Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions

Scripture Text: Acts 1:9

Jesus ascended; he was raised to the Father's side in heaven so that he may share in the fullness of divinity (Phil 2:9). He is not simply God, nor only a man; Jesus is now God in the flesh, seated at the Father's right hand.

Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions

Scripture Text: 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

We cannot live with Jesus in eternity if he is not there. If God’s Christ is still dead and buried in the ground, we cannot live with him in heaven—nor can we live there without him.

Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions

Scripture Text: Philippians 2:9-11

In reference to yesterday's lesson on Christ Jesus preaching to those spirits in prison, many people want to know who these spirits are and what this prison is exactly. It is enough to know the universality of Christ's sovereignty.

Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions

Scripture Text: Matthew 16:21

In order to emphasize the fact of Jesus’ death, the creed states that he was buried. Burial is necessary for those who are truly human and have died. In other words, Jesus was not an apparition; he was a man who had actually died.

Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions

Scripture Text: John 19:30

Did Jesus really die? If he is God, can God die? Some say that he did not actually die. It is called the “swoon theory,” meaning Jesus only fainted on the cross, was presumed dead, then carried off to his grave.

Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions

Scripture Text: Luke 23:22–24

Jesus, innocent man and holy God, was condemned to suffer the cruelest death the Romans had at their disposal. He would be crucified. His crucifixion was mere expedience in Pilate’s mind.

Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions

Scripture Text: John 6:54–63

Even in the conception of Jesus in the womb of Mary we see that human works had no play. Mary did nothing. Joseph surely did nothing. The poor man was very likely stunned at the news...

Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions

Scripture Text: Luke 1:35

Jesus was born of the virgin named Mary but he was conceived by God. The Holy Spirit was the fathering agent, therefore the holy child was of two natures: divine and human. Jesus was born in “the likeness of men," that is, he is similar to a man.

Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions

Scripture Text: Romans 10:9

We moderns, especially in Western cultures, tend to speak of the heart as being an emotional vessel. In the consideration of the ancient Hebrews, the heart was the seat of thought and will, as well as emotion.

Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions

Scripture Text: Philippians 2:9–11

As Jesus is master over life and death, so he is Lord of all things in life and death. He is God over all creation: in heaven, on earth, and even under the earth.

Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions

Scripture Text: Romans 8:32

As Abraham did not spare his own Son when God commanded it of him, God did not spare his own Son when his will demanded it of himself. Through this precious, only Son, he has redeemed the creation he loves.

Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions

Scripture Text: John 1:14

Just as God settled among his people in the Old Testament, God now “tabernacles” among those who believe. He does so through his Son, Christ Jesus, who is the exact image of God.

Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions

Scripture Text: Isaiah 61:1

Sometimes the Old Testament speaks of the king as an anointed one, a person on whom God’s blessing rests. A priest would pour a flask of oil over the king’s head as a symbol that God had anointed him king.


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