This article of the Apostles Creed teaches us how the eternal Son of God became a man-how "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (Jn. 1:14). The first thing we need to understand is that the Son of God became a man without ceasing to be the Son of God. He did not change into a man so that He was no longer God. God cannot change. "I am the Lord, I do not change" (Mal. 3:6). Rather, He added a human nature to His unchanging divine nature-He took upon Himself the very nature of man and at the same time He continued to be true and eternal God. The Son of God became a man without losing any of His divine attributes. He continued to "know all things" (Jn. 21:17) even though in His humanity He "increased in wisdom" (Lk. 2:51). After He became a man, He continued to be everywhere present, even though His human body could only be at one place at a time. This explains how Jesus, while standing on earth, could say that He was also in heaven: "He who came down from heaven, even the Son of Man who is in heaven" (Jn. 3:13). The babe lying in the manger also had an invisible divine nature that was everywhere present.

The Very Nature of Man

The fact that the Son of God took upon Himself the very nature of man does not mean He simply inhabited another human being-like He does when He comes to live inside of us. The man Christ Jesus was not an independent person who simply bonded with the eternal Son of God. The human nature of Christ (His body and soul) could not exist by itself apart from the person of the Son of God. If it could, then Christ in reality would be two persons. But Christ is not two persons. He is one person with two different natures. According to His divine nature He could say, "Before Abraham was I AM" (Jn. 8:58), and according to His human nature He could say, "I thirst" (Jn. 19:28). It was one and the same person who spoke. In like manner, one and the same human being could eat food (according to his body), and get angry (according to his soul). Soul and body are different natures (someone can cut the body but not the soul), yet they form one human being. The divine nature and the human nature are different, but there is only one Christ. As it says in the creed of Athanasius, "as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and man is one Christ."

In this connection we must be careful to avoid the ancient heresy of Appollinaris, who maintained that the divine nature of the Son of God took the place of Jesus' human soul, so that Jesus was simply God in a body with no human soul. This heresy is easily refuted by the words of Christ Himself, "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit. Having said this, He breathed His last" (Lk. 23:46). The spirit here refers to the soul, and not the divine nature, because the divine nature never departed from the human nature. When the Son of God died, it was not His divine nature that died, but rather it was His human soul that was separated from His human body. Also, it is said in Hebrews 2:17: "in all things He had to be made like His brethren." But without a soul He would not have been like His brethren in all things, for He would not have been a true man. Therefore, it was necessary that Christ had a human soul. It was necessary because the whole man-body and soul-needed to be saved. The justice of God requires that the same human nature that has sinned should make satisfaction for sin. "The soul who sins shall die" (Ezek. 18:20). If Jesus did not have the same human nature we have (body and soul) then He could not have died in our place.

Conceived by the Holy Spirit

Christ's human nature was conceived by the operation of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary. The Son of God did not take upon Himself a human nature created out of nothing, or one brought with Him from heaven. Rather, the human nature of Christ was taken from the very substance of Mary-of her flesh and blood, in much the same way that our human nature is received from our mother: "as children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same" (Heb. 2:14). He was "made of a woman" (Gal. 4:4).

He is called "the seed of the woman" (Gen. 3:15), as well as "the Son of David, the Son of Abraham" (Matt. 1:1). He "was born of the seed of David according to the flesh" (Rom. 1:3), just as God had promised David, "I will set upon your throne the fruit of your body" (Ps. 132:11). Just as Joseph and Mary descended from David, so did Christ. The difference in Christ's case is that the Holy Spirit miraculously caused Christ's flesh to be conceived without the seed and substance of a man, so that His human nature was formed from His mother alone, contrary to the order of things which God has established in nature, as the angel Gabriel told Mary, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you" (Lk. 1:35). Mary was a pregnant virgin, just as the prophet had foretold: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son" (Matt. 1:23).

Born of the Virgin Mary

Why was the virgin birth necessary? The first reason is that the birth of Jesus was not the birth of a new person. Ordinary births are births of new persons, persons that have not existed before. But the birth of Jesus would be the birth of a pre-existing person, a birth that would require a different method of conception. An extraordinary person demanded an extraordinary birth. The virgin birth was necessary to show that Jesus was an extraordinary person. Though He was a real man, yet He did not have an earthly father. God was His Father! "That Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God" (Lk. 1:35).

The second reason why the virgin birth was necessary was to show that Jesus was without sin. He was the sinless Son of God. Ordinary babies are conceived and born in sin. To show that Jesus was without sin He had to be born in an extraordinary manner. Jesus was like us in every respect except for sin. "He was "tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15). If Jesus had been conceived in the ordinary manner then He could not have been our Savior. For one who is Himself a sinner cannot save other sinners. "The soul who sins shall die."

Our Mediator

The fact that Jesus was born without sin and lived a sinless life means that our sins can be forgiven and covered in the sight of God, as it says in Psalm 32:1: "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered." If you owed the bank a million dollars and someone else paid your debt, the bank would no longer require you to pay the debt. It is forgiven, covered, not charged to your account. Instead of being charged to our account, our sins were charged to Christ's account. He paid for them-all of them. Our sins were charged to His account so that His innocence and perfect holiness could be charged to our account. God "made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21).

Jesus was credited with being the sinner even though He was perfectly righteous, so that we could be credited with being perfectly righteousness even though we are sinners! I know that I am a sinner and that even as a believer I will always struggle against my sin, but what is in my account? Not my sins, but the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ! That is sufficient to cover all my debts. I need nothing else. This is why it says our sins are covered-covered by the robe of Christ's righteousness. As Charles Hodge put it:

The righteousness of Christ is a perpetual donation. It is a robe which covers and hides our sins from the eye of justice. They are sins; they deserve the wrath and curse of God, but the necessity for inflicting that curse no longer exists. The believer feels the constant necessity for confession and prayer for pardon, but the righteousness of Christ is ever present for him to offer and plead.

Hallelujah!

1 Peter 1:1-2

The Reformed faith is pervasively biblical. This can be seen in many passages of Scripture. One lesser known passage is 1 Peter. It is interesting to note the key concerns Peter voices at the outset of his letter.

Peter the Apostle

The letter begins with Peter introducing himself. He was the most vocal of the disciples of Jesus Christ. A native of Galilee, and a fisherman by trade, he was brought to Jesus by his brother Andrew and became one of the earliest disciples. His bold confession of Christ as being the Son of the Living God was the occasion upon which Jesus changed his name from Simon to Peter, which means "rock." Peter here calls himself by this new name.

Peter identifies himself "an apostle of Jesus Christ." He was chosen by Christ himself to be a witness to the resurrection and sent by the authority of Christ to lay the foundation of the church. Peter's work focused on establishing churches. For this purpose he was given special revelation by the Holy Spirit to write this book. Peter's words in this letter are not mere opinion or advice, but are inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Dispersed Pilgrims

To whom does Peter write this letter? He addresses it, "to the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia." Peter writes to those that he has most likely never met. He writes to those Christians who lived in the various Roman provinces located in what we know today as Turkey. Although this term ‘dispersion' often refers to the Jews who were scattered among the nations, Peter has in mind those Jewish and Gentile converts who were dispersed as Christians.

Notice that he calls these believers, "Pilgrims." He wants them to know that their "citizenship is in heaven." (Phil 3:20) and that this citizenship is primary. They may be citizens of the Roman empire, but they are really God's pilgrims, spiritual foreigners looking for a "city that has foundations"-the City of God. This implies that their earthly citizenship is secondary. They were to see themselves living temporarily in an alien environment. Such is our condition as believers today. Though we are citizens of the United States, our citizenship in the Kingdom of Christ is primary.

Peter's design is to teach them how to live in the midst of an ungodly culture as God's people. He not only seeks to explain more fully the doctrines of salvation, and exhort them to live in a godly manner in the various relationships of life; but also to prepare them for sufferings. Writing about 30 years after the ascension of Christ, Peter writes to Christians who had already experienced various forms of persecution, and he is preparing them for further opposition.

Living godly in an ungodly society brings persecution. Today persecution happens not only in other countries, but in our land as well. It has taken a variety of forms, and does not mean that someone has to physically die for Christ. It is persecution when believers suffer in their families, or in their workplace, or in civil court for their commitment to the gospel of Christ.

Peter does not call these early Christians to a monastic life, they are to live "in the world, but not of the world." God's people were dispersed in the midst of societies that were dominated by secular worldviews and pagan practices. God has also placed us for a purpose in the midst of a culture that does not know him-that we might be his witnesses as salt and light.

Trinitarian Grace

What is Peter's way of encouraging these believers? He does not begin by giving them practical steps on how to deal with their difficulties and problems. He will teach them later in this letter how they should live in the various relationships and hostile circumstances in which they find themselves. But he first lays a proper foundation for their understanding of who they are in their relationship to God. He is God-centered in his approach.

If we begin by focusing on our circumstances, and especially our inability to deal with them, we may become discouraged and defeated. It is only as we turn unto God as our Sovereign Lord and Savior that we can have a proper view of living in an ungodly culture. Peter wants them to focus first on God's great salvation.

The central thrust of this letter is: "Elect Pilgrims must stand firm in the true Grace of God." Grace is a biblical term that describes how God has redeemed guilty sinners by setting them free from bondage to sin and death. Peter sees true grace as that salvation which is the work of the Triune God. He says in verse two that they are, "elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ."

The Father's Elect Pilgrims

He reminds his audience of their new identity as Christians. The word "Elect" in the original Greek comes before the word "pilgrims." Their status before God is stressed-they are God's elect pilgrims. Their salvation is not something they stumbled upon by chance, but was planned by God the Father from the beginning. They are, "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people." (2:90)

Many in our day recoil when they hear the word "election." Yet this is not a teaching hidden away in one or two chapters of the Bible. No, it is a teaching that is given prominence by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. If you read the beginning of Ephesians, 1 Thessalonians, or Titus, as well as many other passages you will see many references to election.

For Peter and the other Apostles, election is important because it sustained them in the midst of an ungodly society. They had come to understand that by grace alone they had been chosen by God to be his children. As such their new identity as Christians was not due to what they had done for God but on the basis of what God had done for them. We love God because He first loves us. Peter wants us to know that while we live in this world, Christians are God's chosen people.

God's Foreknowledge

Peter adds further in verse 2, that these Christians are, "elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father." What does he mean by foreknowledge? Some think that means simply foresight -God sees ahead of time what people will do. According to this view God is very much like us. He is like a weatherman forecasting the weather by looking at computer a model, or as an astronomer foretelling when there will be an eclipse. If this is true, then God learns from history.

But in verse 20 we read, "He [Christ] indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world." This is the same term here. Did God learn about Christ from history? Did he choose the Son because he learned what he would do in time? No, God knew Christ because he was his only-begotten Son and loved him before time began. We read in the book of Acts 2:23, "Him [Christ], being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death" Foreknowledge thus signifies God's predetermined purpose to ordain whatsoever comes to pass. The death of Christ was not merely foreseen, but fore-ordained.

In a similar way, God knows believers. He knows them before they believe. The foreknowledge of God is not learned from the creature but from His knowledge of Himself. He knows because he wills, and He wills that which he knows in Himself. God knows actively, not passively. The election of individuals is not based upon something in themselves but rather flows from something within God himself. Foreknowledge is thus a divine love that chooses a person to be his child, and because of this love, he provides all that is necessary for that person to be saved.

Pilgrims Set Apart by the Holy Spirit

One key theme of 1 Peter could be describe as, "Living Godly in an Ungodly Age." How are we as Christians to live out our faith in a culture which has become increasingly opposed to the Gospel? Peter's letter provides much insight into this topic. He refers to holiness as an essential manifestation of the salvation flows from God's electing love. God's pilgrims have been elected, he says in verse 2, "in sanctification of the Spirit."

This adds to our understanding of our unique identity as God's people. Elect Pilgrims are called saints. Sanctification usually refers to the work of God transforming the believer's way of life. But here it is used in the same way as when God said, "For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth." (Deuteronomy 14:2) This holiness refers to our status before God as saints, "But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Cor. 6:11) Some call this definitive sanctification.

When God changes the heart He sets that person apart from a secular pagan culture to be a child of God. This is why Peter uses the term "sanctification" here. The person who has been brought out of the kingdom of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of Christ is now "set apart" to do God's will. Do you know him, is He your Lord? Do you trust in Him alone for your salvation? If so, then He has called you to a unique lifestyle.

Pilgrims United to Jesus Christ

The chief purpose in the work of the Father and the Holy Spirit, as Peter sees it, is that sinners will be brought into a saving relationship with Christ. He says again in verse 2, "for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ."

We do not typically speak of faith as obedience. It is right that we guard the doctrine of "salvation by faith alone." But the Bible often speaks of the obedience of faith, such as we find in Romans 1:5. This means that God's electing and regenerating grace does not eliminate our response. God commands all men everywhere to repent. God does not believe for us. We must embrace Christ and all that He provides, commit ourselves to Him, and make a definitive break from sin and the world. When we have done so, Peter says, we are sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ.

The design of the Old Testament sacrifices was not simply that blood was to be shed-it was also to be applied. In the New Covenant the blood of Christ as the lamb of God is to be applied to sinners when they believe. This is also called justification-which the Westminster Shorter Catechism defines as, "an act of God's free grace, wherein he pardons all our sins, and accepts us as righteous in his sight, only for the righ­teousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone."