The Second Article of the Apostles' Creed is: "And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead."
What does this mean?
When I confess these words (that is, say them because I believe them), I am saying that "I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord,
"who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death,
"that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness,
"just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity.
"This is most certainly true."
Notice that the words of the Second Article describe what Jesus did or will do, but the meaning also sorts out some of what that "doing" says about who He is and what it means for us!
We're going to look how the words in the meaning are directly related to the words in the Creed itself. In particular, in next four posts, we're going to look at "true God... true Man," "born of the Virgin Mary," "from the power of the devil," and "that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom." If you want to ask any questions or make any comments about other parts of the Second Article and its meaning, now's the time to do it!
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