| Question
1. What is God's purpose for your life?
God wills
that I should live by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, for
the love of God, and in the communion of the Holy Spirit.
2 Cor. 13:13 "The grace of the Lord
Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy
Spirit be with all of you."
Question 2. How do you live by the grace of
the Lord Jesus Christ?
I am not my own. I have been bought with a price. The Lord
Jesus Christ loved me and gave himself for me. I entrust myself
completely to his care, giving thanks each day for his wonderful
goodness.
1 Cor. 6:19-20 "You are not your
own for you were bought with a price"
Gal. 2:20 "And the life I now live
in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved
me and gave himself for me."
Ps. 136:1 "O give thanks to the Lord,
for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever."
Question 3. How do you live for the love of
God?
I love because God first loved me. God loves me in Christ
with a love that never ends. Amazed by grace, I no longer live
for myself. I live for the Lord who died and rose again, triumphant
over death, for my sake. Therefore, I take those around me to
heart, especially those in particular need, knowing that Christ
died for them no less than for me.
1 John 4:19 "We love because
he first loved us."
2 Cor. 5:15 "And he died for all, so
that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but
for him who died and was raised for them."
Rom. 12:15-16 "Rejoice with those who
rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one
another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly;
do not claim to be wiser than you are."
Question 4. How do you live in the communion
of the Holy Spirit?
By the Holy Spirit, I am made one with the Lord Jesus Christ.
I am baptized into Christ's body, the church, along with all
others who confess him by faith. As a member of this community,
I trust in God's Word, share in the Lord's Supper, and turn
to God constantly in prayer. As I grow in grace and knowledge,
I am led to do the good works that God intends for my life.
1 Cor. 12:27 "Now you are the
body of Christ and individually members of it."
Gal. 3:27 "As many of you as were baptized
into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ."
1 Cor. 6:17, 19 "But anyone united
to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Or do you not know
that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you,
which you have from God?"
2 Pet. 3:18 "But grow in the grace
and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
Eph. 2:10 "For we are what he has made
us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand to be our way of life."
I. The Apostles' Creed
Question 5. What does a Christian believe?
All that is promised in the gospel. A summary is found in
the Apostles' Creed, which affirms the main content of the Christian
faith.
John 20:31 "But these are written so
that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the
Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in
his name."
Question 6. What is the first article of the
Apostles' Creed?
"I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven
and earth."
Question 7. What do you believe when you confess
your faith in "God the Father Almighty"?
That God is a God of love, and that God's love is powerful
beyond measure.
Lam. 3:22 "The steadfast love
of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end."
Song 8:7 "Many waters cannot quench
love, neither can floods drown it. If one offered for love
all the wealth of one's house, it would be utterly scorned."
1 John 4:8 "Whoever does not love does
not know God, for God is love."
Question 8. How do you understand the love
and power of God?
Through Jesus Christ. In his life of compassion, his death
on the cross, and his resurrection from the dead, I see how
vast is God's love for the world — a love that is ready
to suffer for our sakes, yet so strong that nothing will prevail
against it.
John 3:16 "For God so loved the
world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes
in him may not perish but may have eternal life."
Heb. 1:3 "He is the reflection of God's
glory and the exact imprint of God's very being."
1 John 4:9 "God's love was revealed
among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world
so that we might live through him."
Matt. 9:36 "When he saw the crowds,
he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and
helpless, like sheep without a shepherd."
Ps. 106:8 "Yet he saved them for his
name's sake, so that he might make known his mighty power."
Question 9. What comfort do you receive from
this truth?
This powerful and loving God is the one whose promises I may
trust in all the circumstances of my life, and to whom I belong
in life and in death.
Ps. 12:6 "The promises of the
Lord are promises that are pure, silver refined in a furnace
on the ground, purified seven times."
Rom. 8:38-39 "For I am convinced that
neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things
present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate
us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Question 10. Do you make this confession only
as an individual?
No. With the apostles, prophets and martyrs, with all those
through the ages who have loved the Lord Jesus Christ, and with
all who strive to serve him on earth here and now, I confess
my faith in the God of loving power and powerful love.
Heb. 12:1 "Therefore, since we
are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also
lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely,
and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before
us."
Rom. 1:12 "So that we may be mutually
encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine."
Question 11. When the creed speaks of "God
the Father," does it mean that God is male?
No. Only creatures having bodies can be either male or female.
But God has no body, since by nature God is Spirit. Holy Scripture
reveals God as a living God beyond all sexual distinctions.
Scripture uses diverse images for God, female as well as male.
We read, for example, that God will no more forget us than a
woman can forget her nursing child (Is. 49:15). "'As a
mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you,' says the
Lord" (Is. 66:13).
Is. 49:15 "Can a woman forget
her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of
her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you."
Is. 66:13 "As a mother comforts her
child, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem."
Matt. 23:37 "Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are
sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children
together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you
were not willing!"
Question 12. Why then does the creed speak
of God the Father?
First, because God is identified in the New Testament as the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Second, because Jesus Christ
is the eternal Son of this Father. Third, because when we are
joined to Christ through faith, we are adopted as sons and daughters
into the relationship he enjoys with his Father.
Rom. 1:7 "To all God's beloved
in Rome, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."
John 14:9-10 "Jesus said to him, "Have
I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not
know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can
you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am
in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say
to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells
in me does his works."
John 17:24 "Father, I desire that those
also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to
see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me
before the foundation of the world."
John 1:12 "To all who received him,
who believed in his name, he gave power to become children
of God."
Gal. 4:6 "Because you are children,
God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying,
'Abba! Father!'"
Question 13. When you confess the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, are you elevating men over
women and endorsing male domination?
No. Human power and authority are trustworthy only as they
reflect God's mercy and kindness, not abusive patterns of domination.
As Jesus taught his disciples, "The greatest among you
will be your servant" (Matt. 23:11). God the Father sets
the standard by which all misuses of power are exposed and condemned.
"Call no one your father on earth," said Jesus, "for
you have one Father — the one in heaven" (Matt. 23:9).
In fact God calls women and men to all ministries of the church.
Gal. 3:28 "There is no longer
Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no
longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus."
Eph. 5:21 "Be subject to one another
out of reverence for Christ."
Question 14. If God's love is powerful beyond
measure, why is there so much evil in the world?
No one can say why, for evil is a terrible abyss beyond all
rational explanation. Its ultimate origin is obscure. Its enormity
perplexes us. Nevertheless, we boldly affirm that God's triumph
over evil is certain. In Jesus Christ God suffers with us, knowing
all our sorrows. In raising him from the dead, God gives new
hope to the world. Our Lord Jesus Christ, crucified and risen,
is himself God's promise that suffering will come to an end,
that death shall be no more, and that all things will be made
new.
Ps. 23:4 "Even though I walk
through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with
me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me."
1 Pet. 1:3 "Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has
given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead."
2 Pet. 3:13 "But, in accordance with
his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where
righteousness is at home.
Rom. 8:21 "The creation itself will
be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the
freedom of the glory of the children of God."
Job 19:25 "For I know that my Redeemer
lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth."
Question 15. What do you believe when you
say that God is "Maker of heaven and earth"?
First, that God called heaven and earth, with all that is
in them, into being out of nothing simply by the power of God's
Word. Second, that by that same power all things are upheld
and governed in perfect wisdom, according to God's eternal purpose.
Rev. 4:11 "You are worthy, our
Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you
created all things, and by your will they existed and were
created."
Gen. 1:1 "In the beginning God created
the heavens and the earth."
Heb. 11:3 "By faith we understand that
the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what
is seen was made from things that are not visible."
Question 16. What does it mean to say that
we human beings are created in the image of God?
That God created us to live together in love and freedom —
with God, with one another, and with the world. Our distinctive
capacities — reason, imagination, volition and so on —
are given primarily for this purpose. We are created to be loving
companions of others so that something of God's goodness may
be reflected in our lives.
Gen. 1:26 "Then God said, 'Let
us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness;
and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over
the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the
wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that
creeps upon the earth.'"
Gen. 1:27 "So God created humankind
in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and
female he created them."
Question 17. What does our creation in God's
image reflect about God's reality?
Our being created in and for relationship is a reflection
of the Holy Trinity. In the mystery of the one God, the three
divine persons — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — live
in, with and for one another eternally in perfect love and freedom.
Luke 3:21-22 "Now when all the
people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized
and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit
descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice
came from heaven, 'You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I
am well pleased.'"
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."
John 5:19 "Jesus said to them, "Very
truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but
only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father
does, the Son does likewise."
John 17:21-22 "As you, Father, are
in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the
world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you
have given me I have given them, so that they may be one,
as we are one."
Question 18. What does our creation in God's
image reflect about God's love for us?
We are created to live wholeheartedly for God. When we honor
our Creator as the source of all good things, we are like mirrors
reflecting back the great beam of love that God shines on us.
We are also created to honor God by showing love toward other
human beings.
Ps. 9:1 "I will give thanks to
the Lord with my whole heart; I will tell of all your wonderful
deeds."
1 John 4:7 "Beloved, let us love one
another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born
of God and knows God."
1 John 4:11 "Beloved, since God loved
us so much, we also ought to love one another."
Matt. 5:14-16 "You are the light of
the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after
lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the
lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the
same way, let your light shine before others, so that they
may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven."
Question 19. As creatures made in God's image,
what responsibility do we have for the earth?
God commands us to care for the earth in ways that reflect
God's loving care for us. We are responsible for ensuring that
earth's gifts be used fairly and wisely, that no creature suffers
from the abuse of what we are given, and that future generations
may continue to enjoy the abundance and goodness of the earth
in praise to God.
Ps. 24:1 "The earth is the Lord's
and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it."
Ps. 89:11 "The heavens are yours, the
earth also is yours; the world and all that is in it - you
have founded them."
Gen. 2:15 "The Lord God took the man
and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it."
Gen. 1:26 "Then God said, 'Let us make
humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let
them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the
birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild
animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps
upon the earth.'"
Is. 24:5 "The earth lies polluted under
its inhabitants; for they have transgressed laws, violated
the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant."
Rom. 12:2 "Do not be conformed to this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so
that you may discern the will of God - what is good and acceptable
and perfect."
Question 20. Was the image of God lost when
we turned from God by falling into sin?
Yes and no. Sin means that all our relations with others have
become distorted and confused. Although we did not cease to
be with God, our fellow human beings, and other creatures, we
did cease to be for them; and although we did not lose our distinctive
human capacities completely, we did lose the ability to use
them rightly, especially in relation to God. Having ruined our
connection with God by disobeying God's will, we are persons
with hearts curved in upon ourselves. We have become slaves
to the sin of which we are guilty, helpless to save ourselves,
and are free, so far as freedom remains, only within the bounds
of sin.
John 8:34 "Jesus answered them,
"Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is
a slave to sin."
Rom. 3:23 "All have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God."
Rom. 3:10 "There is no one who is righteous,
not even one."
Rom. 1:21 "Though they knew God, they
did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became
futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened."
Is. 59:1-3 "See, the Lord's hand is
not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. Rather,
your iniquities have been barriers between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does
not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your
fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue
mutters wickedness."
Question 21. What does it mean to say that
Jesus Christ is the image of God?
Despite our turning from God, God did not turn from us, but
instead sent Jesus Christ in the fullness of time to restore
our broken humanity. Jesus lived completely for God, by giving
himself completely for us, even to the point of dying for us.
By living so completely for others, he manifested what he was
— the perfect image of God. When by grace we are conformed
to him through faith, our humanity is renewed according to the
divine image that we lost.
Is. 65:2 "I held out my hands
all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that
is not good, following their own devices."
Phil. 2:8 "He humbled himself and became
obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross."
Col. 1:15 "He is the image of the invisible
God, the firstborn of all creation."
Rom. 8:29 "For those whom he foreknew
he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son,
in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family."
Question 22. What do you understand by God's
providence?
That God not only preserves the world, but also continually
attends to it, ruling and sustaining it with wise and benevolent
care. God is concerned for every creature: "The eyes of
all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.
You open your hand, you satisfy the desire of every living thing"
(Ps. 145:15). In particular, God provides for the world by bringing
good out of evil, so that nothing evil is permitted to occur
that God does not bend finally to the good. Scripture tells
us, for example, how Joseph said to his brothers: "As for
you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to
bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they
are today" (Gen. 50:20).
Rom. 8:28 "We know that all things
work together for good for those who love God, who are called
according to his purpose."
Ps. 103:19 "The Lord has established
his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all."
Ps. 145:17 "The Lord is just in all
his ways, and kind in all his doings."
Question 23. What comfort do you receive by
trusting in God's providence?
The eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ watches over me
each day of my life, blessing and guiding me wherever I may
be. God strengthens me when I am faithful, comforts me when
discouraged or sorrowful, raises me up if I fall, and brings
me at last to eternal life. Entrusting myself wholly to God's
care, I receive the grace to be patient in adversity, thankful
in the midst of blessing, courageous against injustice, and
confident that no evil afflicts me that God will not turn to
my good.
Ps. 146:9 "The Lord watches over
the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the
way of the wicked he brings to ruin."
Is. 58:11 "The Lord will guide you
continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and
make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water, whose waters never fail."
Is. 41:10 "Do not fear, for I am with
you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen
you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious
right hand."
2 Cor. 1:3-5 "Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and
the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction,
so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction
with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled
by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant
for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ."
Ps. 30:5 "For his anger is but for
a moment; his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger
for the night, but joy comes with the morning."
Question 24. What difference does your faith
in God's providence make when you struggle against bitterness
and despair?
When I suffer harm or adversity, my faith in God's providence
upholds me against bitterness and despair. It reminds me when
hope disappears that my heartache and pain are contained by
a larger purpose and a higher power than I can presently discern.
Even in grief, shame and loss, I can still cry out to God in
lament, waiting on God to supply my needs, and to bring me healing
and comfort.
Ps. 42:11 "Why are you cast down,
O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God;
for I shall again praise him, my help and my God."
2 Cor. 4:8-10 "We are afflicted in
every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;
persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the
life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies."
Ps. 13:1-2 "How long, O Lord? Will
you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from
me? How long must I bear pain in my soul, and have sorrow
in my heart all day long? How long shall my enemy be exalted
over me?"
Job 7:11 "Therefore I will not restrain
my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will
complain in the bitterness of my soul."
Question 25. Did God need the world in order
to be God?
No. God would still be God, eternally perfect and inexhaustibly
rich, even if no creatures had ever been made. Yet without God,
all created beings would simply fail to exist. Creatures can
neither come into existence, nor continue, nor find fulfillment
apart from God. God, however, is self-existent and self-sufficient.
Acts 17:24-25 "The God who made
the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and
earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is
he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since
he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things."
John 1:16 "From his fullness we have
all received, grace upon grace."
John 5:26 "For just as the Father has
life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life
in himself."
Eph. 1:22 "And he has put all things
under his feet and has made him the head over all things for
the church."
Question 26. Why then did God create the world?
God's decision to create the world was an act of grace. In
this decision God chose to grant existence to the world simply
in order to bless it. God created the world to reveal God's
glory, to share the love and freedom at the heart of God's triune
being, and to give us eternal life in fellowship with God.
Ps. 19:1 "The heavens are telling
the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork."
2 Cor. 3:17 "Now the Lord is the Spirit,
and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."
Ps. 67:6-7 "The earth has yielded its
increase; God, our God, has blessed us. May God continue to
bless us; let all the ends of the earth revere him."
Eph. 1:3-4 "Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just
as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world
to be holy and blameless before him in love."
John 3:36 "Whoever believes in the
Son has eternal life."
Question 27. Does your confession of God as
Creator contradict the findings of modern science?
No. My confession of God as Creator answers three questions:
Who?, How? and Why? It affirms that (a) the triune God, who
is self-sufficient, (b) called the world into being out of nothing
by the creative power of God's Word (c) for the sake of sharing
love and freedom. Natural science has much to teach us about
the particular mechanisms and processes of nature, but it is
not in a position to answer these questions about ultimate reality,
which point to mysteries that science as such is not equipped
to explore. Nothing basic to the Christian faith contradicts
the findings of modern science, nor does anything essential
to modern science contradict the Christian faith.
John 1:1-3 "In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He
was in the beginning with God. All things came into being
through him, and without him not one thing came into being."
Question 28. What is the second article of
the Apostles' Creed?
"And I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried.
He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again from
the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right
hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and
the dead."
Question 29. What do you believe when you
confess your faith in Jesus Christ as "God's only Son"?
That Jesus Christ is a unique person who was sent to do a
unique work.
Luke 3:21-22 "Now when all the people
were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was
praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended
upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from
heaven, 'You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.'"
Luke 12:49-50 "I came to bring fire
to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have
a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am
under until it is completed!"
John 1:14 "And the Word became flesh
and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory
as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth."
Question 30. How do you understand the uniqueness
of Jesus Christ?
No one else will ever be God incarnate. No one else will ever
die for the sins of the world. Only Jesus Christ is such a person,
only he could do such a work, and he in fact has done it.
Is. 53:5 "But he was wounded for our
transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the
punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed."
John 1:29 "The next day he saw Jesus
coming toward him and declared, "Here is the Lamb of
God who takes away the sin of the world!"
Col. 1:15-20 "He is the image of the
invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all
things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible
and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all
things have been created through him and for him. He himself
is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning,
the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have
first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of
God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased
to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in
heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross."
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