Doctrine 1 Test 3 1. Using the Nicene Creed please explain the following articles as it relates to the Person and work of Christ. Be specific and site at least two sources for your answer. (Only one may be from the Bible). Hint... You are leading an bible study or having to present this to a confirmation class. ‘Answer for them the question what does this mean. Unpack the doctrine in these statements in such a way that a 12-13 year old can understand them. (Remember I have three of them to test. your answers on) ‘Only begotten Son of God --- Here we are talking about Jesus being the “Only begotten Son of God" this means that Jesus Is Gods only Son. Jesus has two natures one is divine which He got His divine nature from His father God. Jesus also has a human nature that he got from His mother Mary. As it says in The Book of Concord "Therefore itis the true faith that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is at once God and a human being. He is God, begotten from the substance of the Father before all ages, and a human being, born from the substance of his mother in this age. He Is perfect God and a perfect human being, composed of a rational soul and human flesh” Jesus is both fully God because His father is God, and fully human because His mother is Mary. God of God, Light of Light very God of Very God-Jesus Christ was begotten from the Father. This means that Jesus is made out of the same substance of the Father. Jesus Christ is also a part of the Trinity, which all together the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit is God. Since Jesus is made of the same substance as God and is a part of the trinity Jesus is God. Jesus is not any less than the Father or the Holy Spirit but he is God of God, the brightest Light of Lights, and very God of very God. Jesusis the light of the world because without Him we would never be saved and we would be surrounded by the darkness of our sin, Jesus said in John 8:12 “12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Iam the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Jesus is the very God there are no other gods beside the Trinity.Begotten not made,- At the beginning of creation God spoke all things into being, all except ‘Adam and Eve. God created Adam and Eve out of His own hands. Then Adam and Eve started having children and these children were from Adam and Eve and were human because Adam and Eve were human. Likewise Jesus was not created by God but begotten which means that Jesus came from God and that He is a part of God the Father. Since God has always been and Jesus is God Jesus has always been and always will be. ‘By whom all things were made —Jesus is apart of the Trinitarian God who made all of creation. This means that Jesus was present and creating the world because Jesus is God. In fact God created the whole world out of His very word, which is Jesus Christ, the word made flesh. Jesus has the power to create anything. In fact God is still present in our world and lives today “God himself acts to sustain the created order, working in, with, and through it. He guides and governs his creation according to his will and purpose.” (Muller, 119) arnate by the je man—Jesus is God, and God had created everything without sin. He had also created Adam and Eve with the ability to think for their own. Adam and Eve ended up falling into temptation and falling away from God, and this brought sin into the world. We humans have this original sin inside all of us and we all fall short of God’s glory and there is no way that we can save ourselves, we needed a savior. God loves us so much that He sent us Jesus Christ His one and only Son, who is God to come down as a human and die for us. Jesus’ mother was Mary and she had not had any relations with a man yet so naturally there could be no way that she was pregnant. However God made a miracle when He sent the Holy Spirit to overcome Mary so she would be the mother of Jesus. Because Jesus’ father is God and mother is Mary Jesus has both a human and divine nature,which means that Jesus is fully human and He did not receive original sin because He is God. In becoming human God became the perfect sacrifice for all of us to give our sins to Him. Was crucified..... He suffered and was buried ~Jesus humbled Himself and became man for us. In becoming man and in order to be a perfect sacrifice Jesus had to pay the ultimate price, which was to suffer and die. The very God of the universe cares so much about every one of us that He ‘came down, became human and died for us. He did this in order that we can have all of our sin be put on Him, and because Jesus has a divine nature Jesus is holy and He became the perfect. ‘and only sacrifice that could save all of us from our sins. Because of Jesus’ human nature He was able to give up His life in order that we may live through Him. Rose again... And ascended into heaven —Jesus has been our sacrifice that will wash all of the sin away from us. Because Jesus was man He was able to be our sacrifice for our sins. Because Jesus is God Hi also able to physically rise from the dead and ascend into heaven. Because Jesus has risen from the dead and He was human we are able to rise again from the dead on the last day. In our baptism we all put our sinful self to die to rise up a sinless person in Jesus Christ. Because of Jesus’ gift of grace likewise when the last day comes we will rise again and be with God in heaven. He will come again to judge both the living and the dead. ~When Jesus ascended into heaven He is sitting at the right hand of God the Father. God is ruling over the universe now and one day He will come back. When He comes back everyone who ever existed on the world will rise from the dead and will be judged in front of God. All humans are sinners and fall short of the glory of God, because of this we all will be guilty and we justly deserve punishment in hell. However Jesus Christ died so that He could take on all of the sins of the world. When we are judged thosethat have accepted Jesus, as their savior will be taken into heaven because they let Jesus be their sacrifice for them. 2. Case Study Over the last few weeks you have been visiting the local coffee shop to get away from the noise of the dorm. You have been reading your Doctrine book in the shop and have had a few conversations with a person about the book and about Christianity. As Christmas is approaching ‘the person with whom you have been talking too asks you the following questions, why is the virgin birth so important? How can one man, bear the sins the whole world? Why, do you Christians focus so much on death, especially the death of Jesus? If there is a God, doesn’t He have the power to put an end to all the evil and bad things in the world? And if so why does He not do it now? Well the virgin birth is really important because it shows just how much of a miracle that Jesus’ birth really was. God had promised hundred of years before hand by many different prophets that a virgin would give birth to the savior, and he completed His promise. Mary had never been with a man before so there was no way that she could have been pregnant, however instead of having a man impregnate her God had the Holy Spirit come over Mary and God the Father was the father of Jesus. Jesus’ lineage gives Him both a human nature and a divine nature. Because Jesus’ was begotten from God, Jesus is also from the same substance of God and thus Jesus is God. That is the amazing thing about Jesus is that He is both divine nature and human nature at the same time. Jesus is Immanuel, which means God with us (humans). Because of Jesus being human He was able to die, and because Jesus was also God He is sinless and is the perfect and only sacrifice that will take the sins of the world away. You see we focus on death so much because that is what our lives would be like without Jesus. We humans are sinful from our conception are selfish and needy. All humans are sinners and fall short of the lory of God, because of this we all will be guilty and we justly deserve punishment in hell. In the Bible it says that the wages of sin is death, even babies die sometimes and that means that even little babies have sin, However Jesus sacrificed Himself by dying on the cross so that wecan give Him our sins and be saved. If we don’t reject Jesus and if we accept His sacrifice when we are judged on the last day God wont see our sins anymore, instead God will see that we believers are sinless because our sins have been paid for by the blood of our God Jesus Christ. You see itis through His death that we are saved not by anything we do ourselves. It says in the Bible in 1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” God has cleansed us from all sins, by coming down to earth and dying in our place. The very God that had created the universe loves us so much that He did this. In fact God can do anything even put an end to all evil on earth, The fact that He doesn’t do this is an act of mercy. You see Jesus want all people ‘to come believe in Him and to accept the gift of His death that He gave to everyone. If God put an end to all evil now many people who reject Jesus now will be sent to Hell. Ifis a part of my Job as a Christian to go spread God's word in order that others may come to faith and are able to be saved. That is why im so excited to talk to you right now because | hope and pray that you will listen and think about what | say and that God will be working inside you so that He can help you come to faith. You see God created us with our own minds; He does not make us believe in Him, He gives us a choice. Right now God allows evil in the world in order for us to have more time to try to show others to faith. Here is a good quote from Muller in Called to Believe, Teach, ‘and Confess it says, “All things were made by him and are subject to his rule and command. So Jesus says that all power in heaven and earth is his...He upholds the universe and causes it to function properly not only for those who believe in him, but for all”. 1 hope that my answer has provided a lot for you to think about and if you have any more questions | will try to answer ‘them the best that I can.