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  Question 54. How is Christ exalted in his sitting at the right hand of God? Answer. Christ is exalted in his sitting at the right hand of God, in that, as God and man, he is highly favored with the Father, filled with joy and glory, and with power over all things in heaven and earth; in gathering and defending his church, subduing their enemies, and giving gifts and graces to his ministers and people, and in making intercession for them.   Ephesians 4:6-10 "For there is one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But to each of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it is said, 'When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men.' When it is said, 'He ascended,' what does it mean but that he also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens (ton uranon), that he might fill all things." Christ as...

  Question 53. How was Christ exalted in his ascension? Answer. Christ's exaltation in his ascension means that after his resurrection he often appeared to his apostles, talked with them, and spoke to them of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God, and gave them the commission to preach the gospel to all nations; and then forty days after his resurrection he ascended into the highest heaven, in our nature, as our head, triumphing over his enemies, and in the sight of men, where he received gifts for men, and made us long for it, and prepared a place for us, where the Lord is, and will remain until his second coming at the end of the world. In John 14:2-3, it says, “ I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you may be also. ” Christ ’ s ascension is to prepare a place for the saints. When the angels sinned, God took away their dwelling place and confined them in the flesh, ...

  Question 52. How was Christ exalted in his resurrection? Answer. Christ was exalted in his resurrection, that he did not see corruption in death (for he could not be held by death), and that the same body in which he had suffered, with all its essential properties (without mortality and other common infirmities belonging to this life), was really united to his soul, and rose again from the dead the third day by his power; whereby he declared himself to be the Son of God, satisfying divine justice, conquering death and him who had the power of death, and being Lord of the living and the dead. All that he did as a public man and as the head of his church was to justify believers, give them new life by grace, overcome them against their enemies, and assure them that he would raise them up from the dead at the last day.   Jesus Christ says that he is the life that came down from heaven. Regarding the word resurrection, from the perspective of the flesh, we believe that the...

  Question 51. What is the exaltation of Christ? Answer. The exaltation of Christ includes His resurrection, ascension, sitting at the right hand of the Father, and His return to judge the world.   Philippians 2:9-11 “ Therefore God has highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ” En toe ono-nomati Jesus means “ in the name of Jesus. ” Since Jesus ’ name is Jesus, the translation is incorrect. The exaltation of Christ is because of the name Jesus. Matthew 1:21 “ And she will bring forth a Son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. ” So Jesus died on the cross to atone for the sins of all people in the world. Matthew 1:23 "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and th...

  Question 50. How was Christ's humiliation accomplished after his death? Answer. Christ's humiliation after his death was that he was buried and continued in the state of the dead, and was under the power of death until the third day; which is expressed in another way as his descent into hell.   It is said that after Jesus died on the cross and before his resurrection, he went to prison in spirit and preached to the spirits. 1 Peter 3:18 "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the Spirit." Jesus not only died on the cross in the form of a servant, but also knocked on the door of the heart to save all the people in the world. The prison metaphorically represents the spirit being imprisoned in the body. He knocked on the door of the heart to awaken the spirit. John 5:25 “ Very truly I tell you, an hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voi...

  Question 49. How did Christ humble himself in his death? Answer. Christ humbled himself in his death, in being betrayed by Judas, forsaken by his own disciples, mocked and rejected by the world, condemned by Pilate, suffering under persecutors, struggling with the fear of death and the powers of darkness, feeling and enduring the terrible wrath of God, laying down his life a sacrifice for sin, and enduring the pains, shame, and cursed death of the cross. Matthew 27:28-30 “ And they stripped him of his clothes and put a scarlet robe on him. Then they platted a crown of thorns and put it on his head. And they put a reed in his right hand. Then they knelt before him and mocked him, saying, ‘ Hail, King of the Jews! ’ Then they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. ” Jesus did not humble himself before the death on the cross, which was condemned by the Jewish leaders as a blasphemer, but humbled himself before the justice of God. And he endured and endured ...

  Question 48. How did Christ humble himself in his earthly life? Answer. Christ humbled himself in his earthly life by submitting to the law and fulfilling it perfectly, which is common to human nature, but especially by colliding with the insults of the world, the temptations of Satan, and the infirmities of the flesh, which followed his humiliation.   Jesus died on the cross according to the law, but he did not fulfill the law by obeying the law. It is true that Jesus fulfilled the law by dying on the cross, but he obeyed the word of God, not the law. Jesus also acted against the law many times during his life. In theological terms, scholars say that active obedience means that Christ kept the law for sinners as a condition of obtaining eternal life, and passive obedience means that Christ suffered by paying the penalty for sin and paying the debt of all his people. So, Christ's subjection to suffering and death is part of his active obedience, and Christ's living i...

  Question 47. How did Christ humble himself in his conception and birth? Answer. Christ humbled himself in his conception and birth; that is, although he was the Son of God the Father, yet when the fullness of time had come, he was conceived and born of a woman of lowly condition, and became the Son of Man, and in many ways he became lower than ordinary men.   Luke 2:12 “ And this will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. ” As prophesied in Micah 5, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. Jesus was born secretly and shabbily in a stable. His cradle was a manger, a feeding trough for animals. The baby Jesus in the manger was called a sign. A sign is something that shows what will happen in the future through a certain fact. It is the death on the cross. Isaiah 53:2-3 For he grew up before him like a tender plant, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no form or comelines...

  Question 46. What was the state of Christ's humiliation? Answer. The state of Christ's humiliation was that he laid aside his glory for us, took upon him the form of a servant, was conceived by the Holy Spirit, was born of the Virgin Mary, lived on earth, was crucified, died, and was resurrected after his death.   Concerning Christ's humiliation, he was made in the very nature of God, taking the very nature of a servant and becoming obedient to death. Philippians 2:6-8 Who, being in the very nature of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death - even the death of the cross. Christ's humiliation was made human, and he calls himself the Son of Man. The Son of Man is born with a sinful body that was passed down from the first man. Jesus Christ is sinless, bu...

  Question 45. How does Christ execute the office of a king? Answer. Christ executes the office of a king by calling a people to himself out of the world, and giving them clergy, laws, and power, and by which he governs them visibly. He gives the grace of salvation to the elect, rewards their obedience, and chastises their transgressions. He preserves and defends them in all their trials and afflictions, and overcomes and conquers all their enemies, disposing all things by his power for his own glory and good, and taking vengeance on the rest who do not know God and obey the gospel.   Jesus is the King of kings. Colossians 1:16-17 "For by him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together." However, among the people, there are those who do not think of Jesus as a king, ...

  Question 44. How does Christ execute the office of a priest? Answer. Christ executes the office of a priest by offering himself once for all as a perfect sacrifice to God, to be a propitiation for the sins of his people, and to make continual intercession for them. Hebrews 8:1-5 Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We have such a high priest, who has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle which the Lord set up, not man. For every high priest is set up to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that he also have something to offer. For if Jesus were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are priests who offer gifts according to the law, who serve to be a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to make the tabernacle. For, “ See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain. ” Je...

  Question 43. How does Christ execute the office of a prophet? Answer. Christ executes the office of a prophet in manifold ways, manifesting the perfect will of God in all things pertaining to salvation, by revealing it to the church of all ages by his Spirit and word. The office of prophet refers mainly to those who worked as messengers of God's word in the Old Testament era, and they are the ones who prophesied the coming of the Messiah. Jesus was born into the world as the Messiah and spoke about the kingdom of God and salvation, but the leaders of Israel did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah and had him die on the cross. What Jesus did as a prophet was to prophesy what would happen after his death on the cross. He prophesied that he would die and be resurrected three days later, and that the temple in Jerusalem would be completely destroyed, leaving not a single stone unturned. This prophecy was fulfilled around A.D. 70. And the resurrected Jesus appeared to the disci...

  Question 42. Why is our Mediator called Christ? Answer. Because our Mediator was called Christ, because in his state of humiliation and exaltation he was anointed with the Holy Spirit beyond measure, and was consecrated and filled with all authority and power, to execute the offices of prophet, priest, and king in his church.   Christ (Messiah) means the anointed one. In the Old Testament, oil was poured when a king, priest, or prophet was appointed. Oil symbolizes the Spirit of God, and when the oil was poured, the Spirit of God descended, and the person was distinguished as a person of God. Therefore, in the Old Testament, the anointed person was distinguished as a person who did God's work. The people of Israel had prophesies from the mouths of the prophets that the Messiah would come as a descendant of David, and Jesus is the Messiah, Christ. The Son of God, the mediator, stands as a mediator between God and sinners, but Christ stands as a mediator who has comple...