Category: Netherlands Confession (Long Lessons)

I. The Diety of the Christ. A. Negatively: Not made nor created. 1. Many heretics have so maintained: that Christ WAS created or made. a. Arius (condemned by the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D.) was willing to call Christ “the Son of God” as a title. He was “god-like” but not the essence of…

I. The subject of this article: the Holy Spirit. A. His double procession: Filioque. 1. This question was that which separated the Eastern (Greek) from Western (Latin) Church. a. The Greek Church denied procession of the Spirit from the Son. b. The Western Church adopted this truth officially. 1) The question arose already from the…

I. Creation as such. A. It is creation by the Triune God: The Father by the Word through the Spirit. B. The purpose of Creation: 1. “As it seemed good unto Him.” a. Creation is according to God’s good pleasure–He is free to create or not to create as He wills. b. Creation is a…

I. The idea of “Providence.” A. The word itself: 1. Means: to see beforehand. 2. According to the article: “He rules and governs all creatures according to His holy will, so that nothing happens in this world without His appointment. “ B. The elements in Providence: 1. Preservation: a. That God not only created but…

I. The good creation of man. A. A unique creation: 1. He is FORMED out of the dust of the earth. 2. God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. B. The meaning of man’s creation: 1. He is made head over all things in the earth–its king. a. He serves as representative of…

I. What original sin is: A. The term itself. 1. It has reference to the first sin committed. a. The term suggests that there is more to this sin than simply an act of rebellion. b. For this sin had its fruit in Adam and his posterity. 2. The two parts of “original sin”: a.…

I. The idea of “predestination.” A. The term itself. 1. It means: foreordained; destination or end determined before. a. The term is used in Scripture: Romans 8:30; Eph. 1:5. b. It is the decree of God whereby He determined eternally the end of all creatures. 2. This pre-determination includes: a. Angels (good and evil): I…

I. The Covenant of Grace. A. Covenants as such. 1. A covenant is: a. Literally–a coming together. b. Hebrew word means: a cutting–referring to the practice of dividing and walking between the pieces of animals which had been divided in half. 2. The various covenants: a. Often is mentioned the “Counsel of Peace” or, Covenant…

I. The Fulfillment of promise. A. The promise which was given: 1. To Adam in paradise. a. In Genesis 3:15 (the “mother-promise”). 1) Speaks of an enmity which exists between two seeds. 2) An assurance of final victory of the one seed. 3) The victorious seed of the woman is Christ. b. In the clothing…

I. The Natures of Christ. A. What these are: 1. The Divine Nature. a. It is that which God is. b. The Divine Nature includes possession of all the attributes of God: eternity; onmnipotence; wisdom; etc. 2. The human nature. a. Though it is difficult to separate the human nature and person, this nature of…