THE BELGIC CONFESSION OF FAITH
– A Commentary – By Dr. Chuck Baynard
The Belgic Confession of Faith,
Article XVIII
The Incarnation of Jesus Christ
We confess, therefore, that God has fulfilled the promise which He made
to the fathers by the mouth of His holy prophets, when He sent into the world,
at the time appointed by Him, His own only-begotten and eternal Son, who took
upon Him the form of a servant and became like unto man, really assuming the
true human nature with all its infirmities, sin excepted; being conceived in the
womb of the blessed virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit without the
means of man; and did not only assume human nature as to the body, but also a
true human soul, that He might be a real man. For since the soul was lost as
well as the body, it was necessary that He should take both upon Him, to save
both.
Therefore we confess (in opposition to the heresy of the Anabaptists, who
deny that Christ assumed human flesh of His mother) that Christ partook of the
flesh and blood of the children; that He is a fruit of the loins of David after
the flesh; born of the seed of David according to the flesh; a fruit of the womb
of Mary; born of a woman; a branch of David; a shoot of the root of Jesse;
sprung from the tribe of Judah; descended from the Jews according to the flesh;
of the seed of Abraham, since (A.V.) he took on him the seed of Abraham, and was
made like unto his brethren in all things, sin excepted; so that in truth He is
our IMMANUEL, that is to say, God with us.
As God
pronounced the curse upon all of creation because of the sin of Adam and Eve,
God also opened the mystery of heaven and promised a redeemer (Gen. 3:15).
From this so-called proto-evangel in Genesis God proceeds throughout the
Bible to progressively reveal Himself and make the promise clearer until in
God’s own time the perfection of God’s word appeared in the flesh in the
incarnation of Jesus Christ. This is best set before us in the Gospel of John
where John begins with this truth of Jesus Christ as the divine Logos.
This is one of
the most crucial doctrines of the church. We could go so far as to say that if
this statement concerning Christ’s birth and the hypostatic union (of the
essential essence of) making Jesus Christ fully man and fully God is not true,
then there is no atonement and God has no chosen people. No other explanation
can fill the righteous requirements of God’s judgment and overcome death, and
be accepted by God as fulfillment of all prophecies. Jesus Christ, fully man and
fully God is a mystery not unlike the Godhead itself and cannot be described by
simile or analogy. As Christ said to Peter, “Flesh and blood has not revealed
this to you…” This truth can
only be grasped in faith and this is why it is written in the Bible that without
faith man cannot please God. Faith is so central we find the exact phrase,
“The just shall live by faith,” in the Bible three times.
The Westminster
Standards go to some length showing why it is essential for Jesus Christ to be
both God and man united in eternity. This is one of the doctrines of the church
most often attacked by detractors of the Christian faith. All heresies have at
their root an improper Christology. The Bible is the only source of perfect
truth and the Bible reveals Jesus Christ. Satan’s temptation in the garden
thus began by disputing and trying to cast doubt on the word of God.
It is also
crucial that in the birth of Christ we understand that this is not the beginning
of Christ, but the revelation of God the Son who is without beginning or end.
All things are revealed in God’s time according to God’s divine game plan
for the salvation of the elect for His own glory alone.
Without the
shedding of blood there is no atonement. Without the perfect sacrifice without
blemish there is no atonement. All of which point to the necessity of Jesus
Christ and God Himself providing what man cannot provide for himself. Either
this statement stands, or Christianity is a mere fantasy and there is no hope
for mankind. Yet, the church allows those within her ranks to continue to attack
or diminish this key doctrine. It is correctly written that judgment shall begin
in the house of God and these so-called scholars and teachers along with the
liberal church shall answer to God personally for this blasphemy.
