Heidelberg 31 & 32- Anointing

¹⁴Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. ¹⁵He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. ¹⁶When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read,¹⁷and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: ¹⁸“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, ¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:14-19) 

Thoughts: The word "Christ" means anointed one.  The anointed offices in scripture are that of prophet, priest, and king.  He teaches us God's will as a prophet would; He brings us to the Father by His intermediating sacrifice and intercession as a priest would; He rules over and guards us as a good ruler/king would.  As people who bear the name of Christ, we also are called to speak forth God's word as a prophet would; to offer sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving- working against sin as a good priest would; and to make the world a better place and eventually rule with Him as a ruler would. The same Father who called Jesus calls us.  The same Spirit who anoints Jesus calls and fills us with the fruit and gifts of the Spirit.    But our offices are derivative and dependent on His fulfilling His office.  It is a privilege to be a follower of THE anointed one whose coming pours grace upon grace upon us.   

Prayer: Lord, may I know my calling and anointing by your Spirit.  Give me grace to fulfill my calling in life from you.  

Q & A 31

Q. Why is he called “Christ,” meaning “anointed”?

A. Because he has been ordained by God the Father and has been anointed with the Holy Spirit1 to be our chief prophet and teacher2 who fully reveals to us the secret counsel and will of God concerning our deliverance;3 our only high priest4 who has delivered us by the one sacrifice of his body,5 and who continually pleads our cause with the Father;6  and our eternal king7  who governs us by his Word and Spirit, and who guards us and keeps us

in the freedom he has won for us.8

1 Luke 3:21-22; 4:14-19 (Isa. 61:1); Heb. 1:9 (Ps. 45:7)
2 Acts 3:22 (Deut. 18:15)
3 John 1:18; 15:15
4 Heb. 7:17 (Ps. 110:4)
5 Heb. 9:12; 10:11-14
6 Rom. 8:34; Heb. 9:24
7 Matt. 21:5 (Zech. 9:9)
8 Matt. 28:18-20; John 10:28; Rev. 12:10-11

Q & A 32

Q. But why are you called a Christian?

A. Because by faith I am a member of Christ1
and so I share in his anointing.2 I am anointed to confess his name,3 to present myself to him as a living sacrifice of thanks,4 to strive with a free conscience against sin and the devil

in this life,5 and afterward to reign with Christ over all creation for eternity.6

1 1 Cor. 12:12-27
2 Acts 2:17 (Joel 2:28); 1 John 2:27
3 Matt. 10:32; Rom. 10:9-10; Heb. 13:15
4 Rom. 12:1; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9
5 Gal. 5:16-17; Eph. 6:11; 1 Tim. 1:18-19
6 Matt. 25:34; 2 Tim. 2:12

Heidelberg 29 & 30

¹¹This Jesus is ‘the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.’ ¹²There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4)

Thoughts: People seek salvation in lots of places.  Postmodernism seems to say one is as good as another as long as you are sincere.  But what if there is only one place of real salvation and we say there are many?  Are we not hurting those seeking help and salvation if we say that false ways work?  In the maze of life, there are many dead ends but one way to the center- or source of hope and peace.   In our age, we value tolerance and perception above truth and reality.  God is truth and the maker of all things real.  He doesn't care what our illusions are or out mis-perceptions.  He cares that we find the truth- and find Him- the God of love.  

Prayer: Lord, help me to find you as my true salvation and thus put my whole trust in you.  

Q & A 29

Q. Why is the Son of God called “Jesus,” meaning “savior”?

A. Because he saves us from our sins,1 and because salvation should not be sought and cannot be found in anyone else.2

1 Matt. 1:21; Heb. 7:25
2 Isa. 43:11; John 15:5; Acts 4:11-12; 1 Tim. 2:5

Q & A 30

Q. Do those who look for their salvation in saints, in themselves, or elsewhere
really believe in the only savior Jesus?

A. No. Although they boast of being his, by their actions they deny the only savior, Jesus.1

Either Jesus is not a perfect savior, or those who in true faith accept this savior have in him all they need for their salvation.2

1 1 Cor. 1:12-13; Gal. 5:4
2 Col. 1:19-20; 2:10; 1 John 1:7

Heidelberg 27, 28 Providence

24“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’^b As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ (Acts 17) 

Thoughts: What is luck?  Is it probability?  Usually people who believe in luck want to say it is more than that.  Is it some kind of impersonal fate?  The Bible speaks of providence in terms of God's personal concern and care.  We do not live in a cold, probability laden, take-your-chances universe.  Rather the Father- who made the world out of love- cares for us.  He sustains us, but also strengthens us.  This should comfort us with hope, meaning, and the ability to endure the tough times in life.  

Prayer: Lord, strengthen me to rely on your providential care.  

Q & A 27

Q. What do you understand by the providence of God?

A. The almighty and ever present power of God1 by which God upholds, as with his hand,

heaven and earth and all creatures,2 and so rules them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and lean years, food and drink, health and sickness, prosperity and poverty—3 all things, in fact, come to us not by chance4 but by his fatherly hand.5

1 Jer. 23:23-24; Acts 17:24-28
2 Heb. 1:3
3 Jer. 5:24; Acts 14:15-17/a>; John 9:3; Prov. 22:2
4 Prov. 16:33
5 Matt. 10:29

Q & A 28

Q. How does the knowledge of God’s creation and providence help us?

A. We can be patient when things go against us,1 thankful when things go well,2

and for the future we can have good confidence in our faithful God and Father
that nothing in creation will separate us from his love.3 For all creatures are so completely in God’s hand that without his will they can neither move nor be moved.4

1 Job 1:21-22; James 1:3
2 Deut. 8:10; 1 Thess. 5:18
3 Ps. 55:22; Rom. 5:3-5; 8:38-39
4 Job 1:12; 2:6; Prov. 21:1; Acts 17:24-28

Heidelberg 26

BRom. 8:31-39

³¹What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? ³²He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? ³³Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. ³⁵Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.” ³⁷No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹nor 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.

The Heidelberg reminds us here two important things- Gods power and love. He is Almighty and He is willing to help.  His power is softened by His love and His love is strengthened by His power.    Q. What do you believe when you say, “I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth”?  A. That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,  who out of nothing created heaven and earth  and everything in them,1 who still upholds and rules them  by his eternal counsel and providence,2 is my God and Father  because of Christ the Son.3 I trust God so much that I do not doubt  he will provide whatever I need for body and soul,4 and will turn to my good whatever adversity he sends upon me in this sad world.5 God is able to do this because he is almighty God6 and desires to do this because he is a faithful Father.7 Y <<

Heidelberg 24- Trinity in Creed and Bible

⁴Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “no idol in the world really exists,” and that “there is no God but one.” ⁶yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. (1 or. 8:4,6)

Thoughts: The Apostles Creed teaches us what to believe, and the creed is divided into three paragraphs respecting the three persons of the Trinity.  The Trinity is not argued here but simply explained as how we experience God revealed in Scripture.  There is one God- yet the Father is God, the Son is God, the Spirit is God- three persons in one essence.  There are many different arguments given by philosophers and theologians that can describe how three could be one.  But the greatest argument for those of us who believe is that God reveals Himself to us as the Trinity in the Bible (see verses below). 

Prayer: Lord, you are our great creator, deliverer, and sanctifier.  You made us, redeemed us, and make us holy for yourself.  We give you thanks for who you are. 

Q & A 24

Q. How are these articles divided?

A. Into three parts:

God the Father and our creation;
God the Son and our deliverance;
and God the Holy Spirit and our sanctification.

Q & A 25

Q. Since there is only one divine being,1 why do you speak of three:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?

A. Because that is how God has revealed himself in his Word:2 these three distinct persons are one, true, eternal God.

1 Deut. 6:4; 1 Cor. 8:4, 6
2Matt. 3:16-17; 28:18-19; Luke 4:18 (Isa. 61:1); John 14:26;15:26; 2 Cor. 13:14; Gal. 4:6; Tit. 3:5-6

Heidelerg 20-23

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. ¹⁸Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. ³⁶Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God’s wrath. (John 3:16, 18, 26) 

Thoughts: Belief is important- we know that.  But what is the content of belief?  There has been much talk about what are the essentials of what we believe.  The essentials, according to the Heidelberg Catechism, are the tenets of the Apostles' Creed.  We know that if we believe we will have eternal life- and we understand belief to be essential for life.  This clearly goes against the idea that "it doesn't matter what you believe."  God cares about us- both what we believe and what we do.  He cares that we believe in a real God- in Himself- and not something/someone we make up.  He cares that we believe in ways that motivate our behavior.  We are designed to have faith- and have faith in the real God who has shown Himself in this world and reveals Himself clearly in scripture.  

Prayer: Help me to believe through my doubts and to strive to believe in accordance with your Word and Spirit.  

Q & A 20

Q. Are all people then saved through Christ just as they were lost through Adam?

A. No. Only those are saved who through true faith are grafted into Christ and accept all his benefits.1

1 Matt. 7:14; John 3:16, 18, 36; Rom. 11:16-21

Q & A 21

Q. What is true faith?

A. True faith is not only a sure knowledge by which I hold as true all that God has revealed to us in Scripture;1 it is also a wholehearted trust,2 which the Holy Spirit creates in me3 by the gospel,4 that God has freely granted, not only to others but to me also,5 forgiveness of sins, eternal righteousness, and salvation.6 These are gifts of sheer grace, granted solely by Christ’s merit.7

1 John 17:3, 17; Heb. 11:1-3; James 2:19
2 Rom. 4:18-21; 5:1; 10:10; Heb. 4:14-16
3 Matt. 16:15-17; John 3:5; Acts 16:14
4 Rom. 1:16; 10:17; 1 Cor. 1:21
5 Gal. 2:20
6 Rom. 1:17; Heb. 10:10
7 Rom. 3:21-26; Gal. 2:16; Eph. 2:8-10

Q & A 22

Q. What then must a Christian believe?

A. All that is promised us in the gospel,1 a summary of which is taught us in the articles of our universal and undisputed Christian faith.

1 Matt. 28:18-20; John 20:30-31

Q & A 23

Q. What are these articles?

A. I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.