What do you confess with the words: “This is most certainly true?”

With the words, “This is most certainly true”, I confess that I trust in Christ in life and in death.

Rom. 8:38,39: For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life... shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2 Tim. 4:18: The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

What does Christ´s work of redemption mean to you?

Jesus has redeemed or bought me for His own. He is now my Lord in whose kingdom I have as my own His eternal righteousness, innocense and blessedness.

Already now, blessed in faith and obedient to His Word, I can serve Him in His kingdom. In heaven I can serve and praise Him in perfect bliss.

Is. 43:1: Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name, thou art mine.

Joh. 20:28: Thomas answered and said unto him: “My Lord and my God.”

2 Cor. 5:15: He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again.

1 Joh. 3:2: We know that when he shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we will see Him as He is.

Is. 35:10: And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs of everlasting joy upon their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

What does the Bible teach concerning Christ´s coming to Judgment?

The Bible teaches that Christ will come to Judgment, visibly and in great glory. He will judge the world according to His Word. The unbelievers will be condemned to eternal damnation, but Christ will take His believers to eternal bliss and glory. This will happen on the Last Day, which God has appointed and which is known only to Him. God has not revealed the time of Jesus’ second coming, so that we would watch in faith and always be ready to receive Him.

Acts 1:11: This same Jesus, Which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.

Matt. 25:31: When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory.

Acts 17:31: God hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man Whom He hath ordained, whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead.

Matt. 24:27: As the lightening cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.

Joh. 12:48: The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

Joh.3:18: He that believeth on Him is not condemned.

Mark 13:32-33: But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray, for ye know not when the time is.

1 Pet. 4:7: The end of all things is at hand.

Col. 3:4: When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.

Mark 16:16: He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Matt. 25:46: And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.

Assignment: Read Matt. 25:31-46: the Last Judgment.

What does the Bible teach concerning Christ´s sitting on the right hand of God?

The Bible teaches that Christ now sits on the right hand of God. Thus also according to His human nature, with His divine almighty power, He rules and fulfills all things. In a very special way He rules and protects His Church on earth.

The right hand of God does not mean some confined area or place, but the eternal, endless, divine power, rule and majesty, through which He influences, governs and fills all things.

1 Pet. 3:22: Who (Jesus) is gone to heaven, and is on the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto Him.

Eph. 1:20-22: God set him (Christ) at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. And hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the Church.

Ps. 110:1. (The Father says to Jesus) Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

Heb. 1:3: The Son... when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.

1 Joh. 2:1-2: If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Matt. 26: 64: Hereafter shall ye see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

Matt. 28:20: Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.

Matt. 18:20: Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

What does the Bible teach us concerning Jesus´ascension into heaven?

Concerning Jesus’ ascension into heaven, the Bible teaches the following: Jesus has visibly, according to His human nature, ascended into heaven to the Father’s glory. As our Savior He has taken heaven, with all its mansions, into His possession for us, His own.

Eph. 4:10: He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all things.

Joh. 14:3: I will come again, and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there ye may be also.

Joh. 14:2-3: In my Fathers’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there ye may be also.

What does Jesus´ resurrection mean to you?

To me and other sinners Jesus’ resurrection means complete comfort and peace, which I receive for myself through faith. His resurrection proves that:

1. Jesus is God’s Son and everyone of His words is true.
   
   

   Joh. 10:18: I have power to lay it (my life) down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
   
   Heb. 6:18: It was impossible for God to lie.




2. God has accepted His Son’s atoning sacrifice and because of it has reconciled the world unto Himself.
   
   

   Rom. 4:25: Who (Christ) was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.




3. There will be a resurrection of all people. At that time those who have died in unbelief will be judged and condemned, but all believers in Christ will rise to everlasting life.
   

   
   Joh. 11:25: I am the Resurrection and the Life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
   
   1 Cor. 15: 12, 20-21: Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?... But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
   
   2 Cor. 5:10: For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

What does the Bible teach us concerning Christ´s resurrection?

The Bible teaches that He victoriously arose from the dead and the tomb on the third day, with a glorified body and showed Himself to His disciples on various occasions.

Acts 3:15: Whom God hath raised from the dead, whereof we are witnesses.

1 Cor. 15:4-6: He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve. After that He was seen of above five hundred brethren at once.

Assignment: Find the accounts of Christ’s resurrection in the Gospels and read them.

What does the Bible teach concerning Jesus´ descent into hell?

The Bible teaches that when Jesus became alive in His tomb, He descended into hell and showed Himself to all His enemies as the triumphant conqueror of all the mighty forces of darkness. Jesus did not, therefore, descend there to suffer, but to proclaim His victory. It was a powerful proclamation of the Law, by which He disarmed His enemies and publicly shamed them.

1 Pet.3:18,19: Christ... being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit, by which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison.

Eph. 4:9,10: Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.

Col. 2:15: And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

With what words does the Creed describe the various phases of Christ´s state of exaltation?

The Creed describes the various phases of Christ’s state of exaltation with these words: He descended into hell, on the third day He rose again from the dead, He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

What is our Redeemer´s state of exaltation?

In His state of exaltation our Redeemer, now also according to His human nature, always and fully uses His divine glory.

Phil. 2:9: Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name.

Whom has Christ redeemed and saved in this way?

My Lord Jesus Christ has in this way redeemed and saved me and all sinners.

1 Tim. 1:15: This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.

1 Joh. 2:2: He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

2 Cor. 5:19: God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

2 Pet. 2:1: There shall be false teachers among you, ... denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

With what precious price did Christ redeem you?

My Lord Jesus Christ redeemed me, not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood, and His innocent suffering and death. Thus He has, by sacrificing Himself in my stead, done everything and paid everything that I owed to God.

1 Pet.1:18, 19: Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ , as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

1 Joh. 1:7: The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

Is. 53:5: He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed.

How did Christ redeem you from the power of the devil?

My Lord Christ saved me from the power of the devil by conquering and disarming him. This terrible enemy can no longer accuse me, and I, as my Lord Christ’s own, can successfully resist his temptations; and if I should in my weakness fall, I can rise again through the power of grace.

Gen. 3:15: I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her Seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

1 Joh. 3:8: For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

Rom. 8:31: What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

James: 4:7: Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

1 Pet. 5:9: Resist (the devil) steadfast in the faith.

1 Joh. 2:1: And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

How did Christ save you from death?

My Lord Christ saved me from death by paying the full price of redemption for my sins. For this reason eternal death has no claim or power over me. Temporal death is the gate to eternal life and cannot harm me.

1 Cor. 15:55-57: O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the Law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Tim. 1:10: Jesus Christ hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel.

How did Christ redeem you from all your sins?

My Lord Christ redeemed me from all my sins by fulfilling God’s Law in my behalf and suffering the punishment for my sins. In this way He also saved me from the slavery of sin.

Gal. 4:4-5: When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the Law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

2 Cor. 5:21: For he hath made him, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

Joh. 1:29: Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!

Gal. 3:13: Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us: for it is written: “Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree.”

Joh. 8:34,36: Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin... If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Why did God´s son humble himself so deeply?

God’s Son humbled Himself so deeply in order to redeem me, a lost and condemned sinner. In this way He saved me from all my sins, death and the power of the devil.

What does the Bible teach us concerning Jesus´ burial?

The Bible teaches that His holy body was taken down from the cross and placed in a tomb. It did not begin to decay, but remained uncorrupted until His resurrection.

Matt. 27:59-60: When Joseph had taken the body (of Jesus), he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock.

Acts 2:27: Thou wilt not suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption.

What does the Bible teach us concerning Christ´s suffering and death?

The Bible teaches that Jesus

• suffered poverty, temptations, persecution and loneliness during the entire time of His earthly life.
• at the end of His earthly life particularly, suffered untold agony of body and soul.
• died on the accursed tree of the cross.

Matt. 8:20: The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head.

Heb. 4:15: He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Matt. 26:40: What! could ye not watch with Me one hour?

Luke 22:44: And being in agony He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Matt. 27:46: And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli lama sabachthani! why has Thou forsaken Me?”

Joh. 19:30: He bowed His head and gave up the ghost.

Gal. 3:13: It is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree.

Rejected by God, Jesus suffered the eternal torments of hell in our behalf.

Assignment: Read about Jesus’ life of tribulation: Matt. 2 and the Passion history: for example, Matt. chapters 26 and 27.

What does the Bible teach us concerning Christ´s birth?

The Bible teaches us, that Jesus was born of His mother, the Virgin Mary, as a true human child, in poverty and was despised and rejected by men.

Is. 9:6: For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given.

Assignment1: Read Luke 2:1-20: the Christmas Gospel.

What does the Bible teach us concerning Christ´s conception?

The Bible teaches that God’s Son became true man, when He was conceived through the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary. In this way He has also cleansed and sanctified us from our own conception, which was affected by original sin.

Luke 1:35: The angel answered and said unto her (Mary): The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Matt. 1:20: Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.