We all believe in one true God,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Present Helper in all need,
Praised by all the heavenly host,
By whose mighty power alone
All is made and wrought and done.
LESSON 20.
The Second Article: Of Redemption.
I Believe That My Lord Jesus Christ Is True God.
Which is the Second Article?
I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.
What does this mean?
I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, ... is my Lord.
1. "I believe in Jesus Christ, our Lord" thus the Second Article of our Creed begins. Every true Christian, every child of God, confesses: I believe in my Lord Jesus Christ. I believe that Jesus Christ is my Lord. We do not only believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, but likewise in our Lord Jesus Christ. You know what it means to believe in Jesus Christ. It means, I know and am assured by God's Word that Jesus Christ is my Lord, and with all my heart I trust and confide in Him as in my Lord. Our Catechism teaches us two things about our Lord Jesus Christ: 1. who our Lord Jesus Christ is, and 2. what He has done for me to become my Lord.
2. Who is our Lord Jesus Christ? We confess "I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son," that is, God the Father's only Son. Many are called, and in truth are, God's children. "Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." Gal. 3,26. All who believe in our Lord Jesus Christ are sons and daughters of God. How, then, can we say that Jesus Christ is God's only Son? Our Catechism says: "I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, is my Lord." All those who believe in Christ are God's children; God has adopted them as His children for Christ's sake. Christ, however, is God's own Son, begotten, born of the Father from eternity. Before God created heaven and earth, Christ was God's Son, begotten of the Father. God Himself says to this His only Son: "Thou art My Son; this day [that is, from eternity] have I begotten Thee." Ps. 2,7. "God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3,16. Christ is God's Son, begotten of the Father from eternity, and it is for this reason, too, that in the First Article we call God the Father. He is the Father of His own only Son, through whom He is also our Father.
3. Whoever is born of human parents is a true man; he has a human body and a human soul. Our Lord Jesus Christ is born of the Father from eternity, and therefore He is true God. We confess that we believe in Jesus Christ, true God. He is true God in the same sense as the Father is true God. Together with the Father He is the one true God. He himself has said: "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father." John 14,9. "I and My Father are one." John 10,30 The Father is the almighty God; likewise the Son, our Lord, is the almighty God. "All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth." Matt. 28,18. God the Father is always with us wherever we are; likewise the Son, our Lord, is with us always. "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Matt. 28,20. God the Father has created all things; likewise the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. "All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made." John 1,3. He tells us that we should honor Him as we honor the Father. "All men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father." John 5,23. He tells us that we should believe in Him as we believe in the Father. "Ye believe in God, believe also in Me." John 14,1.