Theological Term of the Week

Gospel
A book of the New Testament telling the story of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. The first four books of the New Testement — Matthew, Mark, Luke and John — are Gospels.

• The dedication of the Gospel According to Luke:

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. (Luke 1:1-4 ESV)

• The purpose statement included in the Gospel According to John:

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31 ESV)

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Heidelberg Catechism

Question 36. What benefit do you receive from Christ’s holy conception and birth?

Answer: He is our Mediator; (a) and with His innocence and perfect holiness, covers in the sight of God, my sins, in which I was conceived and brought born. (b)

(Click through to see scriptural proofs.)

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A Marvelous Mystery!

I have a post on the humanity of Jesus up at the True Woman blog this morning.

That Jesus “increased in wisdom and in stature” (Luke 2:52) is evidence that he was truly human. In the incarnation, the Eternal Son, who is the second person of the Trinity, was joined forever with genuine human nature, so that Jesus was (and is) fully God and fully human in one person.

If you’re left wondering how that works, you’re not alone. The ancient Christians took the biblical data and developed creeds outlining some things we can know about Christ’s nature, but there is much they don’t and can’t explain. J. I. Packer calls this a “marvelous mystery”—and he’s right!

Read the whole post.