Second Article

Second Article: Jesus, the Son of God

In the Second Article of the Apostles’ Creed we learn about what God has done for humanity in regard to salvation.  This is above and beyond all the material and bodily blessings we have received.  Through Christ, Luther explains, God has “given himself completely to us, withholding nothing.”

  From the Small Catechism he makes clear  what the Second Article confesses:

I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father in eternity, and also a true human being, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord.

For some Christians today this title, “Lord,” seems to be scandalous.  Perhaps it is scandalous but not for the reasons that might be cited which include that it connotes hierarchical systems that keep people oppressed.  To call Jesus “Lord,” in the Greek, kyrie, is to totally and utterly make him the ruler of your life.  It is to confess allegiance to the One who came and lived among us, who died for a sinful humanity, and who rose from the grave on the third day as proof of his lordship.  It is not about keeping a person down or controlled, but is about what is central to our life of faith.  What Jesus did for humanity is evidence of his power in our lives. Luther goes on:

"He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned human being. He has purchased and freed me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver but with his holy, precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death."

Imagine that your life and salvation cost more than you could ever make in a lifetime and that without earning the purchase price you will never be free.  Then this most holy and generous God/man, Jesus, comes along and gives the exact amount needed to buy your freedom so that you might have a new life, no chains, no more captors, no debts hanging over your head, nothing to stop you from really living!  This is what Luther is saying Christ has done for all believers.  His death was the ransom money given to the kidnapper that held us captive.

  No longer are we “condemned to death” or “entangled in sin and blindness.”

  With Christ, we are now free; free from sin, free from the evil one and all the forces that keep us bound, and free from that ultimate enemy, death.  What then will we do with this newfound freedom?  Will we soak in the wonder of it all?  Are we even aware that we were captive and dying?  Luther explains to his readers why Christ did this:

"He has done all this in order that I may belong to him, live under him in his kingdom, and serve him in eternal righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as he is risen from the dead and lives and rules eternally.  This is most certainly true."

We belong to Christ!  As human beings we have an innate need to belong to something.  We look around our communities for something to belong to, we yearn for it within our own families if we get a sense that somehow we do not belong there, even in our churches where we are supposed to feel like we belong, sometimes we do not.  We are created to be in community and community means belonging.  Therefore, this article gives us very good news indeed: we belong, and not just a general belonging to something greater than ourselves, we belong to Christ!  We belong to the One who crashed the gates of hell and rescued us from death and sin.  Because we belong to him, He calls us to live under him in his glorious in-breaking, life changing kingdom.  We get to be a part of what Christ is up to in the world because we belong to him.  Nothing else that we belong to is more important than this belonging.  

Luther explains how we got into this predicament, whereby we needed to be redeemed from our captivity.  He reiterates that we were created by God and given all kinds of wonderful gifts and blessings but then the devil came after us and “led us into disobedience, sin, death and all misfortune.”

  Because of our disobedience we were condemned to receiving God’s wrath.  We deserved God’s displeasure and we were given an eternal sentence of damnation.  To put it plainly, we were lost and wicked and there was no hope for us.  That is until the Son of God, Jesus, our Lord, came down from heaven with “his unfathomable goodness.”

  Now because of what Christ has done for all believers, 

"Those tyrants and jailers have now been routed, and their place has been taken by Jesus Christ, the Lord of life, righteousness, and every good and blessing.  He has snatched us, poor lost creatures, from the jaws of hell, won us, made us free, and restored us to the Father’s favor and grace."

In a word, we are extremely fortunate to belong to him who did all of this for us!  Now as his precious “possessions” we are free to live with him. He watches over us and rules us in wisdom and righteousness.

  

Luther reminds us that the “entire gospel” depends on our understanding of this second article.  Our redemption had great cost for Christ.  Now we fully belong to him and he has promised to never leave us (Matthew 28: 20).  What is our natural response to such grace?  When someone gives us such a wondrous gift, what is our reaction?  The gift is given freely with no strings attached and yet such a wonderful present as new life really should not be taken for granted, should it?  As the church, as God’s children, Christ’s brothers and sisters, what does this gift compel us to do?