full manifestation of his own glory, and of his Father’s, with all his holy angels3, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God4, to judge the world in righteousness5.

1.  Acts 3:14-15
2.  Matt. 14:30
3.  Luke 9:26; Matt. 25:31
4.  1Thess. 4:16
5.  Acts 17:31

Question 57: What benefits has Christ procured by his mediation?

Answer:  Christ, by his mediation, has procured redemption1, with all other benefits of the covenant of grace2.

1.  Heb. 9:12
2.  2Cor. 1:20

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