PIK Doctrinal Instruction (Part 1 – God and Salvation)

Published on by Christopher C. Chapman

doctrine

THE APOSTLES’ CREED

I believe in God the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ his only begotten Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended to the dead; the third day he rose from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of God the Father almighty; from where he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the dead and in everlasting life. Amen

 

The Divine Attributes

  1. Are there more Gods than one?

There is only one true and living God, who exists in three Persons; the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; and these three are one God, sharing the same divine nature, equal in power & glory.     

  1. When did God begin to exist?

God has no beginning and no end, He is self-existent & eternal.

  1. What are God’s limitations?

God is infinite in all His attributes; He is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent.    

  1. Is there anything God cannot do?

There is only one thing God cannot do; God cannot do evil.

  1. /cancel/ Does God have a physical body?

God is spirit, He is not made up of any parts, but is simple and perfect in all his attributes.

  1. /cancel/ Does God change?

God does not change, He is immutable in His perfection.

  1. Is God good?

God is good in all His attributes; He is holy, righteous, true, faithful, wise, just, merciful & loving.

  1. Over what does God reign?

God is sovereign over all things, there is nothing outside of His control.

  1. If everything is under God’s control, does that mean that God determined all things, including sin?

God predetermined all things; He determined what He would do & what He would allow free creatures to do.

 

God the Father

  1. Who created all things?

God the Father created all things through and for His Son, and filled creation with His Spirit.

  1. What was God’s eternal purpose in the creation of the world?

God the Father determined to glorify His Son and through Him to display the immeasurable riches of His grace

  1. How did God determine to accomplish this purpose?

The Father determined to call a people out of darkness, pardon them, adopt them as His children through the redemptive work of His Son, and grant them to rule and reign under the authority of His exalted Son forever.

  1. How did God determine whom He would adopt as His children?

God the Father, in accordance with the counsel of His own will, for His own eternal purpose, determined before the world began whom He would redeem through His Son.

  1. Did God the Father choose people because He foresaw something good in them?

God the Father didn’t see anything good in anyone except what He determined to work in them by His grace and for His purpose.

  1. If people were not chosen by their good works, by what criteria did God the Father choose His people?

God the Father determined, in accordance with His eternal foreknowledge, to accept those who would through grace believe in His Son.

  1. If God the Father has already determined who will be saved, does that mean our prayers and evangelism are in vain?

God the Father has determined who will be saved in accordance with His perfect foreknowledge of the prayers and evangelistic efforts of His people; He has granted His people to be co-laborers with Him, therefore our laborers are not in vain.

The Son of God

  1. Who is the Redeemer of God’s chosen people?

The only Redeemer of God’s chosen people is the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal and living Word of God, who became man and who continues to be God and man in two distinct natures and one person forever; He is the Son of God.

  1. How did Christ, being the eternal Word of God, become human?

Christ, the living Word of God became human by assuming a real body and a reasoning soul, being conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary and born of her, yet without sin; for this reason He is called the Son of God.

  1. /edit or cancel/ What offices does Christ execute as our Redeemer?

Christ, as our Redeemer, executes the offices of prophet, priest and king, both in His humiliation and exaltation.

  1. /cancel/ How does Christ execute the office of a prophet?

Christ executes the office of a prophet, in revealing to us, by His Word and Spirit, the will of God for our salvation.

  1. /edit/  How does Christ execute the office of a priest?

Christ executes the office of a priest, in His once offering up himself as a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice, and reconcile us to God; and in making continual intercession for us at the right hand of God the Father.

  1. /edit/ How does Christ execute the office of a king?

Christ executes the office of a king, in subduing us to himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all His and our enemies.

  1. In what way did Christ humble Himself?

Christ’s humiliation consisted in His being born as a man, and in that low condition, being made under the law, undergoing the miseries of this life, the rejection of man, the judgment of God for our sake, and the cursed death on the cross for our sin; in being buried, and continuing under the power of death for a time.

  1. In what way was Christ exalted?

Christ’s exaltation consists in His rising again from the dead on the third day, in ascending up into heaven, in sitting at the right hand of God the Father, and in coming to judge the world at the last day.

The Holy Spirit of God

  1. When Christ ascended to heaven did He leave His people alone to work out their salvation?

When Christ ascended to heaven He did not leave His people alone, but He poured out God’s Holy Spirit upon them.

  1. What is the primary ministry of the Holy Spirit towards God’s people?

The primary purpose of God’s Spirit on earth is to make God the Father known to His people by revealing Jesus Christ, Who is the express image of His Father, to them.

  1. What is the ministry of the Holy Spirit towards the world?

The Holy Spirit comes to convince the world about the sinfulness of sin, the righteousness of Christ and the eternal judgment to come.

  1. How is God’s Spirit involved in the conversion of sinners?

The Holy Spirit enables people in bondage to sin to turn from rebellion and place their trust in Christ, and so escape the wrath of God.

  1. What does the Holy Spirit do in those who repent and believe?

The Holy Spirit indwells all those who through enabling grace repent of their sins and trust in Christ, and by so doing transforms them into new creatures, giving them a firm desire to love and obey God; this is called regeneration.

  1. How does the Holy Spirit comfort the new believer?

The Holy Spirit comforts the new believer by pouring out God’s love into his heart and testifying to his spirit that he is indeed a child of God.

  1. What else does the Holy Spirit do for God’s people?

God’s Spirit progressively forms holiness in the believer by giving him the knowledge of God’s will through the illumination of the Scriptures, and by giving him both the willingness and ability to do obey God’s will.

  1. Why is the Holy Spirit called the Spirit of Truth?

God’s Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth because He inspired and illuminates the Scriptures, and because He guards God’s people from error by guiding them into all truth; all truth is found in Jesus Christ alone through the Bible which testifies about Him.

  1. What will the Holy Spirit do for those who continue trusting in Christ until the end?

At the return of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit will transform the corrupt bodies of those who persevere in faith into glorious and incorruptible bodies; the same kind of body Jesus Christ now has.

Mankind

  1. How was man originally created?

God formed man by the dust of the ground and breathed into him the breath of life.

  1. Was man created good?

Man was created very good, he bore the image of God.

  1. What does it mean that man was created in the image of God?

God’s image in man was manifest in a righteous and holy character; a relational, reasonable and volitional constitution; and in the authority which was bestowed on man in his innocence to rule the earth as God’s vice regent.

  1. What is the primary purpose of man?

The primary purpose of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

  1. Did man remain good?

The first man, Adam, became a rebel by transgressing God’s command, and for this reason was cast out of God’s presence.

  1. Did the first man’s transgression affect his offspring?

Through the transgression of Adam, sin, separation from God and death entered the world and spread to all men.

  1. What is sin?

Sin is rebellion against God in general and transgression against His commands in particular.

  1. Do all people commit sin?

Except for Christ, all people have not only sinned against God, but have become slaves to sin.

  1. If all men are slaves to sin, why does God hold them responsible for their sin?

Men are willful slaves to sin, they cannot obey God only because they do not want to obey God; they are self-centered and hostile to God, to His truth and to His ways.

  1. How will God punish sinful men?

God, in His holy wrath, will cast all unredeemed people away from His presence to a place of eternal punishment called hell.

The Church and Salvation

  1. Who is God’s holy and chosen people?

The Church of Jesus Christ is God’s chosen people, and is made up of all true Christians.

  1. What does it mean that the Church was chosen in Jesus Christ?

The Church was chosen in Jesus Christ: this means that we have not been adopted as God’s children because of our good works but because God has accepted of the redeeming work of Jesus Christ on our behalf.

  1. How did we come to share in the redeeming work of Jesus Christ?

We enter into Christ and share in His redeeming work on our behalf by trusting that His atoning sacrifice alone covers all of our sins and reconciles us to God; this is saving faith.

  1. Can someone be reconciled to God without repentance?

A person must out of a true sense of their sin, with grief and hatred towards it, turn from sin to God, and pursue an obedient life; without this repentance they cannot be reconciled to God because those who live in rebellion to God cannot fellowship with Him.

  1. How did God deliver us out of darkness?

God delivered us out of darkness and bondage to sin by converting our hearts through grace; God, by prevenient grace, led us to genuine repentance and saving faith.

  1. How does God sanctify the Church?

God sanctifies the Church by writing His eternal and holy law on our hearts by the Holy Spirit; our hearts are purified through the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit.

  1. What has God promised His people?

God has promised to resurrect us from the dead and give us eternal life, and to faithfully guard us and bring us into that life.

  1. What condition does God put on the promise of eternal life?

God promises to give us eternal life if we hold our original faith firm until the end.

  1. Can someone who has saving faith consciously live in habitual sin?

Saving faith always leads to a lifestyle of obedience; faith that does not produce habitual obedience is not saving faith.

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