The Second Article – Brother, Lord, Redeemer

The Second Article of the Creed – Jesus

Advent Midweek 2

INI

Last week, we talked about God’s work as a Father. He’s the Creator and sustainer of all things. He’s the provider of all our bodily needs in this life. He guards and protects us against the evil foe’s snares which seek our spiritual demise. All these things He does for us – not because we deserve it. But because He’s a good Father.

And today, our sermon is on the second article of the Apostle’s Creed, which confesses the Son, Jesus. Naturally, if God were a Father, it wouldn’t be such a stretch to say He has a Son. This article of the Creed confesses who this Jesus is, and what He has done in His life to become our LORD. Thus, He has redeemed our life from the tyrant Satan, brought us out of slavery to freedom – all this He has done by lying down His own life as a substitute for ours. By His holy precious blood shed on the cross, Jesus Christ becomes a Savior to the world.

This is our confession in the Apostle’s Creed. If you notice, when we confess Jesus, we simply confess the historical events of His life: conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, crucified, died, was buried. Descended into hell. Rose from the dead. Ascended into heaven. Sits at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and dead.

This confession of God is not based in speculation or unseen spirituality. Rather, it’s based in history. God doesn’t distance Himself from creation. He comes to dwell in the midst of it. He humbles Himself to be born of flesh. To not only be obedient to His Heavenly Father. Not only to be a Savior to the human race who’ve proven to be rebellious children to the Father. But also be our brother and friend. He manifests God’s desired relationship with mankind. His compassion drives Him to come to heal and make us well.

It’s often interesting to hear what the world has to say about Jesus. Typically speaking, unbelievers will see Jesus’ theology and actions as almost a whole different religion than the apostles and prophets. They see the apostle’s and prophets as religious institutionalists and Jesus as friendly to the outcasts, loving to all people, and compassionate to the lowly. They often love Jesus’ actions of compassion – particularly when he saved the prostitute from being stoned to death in John 8, or when he tells the parable of the Prodigal son in Luke 15. The world loves Jesus’ compassion –how couldn’t someone see it as admirable? There would be something wrong in their head if they saw Jesus’ care and compassion for the lowly and not think there to be something particularly beautiful and virtuous about that life.

But even though unbelievers love those parts of Jesus – particularly, they love the ethic to love your neighbor as yourself – but they hate everything else about Jesus. They hate the cleansing blood of Jesus, because that teaches that we have sins we need to be cleansed of. And no one likes being told they’re sinners. They hate Jesus’ teachings, particularly the Sermon on the Mount, because Jesus obliterates the sins of our current modern culture. Most of all, they hate Jesus’ miracles. Because science can’t prove them to be true. And as a society that runs on scientism – the idea that science is the only way to understand reality – that means Jesus’ healings, control over nature, exorcisms, and His own resurrection are bogus and unimportant to Jesus. Because they will say what really matters isn’t all the institutional jargon with those far-fetched miracles. All that matters is knowing that Jesus was a friend and brother.

Now, it’s important to know that Jesus is our brother. Though, not merely because it indicates friendliness and a fraternal bond that we have with Jesus. But seeing Jesus as our brother tells us that He’s made up of the same stuff we are. We both have flesh and blood. We both have mothers. We both grew up, had trials and temptations. He’s one of us. Thus, as a good brother and friend, Jesus has fulfilled the obligations of the Father’s Law where we have failed. Believers can intimately call Jesus ‘brother’ because we share the same heavenly Father. Jesus is called the “Son of God”. But Israel was also called God’s son in Exodus 4:22 – “Thus says the Lord, ‘Israel is my firstborn son’”. And we, the church, are the new Israel. That makes Jesus our brother. Yet, Jesus is the good brother.

Because we fall short of our Father’s glory. We fail to keep even the smallest jot and tittle of the Law. The standard of God’s Law is too high. For Jesus says, “You must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” That’s why Jesus as our flesh and blood brother is so necessary. Because He, as the substitute for every sinful man, has come to fulfill the Law through His own active obedience where we have failed in our obedience.

Now, though Jesus is our brother and friend, He’s much more than just that. Jesus as our brother alone can’t save us. He’s come to be our Savior. He’s come to lead us out of slavery. Thus, most importantly, He’s come to be our LORD. That’s the term Luther often uses in the Large Catechism to describe Jesus in the second article of the Creed, because that is the unique designation the Apostle’s Creed uses to confess Jesus: our LORD!

To have a Lord is to be possessed by another. Today, we use this term to describe people who own the house one might rent. We call them “landlords”. In the ancient world, those who were called lords had power over their subjects. Occasionally, they ruled with an iron fist. You could think of slavery as an example, as the Bible itself does. Egypt served as lord over the children of Israel, as they were slaves. In the New Testament, sin, death, and the devil serve as lords over sinners. For Jesus said in John 8:34, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.” Conversely, Paul teaches in Romans 6:14 that “sin will have no lordship over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” Dead in our trespasses and sins, we were under condemnation, slaves under the mastery of Satan.

Yet, to claim us as His own, the Father sent Jesus to deliver us from the lordship of darkness to be transferred to the Kingdom of His beloved Son. This was done not with gold and silver, but with His crucified body and blood on the cross, which serves as an atoning sacrifice for sin. Living under King Jesus, He serves as Lord. And in His kingdom, believers live, not in self-righteousness, therefore, under condemnation. But under the righteousness of Jesus, by whose blood we are made His own.

Living underneath the rule of our Lord, Jesus, you are united with him by saving faith. Saving faith is so much more than accepting that certain facts of history are true. For example, that Jesus lived, died, and rose again. That’s religionism – the belief that accepting the basic tenets of a religion saves someone. That’s not real faith. Even the demons believe in a historical Jesus, and they shudder! So, confessing the historical story of the Creed – the incarnation, suffering, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension – that confession does us no good, unless we also confess Him to be our LORD!

Saving faith is trust in the sinner’s heart that receives and holds on to the promise that the forgiveness of sins gained by Christ’s work on the cross is for all sinners, and that trusts that it is for all people, including him. It’s a trust and belief that Jesus frees from the bondage of sin to live as those who belong to Him and live under Him in His kingdom forever. Additionally, we look forward to the day when sin, death, and devil no longer hinder us from serving Him with a clean conscience, and we can serve Him with complete devotion in peace and joy forever.

Jesus is many things. He’s friendly. He’s compassionate. He’s our brother. But none of those things matter unless we confess that Jesus is our LORD too. For apart from His redemptive work, we will damned to sin. But through genuine faith, we’re saved. For saving faith submits to Jesus’ lordship, and clings to the historical work of Jesus who frees us from our sins, claims us as His own, and empowers us to live lives of service to Him. This is who Jesus is to the world. This is who Jesus is for you.

INI

Pastor Joshua Ralston