Heidelberg Catechism
Monday, April 7, 2014 at 7:19PM
rebecca in historic church documents

Question 31. Why is [Jesus, the only Saviour,] called “Christ”, that is, Anointed?

Answer: Because he is ordained by God the Father, and anointed with the Holy Spirit, (a) to be our chief Prophet and Teacher, (b) who has fully revealed to us the secret counsel and will of God concerning our redemption; (c) and to be our only High Priest, (d) who by the one sacrifice of his body, has redeemed us, (e) and who continually intercedes for us before the FAther; (f) and also to be our eternal King, who governs us by his word and Spirit, and who defends and preserves us in the salvation he has purchased for us. (g)

(Click through to see scriptural proofs.)

  • a. Psalm 45:7 with Hebrews 1:8a,9
  • … you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;

    But of the Son he says, “… You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”

          Isaiah 61:1 with Luke 4:17b-21
    The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound … . 
    [Jesus] unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 
  • b. Deuteronomy 18:15 with Acts 3:22
  • The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen … .

    Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you.    

  • c. John 1:18
  • No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

          John 15:15
    No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
  • d. Psalm 110:4 with Hebrews 7:17
  • The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” 

    For it is witnessed of him, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”

  • e. Hebrews 10:11-14
  • And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

         Hebrews 9:12-14, 28
    … he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
    … so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
  • f. Romans 8:34
  • Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

         Hebrews 9:24
    For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.
         1 John 2:1
    My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
         Romans 5:9-10
    Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
  • g. Zechariah 9:9 with Matthew 21:1b-5
  • Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

    Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”

         Luke 1:30-31, 33
    And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus… . and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
         Matthew 28:18
    And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
         John 10:28
    I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
         Revelation 12:10-11
    And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
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