LORD’S DAY 14
Q. 35. What is the meaning of these words — “He was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary”?
A. That God’s eternal Son, who is and continueth true and eternal God,1 took upon Him the very nature of man, of the flesh and blood of the Virgin Mary,2 by the operation of the Holy Ghost;3 that He might also be the true seed of David,4 like unto His brethren in all things, sin excepted.5
- John 1:1; Col. 1:15; Psa. 2:7; Rom. 9:5; 1 John 5:20.
- John 1:14; Gal. 4:4.
- Mat. 1:18; Luke 1:35.
- Psa. 132:2; Acts 2:30; Rom. 1:3.
- Phil. 2:7; Heb. 4:15.
Q. 36. What profit dost thou receive by Christ’s holy conception and nativity?
A. That He is our Mediator,1 and, with His innocence and perfect holiness, covers in the sight of God my sins,2 wherein I was conceived and brought forth.
- Heb. 2:16, 17.
- Psa. 32:1; 1 Cor. 1:30; Rom. 8:34.
LORD’S DAY 14
Very God and Very Man
1. What do we mean when we confess: “He was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary”?
That the Son of God took upon Him the flesh and blood of the virgin Mary, by the operation of the Holy Spirit. Luke 1: 34, 35; John 1:14.
2. What does it mean that the Son of God took upon Him the flesh and blood of Mary?
That the Son of God assumed the very nature of man.
3. Did Christ’s Godhead then change into humanity?
No, Christ is God’s eternal Son, who is and continues true and eternal God. Colossians 1:15; John 1:1.
4. What can we say then about the relationship between the human and the divine elements in Christ?
There is in the one person of the Son of God two natures, the human and the divine.
5. How did the incarnation fulfill Old Testament prophecy?
Christ, as the true seed of David, established the throne of David forever. Luke 1:32, 33.
6. What sort of a human nature did Christ assume?
He was like us in all things, sin excepted. Hebrews 4:15.
7. What does it mean that Christ had no sin?
He was born free from the corruption and guilt in which I am conceived and brought forth. II Corinthians 5:21; I Peter 2:22.
8. What profit then do you receive by Christ’s holy conception and nativity?
That He is our Mediator; and with His innocence and perfect holiness He covers, in the sight of God, my sins.