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Christian Faith

SUMMARY: My faith is the firm assurance of the truth of the Word of God and his promises, unshakable trust that God will give to me personally everything necessary for my happiness and salvation.

The summary of the Christian faith is contained in the Apostles’ Creed, which teaches, in three parts, of God the Father and our creation, of God the Son and our redemption, of God the Holy Spirit and our sanctification. This is to say: God the Father, God for me; God the Son, God with me; God the Spirit, God in me.

Readings for the week: Monday, Question 27: 1 and 2; Tuesday, Question 27: 3; Wednesday, Question 28: 1, Question 33: 1; Thursday, Question 33: 2 and 3; Friday, Question 33: 4; Saturday, Question 33: 5.

27. How do you lay hold of this salvation that God offers you in the Gospel?

By faith alone in the grace of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Jesus said “do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man shall give to you, for on Him the Father, even God has set his seal.” They said therefore to him, “what shall we do that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” John 6:27–29

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8

He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. John 3:36

Bible Readings:

1. The faith of Abraham: Romans 4:1–8, 13–25.

2. The healing of the son of a Centurion: John 4:46–54.

3. The cloud of witnesses: Hebrews 11.

From these texts of Scripture, how would you characterize faith?

28. What then is a true faith?

First, it is a certain and indubitable knowledge, by which I take to be true everything that God has revealed to us by his Word. But this knowledge is not sufficient by itself.

Second, true faith is also a trust of the heart that the Holy Spirit creates in me through the Gospel.

Third, it assures me that God will grant me, me personally (and not only “to others”), the forgiveness of my sins, righteousness and eternal happiness, and these by pure grace and only by the merit of Jesus Christ.

You believe that God is One: you do well; the devils also believe and shudder. James 2:19

Jesus said to Peter: “Blessed are you Simon; for flesh and blood have not revealed this to you, but my Father, who is in heaven.” Matthew 16:17

I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes . . . for in the Gospel the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. Romans 1:16–17

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the preached word of Christ. Romans 10:17

. . . and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. Ephesians 2:6–9

. . . knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified. Galatians 2:16

Bible reading:

1. The conversion of the jailer: Acts 16:25–34.

This definition of faith, despite its appearance, is a very simple one:

I must know God in order to love and serve Him. I cannot put my trust in anything which I do not know. Faith has as its foundation the knowledge of God. I must know before I love!

Nevertheless knowledge alone is not sufficient. I can know all about what God has done, and said, and not have saving faith. My faith would be thus purely intellectual; it would be a system, a philosophy, a wisdom. Saving knowledge must be living and practical, not abstract and theoretical. I am not saved because I believe that God is the Father of the human race, and that Christ is the Savior of the world, but when I trust that God is MY Father and that Christ is MY Savior. In all things I must therefore appropriate personally the promises and gifts of God.

Are you willing to make the effort necessary to know God and what he has revealed for you in the Scriptures? This is a considerable work, apart from which you cannot receive as true what God has revealed. You cannot believe that of which you are ignorant!

Are you disposed to set aside all the time necessary to acquire this living knowledge, by regular study of the Scriptures?

29. What is necessary therefore to have a true faith in God and realize the deliverance that He brings us?

It is sufficient to know Him as He has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ: He is our Father and Savior.

This is eternal life, that they know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. John 17:3

Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, `From his innermost being shall flow rivers of water.’” John 7:37–38

30. What then are the first articles of this knowledge that it is necessary for you to believe?

I need to believe everything promised in the Gospel, which the articles of the Apostles’ Creed contain. This Creed is the universal statement of the unchanging faith of Christians, in a brief form.

31. What does the Apostles’ Creed say, in summarizing the Christian faith?

The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God the Father, Almighty, maker of heaven and earth;

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and born of the virgin Mary.

He suffered under Pontius Pilate;

He was crucified;

He was dead;

He was buried;

He descended into Hell;

The third day He rose again from the dead;

He ascended into heaven;

He is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;

From there He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit.

I believe a holy catholic Church,

The communion of saints,

The remission of sins,

The resurrection of the body,

And the life everlasting.

32. in order to explain the Apostles’ Creed, in how many parts should we divide it?

Into three:

First: of God the Father and our creation.

Second: of God the Son and our redemption.

Third: of God the Holy Spirit and our sanctification. This part includes the Church and the graces that God gives to her.

33. But since there is only one God, one divine Being, why do you speak of three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit?

Because in his Word God has revealed Himself in this way: these three distinct Persons are the only true and eternal God.

In one divine Being (only one divine Essence) we must consider the Father, as the beginning and origin of all things; his Son, who is his eternal Wisdom; and the Holy Spirit, his power radiating on every creature (never separating himself from Him).

Hear O Israel! The LORD our God is one LORD. Deuteronomy 6:4

And after being baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:16–17

Jesus said to them, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19

There are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one. 1 John 5:7 (In some manuscripts.)

It is therefore in no way a contradiction that in one and the same God we distinctly conceive three Persons, without however allowing ourselves to think that He is divided. Three “persons” are not necessarily three “individuals.”

Two pictures allow us to approach this mystery to a certain extent:

The corner of my room: It takes three planes coming together at an angle to form one corner. Because there are three planes, no one will say that there are three corners, and because there is only one corner, no one will say that there is only one plane.

A prism: In this one object, made up of one substance, the glass, we perceive three distinct faces. All three are indispensably necessary to constitute a prism; each of them is made of the same substance as the others. Still the prism in itself has one “individuality,” and constitutes one “thing.” The faces are nothing in themselves; they are not things, but they are not therefore devoid of “personality,” since each of them may be spoken of distinctly, named respectively, and studied according to its particular geometric properties. Besides, across each of them, one can perceive the other two, as well as see the whole prism.

In confessing the Trinitarian God, I affirm that there is only one true God. I cannot plumb the depth of the mystery of his Deity, but only adore all that has been revealed in God: the Father who takes pity on me; who abased Himself for me in his Son; and who lives in me by his Holy Spirit: God for me, God with me, and God in me.

Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: I am the first, and I am the last, and there is no God besides Me. Isaiah 44:6

By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of his Spirit. And we have beheld and bear witness that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. 1 John 4:13–14

One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all (the Father—P.M.), through all (the Son—P.M.), and in all (the Holy Spirit—P.M.). Ephesians 4:5–6

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14

Bible Readings:

1. The Word made flesh: John 1:1–5, 10–18.

2. The glorifying of the Son by the unity of believers: John 17:1–5, 20–23.

3. The Father in the Son and the Son in the Father: John 14:7–11, 15–21.

4. Jesus, the living bread that came down from heaven: John 6:32–58.

5. The Holy Spirit, comforter: John 16:1–15.

We now go on to look successively at the teaching of the Scripture concerning:

1. The Father, in Questions 34 to 40.

2. The Son, in Questions 41 to 81.

3. The Holy Spirit, in Questions 82 to 110.

Prayers, Notes, Questions: