Theology / Jesus Christ

  • The Omnipresent Son of God

    Matthew 28:18–20

    One of the most beautiful ways in which we commune with the whole Christ is in the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11:17–34). Since Jesus has a human body with all its limitations, it does not become omnipresent ...Read More

  • The Ascension of Christ

    Acts 1:6–11

    Jesus is indeed coming from heaven at the end of the age to consummate His plan and bring a new heaven and earth (Rev. 21). But He is not coming back to establish His kingdom and take His throne, for ...Read More

  • Christ’s Resurrection and Ours

    1 Corinthians 15:20–23

    John Calvin writes, “As … Adam did not die for himself alone, but for us all, it follows, that Christ in like manner, who is the antitype, did not rise for himself alone; for he came, that he might restore everything ...Read More

  • Christ’s Descent into Hell

    Matthew 27:45–46

    Sin against an infinite being demands an infinite punishment in hell. In a few hours, Jesus suffered and exhausted the infinite punishment that impenitent people cannot exhaust even after an eternity in hell. He could do this because, in His ...Read More

  • The Burial of Christ

    John 19:38–42

    Because the Bible is the Word of God, nothing in it was included by accident. We may not always know why certain facts are recorded and not others, but we do know there is a reason for every word in ...Read More

  • The Demands of Justice and Truth

    Genesis 2:15–17

    Without a robust doctrine of divine simplicity, we have a God at odds with Himself and One who cannot be trusted. The “gods” of other religions are not as just as they claim to be because they do not pour ...Read More

  • Particular Atonement

    John 10:7–18

    Christ’s death truly and eternally secured our redemption. We do not experience the blessing of the atonement because we have faith; rather, we have faith because Jesus actually atoned for our sins and sent His Spirit to give us ...Read More

  • Our Kinsman Redeemer

    Leviticus 25:23–28

    We are accustomed to thinking of a sibling or a parent as our closest relative. For those who are in Christ, however, Jesus is our closest relative, our closest kinsman who paid our debt when we could by no means ...Read More

  • Vicarious Substitution

    Matthew 3:13–17

    Nothing that Jesus did was an accident. He did not need to be baptized for the forgiveness of sins, but He did need to be baptized to keep God’s laws perfectly and to be perfectly identified with His people ...Read More

  • The Severe Judgment of God

    2 Corinthians 5:21

    Ancient Jews who knew their Scriptures understood that Jesus’ crucifixion under the Romans meant that God was subjecting Him to the worst curse imaginable. But He was subjected to this curse because He bore the sin of those who trust ...Read More

  • The Suffering of Christ

    Isaiah 53

    The Heidelberg Catechism says that Christ sustained the anger of God against the sin of His people “during his whole life on earth, but especially at the end” (Q&A 37). There is a sense in which all of the suffering Jesus endured on earth was part of His work of bearing sin, but Scripture is clear that the key work of atonement occurred on the cross. If we focus on Jesus’ life at the expense of His death, we will miss why He really came in the first place.Read More

  • Spirit-Conceived and Virgin-Born

    Luke 1:26–38

    Question and answer 35 of the Heidelberg Catechism tell us that the virgin birth demonstrates how God could truly unite Himself to a true human nature but remain unstained by sin in the process. This miracle of the incarnation is ...Read More

  • Sonship by Nature

    John 1:12–14

    Even though we are not children of God by nature, we become His sons and daughters when we are united by faith to Christ Jesus. As such, we enjoy the immense privilege of calling God “Father” and understanding the special ...Read More

  • The Threefold Office of Christ

    Hebrews 1:1–4

    Christ Jesus is worthy of our highest allegiance because of all that He does for us. As our Prophet, He guides us in the paths of righteousness through His Word. As our Priest, He guarantees the salvation of those who ...Read More

  • Jesus, The Perfect Savior

    Colossians 1:19–20

    As Protestants, we are not likely to turn to Mary or the saints of years gone by as mediators who can secure favor with God. As saints who still fight against sin, however, we are likely to believe we have ...Read More