For our scripture reading this morning, we turn to 1 Corinthians 1. 1 Corinthians 1, which will be quoted in the Heidelberg Catechism that we consider this morning. Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes, our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place, call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours. Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always on your behalf for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ, that in everything ye are enriched by him in all utterance and in all knowledge. even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that ye come behind in no gift, waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you, Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you but Crispus and Gaius. lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name, and I baptized also the household of Stephanas. Besides, I know not whether I baptized any other, for Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness. But unto us which are saved, it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God. It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks, foolishness. But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh Not many mighty, not many noble are called, but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty, and base things of the world, and things which are despised hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, that, according as it is written, he that glorieth Let him glory in the Lord. We read that far in God's holy word. We consider this morning the instruction of the Heidelberg Catechism in Lord's Day Six. Why must he be very man and also perfectly righteous? Because the justice of God requires that the same human nature which hath sinned should likewise make satisfaction for sin. And one who is himself a sinner cannot satisfy for others. Why must he in one person be also very God? that he might, by the power of his Godhead, sustain in his human nature the burden of God's wrath, and might obtain for and restore to us righteousness and life. Who then is that mediator who in one person is in one person both very God and a real righteous man? Our Lord Jesus Christ, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Whence knowest thou this? From the holy gospel, which God himself first revealed in paradise, and afterwards published by the patriarchs and prophets, and represented by the sacrifices and other ceremonies of the law, and lastly, has fulfilled it by his only begotten Son. Beloved in our Lord Jesus Christ, we confess one holy Catholic church, that is, that there has always been and will be one church, and that since the beginning of time. And that even though we are what are called Reformed churches and Protestant churches, that is churches that find our immediate roots in the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. Nevertheless, we find our roots going all the way back to Adam. We can trace our roots back to the apostles, and we can trace our roots to the medieval church. And this Lord's Day gives us opportunity to see those connections. In question answer 19, we're asked how we know what we learn here. And the answer is given from the Holy Gospel, which God first revealed in paradise. which reminds us that what we teach and preach here this morning can be traced all the way back to the beginning of time to God's words in the garden, the mother promise. This Lord's Day brings us to the apostles. In that question and answer 80 quotes the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 1 that we read. And the truth of this Lord's Day is found in 1 Corinthians 1. We obviously are connected here to the Church of the Reformation because what we're studying this morning is a Reformation document. It goes to the very earliest of our Reformation creeds. But then also we are connected to the early church also. In this Lord's Day, we have set forth the truth that the church confessed, and a confession that came based on the Holy Scriptures, based on the gospel published in the Scriptures, but one that came by way of much controversy. For the first three and four hundred years of the church, the church battled over the very issues that we here find as settled and binding. Questions like, was Jesus a real man, or did he just simply appear as a man? Was Jesus a real man with a human body and a human soul, that is, with a human mind and a human will? Or did parts of his Godhead or nature take over other parts, like replace the human will with a divine will? How are the natures of Jesus combined? Is he truly God? And if he's truly God, and if truly man, how can he be both, and how are they united? And are they united in such a way that the human becomes divine, or the divine becomes human? And these issues were finally settled in 381 at the Council of Chalcedon. Finally settled. There had been many disputes and councils before that. But then what we find here in this particular Lord's Day also brings us to the medieval age. Because in medieval times there were questions now about this doctrine. One of the questions was why. And that question was asked particularly by a man called Anselm, Anselm of Canterbury, he became known as. He was an Italian man, born and raised in Italy, but became Archbishop of Canterbury in England. In fact, he is going to be exiled by two kings of England, the two sons of William the Conqueror, because he lives not long after that time of William the Conqueror. Two kings don't agree with the orthodoxy of this man and exile him. And he's known for several theological writings and truths that he sets forth. One of them is that he sets forth what's known as the ontological so-called proof of the existence of God. You really can't prove the existence of God, but they were attempting to do that in medieval times. And this man wrote a book called Proslogonion, and he set that forth. Another thing that he's known for is that he attempted to defend the truth of the philioqua, or the procession of the Spirit from Jesus, the double procession. We've talked about that before. And he defended that at a rather well-known church council over against that of the Greek church. and wrote a book about it. In English, it's called The Procession of the Holy Spirit Against the Greeks. But even more than that, he wrote another book that in Latin is known as Cur Deus Homo, or in English, Why God Became Man. He takes the truths that had been developed and understood in the church, and he asks the question why. That book consists of a dialogue between him and another monk known as Bosso, and they interact. And the truth that he sets forth there is incorporated here in this Lord's Day. He asked that question for the same reason that we asked that question. Why? Why? Because it seems so inappropriate. There's something strange going on here. When God, whom we know and whom we believe to be God over all, the creator, not the creature, would become the creature, would become the very man that he created. And the question is, why? We're going to consider that this morning. First, the necessity of that why. Secondly, the reality of that why. And then the revelation of it. Failure really to ask that question, as Anselm shows, is really a failure of faith. That question is a question that can only arise by faith and will arise if we fully want to appreciate and know our salvation and understand it in all of its riches, which is what development of truth is all about. It's just not simply a matter of the church stating what is true and what is false so that it comes to an understanding of it, but then standing back in awe at the very truth that the Scriptures reveal. And that's the case with this question, why? Why would God become man? Why did he do that? Now you understand that we could ask that question from a number of perspectives, at least two for sure. And one of them is from God Himself. That's not the perspective of the Catechism as such. The perspective of the Catechism really is from us. Why did God become man with regard to us? But you really can and should, if you know the Scriptures, go beyond that. Ask the question more this way, why would God decide to do that? Apart from us, apart from our salvation. Now, our salvation and us certainly enter into the equation. And the reason we may and should ask that question is because the Scriptures make clear that it was God's plan all along to become man. The Scriptures make plain that it wasn't this way, that God decided to make a creation and place in that creation man, and then give man some duty to do, some law to keep, And then man, strangely and unexpectedly on God's part, sinned and fell into a state of condemnation. And God sat there and scratched his head and said, now how am I going to fix this? What am I going to do about this? And he settled on a solution. That's not the idea of Scripture at all. The Scriptures make plain that the very truth that we have set before us was God's desire and will all along, which is to answer the question, why did God become man? And the answer is because it was God's sovereign good pleasure to do that. Without regard to us as such, without regard to the creation as such, God decided to do that. and is that which glorifies the sovereignty of God, God as God. This is exactly what the Scriptures teach when they teach that this Jesus, who is identified here as our Lord Jesus, is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. This is why he's called the firstborn of every creature. He's born several thousands of years into human history at a minimum, and he's still called the firstborn of every creature. He's not some divine afterthought who comes to undo what Satan did, but he's God's first and final purpose. God's purpose is to glorify himself in his Son. And his Son now, not only is God, but man. This is John 1, verses 3 and 4, which set forth the Word that is God and the Word that who is with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of man." Notice that. In him, in this one who created, was the life and the light of the world. You have Colossians 1 verse 16, for by Him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created by Him and for Him. Next time you go outside and look at the creation and marvel at the creation, and you marvel at the power and wisdom of God in making this creation, in creating us as human beings, in creating everything else that we see, And even going beyond that and thinking about the spiritual realm of the angels and God creating all these things, think of Christ not only creating them, but that they were all created for Him. That all of them point to Him in some way. All of them are for His benefit, His glory. You see how that already takes the whole issue of why God became man away from us what God did for our benefit. And that's the perspective here. Now, the answer may be this. In short, why did God become man? Because we needed it. But notice in that answer, even that answer does not set us forth as the need is such. It doesn't set that forth to glorify us as such. And that's evident when you discuss the answer to that question, and it relates the entire issue back to God. How does it do that? By repeating what we learned last week. by pointing out that the real issue here is that God's justice must be satisfied. There's something about God. There's something about God that must be satisfied and dealt with and that concerns Him. And that's done to abase and humble man. It's intended to set forth, as we noticed last week, that everything here is meant to show us there is nothing in you that can produce what is necessary to live, to live with God. There is nothing in you and that you can produce that will save you from sin and from death, which are your misery. So it takes this approach to magnify God, which is exactly where 1 Corinthians 1 ends up, did it not? 1 Corinthians 1, which is quoted here in this Lord's Day, ends the very next verse, that, according as it is written, he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. That's what Anselm desires to bring out here. He doesn't simply desire to set forth some sort of logical argumentation that demonstrates the need for Christ as such. But the idea is that the need is such that only God can provide him, and God he must be. So let's look at the things that Anselm points out And we may say that these are conditions that God must fulfill in order for us to be saved. We may say that these are the situation, this is the circumstance, this is the reality that must be dealt with, that must be reckoned with. And all of these things God deals with. He fulfills. He carries out, as it were. First of all, notice we must be provided a mediator and deliverer. That comes from Lords Day 5. What sort of mediator and deliverer must we then seek for? And then you will notice in Lords Day 6, The word mediator comes out, and the word deliverer is only implied. Question answer 18, who then is that mediator who is this and that? That sets forth something to us, which is Christ isn't a mediator and deliverer, that he's two distinct, separate things, but the idea is that he delivers by mediation. He delivers by being the mediator. Why do we need that? And the idea is that the word mediator sets forth that what needs to be restored and dealt with and considered is a relationship. When we simply look at what Christ does as salvation, which is indeed a part of His name, the Savior, He is our Savior, we may never really look at that apart from a relationship. A mediator is someone who deals with two in a relationship. where there's reconciliation that needs to be made, where a restoration has to be made. And the salvation now serves the restoration of the relationship. The salvation carries out something that must be done in order for two to be in friendship and fellowship. And we noticed that last week. The question wasn't simply what now must be done for us to escape punishment, or what must be done for us to be saved, but what must be done for us to be received into God's favor, into his favor. That is, be received into that relationship of grace and love with God. So that, first of all, we have to understand before you even consider the qualifications. What's required is a mediator, a deliverer, a deliverer who delivers by way of mediation. And we saw that in this regard, the main thing about mediation is satisfaction has to be made. That which stands in the way of reconciliation is that one people, one party, the people of God, man who has fallen, has to satisfy the justice of God. That's the issue. So when one looks at, well, how can satisfaction be made? It must be a mediator, number one, who is a real man. It's quite something that the church battled over these issues. perhaps didn't always realize why, why they must insist on it, why the truth was so important, but that's often the way it is. The church was forced to go to Scripture and say, on the basis of Scripture, is Jesus a man? We'll notice also that the church had to ask the question, is Jesus also God? Now what's interesting is the church was forced to go to Scripture and rely entirely on what Scripture teaches. Because if you use any sort of human logic, that is human wisdom, that which the apostle calls foolishness, you will not arrive at the real answer. Anyone who attempted to solve that issue, is he God? and then looked at it, or is he man, and settled on one or the other in one way or the other, denied the Savior, denied Christ, denied this very reality. That's the importance of trusting in Scripture, and what Scripture says, even if you can't make sense of it sometime. The church had to realize he's God and man, because that's what Scripture speaks, and then in what sense. Christ is a real man, the church decided, because that's what the Bible teaches. What that means is he's entirely man like you and I are men and women, human beings. What does it mean to be a human being? Well, the church decided He must be a real human being in every sense, except one, we're going to see. He has to have a human mind, and a human will, and a human mouth, and a human soul, and a human body. Not only that, but he has to be a man as was created. What I mean is, he couldn't just be a special creation that came from nowhere. There has to be some sort of connection, some organic connection to the human race. God couldn't just make a man that came out of nowhere, as it were, a special creation. He must truly be a son of Adam. He must come right out of Adam. He must also be a son of David and a son of Abraham and other such things. That's what he must be. And if you ask the question why, the answer really is because the human nature, the human being that sinned must make satisfaction. No special creation can do it. No animal, no creature, no other thing can make satisfaction for what man did. Man sinned. Man must pay. But notice also one other qualification. He must be perfectly righteous. One thing to come up with a man, one thing to come up with a man who might possibly conceivably make satisfaction, but now he has to be righteous, yes. Yes, says the scriptures. Yes, says the church. Because no man who has sinned can satisfy for the sins of others. He has his own sin to pay for. Now, notice that already we have an impossibility. From man's perspective, that's an impossibility. There is a reason why. There were people who, when they asked the question, is Jesus man, said, no, He can't be man. There were reasons why people said, well, He can't have a human mind and a human will. He can't really have a human soul. His soul must be divine. And His will must be divine. In fact, He's really divine and not human at all. All He does is look like a human. He appears like a human, you know, like the angels did. And why? Because of the impossibility of it. Even before you consider God here, you have an impossibility. There's no human being who's perfectly righteous. And that even before we move on. But then the question is, well, why man? Or just man? Can he be just man, only man? And the answer is no, he can't. He must also be very God. And notice, in one person, this very same person, the same individual, must also be God, and entirely God. God out of God. Not simply appearing as God. Not simply being God-like. Not simply having some of the perfections of God. Not simply being God in the sense that He's greater than all other human beings. No. God out of God. Truly God. God in every sense of the word. Again, we are struck by something that's an impossibility. in one person, God and man. And I'll remind you here too, the church came to realize that it can't be a fusion and a union in Christ where the natures mingle and become mixed up and confused. So that pretty soon you have a human nature that has the qualities of the divine being, like omnipresence. and being all-knowing or invisible, being spirit, nor may the divine nature become human. There has to be a divine nature that stays divine, a human nature that stays human in every sense and in one person. Why? that he might, by the power of his Godhead, sustain in his human nature the burden of God's wrath. That's quite something, that even a perfectly righteous human nature couldn't sustain God's wrath. Now you have to understand what that sustain means, too, as the idea of sustaining God's wrath in such a way that one goes into death and comes out of it. That's implied when we add, and might obtain for and restore to us righteousness and life. Do you see all the impossibilities stacking up here? It can't be a Savior who simply just does something, disconnected from others, but has to do something and then impart it to others, give it to others. He has to restore righteousness, that is perfection, that is to be as righteous as God is righteous, and life. Give life to the damned. Give life to the condemned. Give life to those who have no life. And the person that does that has to be dead. Anytime that we take this all for granted, beloved, we're in trouble. There is a reason for almost 400 years the church fought and battled and wrote confessions to make sure they understood this right. Because at every turn, it's impossible. Now you understand what Paul meant when he said, this is all foolishness to men. It doesn't make any sense. And that's because man wants something that makes sense, something that he can figure out. But the wisdom of God, you can only find in Scripture. You can only find in Christ, as we're going to see. So the point is, there's only one mediator and deliverer. There's only one who meets these qualifications. There's only one who can carry this out. Only one can do that. And it literally is God doing the impossible. God doing the impossible. That's why when we stumble over the miracles, they're nothing. That's why when men stumble over the creation, that's nothing. That is nothing to the miracle of God becoming man. Fully man, truly man, and forever man. God is still man. Doesn't even seem right to say. But that's the reality. That's the truth. That's what's necessary for our salvation. And that's how blasphemous it is. That's how profane it is when we imagine that somehow we can provide these things, that we could accomplish this, that we could make this happen by our own righteousness, even by our own faith. No. No. Now, when you talk about the reality of all this, what we're talking about here is the questions asked, well, then, who is this? We all know the answer, our Lord Jesus Christ. But even here, we need to pause. Notice that when it comes to our salvation in the catechism here in Lords Day 6, it does not point us to a lot of things that Jesus did or will work out. Now, that's coming. We have a whole section here on man's deliverance. It's going to set forth the work of Christ through His Spirit, the gift of faith, regeneration, calling, the gathering and defending of the church, the glorification of the church. It's going to set forth that salvation in detail, the mediation of Christ in detail, what happened in the atonement. All these things are going to be set forth. But notice they're all secondary. Another thing we need to be reminded of. It sets forth Jesus. It doesn't even set forth really what He does. It doesn't set forth what He does for us or what He does in us. That's important. It is important that we be reminded when it comes to our deliverance and our salvation, everything is bound up in Christ. So that you can have set forth the truth out of 1 Corinthians 1.30 that incorporates the whole business. Who is that mediator? Notice, not what does he do. What does he carry out? Now, that's part of it, don't forget. When we ask the question, why? Why must he be who he is? It's because this has to be done and that has to be done. He has to sustain wrath. He has to be perfectly righteous. He has to impart. But when it all comes down to it, it all comes down to him himself. Who is that Mediator? Who is your Savior? Who is your Deliverer? And notice the answer. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who of God, is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Now what's amazing about that verse is we all know full well that Jesus redeems us. Redemption is an act of Jesus. It's something he does. We know that wisdom is something we think. Wisdom is something that goes on in our mind. And when we say that Jesus is our wisdom, that's different than how we often think of it, that Jesus works wisdom. He makes us wise. We know that Jesus imputes righteousness by justification. He imputes it to us. He transfers it to us legally, or sanctification. We know full well that in Scripture, sanctification is something that God works in us. God sanctifies us so that we actually live in a holy way. But before we even get there, the truth of the matter is that Jesus Himself is all these things. In other words, there is no salvation. There is no redemption. There's no wisdom. There's no righteousness. And there's no sanctification apart from him. A child of God may and must actually be able to say, I'm sanctified in Christ. He's my sanctification. It's actually how 1 Corinthians starts out. You go back and look. That's what the baptism forum talked about, being sanctified in Christ. He's my wisdom, He's my righteousness, He's my sanctification, and He's my redemption. That's the heart of the issue, that's the heart of the matter. Now we could all relate these things. We're going to do that in a little bit. Redemption, we know, is the purchase of us. It's the satisfaction of the justice of God such that we become Christ's. He pays what we cannot pay. He redeems us. He purchases us. He buys us. He owns us. Righteousness has to do with justification. It has to do with meeting the standard of God's law. Sanctification has to do with a holy life, being dedicated to God so that we love Him with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. And then there's wisdom. I want to just focus for a moment on wisdom. What's striking about 1 Corinthians 1 is that the whole chapter is basically about wisdom. And Paul is doing that, of course, for a reason. He's speaking mainly to Greeks who thought a lot about wisdom. Wisdom being how man looks at things, looks at reality, and adapts to that reality. And the Greeks had a very, very strong sense of that in their own mind. And God sweeps it all away and says, it's all foolishness. Wisdom is Christ. Christ is God's perfect adaptation to himself and the reality of himself. What's set forth here is the wisdom of Christ in that, do you see, when it comes to the reality of God, that His justice must be satisfied. And if God is going to dwell with us and live with us in an everlasting covenant of fellowship and friendship, if we are going to live who are dead in trespasses and sins, if there is going to be perfection and anything else, God must be our wisdom. God must provide that wisdom. And Jesus is that. He is our wisdom. This is God saying, one who will be wise can be wise only in Christ by believing in him, by believing in him. And if you ask, well, what does faith believe? Faith believes exactly what is found there in question, that's 18. Faith doesn't look at itself, doesn't look at what it does, doesn't look at what it thinks, doesn't look at what it knows. Faith doesn't even look at the love that it produces, and it does produce it as fruit. Faith looks at Christ and says, He's my wisdom. Before I open my mouth and say anything, I'm going to go look at what Christ says. When I compare myself to the law of God and the righteousness of God and see if I measure up, there's only one place I can go, and that's Christ. When I want to look at my life and compare the holiness that God requires of me, I look at Christ. When I want to know who I belong to, when I think about satisfaction and justice, I have to go to Christ. And that's the gospel. We spent a long time this morning on the last question and answer. It's very important to understand that. When we talk about preaching Christ crucified, when we preach about the scriptures and the word and what's set forth there, the whole point of it all, in question answer 19, is it's Christ that's presented in the scriptures. He's the gospel. The gospel, you have to understand, is basically simply the announcing of the promise of God. It's the revelation of God's promise. God's promise to do what? Really, God's promise to provide Christ, it's that simple. It's not more difficult than that. It's the good news that God has provided Christ, and here he is. Here is the one who fulfills every single promise of God. Wherever you look, you will find that promise. Now notice, the promise isn't as such the Holy Scripture. The Holy Scripture contains the promise. That's evident when you go and it says the promise was first set forth in the garden, in paradise, And you'll notice that promise was even spoken to the devil. But the crushing of the head of the devil was a promise to Adam and Eve sitting there. And in that promise they believed. But did they simply just believe in the words of God as such? No. They believed in the fulfillment of those words of God. And that again brings us to Christ. Christ is the fulfillment of the covenant of God. Christ is the fulfillment of the promise of God. Christ is the fulfillment of all the Scriptures. And it's been there from the beginning. What's amazing is question answer 19 acknowledges that Christ was even published in the law. When you go back to the Old Testament, you look at the law, and there's a lot that's in Hebrews about that, how God published that even in the face of Moses. People said, cover it up. It was a big mistake. But all those utensils, and that temple, and that tabernacle, and all those sacrifices, what did they do? They were all publishing Christ. They were saying, He's the one, not us. Don't look at all these sheep being slaughtered. Don't look at all these priests in their white robes. Don't look even at the Ark of the Covenant sitting there in that tent. And they pointed that out throughout the Old Testament, where they slowly all fade away into oblivion. The royal line of David is cut down to a stump. Solomon's temple is destroyed. The ark is missing. The priests are corrupt. And here he comes, Christ, the fulfillment of all the promises. That's what we confess here this morning. And this is what we confess as those who are baptized into him. Here's a connection to baptism. Baptism is the sign and seal of being incorporated into Christ by his very work, by his very work imparting his spirit unto us so that we become one with him. And being one with him, it may be said, I believe that He is my wisdom. He is my righteousness. He is my sanctification. He is my redemption. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father, which art in heaven, O Lord, we thank Thee for Thy Word, the wonderful gospel and good news about our Lord Jesus Christ that has been published in all the world now. Give us faith, O Lord, to cling to that promise, to trust in Thee, our God, who has done such wondrous things for us. In Jesus' name, amen.