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WLC 1
What is the chief and highest end of man?
A.
Man's Chief and highest end is to glorify God,1 and fully to enjoy
him forever.2
1 Rom. 11:36; 1 Cor. 10:31
2 Ps 73:24-28; John 17:21-23
WLC 2
How doth it appear that there is a God?
A.
The very light of nature in man, and the works of God, declare plainly that
there is a God;1 but his word and Spirit only, do sufficiently and
effectually reveal him unto men for their salvation.2
1 Rom. 1:19, 20; Ps. 19:13; Acts 17:28
2 1 Cor. 2:9, 10; 2 Tim. 3:1517; Isa. 59:21
WLC 3 What is the word of God?
A.
The Holy scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the word of God,1 the
only rule of faith and obedience.2
1 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:1921;
2 Eph. 2:20; Rev. 22:18, 19; Isa. 8:20; Luke 16:29, 31; Gal. 1:8, 9; 2 Tim. 3:15, 16.
WLC 4
How doth it appear that the Scriptures are the word of God?
A.
The Scriptures manifest themselves to be the word of God, by their majesty1
and purity2; by the consent of all the parts3, and
the scope of the whole, which is to give all glory to God4; by their
light and power to convince and convert sinners, to comfort and build up
believers unto salvation.5 But the Spirit of God, bearing witness by
and with the Scriptures in the heart of man, is alone able fully to persuade it
that they are the very word of God.6
1 Hos. 8:12; 1 Cor. 2:6, 7, 13; Ps. 119:18, 129
2 Ps. 12:6; Ps. 19:140
3 Acts 10:43; Acts 26:22
4 Rom. 3:19, 27
5 Acts 18:28; Heb. 4:12; James 1:18; Ps. 19:79; Rom 15:4; Acts 20:32
6 John 16:13, 14; 1 John 2:20, 27; John 20:31
WLC 5
What do the Scriptures principally
teach?
A.
The Scriptures principally teach, what man is to believe concerning God, and
what duty God requires of man.1
1 2 Tim. 1:13
WLC 6
What do the scriptures make known of
God?
A.
The scriptures make known what God is,1 the persons of the Godhead,
2
his decrees,3 and the execution of his decrees.4
1 Heb. 11:6
2 1 John 5:17
3 Acts 15:14, 15, 18
4 Acts 4:27, 28
WLC 7
What is God?
A.
God is a Spirit,1 in and of himself infinite in being,2
glory,3 blessedness,4 and perfection;5
all-sufficient,6 eternal,7 unchangeable,8
incomprehensible,9 every where present,10 almighty,11
knowing all things,12 most wise,13 most holy,14
most just,15 most merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and
abundant in goodness and truth.16
1 John 4:24
2 Exod. 3:14; Job 11:7-9
3 Acts 7:2
4 1 Tim. 6:15
5 Matt. 5:48
6 Gen. 17:1
7 Ps. 90:2
8 Mal. 3:6; James 1:17
9 1 Kings 8:27
10 Ps 139:1-13
11 Rev. 4:8
12 Heb. 4:13; Ps. 147:5
13 Rom. 16:27
14 Isa. 6:3; Rev. 15:4
15 Deut. 32:4
16 Exod. 34:6
WLC 8
Are there more Gods than one?
A.
There is but one only, the living and true God.1
1 Deut. 6:4; 1 Cor. 8:4, 6; Jer. 10:10
WLC 9
How many persons are there in the
Godhead?
A.
There be three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost;
and these three are one true, eternal God, the same in substance, equal in
power and glory; although distinguished by their personal properties.1
1 1 John 5:7; Matt. 3:16, 17; Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14; John 10:30
WLC 10
What are the personal properties of
the three persons in the Godhead?
A.
It is proper to the Father to beget the Son,1 and to the Son to be
begotten of the Father,2 and to the Holy Ghost to proceed from the
Father and the Son from all eternity.3
1 Heb. 1:5, 6, 8
2 John 1:14, 18
3 John 15:26; Gal. 4:6
WLC 11
How doth it appear that the Son and
the Holy Ghost are God equal with the Father?
A.
The scriptures manifest that the Son and the Holy Ghost are God equal with the
Father, ascribing unto them such names,1 attributes,2
works,3 and worship,4 as are proper to God only.
1 Isa. 6:3, 5, 8 with John 12:41 and with Acts 28:25; 1 John 5:20; Acts 5:3, 4
2 John 1:1; Isa. 9:6; John 2:24, 25; 1 Cor. 2:10, 11
3 Col. 1:16; Gen. 1:2
4 Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14
WLC 12
What are the decrees of God?
A.
God's decrees are the wise, free, and holy acts of the counsel of his will,1
whereby, from all eternity, he hath, for his own glory, unchangeably
foreordained whatsoever comes to pass in time,2 especially
concerning angels and men.
1 Eph. 1:11; Rom. 11:33; Rom. 9:14, 15, 18.
2 Eph. 1:4, 11; Rom. 9:22, 23; Ps. 33:11.
WLC 13
What hath God especially decreed
concerning angels and men?
A.
God, by an eternal and immutable decree, out of his mere love, for the praise
of his glorious grace, to be manifested in due time, hath elected some angels
to glory;1 and in Christ hath chosen some men to eternal life, and
the means thereof:2 and also, according to his sovereign power, and
the unsearchable counsel of his own will, whereby he extendeth or withholdeth
favour as he pleaseth hath passed by and foreordained the rest to dishonour and
wrath, to be for their sin inflicted, to the praise of the glory of his
justice.3
1 1 Tim. 5:21
2 Eph. 1:4-6; 2 Thess. 2:13, 14.
3 Rom. 9:17, 18, 21, 22; Matt. 11:25, 26; 2 Tim. 2:20; Jude 1:4; 1 Pet 2:8.
WLC 14
How doth God execute his decrees?
A.
God executeth his decrees in the works of creation and providence, according to
his infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of his own
will.1
1 Eph. 1:11
WLC 15
What is the work of creation?
A.
The work of creation is that wherein God did in the beginning, by the word of
his power, make of nothing the world, and all things therein, for himself,
within the space of six days, and all very good.1
1 Gen. 1:1-31; Heb. 11:3; Prov. 16:4
WLC 16
How did God create angels?
A.
God created all the angels1 spirits2, immortal3,
holy4, excelling in knowledge5, mighty in power6,
to execute his commandments, and to praise his name7, yet subject to
change.8
1 Col. 1:16
2 Ps. 104:4.
3 Matt. 22:30.
4 Matt. 25:31
5 2 Sam. 14:17; Matt. 24:36
6 2 Thess. 1:7
7 Ps. 103:20, 21
8 2 Pet. 2:4
WLC 17
How did God create man?
A.
After God had made all other creatures, he created man male and female;1
formed the body of the man of the dust of the ground,2 and the woman
of the rib of the man,3 endued them with living, reasonable and
immortal souls;4 made them after his own image,5 in
knowledge,6 righteousness, and holiness;7 having the law
of God written in their hearts,8 and power to fulfil it,9
and dominion over the creatures;10 yet subject to fall.11
1 Gen. 1:27.
2 Gen. 2:7.
3 Gen. 2:22.
4 Gen. 2:7 with Job 35:11 and Eccl. 12:7 and Matt. 10:28 and Luke 23:43.
5 Gen. 1:27.
6 Col. 3:10.
7 Eph. 4:24
8 Rom. 2:14, 15
9 Eccl. 7:29.
10 Gen. 1:28
11 Gen. 3:6; Eccl. 7:29
WLC 18
What are the works of providence?
A.
God's works of providence are his most holy,1 wise,2 and
powerful preserving3 and governing4 all his creatures;
ordering them, and all their actions,5 to his own glory.6
1 Ps. 145:17
2 Ps. 104:24; Isa. 28:29
3 Heb. 1:3
4 Ps. 103:19
5 Matt. 10:29, 31; Gen. 45:7
6 Rom. 11:36; Isa. 63:14
WLC 19
What is God's providence towards the
angels?
A.
God by his providence permitted some of the angels, wilfully and irrecoverably,
to fall into sin and damnation,1 limiting and ordering that, and all
their sins, to his own glory;2 and established the rest in holiness
and happiness;3 employing them all,4 at his pleasure, in
the administrations of his power, mercy, and justice.5
1 jude 1:6; 2 Pet. 2:4; Heb. 2:16; John 8:44
2 Job 1:12; Matt. 8:31
3 1 Tim. 5:21; Mark 8:38; Heb. 12:22
4 Ps. 104:4
5 2 Kings 19:35; Heb. 1:14
WLC 20
What was the providence of God
toward man in the estate in which he was created?
A.
The providence of God toward man in the estate in which he was created, was the
placing him in paradise, appointing him to dress it, giving him liberty to eat
of the fruit of the earth;1 putting the creatures under his
dominion,2 and ordaining marriage for his help;3
affording him communion with himself;4 instituting the Sabbath;5
entering into a covenant of life with him, upon condition of personal, perfect,
and perpetual obedience,6 of which the tree of life was a pledge;7
and forbidding to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon the
pain of death.8
1 Gen. 2:8, 15, 16
2 Gen. 1:28
3 Gen. 2:18
4 Gen. 1:26, 27, 28, 29; Gen. 3:8
5 Gen. 2:3
6 Gal. 3:12; Rom. 10:5
7 Gen. 2:9
8 Gen. 2:17
WLC 21
Did man continue in that estate
wherein God first created him?
A.
Our first parents being left to the freedom of their own will, through the
temptation of Satan, transgressed the commandment of God in eating the
forbidden fruit; and thereby fell from the estate of innocency wherein they
were created.1
1 Gen. 3:6, 7, 8, 13; Eccl. 7:29; 2 Cor. 11:3
WLC 22
Did all mankind fall in that first
transgression?
A.
The covenant being made with Adam as a publick person, not for himself only,
but for his posterity, all mankind descending from him by ordinary generation,1
sinned in him, and fell in that first transgression.2
1 Acts 17:26.
2 Gen. 2:16, 17 with Rom. 5:12-20 and with 1 Cor. 15:21, 22.
WLC 23
Into what estate did the fall bring
mankind?
A.
The fall brought mankind into an estate of sin and misery.1
1 Rom. 5:12; Rom. 3:23
WLC 24
What is sin?
A.
Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, any law of God, given
as a rule to the reasonable creature.1
1 1 John 3:4; Gal. 3:10, 12
WLC 25
Wherein consisteth the sinfulness of
that estate wherein man fell?
A.
The sinfulness of that estate wherein man fell, consisteth in the guilt of
Adam's first sin,1 the want of that righteousness wherein he was
created, and the corruption of his nature, whereby he is utterly indisposed,
disabled, and made opposite unto all that is spiritually good, and wholly inclined
to all evil, and that continually;2 which is commonly called
Original Sin, and from which do proceed all actual transgressions.3
1 Rom. 5:12., 19.
2 Rom. 3:10-19; Eph. 2:1-3; Rom. 5:6; Rom. 8:7, 8; Gen. 6:5.
3 James 1:14, 15; Matt. 15:19.
WLC 26
How is
original sin conveyed from our first parents unto their posterity?
A. Original sin is conveyed from our first parents unto
their posterity by natural generation, so as all that proceed from them in that
way are conceived and born in sin.1
1 Ps. 51:5; Job 14:4; Job 15:14; John 3:6.
WLC 27
What misery did the fall bring upon
mankind?
A.
The fall brought upon mankind the loss of communion with God,1 his
displeasure and curse; so as we are by nature children of wrath,2
bond slaves to Satan,3 and justly liable to all punishments in this
world, and that which is to come.4
1 Gen. 3:8, 10, 24.
2 Eph. 2:2, 3.
3 2 Tim. 2:26.
4 Gen. 2:17; Lam. 3:39; Rom. 6:23; Matt. 25:41, 46; jude 1:7.
WLC 28
What are the punishments of sin in
this world?
A.
The punishments of sin in this world are either inward, as blindness of mind,1
a reprobate sense,2 strong delusions,3 hardness of heart,4
horror of conscience,5 and vile affections;6 or outward,
as the curse of God upon the creatures for our sakes,7 and all other
evils that befall us in our bodies, names, estates, relations, and employments;8
together with death itself.9
1 Eph. 4:18.
2 Rom. 1:28
3 2 Thess. 2:11.
4 Rom. 2:5
5 Isa. 33:14; Gen. 4:13; Matt. 27:4.
6 Rom. 1:26.
7 Gen. 3:17.
8 Deut. 28:15-18.
9 Rom. 6:21, 23.
WLC 29
What are the punishments of sin in
the world to come?
A.
The punishments of sin in the world to come, are everlasting separation from
the comfortable presence of God, and most grievous torments in soul and body,
without intermission, in hell-fire for ever.1
1 2 Thess. 1:9; Mark 9:43, 44, 46, 48; Luke 16:24.
WLC 30
Doth God leave all mankind to perish
in the estate of sin and misery?
A.
God doth not leave all men to perish in the estate of sin and misery,1
into which they fell by the breach of the first covenant, commonly called the
Covenant of Works;2 but of his mere love and mercy delivereth his
elect out of it, and bringeth them into an estate of salvation by the second
covenant, commonly called the Covenant of Grace.3
1 1 Thess. 5:9.
2 Gal. 3:10, 12.
3 Tit. 3:4-7; Gal. 3:21; Rom. 3:20-22
WLC 31
With whom was the covenant of grace
made?
A.
The covenant of grace was made with Christ as the second Adam, and in him with
all the elect as his seed.1
1 Gal. 3:16; Rom. 5:15-21.
WLC 32
How is the grace of God manifested
in the second covenant?
A.
The grace of God is manifested in the second covenant, in that he freely
provideth and offereth to sinners a Mediator,1 and life and
salvation by him;2 and requiring faith as the condition to interest
them in him,3 promiseth and giveth his Holy Spirit4 to
all his elect, to work in them that faith,5 with all other saving
graces;6 and to enable them unto all holy obedience,7 as
the evidence of the truth of their faith8 and thankfulness to God,9
and as the way which he hath appointed them to salvation.10
1 Gen. 3:15; Isa. 42:16; John 6:27
2 1 John 5:11, 12
3 John 3:16; John 1:12
4 Prov. 1:23
5 2 Cor. 4:13.
6 Gal. 5:22, 23
7 Ezek. 36:27
8 James 2:18, 22
9 2 Cor. 5:14, 15
10 Eph. 2:18.
WLC 33
Was the covenant of grace always
administered after one and the same manner?
A.
The covenant of grace was not always administered after the same manner, but
the administration of it under the Old Testament were different from those
under the New.1
1 2 Cor. 3:6-9.
WLC 34
How was the covenant of grace
administered under the Old Testament?
A.
The covenant of grace was administered under the Old Testament, by promises,1
prophecies,2 sacrifices,3 circumcision,4 the
pass-over,5 and other types and ordinances, which did fore-signify
Christ then to come, and were for that time sufficient to build up the elect in
faith in the promised Messiah,6 by whom they then had full remission
of sin, and eternal salvation.7
1 Rom. 15:8.
2 Acts 3:20, 24
3 Heb. 10:1
4 Rom. 4:11
5 1 Cor. 5:7
6Heb. Chapters VIII, IX and X; Heb. 11:13.
7 Gal. 3:7, 8, 9, 14.
WLC 35
How is the covenant of grace
administered under the New Testament?
A.
Under the New Testament, when Christ the substance was exhibited, the same
covenant of grace was and still is to be administered in the preaching of the
word,1 and the administration of the sacraments of baptism2
and the Lord's Supper;3 in which grace and salvation are held forth
in more fulness, evidence, and efficacy, to all nations.4
1 Mark 16:15
2 Matt. 28:19, 20
3 1 Cor. 11:23, 24, 25
4 2 Cor. 3:6-18; Heb. 8:6, 10, 11; Matt. 28:19
WLC 36
Who is the Mediator of the covenant
of grace?
A.
The only Mediator of the covenant of grace is the Lord Jesus Christ,1
who, being the eternal Son of God, of one substance and equal with the Father,2
in the fulness of time became man,3 and so was and continues to be
God and man, in two entire distinct natures, and one person, for ever.4
1 1 Tim. 2:5.
2 John 1:1, 14; John 10:30; Phil. 2:6
3 Gal. 4:4
4 Luke 1:35; Rom. 9:5; Col. 2:9; Heb. 7:24, 25.
WLC 37
How did Christ, being the Son of
God, become man?
A.
Christ the Son of God became man, by taking to himself a true body, and a
reasonable soul,1 being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost in
the womb of the Virgin Mary, of her substance, and born of her,2 yet
without sin.3
1 John 1:14; Matt. 26:38.
2 Luke 1:27, 31, 35, 42; Gal. 4:4.
3 Heb. 4:15; Heb. 7:26.
WLC 38
Why was it requisite that the
Mediator should be God?
A.
It was requisite that the Mediator should be God, that he might sustain and
keep the human nature from sinking under the infinite wrath of God, and the
power of death;1 give worth and efficacy to his sufferings, obedience,
and intercession,2 and to satisfy God's justice,3 procure
his favour,4 purchase a peculiar people,5 give his Spirit
to them,6 conquer all their enemies,7 and bring them to
everlasting salvation.8
1 Acts 2:24, 25; Rom. 1:4; Rom. 4:25; Heb. 9:14.
2 Acts 20:28; Heb. 9:14; Heb. 7:25-28.
3 Rom. 3:24, 25, 26.
4 Eph. 1:6; Matt. 3:17.
5 Tit. 2:13, 14.
6 Gal. 4:6.
7 Luke 1:68, 69, 71, 74.
8 Heb. 5:8, 9; Heb. 9:11-15.
WLC 39
Why was it requisite that the
Mediator should be man?
A.
It was requisite that the Mediator should be man, that he might advance our
nature,1 perform obedience to the law,2 suffer and make
intercession for us in our nature,3 have a fellow-feeling of our
infirmities;4 that we might receive the adoption of sons,5
and have comfort and access with boldness unto the throne of grace.6
1 Heb. 2:16.
2 Gal. 4:4
3 Heb. 2:14; Heb. 7:24, 25
4 Heb. 4:15
5 Gal. 4:5
6 Heb. 4:16
WLC 40
Why was it requisite that the
Mediator should be God and man in one person?
A.
It was requisite that the Mediator, who was to reconcile God and man, should
himself be both God and man, and this in one person, that the proper works of
each nature might be accepted of God for us,1 and relied on by us,
as the works of the whole person.2
1 Matt. 1:21, 23; Matt. 3:17; Heb. 9:14.
2 1 Pet. 2:6
WLC 41
Why was our Mediator called Jesus?
A.
Our Mediator was called Jesus, because he saveth his people from their sins.1
1 Matt. 1:21
WLC 42
Why was our Mediator called Christ?
A.
Our Mediator was called Christ, because he was annointed with the Holy Ghost
above measure;1 and so set apart, and fully furnished with all
authority and ability,2 to execute the offices of prophet,3
priest,4 and king of his Church,5 in the estate both of
his humiliation and exaltation.
1 John 3:34; Ps. 45:7.
2 John 6:27; Matt. 28:18, 19, 20.
3 Acts 3:21, 22; Luke 4:18, 21.
4 Heb. 5:5, 6, 7; Heb. 4:14, 15.
5 Ps. 2:6; Matt. 21:5; Isa. 9:6, 7; Phil. 2:8-11.
WLC 43
How doth Christ execute the office
of a prophet?
A.
Christ executeth the office of a prophet, in his revealing to the church,1
in all ages, by his Spirit and word,2 and in divers ways of
administration,3 the whole will of God,4 in all things
concerning their edification and salvation.5
1 John 1:18.
2 1 Pet. 1:10, 11, 12.
3 Heb. 1:1, 2.
4 John 15:15
5 Acts 20:32; Eph. 4:11, 12, 13; John 20:31
WLC 44
How doth Christ execute the office
of a priest?
A.
Christ executeth the office of a priest, in his once offering himself a
sacrifice without spot to God,1 to be a reconciliation for the sins
of his people;2 and in making continual intercession for them.3
1 Heb. 9:14, 28.
2 Heb. 2:17.
3 Heb. 7:25.
WLC 45
How doth Christ execute the office
of a king?
A.
Christ executeth the office of a king, in calling out of the world a people to
himself,1 and giving them officers,2 laws,3
and censures, by which he visibly governs them;4 in bestowing saving
grace upon his elect,5 rewarding their obedience,6 and
correcting them for their sins,7 preserving and supporting them
under all their temptations and sufferings,8 restraining and
overcoming all their enemies,9 and powerfully ordering all things
for his own glory,10 and their good;11 and also in taking
vengeance on the rest, who know not God, and obey not the gospel.12
1 Acts 15:14, 15, 16; Isa. 55:4, 5; Gen. 49:10; Ps. 110:3
2 Eph. 4:11, 12; 1 Cor. 12:28
3 Isa. 33:22.
4 Matt 18:17, 18; 1 Cor. 5:4.
5 Acts 5:31.
6 Rev. 22:12; Rev. 2:10.
7 Rev. 3:19.
8 Isa. 63:9.
9 1 Cor. 15:25; Ps. 110:1, 2, 3-7 See the Psalm throughout.
10 Rom. 14:10, 11.
11 Rom. 8:28.
12 2 Thess. 1:8, 9; Ps. 2:8, 9.
WLC 46
What was the estate of Christ's
humiliation ?
A.
The estate of Christ's humiliation was that low condition, wherein he for our
sakes, emptying himself of his glory, took upon him the form of a servant, in
his conception and birth, life, death, and after his death, until his
resurrection.1
1 Phil 2:6, 7, 8; Luke 1:31; 2 Cor. 8:9; Acts 2:24.
WLC 47
How did Christ humble himself in his
conception and birth?
A.
Christ humbled himself in his conception and birth, in that, being from all
eternity the Son of God, in the bosom of the Father, he was pleased in the
fulness of time to become the son of man, made of a woman of low estate, and to
be born of her; with divers circumstances of more than ordinary abasement.1
1 John 1:14, 18; Gal. 4:4; Luke 2:7.
WLC 48
How did Christ humble himself in his
life?
A.
Christ humbled himself in his life, by subjecting himself to the law,1
which he perfectly fulfilled,2 and by conflicting with the
indignities of the world,3 temptations of Satan,4 and infirmities
in his flesh, whether common to the nature of man, or particularly accompanying
that his low condition.5
1 Gal. 4:4.
2 Matt. 5:17; Rom. 5:19.
3 Ps. 22:6; Heb. 12:2, 3.
4 Matt. 4:1-12; Luke 4:13.
5 Heb. 2:17, 18; Heb. 4:15; Isa. 52:13, 14.
WLC 49
How did Christ humble himself in his
death?
A.
Christ humbled himself in his death, in that having been betrayed by Judas,1
forsaken by his disciples,2 scorned and rejected by the world,3
condemned by Pilate, and tormented by his persecutors,4 having also
conflicted with the terrors of death and the powers of darkness, felt and borne
the weight of God's wrath,5 he laid down his life an offering for
sin,6 enduring the painful, shameful, and cursed death of the cross.7
1 Matt. 27:4
2 Matt. 26:56.
3 Isa. 53:2, 3.
4 Matt. 27:26-50; John 19:34.
5 Luke 22:44; Matt. 27:46.
6 Isa. 53:10.
7 Phil 2:8; Heb. 12:2; Gal. 3:13.
WLC 50
Wherein consisted Christ's
humiliation after his death?
A.
Christ's humiliation after his death consisted in his being buried,1
and continuing in the state of the dead, and under the power of death till the
third day;2 which hath been otherwise expressed in these words, He
descended into hell.
1 1 Cor. 15:3, 4.
2 Ps. 16:10; Acts 2:24, 25, 26, 27, 31; Rom. 6:9; Matt. 12:40.
WLC 51
What was the estate of Christ's
exaltation ?
A.
The estate of Christ's exaltation comprehendeth his resurrection,1
ascension,2 sitting at the right hand of the Father,3 and
his coming again to judge the world.4
1 1 Cor. 15:4.
2 Mark 16:19.
3 Eph. 1:20
4 Acts 1:11; Acts 17:31.
WLC 52
How was Christ exalted in his
resurrection?
A.
Christ was exalted in his resurrection, in that not having seen corruption in
death of which it was not possible for him to be held1, and having
the very same body in which he suffered, with the essential properties thereof,2
but without mortality, and other common infirmities belonging to this life
really united to his soul,3 he rose again from the dead the third
day by his own power;4 whereby he declared himself to be the Son of
God,5 to have satisfied divine justice,6 to have
vanquished death, and him that had the power of it,7 and to be Lord
of quick and dead:8 all which he did as a public person,9
the head of his Church,10 for their justification,11
quickening in grace,12 support against enemies,13 and to
assure them of their resurrection from the dead at the last day.14
1 Acts 2:24, 27.
2 Luke 24:39
3 Rom. 6:9; Rev. 1:18
4 John 10:18
5 Rom. 1:4
6 Rom. 8:34
7 Heb. 2:14.
8 Rom. 14:9
9 1 Cor. 15:21, 22
10 Eph. 1:20, 22, 23; Col. 1:18.
11 Rom. 4:25.
12 Eph. 2:1, 5, 6; Col. 2:12
13 1 Cor. 15:25, 26, 27.
14 1 Cor. 15:20.
WLC 53
How was Christ exalted in his
ascension?
A.
Christ was exalted in his ascension, in that having after his resurrection
often appeared unto and conversed with his apostles, speaking to them of the
things pertaining to the kingdom of God,1 and giving them commission
to preach the gospel to all nations,2 forty days after his resurrection,
he, in our nature, and as our head,3 triumphing over enemies,4
visibly went up into the highest heavens, there to receive gifts for men,5
to raise up our affections thither,6 and to prepare a place for us,7
where himself is, and shall continue till his second coming at the end of the
world.8
1 Acts 1:2, 3
2 Matt. 28:19, 20.
3 Heb. 6:20.
4 Eph. 4:8.
5 Acts 1:9, 10, 11; Eph. 4:10; Ps. 68:18.
6 Col. 3:1, 2.
7 John 14:3.
8 Acts 3:21.
WLC 54
How is Christ exalted in his sitting
at the right hand of God?
A.
Christ is exalted in his sitting at the right hand of God, in that as God-man
he is advanced to the highest favour with God the Father,1 with all
fulness of joy,2 glory,3 and power over all things in
heaven and earth,4 and doth gather and defend his church, and subdue
their enemies; furnisheth ministers and people with gifts and graces,5
and maketh intercession for them.6
1 Phil. 2:9.
2 Acts 2:28 with Ps. 16:11.
3 John 17:5.
4 Eph. 1:22; 1 Pet. 3:22.
5 Eph. 4:10, 11, 12; Ps. 110:1 see the
Psalm throughout.
6 Rom. 8:34.
WLC 55
How doth Christ make intercession ?
A.
Christ maketh intercession, by his appearing in our nature continually before
the Father in heaven,1 in the merit of his obedience and sacrifice
on earth,2 declaring his will to have it applied to all believers;3
answering all accusations against them,4 and procuring for them
quiet of conscience, notwithstanding daily failings,5 access with
boldness to the throne of grace,6 and acceptance of their persons7
and services.8
1 Heb 9:12, 24.
2 Heb. 1:3.
3 John 3:16; John 17:9, 20, 24.
4 Rom. 8:33, 34.
5 Rom. 5:1, 2; 1 John 2:1, 2.
6 Heb. 4:16.
7 Eph. 1:6.
8 1 Pet. 2:5.
WLC 56
How is Christ to be exalted in his
coming again to judge the world?
A.
Christ is to be exalted in his coming again to judge the world, in that he, who
was unjustly judged and condemned by wicked men,1 shall come again
at the last day in great power,2 and in the full manifestation of
his own glory, and of his Father's, with all his holy angels,3 with
a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God,4
to judge the world in righteousness.5
1 Acts 3:14, 15.
2 Matt. 24:30.
3 Luke 9:26; Matt. 25:31.
4 1 Thess. 4:16.
5 Acts 17:31.
WLC 57
What benefits hath Christ procured
by his mediation?
A.
Christ, by his mediation, hath procured redemption,1 with all other
benefits of the covenant of grace.2
1 Heb. 9:12.
2 2 Cor. 1:20.
WLC 58
How do we come to be made partakers
of the benefits which Christ hath procured ?
A.
We are made partakers of the benefits which Christ hath procured, by the
application of them unto us,1 which is the work especially of God
the Holy Ghost.2
1 1 John 1:11, 12
2 Tit. 3:5, 6
WLC 59
Who are made partakers of redemption
through Christ?
A.
Redemption is certainly applied, and effectually communicated, to all those for
whom Christ hath purchased it;1 who are in time by the Holy Ghost enabled
to believe in Christ according to the gospel.2
1 Eph. 1:13, 14; John 6:37, 39; John 10:15, 16
2 Eph. 2:8; 2 Cor. 4:13
WLC 60
Can they who have never heard the
gospel, and so know not Jesus Christ, nor believe in him, be saved by their
living according to the light of nature?
A.
They who, having never heard the gospel,1 know not Jesus Christ,2
and believe not in him, cannot be saved,3 be they never so diligent
to frame their lives according to the light of nature,4 or the laws
of that religion which they profess;5 neither is there salvation in
any other, but in Christ alone,6 who is the Saviour only of his body
the church.7
1 Rom. 10:14
2 2 Thess. 1:8, 9; Eph. 2:12; John 1:10-12
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