An Exposition of the BFC Articles of Faith – God the Son | Working out Salvation with Fear and Trembling

An Exposition of the BFC Articles of Faith – God the Son

Last time we considered God the Father in our exposition of the AoF. Today, we’ll consider Article 4 – God the Son.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the Word,1 the eternal and true God who is of one substance and equal with the Father.2 He took on Himself man’s nature, with all of its essential properties except sin: Being conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary,3 He embodied two perfect and distinct natures in one person. He is truly God and truly man, the only mediator between God and man.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the revelation of God to man.4 In the days of His humiliation5 He lived a sinless life, performed miracles, taught the will of God,5 was crucified, and died. He was buried and arose bodily from the dead on the third day. The Lord Jesus offered Himself a sacrifice for sins,6 satisfied the justice of the Father, propitiated the wrath of God, reconciled God and man,7 and obtained an eternal inheritance.

The Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, from whence He had come, and was exalted, taking His place at the right hand of the Father, where He makes intercession on behalf of all who come to God through Him.8

1 John 1:1-3,14
2 Colossians 1:15-20
3 Matthew 1:22-23
4 Hebrews 1:1-4
5 Philippians 2:5-11
6 Hebrews 9:14
7 Romans 5:10
8 Hebrews 4:14-15

Exposition

The article begins with emphasizing the truth of John 1 that Jesus, the Son of God, is the Word. He is the manifestation of the direct revelation of God. He has existed from all time (he was never created but is self-existing with the Father) and is completely true. He is not different from the Father, but is the same substance as the Father and is equal in authority with the Father. Both are wholly and completely God. The unique nature of Jesus is that He entered into our reality and took on our human nature completely like until us yet not a sinner. As a human he was conceived by both the Holy Spirit and His human mother, Mary. This gave Him both a divine nature from the Godhead and a human nature from His mother. This binds Him together in a unique was being completely human and completely God, the only true and necessary mediator between God and man. We need no one to go to the Father for us, as Christ has gone to Him once for all for us.

He is the embodiment of God’s revelation to us. Through Him we have access and know the mind of the Father. While on earth, He lived completely sinless. He did everything that was pleasing to God and did nothing that was unpleasing to God at the same time. While on earth, he did miraculous things and taught us completely all of the will of the Father. Not only that, but He suffered at the hand of mankind and was crucified and died. His death was real, and he was buried and came back to life on the third day. The beauty of this is that God sacrificed Himself for the sake of sinful humanity. He appeased God’s wrath and fulfilled God’s just requirements for sin, and ultimately reconciled God and man. We have access to the Father through the death and resurrection of Jesus and now because of His eternal inheritance, we too share in that inheritance.

Following His death and resurrection, He returned to the right hand of the Father and though He was humiliated on earth, He rose to full exaltation of his royal majesty in heaven. Now He intercedes on our behalf before the Father. Every time we sin, He says to the Father, “because of my sacrifice He is forgiven.”

In the person of Jesus Christ we have the picture of the love, mercy, grace, and beauty of God. Despite our sin and our ugliness God reached down through Jesus Christ to give us life and life eternally. He makes us new and beautiful because He loves us. And we are lovely, because He loves us. Praise God for His Son!

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