This week we begin with Question 49 of the New City Catechism, found in part 3 (questions 36-52), which focuses on the Spirit, restoration, and growing in grace. Question 49: Where is Christ now? Answer: Christ rose bodily from the grave on the third day after his death and is seated at the right hand of the Father, ruling his kingdom and interceding for us, until he returns to judge and renew the whole world. In the Incarnation, God the Son assumed a human nature, uniting di

Question 28: What happens after death to those not united to Christ by faith? Answer: At the day of judgment they will receive the fearful but just sentence of condemnation pronounced against them. They will be cast out from the favorable presence of God, into hell, to be justly and grievously punished, forever. The doctrines of the final judgment and hell have been among the most controversial in the history of the Christian church. The main reason for this controversy is th

Question 20: Who is the Redeemer? Answer: The only Redeemer is the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, in whom God became man and bore the penalty for sin himself. Jesus Christ is “the eternal Son of God, in whom God became man.” Those words teach the biblical doctrine known as the “incarnation,” or the taking on of human nature by God the Son. As God the Son, Jesus has always existed. There was never a time when he wasn’t there with the Father and the Spirit, one God

This week we come to Question 4 of the New City Catechism, found in Part 1 of the catechism (questions 1-20), which focuses on God, creation and the fall, and the law. Question 4: How and why did God create us? Answer: God created us male and female in his own image to know him, love him, live with him, and glorify him. And it is right that we who were created by God should live to his glory. The image of God is not something that is one part of us. It is not the secret ingre

God the Son assumed human nature and will remain the God-man forever. The Incarnation will never be undone.

Is the doctrine of hell really necessary to the Christian faith?

Did God the Son lose anything when he became man? What is the proper way to understand the incarnation?

What is the image of God, and what implications does it have for our understanding of who we are as human beings?