Commentary on Christian Doctrine

  Commentary on Christian Doctrine (Westminster Confession of Faith Larger Catechism)   There are many denominations in Christianity, and each denomination has its own doctrines, and there are parts that are interpreted and defined differently. The reason why they set their own doctrines and make themselves exclusive denominations is that Christianity has become a religion. This is because they focus on how Christianity is different from other religions. However, Christianity is not a religion, but life itself toward God. People simply left God and created their own religion. This is what happened because the Christian community tried to differentiate itself from other religions. Originally, Christianity had no doctrine, but if there were to be a doctrine, it would only have two words: the death of Jesus Christ on the cross and the resurrection. In addition, if necessary, it would be helpful to have a commentary that interprets the meaning of the Bible for important pa...

  Question 1. What is man's first and highest end? Answer. Man's first and highest end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him completely forever. Genesis 2:7 "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being (nephesh hai)." Nephesh hai means living being. It is not eternal life, but limited life. However, the first man was created in the image of God. Genesis 1:26-27 "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them. God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'" God created the first man in His own image, and He created them male and female. Believers must realize that the first man and the man and the woman are different beings. The first man is Chris...

  Question 2. How is God ’ s existence revealed? Answer. The natural light in man and the creatures God has made clearly declare the existence of God. However, only the Word of God and the Holy Spirit can sufficiently and effectively reveal God to people so that they can attain salvation. Romans 1:19-23 『 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, because God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they glorified him not as God, nor were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for images made in the form of corruptible man and of birds and beasts and creeping things. 』 God reveals Himself through the reve...

  Question 3. What is the Word of God? Answer. The Old and New Testaments are the Word of God and the only rule of faith and practice. According to the law of faith, the word of God can be found in the two main branches of the law and the gospel. The law can be said to be a commandment of action, “ Do or do not do, ” but the word of the law is a word that makes people realize that they are beings who cannot completely keep God ’ s commandments and to find Christ, and the gospel is that Christ has come, and if you enter into Christ, you will be saved. Therefore, the word of God can be said to be the law of faith that leads to salvation. However, if we look at it based on the only law of works, the law can be transformed into legalism. Because legalism emphasizes works, the gospel can be separate from works. If you enter into the faith of Jesus Christ, you will be saved, but it attaches a condition that works must follow. Attaching this condition is legalism. James 2:14-17 W...

  Question 4. How can we know that the Bible is the Word of God?  Answer. The Bible itself shows that it is the Word of God. The dignity and purity of the Bible itself, and the unity of all its parts, show that it is the Word of God. The fact that the Bible is the Word of God is to give all glory to God, and it is shown by its light and power to convince, repent, comfort, nurture, and save sinners. However, only the Spirit of God, who testifies with the Bible in the heart of man, can fully convince that the Bible is the Word of God. The Bible is divided into the Old Testament and the New Testament, and the Old Testament was written in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek. The Bible is a book that God spoke to humans through the power of the Holy Spirit through a person chosen by God, and it is a book about sin and salvation, prophecies about the Messiah, and the appearance of the Messiah and eternal life. According to the doctrine, "Only the Spirit of God bearing witness ...

  Question 5. What does the Bible mainly teach? Answer. The Bible mainly teaches what man should believe about God and what duties God requires of man. The Bible teaches what God's covenant with his people is, specifically, in the Old Testament, the coming of the Messiah and the restoration of Israel, and in the New Testament, the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, and freedom from sin and resurrection life through Jesus Christ. Therefore, the Bible does not teach me how to believe in God, but teaches me to deny myself and enter into the faith of Jesus Christ. What God wants is not to speak of obligations like the law, but for the saints to become one with God in Christ and enter into the faith of Christ.

  Question 6. What does the Bible tell us about God?   Answer. The Bible tells us who God is, the persons of the Godhead, his decrees, and the fulfillment of those decrees. The Bible speaks about God through parables and revelations, and we can indirectly understand the meaning of the Bible through God ’ s will. Even if the Bible tells us something about God or what kind of person He is, the readers of the Bible do not know or understand God. God's will is to save all people living in sin in the world. Therefore, only those who understand through the parables of the Bible can understand God's will and seek God in the Bible, the Word of God. The Bible tells us that through the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the world, through the predestination of Christ before the creation of the world and the fulfillment of that predestination through Jesus Christ, and through the fulfillment of that predestination, God, Jesus Christ, and the saints must become one in the Holy Sp...

  Question 7. What is God? Answer. God is a Spirit, infinite in his own existence, glory, blessedness, perfection, self-sufficiency, eternity, immutability, mystery, omnipresence, omnipotence, omniscience, utmost goodness, holiness, justice, grace, longsuffering, and the riches of his goodness and truth. God is self-existent. Self-existence means that he is not influenced by anyone, and he is a mysterious being that cannot be known by human thought and knowledge, but he is a being that communicates spiritually with humans. Therefore, God is said to be a spiritual being, and God wants to be worshiped by humans. God wants humans to become possessed. When one becomes possessed, one becomes one with God and can know about God. God, who is spirit, cannot be seen with the physical eyes of man. In John 1:18, “ No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him, ” the part “ the only begotten God has declared him ” was inc...

  Question 8. Are there other Gods besides God? Answer. There is only one living and true God. There is only one God, but since people who say they believe in God define God in their own way and call him God, it is not easy to meet the true God.   The Bible also talks about God ’ s identity in various ways. “ I am who I am ” is “ haya asher haya ” in Hebrew. After that, the Jews called God Adonai, but as time passed, they began to call him Yahweh, and today, the identity of God has become confusing due to translations into the languages ​​ of each country. In particular, it was translated into English as LORD (Lord). However, the one true God is the one whom Jesus Christ calls Father. Jesus must become the Son of God in order to be saved through him. Those who are in Christ also call God Father like Jesus, and the saints who can call God Father are those who believe that Jesus died on the cross with them and was resurrected with them. In other words, those who have r...

  Question 9. How many persons are there in the Godhead? Answer. There are three persons in the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three persons are the only true and eternal God, one in substance, equal in power and glory, but differing only in their personal character. In today's church community, believers call God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit based on the theory of the Trinity. However, nowhere in the Bible does it say God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ calls God the Father, and he was the Son of God. And the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Jehovah in the Old Testament, and the Spirit of Jesus (or the Spirit of Christ) in the New Testament. Therefore, there is no divinity in God. We can only say that the Father, Jesus Christ, and the saints are one in the Holy Spirit. This speaks of unity, not of distinction. John 17:11 “ I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I come to you. Holy Father, keep i...

  Question 10. What are the three distinct characteristics of the Trinity? Answer. The Father begot the Son, the Son was begotten of the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son from all eternity. By attributing names, attributes, works, and worship to the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Son and the Holy Spirit show that they are God equal to the Father. Looking at the doctrine of the Trinity, the early origin of the doctrine of the Trinity began with the expansion of Christology (Christology). In the 70-year Jewish War, other schools disappeared from the newly born Christianity, and the only remaining ones were the Pharisaic Judaism, the Episcetes who emphasized humanity, and the Gnosticism who emphasized only the spiritual elements of divinity, which became a stimulus that shook the roots of Christianity, and a theological theory that logically explained who Jesus Christ, who had a body, was. Around this time, based on the New Testament that was formed,...