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Question 31: What is effectual calling? Answer: Effectual calling is the work of God's Spirit, whereby, convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ, freely offered to us in the gospel. In Jesus' encounter with Nicodemus he taught him that he must be born again. Nicodemus protested that he could not enter his mother's womb a second time, and Jesus explained that this second birth was spiritual. He explained it like ...

Question 29: How are we made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ? Answer: We are made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ, by the effectual application of it to us by his Holy Spirit. Question 30: How doth the Spirit apply to us the redemption purchased by Christ? Answer: The Spirit applieth to us the redemption purchased by Christ, by working faith in us, and thereby uniting us to Christ in our effectual calling. The last several questions of the catechism have been taken up with the person and work of Jesus ...

Question 28: Wherein consisteth Christ's exaltation? Answer: Christ's exaltation consisteth in his rising again from the dead on the third day, in ascending up into heaven, in sitting at the right hand of God the Father, and in coming to judge the world at the last day. Philippians 2:5-8 teaches the humiliation of Christ; Philippians 2:9-11 continues with the exaltation of Christ. "Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and ...

Question 27: Wherein did Christ's humiliation consist? Answer: Christ's humiliation consisted in his being born, and that in a low condition, made under the law, undergoing the miseries of this life, the wrath of God, and the cursed death of the cross; in being buried, and continuing under the power of death for a time. There is no better introduction to this topic than Paul's instruction in Philippians 2:5-8. "Have this mind among yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider equality with ...

Question 26: How doth Christ execute the office of a king? Answer: Christ executeth the office of a king, in subduing us to himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all his and our enemies. Of the three offices described in the catechism, king is the one that sounds the least religious. We can understand the meaning of this word without any reference to Christianity, but simply by looking at political realities. The words that the catechism uses to describe Jesus' kingship - subduing, ruling, defending, ...

Question 25: How doth Christ execute the office of a priest? Answer: Christ executeth the office of a priest, in his once offering up of himself a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice, and reconcile us to God, and in making continual intercession for us. A priest is someone who is able to stand as a mediator between God and people, appealing to God on behalf of the people. The catechism emphasizes two aspects of Jesus' priesthood: offering a sacrifice and making intercession. Hebrews 8:3 tells us that "every high priest is appointed to ...

Question 24: How doth Christ execute the office of a prophet? Answer: Christ executeth the office of a prophet, in revealing to us, by his Word and Spirit, the will of God for our salvation. A prophet is someone who authoritatively speaks the word of God. At the outset of his ministry Jesus declared his prophetic status: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor." (Luke 4:18) The gospels summarize Jesus' ministry as a ministry of preaching and teaching (Matthew 4:23, Luke 4:15), and ...

Question 23: What offices doth Christ execute as our Redeemer? Answer: Christ, as our Redeemer, executeth the offices of a prophet, of a priest, and of a king, both in his estate of humiliation and exaltation. An office can be defined as "That which a person does, either voluntarily or by appointment, for, or with reference to, others." (thefreedictionary.com) This definition helps us to understand how appropriate this question is. We have said that Christ is a Redeemer: he purchases his elect from their estate of sin and misery and ...

Question 22: 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 soul, being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the womb of the Virgin Mary, and born of her, yet without sin. Having introduced the doctrine of Christ, the catechism now focuses in on a particular issue. How is it possible that this one person Jesus has two natures? How did the eternal Son of God become man? This carefully crafted answer is any many ways a response to ...

Question 21: Who is the Redeemer of God's elect? Answer: The only Redeemer of God's elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was, and continueth to be, God and man in two distinct natures, and one person, forever. This initial statement about Christ summarizes the doctrine of the Incarnation, a doctrine which has been repeatedly attacked and then defended since the beginning of Christianity. The result of these battles has been the development of careful and precise wording that accurately ...

Question 20: Did God leave all mankind to perish in the estate of sin and misery? Answer: God, having out of his mere good pleasure, from all eternity, elected some to everlasting life, did enter into a covenant of grace to deliver them out of the estate of sin and misery, and to bring them into an estate of salvation by a Redeemer. The questions and answers that immediately precede this one are true, but not pleasant. They are truths that could sink us into the depths of despair, were it not for the good news of Jesus Christ. But sin ...

Question 19: What is the misery of that estate whereinto man fell? Answer: All mankind by their fall lost communion with God, are under his wrath and curse, and so made liable to all the miseries of this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever. Sin and misery, both a part of our fallen state, are twins. One is cause and the other is effect; the two cannot be separated. But while sin gives us the perspective of crime and evil, misery gives us the perspective of tragedy. The first and greatest tragedy of the fall is our ...

Question 17: Into what estate did the fall bring mankind? Answer: The fall brought mankind into an estate of sin and misery. Question 18: Wherein consists the sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell? Answer: The sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell, consists in the guilt of Adam's first sin, the want of original righteousness, and the corruption of his whole nature, which is commonly called original sin; together with all actual transgressions which proceed from it. After dividing the state of the fall into the two ...

Question 16: Did all mankind fall in Adam's first transgression? Answer: The covenant being made with Adam, not only for himself, but for his posterity; all mankind, descending from him by ordinary generation, sinned in him, and fell with him, in his first transgression. This question states the federal headship of Adam. In other words, it reminds us that Adam was our representative before God, so that we bear the consequences of his sin. The answer to this question may be offensive to many, because it appears to be unfair. Why were ...

Question 15: What was the sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created? Answer: The sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created, was their eating the forbidden fruit. Many have wondered, "Why this particular act? Why should something so simple and seemingly benign plunge humanity into sin and misery?" Although a full answer to this question may be impossible, Sinclair Ferguson has helpfully suggested that the implied message from God to Adam and Eve through this tree went ...

Question 14: What is sin? Answer: Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God. The first thing we must notice in this question is that sin is to be understood in relation to the law of God, which is to say that it must be understood in relation to God himself. God created man and woman in his own image with particular instructions about the privileges and responsibilities that came with bearing his image. By sinning we do not merely break a standard; we insult and rebel against our Creator, breaking our ...

Question 13: Did our first parents continue in the estate wherein they were created? Answer: Our first parents, being left to the freedom of their own will, fell from the estate wherein they were created, by sinning against God. This great tragedy is recorded in Genesis 3:6-13. "So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of ...

Question 12: What special act of providence did God exercise towards man in the estate wherein he was created? Answer: When God had created man, he entered into a covenant of life with him, upon condition of perfect obedience; forbidding him to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon pain of death. A covenant is a bond between God and man in which God initiates a relationship with man by speaking to him, setting laws, and promising rewards and punishments in accordance with these laws. Without God's sovereign initiative ...

Question 11: What are God's works of providence? Answer: God's works of providence are, his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures, and all their actions. The work of creation lasted for the first six days of history; the works of providence have lasted every day since. When God rested on the seventh day he did not cease from work entirely, but only from the work of creation (Gen. 2:1-3). As Jesus said, "My Father is working until now, and I am working." (John 5:17) It could not be otherwise; not one ...

Question 10: How did God create man? Answer: God created man male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures. It has been said that man is both noble and cruel. These two ideas correspond to the two most important things that the Bible tells us about our nature: first, that we are made in God's image; second, that we are sinful. However, only one of these two was present at creation, in which God made all things good. That was our nobility our creation in God's image. ...